Chapter One: Infestation
"You'll want to see this, Sir," Agent Maria Hill called to her superior.
"What is it, Hill? Don't tell me another agent has been caught playing Galaga. That game is like an addiction!" Director Nick Fury looked down at his men from the observation deck, but he could not see their individual screens. He needed to install monitoring software to check for off task behavior.
"No, Sir. I'm afraid it's much worse than that. Dr. Richards has discovered proof that an alien race of shapeshifters has invaded our planet. The Skrulls are warmongers that want to prepare Earth for a full-scale invasion. Supposedly, Richards tricked a few of them into transforming into cows, but who knows how long that will last. All I know is that there are others out there, and not only could they be anywhere, but they could also be anyone."
"Are you saying that you could be a Skrull?" He squinted at his second-in-command using his one good eye, but she stood in front of him impassively. If she was a Skrull, she was doing a heck of a job staying in character.
"What?" she asked. "No! Why would I give you this information if I were a Skrull?"
"To gain my trust!" He examined his subordinate's face for signs that she was a shapeshifting alien, but he found that he was unable to distinguish between whether she was anxious over being discovered or nervous about her boss staring at her suspiciously.
She decided to ignore his gaze and continued speaking. "Protocol decrees that we call in all S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel for mandatory testing, but anyone could be a Skrull, even the onboard physicians. I believe that the best course of action in this case would be to temporarily disband all of S.H.I.E.L.D. and end all missions until the invasion is dealt with. Sir, it is time to call in the Avengers."
Leaning forward, Fury jabbed a finger at her chest. "Aha! You are a Skrull. It would be completely counterintuitive to disband S.H.I.E.L.D. in a time of crisis like this!" He aimed a powerful kick to her stomach and ran over to the display, slamming his fist on the intercom button. "I need backup! Agent Maria Hill has been replaced by a Skrull. I repeat- Hill has been replaced by a Skrull!"
Hill stood in shock, staring at Fury as the agents below began scrambling in search of their weapons. She stepped forward calmly. "I see what you've done here, Skrull."
His eye widened in surprise. "How did you know?"
"The real Fury isn't so mistrusting and suspicious," Hill explained bluntly, "Also, the eye patch is on the wrong eye."
Winking, she pulled out her gun, shooting him straight in the chest. As he fell back, he returned to his natural green form, complete with the rippled chin. Fury's backup had just arrived, and they looked from Hill, to the alien Skrull, back to Hill again. They holstered their guns and waited for an explanation.
"I'm not a Skrull, agents. It was just a ploy by Skrull Fury to throw us off his scent." As the second-in-command of S.H.I.E.L.D., she would take the responsibilities of Director Maria Hill with the real Nick Fury incapacitated. She looked around; she had no way of knowing which agents were loyal and which, if any, were Skrull spies. She briefly considered her plan from earlier to disband S.H.I.E.L.D., but realistically, the world wouldn't be able to protect itself from an alien attack. "Everyone, report to emergency positions. Get all world leaders on the line. With Fury missing, I'm in charge, and these Skrulls have declared war on the Earth!"
The agents nodded and sped off to their stations, yelling various orders at their own subordinates and readying communication. Several agents rushed toward the oozing Skrull corpse, preparing it for testing. Her mind kept flashing to the face of the dead Skrull. Clenching her fists by her side, Hill looked out at the clouds below the helicarrier and let the reality of the situation kick in.
"Tony…"
"Yes, Pepper?" Tony Stark called from the other room. He finished pouring two espressos, and balancing them in one hand, opened the door with the other. "You know, I thought this was your job! Ever since you became CEO, you've been treating…" he trailed off upon seeing the deadly serious expression on her face. "Pepper…?"
She moved aside, revealing Maria Hill, who was sitting on his couch looking very impatient. Her fingers kept fidgeting near her holster, and she was very much on edge.
Smirking, Tony sat down opposite to her. "I would have made another espresso if I had known we had a guest. So, Miss Hill, to what do I owe this pleasure? I would have expected Nicky to come."
The spy glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Mr. Stark, something very troubling has arisen. It could cause a panic, and we do not need the general public to know this. We need to keep this contained. Do you understand?"
"Feel free to continue."
"I'll take that as a yes. Simply put, the Earth is the target of an invasion by a race of shapeshifting aliens known as the Skrull Empire. They can take the memories and appearance of anyone." She paused and took a deep breath. "Fury was replaced by a Skrull, and I have taken over as acting director of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Pepper dropped her espresso, and the mug shattered all over the floor, spilling the contents along with it. Her mouth hung open.
"What?" shrieked Tony, equally shocked and disturbed.
Hill silenced Tony with one stern look, putting an end to his outburst. "Let me finish. I'm afraid that any of the Avengers could be compromised as well."
Frowning thoughtfully, Tony wondered, "How do you know I'm not a Skrull?"
"That's the problem…I can't tell. As far as I can tell, their shapeshifting is impeccable as long as they know what they're doing." Hill could see the gears in Tony's head shifting, so she added, "But that's not your problem. Dr. Richards is working the Skull detection angle from his end."
Tony's jaw dropped. "The Dr. Richards? The premier authority on Negative Zone—"
Clearing her throat, Hill continued, "Our job is to keep the public safe, and the best way to do so is to keep this contained. The less they know, the less they will panic."
Pepper was still as white as a sheet, and Tony took her reaction as the prime example why the public should not be involved in this type of thing.
"You know I'm in. Who else is on board?"