Aside from the Skrulls and the Inhumans, the only other presence on the Moon was a Watcher. Attilan was well hidden—who else could have attacked this place?
But Black Bolt had no time to investigate. The recent rebellion had left him with numerous matters to resolve.
"Thank you, Mr. Garus, for helping me quell this rebellion." Black Bolt regarded Garus intently, trying to discern his next move. This man's strength unnerved him—if he chose to act against the Inhumans, they would be powerless to resist.
"I'm just here to look around. Don't mind me."
They knew Garus had his own agenda, but for now, they had no choice but to let him be.
Black Bolt summoned the royal guards. Despite the recent upheaval, his authority remained deeply ingrained in the subconscious of all Inhumans.
With Maximus and his faction defeated, the guards obeyed Black Bolt's orders without hesitation, dragging the unconscious rebels off to Attilan's prison.
When they rescued Medusa, the sight of her was jarring—her once-flowing red hair had been completely shaved off, leaving her visibly shaken.
"Sister!" Crystal exclaimed with concern. Medusa's hair was more than just an aesthetic feature—it was an extension of her body, granting her incredible dexterity and combat prowess. Without it, she was no different from an ordinary human.
"I'm fine," Medusa reassured her. In truth, she had already come to terms with it—she seldom needed to use her ability anyway. "What happened? Maximus tried to activate Attilan's self-destruct sequence—was he successful?"
"He shouldn't have been," Karnak said, shaking his head. "Not enough time had passed since I was teleported away by Lockjaw. Maximus couldn't have done much in that short span. But honestly, we're not sure what just happened."
"Let's check the control room." Black Bolt gestured, his expression grave. The incident was no trivial matter—Attilan's security depended entirely on Kree technology. If the protective barrier had collapsed just a few minutes longer, the city's gravity system would have failed, and its oxygen supply would have been completely depleted.
"Who is he?" Medusa finally noticed Garus, walking alongside them. There was no way she wouldn't recognize someone in Attilan.
Crystal explained, "This is Mr. Garus from Earth. He helped us resolve this crisis."
Medusa glanced at her husband. Seeing Black Bolt nod in acknowledgment, she refrained from further questions and turned toward Attilan's control room—a place only accessible to the royal family.
Following the long corridor and descending a flight of stairs, Garus soon found himself in a small chamber. At its center sat a modest water basin, flanked by two hooded figures clad in white, sitting motionless.
"Check the entire barrier system for any anomalies," Medusa commanded, moving her hands in the air. A holographic projection of Attilan materialized before them, shaped like a pyramid.
"System integrity confirmed. Energy levels stable. No signs of external attacks..."
Crystal leaned close to Medusa and whispered, "Sister, could this be the work of that human?"
"This has nothing to do with me," Garus interjected. He, too, found the situation puzzling.
Noticing that her whisper had been overheard, Crystal awkwardly stuck out her tongue in embarrassment.
Garus, however, ignored their speculations. Instead, he glanced at the two motionless figures by the water basin and asked, "Why have those two foot washers been sitting still this whole time?"
"What did you say?" Crystal gave him a bewildered look. "Foot washers?"
Garus pointed at the hooded figures. "Yeah, them. Haven't seen them move at all."
"Oh!" Crystal chuckled. "You mean them? They're not servants. They're the graphical interface for Attilan's control system."
Garus found their aesthetic choices bizarre—why model the system's interface as two robed figures sitting silently?
Black Bolt conducted an extensive examination but found nothing out of the ordinary. It was as if the entire event had been a mere illusion. With no clear explanation, he was left with no choice but to let the matter rest.
"Crystal, show Mr. Garus around Attilan."
Attilan wasn't large—it was closer to a small village. Even with just over a thousand Inhumans, the city still felt cramped. Many ordinary humans who hadn't undergone Terrigenesis were relegated to work in the mines, following the caste hierarchy.
Within an hour, Garus had seen everything there was to see.
"Thanks for the hospitality. If you're ever interested, you're welcome to visit my Mutant Academy anytime." Garus had lost interest in the place and was preparing to leave.
"Mutants?!" Crystal's expression stiffened for a moment but said nothing more. She merely watched as Garus opened a black portal and vanished.
Back in the Skrull city, Garus saw General Kallruth overseeing his subordinates, who were scrambling about frantically.
"Still haven't figured out what happened?" From the sound of his voice, Kallruth was frustrated.
"What happened?"
Noticing Garus' arrival, General Kallruth immediately reported, "Mr. Garus, for some reason, our entire city's system just went offline. We still haven't identified the cause."
This sounded eerily similar to what had happened in Attilan. Encountering the same phenomenon in different locations on the Moon was strange, to say the least.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, chaos had erupted. From the western coast of the United States up through Canada, massive power outages had plunged entire regions into darkness. Unlike the advanced Kree and Skrull technology on the Moon, Earth's electronic infrastructure lacked protective mechanisms—much of it remained offline for an extended period.
At the Hammer Division headquarters, the situation was just as chaotic. All instruments and systems had ceased functioning, rendering them effectively blind.
"How much longer until power is restored?" Osborn was growing agitated in the pitch-black room.
"Uh, Director..." The Hammer Division's chief engineer wiped sweat from his brow. "Even the backup generators have failed. We're still trying to figure out a solution..."
Just as Osborn was about to lose his temper, the headquarters' power and several critical systems suddenly came back online.
Without waiting for orders, his subordinates immediately resumed their work.
Upon accessing their satellite feed, the last image they had recorded was a silver object streaking across the sky at an incredible speed.
...
"Mr. Garus, Earth experienced the same phenomenon. Power has only just been restored."
Standing on the viewing platform of the Moon's Skrull city, Garus gazed toward Earth. The once-brilliantly lit planet was now dotted with vast regions of darkness.
He decided it was time to return and uncover what exactly had transpired. If there was a connection between the Moon's anomalies and the Earth's blackout, then whoever was behind this had the power to disrupt entire civilizations.
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