The confusion faded from Talos's eyes, and horror and disbelief crept across his face.
He stared fixedly at Hermione, his voice hoarse. "You... what did you do to me?"
"Nothing much. I just tweaked your memories a little," Hermione said casually.
"I used a Memory Charm to erase your memories of being under the Imperius Curse."
"So you'd forget that you were the one who gathered all the Skrulls, and then..."
Hermione deliberately paused, looking at the corpses strewn across the floor.
Talos's green face turned an even darker shade. He staggered backward, his eyes filled with despair, grief, and outrage.
"You... why would you do this?"
Hermione tilted her head slightly.
"Why?"
"For Earth's peace, of course." Her tone suggested it was only natural.
That was true.
Eliminating these potential threats was one of the few good deeds she had done sincerely, without expecting anything in return.
Talos stared hard at Hermione, his face full of resentment.
"We're just a group of interstellar refugees persecuted by the Kree. We came to Earth only to find somewhere to live. We've never done anything to harm Earth..."
He tried to defend himself.
Hermione cut him off coldly. "Really?"
"Since Earth took you in, you should have behaved yourselves and lived honestly, instead of spending every day plotting how to take over your hosts' homes and make yourselves the masters."
Hermione paused. "The way you act reminds me of a creature called teppanyaki squid. You're exactly the same."
Talos trembled slightly. He seemed to want to say something, but ultimately shut his mouth.
"Aren't you afraid your true colors will be exposed?"
Only after a long silence did Talos force those words through clenched teeth.
Hermione gave a contemptuous smile.
"An internal power struggle among you Skrulls ended with you slaughtering each