Antony returned to his chair and looked at the despair in Fury's lone eye.
"Earth can only be saved by Earthlings themselves."
"And right now…"
"That Earthling is called Homelander."
Fury fell completely silent.
He slumped back in the chair, the light in his eye dimming.
Memories from the past twenty years flashed through his mind.
Every time Earth faced a crisis, his instinct had always been to press that pager.
But every time, he stopped himself.
He told himself it was because the trump card had to be saved for the final moment.
But now…
Looking back…
Maybe, deep down, he had been afraid.
Afraid that if he pressed it—
No one would answer.
If what Homelander said was true…
Then everything Fury had done was not only a joke.
It was a disaster.
He had invited wolves into the house—
And celebrated it like a victory.
After a long silence, Fury stood up slowly.
He picked up the files on the desk.
His face revealed nothing, but the slight trembling in his fingers betrayed the turmoil inside.
"I need to go back…"
"And confirm things with them."
"Suit yourself."
Antony waved his hand dismissively and turned his chair away.
"Once I finish what I'm currently dealing with…"
"I'll start cleaning up those alien goblins."
"Of course…"
Antony tilted his head slightly, showing Fury only his profile.
"If you manage to solve the problem yourself, even better."
"Tell them to come to me voluntarily."
"Confess their crimes. Hand over the list. Submit to Vought's supervision."
"If they do that…"
"They might still have a slim chance of survival."
Fury said nothing.
He turned and walked out of the office.
His steps were heavy.
…
After Fury left, Skynet spoke while tidying Antony's desk.
"Sir, I believe I should remind you of something."
"The data collected by the T-850 infiltration units across multiple social layers has been cross-analyzed."
"While the first several hundred names on that list can be confirmed with 99.99% probability as Skrull impostors…"
"The remaining several thousand…"
"There is no conclusive evidence that they are also Skrulls."
"So what?"
Antony looked toward the direction Fury had left.
His tone was completely indifferent.
"For someone like Nick Fury—a man both paranoid and arrogant…"
"Even a 1% chance is enough to make him question the entire world."
-----
Brooklyn
An Underground Bunker
One of Fury's secret hideouts.
BANG!
The heavy steel door was kicked open violently.
Talos jumped slightly and looked up.
Nick Fury stormed inside, his face dark with suppressed fury.
"Fury?"
Talos stood up, surprised.
"What happened? Didn't your meeting with Homelander go well?"
SLAP!
A stack of documents was slammed onto the table in front of him.
"Look at this."
Fury pointed at the list.
Rage burned in his single eye.
"Tell me, Talos."
"What is this?"
Talos frowned slightly and picked up the documents.
"Explain."
He opened the first page.
Several familiar names and photos.
Those were the ones he had personally approved for infiltration.
He flipped to the second page.
Still familiar.
Third page.
Fourth page.
Talos's fingers suddenly stopped.
He didn't continue turning the pages.
Instead, he closed the file slowly and let out a long sigh.
"…So."
"You already know."
Talos's tone was unexpectedly calm.
No panic.
No attempt to deny it.
That only made Fury angrier.
"You knew?!"
"You're actually admitting it?!"
"This list…"
"…is real?"
"The first few pages are real."
Talos pushed the documents back.
"The rest… I'm not completely sure."
"But it's probably close enough."
"Damn it!"
Fury slammed his fist onto the table.
"Tell me, Talos!"
"How many Skrulls are actually on Earth right now?!"
Talos fell silent for a moment.
He looked at the man who had fought beside him for over twenty years.
In the end—
He chose honesty.
"All of them."
"What?"
Fury frowned.
He thought he had misheard.
"You mean… all of them?"
"All the remaining survivors?"
"Yes."
Talos nodded.
"You're saying…"
Fury's voice suddenly rose, filled with disbelief and terror.
"There are one million Skrulls on Earth right now?!"
One million.
The number crashed into Fury's mind like a hammer.
A million alien beings capable of transforming into anyone.
With enhanced strength and endurance.
Hidden right under his nose.
"Have you lost your mind, Talos?!"
Fury roared.
He drew his pistol and pointed it directly at Talos's head.
"What are you trying to do?!"
"Start a war?!"
Talos didn't move.
He stood up slowly.
The gentle look in his eyes was gone.
Now there was anger.
"I did this because you broke your promise, Fury!"
Talos shouted back, his voice even louder.
He stepped closer until the gun barrel pressed against his forehead.
"You were the one who promised us!"
"You said that if we followed your orders, you'd find us a new home!"
"We believed you!"
"For over twenty years we worked for you!"
"We did your dirty work!"
"We helped you climb from a low-level agent all the way to the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
"You're not the King of Spies!"
"Without the Skrulls, you would have died in some gutter years ago!"
"And how did you repay us?!"
Talos pointed at him angrily.
"For twenty years you gave us nothing!"
"No new planet."
"No hope."
"And now you can't even stay in S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
"Look at you!"
"A globally wanted fugitive hiding in a rat hole underground!"
"How are we supposed to believe you can still find us a home?!"
"If we don't find a way ourselves…"
"My people will die out in space!"
Fury's grip on the gun trembled.
He wanted to argue.
But he couldn't.
Because Talos was telling the truth.
He had used them.
And he had broken his promise.
"So this is your plan?"
Fury said through clenched teeth.
"To turn Earth into your new home?"
"My dream is simple, Fury."
Talos's tone softened slightly.
"I just want Skrulls and humans to coexist peacefully."
"Peacefully coexist?!"
Fury laughed bitterly.
"Talos, you've lived on Earth long enough."
"Have you not figured out humans yet?"
"Humans can't even coexist peacefully with each other!"
"You think they'll accept an alien species?"
He stepped forward, staring Talos in the eyes.
"And your idea of coexistence…"
"…is replacing humans?"
"What about the people you replaced?"
"Where are they?"
"Did you kill them?"
"Throw them into space?"
Talos met Fury's gaze seriously.
"We've known each other for many years."
"You know what kind of person I am."
"I'm not a butcher."
"We built a refuge in Chernobyl."
"We call it New Skrullos."
"The radiation there keeps humans away."
"But for us, it's the perfect shield."
"All the humans we replaced…"
"…were transferred there."
"They're being kept in life-support pods."
"In a state of deep sleep."
--------------
T/N:
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