The antique computer finally wheezed through the last line of data, and Talos exhaled like a man surfacing from deep water. He'd half expected the relic to die before the playback. Do these people know how badly I want my family? And they make me wait on this museum piece?
Beside him, Carol stared at the screen as the black box displayed the past—Project Pegasus, Lawson's experimental jet, the ambush. The truth hit like a breaking wave: her powers, their origin, and six years of Kree lies. Whether the recording was genuine or a plant, the storm inside her was real. She bolted from the study, Maria on her heels, Talos close behind, unwilling to lose the one thread that might lead home.
Silence settled. Only Li Feng and Nick Fury remained.
Fury sipped water, palm resting on the butt of his pistol. "You said your name was Austin?"
Li Feng spread his hands. "Impressive memory. Whole half hour and everything."
Fury didn't smile. "Full name."
Li Feng leaned back, crossing a leg. "You first. Credentials." He nodded at the badge half-hidden under Fury's coat. "Flash it clean, we trade questions one-for-one."
"Not how this works," Fury said.
"Then we're done," Li Feng replied, steady. "Because if you wanted to shoot me, you'd have done it when Carol had me by the throat."
A beat. Fury's eye narrowed. The kid wasn't wrong. "You're not a civilian."
"I'm a buyer looking for an RV," Li Feng said, dry. "Everything else is above my pay grade."
"Then why aren't you scared?"
"I am," Li Feng said, honest and flat. "Just not of you."
The gun didn't lower, but the angle softened. Interrogation was rhythm; Fury shifted the beat. "You recognized me. How?"
"Your reputation walks into the room before you do." Li Feng stood, gaze drifting to the window. "We'll meet again. Not today."
Outside, Carol wrestled herself back into focus—pilot or Kree soldier, Carol or Vers. Maria's arms and voice anchored her: "You're Carol Danvers. You always fight for what's right. You're my best friend." The words set her spine.
By dusk, everyone reconvened in the living room, circling the same problem—Lawson's core and where to find it.
Carol scanned the printouts. "These aren't coordinates. They're energy vectors."
Maria shrugged. "High-school physics."
Against the wall, Li Feng tore at a stale roll and kept his mouth shut. Vectors? I don't even know my birthday in this world. You want me doing math? Hard pass.
The meeting broke when the Skrull tech swore, he could retrofit Maria's jet into a spaceship. Curiosity tugged; Li Feng followed to the barn. Hours later, as sparks flew and alien hands reworked human panels, he yawned. No magic. Just wrenches and brilliance. Not my land, I'm fine with that.
Fury lingered in the doorway, watching the stranger who refused to fit any profile. When Li Feng finally slouched off toward a couch, Fury followed with a resigned sigh. Skrulls could look like anyone. And this one—whoever he was—played too calm for a bystander.
Later, a brush of fur at Li Feng's ankle snapped him awake. Goose padded by, whiskers twitching. Talos stiffened across the room, every inch of him telegraphing danger.
Carol laughed, scooping up the tabby. "Don't tell me you're scared of a cat."
"That's not a cat," Talos said tightly. "It's a Flerken."
Fury barked a laugh. "Right. Next you'll tell me golden retrievers run the galaxy."
Li Feng didn't laugh. He kept his face neutral, heartbeat steady. Knowing too much around Nick Fury was a bad hobby.
Eventually fatigue won. The barn lights dimmed, engines cooled, and Li Feng closed his eyes, mind already stepping three moves ahead—toward Lawson's core, the Kree ship, and what might be hiding aboard.
Not magic. But very much his business.
It felt like waking into a different universe.
The jet that had once been confined to atmospheric flight now gleamed with alien modifications, a combat-ready spacecraft bristling with tech Li Feng couldn't even begin to name. His head buzzed. There was no way that so-called "chief scientist" had pulled this off in a single night. The math didn't add up.
Behind him, Fury nudged with a slice of bread between his teeth. "Welcome to space camp, Mr. Beer Belly. Let's hope this field trip comes with a postcard."
Li Feng pressed a hand to his stomach with a sigh. He trained every day, but the stubborn bulge refused to leave him. Faithful, loyal, unrelenting—his one constant companion.
For the trip, Fury insisted on bringing Goose. He didn't care whether the creature was a cat or a Flerken. What mattered was that both Talos and Li Feng hated being near it. Until either earned his trust, Fury considered Goose his living insurance policy.
Mid-flight, Talos finally snapped. "You really shouldn't keep that thing on your lap. It's dangerous."
Fury ignored him, scratching behind Goose's ears. Talos' jaw worked silently.
Up front, Maria glanced over from the co-pilot's seat. "So… you can turn into anything?"
"That depends," Talos answered warily.
"A filing cabinet?" she asked.
He blinked. A filing cabinet? Does that even have genes?
Fury chimed in dryly, "How about a Venus flytrap? Fifty bucks says you can't."
In the back row, Li Feng chuckled. Maria was curious. Fury, though—he was probing. He wanted limits. If Skrulls could turn into plants, they'd be impossible to track. If they were bound to humans, then Fury had something to work with.
Li Feng smirked to himself. Shapeshifting? He had spells for that in Bastos' grimoire. The result looked like a bad rubber mask, but still. And if Talos really could turn into office furniture? That would break every rule, Li Feng thought he knew about this universe.
His laughter drew Fury's stare. "Sounds like somebody here knows more than he's letting on."
Before the silence could tighten further, Carol's voice cut in. "Strap in."
Fury buckled, shooting Li Feng a sidelong grin. "Tell me who you really are, and maybe I'll lend you a longer strap. Or explain Skrulls to me—I'll still share."
The trap was obvious. If Li Feng revealed too much, Fury would know he'd been aware of aliens all along. Li Feng rolled his eyes, covered his face with his hand, and stayed silent. Fury's smirk faded, but his suspicion only deepened.
Moments later, the ship broke atmosphere. Fury pressed against the window, frowning. "All I see is black. Where's this lab?"
Carol extended her senses, then sliced through the cloaking field. The Kree cruiser shimmered into view like a ghost surfacing from the deep.
Her lips curved faintly. Proof. Lawson hadn't lied. Carol wasn't Kree property—she was Carol Danvers, Earth-born. Finally, something solid to anchor her identity.
The ship docked. Talos was down the ramp first, desperate, clutching even a stray baseball like a lifeline. Family drove him harder than war ever could.
Deeper inside, they reached the hall where the Tesseract pulsed within its containment.
Li Feng quickened his pace. He snatched the glowing cube, winced, then shoved it into Carol's hands.
Even in that instant, he knew—this was power far beyond him. The Space Stone's current threatened to tear him apart. One misstep and he'd be shredded across the cosmos. That was why he'd never planned to stick around for the finale.
Carol, by contrast, barely touched it and the energy resonated as if greeting her. Li Feng's lip curled. He ground for every scrap of mana, and she stumbled into an endless well by accident. If the cube wagged its tail any harder, it'd ask to take her last name.
While Fury distracted himself with coffee, Li Feng drifted toward a side corridor. Yon-Rogg's arrival was inevitable, and when the fighting broke out, he'd vanish. But not without spoils.
Right on cue, the doors burst open. Yon-Rogg and his squad stormed in. Carol dropped under the Supreme Intelligence's leash. Troops surged forward.
By then, Li Feng was already gone.
A soldier peeled off to chase him—and never returned. One enchanted playing card had ended the pursuit.
Li Feng crouched over the body, stripping the armor. He'd expected high-end Kree tech. Instead? Basic plating. No adaptive camo, no integrated weapons. Just grunt gear.
He spat on the corpse, disgusted. "Figures. Privates never get the toys."
The rifle hummed faintly with energy. Better than nothing. He set it aside, listening to the clash echoing through the halls.
Carol was fighting her war. Fury was surviving his. Talos was finding his family.
Li Feng grinned, shadows curling in his eyes. "And me? Time to play the hero—just long enough to keep Fury guessing."
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