The group didn’t stay behind to search for the lost cosmic storm sample. Instead, they left the area and returned to the airport in New York City.
This ti, there were no reporters. In fact, no one even knew that such a flight had ever taken off. All the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, except for Rumlow, were already in LexCorp’s custody.
Under the protection of the Fantastic Four, Richard and Mary stepped off the plane. And the first person they saw was the one they least wanted to face: Luthor.
"Mr. Luthor."
Richard’s voice was weak. At this point, he knew Luthor must have already learned that he had been leaking LexCorp secrets to S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Richard Parker. The biologist I respect the most. But clearly, you’ve done quite a few things that let down."
Luthor stepped forward. He didn’t sugarcoat anything. He got straight to the point and exposed the truth Richard had tried so hard to keep hidden.
"I’m sorry... Mr. Luthor, I always—"
"Richard, do you really think you’re so exceptional that you could be the only person in all of S.H.I.E.L.D. capable of infiltrating LexCorp and not getting caught?"
Luthor cut him off, but what he said left Richard completely stunned.
"You an... Mr. Luthor, you—"
"That’s right. I knew who you were from the very beginning. But you were different. I valued your talent. And you’ve proven yourself. My patience with you wasn’t wasted. You chose the right side."
A bitter look crept across Richard’s face. Only now did he realize that for almost ten years, he had probably been used by both sides.
"The right side?"
He could mostly understand LexCorp’s goals, and Luthor’s way of thinking. But to say he truly agreed with the man’s plans and the company’s future? That was impossible.
He had once joined S.H.I.E.L.D. to defend freedom and peace. Naturally, he held a deep-rooted resistance to authoritarian control.
And LexCorp’s ambition was clear. They wanted to make Arica speak with one voice: theirs.
To him, Luthor’s plan wasn’t necessarily wrong, but it wasn’t right either.
If he were just an ordinary man, maybe he could’ve accepted the company’s rule without a second thought. But unfortunately, he wasn’t.
"I know you have doubts about my plan," Luthor said calmly, "but I’ve never hard you, have I? I gave you a position worthy of your talent. And you, in turn, developed a sense of belonging to LexCorp because of that trust. That was your choice, Richard. I never forced it. You made that call yourself. Your actions now only prove you had already chosen."
Richard went silent. He had to admit, Luthor was right.
If what he believed to be ’right’ mattered that much, he never would’ve submitted his resignation. He would’ve stayed as a spy inside LexCorp, continuing to gather intel for S.H.I.E.L.D.
But the mont he quit, the mont he walked away, he had already chosen the future the company promised over the ideals of freedom and peace that S.H.I.E.L.D. claid to represent.
"Mr. Luthor. What do you need to do? I assu I’m not suitable to show my face in public anymore."
Luthor nodded slightly and continued.
"Tomorrow, the news will report that your flight suffered a catastrophic failure in midair. The Fantastic Four responded but failed to arrive in ti. You and Mary will be declared missing. In the anti, you two are coming with to et soone."
"I understand."
Richard nodded without hesitation.
If it was just a fake death, then soday, he would surely be able to return.
* * *
The plane crash and the public relations around the Fantastic Four were naturally handled by dedicated teams.
The next day, after spending a night inside the LexCorp headquarters, Richard and Mary followed Luthor into a conference room.
Not long after, the door was pushed open again. The man who walked in wasn’t a stranger. It was none other than Tony Stark, who had been off the radar for quite so ti.
"Luthor. You actually invited here? What, are you planning to kick Stark Industries out of New York too?"
"If your idiotic uncle were still running the company, then yes, I probably would."
Luthor replied with a grin. Then, he gestured for Tony to sit and asked, "I heard you’ve been using the space station recently to investigate Hydra. Any progress?"
At the ntion of Hydra, the group that had killed his mother and driven his father to a slow, miserable death, Tony’s casual attitude disappeared completely.
"There have been signs of suspicious activity in Sokovia, Siberia, and so other remote areas across various countries. But those countries won’t let investigate directly. The level of security I need to even approach those areas could spark revolutions in small nations."
In this world where superheroes hadn’t fully risen yet, going up against an organization like Hydra ant relying solely on military force.
Tony had the ans to gather such military strength, but getting permission from foreign governnts was another matter entirely.
What puzzled him the most was that out of all places, the United States had shown absolutely no signs of Hydra activity.
"Why are you suddenly so interested in this? And those two beside you—if I rember correctly, that’s Richard and Mary Parker, who supposedly died in a S.H.I.E.L.D. operation. You faked their deaths and called over. What’s this? Trying to recruit for a little anti-S.H.I.E.L.D. alliance?"
As head of Stark Industries, and given the long-standing ties between the company and LexCorp, Tony had access to a fair bit of insider information.
"No, Tony, you’ve misunderstood. I didn’t call you here to ask for help. This ti, I’m the one helping you."
"Helping ?"
Hearing that, Tony imdiately sat up straight.
"You’re saying... Hydra is hiding inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Luthor didn’t answer directly. He just clapped his hands.
From a concealed passage inside the eting room, two unmasked Skrulls erged and handed a folder to Tony.
"Skrulls..."
Tony was well aware of their existence. He also knew that the so-called space station had another purpose. It served as a residence for Skrulls who now worked for LexCorp.
He’d assud Luthor would send them to investigate various things, but he hadn’t expected them to uncover data about S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, when he opened the folder and saw the volu of anomalies in the agency’s operations, along with irregular expenditures and suspicious signs of aging equipnt, Tony’s expression tightened.
It all looked far too familiar.
’This is just like corporate tax evasion tricks... hiding expenses in plain sight,’ he thought to himself.
"It’s definitely suspicious... but not really unexplainable."
S.H.I.E.L.D. was an intelligence agency. Under that structure, diverting funding and equipnt to black sites that only a handful of people knew about wouldn’t be unheard of.
But the next group of people to walk into the eting room made it impossible for Tony to stay calm.
**
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