Facing Natasha and the others, Luca didn't lie.
He had originally discovered the Skrulls because he was suspicious of Nick Fury's identity and actions. He secretly scanned Fury with the [Transformation Watch] and exploited a "glitch" to verify that he had been replaced.
However, in Luca's memory, the relationship between Skrulls and Nick Fury seemed to be quite good.
So Luca assumed that the old bastard Fury was up to some secret scheme, or maybe he ran off on vacation and had a Skrull fill in for him. Thus, he didn't expose the matter.
He simply made some equipment capable of distinguishing Skrull souls in secret, just in case the old guy decided to replace people around him too.
However, judging by the current situation, it was unlikely that Nick Fury was just pulling some petty tricks.
Although Luca wasn't fond of the "black egg," Fury was technically a "good guy." No matter what, Fury wouldn't rashly make a move against Avengers members like Tony and Cap.
"So if you ask me, nine times out of ten, Nick Fury screwed up and got bitten back by the Skrulls!"
Hearing Luca's explanation, everyone present looked at each other.
The current situation forced them to either doubt Nick Fury's "character" or his "competence."
Normally, his competence might be more trustworthy, but in this major issue, his shitty character miraculously gained the upper hand in everyone's mind.
Of course, the result was that Natasha, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent herself, felt like she had nowhere to hide her shame.
She never expected her boss—who usually acted like the King of Spies, known for his caution and paranoia—to just straight up shit the bed for everyone so spectacularly!
Natasha wished she could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
But shame aside, business couldn't be delayed.
Natasha shook her head quickly to clear her mind, then said to Luca:
"We need to exchange information. But first, shouldn't we..."
Saying this, Natasha looked at the Skrull whom Little Vision had just stripped of his armor. Her meaning was self-evident.
As a seasoned agent, she was obviously the most suitable person to interrogate the enemy.
However, Luca shook his head slightly.
"Let me do it."
Without caring about their surprised looks, Luca placed his right hand directly on the Skrull's head.
For Luca, who possessed the Mind Stone, probing memories or even manipulating minds was a piece of cake.
However, he usually didn't want to expose this ability.
After all, no one wanted a psychic around who could probe their secrets at any time.
But in this situation, wasting time letting Natasha use interrogation techniques to get potentially inaccurate intel was irresponsible towards the lives of the captured Tony and others.
The Mind Stone embedded in his mechanical arm glowed faintly, and Luca's psychic power probed into the Skrull's brain like a data cable.
Fortunately, everyone present had established enough trust with Luca. Although this was an obvious mind-reading act, aside from a complicated look on Dr. Otto's face, the others just waited nervously without other thoughts.
Time passed quickly.
Soon, Luca, having scoured most of the intel the captive knew, decisively withdrew his right hand.
After knocking the Skrull unconscious again, Luca rubbed his temples and turned to look at the anxious group with a hint of helplessness.
"The situation... seems a bit grim."
With a light sigh, Luca began recounting the intelligence he obtained from the Skrull's memories.
First, this Skrull impersonating Rhodes didn't have high status within the Skrull community and didn't know much about the overall plan.
But he knew the basics.
Just as Luca knew, the Skrulls, a group of alien refugees, were indeed cooperating with Nick Fury, even doing his dirty work.
Years ago, Nick Fury promised to help them find a new home to settle down.
These green goblins weren't picky. Whether building a new home on Earth or finding a habitable planet in space, they didn't mind.
But how could the promise of that old bastard Fury be reliable?
Over twenty years had passed. Not only did Fury fail to find them a new home as promised, but Skrulls frequently got injured or died on his missions. The entire Skrull population lived under his surveillance.
This led to resentment among many Skrulls.
Of course, if that were all, the Skrulls might not have done anything. Accumulated resentment wasn't enough, and Skrull strength wasn't dominant.
However, the turning point was the fall of Washington caused by the Hydra attack.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s weakened state was one reason. The ensuing chaos across the US, with several states declaring independence, forced Nick Fury to dispatch Skrulls to replace dead officials to maintain stability. This gave some radical Skrulls an opportunity.
More importantly, the Skrull leader Talos, a moderate who originally agreed to cooperate with Fury, died in the Washington nuclear explosion. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.
G'iah, Talos's daughter, outwardly continued cooperating with Fury but secretly became the new Skrull Queen.
Having disagreed with her father, after taking over the Skrulls, she actively contacted other Skrulls scattered across Earth.
They were preparing to seize the opportunity of America's chaos and the world's fatigue from other-worldly invasions to steal the US government, incite human civil war, enslave humanity, and turn Earth into a new home exclusively for Skrulls.
And one of the reasons they dared to be so "radical" was because...
"There are currently hundreds of thousands of Skrulls infiltrated on Earth..."