The moment the Skrull heard he was going to be imprisoned on Mars, he was stunned. But soon, a glimmer of delight flashed in his eyes—something that didn't escape William's notice.
Oh? So you actually think that's a good thing?
Little did the Skrull know, William had no intention of actually sending him to Mars.
Instead, his true destination was the Yellowstone Base in the USA.
And when the Skrull's comrades—who were monitoring the situation through his hidden communicator—rushed to Mars to rescue him, only to find he wasn't there and was instead surrounded by an army of robots...
Well, William smirked, let's see how they react then.
With that plan in mind, William commanded Sunday to remotely pilot the spaceship from the aerospace base to Buckingham Palace.
However, since this was still the royal palace—no matter how little William cared about the monarchy—he figured he should at least pretend to be respectful.
He casually tossed the old butler's CZ83 pistol back to him, turned around, and walked into the observation room where Philip was waiting.
The moment he entered, before William could even speak, Philip asked:
"Are you really planning to build a prison on Mars?"
William had expected Philip's first question to be about the Skrull—but instead, it was this?
Confused, he replied,
"It's just a facility for detaining extraterrestrials and superpowered criminals. What's the problem?"
"Superpowered criminals?" Philip hadn't considered that angle, but he put that thought aside and instead said,
"Dear God, of course it's a problem! Do you even have the authority to build an independent prison?"
William was immediately annoyed.
"Since when do I need your approval for what I do on Mars?"
Seeing Philip about to argue back, William cut him off, his voice laced with warning:
"Push me too hard, and I'll just find a habitable planet and build my own kingdom.
Then, you'll still be the King of England—but I'll be the King of an entire planet.
And every time I visit Earth, it'll be as a foreign head of state.
If anyone has a problem with that… well, they're welcome to build a spaceship and come challenge me for it."
Philip was stunned.
He had wanted to refute William—but now, faced with this response, he suddenly found himself speechless.
Because the worst part?
William might actually do it.
After a long pause, Philip sighed and relented.
"Fine. Do whatever you want. I'll handle Richard and the others.
Now, about this guy…"
Philip turned to the Skrull, still restrained in the interrogation room.
"You're not worried that there could be more aliens infiltrating us?"
"What's the point of worrying?" William scoffed.
"I already know these Skrulls have been on our planet for years.
And with that superpowered bleeding-heart woman being best buddies with a group of refugee Skrulls…"
He shook his head.
"Until one of them does something illegal, I'd rather not piss off a woman who can single-handedly wipe out an entire Kree fleet."
Philip's breath hitched.
"One woman… wiped out an entire fleet?"
Now he was genuinely alarmed.
"Who the hell is she?"
"Oh, save yourself the trouble." William rolled his eyes.
"Even if you could find her, there's no way you could recruit her.
Her name is Carol Danvers.
Half-Kree, half-human.
She was tricked by the Kree, so now she's obsessed with destroying them.
And she doesn't care one bit that the Skrulls—who she's sworn to protect—would happily stab her in the back if it meant taking over a new planet."
"So… the Skrulls aren't the villains, and the Kree are?" Philip frowned.
William glared at him.
"My dear King Philip, did you really just say something that idiotic?
Look at that thing in there—ten minutes ago, it was 'Charles Cavendish.'
If we treat the Skrulls as our 'friends,' how long do you think it'll take before our entire government is replaced by imposters?"
Philip immediately understood.
He'd spent decades navigating court politics and backroom dealings—he knew better than anyone that power wasn't about friendship, but control.
"And since they're already intergalactic refugees, if given the opportunity…"
William smirked.
"Do you really think they'll 'respect our friendship' and not seize Earth for themselves?"
Philip exhaled slowly, his concern growing.
"Then how do we defend against them?"
His brows furrowed.
"Earlier, we ran a DNA test on this Skrull.
The results were a perfect match to the real Charles Cavendish's DNA backup.
And since Skrulls can also steal memories, does that mean—even if we know they're here, there's no way to tell them apart?"
This was a problem.
William immediately searched through his System for a solution.
Soon, he found something from Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic)—a Skrull detection device.
"I'll handle it," William said.
"Once I experiment on this Skrull, I should be able to create a detection system."
Philip exhaled in relief.
"Of course you will," he muttered.
"At this point, I trust you more than anyone else."
After a brief silence, Philip suddenly asked,
"By the way… how did you immediately know he was an imposter?"
"His soul."
William had no reason to hide this, but he did take the opportunity to slip in some extra misdirection.
"My magical talent is quite strong.
The more I practice, the stronger my mental power becomes.
And as my mental power grows, my learning speed increases, which in turn deepens my understanding of magic—creating a feedback loop.
Once my spiritual strength reached a certain level, I gained the ability to see and differentiate souls.
And since Skrulls aren't human, their souls have a distinct energy signature that I can easily recognize."
Philip's expression darkened.
"Wait.
Does that mean the wizards can also detect Skrulls?"
"No idea."
William shrugged.
Wizarding magic and his own had nothing in common.
But wizards were known for having all sorts of bizarre spells.
Maybe they did have something that could expose Skrulls.
"If you can convince them, let them try.
But from what I've seen, wizards call normal people 'Muggles' and think they're superior.
So tell me—how did you convince Harry Potter to work as a royal bodyguard?"
Philip smirked.
"Not a bodyguard," he corrected.
"A consultant.
Of course, since he's working with me, protecting me is just part of the job."
Seeing William genuinely curious, Philip chuckled and explained:
"Did you notice he called himself a Knight of the Order of Merlin?
That order is dedicated to promoting cooperation between wizards and non-wizards."
"Wait—didn't that order disband centuries ago?"
Philip grinned.
"You said it yourself—disbanded.
That doesn't mean it can't be reformed."
William narrowed his eyes.
"But why would wizards seek you out?"
Philip burst into laughter.
"Because most of them are stuck in the past.
The royal family has maintained good relations with the wizarding world for centuries.
And in the old days, only the nobility could afford to raise a wizard.
More importantly…"
Philip smirked.
"Right now, I'm a politically weak king who needs allies more than the government does.
So to wizards who don't care about modern politics…
I'm the perfect collaborator."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]