Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 218 The Shapeshifter (Second Update!)

"How did you build those muscles?" Steve Rogers pointed to his own arm, then to Thor's. He took a sip of his drink and asked curiously, "How did you do it? You don't have the super-soldier serum."

"I don't know, I just did the training I was supposed to do. Of course, it could also be because he's a god." Thor raised his hammer, showing off his bulging biceps. Loki, sitting beside him, rolled his eyes; he thought his brother might have turned his brain into muscle. Loki was still handcuffed, and except for mealtimes, he could hardly remove his mask. Everyone was extremely wary of the God of Mischief's words. If Thor hadn't assured him he could keep an eye on Loki, the evil god should be in his cage right now.

Since the top floor of the Stark Corporation building hadn't been renovated yet, Tony Stark hosted the dinner at his villa. His girlfriend, Pepper Potts, was also there, and as the hostess, she was in charge of organizing this small, private party. It was indeed a private party; aside from the Avengers who participated in the Battle of New York and their families, almost no one else was present. However, more than one person noticed that one person was missing from the party.

"Where's the Magic Boy?" Tony Stark glanced at the time and tapped his 1000ml Coke mug. He had specifically informed Salomon about the party; with the portal, Salomon shouldn't be late. He'd prepared all the Coke for Salomon. Of everyone present, only Agent Romanoff had Salomon Damonette's contact information, but even Agent Romanoff couldn't locate Salomon. "Have you heard him say anything?" Stark quietly asked Agent Romanoff. "Did he mention he was busy? I specifically chose the weekend for the party; Eton College is definitely on holiday."

"He didn't say anything, Stark. You've spent the most time with him, you should know he never tells anyone any unnecessary information." Natasha was also wondering what Salomon was doing at the moment. Surely he wasn't baking a cake at home? If so, she wouldn't mind the taste of a sugar sponge cake.

As they were talking, a portal sparkling with fire opened in a corner of the living room, and Salomon stepped out. Before anyone could see what was behind the portal, he closed it, a swirling burst of sparks erupting with a soft "bang" before disappearing.

"You're late, Salomon." Tony Stark opened his arms to greet him, then suddenly stopped. "My God, what's that smell on you? What were you doing?"

"Killed some aliens." The arcane mage twisted his neck, looking extremely unhappy. He reached for the glass in Stark's hand and took a sip of single malt whiskey before the adults could stop him, but the alcohol didn't seem to completely quell his anger. His hand opened and closed on the hilt of his knife; he was suppressing his impatience and rage—Nick Fury's actions angered him far more than S.H.I.E.L.D.'s spying on magic. The latter was expected, and Salomon had a series of plans to ensure that S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't interfere with the magical world while carrying out its mission. But he had no intention of dealing with the former.

"The Chitauri have invaded?" Steve Rogers jumped up from his chair. "Where?"

Others were also very nervous, because Earth had just experienced an invasion, and the world was on edge.

"I can help," Thor said, raising his hammer as well. "It's something I should handle."

"No, not Chitauri." Salomon opened his palm, letting Stark snatch back the glass. Tony Stark absolutely forbids minors from drinking alcohol; the previous incident was just a surprise, but now it has to be cola. The arcane mage downed the sweet sparkling water in one gulp, burped, and said, "It's Shapeshifters, the Skrulls."

"I've heard of this race's infamous reputation. They're extremely cunning and can transform into anyone!" Thor said. "If Earth were to be invaded by the Skrulls, it would be a catastrophe. They once had their own empire on their home planet in Andromeda. In the past, Asgard fought and defeated the Skrull gods. After that, the Allfather destroyed the Skrulls' home planet, and the remaining Skrulls were attacked by the Kree Empire. Now they are wanderers in the universe, searching for a home."

Thor's news made the others' faces turn grim. "Now, this disaster has been averted, only one traitor remains to be eliminated." Salomon tossed out a green hand with a look of disdain. "Skrug blood stinks."

Prior to this, Salomon had only drawn his leaf-shaped longsword to intimidate Nick Fury, but he hadn't anticipated Fury's overreaction; Fury even drew his gun and fired before Salomon could finish speaking. The arcane mage only realized that this Nick Fury was actually a Skrull in disguise after severing one of Fury's hands—the real Nick Fury was nowhere to be found. Undoubtedly, the real Nick Fury had collaborated with the Skrulls, having them impersonate him to oversee operations while he himself went into hiding.

"Don't kill me." The Skrull lay on the ground, raising his severed limb, thick green blood slowly flowing out. In extreme agony, the Skrull explained the whole story, his confession crossing Salomon's line—Asgard was the overlord nation, and even Thor entering Earth via the Bifrost needed to provide additional documentation; yet Nick Fury had secretly smuggled the extremely dangerous Skrulls to Earth. Salomon couldn't imagine the catastrophe that would ensue if these shapeshifters, having lost their home, set their sights on Earth and wanted to make it their new home.

"Nick Fury is working with the Skrulls," Salomon announced to the Avengers. "According to the Skrull who is impersonating Nick Fury, Nick Fury discovered an unusual force within S.H.I.E.L.D., so he had the alien impersonate him while he conducted a secret investigation."

"But we don't know if he's telling the truth or not," Captain Rogers said gravely. "If what you're saying is true, then we can't trust this alien. Has Fury already been killed?"

"No, he's telling the truth. I've divined it." The sorcerer found a seat. "I will gradually eliminate the Skrulls from Earth. Agent Romanov, I need you to help me find the real Nick Fury. He must pay for what he's done."

"What are you planning to do?" Agent Romanoff glanced at Hawkeye Clint sitting beside him. "I think Fury has his own plans, and you also mentioned the problems within S.H.I.E.L.D., his goal is to solve those problems."

Klint nodded. Compared to Nick Fury's collaboration with aliens, he was more concerned about the internal problems of S.H.I.E.L.D. After all, Nick Fury had hidden his home for him, and apart from Agent Romanoff, no one in S.H.I.E.L.D. knew anything about him.

"I know what he's thinking, but letting the Skrulls into Earth is absolutely unacceptable." Salomon snorted, expressing his displeasure. "Karmar-Taj defended against an extradimensional attack, not to share Earth with non-human species, especially those disgusting shapeshifters, true cosmic parasites. I don't care what Nick Fury's reasons are, he must bear the consequences of his mistakes—and the next Nick Fury you see might very well be the real one."

Agent Romanov took out her phone; she had received a password. After translating, the message roughly read, "Tri-Wing headquarters attacked, director missing." She showed the translated message to Salomon. "What did you do with that Skrull?" she asked. "Does anyone else know that Nick Fury is an alien in disguise?"

"No, no one in the world can find that Skrull body, and I didn't leave any biological evidence at the scene," Salomon said. "Let Nick Fury handle S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal problems. I just want him to be accountable for his actions. Thanks, Thor, but I don't need your help with this. I'll only feel at ease if the Tesseract is put into Odin's vault as soon as possible."

Loki seemed to have something to say, but Thor glared at him, so Loki gave up on speaking and just looked at the Earthlings present with amusement.

"So, what we need to do next is find Nick Fury and help him solve S.H.I.E.L.D.'s problems?" Stark shrugged. "I never imagined I'd be getting involved in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s affairs one day."

"And then there's the Skrulls," Salomon reminded him. "Betraying humanity comes at a price."

"I suppose you have your own plans, don't you?" Stark raised his chin. "What about the old man? Can he still walk?"

Captain Rogers ignored Stark's teasing. He planned to visit someone through whom he could truly understand S.H.I.E.L.D.

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(End of this chapter)