Outside New Orleans, a country cottage surrounded by greenery is bathed in the bright moonlight.
The evening breeze, carrying the fragrance of grass and earth, gently caressed the porch.
Maria Rumble sat in a rocking chair, holding a children's book in her arms, telling a story to her daughter Monica.
"... Therefore, the brave knight ultimately defeated the fire-breathing dragon and saved the entire kingdom."
Maria closed the book, her voice gentle.
Monica, however, was not sleepy. She tilted her little face up, her bright black eyes like stars in the night sky.
Pointing to the brightest star in the sky, she asked earnestly, "Mommy, did Aunt Carol also turn into a star and watch over us from above?"
Maria's smile turned into an imperceptible sadness.
She hugged her daughter tighter, her gaze fixed on the deep night sky.
"No, baby. Aunt Carol didn't turn into a star."
"She just... went to a very, very far place on a mission. A place we can't find right now."
The tragic test flight accident six years ago took away her best friend and shattered her dream of flying.
She didn't believe a single word of the official conclusion that "it was an accidental death, and the plane crashed, resulting in the loss of life."
Carol was the best pilot she had ever seen.
Such an accident would never happen to her.
After retiring, Maria Rumble moved here with her daughter to live a quiet, secluded life.
But she often saw Carol in her dreams, turning back to smile brightly at her from the cockpit.
The longing and doubt never ceased for a moment.
A wild engine roar interrupted Maria's thoughts.
The unnatural and aggressive atmosphere, which didn't belong here, approached from afar and finally stopped at her doorstep with the screeching sound of tires.
Maria became alert, shielding Monica behind her and warily looking towards the source of the sound.
A black SUV was parked there, and the door was shoved open roughly. A girl with short pink hair and wearing a rock-style T-shirt jumped out.
She glanced around and pursed her lips, seemingly impatient with the tranquility of the place.
Then the passenger door opened, and another person got out.
She was a tall, blonde woman wearing a black leather jacket.
She stood in the halo of the car headlights, her expression somewhat blank, curiously looking around at the small house.
It's her!
That face, those blue eyes, that stubborn expression that couldn't be hidden even in the midst of confusion.
It's Carol!
Carol Vers!
"Smack!"
The storybook slipped from her trembling fingers.
Vi noticed the commotion and nudged Vers beside her with her elbow.
"Hey, alien girl, look at that woman, she looks like she's seen a ghost when she sees you. Do you know her?"
Vers's gaze also fell on Maria's face.
That face... it looks so familiar.
Her heart started racing for no reason, and fragments of memories shrouded in a thick fog in the depths of her mind began to churn violently.
Sunshine, laughter, arguments, hugs...
Countless blurry images accompanied this face, assaulting her consciousness.
"I... don't know him."
Vers managed to utter those words, but her eyes remained fixed on Maria.
Maria walked down the steps one by one.
" Carol..."
She tentatively called out the name that had been buried in her heart for six years in an almost whispered voice.
" Carol?"
She repeated it unconsciously, her face full of confusion.
"No, my name is Vers, and I am a member of the Kree Empire's Starforce."
" The Kree Empire? Starforce?"
Maria walked up to her and reached out her hand, but then stopped in mid-air.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Carol Vers, United States Air Force Captain! Have you forgotten? We flew planes together, drank together, and laughed at those self-important male pilots together!"
Flying a plane...
drink wine...
The old photo in Pancho's Bar, a picture of myself wearing a flight jacket and smiling broadly.
Wei watched this reunion drama unfold, which resembled an eight o'clock soap opera, and felt a bit overwhelmed.
She's terrible at handling these tearful scenes.
So...
She crossed her arms, breaking the touching atmosphere.
"You're not actually an alien, you're just an Earth pilot?"
Her words were a wake-up call for everyone involved.
Maria moved her gaze away from Carol's face and landed on the incongruous green uniform she wore underneath.
What's with the uniform you're wearing?
"I..."
Carol's mind was in complete chaos.
She is Vers, the finest warrior of the Kree. Her power comes from the grace of the Supreme Intelligence, and her mission is to destroy the Skrulls.
But the woman before her, the sadness and joy in her eyes, the familiar yet unfamiliar name she spoke of—all told her that it was all a lie.
"I don't remember..."
She pressed her temples in pain.
"My memories... are a jumbled mess. I only remember training, fighting, and... Yon Roger."
"Yon Rogers?"
"Come in with me!"
Without further hesitation, she grabbed Carol's wrist and pulled her into the house.
The warmth emanating from that palm was real and comforting, bringing a strange sense of peace to Carol's troubled heart.
Wei shrugged and followed him inside.
She had no interest in other people's gossip, but she had to make sure that this important "alien friend" wouldn't cause any more trouble.
The interior was simply yet cozy, with many photos hanging on the walls.
Maria led Carol to a wall of photos and pointed to the largest one.
In the photo, two young women in flight suits are standing side by side in front of a fighter jet, smiling carefree.
One of them was Carol himself.
"Look at this, Carol! This is a picture we took when we first piloted an F-15 solo! You even bragged back then that one day you'd fly it out of the atmosphere!"
Carol's fingers gently traced her own young face in the photograph.
"And this too!"
Maria then pulled a dusty wooden box from a drawer.
She opened the box, inside which was a pair of silver identification tags.
She slipped one of them into Carol's hand.
A metallic feel came through, and a line of clearly engraved words were visible on it:
Carol Vers, United States Air Force Captain.
She is not Vers.
She is an Earthling.
The Kree deceived her.
They stole her life, erased her memories, and turned her into a weapon that obeyed orders.