Chapter 87: Arc 3: Chapter 4: Secret File

"I must be crazy."

"Yeah, I must be crazy! Taking a woman I've met in less than a day, to a top-secret military base!"

On the desert road towards Nevada, Fury drove his car while complaining:

"I'd be court marshaled if this ever gets out. You two are better off, since one of you can hide on another planet, and the other can hide without anyone ever finding him, and in the end, I'd be the one taking the fall."

"This shows that you're a good person, agent Fury."

Vers on the passenger seat says with a smile:

"Helping a damsel in distress is a very noble act on Hala, and Kree men are proud for it."

"Yeah, Fury is such a compassionate person."

Merlin who was in the back seat casually asks as he observed the surroundings.

"Tell us about project Pegasus, Fury, you just said that we initiated that plan?"

"I can't tell you about that."

Fury makes a straight face, and while turning the wheel, he says:

"That's a military secret."

"Then talk about some things we can talk about."

Merlin urges:

"You can't let us enter that place without knowing anything?"

"Alright, but don't get your hopes up, cuz I don't know much myself."

Fury hesitates for a few seconds then lightly says:

"Project Pegasus, a plan initiated in 1980, I don't know the details since I just joined the SSR back then and was a rookie like you."

"All I know is that it was a plan started by Mr. Howard Stark, supposedly to research a new type of energy. He was a true genius, he gathered a group of scientists as genius as he was and built Pegasus Base in the mountains."

"In 1989, rumors were claiming that their research had achieved important progress. But in the second half of 1989, the project was abruptly halted due to unknown reasons."

Fury raises his head and glances at merlin through the rearview mirror, then says:

"I was just beginning to track you back then. I didn't know much about the specifics, but I heard that later it was because of this that the relationship between Mr. Howard and the SSR became distant. Miss Carter dissuaded from multiple parties to rid of Mr. Howard's idea to leave the organization."

"Wendy Lawson?"

Vers on the passenger seat suddenly speaks of a name, she says:

"Do you know this name? In my chaotic memories, she was always wearing a coat of Project Pegasus, working in the base all day round, we always call her 'Doctor'."

"I don't."

Fury thinks and shakes his head, he says:

"Maybe there are some people who know more about Project Pegasus, but I'm not included. I was just a level 3 non-military agent after all."

As they spoke, the car turns into a mountain fork, and after 20 minutes of driving, they arrive in an extremely secretive military base; it was located in a canyon with surrounded by steel walls and barbed wire, the gates were shut, and there were watchtowers on both sides of the road behind the gate, looking to be heavily guarded.

"Are you sure it's here? Fury?"

Merlin looks at the base hidden in the mountain shadows and says:

"Didn't you say this place was abandoned?"

"I'm sure it's here."

Fury rolls down the car window and presses his finger on the verification device on the side of the road, he tells Merlin:

"Project Pegasus was terminated, but there are other labs still functioning in the base. Stop asking since you lack the security clearance."

"Du Du"

Two light beeping sounds mean that Fury's verification had passed, the gate in front of the car slowly begin to open.

"Go, I'll be your backup plan."

Merlin says so and enters his Shadow Cloak. He was still in the car, just hidden away in case of an emergency.

Fury drove into the base parking lot without any obstruction.

After parking his car, he throws a cap at Vers and says:

"Try not to talk too much, just act like you're my adjutant. This is a military base, we don't want to cause too much trouble."

As he finishes, Fury puts on his sunglasses and makes a superior posture, taking the quiet Vers into the military base.

"Hello, agent Fury."

The one to greet them was a security member of the base, he holds the recording book in his hand and asks:

"You don't have an appointment with Pegasus Base, are you here on official business?"

"Mmm."

Fury nods and says:

"I've been ordered to access the documents related to project Pegasus. I won't take them, it's just a routine backup."

Hearing Fury's words, the expression on the security officer's face changes, he keeps the record book and tells Fury:

"Follow me then, I'll take you there."

Fury and Vers follow the base worker to an access room, he tells the two:

"Please wait here while I deliver the documents to you."

As he finishes, he opens the door and walks out.

"Kwang"

A light sound, then the sound of a key turning, then the door is locked.

"Sh*t!"

Fury immediately notices something's wrong and tries to open the door lock. Behind him, Vers raises her fist and tells Fury:

"Outta the way!"

As she finishes, she prepares to blow the door open, but then, the locked door is opened.

Merlin stands at the door with the knocked out base worker in his hand, he tells Fury and Vers:

"Come on, I found the archive room."

As he finishes, he throws the unconscious base worker into the room, locks it, then brings Fury and Vers to the archive room in the level 5 basement.

But the three had neglected one thing, they didn't check the base worker thoroughly.

10 minutes after they've left, the unconscious guy regains his consciousness, he looks around and tries to open the door only to find it locked, anger flashes on his face; but soon, the muscles on his face begin to distort and change, a few seconds later, the man turns into a green alien in a black uniform.

He had sharp ears, a body like green fiber, no hair, but there were strange black spots on his head.

It's...a Skrull!

After reverting to his original form, he raises his arm and opens an odd projection device, he uses an obscure alien language and speaks to the device:

"Talos! They're here! That woman, an Earthling, and one that can become invisible...they're here in Pegasus Base! Come quickly!"

In the projection on the Skrull's arm, a familiar figure appears in the reflection.

Keller!

The Incompetent Keller!

The guy's projection used the same obscure language to reply:

"Wait for us there! We must catch her this time!"

You are reading story The Path of Shadow in American Comics at novel35.com

Keller, the Keller who quarreled with Fury before...

Was a Skrull in disguise!

---

As Fury and Vers searched for information in the archive room, Merlin hid his figure and was standing watch in the entrance to the level 5 basement.

The workers of this base have shown their uncooperative attitude, so they have to act more carefully, they have to leave at the first sign of trouble.

This was a real military base after all, plus, Fury and Merlin were both intelligence workers in service, should they be discovered bringing strangers into the base, it's sure that the two would be brought into military court.

Merlin hides in the shadows, he warily senses the surroundings; after spreading his dark senses, he would be able to detect once someone comes in range.

Nothing can escape his senses, not even an ant...

"Meow!"

The sound of a cat meowing abruptly resounds behind Merlin, giving the focused Merlin quite the fright.

He turns back sharply and finds an orange cat squatting behind him, it was tilting its head while looking at him. Yet Merlin did not detect it approach him at all!

Not to mention, Merlin was still in his Shadow Cloak, so logically speaking, this cat could not see him!

Yet from the curiosity flashing from the cat's eyes, not only did it see Merlin, it was wondering why this human was foolishly squatting at the entrance of the stairwell.

"How'd you get here? Little guy?'

Due to him receiving help from the ugly cat Crookshanks in his time of dire, Merlin was still friendly towards all things cats.

He detaches from his Shadow Cloak, squats down, and strokes on its head.

This made the cat let out a comfortable purr, and Merlin notices a silver pendant on the cat's neck; he places the coin-like pendant in his palm, and finds some words on it:

"Dear Goose, I'll bring you home, I promise. - Mar-Vell"

"You're called Goose?"

Merlin pats on the cat's head, and like he was conversing with the cat, he says:

"Mar-Vell, what a strange name...is he or she, your owner?"

"Meow"

Goose extends its paw and pushes Merlin's hand away from its pendant, it seemed to not like it when people touch it. This makes Merlin smile, he takes out a bit of magic cat food from his spatial pocket, it was a small packet gifted to Merlin by the female store owner with glasses the last time he bought cat food for Crookshanks; Merlin had forgotten that it was in his pocket.

Now it finally had some use.

The cat food created by wizards made the cool cat wave its tail, Merlin places the cat food on the ground, then Goose lays there and begins to eat away.

This made Merlin let out a smile, he turns around and starts using his senses to monitor the base.

But a few minutes later, a faint noise resounds from the passage behind him which makes Merlin frown. He enters Shadow Cloak and silently approaches the passage behind him.

After turning the corner, Merlin was surprised to find that Vers was using the base's phone to contact someone.

What's most odd was the delicate-looking device on Vers' wrist. She connected the phone line to that device, which made it clear that she wasn't contacting anyone from Earth.

This discovery made Merlin squint his eyes.

He dared not get too close to Vers, for she could sense Merlin's presence back at Pancho's Bar, meaning that Vers also has supernatural sensory abilities.

Merlin hid in the corner, he spread his dark senses in the lightest way possible, and like an eavesdropper, he eavesdrops on Vers' conversation with the mystery person.

"Yon, I just read the intel on Project Pegasus, Lawson was Kree, she was one of us..."

Vers used a confused tone and tells the person on the other side of the phone:

"The records here show that she died of a plane accident. What's going on? Why is one of our people on planet c-53? And participated in the local experiment?"

"Vers, I'm not authorized to tell you much, but I can tell you that Lawson was an agent of the Kree Empire, her real name was Mar-Vell; several years ago, she discovered special energy on planet c-53, she accepted the mission and came to this planet to research on this special energy which she claims to be able to help us end our war with the Skrulls."

The person named 'Yon' answered Vers' question like so and made the eavesdropping Merlin squint his eyes.

So there are spies from other planets on Earth, just not Skrull ones, but Kree ones!

"What about me?"

Vers asks again, a hint of fear and anger in her tone:

"I found proof, Yon, proof that I've lived here on Earth. I worked with Mar-Vell back then when she was the Earthling Lawson, I was her best friend...and when I met the Supreme Intelligence before I went on this mission, she appeared in Lawson's figure!"

"You know what...the Supreme Intelligence only appears in the form of a person from someone's deepest memories! Yon! Some of my memories were blocked! Don't you think you should be explaining this to me?"

Facing vers' question, Yon lightly says:

"That sounds like Skrull disguise, listen to me, Vers..."

"No! It's not!"

Vers' tone becomes more intense as she screamed:

"I remember! I remember those memories! The memories that keep resurfacing in my mind! I've been here! I've lived here! Even, even..."

"Stop!"

The man named Yon reprimands:

"Don't forget your training, know your enemy, you may be your own enemy! Don't get emotional..."

"Pa"

Before the man could finish, a clump of spear-like dark energy destroys the phone entirely.

Vers turns back sharply and sees Merlin stand up from the corner, the agent looks at her, he looks at her deeply, then says:

"Visiting hour has ended, Vers, there are people coming; take Fury and go while I hold them off!"

"How much did you hear?"

Vers grits her teeth and asks, to which Merlin shrugs:

"Not much, but enough for me to guess the truth."

Merlin looks at Vers and says earnestly:

"Don't allow the alien to keep brainwashing you, Vers...you are Earthling, you are one of us, not cannon fodder for the Kree!"

"How do I know that this isn't all your conspiracy?"

Vers grits her teeth, and like a stubborn girl, she tells Merlin:

"Maybe you're like them, trying to brainwash me! Trying to make me fight for your interests?"

"Then go find it yourself."

Merlin turns around, he hears multiple messy footsteps approaching the underground, he tells Vers:

"Go find the proof that you were born and grown on Earth. I'm certain that one day, you'll stand on our side...help me say goodbye to Fury, I have to go look for evidence in another place now."

"The next time we meet, vers, I'll make you accept it all."

Vers watches as Merlin disappears into the shadows, she shouts:

"Why so insisted on helping me? Merlin, are you trying to use me too?'

"It's simple, because..."

Merlin's deep voice resounds in Vers' ears:

"I know what it feels like...to be homeless."

 

 

 

T/L Note: I changed Kohler to Keller because the name appears in Captain Marvel, which I just noticed.

You can find story with these keywords: The Path of Shadow in American Comics, Read The Path of Shadow in American Comics, The Path of Shadow in American Comics novel, The Path of Shadow in American Comics book, The Path of Shadow in American Comics story, The Path of Shadow in American Comics full, The Path of Shadow in American Comics Latest Chapter