Chapter 27:The Birth of Captain Marvel

Project Pegasus: The Tesseract Experiment

The desert airfield stretched for miles, a vast expanse of sand and tarmac under the burning sun. To most, it looked like any other classified U.S. Air Force facility, a remote base in the middle of nowhere. But beneath the surface, in the underground labs hidden from prying eyes, Project Pegasus was making history.

Dr. Wendy Lawson, better known in her true form as Mar-Vell, stood before her crowning achievement—the light-speed engine.

It wasn't just a technological marvel; it was the key to ending an endless war.

The war between the Kree and the Skrulls had raged for centuries, but Mar-Vell had seen through the lies of the Kree Empire. She knew the Skrulls weren't mindless invaders. They were refugees, running from a force that sought their annihilation. She had vowed to help them, even if it meant betraying her own people.

Her hands moved swiftly over the console, adjusting the delicate instruments inside the core of the engine.

The power source? The Tesseract.

A cube of immeasurable energy, an artifact older than any civilization on Earth. Humanity had no idea what they had in their possession. The energy from the Tesseract had been the missing key in her research, allowing her to design a propulsion system unlike anything the galaxy had seen.

But she knew she was running out of time.

The Kree were watching her, growing suspicious. She had intercepted transmissions—Yon-Rogg and his Starforce soldiers were coming.

She had to act fast.

Carol Danvers: The Ace Pilot

Outside, two fighter jets soared across the sky, leaving thin white trails behind them. One of them was piloted by Carol Danvers.

The woman who would one day become Captain Marvel.

Carol was a damn good pilot. She lived for the thrill of the sky, the rush of G-forces as she pushed her jet to its limits. She had always wanted more—to break barriers, to fly higher, faster, further.

And Dr. Lawson had noticed.

Carol had no idea that the older woman was an alien scientist in disguise. To her, Lawson was just a brilliant engineer, a little eccentric, but someone who believed in her.

"You're special, Danvers," Lawson had once told her, watching her during a training simulation. "You're the type of person who doesn't know how to stay down. I like that."

That was why Carol had been chosen.

When Lawson told her about the light-speed engine test, Carol didn't hesitate. She wanted to be in that cockpit, to be part of something bigger than herself.

But she had no idea just how big.

The Mission That Changed Everything

The morning of the test flight was crisp, the desert winds carrying the scent of jet fuel. Carol suited up, running through her pre-flight checklist with ease. Across from her, Maria Rambeau grinned, giving her a thumbs-up.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Maria teased. "Could be dangerous."

Carol smirked. "Dangerous is my middle name."

Maria rolled her eyes. "No, it's not. It's Susan."

"Shut up."

Carol climbed into the jet, her hands feeling at home against the controls.

Then came Lawson's voice in her headset.

"Ready, Danvers?"

Carol grinned. "Born ready."

The engines roared to life, and within moments, they were airborne.

The sky stretched before them, endless and open. Carol pushed the throttle forward, feeling the power of the aircraft beneath her fingertips. This was what she lived for—the sheer freedom of flight, the knowledge that up here, nothing could stop her.

But then—

An explosion.

A blinding blue light erupted in the distance. The jet shook violently, alarms blaring in Carol's ears.

"Mayday! Mayday! We've been hit—"

The controls failed.

A bright blue blast ripped through the air, striking their jet. The explosion sent them crashing down into the desert, fire and metal raining from the sky.

The sky was on fire.

Carol Danvers barely had time to process what had happened. One moment, she was flying, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she pushed the jet higher. The next, a blinding blue explosion engulfed the aircraft, sending it spiraling out of control.

The cockpit alarms blared in her ears, red warning lights flashing frantically. She could hear Lawson's voice—calm, controlled—giving instructions, but it was drowned out by the sheer force of the jet breaking apart around them.

"EJECT! NOW!"

Carol didn't hesitate. She pulled the ejection handle with all her strength.

The force ripped her out of the cockpit, the sudden G-force nearly knocking her unconscious. The roar of the explosion faded as she tumbled through the sky, the earth racing toward her.

She barely managed to activate her parachute before crashing into the desert sand.

The impact sent shockwaves through her body, knocking the breath from her lungs. Dazed, she struggled to sit up, spitting out dust as she surveyed the wreckage. The jet's burning remains were scattered across the desert, smoke billowing into the sky.

And then she saw Lawson.

The older woman had also ejected, but she wasn't as lucky. She was slumped against a rock, blue blood trickling from a gash on her forehead. But despite her injuries, there was no fear in her eyes.

She knew this was coming.

Carol stumbled toward her, still disoriented. "Lawson—what the hell just happened?"

Lawson looked at her, then past her. Her expression hardened.

Carol followed her gaze and saw him.

A man in a strange uniform, stepping out of the shadows. Yon-Rogg.

Carol's instincts screamed danger.

Lawson exhaled, pressing something into Carol's hand. A small, metallic device—a Kree communicator.

"Destroy it," she whispered, her voice urgent. "Don't let them take it."

Carol barely had time to react before Yon-Rogg raised his weapon.

A single shot rang out.

Lawson's body jerked, then stilled.

Carol froze. Her mind barely had time to register the stain spreading across Lawson's uniform before white-hot rage took over.

Without thinking, she lunged, grabbing Lawson's pistol and firing at the Tesseract-powered engine still intact amidst the wreckage.

The bullet struck its core.

Everything exploded.

A massive blue shockwave ripped through the desert, engulfing Carol in pure, unfiltered energy.

She had never felt anything like it.

It was inside her, filling every cell, burning through her veins. Her body changed at an atomic level, rewritten by the sheer force of the Tesseract's power.

She wanted to scream, but there was no sound. No air. No ground.

Only light.

Then—

Darkness.

From a vantage point high above the desert, Alex Rogers stood, his sharp eyes locked onto the smoldering wreckage below.

The explosion had been monumental, a surge of pure Tesseract energy that rippled through the air like a supernova in miniature. Even from this distance, he could feel the lingering charge in the atmosphere—unstable, raw, and incomprehensibly powerful.

At his side, Sophia's voice echoed in his mind, calm and analytical.

"The subject has undergone extreme molecular restructuring. Estimated survival rate was below one percent, yet she remains intact. Fascinating."

Alex narrowed his eyes as he observed Carol Danvers.

She lay unconscious in the crater, her form bathed in the afterglow of the Tesseract's energy. Her body was still, but his enhanced vision caught the faintest signs of movement—her fingers twitching, her chest rising and falling.

She was alive.

More than that, something about her had changed.

"The energy has been absorbed into her cells," Sophia continued, running calculations at an inhuman speed. "Signs indicate a permanent alteration. This is… unlike anything recorded before."

Alex folded his arms. "Compare it to my own Tesseract resonance."

There was a pause before Sophia responded. "Different. You absorbed the Tesseract's energy through controlled extraction, refining it to avoid instability. She, however, was exposed to an uncontrolled surge, leading to a full-scale fusion between her biological structure and the cosmic energy. The outcome is unpredictable."

His gaze flicked to the wreckage of Dr. Lawson's jet. The woman had been working with the Tesseract—that much he knew—but for her research to result in something like this…

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Yon-Rogg and the Kree soldiers.

Alex watched as they moved toward Carol, their steps cautious but determined.

They knew she was valuable.

Sophia's voice remained steady. "They are retrieving her. Calculating probable scenarios—"

"No need," Alex cut in. "Let them take her."

Sophia didn't question him. She simply ran the probabilities. "It aligns with the greater timeline. Intervention at this stage may create a disruptive cascade effect."

Alex remained silent, watching as Yon-Rogg lifted Carol's unconscious form and signaled his soldiers. Within moments, they vanished in a beam of light, transported back to their ship.

And just like that, Carol Danvers was gone.

Alex exhaled, his mind already working through the implications.

Sophia finally spoke again, her tone laced with an almost human-like curiosity. "Do you believe she will return?"

Alex smirked. "Oh, she'll be back. And when she does, the universe won't know what hit it."

With one last glance at the burning wreckage, he turned and disappeared into the night, the desert winds whispering behind him.