Before leaving, Reid took one last look at the unconscious Skrulls scattered across the floor.
‘Forget it. Now’s not the ti to act.’
Even if the entire Secret Invasion storyline could be blad on Nick Fury’s stupidity, Reid still had little fondness for the Skrull race.
He had no idea what the TV show’s version of Fury was thinking, trusting a group of aliens that weren’t even carbon-based lifeforms.
Even a golden retriever had closer genetic ties to humanity than the Skrulls did.
The Skrulls had to die. Every last one hiding on Earth needed to be eliminated. But not now.
He would deal with them after eting Captain Marvel—once he had that naive woman under his control.
……
After collecting a few Skrull tissue samples, leaving the Tesseract behind, and lifting their unconscious state, Reid silently returned to Earth, arriving at Wayne Manor.
At the mont, Joker was carrying out daily duties under the guise of Alfred.
It was obvious that if the system hadn't unlocked the clone ability after reaching 100% role-play completion, and Reid had to handle everything himself, Gotham’s affairs alone would have completely tied him down.
"Oh? Boss, you’re here.
Alfred was briefly surprised by Reid’s sudden arrival, but before he could react further, a surge of knowledge flooded his mind.
"What’s this?"
"Martian Manhunter’s ability," Reid replied. "I can transfer my thoughts directly into soone else’s mind."
This alone proved that in terms of psychic abilities, Marvel’s Charles Xavier was no match for the Martian Manhunter.
As Xavier aged, his powers grew stronger, but his deteriorating brain limited his ability to wield them properly. In the end, a single case of dentia could spell disaster for the entire mutant race.
But the Martian Manhunter was different. His control over his psychic abilities only grew sharper with ti, ensuring there was never a risk of losing control.
Especially now that Reid was in control—free from the crippling weakness to fire—he could fully unleash the versatility of his abilities.
Within monts, Alfred had processed the information Reid transmitted and was fully briefed on the current plan.
"Boss, are you ready? I can start acting anyti."
"In that case, let's begin."
……
Over the next few days, all of Gotham beca aware of a family dispute within the Wayne household.
Alfred, the ever-loyal butler, had decided he was too old to continue his duties. He wished for his adoptive son, Reid, who had always lived outside, to take his place as the new butler of the Wayne family.
But the young Reid refused. Even if he were to beco a butler, he didn’t want to serve a family whose entire bloodline had vanished.
Their argunt dragged on for days, to the point where the elderly Alfred nearly collapsed from anger.
In the end, the conflict concluded with Reid leaving Gotham, bringing the family drama to an end.
And with it, his na began to spread, reaching the ears of many.
Unsurprisingly, S.H.I.E.L.D. was among them.
Two years ago, when chaos erupted in Gotham, S.H.I.E.L.D. chose not to intervene. But that didn’t an they were unaware. In fact, they had been keeping an eye on the situation the entire ti.
The timing of the Joker’s rise and the conflict between Alfred and Earle had drawn their attention. Gordon wasn’t the only one suspecting that the Joker’s ergence was linked to Alfred. S.H.I.E.L.D. harbored the sa doubts.
Nick Fury, in particular, had a keen intuition. Sothing about this entire event felt off.
But to his frustration, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resources were limited. Other than Coulson, there weren’t many competent agents under him.
Without higher-level authorization, even if he suspected sothing, there wasn’t much he could do.
Gotham was a city unlike any other.
Elsewhere, criminal organizations and terrorist groups crumbled the mont S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltrated them. But in Gotham, agents stuck out like a sore thumb.
The city's criminals could spot an outsider at a glance, making infiltration nearly impossible.
As for those who left Gotham, they either feared the city so much that they never wanted to return or were already entangled in its complex web of interests, making them impossible to recruit as informants.
Even after two years, S.H.I.E.L.D. was still at a loss when it ca to Gotham.
But this ti, Fury saw a glimr of hope—a chance to plant an undercover agent inside Gotham.
That hope was Alfred’s adopted son, Reid.
Unlike most, Reid lived in Gotham without fearing it. He had ties to the city but wasn’t deeply involved in its power struggles. If S.H.I.E.L.D. could recruit him, they would finally have a foothold in Gotham.
With this plan in mind, Fury imdiately reported it to his superiors. After careful deliberation, they approved.
And so, Fury and Coulson set out to extend their invitation.
But before they could reach him, news arrived—Reid had left Gotham.
Not only that, he had already arrived in New York and beco Lex Luthor’s assistant.
"You Pennyworths have so kind of problem, don’t you?" Fury grumbled. "You're all clearly talented, yet you insist on taking jobs as assistants and butlers?”
He found it hard to believe that soone like Alfred would hand over his position to an ordinary adoptive son.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigation confird that Reid had an impressive academic record. And knowing Alfred, he had likely trained him in ways they weren’t aware of.
To Fury, Reid had all the makings of a top-tier agent.
Yet here he was, following in Alfred’s footsteps—working as soone else’s assistant.
No matter how much Fury wanted to complain, what was done was done.
For now, he had to let this opportunity go and retreat with Coulson.
With Reid now under Luthor’s wing, any further recruitnt efforts would require careful planning. If Luthor caught wind of their attempts, not only would they lose the chance to recruit Reid, but Richard—an undercover agent already embedded in Oscorp—could be exposed.
Losing an agent was one thing, but Richard held 5% of Oscorp’s shares. If they lost that, it would be a massive blow.
……
In the chairman’s office of Oscorp, Luthor was busy reviewing docunts.
On the couch nearby, Reid slowly opened his eyes.
"They left?" he murmured. "Looks like until Fury takes full control, S.H.I.E.L.D. won't be as aggressive as it will be in the future."
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