RioRaRyu
patreon
Chapter 197: Carol Danvers
🕑 Added 2025-06-21 15:03:27 +0000 UTCCarol Danvers stood in a trance. Everything in this bar felt strangely familiar, yet she couldn't recall where she'd seen any of it before.
More unnervingly, she sensed fragments of her past lingering in these very scenes.
Her gaze soon settled on a photograph of an airplane. The moment she laid eyes on it, a dull ache throbbed in her head.
She knew this plane, this airport, and everything about the scene—but for some inexplicable reason, she couldn't remember why.
“Ma’am, I think we should talk.”
Just as Carol was concentrating on digging through the recesses of her memory, a voice abruptly shattered her focus.
Irritated, she turned toward the voice—only to see two familiar faces.
“Agent Fury? And Agent Coulson? Why are you here?” Carol asked, her voice laced with confusion. She still remembered these two agents who had previously sought her out.
“We got a report about a stolen motorcycle, and the suspect description matched you,” Fury replied first, then pointed toward two figures seated nearby. “But we're not the ones looking for you. They are.”
Carol turned to look and immediately frowned.
She could sense that something was unusual about these two. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but the feeling reminded her of her former mentor, captain, and friend—Yon-Rogg.
A wave of caution swept over her.
Her first instinct? Skrulls.
But after a moment's thought, she doubted it. Skrulls rarely hid their intentions this well—and usually relied on firearms. These two didn’t even carry visible weapons.
Remaining guarded, Carol narrowed her eyes and finally asked, “Who are you?”
“When you ask that,” Noah said calmly, rubbing his chin, “shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?”
“Vers. Kree. Starforce Operative,” she replied flatly. Then, turning back to Noah, she asked, “What about you? You don’t look like anyone from the C-53 system.”
“You think we’re aliens?” Noah tilted his head. “Let me guess... Skrulls?”
“Yes. Your energy feels strong—too strong. Before we talk, I need to confirm a few things.”
“No need. We’re sorcerers from Kamar-Taj.”
“Kamar-Taj? What kind of civilization is that?”
Noah and Wong exchanged glances, slightly stunned.
Even Fury and Coulson looked baffled by the exchange—like spectators at a cosmic comedy show.
Why is this alien so different from the others?
Noah sighed. “You’re Kree, right? Didn’t your civilization ever mention Asgard or Kamar-Taj?”
“Never. Or… maybe. My memory’s unreliable,” Carol admitted openly. “There’s something wrong with it.”
This wasn’t news to the Kree who knew her. Despite her memory issues, Carol was still an exceptional warrior.
Nonetheless, she made a mental note of the names Asgard and Kamar-Taj, planning to ask Yon-Rogg later.
“Fine.” Noah raised his hand. A golden ring of energy instantly flared into existence, and from it emerged a miniature phoenix, burning with vibrant flames.
The phoenix radiated an intense heat—so much so that smoke detectors throughout the bar started blaring in response.
Unbothered, Noah lightly flicked his wrist, sending the phoenix flying in a graceful loop around them before it vanished.
“Does that prove anything?” Noah asked, dismissing the magic circle with a casual wave.
“What was that...? Magic?” Carol asked, clearly shaken. She could still feel the heat on her skin and remembered Noah’s earlier words: magician.
“Yes. Magic,” Wong confirmed.
“Well, the Skrulls wouldn’t know how to do that. Seems you’re not one of them. Honestly, I didn’t intend to enter C-53 at all—I’m here to hunt Skrulls who infiltrated this world.”
“And?”
“And…” Carol paused. “I’m also here to investigate something I found in their remains. Something called Project Pegasus.”
Project Pegasus?
Hearing those words, Fury and Coulson stiffened. Their eyes widened like stunned goldfish.
They knew Project Pegasus—but as far as they were concerned, it had been shut down.
In Marvel canon, Project Pegasus was originally created by a Kree who had uncovered the truth about the war. Realizing the injustice, she defected, smuggled a group of war refugees—Skrulls—to Earth, and began building a lightspeed engine to help them escape.
Among those refugees were Talos' wife and children.
Tragically, that Kree, named Mar-Vell, was eventually discovered. Yon-Rogg’s team infiltrated Earth and killed her by unknown means—then abducted Carol.
Ironically, both Kamar-Taj and Asgard bore some responsibility—they had failed to stop Yon-Rogg’s squad, though how they slipped past those powerful forces was anyone’s guess.
Maybe they turned a blind eye. Or maybe... they simply didn’t care about such a minor conflict.
“It seems you two know about that project, right?” Noah asked, glancing at Fury and Coulson. Though it was framed as a question, his tone implied certainty.
“Uh... yeah,” Fury admitted, snapping out of his stunned state.
“Well then, let’s go check it out,” Noah decided, standing.
Wong exhaled heavily, but said nothing.
The five of them exited the bar. As Coulson moved to start the helicopter, Noah stopped him. “Let’s take a car.”
“A car? Why? The chopper’s faster,” Fury asked, frowning.
But Noah shot him a glare, and Fury wisely backed down.
Within minutes, a brand-new van appeared before them. The delivery agent took the helicopter back as ordered.
“Seriously? Mr. Magician, are you airsick?” Fury asked from the passenger seat, clearly annoyed. “Flying would’ve been faster.”
“I’m not airsick,” Noah replied calmly. “I just hate how slow planes are.”
“Fine. Tell me where this place is—give me a map.”
Fury handed over his phone without protest. He figured Noah would find it anyway.
Still, he asked, “Can you actually make this faster? No car beats a plane.”
“Maybe.” Noah studied the map, then handed the phone back. “But why not think bigger?”
“Bigger?” Fury squinted. “You’re not about to say you can teleport us there with magic, are you?”
The smirk on Noah’s face was answer enough.
A golden circle formed in his hand once more, and as he spun it midair, a portal materialized in front of the van.
Through it, they could clearly see the road leading to the Pegasus base.
“Congratulations,” Noah said dryly. “You guessed right.”
“WHAT THE HELL—” Fury practically choked, watching in disbelief. “Then why didn’t you just do that before?! Why didn’t you just open a portal from the bar?”
“I didn’t want to ruin your performance,” Noah replied with a shrug. “Didn’t want to steal your spotlight.”
He patted Coulson’s shoulder. “You’re driving.”
“Oh! Right—got it!”
Coulson immediately hit the gas, and the van rolled through the portal. In an instant, they were over a hundred kilometers away. The portal closed behind them.
“Today’s insane,” Fury muttered, staring at where the light had disappeared. “First a Skrull who can shapeshift, then a Kree, and now a sorcerer who hides in plain sight protecting the world... Makes me feel like I’ve wasted my life.”
“Don’t worry,” Wong said with an amused sigh. “Earth’s not the only planet in the universe. Aliens are everywhere. If anything, you’re lucky—you now know truths most people never will.”
“I’d rather not have known,” Fury muttered bitterly—but it was already too late to take it back.
---
