"This is Grant Ward, our team's operations specialist. And you've met May before," Coulson said, first pointing to the man standing to his right, then to May. Then, gesturing to the two people on his left, he continued, "These are FitzSimmons—our technical support team. They'll be explaining the information we've just gathered."
As he finished speaking, Coulson winked deliberately at Fitz.
Fitz immediately understood—this was Coulson's way of giving him a chance to shine. Nervously, Fitz rubbed his right hand on his clothes and extended it toward Clark.
"Uh, hello. I'm Leo Fitz."
"You're lucky—Coulson's a rare kind of great leader," Clark said, smiling as he shook Fitz's hand. Honestly, he'd never expected to meet someone who looked at him like a fan meeting a celebrity.
"Alright, Fitz. Time to get serious. I'm sure Mr. Kent won't mind leaving you a signature later," Coulson cut in with a half-laugh, noticing the starstruck look on Fitz's face.
"I'd be honored," Fitz stammered, finally releasing Clark's hand.
He and Simmons then walked over to the console. Fitz raised his hand, and a holographic projection appeared above the controls.
On the screen were several images of Godzilla—one from when it first came ashore, another from when it first stood upright, and several more taken after Clark brought it to Lake Centri.
"Mr. Kent," Fitz began, "according to our analysis, the creature appeared when it was still in a larval stage. It underwent its first evolution after coming ashore. Since you brought it with you, it's continued to evolve—growing rapidly every day.
"However, due to the lack of precise biological data—like recent blood or tissue samples—we can't estimate the upper limits of its growth. Even so, Simmons and I believe it's approaching its maximum size."
After explaining what they knew so far, Fitz tapped the console again, and the hologram shifted—now displaying an emblem composed of two overlapping triangles.
"The Emperor Program?!" Clark blurted when he noticed the logo and the text beneath it.
"Yes—the Emperor Program," Coulson said, stepping forward and waving his hand. The symbol vanished, replaced by several old black-and-white photographs.
"They were actually a government initiative formed in 1945, near the end of World War II. As you know, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. That was the first time nuclear weapons were used in warfare."
"What no one expected," Coulson continued, "was that the radiation from the blast would attract… something. A strange entity composed of countless tiny creatures that would swarm together into one massive being. They called it the Death Swarm.
"In response, the U.S. led a global effort to investigate and potentially eliminate the threat. That effort became the Emperor Program—an organization tasked specifically with handling such colossal monsters."
Coulson paused for a moment before continuing: "In a sense, they were just like us—an international coalition. In fact, back then, the Emperor Program had more influence than S.H.I.E.L.D. ever did. S.H.I.E.L.D. was still just a small, support-based unit in its early days."
"But the Emperor Program? They were responding to a genuine crisis. Gigantic monsters were appearing around the world. Many of these events faded into legend over time, but some were real—like this photo."
He gestured again, and one image enlarged. It was old and distorted, but clear enough to show two massive creatures battling. One of them looked… familiar.
Clark leaned in. He recognized the silhouette. It looked a lot like his Godzilla.
"This was taken in 1946," Coulson explained. "Godzilla vs. the Death Swarm. Back then, that swarm was practically invincible. Human weapons could injure it, but never destroy it. Because the form we saw wasn't its true body—it was just a temporary aggregation. Unless every single unit was wiped out, it would eventually reform—and come back stronger."
"Just when we were out of options, Godzilla appeared. Maybe the legends are true. Maybe it really has protected Earth for centuries. But either way, it saved humanity when no one else could."
"There was another Godzilla?!" Clark immediately caught the detail that stood out most. That meant—besides the one he had raised—there had been at least one other.
And Clark knew his own Godzilla was still just a child. There was no way it was the same one from 1946.
"No, not anymore," Coulson replied with a shake of his head. "In 1999, the Monarch team discovered Godzilla's remains. All that was left was its massive skeleton."
"Dead? How did it die? Of old age?" Clark asked, shocked.
"No, we believe it was killed by another creature," Coulson said gravely.
He waved again, and a new set of photos floated into view.
One image caught Clark's attention—it was a shot of Godzilla's ribcage, now covered in strange egg-like growths.
"This was found in the Philippines, 1999. The team theorized that something killed Godzilla, then laid its eggs inside the corpse. For some unknown reason, the eggs never hatched. They all died."
Clark's eyes narrowed as something clicked in his memory—this was just like the plot of the 2014 Godzilla movie from his past life. And there had been a monster-research group too, though he couldn't quite remember the name. That series hadn't been very popular yet, so no one had really cared about its world-building at the time.
go to "patreon.com/Hussain678" for more chapter