"You've regained your memories. Why do you still feel lost?"
"I'm Kree, J'onn, but I lived on Earth."
Facing 'Martian Manhunter's' unwavering gaze, Carol finally voiced the turmoil swirling inside her.
"Even now, I can't fully remember everything about my life on Earth. I can't see myself as entirely human, but the Kree lied to me. Where else can I go? Should I join the Skrulls?"
'Well... that's not impossible.'
From a distance, Talos, who had been planning to ask Carol for help, couldn't help but think that to himself. If Carol was willing to side with the Skrulls, even though she was a carbon-based lifeform, Talos would gladly welcome her.
The Kree Empire went to such lengths to control her because of her immense power. Why wouldn't the Skrulls want someone like Carol among their ranks?
Of course, he wouldn't dare say that out loud, especially after seeing 'Martian Manhunter' reach Carol first. Any thought of approaching her vanished from his mind.
Talos knew this telepath could easily read his thoughts. Rather than walk over and risk becoming Carol's emotional punching bag, he figured it was smarter to let 'Martian Manhunter' take that hit.
What Talos never expected, though, was that 'Martian Manhunter'—or rather, Reid—was more than happy to keep everyone else away.
"I told you before," 'Martian Manhunter' said softly, "if you need me to, I can help you recover everything. But the past will always remain the past. What truly matters now… is what you choose to do from here."
His expression shifted, a flicker of guilt crossing his face.
"I'm sorry. When you were recalling your memories earlier, I used telepathy to read your thoughts. But because of that, I know... you made a promise to Wendy Lawson or should I say Mar-Vell, didn't you? There's still something you haven't finished, right?"
"Something I haven't finished?"
His words struck something deep within Carol. Her mind, clouded moments ago, suddenly felt clearer. She remembered. There was, indeed, something left undone.
After the crash, Lawson, gravely injured and trying to destroy the engine, told her to remember those coordinates. She wanted Carol to protect something. Something at those coordinates.
Carol took a shaky breath. "No, you're not wrong, J'onn. Reading my memories... it was the right thing to do. I'm willing to share everything with you."
Hearing this, 'Martian Manhunter' could only smile bitterly inside.
Back in his previous life, when he watched the movie, he never quite understood it. Nothing major seemed to happen, yet Carol and Nick Fury grew so close, so fast.
Even later, when Fury disappeared after the Snap, Carol returned to Earth, visibly anxious when she couldn't find him.
Now, it all made sense.
Unlike the comic version, where Carol was colder and more independent. This version, more like the one from the movies, was genuinely quick to trust people.
She didn't even hesitate to let 'Martian Manhunter' read her mind, something most people would resist.
For Reid, though, this was a good thing. 'Martian Manhunter' would become Carol's most trusted person... and perhaps the last one she would ever trust.
At this moment, a new fire lit up in Carol's eyes, a determination that had been missing for so long. She looked at 'Martian Manhunter' with newfound resolve.
"J'onn, you're right. I still have unfinished business. Human or Kree, it doesn't matter. I'm Carol. That's enough. Lawson wanted me to protect something, and now, I'm going to find it."
'Martian Manhunter' nodded, then gestured toward Talos, who had been watching them from a distance.
"Talos wants you to crack the coordinates and help the Skrulls find the light-speed engine. They need it to reach a place the Kree can't find—a new home. From what I've seen in your memories, I think Lawson and Talos shared the same goal. She might have been building the engine to help the Skrulls escape."
Carol's voice was resolute. "If that's the case, then the next step is clear. We decode the coordinates first. Everything else can wait."
...
As the sky gradually darkened, everyone gathered back at Maria's house to plan their next move.
The focus of the discussion was the group of Skrulls, led by Talos.
Carol still didn't know exactly what Lawson wanted her to protect—was it the technology for the light-speed engine, or the energy core hidden in the lab? Either was possible.
So before anything else, she needed to figure out whether these so-called "evil" Skrulls were trustworthy.
"I know I don't deserve your trust," Talos began, his voice low and sincere. "But Carol, you're our only hope."
'Martian Manhunter' had already released his mental hold on the other Skrulls. Even so, none of them dared to act out anymore. They stood obediently behind Talos, watching their leader humbly plead with a group of humans.
"We discovered your energy signature is an exact match to Mar-Vell's energy core. At first, we didn't understand why, but now... it all makes sense."
Talos was desperate to join their mission. It wasn't just about the light-speed engine anymore, the people he'd been searching for all this time might also be at those coordinates.
"I need you to understand how important that place is to us," he continued, his voice nearly trembling. "Please, I'm begging you, let us come with you. The Kree are almost here. We can help you fight them."
By now, Carol had already made her decision. If Lawson chose to help the Skrulls from the start, then to honor her final wish, Carol would do the same.
Seeing Talos, humbled and desperate, only strengthened her resolve.
"That string of numbers... it's not coordinates," Carol said, her voice calm. "It's a state vector."
"What?!" Talos shot to his feet, eyes wide with surprise.
Before he could speak, Fury chimed in with a timely explanation, "A state vector—position and velocity data. The lab isn't on Earth. That sequence isn't a fixed location; it's where the lab was in orbit at the time of the crash. All we need to do is track the orbital trajectory, and we'll find its current position."
Maria, standing off to the side, added with a smirk, "It's just basic physics."
Talos looked completely defeated. He had gone through so much trouble to find Carol, thinking the key was locked in her memories.
And now, he realized they'd had the complete equation all along; they were just using the wrong formula.
Talos turned to his chief science officer, his voice dripping with frustration.
"Orbital trajectory. Was that really so hard to figure out? You're supposed to be my science guy."
The Skrull gave an exaggerated shrug, looking exasperated.
He wanted to say, 'Well, General, you were the one who insisted it was a set of coordinates, so that's the only way we tried to decode it.'
But... he valued his life too much to say it out loud.
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