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Hearing Homelander call him, he replied without looking back, "Don't call me 'Mr..' Whenever you call me 'Mr.,' nothing good ever happens!"
"This time it's a good thing," Homelander said with a smile. "I need your technical support."
"I need a set of communication equipment that can ignore spatial distance and perform real-time high-definition video transmission across half the Milky Way Galaxy."
"Intergalactic live streaming?"
Rocket grinned, revealing his sharp teeth.
"Interesting. This will require a high-power quantum entanglement array, and I'll probably have to hack into the Kree relay network..."
"You can do it, right?" Homelander looked at him with a smile. "After all, you're the smartest genius in the Milky Way Galaxy."
"Ha!" Rocket gave a disdainful sneer. "Nonsense! This kind of child's play—I could cobble it together for you using scrap metal!"
"But..."
Rocket rubbed his paws together. "This is high-end technical work. It'll cost extra."
"No problem."
Homelander waved his hand and pointed at Thor nearby.
"Put it on his tab."
"Pfft—!"
"Why is it me again?!" Thor, who was drinking a vought functional drink, almost spat it out.
"Put it on Odin's tab." He reacted quickly, immediately shifting the blame to his old man. "Asgard has enough money to buy half the Milky Way Galaxy!"
"Deal!" Rocket jumped up happily; after finishing this job, he'd have saved enough money for a new spaceship.
Everyone looked at this scene and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
But there was no mockery in that laughter, only warmth.
Steve shook his head and said to Natasha with a smile, "Although he really is narcissistic and loves showing off sometimes... I have to say, at times like this, he actually makes people feel..."
"Feel a bit cute?" Natasha picked up the conversation, a smile playing on her lips. "Maybe that's why everyone is willing to follow him. At least, he isn't a hypocrite."
Everyone knew Homelander loved the spotlight and putting on a show.
But so what?
He was indeed doing real work, indeed protecting this World.
A hero with a bit of vanity and minor flaws is more endearing; it makes him more approachable than some flawless idol.
"Alright!" Homelander clapped his hands. "Preparations are over."
"Skynet, notify the media. I want to give a final speech before we depart."
"Jessica, go find Dave for some hellish emergency photography training."
"Rocket, go get your equipment sorted."
"Everyone else, carry out your duties."
Homelander walked to the window and looked out at the boundless sky.
"Target: Ego the Living Planet."
"Let's go kick that bastard's ass."
Notification! Gained special popularity value +5,000! (From Jessica Jones)
Notification! Gained special popularity value +3,000! (From Steve Rogers)
Notification! Gained special popularity value +3,000! (From Natasha Romanoff)
Notification! Gained special popularity... On the other side of Earth.
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
Under a lead-gray sky, the abandoned city of Pripyat stood silently amidst the radioactive dust.
This is a forbidden zone for humans.
But it is a paradise for the Skrullss—New Skrullos.
The two of them crossed the derelict city square and walked toward a massive cooling tower.
As Talos entered a complex password, the seemingly abandoned concrete wall slowly parted, revealing an elevator leading underground.
"I hope your people can listen to reason," Fury said before the elevator doors closed. "Because my patience and time are running out."
"They will listen." Talos straightened his collar, as if encouraging himself. "I am their general."
...At this moment, tens of thousands of Skrullss living here were gathered inside the Base.
Everyone looked toward the center of the hall.
On the high platform in the center of the hall stood two people.
One was Talos, the current leader of the Skrullss and the "good guy" who had always advocated for the moderate faction.
The other was Nick Fury; not wanting to explain much, he put on the 'Widow's Veil' and reverted to his original black face.
"This is our decision."
Fury's voice spread to every corner through the loudspeaker, his tone firm and unquestionable.
"Stop all infiltration operations."
"Release all replaced humans."
"And then... surrender to humanity, to Homelander."
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a bomb had been dropped into the crowd.
A dead silence lasted for ten seconds.
Immediately after, the crowd erupted.
"Surrender?!"
An angry voice broke the silence.
"Surrender to a human?!"
"We are proud Skrulls warriors! We have conquered galaxies! We have fought against the Kree Empire!"
"And now you want us to beg forgiveness from a human wearing a bodysuit?"
The crowd began to boil, their anger like a volcano about to erupt.
"Talos! Have you gone senile?!"
"This is your plan? Surrender?"
"Fury is a traitor! He lied to us before, and he's still lying to us now!"
Talos stepped forward and raised his hands, trying to calm everyone down.
"My fellow citizens! Listen to me!"
"This isn't surrender; this is for survival!"
"Homelander has already discovered us. You've all seen his power on television!"
"If we resist, there will only be one outcome—extinction!"
"Fury has already secured an opportunity for us. As long as we cooperate, as long as we prove we have no ill intent, we can live on this Planet!"
"I don't accept it!!"
An angry roar echoed through the vast Base hall.
"Live on? Live like rats?!"
A hostile young voice abruptly interrupted Talos's speech.
The crowd parted.
A tall young Skrulls walked out.
Gravik.
He was the leader of the radical faction among the Skrullss and an idol for the younger generation.
He walked to the foot of the platform, looking up at Talos and Fury, the flames of ambition burning in his eyes.
"Talos, you're old."
Gravik's voice was bone-chillingly cold.
"Your spine has been broken during decades of life as a fugitive."
"You only know how to beg and compromise. You believe the words of this human liar?"
Gravik pointed at Fury, his face full of mockery.
"He's lied to us for over twenty years! He said he would find us a home!"
"And now, he's selling us out to another, even more dangerous human!"
"Your plan is for us to be like dogs, wagging our tails for a new Owner?"
"Gravik!" Talos barked, "Watch your words! This is for the survival of our race!"
"Survival my ass!"
Gravik suddenly leaped onto the high platform and snatched the loudspeaker.
"My fellow citizens!"
He shouted to the thousands of eyes below the platform.
"Why should we fear humans?"
"We have stronger physiques than they do! We have more advanced technology! We can even turn into any one of them!"
"This Planet... should belong to the strong!"
Gravik spread his arms, describing his mad blueprint.
"I have a better plan."
"No need for begging, no need for charity."