I'll Be Back
"Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them, they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure." ~ Stephen King
Talos seemed to know exactly where he was going, despite never having set foot on Mar-Vell's ship before. We followed him without question, silently, yet mutually agreeing that it would be best to act now and ask questions later. Time was of the essence, Carol had said that the Kree were probably on Earth by now, and it was only a matter of time before they made their way here.
The Skrull didn't slow his pace until we reached a large room. On the far side from where we stood, a desk, and beyond that, an object very familiar to me.
"I'll be damned." I muttered, making a beeline toward the blue glowing cube that sat in a stabilizing unit.
"Is that it?" Maria asked, "The core?"
"That's not just an energy core, it's a weapon of mass destruction. It's called the Tesseract." I explained, looking at the cube, but not touching it, "According to a late friend of mine, the Tesseract is the most powerful object on the planet. It was stolen from Norway by H.Y.D.R.A. during World War II, and when held by the Red Skull, it turned him into ash. This cannot fall into the hands of the Kree."
"We won't let it." Carol said, taking the Tesseract from its place with her bare hand and turning it over. I smiled warmly at her and received a sweet smile from her in exchange.
"Whoa." Maria's remark made both of us turn toward her, "What's Lawson doin' with all of this kid stuff?"
I noticed that all over Lawson's desk, toys and trinkets, some nearly twenty years old, were scattered about. Maria grabbed a Fonzie lunchbox from the table and opened it up for Carol, who set the Tesseract inside and latched it shut. Fury cleared his throat, then pointed at something on the desk. On the corner sat a coffee mug, filled, and still hot.
"We're not alone." Maria said quietly. A loud tone began to echo throughout the room, not an alarm, more like a call to arms. I turned to see that the tone came from Talos, who was standing at the center of the room. Eventually, similar calls began to bounce off the walls as Skrulls, dozens of them, emerged from the shadowy corridors of the ship. One came rushing toward Talos, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
"He didn't come here for the Tesseract." Carol breathed. My gaze softened at the sight of the reunion before us, I reached out, taking Carol's hand in my own and giving it a firm squeeze.
"No, he came for something so much more important." I whispered back as a child came over to Talos, no doubt his own. The female Skrull caught sight of Carol and began to slink back when she saw that she was wearing Kree armor. Talos whispered something to her, and she relaxed a bit, but no one in the room blamed her for remaining a bit cautious.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." Carol promised, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.
"She led me to you." Talos explained to the other Skrulls.
Carol took a step forward, releasing my hand, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."
"Carol," Talos sighed, "This is war. My hands are filthy from it too. But we're here now. You found my family. And this is just the beginning, there are thousands of us separated from each other… scattered across the galaxy."
The Skrull child that had been hiding behind Talos stepped away from him, toward Carol, taking her hand and leading her over to a pinball machine with a high score near one million points. Carol smiled gently at the child and watched as she began to play.
Between Maria and myself, I heard Nick mutter, "If I played the same pinball machine for six years, I'd have some high scores too."
"Fraternizing with the enemy?" An unfamiliar voice called out, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I drew my pistol and so did Fury, as a small group of unfamiliar soldiers walked into the room. The Kree. The one in front, clearly their leader, Yon-Rogg (Carol had told me his name before we left Earth), held Goose by the scruff of her neck, while his second, a blue-skinned woman bearing a rifle, set her sights on my head. She motioned for us to drop our weapons, Fury did, I didn't.
"Mac. Drop it." Fury told me. I didn't move, I still had my shield. If she fired, I was fast enough to deflect it.
"Paige, don't." Carol's voice called out to me. I scowled, holstered my gun and removed my shield, setting it down at my feet and raising my hands slowly. The leader looked over at Carol with outright disgust, his yellow eyes ablaze with anger.
"What did you do to your uniform?" He spat.
"They got into her head." His second told him, "Just like we thought."
"The Supreme Intelligence will set her straight." A large guy from the middle of the group said, while the others in their little group aimed their rifles at the Skrulls that had huddled themselves together in a corner of the room.
"You can see they're not soldiers." Talos said, stepping in front of his people, holding his hands up in surrender, "Let them go. You can have me."
"And the core?" Yon-Rogg asked, his eyes still locked on Carol.
"You lied to me!" She snarled, her fists glowing.
Yon-Rogg smirked, his tone suddenly calm, "I made you a better version of yourself."
Carol began to lunge at him, but she faltered, falling to her knees as a dose of electricity coursed through her. The Kree commander's smirk grew wider.
"What was given, can be taken away."
Anger surged through me, all I saw was red as I lifted my shield up with my foot and threw it at Yon-Rogg's head. One of his goons grabbed it out of the air before it could reach him, while his second sent a blaster bolt into my shoulder. I yelped in pain, my hand instantly flying up to my shoulder. The shot wouldn't kill me, it looked like it had cauterized itself. Carol screamed in protest as Kree soldiers took Maria, Fury, Goose and myself away. I fought as best as I could with a hole in my shoulder, but a soldier slapped a pair of cuffs on me that I couldn't break out of.
"Well, this is all gone to shit, hasn't it?" I growled under my breath as I was pushed out of the lab into some unknown corner of the ship.
If there was one place I hated to be, it was on my knees at the hands of the enemy. And yet here I was, hands bound behind me, a rifle in my face. One of the Kree soldiers held a small scanner up to Goose who stretched out a paw, trying to play with the yellow light that scanned her.
"Species: Flerken. Threat: High."
The soldier put a muzzle on Goose while the one who held her crammed her into a crate.
"It's a cat, not Hannibal Lecter." Fury remarked as the Kree soldier ran a scan on him.
"Species: Human male. Threat: Low to none."
I snorted, Fury gave the soldier a dead glare.
"That thing is clearly busted." Fury argued as the soldier began to scan me.
"Species: Human female, enhanced. Threat: Moderate to high."
"Put a muzzle on me and I'll snap your neck." I growled as he eyed me carefully.
"Mar-Vell spoke about you in one of her final reports." Yon-Rogg's second said to me, "You may prove to be… useful to Kree Starforce. But Yon-Rogg wants to see what the Supreme Intelligence thinks of you first." She turned to the other Kree soldiers, "Load the Flerken on to the Helion. Eject the others into space."
Two soldiers grabbed me by the shoulders, I winced as the burning blaster hole on my right side was irritated. They dragged me over to an octagonal pad down the hall against the protests of Fury and Maria. My heart dropped when I saw Carol on a similar pad at the other end of the hall, web like wires attached to her hands, temples and chest. As soon as my knees hit the pad, similar wires began worming their way up my body until I found myself slipping into unconsciousness.
My eyes opened to reveal that I was no longer aboard Mar-Vell's ship. I was in a plain gray landscape; it was as though I was there, but not at the same time.
"Paige." A voice I recognized only from old broadcasts called out behind me. I turned around to see Steve Rogers standing a few feet behind me, with white hair and wearing Kree Starforce armor, "It's nice to finally meet you. I am the Supreme Intelligence, the A.I. leader of the Kree Empire."
"So you're the one who's responsible for the enslavement and destruction of millions throughout the galaxy." I said, "Funny, I didn't picture you looking like Captain America."
The Supreme Intelligence flashed a bright, white smile, "I cannot be looked upon in my true form, so the subconscious has me take on the form of whomever the person I am interacting with admires most. I must say, I'm surprised that Vers is not the one you see. She has been seeing you in her dreams ever since we brought her to Hala. And even now that her memories have returned to her, she sees Mar-Vell as you see me."
My fists tightened, "I swear to God, if you hurt her-"
"Calm yourself." The Supreme Intelligence held up a hand and I froze in place, "Your emotions dictate every aspect of your life, don't they? How… unrefined."
"My emotions make human. They make me a better fighter, a stronger fighter."
"They make you weak!" The Intelligence snapped, "Just as they make Vers weak! Join us, Paige, and we will teach you to suppress your emotions. Join us, and we can make you the greatest soldier in the universe."
I shook my head, "No. I won't join your genocide. I save lives-"
"By taking more." The Intelligence interrupted, "I've seen your memories, Paige. Your actions have led to the deaths of hundreds in order to ensure that your people can live free from fear. We are trying to do the same, snuff out our enemies so that our people may be free to live."
"No!" I shouted, "All you do is take and destroy! You stole the love of my life from me, then you stole her past from her! You've killed millions of innocent lives because they refuse to bow down to a race of warlords! I'm not like you, I was never like you! And I refuse to ever become one of you!"
Suddenly, the Supreme Intelligence vanished, the landscape I was in melted away, and my eyes opened in the real world, only to shut them just as quickly when a bright light obstructed my sight. The were some grunts, a few punches thrown and then someone's hands were on me. I grabbed their wrist and wrenched them off of me, instinctively twisting them into a headlock.
"Paige, let go! It's me!" Carol exclaimed. I opened my eyes and saw that Carol was the one I was holding. I released her, spun her around and planted my lips on hers. When she pushed me away a few seconds later, I reopened my eyes to see that see was once again glowing, this time bright and full of energy, her eyes ablaze.
"You're glowing again, babe." I commented as we helped each other stand. I looked around the room to see that every Kree in the room was lying on their back moaning in pain, "You broke free. How?"
"I'll explain everything later. Right now," Carol grabbed the Fonzie lunchbox from the floor and began to levitate off the ground, "We need to find the others."
"Down the hall," I told her, setting my hands on my knees to take a moment to recompose myself, "Blueberries were gonna throw them out of the airlock."
Carol smirked, "Try and keep up."
She barreled down the hall in a blast of golden light and rather than chase after her, I went in search of my shield. I found it back where Fury and Maria had been shackled, at the feet of an unconscious Kree soldier. With my shield back on my arm, I felt a surge of energy course through me. I was itching to knock a few skulls around. I found the others further down the hall, Fury in evident shock that Carol had offered him the Tesseract.
"Just take it!" Carol insisted.
"I'm not touchin' that thing!" He argued. Carol, Maria and I all rolled our eyes at him.
"Want me to get you an oven mitt?" Carol cracked sarcastically. And then the weirdest shit happened. Goose, who had been tucked under Fury's arm, lurched forward and opened her mouth. Massive tentacles emerged from her tiny mouth, one of them grabbing the Tesseract and sending it down her throat. And just as soon as they had appeared, the tentacles vanished back into the depths of Goose's bowels. Fury dropped her in surprise and she began to weave herself around my leg, purring like a normal cat.
No one… really knew what to say at first.
"Okay." I finally said after a moment or two of processing, "So… definitely not a cat."
Carol slammed the lunchbox shut, and looked to me, "Get the Skrulls in the quadjet and go. Take the… Flerken with you."
"And leave you here by yourself? Not happening." I stated firmly, "You may be ridiculously powerful, but that doesn't mean you should go in alone. I'm going with you. Fury has a comm link directly to me, if he needs help he can call."
She opened her mouth to argue, but she shut it when I sent an unwavering glare her way. She exhaled heavily through her nose then nodded.
"Fine." Then she turned to Maria and Fury, "You two, Skrulls, quadjet. Now. We'll buy you some time."
Carol took off running around the nearest corner and I followed, matching her step for step until we reached the lab.
"What are you going to do once this is over?" I asked Carol suddenly as we took a seat on the catwalk above the lab.
She didn't reply at first, keeping her eyes locked on her boots that hung over the edge of the catwalk. When she didn't answer, I took her free hand in mine and brought it to my lips, pressing a light kiss to her gloved knuckles.
"You don't have to tell me now. But you need to decide." I said softly. The sound of marching boots made me release Carol's hand, I pulled my shield from my back and held it in my lap. Carol put on a smirk and looked at the gathering of Kree soldiers on either side of us.
"Hey guys," She said playfully, holding up the lunchbox, "Arm wrestle for the Tesseract?"
"I used to find you amusing." Yon-Rogg sneered, "Let's put an end to this."
I slid off the catwalk, landing with a loud thud and moving into a somersault until I landed on my feet. Good thing I did, because Carol sent two blasts of energy down the overpass, sending Kree flying off the pass and breaking the bolts that held it up. The walk landed with a loud crash and Carol got to her feet, blowing a wild strand of hair out of her face.
As soon as I caught glimpse of Yon-Rogg, I sent my shield his way, ricocheting it off the walls until it connected with his chest and sent him flying backwards, before it returned to my arm in time to block the swing of an oncoming sword. Reaching around my shield, I landed a firm hit on my attackers chest, pushing him far enough that I could disarm him and send him to the floor with a roundhouse kick, blue blood now flowing freely from his broken nose.
"Earth scum!" He growled, clambering back to his feet and raising his fist, which let out a loud metallic crack when it collided with the vibranium on my arm. Another solid punch to his face sent him head first into the nearest wall, where he slumped. I turned to face my next opponent to see that everyone else in the room, aside from Carol, was on the ground unconscious. I lowered my shield and gave her a disappointed look.
"You couldn't have saved at least one of them for me?"
She motioned toward the unconscious Kree soldier with his head stuck in the wall, "I did."
I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."
"Hey, Mac, mind headin' down to the hangar? We need a co-pilot on the quadjet." Fury asked me in my ear over the sound of blaster fire.
I pressed a finger to my comm, "On my way."
I made my way over to Carol, stopping a few feet away from her, "They need me in the hangar. I'll see you back on the surface."
She nodded and I took off.
"Paige!"
I skidded to a halt, glancing over my shoulder at her, her expression serious.
"Be careful."
When I got to the hangar, I found the bodies of four Kree soldiers lying lifeless on the floor, at the ramp of the quadjet. Stepping carefully over the bodies, I brushed past the cluster of Skrulls and slid into the co-pilot's chair next to Maria, handing Fury my shield.
I glanced over at her warily, "Looks like you've got everything under control. Why did you need me?"
"You kidding? I'm not gonna pass up the chance to watch you fly. You were the best pilot on base, even better than Carol."
I smirked and grabbed hold of the stick, lifting the ramp and steering the quadjet out of the hangar, "As long as you're my gunner, this should be a piece of cake."
I hit the thrusters as we entered the upper atmosphere, ignoring the loud boom that echoed outside the ship as we broke through.
"We've got a bogey incoming." Maria said, flipping a few switches and reaching for her own controls.
"Copy that. Taking evasive measures." I replied, my smirk falling away as I began tipping the nose of the jet and barreling straight toward the surface. About five miles ahead of us, I saw a large canyon, perfect to lose whoever was tailing us in. I pulled up on the stick and gave full power to the engine, forcing Maria and I back in our seats from the sudden change in speed. I began to swerve, dodging enemy fire as I dove into the canyon.
"Set me up. Guns are operational." Maria told me as I took a hard right turn.
"On it." I grunted, a new wicked grin appearing on my lips as I caught glimpse of a fork in the canyon. I headed toward the left, and was more than happy to see the that the bogey headed right at full speed, thinking that their path would allow them to cut us off. I turned on the afterburners, propelling us forward even faster, over the dividing rock and setting us down behind the opposing ship. "Take the shot!"
Maria squeezed her triggers, sending a barrage of bullets onto the unsuspecting ship. In an instant, the ship burst into flames with a loud boom. I lifted us out of the canyon as Fury and Maria began to cheer. Letting out a heavy sigh, I couldn't fight the accomplished grin that painted my face, despite the headache that was rapidly setting in from the sudden changes in pressure.
"Nine years since I've been behind the stick. Looks like I've still got it."
"I don't think you ever lost it." Maria smiled as I navigated the quadjet over the desert toward the rendezvous point.
"Maybe." I replied, "But I don't think I'll be getting into anymore dogfights for a while; I'll admit it was nice to be back in the pilot's chair."
I set the jet down gently and lowered the ramp, grabbing my shield from Fury's hands and stepping out onto the sand. Looking up, I saw a breathtaking light show in the upper atmosphere as objects that looked like warheads were blown to pieces by a small golden blur. Carol. Strapping my shield on to my back and pulling a small flask from my belt, I hoisted myself up on to the wing of the quadjet and watched as she broke the sound barrier with an impressive boom and vanished into space.
When she came back down, she didn't approach the rendezvous point right away. Rather she landed just beyond the horizon, remained on the ground for about twenty minutes or so, then made her way over to where we were parked, landing next to me on the wing.
"Thought you couldn't get drunk." She smiled, taking a seat next to me.
"Lab manufactured spirits engineered by Howard Stark specifically for me before he died. I only get small batches and when I run out, I have to drive all the way out to Malibu to get more. But today is a special occasion, so I'm celebrating."
Carol reached out to grab the flask, but I yanked it out of reach, "Don't even think about it. This is 475 proof, it only lasts 30 seconds in my system and I have less than half a flask left."
"You're not gonna share with the woman who just saved the entire planet from being blown to pieces?" She asked me, sending a pathetic pout my way. I narrowed my eyes at her and huffed, passing her the liquor. She grinned happily and took a quick swig, her expression turning sour as she coughed, spitting it out as soon as it hit her tastebuds. I began to laugh as she gripped the wing with one hand and handed the flask back to me.
"God," She choked out, "Never again."
"Told you not to."
"Shut up."
Later that day, we had returned to Maria's house, where Monica wanted to desperately know the details of everything that had happened. While the other Skrulls sorted out their own lodging for the time being, Talos, his wife, who had introduced herself as Soren, and their daughter took up temporary residence at Maria's. As we sat around the dining room table, Maria was describing in incredible detail our dogfight in the canyon to Carol and Monica, while Fury finished stitching and wrapping the blaster hole in my shoulder.
Carol pressed a kiss to my cheek and took my free hand in hers, "I can't believe you got into the raddest dogfight ever and I missed it."
"Trust me, if you had been watching, you probably would've had a heart attack." I told her, "Considering how fast I was going through that ridge, I'm surprised I didn't crash us into the canyon wall."
"Stop sellin' yourself short, Mac!" Fury exclaimed, scratching Goose behind the ear, despite the lovely series of gashes she had given him earlier, "I'm sure if you ask nicely, Keller'll turn you into a S.T.R.I.K.E. pilot."
"Hell. No." I said firmly, "He was never my biggest fan. I'd rather distance myself from him as much as possible until he retires in ten years."
"Wait, wasn't Keller the one you simmed at P.E.G.A.S.U.S.?" Carol asked Talos, whose arm was also in a sling.
"I borrowed his likeness." Talos argued, leaning back a bit in his chair.
"Sounds like identity theft to me." I smirked, taking a swig from my beer bottle.
"It's not stealing!"
"It's a little like stealing." Soren said to him, making me pump my fist in victory, wincing a bit when I realized that I had done so with my wounded arm. Talos looked over at his wife in mock hurt.
"Who's side are you on?"
Fury's pager went off, he checked it and gave me a small nod before turning to Talos, "Mac and I have made arrangements with a few of our close friends at HQ. You're good to go here until you've recovered. But you and your family are gonna need a new look."
"I could go back to being your boss." The Skrull offered.
"Please don't." Fury and I replied simultaneously.
"Oh, come on. I loved sporting his beautiful blue eyes."
"No way! You guys have the best eyes," Monica exclaimed from her spot on the stairs, "Don't ever change your eyes."
Carol released my hand suddenly, the look in her eye turning from one of lightheartedness to fierce determination, "I'll help you find a home. Finish what Mar-Vell started."
My heart dropped, my lungs felt as though they had collapsed. I paled. Of course, I had known that she would eventually return to space in an effort to take on the Kree, but I hadn't imagined it being so soon. I stood from my chair and excused myself from the table, making my way outside alone. I propped myself up against a large willow tree, my right shoulder began to ache. My heart had gone from stopping completely to racing. I took a few shaky, meditative breaths to calm myself just in time for Carol to come out searching for me.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly when she finally found me.
"Not really." I confessed, my hazel gaze fixated on the setting sun dipping below the horizon, "I was hoping we could've talked about this before you made a formal decision."
"I'm sorry, baby." She apologized, stepping in front of me, "But I can't just stand by while the Kree are hunting them down. They need someone that can protect them until they find a new home."
"But that won't be the end of it, will it?" I snapped, brushing past her making my way over to my truck that still sat in the driveway, "What happens after you find them a home? You're not gonna turn around and come right back, that's not who you are. You're gonna end up on the other side of the galaxy, going toe to toe with every Kree soldier that comes you're way."
"You don't kno-"
"YES I DO!" I yelled, my voice sending a roosting flock of birds flying from the willow tree, "Because you're you, Carol! It's always been higher, further, faster for you. But what I want to know, what I need to know is… when you come back, if you come back, will you be able to truly rest? Will you finally be able to slow down to the point where you can come back here with the intention to stay?"
She didn't say anything in return. Part of me began worry that she wasn't planning on coming back at all. I opened the passenger side door on my truck and reached into my glove compartment, pulling out a silver chain and holding it out for her. Carefully, she studied the dog tags that hung from the chain, including the blackened remains that were once her own.
"I've spent the past six years wearing the only piece of you that was left on this planet, hoping… praying that you were by some miracle still out there somewhere. I lost the one thing that I held closest to my heart the day they took you. I lost the love of my life, the only woman I will ever love. I lost you, and now that I finally have you back you're turning around and leaving again." I whispered hoarsely, my voice betraying the fear and sadness I was trying to hide.
Carol pressed her forehead to mine, pressed her lips to my own in a gentle, loving manner.
"I love you, Paige. I've spent years dreaming about being with you, but you and I both know that we can't go back to the way things were." She whispered back, her own voice shaking a bit, "We'll find a way to make this work. Once I find a new home for the Skrulls, I'll be back. I'll stay as long as I need to until we figure out how to make this work. But you can't expect me to drop everything so quickly to spend the rest of our life here."
"And I'm not asking you to." I replied, "All I ask is that we figure this out together. Because there's no way I'm going through the rest of this lifetime without you in it."