Tony immediately saw through Rimuru's inner turmoil.
He inexplicably felt that he was very similar to Rimuru.
He was a genius far surpassing ordinary people, and like everyone else, he was used to shouldering everything himself, quietly shielding those around him from all trouble. (How he saw himself)
" Rimuru, just say what you need to say."
Tony's usual playful demeanor vanished, replaced by an unusually serious tone. "Don't hold back your hesitation. We're more than just friends; we're family. Pepper and I are definitely on your side, and so is Rhodey. We'll all help you."
Rhodey immediately and decisively joined the group.
"That's right! Don't worry, if anything really happens, even if you're abducted by aliens to some remote cave, Uncle will get you back."
Tony paused for a moment upon hearing this, his face full of question marks.
Seeing how genuinely worried the three of them were about him, Rimuru felt utterly exhausted.
To be honest, this mess had absolutely nothing to do with him.
From beginning to end, it's all about this world, with Tony and the Avengers having their own troubles. But ironically, he's the only one who holds the whole truth, making him the protagonist who had no choice but to get involved in the whole affair.
He pondered silently for a few seconds.
Rhodey is the one who will be replaced in the future, and Tony should have been targeted by the Greenskins long ago. They should have known about this matter concerning their lives and identities.
Having figured this out, Rimuru stopped hiding his thoughts and slowly began to reveal the entire background of the Skrulls.
An alien race with the ability to perfectly Mimicry, they infiltrated Earth and lived in hiding since the 1990s.
For so many years, they have remained hidden among the people, quietly infiltrating the upper echelons of humanity, gradually laying the groundwork, with the ultimate goal of completely replacing humanity and dominating the entire Earth.
After he finished speaking, the entire room fell into complete silence; even breathing was frighteningly quiet.
Pepper was completely incredulous and stunned.
A group of green-skinned aliens who can transform into anyone at will? They've been hiding on Earth for twenty years without a trace!
Tony and Rhodey exchanged a glance, their faces devoid of any extraneous expression, their expressions frighteningly solemn.
Even when fighting alien invasions or facing various Extremis, Tony can still casually crack a few witty remarks to ease the tension.
But at this moment, he had no desire to play around at all.
Rhodey completely lost his usual humor, his face turning utterly black.
When he first heard about the large number of alien infiltrators, he managed to keep his composure and force himself to accept it calmly.
But when he hears that his future self will be replaced by the Skrulls, that the real him will be captured and imprisoned, and that the alien monster with his face will use his identity, his status, and his connections to act freely in the military and the Avengers, living out his life in his place, and even secretly sabotaging and leaking information.
Rhodey was completely devastated.
My emotions went from shock to reluctant acceptance, and finally to utter inability to let go.
His face turned pale and then flushed, until even his lips were completely white, leaving a ghastly white complexion, and his whole body emanated a chilling aura.
The thought that his life, everything he had held dear, would ultimately be replaced by a green-skinned alien of unknown origin, and that he would be kept in the dark by everyone, filled him with endless chills and anger.
None of the three people in the room could process this shocking news.
This event overturned everyone's understanding, and the most devastated was undoubtedly Rhodey.
Just minutes before, he was gently comforting Rimuru, patting his chest and saying he would protect him no matter what happened, his mindset incredibly stable. But in a short while, everything spun around him, and it was his turn to break down first.
No one can accept this.
The thought of being replaced by an ugly green alien, completely erased from the lives of his family, comrades, and colleagues, disappearing for nine years while a fake lived with his face and identity, made Rhodey tremble uncontrollably.
The composure in his eyes shattered completely, and he teetered on the brink of losing control, his expression dazed and pale.
Upon seeing this Tony, Pepper, and Rimuru immediately snapped out of their daze and rushed over to comfort him.
" Rhodey, don't panic, stay calm."
"This is just one possibility for the future; it hasn't actually happened yet, and there's still time to change things."
The three of them took turns comforting him, repeatedly reminding him that nothing was set in stone yet.
Rhodey took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing the panic and rage surging within him, and managed to stabilize his emotions, which were on the verge of collapse.
His voice was slightly hoarse as he looked at Rimuru with difficulty and asked the question, word by word.
"Are you... are you sure? Is this really going to happen in the future?"
He still couldn't believe it, and didn't want to believe it.
Seeing his anxious expression, Rimuru couldn't bear to provoke him any further, so he softened his tone and gently comforted him.
"It's just one possibility among countless parallel universes."
"It's not a predetermined fate. Now that we know it in advance, we can take action and completely nip this future in the bud."
These words acted as a calming agent, slightly easing the extremely tense atmosphere.
Rhodey slowly calmed his breathing, completely regaining his composure. Tony, standing beside him, also cleared his mind of all distractions, his eyes chillingly deep.
The two finally confronted the crisis lurking right under their noses.
That's terrifying.
Silent and insidious, it permeates everything. If left unchecked, no one knows what kind of disaster it will eventually cause, or even directly overturn the entire human landscape.
Once they calmed down, the two immediately looked at Rimuru with serious expressions and began to carefully question him about the whole incident, its causes and consequences.
Seeing that the two were ready to face the truth, Rimuru stopped hiding it and simply recounted the whole story.
Starting with Earth's Project Pegasus, and then moving on to the long-standing war between the Skrulls and the Kree Empire, who were mortal enemies.
The Skrull have been hunted by the Kree for years, leaving their people displaced, countless dead, and in a miserable state.
Carol, who later became Captain Marvel, witnessed the Skrulls ' tragic plight and felt compassion for them.
It was precisely because of this compassion that she ultimately chose to shelter these exiled Skrulls, settling them on Earth, allowing these alien refugees to settle down and remain hidden on Earth until now.
When Rimuru casually mentioned that Nick Fury had also been involved in the whole affair, the three people in the room were instantly filled with disbelief.
Pepper stood there, completely baffled by the logic.
Tony and Rhodey's faces instantly darkened, feeling an indescribable awkwardness and frustration.
It's Nick Fury again.
He is the head of S. H. I. E. L. D., who single-handedly runs the S.H.I.E.L.D. and controls most of Earth's secret intelligence. He is a meticulous and extremely cautious intelligence chief.
Who would have thought that he would tacitly approve of, and even cooperate with, allowing these aliens to remain on Earth, silently infiltrating human society for twenty years.
Rhodey frowned, his tone full of confusion and anger.
"Has he gone mad? Aren't the Hydra examples enough?"
Hydra had been lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D.. for decades, nearly taking over the entire organization, turning the world upside down, and causing such chaos that it almost destroyed everything.
Logically, having learned such a painful lesson from internal infiltration, Fury should have had zero tolerance for all external forces and all unknown infiltrators.
And then they turned around and tacitly allowed a group of alien races capable of Mimicry and perfectly replacing humans to take root on Earth?
Tony grew angrier the more he thought about it, his eyes filled with speechlessness and anger.
Anyone would feel frustrated in that situation.
After so much effort to guard against external threats and internal spies, the biggest hidden danger turned out to be someone they let in themselves.
The more the two pondered, the more engrossed they became, directing their emotions directly at Nick Fury, as if they wanted to blame him for all the problems.
Seeing the two of them like this, Rimuru quietly spoke up to stop them.
To be honest, he was also quite unhappy with Fury's actions. It was a classic case of being too clever for his own good, thinking he could control everything, but in reality, he planted a time bomb for the Earth.
But this matter cannot be entirely blamed on Fury.
"Don't rush to scold him."
" Nick Fury was also one of the Skrulls ' targets; they even considered killing him outright, and they actually did."
He paused, then continued.
This alone is enough to confirm that Fury never colluded with the Skrulls from beginning to end; at least his side is upright.
His decision to keep the Skrulls was based on his relationship with Carol and also stemmed from a desire to take in refugees and exploit them later. It was a gambler's gamble, essentially a carbon copy of the Paperclip Operation Paperclip.
No one expected that this seemingly safe compromise would sow the seeds of such a fatal hidden danger in the future.