Chapter 24

Carol said goodbye to Maria and her daughter while I decided to teleport to the station.

"Tessa," I said making her straighten herself.

"Yes Ms. Howlett," she replied.

"Get your things ready and transfer to the battleship," I said.

"Yes Ms. Howlett," she got up and went to retrieve her things.

"it'll be quite boring without you," Astrid said as she came next to me. In the center, there was a view of the Earth.

"I was going to talk to you about that. Did you want to come or help out Erik?" I asked.

"I think we both know that it's better for me to stay here," Astrid answered.

"Besides, I can link up from time to time and update you. Having a constant quantum link isn't as easy as you think," Astrid added.

"That's true," I said.

"Thank you…" I whispered to her.

"Aw, don't be like that. We see each other soon I'm sure. If your memories are correct, Earth is going to become a magnet for problem," Astrid said.

"Did you bring Erik up to speed?" I asked.

"Yes, he is holding on a line right now. Want me to put him through?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, and Astrid brought up a display and the image of Erik popped.

"Lydia," Erik said as he nodded.

"Erik, good to see you," I greeted him.

"Astrid told me of your plans," Erik said. I chuckled a little from him disregarding my greeting.

"Yes, you'll oversee operations for the foreseeable future. Astrid will assist and monitor. She will be able to contact me if anything requires my attention. Secrecy will be the main goal to maintain. If you see reason to act, make sure anyone you bring is concealed. As for any members, Astrid will screen them," I explained.

"Is there anything I should know about?" Erik asked.

"I don't think they'll be any major conflicts coming. My plan is to arrive before anything huge happens. There might be some battles here and there but the probability of them happening is unknown. There are other organizations out there like Hydra to keep an eye on," I answered.

"And other mutants?" he asked.

"You can recruit them if you like. Remember to screen them through Astrid. Just be cautiousness about the people you bring in. Not everyone seeks peace as I'm sure you've experienced," I said, and he nodded.

"When you have time, take a shuttle over to the station. Astrid will upgrade your suit," I said, and he looked confused.

"Upgrade?" he asked.

"You're going to love them," I said smiling.

"Just keep the peace, okay? If you're ever in a tough position, I can be here almost instantly," I said in a serious tone. He nodded and I was about to end the link before I remembered something.

"By the way…" I said. Erik noticed my hesitation.

"Out with it," he said.

"Did you ever spend some time in Sokovia?" I asked. Erik was even more confused now.

"Maybe with someone by the name of Maximoff?" I asked. Erik was silent and widen his eyes.

"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked.

"Well… a lot actually," I said as I started to think about how powerful Wanda becomes.

"You'll be happy to know she had twins," I said.

"What?" he asked confused. I just stayed silent to let the feeling sink in. He brought his head down in shame.

"In your defense, she kept it hidden from you," I said to try to lessen the blow.

"They are somewhere in Sokovia. There are two choices. One, you could go and find them. You'll have to convince them to let go. Or two, you wait. They'll awaken their mutations at the cost of having a very tough childhood. Not as bad as what you went through, but close," I said. He was silent and looked down to think.

"What would you do?" he asked suddenly. I was taken my surprise by that question. I didn't really put too much thought into it since I was going to do whatever Erik decided.

"I-I don't know," I struggled to say. It was a tough decision. I didn't want to make the choice for him since they are his children.

"You could save them. Slowly introduce yourself to them. There's going to be a bombing in Sokovia. They will be the only survivors from the building that collapsed. I don't want to make the choice for you. Whatever you decide, I'll respect it," I said.

"I'll save them," he said in a resolute tone.

"Ok, Astrid will help if you need it," I said smiling and terminated the link comm.

"How much access do you want him to have?" Astrid asked.

"Everything but secret projects," I responded.

"Understood, good luck. Have fun getting laid!" Astrid said as she walked away. At first, I felt anger at her, but it was quickly replaced with embarrassment and my face warmed up. I let it out a sigh and went to get a few items. Once I was finished, I teleported to the ship.

"Lydia," Wendy said as she was looking at the display.

"Hey Wendy," I said, and walked over to her.

"I was thinking it might be a better idea to put my ship lab in the hangar while we transit," she suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," I said.

"Do you think we should extend our hand to them? Ask them to join?" I asked. Wendy hummed before speaking.

"Worth a shot, I think they are accepting any help. Want me to offer it?" she asked. I nodded at her.

"Is Carol still down there?" I asked.

"Yeah, she is wrapping things up. Talos is onboard my lab. I'll link us up," Wendy said. She typed a few commands and a Talos' face was brought up on a screen.

"Dr. Lawson, Lydia. Thank you for helping us. Do you want us to pick you up?" Talos asked.

"No, we were about to ask you to come to our ship," I said. Talos looked confused.

"No offensive, but I think this Kree ship is more advanced than any Human vessel you have," Talos said. I looked at Wendy and she seemed confused too.

"Ah, I forgot to disable the stealth systems," Wendy realized and deactivated it.

"W-Wha," Talos couldn't believe his eyes as the ship came into view in front of him.

"I'll open hangar 4, it's below the ship. It has plenty of room for you to land the ship," I said and type the command on a nearby terminal. On the terminal, I saw a request to dock from another vessel and found it was a shuttle with Tessa onboard.

"Can you go get them? Bring them to the open lobby," I asked Wendy. She nodded and went to get Talos and his people.

"Emma, Tessa meet me in Central," I said, and they both responded quickly. I only waited a few minutes before Emma came with Tessa.

"Reporting as ordered," Emma said and straighten herself. Tessa mimicked her as well.

"We'll be escorting the Skrulls to a new home world. We are also inviting them to join us. If they accept, I need you both to train them on the workings of the ship. We'll be sharing our technology with them. If they don't accept, then don't worry too much but still assist them. After that we'll be doing some intense battles. There are things I wish to gather, and they will not be easy to obtain. Tessa, I need you to train with Emma," I said, both looked confused.

"Tessa has a passive mutation that allows her to prevent any telepathic attack against her. It's very weak, almost non-existent to be exact but with training it'll be good to have just in case," I explained and they both nodded.

"I am putting my trust on you both. Don't betray me, I'm sure you know why by now," I said, and both gulped.

"Hold still," I said and extended both my arms towards them. I used my energy and manipulated it to flow into Emma and Tessa. Once I felt the energy start to hit another force, I increased its power. I am not sure what would happen if I enhanced them, but it's better for them to have an ace up their sleeve.

"I enhanced your mutations. Practice to see your new limits," I said and they both looked at their hands. They are probably feeling the energy increase within their bodies.

"Let's go," I said and went to the lobby. I found Wendy in the front of a small group. I walked up to her and stood next to her.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked and Wendy frowned. Talos was next to her and gripped his fists.

"This is what's left…" Talos whispered. I had my mouth slightly open. I was completely shocked. There were probably less than 50 people here. I was speechless. Anger rose very quickly, and I unconsciously released my energy. Lightning started to gather around.

"Lydia!" Wendy shouted snapping me out of my trance.

"Sorry," I said and controlled my emotions. I had recently noticed that my energy is very entuned with my emotions. If my emotions run out of control, so does my energy.

"Can you repopulate?" I asked Talos.

"Yes, just barely. If we lose anymore, it might not be possible," he said sadly.

"Did Wendy ask you?" I asked changing the subject.

"About the offer? Yes, she did. We would gladly accept. I only ask that you don't take us into battle. At least not now," he responded.

"Of course," I said and offered my hand. He looked confused at first but extended his hand to shake mine.

"I look forward to working with you," I said smiling.

"We have a lot of food here and beds for them to sleep. Emma and Tessa can show you around," I said.

"Wendy lets go to Central there something I want to ask you," I said. She nodded and we made our way there.

"So, what's going on," she asked.

"I need your help with a project," I said. When we arrived, I went to a terminal and showed her the project.

"The Terrigen Crystal," I said, and her eyes widen.

"What! You have one?" she said raising her voice.

"I found it with the help of my brothers. I know what it does, but I want to see if it was possible to use it to jump start a mutation. I am not really sure what to do with the information I have now. I thought maybe a second set of eyes could see something I can't," I asked.

"I can't believe they exist. It was reported that they were all destroyed with the rouge faction," she said.

"Apparently they missed a few. I know where another location has them as well," I said.

"Where?" she asked.

"The Earth's moon," I answered.

"What?" she said confused.

"There is a group there. They are called Inhumans and are a product of the Kree's mutation on them," I explained.

"Well, you know this isn't my line of expertise, but I think I can help out," Wendy said.

"Any help you can give will be enough. I have all my findings here," I said and gave her access to one of my project files.

"I was able to determine how it worked. The issue I am stuck on is how to make it apply to other mutants instead of only with the Kree mutation. That's the goal but I know it'll be hard to do that," I continued.

Wendy had already started reading the files which meant she was the done with the conversation. I chuckled and left.

"Carol?" I asked when I sat down at the center chair.

"Flying to you now," she responded.

I opened a hangar door for her to arrive and sent a drone to guide her to Central.

"Cool ship," she said with a smirk.

"I'm glad you like it. Any idea where to go?" I asked.

"Not really. I was thinking going to one of the systems without the Jump network and seeing if there are any habitable planets for them to live on," she said.

"That sounds good. In the meantime, how about I show you to the captain's room?" I finished saying. I looked at her hoping she would get what I mean.

"I'd like that," she said with a smile. I smelled something again. A familiar smell coming from her. It took me a few seconds to understand.

"Wendy, pick a location. Tessa, commence the jump sequence," I ordered and took a hold of Carol's hand.

As I gripped her hand, we walked fast to the captain's room. As we reached the door, Carol turned me around and pushed me against the wall. I was surprised by the sudden force. She held both my arms and kissed me. Everything I was holding back was released. She let go of my arms and cupped my face. I was desperately trying to open the door without looking. It did not help when she used her tongue to enter my mouth. It was a passionate battle of who could give in first. I somehow managed to open the door and walked backwards to the bed as we continued to kiss.

I responded with equal force as she continued to deeply kiss me. We clawed at each other, passion exceeding coordination. I began to pull her suit off and threw her to the bed. I quickly straddled her as she looked at me with a carnivorous look. I took off my own clothing, rushed down and kissed her. I was lost in her kiss, that I didn't realized she was on top now, becoming the dominant one. She continued to kiss and broke off to kiss my neck. I felt a strange sensation as she bit into my neck. I smiled at her. She was violent. She continues to go down further and further. Gently kissing my body.

I don't know how much time passed but I had lost count of how many times I orgasmed. The same could be said about Carol. We were both sweaty on the bed and slightly panting.

"Wow," I managed to say to which Carol slightly chuckled.

"Yeah," she said smiling.

"I love you," I said, and my eyes slightly widen. I didn't mean for that to come out. I was so caught up in the moment that it slipped. Carol saw my reaction. She smiled.

"I love you too," she said quietly before closing her eyes. I followed suite and closed my eyes.

I woke up not long after. I was greeted by the sight of Carol's naked body still on the bed. I got up from bed and got dressed. I decided to let her sleep in. She was probably tired from all the fighting. I walked to Central and saw down on the captain's chair.

"Any updates?" I asked.

"We have successfully jumped to a new location. We are still waiting for the scans to come back," Tessa informed me.

"Wendy," I asked.

"From first glance, it looks promising. The system has five planets. three are gas giants and two are solids. One planet is in the right spot, but we are waiting the results," she answered.

"How far away is this system from the Jump network?" I asked.

"Very, it would take hundreds of years with current engines to travel to here," Wendy responded. I heard the notification of information being upload.

"Information available," a drone voice sounded out.

"Here we go," Tessa said as she started to comb through the information.

"Everything looks good. Should we orbit?" Tessa asked.

"Yes, set a course now. Get Talos here," I ordered.

"Lydia, good news I hope?" I heard Talos as the door opened. I turned to see he had his fellow Skrulls behind him. I smiled at his excitement.

"It looks good on paper. We are getting closer to see for sure," I answered him. I could see the twinkle in his eye as he moved forward to look.

"Bring up the display," I said, and a screen appeared of the planet. The planet looked like a blue dot. As we got closer, you could start to see the features of the planet. It had two moons and signs of an atmosphere on the planet. Clouds were visible as we continued, and it looked very much like Earth. The only exception was that there was a lot more water than land compared to Earth.

"Send a probe," I ordered, and Tessa launched a probe for further analyzes.

"Can't we just go see it ourselves?" Talos asked.

"It's too risky. Let's play it safe for now. I know you're getting anxious, but I don't want to land and then lose some of your people," I said. Talos frown but he knew it was better this way. He nodded in agreements and we wait for the probe to return its results.

"Initial scans show signs of life. It is detecting various flying creatures and vegetation. Air is breathable. No signs of toxic chemicals. All clear," Tessa said as she read through the file.

"Good, maintain orbit. Talos, Emma, and myself will take a shuttle down to inspect," I said as I got up from the chair and went to the door. Emma got up and followed me.

We all boarded a shuttle to travel down. When we touched down, Talos was excited to breath in the new air. We continued to look around and see if we could see any primitive life here. As far as we could tell, there weren't any intelligent life here besides the creatures. The creatures were hard to get spot since they ran once, they caught a whiff of us or heard us coming. I asked Tessa to launch more probes to continue to map out the planet and document the life forms. Talos found a spot where he would like to start building. It was a nice flat area where building wouldn't cause environmental damage. I asked Tessa to tell the remaining Skrulls to board the space lab and take down here.

"What are the odds that we find this planet on the first try? Pretty lucky," Carol said to me as she landed next to me. I crossed my arms and closed my eyes thinking about the odds. The odds are heavily stacked against us. Did Sir have something to do with this? Why would he help them?

"Hey, you okay?" Carol asked as she put her hand on my shoulder. She had a concern look as she looked at me.

"I'm okay. Just thinking," I said and smiled at her.

"Lydia! I can't thank you enough for finding us a place so quickly!" Talos said as he approached us.

"It was my pleasure, Talos. I'll leave behind some resources you can use to help you build," I said.

"Your leaving?" Talos asked.

"Yes, there are things to accomplish. Don't worry though, I'll leave behind three Sentinels and you know how fast the ship travels," I said.

"That's true. In any case, thank you Lydia. You've saved us and you too Carol. Thank you," Talos said sincerely and lowered his head in respect. Carol mimicked him and I did as well.

"We'll check on you guys from time to time," Carol said.

"Be careful out there. There things out there worse than the Kree," Talos said seriously. We both nodded and went back to the shuttle. I asked Tessa to launch three Sentinels to help and protect them.

"Lydia," Wendy asked through the comm line.

"Go ahead," I responded.

"Is it okay if I stay with them to help?" she asked.

"Of course, you can stay with them. I'm sure they���ll welcome the help," I said smiling.

"You can use this shuttle to go back. Give me any updates you have," I suggested.

"Thanks, I want to keep my promise to them," Wendy replied.

"I know. Don't worry, we'll be fine," I said and terminated the link.

"Where exactly are we going?" Carol asked.

"Morag," I responded.

"Why there?" Carol asked.

"To get the power stone," I said.

"The what?" Carol asked.

"I'll explain it to everyone," I said as we landed inside the hangar.

"Tessa, open a line to Talos and Wendy please. Can you also try to reach Erik," I asked.

"Establishing connections," Tessa said as she typed away commands on the terminal. Wendy and Talos popped up on display. A third screen popped up with Erik on it. He looked extremely tired. I probably woke him up.

"Sorry to wake up Erik, but I feel you should know this information as well," I said. Erik released a small yawn and nodded.

"Astrid has been working on a virus to destroy the Supreme Intelligence that the Kree use. It's almost finished, and we already have a backdoor from the previous attack she launched. The main problem we have is that we can't just show up to their home planet. While our ship is powerful, it won't last long with a coordinated attack from their fleet. My plan is relatively simple, Carol and I will create a big enough of a distraction for Emma and Tessa to sneak into the main building and upload the virus. I had thought about destroying it, but it probably has backups of itself, so it'll only be an inconvenience if we do that,"

"Easier said than done," Wendy said.

"Hala is heavily fortified. I don't know if I could even make that much noise before they corner me," Carol said.

"The Kree have advance weaponry and their ships are no laughing matter. How exactly do you plan on even landing on the planet?" Talos asked.

"Our stealth systems are more advanced. We can pass by easily," I responded.

"But how will you create a distraction? A bomb?" Wendy asked.

"In a way. How do we feel about that?" I asked. Carol crossed her arms.

"Innocent people would be caught in the blast," Carol said.

"I'm trying to not let my anger get the better of me, but they were not considerate about innocent people when they hunted us down like animals," Talos said.

"Well, I'm not oppose to the idea, but we have to think about the repercussions. They will more than likely start attacking us and Earth would be a good target," Wendy said.

"I have an idea for a deterrent," I said.

"I plan to travel to the planet Morag. The power stone is located there. I'll use it power to create a blast big to get their attention and power enough to make them think twice before attacking us," I said.

"A bit of history first. Before the creation of the universe, there existed 6 singularities," I displayed a visual aid for them to see.

"And then the big bang created the universe as we know it. Cosmic Entities condensed the singularities into 6 ingots or stones," I paused as the visual aid played out.

"These 'Infinity Stones' were hurdled across the universe. Each stone controls an aspect of existence. Space, Time, Power, Reality, Mind, and Soul," I said and displayed the stones.

"You can probably infer what each stone does from its name. The Space stone, which we have in our possession, has control over the fabric of space. Meaning, the user can travel to anywhere in the universe in an instant. It's what gave birth to the engines we use on our ships, and it flows through Carol's body and mine," I explained.

"The Time stone can control time. The user can reverse time or peer into the numerous futures. The Power stone gives the user cosmic power. It has been known to destroy entire planets. Because of its cosmic power, it usually ends up killing the user if they are unable to stabilize the power. The Reality stone has dominion over reality. It has the power to bend the laws of reality and physics. It has been known to convert matter into dark matter. The Mind stone has control over the hearts and minds of others. It can dominate minds, create energy blasts when the energy is harnessed, project the user to anywhere for communication, and it has a wealth of knowledge. An ordinary user could be granted telepathy and telekinesis with this stone," I paused to talk about the last stone and displayed it.

"And perhaps the most dangerous of them all, the Soul stone. It has dominion over the soul, as you can probably guess. It can resurrect and project someone in spiritual form. It is believed to be sentient. The Mind stone can subtly manipulate the user or others but not to the degree of the Soul stone. It carves souls for its collection. The user can search the soul of others for information, trap their soul within the stone, and able to user their memories and skills of anyone trapped in there. To use most of its abilities without getting manipulated by the stone, someone would have to have complete mastery over reality or be strong willed," I finished speaking as the Soul stone continued to be displayed.

"That's a lot to take in," Talos said.

"Unfortunately, I'm not done. In one of my memories, a person named Thanos collected all 6 stones. His goal was simple. Erase half of all living beings in the universe. He believed that the resources of the universe were finite, therefore the only way to fix the issue was to reduce consumption," I said and displayed all 6 stones.

"When harnessed together, Thanos had the ability to do that. The Mind stone, to discern life. The Reality stone, to destroy the physical body. The Soul stone, to take life away. The Power stone, to fuel his task. The Space stone, to reach the entire universe. The Time stone, to take life all at once," I said and displayed a gauntlet in a finger snapping position.

"All he did was snap his fingers, and half of every living being was gone," I said sadly as I remembered the scenes. Everyone was silent as the information was being digested.

"Can we stop him?" Erik asked.

"Yes, by collecting known stones. Eventually the Reality stone and the Mind stone will be on Earth. I know the location of the Power stone. Collecting four and store them where no one will be able to get them. I have the Space stone with me. If I combine it with the Power stone, I can create a distraction for the Kree. What I am doing is leaving behind a false stone so if someone were to seek them out, they might enjoy the power only for a while. I've already done it with the Space stone. Once I get the Power stone, I'll do that same thing," I explained.

"And what's stopping you from collecting them all? You can rule the universe," Erik asked. I released a laugh.

"That power is nothing but an illusion. I don't want to do that anyways, but I will use the stones to protect my family and friends," I said in a determine tone.

"What about the Time stone?" Wendy asked noticing I left it out.

"It's on Earth. It's well protected, you can trust me on that," I said.

"So, your plan is to go get the Power stone and hit the Kree with it?" Talos asked.

"Simply put, yes," I answered.

"Sounds good to me," Talos responded.

"Everyone in agreement?" I asked. Everyone nodded their heads.

"Okay, Tessa, head to these coordinated, M31V J00443799+4129236" I said.

"I'll update with the progress," I said before turning around.

"Good luck," Erik said and terminated the link. Talos and Wendy followed his actions and terminated the link.

"Jumping to coordinates. In 3…2…1…Jump," Tessa said as the ship started to activate the engine and we blinked from our position.