"Losing the Tesseract was the most agonizing thing for Howard in his older days, despite me not knowing the exact reason for it. But his gloomy attitude that year was my most vivid memory of him."
The physically weak Peggie Carter sees Merlin off at the door while being supported by her niece.
She holds Merlin's hand and lightly says:
"Howard is my best friend, as well as the founder of the SSR, you now wouldn't exist without him. He died in a petty murder, yet there is so little I can do for him."
"I'm too old."
Miss Carter says with pity:
"But you, Merlin, I hope you can find and retrieve the Tesseract we lost from the Kree, to console Howard's soul."
The lady says word by word:
"Howard is the smartest person I know, if he thinks that the Tesseract is the key to major advancements of human technology, then for our future, we have to take it back!"
"I promise that I'll bring it back if it's yet to be taken by the Kree."
Merlin promises Miss Carter:
"It was stolen from us, it's only fair that it's returned to its original owner."
"Alright."
Miss Carter nods, she thinks for a moment, then smiles at Merlin:
"I'm already retired, and I don't have anything to reward you with. I can only give you my blessings, Merlin. When we first met, I asked you whether or not you wanted to become a hero like Steve..."
The elderly lady reaches out and helps Merlin brush his hair, he lightly says:
"You right now, are very much like him."
"You're already on that path. Brave forward, child."
Merlin couldn't think of a response, every time he meets Miss Carter, she likes to compare him with the legendary hero who was lost in history, this gave Merlin a lot of pressure, but then, he could sense Miss Carter's high hopes for him.
To be frank, it feels nice to be expected by others.
He takes a deep breath and nods heavily at Miss Carter, he then turns and heads to the exit of the villa.
There, Pierce's pickup truck was still waiting for him. This luxury car would deliver him directly to rendezvous with the other agents, then head for Louisiana in the fastest way possible on a military jet that's been prepared beforehand.
After knowing the secret of Project Pegasus, Merlin knew now what he must do.
Miss Carter sees Merlin off, and as the car disappears into the distance, she reaches out and pats on Sharon Carter next to her.
The elderly lady looks at her niece and lightly says:
"Sharon...what do you think of Merlin?"
As Sharon helps her aunt to her room, she sits beside her aunt and lightly replies:
"Undoubtedly, Merlin has secrets. I can feel that he's seeking approval, from those around him, or himself. His past experiences are still affecting him, he's trying to become someone others can depend on."
"He's trying to become a hero."
"Mmm, good observation."
Peggie Carter holds her niece's hand, she closes her eyes, and like an ordinary elderly lady, she says:
"Merlin is still inexperienced, but he's growing fast, and soon he'll become an excellent agent. I had thought that I would not find a worthy successor in my old age, but now I see a sliver of hope on Merlin."
"Maybe, in the foreseeable future, he'll replace me as a new secret agent."
In a farmhouse in Louisiana, Nick Fury was anxiously waiting for news.
He was currently on Maria Rambeau's farm, this woman was Vers' partner in Project Pegasus, who was a test pilot, as well as a single mother. After the 'death' of her best friend in the plane crash, she quit her job and brought her daughter to their home farm.
As for Fury and Vers, they hijacked a helicopter from Pegasus Base and arrived here yesterday midnight, successfully finding Maria and her daughter Monica.
Maria and Monica recognized Vers, the problem was that she didn't remember them.
There was no memory of them at all like the memories of them had been erased.
And in the following day, Maria and Monica have been trying to help her recover her memories, though fruitless.
The Kree's memory lockdown on Vers was solid, like a lock that couldn't be opened unless they found the right key.
What's worse, is that after experiencing Keller's attack, Fury was in a state of jitter; this senior agent was experienced, knowledgeable, and was brave, and smart enough, but it didn't match the absurdity of the situation at hand.
The Skrull's shapeshifting ability is too much of a BUG.
Fury was now expecting anyone he sees to be a Skrull, any sudden movements would put him into a state of alarm. He even kept his gun at hand at all times.
"Di Di"
The pager Fury fixed on his arm beeps, he lowers his head and takes a look, it was Merlin saying that he'll be arriving shortly after.
This gave Fury some relief.
He walks back into the room and sees Vers and Monica looking at their old photos, while Maria was cooking dinner in the kitchen.
Fury leans against the door and tells Vers:
"Haven't remembered who you are yet? Carol Danvers."
A few seconds later, Vers raises her head, the blonde woman had a dazed expression, she didn't even react that Fury was calling her name.
"Sorry, but this name...I feel nothing of it like it's the name of a complete stranger."
Vers scratches her blonde hair, she looks at the unfamiliar pictures in front of her and tells Fury:
"Do you understand? It's like...reading someone else's story."
"This means that we've yet to find the key."
Fury felt a sense of pity, he says somewhat anxiously:
"We haven't found the node that helps you break through the lockdown and regain your former memories...but one thing's for sure, Carol, you're an Earthling, without a doubt."
"What are you trying to say, Fury?"
Vers, or to say, Carol, raises her head, looks at the black agent, and says:
"Are you implying something?"
"What I mean is, if the Skrull or Kree plan on endangering Earth..."
Fury looks at Carol's eyes and asks:
"Will you help us? Or pretend that you're a Kree and join the invaders?"
"I..."
Carol knew not how to answer this question.
All the evidence she found proves that she is an Earthling, but the thoughts in her head keep reminding her that she is a noble Kree warrior.
These two kinds of self-awareness are clashing in her mind, she did not want to be deceived, yet it was hard for her to go back on her instincts.
So a few seconds later, she raises her head and tells Fury truthfully:
"I don't know. But if they are here to do bad, I'll do my best to stop them!"
"This isn't the answer I wanted, I thought we were already friends."
Fury complained, he did not know how to assess Carol in front of him.
He only knows that this woman with strong power was quite pitiful. She lost her identity and her memories like she was revived after dying.
It was no wonder Merlin said that she was similar to him, he was true. Her situation may be even worse than Merlin's in the past.
Although Merlin had lost everything, at least he was still aware of who he was.
This woman...lost even herself.
"We're friends, Fury."
Carol says earnestly:
"No matter what happens, I'll keep you safe from harm."
"Alright, at least this somewhat calms me."
Fury shrugs and tries to continue.
But then, Carol abruptly directs her sights behind her, she stands up and clenches her fists, blue and red energy begins to flicker on her fists as she shouts at the empty living room behind her:
"Who's there! Come out!"
"Shwa"
The shadow dissipates and a fully armed Merlin and Natasha appear in the living room.
When she saw the two appearing out of thin air, the little girl Monica let out a frightened scream and hides behind Fury, Maria in the kitchen hears her daughter's scream and stormed out of the kitchen with a kitchen knife, she then sees the tense atmosphere in the living room.
The black woman attempts to run out and protect her daughter, but Carol stops her.
"It's you."
Carol lowers her fists, she recognizes Merlin.
The latter glances at the dissipating energy on Carol's fists, confirms her identity and throws a document at her.
"Take a close look, in it is the life you lost."
As he finishes, Merlin takes out the colt from his waist, points at Fury, and says seriously:
"Confirm identity!"
Fury's eyes widen, he then sighs resignedly and says weakly:
"Triangular bread..."
A smile appears from the corners of Merlin's lips.
Then, he points his gun at the little girl Monica who was hiding behind Fury, while Natasha pointed her gun at Maria Rambeau.
"Confirm identity!"
"Merlin, they've been with us all this time, they're real."
Carol grabs for Merlin's gun but Merlin dodges away, he gestures for Carol to calm down.
Merlin looks at the little girl as well as the ex-pilot next to her, he tells Carol:
"Those Skrulls are gone, they may be nearby. You should understand that we should be more cautious."
As he finishes, Merlin takes out another document from his spatial pocket, he looks at the angry Maria Rambeau, opens the document, and asks:
"Second lieutenant Maria, please tell me your ID number in Project Pegasus!"
"5741850901ML-47N1!"
Maria glances at Carol, who nods at her.
So Maria thinks for a few seconds and accurately speaks out her ID number from back then, exactly like the ID number in the document.
Merlin lets out a breath of relief, he gestures for Natasha to keep her gun and tells Maria:
"Miss, now ask your daughter a question, preferably a secret only the two of you know about."
"What is this?"
Seeing as her daughter was being suspected, the ex-pilot was enraged as she shouts sternly. Carol consoles her former friend and says to her in a low tone:
"Ask, Maria, you remember the Skrulls I told you about before? This is for Monica's well-being."
Maria may not trust Merlin who suddenly barged into her house, but she did believe her best friend who returned from the grave.
Under Carol's dissuasion, Maria turns around and tries to ask the question, only to see the once terrified young girl grab the utility knife by her hand and her body quickly transforms.
"Don't move! Cautious Earthling!"
The Skrulls' leader, the alien Talos who once shapeshifted as Keller, stands behind Fury. The sharp knife in his hand aims at Fury's neck, a simple swipe, and Fury would die on the spot.
The leader was much taller and bulkier than the average Skrull, he binds Fury, and under the threats of two guns and Carol's Photon Cannon, he steps backward.
A cunning light flashes in his yellow eyes, he uses a weird voice and tells Merlin and Natasha who was pointing at him with their guns as well as Carol with her hands emitting energy:
"No one's hurt right now, no blood is shed, no lives are lost. So let's guess how long this peace is going to last..."
Seeing as her daughter transformed into a monster, the sudden situation horrifies Maria as she waved the knife in her hand while screaming:
"What did you do to my daughter! You bastard! Bi**h! I'll kill you!"
Seeing as Maria was about to run out, the quick Natasha chops on her neck, letting this mother who's worried about her daughter 'rest' for a while.
"This is between us! Talos."
Carol steps forward and shouts sternly:
"Don't implicate others!"
"You attacked us first."
The green skin of the Skrull Talos reflects a weird glow under the lights of the living room, he looks at Carol, anger flashed in his eyes as he says:
"We have no ill-will, we have no interest in your planet, we're here for you! Here for Carol Danvers! We just need intel, but you killed my friend and captured my subordinate. You started this conflict."
"You've lost a friend, my friend, if you don't calm down, you may lose another."
Merlin places his hand on Carol's shoulder and tells Talos lightly:
"Don't forget, you're not the only one with a hostage!"
Under Carol's cover, his other finger moves slightly. Behind the alien, the shut door begins to open slowly and silently as if it's being pushed open by an invisible hand.
Merlin raises his hands and walks forward, he throws his gun onto the floor and tells Talos:
"Don't you want to know the location of what Mar-Vell left?"
As of this moment, as Merlin grabs Talos' attention, a silent black arrow shoots from beyond the door, accurately passing through the thin ledge and heavily stabs into Talos' back.
The strong electric current on the arrowhead explodes and paralyzes the unsuspecting alien and Fury on the spot.
Merlin's body instantly transforms into black fog and enshrouds the two in front of him.
"Bam"
As the black fog threshed about, Fury's figure is thrown to the back, while the neck of the bulky Talos is grabbed by Merlin who half-solidified his body and is slammed onto the floor harshly.
The young agent looks into Talos' yellow eyes, a fierce light flashed in his eyes as he says in a low tone:
"No one here is afraid of you!"
"Alien scum!"
