Fury's tone carried a sharp, interrogative edge, and his words were easy to misinterpret.
Carol could accept an alien living on Earth in hiding, even one with immense power. That wasn't the problem.
The condition, however, was that the alien couldn't be a malicious, dangerous threat to humanity.
But Fury's words made it sound like he was implying the alien had something to do with the death of a human named Reid.
If that were true, Carol wouldn't forgive 'Martian Manhunter' either.
Sure enough, after hearing Fury's words, Carol's expression hardened. Her gaze shifted toward 'Martian Manhunter,' now sharp and dangerous. If he couldn't provide a convincing explanation, Carol was more than ready to take advantage of his weakened state and help humanity eliminate what she saw as a potential threat.
"Don't worry about that."
'Martian Manhunter' forced a bitter smile, though inside, he was cursing Fury viciously.
'Damn bastard. Why does he always have to be such an eyesore?'
He had planned everything carefully. First, he would reveal his origins to Carol in a way that earned her trust, then he would guide her to the Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S base. It was supposed to go smoothly. But now, thanks to Fury's interference, things were bound to get messier.
Trust was a fragile thing. In this standoff between him and Fury, the more Carol trusted Fury, the less she'd trust him.
'One day, I'm going to burn S.H.I.E.L.D. to the ground.'
The thought came and went in an instant, but his expression didn't change. His voice remained steady.
"Reid is alive and well. The reason Agent Fury couldn't find him is that he's already gone to the Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S research base."
"Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S?"
The moment Carol heard those words, her suspicion toward 'Martian Manhunter' faded.
Right now, aside from her fragmented memories of her own past, Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S was what mattered to her most. It felt like the key to everything she couldn't remember.
"Why would this Reid guy know about Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S?"
Carol's voice was sharp, demanding answers.
'Martian Manhunter' didn't respond immediately. Instead, he glanced at Fury.
"Agent Fury should be able to figure that out. You may not have direct access to the information, but with the data you've gathered and the spies planted inside LexCorp, you should know the truth by now."
Richard was exposed.
Fury wasn't particularly surprised. After learning 'Martian Manhunter' possessed telepathic abilities, he knew every agent S.H.I.E.L.D. had embedded in LexCorp would be compromised.
What he could've never imagined was that Richard's cover had been blown the moment he attended Oscorp's recruitment event.
After a brief moment of thought, Fury spoke again, his voice low and thoughtful.
"I'm guessing... it's because of LexCorp."
Since 'Martian Manhunter' claimed Richard's intel supported this, the most reasonable explanation was that LexCorp had a hand in Reid gaining access to Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.
And as for how he gained access, that answer wasn't hard to figure out: the military.
These days, when it came to military connections, even Stark Industries couldn't compare to LexCorp.
Tony's personality was suited for business, but making friends with military generals was never his style. Luthor, on the other hand, knew exactly which hands to shake.
At the same time, Fury caught the hidden meaning in 'Martian Manhunter's' words.
He wasn't just explaining things to Carol; he was subtly pointing out that Fury's earlier interrogation stemmed from humanity's instinctive distrust of aliens. If they simply investigated properly, they'd get the truth, but instead, they chose to corner him with accusations.
It was also a quiet warning to Carol: Fury wasn't giving her the whole truth. He was steering her, intentionally or not, down the wrong path.
Carol noticed this, her gaze toward Fury grew noticeably colder.
She remembered her life on Earth, but she also couldn't deny the truth. Kree blood flowed through her veins. She wasn't fully human anymore. She was Kree.
If Fury rejected 'Martian Manhunter' just for being an alien… wasn't he rejecting her too?
No matter how impulsive Carol could be, she wasn't blind to this realization.
Knowing this, Carol decided to put her search for Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S on hold for now. She wasn't about to let Fury's prejudice go unchecked.
Still, violence wasn't the answer.
Instead, she'd try a different approach: getting this human agent and the green-skinned alien to reconcile.
"Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S can wait. Can you tell me your name? And how did you end up on Earth?"
Understanding each other was the first step to trust. Carol hoped that by learning more about this alien, Fury might find it harder to keep seeing him as an enemy.
Fury caught on to her intentions but stayed silent. He wanted answers too.
'Martian Manhunter' didn't hide anything. After taking a deep breath, he began to speak.
"My name is J'onn J'onzz. My home isn't too far from Earth, but it's not exactly close either. I am... a Martian, from Mars."
"A Martian? No way. There's life on Mars?" Coulson blurted out, unable to hide his shock.
But then he remembered: before 'Martian Manhunter' transformed into that monstrous creature, he'd said something to Carol.
"Wait... you mentioned it before. You said your race was wiped out."
'Martian Manhunter' nodded quietly. "Yes. Martians were wiped out centuries ago in a disaster."
"Then how are you here? Do Martians have time travel technology?" Fury asked, still skeptical.
'Martian Manhunter' shook his head. "The ones who unlocked the miracle of time travel weren't Martians... they were humans."
"Humans?"
Fury frowned. Then he recalled the look of admiration in 'Martian Manhunter's' eyes when he mentioned Reid earlier.
"Wait... don't tell me—"
"That's right. It was Reid." 'Martian Manhunter's' voice carried a hint of reverence. "During an experiment in Gotham, he accidentally created a machine that could theoretically connect to the past. Through a series of coincidences and miracles, he pulled me, someone who should have died in Mars' destruction, to Earth."
"What?!"
This time, even Fury couldn't hide his shock.
He had always thought Reid was a genius, on par with Luthor or Stark.
But now, this alien was telling him that Reid had built a time machine?
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Your support means a lot, thank you!