Take the Risk
Washington, D.C.,
The White House // A Secure Room
November 1, 2025
2:32 AM (Moscow time 10:32 AM)
Val employed an elite group of operatives to uncover the missing piece of the puzzle that got Hill, Prescod, and Ross caught up this horrific mess. Val knew they were missing something big. She went over the timeline of the events with the agents who followed their locations on any devices they knew they had.
“Hill was with Prescod, in the morning, and then she left. In the late evening, Ross was with Prescod. Then we can see Ross leaves Prescod and he makes a call to Hill.” The agent working the timeline then played Ross’s message
‘I need an extraction.’ Ross’s voice said played from the computer.
‘On my way.’ Hill’s voice answered.
“Then Hill traces Ross’s location through the call in the car’s gps system and finds him, we can see the car, her phone, and his phone are all within a few feet of each other in Moscow. Hill and Ross then travel back to where Prescod is, at least where Prescod’s device is. Ross goes offline, Hill goes offline, and then we get the emergency extraction self report from Prescod’s device. But we know from time of death that Prescod was dead before that self report came in.”
“Hill did it, I know she did that.” Val was sure of that.
“Then we don’t have anything until many hours later Hill sends an encrypted message to Fury on a different device. That we don’t have which is probably the one she started using. We pulled the message from S.A.B.E.R. transmissions.” The agent continued.
“And after the NSA and us spent hours decrypting it, only to find out this stupid message is useless and says the word ‘check.’” The agent continued in a disgruntled tone. People spent a long time trying to get that message Hill sent up to Fury and she still spoke in code anyway. They should have figured.
“And Fury sent back the coordinates, that locate to an isolated area outside of Moscow, where he dropped down from S.A.B.E.R.” the agent
“A few hours later, Ross comes back online, in Moscow, he gets a call from an untraceable number, we tried to see if we could hear anything and it was just white noise and then he’s back offline.
“So Ross and Hill are probably with Fury, hiding.” Val proposed.
“Why can’t we trace Hill’s car?” Val added wondering why she would be the first one to think of this.
“She… or Ross disabled it so we can’t.”
“Of course they did.” Val groaned miserably.
“I thought we made it so they couldn’t do that for real, like isn’t there a backup in case the car gets stolen or something.” Val added.
“Well, technically we did… but…” the agent grimaced.
“What?”
“They are just smart enough to figure that out and really disable it.” The agent said quietly. The agent could tell Val was getting really annoyed.
“Yeah, well the two of them will have a great career as car thieves after I find them.” Val mumbled miserably. How was she hunting down her two least favorite people I the world, and how did she lose two of the best agents there are I freaking Russia of all places.
“So, we still have nothing? I have to call the President soon. Lost agents with Hill and Ross’s background in Moscow are not really what I want to take him again.”
“I’m sorry Ma’am. Ross and Hill, they are really good at this type of work, they are probably with Fury and if they want to be found then they will be found, and if they don’t want to be found then…” the agent shrugged and Val looked unimpressed.
“Think of it this way, Hill and Ross probably went off line right when they alerted to Prescod’s body because they wanted you to know they were alive, it’s probably a good thing. They are probably hiding from someone who has the ability to look for them.”
“Yeah but what if that person is me!” Val tried not to yell.
“Oh… Yeah… then that would be bad…” the agent said with a grimace.
Val reluctantly took the lack of an update back to Rhodey and the President. She was ready for this to be over but she could tell this was barely the beginning of the story.
After Val updated everyone with what they could discern from any location tracking information available Rhodey took a break. Rhodey went to his car in the secure underground parking facility for west wing staff. Rhodey removed a secret phone from his center console of his car. He had multiple missed calls. He returned Gravik’s first. Raava called Gravik to tell him Hill called Fury hours ago, but Raava wasn’t able to get back to the car to talk to Gravik for sometime due to how busy everything had been.
“Finally.” Gravik muttered, his impatience evident.
“I’m trying to figure something out.” Raava huffed still in her Rhodey shell.
“I don’t really have time for ‘trying to figure something out’ do I need to make a change?” Gravik asked in menacing voice as he looked over at Pagon sitting across from him.
“I talked to Gamor and he said he got everything from that agent tracking you, but he killed the agent so it’s been rough over here.”
“What else was he going to do with him?” Gravik rolled his eyes to himself.
“Well, I haven’t been able to get away.” Raava added.
“Yeah, real clear where your priorities are at. Gamor hasn’t shown up here yet. I’ve been waiting.”
Raava talked to Gamor the skrull impersonating Agent Ross, but now Raava was alarmed. He hadn’t talked to Gravik after all this time? He didn’t show back up at the safe house? Was he following Hill and Fury. That was Raava’s bet after she yelled at Gamor for leaving Hill alone because she called Fury. Raava didn’t realize that’s what Gravik wanted Hill to do. Didn’t Fury being around complicate his plans?
“He said he got out with everything.” Raava shrugged, what was she supposed say to that.
“He’s not here yet.” Gravik wanted to see what this CIA agent had put together on him and his plans, but Gamor never showed up.
“If anything, he’s being smart, he can’t go to you, they’re trying to track him because of he agent who was killed.” Raava answered, that had to be why Gamor hadn’t shown up yet or maybe he was staking out Hill and Fury.
“He’s an idiot.” Gravik grumbled.
“He did mess up, he called Hill for help, that’s how she got Fury involved.”
“No, I told him to do that.”
“Why?” The alarm in Raava’s voice really came through.
“I don’t think Fury would come down to visit just for me.” Gravik practically laughed.
“You wanted him to come down? Why? Isn’t it better if he’s in space?”
“Why does that concern you?” Gravik sounded really irritated and honestly Raava was finding herself equally irritated by being out of the loop. Gravik needed Fury to come down, he needed to find the Avegener’s DNA that Fury hid now that Gravik actually had a use for it. Pagon was the one Gravik trusted with steps related to the Harvest, Raava had way too much going on.
Raava sighed. It’s not like Raava could just drop everything in Rhodes’ life and do this, she had to do his actual job too, and this man was busy and important— Raava made him important to help Gravik! Also, two missing CIA agents in Russia with one showing up murdered, was really taking up a lot of Raava’s time.
“Well, dream come true for you, Fury’s here.” Rhodey’s voice snapped at Gravik.
“Yeah, I know, and watch your tone.” Gravik huffed sharply back.
“And I know, Pagon told me, and I already saw him.” Gravik added as he watched Fury stroll through the dark streets of Moscow shapeshifting repeatedly.
“You saw him? In Moscow? Who was he with?” Raava asked. Were Hill and ‘Ross’ there too.
“He was alone.”
“And you let him go?” Raava tried to suppress her annoyance.
“Someone else got to him first.” Gravik snarked, that was actually what happened, really.
“Do you think Gamor is with them, Fury and Hill?” Gravik asked, excited at the idea.
“That’s my guess, maybe following or staking them out?” Raava was so tired from all the chaos but that was her best guess.
“Do you think Prescod told Hill anything?” Gravik asked.
“Gamor said Prescod thought Hill was a skrull and didn’t trust her, it was even in his ‘work.’” Raava explained and Gravik laughed through the phone.
“Fury really fucked himself over on that one, didn’t he?” Gravik said still laughing.
“That he certainly did.” Raava agreed. Prescod and Maria worked together for a year, he could’ve told Maria anything, he knew Maria was close with Fury and anyone chasing the skrulls would know a connection to Fury was necessary.
Rhodey’s real phone buzzed and buzzed.
“I have to go, it might be more news.”
“Raava, don’t forget what you are supposed to be doing.” Gravik said in a harsh tone, and somedays it truly was hard for Raava to remember that she wasn’t Rhodes and she had different purpose than his. Gravik was right though. Her purpose was getting muddled in all the havoc of politics.
November 1, 2025
Gravik and Pagon’s safe house
Moscow 10:32 AM
Gravik hung up the phone and rolled his eyes to himself as he thought Raava was losing her ability to do what was necessary. She was thinking too politically and not strategically. Gravik looked over at Pagon.
“She said she talked to Gamor.” Gravik looked at Pagon skeptically.
“He’d be back by now if he was still alive.” Pagon asserted.
“Maybe Hill got everything first. She obviously got something if Fury would risk coming to Moscow.” Pagon was sure of that, Gravik agreed.
“Hill scared him off and he’s hiding with what he could get?” Gravik proposed, he didn’t understand why Gamor would talk to Raava and not him after everything.
“Whatever it is, fuck him now, he was an errand boy anyway.” Pagon scoffed.
“Raava said she talked to him, after the CIA agent was killed and that the CIA agent thought Hill was one of us.” Gravik explained and Pagon pressed his lips together.
“Something somewhere is not quite right, is it?” Gravik asked Pagon.
“Raava knows something she’s not sharing, or someone other than Hill is helping Fury.” Pagon asserted.
Gravik thought about what Pagon said, Pagon was probably right. That’s what made the most sense.
“Yeah, and maybe it’ time to draw out a nuisance.” Gravik muttered as he looked at the monitors he had that were showing what was going on in New Skrullos, and he pointed to G’iah leading a new skrull refugee into New Skrullos on the camera.
“G’iah?” Pagon asked surprised and Gravik shook head no.
“Talos. I should have ended him when I had the chance.” Gravik huffed, mad at himself. He took out Soren and he should have taken out Talos too, but part of him deep down just wanted one of them to see him rip Fury apart, to watch the man who left the Skrulls hanging like this suffer, Talos’s so called friend.
“And I know just the way to draw him out too.” Gravik nodded. It was time for G’iah to come to Moscow.
“You’re giving her a job? Outside of the compound?” Pagon asked. He didn’t agree with that. It was way too risky. Talos was too close to Fury and who knew where G’iah’s loyalty really lied. She said she wants to help but she’s better where she was.
“She wants one, she’s been asking.” Gravik smirked to himself as he would love to see the look on Talos’s face if G’iah was the one who ended him, and if she couldn’t do it then she couldn’t be part of this new world. You were either with Gravik you weren’t. All skrulls who found refuge here would find that out soon enough.
“When you drop off that American trash in New Skrullos, give her something to do here, tell if her if she fucks up it’s over for her.” Gravik ordered Pagon, the two then heard a pounding sound from the other room. Their American captive, Martin Wallace a white man who and leader of “Americans Against Russians” was being held restrained and gagged before his trip back to New Skrullos to be replaced by a skrull rebel. Pagon and Gravik were waiting for Gamor to come back with Hill and everything that Agent Prescod had gathered up. But Gamor hadn’t come back and it had been hours. Raava was either confused or getting played and if she wasn’t smart enough to figure that out Gravik was ready to be done with her. If she wasn’t in so deep and so far away he’d find someone else to take her place. Someone who didn’t give him attitude and lip like this.
“I guess Mr. Wallace will be traveling to New Skrullos without a friend.” Gravik and Pagon exchanged a glance and then Gravik put his sixth tea spoon of sugar into his small cup of coffee. It was too late now, Hill called Fury, Fury was already here, she did her part even without realizing it.
November 1, 2025
New Skrullos / 4:32 PM
G’iah worked her normal routine at the compound, introducing new skrull refugees to the area, showing them that only skrull foods were grown and served here, that you could wear your own true skin if you wanted. The new skrull refugee, Beto couldn’t believe his eyes. He heard rumors about this place from friends that’s how he found it. But this was like nothing Beto could imagine. G’iah remembered this feeling of being overwhelmed by lost familiarities.
As G’iah helped Beto get aquatinted she saw Pagon drive into the compound. G’iah had been asking Gravik for more to do, but because she was Talos’s daughter she had been left to do work at compound most of the time, not out in the field, even though she repeatedly was showing them she was capable and ready for it. She wore her human skin all the time, she helped set up and maintain the fracking pods and detain the humans brought there. She even new a little something about Gravik and Pagon’s secret efforts in the dismantled laboratory. She hadn’t wondered too far in there though. G’iah was tired of living in a secret compound pretending her people didn’t exist, and she was—similarly to Raava and Pagon, drawn to Gravik’s leadership and ideals. She was too far removed to see that Gravik was really self-serving, Pagon was too blind by his devotion to Garvik to see it for himself. G’iah wanted to do more, she was ready to do more.
G’iah went to meet Pagon when he got there, separating herself from Beto.
“I have a present for you, it’s an American against Russians!” Pagon said to his crew of skrull rebels who laughed. A younger skrull Brogon was there, ready to assume to the face and memories of this American for Gravik’s scheme.
Martin Wallace struggled as he was pulled from the trunk of Pagon’s car. G’iah watched from the doorway.
“Martin Wallace, Americans Against Russians, your dreams are about to come true!” Pagon joked and the group laughed as the restrained terrified man struggled against his captors.
“C’mon Brogon, take on your shell.” Pagon said as Brogan formed the identity of Martin. Brogon placed his hand on Martin’s face to take his recent memories. Then Martin was pulled up to a fracking pod by the other skrulls in the room who also had human forms. G’iah set up the memory device to keep Martin’s memories obtainable for Brogon’s ‘performance.’
G’iah had helped set up a second pod but there was only one human.
“Were there supposed to be two?” G’iah asked. Pagon rolled his eyes at her.
“You, c’mere.” Pagon said motioning with his hand to G’iah. G’iah wanted to roll her eyes but she came to Pagon as he requested.
“Follow me.” Pagon ordered and Pagon led G’iah down a hallway to a back room where there was a large safe.
“You know Poprishchin. That fat fuck.” Pagon started as he opened the safe and started taking out piles of cash and stuffing it into some bags.
“The museum curator?” G’iah asked.
“Take this cash and pay him for the bombs and bring the bag to the safe house.”
“Pay Poprishchin? Isn’t he one of us?”
“Yes.” Pagon groaned.
“Why would … why are we paying him anything?”
“Because he’s a tool who thinks he deserves more than everyone else.” Pagon huffed. Poprishchin was driving Pagon nuts, but with his black market ties for his museum he ended up being quite useful. Pagon was happy G’iah had this job because Pagon might kill him with all the back and forth Poprischin was doing to get the bombs to Gravik.
“So just kill him and take the..” G’iah started
“Are you giving me orders?!” Pagon asked sharply and G’iah froze. These men had fragile egos and G’iah knew that, she held her tongue, she was finally being given something to do. G’iah glared at Pagon but her expression softened and Pagon knew she was no threat at all, just a dumb girl.
“We don’t need a body count on this trail.” Pagon muttered, there’d be enough bodies racking up in a few days and the authorities would be looking around for clues.
“Why do you want me to do it?” G’iah asked surprised she was being given a real job.
“Because he’s a scumbag who likes pretty and unthreatening little girls.”
G’iah narrowed her gaze at Pagon. Was he serious right now?
“Don’t fuck up, get the bombs bring them to the safe house. Do you understand? Girls are supposed to be good at carrying bags so it shouldn’t be too hard for you.”
“I got it.” G’iah said as she took the bag with the funds. She tried not to let Pagon’s attitude interfere with her mood. She was finally doing something more than setting up fracking pods.
“We leave soon.” Pagon said in a commanding tone, it was going to take them quite awhile to drive back to Moscow.
The drive back to Moscow was long for G’iah, she went with another skrull and Pagon drove himself back with Brogon. All of them were at the safe house now in the early morning hours of November 2.
As G’iah looked around the safe house she was not surprised to learn that Gravik kept watch on New Skrullos from there. He was just a rebel leader, not an official of everyone at New Skrullos. Lots of skrulls just wanted to live unbothered in their new found ‘home.’ Gravik seemed to think he was their leader as a whole and. That was the vibe G’iah got anyway. Gravik wasn’t the kind of person who could have power, G’iah knew that, he latched onto power to fulfill this childlike need for attention. Gravik behaved like a child, he ate like a child, and he had a temper like a child. He was far from any leader G’iah wanted to lend her talents to, but she did want her own home and she was’t going to get it in the makeshift abandoned nuclear plant. She wanted a real home like she had when she was a kid. Fury couldn’t deliver that, her father couldn’t deliver that, but Gravik? Despite his childlike indulgences he could make it happen.
Gravik ran into G’iah who was wondering the halls of the safe house. She was snooping but she just looked a little lost.
“Don’t tell me this is too much for you.” Gravik snarked and G’iah turned her head at him looking at him skeptically.
“I appreciate the opportunity to help.” She knew she had to thank her ‘fearless leader.’
“Don’t mess up.”
“Why would we pay Poprishcin at all? Let’s just go get it and keep the cash.” G’iah didn’t understand this role, Poprishchin worked for them.
“I am not going to haggle with that tool. Turns out his skrull self is just as shady as is shell.”
“And you trust him?” G’iah asked surprised and Gravik looked offended at first that G’iah was questioning him but then he assumed she was just naive.
“I trust his greed.” Gravik explained with a smirk, skrulls and humans were alike in that sense, some of them were truly driven by their want of money. Gravik was right to exploit Poprishchin’s greed, he could be useful and the second he wasn’t Gravik could put someone else right in his place if needed to.
“Plus, if we didn’t pay him and they traced us to him they’d know he was one of us.” Gravik added. That was really the scheme keep as many skrulls in human shells as long as possible to feed into the rebellion.
\\//\\//\\
November 2, 2025
Moscow, 2:25 PM
Maria drove Fury and Talos to one of the studios Poprishchin kept art in. They had staked out a few around the city. He was quite a shady character. Maria spent the night digging up info on him that she shared with Talos and Fury. Sonya’s team was doing the same and it really helped Maria and Fury speed up the process. Fury joked he’d have to thank Sonya later for her unwilling assistance but Maria didn’t seem impressed by that joke.
It actually made Maria question why Sonya wouldn’t work with Nick. Maria wondered if she should be doing the same. Should she just reach out to Sonya herself. Maria could tell Nick was struggling, but there was just a reason that she couldn’t explain that compelled her to trust Nick even though rationally she could tell
“Ready to go have a little chat with a bomb making art dealer?” Fury joked under his breath to Talos in the backseat.
“Amazing how they keep finding all the exact people that they need for their cause.” Talos sighed.
“It’s like someone trained them with a massive spy network or something.” Maria muttered. Then Maria and Fury exchanged a brief glance.
“Really, who?” Fury questioned Maria sarcastically and Maria shook her head at him and Fury smirked at her and Maria couldn’t help but smile back at him even though nothing about this was funny.
“You staying here?” Talos asked Maria as Fury and Talos started to exit the car.
“Three’s a crowd.” Maria mumbled.
“She likes the car.” Fury joked again but his jokes were not taking with Maria today as she glared at him and shook her head no and Talos could tell it was still awkward between them.
“I’ll switch with you.” Talos offered Maria with a smirk. Fury tried not to grimace.
“Go!” Maria huffed at them, it’s like all they wanted to do was joke around.
Fury and Talos walked down the street a few blocks, right past an alley on the outside of the art studio. They could tell as they snuck in the back that Poprishchin was talking to someone briefly but neither Fury or Talos called it in to Maria. Poprischin headed into the back only to be greeted Talos and Fury waiting for him.
“Sorry fellas, it’s appointment only at this establishment.” Poprishchin snarked.
“I think your schedule is open..” Fury glanced at Poprischin.
“Yeah? And what fine art are you looking for.” Poprischin looked Fury over.
“Meeting with someone special?” Talos asked.
“My wife.”
“Your wife? The one who left you for the soccer player in Miami?” Talos raised a brow.
Poprishchin rolled his eyes.
“My new wife.”
Poprishchin and Talos glared at each other.
“And who my ask are you?”
“Just looking to buy some fine work.” Talos squinted as the tension built between them.
Fury pulled his gun out and Talos signaled not to help. He didn’t want more skrulls to be killed.
“Really, Talos…” Poprishchin smirked and then lunged for Talos, the two scuffled in a physical fight, Fury moved toward him to help and Talos again told him to stop. Fury watched the two old men fight unsuccessfully with their fists, taking turns pushing each other up against the wall. Poprishchin then pinned Talos agains the wall and it looked rough from Talos. Fury lost h is patience and he fired a shot right into Poprishchin’s skull. He fell to the floor and turned green.
“I was handling it.” Talos gruntled.
“Don’t you mean thank you?” Fury asked.
Maria stayed behind as the look out. Shortly after Talos and Fury finally left, Maria noticed the short woman with brown hair walk out of the alley from the art dealer’s with a bag. She noticed the girl check behind her to see if she was followed. It wasn’t that unusual for women to double check behind them especially in Moscow, it wasn’t the safest place for women. But Maria kept watching just out of curiosity, and then she saw her look behind her again, like it was the first time she had carried off something important.
Maria watched the short woman, walk by and Maria noticed from the car mirrors in which she started tracking her that this woman was worried someone was following her or could start. A 5’2 white female probably wasn’t on anyone’s radar for buying a bomb, so she was kind of a perfect pick for the skrulls to shape shift into. Maria just had one of those feelings that came with years of working as a spy and it was clear this woman did not have the same background. But then Maria had a thought that maybe was this woman was being too obvious, because she wanted to be followed. Was she a decoy? These skrull rebels were smart and they had to figure that Fury and friends were catching onto them quickly. As Maria quickly debated the options, she made a judgment call.
“Guys, I’m going to look into something, we got a suspicious female, white, 5’2 with a curious sized bag.” Maria called in.
“Where’s she headed?” Talos asked
“South down Vladeer street.” Maria answered quickly as she got out of the car.
“We’ll be back soon if you want to wait.” Fury suggested and Maria made a face at that.
“You know what? I’m in pursuit, come find me when you realize you are already behind.” Hill snarked.
Talos and Fury looked at each other as they started to leave the the studio and now join Maria.
“Good for her, she blipped back and became the boss.” Talos joked.
“Nah, she was always the boss.” Fury sighed.
“Of all your adopted prodigy daughters… I think she’s the one I would want to piss off the least, and that’s saying something because I know Captain Marvel…” Talos grimaced.
“Tell me about it.” Fury groaned. He didn’t know how to fix things with Maria, he thought she was being hot and cold and then some of her irritation was maybe unjust, but Fury had to appreciate that despite her discontent she was still here with him, working with him, she obviously still had some faith in him or at least in their relationship even if it wasn’t as much as she used to.
“Fix it, you bloke, you’re here, she’s here, do it now before the world ends again.” Talos insisted and Fury shrugged like there wasn’t much he could do.
“I’m trying.”
Talos just gave Fury a look like that was bullshit, and then Talos shook his head.
“Try harder.”
“Oh god, am I going to get this from you too?” Fury rolled his eyes, first from Maria, then Sonya, and now Talos badgering him. Could he catch a break? All he did was ignore everyone’s calls for help and concern for years, was that so bad? Fury sighed to himself, it was bad. He knew that, but he realized after he blipped that he wasn’t some savior of the world, that he wasn’t this person he pretended to be in this role he set for himself, he was just a regular guy trying to do his best. People like Maria and Talos, they believed in Fury more than Fury believed in himself anymore and that was frustrating for them.
“Welcome back to earth.” Talos smirked as they entered the art studio.
Meanwhile, Maria followed G’iah but far behind her as it was clear this girl was looking to be followed. Although Maria was far enough away from G’iah to not raise any concern, G’iah was already on alert and she decided to move from the crowded street to an isolated dark tunnel she knew of, that would really help G’iah sort out of it she was being followed for real. G’iah’s paranoia was so high, it was like she knew Pagon and Gravik wanted her to fail she could feel it. And then they made her deal with the creepy Poprishchin. She was not going to mess this up, Gravik and Pagon were right, carry a bag, it was a simple enough assignment.
As G’iah paced through the tunnel she listened for footsteps behind her and she didn’t dare turn her head. She heard nothing. She slowed her pace down a bit this time though as it almost felt too quiet but she could swear she almost heard the slightest quietest steps echoing somewhere. Then G’iah peaked over her shoulder slightly and she saw nothing but a dimly lit, damp tunnel, not a soul. G’iah stopped for a moment and she looked behind her turning herself around completely to see no one had followed her, but she could sense that someone was there. It wasn’t paranoia, she knew a person as near her, and it was someone looking for her. She wasn’t so inexperienced that she couldn’t tell something was afoot.
G’iah turned around to keep moving forward but she froze as she saw the figure of a tall woman holding a gun at her. G’iah did not recognize her, but she could tell she came up from the other end of the tunnel. The tunnel had a parallel for construction or maintenance work, it was mostly occupied by rats and cockroaches, at night it was sometimes occupied homeless and junkies people trying to get a break from the elements. Maria had gone down the other side to catch G’iah at the end of the tunnel, exiting from one of the maintenance entrances. Maria told Fury and Talos she went down tunnel before she entered so she knew they’d be coming from the Vladeer street side blocking this woman in. Really they couldn’t screw this up if Fury and Talos would just get here fast.
G’iah stared at Maria, as she sized her up and tried to get a read on her. Really, G’iah could take her, she was a skrull after all and they were genuinely much stronger than humans, but Maria looked like she’d be a quick shot and she’d probably shoot G’iah before she could get close enough to do any damage.
“Well?” G’iah asked not putting her hands up or anything but not moving.
“What’s in your bag?”
“You going to mug me? You did come out the tunnel where all the vagrants are.” G’iah snickered.
“Slowly put the bag down and put your hands up.” Maria ordered.
“I can’t do that, it’ll break, and it’s very fragile.” G’iah kept a cool a calm demeanor as she tried to think of what to do.
“Take the risk.” Maria was unimpressed by this little game, but Maria just wasn’t one to play shoot first and ask questions later. G’iah needed this interaction to go on because she was trying to figure out who she was dealing with, but G’iah could sense something, it reminded her of her Talos, reason first and violence the last resort.
Maria and G’iah stared at each other and Maria was not going to play this game. Lots of lives were at risk, but Maria didn’t know for sure if this woman was a skrull. Maria really needed Talos to get here fast.
“Go ahead, shoot me. What are you waiting for?” G’iah taunted Maria.
“What’s in your bag?” Maria asked hostilely.
G’iah scoffed because Maria still didn’t shoot her.
“What do you think?” G’iah sassed, feeling a strange sense of confidence while a gun was pointed at her face.
“We both know you aren’t going to shoot me. You’re the type who doesn’t shoot people who don’t have guns. I know people like you, they always die because they can’t take their shot, they try to reason first.” G’iah started she even relaxed her frozen pose.
“Let’s test that theory right now.” Maria snarked but in reality Maria didn’t want to deliver a warning shot because it would draw attention to the tunnel. G’iah wasn’t totally wrong there were a lot of reasons not shoot her.
“You won’t.” G’iah said confidently but she internally did waver she had to do this brazen act though and not act scared to gain some time.
“If you have what I think you do in that bag you better believe I’ll take a shot.” Maria threatened as she cocked her gun and G’iah stopped moving. G’iah narrowed her gaze as she wondered if Maria’s threat was real, it sounded real.
G’iah took a big sigh but she did have a plan.
“I’ll drop the bag.” G’iah agreed.
“Slow.” Maria demanded.
G’iah slowly pulled her bag from her shoulder and then held the bag above the ground. She lowered the bag. She did everything painfully slow.
“Step back from it.” Maria ordered and G’iah moved two steps back.
Maria couldn’t believe Talos and Fury weren’t here yet, and she did start to get a sense that this woman had a scheme. She was so reluctant, sure that Maria wouldn’t shoot her.
“Go up against that wall.” Maria said sternly as she moved toward the bag. G’iah held her hands up as she she slowly backwards toward the wall as Maria ordered her to.
Maria bag quickly.
“The thing is, the real bag is already long gone. Are you proud of yourself, you fell for the decoy?” G’iah baited.
“It doesn’t feel like a decoy.” Maria held the bag her hand she could tell something was in it.
“It’s art supplies, genius.” G’iah laughed and Maria looked down at the bag but she didn’t check inside or anything, the suggestion caught her off guard but Maria did earlier have a feeling that this woman was plant, a decoy and now she was just wasting time.
G’iah used Maria’s brief distraction to move quickly toward Maria grabbing her wrist with a surprising amount of force that actually shocked Maria. This woman was like 5’2, Maria was almost 5’9 but the strength this small woman wielded was unprecedented—-This really confirmed to Maria that she was a skrull who were known not only for their shapeshifting but unparalleled strength compared to humans. As Maria and G’iah battled for the gun a bullet fired but no one was hit, Maria and G’iah didn’t even flinch from the sound but the sound of racing footsteps could be heard. As Maria and G’iah battled for the bag and Maria’s gun, the gun fell from Maria’s hand as she tried to pull the bag from G’iah instead, it was much more worth Maria’s effort to get the bag. As Maria started to succeed in taking the bag from G’iah in the struggle and the gun was now on the ground, G’iah forced Maria backward hitting her Maria’s head into the bricks behind her, but G’iah didn’t do it so hard that she killed her, just enough so that it really hurt. G’iah pulled the bag from Maria’s hands, this time with all her force, this strong pull forced Maria to the ground.
“Too bad you missed your shot, yeah?” G’iah taunted as she sped down the rest of the tunnel just as Talos arrived.
Talos tried to help Maria up.
“Go, go!” Maria yelled at Talos to chase down G’iah as Maria struggled to pull herself up from the ground. Talos didn’t waste a second as he ran after G’iah.
As Talos caught up with G’iah climbing from an emergency escape route out of the abandoned subway tunnel, G’iah turned as she heard the footsteps. At first G’iah thought it was that woman after her, she should have killed Maria, but Maria didn’t kill her so she did her the same courtesy. But when G’iah turned and saw Talos she paused.
“Stop! I’ll shoot.” Talos said angrily but then Talos froze too.
“G’iah…” Talos said shocked.
“Are you part of this?” Talos was stunned, Soren died fighting Gravik and now G’iah was here carrying his bombs?
“I’m fighting for my home.” G’iah said with a curt tone.
“With Gravik?” Talos asked hatefully and disappointed.
“Well, he’s the only one fighting for us.” G’iah huffed.
“No.”
“YES!” G’iah asserted angrily.
“No! G’iah stop, give me the bag, please.” Talos pleaded.
“He’s not fighting for skrulls he’s fighting for himself.” Talos tried to explain.
“Yeah.. and where you have been, who are you fighting for?”
“Why do we have to fight?” Talos asked. G’iah was too young to remember but skrulls had been fighting for so long. Could’t they just live here on earth like they were?
“That’s the problem with you.”
“You don’t understand.” Talos tried to explain.
“All I understand is being without, now I have a chance to have something of my own.”
“G’iah, c’mon, please give me the bags. This is what your mother would have wanted.”
“And where is my mother?” G’iah scoffed. Soren was also not here helping the skrulls.
“Ask Gravik!” Talos said angrily and the anger in his voice shocked G’iah as she looked at her father.
“That’s right. Your leader, killed your mother, because she was trying to stop this. Do you understand?” Talos tried to be empathetic and compassionate but his anger came through.
“Don’t help him, don’t help the man who forced me to burn your mother.”
G’iah took a big deep breath as she came down the ladder like she was going to console Talos. She was shocked by this news, Gravik never said a word.
Talos held out his arms to hug G’iah but she punched him swiftly and enraged as her emotions started to pour out. She took the bags and hurried up the ladder leaving her injured father on the ground. Shortly after, Maria and Fury arrived. Maria was holding her head. Fury helped Talos off the ground.
The three of them stared at each other, knowing that this little operation did not go great. They were a rough looking crew a the moment. Maria couldn’t even believe it, she had the bag in her hand, in her hand!
Talos couldn’t believe it either, he just told G’iah that Gravik her mother and she still ran off with the bombs and went to him. He thought he never felt heartbreak like the day Soren died, but it broke all over again. Talos didn’t tell Maria or Fury yet about G’iah being his daughter. He needed time to decompress what just happened.
Injured and defeated, Maria, Talos, and Fury returned to their safe house. Maria laid on the couch icing her head that G’iah pushed into the brick wall. Talos iced his face.
“You might have a concussion.” Talos said standing above her and handing Maria a new thing of ice as he went got more for himself.
“Yeah. Well, it’s not like I was going to sleep tonight anyway.” Maria meagerly shrugged. She was so mad at herself, she just couldn’t believe it, she barely looked away from G’iah.
“Today, did not go great.” Maria mumbled.
“So now what do we do?” Talos sighed.
Fury was quiet for a bit.
“We’re going to need help. Sonya is already working it. You have to call her.” Maria said to the silent Fury at the table.
“She doesn’t want my help.” Fury explained with a shrug.
“Then maybe we’re getting in the way.” Maria sighed.
“It’s better if we do this on our own before it becomes a thing.” Fury said casually.
“Well. If today is any indication, I can’t do it, Talos can’t do it, and newsflash, you cannot do it—so maybe this ‘do it on our own’ strategy isn’t going to be a good path forward.” Maria sighed as she chided Fury for not wanting help or doing more to get help.
“And who do you propose to help us?”
“Uhm.. try Carol Danvers, that’s where I would start… just give her a quick call and see if she’s busy. She could probably nip Gravik and his little rebellion right in the bud real fast.” Maria could not believe it, Nick literally could get in contact with any gifted, super person in a minute, and here he was sitting silently at a table while his two best friends got injured helping him.
Talos sighed.
“She’s not wrong.” Talos muttered and then Fury really sighed.
“Do you really want rebel skrulls to be able to shape shift as Captain Marvel?” Fury asked the two of them bluntly.
“Well, I mean, can’t they do that already? Or, am I confused about how this works? Like, in order to shape shift you have to be close to that person? Or you just have to know what they look like?” Maria questioned.
“It’s complicated. You can shape shift as someone just knowing what they look like but if you want all their skills, or the powers, or memories, you need more close contact.” Talos explained.
Maria sighed.
“And we have to do something about Rhodes.” Maria added. Fury really groaned when Maria said that.
Knowing that Rhodey was a skrull was such frustrating information to all of them. They couldn’t tell anyone, it was information they couldn’t do anything with but just know it hope that whatever the skrull imposter was doing wasn’t too bad until they could get to him.
“You should tell Sonya what we know and let her handle this and you should go to D.C. and stop the skrull pretending to be Rhodes before they figure out we know that too.” Maria sighed. This was so complicated, but Maria knew they had to make moves and the moves they were making were bad.
“Gravik is here so I am going to be here.” Fury said sternly Maria wanted to roll her eyes but it hurt her head.
“I need to take a walk.” Talos said reluctantly as he headed to the door.
“I need to get a drink.” Maria looked at Talos.
“Well c’mon then.” Talos motioned to the door for Maria to come with him.