Artoria, having a wild time with Pepper, temporarily put the matter out of her mind. Pulling Pepper away was also a way to let Tony get some proper rest. As for their life afterward, Artoria didn't care. Whether Tony would die from overindulgence was his business; at least for now, he probably wouldn't die in bed. Having cleared her head, Artoria went shopping with Pepper, buying some clothes and such. Although she didn't really need them, how could your hands not itch when accompanying a woman with an extreme desire to shop? Artoria bought some clothes for herself and some cat food for Garfield. It wasn't favoritism; Nine-Tailed was an omnivore, and Touka only ate grass juice mixed with magic—otherwise, he just drank water. Of the three, two weren't picky eaters while one was extremely picky, so she couldn't put much effort into their diets.
"News already?"
After saying goodbye to Pepper after dinner, Artoria returned home. She found a place to dig a hole and bury the 'unknown object' Gaea had left for her. Sitting in front of her computer, she received a message from Tony. As expected of her good brother, one of the top intellects in the Marvel Universe; he had results so quickly. Thinking of this, Artoria couldn't help but quickly open the compressed file Tony had sent.
A set of recent satellite photos made Artoria frown. Through the points and labels Tony had drawn on the photos, Artoria understood these were taken the day before yesterday. In a seemingly normal corner, a very discordant shadow appeared. Its shape looked like a V-shaped spaceship. If it were just this image, there would be no way to link it to Black Bolt's disappearance, but it was a very good lead. The next file made Artoria freeze.
The photo clearly showed a back view of a figure. This fellow had pointed ears that grew upwards, looking like a goblin from a game. Such an image might not mean much, but it collided with a very prominent race in this Marvel Universe. 'Skrulls.' Artoria instantly remembered this race, which possessed a heaven-defying talent for disguise. With such beings appearing here, Artoria's expression darkened. If the Skrulls in the movies were whitewashed into victims, the true Skrulls were a warrior race no weaker than the Kree. It was not a good thing for such beings to come to Earth.
"Queen Medusa, did you test those bloodstains? Is it Black Bolt's? Can you send me a blood sample?"
Thinking of this, Artoria didn't care if it was dark and Queen Medusa might be preparing for bed. She had to clear this up immediately. If this was really happening, then Earth would be in extreme danger. No one knew the Skrulls' purpose, and their incredible mimicry could even pass for the real thing. If their purpose wasn't friendly, the world would soon plunge into crisis again.
"I haven't tested it yet. I'll go test it now, please wait a moment."
Upon hearing Artoria's words, Queen Medusa didn't hesitate. She hurried to the Royal Hall to collect a blood sample and began testing it with instruments on the spot. The results appeared quickly. Looking at the results, Medusa collected the blood sample with a complex expression and sent it to Artoria. The result was quite shocking.
"This is not Black Bolt's blood. It doesn't even belong to any known biological records in our Inhuman database. We all have hereditary genes, and these genes cannot be changed. However, I found that the genes in this blood are in a constant state of chaos. I now suspect whether the opponent is even a humanoid creature."
After finishing everything, Medusa called Artoria. During the call, Artoria received the file Medusa had sent, and Medusa began to explain her findings. In other words, Black Bolt's presence was not in the blood. He might have been unknowingly attacked before being kidnapped. Realizing he was under attack, Black Bolt fought back but was subdued by a subsequent attack. Black Bolt must have wounded the opponent or killed one of them. Thinking this, Medusa explained her findings to Artoria.
"I'll find out soon. Don't worry, Medusa."
While listening to Medusa's explanation, Artoria held the blood sample in her hand. She destroyed the analysis report after a single glance. It was best if not too many people knew about this for now. Artoria gave Medusa a few token words of comfort and hung up. She had more important things to do: confirm if this blood belonged to a Skrull. If so, how could she drag them out from behind their disguises?
"What a hassle. Fortunately, when I raided the S.H.I.E.L.D. branch, there were some Skrull corpse specimens, and I copied the genetic data and such. Otherwise, there really would be no way to confirm if it's them."
Thinking back to when she transformed and went to attack... ahem, raid S.H.I.E.L.D.'s data, as well as Kree records and spaceship wreckage, Artoria was now very glad she had made such a correct decision. It was coming in handy now. Artoria ordered Saturday to open Experimental Specimen 07. Upon Artoria's command, the floor began to shift, and a cold chill rose from the ground. A small rectangular opening appeared, and a glass container slowly rose from the floor. It was filled with a transparent white liquid, but that wasn't the point. The point was a severed hand immersed in the liquid. This hand was green all over, looking like a Beast's yet also very similar to a human hand. This was part of the specimen Artoria had obtained from the S.H.I.E.L.D. branch. Who knows how that black-faced, black-hearted, one-eyed Director got hold of this arm? But it was certain that this was a Skrull's severed hand. Why so certain? Because it was written on the label!
"Saturday, extract some epidermal tissue and compare it with the blood sample in my hand."
Looking at the severed hand, Artoria felt no sympathy or resentment. Her emotions were very calm. She had a feeling that this blood sample and the owner of this hand were at least ninety percent similar. Her intuition was always accurate. She now hoped her intuition wasn't so precise this time. If it really were Skrulls, their level of trouble was definitely above that of the Kree. In a head-on battle, the Kree would definitely win with a crushing victory, but in any other kind of warfare, the Skrulls could leave the Kree in the dust.
The Skrulls' way of fighting was definitely something that could give all rulers a headache. No one could imagine that the cute girl they were sleeping with might suddenly turn into a green-skinned Skrull; that would be a tragic situation. Such assassination methods were comparable to Mystique's, but Mystique's greatest weakness was that her base strength wasn't high enough, nor could she mimic the opponent's abilities. Skrulls, however, could do that. The Skrulls in the comics were definitely a heaven-defying race. Otherwise, the'Secret Invasion' event wouldn't have happened, where even superheroes were mimicked, and even an intelligence like Jarvis couldn't tell the difference. That was the hardest part.
"The results are out, Master. Based on the comparison, the similarity between the two reaches ninety-two percent. It can be confirmed they belong to the same species."
The worst-case scenario had occurred. When Saturday announced the result, Artoria sighed and closed her eyes. It looked like there was a hard battle ahead, and a disgusting infiltration battle at that. Now, she could trust no one but herself. This was the kind of battle Artoria hated most—heart-burning and brain-draining. Usually, she just had to charge in; brute force creates miracles. Now, if she just charged in, she might end up hurting her own people.
"What a real pain."
Artoria ordered Saturday to save the result and lock it away securely. She then left the lab while clutching her head. She was in a very bad mood and needed to find a very durable punching bag to vent her frustration. As she walked, she lamented how troublesome this whole affair was.
"Jarvis, keep searching."
"Yes, sir."
On the other side, Tony, who had sent the materials to Artoria, was still continuously investigating what Artoria had requested. It wasn't just because his sister asked, but because he was also interested in this matter. What kind of creature could be like this? From its appearance, it couldn't possibly have originated on Earth, so Tony categorized it as an alien species. As for their purpose, that would depend on their subsequent actions.
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