The Overreaching Skrulls

The urgent assembly alarm replaced the lingering laughter and chatter inside the villa.

The Avengers were confused, but they quickly gathered at the laboratory entrance.

"Tony! What's going on? The party just ended and you're calling an emergency meeting?" Clint complained, still clutching a half-spilled glass of wine.

The door slid open.

Dead silence.

All eyes were instantly drawn to the lifeless, dark green Skrulls corpse on the examination table. The air froze.

"A generous gift of crabs!" Sam was the first to swear, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Thor frowned, clenched his fists, and said in a muffled voice, "What is this? Tony, why did you kill an ugly Jotunheim?"

"These aren't Jotunheim, Thor," Hulk said gravely. "These are Skrulls."

"Tony Stark!" Carol's voice boomed like thunder, and a blinding light erupted from her body.

She strode up to Tony, her short blond hair almost standing on end, pointed at the corpse on the ground, and demanded sharply, "What did you do?! You killed it?! These Skrulls were refugees seeking asylum! I need an explanation! Now!"

Local Tony suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes showing no sign of backing down, only anger and blatant accusation.

He took a step forward, almost face to face with Carol, who was glowing all over, his voice hoarse with anger:

"An explanation?! Carol Vers! Open your eyes and look carefully! Look carefully at this green card!"

He roared, his finger stabbing fiercely at the Skrulls corpse on the ground, "Who is it disguised as?! It's disguised as James Rhodes! My brother! Wearing War Machine's armor, mixed in with us! Tell me, what the hell are these 'refugees' you went through so much trouble to bring to Earth?! Are they trying to hollow Avengers from within?! Are they trying to turn our world into their new colony?! Answer me!"

Every word hit Carol like a cannonball.

The energy around her flickered violently, her angry expression froze, and a flicker of disbelief and wavering quickly crossed her sharp eyes. Rhodes? He'd been replaced?!

"Tony, this is a very serious charge!" The native Captain America immediately stepped forward, trying to stabilize the situation, his stern gaze sweeping between the two Tony and the corpse. "Evidence? We need solid evidence!"

He instinctively maintained order within the team, but the tightly gripped shield betrayed the intense turmoil within him.

"Evidence?" Tony's finger casually swept across the Void.

Instantly, a massive holographic projection exploded in the center of the laboratory! It clearly displayed everything that had just happened:

Rhodes was tricked onto the examination bed by Tony, a local, under the pretext of "inspecting the mechanical leg."

The Vibranium Restraint Device popped out and locked it in place.

"Rhodes" hysterically denied and made aggressive accusations.

The local Tony ordered a full-body scan to be initiated with the highest priority.

A red alarm flashed frantically during the scan.

The screen clearly displays cold, hard data: abnormal subcutaneous tissue movement, bone density anomalies, and a biometric match rate of only 0.7%!

The Skrulls's feigned collapse revealed its true green form, its expression twisted in a savage sneer, "Rhodes? Probably rotting in some dark corner!"

Finally, its distorted declaration and its unwavering self-destruction!

The final image freezes on the Skrulls's completely dead, dark green body. Only the faint hum of the holographic projector and heavy breathing remain in the laboratory.

Clint's glass clattered to the floor, shards of glass flying everywhere, but he seemed oblivious, his mouth agape.

Sam gasped, muttering, "Fux me..."

Thor's mustache bristled, and tiny arcs of electricity began to crackle around Mjolnir: "Insects! How dare you deceive Asgard's allies!"

The light surrounding Carol dimmed completely.

She stared intently at the holographic image of the howl about "Rhodes's decay," then slowly lowered her head, her gaze falling on the lifeless green corpse on the ground, her expression turning extremely grim.

The "refugees" she brought replaced her comrades-in-arms? A huge sense of absurdity and anger intertwined in her heart.

Steve took a deep breath, forcing himself to recover from the shock, and said in a low voice, "Everyone, stay calm! This is not the time for infighting!"

His sharp gaze swept over the shocked crowd, finally settling on Tony: "Tony, the most urgent thing is to find Rhodes! Is he still alive? Where is he being held? Is this Skrull spy an isolated case, or just the tip of the iceberg? We need to act immediately!"

He instantly grasped the crux of the problem—rescuing people and eliminating the threat!

"Steve is right," Tony said through the interface, "But this is troublesome."

He looked at Carol, whose expression was shifting, and said, "Whoever started it must be held responsible to the end. Carol, your 'refugees' have stirred up a hornet's nest."

"That's right!" Thor's blue lightning flashed in his pupils as he glared angrily at Carol. "You troublemaker from the universe! If the insects you brought harm even a hair on my friend Rhodes' head, Asgard's wrath will surely Descent! We are not afraid to start another war!"

His deep voice reverberated throughout the laboratory, directly echoing Tony's previously suppressed declaration of war.

Carol was taken aback by Thor's outburst. The anger on her face faded, replaced by confusion and a hint of panic she didn't want to admit. She frowned, instinctively retorting, "Wait, Thor! I just found out about this myself! I'm not fucking clear on this either! I brought the Skrulls here seeking refuge, but replacing Rhodes? This..."

She scratched her short, blond hair in frustration, and her energy field flickered erratically a few times.

"Fury!" She looked up abruptly, as if grasping at a straw. "Fury has more contact with the Skrulls! He should know something! He must have a backup plan!"

"Where's Fury?" the native Tony immediately pressed, his voice as cold as ice.

"S.W.O.R.D. platform," Carol spoke rapidly, "In space orbit. He's been dealing with messy things at the edge of the universe lately." As she spoke, she flicked her wrist, and a miniature communicator instantly popped out and hovered in front of her. She immediately activated the emergency frequency.

"Sizzle..."

The call connected, and Nick Fury's signature, slightly impatient, hoarse voice rang out:

"Vers? What's so urgent that we have to use the red channel? Did those unexpected visitors cause trouble? Or did you set someone's star system on fire again?"

"It's your 'good friend' who caused this trouble, Fury!" Native Tony snatched the communicator from Carol, spitting so hard it nearly filled the microphone, making it vibrate loudly. "They didn't cause any trouble! It's your Skrull bastards who caused this huge mess! They! Disguised as Rhodes! Right under my nose! Right in the middle of the Avengers! And that green-skinned bastard's corpse is still lying on my lab floor!"

Tony's voice was fast and urgent, like a machine gun:

"That imposter even mocked the real Rhodes for rotting before he died! Fury, you better tell me what's going on here! Is this your S.W.O.R.D..'s 'Sanctuary Project'? Allowing alien spies to Avengers the core of the Avengers?!"

There was a moment of deathly silence on the other end of the communication line. A full three seconds passed before Fury's voice came through again, devoid of emotion, only an extreme coldness:

"... Rhodes has been replaced? Confirmed?"

"The scan data is irrefutable! The body is right here! It's all green!" Tony roared back.

Silence fell over the channel again, broken only by faint electrical noise. The atmosphere was oppressive, making it hard to breathe.

Finally, Fury's voice broke the silence, dry and flat, without any inflection, yet carrying a sense of impending storm:

"... Okay. I'll be right back." The words had barely left his lips when, with a "zzzt," the communication was unilaterally cut off, leaving only a busy tone.

The laboratory was silent, save for the lingering busy tone of Tony's communicator. Everyone stared at Tony, then at the dark green corpse on the floor.

"He's dead?" Sam asked quietly.

Tony casually tossed the still-busy communicator to Carol, his eyes still coldly fixed on the air, as if he could see through the ceiling to the S.W.O.R.D. platform on the tracks.

"Hmph, 'Coming right back'?" He sneered, wiping his face, forcibly suppressing his anger, but his eyes sharpened even more. "That old fox definitely knows something. I bet he's hiding in space not to deal with some 'border mess,' but to play space drifting and avoid trouble!"

He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the Avengers with their varied expressions, finally settling on Carol, whose face was ashen.

"Alright, did you all hear that? Fury said he'll be right back. Until he gets back and gives us an explanation—" Tony took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, "Everyone, stand by! Friday!"

"Yes, Boss."

"Activate the highest level internal security protocol, 'Sanitization Operation'! Scan the entire world! Scan all personnel entry and exit records! Especially those involving 'Colonel Rhodes'! Dig! Dig three feet into the ground to find traces of Skrulls infiltration and the possible location where Rhodes is being held! At the same time, seal off all external access routes! From this moment on, not even a green fly will be able to fly out of here!"

"Instructions confirmed. 'Sanitization Operation' initiated."

Tony, looking at Steve, said, "Captain, keep everyone calm. Nobody makes a move until Fury returns or we find Rhodes. Especially..."

He glanced meaningfully at Carol, "Keep an eye on certain 'troublemakers'." With that, he ignored everyone else, strode to the control panel, and began frantically manipulating the holographic screen.

The Avengers exchanged silent glances, the atmosphere becoming extremely tense.

Carol stood there, watching Tony's busy figure, then glancing at the Skrulls corpse on the ground that revealed the immense crisis she had brought upon herself, and then thinking of Fury's cold, severed communication...

The light surrounding her completely went out, and even her short golden hair seemed to dim slightly.

She never imagined that the Skrull refugees she was sheltering would pull such a stunt. Was she really just too kind?

Fury arrived sooner than anyone expected.

While Tony was still in the US scanning the globe, Fury walked into the lakeside villa with a dark expression, his single eye so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

"Tony Stark!" Fury's roar instantly drowned out the buzzing in the lab. "What the hell did you do?!"

Tony, now a native, whirled around, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Fury. Without a word, he pointed at Fury and yelled, "Friday! Top priority! Full-body scan! Scan every bone! Now! Immediately! Right now!!"

Buzz!

A blue beam, thicker and more dazzling than the one that had just scanned "Rhodes," descended from the sky in an instant, enveloping the unsuspecting Fury from head to toe.

"What the-?!" Fury was so jolted awake he almost jumped, instinctively reaching for his gun, but his reason told him he couldn't. He could only growl in annoyance, "Stark! Are you fucking crazy?! Look who I am!"

Data scrolled across the holographic screen like a waterfall.

"Biometric matching: Cooler J. Fury. Confirmed non- Skrull mimicry. Iris scan passed. DNA comparison passed. Left eye detected as a bionic prosthetic..."

The beam of light disappeared.

Fury stretched his neck, which was numb from the sunlight, and his single eye blazed with fury. "Satisfied?! Now tell me, what a mess you've made of my 'sanctuary plan'?!"

Tony ignored his anger, rushed up to him, and, face to face, spat directly in his face:

"Satisfied?! Fury! My brother! James Rhodes! Replaced by those green-skinned lizards you swore were 'harmless, reliable, and worthy of protection'! The body is right there!"

He pointed to the dark green wreckage on the ground, "That bastard was mocking Rhodes for rotting before he died! This is your fucking 'peaceful coexistence'?!"

Fury followed Tony's finger, and the pupil of the single eye contracted sharply, his facial muscles tensing. He remained silent for a few seconds, then spoke again, his voice low and hoarse, carrying a somber tone of betrayal:

"I don't know." He looked Tony into his eyes, enunciating each word clearly. "Stark, I swear on my remaining eye, I didn't know they dared to do this, and I certainly didn't know they replaced Rhodes."

"You think a simple 'I don't know' is enough?!" Tony roared.

"Of course not!" Fury abruptly interrupted him, his one eye sweeping across all the tense-faced Avengers in the lab, finally settling on Carol, whose expression was extremely grim. "I did place the Skrulls, that's true, and I trusted them. But now it seems that trust has been exploited by some scum. I'm sorry, Carol, your kindness has been taken for a weakness."

Carol's lips moved, but she didn't say anything; she just clenched her fists.

"Enough with the nonsense! Where's Rhodes?!" Captain America stepped forward, his voice breaking in.

Fury took a deep breath and said quickly, "I don't know Rhodes' exact location, but I can provide the coordinates of several key rest areas and underground facilities we've designated for the Skrulls. These places have sophisticated life support systems and excellent concealment capabilities; they're most likely to hide people there or use them as bases for infiltration."

He flicked open his wristwatch, and several cursors instantly projected onto the holographic map in the center of the laboratory, marking several locations— London, the United States, Denmark, and Russia...

"Friday, lock onto these coordinates immediately! Highest threat level!" Tony yelled almost as soon as Fury marked them.

"Coordinates locked, satellite and global sensor array in priority focusing scan..."

"Thor!" Tony suddenly turned to Thor.

"I've been waiting impatiently!" Thor grinned savagely, crackling lightning crackling around him, blue bolts illuminating his entire body. "The wrath of Asgard, it's time for those insects to taste it!"

"Clint, Sam! Prepare for ground infiltration and intelligence support!" Steve immediately assigned tasks.

"Hulk! Ready! We need a strike force!" Tony shouted to Banner.

Banner pushed up his glasses, nodded with a serious expression, and began to emit an unstable green light from his body.

"Tony ..." Carol began, her voice tinged with complexity.

"Vers!" Fury interrupted her sharply, his one eye piercing. "Stop your overflowing sympathy! Now, either you clean house yourself and prove you're innocent, or you stay right here! These green bastards have declared war!" His voice was firm and unwavering, leaving no room for negotiation.

Carol's light flickered violently for a moment, then solidified into a chilling resolve. She levitated, golden energy blazing like tangible flames in her fists. "I will find Rhodes. And then, I will personally eliminate those the Betrayer!"

"Very good," Tony turned around, all the anger on his face transforming into a cold killing intent and an iron will.

He glanced at Tony Captain America passing by, a blood-tinged smile curving his lips:

"Guys, it looks like the after-sales service for the 'surprise gift package' is here."

"Friday, I want you to point all your satellites at the marked area!"

"All armored vehicles, stand by!"

"The Avengers-- "

Tony's voice, like a torrent of steel, resounded throughout the entire laboratory:

"Gather! Let those green-skinned lizards know that those who mess with us will pay a bloody price!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the laboratory lights abruptly switched to a blinding red alarm! From deep within the villa came the roar of countless engines starting up!

The war had begun without warning!

Fury's location became a death knell for the Skrull radicals.

The Avengers' fury and efficiency were astonishing.

Despite the Skrulls' versatility and infiltration skills, all disguises proved futile against their overwhelming strength and precise intelligence.

With Tony's home satellites and AI network locking down the target area, the Avengers, like precision-guided missiles, rained down on various parts of the world.

An abandoned mine beneath the Siberia permafrost? Hulk punched through the ice and incidentally produced a report on polar adaptability (unpublished).

In the Victorian-era tunnel London underground, Clint and Spider-Man played a silent game of hide-and-seek, reaping a bunch of green-skinned captives and several Victorian antiques.

A "research station" on the Denmark coast? Thor and his thunderbolts gave the entire region a taste of what "natural purification" means, after which the Denmark government received a vague explanation for the unusual weather (and a large sum of money for reconstruction).

The situation was even worse at several strongholds on the United States mainland. Tony's Iron Legion, in conjunction with Sam's airstrikes and Captain America's tactical command, routed the radicals, leaving them no chance to surrender before being physically "sterilized."

The most ironic thing is the leader of this radical group— Gravik.

He was still in Big Mao's secret base, dreaming of ruling the world while looking at his grand "Super-Skrulls" project blueprint (which prominently featured ability samples imitating Captain America, Hulk, Thor, and even Captain Marvel).

When Carol found him, he didn't even have time to transform into a second "Rhodes" to argue his way out. This Captain Marvel, filled with the rage of betrayal and guilt towards Rhodes, unleashed a burst of golden light and punched!

Boom--

Along with his imperial blueprint, Gravik became an abstract green graffiti on the wall, physically "integrated" into the site's structure.

"Your imperial dreams," Carol coldly flicked the unidentified sticky substance off her fist, "It's time to wake up."

As one stronghold after another was destroyed, the radicals' plans were completely exposed to the Avengers.

The "Super-Skrulls" project plan sent chills down everyone's spines—copying the abilities and memories of all the major Avengers? If this succeeded, Earth would truly be renamed the Skrull New World.

Fortunately, with the assistance of these two time-traveling individuals (mainly the super-strong combat abilities of time-traveling Tony and time-traveling Captain America), several of the most core and dangerous radical strongholds were targeted and precisely eliminated, and key data and samples were promptly destroyed.

Super-Skrulls? Stillborn.

The rest is just a matter of time: a global manhunt for the escaped radicals, and dealing with the moderate Skrulls that have been implicated and may still be unaware of the situation.

Fury's face darkened even more, which meant that for a long time to come, the S.W.O.R.D. would have to be busy "cleaning the floor" and identifying "green-skinned civilians."

Seeing that the situation was largely settled, Tony patted Iron Man on the shoulder. "Alright, the termites are mostly gone, and the Super Lizard is out of the question. You can handle the rest of the dirty work yourself, Iron Man."

The traveling Captain America nodded to the homegrown Captain: "Stay alert, Captain. Trust needs to be rebuilt."

"Hey, old popsicle, don't make it sound so serious," Tony said, pulling Steve towards the open space. "We call this 'after-sales service' a complete success! Time to go back and collect our five-star reviews!"

The native Tony looked at these two troublemakers and saviors from a parallel world, and surprisingly didn't retort. He just smirked and said, "Get lost, don't let Pietro really spill my champagne. And... thanks."

"Roger that!" Tony snapped his the Snap with a flourish.

A hum of quantum energy filled the air, and the two figures vanished instantly.

In the laboratory of the lakeside villa, all that remained was a mess waiting for the native Avengers to clean up.

"Friday," Native Tony rubbed his temples, "Shut down the 'Sanitization Protocol.' Activate 'Mild Skrulls Monitoring,' level... yellow. Also, connect me to the Global Disaster Control Department and have them prepare the bill—cleaning up alien debris isn't cheap."

The war is over, but the Avengers' post-war troubles are just beginning.