1997

Carol was acting stranger than usual these past few days, and I knew she knew that I knew why. It's the reason she avoided prolonged eye contact with me and tried to be busy when I was around so there wasn't time to talk. It's why she distracted me with flirty words, kisses and more whenever there was a quiet moment, which usually happened to be nighttime. All the affection was good for my ego, and it could have worked if I didn't know her so well. But I did.

She feared the question she knew I would ask at some point.

I waited as long as I could to give her the opportunity to start the conversation herself, anything to acknowledge what tomorrow was. But when evening fell according to our Earth clock and she still hadn't blabbered a word, I knew I had to be the responsible one.

We were eating dinner, sitting across from each other at the kitchen counter, a moment I usually cherished. But the silence wasn't nice, and I eyed Carol subtly every chance I got. She looked beyond tired from all the work we did today, lazily picking at her food with her chopsticks, completely uninterested in her noodles. Her appetite couldn't be the problem, the woman ate for three. Something else had to cause the knots in her stomach.

I didn't know the best way to go about this. She would get defensive or angry no matter what I said. But when she shifted in her spot for the nth time, clearly restless, I couldn't wait any longer. We'd been living in oblivion for a week.

''Do you want me to plot a course for Earth tomorrow?'' I was happy with the casual tone of my voice, like asking if she wanted dessert after dinner, but the way it broke the silence scared Carol anyway. I might as well have dropped a bomb.

She tensed, her eyes flickering up to mine. It was the first time since we sat down that she looked directly at me, and I was taken aback by the heaviness in her blue irises. Tomorrow's date affected her more than she let on. ''Why? You homesick?'' She tried to joke, a smirk on her lips.

''No, but I'm guessing you are.'' Carol's face fell when she realized deflection wouldn't work, averting her gaze to the countertop. I placed my chopsticks down, flattening my hand on the countertop. ''V... it's her birthday.''

Carol looked pained, her brows furrowed. ''I know,'' she mumbled, going from stirring to stabbing her noodles.

We were both imagining fourteen-year-old Monica sitting on the front steps of her home in the early morning sun, staring up at the sky wishfully, waiting for her aunt who would never come. The sun would move from east to west until it disappeared behind the horizon, but she'd still be there, waiting, until Maria called her in for bed. That's when the tears came, if they hadn't been there already. And her special day would feel ruined, despite all the gifts she got.

"Don't you want to go see her?"

My question stayed unanswered, but Carol's uncomfortable shifting in her seat said more than enough. We would not be going, as I suspected.

Fighting to keep my disappointment off my face, I suggested instead, ''At least give her a call like you did last year." Monica was more than understanding last time, urging Carol to stay where she was and help the people who needed it. But things had changed.

"And lie to her face?" Carol asked skeptically.

"It's better than doing nothing," I answered gently.

Carol shook her head determinedly, pushing away from the counter. Apparently, she'd decided her food was abused enough. "I can't talk to her, or see her." Taking her full bowl of noodles, she dumped them in the trash and left her dishes in the sink. I watched as she paced the living area to avoid having to look at me, picking up displaced clothes and tidying up left and right. She never tidied up.

"Because of what happened on Hala?" I asked calmly. As expected, it triggered a reaction.

Carol stopped to turn to me, throwing a hoodie over her shoulder. Her gaze was sharper than expected. "She sees me as a superhero, Yala. Someone who saves lives and fights the bad guys. She doesn't know I damned a whole planet to death in a blaze of fury." She paused when she heard her own words, agony and self-hatred blazing in her eyes. "How can I face her after what I've done? How can I face either of them?"

I shook my head and rose to my feet, eager to stop her train of thought. "People make mistakes, Carol. They know you. They know you're not a bad person. But you're not even giving them a chance to forgive you for your mistakes."

I wasn't good at these sorts of things. Emotions didn't come naturally to me. I wasn't trying to be a pushover. Seeing her so hopeless and sad, afraid to face her own family, was like a dagger in my own heart. But I knew the only way to get over those fears was to go down and face Maria and Monica and hear that they weren't mad at her.

The crease between Carol's eyebrows solidified. "This isn't about forgiveness. It's about disappointment. I let her down," she argued.

It was my turn to frown. "You could never let her down. She loves you."

Monica more than loved her, she worshipped the ground Carol walked on, and she thought that was all gone because of one mistake? Because that's what it was—a mistake. It was never Carol's intention to cause serious hurt on Hala.

A weak scoff left Carol's lips as she picked up another shirt from the back of the couch. "She loved who I was. But I'm not that person anymore. I'm not someone to look up to."

"Are you kidding me?" I walked over, took the clothes from her hands and tossed them on the bed behind her. She was left too stunned to do anything but stare at me and my defiant frown. "Carol, you saved an entire species from dying at the hands of the Kree. You dedicate your life to making sure they have a safe space to live, a home. You help anyone and anything who needs it. You're the most selfless person I know.'' I paused and smiled reluctantly, lifting my shoulder in a shrug. ''The only selfish thing you ever did was pursue me when I didn't want a relationship until there was literally no way around you anymore."

The corners of her mouth carefully tugged up at the memories, though her eyes didn't join in. "It worked, didn't it?" She said smugly, her hands on her hips.

I squinted pettily at her, glad my attempt at momentarily lighting up the mood worked. "What can I say, I admire determination."

A quiet chuckle rang out in the silence, but neither of our hearts were in this. Carol didn't even try to wiggle her way out of this conversation through the door called 'humor' that I opened for her. As quickly as the heaviness lifted off the conversation, so quickly did it settle back on our shoulders.

I wasn't lying, I did admire determination, but there were exceptions to everything. A little determination was preferred, the good kind. Determination to get the job you wanted, or to run a marathon. Too much was a pain in the ass, especially when it was the wrong kind. Stubbornness and hard-headedness were other words for it, and right now, Carol had both. When she got like this, I knew the fights I put up were pointless, yet I felt obliged to try anyway.

Carol sighed defeatedly, slowly shaking her head. "I can't do it, Yala. I'm sorry, but you can't convince me otherwise." Her decision was final, that much was clear in her calm voice. She was apologizing because she knew she was letting me down. It wasn't my family, but I hoped she'd put her troubles aside for Monica's sake. Be selfless.

I couldn't hide the disappointment on my face, the downturn of my lips. "The longer you wait, the harder it's going to be," I reminded her sadly. This whole time, I was telling her things she already knew.

Shamefully, Carol turned her head away. "I know." Something on the other side of the ship must have caught her eye as she moved, because she walked away from me without another word. End of the conversation.

There wasn't any more I could do. She was aware of the pain she caused and the consequences of her actions—or lack thereof—and still kept to the decision she made. I could keep arguing, but that wouldn't achieve anything. What, did I have to kidnap her? If I really wanted to be a pain, I could secretly fly to Earth, but that wasn't me. Carol made her decision, and other than arguing with her about it, I wouldn't do anything to change that.

Distracted by my inner turmoil, I returned to the kitchen counter and my lukewarm noodles. I wasn't hungry anymore, but I forced myself to chew and swallow every noodle until the bowl was empty, staring into space.

''Hey, I'm just seeing these readings of Kree activity near one of the Skrull colonies!'' Carol called out from somewhere I couldn't see. ''Did you alert them of that yet?''

''Yes, I did!'' I called back, trying to sound as normal as I could, but my voice held a hint of bitterness. Maria and Monica should be eating dinner right now, too. The girl must be excited for tomorrow, unable to properly sit down and eat as she fantasized about her presents and wondered when her aunt would call or drop by.

I felt sorry for her. She was such a sweet kid, a wide-eyed dreamer like all kids should be. At least I found some solace in the fact that I was smart enough to send her a birthday present on my own accord a week prior. I'd already known the confrontation with Carol would end this way, so I took matters into my own sneaky hands. If she ever found out, I didn't think she would appreciate it.

Tomorrow morning, a wrapped box would be waiting on the doorstep of that small Louisiana house, a big bow on top. I wasn't all that good with kids, so I didn't know what they'd want for a birthday, but a few weeks ago Carol and I did business on a planet that had a huge market going on in the capital's town square. Clothes, produce, indoor decoration, art, it had everything.

While she talked to the people who asked us there, I wandered around and stumbled upon a hand-painted, detailed map of the universe. It had all the important solar systems on it and the colors were beautiful. Even I found the craftsmanship impressive. Giving the old woman—presumably the artist—a big tip, I snuck the map onto the ship under the false pretense that I just really liked it, but it would be perfect on the wall of Monica's bedroom.

Clumsily, I wrapped it when Carol was out and wrote a card. Fun fact, I didn't actually read, write, or speak the human language. I was only fluent in my mother tongue and Kree. People understood me and I understood them because of the universal translator implanted in the back of my neck. An essential device when you traveled the universe. So, since I didn't write English, I needed the ship's computer to show me the message and slowly trace the letters word for word. Honestly, I deserved some pats on the back for the effort.

The card ended up being some general words about wishing Monica a happy birthday and explaining why we thought the map was perfect for her. I didn't write anything concerning our absence, and I purposely left out any "see you soons". Sadly, it reminded me of the politics I used to handle on behalf of the Kree. But hopefully, the gift and the card would soften the blow at least a little bit. A gift was better than no sign of life from us at all, right?

I looked up when Carol sat down across from me, tablet in her hands. She'd shoved our conversation to the back of her mind and was already focused on something else. ''We're going to have to check this out,'' she told me with a worried crease between her brows, reading off the screen. I was confused as to what she meant until I remembered what she asked a minute ago.

I really, really tried to keep my bitterness in as I leaned back in my seat, but the words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself. ''Well, we don't have any other plans tomorrow.''

2026

''Can you fight?'' I helped Monica up, pulling the sword from my back with my other hand. It was the only piece of weaponry Carol did not get rid of during those five years I was gone. She said she couldn't get herself to sell it. Too bad she could get herself to sell the other fifty pieces.

Disoriented, Monica climbed to her feet. She barely had time to brush the moondust off her clothes before the Kree were on us, shouting and pointing their weapons. Luckily, she had a military mindset, trained to adapt to new situations within the blink of an eye. I had no idea where these guys even came from. They must have been lingering in the area, perhaps protecting it from curious people such as us. Or maybe just from us in particular.

With a determined expression, Monica nodded once. ''Bet your ass.''

Relieved, I breathed out, glad I didn't have to protect someone on top of protecting myself and kicking ass. I smiled and tried giving Monica the sword, but she shook her head. Confidently, she turned towards the charging soldiers, ready to fight without a single weapon on her. I was about to call her out on her stupidity, knowing how powerful the guns they carried were, but my mouth dropped open in surprise when her eyes and hands started to glow.

A single beam of light—there was no better way to describe what came out of her palm—shot towards the Kree soldier closest to us. They flew backwards, the gun flying out of their hands when they collided with the stone ground in a cloud of dust.

Apparently, Monica wasn't as human as Carol and I were aware of.

A stab of betrayal pinched my stomach. In no way did I have the relationship with her that Carol used to have, not even close, but even I felt surpassed. This was too big not to update us on, especially considering we had powers too. We could have helped her figure it all out. And if she didn't want to speak to us, she could have let Fury purposely run his mouth. Anything. But now it just stung.

There wasn't time to feel any of it, though, or ask any of the thousand questions bubbling up in my brain, because the other forty-nine Kree soldiers came running even faster after seeing the threat Monica formed.

I shook the hurt off and forced myself to focus, turning towards the group with narrowed eyes. The Kree army used to be among the best in the universe, but the war and the dying planet had taken its toll. They shouldn't be a problem for two powered individuals such as Monica and I.

As she picked them off one by one, I knocked down at least five of them at once with a big rock that lay off to the side, flinging it over their heads with the use of my earth and air powers. Another five fell into a hole I tore in the earth. Not deep enough to kill them or break any legs, but impossible to get out of without a rope or a ladder. It would have been much easier to knock them all down with a big gust of wind like bowling pins, but the air was too thin.

Mine and Monica's teamwork was wobbly at first. Her powers were new to me, so I had no clue what moves she could and would do next, and she didn't know me that well either. I'd accidentally take down a guy she was aiming for, and she'd nearly shoot a light beam straight at me. But we were getting the hang of it right when the first wave was over. It had taken maybe a minute all together.

I took a moment to breathe and wipe those annoyingly short strands of hair away from my face, opening my mouth to warn Monica of more incoming soldiers, when a familiar bright light flared in the corner of my eye.

I couldn't turn my head in time to see Monica disappear, but I exhaled in relief when I saw Carol standing in the spot she'd just occupied, appearing physically okay at a first glance. Without knowing what had happened with the jump point, I didn't know if I'd be stuck with Monica, if this was a permanent thing. But it appeared the switching went both ways.

I got Carol back, at least for now. Apparently, she could appear and disappear within the blink of an eye.

A Kree soldier nearly managed to get a hit in on me as I watched her, confused out of her mind, but I threw dust in his eyes, pulled his helmet off and punched his jaw with my experienced left hook. Another soldier was waiting for me behind him, as if they were lining up to be taken down.

I had no clue what Carol had seen or where she had been, but her wide eyes were as disoriented as Monica's had been as she turned in her spot to gain understanding of where she was and what was going on.

''Carol!'' I called out as I used my sword to swat a Kree's gun out of his hands, hoping to ground her in some way—and in need of some assistance in this fight.

She flung around, the furrow of her brows relaxing when she saw me standing there, as relieved to see me as I was her. But her joy faded into slight panic once she saw what I was dealing with. Without thinking, she jumped in to help, and I was so relieved to feel that dynamic between us start to work instantly.

''What happened?'' Carol shouted as she blasted a guy backwards, and I knew she wasn't asking about this attack.

''I have no idea!" I yelled back, round-kicking another guy in the head. I had loose theories on the jump point glitch thing, but no underpinning. "Where did you go?''

''I was on Earth!''

"On Earth?" I called out over the sound of gunshots. I didn't know why her answer surprised me. Carol and Earth were naturally connected. "How did you get there?''

''I don't know, I just... transported!'' She said, for a lack of a better word.

But it stayed weird, really weird, the broken jump point above our heads only adding to the weirdness. We needed answers, and fast. I had a feeling Carol's presence by my side wasn't permanent if we didn't fix things.

Frustrated, she grabbed the first soldier she could find by his collar, bringing his face close to her seething one. ''What did you do to me? What is Dar-Bell doing?'' She demanded, tightening her fist to show that she wasn't playing. I listened in as I watched her six, pointing my sword at anyone who came too close.

''It's too late," the Kree soldier started cockily, smugness in his voice. "The superior is already on Tarnax. You can't stop this.''

Three things not to say to Carol Danvers; "you can't", "you shouldn't", and "you won't". Because she will, and you've just given her more motivation to prove you wrong. I didn't have to look over my shoulder to know that a fire ignited in her eyes.

''Watch me.''

She threw the guy away from her and mowed down the remaining soldiers with one single, big blast of her powers in a ring of energy, like she decided she was done with this fight. Nothing was more attractive to me than confident, cocky, powerful Carol. Unfortunately, she mowed me down with it.

"Ouch." I massaged the painful muscle in my shoulder as I sat up, pretty sure I landed on a rock. "A warning next time?" She did this trick more often, but usually made sure I was out of range or told me to duck beforehand.

Carol grimaced apologetically as she helped me to my feet, quickly brushing the dust off my arms. "Sorry. You okay?"

I sighed, giving my shoulder a few twists to test it. The pain was already getting less. "I'll live." I could hardly be mad at her for getting protective over our Skrull friends and losing her temper. Like I said; attractive.

"Come on. We have to go." Carol scooped up Goose, who barely had time to clamp onto her shoulder, and took off into the air.

This time, I was hot on her tail, the fear for the refugees manifesting in my heart. The Skrulls there weren't fighters. Mostly, they were women and children. Vulnerable. Luckily, our ship was where we left it, drifting in space.

''Fury, it's the Kree. They're going after the Skrulls on Tarnax," Carol warned the man as we ran up the steps into the cockpit of the ship. I crashed into my seat before she could, starting up the engines and plotting a course.

''Hold on," Fury warned her, knowing damn well what that determined tone in her voice meant. "Do not go in swinging. This is a peace and reconciliation tour.''

The ship came to life just as she sat down. ''Fury, we got this.''

''Carol—''

We would never hear what he had to say, because with the push of a button, Carol cut the connection off.

If it were any other situation, I may have laughed, picturing his offended face, and scolded her manners. But we were off before I could even fasten myself in my seat, speeding through yet another jump point.

"We're not going to get there in time," Carol panicked, stressfully eyeing our flight plan. As powerful as she was, she couldn't make the ship go faster, or slow time.

"Maybe not, but it may not be too late yet," I reassured her.

Dar-Bell. Leader of the Kree—or, the superior, apparently. The biggest pain in our asses recently.

She wasn't the first leader since the fall of the Supreme Intelligence, but she was the most successful in uniting the remaining Kree and rebuilding Hala. Under her, order was restored and the army repared.

Her talent for politics and speeches got people to believe in her blindly. She wasn't only a fighter, she was intelligent, and she used that to bind powerful people to her. Former allies of Hala came knocking on her door, willing to provide help. The ones who didn't, she sought out, making deals for supplies or protection.

If she was just another army leader, Carol and I would be way less worried. But she was smart, cunning, and therefore formed the biggest threat to us and the Skrulls we faced in a long time.

However, her tendency for politics and long speeches may buy us enough time to get to Tarnax.

As space morphed around us in a tunnel of light, I had time to think about everything we just saw. We were no closer to answers, except that we knew the Kree had something to do with the power surge. But a lead was a lead.

"If Dar-Bell was on MB-418 and left a small army behind to guard the place, something important must be there," I wondered out loud.

"Or was there."

I looked at Carol, her knee bumping up and down impatiently as she scowled at the windshield, hating space for being so slow. Next to her, I was the picture of calmness. "The ruins—maybe an artifact of sorts?"

Carol shook her head, not knowing the answers to my questions either. We could only speculate. "I barely had time to see anything." She tapped on the control panel, rerouting all power to the ship's thrusters. We sped up even more, my body pressed into my seat.

"About that," I started, squinting my eyes in thought. ''Where on Earth did you say you were?''

''Jersey City.''

That meant absolutely nothing to me. I barely knew where Louisiana was. ''Is that—''

''It's on the east coast of the United States.''

I nodded in understanding. I did know the US. ''So you were on Earth. Not in the space around it?''

Suspiciously, Carol glanced at me from the corner of her eye. ''You're being vague. Why?'' When I didn't immediately answer, her eyes narrowed at my face.

I sighed in defeat. I'd hoped to keep the Monica topic at bay until after Tarnax, so her head was in the game, but she picked up on my undertones too fast. Turning my body towards her, I explained slowly, ''Carol, you didn't just disappear and come back. It looked like you swapped places.''

Her brows furrowed, trying to understand what I was saying. But she also saw that I was holding back. ''With who?'' She asked, watching me hesitate. ''With who?''

''Monica.''

Years ago, Carol forced me—actually, she used her puppy eyes on me, but that's besides the point—to watch Earth movies with me. Something about iconic films from the "eighties" that I had to see for my cultural education. They were grainy and cheaply made.

But one thing that appeared often in those—especially in comedies, I noticed—was characters abruptly pressing the brakes of their automobiles when they received shocking news. Like their brains couldn't drive and process the information at the same time.

If we were in a movie, I felt like Carol would have pulled that move just now.

''Monica Monica?" Her eyes were wide with shock, that guilt seeping back into them whenever she spoke of Monica. "Wait— You talked to her? She was with you?''

I nodded, reluctant to talk about this. "We didn't have time to talk, but when you came back, you took her place.''

Carol's gaze wandered away from my face as she processed that information. "How is that possible?" She mumbled to herself.

"I thought maybe you switched places with her, but she wasn't on Earth. She was with Fury, up in space," I explained my theories.

It was still worrying to me that my girlfriend simply transported across the universe and back without cause. But the biggest mystery was Monica. Why did she appear next to me? Out of all the humans...

"I was in a teenage girl's room," Carol said slowly, her voice distant as she pondered. "Her walls, everything was covered in drawings and fanart of us."

It was my turn to frown. A third person? "A teenage girl? How does she tie into all of this?"

"No idea." She exhaled in relief when the ship slowed drastically as we were spit out of the jump point. We'd reached Tarnax. "But we have bigger concerns first."