The Source of the Trouble

The agent in front of him was indeed Skrulls in disguise. But to his surprise, Henry heard him curse before he took him down.

"Fuck Kryptonian!" This was spoken in Earth language, so Henry understood it. He just didn't know if Barbara had noticed.

In other words, the whole thing started because the Skrulls discovered his Kryptonian identity, so they wanted to get rid of him.

This raises several questions for Henry: Does Krypton exist in this universe? What is the history between Krypton and the Skrulls?

Third, and this is what Henry is most curious about, didn't the Skrulls know about the effects of the Yellow Sun on the Kryptonian? What If...? they did,

How could they use such a crude strategy to ruin themselves?

Furthermore, how much do the Skrulls actually know about Krypton and Kryptonian?

These questions can only be answered by looking at the Skrulls. Perhaps the Kree, who might also appear, could answer them as well.

Both sides are interstellar empires, so Reason the Skrulls would know about Krypton while the Kree would be completely unaware.

"Is this the alien that Nick Fury was talking about, the one who can change appearances?" Barbara stared wide-eyed at the Skrulls, unable to accept the reality before her eyes.

Whether Henry kills or not is a trivial matter compared to this. Killing an unidentified alien—is that really a big deal?

It seemed like a big deal, and Barbara, whose mind was in complete disarray, watched as Henry wiped the fingerprints off the gun in her hand and placed it in the hands of the agent who had been shot down but still maintained his human form.

He pressed the grip and trigger repeatedly to make sure his fingerprints were on them before laying the gun flat next to the human agent.

"Henry, what are you doing?" Barbara asked, looking completely bewildered.

Henry, having found the key on the fallen agent, then helped Barbara untie her hands from behind. "They like to tell stories based on pictures, so I'll create a story for them."

"Your agents discovered aliens, so they shot and killed them, both of them falling to the ground. So, the ones they were guarding escaped in the chaos. That makes perfect sense, right?"

"Gun trajectories can be tested; whoever shot whom can be clearly identified through scientific analysis. That way, they can't frame us, right? If all those S.H.I.E.L.D. were like that—"

Henry pointed to the fallen green alien,

"Then I have nothing more to say."

Barbara, now freed, moved her hands, which had been tied behind her back. She actually wanted to ask how Henry had managed to break free. All she knew was that this man was bulletproof.

But there was a more important matter at hand. Barbara asked, "What do we do? Leave? Stay? Should we inform Nick Fury? It seems that Director Kohler is also problematic."

Henry didn't answer Barbara immediately, but instead whistled towards the hill. Only then did the girl notice that Kitty was hiding in a blind spot behind the hill, ready to attack the people below at any moment, What If...? Henry could control her.

However, this whistle didn't send Kitty into a frenzy, even though it was the original backup plan. He simply walked slowly to Henry's feet as usual.

After stroking the tiger's head a couple of times, Henry said to Barbara, "Of course we have to leave. Even if we stay here, we can't help the people inside. Unless we fight our way in."

"But my biggest objection is to go into the base to rescue people. As you've seen, these aliens have infiltrated the S.H.I.E.L.D.. personnel. The only way to distinguish them is to kill them."

"With them stirring up trouble inside, we simply can't tell whether the people attacking us are aliens or deceived Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.."

"This guy's framing was so obvious that's why I recognized him. Besides, there are soldiers guarding the base. How will they react if we force our way in?"

"You don't want to say that they can shoot us, but we can only try to knock them unconscious or injure them, and can't kill them, right? Rather than that, we might as well stay as far away as possible."

"As for Nick Fury inside, whether or not to inform him is up to you. It depends on whether you think he's an accomplice or just an idiot who hasn't realized it yet?"

"Damn it, that idiot. Being his subordinate is a fucking miserable thing." Barbara cursed, but still took out the two-way pager issued by S.H.I.E.L.D.., quickly typed in a message, and sent it.

Henry had already driven the car back onto the road. With another whistle, Kitty nimbly slipped inside through the open rear window. Anyone who saw it had to admit, she truly lived up to her feline reputation.

After sending the message, Barbara got into the passenger seat of the old car. Henry then drove off.

She kept muttering "Barbara" to herself, still looking back worriedly from time to time.

Henry, seeing this, could only offer words of comfort, "Don't worry about Nick Fury. Although I don't know his past, he's far more experienced than we are. Instead of sending us into danger to rescue him, we should hope he can make his own way out."

"But Nick Fury initially intended for us to be backup, didn't he?"

"But when problems arose inside the base, his first S.H.I.E.L.D.., not to come to us. It's clear he didn't think we were capable of anything. Having us as backup seems more like an excuse to keep us out there."

Henry's statement was perfectly reasonable, but Barbara was not convinced. She was a well-known figure on campus, excelling in both academics and sports, so why was she treated like a newbie at S.H.I.E.L.D..?

Just as Barbara was about to retort, her pager received a message: LEAVE. Her mood instantly plummeted.

Henry hadn't practiced seeing through the messages on the electronic LCD screen, and given the angle, he naturally didn't know what message Barbara had received. So he asked, "What's wrong?"

Barbara waved the pager screen in front of Henry and said somewhat dejectedly, "Nick Fury wants us to leave first."

"It seems he's facing considerable trouble, otherwise he wouldn't have only sent five letters."

But there's nothing we can do to help.

"The biggest help you can give is to not make things worse. If we turn back without knowing anything about the situation, trying to save people, what do you think the outcome will be? You want to save me, I want to save you, and in the end, no one will escape. That's how movies usually portray things."

Barbara looked at Henry with a strange expression. "You're like the kind of person in a movie where the male and female leads are being chased, and the female lead says she'll stay behind to cover their retreat so the male lead can run away first. And then you actually run away."

"What's wrong with that? It's better for one person to escape than for two to die together. It's a perfectly rational thing to do," Henry said emphatically.

"But can the movie still be made like this?"

"So, not continuing as an actor was a very wise choice. Everyone complained that the plot was too idiotic, but no one would watch it if it weren't filmed that way. Should I laugh at the audience, laugh at the director, or laugh at the actors who compromised their performances?"