Chapter 2: When Everything Changed

Kamala Khan almost felt invincible. Standing inside the tall, oval mirror in her bedroom was a reflection of herself wearing the suit of Captain Marvel. Nakia's detailing was supreme, an accurate recreation stitched over a navy blue jumpsuit. Red paneling of additional cloth was sewn on the shoulders, the upper chest, and knees, while additional sewn red cloth made linings that went down her arms, her legs, and her lower abdomen. Yellow cloth paneling was used to make an additional panel on her lower abdomen between the red linings, and then wrapped around her waist and back. Additionally, the yellow cloth wrapped around Kamala's chest in an X-like pattern, the points meeting again at her back. On her back was a small cardboard wrapped in tinfoil that was supposed to be her shield hook, pasted in the middle of the back-X, while the front X had glued in the middle a cardboard cutout of Captain Marvel's golden star. Her hands were covered with motorcycle gloves painted red and her feet were currently bare at the moment, but she will eventually get her red leather boots to complete the look.

Finally, in her right hand, she held snuggly the handle of the plastic cosplay Captain Marvel shield she bought online. It was a round, curved disc, primarily red but striped with a big yellow circular line. In the very center was a blue circle that had the golden Captain Marvel star.

When Kamala saw herself in the mirror, she felt as if she had stepped into another reality, one where Carol Danvers was standing right in front of her, in her own room, in this small house in Jersey City. And she was brown. She didn't have blonde hair, white skin, piercing blue eyes, nor was she a full woman. Instead she was a brown girl with black hair, brown eyes and was a teenage girl.

And this threw Kamala's original admiration for her costume off. The confident smirk she was giving herself turned crooked, until it dropped to a crooked frown of uncertainty. She turned and tried different heroic poses she could think of, and somehow to her, despite her costume looking so right, everything she was doing felt wrong to her.

The door opened as Kamala quickly turned, startled by the loud squeak of the door. A woman had entered the room, roughly Kamala's height, if not slightly taller by a few inches. She was wearing what appeared to be a black burkini, which had a primarily black jumpsuit underneath a black sleeveless dress made of synthetic polyester. Red linings went down her legs to her currently bare and brown feet, with additional red linings going up the sides of her torso. Her shoulders, elbows, and knees were covered with a red padding, and she wore black polyester gloves with red lining and a red covering on her palm and the underside of her fingers. On her chest was a red hourglass symbol, and that same hour glass symbol was glued to the buckle of a red velcro belt tied around her waist. Her face was covered with a spandex face mask with red, plasticy transparent lenses cut to curved teardrop shaped eyes, and wrapped around her head was a red colored hijab.

"Nakia?" Kamala said almost too loudly, "This is your Black Widow costume?"

Nakia looked down at her costume and shrugged.

"I thought it would be neat to try something of my own culture," she said in a muffled voice, "Besides, I'm not sacrificing my virtues to dress up in a skin-tight bodysuit."

Kamala let out a small chuckle as she turned to look at her reflection again. The smile dropped. Nakia tilted her head in a curious movement, before pulling off her spandex mask, careful not to wreck her hijab.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she too turned to face the mirror. "Did I mess something up? I really tried my best!"

"Nakia, the costume's amazing," Kamala said with a warm smile, "It's just…do you ever get that feeling? Imposter syndrome? Where you kind of feel like you're trying to be somebody you're not?"

Nakia gave a thoughtful frown.

"Zoe getting you down?" she asked.

"Not really," Kamala replied, "I guess I just never really thought about it til now."

"Hold on a second…" Nakia took a minute to look around Kamala's messy bedroom before rummaging through a dresser drawer. She pulled out a red dupatta shawl, gave it a once over, and nodded with affirmation. She tied the shawl around Kamala's waist with a solid knot, letting some of the dupatta flow downward like a thin flag.

"What do you think now?" she asked. Kamala gave herself a look in the mirror, turning a bit to see her new dupatta accessory. This time she smiled.

"You know, I actually kind of like it!"

"A little self-identity never hurts a costume," Nakia said with a smug grin. Kamala turned and gave her hero pose again. It was certainly much better, but Kamala still felt something was off.

"Felicia, what do you think?" she turned and faced downward with a curious frown. Kamala's black and white cat looked up at her once with her sharp green eyes, and then resumed sleeping on her work desk.

"Not sure how to take that," Kamala said concerned.

"Ah what does she know?" Nakia said, "She's a cat!"

"They're smarter than they look…" Kamala said teasingly. Nakia just laughed and gave a nod with her head towards the door.

"Come on, we're going to be late," she said as she exited the room. Kamala gave herself one last look at her reflection, and the new dupatta accessory. She gave a final approved nod. Worth it!

When Kamala joined Nakia downstairs, she saw her Abbu sitting down at the small dinner table with a plain white table cloth as he was scooping some brown keema mutter with a piece of parata before eating it. Across the table, Kamala's older brother Aamir bhai was sitting with his plate still full. He was wearing his green salwar kameez and a green topi hat, and he was muttering prayers under his breath into cupped hands. Abbu, wearing his red sweater vest over an orange shirt sighed.

"Aamir if you don't stop praying long enough to put some food in your mouth, then one day you will starve to death!" he said with an annoyed gruff. Aamir didn't respond but continued muttering until he rubbed his hands gently over his face, his wrists barely touching his full black beard.

"May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive you Aboo," he responded before finally taking a bite of his food. At this point, Abbu noticed Kamala and Nakia, his face widening with amazement.

"Oh, it's our two superheroes!" Abbu said gleefully, "Don't tell me…Soldier Girl and Black Spider?" Kamala scoffed while her eyes rolled.

"Abbu, it's Captain Marvel and Black Widow," she said, "I told you this before."

"If Abbu didn't remember after the first forty-five times you told him, he's not going to remember now," Aamir said flatly, still focused on his food. Abbu just gave a frustrated growl and waved an ignoring hand towards Aamir.

"You two girls are spectacular!" he said, "You're going to get so much candy, your buckets will burst!"

"I honestly wish they didn't go," Ammi spoke out as she placed a fresh plate of parathas on the table. She was wearing her typical blue salwar with a thin blue dupatta wrapped around her neck, and her dark brown hair was tied to a neat bun.

"So many children have gone missing," she said with a worried tone, "The streets don't feel safe anymore."

Kamala understood what she was talking about. She had heard the news several times in school and during her shifts. And she's seen the various flyers covering the various poles and bulletin boards wherever she went. So many kids have vanished recently, and nobody has any clue why. At first it was thought the kids ran away, but rumors have been circulating that it might be some serial kidnapper patrolling the streets, waiting to snatch kids from unsuspecting parents and adults. Kamala wouldn't lie if she said it freaked her out. It's why she had always been extra paranoid to look around multiple times while walking down the streets with her friends, always keeping her phone charged in case of emergencies.

But as worrying as the threat of getting kidnapped again, Kamala didn't want to quash her Halloween spirit yet. After all, she and Nakia had spent weeks on their costumes…it would be a shame if they went to waste.

"Ammi, I know you're scared," Kamala said reassuringly, "But Nakia and I will be fine. We'll have our phones, we won't go down unfamiliar streets…"

"I know beta," Ammi said, her face still frowning with worry, "But still, I think you should stay home. You can at least watch a scary movie together." Kamala's reassuring drama dropped to shock and hurt.

"Ammi-" she started to complain, but Nakia placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her the look. The "I'll handle this" look.

"Muneeba Aunti," she began, "You're right to be worried. It's a scary time out there, but you've always raised Kamala and I to always be on our guard and ready at all times. We are more than capable of keeping ourselves safe, and I promise you I will not let anything bad happen to Kamala. What kind of friend would I be if I can't promise that?"

Ammi gave Nakia a long look, then turned to face Kamala. She let out a sigh.

"All right," she said, "You two may go. But please come back before 10 sharp!" Kamala smiled alongside Nakia. The master negotiator has done it again!

"And say bismillah when you cross the street!" Aamir added in.

"And bring lots of sweets!" Abbu chimed as well.

"Don't worry! We will do all of that!" Kamala said as she reached down and grabbed a parata, rolling it up and taking a big bite of the warm bread. Nakia followed suit as they turned to the front door. They each grabbed their jack-o-lantern candy baskets and opened the door to the cool night air. The streets were already filled with costumed children walking with their parents close behind, as well as some older teenagers chatting together.

As soon as they walked down the steps of Kamala's house, Kamala's phone chimed. Digging into her stitched-on pocket, she pulled out her phone covered with a pink Sloth Baby case and tapped the notification.

It was a text from Bruno. It read "Please don't freak out," and underneath it was a blurry image of a girl wearing some kind of skimpy costume. Kamala instantly recognized the photo. Zoe…and she's wearing what looks to be a one-piece swimsuit. The kind that's tight against your skin and bares your arms and legs. Her blonde hair flowed downward into a bop and there was a blue mask on her face. She had a Captain Marvel shield attached to her arm.

Kamala's excitement for Halloween crashed into disgusted horror and anger. Immediately she showed Nakia, who was equally mortified.

"What is she wearing?" she said, "Is she trying to scandalize Captain Marvel?"

"And worse, she's succeeding," Kamala said, "Look at the throng of people around her!" It was true, a lot of people were surrounding the pleased looking Zoe. Kamala could feel her fingers clenching around her phone. If she were any stronger, she would break it.

"We're going to that dock party Nakia," Kamala said definitely, "We're showing Nakia you can't do Captain Marvel dirty like that?" Nakia gave her a "Wait, what?" look and opened her mouth to speak. But then she closed it as she looked at the picture again, the anger flaring up again.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," she growled, "But you're right. Let's go."

Getting to the dock party wasn't hard, because the docks were about a 30 minute drive from Kamala's home. Of course, on foot (between running and fast walking) it took 45 minutes. But it was clearly noticeable. The dock's primary warehouse, owned by Parker Industries, was lit up in an explosion of color, as sounds of booming music and laughter were heard from inside. After walking down the wooded pier towards the warehouse, Kamala and Nakia entered into a world they were not expecting.

The warehouse, normally closed to the public, was alive with color. Flashing swirling lights from spotlights and even a disco ball illuminated the room that was decked toe-to-toe with halloween decorations. Paper bats, plastic skeletons, orange and black streams. A disco ball hangs from the ceiling as dots of sparkly light spin and envelop the room, and a variety of other colored lights (typically orange and white) wrapped themselves around stands with big cardboard signs painted with the words "Caramel Apples", "Drinks in a Skull" and "Free Balloons". But the most impressive thing was the displays of Parker Industry tech that was carefully organized around the room. In the very far middle was what looked like a large robotic exoskeleton, possibly being built for The Iron Man, and to the left there was what looked like robotic spiders. There was even a wind tunnel in the far corner where a man in a green flight suit was flying on what looked like a drone based glider.

"Uh, Kamala," the masked Nakia said breathlessly, "All that stuff about this place being filled with alcohol and drunk people? I think I ended up being too harsh."

"Don't worry," Kamala responded, still dazed by the display of awesomeness in front of her, "I won't judge."

Their viewing of the mesmerizing halloween landscape shifted down to a cylindrical tub where there was something glowing a tealish glow. Kamala nudged Nakia to the attention of that glow as they proceeded to weave through the crowd of skeletons, zombies, and witches to get to the cylinder. It was a big, white cylindrical tube of metal, with the center region being a plexiglass tube that hummed with the teal glow. Inside the plexiglass chamber was a floating crystalline rock, with a greenish color. Bursts of miniature electric bolts jumped from the rock to various conductor rods located at the floor and ceiling of the chamber. Kamala could hear the hum of energy that accompanied each bolt.

"Woah!" she gasped in amazement, pressing her face and hands on the glass, "What is this thing?"

"That's the Terrigen Engine," a familiar voice said. Kamala turned to see Bruno standing there, wearing his Circle Q work uniform, but underneath a white lab coat and thick black glasses. The girls each let out a snicker.

"Dr. Banner I presume?" Kamala asked teasingly. Bruno rolled his eyes.

"Very funny," he said, "I'm only on a temporary break from my booth, so I only had the time to slip on the props."

"It's okay, don't get defensive," Nakia said, still giggling under her mask. Bruno's annoyed face changed to a look of confusion.

"Uh, what are you guys doing here?" he asked. Kamala held up her phone, showing the photo.

What Kamala did not realize as she was showing the phone was that her right hand was still pressed against the glass of the Terrigen Engine, and bolts of terrigen electricity were sparking towards her fingers as the rock shifted toward her direction. She also didn't notice a glowing green spider crawling down the glass onto her gloved hand.

"You sent me this," Kamala said. Bruno leaned forward to get a better look at the picture before widening into an expression of shock.

"Come on, I TOLD you not to freak out," Bruno said.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have sent it then," Nakia responded.

"I…it was instinctual! I thought it would have been easier if I told you immediately instead of you finding out the next day or-"

"Bruno, it doesn't matter," Kamala interjected, "Just…where is she?" Bruno turned and pointed his finger towards a blonde haired supermodel teenager wearing the skimpy Captain Marvel costume just like in the photo.

"I'm probably going to regret saying this, but what are you going to do?" Bruno looked at Kamala with concern.

"I'm just going to talk to her," Kamala said, "I'm going to go up and tell her that the costume she's wearing is a disgrace to Captain Marvel and show her what a real Captain Marvel suit looks like" She said that as she used her freehand to indicate the costume she's currently wearing. Nakia tilted her head towards Kamala.

"That's…surprisingly mature of you," Nakia said.

"Thank you," Kamala said with a shrug and grin, her back still towards Nakia.

"I mean, my plan originally was to go up and punch her in the face." Kamala turned to Nakia in shocked surprise. She opened her mouth to respond to Nakia's violent thought, but she paused, revelation creeping from her brain.

"Nakia, give me your mask," Kamala said. Nakia's head went back a bit.

"Uh, what?" she responded, "Why?"

"For a dramatic reveal," Kamala said, "I walk up to her with the mask on, shit-talk her costume and then dramatically reveal that it was me who put her in place!"

"Kamala, that is childish and ridiculous and-" Nakia's response was cut short as suddenly she was feeling a tinge of sadness and guilt. Kamala was doing the Disney-face, her eyes wide and unblinking, her lips quivering and pouting, her head bowed slightly and to the left to really show off the potential wetness of her eyes. Nakia hated this look, and she tried her best to block it…but the look pierced through the barrier causing her to cave.

"Fine," Nakia said as she slipped the mask off, revealing her olive brown face, "But don't make me regret this." Kamala instantly beamed and snatched the mask from her, before turning and walking through the center with determination towards Zoe. She slipped on Nakia's mask, it's spandex form sliding across her face and fitting nicely around her neck. Her vision changed to an almost exclusively red color palette that darkened a lot of the light from the celebration. How the heck does Nakia see out of this mask?

As she continued to step forward, she instinctively untied the dupatta around her wast and wrapped it around her head, almost like a hood. She wasn't sure why she did this, perhaps because Nakia's look was still ingrained to her mind and she kind of wished the REAL Black Widow would adopt that look. Her mind was racing with all the smack ways she could talk about Zoe's costume. Things like "Ma'am this is a halloween costume contest, not a pageant for Miss Philadelphia?" or "You're no superhero, you look more like a child at a pool party!"

Suddenly, there was a sharpness coming from Kamala's right hand as she yelped in pain. Kamala looked down to her right hand and shrieked in horror, for a spider was on her hand! She flicked her wrist and the spider fell off, disappearing among the feet of the crowd. She instinctively took a few steps back, accidentally bumping into someone. She didn't catch what the person was saying to her, instead looking at her wrist, which had a throbbing mark on it.

Her vision started to blur and her head was getting heavy. The party around her started to swirl, the faces getting mishmashed to different positions. She could hear loud cleaning noises, and she felt a tingling sensation erupting from her body. Her stomach started to churn and her breathing started to become shallow and fast. She was going to throw up!

She abandoned her pursuit of Zoe and ran in a different direction, towards a side exit towards the railing of the pier. It was relatively devoid of people, and stood a good 10 ft from the shallow waters of this small Jersey beach. Slipping off the mask and holding it tightly in her hand, she leaned over the railing and began to cough loudly, her stomach pounding like she was being punched in the gut continuously.

Nothing was coming out of her mouth. The vision was growing hazier, darker. Her head became as heavy as cement. Kamala felt the world disappear around her as her body leaned further over the railing, her feet leaving the pier.

She had fallen into unconsciousness.