Marcus's teasing comment left Carol slightly stunned.
"This is the combat uniform of the Starforce," she replied.
Though she didn't recognize this oddly familiar man, she knew her uniform was standard Kree Starforce issue. Such suits were rare even throughout the universe, let alone on C-53.
"Starforce? Is that some gaming club you joined?" Marcus asked innocently.
His question mirrored the confusion in Fury's mind. The agent was deeply curious about Carol's origins.
This strange woman who had fallen from the sky was clearly no ordinary person. Fury needed to investigate thoroughly.
"Ma'am, I'm going to need to see some identification," he pressed.
"Vers, member of Starforce," Carol answered with a frown. She had no time to waste with these two natives.
Marcus wasn't surprised by her response—he knew Carol had lost her memory. Fury, however, remained suspicious that this woman had ulterior motives.
"Vers, how long do you plan on staying here?"
"I'm tracking Skrulls who have infiltrated your planet. Once I catch them, I'll leave immediately," Carol stated.
"Ah, so she's a superhero maintaining world peace!" Marcus grinned, glancing at the others. "When was the last time we had a known superhero around here?"
"Well... about fifty years ago," Fury answered. "Captain America, who stood for freedom and peace."
Fury's answer was accurate, but Marcus studied the kind-looking agent standing beside him with interest.
'Seems like this friendly-looking guy is actually a Skrull.'
Marcus had already figured out who he was supposed to be after learning Fury's identity. He was meant to be Coulson, Captain America's biggest fan.
Based on the previous exchange, that agent should have been excited at the Captain America reference, but this man remained perfectly calm and composed.
Still, it wasn't Marcus's problem. He remembered that Carol eventually helped the Skrulls, so he had no intention of interfering. His real targets were the Kree.
While Marcus was lost in thought, Fury grew more serious. This so-called Starforce member who called herself "Vers" didn't sound like a normal person.
She was either delusional or an alien—though Fury leaned toward the former explanation.
"Can you explain what exactly a Skrull is?"
"Ah, congratulations, you finally asked a useful question amid all the nonsense," Carol replied with a sideways glance. "Skrulls are an evil shapeshifting race. They can alter their appearance at the genetic level to infiltrate various planets."
A race that could change form at the genetic level?
This deepened Fury's skepticism. The woman before him really might be delusional. How could such a species exist?
"Then how do I know you're not a Skrull?"
Just as he finished speaking, Marcus kicked Fury aside. The moment he flew backward, a purple energy beam passed through where he'd been standing.
Carol reacted instantly. Energy charged up her arm, firing a blast that destroyed the source of the purple beam.
"Oh? Seems we have new friends!" Marcus looked with interest at the figure running away.
The weapon that fired the purple beam can be taken to gain Aya Stars, expanding his range of targets yet again.
As everyone chased after the attacker, Marcus shook his head and walked back to his pickup truck. Though he wanted to acquire their equipment, now wasn't the time. He needed to wait for the Kree to arrive in force.
Just as he started the engine, he spotted a man walking out of the Blockbuster video store. It was Coulson, who had been searching for clues inside.
"Hey, friend, have you seen where all the police cars went?"
Coulson looked confused. He'd only been exploring the video store briefly, but everyone had vanished when he came outside.
Seeing Coulson's bewildered expression, Marcus smiled and leaned out his window.
"You mean Fury, the soon-to-be-bald egg? He and 'you' took off after the attacker."
Soon-to-be-bald egg?
Coulson was momentarily stunned, but quickly processed Marcus's words. What did he mean by "Fury and you" chasing the attacker? He'd clearly been in the video store!
"Don't just stand there. They haven't gone far—I can give you a ride."
"Thank you very much," Coulson smiled gratefully as he climbed into Marcus's truck.
Once inside, he immediately called Fury to find out what was happening. During the call, something clearly went wrong on Fury's end—there was a loud crash that sounded like a car accident.
"Ooh, sounds like our future baldy got into trouble!"
Marcus shrugged, drove with Coulson, and headed toward the apparent accident site.
When they arrived, they found a green-skinned humanoid lying in Fury's damaged car. This was the Skrull Carol had mentioned—an alien race capable of changing its form at the genetic level.
"Is this the other 'me' you were talking about?" Coulson stared at the dead Skrull in disbelief.
He'd expected to see someone who looked exactly like him, but this ugly green creature was nothing like him at all.
Marcus suppressed a smirk. After death, Skrulls automatically reverted to their original form, so Coulson naturally couldn't see his doppelgänger anymore.
After Fury and his men had taken away the Skrull's body, Marcus drove back to the farm.
"Howard, guess what I saw today?"
"A flying steak?" Howard replied with raised eyebrows.
"What steak? Remember the Pegasus Project from six years ago? I met that pilot who was kidnapped by the Kree. Now she calls herself 'Vers.' Seems she thinks she's actually Kree."
The moment Marcus mentioned the Pegasus Project, Howard stopped joking. He knew Marcus wasn't messing around.
"That pilot?" Howard frowned. "I recall you saying the Kree had a very hostile attitude toward us."
"That's right. As a civilization that's built an interstellar empire, do you think they'd care about a species like us that can barely leave Earth?" Marcus nodded. He had a poor impression of the Kree. From Sharo's memories, he knew they would do anything to expand their empire's territory.
"There was another pilot in the Pegasus Project, right? They were both close to Lawson. If the Kree are coming back, they must be looking for Lawson's work."
"They'll go to the base. They'll look for that other pilot. Maybe she knows where Lawson's engine design is!"
Though the Pegasus Project had failed, the engine design itself wasn't necessarily flawed—the plane had been shot down by the Kree, not crashed due to mechanical failure.
Most importantly, the engine's energy came from the Cosmic Cube that Lawson had borrowed from Howard. He needed to get that back.
"Alright, I'm interested in these Kree Starforce members anyway. If we're lucky, you might add a few complete Kree combat uniforms to your collection."
After leaving the farm, Marcus grabbed his weapons and headed for the Pegasus Project base—a location he and Howard had visited many times before.
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Marvel : The God Of Punishment System
I Am Raditz
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