"Sir, it's been confirmed. The person Green Lantern came into contact with is Reed Richards, now a researcher under the LexCorp umbrella after an acquisition."
Coulson spoke after walking into Fury's office holding a file.
Now, the latter's position within S.H.I.E.L.D. had been elevated again. With the full support of the current director, Alexander Pierce, it was almost certain that once the man stepped down and moved into his new role as liaison to the World Security Council, Fury would be next in line to take over as director.
With this increased authority, Fury had no intention of sticking to routine. He had already begun using his power to monitor unusual situations across the United States.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had recently made contact with 'Green Lantern' had acted under his direct orders.
"Reed Richards?" Muttering the name, Fury took the file from Coulson but didn't look at it right away. Instead, he turned his attention back to him.
"What about Agent Parker? What's his stance on the future?"
Now that Reed was part of LexCorp, the only way to get accurate and recent intel on him was from inside the company. And in S.H.I.E.L.D., only Richard could do that.
However, after spending so many years undercover in LexCorp, his attitude had started to shift.
After all, he was different from the rest of them. He had a wife and a son, who was growing up and had already started school.
Family meant more and more to him with each passing day. In contrast, the sense of justice he once held onto had gradually faded over time.
When Fury brought this up, Coulson shook his head.
"This time, Agent Parker was unusually firm. He wants to leave behind the identity of an agent and live the rest of his life as a normal person. As a scientist at LexCorp. This... this is the last piece of intel he'll provide us about the company."
"I see."
Nick Fury fell silent.
He didn't want Richard to retire just yet. He had started to sense a looming threat from LexCorp.
Not something apocalyptic, no. Fury could tell that while Lex Luthor might be full of ambition, he wasn't the type to indulge in senseless destruction or mass killing.
But then again... wasn't Hydra in World War II just like that?
Their goal was also world domination, not annihilation. And look what they became.
As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Fury was especially sensitive to this kind of threat. He had a strong feeling that LexCorp was heading down the same path as Hydra. That they intended to control the world.
That was why he had started keeping a close watch on them and the second he saw an opportunity, he reached out to 'Green Lantern,' hoping to recruit him into his Avengers initiative, to take Carol's place.
Yes, at this point, even she was no longer someone he could count on.
If LexCorp truly had the kind of ambition he feared, then they had likely already made moves on her side as well.
"Let Richard go."
Snapping out of his thoughts, Fury knew he couldn't force the man to stay with S.H.I.E.L.D. Besides, there was no way he could pressure someone who now owned five percent of LexCorp's shares.
Five percent might not sound like much, but it was more than enough to make Richard an ultra-rich man.
"As for this Reed Richards."
Only now did Fury take a proper look at Reed's file, and the moment he did, he suddenly realized this man was no ordinary scientist.
While his research had never brought in money—which explained why he remained an unknown in the U.S.—anyone who actually read through his work and results would see it clearly. This man was a scientific genius.
"Sir, according to the information Richard sent over, Reed isn't actually a full-time employee. In fact, it's possible he only just found out that his department had been merged into LexCorp. His involvement with the company came through a single collaborative experiment."
Before bringing over the file, Coulson had already memorized all the key intel. Helping Fury understand the data quickly and filling in the missing details was his job.
"This research has already produced results that LexCorp now owns. But Luthor is treating this space experiment as a chance to showcase his power to the world. That's why he's questioning the safety of Reed's experiment."
Fury nodded. A space exploration project aimed at the entire world, involving unknown cosmic energy never before encountered by mankind—this kind of undertaking didn't even need to succeed outright. As long as they obtained energy samples and data, it would be a massive breakthrough in human history. LexCorp and Luthor himself would receive worldwide acclaim. No matter what direction the company took in the future, that kind of prestige would never be too much.
But at the same time, an opportunity this huge came with equally big risks. If anything went wrong, the world would begin to question LexCorp. Once that flawless image was broken, rebuilding it would be extremely difficult.
Even Fury couldn't find any solid reason to go after the company. Like most others, all he could do now was wait for the experiment to end.
Still, based on his own observations and understanding of LexCorp, he had a different take on the situation.
"Lex Luthor never acts without purpose. The only reason he would interfere in a scientific matter like this is because he's an expert himself."
"You mean…"
As soon as he said it, Coulson suddenly understood the issue too.
Fury continued, "Right. Luthor had access to all of the research data. If there truly wasn't a problem with it, he would have seen that. If he approved of it, a proud man like him would never let Reed go asking Green Lantern for help. Unless... he noticed a hidden risk. Or, more likely, a mistake on Reed's part."
And that was the truth.
In the movies, Doctor Doom was arguably the most wrongly blamed villain. Because even without Reed's cooperation, Von Doom Industries was still thriving on its own.
What turned the group into the Fantastic Four, and caused the experiment to fail, was ultimately a mistake in Reed's calculations.
It had nothing to do with anyone else.
Victor may have lacked compassion, but that didn't mean he was wrong. He had no obligation to put himself in danger just because others were still working in space.
But in the end, it was Reed, the one whose error caused the experiment to fail, who became a superhero, worshipped by the public.
Meanwhile, Victor's body turned to metal, and he was abandoned by shareholders. The company he had spent his whole life building was taken from him because of that failure.
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