"Of course I'm not an alien!"
Marcus glanced at Fury before turning to walk toward the laboratory. The Kree equipment was still waiting for him.
After stripping all the gear from the fallen Kree soldiers, Marcus looked back at Fury.
"By the way, this place is relatively secure. You and I will be bringing a few people up here later."
Out here in Earth's orbit, there was no trace of Hydra. Howard and his wife wouldn't need to remain confined to their underground bunker anymore.
"Okay..."
Fury looked confused. Who exactly did Marcus plan to bring?
After packing all the equipment, Marcus boarded the plane with everyone and headed back to Earth.
Talos, as the Skrull leader, brought his family aboard the spacecraft as well. They hoped to secure territory where their people could live peacefully.
Marcus had no objection to the Skrulls' request, though he did take some energy weapons from them as payment.
Fury was impressed after seeing this equipment. These weapons possessed destructive power far beyond Earth's technology. If his agents could be armed with such devices, they would stand a fighting chance against any future alien threats.
He kept these thoughts to himself, however, planning to find a better time to discuss the matter with Talos.
Without the urgency of immediate danger, their plane cruised leisurely back to Earth, landing smoothly at Maria Rambeau's property.
"Finally back!" Fury disembarked, stretching with his hands on his hips. "Nothing beats solid ground beneath your feet."
"Don't get too comfortable," Marcus called out. "We need to pick up a few people now."
Rather than exiting the plane, Marcus slid directly into the pilot's seat as Maria and the others departed.
The aircraft was perfect for transporting his newly acquired arsenal and could also bring Howard and his wife aboard. He wasn't about to pass up such an efficient two-birds-with-one-stone opportunity.
Seeing Marcus was serious, Fury reluctantly boarded the plane again, cradling Goose in his arms.
"Who exactly are we picking up?"
He couldn't contain his curiosity. Marcus had mentioned bringing people up to space earlier but never specified who.
Based on Fury's intelligence about Marcus, his known associates included Tony Stark of Stark Industries, Tony's bodyguard Happy, and Bucky who managed Howard's farm—plus the supposedly deceased Howard and Maria Stark.
Perhaps they were retrieving Bucky to bring him to space?
This made sense to Fury. He was well aware of Hydra's existence. After all, the Starks' deaths had resulted from Hydra's attack, and Bucky had once been brainwashed by Hydra into becoming their killing machine.
Lost in these thoughts, Fury remained quiet as Marcus piloted the plane toward his farm.
They soon landed at Howard's property. Bucky approached cautiously, shotgun raised, startled by the unexpected aircraft.
"Hey! No need for the firepower!"
Marcus smiled as he opened the cockpit, addressing the vigilant Bucky.
The man was always on high alert, constantly watching for Hydra.
Recognizing Marcus, Bucky lowered his weapon, though he looked surprised at the plane.
"Weren't you looking for that female pilot? How did you return with an aircraft? Did you raid a military base?"
"We'll discuss that later," Marcus replied as he descended from the plane carrying several boxes, with Fury following behind, still holding Goose. "Let's get these to the lab first."
Bucky eyed Fury suspiciously before picking up two boxes and heading toward the house.
"Who's this guy? Hydra?" he asked quietly.
"I'm an agent. Name's Fury. I can assure you I'm not Hydra," Fury interjected. "Marcus and I just returned from space. He mentioned picking up a few people."
Hearing this, Bucky immediately understood Marcus's intentions. He was preparing to bring Howard and Maria out of their underground sanctuary.
This also meant Marcus had confirmed Fury wasn't Hydra.
Bucky knew Marcus's methods well. His memory-reading ability could easily access a person's entire history, even memories the individual had forgotten.
Inside the house, Marcus set his boxes on the floor and turned to Fury.
"You're about to witness something unusual. To ensure everything goes smoothly, I need to check your memories."
Before Fury could react, Marcus pressed his hand against the man's forehead. Void energy spread between them as Marcus initiated consciousness transmission.
Just as in the film, this man had no connection to Hydra. However, Marcus did find something intriguing in his memories.
"Is that Frank Castle, the Punisher? Didn't expect those two had such a close relationship."
After concluding the transmission, Fury returned to normal, looking confused about what had just happened.
"Don't just stand there. They're waiting below," Marcus said.
He opened the bookshelf in Howard's study, revealing an elevator behind it. The three men entered and descended deeper underground.
"There's something like this under Mr. Stark's farm?" Fury marveled. "But who's down there?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Marcus replied.
Ding~
The elevator chimed as the doors slowly opened. Fury froze at the sight of the two people waiting on the other side.
"Mr. Howard? Ms. Maria?"
Weren't they dead? Howard especially—Fury had witnessed his burial with his own eyes. How could he be alive?
In contrast to Fury's shock, Marcus remained completely calm. He opened several boxes, displaying their contents to Howard.
"Mission accomplished. Here are the Kree combat uniforms, some Skrull weapons, and this..." Marcus pulled out the blue Cosmic Cube and held it up. "The Cosmic Cube that Mar-Vell used to create infinite energy."
Howard was amazed by Marcus's haul. He hadn't expected such valuable acquisitions from a single journey.
However, Fury's presence puzzled him.
"What's the situation with your companion?"
News of his staged death couldn't be allowed to spread, so why had Marcus brought this stranger?
"You mean Fury? He will be the next director replacing Pierce," Marcus explained with a smile. "Know what's most interesting? Pierce didn't choose one of his confidants but selected Fury instead. A Hydra leader chose an outsider as director. Quite ironic, isn't it?"
Marcus's sarcastic laugh conveyed to Howard that Fury wasn't affiliated with Hydra, making him trustworthy.
Fury, meanwhile, was struggling to process this revelation. Mr. Pierce was Hydra? Their greatest enemy had been their director?
He found it difficult to believe, but the expressions of everyone present gave him pause. Perhaps Pierce truly was compromised.
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