Forbidden | Carol Danvers

Chapter 19: Heading Home

I was woken up by a heavy shudder going through the plane. It was really quiet all of a sudden. The engines were off. Opening my eyes slowly, they looked out the window I was sitting in front off, still tugged into a little ball. The light from outside was strong, telling me it was still day, so we hadn't flown too long. Groaning a little and stretching my stiff limbs, I felt a lot more energized than before my little nap. It had done me some good.

'Welcome back, sleepyhead.' A voice interrupted my little waking ritual and I didn't even have to look to my left to know she had a little grin on her face.

'Did we make it?' The sleep still present in my words. My headache was almost gone and I felt the wound on my head was also almost healed. 

'Yes, why? Did you doubt my flying?', Vers asked sharply, but I knew she meant it as a joke.

'A little. Would be typical you to drop us somewhere completely wrong.' I couldn't keep the smile away from my face at the reaction I got. 

'Hey!', a little glare followed her exclamation and she gave me a nudge that almost made me fall out of my chair. 

Fury sighed from behind us and when I turned around, I saw Goose had made his way over to him when I was in dreamland. 'Are you going to keep flirting the whole time, or do you want to go talk to this Maria person?'

Right. We were here on a mission. 

Vers opened the ramp door with a push of a button and all three of us got out, Goose following behind.

The place Maria lived was beautiful. It was exactly like Atera. A little two-story home with lots of space around and grass everywhere. Big trees gave it a little protection from the heat of the sun and all we heard was birds singing. The deja vu to my childhood years hit me like a brick and for the hundrerth time today, emotions threatened to take me over.

We knocked on the front door but nobody answered, so we decided to check the back. The sound of music met my ears before I saw anyone, but this sign of life gave me hope there was somebody home. 

A small aircraft was parked under a hanger, clearly being repaired or built. All the way in the back stood a woman with her back turned to us. But I didn't need to see her face to know she was the one we were looking for. Vers knew it too and nerves took over her body as she stepped forward. I stood back with Fury. This was her moment, her old life, old friend. I had no right to mingle with it.

She stopped a few feet before the hanger, insecurity projecting from her body. For a second I thought she might chicken out and say nothing, but the drive to finally figure out who she was, was bigger than her doubts. 'Excuse me, I am looking for Maria Rambeau.'

But an answer didn't come from the woman, it came in the form of a little girl who jumped out of the plane. I didn't see her before, so this came as a surprise. 'Aunty Carol? Mom, it's Aunty Carol!' Aunty Carol? Now I was just confused. But the child seemed incredibly happy and ran to Vers, throwing her arms around her middle, hugging her tightly. 'I knew it, everybody said you were dead but we knew they were lying.' 

So it was true. Vers did die six years ago in that crash. Or at least, they had told everyone that she did, because here she stood, alive and well.

Vers didn't know how to react to the hug she got. Her whole body stiffened and there was no reaction to the big smile of the girl. It was clear that she didn't remember her.

'I'm not really who you think I am', she finally said sadly, half to the girl and half to Maria who had come forward with big eyes that didn't believe what they saw. There was a long pause as Vers waited for Maria to say something and it finally came in the form of three simple words: 'Let's go inside.'