In the 1990s, Carol Danvers, known as Captain Marvel, returned to Earth after a series of complex events. By that time, she had already lived on the Kree planet for several years for certain reasons. Upon returning to Earth, she also recovered her memories, which had been erased by the Kree. However, several Skrulls arrived on Earth from space along with her.
Soon, a battle erupted between Carol and these Skrulls. During the clashes, she regained all her memories and met Nick Fury. Eventually, Carol discovered that the Skrulls weren't "villains" but rather victims, hunted and persecuted. They were forced to search for a new home and lost relatives.
After awakening her powers, Carol began to defeat the Kree one after another. When Ronan led a space fleet and launched powerful missiles at Earth, the awakened Captain Marvel intercepted them. Frightened by her power, Ronan retreated in panic.
The Skrulls' home planet had been destroyed by the Kree, and, left without a home, they wandered the universe, using their natural ability to shapeshift. The Skrulls Carol and her allies encountered were only a small part of their people. Led by Talos, they were searching for a safe haven for their race.
After Carol and Nick Fury learned about their tragic fate, they promised to help them find a new home. Fury offered to temporarily house the Skrulls on Earth. Thus, he gained a whole army of powerful alien helpers. Thanks to their abilities and technology, the Skrulls proved quite useful to him.
A peculiarity of their physiology made them immune to radiation. Therefore, when choosing a location for their temporary settlement, Fury opted for areas with elevated radiation levels, deterring humans from approaching.
Several locations in Russia perfectly fit these criteria. So, Nick Fury settled the Skrulls near an abandoned nuclear power plant. All these years, they lived there in safety, without attracting outside attention. Although some Skrulls were dissatisfied with this lifestyle and the fact that Fury hadn't fulfilled his promises, leading to betrayals later on. But these were stories for the future; currently, most Skrulls didn't harbor such thoughts.
Fury brought the interrogated Hydra agents to the Skrull camp. Despite managing to extract all the necessary information from them, he still doubted that Hydra had actually infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. Therefore, he decided to use a special method to obtain data directly from the agents' brains.
When the Quinjet hovered over the Skrull camp, they didn't show any concern. Every time Fury visited, he arrived in this aircraft, and they immediately recognized the arrival of the "black bald head."
Fury emerged from the Quinjet after landing. Despite the camp being located near an abandoned nuclear power plant, the radiation levels in this specific area were low, so he didn't wear any protective gear. Most people couldn't distinguish one Skrull from another, but due to his long-term collaboration with them, Fury learned to differentiate them in their natural forms.
A Skrull in human form approached Fury. The Skrulls' clothing was no different from that of ordinary earthlings. Half of them assumed human appearances, while the other half remained in their natural forms. A whole group of green-skinned Skrulls, clinging to the wire fence, watched the black aircraft land with interest. Most of them had never left the camp, and they were extremely curious.
"Talos," Nick Fury greeted the approaching alien. It was Talos, the leader of the Skrull camp.
After he settled the Skrulls here, some of them began working for him. Talos was one of the Skrulls who assumed human form and infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. as an agent. As the leader of his people, he occasionally returned to the camp to address internal matters. This time, his return coincided with Fury's visit.
Fury, after greeting him, immediately got down to business and explained the reason for his visit. Talos was quite surprised to learn that another hidden faction had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., as many of his people worked undercover within the organization. This situation mirrored their own. Fury asked him to allocate several Skrulls to transport the sedated Hydra agents to the camp.
The Skrulls' ability to completely copy another person's appearance was unique. Their transformation was so perfect that even the closest relatives couldn't detect the substitution. And if a Skrull also acquired the memories of the person they copied, they could completely replace them, as if the original person never existed. Their camp possessed a device capable of extracting memories – the "Memory Extractor."
Talos himself had used this device several years ago to extract Captain Marvel's, Carol Danvers', memories. And now Fury intended to use it to read the minds of the Hydra agents to verify the truthfulness of their words.
The Level 5 Hydra operative was placed on the "Memory Extractor." His comatose state even simplified the task, as reading memories required the subject to be completely helpless. The device looked somewhat primitive, which was explained by the Skrulls' limited resources on Earth. However, this didn't affect its functionality.
After Talos made the necessary preparations, energy streams resembling electrical discharges with purple tips emerged from two connectors on the device. They touched the agent's head, causing him to twitch slightly. Talos approached the man and placed his fingers on his forehead, which also began to glow with a purple light.
Touching the operative's forehead, he gained access to his memories. Of course, an ordinary human couldn't use this device, as the sudden influx of foreign memories would cause chaos in their mind, likely driving them insane. The Skrulls, thanks to their innate abilities and special training, could safely use the "Memory Extractor."
A few moments later, Talos removed his hand from the operative's head and turned to Nick Fury. He shared everything he managed to extract from the agent's mind, paying particular attention to the data about Hydra. Fury listened attentively without interrupting.
When Talos finished, Fury sank into thought. Soon, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.