Anton was taken aback.
"You found Nick Fury at Stark Industries?"
He couldn't help but repeat Z's words, then frowned slightly, realizing the significance of the situation.
If this Nick Fury was real, it meant Maria Rambeau—who was currently in prison—had lied, and Nick Fury had not taken the Skrulls away from Earth.
If this Nick Fury was fake, the problem was even more serious. It would mean that the Skrulls had already infiltrated Earth in secret.
In other words, the Skrulls knew that Nick Fury had left, and they were now using his identity to try to establish contact with Earth's heroic forces—likely to sow division among the planet's top defenders.
"Are you sure it's Nick Fury?" Anton asked after a moment of thought.
"Absolutely," Z confirmed. "According to your instructions, we never stopped monitoring the Skrulls. Given the connections between S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, and the Avengers, we've placed eyes in key locations—including Stark Industries, which has deep ties to S.H.I.E.L.D. You know, its founder, Howard Stark, was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s original founders…"
"Seems like you've been doing a good job," Anton praised before asking, "Does Keller know?"
"I haven't told him yet," Z shook his head. As the second-in-command of the Men in Black organization, his loyalty was to Anton first.
Reporting information directly to someone else, especially without Anton's approval, would be a serious breach of protocol.
"Good," Anton nodded in satisfaction but sighed, rubbing his temple. "If this Nick Fury is really a Skrull, we're in trouble. The problem is, we can't be certain yet. Until we know for sure, we need to keep this under wraps—if word gets out too soon, we risk tipping them off."
Z nodded. "What's the next move?"
"Keep a close watch on this Nick Fury. I'll check in with Richards and the others to see how the Justice League's research on detecting Skrull disguises is coming along," Anton said. "Once we have a way to tell them apart, their entire infiltration strategy falls apart."
"Understood," Z acknowledged before hurrying off to oversee the operation.
Anton watched him leave, feeling somewhat reassured.
After all, behind him stood Batman and the entire Justice League.
In today's world, there was no force more reliable.
Once the Justice League cracked the Skrulls' camouflage ability, Earth would finally have the means to expose them.
No matter what tricks the Skrulls had up their sleeves, their advantage would be gone.
For now, the priority was to stay quiet and avoid tipping them off.
After waiting a moment, Anton boarded the DC company's car that had come to pick him up.
As the car pulled away, he found himself lost in thought.
The existence of the Skrulls was still classified, with only a handful of people aware of the truth.
As for the internal situation at S.W.O.R.D., its director, Maria Rambeau, was under arrest, and Nick Fury had supposedly left Earth with the Skrulls.
But very few people knew the full story.
Even within S.H.I.E.L.D.—which operates almost in parallel with S.W.O.R.D.—it's estimated that only Coulson and Hill have caught glimpses of the truth, let alone anyone else.
It's worth noting that, compared to Nick Fury, these two are cautious but lack his boldness. Right now, they're locked in a standoff with Hydra in Europe, desperately trying to restore S.H.I.E.L.D.'s credibility.
To avoid suspicion, Coulson and Hill would never willingly disclose anything about the Skrulls.
In other words, the former Avengers have no idea that the Skrulls exist, nor do they realize the potential threat they pose.
This gives the Skrulls the perfect opportunity to create divisions.
By now, Anton had subconsciously concluded that the Nick Fury who appeared at Stark Industries was, in fact, a Skrull.
That only reinforced the urgency of developing a way to break the Skrulls' disguise.
He instructed the driver to pull over in a secluded alleyway in Brooklyn, waved him off, and slipped through a sewer entrance, making his way into a hidden lab connected to the Ninja Dojo.
This underground lab was a joint project between the Fantastic Four, Dr. Lizard, and the Hulk.
Today, it looked completely different.
Cutting-edge equipment filled the space, and in the center lay a green corpse.
Though humanoid in shape, its facial features were distinctly alien—it was the corpse of a Skrull.
Mr. Fantastic Reed Richards, Dr. Curt Connors (aka Lizard), and Bruce Banner were gathered around it, engrossed in their research.
The rest of the Fantastic Four were absent.
Of course, among them, the one most obsessed with scientific breakthroughs was always Reed. The others mostly played minor roles and had little impact on the larger Marvel narrative.
Ding!
The lab door slid open.
Anton's arrival caught their attention.
"Oh?"
Dr. Connors looked up and smiled. "Back from Los Angeles already?"
"Not bad."
Anton nodded, scanning the lab before asking, "How's the research going? Making progress?"
"It's going well," Reed replied. "But we're still a long way from a final breakthrough."
"You need to pick up the pace," Anton said, his tone serious. "The situation has changed. I believe the Skrulls have already begun their invasion of Earth."
"What?"
The three scientists exchanged looks, their expressions turning grim.
"We found Nick Fury at Stark Industries," Anton continued. "But according to previous intel, he should have left Earth with all the Skrulls…"
He didn't hold back, explaining everything clearly.
Reed's brows furrowed. "So, you suspect that this Nick Fury is actually a Skrull?"
"Exactly."
Anton nodded. "The real Nick Fury wouldn't be this reckless. Something's definitely off about him."
His implication was clear—he was almost certain that this was a Skrull impersonator.
Connors looked surprised. "Then why not just capture him?"
"We can't risk tipping them off," Anton explained. "If we move before we have a foolproof way to identify Skrulls, we'll lose our chance to root them out entirely."
He glanced at the three scientists.
"That's why your research is crucial. We need results before this crisis spirals out of control."