Chapter 107: The Arrival of Captain Marvel

Howard and Maria were taken back to the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Peggy immediately brought them to her office. Besides the four of them and Steve, no one else was allowed near.

"Are you sure?" Peggy frowned and asked Howard.

"I'm sure. I couldn't possibly be mistaken," Howard said with certainty.

"But… how is that possible? I was there…" Steve recalled a painful memory he had tried to bury deep within his mind.

He had become a great soldier, defeated Hydra, and married Peggy. It seemed like a perfect life—except for one lingering regret: the sacrifice of his closest friend, Bucky Barnes.

Just one more centimeter—if he had reached out just a little more, he could have grabbed Bucky's hand.

But that one centimeter became the farthest distance in the world.

"I don't know what he's been through, but I'm certain it was Bucky. And… he really was trying to kill us," Howard said firmly.

Upon hearing this, Steve stood up to leave. Peggy quickly stepped in to block him.

"Calm down, Steve."

…

…

"Peggy, I'll listen to you on everything else, but when it comes to Bucky… you have to let me go."

"I understand, Steve. But now isn't the time. We don't have proof it's Bucky, and we don't know where he is. Going now won't accomplish anything," Peggy tried to reason with him.

"I know. But I still have to go." Steve's gaze was firm—the same look he had when he infiltrated enemy lines to rescue thousands of soldiers.

"Sit down first, Steve, and listen to me." Peggy gently pulled him back into his seat and tried to soothe his emotions. "I'll send people to search for the Winter Soldier's whereabouts and get in touch with Charles for help. When I have reliable intel, I'll let you know, alright?"

"…Alright, Peggy. I'm counting on you."

"Leave it to me."

"I'm sorry, Howard. I know I don't have the right to ask, but I still want to plead with you—please… at least give him a chance to explain."

Howard was silent for a long time. He understood Steve's feelings—and he himself was conflicted. Bucky was his friend too. There had to be a reason for what he did.

But it wasn't just him who got hurt—Maria was hurt too. And family was Howard's bottom line. It was hard to forgive Bucky for that.

"Dear, just say yes," Maria said gently.

"Maria…"

"We're fine, aren't we? And Bucky was your friend too."

"…Alright, I'll agree, Steve."

"Thank you, thank you, Howard…"

"Don't thank me just yet. If his explanation doesn't satisfy me, I'll still make him pay," Howard interrupted sternly.

"…Alright." Steve could only agree for now. But he believed in Bucky. Howard getting attacked wasn't something Bucky would do without reason—there had to be more to the story.

…

All darkness lies hidden beneath the surface. Sunlight bathed the earth, bringing warmth and peace to the people.

But peace at Melin's home was shattered. Looking up from the living room on the first floor, one could see a human-shaped hole that went through every floor above.

"So… you're saying you are…?" Galon asked again.

"Kree Empire, member of the Starforce, Vers. That's the fifth time. So can I leave now?" Vers—very frustrated—asked.

Usually, she wouldn't hurt others but also wouldn't ask for their permission. She did what she wanted. In her eyes, Earth was a primitive civilization. The Kree Empire might protect lesser civilizations, but that didn't mean they saw them as equals.

But…

She had no idea where Galon got a rope from. He tied her up before she could even react. And now that she was bound, she found her vast energy completely sealed off.

Isn't Earth supposed to be a low-level civilization? What kind of high-tech rope is this? Even the Supreme Intelligence couldn't fully control the energy inside her body—but this ordinary-looking rope did it!

And what was up with this guy? She, a battle-hardened warrior, hadn't even seen his movements?

Vers began to doubt her life choices.

Coincidentally, Galon was also doubting life at the moment.

Kree Empire? Why had he never heard of that? What the heck was Starforce? Aliens? Did he actually meet aliens? But… why did they look just like humans? No, not just similar—they were human!

You could fake everything else, but not the Cosmos—the Cosmos never lies. And Vers' Cosmos, as perceived by Galon, was exactly that of a human.

"Better wait for Lord Melin to return before doing anything." That was Galon's decision. After all, Melin was "all-knowing and all-powerful" and would surely know the answer.

"No, you can't leave. Lord Melin will decide how to deal with you when he returns," Galon said.

"Hey, listen. The Skrulls are a bunch of dangerous war criminals—vicious, cunning, and ruthless. I've detected that they've infiltrated this planet. If we don't stop them, Earth will face destruction. I suggest you let me go so I can—"

"Sorry, I don't know anything about Skrulls. But you broke into Lord Melin's temporary residence and damaged the ceiling. I won't let you go before he returns."

Galon's complete lack of reaction made Vers feel like going crazy. She had said all that out of concern for him, but all she got was indifference. This made her question reality again.

The Earth is about to be destroyed, and you're not even worried? What does worry you then?

At that moment, footsteps came from outside. It sounded like Melin had returned.

But Galon was confused—Melin hadn't returned alone. He was accompanied by two others: Little Black and Little White—wait, no, Little Green? Real aliens!?

"Alright, you two. There's really nothing going on here. So if you'd just—"

Melin froze as he opened the door. He looked at the debris on the ground, then at the tied-up Vers, and finally at the human-shaped hole in the ceiling.

"Galon…"

"My Lord, it's not what it looks like!"

Seeing Melin's darkened expression, Galon quickly began to explain what had happened. If Melin misunderstood, he'd be in big trouble.

A Saint full of love and hope, protector of the Earth, capturing a respectable woman through a ceiling hole and playing bondage games? He'd be disqualified in disgrace!

"Looks like you really do need help, sir," Nick Fury said with a hint of amusement.

"Fine, I don't know anything. You talk to them," Melin said, backing off.

Of course, Melin recognized these people.

Little Black was the future Director and the "Mother-Lovin' Egghead" himself, Nick Fury.

Little White—or rather, Little Green disguised as Little White—was the Skrull using the appearance of Phil Coulson, the "Newbie Guide of the Marvel Village" and all-around nice guy. The real Coulson was still napping in the trunk.

And the woman Galon had tied up? That was none other than Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers—also known as the "Strongest Hairdo in the Universe"… wait, wrong line. Let's try that again.

Anyway, Melin didn't for a second believe Galon would do something so outrageous. What really annoyed him was why Carol would show up in his house—this place was nowhere near where she was supposed to appear in the original timeline.

What was this? Was he becoming the center of all problems? Or had the butterfly effect gone full chaos mode?

Thankfully, besides Melin's house and Hank's next door, all surrounding properties had been bought by Howard, so there were no onlookers.

Otherwise, this would've been headline news, and Melin's quiet wait for Athena's return would be ruined.

Though, come to think of it, it already was.

…

After putting away what he bought, Melin returned to the living room and saw that the three parties had already come to an understanding. Carol had been released, and the misunderstanding with Galon was cleared.

"Gentlemen, I regret to inform you that you're now involved in an extremely dangerous situation. To avoid making it worse, I hope—"

"I know what can and can't be said," Melin cut her off.

"Very good. Someone will contact you later for a non-disclosure agreement. Please cooperate. We'll be going now."

Thinking he was super cool, Fury left with "Coulson" and Carol.

"My Lord."

"Don't worry. Ignore them."

"They… really are aliens?"

"Hm?"

Melin looked at Galon in surprise, only to see his eager, curious eyes filled with excitement.

"Carol's not. The one next to Fury is."

"Really? Then…"

"The Kree Empire is also a humanoid advanced civilization. The Skrulls aren't war criminals—they're interstellar refugees…"

Melin stopped mid-sentence because he realized his explanation hadn't quelled Galon's curiosity—it had only made it stronger.

"Forget it. If you want to follow them, go ahead," Melin sighed. He used telekinesis to fix the hole in the ceiling. Sunshine was nice, but nobody wants a hole in their roof.

"Hehe, thank you, My Lord." Having received permission, Galon grabbed his Cloth box and vanished into stealth mode to tail them.

Meanwhile, Melin picked up the rope that had been used to tie up Carol and examined it.

"No wonder it's the Immortal Binding Rope—a relic from the mythological era. Even now, it still works. It can even restrain the energy of the Space Stone. What a pity… after searching high and low, I only found this one, and it's a damaged version that can't be repaired. Maybe I can study it and find a way to replicate it…"