Fury's unmarked government sedan kicked up a cloud of dust as it sped along the desert highway toward the secret military facility. In the passenger seat, Vers sat in contemplative silence, while Arthur lounged in the back, watching the barren landscape roll by.
"So," Fury broke the silence, "you going to tell me what you know about these Skrulls? Beyond the whole shapeshifting bit."
"They're infiltrators," Vers replied, her voice taking on a harder edge. "Terrorists. They invade planets, take people's identities, and prepare the world for full-scale invasion."
"And the Kree?" Fury prompted. "That's what you called yourself—Kree Starforce? What's their angle in all this?"
"The Kree are a warrior race," Vers explained. "Noble, fighting to protect the galaxy from threats like the Skrulls."
From the back seat, Arthur made a small noise that might have been a suppressed laugh. When both Vers and Fury glanced back at him, he arranged his features into a mask of polite interest.
"Something funny about that?" Fury asked, his one visible eyebrow raised.
"Not at all," Arthur replied smoothly. "Just clearing my throat. Dry desert air and all that. Bit parched, really."
Vers narrowed her eyes, studying him with suspicion. "You seem to have opinions about things you shouldn't know anything about."
"I'm a quick study," Arthur shrugged. And interstellar politics, even based on limited data, is usually more shades of grey than black and white, wouldn't you say? 'Noble warrior race fighting evil infiltrators'... sounds a bit like propaganda recruitment material, if you ask me."
He knew from his fragmented past-life knowledge that the Kree-Skrull conflict was far more complex. The Kree were an expansionist, militaristic empire ruled by a controlling AI, the Supreme Intelligence. The Skrulls were refugees, their homeworld destroyed, desperately searching for a new home, resorting to infiltration out of necessity.
Neither side was purely 'good' or 'evil', though the Kree's actions often leaned towards galactic imperialism. Vers, clearly, had only been fed the Kree party line. Arthur was also wary of the Skrulls due to their shapeshifting ability. It was too powerful—creating a perfect copy and even gaining recent memories—an ideal template for doing bad things.
"You question the integrity of the Kree Empire?" Vers demanded, bristling.
"I question everything, dear," Arthur replied lightly. "Keeps the mind sharp."
Fury cut in before Vers could retort. "Alright, let's get back to you, Mr. Tour Guide. Did not get your name earlier."
"Name's Merlin," Arthur replied with a casual smile. "Just here to experience an exciting alien adventure, aren't I? Not something that happens every day."
"I can spot a fake name from miles away," Fury said dryly. "So what are you hiding?"
"What? Merlin is a fake name?" Vers turned in her seat to glare at Arthur. "How dare you lie to me?"
"Nothing against you, Vers," Arthur said, raising his hands defensively, "but I can't go about giving my real name in incidents involving secret agencies and aliens, can I? Want to live a normal life after you go back to space and your work is done, you know?"
"Why? What's so special about meeting me that you need to hide?" Vers pressed.
"Vers, this is Earth, where I don't think anyone before today knew about aliens," Arthur explained patiently. "I can tell you that once your Starforce pals collect you and zip off back to space, Agent Fury's organisation, and likely several others I haven't even heard of, are going to be intensely interested in anyone who witnessed today's events. Especially someone with close contact with you. Isn't that right, Mr. Agent?"
"No comment," Fury replied smoothly. "But I don't think using a fake name will help you if that happens, dear tour guide."
"We'll see about that, won't we?" Arthur said with a confident smirk.
"Planet C-53 is really that backward?" Vers asked, looking between them. "You haven't made contact with other planets?"
"Not that I know of," Fury answered. "And frankly, after meeting you and hearing about shapeshifting terrorists, I hope it stays that way. We're not ready. A species that still fights itself over lines on a map and different flavours of superstition isn't equipped to handle Kree warriors or Skrull infiltrators. We'd be conquered or enslaved before teatime."
"What?" Vers looked genuinely surprised. "You have no planetary defence force? No enhanced individuals?" She glanced unintentionally towards Arthur. Fury, focused on driving, missed the subtle exchange.
"We had one," Fury said, his voice tinged with something like regret. "Decades ago. World War II. Super soldier programme created a hero we called Captain America. Could probably have given you a run for your money. But he was lost at the end of the war. Presumed dead. Since then, there haven't been any super strong people... at least not that I know of."
"What about people with other powers, like mages?" Vers asked casually. "I heard whispers that mages existed on C-53." She phrased it carefully, glancing sideways to see if Arthur reacted, subtly trying to help him maintain his cover while satisfying her own curiosity.
Arthur mentally applauded her quick thinking, remaining outwardly passive.
Fury sighed. "Ah. Them. Right. You guys know about the wizards?" He sounded resigned rather than surprised. "Yeah, they exist. Keep themselves to themselves mostly. Got their own hidden communities, own government, whole secret world parallel to ours. We call 'em wizards and witches here. They don't interact much with the non-magical world unless they have to. Content in their own little bubble, mostly."
"Really?" Arthur feigned surprise. "First time I've heard about them. First aliens, now wizards. This world isn't as simple as it seems, is it?"
"No," Fury agreed. "It isn't."
"But hold on," Arthur pressed, adopting a tone of naive curiosity. "Wizards? With actual magic? Why haven't I heard about this before? Surely governments wouldn't just let people with potentially reality-bending powers wander about unchecked? Seems like a massive security threat, doesn't it?"
Fury shot him a sharp look. "Careful how you talk about world leaders, young man."
"Just asking," Arthur said innocently. "Stands to reason, though. If people like that exist, wouldn't governments... try to control them? Study them? Maybe even try to replicate their abilities? Seems the logical, if morally dubious, thing to do."
Vers looked disturbed. "Governments do that? Experiment on people with powers?"
"Wouldn't put it past 'em," Arthur said darkly. "Wouldn't surprise me if the Skrull who got killed by our Agent Fury here was already on some experiment table with scientists analyzing ways to either gain their shapeshifting ability or superior strength. Am I right, Agent Fury?"
"You've got a lot of conspiracy theories, Mr. Tour Guide," Fury replied evenly. "We're not villains like that."
"As if I don't know how many labs are working on recreating Captain America, and how many of them are funded by the militaries of different countries," Arthur scoffed. "I don't think you'd treat wizards any differently, would you?"
"I'm becoming increasingly curious about who you really are, tour guide," Fury said, his voice dangerously smooth. "You seem to know things most civilians shouldn't."
"So he's right?" Vers asked Fury directly, cutting through the deflection. "Your agencies experiment on beings with special powers?"
Fury hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "There have been... incidents. Research programs. But active experimentation on wizards? No. Not anymore."
"Oh?" Arthur leaned forward slightly. "Not anymore? Sounds like there's a story there."
Fury sighed again, deciding perhaps a little historical context wouldn't breach national security too much, especially with an actual alien sitting next to him. It could also deter the aliens from invading the planet. "Alright, look. About fifty, sixty years back, the magical world became... known. To the mundane governments, I mean. Long story involving a dark wizard named Grindelwald trying to start a world war, got stopped by their own people, but not before the damage was done
Fury paused, checking to make sure they were both listening before continuing.
"However, the revelation—and the fact that during the war he caused a lot of destruction and nearly leveled an important city in my country—caused fear in the hearts of world leaders. Military labs, intelligence agencies... everyone started trying to find wizards, capture them, and figure out how their magic worked. How to weaponize it, how to defend against it. Standard Cold War paranoia, just with magic instead of nukes."
"And what happened?" Arthur asked, genuinely interested now. This was history absent from any of the books he had read.
"Went sideways, spectacularly," Fury said grimly. "A Soviet facility in Siberia pushed too hard, did something forbidden, accidentally created these... things. Uncontrolled magical entities the wizards called 'Obscurials'. Basically, raw, destructive magic given form. Killed everyone in the facility, started rampaging. Soviets couldn't stop them. Had to go crawling to the wizards for help."
"And the wizards helped?" Vers asked.
"Eventually. But they were furious," Fury explained. "Especially when they found out every major power was running similar research programs, capturing their people. It nearly triggered a full-blown war – wizards versus the mundane world."
"Why didn't it happen?" Arthur inquired.
"Mutually assured destruction, basically," Fury stated. "Both sides knew that war would end life on the planet as they knew it. While the wizards had magic, our side had nuclear bombs. Nothing could stand against that. So, after a lot of shouting and threats, cooler heads prevailed. Treaties were signed. A global Covenant. Strict rules forbidding mundane interference in magical affairs, total ban on experimenting on magical beings or trying to replicate their powers. Magically binding, apparently, with nasty consequences for breaking them. Things have been... tense but stable ever since. Separate worlds, minimal contact."
Arthur digested this silently. A magically binding global covenant? That was significant. He'd need to learn more about its specific terms and enforcement mechanisms. Accidentally violating a world-ending magical treaty wasn't on his agenda.
"Fascinating," Vers murmured. "Your species handled a potential extinction-level conflict with surprising maturity. Many civilizations don't survive their first contact with fundamentally different power structures."
"Well, I think it worked because these wizards were united and had governing bodies who could bring together armies and show themselves as threats who couldn't be taken lightly," Arthur observed. "If they'd been isolated individuals, things might have gone differently."
Arthur was thinking about the fate of mutants in many Marvel universes. None of those outcomes had been good.
"You don't have a good impression of the government, do you, Mr. Tour Guide?" Fury asked, his tone neutral.
"No, and I don't think many people do," Arthur replied honestly. "Always finding ways to fight wars for the smallest of interests, not caring about how it would affect the lives of civilians, aren't they? Bit dodgy, the lot of them."
Fury didn't answer that. He had different beliefs—that while some wars were bad, others were necessary for the stability of the world. But there was no need to argue with a stranger. Since both had firm beliefs, neither would change their mind.
The rest of the journey passed in thoughtful silence. As the flat horizon gave way to distant structures, Arthur straightened in his seat. They were approaching the facility—and with it, hopefully, answers about Vers's past.