Kitty's Back
By: Sam Lincoln
Disclaimer: All of the characters in this story are the property of Marvel and are being used without their permission.
Spoilers: The story takes place after Endgame, and roughly around the same time as Far From Home.
Jessica Jones entered the office of Alias Investigations after a long night staking out a cheating husband. She pulled up to a stop when she saw a blonde woman dressed in a leather flight jacket and blue jeans seated in the chair across from her desk. Jessica looked over in the direction of her assistant Gillian who had already stood up from her desk when she heard Jessica enter the office.
"What the shit?" Jessica asked Gillian. "I told you, no new cases. Malcom and I are already swamped with all these formerly Blipped people hiring us to find their missing shit."
"Jessica, believe me, you're going to want to take this case. Hell I want to and I'm not a private investigator," Gillian said.
"Who the hell?" Jessica started to ask when the woman stood up from the chair and turned to face Jessica. "Holy shit, it's you," Jessica said.
"It's me," Carol Danvers replied.
Jessica made her way around her desk, dropping her bag onto it in the process. She sat down and hastily straightened the piles of paper on the desk. "Take a seat. Why do you need a private investigator?" Jessica held up a finger. "Wait, no, hold on." She stood up and grabbed a fresh bottle of whiskey from the shelf.
Carol returned to her seat and looked on as Jessica poured herself a drink. "It's a little early in the day to be hitting the sauce don't you think?"
"It's not early if you've been up all night," Jessica said then rolled her eyes. "You aren't a scold like the last captain are you? That guy was painfully square."
Carol's eyes narrowed. "Watch yourself Ms. Jones. Steve Rogers is a friend of mine, and he isn't some jingoistic asshole. You want to be a better person being around him. He's like Mr. Rogers with better abs. You'd understand if you ever met him."
Jessica held up her hands in surrender. "Forget I said anything, I'll even overlook how you're referring to a dead man in the present tense. So what can I do you for Captain?"
Carol took a moment to regain her composure after her outburst. "I'm not much different from the rest of your clientele. I need help finding someone and I've been told you're good at that." Carol leaned forward in her chair.
"Oh really? Who was the idiot who recommended me to you?"
Carol arched an eyebrow. "Nick Fury."
Jessica froze. "You're shitting me."
"I'm not. Fury told me you're the person to see if I want to find someone."
"I'm surprised he knows who I am."
"You shouldn't be. Fury keeps his eye on everyone. It wouldn't shock me if you've been on his radar since you got your powers."
"Great, that means he knew Kilgrave had me under his control for months and did nothing about it. That's good to know," Jessica said.
A look of panic crossed Carol's face. "Well he's a busy guy," Carol said. "Not that I expect that makes you feel any better."
"Whatever, everyone else let me down back then, why should Nick Fury be any different? Now who is it you need found?"
"My, well not exactly mine, but a cat. Well, not really a cat, but she looks like a cat," Carol said.
Jessica blinked her eyes as she tried to follow Carol description. "A cat that's not really a cat."
"Fury was looking after her while I was off in space dealing with the Kree/Skrull war. Then Thanos happened, Fury turned to dust, and in all the confusion Goose went missing. Now I'm back, Fury's back, and he asked me to find her. So here I am, asking you to help me find a cat."
"Can we go back to the part about how it's a cat that's not really a cat? Because I'm stuck on that part," Jessica said. "Or maybe I just need more to drink."
"Goose belonged to a friend of mine who was murdered," Carol said. "She was also an alien, and brought Goose with her when she came to Earth."
"So Goose is an alien cat, is that what you're hinting at?'
Carol nodded her head. "Yes exactly. I owe it to Mar-Vell to find Goose."
"And why do you expect that this alien cat is still alive after all of these years?" Jessica asked. "And even if it is still alive how do you expect to find it? Put up flyers?"
"That's why I'm here talking to you," Carol said. "You're the expert after all.
"Not at finding alien cats. Jesus Christ, if you wanted to find a deadbeat boyfriend, sure I could help, but a cat? Lady, you walked into the wrong detective agency."
Carol crossed her arms in front of her. "Fury sent me to you so he clearly thinks you can do the job."
Jessica frowned. "It won't be cheap."
"I have decades of backpay, don't worry about the money."
"I'm not worry about the money, that's your problem." Jessica shrugged. "I guess if you're willing to throw money away who am I to stop you? So where do you want me to start looking?"
Carol reached into her leather flight jacket and pulled out a USB drive. "This has everything Fury had on Goose's disappearance. There isn't much."
Jessica reached out for the drive. "It's as good a starting point as any. Give Gillian your number and I'll call as soon as I know anything about where your cat is."
Carol pulled the drive away from Jessica. "I don't think I made myself clear. I'm hiring you to help me find Goose, I'm coming along with you."
Jessica leaned back in her chair. "No way, forget it. That's not how I operate."
Carol held up her hand and it started to glow. "If you're worried about my safety don't be."
"It wasn't your safety I was worried about. Don't you have, I don't know, Avengers shit to deal with?"
"Not at the moment," Carol replied. "Banner's heading up the reconstruction efforts with the help of a few of the other surviving Avengers, but that's not my style."
"Just like taking on a partner isn't mine."
Gillian snatched the USB drive out of Carol's hands and slammed it on the desk in front of Jessica. "Take the damn job Jessica, she knows Nick Fury."
Jessica glared at Jillain then looked at Carol as she picked up the drive. "Okay fine, I agree to your terms, but you have to agree to mine."
"Which are?" Carol asked.
"I don't want your money, I want a favor from Fury instead."
"He won't kill anyone for you."
Jessica stared at Carol with horror on her face. "What no, Christ, why would you think I would ask Fury to kill someone for me?"
"I don't know, you seem like the sort of person who has enemies who need to be dealt with."
"She's right, you do," Gillian said.
"No, Jesus, no, nobody needs to be killed," Jessica said. "I need Fury to do something for me. Nothing illegal mind you. I just need his access."
Carol's eyes narrowed. "Access to what?"
"That's personal," Jessica said.
"But you promise it isn't illegal?"
"Cross my heart," Jessica replied.
Carol fell silent for a moment then held out her hand. "I can't beat that price, you have yourself a deal."
Jessica shook Carol's hand. "Great, now that we've agreed to work together leave me alone so I can read these files in peace." Gillian looked over at Carol and shrugged.
Carol stood up from her chair. "No that makes sense, sure, you need time to review the case, okay. I'll be back tomorrow and we can talk about next steps then." She walked to the office door, then looked back at Jessica who had already started to read over the documents. "This will be fun."
The next day Carol walked into Alias Investigation and found Jessica asleep at her desk with an empty bottle of whiskey next to her. Carol glanced over at Gillian, who was sitting at her desk, and the assistant shrugged. "I would have woken her up, but this is the only time of the day when I can get paperwork done."
Carol motioned with her hand to indicated Gillian. "Why do you work here? You seem a lot classier than your boss."
"Thank you for noticing. Jessica really does mean well, and wants to help people. That's why she's so prickly, though she'll deny that of course. That's one reason, but also, well there's never a dull moment around here." Gillian shrugged her shoulders again then returned to her work.
Carol walked around the desk and tapped Jessica on the shoulder. "Wake up Ms. Jones, it's time to get to work"
"Oh don't do that," Gillian said.
Before Carol could reply, Jessica leapt out of her seat and reflexively swung at Carol's head. Carol caught Jessica's punch in her hand sending out a shockwave that rattled the office windows. Jessica's eyes grew wide when she realized what happened and she took a step back from Carol.
"Holy shit, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you," Jessica said before Carol cut her off.
"No that was totally my fault," Carol said. "I shouldn't have startled you like that."
"But I could've taken your head off," Jessica said.
"You're strong." Carol winced and shook the hand she caught Jessica's punch with. "Really strong as a matter of fact, but you weren't going to hurt me."
"Why do I feel insulted?" Jessica asked.
Carol smirked at the detective. "Don't be, that really was a hell of a punch, but I took a headbutt from Thanos, so my perspective is all kinds of weird."
"Thanos, right, nice humblebrag there," Jessica reached for the can of Red Bull that Gillian had placed on her desk. "We get it, you're the big damn galactic hero."
Carol held out her arms. "I'm a fighter pilot, I don't do humble, and besides I think going up against a monster like Kilgrave takes way more strength than fighting Thanos."
Jessica's eye twitched. "You read up on me."
"A little, I wanted to know more about the person who is going to find my cat."
Jessica nodded her head slightly. "That makes sense, but I'm not interested in talking about it."
"That's good because neither am I," Carol said. "Now what did your research find?"
Jessica blinked as she focused on the case at hand. "Right, my research." She waved her hand over the desk to indicate the stacks of printed paper on it. "After reviewing all this stuff I can safely say somebody stole your cat."
"Thanks, I already knew that."
Jessica held up an index finger. "You knew it had gone missing, big difference."
Carol considered Jessica's statement then nodded her head. "Okay fine, fair enough. Goose was stolen from a secure SHIELD facility. Do you know who was responsible for the theft?"
"If I did do you think I'd be sitting around here? There's a gap in the surveillance tape, and why was there a dedicated security feed anyway? I didn't realize Nick Fury was a cat person."
"Like I said yesterday, Goose isn't a normal cat. I can understand why Fury would want to keep her under constant observation."
"That's ominous," Jessica said.
"Goose is one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet," Carol said. "I'm not even joking. That's why it's so important that we find her."
"If the cat's so dangerous why isn't Nick Fury looking for her himself?"
"Fury has other things to worry about. If you haven't noticed we're short a few Avengers at the moment."
"You aren't trying to recruit me to join your silly club are you?" Jessica asked. "Like is this some sort of elaborate initiation exercise?"
Carol reached across the desk and picked up the empty bottle of whiskey. She looked at the bottle then at Jessica. "Someone has a real high opinion of herself."
"I remember the headlines about Tony Stark, you can't tell me being an asshole is enough to keep someone out of the Avengers," Jessica said.
"Do you want to join the Avengers?" Carol asked.
"No, but," Jessica frowned and didn't finish her sentence.
"I get it, you want to be able to say no," Carol said. "Everyone wants to believe they're good enough to be in the big leagues."
"So am I?" Jessica asked.
Carol shrugged. "If Tony let the spider kid in I don't see why you couldn't be, but I'm not a recruiter, and you aren't really a joiner anyway."
"Right, right, so your cat. I don't have anything in what you gave me that would identifies the catnappers."
"What else do you need to solve the case then?"
"More information, the full security logs of the building and the names of everyone who worked there that day."
"Nothing major then," Carol said.
A smile played across Jessica's face. "Just a trifle really, should be no trouble at all for you to get."
"Seriously though, this is a big ask, but if it's what you need to find Goose then so be it."
"How are you planning to get the information? Call up your buddy Nick?"
"Like I said, Fury's busy with another world ending crisis," Carol said. "I don't think that will be a problem to get the information from the base though."
"Why not?"
Carol smiled at Jessica. "I'm Captain Marvel, what are they going to do, tell me no?"
Jessica scratched her chin. "That is a really good point. I'm glad I asked you along on this little caper."
Carol rolled her eyes but didn't respond to Jessica. "This will be fun, just like the old days when me and Fury snuck into a top secret government base."
"I didn't realize you and Fury were such buddys," Jessica said.
"He helped me out when I was in a tough spot the first time I returned to Earth." Carol waved her hands. "It's a long story and we don't have the time to get into it. Fury's a friend and I trust him, that's all you need to know."
"Does that mean you know how he lost his." Jessica tapped under her left eye.
Carol folded her hands together in front of her. "I can neither confirm nor deny any knowledge about the loss of Fury's eye, but even if I did know, which I'm not saying I do, I wouldn't tell you because that would be a violation of his trust."
Jessica threw up her hands. "Forget I asked. Let's go to this SHIELD facility that was cat sitting for Fury and find out who stole it."
"Her," Carol said. "Goose is a her."
Jessica pushed herself out of her seat. "Fine, whatever, her, Jesus. I'm going to find a cat with Captain Marvel," she told Gillian. "Don't wait up."
"I never do," Gillian said as Carol and Jessica left the office.
"I hope you realize how much of a long shot this is," Jessica said to Carol as they stood outside of a nondescript office building in the Bronx. "It's not like the world has been very settled the past few years." Jessica caught herself and looked Carol up and down. "Not that you need the reminder I guess."
"Things were pretty crazy all over the galaxy and beyond," Carol replied. "A lot of people put in a lot of work to make sure there was a universe for everyone to return to." Carol saw the look of amusement on Jessica's face. "But that wasn't what you meant was it?"
"You are an intense lady, has anyone ever told you that?" Jessica said. "What I meant is that there's no guarantee the records we want still exist."
"They'll be there," Carol said. "Fury ran this facility after all."
"That's just it, he didn't for the past five years who knows what happened while he was gone." Jessica shrugged. "It's not like we have an alternative I suppose, and this was my idea in the first place so I can't turn around and say say it won't work. Okay, we're here, now what?"
Carol motioned to the front door of the brick building. "We knock."
Jessica grabbed Carol by the arm and shoved her towards the building. "You go first, you're the more indestructible of the two of us."
Carol rolled her eyes. "They aren't going to shoot you. Probably, maybe, you know what, just stay behind me." Carol walked up to the intercom next to the door and pushed the talk button.
"This is a restricted area, go away," a disembodied voice said.
"I'm Captain Marvel, let me in," Carol said.
"I need to see some identification first," the voice said.
Carol held up a glowing hand for the surveillance camera she knew was watching to see. "Is that identification enough for you?" Carol and Jessica heard a click and the door swung open. Carol smiled up at the camera. "Thank you." She motioned for Jessica to follow her through the door.
"A top secret government facility in the Bronx. Nothing about this is the slightest bit unnerving," Jessica said to Carol.
"Would you rather the Nevadan desert?" Carol replied.
"I don't tan so no."
Inside the building they were met by three men dressed in black fatigues without any logos on them. Two of the men held rifles while the leader had a pistol holstered at his side. When he saw Carol he motioned for the two guards to lower their rifles. "Apologies ma'am, but you can never be too careful."
"No you certainly can't," Carol said.
"I'm Agent Dahl, these are Agents Morgan and Prest. What can we help you with?"
"I'm tracking down your missing flerken," Carol said. "Fury gave me some of the files related to her disappearance, but me and my associate Jessica Jones will need to see the full logs of the building for the night in question."
Dahl pushed back his hat and scratched the top of his head. "That's a tall ask ma'am."
"I'm aware of that agent, but Fury gave me this job personally. Are you going to tell Fury I couldn't do the task he asked me to because you said no?"
Dahl shifted back and forth on his feet. "So you say, but Fury would also ream me out for letting an unsanctioned civilian into a secure facility."
Carol set her hands on her hips. "Seriously, you're going to turn me away?"
Dahl looked back at Morgan and Prest. "I, er, that is."
Prest reached out an slapped Dahl on the arm. "It's Captain Marvel Dahl, you aren't going to say no to Captain Marvel."
Dahl lifted his hand off of his holstered pistol. "Okay, but if I catch hell from Fury I'm going to be very upset with you Prest."
"You know the soft spot Fury has for her," Morgan said. "Especially if she's looking for the cat."
Dahl raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay what is it you want from us?"
"The unabridged security logs for the night the cat went missing," Jessica said. "As well as the roster of everyone who was in the building, backgrounds the whole nine yards. Don't say you don't have it, you guys are SHIELD, or used to be SHIELD, or whatever you're calling yourself these days. So, which way to your archive?"
Dahl let out a low sigh. "Prest, show these two to the security archive, and make sure they don't go anywhere they're not supposed to."
Prest looked over at Carol and Jessica. "I'm not sure I could stop them from going anywhere they wanted but okay. Follow me please." Jessica glared at Dahl before she and Carol walked after Prest.
"What exactly do you do here?" Jessica asked Prest after they were out of Dahl's earshot. She looked around the unremarkable hallway to try and get a sense of the building.
"That is aggressively classified ma'am," Prest replied. "All I can tell you is that we're a small crew. Just myself, Dahl, Morgan, and one other agent."
"Yeah, but you'd tell Captain Marvel over there," Jessica said. "Pretend I'm not here."
"It doesn't work like that ma'am," Prest said.
Jessica shrugged her shoulders. "You can't blame a girl for trying to figure out why there's a top secret base in the Bronx."
"They're here to keep an eye on things," Carol said. "How many times has something strange attacked this city? I've been off in space for twenty five years and even I know the answer is a lot."
"I get it now. This is where you spy on me, is that it?"
"I can neither confirm nor deny that Ms. Jones, except to say that surveillance of American citizens, even those with abilities, without a warrant is illegal."
"They're spying on me aren't they?" Jessica said to Carol.
"They are totally spying on you," Carol replied.
"I mean I suppose I should be mad about that, but honestly if the roles were reversed I'd spy on me too," Jessica said. "Still though, knock that shit off."
"I don't make the decisions," Preset said.
"After we sort out this cat napping situation, we're going to have a discussion about the spying."
"Take it up with Director Fury," Prest said. He came to a stop in front of an unmarked door. "Here's the archive."
"Thank you Agent Prest, we can can take it from here," Carol said.
"I don't think…" Prest said.
"We can take it from here," Carol said again. This time she allowed a burst of energy to spark out of her hand.
"Right, of course, you can take it from here." Prest bobbed his head up and down then walked away from Carol and Jessica.
"I really should have gotten him to open the door for us," Carol said.
"That won't be a problem," Jessica said. She held up an ID badge. "I lifted his keycard." She tapped the card against the door's lock. "After you."
"Lady, you have style," Carol told Jessica before she entered the archive.
Jessica jammed the door shut and then stepped behind Carol who was sitting at a computer terminal. "Can you log into this thing?"
"Fury gave me a log in so I should be able to." Carol pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket and then typed the information into the computer. The log in screen vanished and was replaced by the desktop. "Thanks Fury."
Jessica leaned over Carol's shoulder. "Cool, now access the security logs and duty roster. No, click there." She pointed at a spot on the monitor.
Carol stepped out of the seat. "You know what, you can drive."
Jessica slid into the seat and cracked her knuckles. "Watch and learn." She quickly searched through the computer and located every video tagged Goose. "This should be what we're looking for."
Carol leaned over Jessica's shoulder. "Open up the last one."
Jessica glanced up at Carol . "Easy there Captain Sparkle, I was getting there."
Carol took a step back from Jessica and folded her arms across her chest. "Sorry, I want to find Goose as quickly as possible. It's not safe for her to be loose in the wild."
"We're going to circle back to why you think that," Jessica said. "Because honestly I find that shit a little disturbing." She clicked on a video file. "This is the last surveillance video." They watched a black and white video of Goose walking around an empty room. "So that's an alien? Looks like a cat to me," Jessica said.
"Yeah she does, but don't let the looks fool you, she is not a cat," Carol said.
Jessica shrugged. "If you insist." She scrubbed the video forward. "Let's see if we can find out when this cat that's not really a cat vanished."
Carol and Jessica watched in silence as Goose frolicked in high speed around the room. Then without warning, the video jumped to an empty room. Jessica sat bolt upright in her chair as Carol tapped her on the shoulder. "Yeah I see it," Jessica said as she reversed the video. "Looks like there's a twenty minute gap in the playback."
"That's when they took Goose," Carol said.
"No shit," Jessica replied. "Let me see if I can figure out who disabled the security cameras. A place this paranoid has to keep logs."
"I don't know about you Jessica, but I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this," Carol said as she looked around the closet sized archive room.
"How's that?" Jessica asked without looking up from the computer. She slapped the side of the monitor. "Stupid thing, give me what I'm looking for."
Carol smirked. "Having trouble?"
"No, yes," Jessica sighed. "Computers aren't entirely my thing. I can make them work most of the time, but I ain't what you'd call a hacker."
"I knew I should've asked Spider-Man for help," Carol said.
"You know Spider-Man?" Jessica asked. "No, wait, of course you do."
"He's a good kid, a little over eager at times, but a good kid. Stark could've done a lot worse picking a protege."
"What do you mean kid?" Jessica asked.
"Would you believe he's still in high school?" Carol replied.
"No shit really? I met him once, not long before the Blip"
"How did that go?" Carol asked.
"I was chasing down a lead in a case that involved some thugs who used to work for Fisk. I was 'encouraging' them to stop trying to run a protection racket in my neighborhood when he zipped in and tried to save me."
Carol smirked. "I can see where he might think that you need saving."
"Yeah well, I told him where he could shove that damsel in distress bullshit. We beat up the bad guys and then I tossed him to Queens when he wouldn't stop asking me questions about my powers."
"Yeah, the two of you wouldn't get along," Carol said after chuckling at the image of Parker being thrown to Queens played in her head.
"He's a teenager, that explains so much. If he's such a genius, why didn't you ask him for help?"
"He's out of town on vacation," Carol said.
"I didn't realize you superhero types got vacations," Jessica said. "If there's also dental I might have to rethink my no superhero policy." Jessica opened the building's security logs for the night Goose went missing then grew still. "Hey remember that bad feeling you said you had?" She asked Carol.
Carol leaned over Jessica's shoulder. "Yeah, what about it?"
"I'm starting to agree with it." Jessica pointed at the screen. "The security logs for that day were purged by Agent Dahl."
"Can we see how many of the guards here were on duty that night?" Carol asked.
"You mean how many weren't Blipped out of existence?" Jessica replied.
"It was really more of a snap then a blip," Carol said. "But yes, how many were Blipped?"
"Just one, Agent Alex Pine." Jessica looked back at Carol. "What are you thinking, and is it what I'm thinking?"
"I don't know, are you thinking that with the complete breakdown of society the agents at this facility said flark this to their professional obligations and sold Goose to the highest bidder?"
"We are remarkably simpatico," Jessica said. "So what are they going to do now that we're snooping around their act of high treason that will at best send them to the Raft for life?"
Carol stood up straight and slammed her fist into the palm of her hand. She was enveloped in a white glow and when the flash receded the flight jacket and jeans she was wearing were replaced by her red and blue Captain Marvel uniform. "Nothing good, let's go ask Agent Dahl a few questions."
"That was some serious Sailor Moon shit," Jessica said. "It suddenly makes sense why you're going through all this trouble to find a cat."
A pounding on the door to the archive room cut off Carol's retort. They looked a live feed of the security cameras and saw Dahl and Prest standing outside the door. "You have to give them credit for thinking they even possibly stand a chance here," Jessica said.
Carol powered up her fists. "They don't get credit for anything. They sold Goose and they're going to pay for that."
"What's your plan, because they're almost through that door."
"I'll deal with these two, you collect Agent Pine and take her to your office. If they're trying to kill us they'll try to kill her as well."
"Right, eliminate any witnesses," Jessica said.
Carol's helmet slid into place around her head. "We go on my mark." Energy radiated around her and Carol blasted through the security door.
"That's quite the mark," Jessica said to herself. "How do I wind up in shit like this?" She asked no one in particular as she ran through the base towards the communications room where the duty roster said Agent Pine was located.
Jessica came to a stop in front of the communication room. She drew in a breath then kicked the door off of its hinges. Inside she found a woman with an astonished expression on her face. "Are you Agent Pine?" Jessica asked.
Pine nodded her head. "I am, who wants to know?"
"Jessica Jones, I'm here with Captain Marvel looking for her cat. Your coworkers are corrupt and going to kill you. Now that you're all caught up let's get out of here."
"What do you mean they're going to kill me?" Agent Pine
Jessica could hear footsteps coming down the hallway. "There's no time to get lost in the the minutiae, we gotta go now." She picked up Pine in a fireman's carry then leapt out of the window.
Jessica lead Agent Pine in the Alias Investigation office. "Make yourself at home," Jessica told the agent. Gillian had already gone home for the day so the office was empty.
"I'm still finding this hard to believe," Pine said as she stepped into the center of the office. "Everyone else at the facility was corrupt?"
"That's right," The office door banged open and Carol walked in with an unconscious Agent Dahl slung over her shoulder. "They sold out Goose while you were snapped and have been covering it up ever since."
Pine looked over at Jessica. "Snapped?"
"She means Blipped," Jessica replied. "Ms. Mighty Avenger over there has different terminology than us mortals."
Carol glared at Jessica. "You are hardly the person to talk about being a mere mortal.
"Compared to you I am," Jessica said as she leaned against her desk.
Carol rolled her eyes. "Whatever, that's not what we should be focused on right now." She dropped Dahl onto the sofa then patted him on the cheek. "Wake up Agent Dahl, we need to talk."
Dahl stirred, then tried to stand up when he realized he didn't know where he was. "What is the meaning of this? Pine, get me out of here."
"Drop the act asshole," Jessica said. "We saw the security logs. We know you were involved in Goose's disappearance, so make life easier on yourself and tell us who you sold the cat to."
"Why should I?" Dahl asked.
Carol raised an eyebrow. "Really, you think it's a good idea to stonewall me?"
"She could totally fly you up several thousand feet and drop you," Jessica said.
Carol cracked her knuckles. "I'll catch you of course, but you wouldn't like the trip."
"Dahl this is getting you nowhere, just tell them the truth," Pine said. "They're going to find out."
"I am very good at my job," Jessica said. "Once I start digging through your life it will all come tumbling out, but don't make me have to go through all that work if I don't have to."
Dahl looked between the three women. "Okay, okay, I'll talk. Roxxon, we sold the subject to Roxxon."
"How could you Dahl? Fury personally gave us this assignment," Pine said.
"Fury was dead, the world had ended, you wouldn't understand, you were gone too," Dahl said.
"And you and the others thought you could make a little money on the side is that it?" Jessica asked.
Dahl hung his head. "It made sense at the time, but then the Avengers had to go and ruin things by bringing everyone back." He glared at Carol. "So thanks for that."
"I'm sorry saving the lives of trillions was such an inconvenience for you," Carol said. "Oh wait no, I mean the opposite of that."
"Do you know where Roxxon has the cat?" Jessica asked Dahl.
"I don't know and I don't care," Dahl replied.
"I can find Goose," Pine said.
"You can, how?" Carol asked.
"I know what it takes to keep a flerken in captivity, they have certain needs. We can figure out where they're keeping Goose based on that."
"That's pretty clever. What do you need to make it work?' Jessica asked.
"Just a computer with the Internet," Pine replied.
"So a computer then," Jessica said. She spun her laptop around then opened it up. "Hey Captain, is this something you need to deal with?" She pointed at a breaking news headline about an elemental attack in London on the screen.
"Fury's handling it, don't worry," Carol said. "Finding Goose is my assignment. If he does need my help he's got my number."
"If you insist," Jessica said. "I mean I think stopping a giant water monster is a bigger concern than finding a missing cat, but what do I know?"
"You've never seen a flerken up close," Carol said. "Believe me, this is more than a vanity job."
"I still think you're shitting me," Jessica said.
"She's really not," Pine said. "I've never seen it myself, but the flerken is the most dangerous creature on Earth." She took the laptop away from Jessica and began to run her search.
"I'll believe it when I see it," Jessica said. "And if this cat is so dangerous why were you keeping it in the middle of New York? Well, the Bronx, but still."
"Because she liked it there," Pine said without looking up from the laptop. "Keeping the flerken in a location she was comfortable in was a top priority."
"Wow, pampered cat," Jessica said.
"If it kept her from eating us it was worth it," Pine said.
Jessica held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, forget I said anything."
"Just hope you never see Goose go full flerken," Carol said. "It's disturbing, there are tentacles." She wiggled her fingers to mime tentacles.
Jessica grimaced. "How does that even, you know what, I don't want to know. You say the cat is really some sort of eldritch horror then I believe you."
"She is mostly a cat though," Carol said. "Just don't let her scratch you."
"Wait, is that…" Jessica started to ask before Agent Pine cut her off.
"I think I found her." Carol and Jessica clustered around Pine to look over her shoulder. "Roxxon has a research facility on Long Island with some very extreme power usage. Either they're holding Goose or they're trying to make their own Pym Particles."
"That's bad either way." Carol stood up straight. "We should go pay them a visit."
"Taking on Roxxon is pretty aggressive," Jessica said. "They've got an army of lawyers are you sure…" Jessica stopped then signed. "You're going to say something about how you head butted Thanos aren't you?"
"No, not at all," Carol said. "But did I tell you about the time I blew up Thanos's flagship?"
Jessica rolled her eyes. "Of course you did because you're the biggest badass on the planet and don't anyone forget it."
Carol held up her hands and walked away from the desk. "Fine, fine, you made your point, but no, I'm not particularly afraid of any company's legal department. They have Goose and I'm going to get her back." Carol's fists started to glow.
"Whoa there, settle down, don't punch a hole in my office. That would really piss off my super and I'm trying to stay on his good side because he's an ex."
Carol drew in a deep breath and the glow receded from her hands. "Pine, do we have a layout of the facility?" Carol asked.
"I'm working on getting you one right now," Pine said.
Carol tapped Pine on the back. "That's what I like to hear."
"Do we have a plan?" Jessica asked.
"Of course we do. Agent Pine will get us the lab's floorpan. You and I will go there and get Goose back. If they try to stop us we punch them. Agent Pine will stay here and watch over Dahl."
Jessica shrugged. "Simple works best for me. Let's do it."
"What happened to Morgan, Prest and the others?" Pine asked Carol.
"I locked them in a room and called the police," Carol said. "They should be in custody right about now."
"You have nothing to charge them with," Dahl said, finally speaking up from the sofa.
"Sure I do, I have your confession," Carol said. "Thanks again for that, it's made this so much easier."
"I hope Roxxon vivisected that damn cat. You have no idea how insulting it was that Fury gave us that assignment," Dahl said.
"For your sake you better hope that's not true," Carol said.
Jessica put a hand on Carol's shoulder "Come on Captain, we have to come up with a plan to rescue your flerken. First things first, how are we getting there?"
Carol cracked her knuckles. "Leave that to me."
Under the cover of darkness Carol dropped Jessica on the ground in an empty lot across the street from the Roxxon research facility before she landed next to her. Jessica staggered away from Carol as she tried to regain her balance after the flight to Long Island. "Are you feeling okay?" Carol asked Jessica.
"I will be, let me get my bearings. Never flown like that before," Jessica said. She rested her hands on her hips and took in deep gulps of air.
"It's pretty awesome isn't it?" Carol said.
"If you insist," Jessica replied. "Me personally, I'm fine with leaving flying to the birds."
"Can't you fly?" Carol asked.
"I can jump real high, there's a difference," Jessica said. She turned and looked at the research facility. "Lets go rescue your cat so I can be done with you."
Carol rolled her shoulders then activated her helmet. "I'll cause a distraction and you sneak in through the back." Carol took off before Jessica had a chance to reply.
"What a showoff," Jessica said to herself as she sized up the chain link fence topped with razor wire that surrounded the facility. Jessica stretched for a moment before taking a running start and jumping over the fence. She cleared it with ease then stumbled to the ground when she landed. "And that is why I like to stay on the ground," Jessica said as she brushed dirt off of her leather jacket. She looked around to see if anyone noticed her landing then ran towards the two story building.
Carol landed in the middle of the lab's front lawn and was immediately illuminated by spotlights. She held up her hands in surrender as a team of security guards approached her with their weapons drawn. "Hey there," Carol said to the guards as her helmet deactivated. "You know who I am. Take me to whoever is in charge of this place. We need to have a chat about the flerken."
The five guards escorted Carol into the building's two story foyer where they were met by a man wearing a lab coat draped over a white dress shirt and black slacks. "Captain Marvel, what an unexpected surprise. To what do we owe the honor of your visit?"
"You have my flerken," Carol said. "I want her back."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," the Roxxon scientist said. "Your what now?"
"Don't play dumb with me Mr.?" Carol motioned to the doctor for his name.
"Doctor, Doctor Emil Pulis."
"Doctor Pulis, you know what I'm talking about. You stole Goose from the SHIELD facility and you've been holding her here ever since. Do you even know what she is? What she's capable of? Or did you take her because she's alien and that's good enough for you?"
"Captain Marvel, with all due respect," Pulis started to say.
"I talked to Agent Dahl Doctor. He told me what he did. Now hand over the flerken." Carol's fists started to glow. The Roxxon security team released the safeties on their rifles in response.
"That's all you have, the word of a disgraced former SHIELD agent? Everyone knows SHIELD was populated by nothing but liars and traitors. They can't even go six months without being disbanded. Good luck proving in court that we were the ones who paid Agent Dahl," Pulis said.
"I'm not interested in what the courts have to say," Carol said. "You have something of mine and I want it back. Return Goose and that's the end of it. Don't and I will ruin you."
"Is that a threat Captain?" Pulis asked. "Just so you know, this entire conversation is being recorded."
Carol looked over at one of the foyer's security cameras and flipped it the bird with a glowing middle finger. "I really don't care. I've faced down space tyrants. There really isn't anything you can do to scare me."
"We can sully your good name. Video editing has come so far."
Carol tapped a button on her wrist and then held out her hand palm up. A hologram of Pulis appeared in her palm and repeated back his threat. "You were saying? I can also make mine dance." She smiled at the doctor.
"Guards remove her from the building!" Pulis shouted.
Carol looked over at the guards. "Don't worry boys, I'll go easy on you." She fire a photon blast, causing the guards to scatter.
Away from commotion in the foyer Jessica crept down a darkened hallway. She carried a printout of the lab's floor plan with Goose's probable location circled in red pen in her left hand. Jessica stayed on the lookout for any security patrols, but the loud booms in the distance lessened her worries about the building's security noticing her.
"I have to admit, the lady makes one hell of a distraction," Jessica said under her breath.
She rounded the corner of the hallway and pulled up to a stop when she saw a heavily armed guard standing in front of a door. She ducked out of sight to regroup and come up with a new plan.
"Okay Jessica, how do you get past the meathead with the very big gun? I don't think I'll be able to sweet-talk my way past him." Jessica looked around the hallway then smiled when her eyes fell on a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. The guard never saw the fire extinguisher arc through the air and crash into the side of his head. Even though he was wearing a helmet the impact knocked him unconscious.
Jessica walked up to the door then tried the handle. She growled when she found it locked. Jessica took a step backwards and kicked the door with all of her might. The door flew inwards and crashed into the wall on the other side of the room. Jessica poked her head into the lab to see if any other guards were waiting for her. Instead she found the room empty except for Goose who was lying on a pet bed in a locked cage.
Jessica eased her way up to the flerken. "Hey there, uh Goose. I'm Jessica, Captain Marvel sent me to collect you so please do not claw me. She ripped the door off of the cage, then looked around for something to carry Goose in. She grabbed a nearby cat carrier and held it up for Goose to walk into. "Come on, get in there." When Goose didn't comply Jessica took a deep breath, grabbed Goose by the scruff of her neck and tossed her into the carrier. She closed the door before Goose could escape.
Jessica held up the carrier so she could look inside. "Sorry Goose, but it had to be done. Captain Marvel would want you someplace safe while I'm getting you out of here, so forgive me?" Goose hissed in response, then curled up into a ball in the back of the carrier. Jessica took this as a sign of acceptance and dashed out of the lab.
Jessica ran towards the foyer to meet up with Carol. When she arrived there she discovered that a full battle had broken out between Carol and the Roxxon security force. Jessica surveyed the destroyed foyer from her vantage point on the second floor and sighed. "That would explain the explosions."
Jessica saw Dr. Pulis trying to escape and she ran across the room to intercept him. "I don't know who you are specifically buddy, but I think you should stick around." She grabbed Pulis by the collar of his lab coat to keep him from running. Pulis struggled to free himself, but gave up when Jessica tightened her grip on him.
The fight between Carol and the security force was broken up by the arrival of a battalion of heavily armed police officers. "Everybody put your hands up!" The ESU leader shouted. Carol raised her arms while the guards dropped their guns.
Pulis managed to shrug himself free from his jacket and ran towards the railing that overlooked the foyer. "I demand you arrest these women. They came in her and started tearing up this facility."
"You need to arrest Doctor Pulis there," Carol said. "He stole an extraterrestrial creature and has been keeping it here illegally ever since."
"That's a lie," Pulis said.
Jessica stepped up to the edge of the balcony. "No it's not. I've got your flerken right here." She reached into the carrier and pulled out Goose. The flerken caught sight of Doctor Pulis and hissed. Before anyone could react tentacles shot out of Goose's mouth and wrapped themselves around Pulis. Jessica watched in horror as the researcher was dragged into the flerken. Jessica dropped Goose and took a step away from her. "Holy shit, that's an alien cat," Jessica yelled.
Goose leapt down to the lower level of the foyer, walked over to Carol and rubbed herself against Carol's boot. "I wasn't lying." Carol bent down and picked up the flerken. "Hey Goose, sorry it's been so long." Goose purred in response.
The ESU lieutenant collected herself and raised her carbine. "I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I'm taking all of you in, including that, that thing." She pointed at Goose who was cleaning her paw.
"Officers stand down unless you want your asses kicked in," Nick Fury said as he entered the foyer. "That's Captain Marvel, are you really going to arrest her?" he stepped in between Carol and the ESU officers.
"Took you long enough," Carol said to Fury.
"I've been busy," Fury said. "I'm taking these two and the cat with me," he told the ESU lieutenant as he waved in the direction of Carol and Jessica. "Feel free to arrest everyone else." He leaned in closer to Carol. "We need to talk."
"Then let's go talk," Carol said. She scratched Goose's ears as she stepped around Fury and walked out of the Roxxon lab.
After negotiating their exit from the crime scene, Carol, Jessica and Fury returned to the Alias Investigations office with Goose stored in her carrier. Fury had phoned ahead and ordered Pine to take Agent Dahl to the police. Carol placed the cat carrier down on the desk and let Goose out. The flerken rubbed her head against Carol's outstretched hand and purred.
"I missed you too Goose," Carol said as she scratched Goose on the ears.
"So what happens to Roxxon now?" Jessica asked Fury.
Fury leaned against Gillian's desk. "We'll go after them for bribing our agents and possession of an unregistered alien biological entity."
"And will that accomplish anything?"
Fury shrugged. "Maybe, but they do have a lot of lawyers and can conveniently pin a lot of the blame on the scientist currently being digested by Goose so I wouldn't count on it."
A look of disgust crossed Jessica's face. "Which brings me to my next question. What are you going to do about that?" She pointed at Goose.
"Fury can," Carol started to say.
"I think Goose would rather stay with you," Fury said.
"Me? I think that would be a terrible idea."
"I think it's a great one. Goose deserves to live in a real home, not a secret bunker."
Carol bent over and picked up Goose. "What do you say Goose, want to live with me? I don't really have a place of my own at the moment, but I suppose I can find something." Goose mewed and batted at Carol's hand. "Well okay, if you're sure."
"I'm not sure I find that comforting, but if anyone can keep a demon cat in line she can," Jessica said. "Last item then, about my payment."
Carol cocked her head to one side. "Didn't you say something about wanting a favor?"
Jessica nodded her head. "I did, something only he can get me." Jessica drew in deep breath. "It's about my sister, my adoptive sister, Trish. Right before the Blip she got powers and, well, she killed people. I stopped her and she was packed off to the Raft. That was the last time I saw her."
"You know I can't get her released," Fury said.
"What? No, I don't want her released, did you miss the part where I said she's a murderer? I just want to visit her. The Raft is a goddamn black hole. Hell, I don't even know if she was Blipped or not. Trish and I have a complicated relationship, but I owe it to her to visit."
"I don't see why Fury can't make that happen. You can make that happen right Fury?" Carol asked.
"Yes, what, yes of course. I'll make some calls, piece of cake," Fury said.
"Unless you have anything else we'll be taking our flerken and getting out of your hair." Carol loaded Goose back into the carrier then held her hand out to Jessica. "It was nice working with you Jones."
Jessica shook Carol's hand. "The feeling's mutual Captain."
Carol smiled. "The name's Danvers, Carol Danvers."
"Okay Danvers, if you're ever in the neighborhood drop by and we can get a drink."
Carol's smile widened. "I'd like that, and if you ever need a problem tossed into the sun don't hesitate to call."
"I will take you up on that," Jessica said.
After they finished saying their goodbyes Carol and Fury made their way to his black SUV and drove off. Carol shot Fury a look as he drove. "So how was Europe?" She asked as a smile crept across her face.
"Don't you start with me Carol," Talos said as he shifted back into his normal form.
"I'm sorry, I just think it's very funny. Fury asks you to do one little thing and then kaboom." Carol mimed an explosion with her hands.
"I'm not the one who turned Long Island into a war zone over a flerken," Talos replied.
"That was completely justified. Those assholes were experimenting on poor Goose," Carol said. "And don't think I don't see what you and Fury are trying to pull here."
Talos briefly took his hands off the steering wheel to feign innocence. "What, we aren't trying to pull anything."
"Yes you are, you're trying to get me to spend more time on Earth, to settle down."
"Okay yes, guilty as charged, but in fairness Carol we all think you should move back to Earth and take it easy for a while. This is your home, get reacquainted with it. Follow the example of Captain Liberty."
Carol laughed. "America, Captain America, and I am not going to follow Steve's example, I have no interest in the quiet life." Carol glanced back at Goose who was sitting in the backseat. "But staying on Earth does sound appealing. The planet is short a few superheroes at the moment, and Thor and Rocket are keeping an eye on the galaxy at large. Plus that mess with the Parker kid needs cleaning up."
"Hey, I'll make that right," Talos said. He paused. "So you're staying?"
Carol nodded her head. "I'll stay for now, until the Avengers rebuild or I get sick of cable TV, whichever comes first."
"Nobody watches cable anymore, it's all about streaming, but still, that's great news. Especially since Fury has another job for you. Check the glovebox." Carol rolled her eyes then pulled a folder out of the glove compartment. "Should be a piece of cake for you. Investigate some strange occurrences then report back."
"What's the catch?" Carol asked as she opened the file.
"No catch," Talos said. "It's a simple recon job."
"Hold up, Jersey City?" Carol stared at Talos.
"Well, there is that."
-THE END-
Author's Notes: So, that was Kitty's Back. I've been sitting on this one for a long time and figured since I don't have much else to do at the moment, I might as well finally shove it out the door. I started writing this not long after Endgame came out, but the actual inspiration was the trailer for Far From Home where Nick Fury tells Pete that Captain Marvel is unavailable (which wasn't the line in the movie, but that's okay). That's what got the wheels spinning, what was Carol up to if she wasn't around to help Pete? From there it was obvious Jessica Jones had to be involved, at one point I was planning on sending them to space, but that seemed dumb. Then I saw Far From Home and everything fell into place. My goal obviously was to get this published much sooner, much much sooner, but I wasn't happy with a few section, and had to rework them, then it fell onto the back burner and here we are. I might be biased, but I love the concept of the story, and I hope Marvel gives us the Carol/Jessica friendship on the big screen. Lastly, do not expect a Jersey City follow up to this anytime soon. I don't want to get out over my skies on how Marvel Studios plans to handle Kamala, so consider the ending to be one of those if you know you know moments. Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll have something new available soon. I've got a couple of fun ideas in various stages of production so fingers crossed.
-sam, 2020-03-27