Tony Stark in this world wasn't like the one in the movies, who wasted over a decade after his parent’s death.

Since Howard had lived two years longer, he passed on all the crucial intel he knew to Tony. Naturally, that included the full story of the long-standing conflict between the Stark family and Hank Pym.

"That's right." Fury nodded. The person he wanted to recruit before S.H.I.E.L.D. left the U.S. was none other than Hank Pym.

"Then, you must know what that old man is like. You know how stubborn he is," Tony said. "And after what S.H.I.E.L.D. did back then, you think you can still bring him back?"

Fury fell silent at that.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had once tried to replicate Hank Pym’s research success—the Pym Particles. A younger Hank had discovered it, and that betrayal made him leave the agency and completely cut ties with Howard.

"In the end... we still have to try," Fury murmured. “Right now, every help counts. If we can gain just one more, that's already an advantage. At the same time, we also need to send someone to reach out to Reed.”

Tony exchanged a quick look with Steve. They both knew this was an opportunity.

If they could find Reed and Hank, and get them to help, then Hydra, which was lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D., would surely make a move. The cosmic energy and Pym Particles were too important for them to ignore.

"Then leave this mission to us," Tony offered. "I’ll go find Hank. Thanks to my dad, I know a few of the old man’s secrets. Maybe I can clear up some of the misunderstandings. As for Reed, come on, do you really think anyone but Captain has a shot at getting him to even consider S.H.I.E.L.D. again?"

"Well..." Fury hesitated. Hank was a tough case. He held deep resentment toward S.H.I.E.L.D., and the agency had no bargaining power to win the old man over. Having Tony go in person definitely raised the chances.

But when it came to Reed, he still preferred sending someone from S.H.I.E.L.D., like Coulson, who often dealt with situations like this.

This approach was crucial because only if they sent someone directly would Reed's return count as him rejoining the agency as a researcher for S.H.I.E.L.D., not as an ally of Tony and Steve.

There was a clear difference.

Noticing Fury still hesitating, Tony added, "Don't forget why Reed left in the first place. You know exactly what kind of thing you did. And with LexCorp waiting for a chance to strike, we only get one shot at this.”

Those words pushed Fury to finally make his decision.

Tony was right. With LexCorp’s media machine ready to attack at any moment, he couldn’t afford to be greedy.

"Okay, I’ll leave it to you, Captain. We’re not trying to disrupt the social order that LexCorp has built. We're simply acting as a safeguard, to make sure they don't do anything that threatens peace.”

"I understand," Steve gave a nod. "We’ll do everything we can."

* * *

Meanwhile, on a highway in the outskirts of Los Angeles, Reed was running at high speed.

His limbs were filled with an incredible springiness, and with each stride, he crossed dozens of meters. This was the superpower he had gained: an elastic body.

Unlike in the Fantastic Four films, where his powers were crudely described as having a rubber body, Reed’s actual ability was far more than that.

His true power was elasticity. His entire body had gained near-endless flexibility and resilience. Not just his arms and legs, but every single part of him.

And that also included his already brilliant brain.

It’s said that the more folds the cerebral cortex has, the smarter a person is. With Reed’s elastic body, in theory, his brain could now form infinite folds. It could grow and expand limitlessly, granting him intelligence beyond comprehension.

This limitlessly stretchable brain combined with the mind of a genius inventor was why Reed Richards was called the smartest person in the Marvel universe .

But right now, he didn’t have time to think about how much smarter he had become. He could only keep running in one direction, trying to escape S.H.I.E.L.D.'s search. He didn’t have any counter-surveillance abilities and couldn’t tell if someone was tracking him, but something in his gut told him the agency would never just let him go.

As for where he was headed? Reed already had a destination in mind.

Vought International.

Even though he had gained superpowers through cosmic energy, Reed didn’t see it as a good thing. He hadn’t fully understood the energy’s composition, and deep down, he still saw his new powers as a kind of disease.

Only a company like Vought, with their extensive experience in mass-producing superpowers, might be able to help him.

Still, though Reed had prepared himself for the possibility of being intercepted by various forces, he hadn’t expected the first person to appear in front of him would be an old friend.

"Victor... is that you?"

Hovering in the air, clad in metallic armor powered by some unknown energy source, the figure looked familiar. Even without seeing the face, Reed recognized him instantly.

"I’m surprised you could tell," Doom replied, slowly landing. He reached up and removed his metal mask, revealing the same proud, confident face Reed had seen back in their university.

"I never believed you'd hand over the cosmic storm project to LexCorp and just vanish. Your disappearance had to mean something. But now… it seems like you’ve taken a path I can’t quite understand.”

Reed wasn’t completely in the dark. During his time working at S.H.I.E.L.D., he’d heard about the changes in Latveria. And from what he remembered, Victor’s hometown was also called that. So It wasn’t hard to guess that the man was now the leader of the revolution there.

"You want to be king? Then why are you in New York? Did you run into trouble and come looking for help from LexCorp?"

Reed didn’t even realize it himself, but he, who used to be all logic and invention was now making sharp deductions just from memory and Doom’s current appearance.

Doom looked a little surprised. "As expected… just like Luthor said. Your seemingly unimpressive ability is actually the most powerful one among the four of you."

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