S.H.I.E.L.D. was not just sitting around doing nothing.
After clearing out the Skrulls spies from within, this massive organization immediately began operating like a precision instrument that had been wound up, running at full speed and doing what they did best.
Intelligence, operations, logistics, technical departments, and others were efficiently integrated and collaborated, formulating a series of plans and measures against the Skrulls at the fastest possible speed.
The captured Skrulls were immediately handed over to the interrogation and counter-intelligence department, where professional methods such as psychological analysis and high-pressure interrogation were used in turns, and truth serum was provided in ample supply, determined to dig out everything they knew, even details like how many times they had wet the bed as children could not be overlooked.
Efficiency first; there was no need to worry about humanitarianism.
Anyway, the other party was an Alien, so what kind of humanitarianism was there to speak of?
On the other side, Steve had already notified the Avengers.
Except for Thor who was out of service range, and Natasha who had been captured by the Skrulls, the other members received the news and rushed over immediately.
Especially Banner; that time he forcibly took Betty to Iceland to see the aurora, their relationship changed from a casual acquaintance to a life-and-death bond, and their feelings gradually faded, plus General Ross obstructed them, so the two separated.
After that, no one knew what happened, but Banner and Natasha suddenly had an indescribable relationship, and Natasha could even calm the raging Hulk on the spot, which was more effective than the Hulkbuster armor, leaving Tony feeling depressed for a while.
Therefore, upon hearing that Natasha had been abducted by a group of green-skinned goblins, Banner's face turned even greener than the Hulk's, and he rushed to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters from far away.
Before long, the Avengers had assembled.
Darian looked left and right, feeling a bit puzzled: "How come that's everyone? I remember there should be another member in the Avengers, right?"
"I've been here the whole time!"
Clint walked out from a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, looking speechless.
"Oh, oh!"
Darian finally remembered that Clint was also one of the moles sent by Nick Fury, but his presence was usually too low, even less noticeable than Coulson, so he couldn't remember him at all.
Perhaps for this reason, this obvious Avengers member had not been replaced by the Skrulls. Steve saw that everyone had arrived, his expression solemn: "Tony, Banner, you should already know the details. In short, the current situation is very severe!"
"I thought I was going to fight Nick Fury again, but it turned out to be a fake."
Tony curled his lips, a bit disappointed.
Previously, he had only glanced at the target photo on the mission briefing, which was Nick Fury, and immediately abandoned his latest armor research and rushed over, only to find out halfway through that it was a fake Nick Fury.
"To be precise, it's Skrulls." Steve corrected.
"That's still trouble caused by Nick Fury."
Tony couldn't help but complain: "Although the idea of the Avengers was his, why do I feel that every time we assemble, it has to do with Nick Fury? If this goes on, we'll really become the 'Kick the Bald Egg' Alliance, the Avengers might as well disband."
"Good idea."
Darian was the first to raise his hand in approval.
Steve pretended not to hear and continued solemnly: "Our current intelligence is limited. We don't know how much preparation the Skrulls have made, or how large the scope of infiltration is. This is no longer just a battle, but a crisis concerning all of humanity, so we must assemble the Avengers and make the most comprehensive preparations."
"Since the Skrulls can turn into anyone, could there be a mole among us?"
Tony suddenly narrowed his eyes, looking at Steve suspiciously.
The meaning in his eyes was obvious; after all, both Steve and Nick Fury had previous records.
Steve: "..."
"Don't worry, the Skrulls' shapeshifting ability is ineffective against me. I can see through their disguise. I am certain there is no mole among us."
Darian waved his hand, taking the initiative to help Steve out of the situation, and then said: "However, I can't guarantee the people around you. Perhaps the Skrulls have already turned into your friends and relatives, lurking by your side."
As soon as these words were spoken, Tony and Clint's expressions immediately turned sour.
They were both people with partners, interacting closely in their daily lives and occasionally exchanging affections at night.
If the person they faced day and night had been replaced by a green goblin, that picture was simply too horrible to contemplate.
A female Skrull might be barely acceptable, but if the other party was a male Skrull...
"Captain is right, the situation is indeed much more severe than we imagined!"
Tony's expression became unprecedentedly serious: "Even if Darian can see through the Skrulls' disguise, he alone cannot screen the entire range. I will try to develop a technology that can identify Skrulls as soon as possible, to crack their shapeshifting ability from the root."
Darian wanted to say that this was unlikely.
If it were so easy to develop such technology, the Kree, as one of the three major empires of the Universe, would have developed it long ago, and the Skrulls would not have had the chance to hide on Earth.
But on second thought, Tony was someone who could build a suit of Iron Man armor in a cave; maybe if he thought about it, he really could succeed.
"I don't think that's what we should be worried about. It's the Skrulls' other ability."
Banner was a bit worried: "According to your intelligence, there are some special individuals among those Skrulls who can copy the target's abilities. If they obtain our genes and create a Skrull version of the Avengers, that would be big trouble."
This made everyone frown.
Indeed, this was the most terrifying thing. The Skrulls could not only imitate their faces but also their abilities.
"That's not a big problem."
Darian was calm: "Even if the Skrulls get your genes, they can only copy part of the abilities. Besides, except for Banner and Thor's genes, copying others' genes won't have much impact."
"Steve is just a super soldier without his shield, with limited threat. Natasha is strong in spy methods, so copying her is useless. Tony is even simpler; he relies on his brain and armor. His physical fitness is worse than that of an ordinary Agent. If a Skrull is stupid enough to copy his abilities, it's purely adding a debuff to themselves."
"Makes sense."
Everyone listened to Darian's analysis, their expressions gradually relaxed, and they nodded one after another.
Clint: "..."
No, why don't you analyze me?
Just as they were analyzing the situation, S.H.I.E.L.D. soon sent new news.
After repeated interrogations, they had pried the coordinates of three secret Bases from the mouths of the Skrull captives. The people the Skrulls had replaced were all imprisoned in those places.
Steve immediately said: "Our search and rescue operations must be carried out simultaneously to prevent the Skrulls from noticing and transferring the personnel."
Everyone agreed with this plan.
So, they decided to split into three teams to act simultaneously.
Tony and Banner were responsible for one of the secret Bases, Steve and Clint were responsible for another, and the last one was handed over to Darian.
The other two teams had S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents to assist them, only Darian chose to complete the mission alone.
This was Darian's own request.
After all, the mission rewards were calculated based on contribution, so for him, naturally, the fewer people, the better.
The coordinates received by Darian pointed to an adult products manufacturing factory in a remote area.
According to intelligence, this factory maintained a normal production process on the surface, but the personnel operating inside had actually been replaced by Skrulls long ago.
The humans who had been replaced were all imprisoned in an Underground Room hidden deep within the factory.
Darian drove a nondescript gray sedan and parked it outside the side door of the factory.
At this time, he was wearing dark casual clothes, a hood over his head, chewing gum in his mouth, and swaggered towards the closed iron door.
"Stop!"
The two guards immediately noticed Darian's appearance and reached for their waists, staring at him vigilantly: "This is a private factory area, no unauthorized entry, leave immediately!"
Through his Fiery Golden Eyes, Darian could see that they were all disguised as Skrulls.
"Look closely at who I am."
Darian said, raising his hand to pull down his hood.
His face was green, with pointed ears, and his head even had the unique markings of a Skrull.
This face was exactly that of the female Skrull who had disguised herself as Natasha.
Darian had used the face-pinching function an hour in advance to change into her appearance.
The face-pinching function had no racial restrictions; as long as it fit the basic humanoid framework, with a nose and eyes, it was all within the reasonable range of face-pinching.
To prevent the Skrulls from being desperate and killing the imprisoned humans, Darian did not choose to attack, but chose a secret invasion.
Who said only Skrulls could invade humans?
"Officer Layla!?"
The two guards immediately recognized Darian's face, and their hands on their weapons relaxed, with surprised and puzzled expressions on their faces: "Why are you here? Aren't you executing a long-term infiltration?"
Darian looked at them coldly: "Don't ask what you shouldn't, open the door quickly."
"Yes! Sorry, Officer!"
The two realized they had spoken too much and hurriedly turned to operate the access control, opening the iron door.
"Officer, do you need me to notify the Captain for you?" one guard asked cautiously.
"Let him come over."
Darian guessed he should be the person in charge here, so he nodded.
Soon, he saw a man in a formal suit walking towards him, followed by several Skrulls disguised as humans.
The Skrull Captain saw Darian's arrival and said in surprise: "Officer Layla, the memory of that female human named Natasha has not been fully extracted yet. Did you come too early, or does My Lord Gravik have new instructions?"
Darian nodded along: "That's right, the specific situation needs to be kept secret, you just need to take me underground to see those humans."
While speaking, his appearance changed suddenly, and in front of everyone, he turned into Natasha's appearance, even the length of the zipper on her chest was exactly the same.
Darian: (·V·)
"Understood, please follow me."
The Skrull Captain saw this and had no suspicion at all.
In his cognition, only they, the Skrulls, could disguise themselves as others; he had never thought that one day someone would disguise themselves as a Skrull in return.
Immediately after, the Skrull Captain led Darian into the interior of the adult products manufacturing factory, where he could see dozens of workers busy in front of the assembly line, all of whom were disguised by Skrulls.
They skillfully operated the instruments, inspecting various unspeakable products, the machines humming, and the process was orderly.
"Not bad, they are pretending quite well."
Darian praised softly.
The Skrull Captain looked surprised: "Officer Layla, what are you talking about? They are really working. To ensure the disguise is impeccable, we must maintain full production capacity. This batch of goods must be sent to various places according to commercial orders, and the quality must be higher than, not lower than, before."
"In fact, many popular products currently on the market are from our hands. User feedback is quite good, and the repurchase rate is very high."
Speaking to the end, there was even a hint of imperceptible pride in his tone.
Darian: "..."
So you guys are the real Alien brand!
The Skrull Captain added: "Besides, we have to pay taxes to the IRS on time and in full, otherwise they are very likely to drive tanks to occupy this place one day."
Darian felt speechless.
If I say you Aliens are law-abiding, you are plotting to replace humans and rule Earth.
If I say you are law-breaking, you actually know how to pay taxes on time.
"Officer Layla, if you need it, I can give you a few of the best quality ones from our factory..."
"Shut up, keep leading the way!"
The Skrull Captain immediately stopped talking and led Darian through the last section of the noisy production area.
Soon, they stopped in front of a gray metal door, and a ghostly blue scanning beam swept across the Skrull Captain's face.
With a hissing sound of pressure release, the heavy door slid inward.
The scene behind the door opened up.
This was an extremely wide, enclosed space with an astonishing ceiling height, and densely packed, transparent cylindrical isolation pods were neatly arranged.
Each pod was imprisoning a human who had fallen into a deep coma. Their identities varied, including many S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and HYDRA spies, and even some familiar celebrities or capitalists with higher social status.
Darian narrowed his eyes; it seemed that the Skrulls had already infiltrated every class.
But he soon discovered some strange-looking humanoid creatures; the buffs were stacked like they were going to fight a BOSS.
Darian's mouth twitched: "Do we Skrulls also engage in political correctness?"
The Skrull Captain hurriedly explained: "In this country, the identities of these people are often better to use than some high-level socialites. As long as we borrow their identities, even S.H.I.E.L.D. would not dare to move us easily."
Darian: "..."
Awesome, the cheat code for America has been fully understood by you guys.
Everyone was placed on a silver instrument, with two blue energy beams extending from both sides of the instrument, connecting to their temples, pulsing slightly.
In front of some isolation pods, one could see some Skrulls holding their palms over the humans' foreheads, with their five fingers emitting a continuous faint light.
[Status: Memory being extracted]
Darian looked at their personal information and realized that this was the Skrulls' means of extracting others' memories.
He finally understood why the Kree chased them to Earth and wanted to kill all the Skrulls.
Not to mention the Skrulls' near-perfect imitation ability, just this method of directly extracting others' memories was enough to make any civilization feel threatened.
Once important figures fell into the hands of the Skrulls, it meant that secrets were no longer secrets. Any core secrets, strategic blueprints, or unannounced technological breakthroughs could all be stolen in an instant, or even turned into sharp blades stabbing at them by the enemy.