Korath the Pursuer was a name that had made its mark in the comics, so Reid showed a bit of respect. After severing his opponent's head, he made sure there were no remaining signs of life before slowly walking away.
...
In the main corridor.
Reid ran into Fury and Talos, who had returned with the surviving Skrulls. With Carol having taken care of all the Kree soldiers, the pressure had eased significantly.
Right now, they were locked in a standoff with Bron-Char and Minn-Erva, who were gradually recovering their combat strength.
Bron-Char, being a close-combat specialist, still had some fight left in him. However, the looming threat of the Flerken kept him from making a move.
Minn-Erva, on the other hand, had lost her sniper rifle. With only a handgun, her combat effectiveness had dropped significantly. Facing Talos, who had retrieved a Skrull weapon, she wasn't confident she could win.
But the moment Reid arrived, the balance was completely broken.
Minn-Erva and Bron-Char exchanged a look. They knew it was time to fight for their lives.
Bron-Char was the first to charge. He had to pose a threat to Talos. Only then could he buy Minn-Erva enough time to take a shot.
But Reid's next words shattered that plan instantly.
"Goose, eat him."
As soon as Reid spoke, the Flerken in Nick Fury's arms sprang into action. Its mouth stretched open unnaturally wide and a mass of tentacles shot out, wrapping around Bron-Char's limbs before he could react.
"Damn it! Since when was the Flerken this obedient?!"
Bron-Char had no idea, but he didn't get the chance to find out.
In the next second, the tentacles yanked him into Goose's mouth. He was swallowed whole, sent through the Flerken's stomach portal into a pocket dimension.
"Bron-Char!"
Minn-Erva instinctively tried to pull the trigger, but she hesitated. Talos had his Skrull weapon fully charged, and Reid, clad in his armored suit, was approaching slowly.
She made the smart choice and lowered her gun.
"My god! Did you build that armor yourself, Reid? Just how much advanced tech is LexCorp hiding?"
Fury had only caught a glimpse of the suit earlier, but now that he could examine it closely, he realized something—he had just found a new obsession. Who wouldn't want armor that offered this level of protection?
"Reid, how about—"
"Sorry, Agent Fury. I'm just a humble butler. I have no say in LexCorp's internal affairs."
Fury rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and I'm Santa Claus. Just say you don't wanna share."
Reid, a mere butler? Yeah, right. Ever since he became Luthor's assistant, every profitable LexCorp project had his name on it. A so-called "butler" who could build a time machine? Who'd believe that nonsense?
Still, Fury didn't push the issue, for now. He had no intention of leaking this information either.
There was nothing in it for him. If the government and LexCorp started fighting over this armor technology, all it would do was create chaos. What was the point?
And that was exactly why Reid had no issue showing off his suit here. He knew Fury, even if he couldn't get anything out of it, wouldn't leak this information.
With that settled, Reid turned his attention to the last remaining Kree soldier on the ship.
"You're not going to let me go, are you?"
Reid smiled, his expression friendly.
"If we were the ones captured, you'd probably just toss us into space, wouldn't you? Not even waste a single energy round."
Minn-Erva's face stiffened. That was exactly what she had planned to do—after checking the prisoners, she was going to throw them straight into the void.
But she hadn't even had the chance to act on it. Reid had shown up out of nowhere and blown Att-lass' head off before she could say a word.
"I… I didn't—"
"A friend of mine told me," Reid cut her off. "So let's not waste time. Would you kindly step off the ship?"
Two minutes later, the airlock of the cruiser hissed open.
Stripped of her combat suit, Minn-Erva was tossed directly into the void of space. Within seconds, she froze solid, her life ending as an icy sculpture drifting in the abyss.
"So, about this armor," Fury said, trying his luck again.
"This suit is a war trophy from Skrulls. No issues with that, right? What do you think, General Talos?"
Reid still had that same easygoing smile, but instead of answering Fury, he turned toward Talos, who had wisely kept his distance.
To be honest, Talos was starting to feel that Reid was even more dangerous than the Kree.
Sure, he didn't seem hostile toward the Skrulls anymore, but it felt like he had a deep-rooted suspicion of all non-human intelligent species.
"Uh… yeah, yeah, of course! No problem at all!"
After a moment of thought, Talos chose to agree. Between a government agent and someone like Reid, the latter was far more terrifying.
"You…"
Fury sighed, watching Talos sell out so easily.
He was just one guy. What else could he do? Once they got back to S.H.I.E.L.D., he'd reach out to Richard, their contact inside LexCorp. Maybe he could pull some strings and get his hands on some of that tech.
With a 5% stake in the company, Richard should still have enough influence to help him out.
...
Outside the cruiser, Yon-Rogg had already abandoned his teammates. He glanced at the distance, where the Accuser fleet was still locked in battle with 'Martian Manhunter.' He had no intention of joining the fight.
If an entire fleet couldn't handle that green-skinned alien, what could he possibly do in a single fighter? Fly in just to die?
Without a second thought, Yon-Rogg gunned his ship forward, diving straight into a jump point toward the Kree homeworld, Hala.
Meanwhile, on Ronan's side, 'Martian Manhunter' sensed through telepathy that Carol, now fully in control of her powers, would arrive beside him at any moment.
At the same time, the mutants' ship was closing in fast.
He no longer held back.
'Martian Manhunter's' body swelled once again. His towering form stretched past a thousand meters, and with a simple motion, his massive hand easily closed around a Kree mothership, gripping it as though it were a mere toy.
"What the hell is this alien?!"
Ronan's voice shook with disbelief. "Why isn't he in the Kree database?!"
At first, when Ronan noticed that 'Martian Manhunter' was protecting the planet behind him, he had been pleased.
That meant he had a way to apply constant pressure—forcing the alien to split his attention between offense and defense.
But as time passed, his confidence turned to despair.
Despite their relentless attacks, they hadn't even managed to scratch their opponent's skin, while their own fleet had already burned through a significant amount of energy.
And now, staring up at the ever-expanding 'Martian Manhunter,' Ronan realized there was something even worse heading his way.
Because from another direction, a human figure—glowing with pure photonic energy—was streaking toward them at incredible speed.
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