"Are you Talos?"
Luke finished welding the last part with his Heat Vision and halted the work at hand.
The Skrull, who wanted to meet him, had been standing by and waiting for a long while.
"Yes, Sir."
The Skrull leader named Talos nodded and replied.
"This may seem like a very presumptuous visit to you, but I do have good reasons for wanting to meet you."
'Very polite.'
This was Luke's first impression of Talos.
Of course.
Not many people would dare to show their arrogance since he had unilaterally crushed the Gladiator.
In the vast galaxy, countless predecessors had long since proven with their lives that they should be humble in the face of the strong.
This sort of ironclad rule could not be waived, even by the Collector, who was an Elder of the Universe.
"Speak."
Luke smiled a little. He could roughly guess the reason why the other party approached him.
"I've heard that you're from Earth, Superman, Sir?"
Talos didn't answer but threw in another question.
It was no secret that the intelligence brokers of Knowhere were everywhere, and Luke himself didn't deliberately hide it.
The news of Superman's name, strength, and hometown ... flew across the galaxy as if they had wings.
"Yes."
Luke affirmed.
"Then I didn't find the wrong person!"
Upon receiving confirmation, Talos looked excited.
The tone of his voice lightened up as if a boulder had been lifted from his heart.
It seems that he spoke with apprehension before.
"Mr Superman, you may be unaware that Earth is about to face a crisis!"
Talos didn't hold anything back and just said it.
No one knew how patient Luke was, and in case he was an impatient person, deliberate delays might annoy him.
"To tell you the truth, the Skrull Empire has a huge internal list of infiltrations, in many occupations, in a multitude of ... unexplored civilised planets that haven't entered the space age yet."
Quietly glancing at Luke, Talos deliberated his words and carefully said, "According to the priority, the advance team of the empire will gradually infiltrate the core class, hold power, stir up internal conflicts everywhere, and create large-scale wars … thus consuming the power of the target planet and making it convenient for us to occupy it."
"Is Earth also your target?"
Luke wasn't surprised. The Secret Invasion of the Skrull happened in the original timeline.
The repercussions of that one big event were far-reaching, with the Avengers being suspected by the government and Iron Man being forced to step down.
Norman Osborn replaced him and reorganised S.H.I.E.L.D. into 'H.A.M.M.E.R.', taking over the reins.
"Not us, Mr Superman, sir."
Talos hastily corrected himself. He didn't want Luke to confuse himself with those invading Skrulls.
"I'm not like those Skrulls. They're the invaders, the conspirators, and we're just the victims, a bunch of homeless refugees."
In a sense, Talos could be considered a 'Skrull traitor'.
He wasn't loyal to the empire, nor did he like the ruling Skrull Queen.
Because his home planet, where he and his people were, had been reduced to smouldering ash by that madman Ronan the Accuser.
The endless imperial war destroyed Talos's home and took everything from his people.
After that, the much-admired Skrull Queen showed them no mercy or compassion.
Therefore, Talos couldn't accept the resettlement of the Skrull people.
Instead, he took his people to wander around, living a precarious life.
He hated the Kree Empire and no longer trusted the Skrull Queen.
"You'd willingly risk treason to tell me this news, Talos. What's your purpose?"
Luke kindly smiled, looking at the Skrull man who came to inform him.
"The Kree Empire had previously invested huge amounts of resources in initiating a research program for the Light-Speed Engine, led by Dr Mar-Vell, who, unlike the rest of the Kree, has no enthusiasm for war."
Talos told him everything, hoping to impress the Superman in front of him.
"Dr Mar-Vell sheltered us and promised to help my people find a new home once the research on the Light-Speed Engine was completed."
"However, the Kree Empire sensed something was wrong and sent a Starforce team to inspect the results ahead of schedule."
"The guy leading the team, called Yon-Rogg, shot and killed Dr Mar-Vell, but didn't get the Light-Speed Engine. He only took a woman, an earthling woman."
Luke's brow furrowed a little. 'Captain Marvel -- Carol Danvers, had turned up?'
Then it seemed the timeline hadn't jumped too far back.
"Right now, the Starforce is hunting us, and the Kree Empire is trying to get their hands on the Light-Speed triggered energy core. Meanwhile, the Skrull advance team has infiltrated Earth looking for clues to the Light-Speed Engine ..."
Talos presented the complicated situation to Luke through his words.
"I'm giving you this information because we need your protection, Sir."
Luke blinked and replied, "If what you say is, in fact, true, I can take in the Skrull, on behalf of the government of Earth, for temporary residence."
As expected, it was just as Talos had speculated.
Superman came from Earth, and he had great strength.
For Talos, he was definitely the right choice.
Taking in Talos's group of Skrull refugees seemed like a simple matter to Luke.
The Kree Empire would surely lack the courage to ask him for his people.
"Oh... thank you, Mr Superman, Sir."
Talos thought that the other party would think about it for a while before giving an answer.
That was the Kree Empire, the largest military regime in the galaxy.
"Whether they're Skrull or Kree, I treat everyone the same."
Luke smiled, implying that 'it's nothing personal, everyone here is rubbish'.
Thinking of Superman's amazing record, Talos was speechless.
He felt like there was nothing wrong if such boisterous words came from a man like the other party.
...
...
"Vers, I'll say it again, whatever happens, you have to stay calm and follow orders."
With a small team, Yong-Rogge took a spaceship and entered Knowhere's starport.
Having left the dock, he stared at Vers, who was looking around with curiosity written all over her face and solemnly warned.
This woman of Earth, whom he had brought back to Hala, was an unstable element.
Yon-Rogg's task was to supervise her, use her and forge her into the most effective weapon of the Kree Empire.
But if he failed to use her properly, she could harm them.
"Understood, I'll stay close to the team and obey all orders from my superiors."
Vers said so without taking Yon-Rogg's words to heart.
Being able to leave Hala was a hard thing to come by, and she was in a new place.
She was full of anticipation. Ideally, a few decent opponents would emerge, and some interesting stories would occur.
This was what would qualify as an adventure.
"Welcome to Knowhere."
No sooner had the Kree Empire's Starforce made their presence known, gathering information on the whereabouts of the Skrull refugees, than a heavily armed patrol surrounded them.
The leader was Taneleer Tivan's pink maid.
She had orders from her owner to invite the 'guests' to the core area.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Yon-Rogg's face changed as he asked with a heavy voice.
This wasn't an infiltration or assassination type of mission, and Knowhere wasn't a dangerous, forbidden place.
So, without any extra disguises, the Starforce team went straight ahead and went out under the name of the Kree Empire.
After all, they were one of the three great powers of the galaxy, and when they arrived in other places, people would somewhat show respect.
"May I take this as a provocation towards the Kree Empire?"
Yon-Rogg revealed his identity and sternly said, "To attempt to arrest Imperial soldiers without a trial by the Accuser and without a ruling from the Empire is the greatest insult to the Kree and contempt toward the Supreme Intelligence!"
The pink maid, with a sweet and pleasant business smile on her face, replied, "You're mistaken. The master just wants to invite you over for a meeting."
'Meeting?'
Yon-Rogg narrowed his eyes and twisted his head to look at Vers.
"I haven't had time to do anything."
The latter innocently said so.
After thinking about it for a while, Yon-Rogg thought he might have been too nervous.
The Tivan Group wouldn't dare to provoke the Kree Empire. Even if the Collector was an Elder of the Universe, they had to succumb to the will of Supreme Intelligence.
Otherwise, Knowhere would cease to exist and be reduced to rubble.
With that in mind, Yon-Rogg's regained his confidence.
He held his head high with a disdainful look in his eyes and waved his hand, and gestured for Taneleer Tivan's maid to lead the way.
...
...
3 hours later.
Yon-Rogg and the rest of his men were placed in a cell.
The leader of the Starforce team looked as if he had been beaten up, his two eyes were bruised, and his whole body was dishevelled.
"I'm a fool. Why didn't I think that Superman stayed in Knowhere, and he was an earthling..."
Yon-Rogg murmured.
He followed the Collector's maid into the core area and was taken to a private area.
Taneleer Tivan wasn't the one who greeted the Starforce team.
Superman seemed prepared. As soon as they met, he told them about the twists and turns that happened to Vers.
Moreover, he easily erased the mind control imposed by the Supreme Intelligence.
Vers, who recovered her memory ... No, it should be Carol; severely thrashed Yon-Rogg who had deceived her.