Of Water and Salt

The day's events wore on her. Mentally at least. The flood of information and revelations kept her head spinning and she couldn't find it in herself to sleep or even lie down to rest.

Her name was or rather is, Carol. Carol Danvers.

I guess that's where Vers comes from. The woman thought as she sat contemplatively on the bed that was provided. The name she had been called for the past six years now felt entirely alien to her.

She figured it had to do with discovering her real name.

Carol didn't like the implications it had.

She had two distinctly lives. One she could hardly remember but was decidedly her real life. The other was now shrouded in the lie of omission that she had forged a whole new identity in even if unknowingly.

She had forged bonds with her squadron mates. Att-Lass, Minn-Erva and Bron-Char in particular.

But then again everyone got along with Bron-Char, even the grouchy and literal Korath.

Carol had fought side-by-side with them for the better part of six years as Vers, the Kree warrior apart of the elite Starforce commandos that were renowned across the universe.

Yet here on Terra, she was Carol. The Kree-Terran Hybrid that made a name for herself and achieved a Captaincy in a Terran air force. She had a family here even if it was apparently a surrogate one and had apparently known for her entire life. She didn't think she would have made a good leader though. Impulsive decision making did not a leader make.

The two people, Carol and Vers were the same yet different. Both had a surrogate family. Both had military backgrounds. Yet one was simply Terran, and the other decidedly Kree.

From what she was able to gather, she was still the same impulsive yet observant being that got herself into trouble. She was still the same exceptional pilot and technician. Maybe now with a little added flare and powers but she was still the same person underneath it all.

She rubbed her temples as she let out a sigh. This was a huge mess of conflicting ideals and emotions. Carol wasn't even sure if her squadron knew her true background. If she was lucky, Yon-Rogg and Ronan would know but the others? As far as she was able to recall and deduce, they were as in the dark as she was concerning her identity.

Could she even trust them? What if she was never supposed to find out about her past or about what happened here on Terra six years ago?

She groaned in annoyance as she stood and paced the room. There was just too much to consider.

And if that wasn't enough there was still the Skrull threat to worry about. Talos was somewhere out there, looking for her and the Tesseract. There was no telling when or where the Skrull general would show up.

The whole dual identity situation was just another piece to the metaphorical puzzle she didn't know existed until she found it.

At least, it set aside her previous odd fascination with Skrull simulation. She didn't envy them in the slightest anymore. Having to juggle however many identities that the shifters had to take on would just drive her insane. She could barely keep one straight let alone two.

Carol chuckled quietly to herself at the thought.

She looked out the window. It was cool out. The previous storm having dissipated earlier in the evening though a light breeze still remained to carry the cooler air through the house.

Maybe a night walk would help me clear my head.

She dressed herself in a pair of simple Terran clothing that was offered to her but also made sure that her suit pod was still at the nape of her neck on her back. She had learned to have her suit with her at all times.

There was always the possibility of being deployed at a moment's notice and given that there were Skrulls out and about, it wouldn't hurt to always be prepared to fight.

Slipping on her boots, Carol made her way quietly out of the Rambeau residence, passing a sleeping and snoring Fury that was on the couch. She didn't see Percy on the opposite couch, his bedding completely undisturbed. It made her eyes scrunch in confusion and in slight worry.

If anyone needed sleep right now it was the enhanced Terran.

But that was only the second thing that filtered through her mind. Did he leave? Was he going after the Tesseract on his own? She had realized before that he was near obsessed with the security of the cube and while he seemed keen on working with her and Fury, Carol recognized the pride and patience that was grating on him.

It wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility that he would strike out on his own if he felt it necessary.

It made her pause at the front door that was slightly ajar. Someone had left and her credits were definitely on Percy seemingly up and disappearing once again.

She hurried her pace.

He couldn't have gotten far unless he translocated which she doubted. The door was open. If he did teleport, then what use was there to go outside to do so?

No. He had made his way outside and struck out on foot. Though why, she didn't know. Maybe it had something to do with when he had left them when they had first arrived to the Rambeau residence? She didn't think that had anything to do with the Tesseract. Her thoughts ran wild with the possibilities and it did nothing to help her fraying nerves and what was supposed to be a calm night walk.

Her mind stilled when she stepped off the porch.

What if he was a Skrull?

Carol immediately stamped down on that particular thought as fast as it had appeared. Skrulls can't be enhanced and he had already displayed that he had his own powers when they eating dinner. The only time that they were technically out of each other's sight since the bar was when he had trudged off into the treeline.

There was no possible way for him to be a Skrull as they still had to be figuring out where they went from the Pegasus Base.

She sent her gaze about her surroundings. The cool night air carrying through the small brush of trees that stood sentry around the house. It was dark, but not so much that she couldn't see. The waning crescent shaped moon still provided a dull silver illumination about the property.

There was only one place she could think of that he could be. Well, two but she hoped for the first one. She couldn't exactly recall which direction he had walked in when he had left them earlier in the day.

Carol went to where she had landed the Terran jet, a little ways off the property into and out of the brush that surrounded the field it was in.

She felt like she was being watched. She abruptly whipped about as she spotted a slight flurry of leaves and twigs. She could've sworn that there was a person there but under the dim moonlight and it still being sort of dark, she couldn't exactly make out whatever it was that caused her to nearly jump out of her skin.

The commando didn't see anything out of the ordinary though and it seemed only to be a figment of her imagination.

And as unfortunate as it sounded, she was rather used to those and didn't know whether if it was real or just another escapade of her frayed nerves.

The jet was undisturbed. She traced the jet, examining it. The bullet holes in the hull of the craft made it seem more ominous than if it was pristine. Hopefully, it could take them where they needed to go.

"Couldn't sleep?" A voice called out and she nearly jumped back in fright. Carol recognized the voice though. It was Percy and she looked towards the source.

He was lying on the field of wildflower and grass in front of the nose of the plane, looking upwards at the starlit sky. His leather jacket padded up as a pillow for his head, and he seemed uncaring that his formally white shirt was covered in twig and dirt on its sides and back. His hands were clasped underneath his head as well.

He hadn't run off like she had assumed. She had let her paranoia get the better of her. Percy was probably in the same boat as well as he seemed distracted since he returned from his previous walk.

"I should be asking you that." Carol said as she stepped beside him, hands stuffed in the pockets of her own brown leather jacket. Apparently it was one she had often wore when she lived on Terra. It was too bad she had a tendency to burn her clothing if it wasn't properly made due to her powers. She would have to be careful about that.

"I don't sleep much." Percy responded offhandedly, seemingly distracted with the sky above.

There was a small silence as she simply stood there awkwardly before sitting down beside him. Maybe she could try to get him to open up a little? "Is there a constellation you like?" She asked after another moment of silence. She heard a slight but sharp intake of breath and she looked down at him. "Something the matter?"

Percy shook his head slightly as he returned his gaze upwards. "You just reminded me of an old friend."

"What's their name?" She ventured further. He gave her another sideways glance.

"Her name wa-is Zoë." He answered slightly and adopted a thoughtful look. Carol arched her own eyebrow at his correction. "It's been a long while since I've seen her."

She didn't say anything in response. It seemed like a touchy subject. She fidgeted with the cuff of her jacket, her nerves still fraying from the rampant thoughts in her head only minutes prior and the cold air slightly chilling her.

Carol didn't know how Percy wasn't fazed by the cold in the air.

"What do you usually do when you can't sleep?" Percy asked suddenly, breaking the minute silence that had descended after he spoke. Though he still stared at the star-filled sky.

Her answer was immediate. "Train and spar with my teammates. Hit the bars if our commander isn't around." She finished with a small conspiratorial wink and a smile at the thought not that he saw either. "What about yourself?"

There was a slight pause and he cocked his head slightly in agreement. "I used to spar and train a lot, now I just train others or sit around and sometimes watch TV."

Carol only knew what TV was because Monica wanted to watch a show called Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

"Do you want to fight?" She blurted out. For her it was the best way to get her mind off of things. Besides, training with her squadron had gotten rather dull. She knew how they fought and they knew how she fought.

It often ended with her on the ground because she wasn't allowed to use her powers during those sessions and the others were considerably more skilled than she was at hand-to-hand. The only one she could consistently best was Minn-Erva and sometimes Att-Lass.

Bron-Char, Korath and Yon-Rogg, on the other hand, she often found herself on her back and having to take an ice bath afterwards.

She still won sometimes though so it wasn't always her getting her ass handed to her.

Plus, it would help her pride if she was at least able to beat Percy into the ground. Enhanced Terran, he may be, but she was Kree and had the decided advantage against them.

He may have his powers but she could definitely beat him in a friendly fight.

He seemed to consider her words for a moment and then twisted his head to look around. "I don't know if you've noticed but I don't think it'll be all that…comfortable punching each other into the ground."

Carol sent a look into their surroundings.

He had a point.

"We could fight on their lawn." She said, remembering the neatly cut and trimmed grass fields that surrounded the Rambeau residence.

The ground was considerably softer in the area that surrounded the house. So it wouldn't be as much as a hassle to spar on their lawn.

He looked dubiously at her. Clearly not convinced by the statement.

"What? Are you afraid that you'll lose?" She baited. Maybe if she can't convince him with that, hurting his pride would undoubtably have some effect on him.

And she was proven right when Percy's eyes narrowed at her, his voice with a tinge of defensiveness. "I'd rather not tear up their property. I don't think that your friend will appreciate it if that happens." Though she noted that there was also a measure of unsurety as if even he knew how shaky of an argument that was.

"I was talking about a simple fight. Not with our powers." She clarified though she did wonder how a fight like that would turn out. As far as she knew, he had a variety of abilities and most likely hadn't revealed them all just yet, only using them when he felt it absolutely necessary.

But then again as far as he knew, she was only able to channel energy through her hands.

Now that he mentioned it and with the thought on her mind though, she really did want to see who could win in an all-out-fight.

"Well, why can't we fight with our powers?" She spoke after another moment.

Carol had never fought another enhanced before and figured it would be a unique experience.

"I have several reasons why I don't use my powers, if I can help it." He answered in a slightly hard tone.

"And what are those?"

"None of your business."

She adopted a speculative look, an idea forming in her mind. "How about a wager? If I can beat you in a straight up fight, you tell me about your powers."

"And if I win, what would be the prize? You have nothing I want."

She frowned, he did have a point but luckily there was an easy answer. "Then, a favor for a favor. You win, you get a favor. Besides you're not going to win so it won't matter." She continued to press her assault on his pride as that seemed to be the only way she was gaining any sort of ground.

If his eyes could narrow any further, they'd be closed. They still looked closed, in the dim moonlight and the darkness of night, but the hybrid knew better.

There was a solid couple of seconds where he didn't respond.

She couldn't help the mischievous smile that began to form on her face when he began to push himself from his relaxed position, shaking and brushing off the dirt and twigs that stuck to his clothing, she quickly did the same.

"Fine then. I could use the exercise anyway. My leg's been killing me all day." Percy voiced as he pulled his jacket onto himself.

Carol laughed at that and then spoke in a playful manner. "If you want to call getting your ass handed to you exercise, then it must happen to you a lot."

There was a small pause as they both considered her words.

She could feel her ears burning at the insinuation of her offhand remark.

"More often then I'd like." He grumbled after a moment as they moved away from the Terran aircraft, walking side by side as they did so and she let out an internal sigh of relief.

The clicking and chirping of insects pierced the otherwise quiet walk as they made their way into the skirting fields that lined the property. A dim silver light was cast about the area, not enough to completely illuminate the area but enough that they could still see their surroundings and each other.

There were no words exchanged between them as Carol moved across from him. She tapped the suit pod attached at her back after taking off her jacket and her Starforce suit materialized tightly in a wave of luminescent blue hexagons over her Terran clothing. Luckily, the Starforce suits had limited self-repair capabilities. A little bullet hole was easily fixed.

It would be uncomfortable but she didn't exactly want to take the time to change and come back.

She turned to find Percy, completely changed of clothes and already adorning his own golden armor glinting off the moonlight. He frowned down at his metal bracers and a moment passed before they dissolved into a mist of water, revealing the tight white wrappings around his wrists, hands and knuckles. He pulled his black sleeves up his forearms and stretched further.

Another burst of envy sparked in regards to his abilities.

It must be nice to be able to change your clothes. She could already feel the slight chafing of the Terran clothing she wore.

She took another moment to get a closer look at it as she also stretched in her suit. Back in the underground base, she didn't have the time to do so given the situation mainly because he had a bunch of iconography emblazoned upon his armor.

It was heavy on the ocean motif. Two tidal waves crashing into the center of his cuirass while script she couldn't read engraved along the edges of the armor. Her universal translator, unfortunately not apparently able to decipher the symbology.

Even the greaves and the bracers that he previously wore were heavy on the depiction of a raging ocean.

Still the armor looked incredibly odd for the era. It was nothing like what the other Terrans wore for body armor and wasn't anything she had seen before except for maybe what the Accusers would outfit themselves in.

"You ready?" He spoke, pulling Carol from her thoughts. "How do you want to do this?"

"Tap outs?" It was how she usually did it. "And if you want to use your powers you can?" She would have to be careful though. She didn't want to hurt him.

He may be enhanced but her….biology still made her a lot more durable

He nodded in agreement after another moment of consideration, twisting and stretching once more. Standing a good two meters away from where she was and squaring and readying himself though he didn't raise his hands into fists but kept them level.

Carol did the same, rolling her shoulders and raising her hands into her typical sparring stance.

Had she known that it was going to be her ass that was going to get handed to her, she probably would have started using her powers right at the onset.

As it was, she rushed Percy. If he wasn't going to take this seriously like she was going to, then she was going to force him to do so.

But the first thing she noticed was that he was fast. Unnaturally so and in a single fluid movement, had cocked his head to the side to easily dodge the thrown fist, pulled her forearm back using her momentum against her, and then stuck his leg out causing her to go stumbling face first into the grass and dirt.

She muttered an expletive. That was rather embarrassing.

She got up quickly and turned to face him as he readied himself once more.

She struck again, this time sticking with her legs and feet. Even so, he was completely unfazed. He easily backpedaled while intercepting her kicks whenever they were close to hitting him until he caught a leg underneath his arm and pressed against his abdomen in an ironclad grapple.

Carol looked him in the eye.

Percy cocked his head, a small smile breaking his normally neutral features.

The small interaction only lasting about half-second.

Then he pushed forward carrying her upwards and striking a palm against her chest, knocking the air from her lungs and causing her to lose her balance and footing. She fell backwards onto her back, gasping for air.

She could only tap on his shoulder repeatedly, as he pinned her right leg beneath him while simultaneously, twisting her caught leg.

She had lost.

And quite easily as well. She wasn't deterred however. He may have won their little wager but she was not going to be bested without winning herself.

She grunted in annoyance and pushed herself up from the ground and stretching her leg,. She readied herself once more, this time her arms and fists glowing with a white and gold energy.

Percy only shrugged in response, a light smile on his feature at her outrage.

She would wipe that smug smirk off his face if it was the last thing she did.

Nick Fury, disregarding the occasional times that he would get knocked unconscious, had always been a light sleeper.

He had to be. His line of work and his experiences demanded that his mind was condition to be aware and alert at the lightest and oddest of sounds. And while he was still a little up there in the years, his mind was still as sharp as it was when he was in the tropics of Vietnam and then later to the urban environments of Eastern Europe.

It wasn't a surprise to him, that he had woke to the sound of fighting and cursing. Though he couldn't make out the identities of the voices as he was still orienting himself from his sleeping state, he assumed one to be Percy as he had left shortly before Fury turned in for the night.

He had his shoes on, his sidearm drawn and making for the door in just a couple of seconds.

If there were Skrull here, Fury was determined to, at least, be a nuisance rather than a glorified punching bag.

The SHIELD agent placed himself on the flank of the front door that was slightly ajar and inched a peek into the moonlit property. He didn't want to reveal himself just yet, just in case he had to go get the other enhanced being out of bed.

It was, thankfully, a moot point. Fury was able to see the two figures in the field a little ways away from the residence, highlighted as they were by a pearlescent glow and the glinting of gold.

He could hear the voices now and they were distinctly Percy's and Carol's. Though he couldn't exactly make out what they were saying to each other.

Carol's alien expletive carried through the otherwise quiet night as Fury watched Percy rain a series of attacks on Carol's left side. Despite his larger size, even Fury could tell he was moving significantly faster than the woman he was sparring with.

A single luminescent beam impacted against his shoulder, jerking it backwards but he was quick on the recover and used the momentum of bringing his arm to bear to hook around her neck, throw his legs forward and bring them both down hard onto the ground beneath them.

Percy stood up, rolling and stretching his shoulder as he did so. Carol remained splayed out on the grassy ground.

She stretched out a hand was pulled up by Percy.

And they squared off again.

The moment they started, Carol unleashed a barrage of beams at Percy, who dodged the first few but was then received an unlucky hit square in his chest that made him tear up grass and dirt as he was thrown back.

What looked like a decided fight then and there was not. Percy easily recovered, rolling to a stop and into a sprinting position as he launched himself right back towards the Kree woman.

With the amount of light that Carol was producing, it was easy for Fury to spot the tendrils of water that formed and snaked along the ground keeping pace with his charge.

Carol seemed just as stunned as he was at the appearance, though she quickly moved forward and leapt into the air, the energy on her legs seemingly boosting the height in which she did so. She prepared to strike but before she made contact with Percy, the man slide under her while she was still in the air.

The tendrils of water struck, as when she attempted to turn around with a raised fist, it had lanced outwards and coiled around her glowing arm, dissipating into steam but startling and distracting her.

It was not the only one however as several others attempted to grapple around her arms, legs and her body. Though her extremities being engulfed in energy that probably had a significant amount of heat in them, easily caused the tendrils of water to dissipate into steam.

The only tendril that had any luck was the one that wrapped around her waist.

Though while Carol was attempting to rid herself of the tendril, Percy was not idle. As he slide under Carol, easily evading her leaping attack, he had leveraged his leg to prop himself back upwards and launch himself back to Carol.

He made contact just as she realized that a tendril of water had wrapped around her waist and being unable to move, raised her arms to defend herself like a boxer would and braced herself.

Only he didn't attack because as he as soon as he stood before her, the tendril wrapped around her waist jerked her backwards, causing her balance to fail her and her upper body to lean backwards and her arms to open to instinctually compensate.

He pressed his advantage and forced an open palm into her previously defended chest.

A whip of water with the speed of one as well, darting just above the ground and impacting against her the back of her shins.

She tripped and landed unceremoniously on her back. Again. Fury heard another alien expletive. Again.

Fury could see him breathing with slight effort though still looking ready to go as if he were just getting started.

Fury lost himself in his thoughts at that, easing himself on one of the deck chairs on the porch. After that show, he didn't think he could sleep again. His adrenaline from before having woken him up and the fight making it hard to find any more weariness in his own body.

Just what the hell did I get myself into? The SHIELD agent thought to himself.

A space lady with powers to make beams of energy from her fists. A human man that used archaic weapons and powers over water. Beings capable of turning into anyone around him and an intergalactic war on the doorstep of Earth.

He had never felt small before. His entire world was definitively protecting the United States and her interests. He was usually the badass on the block. All his missions and operations across the world over had earned and afforded him a measure of gravitas.

As an Army Colonel, he had the command of battalions of men armed to the teeth and raring to fight.

As a CIA agent, he had delved into the underbelly of the world and seen most of, if not all, the ugliness it had to offer.

As a SHIELD agent he stood above those previous stations. He had the the influence and authority to level entire city blocks at his fingertips, if he felt it was in the best interests of the United States.

And he was just a Level 3 Agent. The boss of his boss, the penultimate SHIELD Director quite possibly had the influence and resources to direct US, if not NATO, military and intelligence assets.

Yet here, he was.

An intergalactic war on Earth's doorstep with civilizations that thought Humanity as just a gnat to be swept away. An alien woman with powers that could turn metal into slag with just a flick of her hand and an enhanced human with a plethora of abilities at his disposal and the training to back them up.

Fury had an ever-present suspicion that Percy was a mutant. He had to be. There was no other explanation for his abilities.

The SHIELD agent was no longer the biggest kid on the block. In fact, just two days before Fury was under the impression that intelligent life outside of Earth didn't exist and that meeting aliens was something of reserved for science fiction and a problem that laid in the far future.

Earth was not alone. Coupled with the fact that they were considered little more than outback hicks and severely underdeveloped when compared to other civilizations, Earth was not in any position nor anywhere close to ready to begin dealing with threats that lied beyond their planet.

Hell, they were just barely getting over the Cold War and still couldn't get over their own internal threats. An introduction into the stars and conflict with an advanced civilization was definitively not on the list of things that Humanity needed to be worried about.

And the only ones that stood between Earth and an invasion, were the him and the two that were sparring in front of him.

Fury had never felt so out of his depth and element.

They were powerful for sure, but leaving the fate of the planet in the hands of just two people didn't sit right with him. Least of all since one of them was insistent on keeping him in the dark about what he knew and another with a rather conflicted history and allegiance.

But he supposed that this was the best he could do at the moment. As far as Fury was concerned, SHIELD was compromised and couldn't be trusted, nor any other government agency for that matter. Not when they were up against a species that had the capability of turning into anyone.

If they ever made it out of this alive, he was sure to make it a point to turn his attention to preparing the world for the dangers that lurked in the stars above.

Maybe he could recruit both Percy and Carol into SHIELD and get them to help the agency in dealing with matters where a typical special operations team would be hard pressed to make any progress. Their training already made them decent assets but with the their powers? Fury had a sneaking suspicion that they could be unstoppable.

It was too good of an opportunity to overlook and dismiss.

Maybe he could form a team around such individuals? Recruit more mutants? They could be the first line of defense for Earth in case anything rocked up onto the doorstep of his little planet.

Meanwhile, Fury could work behind the scenes. After all, placing all his eggs in one basket was something that he was never comfortable with.

Lawson, despite her Kree origins, had left PEGASUS with a plethora of weaponry and designs that could prove to be instrumental in preparing the world for its descent into the wider intergalactic community.

Fury hated politics but even he knew that there was some truth in the late President Roosevelt's words.

Speak softly and carry a big stick.

Fury would have to work to bring the world powers into check, whether they wanted it or not.

As much as he hated the thought, that meant that only a few people could be made aware of outside threats for as long as possible until they were ready to face them as a united front.

He would need to replace the Branch Director, which wouldn't take much doing on his part. The man was already on the edge of retirement as it was and he figured after this whole fiasco was over, it wouldn't take much convincing to get him replaced.

Fury wasn't a man of ambition. Well, he did have a little bit. He wouldn't have as decorated as a career if he didn't have a modicum of pride in his own work.

He liked to believe his ambition was reserved for when it was needed and not out of pure self-interest.

He didn't trust anyone else to jumpstart PEGASUS and all that entailed. Well, besides Coulson but with him being new, he wasn't an option.

He also needed to work to bring the underbelly of the world to heel and to stabilize the world over. Maybe not outright purge them as that would be next to impossible, but a good de-fanging would serve as a decent alternative.

But that was long-term. His more immediate concern was finishing this and recovering the Tesseract and dealing with the aberration that was internal SHIELD politics.

He didn't think that he would be using the skills he picked up in the CIA in his own branch office.

Hopefully, his division of SHIELD was the only one compromised at the moment and that his thoughts and plans didn't have to extend to the organization as a whole.

That would give him a headache that he sorely didn't need.

Skrull threat first. Ready Humanity later.

He missed the days when his most immediate concern was cleaning up Soviet holdouts and the mess that was the Middle East.

Percy sighed in relief as he felt the cool water run over his body. Contrary to what most people preferred, Percy was more inclined to take colder showers, not only did it soothe his muscles better also because it kept him awake and alert.

In all honesty though, the temperature of water hardly ever affected him. Since he had total command over it, he could change the temperature with just a thought if he really wanted to.

Regardless, he palmed and massaged his shoulder, willing the water to ease the pressure and do its best to heal the muscle. Whatever that beam of light was, it had left its mark in a nasty purple and blue bruise. It was nothing in comparison to other injuries he had often endured but no one enjoyed the feeling of pain except masochists.

And while he was absolutely sure that he wasn't one, he had his reservations on whether Carol was one or not. After his initial and quite simply, landslide of a win, she had proceeded in an attempt to regain her pride, by fighting him until she won.

And that was how they spent the better part of the night.

Percy had spent most of it doling out punishment that it had gotten to the point where he was actively training her. She was no slouch by any means as she had gotten quite a few of her own hits in but she was going against someone that had sparred with children of literal war deities. It was no contest, he was simply faster and stronger than she was.

That was until she started using her powers to amplify her strength and speed. She had won a couple bouts as he was determined not to use his own powers against her. Then she had taken a nasty hit and shot a bolt of energy at him in anger. A glancing hit but it still hurt.

Then Percy, his own anger at the scummy move, had quite easily knocked her into the ground in retribution with his own powers. The energy may be able to dissipate the tendrils but the shock was something he had taken advantage of.

Carol may have been able to dish it out but she was not expecting him to so handily beat her at her own game.

She had attempted to use her powers more offensively after that, realizing that he could actually take a decent hit and keep going.

Yet despite that, with his own honed reflexes though and how she visibly telegraphed when she was going to attempt a beam of energy, she had only managed one other hit to the same shoulder in the ensuing bouts.

He sighed again as he rolled his slightly injured shoulder. The pain was slowly leaving him. The bruise would fade and heal in time. Percy wasn't going to use his supply of ambrosia or nectar on something so trivial but even now it was turning into little more than a red welt from the running water.

Finishing up his shower and dressing for the day while looking into the mirror. Absently scratching at the slight stubble that was growing on his normally clean shaven face and the slightly faded scar on his cheek and the one on his brow.

He would deal with his usually annoying facial hair when he wasn't racing to obtain an Infinity Stone before these ignorant empires could get their own hands on it.

He dressed in his normal clothes, though wore a navy blue shirt rather than a white one this time and willed the kopis dagger into existence in its normal resting place at the small of his back.

Stepping into the hall, he saw that the sun was up and shining, the previous cloud cover having been swept away over the course of the night. The mortals were catching up with were catching up with each other before the they left back to the base that they had previously escaped.

He was going to go on a walk and speak to the dryad, Illiana, for little bit. There was some things he needed to clear up and establish.

Percy didn't know what to make of the situation with Carol. While he had some experience with altered and absent memory, the fact that the hybrid woman had essentially lost her entire life from an unknown ordeal was something that didn't sit right with him.

She had the memories and experiences of the past six years and from what he could gather had given every moment of those six years in service to this Kree Empire.

The same Kree Empire that was after the Tesseract.

Simply put, if he didn't trust her when they had first met, then he definitely didn't trust her now.

While a good portion of the reason that he accepted her wager was because her words grated on his pride as a warrior, it had a strategic purpose as well. He needed to figure out and get a feel for how she fought and Percy had intentionally baited her into using her powers.

If he could beat her in simple raw hand-to-hand combat with her augmented strength, then so long as he could close the distance with her then he would be able to easily cut her down with Thyella.

That was if she decided to push a claim on the Tesseract for the Kree. If she did that then the two of them would come to blows and Percy wouldn't be so keen as to hold back like he did when they had sparred.

Regardless, he could empathize if only slightly with her. He had lost two years of his life to only be used as little more than a weapon to be pointed at.

While he detested and held his own grudge against the Council for the decision, he never questioned his duty nor his allegiance.

Percy knew it was in service to Olympus and the wider war effort that it was done. He didn't like it nor accept it but at that point the why of it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. There was no use in crying over spilled milk after all.

Percy made his way away from the house, taking in the warmth of the sunlight.

It was much like the day before but the wildlife was out in full force today unlike the day before where it was only sparse. He guessed it had something to do with the sun being out but he didn't dwell on it too long as he crossed the fields and towards the small marshland shed that was on the property.

He arrived again, against the banks of the swampland. There was that same buzzing of insects and heavy air as a thin fog had settled upon the surface of the water.

He heard a hissing that was close and the demigod cocked his head to the source. An alligator had settled a couple meters away from him, basking on a dead tree trunk. One of its serpentine eyes watching him closely.

It had a thick hide of deep green almost black scales.

"What are you looking at?" Percy spoke with a raised eyebrow.

The alligator hissed in response.

"Yeah, well you're not much to look at either." The demigod retorted.

It hissed again. Illiana chose that moment to reveal herself, forming from a large willowy oak. "Good morning, Nibble!" She greeted vibrantly, a contrast to the serious dryad he had first met. She curtsied daintily towards him. "My lord."

Percy shifted in his place, feeling a welling of discomfort. "Apollyon is fine." He wasn't going to give the nature spirit his actual name, just in case she went and let the Immortal realm know of his existence.

After all, he was saving the Percy of this timeline and all of them. He may be sacrificing his own happiness but he would be getting his own form of revenge. Which was what his hated name implied. His plan was to get the drop on both the Titanomachy and Gigantomachy before they even knew what hit them.

But he still had to be careful.

If the stars aligned in his favor, Olympus would take on the Titans and Gigantes one at a time.

If he was lucky, it would erupt into a three way war. After all, the Titans and Giants were no friend of each other. They would fight only because they couldn't co-exist, not with the Time Lord at the helm of the Titanomachy.

If he was unlucky, the Titans and Giants would ally and Olympus would be overwhelmed.

And if he was particularly unlucky, the Council would kill him before he even had the opportunity to give them a fighting chance.

The woes of a demigod. Percy lamented. It really testified to his life that war was inevitable when he was involved.

But he would be changing that. For all the lives he had sent to their end. For all the legacies and demigods that went to Greece but never came home. That was something he would do his utmost to prevent.

So long as he lived, there wouldn't be another needless slaughter.

"How may I be of service?" Illiana questioned, her hands coming to a rest in front of her.

He had already secured the area as a sort of fallback base with her blessing, the night before. It would do for now until he could secure more support from the Council, if that was even possible. There was just one thing he needed information on.

"Do you know the state of affairs on Olympus or can I assume that it's business as usual?" Percy asked. The demigod needed to know who he could approach on the matters of alliance.

"A little. There is not much in the way of information that reaches this far south." She admitted, sitting beside the sunbathing alligator and caressing the scales along its tail. She nodded though. "Not much has changed in the last century. Not since the Great Prophecy, the edicts and the vow by the Three Brothers was made."

Percy nodded, having figured as much. So long as Olympus believed that there was no possible claimant to being one of the children of the prophecy, then they wouldn't act. At least, Percy had insider information on that.

He did have a target though. The Parthenos. That was his main objective. The sooner the divide was on the mend the better for all involved.

Now he needed someone he could coordinate with that was on the Council.

Already several gods and goddesses were struck off that particular list. The Big Three, Athena, Ares and Aphrodite were right off the list on who he could count on. The latter because of her lack of strategic prowess and that she would offer next to nothing the way of help. The others because they would sooner gather the rest of the Council and kill him.

He may be serving Olympus but he would rather not die in doing so.

That left only a handful of prospects left. Hecate was out, he couldn't guarantee her loyalty unless he somehow was able to bring the wider pantheon into the fold.

But that was an issue for another time.

"My Lord Apollyon." He twisted his head towards the dryad who had pulled him from his internal musings. She looked at him speculatively as he directed his attention to her before continuing. "Were you expecting visitors?" She gestured with her head in the direction of the homestead.

He arched his brow and looked in the direction of the home in the field. Another vehicle was there, one that looked like…familiar.

SHIELD. The car was similar to all the other ones he had seen the government agency use.

The shifters were here. He doubted there were actual agents. If they were, there would be a heavier law enforcement presence or a distinct presence of reinforcements. The demigod took in the surroundings, scouring the treeline to look for abnormalities.

He didn't see any but that didn't mean they weren't there. Percy didn't necessarily want to extend his senses either not until he was absolutely sure he wouldn't get smote.

"I'll be in contact with you. Stay safe." Percy said as he moved away from the banks of the swampland. He didn't stay for her response.

He didn't summon his weapons or armor. If there were shifters here, he would get the drop on them and end their threat here an now. He quickly recalled how many remained. As far as he knew, there were three Skrulls left.

There may be more and he wouldn't discount that fact but there was no indication that there was more than a handful at least. If there were, he was sure that there would be some indication of their presence by now.

Percy crossed the field, with purpose but making a point to remain relaxed. He didn't want to tip off that he was aware of what was going on. If there was anything going on that is.

Dealing with shapeshifters was a rather difficult and complicated mess.

For all he knew that could just be an acquaintance of Ms. Rambeau but he doubted it. The demigod was never that lucky.

He heard voices off to the side. Carol's and her friend's specifically along with the woman's daughter. She swung on a tire swing while the two conversed quietly.

Percy instincts flared and approached the trio.

Something is wrong.

"Hi, Percy!" The girl waved her hand towards him and he nodded to her. He hoped the shifters couldn't turn into someone half their height. The shifters on the mythological side of things were more likely to use the Veil Magic to create illusions of children rather than attempt to become a child, that didn't mean it wasn't impossible.

"Percy." Carol greeted with a nod and a slight smile.

The demigod dialed his senses and he felt the hairs stand on his neck. Something about the situation just didn't sit right with him. Maybe it was his paranoia getting the best of him but his intuition and instincts had never failed him before.

He wasn't going to start doubting them now.

Percy looked around the area, specifically into the house itself in an attempt to find out if these were the real Carol and Maria.

But he found nothing.

His thoughts running near the speed of light. The two women continued to converse idly while Monica swung on the tire. He remembered Carol explaining that Skrull can only sim recent memories but if captured they could delve even deeper using a piece of technology that they had.

If these were Skrull, they would have shifted after breakfast.

How would he be able to discern if these two were the real deal? What was something that everyone would know? Something that was so fundamental in every American's upbringing that if they were human?

His mind drifted to sports. Percy figured that everyone loved sports. Right? Baseball and Football were practically the national pastimes.

And if there was one person in the world of sports that every American could name it was the Great Bambino. His own bias notwithstanding there was no one more well known in American sports than him.

He paced for a moment, just in case things went south, he placed himself adjacent to Monica where he could shield her from the two if necessary. The demigod idly pushed the swing.

"Hey, I have a question." He turned to Maria, keeping his voice casual. "I was having a talk with a friend," A lie. "And we were arguing what team Babe Ruth was with Murderer's Row on. I was saying the Red Sox but he was saying the Yankees." He left his words hanging.

Luckily, the girl was in her own little world rather than paying attention to what they were saying.

She looked to him and then cocked her head in a thoughtful manner. "It's the Red Sox right?" He nodded, flashing a false smile and Monica looked to her mother in a confused manner.

One could hear a pin drop.

Percy pushed Monica on the swing a little harder.

The moment he did so, Percy moved.

Not Maria and Carol only had time to blink.

The demigod had drawn the kopis and had it pressed against Carol's neck and Thyella summoned in a wave of mist with her point pressing into the neck of Not Maria before she could even react. Both the shifters were looking at him with wide eyes, their hands paralyzed at their sides.

Monica yelped, leaping off her swing and hid behind it.

He felt and heard the blade sing to him. A wistful and energetic song as if she were begging to be used. The smoky silver uru metal glinting in the sunlight and seemingly vibrating in his hand. The familiar thrum of power seeping into his hand as he held the handle of the blade.

"You both have two options." Percy's voice was low, dangerous and edged with challenge. "Turn back into your true forms and take me to your other friend so I can kill all three of you. Or I kill you both now. Choice is yours."

It wasn't really a choice.

Die now or later.

If Percy was in this situation he would've died right then and there. He figured any warrior or soldier would have done the same if they were backed into such a corner.

Just out of sheer spite.

They didn't move, their hands still at their sides. The two exchanged a look with each other before swallowing nervously. Percy pressed the blades a little harder. Enough to draw blood from the both of them.

The real Carol having described the Skrull people as being as militant as the Kree.

So it was of slight internal surprise when the two began shifting, their skin morphing as if it was being peeled away like a snake. They had green skins like he remembered the one he killed having and their previous human clothing shifting into purple and black suits that the other had as well.

He looked glanced out of the corner of his eye at Monica just in case if she was a Skrull.

The dumbstruck and fearful look on her face told him all he needed to know.

"We'll take you to our leader." The one with the dagger pressed against their throat said, with a deep voice. It slowly raised its hands in a surrendering manner.

"Any sudden movements and you lose your heads." Were Percy's parting words on the matter. If they were just going to out each other like that and make his life much easier than who was he to deny them?

The demigod slowly withdrew his kopis and sheathed it. He gestured with Thyella. The blade whistling as it cut through the air in response to the sudden movement. "Monica, stay behind me." He said slightly as the two Skrulls walked side by side with their hands raised in a surrendered manner. The girl moved slowly from her place, and while looking fearful at him as well, she probably figured that he was the safest to be around at the moment. She moved behind him, and given her small stature compared to him, had only come up to his hip.

The duo followed the Skrull pair towards the pale house, Thyella leveled and ready to strike at the slightest hint of provocation. The uru spatha continued to sing to him, the handle thrumming with energy and barest hint of a green glow could be seen between his fingers.

Percy could feel a chill in his bones and the cold seep into his blood. A small, serene and melodious whisper skirting and probing his mind.

He ignored it.

His rational thoughts were telling him two different things. It was clear at that moment that their friend was in the home and that he should just get it over and done with and kill the both of them.

The tactician in him, however was intrigued. Why would they give up so easily? Why don't they just fight back if they knew they were about to die? Something else was at work here and Percy suspected a trap. Were there more than just three and had he assumed wrong?

It wasn't long before they entered the home and even before then Percy could hear the arguing of Carol, Fury, Maria and an unknown deep baritone voice within. The duo paused at the door and Percy gestured with his blade once again.

They walked in with little fanfare and they maneuvered to where the raised voices were heard.

Given how this had begun, Percy was not inclined to trust anyone except the girl at his side.

And she would be more of a liability rather than an asset in a fight.

There was a Skrull in the center before the three in the same purple and black suit as the other two. Carol looked at them with narrowed eyes as did Maria and Fury who had his sidearm trained on the green aliens.

Percy, held the three revealed Skrulls at sword point off to the side.

"Mom!" Monica exclaimed and she maneuvered to get to her parent. Percy stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back to his side.

"Babe Ruth, what team did he play on?" He pointed Thyella at Maria, though he kept a wary eye on the three surrendered Skrulls.

Her eyes narrowed but there was a hint of fear in her eyes as she stared at the blade pointed at her. "The Yankees." She retorted in an offended voice.

Percy pointed his sword at Carol. "My last name."

"Trick question. You never told me." She retorted with a small smirk.

Then he pointed the spatha at Fury. "Nick-" The scowl that materialized on the SHIELD agent's face was enough of a reaction to stop any ensuing question.

A slight smile played on Carol's face at that. While Maria looked on confused. Monica immediately leapt to her mom as Percy turned to the three Skrulls, leveling the uru blade at them. "Anyone want to fill me in on what the hell is going on" Percy asked in an aggravated tone. Whatever this situation had turned into was unsettling him.

Why weren't they at each other's throats right now? Why were they being civil with beings who were their enemies? He had taken a bullet because of these bastards.

His blood began freezing and he could feel his blade singing to him. Begging him to be used. That green poisonous glow pulsating and penetrating the gaps between his fingers and illuminating his hand.

"My name is Talos." The Skrull that had been conversing with the three other mortals spoke with his green scaled hands raised in a placating manner. The alien's eyes flicking between him and the blade in his hand.

Percy's thoughts reminded him that this was the Skrull Empire's top general and the only reason why their war with the Kree was at a stalemate and not outright losing, as Carol had explained.

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't relieve you all of your heads right now." Percy growled.

"Because there's a child watching?" The being quipped.

Percy took a step forward, forcing the blade's point into the chest of the infamous general, cutting into the suit slightly. If the Skrull general didn't backpedal into the wall, the blade would've pierced flesh.

"I understand!" The general spoke quickly. "You've made your point!"

"Then speak!" The demigod barked, his voice like a clap of thunder causing everyone but the Skrull general and Fury to jump in their places. The SHIELD agent had his sidearm still pointed at the group of aliens.

Percy was no longer in any mood for games.

Being displaced from his own time, separated from his family against his will.

Being forced underground and getting shot because of the beings in front of him and having to clean up the mess of races that were ignorant of the forces they were playing with.

The pressure and weight of having to save the world and his family from his own immortal family, again; his patience was running incredibly thin and being tested with every new encounter.

Talos stared into his narrowed eyes.

And then the Skrull told him, calmly and methodically, his hands raised and while being held at sword point.

On how they he was working with a Kree spy named Mari-Ell in a bid to desert the Skrull Empire and his post. But for that they needed to smuggle his family and the families of like-minded Skrulls out of the Empire as well. They couldn't exactly leave them behind.

Earth was the gathering point because of its isolated and comparatively unremarkable nature. Mari-Ell was currently stationed there and would be able to facilitate the small desertion.

Talos claimed that at first Mari-Ell's motivations were to guarantee a Kree victory with the least amount of bloodshed but turned more personal when she had started her own family. She had wanted to escape the war as well.

Things got complicated when the Kree Empire had sent Mar-Vell to make contact with Mari-Ell and to research and develop weapons for the Kree Empire. They had to put a hold to the operation.

After that speed bump and convincing the Kree scientist to help them but it was too late. A Starforce team, Kree special commandos, had been tasked with recovering the Tesseract when it was clear that Mar-Vell had been falsifying her reports.

"Our only lead was the energy signature and that led us to the Kree on Torfa." He spoke slightly keeping his eyes on Percy. "We just need to decode some coordinates. I have with me a flight recording with her voice on it from a crash six years ago." He gestured with his hand towards Carol.

"They told me it was destroyed in the crash!" Maria exclaimed in a disbelieving voice.

"And the Tesseract?" Percy cut in, his voice as sharp as the blade in his hand.

"All yours." The Skrull general immediately answered and his tone turned weary. "I'm tired of war. I just want to wipe my hands clean of this and see my family again."

Percy's stare never wavered but his mind was a turmoil of emotion and thoughts. The flood of information having sent him into a sort of trance before he resolved himself. At that point, so long as the Tesseract was safe and out of the hands of those that didn't know what they were messing with, he didn't care what happened.

Percy wouldn't trust them at all though and the moment they so much as thought about stepping out of line, the demigod wouldn't hesitate to kill them all.

He could sympathize only slightly with the predicament of the Skrulls though he didn't understand. The abandonment of duty being a foreign concept to him.

The Skrull warlord did have the choice available to him. He could decide whether he wanted to be involved or not.

Percy was never afforded such a luxury.

For him, it had always been do or die and he was under the impression that such a concept would always concern him. Every situation forced him to intervene, not because he wanted to but because there was no other alternative.

Regardless, he had made allies in the worst of circumstances and in the worst of beings.

These Skrull were nothing compared to having to trust immortals. At least, the Skrull had information he could use to find the Tesseract.

And if Percy could take an entire entity out of the equation in regards to the Tesseract then he would consider that a win despite the roiling urge within him to simply kill them and be done with it.

The demigod lowered his blade slowly, the previous green glow of the handle, dimming but not entirely ceasing. "We're trusting them?" Fury hadn't lowered his sidearm.

"No." Was Percy's immediate reply and he took a step backwards, the Skrull lowering their surrendered hands in relief. Fury reluctantly lowered his sidearm.

There was a small silence until it was broken by a small meow. They all looked to the source. Percy's feeling of unease rose again within him as he looked towards the cat that was staring at them innocently from across the room.

"Is that a-" One of the Skrulls spoke up only to be quickly cut off by Carol, her eyes narrowed.

"Yes!" She sent a pointed look to the Skrulls. "That's a cat."

The demigod stare never left the cat, her words ringing in his mind.

That is not a cat.

Percy couldn't place his finger on it but there was just something off about it and her words only confirmed his suspicion. His instincts told him of the Skrull threat and he wasn't about to ignore them because a cat appeared to be innocent, as he had the same feeling back on the jet. He liked to believe that he knew better than all the others present that not everything was as it always seemed.

The…cat…proceeded to saunter on over to them and those around gave it a subtle berth for it to maneuver and walk rings into and around Fury's legs.

Fury broke the awkward silence as they all eyed the cat, having holstered his sidearm, and holding it in his arms. "Let's get on with this shit then." He murmured. "You're going to help me get my job back, asshole."

"It's already taken care of. You have nothing to worry about." Talos softly returned as he produced a plastic container with a CD from his suit. "This is the record of the flight."

Carol snatched it out of the Skrull's hand, looked at it for a moment and then her ears flushed red, raising the disc. "Uh, how do I use this?" For her self-proclaimed technical expertise, apparently all it took was to roadblock her was a CD.

Percy wanted to palm his face. Fury rolled his eyes and Maria sighed as she plucked the disc from her hands. "Follow me." Maria pulled Monica with her and Fury and Carol followed behind.

When the Skrulls didn't move, Percy gestured to go before he did. The demigod didn't trust them enough to even let them walk behind him.

Luckily, they didn't take any offense to it, not that Percy would have cared if they did.

They all entered a small office space with Percy posting himself at the door and willing Thyella to evaporate to dissipate in a wave of mist. The demigod leaned on the doorframe crossing his arms across his chest.

They waited a couple minutes in silence as Maria loaded the disc onto a rather older computer than he was used to. It looked like the computer that was at the Big House when he had first arrived to Camp Half-Blood.

Dated for the era but Percy figured that in this year it was probably top-of-the-line. Not that he would know for sure.

Then the audio started. A lot of slightly distorted flight babble that Percy couldn't make heads or tails of ensued between a voice that he recognized as Carol's and who Percy assumed to be an air traffic controller.

It went on for a couple minutes before they were given the all clear for the take-off.

There was a pause before what sounded like an older woman spoke up. "Put in the coordinate,. 55229, -47, 8.768, 0.2."

"Copy that." Carol's voice responded. There was a pause. "Uh, Doc? Excuse me but that's space."

"I'm aware, Captain. We're testing the exosphere capabilities for this run."

"Whatever you say." The woman retorted and Percy could picture the slight smile on the woman's face in the recording. There was a brief bit more of technobabble.

"Oh no."

"Is that…wait, what is that? It's not showing up on my radar!"

"Go, Captain, Fly!"

"Copy that!" There was a small pause and a flurry of static and measured breathing. Another burst of static followed by what sounded like automatic weapons fire and then Carol spoke in a hurried but measured voice. "UFO is on heading 3-4-0! Going excess of Mach 1! I'm in pursuit! No identifying marks! Approximately fifty meters in length! Confirmed hostile! I repeat UFO is hostile!" Another pause, millisecond pause. "Tower is non-responsive!"

"They're jamming us!" The other woman's voice cut in. "Fly faster!"

"Who's they!? And what the hell do 'They' want!?"

"Starforce! They want the Cube! I never should have brought you into this!"

Another burst of static, the sound of automatic weapons fire resounding through the sound was heard and Percy recognized the sound of discharging energy. Sif's silver spear having a sound similar to it but the Asgardian weapon was sounded a lot more refined.

More static. "They're firing backwards! Hold on, Doctor!" An explosion was heard and then panicked breathing. "Bail out! Bail out! Bail out!"

A burst of static and then the sound of trees being torn apart.

A small pause, a wave of static calling out.

"Mayday, Mayday! This is Captain Carol Danvers! Callsign Avenger! We've crash-landed and in immediate need of assistance! Transponder is active!"

"Captain Danvers! What the hell is going on!? Pararescue is bei-" Static drowned out whatever was being said again. And there were grunts of pain and displeasure.

"Doctor, are you alright?" A pause. "Your….blood….its blue. You're….you're like my mom!"

A hollow and pained chuckle was the response. "Yeah….we're both Kree. Well, sort of…" A pained gasp from who Percy was assuming was Lawson, or rather Mar-Vell.

"Come on, let's get you out of here. Pararescue is on its way."

"It's no use, the kill team will try to capture me for the Cube. They can't have it!" Mar-Vell said above the pain, though it was getting weaker. Whether it was because she was injured and dying or because they were away from the craft, Percy didn't know.

More static, garbled shouting and the sound of energy being discharged. Carol's voice began shouting. "Who the hell are you guys!?"

"Put down the blaster." A smooth and but hardened voice spoke. Percy's and Fury's eyes flicked to Carol as her breath hitched. "We have no interest in you."

"Really!? Your shooting says otherwise!" Carol's voice barked.

"The Cube, where is it?" Another deeper, and throaty voice asked.

A wave of static followed by a tense silence. "No!"

An explosion, static and then the recording ended.

A silence swept the room. Percy glanced around, everyone trying not to stare at the Starforce commando but failing.

She had her eyes screwed shut and a hand grasping her temple in pain. Her arms flaring slightly and the light of the computer flickered slightly. It was an obvious conclusion after everything he had learned. They kidnapped her and messed with her head somehow. Erased her memories and claimed battlefield injury but why didn't they kill her when they had the chance?

It was the same reason why Percy didn't kill the three Skrulls when he had them at sword point.

It wasn't out of the kindness of their hearts.

It was because they were their only leads to the Tesseract.

Percy summoned forth a sliver of Veil Magic and prepared to use it on the unstable woman, the wisping magic curling around his fingers.

He didn't need to as she took a small but deep breath to compose herself and slumped against the wall she was standing against.

"Yon-Rogg….he…he killed her…He killed Mar-Vell…" She said softly. The demigod recognized the name, she had talked of her squadron commander, the stalwart and devout Kree warrior that had been the one to supposedly save her life.

There was a small pause. No one knowing what to say to the woman. Maria did look like she wanted to say something but the words came out strangled and died before they left her lips.

Except Percy, as he shook his head. "So what?" She reminded him of campers on the aftermath of the war and their many angry questions and accusations to him and he knew exactly how to get them back on track so to speak.

Though instead of pushing demigods and demigoddesses to train and learn why he did what he had to do, he would be pushing a Kree and Human hybrid into action against someone that had straight up lied to her and used her.

Percy had never lied to them. Omitted information for the sake of the war but never lied to them.

And, in his case, when he was abducted he was told the why it had to be done. He may not have liked it, nor accepted it but at least he was told the truth.

Even if he was sure that they didn't tell him the truth in its entirety. Just like he did with those he commanded.

Heads snapped to him at his words, Carol's own jerking upwards in a glare.

"So what?" He continued with a shrug, uncaring of their expressions. "What are you going to do about it?"

"What…" She swallowed thickly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, this entire time, you have had nothing but praises for the Kree Empire. Turns out they used you and could've left you for dead. Don't you want to know why they kept you alive?" It was a baiting question.

She glared at him again. "They kept me alive. Experimented on me!" She shouted her eyes flaring a golden yellow with shadows of deep blue. "They turned me into a weapon!"

"But why?" Percy pressed not moving a muscle from his relaxed position.

"Because I knew-" The words caught in her throat. "I'm their key to the Tesseract."

He nodded. "They killed Lawson and abducted you because you were their only lead on the Tesseract." She swallowed again and nodded but didn't speak so Percy continued. "Now they're after the Tesseract. So I'm going to ask again, what are you going to do about it?"

She didn't answer.

Percy shrugged as he pushed himself from the doorframe and walked away. He had said his piece. It may not have been what she wanted to hear, but the demigod felt it was necessary.

She was lost and angry. Like he is. In her own words, she was a weapon. Like he is. It didn't matter whether it was by choice or not as weapons were made to be used.

Was it a scummy move to manipulate her like that? Maybe. He didn't need another enemy to fight and having Carol on his side would benefit him.

Percy figured that, unlike himself, she at least had the choice available to her.

The demigod felt a cold crawl up his spine, a chill seep into his veins and worm its way into his chest as he left the small office.

"There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved for the sake of something greater.

But sometimes it doesn't.

Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life.

That is the sort of bravery I must have now."

-Veronica Roth, Allegiant

"What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams."

-Werner Herzog

I don't have much to say here. With Fury's introspection, I wanted to establish a more solid foundation for Fury's desire for the Initiative and other plans he may have.

In regards to the first part, I wanted to give a little more interaction between Carol and Percy beyond just working together for a common goal.

And then we have Percy's own view on how things went down. There was also an alternate version of this chapter where he does kill the Skrulls, but I didn't necessarily like it and it didn't pan out as I had hoped it would. Chapter 29 was actually a slog to write because of it and I ended up scrapping it into this so it would flow much better with what I have envisioned.

On that note, (and as always), you can find me on the Emerald Library Discord! It's a fantastic place to interact with other writers and readers where we just chill and chat about ideas, future works and generally just have a good time! You can also find an update schedule for Of Water and Salt on there!

The link to that is on my profile!