Volume 6: Secret Invasion Chapter 25: Do you want to look back and see what you have been protecting? Tony Stark!
Ten seconds later, the violent explosion reduced the Triskelion Building to ashes. Fires gushing out from nearly 150 underground locations engulfed everything. Judging from the intensity of the explosion that shook New York City, Nick Fury must have installed something like tactical nuclear weapons in his base as a last resort.
I have to say, this plan is pretty good.
Fenrir's armor, which came out of the silver crack opened by Ciri, bounced off the heavy helmet on his head. Mason, who witnessed the flames rising into the sky in a safe area, was sure that all the remaining lives in the building would be eliminated.
Their death comes quietly and without any pain.
Tsk, what a bargain for these alien bastards.
"This is the Skrulls' base camp on Earth. There are at least several thousand Skrulls inside. The explosion caused them to suffer heavy losses, and the spies operating on Earth also completely lost their command."
Ciri leaned on the blood-stained Sword of the Lady of the Lake and said to Mason in the cockpit beside her:
"This was a great operation, the only regret is that it was a few days late, and this delay has greatly reduced the value of this victory."
"Stop complaining, my good superior."
Mason is not so pessimistic. He said:
“I was locked up in Heiqiyi’s place a few days ago.
On the bright side, all the equipment prepared for ground offensive was blown up, so when the Skrull army landed, they could only adopt the most primitive propulsion mode.
When the superheroes in this world recover their fighting strength, I will only need a counterattack with my secret weapon to kill them all."
"So where's your secret weapon?"
Ciri asked again, Mason shrugged, rubbed his brow and said:
"It's still in the lab. The research and development process is stuck at the last step. But it doesn't matter. We have 'God of War'. His intelligence will help me overcome the last hurdle."
"Whoosh"
While the two were talking, a dazzling spark shot out from the sea of fire burning and collapsing on the ground and went straight into the sky. In the next moment, it changed direction and fell towards the direction where Mason and Ciri were.
The vibranium body of Perfect Ultron was shining with a green halo, and under the protection of the Time Stone, it was unharmed even in the center of the explosion.
He even had time to protect the distraught guy in his hand.
The fake Iron Man who claimed to protect the earth and mankind was thrown to the ground by Ultron. The expression on the green face of this veteran Skrull spy was really intriguing.
He didn't look like a "pangolin" who was happy and proud of having completed his mission, nor did he laugh and salute his master and detonate the self-destruct device on his body to show his loyalty.
"Disruptor! Threat! Eliminate!"
Perfect Ultron is suspended in the air.
Its mechanical face, which was shaped not much different from other Ultrons, shone with red light, and then a sharp cutting beam shot out from the Mind Gem on its chest, but it didn't hit anyone and was stabbed in the heart from behind by Ciri who dodged past.
"Buy me some time."
Mason jumped out of Fenrir's armor and told his power armor AI:
“You don’t even need to win the battle. You are already a mature AI. You need to learn to collect the perfect Ultron’s combat data to create ‘anti-Ultron tactics’.
We have to retreat before Stark's army of robots closes in on us."
"I felt very special data information jumping around in my circuit frame."
Female Ultron activated the fire module and aimed at Ultron in the air, and said to Mason:
"It was a feeling I had never experienced before when driving a power armor. It was like a needle prick. My data core would produce a resistance when receiving instructions.
I would keep imagining how miserable I would be when I was destroyed, and it even made me want to go against your orders and make a tactical shift.
Is this normal, Boss? "
"Well, I don't think other power armors and AIs would have such concerns. It may be that the Rat Spell gave you a full emotional response after giving you life."
Mason pushed his glasses up and said:
"Based on your description, I think what you're feeling right now is called 'fear'. Don't worry, this is a normal psychological reaction when you encounter a conflict with someone stronger than you.
Remember, my AI, the only way to conquer fear is to face it.
Come on now.
Your body is made of vibranium. Ultron, who has not obtained the power stone and the reality stone, cannot break you. At most, it will leave scratches, but you will not feel any pain. "
“That makes sense!”
Female Ultron controlled the Fenrir armor and nodded, then rushed into the sky at full power, popping out her octopus tentacles and shoulder cannons and fighting with Perfect Ultron.
Ciri dodged and took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. With the cooperation of the two, Ultron, who was still four Infinity Stones away from being truly "perfect", was beaten back step by step.
But since it possesses the Time Stone, it has the power to cheat, and it is a difficult task to kill it here.
Mason didn't pay attention to the battle above his head. He strode up to the Skrull Iron Man who was thrown to the ground. The latter shrank back when he saw Mason coming towards him with an expressionless face.
It covered its face after its disguise was removed and looked a little "ashamed to see others".
Despite wearing the most advanced desperate armor, he showed no fighting spirit and did not have the crazy desire for self-destruction that other Skrulls had when they were discovered.
"Who do you think you are?"
Mason quickly pulled out Johnny's gun and pointed it at it, asking loudly:
"Should I call you Tony Stark? Or Agent Alpha?"
"Tony, call me Tony!"
It screamed with a hint of fear.
Mason glanced at the glittering golden apple in the other hand and sensed that the other party's mind was extremely confused. He did not have the mental resistance that other Skrulls always maintained.
"At this point, do you still think you are Tony Stark?"
Mason tilted his gun and asked:
"You think you're a hero protecting Earth? The director of SHIELD who's been secretly preparing for the Skrull invasion? But if you don't look back at the burning city behind you, that's what you want to do for the world?
Do you really think you are awake now?"
"I didn't obey him!"
Skrull Iron Man covered his face.
The memories sealed in his heart continued to emerge, creating a strange contrast with the life he had spent on Earth as Tony Stark over the years.
The two completely different experiences undoubtedly confused its mind, and finally allowed it to understand all the causes and consequences.
When Mason used the golden apple to deliberately ask him questions, it howled as if to prove its identity:
"I was forced into this place! He captured my queen, and the tyrant threatened to destroy civilization, forcing us, the Skrull Guardians, to infiltrate various worlds and search for what he desires.
My compatriots have lost their minds under his tyranny, and we only escaped the disaster of mind control because we were tasked with the mission of secret invasion.
Not all Skrulls are war-hungry lunatics.
But we don’t have a choice!”
"'who is he?"
Mason asked.
The Skrull Alpha agent in front of him shook his body and replied in a hoarse voice:
"He is the Master! He is the God of Wisdom, the greatest collector, the custodian of civilization, and the conqueror of the universe. He comes from the depths of the sea of stars and has spent countless hours trying to grasp the mysteries of the universe.
He knew too much and saw too much, so much that even his strong body could no longer bear the wisdom and power in his mind.
He urgently needs to complete his self-upgrade and become a true god!
He calculated the number of worlds that could give birth to bodies that were capable of carrying his supreme wisdom, so we, the best pretenders, had our memories erased and infiltrated the target worlds he had targeted.
Perfect Ultron...
It must be born!
The master's supreme wisdom calculated that once this robot, born from the Infinity Stone, was blessed by the six Infinity Stones, it would become his new body.
But it was just one of many options he had.”
“Answer my question!”
Mason placed the silver pistol against Agent Alpha's smooth forehead, and in his other hand, he used all his strength to operate the golden apple, making the cracks on it that had been made by the Red Skull more obvious.
He’s putting pressure on.
Stir up Agent Alpha's mind and make it reveal the core reason why the Skrulls launched a secret invasion.
He scolded:
"Speak, tell me your master's real name!"
"ah!"
Agent Alpha felt like his head was about to be torn apart. He fell to his knees and screamed. In his heart-wrenching roar, he finally uttered the name.
"Brainiac... Wanderer of the Stars, Bearer of the Black Apple, Director of Hope. The Perfect Ultron has been created, and the other Infinity Stones are being sent to Earth.
He is coming.
He is about to receive his new body, which will help him survive the end of all things and ascend to become a god in the next era... poof"
This guy was forced to speak out the taboos in his heart, which caused him to suffer terrible backlash. Just as the members of the Star Society cannot openly discuss topics that hurt Lord Fate, the Skrull's master must have issued them similar orders.
Hot blood mixed with internal organ fragments spurted out of the Skrull Alpha agent's mouth. The intense pain also dispersed the interference of the golden apple on its confused brain.
The cracked golden apple in Mason's hand shattered with a snap, revealing the bare handle of the penguin umbrella.
The Skrull guardian in front of him got rid of Mason's mental interference, but the captain had already collected all the information he needed. He raised his pistol and aimed at the limp Skrull in front of him, intending to end his life.
But the next moment, the guy raised his bloody hand tremblingly and made a "pause" gesture.
It said in a dumb voice:
"He needs a phase beacon to enter this plane quietly. That 'beacon' is on the Queen's flagship of the Skrull Grand Fleet. They placed it in this world.
It was made , used to summon his Exile ship.
It is protected at all times by a stasis field and can only be destroyed when activated!
That's your only chance.
This world is not what he wants. He already has a world with the same background. He has always been picky and would never place two identical planets in his collection.
All he wants is a perfect Ultron...
Destroy it before it gets all the gems, or it will be too late ."
"Um?"
Mason raised his eyes. He looked at the Alpha agent who said his last words and closed his eyes waiting to die. His finger was on the trigger, and he asked:
"You are a really unqualified undercover agent. You just said you were forced?"
"Don't even think about saving my life, Mason."
Agent Alpha coughed, blood gushing out of the corner of his mouth, as if he was terminally ill. He said with difficulty:
"I have spoken the secret that cannot be told, and death is the punishment I deserve.
My internal organs have begun to dissolve, I am doomed, he never expected us to remain loyal, to him we are nothing more than consumables in his search for the 'divine body'.
Watch out for him, Mason.
Brainiac has placed secret agents like me in many worlds, and we will not have any doubts about our existence until our preset instructions are completed.
We don't even know what mission we are carrying out, but once the mission is about to be completed, the memory will be unlocked to guide the secret invasion!
No one can detect us, not even our own kind.
There must be some in your world...
Watch out for us.”
"How do you know which world I come from?"
Mason narrowed his eyes and asked. Agent Alpha pointed to the Fenrir armor that was fighting with Ultron in the sky and said:
"That's Batman's power armor! Before I was sent on an undercover mission, I was ordered to invade a similar world, and the Justice League is still fresh in my memory.
However, the Kryptonian named "Superman" is also Brainiac's "backup" choice. The last Superman we captured chose to sacrifice himself...
Would your Superman be so decisive?"
He began to cough violently again. Under Mason's gaze, the dying Alpha agent turned his body with difficulty and looked at the burning New York City behind him in the night.
The world that he swore to protect as "Tony Stark" eight years ago has turned into a scorched earth that breeds war before his eyes. What's worse is that this is just the beginning of destruction.
Once the Skrull fleet lands and completes the plane guidance, once Brainiac arrives here, the only fate that awaits this world is destruction.
"Say sorry to the real Tony Stark for me."
It knelt on the ground and whispered to Mason who was holding up his gun behind him:
"Please also give my fellow compatriots who are controlled by me eternal liberation. We are not cruel by nature, it is just our fate."
"You're begging me to destroy your clan?"
Mason pulled the hammer off Johnny's gun and said:
"Shouldn't you beg me to give them a chance to mend their ways now?"
"It's useless. The Skrulls have been corrupted by Brainiac. We must perish in this era so that we can be reborn in purity in the next."
Agent Alpha closed his eyes, lowered his head, and his breathing became weak.
In its last moments, it said:
"You'll see what I mean when you get aboard his ship... Kill me."
"Bang"
The cold bullet flew out of the barrel and shot into Agent Alpha's head from the back. It did not initiate any transformation, so its initial skin was not enough to withstand the charged kinetic bullet.
The back of its head exploded, causing its body to twitch and then fall to the ground.
All the light was withdrawn from those tired eyes, and all that was reflected in the eyeballs was a desolate burning city.
Mason put away the pistol that was still emitting smoke, made a "retreat" gesture to Ciri in the sky, then took out his flip phone and made a cross-world call.
After a moment, the call was connected.
"Hello? Mason?"
The master's voice came from the phone.
Mason crossed the teleportation rift opened by Ciri and whispered to the other end of the phone:
"Bad news for you, Bruce. You and everyone you know could be a Skrull super undercover sent to Earth by some asshole.
You are not aware of this, and there is no way to detect this unless you complete your mission in complete ignorance."
“…”
The master was silent for a moment, then said calmly:
"I have made a similar plan. What is your suggestion to me?"
"Knock out Dachao, tie him up to the point where he can't resist and be at the mercy of others, and then see your reaction."
Mason said briefly:
"If you don't suddenly awaken a memory and then become a Skrull, then it proves that you are not."
"So, their real target is Super-Super! It's just a matter of convenience that they mess up our world. Hmm, maybe we can use this to our advantage.
Just be careful not to overdo it.”
The master deduced a lot from Mason's words, but then he asked:
"What if the worst happens and I am proven to be a Skrull super spy? Do you have a contingency plan?"
"have!"
Mason let out a long sigh and looked at the words "Sent Completed" on his wrist watch. He said:
"The execution order has been issued to Selina and my 'secret team'. If you are the one responsible, then you should clean your neck and wait for the angry and disappointed death to come.
I just executed a super spy, now I wouldn't mind killing another one...
But you better not be."
