XXIX
Percy's words burned on Carol's mind as she watched him leave Maria's office. Rage broiled within her. Betrayal burned within her. Her blood felt like a stoked fire with her fury.
She took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn't want to blow up the house and everyone in it.
Not only that but Percy wasn't here to do his little white smoke thing to keep her from completely losing it.
What am you going to do about it?
The question stung at her mind, like that annoying whisper that was scratching at her mind. Try as she might, she couldn't ignore it. How could she when she had just been lied to and used for as long as she could remember.
The Kree hybrid was hesitant when her visions and hallucinations plagued her leading up to Torfa and again on Terra.
The whole situation was all too convenient. Her fracturing mind worsening as the years wore on and now with the revelations had it was coming all together like some sort of convoluted conspiracy.
Which it was.
Mar-Vell. Yon-Rogg, Mari-Ell, Kree spies and Starforce operators, Skrull soldiers and warlords turned deserter and enhanced Terrans.
As Vers the Kree Starforce commando, Carol had the training to fight and navigate this web if only slightly but she was never trained to fight alone. There was always her team that she could fall back on. They covered her weaknesses and she covered theirs.
There wasn't anything she knew of her past life other than her name, her occupation, that she had a Kree mother and a Kree mentor. Carol couldn't remember much of anything else, unless she counted the hallucinations and visions.
Carol had hoped that the recording would have sparked a flame in her memory but it didn't. Just like Monica had hoped that showing mementos of her life on Terra would spark something. It only seemed to dredge up from her mind the incident that led to all this.
She had eagerly volunteered herself to fly despite the hesitancy of Mar-Vell. And then what led to her cosmic powers. They were from the Cube. Not from Kree experimentation like she had been told.
Here she didn't have a team to fallback on. She wasn't a planner. Her impulsiveness often putting others and herself in danger. It was what landed her in this whole mess to begin with. She never felt like nor wanted to be a leader because of it.
She was just a soldier and a warrior, among the best, or at least she thought she was, but if an enhanced Terran could beat her then she wasn't even that. She was just a pilot, a damn good one but still just a pilot.
Do I have that here?
The only person that seemed to fit the bill was Percy and maybe Fury and Maria. Only she didn't know any of them as much as she'd like to. Well, apparently she knew Maria but Carol figured that was because they had an history together prior to her abduction and even then it was all lost on her.
She could at least count on Percy to take charge. With as abrupt as the past day and night had been, she didn't think she could keep a level head on after what had happened.
She looked about the room, an awkward and uncomfortable silence having descended upon the group still within the small office.
What do I want?
A moment passed.
"I want answers." She resolved, her words being of steel. Maria and Fury looked to her. Talos and the other two Skrull looking uncomfortable and out of place at her words. "Whatever this Tesseract is. What happened and where my mom is."
It was simple enough. Carol didn't think she could handle anything more complex at the moment. Not with everything that was going on. She would take it step by step. She was more likely to find more information on what exactly was going on if she went after the Tesseract anyway.
A welling of vengeance tore through her body and clutched around her heart at the weight of her words. There wasn't any doubt in her mind if Yon-Rogg was responsible for that as well and with how duty-bound he was, he would carry out any order that was given to him.
Even if it meant killing her.
She would focus on that but first, she would see the Tesseract saved.
And then she would find a way to confront Yon-Rogg about what happened.
Whatever that artefact was, had an enhanced Terran unsettled and anxious to retrieve and to keep it out of the hands of anyone that wasn't himself.
Mar-Vell was adamant in the recording and in her research journal that the Kree Empire could not get its hands on it.
She wouldn't discount the possibility of Talos making a play for the Cube either. Despite his assurances, this was a mastermind that orchestrated the infiltration and sabotage of dozens of Kree installations. His whole spiel could be a charade meant to lull them into a false sense of security.
Carol just didn't understand how a small glowing cube could be of such importance. It didn't make any sense. Not even the ramblings in Mar-Vell's notes seemed to make sense out of what it exactly was except that it was an extremely powerful source of energy.
And if it was of such importance and the capability to flip the balance of the intergalactic community on its head, what was it doing on Terra of all places?
She was pulled from her thoughts when Talos cleared his throat. His green scaled hands stroking his creased chin. "The coordinates. They should lead to Mar-Vell's laboratory."
The hybrid instantly recalled the coordinates and her own words from the flight recording, it was kind of clear that Mar-Vell's laboratory was in space, or rather in orbit. Only they weren't coordinates, rather orbital state vectors.
But it wasn't her to voice it, instead it was Maria Rambeau that spoke up. "Those weren't coordinates. Those were state vectors. Her lab isn't on Earth, its in space."
"Huh." Talos blinked, his dark pupils turning into narrow pillars for a moment, making him look more reptilian than mammalian for a brief moment. Carol recognized it as confusion on the general's part. Skrull's had a tendency to display their more reptilian characteristics whenever they were confused.
"That was the place we were headed to." Carol said, a brief fragment of the recording showed in her mind and she could feel slight phantoms of the fear well within her from the memory. "If we head there, we'll find it, in orbit, right now."
Carol realized something and quickly flicked open her palm and and forearm. Her suit slightly materializing in a wave of blue hexagons. There was no way she was staying with the Kree Empire after the day's revelations much less Starforce.
If the Kree were going after the Tesseract as well, she wasn't going to help them. Not after what Yon-Rogg did to her.
She flicked open her tactical pad and, being signified in a flash of red, disabled the tracker in her suit.
"We'll have to get there soon. The Kree will be after it, specifically my commander." Carol said after a moment. Thoughts of taking the Tesseract off of Earth entered her mind.
"We're going to space?" Fury asked with a quirked brow and a measure of both curiosity and excitement laced in his words. "Count me in."
Now came the hard part. "The question is, how do we get there?"
"We should be able to modify the Terran craft." One of the Skrulls beside Talos spoke up, the other nodding in agreement. "If we start now, we should be done tonight."
Carol nodded. She didn't think of that but now that she did, the craft could easily be refitted for spaceflight. Granted, they may have to cannibalize the small plane that was in the workshop to make it happen. She should ask Maria if they could actually use it. "I'll help too. I don't think I trust you to not space me the moment you get the chance." She sent a glance around the room. Maria looking unsure and wanting to speak but not wanting to interrupt.
"No arguments here." The other Skrull voiced with a shrug.
"Then lets get to work. I'll let Percy know the plan, I'll have him keep an eye on our green friends here." Fury said as he stood up, setting the Flerken onto the ground.
And like that, the Skrulls left with Fury following them. Carol hung back though. Maria looking at her with a concerned look.
"Monica, why don't you go with Agent Fury? I'm going to talk with Aunt Carol." Maria said to her daughter. The smaller girl nodded, probably sensing that it wouldn't be wise to argue with her mom at the moment and she also left though still looked as if she had wanted to voice her own objections.
"What are you doing?" The moment the others had left the room Maria stood from her seat in a huff. Monica wisely keeping silent. "You're just going back?" An expression of betrayal was apparent for Carol to see.
"I have to." The hybrid didn't know how else to put it. There was just so many things lost to her. The Kree had taken everything from her. She had a familiarity with the woman before her but if Maria hoped for more, Carol just didn't have it within her.
Maybe the Skrull could help her recover her memories but she doubted it.
Talos would have no reason to help her and even if he did, he no longer had the means. He effectively had went AWOL and deserted the Skrull Empire and Carol was sure whatever memory retrieval technology he had in his possession went down with his ship when she destroyed it.
And she doubted that the Skrull Empire wouldn't just let a former Kree Starforce commando use a piece of classified military technology out of the goodness of their hearts.
She would find a way. The hybrid wasn't so broken as to allow her entire life be stolen from her.
"Its just all happening so fast." Maria murmured as she sat back down beside Monica. "For the past six years, we believed you were dead. Then you show up, like nothing ever happened. You don't even remember us at all." She stressed the words. "Then you up and leave as if nothing is wrong with seeing your dead friend come back to life."
Carol didn't know what to say for a moment but she could reassure the woman. There wasn't much else she could do. Already she felt like she was intruding and taking advantage of her. As far as Carol was concerned at the moment, she didn't know the woman in front of her.
A sense of familiarity was simply not enough for the hybrid to get emotional.
"I'm going to try to get my memories back. But the people that can help me will either want to kill me or…well…kill me." A hollow chuckle left her lips at the attempt of levity.
At least it had the affect she wanted, and the woman laughed with her, though she choked back an almost hidden and hollow sob.
"But if you think I'm letting you out my sight so easily, you have another thing coming!" Maria spoke resolutely. "You'll need a co-pilot for that Quadjet and luckily, I can fly those."
Carol cocked her eyes in confusion. "Aren't you worried that it might be dangerous?"
"Of course I am!" Maria exclaimed, a hint of doubt in her voice. "But with your fire fists and your friend's water tricks I think I'll be in safe hands. Besides, we're not expecting a fight are we?"
Carol shook her head in the negative. The warp points for this side of the Milky Way would take Yon-Rogg two days to get them. At the earliest, they would have to deal with her former Starforce commander tomorrow morning and hopefully, she'd be able to convince Percy to take the Tesseract off world. The Kree would rather chase the artefact than stay on this backwater planet.
And if she took it with her, it would draw them away from the planet and its severely undefended and underprepared population.
She'd rather deal with them with solid ground underneath her feet rather than be aboard a space vessel. "No, but with the Skrulls there, I can't guarantee anything." The hybrid admitted.
"I trust you, Carol. You may not remember but we had each other's back and I intend not to be left out again." The hybrid was could feel a small warmth in her chest at her kind words. "Don't worry about us." Maria continued. "You just make sure that Quadjet is able to take us up there without blowing us all to hell."
Carol laughed at that and then realized something that probably should've been asked beforehand. "We may need to…uh take apart that aircraft in your workshop." She internally cringed as she said it. It felt like she was taking advantage of a history that she couldn't even remember.
In fact it was exactly like that.
"Oh that old thing? Go for it. That plane was never going to be in the air again anyway." She scoffed with a light chuckle.
It was an awkward silence before they both exited the small office and went outside to find out whatever the Skrulls were doing. Fury and Percy were standing beside each other, arms folded across their chests and watching the working Skrulls as they meandered around the workshop and inspecting it. Monica was sitting in the grass, twiddling and pulling at it.
"Monica, you're going to be staying at grandma and grandpa's for a couple days. Let's go get you packed up."
"Do I have to?" The girl moaned as she stood, probably realizing it was of little use to argue with her mother.
Maria didn't respond and just clicked her tongue as Monica moved to go inside.
Fury kept staring at the Skrulls while Percy arched an eyebrow in her direction as she stood next to him, feeling slightly awkward. His earlier words of purpose still fresh on her mind. That same serene and melodious whisper creeping at her inner consciousness. "I wanted to thank you." She blurted out, suddenly.
Percy cocked his head and an eyebrow in confusion at her. "For what?"
"What you said back there." She said, pulling at the cuffs of her sleeves in anxiousness. "You didn't have to but you did. You kept me focused when all I wanted to do was blow up." Carol meant that both figuratively and literally.
"Don't mention it." He responded with a dismissing wave and returned to watching the Skrulls gather equipment from all the workbenches. "It wasn't the first time and I have a feeling it won't be the last…" Percy trailed off and his normal piercing green gaze seemed to turn duller, lifeless for a moment before shining once again.
She laughed. If there was anything that wouldn't stop with her, it was the tidbits of wisdom and inspiration that she often received from others. And while she didn't want to think of her former squadron commander at the moment, he did offer good advice. Now it seemed that the mantle had been taken over by the enhanced Terran.
"Hey…Vers…er uh Danvers." Fury stammered as he corrected himself. "I'm guessing we need the jet parked over here. So we can get started? I need to go make a call. You got this, Percy?"
Snapping from her slight reverie, Carol nodded and quickly went to work as well. Percy returned to his stoic position of sentry while Fury went towards the Rambeau residence.
The subsequent hours passed by in a blur for her.
Carol and the Skrull worked tirelessly throughout the day.
The two lackeys of Talos were hard at work replacing damaged panels and reinforcing them, having completely taken apart the government Terran vehicle along with the defunct white aircraft to do so to the craft.
Not only that but Talos had managed to make a weak shield generator for the craft. Nothing fancy but enough that they wouldn't be bombarded, plastered and then subsequently fried from radiation as they entered space and away from the magnetic fields of Terra.
She would be fine, but she didn't think the others would like the idea of being cooked alive.
Carol on the other hand spent her time on upgrading the internal systems such as rudimentary life support, an artificial gravity generator and a hastily put together inertia dampener .
Again, it was nothing fancy but something to get the job done and she had to use her spare bastardized power source to implement it.
Barring that however, Percy was as still as a steel wall. He had only moved from his position twice during that entire time. Once to slightly shift away from a landing Quadjet and another to refresh himself. But in all during his time standing sentry, he hand only blinked, crossed his arms against his chest or clasped them behind his back and stared at the working Skrulls.
Even Carol hadn't so much as looked to the green aliens when she had begun to work, but Percy didn't take his gaze away from them at all.
He had offered to help with the heavy lifting. Though instead of actually lifting anything, he had used his water manipulation powers to materialize large and long tendrils to lift panels higher onto the craft and held them as the Skrulls welded them into place. He seemed to do it absently and as an afterthought rather than with any real focus as he kept it entirely still on the working Skrull engineers.
Still, the day turned to evening and then turned to night. Small yellow grilled floodlights illuminating the area around them as the group put the finishing touches on the aircraft.
"It's about as good as its going to get." Carol declared as she stepped away from the quadjet, wiping the grease from her hands on the jumpsuit that she worn.
It wasn't much too look at. It looked like a hunk of junk before all the modification. Now it looked like a flying trash-heap. White, bronze and grey plating covered the entirety of its hull as if it was several vessels put into a trash compacter and this was the result.
Even the Ravagers wouldn't touch this thing.
Like she mentioned before. It wasn't made to look pretty, but to get the job done.
She needed a shower which she promptly took but not before ensuring that everything about the ad-hoc vessel was good to go.
They would be leaving as soon as possible. Something that Percy had made abundantly clear when she had announced that they had finished. Though he didn't show it in his voice, it was his mannerisms that clued her in on his current feeling on the matter.
A tapping of his foot and the slight twitching of his brow was giving his annoyance and impatience away.
She thought about it for a moment longer before shrugging. It didn't concern her any longer. The terran jumpsuit was thrown in the bin and she had adorned a fresher one. She didn't exactly trust this entire thing to not turn into a fight.
As far as she was concerned, they were heading into entirely unknown territory with a person that was known for his subterfuge. As the saying went, she would hope for the best but prepare for the worse.
It was dark out when she entered the cool night air, though there was a decent enough light that she could see a ways away into the Rambeau property. Floodlights from the the workshop and the quadjet's own floodlights easily illuminating the area around the house in a pale light.
Carol could see in the distance Percy, exiting the treeline, looking resolute but anxious at the same time. She guessed he must've left Fury to watch the Skrulls while he went to go do whatever he did over there.
I wonder what's over there.
This was the third time she had seen him enter or exit from that particular area. Once was whatever, she could dismiss it as a curiosity. Twice was a coincidence and eyebrow raising. Three times however? That heightened her suspicions.
Her thoughts ran wild with the implications. Was he talking to someone? He had to be right? There was no other explanation to want privacy. Could he be plotting? But what could he be planning? He already made his intentions quite clear on obtaining the Tesseract. Other than that however, anything could happen?
A pit settled in her stomach and that malicious yet serene and melodious whisper began to tickle her mind.
Is he planning to kill us?
As much as she would have liked to dismiss the thought as soon as it entered her mind, Carol couldn't. It was an obvious conclusion. Percy didn't seem like the person to outright kill someone without good reason.
She hoped at least.
Monica was sitting on the white porch steps, clutching a brown leather jacket in her dainty arms and looking at the craft before them with a forlorn expression.
Carol figured the least she could do was give the little girl a small pep talk. "Hey, what ya doing there?" She spoke, bringing the girl from her reverie as she watched the Skrull make the finishing touches and do the final checkups on the quadjet, making sure that it was in fact space worthy.
Fury was standing off to the side with his arms crossed across his chest, but Carol could tell that he had a hand on one of his holstered sidearms, that was hidden underneath his own brown leather jacket.
Percy moved in a lackadaisical mannert across the field towards them, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he yawned. Though she figured it wasn't out of weariness and rather out of boredom.
"I just wanted to see you guys go." Monica said in a small voice. Though Carol noted a small hesitation in her words. There wasn't much that the girl could hide from Carol as from all her years from fighting the Skrull made her look for the subtleties in near everyone around her.
If they weren't trained to hold their emotions or failed to play the part, then it was easily noted by her.
There was a sneaking fear in her voice. One that spoke volumes louder than the sound that escaped her.
"I see." Carol voiced as she sat beside the girl on the porch of the house. There was a small space between the two of them, as the hybrid felt it to be a bit too awkward if she did sit right next to her. "There's nothing to worry about. I promise to make sure your mom comes back." And Carol meant it. She didn't want the girl to become an orphan and grow up without her mother.
"What about you?" She asked, tilting her head towards her, speaking in a smaller voice. "I don't want to lose you either."
It was touching and Carol looked about the scene before her. The hybrid's gaze casting about the assembling people in front of the Quadjet.
What about me? Who is going to make sure I come back?
Carol had always been part of a team. One that complimented her and one she used to be able to trust implicitly and with her life.
She didn't trust the Skrulls at all and while Fury and Maria meant well, they would be next to useless in a fight but she needed a co-pilot and the SHIELD agent wouldn't be sidelined for this.
The only one that she could rely on was Percy and even then she didn't exactly trust him. His obsessive desire for the Tesseract had set her on edge and made her extremely suspicious of the enhanced human.
He knew more than he let on and he didn't feel inclined to share anything.
But Carol still felt the need to reassure the girl beside her. "Percy has my back! Don't worry." Monica nodded slightly at that and the hybrid immediately changed the subject to something more lighthearted. "How would you like to help me with something?"
Monica tilted her frazzled head towards her and a curious gleam shone in her eyes. " You see, I can't exactly wear the colors of the people that kidnapped me." She stood from her position and gestured with her arm, the tactical pad appearing. Carol swiped through the colors, her suit cascading through a vivid and intense wave of hues ranging from dark blacks to pale whites.
It had served her well on all manner of planets across the universe when she was fighting the Skrulls alongside her squadron mates. From the stormy shores and darkened skies of Torfa to the vibrant and lush gardens and jungles of Denotera, the suit's multicoloring functions had allowed them to remain camouflaged and hidden among the many environments that war was waged on.
Though green, black and silver were the colors of the Kree Starforce. It left a hollow feeling within her to still be adorned with them.
The Kree Empire was probably the last thing she ever wanted to be associated with now.
For all the things that she had done in her service to the Collective,
Now, she was disillusioned with their practices. Made into a weapon for their own gain.
It may have been selfish and downright criminal of her for what she had done in the
A sanctioned abduction that had disillusioned her to their practices.
Monica smiled and cocked her head in a thoughtful manner, attempting to think of something. Then her gaze attached itself to Percy as Carol followed the girl's gaze.
But unlike before where he was wearing his Terran clothing, Percy was covered in his golden armor and seemed to be entirely adorned in it this time, with a helm that looked eerily similar to Kree infantry.
Still, he cut a menacing figure a sheathed sword appeared from a fine mist that hung lazily at his side. His hand resting naturally on the pommel.
He easily pulled his helmet off with a single hand and instinctually clipped it to his side as he waited at the lowered ramp of the Quadjet, and conversing quietly with Fury in a low and serious tone. The Skrulls having already boarded the jet.
"How about something like his?" Monica asked with a small smile. "You're both on the same team right?"
The girl did have a point and she tested the color palette out, adjusting it slightly because being completely decked out in gold felt a little too pretentious for her tastes.
Carol splayed out her arms and took a moment to admire her newly colored suit. Most of it was a matte black with a carbon grey outline and contours of her suit where much of the suit. Her boots were red with a small highlight of gold on her shin while her utility belt and ceremonial sash that denoted her as a Starforce member was colored a deep, blood red, with hints of sheen gold throughout. The upper chest of the suit as well as the shoulders were also a deep blood red. Though the primary feature, her Kree eight pointed star along with the linings were a sheen gold.
To round it all out, her gauntlets and tactical pad were also a blood red with hints of gold as well.
For all his faults, namely his distrusting nature, Percy sure had a good taste in color schemes.
"Cool." Monica breathed as Carol struck a pose for the girl, placing her fists on either side of her waist.
I definitely feel cool. The hybrid mused to herself.
She heard the footsteps come from behind her and Carol turned. "I didn't know we were coordinating outfits." Maria mused aloud with a smile. She was wearing a Terran jumpsuit similar to the one she had beforehand though hers seemed to be more personalized rather than the generic one she had used. Maria's gaze swept Percy. "Is he playing dress up as a knight or something?"
Carol cocked her head back at the word and turned to look back at him. Knight? She didn't know exactly what that was but Percy looked to be more of a archaic warrior and adorned in armor more fitting for the Accuser Corps than someone suited for modern combat.
She shrugged her response. It didn't compromise his fighting ability so she didn't really care how he looked. The hybrid could attest to that at least. Without his shield, Carol didn't think how they would have been able to make it past those guards back at the Pegasus base.
Carol began moving to the Quadjet, ruffling Monica's already frazzled hair even more, much to the joyful annoyance of the small girl. Maria remained behind to speak to her daughter again.
"How are we looking?" Carol asked stepping up to the two Terrans.
"We are good to go." Percy spoke, his arms crossed against his armored chest as he looked her over. His normally vibrant green eyes tinged in a slight hue of sky blue. Though she figured it might've been a trick of the light since it was gone as soon as she blinked.
There was a questioning brow at her appearance and she flushed in slight embarrassment before suppressing it quickly.
"I figured if we're on the same team we should at least be able to mark each other out." Carol explained in her defense. "We are on the same team right?" She arched her own brow at him that same serene an melodious whisper edging her mind again and she had to fight the urge to physically react to the unnatural feeling.
It was a loaded question and she made no attempt to make her layered meaning clear.
And he knew it.
Percy didn't answer and instead maneuvered into the Quadjet.
She didn't feel all that sure if she could trust Percy now.
Fury regarded her for a moment, a flicker of suspicion directed at the both of them before he also entered the Terran jet.
A lump rose in the roof of her throat. She didn't know what she did to deserve this sort of treatment.
All she wanted was to remove the Skrulls and the Tesseract from Terra before her former squadron and by extension the Kree Empire showed up.
And she felt alone now more than ever.
And that serene and melodious whisper grew just a bit louder.
And just a bit more daring.
She mentally shook her head. Carol would focus on the Tesseract and the Skrulls first before figuring out what Percy's deal was.
Fury settled in his seat as Vers…err Carol strapped him into a seat behind hers. They had rearranged some of the seating so that they wouldn't be as affected by the pressure of gravity as they exited the atmosphere and Fury was seated next to the Skrull general, Talos, who had easily buckled himself in.
The SHIELD agent stroked the fur of Goose absentmindedly looking to the Skrull leader with suspicion.
Talos subsequently edged a little further from his seat.
Fury liked to think he put the fear of God in the alien bastard as he relaxed as much as he could in the utilitarian seat provided.
Percy was seated in between the other two Skrulls behind them, keeping an eye on them. Though he had, set his helmet in between his feet and unbelted his sword from his waist to set it horizontally across his lap.
He was sitting stoically, his face one of stone. The only emotion that seemed to be conveyed was through his eyes which he was sure was unnatural, glowing green as they were. Even Fury could tell he was getting impatient.
He thought about the words of the odd man before they boarded the craft. 'If you come across the Tesseract, keep it safe above all else.' Percy's voice echoed in his mind.
Fury jokingly asked if he was to die for it too, thinking back to his own experiences in Vietnam when the military heads at the top wanted their men to die for an insignificant hill.
The serious nod the SHIELD agent received from him had quelled any other humor that Fury had afterwards.
Just what exactly was it? How did Percy know of this artefact that SHIELD had been able to keep even Fury, who was arguably a hell of a lot closer to coming into contact with the Cube, from hearing a whisper about?
They settled in. Maria Rambeau entering the craft and pressing a button to close the ramp with a hard fist. The whirring of servos and the hissing of gas entered Fury's ears and the SHIELD agent felt a chill go up his spine.
He felt like they were crossing some sort of threshold.
"Everyone buckled in?" Maria called out as she stepped in between the seats, to her seat in the cockpit. A series of affirmatives followed, though Percy had kept quiet, his gaze forward and his posture unmoved as if he were a statue.
Another shiver crept up his spine.
He did not like where this was heading.
"Starting her up." Carol called out, as she began flicking switches on the panels in front of her.
It was quiet as the two women began to work the controls, only furtive glances shared between them all as the odd group waited.
It was awkward to say the least.
Still, after what felt like hours when in reality it was only a handful of minutes if that, the Quadjet thrummed to life, lifted off the ground and soared as silently as a jet could into the night sky of Louisiana.
It was still silent. No words being exchanged as they ascended into the atmosphere. Carol and Maria speaking and relaying information about the flight, just as he expected of experienced pilots.
"Five-Zero-Zero meters and climbing. Brace yourselves." Carol spoke. "Igniting fusion engines in five, four, three, two." She trailed off and, after a bout of sudden whirring was heard as she flicked a heavy metal switch, Maria pushed forward the large lever in the center panel.
Fury braced himself against his chair, well as much as he could while still holding Goose. The cat was providing a source of comfort and familiarity against all the chaos that was unfolding around him.
The sudden onset of gravity pressed them against the chair and the cat wailed in discomfort at the feeling. Everyone else only fared marginally better.
"Engaging inertia dampeners." Carol announced and she flicked another switch. He felt a slight shift that made the ascent into space at the very least more bearable.
It was a solid couple minutes before any of them spoke. Only the relaying of information between Carol and Maria was heard as the two continued to work the controls before them. They settled after a couple of seconds, the craft slowing its speed and ascent. The jet began orienting itself as Fury could hear the faint hissing of pressure on the outside.
It was an odd feeling, being in zero gravity. He felt his relaxed arms, begin to drift upwards and his clothing began to do the same. Around him, he could see that the hair of the two women in front of him, flitting about them. The Skrulls didn't really seem affected by it though their limbs were still going upwards.
It became rather apparent that Percy was not as relaxed as he seemed. His feet were glued to the bottom of the craft and his arms, instead of lazily hanging as the others were, were still set rigidly in his lap.
Goose began ascending into the air and Fury had to snap himself from a slight trance at the feeling of no gravity.
"Engaging artificial gravity." Carol announced after a moment, and flicked a series of switches. Fury felt a wash of familiar weight rest on him. It was a weird experience.
They all sat there for another moment.
And Fury felt the need to voice what was probably on everyone's mind. "Are we waiting for something?"
"It's supposed to be here." Maria said as she looked at the console beside herm, glowing green numbers and text ran across the screen. "These are the right coordinates right?"
Carol nodded as she peered out of the cockpit window and into…well nothing. The hybrid woman touched her temple lightly as if she was getting a slight headache.
There was nothing in front of them. "The Tesseract." Percy's voice cut through the silence and made Fury jump slightly in his seat. He had moved incredibly quietly for someone of his size. "It's there somewhere. We're close."
Fury could see a slight blue tinge glow emanating from his normally green eyes. Now he knew it wasn't a trick of the light when he had seen it before. The SHIELD agent couldn't doubt himself now that he was right next to him.
"In the middle of all that nothing?" Maria questioned while looking back at them. Talos and the Skrulls looked unsure and confused as well.
Percy didn't say anything in response as Carol brought up her arm, the tactical pad shining on, and small dark liquid metal antennae scaled up her fingers to produce a hologram, the form of a ship materializing and hovering in her palm. "Kree Imperial Army Squadron X-2237. Authorization code GRXV-1600." She spoke in a measured voice.
An artificial voice responded though instead of English that was spoken it was some sort of alien language that he didn't understand.
The hologram shimmered a hexagonal blue for a moment.
And then before their very eyes, not a couple hundred meters away from them, a large sheen silver metal spaceship materialized in the void that was previously unoccupied.
Despite the reigning silence, the duo in the cockpit began working the controls again. It wasn't long before they entered a hanger of sorts of the large spaceship. They passed through a light blue shield like barrier, something that he would assume to be in Star Trek or Star Wars or any other sci-fi flick.
He took in the scene from his position. Large metal bulkheads surrounded them as floodlighting began to flicker slightly on, though most sputtered before giving up.
He heard unstrapping from around him. The Skrulls and Percy unbuckling themselves from their seats with Percy setting his helmet onto his head. They still hadn't landed and given Fury's rather virgin status with spaceflight, the SHIELD agent elected to stay seated until they came to a full and complete stop.
He set Goose onto the deck though. He didn't exactly want to bring a cat onto an alien spaceship and then accidentally leave the wandering cat for it to starve to death. "I'll be right back, Goose." Fury spoke as he felt the Quadjet set itself onto the hanger deck. Carol and Maria didn't waste anytime in getting out of their seats.
"Maoow." Goose retorted as it looked up at him with wide eyes.
Fury had to force himself to look away and not give into the pleading orbs of the cat.
Percy led took the forefront and Carol had pushed her way to the front to stand behind him.
Rambeau and Talos maneuvered over to them while Fury elected take up the rear this time, whilst drawing and readying his remaining sidearm, with the Skrulls in the middle. Their alliance with the lizards was tenuous at best and Fury wouldn't hesitate to plug them in the back if they lured them into a trap or something.
The ramp lowered. An eerie feeling overcame the group as they slowly disembarked with a few of the lights dimmed and others flickering. There were a half a dozen other alien sleek and angular vessels around as well, about the size of the Quadjet if a bit larger and longer.
Several metal crates were around as well but other than that the hanger was devoid of much anything else.
It felt like this was a ghost ship.
Percy's shield erupted onto his arm amidst the silence and he kept a ready hand on the pommel of his sheathed sword, almost startling them all in their silent observation of their surroundings.
They went forwards with purpose though behind the two enhanced individuals.
Carol kept close to Percy, using his armored form and his shield as a form of cover as she peered over his shoulder, her fist readied as well and glowing like a glove of gold-blue hued energy. Rambeau did the smart thing and stuck close to the two, her being unarmed making her a rather easy target.
Fury checked around, his own urban training kicking in as he watched their rear and the Skrulls in the middle of the group.
The corridors of the starship were as equally silent and eerie as the hanger they had entered from. Flickering and sputtering lighting trailing about them while the only sound seemed to be their footfalls. The group passed by numerous doors and entrances though Carol simply ushered them onwards, guiding them.
Then they arrived at an intersection, flickering lighting illuminating a sort of panel that hung in the center of the bulkhead with that familiar alien chicken scratch that he had seen in the journal of Lawson.
Percy looked both ways and then turned towards the group before focusing on the Kree hybrid. "Where would the Tesseract be?" His glowing eyes tinged a deep blue with only the center still being a semblance of green.
Something's not right. Fury determined. While before his eyes were a pale green and nothing of note, ever since the confrontation in the office the day before, his eyes have been glowing.
Carol looked to him, to the Skrulls and then to the writing that Fury assumed to be a sign post of sorts. A long moment passed before she spoke. "The Tesseract would be kept near the labs." She pointed a gloved hand to the right corridor. "That way."
Percy nodded as he stepped away from them towards that way. "You guys do whatever you're here for. We'll meet up at the jet when we're done here." And with those parting words, he took off at a light jog down the dimly and eerily lit passageway, leaving the rest of them in the dim intersection.
Fury's grip on his sidearm got a little tighter. If the Skrulls were going to try anything, this would be the perfect opportunity.
They stood there for another moment, before Talos turned to Carol. "That says bridge. "
She began to go down the other pathway. "I know." She said in a slight voice. "There's something about the Tesseract…" She trailed off as she continued down the hallway.
Fury had a welling of fear bubble within him. He had a slight desire to go grab Percy but that would place him on his own on an alien ship. While he was confident that he could remember the route back, he wasn't as confident as Percy to strike out on his own.
Regardless, the SHIELD agent hesitated only slightly before trailing behind Carol, Maria and the Skrulls.
It wasn't long before they entered a lab of some sort. A lot of equipment that was better found in science fiction was scattered about workstations. It was dimly lit, if at all.
But not by the slightly flickering pale lighting the edge the floor and ceiling but rather a dull blue one offset and locked in some sort of containment device.
Fury's gaze snapped to it. He felt a slight, miniscule serene and melodious whisper tickle his mind before it faded away entirely. It was the Tesseract. A vibrantly deep blue Cube that had wisps of trailing and whipping tongues of blue energy waving lazily around it as if it were covered by a pale blue flame. It was encased in a shielded barrier.
Carol, as if in a trance, approached the Cube. Her head tilted in a curious manner. The energy coating her gloved hands took on a deeper navy azure with flecks and licks of gold instead of the opposite as it was previously.
"Is that the Tesseract?" Maria asked, curiously.
Fury took in the scene around him rather than pay attention to whatever was that was. He did not want to touch it or really get involved with the Tesseract at the moment. Not with two enhanced individuals acting as if they were possessed by it.
There was more notes, in that same alien language though he recognized some designs that look similar to the US fighter jets at the Pegasus Base.
The Skrulls were scattered around the room, apparently looking for something, entirely disinterested with the designs and Tesseract.
Fury took in the scene further and really focusing on his surrounding for the moment. Something was just not…right.
That was when he saw it. A slight colored drawing. Something that a kid would show a parent after hastily scribbling on a piece of paper some incoherent mess.
What were these doing here? Wasn't the Doctor Lawson…well…a doctor? Doodling with crayons seemed out of place, even if it could be brushed off of as an alien exploring Earth culture.
And the more that he looked at that particular workstation, it became apparent that there was more…civilian stuff here. Coloring books and crayons stuffed in drawers. Magazines tucked and hidden away underneath blueprints and technical drawings. Even an odd old dialed radio was resting on the table, lightly distorted the static noise was.
And hidden off to the side, was a splash of dark liquid, and as he approached smelled oddly like coffee. He thumbed it.
It was still warm.
"We're not alone." Fury announced, as he readied his sidearm.
A trill was heard and everyone snapped their heads to the source. One that sounded…happy? Fury saw Talos peering in the opaque windows of the automatic double doors.
It opened slowly and slightly, as if it were unpowered and was doing its best on what little stores it had left. Out stepped was…another Skrull? Only instead of a male, it was distinctly female, if the lithe form was any indication. She wore what appeared to be a purple and black suit with a frilly alien blouse over it.
And then another Skrull followed the female Skrull. And another. And another. Well over two dozen Skrulls had filtered into the lab, skirting the edges and sticking to the shadowed and darkened walls in trepidation.
These weren't soldiers. Nor was this a trap like he had been expecting.
These were civilians. Refugees of children and women mostly.
Fury lowered his sidearm.
Talos hadn't been lying when he told them that he was trying to escape the war.
There was a small reunion, and the scene pulled slightly at him as he looked around. Though Carol had returned her focus to trying to get the Tesseract free while worked to help her.
"Look what we have here." Fury whipped his sidearm upwards towards the voice, feeling the hairs on his neck stand on end at the smooth and manicured tone.
Over at the entrance of the lab were what the SHIELD agent believed to be Kree. A group of them in the same suit that Carol wore but in the former colors of green, silver and black with sashes adorned in all manner of unique ways. A cadre of what Fury assumed to be Kree infantry if their standardized and more uniformed attire was any indication, and formed a demi-sphere behind the group of Starforce commandos.
The Kree soldiers had raised their own weapons at them at Fury's reaction. Most with long, green metal rifles while one dark-skinned Kree with pale, clouded eyes leveled a sword edged with green energy at him. Another had with leveled a pair of pistols at him.
One of them was holding a muzzled Goose by the scruff of the cat's neck.
It let out a muffled meow.
Why the hell did they muzzle a cat?
He disregarded the thought. There was much more important things going on besides the imprisoning of a cat.
Fury knew a lost cause when he saw one. He was facing off against a small army of alien soldiers.
And he couldn't even hold his own against one of them and while he might've been able to shoot a couple, he wouldn't survive the torrent of return fire that was sure to come if he did attempt something.
But he realized something.
Percy wasn't with them or the Kree.
They still had a chance if even a small one.
If Fury played this right, they wouldn't be at the complete mercy of the Kree.
So at the prompting of the sword wielding Starforce commando, who gestured with his sword, he set his sidearm on the desk beside him, sighed, raised his hands in surrender and took a couple steps back and away from the gun.
Maria did the same, raising her hands and stepping back away from the desks.
He absolutely loathed the feeling that accompanied the action.
Carol stepped in front of him and Maria. In her hand a sort of glass and steel reinforced canister with a large metal handle. Inside, displayed for all to see was the Tesseract, wisping energies still serenely waving about.
He kept his hands up. Talos stood protectively in front of the Skrull civilians as Kree soldiers began restraining them.
One stepped forward, brown moussed hair and instead of gloved hands like everyone else wore, his hands and forearms were covered by tight green metal gauntlets.
"What did you do to your uniform?" He sounded utterly offended at the sight of it.
"A few personal touches. You like them?" Carol asked with venom and narrowed eyes as she scanned about the room. "How about you tell me what happened to my mom?!"
A flicker of irritation ran across the man's face. "A traitor to the Collective." He bit out.
"You lied to me about everything!" Carol's arms and legs flared with a deep blue, turning black energy. "Did they know or did you lie to them too? Att-Lass? Minn-Erva? Bron-Char?"
Heads as they were named turned to her, clear indecision and hesitation in their eyes and postures but they still kept their weapons up. Fury saw them though. Att-Lass appeared to be the one dual-wielding the pistol, while Minn-Erva was holding a longer rifle than anyone in the room by far at the ready, both having green sashes wrapped around their necks like loose scarves. Bron-Char looked like a giant blue Santa, though that was if old Saint Nicholas was blue skinned and dressed in green heavy plated armor over a Starforce uniform. He had two sashes, both crossing diagonally over and across his chest.
"I told you we should have been done with it." The sword wielding Kree spoke with a throaty voice. Fury recognized it as the one from the flight recording.
"Silence!" The apparent leader barked his eyes arched in annoyance. "We have the core now."
"What makes you think I'll hand it over?" Carol's free hand raised in a fist and the energy around it flared even further and began to trail up her arms.
Fury's thoughts trailing to Percy's words from before. 'If you come across the Tesseract, keep it safe above all else.'
Was Percy seriously expecting Fury to lay down his life, so that the Kree didn't get it?
"Ah ah ah." If the man was the finger waggling type, Fury was sure he would have done so. Unfortunately, he only smirked and raised his own fists. Mechanisms unlocked and the gauntlets splayed out. Thick tendrils of green energy arced between the pincer like devices strapped to the Kree's arms and hands. "You start blasting or go Binary and the whole ship comes apart." He waved his hand across the air. "There go your friends."
Fury didn't like the sound of that.
Carol sneered and snarled, something that seemed more feral and better suited on Goose than a civilized being as she leapt into the air, the azure energy wrapping around her legs propelling her upwards and forwards. Her helmet, a sheen metallic fabric substance wrapping around her neck and round the back and sides of her head and forehead. An energy wrapped fist cocked backwards while the other hand kept a firm grip on the Tesseract.
She was subsequently caught mid-air by those pincer-like devices of the leader and tossed like a ragdoll against the bulkhead. Her head banging hard against the metal wall. The energy about her dissipated in an instant like a billowing smoke.
The Tesseract, safe in its reinforced container, landed innocently away from her prone form.
Fury could tell that she was still alive though if unconscious, thankfully. Her back rising very slightly from her small breathing.
They still had a chance. Percy was still out there in the ship somewhere. 'Come on. Percy.' Fury thought to himself as he felt himself and Maria be pulled away and herded away.
He felt a thrum of something. A tinge of familiar primal fear, ensconced the air about them for the barest of moments, before it flittered away.
As they were being ushered away alongside the Skrulls, a retrained Goose and a heavily escorted Tesseract, Fury heard one last thing that heightened his hopes. "Commander, we just lost contact with the team we sent to secure the bridge."
The doors to the labs shut behind them.
'Everybody has a little bit of the sun and moon in them. Everybody has a little bit of man, woman and animal in them. Darks and lights in them. Everyone is part of a connected cosmic system. Part earth and sea, wind and fire with some salt and dust swimming in them. We have a universe within ourselves that mimics the universe outside. None of us are just black or white, or never wrong and always right. No one. No one exists without polarities. Everybody has good and bad forces working with them, against them and within them.'
-Suzy Kassem
Phew! Not much to say here! Be sure to let me know your thoughts! For those of you comic book people out there, you'll notice that I changed Captain Marvel's suit colors to be more in line with the comics. Coincidence?
You can see Carol's new suit on the Emerald Library Discord! I also didn't really dig the mohawk helmet…abomination. So I turned it into something else and something similar to what Minn-Erva had in the film. I have the reference for that also on my channel in the Emerald Library Discord.
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!