"Captain Marvel, you betrayed us! You betrayed the Kree Empire!"
The furious accusation rang out across the plaza.
Carol Danvers' expression tightened instantly. The confidence on her face hardened as she slowly turned toward the voice, her eyes landing on the figure approaching from across the street.
Standing there was Dr. Minerva.
The blue-skinned Kree scientist had once served beside Carol as a member of the Starforce unit. Her sharp eyes burned with anger, and several other Starforce soldiers stood nearby, forming a loose circle around the confrontation.
These were people Carol had once fought alongside.
Comrades who had shared battles and missions across countless star systems.
Now they stood facing her like enemies.
Carol's fists slowly tightened at her sides. The air between them felt heavy with hostility.
"No wonder the Kree Empire has suffered so many setbacks these past months," Minerva said coldly. "It was all thanks to you, Captain Marvel."
Her voice carried open contempt.
Carol didn't flinch. She stared straight back at her former teammate, her tone steady despite the tension.
"You're wrong," she said firmly. "I was never truly part of the Kree Empire."
Her eyes sharpened as she continued.
"I've finally remembered who I really am. I'm from Earth."
Minerva's expression twisted with anger.
"No!" she snapped. "Everything you have was given to you by the Kree Empire."
She stepped closer, pointing accusingly.
"If that energy accident had never happened, you would still be nothing. Your powers, your abilities, everything you've achieved was created by the Kree!"
Her voice rose with fury.
"You're nothing more than a thief who stole the Empire's gifts!"
The last word had barely left her mouth when something unexpected happened.
A strange cracking sound suddenly echoed in the air.
Minerva froze.
One of the Starforce soldiers behind her suddenly convulsed violently.
"W–what…?"
The man staggered forward, coughing violently as blood poured from his mouth. His eyes dropped downward in confusion, staring at the center of his chest.
A perfectly circular hole had appeared there.
Blood flowed freely as the wound opened straight through his heart.
With a sickening thud, the organ itself fell to the ground.
The soldier's vision darkened instantly, yet even in his final moments he forced himself to raise his arm toward the figure responsible.
With the last strength of his life, he fired a burst of energy.
A flaming blast streaked forward.
Bang!
The attack slammed directly into Ethan Drake.
The explosion roared through the street as fire and energy erupted around him.
Then the smoke cleared.
Ethan stood exactly where he had been before.
He hadn't even moved.
Magical immunity, energy resistance, and complete damage absorption rendered the attack utterly meaningless. The blast dispersed harmlessly against his body as though it had struck an immovable mountain.
"Too weak," Ethan said calmly.
His voice carried a faint hint of amusement.
He turned his head slightly toward Carol.
"When it's time to break away, you break away," he said quietly. "They used to be your allies. Now they're your enemies."
"The Kree."
Carol stood frozen in place, clearly shaken by the sudden violence.
For a moment she looked completely uncertain what to do.
Then suddenly she gasped.
Her hands flew to her head as she collapsed to one knee, clutching her ears in agony.
"Ah—!"
Her entire body trembled violently.
Minerva watched with a cruel smile.
"All your powers came from the Kree Empire," she said coldly. "Did you really think we wouldn't prepare a countermeasure?"
Carol's breathing became ragged as pain surged through her body.
Minerva had already turned away.
Without another word she sprinted toward the edge of the plaza.
High above them, a Kree warship streaked across the sky. A rope dropped from its landing ramp as it slowed overhead.
Minerva leapt upward, grabbing the rope with perfect timing.
Moments later she was pulled aboard the ship.
The vessel accelerated away almost instantly.
Behind her, Carol screamed.
A blinding golden light erupted from within her body.
"I… I can't control it," Carol said weakly.
Her voice trembled with fear as she looked up at Ethan.
"You need to leave…"
Her cosmic energy was spiraling completely out of control.
In the next instant, the energy inside her erupted violently.
BOOM!
A massive explosion of golden light detonated from her body like a collapsing star. The ground of Xandar trembled as a devastating shockwave blasted outward.
Buildings shattered instantly.
Streets fractured apart.
The surface of the city began to crumble as if the planet itself were disintegrating beneath the unstoppable surge of energy.
Everything in the expanding path of that golden light was annihilated.
High above the chaos, Dr. Minerva stood inside the departing Kree warship and watched the destruction unfold.
For a brief moment, something resembling regret flickered in her eyes.
Then it disappeared.
A cruel smile slowly spread across her face.
Perfect.
"You trusted us too much," she said softly.
Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she watched the expanding explosion engulf the city below.
"Using your uncontrolled energy to destroy Xandar… what a perfect outcome."
Two birds with one stone.
Minerva silently congratulated herself on the plan.
The Kree Empire would be satisfied. Captain Marvel would die as a traitor, and the destruction of Xandar would weaken one of their greatest rivals.
"It's a shame," she continued quietly. "The Empire will remember your contribution, Captain Marvel…"
Then her voice stopped.
Minerva blinked in confusion.
From her vantage point high above the planet, she could clearly see the expanding wave of energy.
But something was wrong.
The explosion… had stopped spreading.
The massive golden shockwave that had been tearing through the city was suddenly shrinking.
"What?"
Minerva leaned forward, staring more carefully.
The energy that had been expanding outward was now reversing direction.
Instead of continuing to spread, the destructive power was rapidly compressing inward.
Within seconds, the entire storm of cosmic energy collapsed toward a single point.
And that point was Ethan Drake.
Floating above the shattered ground stood a tall figure with sharp, calm features.
Golden energy surrounded his body like a blazing halo.
"Damn Kryptonian…" Minerva muttered through clenched teeth.
Her plan had been perfect.
She had hoped that Carol's uncontrolled energy would destroy Xandar and eliminate Ethan at the same time.
But reality had crushed that hope.
The explosion had vanished.
Every trace of the runaway cosmic energy had disappeared.
"How is that possible?" she whispered in disbelief.
The power stored inside Carol's body was enormous. Even a rough calculation showed that if her energy went completely out of control, it could easily wipe out most of Xandar's surface.
When the plan had been designed, the Kree command had been certain.
Even if Carol died, the explosion should have taken Ethan with her.
Yet the impossible had happened.
"How strong is this Superman?" Minerva muttered.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"And where did all that energy go?"
The answer was simple.
Ethan had absorbed it.
The ground beneath him had already been destroyed by the earlier blast. Now he hovered calmly in the air, glowing with brilliant golden light like a living god.
Moments earlier he had unleashed his energy absorption ability with terrifying efficiency.
Like a cosmic predator devouring its prey, he had drawn every drop of Carol's unstable energy into his own body.
The power flowed through his Kryptonian physiology, saturating every cell.
His entire body hummed with strength.
Every fiber of his being felt alive.
He was stronger now than he had ever been.
And he was furious.
Carol's body had grown weak after the energy eruption.
She nearly collapsed.
Before she could fall, Ethan caught her.
He gently pulled her into his arms.
"I…" Carol whispered faintly.
Her voice sounded exhausted, but she was still alive.
Fortunately, Ethan had contained the explosion before her life force was completely consumed.
"Leave it to me," Ethan said quietly.
His eyes lifted toward the distant horizon.
Even at enormous distance, his enhanced sight could clearly see the fleeing Kree warship disappearing into the sky.
The target was still visible.
A faint red glow appeared within Ethan's pupils.
A moment later, a blazing beam of heat vision erupted from his eyes.
The crimson ray streaked across the sky like a meteor, slicing through the atmosphere as it raced toward the distant ship.
Far beyond the city, on the edge of the horizon—
An enormous orange fireball suddenly erupted in the sky.
....
Join my P@treon get free advanced chapters.
Paid members can get upto 60+ chapters ahead of the public release.
Link : [email protected]/KittyLovesMilk