"Alex… humanity's situation is really this dangerous?"
Carol Danvers's voice was low, but her eyes snapped up to meet his with sharp intensity. She couldn't disguise the tremor in her words, the shock twisting through her chest.
"Yes," Alex said, his tone grave, his expression steady as a mountain. "Far more dangerous than most people can imagine. Our situation is nowhere near as optimistic as it appears on the surface."
Carol's shoulders sagged slightly, as if an invisible weight had been placed across them. Her heart sank further and further, each word tightening a vice around her chest.
So Earth has always been standing at the edge of a cliff without even realizing it…
"Then—" she drew in a breath, squaring her jaw with a sudden decision, "what can I do?"
Her eyes locked on Alex's, steady and fierce now.
She had pieced the situation together. Alex wouldn't have revealed these secrets, wouldn't have entrusted her with knowledge that could shake the very foundation of her worldview, unless he needed something from her. He wasn't careless. No, this was intentional.
And if it was truly to fight against those overwhelming threats from beyond the stars, then she was willing.
"Just like when the military created the super-soldier serum to counter the wars of their time," Alex said slowly, his voice lowering as he guided her step by step, "I, too, have been conducting similar research."
Carol blinked. "You mean—you've been trying to create super-soldiers as well?"
Her surprise was evident, but her quick mind immediately connected the dots. "And… you want me to join your experiment, don't you?"
"Exactly."
Alex gave a firm nod, his gaze unwavering. "Perhaps it's fate. I've been searching for the right candidate for so long, but none truly fit. And then—by chance—I brought you back. I ran the numbers. Your physical indicators are a perfect match for our requirements."
Carol stared, her mind a whirl of disbelief and unease.
Perfect match? Me?
If what Alex said was true, then it couldn't be coincidence. Fate… or something very close to it.
The thought that Alex might be lying brushed against her mind, but she dismissed it almost immediately. With his status, his influence, his resources—if he wanted experimental subjects, he could have them in droves. Why would he need to deceive her of all people?
Besides, this was the man who had just saved her life. A man who had carried the burden of Earth's survival for decades. How could she not trust him?
"Don't worry," Alex continued, his tone steady and reassuring. "Our process is far more advanced than the crude attempts of the original serum. The risks are significantly lower. In fact, I'd say the success rate is close to seventy percent."
His confidence wrapped around the number, softening its sharp edges.
In truth, if it wouldn't have sounded absurd, he might have claimed the success rate was one hundred percent. He already knew the method, already had proof it worked. But some things required careful presentation.
Carol bit her lip, her mind warring with itself. Seventy percent was far from a guarantee, yet it was no death sentence either.
"Alex… can I think about it?" she asked finally, her voice quiet but steady.
Alex's eyes flickered with the faintest glimmer of satisfaction. She hadn't refused. That alone was enough.
"Of course," he said warmly, spreading his hands. "Take your time. Don't feel pressured. I never force anyone. Whatever you decide, I'll respect your choice."
His sincerity rang true, easing some of the knot in her chest.
…
Later, when Carol stepped out into the courtyard of the mutant base, her thoughts churned endlessly.
Her entire worldview—her entire life—had been upended in a single day.
The universe wasn't the quiet, empty void she had once imagined. It was vast. Teeming with civilizations. Hostile ones. And Earth, her home, was nothing more than a fragile speck floating in that immensity. Weak. Vulnerable. Unremarkable.
And yet… humanity had survived until now. Not through strength, but through luck, through fragile moments of protection, through one man who had borne it all in silence.
Her chest tightened. How long could luck last?
"Carol."
The familiar voice snapped her out of her spiraling thoughts. She turned, startled, to see Alex approaching across the courtyard, his presence as calm and commanding as ever.
"What is it, Alex?" she asked, her eyes searching his face.
"Stay inside the base," he said curtly, his gaze lifting to the sky. "Don't wander off. The Kree are here again."
Carol's blood ran cold.
Her lips parted, but before she could speak, Alex's form blurred—then vanished.
"Wait—" The word died in her throat as she whipped her head upward.
And there, above the horizon, she saw them.
A fleet.
Not one ship, but many. The ominous silhouettes of alien warships hung in the sky like predators circling their prey.
Her fists clenched so tightly her nails bit into her palms. Her whole body trembled—not from fear, but from a deep, suffocating frustration. Rage burned in her veins, setting her chest alight.
How many times would Earth have to face this nightmare? How many times would humanity be seen as prey?
And yet, alongside her anger, anxiety flared.
Alex…
She knew he was powerful—unfathomably powerful. But this was an entire fleet. Not UB6, not a lone warship. A fleet.
Her heart thudded painfully in her chest as the first barrage began.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sky split apart with thunderous detonations. Beams of scorching energy rained down in a torrent, a storm so dense it blotted out Alex's figure entirely.
Carol's breath caught. Her fists clenched harder.
But then—through that blinding deluge of destruction—Alex emerged.
His body, flesh and blood, tore through the storm of fire like it was nothing. He didn't falter, didn't retreat. He surged forward, cutting a blazing path straight toward the nearest warship.
And then—
CRASH!
He pierced it like a spear, tearing through its hull. A heartbeat later, the ship erupted in a roaring explosion, flames blooming across the sky.
Carol's eyes widened, her lips parting in awe.
"So… so powerful…" she whispered, unable to contain it. The admiration in her gaze burned hotter than the fire in the sky. At that moment, she looked every bit the wide-eyed fangirl watching her hero.
The battle raged on.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
One after another, warships fell under Alex's relentless assault. Fireballs lit the heavens as steel titans crumbled. The night turned into a battlefield of thunder and flame.
And Carol—helpless on the ground—could only watch as the man who carried Earth's fate upon his shoulders fought like a god of war.
In the end, Alex prevailed. The fleet was annihilated, their ruins scattered like burning stars across the sky.
When Alex descended once more into the compound, his expression calm despite the inferno he had left behind, Carol didn't hesitate.
Her voice rang with newfound resolve:
"Alex, I've decided. I'm in!"
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