"Carol's blood?"

Talos froze, the question sinking in before his expression hardened.

"What possible use could her blood have?"

Gravik's answer came without hesitation, his voice low but brimming with conviction.

"You already know, General. We could create Super-Skrulls."

Talos's eyes narrowed. "You're suggesting—"

"Yes," Gravik cut him off, his tone almost feverish. "This is our last chance. Captain Marvel and Nick Fury promised to find us a new home. More than ten years have passed, and they've given us nothing. It's time we stop waiting and take what's rightfully ours."

Several young Skrulls behind him nodded in grim agreement.

Gravik stepped closer, his voice sharpening. "She's weak, General. You saw it yourself. If we take her now, we can extract her blood—her power—and use it to ensure our survival."

Talos stared at Gravik for a long moment, then glanced at the others, seeing the dangerous spark in their eyes. For a heartbeat, even he felt the temptation.

The thought was poisonous… but it was also enticing.

A long breath later, he forced it down. "No. The process for creating Super-Skrulls was lost when we fled the Kree. Abandon this fantasy."

Gravik's lips curled into a thin smile. "You're wrong. The technology still exists. The scientists who once built it are already on Earth. We only need your command."

Talos's jaw tightened. The idea slammed against his better judgment, shaking him more than he cared to admit. But after a moment's struggle, he shook his head again.

"No. She's our ally. And even injured, she's still Captain Marvel. If she decided to fight back, none of us could stop her. And even if you had her power, what then? That Superman…" His voice trailed into a sigh. "Enough. Dismissed. Rest while you can. Once Carol recovers, we leave the Solar System."

Talos walked away, making one last sweep of the corridors to ensure Carol hadn't left any trace of blood behind.

The young Skrulls exchanged frustrated glances. Without Talos's authority, none dared openly move against Captain Marvel.

All but Gravik. His bloodshot gaze followed Talos's retreating form, thoughts churning like a storm.

---

The Next Day – Earth

The Avengers, acting on behalf of the World Security Council, announced that all hidden Skrulls on Earth had been identified and removed.

Across the globe, in hidden bunkers and abandoned facilities, hundreds of thousands of replaced humans were freed. Many stumbled out into the sunlight for the first time in years.

While the Skrulls had infiltrated extensively, the influence of Captain Marvel and Nick Fury had kept them from committing large-scale slaughter. Most occupied remote, derelict sites like old nuclear plants.

Other than those few whom Fury had ordered replaced for strategic purposes—victims who had indeed been killed—the rest had been kept alive in stasis. Malnourished and weak, they recovered quickly once freed.

That same day, S.W.O.R.D. was officially disbanded. All agents were reassigned to Earth-based oversight.

Nick Fury and Maria Rambeau, Carol's oldest friend, were sentenced to life imprisonment. The Council offered Fury a choice: live out his sentence in the Raft, or leave Earth forever with the remaining Skrulls.

Fury chose Earth. "This planet will always need me," he told them.

---

Carol's Return

By the time Carol returned to Earth, her injuries had healed. This time, she came not as a soldier but as a diplomat, walking into the United Nations headquarters to plead for the Skrulls' right to stay.

Her words were met with cold stares. In less than a day, the representatives had combed through her history. The woman who once fought for Earth had also acted against it, siding with alien interests over her own people.

When she left the UN building, the sting of rejection burned deeper than any wound Malrick had given her.

A child pointed from the sidewalk. "Look! That's the bad guy! She's the traitor Superman beat!"

The words hit harder than any punch. Carol's mouth opened, but no excuse would come. She turned away, walking quickly. By the time she reached orbit, Earth already felt like a stranger.

She regretted her rashness. Bitterly.

Back aboard her ship, she had no idea a chain of events had already been set in motion—events born from her own weakness.

---

One Day Earlier

"Talos is old. He's not fit to lead us anymore." Gravik stood in the center of a dimly lit chamber aboard one of the Skrull vessels. The young faces surrounding him glowed faintly green in the light.

"We need someone who will act," Gravik continued, his voice sharp. "We make our own future."

"And how?" one asked.

Gravik smiled coldly. "Simple. Captain Marvel's blood."

He leaned in. "She was badly wounded. There's bound to be traces aboard her ship. Talos is too busy begging her to notice. She'll probably visit Earth again soon. That's our chance."

The eyes staring back at him reflected the hunger of predators scenting prey.

---

Half an Hour Ago

While Carol argued with world leaders inside the UN, a small team of Skrulls slipped toward her vessel in stealth pods. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel·fire·net

Their camouflage technology bypassed the ship's AI systems, letting them board without triggering alarms.

The interior was a clutter of scattered gear and uniforms. The Skrulls moved with practiced care, searching every compartment.

When one of them lifted a towel stained with drying blood, a handheld scanner confirmed the DNA. The moment the reading flashed green, excitement rippled through the team.

They sealed the evidence in a secure container, restored the ship's interior to its exact state, and slipped away unnoticed.

When Carol returned, she felt no hint that anything had been disturbed.

---

The Third Day

Nick Fury and Maria Rambeau were locked away in the Raft, the infamous underwater prison reserved for the most dangerous offenders. The cells were built for those beyond conventional containment. Without a miracle, neither would leave alive.

That same day, the Skrull fleet received an ultimatum from the Avengers: leave the Solar System, or Malrick would be deployed against them.

Faced with annihilation, Talos led his people through a jump point, vanishing into deep space.

---

The Fifth Day – The Turning Point

The Skrull fleet drifted through the endless dark, a handful of vessels sailing between uncharted stars.

Inside one, Gravik stood before a circular platform, its eight curved pillars arching over it like the legs of a steel spider.

"This is it," he told the gathered crowd. "Success or failure—our survival or our extinction—will be decided today."

The device was the ancient heart of Super-Skrull creation. All it needed was a blood sample from the target, and it could grant a Skrull a near-complete copy of their powers—sixty to seventy percent of the original's strength.

Worse still, its output could be multiplied. Once one Super-Skrull was made, the machine could be used again and again until the sample degraded, stacking the abilities of multiple beings into a single host.

Gravik's mind was already racing past the first stage. Once they had Captain Marvel's power, they would seek Malrick's. Imagine Skrulls wielding both—unstoppable, unchallenged, ruling the galaxy once more.

His fingers brushed the blood container.

"The age of weakness ends now."

---