Spider-Man's accusation was based on no evidence whatsoever; it was purely a charge derived from his own intuition.
Therefore, almost as soon as he finished speaking, Carol Danvers frowned and retorted, "Spider-Man, please mind your words. Are you suggesting that a scientific director of the U.S. military is actually an alien? You need to take responsibility for what you say."
And that was precisely what Peter meant. Professor Michael rubbed the bridge of his nose and raised his hands in resignation.
"No, Spider-Man is correct. If the Guardians of the Galaxy hadn't shown up, perhaps I could have kept the secret, but since they are here, I can't hide it any longer."
As Michael spoke, he raised his hand. His skin underwent a subtle change, displaying a pale blue hue in the sunlight—the color of his blood. Simultaneously, the bracelet on his arm shapeshifted, releasing a suit with green markings that covered his body, featuring an eight-pointed star shape on the chest.
"My name is Mar-Vell. I belong to the Kree Empire's Science Corps and came to Earth to carry out a special investigation mission."
After a moment of shock, Carol immediately aimed her weapon at Michael, or rather, Mar-Vell.
"You've been an alien all this time?! You've been lying to me?!"
"I meant no harm, Carol."
Peter, however, was less concerned with that. Even if Korvac hadn't arrived, Mar-Vell was his primary investigative target. He simply asked, "Alright, let's take things one at a time. First, what mission brought you to Earth?"
"The Kree Empire rose thousands of years ago. At the time, the Kree Empire was in its nascent stage and faced many enemies, but lacked sufficient manpower. For this reason, the Kree intended to find an intelligent life form and modify them into soldiers. Earth was one such planet."
Mar-Vell began to explain the background of his mission: "Kree scientists studied a portion of your ancient ancestors' DNA, hoping to create super-powered soldiers that could be controlled. However, as the Kree Empire successfully rose to power later, the project was eventually abandoned. We passed on technology, knowledge, and the Kree language to this modified group, establishing an agreement that should the Kree Empire face war in the future, they would be obligated to join that war."
Peter knew exactly who Mar-Vell was talking about: the Inhumans, one of the super-powered races in Marvel. The Inhumans originated from Kree genetic modification of humans. Their entire race has several defining characteristics. The most obvious is that their powers awaken through exposure to a substance called Terrigen Mist, and this substance is highly toxic to Mutants who possess the X-Gene.
Furthermore, their TV show was terrible, and their leader, Black Bolt, was killed by a mother during the Wanda's Search for Family storyline.
But currently, the Inhumans are mostly not on Earth, so even if Mar-Vell were looking for them, he wouldn't find them anyway. Most of the Inhumans reside in the Blue Area of the Moon, where they established their own empire. A small number remained on Earth, based on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline, but their numbers are few and they live in seclusion.
Given how chaotic this current universe is, and that the storyline may not unfold as originally intended, Peter estimated that there were even fewer Inhumans on Earth.
"The Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire are once again at war. We are evenly matched, with neither side able to defeat the other. Therefore, the Kree high command revisited this project and sent me to investigate whether any of these Inhumans still exist on Earth. If they do, they are expected to fulfill their obligations and join the war."
From the Kree perspective, they helped civilize the Inhuman race, passed on technology and culture to them, and signed a treaty. Doing this was quite justifiable. Of course, from Earth's perspective, they would not agree. But the biggest problem is that, until now, not even S.H.I.E.L.D. knew that the Inhumans existed on Earth.
"So... by the looks of it, you haven't found them?"
Carol had calmed down slightly. Mar-Vell nodded. Super-powered individuals like Spider-Man were naturally outside his scope of investigation. He had already tested the genetic sequence of Mutants and found that the X-Gene could not coexist with Terrigen Mist, meaning Mutants were not Inhumans.
"I personally do not wish to see Earth dragged into the war between the two interstellar empires. Thus, I am currently compiling a report. As long as it can be confirmed that the Inhumans no longer exist here, Earth will have no strategic value to either side and will not need to be drawn into the war zone."
Mar-Vell spoke with sincerity. As for whether the locals actually trusted this alien, that remained to be seen. Cindy had already notified S.H.I.E.L.D., and Carol would surely notify the U.S. military. For now, they had a more immediate problem: dealing with Korvac.
"You reacted to the term Cosmic Cube, Mr. Mar-Vell," Peter said, looking at him. "Do you know what it is?"
"Yes. Thousands of years ago, when our technology level was about the same as yours now, the Skrulls in the cosmos were already an incredibly powerful space empire. Their emperor created a powerful weapon called the Cosmic Cube. With this weapon, they conquered countless planets and civilizations. The Kree were among them at the time."
Mar-Vell shared the history of the Cosmic Cube: "However, the Cosmic Cube was a powerful weapon that could not be controlled. It was influenced by the tyrannical mind of the Skrull Emperor at the time and ended up destroying two-thirds of the Skrull Empire, which is what gave us Kree the opportunity to rise."
"And... how did you deal with that Cosmic Cube?"
"Communication. The Cosmic Cube had evolved its own consciousness and become a self-aware weapon. The Supreme Intelligence, the Kree Empire's highest ruler, communicated with it, introducing it to the Kree's morality and ideals. The Cosmic Cube eventually perfected its own mind and autonomously left this universe."
Mar-Vell added, "I believe that perhaps Korvac is not insane, but rather hasn't fully formed his personality, leading to his madness. He comes from the 31st century, and it's possible that Kang the Conqueror, who appeared earlier, re-created him in the future."
But that contradicted what Kang had said. Peter frowned in thought. Beside him, Star-Lord quickly grasped what everyone was aiming for: "So, what we need to do is calm that lunatic down, find him a kindergarten teacher, and let him go home."
Peter added a final point.
"And prevent Kang the Conqueror from provoking him."
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