"On the Skrulls' mothership, there was a device we called the 'Gene Infuser.'
This device could write specific genetic information into a Skrull's genome, granting them new transformation templates.
Without this device, our shapeshifting abilities could only remain at the most basic level.
We could alter our appearance, but we couldn't acquire the abilities of the target creature.
That device was the true core of the Skrulls' shapeshifting abilities."
Loren frowned.
"You mean you could transform into the Silver Surfer not because your shapeshifting was powerful enough, but because that device wrote the Silver Surfer's genetic information into your genome?"
"Yes," the Skrull said. "Every Skrull was born with only basic shapeshifting abilities—altering appearance, voice, and body type.
But to acquire a target creature's special abilities, such as the Silver Surfer's cosmic energy or Hulk's strength, we needed the help of that device.
It analyzed the target creature's genes and energy traits, then encoded them into a format that the Skrull genome could read.
Without it, we could only imitate appearances and couldn't replicate abilities."
Loren leaned against the edge of the console and tapped the surface twice with his fingers.
Was that why the first Skrull had only possessed the Silver Surfer's appearance, but none of his abilities, when he transformed in Brooklyn?
No, that Skrull had indeed possessed the Silver Surfer's appearance. His silver form had looked exactly like the real Silver Surfer, but his energy signature had been completely wrong.
He hadn't possessed the Silver Surfer's cosmic energy, the ability to fly through space faster than light, or the real Silver Surfer's nearly invincible defense.
So where had that Skrull gotten the Silver Surfer's transformation template?
"That device of yours," Loren said, "how many transformation templates does it store?"
"Thousands," the Skrull said. "From ordinary interstellar lifeforms