Although Bobby wasn’t a mutant with enhanced physical abilities, after being revived by Garus’s power, he gained extraordinary speed, strength, and reflexes.

  After effortlessly eliminating the insect, Bobby caught up with the Skrull he had been tracking and followed closely behind him.

  They soon arrived at a mountain peak, where Bobby saw the Skrull pass through the rock face as if it were water. This had to be their gathering pce.

  After a moment’s thought, Bobby stepped forward and entered as well.

  The instant he stepped inside, he felt a gaze upon him. Sensing danger, he instinctively ducked, just as a beam of energy whizzed over his head and left a smoking hole in the wall beside him.

  An enemy!

  Without hesitation, Bobby released a burst of ice magic, freezing his attacker in solid ice.

  In the corner, he spotted another Skrull speaking into a communicator in a nguage he didn’t understand.

  Realizing he had just frozen another Skrull, Bobby hesitated. He wasn’t here to make enemies—after all, the Skrulls were supposed to be allies.

  With a sigh, he decided to unfreeze them. As they thawed, Bobby observed that they were still alive—Skrull physiology was clearly more resilient than that of humans.

  Judging by their positions, these two were likely guards. Ahead of him was a rge door. Walking over, he pushed it open, revealing a long, dimly lit corridor. Faint light sources provided just enough visibility to make out the path ahead.

  After walking for about five minutes, he saw a bright opening in the distance. As he stepped through, an underground city built within the mountain unfolded before his eyes.

  "So this is the Skrull city? Looks a bit chaotic."

  Not far away, a group of nearly twenty individuals spotted him and rushed toward him, each brandishing a weapon.

  They wasted no time speaking. The moment they saw him, they raised their weapons and opened fire.

  Reacting swiftly, Bobby conjured an ice wall in front of him. The scorching energy beams bsted holes into it, but it held firm.

  "Wait! Wait! I’m on your side! Don’t shoot!"

  But they didn’t understand him. The barrage of attacks continued.

  "They don’t understand Earth’s nguage?"

  Bobby darted forward, encircling them with another ice wall, trapping them inside.

  Zap! Zap! Zap! The Skrulls continued firing, creating holes in the ice, but they remained trapped within.

  One of them, a man named An, pounded on the ice wall and found it incredibly thick. Even with their weapons, it would take considerable effort to break through.

  Then, An recalled that Bobby had spoken earlier. The words had sounded vaguely familiar.

  He pulled out a transtor device.

  Bobby melted a small opening in the ice wall and spoke through it. "I’m not your enemy. I’m from Earth."

  "Earth?" The transtor processed Bobby’s words, and An’s expression shifted from hostility to curiosity. "How did you get here?"

  Bobby quickly expined the Chitauri invasion of Earth under Thanos’s command. An was stunned. Had Earth’s civilization grown powerful enough to resist the Chitauri? The Skrulls hadn’t visited Earth for thousands of years, and based on reports from other civilizations, Earth was still considered a primitive, pre-spacefaring society.

  "I was fighting Bck Dwarf’s war mech when I was accidentally teleported here. Oh, and I know your General Kallruth."

  "General Kallruth?!" An’s eyes widened, his emotions stirring. "He’s alive?"

  A moment ter, he hesitated, his skepticism returning. "That’s impossible. The st report said all Skrulls in Kree territory were wiped out. What proof do you have?"

  Proof? Back on Earth, Bobby and Kallruth had bonded as two exiles far from their homeworlds. During idle moments, they had shared stories about their respective homes.

  "He told me his best friend was a Royal Guard named An Walker…" Bobby recounted details only Kallruth would know.

  An’s eyes flickered with recognition. "Alright, I believe you. Now, will you let us out?"

  To be honest, An wasn’t fond of the cold.

  "Sure, but you’re not going to attack me again, right?"

  "Of course not." An spoke a few words in Skrull to his team, who lowered their weapons.

  With a simple motion, Bobby dispelled the ice wall, leaving no trace of it behind.

  Recalling the insect he had encountered earlier, Bobby asked, "Kallruth said he heard you were in danger and wanted to come find you. What exactly is the threat? Is it those creatures outside?"

  "Come with me and rest first. I’ll take you to see our queen tomorrow. She’ll expin everything."

  That evening, An reported the situation to their queen, who sighed in relief.

  As An was about to escort Bobby to his temporary quarters, he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, earlier you froze our sentries at the entrance…"

  "Don’t worry, they’re fine. Just unconscious from the cold. They’ll wake up soon."

  An exhaled in relief. If something had happened to those guards, he wouldn’t know how to handle it.

  "You two, repce the entrance guards. The rest of you, bring them back," An ordered before leading Bobby toward the residential district.

  Bobby rested for the night—although, in this hidden city, without a sun to track time, he had no way of knowing if it was truly night or day.

  When he stepped outside the next "morning," he noticed two Skrull guards fnking his door. Clearly, they still didn’t fully trust him.

  "Mr. Bobby, this way, please."

  With the help of his transtor, Bobby understood their words and followed them to the central pza, where he entered a grand structure.

  Inside, a green-skinned female Skrull sat at a table, her eyes closed in quiet contemption. An stood beside her.

  At An’s prompting, she opened her eyes. "Welcome, human. I hear you bring news of General Kallruth."

  Bobby spotted a chair and casually sat down. "Yes. General Kallruth is with my master right now. I imagine they’ll find us soon."

  —————

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