On the other end of the secure line, Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., focused his remaining eye, which gleamed: "Tell me more."
"Tony Stark 'accidentally' knocked over a cup, and it exploded right at my feet. I held back from dodging. Honestly, the person I'm most suspicious of is Atreus Wayne," Black Widow quickly locked onto her target.
"I'll have someone investigate him," Nick replied coolly. "You focus on your end. If it doesn't work out, we'll confront Stark directly."
"Got it!" Black Widow wasn't afraid. Compared to the dangerous missions she had undertaken in the past, Tony Stark, a traditional rich American playboy, seemed like a harmless child.
It was Atreus, on the other hand, who puzzled her. She felt an unsettling pressure from him.
It wasn't wealth, power, or the aura of an elite—this was something far more primal.
It felt like... like facing a terrifying beast in the freezing wilderness back when she trained in the Soviet Union.
A Siberian brown bear, perhaps?
No, it felt even more dangerous than that.
What Black Widow didn't know was that at that very moment, she and Nick Fury were both scouring Atreus's records on their encrypted computers.
The more they looked, the more confused they became.
Atreus's background was surprisingly clean.
Perhaps the Wayne family had kept his records strictly confidential before. However, with Atreus now in charge of Wayne Enterprises and taking on the Wayne surname, much of his information had been semi-declassified within the company.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had easily obtained this information.
"Atreus Wayne—illegitimate son of billionaire Bruce Wayne! Born in Gotham City Hospital, his birth records were highly classified. He led the typical life of a rich kid, with terrible academic and athletic records, and below-average physical fitness. As an adult, he frequented Gotham's nightclubs, earning a reputation as a high-spending client."
"Recently, Atreus took advantage of Stark Industries' upheaval, possibly using money from his father to buy shares in the company, later shorted Osborn Corp, and eventually turned around to acquire his father's company..."
A person's upbringing often determines the trajectory of their life.
Logically, a wealthy but inept individual should only amount to a playboy.
This was the contradiction in the intelligence.
It made Black Widow doubt her instincts for the first time in her career.
She reviewed Atreus's profile repeatedly. Aside from the fact that he had once been hunted by Black Mask—who mysteriously died later—and that he even took the club's lead singer home, Atreus's record was as clean as a blank sheet of paper, at least by S.H.I.E.L.D. standards.
Black Widow secretly resolved that if given the chance, she would dig deeper into Atreus's background.
The problem was that Atreus's identity was extremely sensitive. The Wayne family, being an old and deeply rooted American dynasty, had connections with several political families, including some long-serving senators. The Wayne family never hesitated to donate generously to their campaigns.
This meant that if Atreus stirred up trouble, S.H.I.E.L.D. could easily find itself facing a congressional inquiry.
Nick Fury rubbed his bald head, feeling uneasy.
After all, the Stark family's roots were shallow, only two generations deep. Even though they were heavily involved in technology and had strong military connections, they could still be investigated. The Wayne family, however, was another story entirely.
Atreus, unaware of Nick's concerns, was facing another problem.
In a private hospital, Atreus looked at Penthesilea, who lay limp in her bed, and was at a loss for words.
The Queen had a strange mindset. When she saw him enter the room, she tried to jump up and "take him down," but the pain caused her to collapse onto the floor.
"Come on, your anesthesia just wore off."
"What's anesthesia?"
Atreus held his head in frustration. Explaining basic modern knowledge to her was exhausting. After much effort, he finally got her to calm down.
"The doctors here are really skilled. In my world, we'd use a sewing needle to stitch up wounds, and whether you survived was a matter of luck."
Atreus rolled his eyes: "Figures. That's got a real barbarian vibe to it."
"And what about you? You're clearly not a Spartan. I can't sense any divine presence in this world either. Care to explain where your **Starry Crown** comes from?"
At that moment, Wonder Woman called.
Atreus's expression turned amusing as he answered the phone and put it on speaker: "Diana, you won't believe this, but I've brought your aunt Penthesilea back."
"What?" Diana was stunned. "Wait! If you're talking about my aunt from that world, she should've died during the **Trojan War**."
"Actually, I just got back from Troy."
"I'm coming over!"
Half an hour later, a flustered Diana arrived at Atreus's private hospital room and saw her legendary aunt.
Almost as soon as she entered, Diana shed her modern clothes and donned her Amazonian armor.
Seeing their faces, which were about 80% similar, it was obvious that they were related.
"Oh my god! Aunt, is it really you?"
"Diana? I only heard about your birth. At the time, I wounded your mother in a battle and didn't have the face to see her." Penthesilea's face showed her embarrassment.
"No, no! Mother would never hold that against you. She often spoke of you, calling you the bravest Amazon warrior. I grew up idolizing you."
Niece and aunt began a heartfelt conversation.
Of course, the topic of Atreus inevitably came up. When Diana learned that Atreus had defeated Achilles, her mouth fell open in shock: "Seriously?"
"Of course! This is Achilles' sword!" Penthesilea boasted proudly. "If I hadn't taken a hit for him, he wouldn't have beaten Achilles."
Wonder Woman spent over an hour chatting with her aunt before turning to Atreus: "Uh, whatever the case, thank you. I'm just confused about this world."
"Don't mention it. I'm just as confused," Atreus replied with a bitter smile.
It was obvious now that this mashup world was centered around both Marvel and DC. According to the current intel, it also connected to a zombie universe and a Greek mythological world that seemed to exist in a different timeline from the main one.
This was getting bizarre.
Atreus suddenly thought of the infamous **Flashpoint Paradox**.
That story involved Flash being manipulated by Reverse-Flash, traveling through time to save his mother, but unintentionally altering history, triggering a butterfly effect that led to World War III.
It became a famous rule: if a time paradox causes the world to fall apart, it's probably Flash's fault. Sacrificing Flash is the solution.
Atreus had a feeling that if things went wrong, he might end up like that too...