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"Wait a minute!"
Tony Stark's eyes suddenly lit up as he remembered something.
The notebook had mentioned that Spider-Man, the "kid," had hung up Nick Fury's phone call.
Could that have happened during the confrontation with the Elementals?
Iron Man wouldn't naturally know about this, but Tony Stark was increasingly convinced that this Spider-Man was really to his liking.
Just how did Spider-Man acquire his superhuman abilities?
Why did he possess such great strength at such a young age during high school?
And judging from the notebook's description of his power, whether it's the comparison with Captain America's "tons" of strength or the incidents of pulling a cruise ship and high-speed train, it seems Spider-Man has followed a path similar to that of Captain America.
It's most likely that he has undergone some kind of mutation that gave him strength far beyond a normal human being.
This is entirely different from Tony Stark's technological enhancements, Scarlet Witch's magic, or Doctor Strange's sorcery.
Then the question arises: if my guess is correct, who would be so unconscionable to experiment on such a young child?
[The result? Spider-Man simply hung up on Nick Fury's phone, utterly ignoring him!]
[Even when Nick Fury personally visited to invite him, Spider-Man refused. In the end, it was through a mix of coercion and deception that Spider-Man was persuaded to join.]
[Haha, I bet Nick Fury has never been so humiliated in his life, right?]
[Actually, that's not true; at that time, it wasn't even the real Nick Fury.]
[It was a Skrull in disguise!]
[Think about it; if it was the real Nick Fury, he probably wouldn't have been fooled by Mysterio, right?]
[Unfortunately, at that time, the real Nick Fury was far away on a space station.]
Haha, it really was this time!
Tony Stark nearly laughed out loud, his eyes brimming with gleeful curiosity.
It's not out of malice that Iron Man finds this funny, but for some reason, seeing Nick Fury get outsmarted by a kid is just satisfying!
Especially after seeing that not only was his phone call rejected, but his personal invitation was declined too, Tony Stark couldn't feel more invigorated.
Well done, Spider-Man!
This kid is really growing on me.
"Wait a minute, Skrull?"
But soon, the chrysanthemum-like smile on Tony's face froze as he showed a look of surprise and astonishment.
Nick Fury was replaced by a Skrull at that time?
Skrull again!
While Iron Man wasn't unfamiliar with this race, his knowledge about them wasn't extensive.
He knew only that they had waged war against the Kree and were the main instigators of the Secret Invasion.
During the Secret Invasion, Skrulls targeted his good friend Rhodey, but what exactly they did after wasn't revealed in the notebook, leaving Tony unclear.
Oh, right, another thing, Nick Fury had a bunch of Skrull underlings!
So if a Skrull impersonated Nick Fury, was it under Nick Fury's own orders?
Wait a minute!
That's not right!
Even if Nick Fury needed someone to impersonate him, why not use SHIELD agents?
Aren't spy tactics better left to SHIELD's own spies?
Handing it over to an alien, what was he thinking?
Aliens have a different physiological structure and even appearance from humans.
Even their way of thinking could be insurmountably different.
Why would Nick Fury choose an alien to impersonate him?
That's just reckless.
Could they even impersonate convincingly?
Iron Man genuinely found this hard to comprehend.
But one thing is sure, since Nick Fury had chosen a Skrull, it meant they must be up to the task.
Not just up to the task, but possibly even better than the average person!
Otherwise, why would Nick Fury abandon SHIELD's spies for an alien who seemed utterly unsuitable?
So, if this analysis is correct, does that mean Skrulls have special advantages in impersonating others that Earthlings do not possess?
After some consideration, Tony came to this obvious conclusion.
This also explained why the notebook mentioned Skrulls targeting Rhodey.
The notebook also said Skrulls were interested in the identity of War Machine!
What does targeting War Machine's identity mean?
At first, Tony couldn't fully comprehend it, but now it seems, isn't it impersonating Rhodey to take over as War Machine?
So, this is the Skrull's special tactic, huh?
Once this was understood, Iron Man could better appreciate why those Skrulls were so valuable to Nick Fury, even helping him ascend to the Director's position.
If those Skrulls could indeed impersonate anyone at will, they would be of great assistance to Nick Fury's various missions.
"Mysterio?"
Nick Fury, in front of another notebook, slightly furrowed his brow.
Didn't the notebook just mention that he contacted Spider-Man to deal with the threat of the Elementals?
Why is there suddenly a Mysterio?
Mysterio is a new name mentioned in the notebook, natural for Nick Fury not to know.
But looking at his moniker, we can glean that this person must be enigmatic and mysterious.
So, he fooled them – no, he fooled the Skrulls impersonating him.
Why Mysterio deceived the "Skrull version" of himself is beyond Fury's knowledge.
He speculated that this person was likely involved in the Elementals incident.
But the exact details remain unknown.
And I was in space at that time?
A series of question marks involuntarily popped up on Nick Fury's forehead.
Space?
The future me also played so bold, venturing into space like the Avengers?
It's fair to say that's quite a leap forward.
After all, the current Fury is still busy dealing with Hydra.
Yet the future me was off gallivanting in space!
It seems my foray into the "cosmic realm" is different from Stark and the others battling off-world.
After all, before venturing into outer space, I made thorough preparations, even having a Skrull impersonate me.
This shows that Nick Fury had long known that he would spend a considerable amount of time at that space station.
Moreover, Fury has a clear sense of his own role.
He's a spy, a commander, but not a field operative, and certainly not an Avenger.
He would not easily appear on the front lines.
Therefore, Fury deduced that his future trip to the space station most likely would not involve combat missions, but rather some other matter.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone personally.
However, the specifics of the matter, since the diary reveals no relevant intelligence, were beyond Fury's current imagination.
[So it seems Nick Fury was born to be a spy.]
[On Earth, he fought his way up from nothing, rising to the position of Director of SHIELD.]
[Even though he was constantly used by Alexander Pierce and was nearly killed by his own superior.]
[But to speak the truth, that was still quite impressive.]
[After the fall of SHIELD, the "unemployed" Nick Fury became the head of another organization, soaring into space to lead S.W.O.R.D.]
[It can only be said that Fury is formidable, as S.W.O.R.D., though similar to SHIELD, is an interstellar organization dealing with cosmic conflicts!]
[Even Captain Marvel is working for S.W.O.R.D.]
Used by Pierce?
What does that mean?
Nick Fury's expression instantly became very grave.
At the same time, an ominous feeling unavoidably arose in his heart.
After all, the diary's hints were quite evident.
What does it mean to be used?
After stepping down as the previous Director of SHIELD, Alexander Pierce had been serving as a Council member of the World Security Council.
Even though his position was technically above that of Nick Fury and he was also Fury's superior, by that time Pierce had already separated from SHIELD.
In other words, all SHIELD affairs were to be managed by Nick Fury, the current Director, with no interference from Pierce.
Pierce was only acting as a bridge between SHIELD and the World Security Council, nothing more!
In this context, how could Pierce use Nick Fury?
After all, Pierce had no say in the affairs that Fury was involved in!
Considering HYDRA's infiltration of SHIELD, there was only one answer: Pierce was also part of HYDRA!
Ever since acquiring the diary and learning of HYDRA's infiltration, Nick Fury had been locking horns with HYDRA for quite some time.
And the more they clashed, the more harrowing it became.
As the investigation deepened and more secrets were unearthed, Fury increasingly realized the terrifying extent of HYDRA's infiltration.
He was certain that HYDRA had moles at the top levels within SHIELD!
With Fury's usual vigilance, he had long since suspected several high-ranking officials within SHIELD.
Pierce, his superior, was also among those under suspicion.
However, due to a lack of solid evidence, Fury hadn't been able to pinpoint who the "big fish" was.
The information from the diary now provided Nick Fury with potent evidence!
Pierce!
So you're the "big fish" of HYDRA?
Without a doubt, the incident mentioned in the diary where Fury nearly gets killed by Pierce must refer to the time when the Winter Soldier tried to assassinate him during Project Insight?
And the Winter Soldier is the sharpest blade in HYDRA's arsenal!
Piecing together the information from the diary with what he had investigated, Fury felt he was on the verge of the truth.
"Pierce, I truly hope it's not you!"
The gaze in his one good eye became sharp as Fury let out a long sigh.
It wasn't posturing on Fury's part but his genuine sentiment.
After all, Fury's rise through SHIELD was tied to Pierce's favor.
Indeed, it was because of Pierce's strong backing.
But despite whatever past relations or affections there might have been, when the time came, Fury would not hesitate!
With his mind made up, Nick Fury refocused on the diary.
His expression hardened again.
"S.W.O.R.D.!"
He murmured the name softly.
He had never imagined that in going to such lengths to have a Skrull impersonate him and delve into space, he was actually going to lead S.W.O.R.D.?
The name S.W.O.R.D. first appeared in the diary, but from the diary's description, wasn't it just a space version of SHIELD?
It seems like the future me is doing quite well!
Unknowingly, I have become the head of an interstellar intelligence agency?
Impressive!
However, to tell the truth, the organization of S.W.O.R.D. does indeed seem very suitable for Fury.
Even now, Nick Fury seriously began to contemplate.
If there really was a chance for his future self to work at S.W.O.R.D., would he be willing?
Fury thought there was a very good chance he would be.
Setting aside personal factors, isn't Captain Marvel also working for this organization?
So, this is why Captain Marvel hasn't returned to Earth?
Instead, she has been busy dealing with those cosmic conflicts?
[It's unclear when exactly Nick Fury left Earth.]
[After all, he has a group of Skrull subordinates that could impersonate him at any moment.]
[The key point is that Skrulls can not only perfectly transform their appearance, but also possess the short-term memories of the person they are impersonating.]
[Such flawless impersonations mean that aside from the impersonated person, no one else can detect any flaw.]
[During the Secret Invasion, Skrulls impersonated so many without a single slip-up, right?]
[After all, no one can be certain that the person standing in front of you is the real Nick Fury!]
So this is the power of the Skrulls.
Tony Stark had finally understood and simultaneously grew even more cautious.
Perfectly transforming appearance and having the memories of the mimicked person – Skrulls are a race born to spy!
They are natural-born spies!