UFC: The Wrong Destination
Summary: Carol Danvers' first day as an Agent of SWORD is rather interesting.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: UFC: The Unfinished Chronicles. I often start stories just to see how they might go and to see if I can finish them. Obviously some just end up abandoned but perhaps I can partially revive them by placing their opening chapters in my collection montage. If you like them I might even be motivated enough to come back and finish them.
On the doomed planet Krypton, a wise scientist placed his infant son in a spacecraft and launched him to Earth.
Raised by a kind farmer and his wife, the boy grew up to be our greatest protector...Superman.
But when astronomers discovered the distant remains of his home world, Superman disappeared...
And then there came a day, unlike any other, when Earth's Mightiest Heroes teamed up against a common threat. On that day the Avengers were born.
Orbiting high above the Earth is a vast ship shaped like a sword called Damocles. It once belonged to Kang the Conqueror, ruler of Earth in the 40th century, until he travelled back in time, intent on saving his timeline which, he claimed, was being destroyed by the presence of one man who should not exist; Steven Rogers aka Captain America, super-soldier created during World War 2, frozen in the cold Arctic until found by the superhero team known as the Avengers and defrosted.
Kang attempted to kill one of America's greatest hero and in doing so he believed this act would preserve his timeline...only to be absolutely certain of success he decided that he would also conquer the planet in order to advance it enough to survive being caught in an approaching conflict between two alien empires; the Kree and the Skrulls.
What Kang hadn't counted on was the intervention of the allies of Captain America; the Avengers.
Iron Man; Tony Stark, genius billionaire who invented a powerful suit of amour. Founder and leader of the Avengers.
Thor the Thunderer, son of Odin, a God from the realm of Asgard.
The Hulk, a huge, green, some would call monster, created after Dr Bruce Banner was caught in a Gamma ray explosion which mutated his DNA, and arguably the strongest being on the planet.
The Wasp; Janet Van Dyne, part time fashion designer, part time hero who could shrink herself down to insect size and would grow a pair of wings and could fire bio-electric stings from her hands.
Ant-Man; Henry Pym, inventor of Pym particles which allows him to either shrink down or grow to enormous proportions. He also invented a helmet which could allow him to speak to insects.
Hawkeye; Clint Barton, formerly an agent of the government agency known as SHIELD until he was framed by his partner as a traitor. After clearing his name has become a vital member of the team with his array of trick arrows and a deadly aim that never misses.
Together the Avengers managed to defeat Kang, despite his advanced technology, leaving his ship trapped in the 21st century where it was originally taken over by SHIELD. Recently a new breakaway division of SHIELD has been set up to concentrate solely on preparing to confront the extraterrestrial threat that Kang promised is coming.
And they are not solely taking Kang's word for that. They had already been an incident involving the Kree that came close to devastating the entire planet so they knew for a fact that the Kree were coming. It was only because a Kree spy, called Captain Mar-Vell, chose to assist them, because he had developed a soft spot for humanity and possibly one for one particular human, that they survived. Mar-Vell left promising to do all he could to help but warning that they should prepare for the storm that is coming.
Hence the new division which is called SWORD and Damocles has been turned into their base...or it would be if they could get the damn artificial intelligence that ran the ship to do what it was told.
SWORD's director Abigail Brand is right now arguing with it...again!
"Listen to me you pile of wires and circuits. I have had enough of this!" the green haired woman, dressed in a green uniform with the symbol of a sword on the right hand side of the chest, tells the AI.
"Access Denied," is all the AI says back.
Brand pulls her side arm out and points it at the computer screen. "Here's the deal. You grant me access and I won't shoot you!"
"Director Brand?"
"Not now!" she snaps. "I'm in the middle of a negotiation."
"You requested me to be here."
Brand frowns behind her green shades and turns her head to actually see who is bothering her. It is a tall athletic woman with long blond hair tied back into a ponytail dressed in the sane uniform as Brand is wearing.
"Major Danvers. Right," Brand says as she remembers. She holsters her side arm and an icy cool demeanour seems to take over.
Major Carol Danvers, formerly a US air-force pilot and member of SHIELD. She use to be just a normal human being until her partner at a SHIELD facility she was stationed at turned out be to a Kree spy. Carol had just started to like him too. There was an accident involving what was called a Kree Sentry robot. There was an explosion and when Lawson...or Mar-Vell or whatever the hell his name is tried to protect her Carol's body somehow got enthused with Kree bio-energy. It changed her and she has spent the last few months coping with those changes. Tests showed she was now nearly as strong and tough as the Hulk or Thor. She could fly and absorb energy and fire energy blasts from her hands. These unique skills made her the perfect operative in Director Brand's eyes and she had pulled strings to get Carol assigned to SWORD.
Carol can't help but take a glancing look out the large bridge windows into space and wonder where Mar-Vell is and how he is doing. She was told how he had vowed to go to the Kree's leadership and try and put off the invasion. Carol liked to think he truly was on their side and was fighting for them...and ok the soft spot she still retains in her heart for him, despite him being a spy and an alien and blue, may be clouding her judgement a little she is willing to admit but it's not unhealthy to think on the positive as long as she prepares for the worse.
Brand turns to face Major Danvers. "So how are you finding our little base?" she asks.
"It's...amazing!" Carol says with more enthusiasm than she knows she should show. It is just...here is her guilty confession...she's a sci-fi nerd on the inside. If you tell anyone she will snap your neck like a chicken. Anyway she is geeking out in a major way being on a real life spaceship from the future of all things.
"That's not my word for it," Brand mutters as she taps on a few controls.
"Access denied," the AI repeats it's previous denial of any attempt to access it's systems.
"You are seriously making it difficult to like you!" Brand snaps at the AI...again. Her lips curl up into a snarl. She then takes a moment to reassert the cold mask before addressing the Major. "As you can see we're still having...teething troubles. Kang may have been defeated but we can't hack through his security measures meaning we have next to no control over the ship."
"I take it Kang has not been cooperative about telling us his security codes," Carol assumes.
"Kang does not see fit to talk to us at all. Apparently we 'primitives' are beneath him even when we 'primitives' defeated him. If the future is run by that guy I'm almost tempted to let these Kree and Skrulls destroy us."
Carol is pretty certain that's a joke but it's hard to tell. She had heard stories of Brand. Apparently ripping people to shreds with words was her hobby. Carol finds she likes her already.
Just then what sounds like an alarm activates. Damocles' AI speaks. "Warning. Unknown vessel detected approaching."
SWORD agents swiftly move about the varying control stations.
"Someone give me a report!" Brand demands.
"Damocles is scanning a vessel just passing the Moon," one of them reports from the readout on a holographic screen.
Brand and Danvers move over to that agent. "What is Damocles saying?" Carol asks.
"Vessel type; unknown. Power and propulsion; unknown. One life-sign detected. Species; unknown," the agent reports.
"That sure was helpful," Brand says so flatly it's hard to tell whether that was sarcasm or not.
"Wait," Carol says. "This ship is from the future. How can it not know something?" she asks a very pertinent question.
"I knew there was a reason I hired you," Brand says for the fact someone picked up on that.
"It's going to pass us by...very closely," another agent says.
They all look up at the large transparent 'windows' that cover the bridge as the vessel streaks by. It look like a mass of interlocking crystals and then it is gone and plunging into Earth's atmosphere.
"We have an incursion," Brand states the fairly obvious fact. "Tell me Major how is the training going with your powers?" she asks Danvers.
Carol blinks. "It's proceeding," she gives the bland answer. Truthful answer although she would like a little more time to get a complete grip on her powers before dealing with anything big.
"Up to dealing with an unknown alien incursion?"
"Yes," Carol replies even if she isn't 100% certain of that. The new costume she wanted isn't even ready yet.
"Where's that ship heading?" Brand demands to know.
"It coming down over...Kansas," one of her agents reports.
"Kansas. Why is it always Kansas?" Brand mutters in complaint as she pinches her nose in annoyance.
Everyone looks at her.
"What? Trust me. It's always Kansas. It's like the alien invasion hotspot of the planet."
"You dealt with many alien invasions Director Brand?" Carol asks because that sure was news to her.
"That's way above your pay grade Major," Brand warns her off.
"Of course Ma'am," Carol replies like the good soldier.
Brand eyes the Major for a moment before ordering, "Get a squad down to the shuttle and I want it ready to launch 60 seconds ago." She turns to the woman monitoring the unknown ship. "I want the coordinates of where it is going down to the millimetre."
"Yes Ma'am," the female agent responds.
Brand gives a cursory nod before turning back to Major Danvers. "Come Major. Since this is your first rodeo you can be my 2nd and I'll show you the ropes."
"Yes Ma'am," Carol responds.
Brand then marches off the bridge towards the hangar with Major Danvers marching with her.
"How will we treat this Ma'am?" Carol wonders as in what approach do they take.
"With caution. It is possible the ship merely has a fault and the...person on-board is simply looking for a suitable place to set down and make repairs. In that case 1st contact protocol applies. We offer assistance and attempt an exchange of knowledge. We don't shoot first and ask questions later. We already have two alien empires coming our way, we don't need to potentially antagonise a 3rd unless we have no other choice. Being a member of SWORD means you use your brains. Always assess the situation first."
"Yes Ma'am...and if it turns out this individual is hostile?"
"Why do you think I invited you along. If it's hostile you will take it down with extreme prejudice to demonstrate Earth will not tolerate hostile incursions into our space. That clear?"
"Perfectly Ma'am."
"Good. I hate repeating myself."
The two women reach the hangar and step into the shuttle parked there. A SWORD strike team is already on-board. Carol slips into the pilot's chair with Brand next to her. All Carol ever wanted since she was a little girl was to be a pilot. Sitting here, behind the controls of any type of aircraft, is where she feels happiest. She flips the appropriate switch and starts the engines as the ship blasts out of the hangar.
They are soon hitting the top of the atmosphere as the turbulence and heat build up. "Anyone with a weak stomach might want to grab a sick bag," Carol warns as the turbulence gets worse and the shuttle begins to glow red hot as it plunges deeper and deeper into the ever thickening atmosphere.
The initial phase of re-entry always plays havoc with radio signals so they are out of touch for a few minutes. When communications are restored Brand gets an update on their mysterious ship. "It's down, crash landed into a corn field," she reports.
"Maybe it was like you said. His ship developed a fault," Carol proposes because that seems to be more likely if he, she or whatever crashed.
Brand purses her lips. "Maybe. We'll still be cautious. Land us as close as you can Major," she instructs.
"Yes Ma'am."
As they draw closer to the ground they can see the trench the ship has ploughed out as it landed and it is now half buried. Small fires burn all around and the ship is still glowing a dull red from the heat of re-entry which stands out strongly in the night-time sky. Carol brings them down for a soft vertical landing. With everything they have experienced recently they had made big strides forward in shuttle technology in a very short time.
Brand turns to the armed SWORD agents behind her. "Alright. I want this done by the numbers. No screw ups or I swear you'll wish you had never met me." She turns to Danvers. "Major hit the ramp."
Carol flicks the switch, the ramp descends and the squad move out, covering each other and forming a perimeter around the ramp.
"All clear!" one reports back.
Brand and Danvers march down the ramp. They were only a short distance away from the unknown alien vessel. There is no sign of the pilot.
"I want a perimeter round the ship. Nothing gets in or out. Move it!" Brand orders.
The SWORD agents spread out in a circle around the ship, spaced close enough together to cover each other.
"So what do you think Major?" Brand asks.
Carol's eyes are probably wide, full of awe and wonder as unprofessional as that is. "I've never seen anything like it," she has to say.
"Neither have I," Brand says in a low tone of aggravation.
Carol would have a hard time beginning to tell how the design of the ship makes any sense. It's all odd angles and an interlocking crystal like structure. She can't see an engine of any kind. She has no idea what powers it or makes it fly. It is...well...alien. Still she can make a guess at one thing. "If whatever inside is roughly our size this would be a one man craft," she judges from the size of roughly oval centre of the craft. It's elongated now she looks at it more and she thinks she can judge what is the front and what is the rear.
"Very good," Brand praises her. "But we can't assume that whatever is inside is even humanoid just yet."
Brand and Danvers move closer and the heat begins to build.
"Can you take the heat and have a closer look?" Brand inquires.
"I should be able to," Carol reports from the testing done on her new physiology.
"Be my guest."
Carol pushes herself off the ground slightly and hovers slowly, taking in the craft from above on a once over, trying to see if there is some kind of door but doesn't see anything. Perhaps it is buried. She lands right next to the craft and walks around, taking a closer look. Her hand skims over the surface of one of the protruding out crystal structures. It is so hot it even makes her wince and shake her hand.
"How can a ship have no way in or out?" she mumbles to herself, her hands going to her hips, as she frowns at seeing no door. Unless it's unmanned...no wait. Damocles said it detected a life-sign on-board so there has to be someone.
Carol contemplates she may just have to lift the thing out of the ground to see if indeed the door or hatch is buried. She moves to what she thinks is the front of the craft. She wants to pick it up by the bulk so as not to risk breaking it. She tests the temperature first by gently touching her hand to the surface. She barely touches it when there is a glow under where her hand touches and suddenly a seam appears and the...crystals start to retreat, flowing over each other almost like liquid, until an opening reveals itself.
Carols' inner sci-fi nerd can't help but think how awesome this is. "I've found an opening. I'm going inside to have a look!" she shouts out to Brand.
"Extreme caution Major!" Brand yells back.
"Understood!"
Carol cautiously takes a step inside into the space. It's dark. She raises a hand and forms a golden glow around it providing some light. As she looks she can see, like the outside, the interior is formed from what appears to be crystal. The space in front of her stretches on a little distance. Let Carol be logical here. If this is the front, then this is where the pilot steers from...although she can't see any instrumentation of any sort.
If this is the front then, and assuming a trip across space takes a considerable amount of time, then beyond would have to be some sort of living quarters...except she can't see anything that resembles that.
Carol strides forward, the space big enough she can easily walk upright in it and at the far end is crystals descending from the ceiling and forming a chamber of some sort?
Carol walks up to it and her hand brushes over the surface. Again they glow under her touch and pull back to reveal...a figure dressed in a skin-tight black outfit lying in a bowl on some kind of silver fabric. A sleeping chamber? A stasis chamber? Ok she is totally guessing here but it occupies her mind. Carol leans forward, brings her hand forward, intensifies the glow, illuminating the figure and is completely shocked by the fact...well it looks like a man. Kind of a handsome man actually. If Carol didn't know that Damocles had identified the occupant of this craft as an unknown species she would swear this guy was human.
As Carol leans closer in she can see how pale he looks. If he were human she would say he looked deathly sick...which would explain the crashing but that makes all sort of other issues arise up. If he is sick is it a disease? It is communicable to humans? They're going to have to quarantine him until they can be certain...and yes it has occurred to her that she's going to have to be quarantined as well.
That's going to look great on her resume. First day on the job; caught weird alien virus. She can just imagine what her friend Janet Van Dyne would say. The teasing. Never hear the end of it.
Carol looks him over closely and on his chest there is a raised symbol. It looks strangely like the letter S inside a diamond. She also notices that this guy is built and she would say he was tall, at least 6 foot, more probably.
Carol touches her hand to the symbol and as she does so she can feel the strong, slow beat of a heart within his chest which expands and falls shallowly as he takes a gentle breath. Well he's alive.
Suddenly her wrist is grabbed and she is yanked forward until her face is mere inches from his face. The bluest eyes Carol has ever seen stare into her. His lips move, his voice weak, "Who are...?"
And that is all he says before his strength leaves him, his head lolls back and he passes out. Carol takes a few steps back and regathers herself. He had caught her off guard and...wait did he just speak English?
He did. He absolutely did. How can he speak her language?
Carol speaks the question he never finished. "Who are you?" she asks in a confused whisper.
Author's Note: If you can't guess this was going to be a crossover between Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes(a cartoon cancelled before its time) and Superman Returns which is actually one of the first story idea I noted down on my profile page. The idea being this is Carol's first actual mission as a SWORD agent, before she made her debut on the show, finding a certain dimensionally misplaced Last Son of Krypton. Anyway this is the first of a few I think I'll put up. Thanks to everyone who has previously written reviews for this story.