Inside the ejection dock of the Kree Imperial Cruiser the floor was a grating of dark, cold alloy, and right now, it was pressed painfully against the knees of Fury, Maria, and Jarvis.
Standing over them were Kree soldiers, their armor gleaming with a dull, blue light. One of them held a high-tech scanning device—a sleek, silver wand that emitted a low-frequency hum.
Vurrrrr-whirrrr-vurrrrr.
The soldier swept the device over the orange tabby cat sitting in a high-tech pet carrier. A digital voice, cold and synthesized, chirped from the scanner's speakers:
"SPECIES: FLERKEN. THREAT LEVEL: HIGH. PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION."
Goose let out a defiant Meow! and swiped a paw through the bars of the carrier, trying to bat away the muzzle a soldier was attempting to strap over her face. She failed, and the metal restraint clicked into place, silencing her.
"It's a cat," Nick Fury grumbled, his voice low and dangerous. "Not Hannibal Lecter."
The soldier ignored him, turning the scanner toward Fury.
BEEP-BOOP.
"SPECIES: HUMAN MALE. THREAT LEVEL: NONE."
Fury's eye twitched. "None? That thing is clearly busted, you blue-skinned—!"
The scanner moved to Maria.
"SPECIES: HUMAN FEMALE. THREAT LEVEL: NONE."
Finally, it reached Jarvis. The butler sat perfectly still, his spine straight even as he knelt on the hard deck. He didn't look at the scanner. His eyes were fixed on the far wall, his mind a whirlwind of guilt.
"SPECIES: HUMAN MALE. THREAT LEVEL: NONE"
"Any bright ideas Jeeves?" Fury whispered to Jarvis. "Hey why are you so quiet, say something?"
Jarvis didn't answer. He was distraught. He was furious. He was, for the first time in his life, feeling the crushing weight of utter failure. He had lost Tony. The ten-year-old heir to the Stark legacy—the boy he had sworn to protect with his life—was somewhere in this labyrinth of metal, likely terrified, or worse.' I failed him', Jarvis thought, his fingers digging into his thighs. 'I let a child, my child take part in some interstellar war. If I survive this, I will make sure to never let Anthony outside my sight again'.
"Min-Erva!" the soldier called out.
The Kree commander stepped forward, her face a mask of cold efficiency. She took the carrier containing the muzzled Goose and handed it to a subordinate. "Load the Flerken onto a Helion transport. As for the humans..." She gestured to the open ejection port, where the stars of surrounding them shined in the black void of space. "Eject them. We have no use for luggage."
Fury looked over at Jarvis. "Hey. Mr Buttler. You got a plan? A gadget? A British secret service handshake? Anything?"
Jarvis turned his head slowly. His expression was so dark, so filled with a cold, simmering rage, that even Fury took a half-step back. "I am thinking of a plan, Mr. Fury," Jarvis said, his voice a lethal whisper. "And when I am done thinking, there will not be enough blue paint in the universe to cover what I do to this ship."
Maria and Fury exchanged a look of genuine alarm. The butler had finally snapped.
Elsewhere in the ship, Tony was having the time of his life, despite the constant threat of being disintegrated.
He was leading the group of Skrull children through the maintenance crawlspaces.
Clang-shhh-clink.
They moved like a small, green-and-human centipede through the shadows.
"Quiet, guys," Tony whispered, holding his stolen Kree blaster like he'd been born with it. "The acoustics in these halls are terrible. I can hear a Kree sneeze from three decks away."
Suddenly, the lights above them began to flicker. Flash. Flicker. Buzz. The floor beneath their feet vibrated with a rhythmic thrumming, like a giant heart beginning to beat.
"What's that?" G'iah, who he found out was the name of Talos daughter whispered, clutching Tony's sleeve.
Tony stopped, looking up at the light fixtures. A slow, knowing grin spread across his face. "That's Carol. She's finally hitting the 'on' switch on her powers."
He guided the kids toward the edge of a balcony overlooking the ejection dock. Down below, he saw them. Fury. Maria. And Jarvis.
Two Kree soldiers were forcing Jarvis's head down toward the open vacuum of the ejection port.
"Stay down, human!" one of the soldiers shouted. "You're about to become a very well-dressed piece of space debris!"
Tony's blood boiled. Nobody—nobody—talked to his Jarvis like that.
"Hey!" Tony shouted, leaping from the shadows and landing on a crate. "Hands off my Jarvis!"
PEW! PEW!
The Kree blaster kicked back against his shoulder, but the aim was true. Two bolts of bright blue energy slammed into the backs of the soldiers holding Jarvis. They didn't even have time to scream before they were knocked unconscious, sliding across the deck like bowling pins.
"Tony!" Jarvis shouted, scrambling to his feet.
The Skrull children poured out of the shadows, running to their parents who were being held in a nearby pen. It was a chaotic scene of tears, parents hugging their children, and frantic reunions. Jarvis didn't look at the Skrulls. He ran straight for Tony, catching the boy in a hug so tight Tony thought his ribs might actually crack.
"Ow, J! Watch the ribs! I'm a space cowboy now!" Tony laughed, though he hugged the butler back just as hard.
Jarvis pulled away, his hands flying over Tony's shoulders, checking for wounds. "Are you unharmed? Did they hurt you? If so much as a hair on your head is out of place, I shall dismantle this vessel inch by inch!"
"I'm fine, J! I'm a genius, remember? I managed to sneak this blaster off that kree guy that had grabbed me and used it to save everyone," Tony bragged, though his hands were still shaking slightly from the adrenaline.
"Nice shooting, kid!" Fury called out, grabbing a discarded Kree rifle.
"I'm just glad you're in one piece," Maria said, joining them. She scanned the room. "Where's Carol?"
"Haven't seen her," Tony began, but he was interrupted by the heavy doors on their left hissing open.
Three Kree soldiers charged in, their rifles leveled. "STAY DOWN OR BE—!"
B-ZAAAAP!
A blinding bolt of golden light, shimmering with cosmic energy, slammed into the three soldiers. They were launched backward, flying fifty feet through the air before hitting the bulkhead and sliding down, completely out cold.
Carol Danvers flew into the room. She was glowing—a radiant, pulsating aura of gold and red energy surrounding her like she was a living sun.
"Carol!" Tony cheered.
"You're... you're glowing," Fury noted, blinking against the light.
Carol landed softly, a confident, fierce smile on her face. "I'll explain it later. Right now, we've got a bigger problem."
She held up a dented, metal Lunchbox. She popped the lid.
Inside, pulsing with a terrifying, beautiful blue light, was the Cosmic Cube.
The group gathered around it. Even in the middle of a battle, the object demanded respect. It felt heavy—not in weight, but in importance.
"There it is," Maria whispered. "The Core."
Fury held the now-freed Goose (having snatched the carrier back during the scuffle). Carol looked at Fury, then at Cube. "Alright. Take the Cube. Leave the lunchbox."
Fury:" You want me to take that thing, no way you take it !"
Carol looked at him. "Take it? Me? I'm going to be a little busy punching through a blockade." She looked at Fury. "You take it."
"Me?" Fury pointed at his own chest. "I'm not touching that thing!"
Tony jumped up, waving his hands. "I'll take it! I've got the guts! I can keep it safe! Pick me!"
"You most certainly will NOT, Master Anthony!" Jarvis barked, grabbing Tony by the back of his shirt. "You are not touching any glowing alien artifacts today. That is my final word!"
GULP.
The group froze.
Goose's mouth had opened. But it didn't just open—it unhinged, her jaw stretching wider than a human head. Dozens of thick, slimy, pinkish-purple tentacles erupted from her throat like a nightmare from a eldritch horror novel. The tentacles lashed out, wrapped around the Cosmic Cube, and yanked it deep into the cat's throat.
Schlorp.
Goose's head returned to its normal, adorable size. She let out a soft Meow and licked a stray bit of cosmic energy from her whisker.
The silence that followed was absolute.
Fury dropped Goose. The cat landed on her feet, looking entirely unbothered.
"Bloody hell," Jarvis whispered. It was one fo those rare times that Tony had heard the man curse, and it was enough to make the boy's jaw drop.
"What... what just happened?" Maria asked, her voice trembling.
"She's a Flerken," Carol said, as if that explained everything. "They have pocket dimensions in their stomachs. The Cube is safe for now. Now, listen! Fury, Jarvis, Maria—get the Skrulls to the escape pods. Take the Flerken with you."
"What about you?" Maria asked.
Carol was already turning back toward the door, her fists igniting with gold fire. "I'm going to buy you some time. Go! Now!"
Tony scooped up Goose. The cat was surprisingly heavy now, likely due to the literal engine of the universe in her belly. "Good girl, Goose. You're a good girl, right? You'll give me that Cube later so I can study it won't you, oh yes you will."
And that's when he recalled it, the object he left back in Lawsons computer.
"Wait!" Tony shouted as they started to run. "Jarvis, I left something very important back in the lab! I have to go back!"
He started to turn, but Jarvis reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a sleek, silver rectangular device.
"Did you truly think," Jarvis said, a smirk returning to his face, "that I didn't notice you turning on a computer that sounded like a jet engine? I grabbed it while the Kree were busy arresting us."
Tony's eyes shone with pure adoration. He threw his arms around Jarvis's waist. "J! You're the best spy-slash-buttler ever!"
Jarvis patted the boy's head. "I am a butler, Anthony. Butlers notice everything."
"Happy families later!" Fury yelled, gesturing down the hall. "Move! Move! Move!"
They sprinted through the corridors. Stomp-stomp-stomp. Fury, Maria, and Jarvis had all armed themselves with Kree rifles. They were a motley crew—a spy, a pilot, a butler, and a genius kid with a flerken—running through the heart of a space ship.
They rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a squad of five Kree soldiers.
PEW! ZAP! KRA-KOOM!
The hallway erupted in fire. Maria took the left, Fury took the right, and Jarvis stood in the middle, firing with a cold, precision that made Tony realize the butler had definitely spent some time in British secret service. This man was for sure 007, or at least who he was based off of.
They killed the soldiers and kept running, their boots pounding against the deck.
Clatter-clatter-clatter.
"Almost there!" Maria shouted.
But as they turned the final corner toward the loading docks, two Kree soldiers emerged from a side vent behind them.
"HALT! DON'T MOVE!"
The adults were facing forward, their guns pointed at the empty hallway ahead. They couldn't turn in time.
GULP.
Tentacles exploded from Tony's arms—or rather, from the cat in his arms. Goose's maw opened, the pink appendages lashing out like whips. They wrapped around the two soldiers and yanked them, screaming, into her mouth.
"Meow"
Tony stood there, frozen. He looked at the cat. Then, a Grinch-like smile spread across his face. He reached out and scratched Goose's chin. "Good kitty. Very, very good kitty."
"Follow me!" a voice hissed.
A Kree soldier emerged from a doorway ahead. Fury raised his rifle, but the soldier held up a hand. Slowly, the soldier's blue skin rippled and shifted, turning green and wrinkled.
Talos.
"The Skrulls are ready," Talos said, his voice thick with relief. "The jets are prepped. Get in!"
They ran into the loading dock, a massive hangar filled with experimental Kree craft. The Skrull families were already boarding a sleek, white Quadjet.
Talos walked in last, stopping to look at his wife and daughter. His daughter beamed at him. Talos knelt down, transforming back into his true Skrull self. He leaned his forehead against hers, a moment of pure, quiet love in the middle of a war zone.
"I'm here, baby," he whispered. "We're going home."
He stood up, looking at the group with gratitude. But as he turned to board the ship—
THWIP-ZAP!
A blaster bolt from the doorway caught Talos in the shoulder. He let out a strangled cry and was knocked to the ground.
"TALOS!" his wife screamed, lunging for him as the hangar doors behind them began to hiss shut.
"Get in!" Fury yelled, dragging Talos through the closing gap.
But the Kree weren't done. A barrage of energy blasts slammed into the side of the jet as the group scrambled inside.
CLANG! BOOM!
"Agh!" Maria Rambeau fell back, clutching her shoulder. A stray bolt had grazed her, leaving a blackened, smoking burn through her flight suit.
The hangar was crawling with soldiers now, their rifles lighting up the room with blue fire.
Zap-zap-zap-zap!
Maria slumped into the pilot's chair, her face pale. She tried to grab the yoke, but her arm went limp, a hiss of pain escaping her teeth.
"Maria!" Fury knelt beside her, checking the wound. "Damn it, it's a deep burn. Can you fly?"
"I... I can't," she gasped, her breath hitching. "I can't move the stick. The servos are too heavy."
Fury looked around the cabin. The Skrulls were huddled in the back, terrified. None of them knew how to fly a Kree-modified Earth jet. The ship rocked violently as a blast hit the hull.
WHAM!
"We're sitting ducks out here!" Fury yelled. "Is there anyone here who knows how to fly this thing?!"
The silence was practically deafening.
Maria looked up, her eyes landing on the small boy standing by the navigation console.
"Tony," she whispered.
"What? No!" Fury shouted. "He's a kid!"
"He's the only one beside me who knows the basics of flying this thing." Maria said, coughing as she shifted to the co-pilot seat. "Jarvis, get him in the chair."
"Absolutely not!" Jarvis roared, his composure finally breaking. "I have allowed many things today, Maria, but I will not allow my young master to attempt to pilot an aircraft during an orbital descent!"
"Jarvis, look at the math!" Maria pointed at the HUD. "The Kree are targeting the fuel cells. In thirty seconds, this hangar is going to be a crater. Tony knows the basic controls. I showed him for ten minutes, and he corrected my vector calculations twice! He's the only one who can read the Kree interface!"
Tony felt his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. Thump-thump-thump. He looked at the yoke. He looked at the hundreds of glowing buttons, half of them in a language he barely understood thanks to the Skrull scientiest from before.
"Maria, that lesson was ten minutes long!" Tony squeaked. "And I was mostly looking at the fusion drive!"
"Tony, listen to me!" Maria grabbed his hand with her good arm. Her eyes were fierce, filled with a pilot's iron-clad certainty. "You don't need a license to fly. You just need to understand the physics. This jet is just a series of levers and thrust-to-weight ratios. You're a genius. You were born for this. Don't look at the stick, just focus on the math in your head. Can you see them? The calculations?"
Tony looked at the HUD. He saw the numbers—the pitch, the yaw, the atmospheric density. He saw the way the energy was flowing through the modified Kree engines. It wasn't a plane anymore. It was a giant, flying math problem.
"I... I can see them," Tony whispered.
"Then get in the chair!" Maria commanded.
Tony scrambled into the pilot's seat. He looked like a toddler in a throne. Jarvis looked like he was about to faint, and Fury was currently busy strapping himself into a jump seat, praying to every god he could remember.
"Buckle up!" Tony shouted, his voice suddenly dropping an octave into his 'Genius Mode.' "Jarvis, if you're going to be sick, do it in a bag!"
"I shall endeavor to remain dignified, sir!" Jarvis yelled, pulling his harness so tight he could barely breathe.
"Okay, Tony," Maria guided him, her voice a calm anchor in the storm. "Toggles three through seven. Prime the thrusters. Flip-click-clack."
Tony's fingers flew over the console. Whirrrr-vroom! The engines let out a high-pitched whine that vibrated through the floorboards.
"Now," Maria said. "The guns. Red trigger on the right stick."
Tony grabbed the yoke. He squeezed the trigger.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-BOOM!
The Quadjet's nose cannons erupted, blowing the Kree starfighter directly in front of them into a thousand flaming pieces. The explosion cleared a path straight through the hangar doors.
"Full throttle, Tony!" Maria yelled. "Push it till it sticks!"
Tony grabbed the main lever. "Going to full scramble-mode in three... two... one... EXTERMINATE!"
VRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOM!
The Quadjet shot forward like a literal cannonball. The G-force slammed everyone back into their seats. Ugh! Tony's vision went narrow as the ship rocketed out of the Imperial Cruiser's hangar, leaving a trail of blue fire behind them.
"WE'RE FLYING!" Tony screamed, half-terrified and half-ecstatic. "I'M FLYING A SPACESHIP!"
"DON'T LOOK AT THE VIEW, LOOK AT EARTH!!!!!" Fury yelled from the back.
The Quadjet hit the upper atmosphere of Earth. The sky outside the cockpit turned from the black of space to a violent, friction-heated orange. Screeeeeeeeee! The ship began to shake and rattle as if it were going to tear itself apart.
"We're coming in too hot!" Maria yelled over the roar of the air. "Tony, level the nose! Increase the drag!"
"I'm trying! The Kree thrusters are fighting the gravity!" Tony yelled back, his small hands white-knuckled on the yoke. He kicked a foot-pedal, forcing the flaps open.
KER-CHUNK.
The ship groaned, the nose pulling up just as they breached the cloud layer.
Down below, the uninhabited desert ground rushed toward them at five hundred miles per hour.
"EVERYONE START SCREAMING!" Tony shouted.
And they did. As the jet roared toward the Earth, carrying a cargo of refugees, a Flerken, and a very grumpy butler, Tony Stark steered them through the air, his eyes fixed on what could by his last day in this new life.
Hi everyone, as i've promised, for reaching 10 power stones i've uploaded 2 new chapters and it'll continue like that. For every 10 power stones I recieve I will post 2 chapters in a single day. So every 10 power stones is a day where i'll post twice ! Thanks for your support !!!