Anton was taken aback.
"You found Nick Fury at Stark Industries?"
He couldn't help but repeat Z words, then frowned, immediately grasping the gravity of the situation.
If this Nick Fury was real, then that meant Maria Rambeau, currently imprisoned, had been lying—Nick Fury never took the Skrulls away from Earth.
If this Nick Fury was fake, then things were even more dire—it would mean the Skrulls had already begun their secret invasion.
In other words, the Skrulls knew that Nick Fury was gone.
So now, they were using his identity to infiltrate Earth major hero factions, sowing discord among its most powerful defenders.
"Are you certain it Nick Fury?"
After a brief moment of thought, Anton asked again.
"Absolutely certain."
Z nodded. "Per your orders, we never ceased our investigation into the Skrulls.
Given the deep ties between S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, and the Avengers, the Men in Black have kept eyes in multiple key locations,
especially inside Stark Industries, which has had strong ties to S.H.I.E.L.D. ever since Howard Stark co-founded the agency."
"Looks like you've done your job well."
Anton gave a brief nod of approval before asking, "Does Keller know?"
"Not yet."
Z shook his head. As second-in-command of the Men in Black, his first loyalty was to Anton, not to John Keller.
Going over his superior head was a cardinal sin in any hierarchy.
Z wasn't a fool.
Given Anton strong relationship with the military, Z trusted that Anton would not make rash decisions.
"Well done."
Anton nodded, then sighed, rubbing his temple.
"If this Nick Fury is really a Skrull imposter, then this could get complicated…"
"The problem is, we can't confirm his true identity yet. If we make a move too soon, we risk tipping them off."
"What are our next steps?"
Z asked.
"For now, just keep eyes on this Nick Fury."
Anton paused, thinking.
"I'll go see Richards and the others—check on the Justice League progress in developing technology to counter Skrull shapeshifting."
"As long as we can identify their true forms, the Skrulls will lose their ability to deceive us—and without that, they pose no real threat to Earth."
"Understood."
Z hurried off to continue his mission.
He wasn't worried about Anton decision-making.
Everyone knew that Anton had Batman and the entire Justice League backing him.
And right now, there was no organization on Earth more reliable than the Justice League.
Once they perfected a method to expose the Skrulls, Earth would have the means to eradicate them completely.
At that point, no matter what the Skrulls tried, it would all be futile.
Since that was the case, their best course of action now was to remain discreet and proceed carefully.
Anton watched as Z left, then waited a few moments before getting into the car sent by DC Studios to pick him up.
As he settled in, Anton mind continued analyzing the situation.
The Skrulls were a highly classified issue, completely locked away by the world major official factions—only a select few were even aware of their existence.
As for the internal affairs of S.W.O.R.D., even fewer people knew the truth—that Maria Rambeau had been arrested and Nick Fury had supposedly left Earth aboard a spaceship with the Skrulls.
Even within S.H.I.E.L.D., which had once shared deep ties with S.W.O.R.D., only Coulson and Hill had caught fragments of this information.
And right now—
Those two were locked in a fierce struggle with Hydra in Europe, desperately trying to regain the World Security Council trust.
The battle for S.H.I.E.L.D. legitimacy had both sides going for the jugular.
To avoid suspicion, neither Coulson nor Hill would risk revealing anything about the Skrulls.
In other words—
The former Avengers members were completely unaware of the Skrulls' existence.
This allowed the Skrulls to seize the perfect opportunity to sow division among Earth heroes.
By now, Anton had subconsciously accepted that the Nick Fury at Stark Industries was an imposter—a Skrull in disguise.
This made him even more aware of how critical it was to develop a way to counter their shapeshifting abilities.
Stopping in Brooklyn—
Anton instructed his driver to pull over in a narrow alleyway, dismissing him with a wave.
He then descended into the sewers, making his way toward the hidden laboratory near the Ninja Dojo.
This was the underground lab shared by the Fantastic Four, Dr. Curt Connors, and the Hulk.
Over time, the place had undergone a complete transformation.
High-tech equipment lined the walls, and in the center of the room lay a green corpse—completely unclothed, humanoid in shape but distinctly alien.
It was the body of a Skrull.
Surrounding it, Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Dr. Curt Connors (The Lizard), and Bruce Banner (The Hulk) were conducting experiments, their enthusiasm evident.
The other three members of the Fantastic Four were absent.
Among them, Reed Richards was by far the most obsessed with research.
The rest, while useful, rarely played significant roles in the grand scheme of things.
Ding!
The lab doors slid open.
Anton arrival immediately drew their attention.
"Oh?"
Dr. Connors turned his head, then smiled. "Back from Los Angeles?"
"That right."
Anton nodded, scanning the lab before asking, "How the research going? Any progress?"
"It going smoothly."
Reed replied, "However, we're still some distance away from a final breakthrough."
"You need to speed things up."
Anton expression grew serious.
"There been a development—I suspect the Skrulls have begun their secret invasion of Earth."
"What?!"
The three scientists exchanged concerned looks, their expressions turning grim.
"We spotted Nick Fury at Stark Industries," Anton continued.
"But according to previous intelligence, Nick Fury was supposed to have left Earth with the Skrulls."
He made no effort to hide the truth.
"So you suspect this Nick Fury is a Skrull imposter?"
Reed asked.
"Exactly."
Anton nodded.
"The real Nick Fury wouldn't be this reckless—there definitely something wrong with this one."
His implication was clear—he was almost certain this was a Skrull impersonation.
"Then why not just capture him?"
Dr. Connors asked, puzzled.
"We can't tip them off."
Anton explained, his voice calm but firm.
"Until we have the proper technology to identify them, the Skrulls can't be fully eradicated."
"That why your research is critical."
"Whether we can neutralize this threat before it fully escalates… depends entirely on you."