Remnants

Carol knew that this was a terrible idea, but she decided to go along with it anyway. After she spoke with Roan, he wanted her to meet him in person. He claimed it was to talk to one another, and he said he wanted her help with god-knows-what. He wouldn’t say. When she returned to Maria’s place, Fury was there waiting with a means of getting the Skrull off-world. It was an aircraft much like the one they used with Talos and his family. Except this one was bigger and it had a giant S.H.I.E.L.D symbol on the tops of the wings. 

“It’s a rental,” was all Fury said when Carol questioned him over how he managed to get his hands on it. 

Maria gave her a deadpan expression clearly unamused with the whole situation, “So… you’re going to meet with Roan?” 

“It’s obviously a trap,” Fury added, as if Carol had not already realized it had to be some plot of Roan’s. She knew it was a bad idea, but how else was she going to find Sam and get her back safely? Earlier everyone was against her charging in blindly, so at least she wasn’t doing that. She had a plan, albeit a shaky one. For now she would play whatever game Roan had in mind and the first chance she got to strike she would take it and save Sam and Gradar, or that was the idea anyway. 

“I know that, but what other choice do I have? You were right I can’t just rush in, that would take too long to find where they’re holding Sam and Gradar. He could easily hurt them before I get to them. This way, he’ll have to prove to me she’s still alive and that’s when he’s going to show me where she is. Otherwise I won’t cooperate with him.” They both stared at her- unconvinced. “Okay, it’s not the best plan but it’s the only one I’ve got right now! I can improvise a little.”

Fury’s jaw clenched and unclenched and his eyes were wide in confusion or maybe it was disbelief at the effort Carol was putting in to convince them. He then pursed his lips, “Can’t you just use the tracker you put on Gradar to locate him?” 

“Yeah… they found it, apparently, because it’s been offline,” Carol admitted hesitantly. She rubbed the back of her head and smiled nervously at the disapproval on Fury’s face. It was becoming a bit of a regular face that he made at her nowadays. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose, “Alright, you clearly have lost your damn mind. What happens when Roan uses Sam and Gradar to make you do some outrageous things? He puts a gun to their head and he’s got you completely wrapped around his finger. He could ask you anything, you’re the most powerful being on this planet- maybe on all of them, and he would control you.” 

She did see his point, but she was not planning on letting Roan control her. As long as she could make sure Sam and Gradar were not harmed, she’d pretend to go along with his plans until her moment came to bust them out of wherever he was holding them. It was simple, really. Maria and Fury seemed to think otherwise, though. “I get there’s a lot of potential for this to go completely wrong, but I have to try. I’m not going to sit here and let Roan harm Sam, Gradar, or the rest of humanity for that matter.” 

Fury argued with her for a while longer, until Carol noticed Maria had not spoken in a while. “Maria?” She called and watched Maria snap out of whatever trance she was in. She sighed, “Fury, there’s no use arguing, I hate to say it but if anyone can pull this off, it’s Carol. And we both know she’s too damn stubborn to listen to us.” 

Carol cringed slightly at that last part, it sounded like both a compliment and insult all in one. At that point, though, she’d take anything resembling their approval. Her gaze switched between Fury and Maria who both weighed out the pros and cons to each other. Fury’s main con was that Roan would have Carol completely at his disposal and might ‘make her destroy all of humankind’ as if she would actually let that happen. Maria’s con was more reasonable. She feared Roan was just using Sam and Gradar to lure Carol out and he had some terrible trap set up to weaken her and possibly kill her and his captives. 

Finally, they both seemed to agree that Carol shouldn’t do this alone regardless. Fury pulled out his phone, “If we do this; we do it smart. And we’re going to need backup.” He sighed a long, tired sigh and mumbled under his breath, “Swear this girl is gonna age me 20 years with her crazy plans.”

A few hours later, black vans pulled up to Maria’s house with S.H.I.E.L.D agents spilling out of them. Carol wasn’t particularly happy about the situation seeing as Roan made it clear he wanted her to come alone and if he managed to snag Sam by the house then he more than likely had his agents watching them anyways. The whole thing was making her a nervous wreck, but she knew she would rather work with Fury than against him. If this was part of his terms to not get in her way too much, then she would go along with it. 

“What’s this?” Carol asked Fury when one of his agents handed her a device smaller than a dime. 

“It’s a communication device, you just put it in your ear and we’ll be able to hear everything they say.” He explained.

Instantly, Carol shoved the device back into the hands of the agent who gave it to her. “No, this tech is ancient compared to the Skrulls they will find it as soon as they see me. And besides, if Roan suspects anything is off who knows what he’ll do to Sam and Gradar. It’s too risky.” 

“Then what do you suggest because I’m not letting you go in there alone with no backup!” Fury slightly raised his voice and just blinked at her incredulously.

“Okay, why don’t you keep your agents at least a mile or two away from our meeting sight and if anything happens I’ll give you a signal? The main goal here is to find where they are keeping Sam and Gradar while keeping Roan unsuspecting. As soon as I know where they are, I need your agents to move in and distract Roan while I get them out.” To Carol, the plan sounded foolproof, but she could tell Fury was not as convinced. She gave him a frustrated grunt, “Come on, Fury, work with me here?”

He shook his head and sighed in defeat. She knew she won him over by the halfhearted glare in his eyes. Fury didn’t like losing arguments, she knew that much, so this was a big step toward achieving her goal of breaking through that tough facade. “Alright Einstein, what’s the signal going to be?” 

Carol would’ve hugged him in delight but thought it best not to push her luck. “You’ll know it when you see it.” She nodded reassuringly to cover up the fact that she had no idea what the signal would be. She was playing this completely by ear. What could possibly go wrong? She thought to herself while watching Fury and his agents prepare to move. Maria elected to stay at her house in case something went horribly wrong and she had to ‘rescue every-damn-body’ in her words. 

Carol flew ahead quickly and dropped down on top of an old bridge. Roan said he wanted to meet here, but Carol saw no sign of him yet. The bridge was a two-lane overpass of a creek. The cracks in the cement indicated no one had bothered to fix it up and it was secluded enough, surrounded by wooded areas, that not many people would drive this way. She walked to the edge of the railing and looked down at the creek. The water was surprisingly clear, she could see pebbles and stones lining the bottom which did not appear too deep. She squinted her eyes and looked to both ends of the bridge in both confusion and in hopes of seeing someone. 

Before she started to question if she’d gotten the time or location confused, she saw a group of Skrull walk out of the tree line and onto the road. One Skrull was carrying a device she knew she recognized, and it dawned on her they were scanning her for any hidden electronics before revealing themselves. She started walking towards them when they stopped just shy of the bridge. “It’s about time you showed up, I was beginning to think you’d set me up.” Carol said with an undertone of suspicion. 

Roan chuckled, “Set you up? No, I’d never do such a thing. Your part to play is too important.” 

Carol took note his voice sounded rougher in person, like someone who had been smoking their whole life. “Oh yeah? And what part is that exactly?”

“The part where you help us infiltrate ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Specifically, a secret base where they store any unusual objects that they find. The energy source Talos was looking for, I know you found it. Now, I need it.” 

Carol could not help the laugh that slipped from her mouth, “Sorry, S.H.I.E.L.D? You really want me to help you infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D for an energy source that doesn’t exist? Well, you’ve literally just wasted your time and mine.” It took her back to last year when Talos originally disguised himself as Fury’s boss and was looking for the tesseract. It was like they were stuck in time, repeating the same mistakes, except she knew Roan wouldn’t have the sense Talos did in giving her the Tesseract when he found his family. 

Roan did not seem amused with her at all so she stopped laughing. “Yes. I understand it has all the alien tech ever discovered by humans. And I’m not naive enough to think Talos gave up his search for it, which means you found it and he somehow let you keep it. But you don’t need to know all my plans, just the plan I have for you.” 

“If you think I’m going to help you with anything you’re out of your mind,” Carol chuckled again. She found it incredibly hard to take Roan seriously. He had ambition, she had to give him that, but there was no way she’d help him. She didn’t even have the faintest clue what S.H.I.E.L.D did with the tesseract. “Besides what makes you think I can even help you with that?”

“I know what you can do, Kree!” He spat. “But leave the plan to me, I’ll just need you to play a very specific role. As for the details, you don’t need to know anything except if you do not cooperate you can say goodbye to Gradar and your pretty friend.” Roan smiled faintly and waved one of his men to his side. They whispered something that Carol couldn’t hear, but she suspected it had something to do with the device they were bringing forward. It looked like a hologram device. Roan nodded and they pressed a button that made an image pop up. It was a hologram of Sam and Gradar sitting on chairs, tied up, and gagged. Carol bit the inside of her cheek to calm her rage at the sight. Sam looked terrified, and Gradar was all beaten up. She knew this was coming, though. “You expect me to believe a holo image? No, if I help you with this, I need you to release them now!” 

“And lose all my leverage? I don’t think so. You finish the job, and then I’ll release them.”

“Fine… but like I said I can’t trust a hologram. Take me to Sam and Gradar first so I know they are safe. Only then will I agree to help you.” Carol countered and prayed that it worked and Roan didn't see through her. He didn’t instantly turn her down which had to be a good sign, she thought. He eyed her suspiciously, though, which made her nervous. 

Roan glanced around and held his wrist up to his face, messing with his communication device. He said something but Carol couldn’t hear it. He got a response and glanced back up to Carol locking eyes with her. She started to fear that he’d discovered Fury and his agents, but he never said anything about it. Instead, he motioned for her. “Very well, if I prove to you that Sam and Gradar are alive and well, you will get me inside S.H.I.E.L.D. and help me find the energy source.”

Carol let out a shaky breath, “First prove it and then I’ll see what I can do.” 

She followed Roan and his gang through the woods for a solid fifteen minutes before they finally reached the hideout. And boy, it was a hell of a hideout, Carol thought while gawking at it. It was one of those bunkers that doomsday preppers might have except much bigger and built into the side of a large hill. It looked military-grade. The first thing she noticed was the large door that was guarded by two Skrull warriors. It was roughly the size of the hangar doors back at the Air Force. Roan did not let them linger there for long. He took Carol to the right where another, smaller door was located. He opened it and revealed a room with a glass tinted window and another door. It looked like an interrogation room. He turned on the light and they stepped in front of the window. Inside the next room over was Sam and Gradar, exactly as she saw them in the hologram. There was only one guard standing behind them. 

“Now, shall we discuss S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Roan asked Carol carefully. She noticed how close his guards were to her clearly trying to intimidate her into behaving. 

She scoffed in response, “Let me talk to them.” 

Rage flashed over Roan’s face, “No, that wasn’t the deal. You saw them and now you will do as I want.” Carol allowed her fists to flare up in a threatening way. Roan looked at them and then looked Carol in the eyes with amusement. “No need to get hostile, or is that just the Kree in you coming out?” 

This was her moment, she thought. She was so close to them that she could just grab them and get out. Maybe then she could find a way to get a signal to Fury so Roan and his men wouldn’t get away. A flying, glowing person was probably as much signal as they would need, she thought. Her eyes darted to the guards nearest to her, they would be easy enough to take out. The only one she was worried about was the guard inside the room with Sam and Gradar. If she didn’t act fast enough, he could easily get to them before she could. 

She smirked at Roan, “No… this isn’t the Kree, this is just all me.” Without wasting a second Carol felt her power surge through her body and she aimed two proton blasts from each fist at the two guards behind her and then aimed both fists back towards Roan shooting a beam at him that gradually pointed upwards through the top of the bunker. Bright energy blasted through the roof so Fury better see that, she thought. The guards go down before being able to react, but the one inside with Sam and Gradar heard the commotion because he started heading to the door at the ready. Carol stood directly in front of the metal door and gathered up all the strength she could manage in her leg and then kicked out. It exploded backwards pinning the guard against the wall and knocking him out cold. The whole encounter took less than six seconds, she counted. 

From inside, Carol could hear Sam let out a muffled shout of surprise and Gradar just looked bewildered at the heavily damaged kicked in door. Behind her, Carol heard heavy footsteps coming her way so she swiftly stepped into the room with Sam and Gradar. 

She took off their restraints and they took out the cloth in their mouths. “Tell me you have an escape plan!” Gradar shouted as more Skrull soldiers burst through the doors ready to take them down. Carol let out a strange laugh, “Yeah… of course I’ve got one!” 

Both Gradar and Sam’s face told Carol that she didn’t sound as convincing as she meant to. The truth was she was just winging it. She got an idea that she was sure neither rescuee would enjoy. She walked over to the hole she had made with her ‘signal,’ and held out her hands to Sam and Gradar. “Okay, hold on to me!” Both looked quizzically at her, then when realizing what she was suggesting, started to argue at once. “There is no way-“ Sam began but the blaster shots that came through the doorway prompted them to quickly grab her hand. 

“Hang on tight!” Carol shouted over the shots. She flew through the hole with both Gradar and Sam holding on for dear life. Sam screamed and squeezed her eyes shut and used both hands to hold on to her waist. Carol chuckled a little, there was no way she would let them fall, they weighed absolutely nothing to her with her super strength. She just hoped none of the stray shots from the Skrull’s weapons hit anyone. After a moment the shots stopped whizzing by. She could see Fury and the agents already bearing down on the bunker and was genuinely impressed by the quick response, but they would need backup considering how many Skrull soldiers were spilling out of the huge metal doors. But first, before she could head back to help Fury, she needed to get Sam and Gradar to safety. She flew as fast as she could to Maria’s house and without harming her unwilling passengers, lowered them to the ground just in front of the porch. 

“Wait here, I’ll be right back,” she said confidently and gave them a small nod. She glanced at Sam one last time, letting a silent confirmation pass between them that she would be back for her. She didn’t want to leave Sam, in fact, all she really wanted to do right now was scoop her up in her arms and carry her someplace far away from everything. Sam seemed uneasy, but eventually, she returned the nod and Carol took that as her go-ahead. 

“Wait!” Gradar said and grabbed her arm, “Don’t hurt the others, they’re just following Roan because they have no one else to follow. I got through to some of them before he captured me but they’re scared! If you just take him down, the rest will surrender.” 

Carol smiled, “I’ll save everyone that I can. I promise.” She shot off into the sky like a bullet and made her way back to the base. It didn’t take long to arrive at the scene of gunfire. The Skrull were taking cover behind trees and concrete slabs blocking the doors. Fury and his agents were holding their own against Roan and the Skrull, but they had lost a few men in the process. They had the disadvantage because of the lack of cover to hide behind. The most they could do was shield themselves behind tree trunks or the vans. 

Carol flew back in the building through the hole she had made. Now that Sam and Gradar were safe, she could unleash herself on Roan. The other Skrull were just following his orders, so she would do her best to avoid them or if need be just knock them unconscious. She flew straight into the bunker with her full power causing the roof to cave in even more where she entered, dirt and rubble fell around her as she scanned the area. The Skrull scattered allowing Carol to catch sight of Roan. He was the furthest away and was being shielded by some debris. He ducked in and out of cover shooting his rifle at the S.H.I.E.L.D agents. 

The huge doors were slowly being pulled shut as Roan retreated inside, but Carol shot proton blasts at it making it crumble and fall. Some of the bits of the door fell on top of Roan, pinning him to the ground, so Carol took the opportunity to secure him. She flew past the rest of the Skrull without harming them, and held her fist threateningly to Roan’s face which was contorted in rage and agony. “Tell them to stand down!” She shouted over the sounds of gunfire. 

He grunted refusal, so she sent a warning shot right past his ear. “Fine! Stand down!” He yelled at his men. They all looked around confused at each other but did as they were told. As soon as they did, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents secured their weapons and held them at gunpoint. Carol saw Fury approaching with his normal intimidating scowl. 

“Well, it seems you’ve lost Roan.” Fury said flatly.