"When was the last time you've seen your wife?" Maverick asked, eyeing Howard. Although outwardly there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him, Maverick could still sense the fatigue the man kept bottled up inside.
"Maria?" Howard tilted his head slightly. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I'm asking when was the last time you were anywhere but here."
"Fine. Two days back." Howard waved his hand, exhaling. "If you must know, I've got a date with my wife... tonight."
Maverick ignored the last part of his answer and asked again, "And while you were at home, did you not watch the news?"
"What are you on about..." Howard asked again, looking more puzzled. "Did something big happen recently?"
"The news, Howard..."
Sighing, Howard finally took a moment to think, then answered, "The only thing of interest... let's see." He rubbed his chin. "Was probably the reports about some joint nations' weapons test being conducted in China." He paused, then looked at Maverick, suddenly thinking of something and asking with a skeptical look, "Or does it have something to do with you wizard lot?"
Finally, Maverick smiled. "Yes." He didn't bother to hide it or keep the suspense anymore. "Something big happened, and it brought together not just us. It was a joint operation carried out by the entire world... magicals, non-magicals, even mutants working together."
"I see..." said Howard, then just a beat later he asked more sharply, "Wait, what? What could possibly bring all of you into one group?"
"A very, very powerful—" Maverick started, then paused and changed his wording. "—no, troublesome enemy. I'll let you guess. Once," he added teasingly.
"Troublesome?" Howard thought for a moment. "Could it be that one of your High Councilors rebelled... turned into a terrorist like the madman from the war?"
Maverick's eye twitched. Well, can't really blame him for putting the magicals first on the suspect list.
Shaking his head, Maverick corrected him. "No. It has nothing to do with us."
"Okay?... Then what is it? The news called it a weapons test. Some networks even showed footage of the aftermath, and if any of that's real, I'd say nukes were deployed... probably more than one."
"It was aliens," Maverick finally said.
Howard's mouth hung open momentarily, wordless, then his eyes widened. "You're… not lying?" He didn't think Maverick would joke about something like that.
"Why? With everything you know, is it so hard to believe in the existence of aliens?"
"No, you bastard." Howard's voice suddenly rose a pitch, and he stretched out his arm, pointing a finger at Maverick as if accusing him of some grave offense.
"I'm not surprised knowing there are aliens. I'm a scientist," he said, sounding genuinely wronged. "I'm upset because while all that was happening, you never thought to call me... me!"
At Howard's tantrum, Maverick's expression didn't change and he just stared at him blankly. Inwardly, however, he felt a little awkward. Indeed, he really did forget all about him in the heat of everything.
"Everything happened too fast, and besides, what could you do even if you knew about it?"
"That's not the point!" Howard said, rubbing his face with both hands dejectedly before slumping into the sofa. "Aliens, man..." he muttered after a moment. "How could I, the number one scientist in the world, miss something like that?"
Saying that, he tilted his head back, leaning against the sofa and staring at the ceiling. He really looked like he had just been told the worst news in the world, or like a child who had just lost their favorite pet.
"Anyway, that brings us to my new friend here," Maverick said after a moment of silence, making Howard, who was staring upward, darken one eye toward their direction.
"What about him?"
"He... is an alien," Maverick said matter-of-factly.
But contrary to what he expected, Howard's expression didn't change. He only leaned forward slowly, narrowing his eyes at Norex, then glanced back at Maverick questioningly.
"Oh, right," Maverick suddenly realized the issue and turned to Norex. "Change back."
Moments later...
Seeing a perfectly normal-looking human suddenly change into a green, rough-skinned, medieval, bald-looking elf, the genius scientist, temporarily not a billionaire, did not overreact like a normal person should at such a sight. His eyes only widened for a moment before he swallowed his shock and turned his head slightly back to Maverick.
"You're not messing with me, right? This isn't some of your hocus-pocus magic? He's... an actual alien? From outer space?"
Actually, that was a perfectly reasonable question to ask. After all, Howard had seen enough and by now knew very well what magic was capable of as well as what Maverick himself could do.
"He's a legit, green-blooded alien," Maverick answered. Then, instead of explaining the rest, he figured it was better to just show him.
"His species are called Skrull..." As the lights dimmed and the room around them began to blur, Maverick started explaining everything that had happened over the past couple of weeks.
---
About an hour later, the vision in the room faded, the last scene showing clear blue skies and two small, shuttle-like spaceships streaking upward like bullets, the moment Danvers and Talos left Earth to explore the universe. The illusion then dissipated, and everything inside the room returned to normal.
"If the two of them eventually do stumble upon the technology we're researching, it could save us a lot of time, maybe even all of it."
The room was quiet. Norex was still mesmerized, or perhaps stunned by the incredible experience of witnessing something in such lifelike detail. Howard, on the other hand, had seen enough not to be easily shaken, though his mind was now deep in thought, processing everything he had just learned.
"That's a big if," Howard said after a moment, then put on that same stubborn look from earlier. "Forget about it for now." He shook his head, exhaling. "I'm still upset you didn't include me. I mean, even SHIELD agents were there. Heck, there was a random woman too."
"That random woman is Danvers's friend," Maverick explained without changing his expression. "But… if it makes you feel any better, next time a random alien army shows up, you'll be the first one I call." Of course, that was nonsense. After all, how often do random alien armies show up on Earth?
Hmm, wait… this is Marvel, so maybe it technically can't be called nonsense, right? He mused inwardly. Besides, by now, he understood why this guy kept complaining—what else could it be but coveting the tech?
Howard gave only an unimpressed, unsatisfied look, his eyes half-open as he stared at Maverick. A moment later, he asked, "How much tech did you manage to secure? I want to study it. All of it." Straightening up, he finally got to the point.
Smiling, Maverick replied, "First of all, I didn't steal anything. It's called spoils of war."
"Whatever, potato, potahto." Howard waved his hand dismissively. "How many of those smaller shuttles did you scavenge really?"
"I have enough," Maverick answered vaguely after a moment, then his expression turned serious. "But I'm thinking… after I hand them over for you to research, you might disregard the real project I gave you. And I can't have that."
Howard opened his mouth to retort, but closed it a moment later. What Maverick said wasn't wrong. He was, after all, first and foremost, a fanatic scientist. And a fanatic scientist getting the opportunity to research advanced alien tech could indeed turn out exactly as Maverick predicted.
"That's why I brought this guy to be your partner in research," Maverick continued. "The research on the alien tech will mainly be done by him, while you continue with the Mars project. Of course, you can join in as well, and Norex here will share everything with you, and you likewise."
"As for what I have… I have a lot, honestly. From alien battle suits to energy blaster weapons, space shuttles, and even…" He paused for a moment and added, "an Imperial cruiser. That's their mothership, the big behemoth spaceship you saw in the illusion."
At this point, Howard's eyes had widened so much it looked like they might pop out. Gold mine. For a scientist, this was a gold mine.
"So much… where…" He wanted to see them, study them inside and out right then and there, but Maverick raised a hand to stop before he might actually start drooling on the table.
"I'll get to that, but first, listen. Here's the plan. You and my new friend here will work together on both tasks. Start with the space suits—improve the ones we'll be using on Mars when we get there. And as for the spaceships… I honestly don't even know where to begin, but there's plenty for you to study and replicate for the Mars mission. My point is," he emphasized, "don't lose sight of the main objective. Everything has to ultimately serve the Mars mission."
A moment of silence stretched across the office before Howard finally exhaled, collected himself, and leaned back. "I get it."
He paused, seemingly lost in thought, then continued, "Actually, we've already explored some theories. Not for full-scale terraforming yet, but for setting up a temporary base—a large, self-sustaining structure that can endure harsh conditions and extreme weather. A kind of sustainable ecosystem pocket. It's still on the drawing board, and I was waiting until we had a solid, foolproof plan before bringing you in for a proper briefing."
Anyway, Howard thought, if he wanted to get his hands on the alien tech, he had to offer something in return. Moreover, what he said wasn't made up, that was exactly what he and his team had been working on for the past few months.
"Oh…" Maverick raised a brow and leaned back as well. "How large is this… self-sustaining base going to be?"
"About a kilometer… calling it safe. My point is, once we establish a base there, the real research on terraforming can begin. Only by studying the planet on-site can we conduct proper analysis. Right now, what we're doing is perfecting a way to live there and actually survive comfortably."
Maverick nodded thoughtfully after listening. Makes sense. After all, the data on Mars so far only came from readings gathered through telescopic observations. But from the planet itself, they could study, collect more accurate and comprehensive data, and only then could the real research begin.
"Very well, then. I'll hand over every piece of alien tech I have with me for you two to study." He said with a final nod, his mind made up. "But before that, I'll have my team expand the base. The mothership alone is about the size of a football stadium, so it'll take a while to get things ready. The smaller shuttles and the rest of the tech, though—I'll hand those over today before I leave."
Glancing sideways, he added, "The first thing I want you to do, Norex, is completely remove any signals that might be sent out. I also have a captured Kree soldier who knows everything about the ship's operational procedures, so if you need to clear anything or decrypt something, just give me a call."
He had kept the Kree lieutenant alive precisely because there might still be encryptions Norex would need to crack or could not decrypt on his own. Obviously, there would be secure protocols buried within the system, and Maverick had no intention of using the Kree ship for anything until he was certain it was completely under his control.
Time passed slowly. After finalizing a rough plan, Norex was then taken to meet the rest of the team working on the project. Maverick joined as well, surveying the work they had been doing over the past few months, ever since his Earth-made spaceship was launched en route to Mars. There was still a little over a month until it reached the red planet, and after that, the real mission would begin.
As Howard had said, actual terraforming research could only begin once they were on the red planet's surface. As for why Maverick didn't just use a Kree pod to get there immediately—well, he could have, but he chose not to. At least in these early stages, he wanted the project to rely purely on Earth-made technology, with no alien interference. Call it pride or whatever; he didn't care.
After the briefing, Maverick no longer lingered in the lab and chose to leave. Norex, however, stayed with Howard. Unsurprisingly, the two scientists hit it off remarkably quickly.
---
Greenland.
Far to the north, approaching the Arctic Circle, vast icefields stretch as far as the eye can see, broken only by jagged ice formations and ridges that rise like frozen towers against the pale gray sky. A bitter wind sweeps across the landscape, chilling to the bone and carrying flakes of snow that sting any exposed skin. The emptiness feels endless, a silent, frozen wilderness at the edge of the world.
Here, at the northern tip of this small continental land, buried beneath layers of snow, ice, and rock, a hidden chamber lay, shrouded in silence.
The ceiling lights bathed the chamber in a gentle glow, when suddenly the fabric of space warped and a figure emerged, accompanied by a low, resonant hum.
Without a pause, Maverick strode down the long, empty hallway, the soft thud of his shoes on the floor the only sound breaking the silence. At a glance, the space seemed like a perfect cuboid, metallic, plain, and bare in every direction, and Maverick stopped at the far end facing what appeared to be a solid wall.
Yes, at a glance it looked like a solid wall, but to him, every surface and space in this place was anything but empty. Next, he raised a hand, tracing symbols in the air while murmuring in an unfamiliar tongue.
In response, the wall seemed to have shimmered to life, lines of light weaving into intricate patterns that grew brighter until a rectangular section slid open, revealing the space beyond.
Contrary to the plain, unremarkable space behind him, what lay before him was like stepping into the open. Clear skies stretched above, lush greenery spread across the landscape, and a lake glimmered in the distance.
In the distance, birds and animals could be seen moving about, some predators and some prey, forming an ecosystem of their own. In fact, it was a self-sustaining miniature ecosystem, where only the sky and the sun were simulated, while everything else was as real as it could get.
He didn't stay long inside. Stepping out, he walked to another section of the plain metallic wall and repeated the same motion as before. Once again, an opening formed on its own, and he stepped inside, only this time, he wasn't alone.
The soft sound of a meow broke the silence, and looking down, he saw a red-ginger cat weaving between his legs. He smiled and let it brush past him, a small, grounding moment in the otherwise sterile chamber.
A few more steps forward, and his face was bathed in a bluish glow, his eyes trembling ever so slightly as they locked onto the source. Only for a moment, though, before calm returned to his expression. Reflected in his pupils was a small glass chamber holding a luminescent object—the Tesseract.
This was his personal sanctuary, a hideout crafted in secrecy and known to no one. A fortress of solitude, carved deep into the northernmost reaches of the world. Hidden beneath layers of earth and ice, it housed things and secrets that, otherwise, his cheat system was unable to accommodate.
The Tesseract, for example, was the most important item here, and it would remain so for the next ten years until he could replicate the space laws from the Space Gem. After that… well, time would tell.
Besides serving as a storage for super rare items, it was also a prison, and right now, a captured Kree soldier was the only occupant confined in one of the rooms.
And of course, there was Goose. The first room he entered was a replica he had created after seeing Newt's briefcase, thinking a place like that might come in handy someday, and who would have thought it would be needed sooner than he expected.
Goose, therefore, was technically not a prisoner. In fact, the cat was probably living a pretty happy life, reigning at the top of the food chain in the ecosystem pocket. If it were a regular cat, Maverick was certain it would be a very fat one by now.
Anyway, until he fully understood the seemingly harmless kitty's… tentacle trigger conditions and figured out a way to control them, there was no way it would be allowed outside, let alone left with someone else. Leaving it unattended was out of the question.
At the same time, Goose wasn't going to stay here forever either. But first, he wanted to see if he could control it—completely. Who knows, maybe eventually have it as a proper pet. After all, it was cute. If he couldn't control it, then unfortunately, the cat would have to go.
There were still a few days left before school started, so he decided his next stop would be Kamar-Taj. If there was anyone on this planet who could figure out how to fully tame a Flerken, it would most certainly be the Sorcerer Supreme.
If not, well, he'd hand the cat over to her to do as she wished. Still, he hoped she could—he liked the cat and wanted it to be his pet. After all, one never knows when a dangerous enemy might need to be swallowed whole.
"Come on, Goose." He lifted the cat into his arms and snuggled it, smiling. Leaving the Tesseract behind, he sealed the chamber, and a portal materialized in front of him, opening a path to Nepal. "Let's go meet a bald auntie."
---
Author's Note:
Just tidying up some loose ends. That's the end of the epilogue as well.
Next chapter, we're heading back to Hogwarts.
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