Chapter 104 Coulson Insight!

Nightfall.

Anton quickly distanced himself from the scene and arrived at a deserted rooftop.

Green Arrow's clone followed shortly.

An arrow embedded itself into the edge of the rooftop, allowing the clone to hoist himself up.

Soon, the two met.

In the moonlight, Anton looked at the man before him—a figure clad in green combat gear, wielding a bow, showing no sign of discomfort despite minor injuries from the fight with Hawkeye.

Anton clicked his tongue in amazement.

This was another version of himself.

However, Green Arrow's clone looked different from Anton. Despite sharing Anton's memories, his physical appearance was that of Oliver Queen.

The clone gave Anton a brief nod before his body dissolved into nothingness.

Now alone on the rooftop, Anton surveyed the space lit faintly by moonlight.

"Pretty convenient," he muttered before vanishing into the shadows, heading home for some sleep.

…

After his meeting with Batman, Coulson instructed Black Widow and Hawkeye to continue their mission in New York. He then boarded a S.H.I.E.L.D. jet and returned to headquarters as quickly as possible to report to Director Nick Fury.

By now, it was late into the night.

Nick Fury hadn't left headquarters. Upon receiving Coulson's message, he had stayed behind, awaiting his arrival.

Given the gravity of the situation, they had refrained from using communication tools.

A face-to-face meeting was necessary to avoid any risk of miscommunication.

"Coulson," Fury greeted his trusted operative in the director's office, sensing a growing unease.

In field operations, Coulson was granted considerable autonomy.

Unless it was an exceptionally significant matter, Coulson was empowered to make decisions on his own.

The urgency of his return to headquarters without relying on communications tools suggested this was no minor issue.

"What's so urgent that you needed to come back in person? Does this involve Batman?" Fury asked.

"Yes, but it's more than just Batman," Coulson replied, his expression grave. "I spoke with him. Inviting him to join our team is nearly impossible—he's already formed his own superhero team."

Before Fury could fully process this revelation, Coulson continued.

"That's not the key issue. The critical matter is that, according to Batman, there's a mole inside S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Coulson declared. "Batman's team has the same goal as yours: to prepare for extraterrestrial threats. He knows a great deal about the alien invasion from over a decade ago—details that seem to have come directly from S.H.I.E.L.D."

Nick Fury immediately understood why Coulson had rushed back to headquarters in the dead of night.

Though his face remained impassive, his eyes betrayed his deep astonishment.

Like Coulson, he was profoundly shaken.

If there was a mole within S.H.I.E.L.D., the suspect pool was extraordinarily small, limited to just a few individuals. Whoever it was, their existence represented a catastrophic threat to the organization.

"Did he say anything else?" Fury asked, regaining his composure as he fixed his gaze on Coulson.

"No," Coulson shook his head. "He seems reluctant to get involved further."

"So, his reluctance to associate with S.H.I.E.L.D. might have a lot to do with this mole..."

Nick Fury mused for a moment without doubting the validity of the claim.

With Coulson's assessment and Batman's clear knowledge of the alien invasion from the 1990s, the likelihood of deception was low.

Of course, Fury wouldn't blindly suspect his own people.

However, he would increase his vigilance and conduct a round of covert testing.

"Also, I believe we need to reassess our evaluation of Batman," Coulson said, transitioning to another topic as he handed a file to Nick Fury.

"This is an updated compilation of information on Batman that I put together on my way here."

Nick opened the file and flipped through its contents.

"The Justice League…"

"So that's the name of the superhero team he's forming?"

He silently repeated the name in his mind, his expression growing heavier as he read further.

"Spider-Man, Venom, the Ninja Turtles, Daredevil... These are all members of the Justice League?"

Then, his hand froze mid-turn, and his expression shifted to one of astonishment.

What caught Fury's attention was the most critical detail in Coulson's updated report:

Green Arrow.

DC Studios.

"You're saying that the fictional characters from DC Studios might actually exist in our world?" Fury's face grew incredulous.

"Green Arrow is already a fact—Hawkeye can vouch for that better than anyone," Coulson replied. "Additionally, Batman was initially introduced as a fictional character by Anton Jameson but eventually became real. As far as I know, Batman's full rights are owned by DC Studios, so technically, Batman belongs to them."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Now, with Anton's movie Cyborg currently showing in theaters, it's hard to say if we might soon see a living, breathing Cyborg appear."

"Besides Batman, Green Arrow, and Cyborg, DC Studios has introduced a dozen or so other characters, including Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Superman... You don't seriously think all these people will show up in the Justice League, do you?" Fury asked skeptically.

"I can't give a definitive answer, Director," Coulson admitted. "But based on the current situation, we can't rule out the possibility."

"Alright."

Fury nodded noncommittally.

Still, he trusted Coulson and wouldn't dismiss his concerns.

"If there really are this many superheroes in the world, it might not be a bad thing after all," Fury said with a shrug.

"One last thing—about Batman's identity," Coulson added. "At this point, we still can't confirm whether Batman is Anton Jameson. The evidence we've gathered so far isn't sufficient to identify Batman's true identity… It feels like he's deliberately misleading us."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Fury replied. "If finding Anton means we've found Batman, then whether or not he is Batman is no longer relevant."

Looking at Coulson, Fury gave his instructions:

"If you believe this DC Studios is more than it seems, keep an eye on it. As for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal issues, I'll handle those."

"Understood," Coulson nodded.

With that, he took his leave.

His return to headquarters had served its purpose: to warn his director of internal problems. Now, he needed to get back to New York.

The city was currently the epicenter of chaos.

On one hand, there was Anton.

On the other, Tony.

The former involved Batman, the latter involved Obadiah. Both were far from ordinary and an endless source of headaches.

Especially the former—Batman's visit and a few casually dropped words had been enough to send Coulson rushing back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in the middle of the night to brief Fury...

Who knew if, during their next encounter, Batman might casually say a few more words and send S.H.I.E.L.D. spiraling into complete disarray?