Washington, inside the Triskelion.
Back in his office, Nick Fury resumed his desk work—or at least, he was supposed to.
The loss of an eye didn't dampen the serious expression on his face. On his computer screen, he was drafting a proposal titled the "The Protector Initiative."
This wasn't something meant for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s higher-ups. It was a plan for his future self.
Knock, knock...
The sound of knocking came from the door.
"Come in," Fury said without looking up.
With his permission, Phil Coulson entered, carrying an elegantly wrapped gift box, which he placed on the desk with a knowing smile.
"Glad to see you back in the office, sir."
During the last operation, Coulson might have seemed absent, but in reality, Fury had sent him to handle internal affairs within S.H.I.E.L.D., making sure classified information—like the Tesseract and the Skrulls—remained hidden.
The world only needed to know about the Kree. Revealing the existence of the Skrulls, an alien race capable of perfect shapeshifting, would do humanity no favors.
"Aren't you going to open it, sir?" Coulson gestured to the box. "Your injury might not heal, but wearing an eyepatch all the time isn't exactly the best look."
Fury sighed and pulled the ribbon loose, lifting the lid. Inside were various artificial eyeballs, custom-made by S.H.I.E.L.D. They wouldn't restore his vision, but at least they'd make him look more like a regular person.
Not everyone could accept having a once-healthy body permanently marked by injury; but Fury was different.
Seeing the colorful, mismatched artificial eyes, he suddenly felt that keeping the eyepatch wasn't such a bad idea after all. Others might struggle with the psychological burden of an injury like this, but he wouldn't let it break him.
"So, the official story is that a Kree burned out your eye after you refused to hand over the Tesseract?" Coulson asked, arms crossed.
That was the narrative being spread. The existence of the Tesseract wasn't a complete secret; it had been in Hydra's possession during World War II. Its reappearance wasn't something entirely beyond belief.
According to official records, however, the Tesseract had fallen into the hands of the ruthless Kree. Nick Fury, ever the hero, had been injured resisting them.
"You know how it is. We neither confirm nor deny," Fury said evenly. "The location of the Tesseract... will remain a mystery."
"Understood." Coulson nodded.
Ever since he had learned parts of the world's hidden truth alongside Fury, his loyalty had been absolute.
As he turned to leave, Fury spoke again, this time revealing what had been weighing on his mind. "We have no idea what kind of intergalactic threats are still out there. Our lone female security guard and Martian friend clearly believe humanity isn't ready to deal with cosmic matters. But we can't just sit here doing nothing. S.H.I.E.L.D. alone can't protect Earth."
Coulson immediately grasped the implication. "You think we can find others like Carol and J'onn? But sir, you know neither of them are human."
The Martian Manhunter was a remnant of a bygone era, and Carol had Kree blood in her veins. Finding someone among ordinary humans with that level of power seemed highly unlikely.
"We already have them. Humanity doesn't just have brilliant minds like Tony, Luthor, and Reid. There's also an entire population of mutants... a hidden force waiting to be tapped into—"
"With all due respect, sir," Coulson interrupted, "mutants are too much of an unknown. We can't just put our trust in a group that has deliberately hidden among humanity for decades, possibly centuries, with motives we don't fully understand."
Reid wasn't the only one who held suspicion toward mutants.
Fury, Coulson, and nearly every other intelligence agency viewed their existence with caution. That wariness only deepened when they learned that Charles possessed telepathic abilities.
"That's why we need to be fully prepared. This is just a draft for now, but it's time we made contact. Coulson, can I count on you for this mission?"
Though Fury had yet to secure his position as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director, his exceptional performance during the Kree incident had granted him a certain degree of operational autonomy.
"I understand." Coulson gave a brief nod and left the office.
Fury, meanwhile, flipped through Carol's file. Eventually, inspiration struck as his eyes landed on the name of the fighter jet she once piloted.
"'The Protector Initiative'… it just doesn't have the right ring to it."
His fingers hovered over the keyboard before renaming the file.
"'The Avengers Initiative'—now that has a nice sound to it."
A small smirk played on his lips before his expression darkened.
"If only I could get Luthor or Reid to join, I wouldn't have to worry so much."
The Avengers couldn't be made up of only mutants. Human members were necessary to maintain balance. But both Luthor and Reid were ambitious, and Fury knew it. Luthor's growing political reach proved that his interests extended far beyond heroism.
And those too entangled with the government didn't fit Fury's vision of what a true Avenger should be. Heroes had to be like J'onn and Carol, operating beyond bureaucratic control.
There was one more option besides Luthor and Reid: Tony Stark.
But right now, Tony wasn't what Fury needed. To him, Stark still fell short of his father, Howard.
Not that it mattered; Tony wouldn't have accepted the offer anyway. At this moment, his mind was set on finding Hydra. He had even begun suspecting S.H.I.E.L.D. itself. There was no way he would willingly join a superhero initiative founded by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
...
While Nick Fury was racking his brain over the Avengers' lineup, Reid was finally ready to claim his reward for completing Martian Manhunter's character mission at LexCorp.
He eyed the card pack in his hands, his brow furrowing slightly. "Same old card pack... but why is it completely black this time?"
Before, he could at least complain about the bright pink packaging. Now, it was just solid black. Nothing to see at all.
"Whatever, let's just get this over with."
With nothing left to complain about, he didn't hesitate any longer. He tore open the plastic wrapper and watched as two cards flew out.
In the past, he had to wait until the glowing cards landed in his hands to see what they were. But now, with Martian Manhunter's abilities, he could instantly make out the images and text on them.
One glance was all it took to get him excited.
Batman.
The name was written boldly across one of the cards.
Reid's lips curled into a smirk. Four years. It had been four long years since he pulled Alfred's card, and now, finally, he had Batman.
Some might argue that compared to his other summons, Batman wasn't as necessary. Luthor covered intelligence, Martian Manhunter brought raw power, and Superman was bound to appear eventually. In contrast, Batman was just a human; no superpowers, no alien heritage.
But this was about more than power. Every comic fan held Batman close to their heart. The man always had a way of turning the tide. Many of the plans Reid and Luthor devised would be foolproof with Batman giving them a final review.
And if it came down to a fight, even the strongest New God—Darkseid—might not be able to defeat a fully prepared Batman.
This was the pinnacle of human potential.
Moreover, the timing couldn't have been better. Reid was already looking for an opportunity to deal with the mutants, and now Batman was here. With his skills, dismantling the mutant organization wouldn't be too difficult.
Without checking the next card, Reid activated Batman's. Then, he used the system's enhanced cloning ability.
The next moment, a man appeared before him—neatly combed black hair, a striking jawline that, for some reason, looked incredibly charismatic.
Bruce Wayne.
His arrival meant one thing: Gotham was now under Reid's control. The city he had summoned was finally returning to its rightful owner.
As for the Court of Owls, which had also been brought into existence along with Gotham? Everyone knew just how terrifying Bruce Wayne could be when he wasn't bound by his usual no-kill rule.
"I just summoned you, so I won't waste time explaining the plan."
Reid spoke directly to his clone, 'Bruce.' Since the clone shared all of his knowledge, there was no need for further discussion.
'Bruce' met his gaze and replied, "I know. We start with Gotham. In the dark, only Batman and the Joker should exist."
With that, he turned and left the office. His destination: Gotham City, where he had to deal with Wayne Enterprises.
Reid, meanwhile, turned his attention to the second card.
"I didn't expect it to be him," he muttered.
Back when he had been managing Wayne Enterprises as Alfred, he had tried to track this person down. And now, here he was—appearing in Reid's hands as a follower card.
"Deathstroke, huh? Perfect. That means Batman just got a powerful ally."
Reid studied the card, recalling what he knew about the character.
Slade Wilson. A former soldier, enhanced assassin, and one of the deadliest mercenaries in the world.
For Reid, Deathstroke's role was clear. Aside from making a name for himself as a mercenary and stepping in at the right moments, his most important task was training subordinates.
The force Reid was building couldn't rely solely on himself and his clones. He needed specialists, soldiers. And when it came to training, Deathstroke was the best.
Even Batman had acknowledged that Deathstroke was one of the world's greatest tacticians and assassins. There was a time when the Justice League had even hired him to train the Teen Titans.
Against Jonathan, Superman's son, Damian, Batman's son, and Kid Flash, Barry Allen's nephew, Deathstroke was just an ordinary human with enhanced healing. Yet, he could still defeat superpowered youths through sheer combat experience and strategy.
With someone like Deathstroke, Reid had the perfect instructor to train his recruits.
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