"This..."
Gravik's words plunged the scene into an eerie silence.
A long while later, the elderly Skrull who had spoken earlier could not help but tremble as he said:
"Gravik, this is too risky. If this plan is exposed, it will spell doom for all of us."
"Risky?!"
Gravik chuckled, and then, he suddenly raised his hand and pulled back the hood covering him.
The moment the hood was pulled off, his figure began to grow in a bizarre and frantic manner.
In no time at all, he had transformed into a monster resembling the deceased Abomination!
"This... what is this?!"
Looking at Gravik's current appearance, the Skrulls on the scene could not help but change color:
"Gravik, how did you become like this?"
Gravik looked at his arms, which had expanded by an unknown number of times, with an obsessed expression, a sinister smile appearing on his face:
"I transplanted the genes of that Hulk!"
Speaking of this, his body twisted again, and soon he transformed into the forms of a spider-monster and a lizard-monster:
"It's not just the Hulk's genes; Ghost-Spider, Dr. Lizard, Captain America, Hawkeye, Daredevil..."
He recited the names of the Superheroes one by one as if reading off a menu:
"I took advantage of the previous battle against the Inheritors, as well as the Battle of New York, to secretly collect a massive amount of Superhero genes, and I have successfully completed the development of the gene fusion chamber!"
"Now, I alone can rival an entire Avengers team!"
"And this is just the beginning!"
Gravik spoke in a highly seductive voice:
"As long as we collect enough genes from the Superheroes, and as long as you all sit in my gene fusion chamber just like I did."
"By then, we will all be Super-Skrulls. When we all join forces, do you think Peter Parker will still be our match?"
These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the minds of all the Skrulls.
It constantly fostered the germination of this thought:
"He is right!"
Noticing that the Skrulls were wavering, Gravik spread his arms with great incitement:
"Guys, don't hesitate anymore! Overthrow that fool Talos immediately! Let me lead you into a new era for the Skrulls!"
"But..." a more rational Skrull raised a question,
"The current America is like an iron bucket; in this country, everyone listens to Peter Parker.
Even if we want to use our shapeshifting abilities to cause trouble, I'm afraid we won't have much chance of winning."
"Who said we were going to cause trouble in America, which is Peter Parker's base camp?" Gravik sneered, then reached out and pointed to his head,
"Do you think I'm as stupid as Talos?"
While speaking, he walked to a huge holographic map, traced his finger over it, and finally pointed to the European continent.
"The United States is his territory; we won't touch it. Our target is here."
"Europe?"
"That's right." A calculating gleam flashed in Gravik's eyes,
"I am preparing to use our shapeshifting abilities to launch a Secret Invasion plan!"
"Starting with major powers like Britain, France, and Russia, we will put pressure on the United Nations. We will use a reason they cannot refuse—Superheroes are the wealth of the World and cannot be monopolized by just one country, the United States!"
He paused, enjoying the expressions of sudden realization on everyone's faces.
"Step one: We disguise ourselves as those greedy human politicians, forcing the United Nations to pass a resolution requiring Superheroes to disperse across the World to handle global crises. In this way, they will change from a clenched fist into scattered sand."
Gravik turned around and spread his arms, like a king about to ascend the throne.
"Step two: We use the gene fusion chamber to disguise ourselves as them and use their abilities to commit crimes!
We will make them despised rats in every country around the World, making the whole World spontaneously boycott this group of Superheroes!"
"By then, we can appear in a new guise, defeating them one by one while copying their abilities, and appearing before the public as a new type of government-controlled Superhero!"
"At that time, other countries in the World will revere us as heroes. In that case, what will these arrangements Peter Parker has made in the United States even amount to?"
The conference room was deathly silent.
Immediately after, there was a fanatical response like a tsunami.
"Brilliant!"
"Long live Gravik!"
"For the new Skrulls!"
The elderly Skrull looked at this crazy scene before him, subconsciously opening his mouth to say something, but when he noticed Gravik's cold and gloomy eyes, he ultimately said nothing.
He just let out a powerless sigh.
He knew that from this moment on, the fate of the Skrulls had completely slid into an unknown abyss...
With the plan set, the rest was execution.
Gravik's ability to act far exceeded everyone's imagination. Once the fanatical flame called war was ignited in the hearts of the Skrulls, who had been silent for decades, the energy that erupted was not to be underestimated.
In less than an hour, Talos was "invited" to the conference room.
Looking at the familiar yet strange faces in the conference room, especially Gravik standing in the main seat—the position that should have been his—Talos's heart sank.
He understood everything.
"Gravik," Talos's voice carried a trace of exhaustion. He looked at this young junior he had once thought highly of, "What do you want to do?"
"What do I want to do?" Gravik straightened his cuffs unhurriedly, not even raising his head, "As you can see, General. Correcting the mistakes you made and leading our people toward a true future."
"Your so-called future is to provoke a war with Earth?" Talos's tone suddenly rose,
"Are you crazy! You have no idea how terrifying Peter Parker is! You are pushing our entire race into a pit of fire!"
"Terrifying?" Gravik finally raised his head, his eyes full of mockery,
"I only see his arrogance, and his arrogance destines him to perish!"
He walked toward Talos step by step, speaking with an imposing manner:
"Forty years, Talos! Our children were born in cold spaceships; they don't even know what the wind of freedom tastes like! They can only live in sewers like rats. And you, stupid Talos, you are still begging for the enemy's mercy!"
"This is not mercy; this is trust!" Talos argued, "We have agreements with Fury and with Parker!"
"Agreements?" Gravik acted as if he had heard a huge joke,
"Just a piece of waste paper that can be torn up at any time! True power is seized by oneself, not given by others as charity! You are too old, Talos; you have forgotten how we Skrulls once roamed the Universe. It is only because you are so cowardly that you would lead us into a bottomless abyss!"
Gravik's words drew fanatical agreement from the surrounding Skrulls.
They had had enough of waiting and had had enough of living under someone else's roof.
Talos looked around and saw eyes ignited by ambition. He knew that the hearts and minds were completely lost.
Thus, he could only let out a helpless sigh:
"Believe me, Gravik, you will regret this."
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