She went along with it and said, "You are quite different from what Howard described."
These words were full of hidden meaning, making Fury's heart tighten. What on Earth did Howard say about him?
The smile on Fury's face stiffened for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure, doing his best to maintain a calm demeanor.
Mavuika didn't make things difficult for him any further. Her gaze slowly turned toward Talos inside the spaceship, her tone instantly becoming solemn, and the aura around her grew majestic.
"Then let's start with this: what are the Skrulls doing, infiltrating Midgard without Asgard's permission?"
The word "Midgard" made both Fury and Carol freeze for a moment, but Talos's reaction was entirely different.
The green-skinned alien shuddered violently, his eyes widening and his lips trembling:
"Asgard? You... you are an Asgardian?!"
After recognizing Mavuika's identity, Talos looked again at the flames surrounding her, her posture like an incarnation of the Sun, and her ability to survive freely in space...
Cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes. As one of the few interstellar civilizations in the Universe, the Skrulls had naturally heard the legends of the Nine Realms and knew of Asgard's existence and power.
Looking again at the golden-red flames around Mavuika, her posture like an incarnation of the Sun, and the majestic aura she radiated.
Talos instantly understood the identity of the person before him: Marvika, the Sun Goddess of Asgard!
Cold sweat instantly drenched his clothes, and even his breathing became rapid.
As a symbol of Asgard, the name of Marvika, the Sun Goddess, was an unavoidable presence, just like Hela, the Goddess of Death, and Odin, the King of the Gods.
Talos hurriedly bowed, his movements precise and respectful—the highest etiquette of the Skrulls.
"Talos greets Your Highness, the sun goddess. I did not know Your Highness was here; please forgive any offense."
Fury's expression became very strange. Asgard? sun goddess? These words put together sounded like a chapter torn straight out of a book on norse mythology.
But looking at the woman outside the window, moving freely in the vacuum and covered in flames... perhaps myths weren't entirely myths?
Mavuika nodded slightly, accepting Talos's bow, and gestured for him to continue: "Speak, I'm listening."
Talos took a deep breath. He knew it was foolish to lie in front of an Asgardian, especially before this sun goddess.
The Asgardian goddess before him could decide the life and death of all Skrulls with a single word.
Their act of infiltrating Midgard without permission had already violated Asgard's rules. If Mavuika chose to hold them accountable, forget escaping the Kree's pursuit—they would likely be completely wiped out in an instant.
He quickly organized his thoughts and began to state his case, recounting the Skrulls' plight in full detail, his voice trembling slightly with tension.
"Respected Goddess, we Skrulls... we came to Earth to escape the pursuit of the Kree Empire."
He glanced at Carol and then quickly looked away. "The Kree Empire labels us as Terrorists and threats that must be eliminated, but the truth is... we only want the right to live freely."
"For years, the Kree have hunted us, slaughtered our people, and destroyed our homes."
Talos's voice was filled with exhaustion and pain. "We came to Earth because Dr. Wendy Lawson decided to help us. She developed a prototype of a light-speed engine, which is our only hope of escaping the Kree's pursuit."
"With the complete light-speed engine data, we can jump to a star system outside the Kree Empire's sphere of influence and find a new home."
"So you infiltrated Earth to find this research?" Mavuika asked, her voice calm and devoid of emotion.
"Yes," Talos admitted. "But we haven't harmed anyone, Your Highness. We were just... observing, gathering information. We shapeshifted into S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and scientists, entered their facilities, and found the Tesseract..."
"During this time, we secretly infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and used the Tesseract to conduct some energy research, hoping to improve the stability of the light-speed engine."
"But we didn't dare stay too long, nor did we dare damage the Tesseract. Before Mr. Howard Stark could discover anything unusual, we had already returned the Tesseract intact, leaving no trace behind."
Hearing this, Fury snapped his gaze toward Talos.
These green-skinned aliens were that bold? They actually stole the Tesseract and studied it for a while? And S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't noticed any anomalies at all...
Talos continued, "The few clansmen who came to Earth with me..."
He pointed toward the cloaked ship outside the porthole. "They are now hidden in that ship nearby. It's our only remaining refugee ship. All the Skrull refugees are on it, waiting for me to return with the research results to lead them to a new home."
Having said all this, Talos lowered his head and awaited judgment.
Under the laws of the Universe, infiltrating a protected World without permission was a serious crime.
Asgard had every right to execute everyone involved or even destroy their ship.
As an interstellar Wanderer, Talos was well aware of the majesty and power of these ancient forces.
Silence filled the ship as Fury processed the information he had just heard, every piece of which was enough to overturn his understanding of the World.
Carol clenched her fists, the energy within her surging because Talos's words completely contradicted the "truth" she had been indoctrinated with in the Kree Empire.
"I understand the situation," Mavuika finally spoke after a few seconds of silence, her voice returning to its previous calmness.
"Go to the ship and regroup with the other Skrulls first."
Mavuika continued, "I will go deal with the trouble you've attracted and then come find you."
Hearing this, Talos instantly breathed a sigh of relief. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted; his shoulders slumped slightly, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.
As for the trouble Mavuika mentioned, although Talos was somewhat puzzled, he didn't dare ask more and hurriedly thanked her respectfully.
"Thank you for your mercy, Your Highness!"
Mavuika nodded, and before turning to leave, her gaze fell upon Carol.
The blonde woman had been watching her warily, the energy inside her like a chained Beast, restlessly surging.
"Here..." Mavuika pointed to her own neck and then to Carol.
"Something has been implanted here, hasn't it? It's limiting your potential, like a cage."
Carol froze, her hand instinctively reaching for the back of her neck.
There was indeed an implant there, placed by the Kree Empire to connect her with the Supreme Intelligence. She had always thought it was a necessary device to help her control her powers...
Mavuika continued, "The design is ingenious, but in essence, it's a shackle. It limits the upper bound of your energy output. Your true power is far beyond what it is now."
She paused and added, "It would be best to take it out."