"I see. So it's them? Understood."
Reid's voice remained calm, his expression remained unchanged despite the security guard's worried tone. He offered a reassuring smile and replied,
"Don't worry about them exposing your secrets. S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't the tax bureau, nor is it an intelligence agency tied to any foreign government. They're not interested in Project Pegasus' financial losses. Besides, if you detain them by force, you'll only make things worse. Their backup agents will come in with government authorization, and that's when things will get truly messy for you."
The guard still looked uneasy, his brows furrowing. "...But what if—"
"Relax," Reid cut him off. "I'll handle them myself. Believe it or not, S.H.I.E.L.D. once invited me to join. I turned them down. Once they realize LexCorp is involved in Project Pegasus, they won't dare make this public. Not unless they want their reputation in shambles."
Hearing that, the guard finally felt at ease. That made sense. If LexCorp was already on track to pull progress from the project's foundation, those losses would eventually turn into investment. There was no need to overthink it anymore.
"Then… should I escort you there, sir?"
"No need. You've got other things to handle. I memorized the base layout last night. Finding them won't be hard."
With that, Reid turned and strode off, his footsteps echoing through the corridor as he headed toward the room where Fury and the others were held.
...
Meanwhile, inside the lounge.
Fury sat in silence, his mind working overtime. He'd gone over the situation again and again, but the conclusion stayed the same: he couldn't call S.H.I.E.L.D. for backup.
Since 'Martian Manhunter's' identity was confirmed and he wasn't a Skrull, then back in the lab, that look he gave Keller must have been a warning. A silent message that Keller was a Skrull.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. was already infiltrated by Skrulls, calling for help now would only make things worse.
Having come to that conclusion, Fury went to put his pager away—only for Carol to snatch it right out of his hand.
"What are you doing?!" he blurted, more surprised than angry.
Carol examined the device curiously. "This thing looks fun. I'll hold onto it for now. I'll give it back later."
Fury stared at her for a moment, then sighed. The pager wasn't that important anyway, so he didn't bother trying to take it back from Carol.
The priority now was figuring out a way to sneak out of the room.
Fury scanned the room, spotting a roll of tape and an idea sparked. Grabbing it, he carefully lifted a fingerprint from the scanner panel by the door. After a bit of fiddling, he crafted a quick, makeshift fingerprint tape to bypass the lock.
Carol watched him do his work quietly the whole time. She looked like she wanted to say or do something but ultimately stayed still.
Just as Fury was about to test his handiwork to unlock the door, it suddenly swung open.
Reid stood on the other side, looking down at Fury's sneaky maneuvering. An awkward silence filled the small room.
"...Agent Fury," Reid said after a brief pause. "J'onn should've mentioned I was stationed here at Pegasus Base. The moment I heard you were here, I came to find you. There was no need to show off your spy skills."
Fury blinked, caught off guard. "I... uh…"
His dark skin, paired with the embarrassed flush on his face, made for an odd sight. Carol and Coulson on the side held back a laugh.
But regardless, Reid's arrival meant they'd finally cleared the final obstacle in their path within the base.
Ignoring the awkward atmosphere, Reid gestured for them to follow. With him leading the way, the group moved through the base smoothly, avoiding trouble until they reached the archives room.
"By the way, Reid, where's J'onn?" Carol suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence. "You must have learned about us through him, but why haven't we seen him?"
Reid paused, hand on the door's fingerprint scanner.
Although their first meeting had been a bit unpleasant, Carol had since resonated with Martian Manhunter's story, especially considering her own experiences. As a result, she had grown to care more about the green-skinned alien.
"You all know J'onn can reshape his form at will," Reid explained. "Thanks to his perfect control over molecular structure, he can even control his body's regeneration speed. So, with some help from other abilities, he's resting inside me. The fire from before also left him with some psychological scars."
"That... I'm sorry."
Carol felt a pang of guilt when she learned that Martian Manhunter had to rest inside Reid's body due to the self-combustion incident.
Though it had been in self-defense at the time, she couldn't help but feel regret. If she had tried to communicate first instead of acting so quickly, things wouldn't have escalated the way they did.
Thinking about it, Carol glanced at Fury beside her. Her opinion of the human agent dropped even further. However, considering he was the only human agent she knew, and one who might rise to a higher position in the organization, she still hadn't completely abandoned the idea of working with him.
Reid noticed the shift in her expression. He hid a smile. So far, his plan was working perfectly. Martian Manhunter's origin story, sprinkled with a few well-placed embellishments, had earned Carol's sympathy. All that was left was to help her unlock her memories, and J'onn would be her closest confidant from then on.
In time, when Carol traveled around the universe, Martian Manhunter would naturally follow her. With the long time and ample trust between them, he could easily influence Carol's mind, given his abilities.
For now, though, Reid kept these thoughts buried deep. He pressed his fingerprint to the scanner. The door unlocked with a soft click.
The group entered, finding the classified files on Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S and Wendy Lawson, along with Lawson's personal diary, which Reid had conveniently "overlooked" the first time.
From these materials, Carol discovered Wendy Lawson's true identity: a Kree named Mar-Vell.
She also learned about her former friend, Maria Rambeau.
Finally, when Carol came across a photo at an airport, one where she was smiling as she slowly walked down from a plane, her past memories came flooding back.
She remembered piloting the plane, its eventual crash, and hearing Lawson proudly tell her:
"This isn't about fighting wars. It's about ending them."
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