"You son of a bitch…" The words slipped out of his mouth like muscle memory, as the future director of S.H.I.E.L.D. forced himself upright. Pain flared through his ribs with every movement, but that still didn't stop him from nailing the hateful brat with a hard glare. Truth be told, he wanted to curse a whole lot more.

"We were damn near buried out here. I swear, if I find out you were just hiding in some goddam corner watching…"

Maverick tilted his head lazily, while a sly curve formed at the corner of his mouth. "Is that how S.H.I.E.L.D. agents thank people who drags them back from the brink?"

"We've only just arrived, Mr. Rude Uncle…" Isabella also stepped forward and positioned herself next to Maverick.

"Ricky, I don't know how long the aliens will remain bound under the hex… Do you want to add any measures of your own?"

Hmm...

At her words, he turned slightly, mulling it over while the others watched. For now, only Fury knew who they were, and the rest were still struggling to process what had just happened.

"They have no use…" Maverick said after a moment's thought. "…hmm, except perhaps…" he added, lowering his hand from his chin before stretching it forward in a sharp, flicking gesture toward the alien soldiers.

Actually, the communicators they carried looked useful, so he yanked them free from their arms without a shred of mercy.

A souvenir for Howard…. Even better if he could reverse-engineer them.

Then, as soon as the alien tech vanished into his system space, everyone present watched in stunned silence as all ten Kree soldiers suddenly erupted in eerie black flames.

Fyndfire was no ordinary magic—its power grew with the magic feeding it, and under Maverick's overwhelming magical energy, it devoured its prey with terrifying efficiency. Within seconds, not even ash remained. For the Kree, it could almost be called a mercy—they wouldn't have felt a thing.

As the black flames vanished, Maverick cast a sideways glance at Isabella, and seeing that her expression hadn't wavered, he smiled inwardly.

Turning back, he found Fury, Maria, and Talos much the same—the three of them didn't so much as bat an eye. Only the regular Skrulls seemed slightly unsettled, and even then, just a little.

Good. The last thing he wanted was to get dragged into a moral argument.

"I'm sorry, sir… who exactly are you again?" Maria finally couldn't keep it to herself and asked, looking at Maverick.

"That's right… I think some introductions are in order." Fury flicked his jacket at her question, capturing everyone's attention, then turned back to his group and gestured toward the duo.

"This… seemingly harmless man here, ladies, gentlemen, and aliens, is a supervisor at S.H.I.E.L.D.—the same agency I work for. In other words, one of us. And the young lady with him, the one who just saved our asses and won't stop calling me rude, is his fiancée."

He let that sink in for a beat, then arched an inquiring brow at Maverick. "Oh, and aren't you two… I don't know, just casually ignoring your own organization's secrecy rules or something… parading in front of civilians like it's a Sunday stroll?"

"Civilians?" he asked, then tilted his head slightly toward Isabella. "Honey, do you see any civilians?"

Isabella mirrored his expression and gave a small shrug.

"I get it..." Fury waved a hand dismissively. "Not my problem."

With that little episode over, Maverick's attention next turned to Talos, who was watching him warily.

Good instincts.

"You are Talos, the leader of your species?"

"I…" Talos suddenly felt an inexplicable jolt surge through his body as he tried to nod, but the moment he locked eyes with the elegantly dressed human male, it was like staring directly at an apex predator. That glare felt like it pierced him to the bone, momentarily even blacking out his vision. Dangerous. Extremely dangerous. His instincts screamed warnings through every fiber of his being, but then, just as quickly, the feeling vanished.

He swallowed dryly, staring at the deceptively harmless smile, and knew right then he had to answer every question truthfully.

"Talos…" his wife nudged him from the side, noticing his sudden trance.

"I'm fine," he told her, then turned back to Maverick. "I am… indeed their leader, Your Excellency," he said, his green forehead slick with sweat. "And I apologize for breaching your planet and making it a target for the Kree forces… because my people, my family—"

"I'm aware of your… particular situation, Skrull." Maverick cut him off. "For family, for survival, one can make the most desperate choices."

Everyone listened intently as Maverick spoke his mind. For Talos, however, Maverick's words felt far from just casual thoughts, and more like a verdict being passed down on him.

"You are looking for a new home now, are you not?"

"…we are," Talos replied truthfully.

"Then, once the Kree have been driven far from this planet, we will have much to discuss. If I'm not mistaken, the Kree have already requested aid from their Empire, and I overheard something about the Accusers' fleet that will be arriving soon…"

"The Accuser?" Talos's brows furrowed at the name. "Was it… the Accuser Ronan?"

"That's the name of the person the Kree contacted. Before I arrived, I happened to see one of your people—Morex, was it?—being attacked by this Kree right after he made contact with the other party named Ronan…"

Talos's eyes snapped wide. "What happened to Morex? Is he alive?"

"He will live. I stopped the last shot aimed at his head," Maverick continued. "He's hurt, and I offered to treat him, but he said he could handle it himself, so I didn't linger—I was in a hurry to get here. Fortunately, I made it just in time."

"Now hold on a damn second… did you just say you overheard a fleet is likely heading toward our planet? An actual fleet of intergalactic, world-conquering spaceships?" Fury's face darkened—true to his nature, he was already running through the worst-case scenarios—and this time, he was genuinely in shock.

"Talos, who is this Ronan, and what kind of firepower can we expect from him… in the worst-case scenario, in your opinion?" Ignoring Fury, Maverick asked the green-skinned expert in all things Kree.

Of course, Maverick also had some knowledge of the Kree Empire—and even of Ronan—but he didn't know which version they were dealing with. If it was just the same "boy" who came after Danvers and ran off like a coward in the Captain Marvel movie, he wasn't worried. But if it was a comic-book, overglorified version, then he was going to have to start making serious plans.

Everyone turned their attention to Talos, and he, in the most solemn voice began to tell what he knew about the accuser.

"Ronan… or rather, Ronan the Accuser, is not just some Kree warrior. He's one of the Empire's deadliest weapons. Trained from birth to enforce Kree law, he's a master of strategy, hand-to-hand combat, and armed warfare. His strength, precision, and ruthlessness are terrifying on a personal level—and he wields the Universal Hammer, a weapon capable of crushing anything it strikes."

"How powerful is this weapon—the Universal Hammer?" Maverick inquired.

"Very. This is only what I've heard from different sources, but apparently the weapon even enhances Ronan's physical strength to near demigod levels. Beyond that, it can fire concussive energy blasts strong enough to destroy large structures or decimate groups of enemies at a distance. It can absorb impacts, deflect energy attacks, and even generate force fields. Some say Ronan can use it to propel himself or hover in battle, giving him incredible mobility—like a certain prince famous across the galaxy. Basically, the hammer turns him into a one-man army."

"But what makes him truly dangerous isn't just him—or his weapon—it's the forces under his command. He leads legions of elite Kree soldiers, fanatically loyal, highly trained, and completely ruthless, just like him. His fleet alone—composed of Kree Imperial Cruisers—could blanket your planet's largest cities, each ship bristling with weapons capable of obliterating any of your so-called countries in minutes."

"Every soldier, every ship under him exists to execute his will. He doesn't hesitate. He doesn't negotiate. He conquers. He annihilates. And when he comes, resistance is simply futile."

"Surely that's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?" Maria asked, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face as she glanced around.

"I wish it were… I truly do. But on the bright side, I've never heard of him mobilizing his entire fleet at once. And this mission, if I'm not mistaken, was him coming to take out just us... not for conquest. And even if he wanted to, he would have to think twice, given whose dominion this planet falls under," Talos said after a moment's thought.

"Stop talking in cryptic language, Talos," Fury snapped, then turned to Maverick. "Fill me in, right now—but make it quick."

"It's not exactly a secret… Basically, Earth is under the protection of the All-Father Odin, the king of Asgard. We wizards have records of it, but even for us, it's been so long since the All-Father descended that, like you muggles, it's just a story now."

He didn't lie; during his travels around the world years ago, he had seen scriptures mentioning Asgard and especially Odin's wife, a witch of supreme rank. But they were only ever referred to as fables or legends—just like Merlin himself. Maverick, however, was certain they weren't.

A beat of silence passed through the dilapidated metal corridors as everyone absorbed the bombshell. Even Isabella looked at Maverick as if she had a thousand questions.

"We don't have time to talk about all that right now. And besides, I'm not willing to bet on some alien god coming to save our asses."

Having said that, Maverick was nevertheless certain that if Earth ever does face a real danger, then Asgard would not just sit idly by. But then again, Earth was not something any random Tom, Dick, or Harry could conquer either.

Heck, let alone Ronan — even if the entire Kree Empire was mobilized, Maverick was certain Earth could hold its ground without breaking a sweat. After all, he personally knew of two Supreme-rank powerhouses who called this planet home—overpowered beings who should be at least close to Odin's level. Well, that last part was just his guess. Either way, he had no intention of telling Fury or the others that.

On the contrary, a plan was already forming in his mind—something which, if he could carry it out seamlessly, would make his efforts to dismantle the secrecy laws of the magical world much easier next year.

"First aliens, then wizards and witches… and now I'm learning that my little girl's storybooks about gods were also based on true events?" Maria remarked, her voice a mixture of disbelief and exasperation. After all, in just a matter of days, her entire worldview had been shattered.

"I honestly don't know what to believe, or what not to believe now." Fury also sighed, but it didn't stop him from planning ahead. "Let's assume the worst first," he said, glancing between Maverick and Talos. "Because don't forget the Tesseract — the thing Danvers said was those blue-skinned freaks' top priority for coming here. Who's to say that Accuser son of a bitch won't make it his priority too, and mobilize his entire army?"

Fury had a point, and if what Talos said was true, they needed to move fast. With that thought, Maverick's expression hardened, and he turned to Fury. "You need to leave this spaceship and head back to Earth first."

Maverick did not pause, and in the same breath, he opened a portal on the spot to where the Quinjet was waiting.

"Come on," he said leading the way, and the rest, now wearing equally solemn expressions, followed after him.

"STOP!"

Four grunts were stationed here as well, keeping watch. It seemed Yonrog wasn't taking any chances. Too bad for him, he hadn't counted on a wild card like Maverick interfering.

ARRRRRHHHHH!

It was a familiar scene. This time, though, Maverick didn't even bother yanking off their communicators, and just engulfed the Krees in hellfire on the spot, reducing them to nothingness.

And behind him, the group—who had at first been taken aback by what looked like an ambush—now stared at his back with a mix of awe and reverence. No matter how much they all hated the Kree, the way they had just… disappeared—just like that—still left them dry-mouthed, if only for a moment.

"Go. I will go and find Danvers, help her deal with Yon-Rogg, and follow back."

Fury made no argument and walked ahead, because he was the most eager to return, to contact his boss as soon as possible. Talos, after casting Maverick one last glance, also followed inside with the group of Skrulls trailing behind.

Only Maria lingered at the rear for a moment, as before heading back, she wanted to ask about her friend.

"She'll be fine. If it makes you feel any better, her newfound powers even allow her to survive in deep space and travel faster than most ships. Getting back to Earth won't be a problem for her."

Maverick's assurance eased her worries, and with that, she too followed the rest, leaving only Isabella behind with him.

In the original story, Fury and his group had only barely escaped, with multiple Kree pods hot on their tail. But that obviously wouldn't be the case this time.

That said, the total number of soldiers that Yon-Rogg had brought seems to be far greater than the numbers that was depicted in the movie.

What Maverick had dealt with was only a small fraction, and most were on Yon-Rogg's side, trying to take down Danvers. It hadn't even been ten minutes since Maverick and Isabella returned, yet from the looks of it, Danvers had already taken down most of the Kree troops. And now, only a few of their elite soldiers remained, ganging up on her alongside Yon-Rogg himself.

According to Marvel comics, even the average Kree are significantly stronger than baseline humans. They are the product of advanced evolution on a high-gravity world, making them a classic example of a "superior" alien race.

Skrulls are only slightly stronger than humans, whereas the Kree are several times stronger than a Skrull. However, they are still not as strong as Asgardians. In other words, the average Kree can be considered a super-soldier by human standards. Not to mention, the troops following Yon-Rogg were trained warriors, making them even more formidable than the average Kree.

(A/N: I'm not randomly gaslighting here—read the lore if you don't believe me.)

It just goes to show that even if Danvers wasn't yet fully in control of her powers, she was already operating on a completely different level.

After seeing off the Quinjet, Maverick and Isabella didn't linger long and immediately turned their attention to the other side of the ship.

From his magical sense, Maverick saw that only a few remained: one was a female Kree, another had afro-blue hair and a strangely built frame even for an alien, and two more, equally odd-looking, along with Yon-Rogg himself, were left pinning Danvers in from all sides.

Well, not for long.

"Keep your focus…" he said, glancing briefly at Isabella with a fond, steady gaze before turning back toward the fight.

And then, his eyes snapped open, his pupils contracted, and from the depths of his soul, the might of his dominance manifested, pouring outward as a relentless force that unleashed itself across the entire Imperial cruiser.

—————————

Author's Note:

🔥 Drop those Power Stones! 🔥

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