The tension in the holding cell crystallized as the Kree guards' weapons leveled directly at Arthur's head. Their scanner's high-pitched alarm continued to blare: "Species: Human. Threat Level: EXTREME. Recommended action: Eliminate Immediately."
Before the Kree could pull their triggers, Arthur raised his hands, showing them to be completely free of the energy cuffs that should have been binding him. The restraints clattered to the floor, useless.
The guards' eyes widened in shock. They immediately pulled their triggers, but Arthur merely pushed his hands forward. The guards' arms jerked upward against their will, their energy weapons discharging harmlessly into the ceiling.
In the split second of confusion that followed, Arthur's wand shot into his hand from a hidden holster on his forearm. Two precise, whispered cutting curses sliced through the air. The Kree soldiers crumpled to the floor, their expressions frozen in shock.
Arthur sighed, tucking his wand away. He'd hoped to avoid direct involvement in the Kree-Skrull conflict, but now the Kree had marked him as a target. His policy on enemies was simple: don't have any, but if you must, don't let them live to come after you again.
"Well, how's the surprise, Agent Fury?" Arthur asked, dusting off his hands.
Maria stared at the fallen Kree, her face pale. "What? How?" She clearly had no knowledge of the hidden wizarding world.
Fury's expression, however, showed dawning comprehension. "Wizard. Should have figured it out from all the questions about the wizarding world and the fake name 'Merlin.' That's why Carol trusts you. She knows your strength." His eyes narrowed. "I'm guessing you two had a battle?"
"Yes, with me defeating her," Arthur confirmed casually.
"Well, I don't think she could handle your powers," Fury observed.
Arthur's lips quirked into a knowing smile. "She will soon be way stronger than me."
"What?" Fury looked confused.
"You'll know soon enough." Arthur waved his wand, releasing Fury from his restraints. "You decide what to tell our clueless friend. I'll go looking for Carol, see if she needs any help."
With another flick of his wand, Arthur levitated the fallen Kree soldiers and strode out of the holding cell, leaving Fury to help Maria and Goose with their restraints.
In an adjacent room, Arthur unceremoniously stripped the Kree soldiers of their advanced Starforce suits. He'd had his eye on the technology since first seeing it.
Without hesitation, he changed into one of the suits, storing the other away in his magically expanded pocket. The alien garment felt strange initially, but it adjusted to fit him perfectly.
Using the wrist controls, he changed the colors to a sleek matte black. Perfect. He could experiment with the other features later.
Making his way through the lab, Arthur passed the area where the Skrulls were being held. A series of quick, precise stunning spells dropped their Kree guards. Arthur left the unconscious soldiers to whatever fate Talos and his people would decide for them. Without explanation to the bewildered Skrulls, he continued forward.
As he approached Carol's likely location, he found his path blocked by Minn-Erva and several more Kree soldiers, weapons drawn. Their quick response surprised him—had they discovered his escape already?
"Hold it right there, mage!" Minn-Erva commanded, her weapon trained on his chest.
Arthur froze. They knew he was a mage? Then he remembered the Supreme Intelligence—of course. The AI must have seen everything and informed Yon-Rogg.
Minn-Erva's eyes narrowed as she took in his stolen uniform. "Thief. Desecrating Starforce armor. Surrender the Core and the suit, and perhaps your end will be swift."
Arthur chuckled. "Bit attached to the suit, actually. Rather fetching, don't you think? Also, forget about the Core. That's mine now."
Minn-Erva's finger tightened on the trigger. "Then die."
Energy bolts erupted from the Kree squad's weapons. Arthur reacted instantly, conjuring a solid metal wall and sending it hurtling toward them. The Kree dove to avoid its path.
Following up, Arthur unleashed a volley of cutting curses, expecting to end the confrontation quickly.
To his shock, the Kree activated energy weapons on their arms—green force fields that they used to punch away his spells as if they were nothing more than light beams.
Arthur's confidence faltered. He hadn't known their technology could counter magic so effectively. Carol had possessed no such defenses during their fight.
While he processed this unexpected development, one of the Kree closed the distance with superhuman speed and landed a crushing blow that sent Arthur flying backward. As he struggled to his feet, the other Kree opened fire.
Recovering quickly, Arthur conjured his strongest shield charm. If their tech could deflect his offensive spells, perhaps his defensive magic would work similarly against their weapons. A shimmering blue dome flared into existence around him, stopping the energy bolts. Great!
"How long can you stay behind that, mage?" Minn-Erva sneered, signaling her soldiers to maintain suppressive fire. "Your spells won't hold forever."
"Oh, I'm just getting warmed up," Arthur replied, gathering his power for a counterattack.
Just as he prepared to drop his shield and unleash a barrage of spells, Minn-Erva received a communication. Curious, Arthur maintained his shield while the other Kree continued their assault.
"Minn-Erva," Yon-Rogg's voice crackled, tight with urgency. "Status update on the mage?"
"Engaging now, Commander," she replied coolly. "Subject is resisting."
"Inform the mage," Yon-Rogg's voice was laced with grim satisfaction, "that surrendering and showing allegiance to the Supreme Intelligence is his best option. Vers will soon be back with the Kree, and his home planet will be no more. Ronan's Accuser fleet has arrived in orbit, and the bombardment will begin soon."
Arthur felt a chill colder than space itself run down his spine. Bombardment? Now? Carol was still captive. This was a massive deviation from the timeline he knew.
Ronan wasn't supposed to arrive this quickly. Had his actions somehow changed the plot? Without Carol to defend Earth and scare Ronan away as in the original timeline, the planet was in imminent danger.
Minn-Erva smirked at the horror that must have shown on his face. "Hear that, mage? You won't have a home soon. You'll be on the run like the Skrulls."
Arthur didn't care about her taunts. He had more pressing concerns.
Knowing time was running out, he acted decisively. Dropping his shield, he sent a powerful Bombarda Maxima at the Kree group, the explosive spell creating enough chaos for him to make his escape.
Not waiting to see if the Kree had survived—or worrying about how Fury and Maria might handle them—Arthur pulled out the Tesseract. Connecting with it as he had practiced earlier, he focused his mind on a single destination.
With a flash of blue energy, he vanished from the ship.
The empty corridor hung silent for a moment, the aftermath of magical combat still lingering in the air. Then, from beneath a pile of debris, Minn-Erva emerged, bloodied but alive. Her lips curled into a snarl as she activated her communicator.
"Commander, the mage has escaped... with the Core. And he's wearing one of our Starforce suits."
In another part of the lab, Yon-Rogg stood observing Carol Danvers. She sat tied up by many energy cables and interfaced with the Supreme Intelligence. His communicator chirped with Minn-Erva's report.
Yon-Rogg's golden eyes narrowed. "No matter. Let the mage run. Ronan will handle Earth, and the Supreme Intelligence will deal with Vers."
Above them, invisible to human eyes, Ronan's warship entered Earth's atmosphere, weapons systems powering up for planetary bombardment.
The timeline had indeed changed—and not for the better.