The revelation that Howard and Maria were still alive—and that Pierce might be Hydra—left a deep impression on Fury's mind.
Though skeptical about what Marcus and Howard claimed, Fury couldn't help harboring doubts about Pierce. Regardless of Marcus's reasons for believing Pierce was Hydra, Fury had mentally raised his guard against his director.
No one paid much attention to Fury's internal struggle. After Marcus mentioned the cruiser in space, Howard reached the same conclusion as Marcus.
He would relocate to Mar-Vell's laboratory, where he could conduct research while searching for information about Hydra.
Leaving Earth was simple enough—they just needed to take the plane Marcus and the others had used. Maria, however, wanted to talk with Tony first. Since faking their deaths, she hadn't seen her son and missed him terribly.
They had been "dead" long enough for Tony to begin recovering from his grief.
Howard denied her request, though. Hydra remained hidden, and if they discovered anything unusual, it might endanger Tony.
After Howard's persuasion, Maria finally relented, though Howard agreed to leave a video recording for Tony, which partially satisfied Maria's maternal instinct.
Compared to their emotional deliberations, Marcus was far more pragmatic. After organizing all the equipment, he looked at Howard.
"I'm keeping the combat uniforms, but there's a Kree warship floating in orbit with plenty of Kree bodies aboard. You can study their equipment there."
"I'm hoping you can use that ship as a base to study its systems and eventually build a smaller vessel that can be piloted by a single person."
Marcus was quite pleased with Ronan's ship. Though damaged during their battle, the vessel remained largely intact. Its only drawback was the crew size needed to operate it.
With Howard managing it, perhaps someday Marcus could pilot a new spacecraft of Howard's design and travel throughout the universe.
Howard was stunned by Marcus's words, and Fury's jaw dropped slightly.
"You really have no problem ordering an old man like me around!" Howard smiled. He hadn't expected Marcus to capture an entire spaceship. "But I must admit, a combat vessel does interest me."
"Could I be part of this?" Fury leaned forward eagerly. "I'd like to join this project too."
Having seen the Kree's personal combat gear, the prospect of examining an entire warship excited him. Any weapon aboard could significantly advance Earth's technology.
"Of course... not!" Marcus gave him a sideways glance. "Just because you're not Hydra doesn't mean everyone around you is clean. I don't have time to interrogate your entire staff. Besides, you should master Skrull technology first."
Fury now possessed Skrull technology. Unless he abandoned research entirely, Hydra would inevitably get their hands on it.
Simple technologies falling into Hydra's possession would be manageable, but advanced weaponry would create serious problems.
Marcus's words made Fury realize the urgency of his situation. In Marcus's view, their organization had already been thoroughly compromised by Hydra.
"However, you can personally use Kree technology. Consider it a benefit of knowing Howard's secret."
Fury nodded. He understood the Hydra threat. Allowing only him to access Kree technology meant he'd be better protected. Moving forward, he would need to carefully screen everyone and build a team of absolutely trustworthy individuals.
"That new agent shows promise," Fury thought to himself. "I should investigate his background. If he's clean, he could become my first recruit." Another thought occurred to him: "Since Hydra has infiltrated the organization, couldn't I use them to handle situations where I can't act directly? They're all enemies anyway. Not only could they solve some problems for me, but they might inadvertently help me identify other 'parasites.'"
After sending Howard and Maria on their way, Marcus remained in the laboratory, continuing to extract Aya Stars.
He'd reduced the Kree combat uniforms to waste material, obtaining three additional Aya Starss. Combined with the one he'd extracted previously, he now possessed four Aya Starss—enough to create new battle armor.
Rather than crafting new armor, however, Marcus began extracting power from the Cosmic Cube.
As void energy merged with the Cosmic Cube's power, a faintly blue Aya Stars began condensing in his palm.
"Would you mind stopping that?"
A calm voice spoke behind Marcus, startling him. Nobody else should have been in this underground facility.
Turning around, he saw the space behind him twisting like a kaleidoscope. In the center of the distortion stood a bald woman wearing yellow robes.
"You're..." Recognizing the distinctive appearance, Marcus quickly realized, "The Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj?"
Though he'd never met the person before him, her attire was unmistakable. This was the Ancient One.
This was a being capable of challenging dimensional demons. But why would she seek him out instead of confronting Dormammu?
Marcus studied the Ancient One thoughtfully.
"It seems my reputation has spread across various dimensions," the Ancient One smiled, stepping out of the mirror dimension. "If you hadn't used the Cosmic Cube, I might never have found you."
"The Sorcerer Supreme didn't come merely to stop me from using the Cosmic Cube, did she?"
Logically, she shouldn't be concerned with how the Cosmic Cube was being used. If that were her intention, she would have intervened when the Red Skull wielded it fifty years ago.
"This has nothing to do with the Cosmic Cube. I sought you out because you don't belong to this world."
When Marcus had appeared on Earth six years earlier, she'd sensed his arrival but had never located the source of the interdimensional power.
If Marcus hadn't been extracting energy from the Cosmic Cube, emitting void dimensional waves, she wouldn't have found this place at all.
"So you're here to send me back?" Marcus asked. "Tell me, have I destroyed Earth or consumed this dimension?"
Though he wasn't from this world, he hadn't committed any unforgivable acts.
"That's precisely why I haven't attacked you," the Ancient One smiled, sitting down as she studied Marcus. "The dimensional power you control is the most chaotic I've ever encountered. It seems all natural laws cease to apply to your abilities, yet you yourself aren't as distorted as your power."
This chaotic energy was the most disordered she had ever witnessed. Even Dormammu's Dark Dimension appeared structured compared to Marcus's power.
Yet the controller of such chaotic power was Marcus—a seemingly rational individual. This intrigued the Ancient One. Never before had she encountered such an unusual dimensional manipulator.
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