Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1684, the 1680th chapter: Alien Alliance

Ruby, imitating her mother, mustered up her courage and placed her hand on the handle of the equipment.

Doing this definitely requires focus and courage, especially when the azure current pierced through the air and flashed past her. Ruby even felt her long hair become curly, the smell of ozone in the air filled her nostrils, and even her sweaty skin under her bodysuit began to tingle. Her platinum blonde hair stuck to her forehead and neck.

In this situation, anyone would worry about being electrocuted, and Ruby was no exception.

Overwhelmed by focus and fear, she failed to hear what General Hale was saying. Before she could grasp the meaning of "don't be too polite," General Hale pulled a lever—a switch—and the air began to vibrate, more current surging up the device's surface. Ruby felt a suction force gripping her hand firmly to the lever, something rushing into her body along the cable, then pulling her upwards. She seemed to pierce the sound barrier, disappearing into silvery clouds, a deafening roar crashing down her spine. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in darkness. Panic surged through her nostrils and tear ducts; she frantically reached out, groping around, her steps unsteady and cautious.

Before her eyes could adjust to the darkness, she heard a voice coming from not far away.

"Mom?" She turned her head toward the direction of the voice, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"Stand still."

General Hale's tone was somewhat reproachful, as if he was very dissatisfied with the fear Ruby was showing at that moment.

Using the strange symbols emitting blue light on the walls as a guide, Ruby realized that she and her mother were in a room that wasn't very big. The smell of ozone and burnt rubber had disappeared, the constant stinging on her skin was gone, and even the air had become cool and carried a not-too-unpleasant chemical odor.

Her emotions quickly stabilized, and she didn't shout or panic like a typical teenager, asking where she was. Once her reason returned, she assessed her and her mother's situation and placed her hand on her weapon—rather than waiting for things to unfold, it was better to rely on her weapon; this was a way of thinking taught to her at Blue Ravenhill Training Camp—Ruby noticed the obvious signs of human intervention in the place. What supported this judgment wasn't the strange symbols emitting a blue glow high in the walls, but rather the interior of the buildings, constructed like layers of concrete, perfectly conforming to the definition of Euclidean geometry; anyone capable of building such structures must be an intelligent being.

Although Ruby's initial performance was somewhat poor, her current reaction has somewhat satisfied General Hale.

"Dry your tears and maintain your manners." General Hale stood there calmly, with a certain feigned superiority. She had vowed to be the master of her own destiny, and now she proudly showed that path to her daughter—this was the first time she had successfully broken free from Hydra's control to do something. She was born Hydra; she had no choice—whether she could become the master of her own destiny depended on what followed. General Hale wouldn't reveal her nervousness; even without a lethal weapon, she could act as if she held a gun or an administrative order, able to boss those before her around.

"Stand by my side," General Hale said. "Don't say or do anything until I give you permission to speak."

Ruby complied, even though she acted somewhat rebelliously in Blue Ravenhill.

"If you're here to urge us to fulfill our agreement, then I can only tell you that the time hasn't come yet." A strange voice suddenly rang out from the darkness ahead. "We detected your device emitting signals on its own not long ago. We've now proactively reduced the power and shut down the device."

A beam of light, not too strong, fell on General Hale and Ruby. The girl stared in horror at the equally dim beam of light ahead, suppressing the urge to shoot the creature—a blue-skinned being with humanoid features, its face marked with pale spots resembling vitiligo, the area around its eyes even larger, as if it had smeared ashes on its face. The moment Ruby saw this creature, she felt threatened. Beyond the most direct threat of force and the dangers lurking in the unilluminated darkness before her, her intuition told her that beneath the taut skin of this blue-skinned, humanoid creature with its human-like smile lay unimaginable greed and malice.

Ruby looked at her mother in horror.

She had never imagined her mother would collaborate with aliens, especially Kree, as documented in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top-secret files (for General Hale and the Pentagon, the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Tahiti program was hiding alien corpses was no secret). These aliens were labeled "extremely dangerous" and "aggressive," far surpassing ordinary humans in both technology and physical abilities. These were the alien species that the Emperor's "Unity of Truth" required to be eradicated. No wonder Stephanie of the Malik family was so eager to know her mother's secret… Ruby felt her mind reeling. She simply couldn't understand why her mother would do this. Even the most foolish person could see that the divided human race was utterly powerless against the threat of aliens.

"You've brought another person, which violates our agreement." The creature pointed at Ruby with affected arrogance, its dramatic tone laced with feigned anger. "What are we supposed to do now, Hale?"

"This is my daughter," General Hale replied coldly. "She is my heir."

"Since this is your daughter, then she is qualified to participate in the 'Alliance' meeting." The creature took a few steps closer, its dim beam of light following. Ruby's muscles tensed, one hand gripping the pistol's handle tightly. Only now did she realize that this creature seemed to speak fluent English, though some of its vocabulary was odd, and its speech was somewhat old-fashioned, as if it hadn't learned English for decades. "Please forgive me for not preparing a gift for this important occasion, and this place is not really suitable for a celebration." It bowed slightly to General Hale. "I suppose you didn't come here to introduce your heir to me? This lady… is she aware of our agreement?"

"She's temporarily unrelated to the agreement. I'm here because you need an explanation." Under the alien creature's curious gaze, General Hale gestured for Ruby to remain calm, while simultaneously gathering courage for his next probing. "Not the 'Alliance,' but you. Kree." General Hale stared intently at the creature, who was far taller than himself. "Are there Kree hunting ships in Earth's orbit?"

The alien even paused for a moment.

"I'm curious where you learned this news." The Kree's cunning eyes swept over General Hale and Ruby, as if he were speculating about something. "Would you mind telling me?"

You should answer my question first.

“Of course, of course, we are allies.” The Kree slowed his pace. “I can assure you that the hunter ship has been abandoned, and the headhunters on board are probably dead. The hunter ship has been missing for over two thousand standard hours according to existing records, and its cloaking measures are still in operation, so we cannot locate it or salvage it.”

General Hale waited for the aliens to continue their explanation.

"That killer ship was dispatched by the Kree Empire for a genetic engineering project. Now that the project has been abandoned, the killer ship has naturally become useless... It now seems highly likely that your equipment will overlap with the killer ship in orbit at some point, triggering its automatic transponder. Does this conclusion convince you, my friend? Now, can you answer my question?"

General Hale hesitated for a moment, then spoke under Ruby's horrified gaze.

"Since this is a coincidence, then I will answer one of your questions."

"Runway 03 is ready for landing."

"Adjusted sea pressure 1023, runway 03 is ready for landing, Quinjet099."

Seeing the pilot in the cockpit extend a finger in signal, Stephanie stood up from her folding seat, donning the helmet that had been resting on her lap. Led by her, all the soldiers in the cockpit stood up, placing their assault rifles, now inspected, against their chests. Stephanie Malik tried hard to hide her excitement; she knew the Emperor, far away at Malik Manor, could see what was happening through the cameras. Her heart pounded. This was her first time commanding a black operation alone, and she was both worried about making a mistake and eagerly anticipating the sweet reward that would follow if the mission were completed perfectly.

Unbeknownst to her, a starship approaching Neptune, the three sanctuaries on Earth, and the psychic probe launched by the Immortal City to the edge of the solar system were all operating at full power. Almost all the arcane mages on Earth who had participated in the Kamar-Taj festival were gathered around giant seismograph-like machines made of spiderweb-like cables and countless gears, and a huge bronze cauldron, frowning as they deciphered the indistinct divination predictions on long stacks of parchment spit out by the machines, as well as the soap bubble-like dream fragments constantly emerging from the bronze cauldron. The planetary defense system was drawing energy from the ley lines and operating at standard power. The Eye of Agamotto, placed on the central cylinder of the system, was flashing green, scanning the entire planet and the psychic signals in its orbit. And on the starship that was gradually approaching Neptune, there was also a frowning arcane mage.

Stephanie's hope that the Emperor would watch what was happening here via motion monitors was simply unrealistic.

He was more concerned with the readings on the data board than with the situation here.

"One last time. Alpha Team, control the control tower; Beta Team, control the ammunition depot; Gamma Team, control the entrances and exits. The rest of you, follow me into the lab." She held a thick file folder bearing the Pentagon's crest. At that moment, the Quinjet had just landed smoothly, its cargo door slowly opening. Stephanie Malik's helmet visor displayed the gradually increasing heart rate of the contents of four metal coffins. The automated cryosleep drop pods were executing their wake-up procedure, injecting adrenaline and other drugs into the super-soldier's body. "Quinjet 080 and Quinjet 072 will conduct drop operations at targets A, B, C, and D respectively, playing psychological warfare audio. We have all the legal procedures. Anyone who refuses to lay down their weapons and attempts to obstruct us will be shot on sight. There is no need to consider political implications. Do you understand?"

"About that hunter ship..."

General Hale summarized what she had learned at Malik Estate in the simplest terms, while also explaining her relationship with Hydra. Ruby sensed her mother's treacherous intentions—she realized this wasn't the first time her mother had tried to break away from Hydra. When Alexander Pierce openly rebelled, her mother had directly shot a Hydra instructor who was arguing with her at Blue Ravenhill Training Base, but Ruby saw that as merely a sign that they held more power and more autonomy—the word "betrayal" had completely disappeared from her mind after meeting the Emperor. Ruby couldn't imagine the kind of blow her mother would suffer if she betrayed Hydra. A little thought made it clear why her mother had allied with the aliens: it was because she had no other choice.

If Hydra's identity is exposed, all the power they once possessed will become meaningless, because the US government will not trust a Hydra, even one that betrays Hydra. If they betray Hydra, the Malik family, the Lister family, the Strucker family, the bankers, the chiefs, and other Hydra factions will not let them, mother and daughter, off the hook. Only intervention from a higher level of power can ensure their maximum benefit and their own survival. However, this doesn't explain why the mother would betray Hydra. Behind Hydra is the Emperor (at least the Malik family; Ruby knows Stephanie's position with the Emperor). Ruby doesn't know if her mother has considered whether the aliens or the Emperor are more powerful.

"I see."

The blue-skinned alien spoke in heavily accented English. He gave Ruby a meaningful glance, his gaze shifting between General Hale and Ruby. "Hydra, probably a remnant of that project. You might have some questions about that project, but it was just one of many foolish attempts the military made to fight the enemy (General Hale nodded in agreement; she had seen many similar projects at the Pentagon), so there's no need to worry too much. If you'd like..." the alien (Ruby thought it might be male) adopted a sincere tone, "...we can salvage the ship at the right time and give it to you as a gift. The hunter ship has always been a technological marvel preserved by the military; it will be very helpful to you and humanity."

"What is the right time?" Ruby interrupted, staring at her mother's warning gaze.

"You didn't even tell her about your genetic heir?" The Kree smiled slyly, then looked at Ruby. "Do you know that Earth is facing a crisis? Terrifying forces across the galaxy have their eyes on Earth. Only our 'Alliance' can protect it, because we possess the armed forces of the Kree Empire and other galactic empires."

"What?"

"Tell her," General Hale said irritably.

"Thanos, the powerful galactic warlord. Not long ago, the capital planet of the Xandarian Empire was destroyed, and all evidence points to Thanos as its culprit," the Kree said. "You may not know what the Xandarian Empire is. I can tell you that the Kree and Xandarian Empires fought many wars until many years ago when they signed a peace treaty. The capital of such a multi-stellar civilization was destroyed by a powerful warlord, and now that warlord has his sights set on this planet and is marching here."

"That's true," General Hale added. "The Emperor reminded the governments of the permanent members of the UN Security Council that our telescopes had also captured some unusual deep-space images, but we couldn't make a judgment at the moment."

"Why did that warlord do that?" Ruby asked. "Is there anything special about Earth?"

"I don't know. Thanos destroys whomever he wants. He's always acted on impulse, impossible to bribe or persuade, and nobody knows what he's up to. Now, the 'Alliance'—representatives of multiple galactic empires—has decided to stand up and protect your planet. This is a politically influential move to facilitate a trade agreement between multiple races. Now, you shouldn't be curious why we're protecting your planet, right?"

Ruby looked at her mother and found that the latter was not proud of her status as the protector of the human race, the leader of the human race into the interstellar age, and the first person to reach an agreement with an alien alliance.

"This is not for personal gain," General Hale said.

"Of course, leading a race that has not yet colonized interstellar space against galactic warlords is a daunting task, even with the help of the Alliance. The narrow-mindedness of other humans will inevitably hinder this great undertaking, and the leader will inevitably face much criticism. This requires a resilient mind and noble character." The alien said in broken English, and General Hale finally raised his head, looking arrogant.

"Located successfully. The Sanctuary provided considerable assistance." The Mystic King looked up from the pile of parchment and tarot cards, but Commander Constantine ignored the dark circles under his eyes and immediately picked up the parchment with the coordinates written on it. "Without the second signal, we wouldn't have been able to find the receiver with just that psionic ray." The Mystic King rubbed his stomach. "Are you even listening to me?"

"I will give the data to the navigation department." After a cursory glance at the parchment, the commander of the Imperial Guard nodded. "Your work is commendable, Master Wang."

"I know I'm very good. So..."

"You've earned yourself extra rations, if you'd like to know." The commander of the Imperial Guard turned and left, giving the mage no time to thank him. Little did he know, the mage had no gratitude whatsoever for the extra rations. Although the Immortal City tried its best to make space food palatable, adequate nutrition and ease of consumption were the real considerations. Furthermore, to avoid the trouble caused by a failed gravity field, the food was hardly tasty.

(End of this chapter)