The lawn was damp, reeking of mud and blood.
Yon-Rogg lay sprawled on the ground like an emptied sack of rice. The alloy chest armor over his torso had shattered, caved inward, and every breath he took came with the wet, bubbling sound of blood breaking in his lungs.
Levi's combat boot rested on his chest. He wasn't applying much force, yet it felt as if it had been welded in place.
Carol descended from the air, her steps a little unsteady. She stopped a few meters away and looked at the man on the ground. In her memories, he had once been her mentor, her superior—an insurmountable mountain. Now, he was nothing more than a puddle of wreckage.
The feeling was strange. Like a nightmare that had lasted six years, finally ending the moment she woke up.
"Talk," Levi said. His voice was calm, as if he were asking what to have for lunch.
"Why did you come to Earth? What does the Supreme Intelligence want? And what did you do to her memories?"
Yon-Rogg coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of flesh, yet still twisted his face into a warped smile.
"She… is not her…" he rasped with all his remaining strength, his voice like a drum with torn skin.
"She is a weapon! Property of the Kree Empire! Her power is too dangerous—it must be controlled! We gave her rebirth, gave her glory! She should be grateful!"
Levi's toe gently twisted against the dented chest armor.
Crk.
The sound of ribs shifting out of place echoed clearly.
Yon-Rogg's roar died in his throat, turning into a suffocated groan. The agony made his blue face flush purplish-red, his eyes bulging from lack of oxygen.
"I'm not interested in your imperialist propaganda," Levi said coldly, each word sharp as ice chips.
"I ask. You answer. Otherwise, I'll let you personally experience what 'molecular-level slow disintegration' feels like. I'll peel every single cell off your bones and let you watch yourself dissolve into a puddle of protein."
He wasn't threatening.
He was stating a fact.
The phrase molecular level was more terrifying than death itself. The madness in Yon-Rogg's eyes finally faded, replaced by primal fear. He stared at Levi—into those eyes so calm they held not a ripple—and finally understood that this man was not joking.
"The Supreme Intelligence… it… sensed instability in the energy…" Yon-Rogg panted, each word tearing at his lungs.
"It ordered me… to retrieve the 'weapon'… and reformat her. As for her memories… we merely helped her unload unnecessary burdens. A soldier doesn't need so many sentimental emotions."
He paused, trying to gather strength—
Levi's toe shifted again.
Pain stabbed through him, and Yon-Rogg dared not hesitate further.
"We implanted an energy suppression device at the back of her neck… It suppresses her power, and also… filters her emotions. It makes her a perfect soldier. Absolutely obedient."
Energy suppression device.
Those words struck Carol like a bullet.
Her body shuddered violently. She instinctively reached back and touched her neck. Beneath the skin, she felt it—a tiny, almost imperceptible hard lump.
So it was this.
Her unstable emotions. Her fragmented memories. Her power that surged and faded at will, never fully under her control.
She hadn't lost her memory.
Her entire life had been tampered with.
They stole her past—and shackled her with chains.
"You… you bastards…"
A blazing rage capable of melting steel erupted from the deepest part of Carol's soul. The golden cosmic energy was no longer a gentle glow—it detonated like a runaway reactor. Rings of tangible, flame-like light burst outward, wrapping her into a miniature sun. The grass beneath her feet instantly charred to black.
The golden light in her eyes flared violently, her pupils vanishing, replaced by two burning stars. She stared at Yon-Rogg and stepped forward, each step leaving a glowing footprint in the scorched earth.
"I'm going to kill you!"
She roared, her voice twisted by fury. She raised her hand as a ball of annihilating energy screamed into existence in her palm.
Yon-Rogg's face filled with terror—but beneath it lurked a sick, twisted satisfaction.
See? He hadn't been wrong.
This weapon was unstable.
It deserved a cage. Or erasure.
Just as Carol was about to strike, a hand gently rested on her shoulder.
It was Levi.
The hand carried no force—no warmth at all. Yet the rampaging golden energy around Carol instantly calmed, as if doused with liquid nitrogen. The mind-shattering rage receded, soothed by a cool, steady will, like a wild beast being tamed.
"Killing him would be letting him off easy," Levi said quietly beside her.
"And a living Kree commander is far more useful than a corpse. Revenge tastes better when it's served cold."
Carol gasped for breath, her chest heaving. She looked at Levi's unnervingly calm profile as the golden light faded from her eyes and reason slowly returned.
Yes. Kill him—and then what? The Kree Empire would just send more Yon-Roggs. Endlessly.
Levi released her and crouched beside Yon-Rogg. Ignoring the hatred and terror in his eyes, he reached to the back of Yon-Rogg's neck, felt around, then pinched hard with two fingers like steel clamps.
Snap.
A faint sound. A silver metal chip no larger than a fingernail was ripped straight out of flesh and blood—a Kree military communication and identification device integrated with biometric data.
"Alright. My turn," Levi said as he stood up, wiping the blood from the chip onto his pants.
He looked at the dazed Carol and suddenly smiled.
"Want to see a magic trick?"
Before she could answer, Levi's body began to change.
His height increased, shoulders broadening. His facial structure shifted and reshaped as bones emitted faint, unsettling grinding sounds. His skin tone turned from healthy tan to Kree blue. His casual clothes melted like wax and reformed into dark green Kree-standard combat armor—down to the cracked shoulder plating he himself had shattered earlier.
Less than three seconds.
An identical copy of Yon-Rogg stood before Carol. Not just in appearance—even the cold, arrogant gaze of a high-ranking commander was perfectly replicated.
"Shapeshift mimicry," Levi—now Yon-Rogg—said in the Kree commander's low, hoarse voice.
"A very useful little trick. Especially when lying."
Carol opened her mouth, but no words came out. She knew Levi could transform—but seeing this flawless replication, even down to presence and demeanor, left her deeply shaken. This wasn't disguise.
It was creation.
"Yon-Rogg" walked across the lawn, picked up a hoverboard that had survived the battle, and stepped onto it. He activated the communicator.
A faint hologram appeared—a helmeted Kree officer whose face was obscured.
"Commander, report," the voice said urgently, starship engine hum audible in the background.
"Target secured," "Yon-Rogg" reported crisply, fatigue and injury subtly laced into his tone.
"Vers was unstable. Resistance was fierce. Entire squad annihilated. I am severely wounded. I am now escorting her back to Hala for judgment by the Supreme Intelligence."
The lie was flawless. Total squad loss explained his solitude; severe injury justified any future delays—or disappearance.
"Understood, Commander. Do you require a support fleet to rendezvous?"
"No." "Yon-Rogg" cut him off coldly.
"This is my mission—and my shame. I will bring her back personally."
He ended the transmission without giving the other side a chance to speak.
Then his body rippled again, unsettlingly, and he reverted back into Levi.
"All set," Levi said, tossing the communicator into his pocket.
"The Kree Empire now believes you've been captured, and that the commander escorting you is badly wounded and returning alone. Before they realize the truth, we have plenty of time."
He looked at Carol, encouragement in his eyes.
"Enough time for you to truly learn how to use your power. And to personally tear out that damn suppression device."
…
In Maria's backyard.
The real Yon-Rogg had been sealed by Levi with a special technique—joints locked, voice disabled—and dumped like a lifeless log in the corner of the tool shed.
Levi lounged comfortably in a deck chair, eyes closed, as if enjoying a peaceful afternoon nap.
Inside his mind, a familiar voice sounded right on time.
[Weekly Ability Copy Cooldown Complete.]
[New Copy Opportunity Ready.]
Here it comes.
Levi's consciousness sank into the system interface. His gaze shifted to the half-dead Kree commander in the tool shed.
[Scanning Target: Yon-Rogg (Kree Elite)]
[Available Abilities to Copy:]
[1. Kree Physiology (Blue humanoid, enhanced physical attributes and environmental adaptability)]
[2. Interstellar Tactical Command (A-rank, standard Kree military doctrine)]
[3. Energy Weapon Mastery (B-rank, proficient with Kree standard energy arms)]
[4. Willpower Barrier (A-rank, powerful mental resistance; resists most mind control and illusions)]
Levi scanned the list quickly.
The first—Kree physiology. Useless. His body, having fused super-soldier serum, regenerative factor, and cosmic energy, had long surpassed ordinary Kree.
The second—interstellar tactics. Impressive on paper, but Levi's greatest advantage was foreknowledge. Knowing the plot trumped any textbook strategy.
The third—energy weapon mastery. Even more pointless. He was the strongest energy weapon.
His eyes finally settled on the fourth option.
Willpower Barrier.
It didn't look flashy. It couldn't shatter worlds like Binary form, nor grant immortality like a healing factor. But Levi knew—later enemies would only grow stranger.
Loki's scepter.
Scarlet Witch's chaos magic.
And countless bizarre mental assaults, illusions, and psychic attacks throughout the cosmos.
Physical defense meant nothing against those.
His willpower was strong thanks to the super-soldier serum—but that was just a stat. Not an active ability.
This filled the gap perfectly.
Insurance.
A safeguard against the unknown and the uncanny.
"…This one."
[Confirm Selection: Copy Ability — Willpower Barrier (A-rank)]
[Copying… 1%… 50%… 99%…]
[Copy Successful.]
A cool, solid sensation flowed into his mind. His consciousness felt wrapped in an invisible bulwark forged of pure will. The world itself seemed clearer, more real—stripped of illusion and haze.
Excellent.
Levi opened his eyes and glanced at Carol, who was still trying to steady her emotions nearby.
New spoils acquired.
Next—
It was time to properly train the future Captain Marvel.
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