C319

New York Suburbs

Secret Skrull Base

Super Skrull Carter had barely escaped a joint pursuit by Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and Iron Man before slipping away and returning to Earth, surrounded by a group of off-world allies.

Waiting for him was Taylor Hayward.

It was true—Taylor had managed to escape during the intense battle in Washington without being captured.

Now, however, he no longer bothered maintaining a human disguise. Instead, he stood before Carter in his true Skrull form.

"We've been exposed!"

Taylor's face was tense with fear as he addressed Carter.

"Mr. Carter, what do we do next?"

"Don't worry," Carter replied coolly.

"Even though our cover is blown, humans cannot decipher our shapeshifting abilities so quickly. They lack the means to detect us. For now, we are still safe."

Taylor knew Carter had a point, but the worry in his eyes did not fade.

Carter noticed.

"Are you afraid?" he asked.

"Yes, I am," Taylor admitted. "I'm afraid that humans will find a way to neutralize our shapeshifting abilities. If that happens, the power we were born with—our greatest strength—will be turned against us."

Taylor was one of Carter's most trusted confidants, so he spoke freely.

His words were not meant as defiance but rather as a warning, spoken out of concern for the entire Skrull race.

Carter, however, remained unfazed.

"Even if our shapeshifting is decoded, it won't matter," he said indifferently.

"The Skrulls of today are no longer the helpless refugees we once were, fleeing the Kree invasion with no way to fight back."

At those words, Taylor's expression shifted.

"The Super Skrull Project…"

He finally understood where Carter's confidence came from.

"We succeeded?" he asked, his voice filled with renewed hope.

The reason Carter had risen to power among the Skrulls was simple—he was a Super Skrull.

A true Super Skrull.

Unlike ordinary Skrulls, who could only mimic appearances, Super Skrulls had directional shapeshifting—a far more advanced form of transformation.

Carter had chosen Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, as his template.

Not only could he take her form, but he had also gained enhanced abilities that surpassed hers.

And for now, Carter was the only one of his kind in the entire universe.

But what if there were more?

What if the Skrulls could mass-produce Super Skrulls?

If they succeeded, the Skrull Empire would become unstoppable.

Across the cosmos, no force would rival them.

If I can't defeat you… I'll become you.

And I'll be even stronger.

With an army of Super Skrulls, Earth would be theirs.

Then, they could expand across the universe—and even take revenge on the Kree.

Carter's eyes burned with ambition.

"Soon, you will witness the birth of more Super Skrulls," he declared.

"The Justice League, the Avengers, and every powerful human—we will copy them all."

His voice carried the weight of inevitable conquest.

"We will take Earth. Humans will be left with only one choice—to serve us or be destroyed."

Taylor absorbed Carter's words, his mind racing.

"Then we need time," he said after a moment, his eyes burning with determination.

"We must stop humanity from finding a way to detect or counter our transformations. Right now, we can't afford to reveal ourselves any further."

Carter narrowed his eyes, sensing the implication behind Taylor's words.

"You want to sabotage their research."

"Exactly."

Carter smirked.

"Very well."

After a moment of thought, he gave Taylor his highest authority.

"Go. Mobilize every Skrull infiltrator on Earth. If we strike, we do it with everything we have."

Taylor straightened, his resolve solidified.

"It will be done."

And with that, the next phase of their plan began.

"Don't worry."

Taylor Hayward nodded vigorously. "I won't let you down again."

"Are you sure you understand?" Carter reminded him. "If you fail this time, I won't clean up your mess again. The Super Skrull Project still requires my direct involvement, and I won't be making another appearance anytime soon."

"Even if we fail, this is a necessary sacrifice."

Taylor Hayward's resolve hardened.

Carter studied the determination on his face and sighed.

"Good luck."

Los Angeles

Anton had taken over the post-production of Dawn of Justice, investing additional funds to accelerate the process. He was determined to wrap up filming within two weeks.

Meanwhile, at the White House, the President, along with John Keller—who had convened the World Security Council in Washington—continued monitoring Anton's activities.

Seeing him in Hollywood making a movie left them utterly baffled.

"What the hell are you doing?"

On Anton's third day on set, Keller couldn't hold back any longer. He called in the middle of filming, his frustration evident.

"You're making a movie? In the middle of an emergency?"

"This is a necessary ritual," Anton replied.

"A ritual?" Keller repeated, his irritation growing.

"It's to prepare the world for Superman's return," Anton explained casually. "People need to be psychologically prepared for the idea of Superman appearing in real life. After all, he's an alien, and right now, the world isn't exactly friendly to extraterrestrials."

"That's not a valid excuse," Keller shot back. "We expect you to do something productive. You know that people have high expectations of you, right?"

"And this is productive."

Anton's tone remained calm.

"Batman will handle the specifics—like actually communicating with Superman."

"And what about research?" Keller pressed. "The efforts to crack the Skrulls' shapeshifting ability?"

Anton sighed.

"You don't seriously expect me to do the research, do you?" he said dryly. "The world's top scientists are working on it day and night. My job is to provide them with the necessary resources—materials, funding, and intelligence."

He paused.

"Besides, the Men in Black's investigation into the Skrulls hasn't stopped for a second."

Keller fell silent.

"I know what you're thinking," Anton continued. "Relax. Everything is under control."

Keller let out a frustrated sigh.

"I hope you're right."

With that, he hung up.

The line went dead.

Anton shrugged, completely unbothered by Keller's frustration.

Sure, Keller was dissatisfied with Anton's priorities—but at the end of the day, he had no real authority over him.

Anton's official role was as the leader of the Men in Black Organization, which answered to the World Security Council—not the U.S. military.

The U.S. government could voice its opinions, but that was all they could do.

And Anton knew it.

Keller knew it too—which was why, no matter how frustrated he was, there was nothing he could do about it.

Besides, even if Keller did have direct control, the special forces under his command were useless against a crisis of this scale.

The only ones who could really make a difference were the Justice League.

New York

Taylor Hayward, disguised as a New York police officer, walked into the NYPD headquarters with several of his Skrull subordinates—all similarly disguised.

Their investigation had confirmed that Tony Stark had joined the Justice League's research team.

But in the process, they had also stumbled upon something unexpected.

And because of that discovery, they shifted their focus.

Instead of Tony Stark, their new targets were the four mutant turtles working inside the NYPD's task force.

….

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