One day later, somewhere in the universe, a mature star bathed an entire star system in its radiance.
Sunlight pierced through the deep void, carrying warmth to the farthest reaches of space.
At the very edge of the light's reach, a patch of dim cosmic space was suddenly sliced into countless hexagonal fragments by an invisible force—Marvel's signature spatial traversal mechanism: jump points.
As one of the hexagonal shards disappeared, a starfield tens of thousands of light-years away was linked to the solar system.
From that distant region, a starship passed through the jump point and entered the system.
It continued its journey, passing the massive forms of Neptune and Uranus before finally coming to a stop near Mars's orbit.
There, countless other spacecraft hovered in formation, densely clustered like locusts feeding on a single stalk of grain. As the newly arrived warship stabilized, a radiant streak of light shot forth from its hull.
Like a blazing torch streaking through the starry sky, she shot through the cluster of starships at high speed, heading straight for the largest vessel.
There, she came to a stop at the rear section, descended, and entered through an open hatch.
Once the door sealed behind her, the photon energy radiating from Captain Marvel's body extinguished.
She disengaged the outer space mode of her suit. The mohawk-style helmet retracted, letting her shoulder-length blonde hair fall naturally around her sharply contoured face.
Standing before her were Talos, his wife Soren, and their daughter, who had come out specifically to welcome her.
"It's been a long time, Carol," Talos greeted her warmly.
"Talos? What are you doing here?"
Carol placed her right hand on her hip, her form-fitting suit outlining her confident, athletic figure. Looking at her old friend whom she hadn't seen in ages, her smile lit up.
"If you hadn't just sent me that message, I would've thought all these starships were part of an invading fleet from some empire targeting Earth."
"No way. The Skrulls will always be Earth's friends. We would never attack it," Talos replied with an easy, natural smile.
"I know that, of course." Carol laughed and opened her arms. "Why do you all look so stiff? Soren, G'iah, come here and give me a hug!"
She warmly embraced Talos's wife and daughter.
Only then did she turn to Talos with a serious expression. "So you're here to support Earth? With this many ships—some of them even civilian transports—who exactly is invading the planet?"
At her words, Talos's tree-bark-like face twitched slightly.
He felt like his face was burning, shame creeping deep into his chest.
"Actually... no one's invading Earth, Carol. The truth is, well…"
Talos did his best to explain the situation tactfully.
He even tried to gloss over parts of it, omitting the fact that a large portion of the Skrulls had only started evacuating when it became clear they were about to be caught.
But even so, the smile on Captain Marvel's face slowly faded.
"A million Skrulls?" she repeated, her stunned expression nearly identical to Nick Fury's.
"How could you do this, Talos!"
Talos gave a bitter smile. "I'm sorry… I just couldn't stand by and watch our people be hunted across the galaxy."
"That still doesn't mean you—you can't just—" Carol looked like she wanted to curse, but held back when she noticed G'iah standing nearby, only in her teens.
She planted both hands on her hips, lowered her head, and let out a long, frustrated sigh, shaking her head with a "you should've known better" look.
Talos lowered his head as well, knowing he had deeply disappointed her.
"So?" Carol asked. "Was it you who got Nick to call me back? What do you want me to do?"
Talos knew that Carol was their last hope.
He could only appeal to her emotions. "I'm truly sorry, Carol. I know I've let you and Nick down."
"But my people—they're innocent. They're good people. They don't deserve to die out there in the cold vacuum of space!"
"Ten years ago, I was lucky enough to meet you—back when you were still under the control of the Kree Empire—at the most desperate moment of my life."
"To fight alongside you, to hear your promise that you would help us find a new home… that was the greatest fortune of my life."
"I know how powerful you are, Carol, and I have always believed in your goodness. I truly believe that one day, you'll be able to bring us hope."
"That's why… that's why I let our people come to Earth temporarily!"
"I believed a new home would soon be found, and that we'd only stay on Earth for a short while, so I…"
Talos's face showed deep discomfort.
"Sigh… I was too naïve. This is all my fault."
He tried to remind her of their shared past, of the promise she had once made as Captain Marvel, hoping it would move her.
And as Carol listened, her lips trembled—clearly shaken.
She had spent so many years roaming the galaxy alone, delivering justice.
More than a decade had passed; she had grown used to solitude, used to the silence of the stars.
For all that time, her only companions had been her ship and the endless cosmos.
That's why her memories of the past had become all the more precious to her.
For Carol, every moment tied to Earth was like an old photograph in an album—faded with age, yet impossibly valuable.
Hearing Talos speak with such sincerity, she couldn't help but feel a wave of guilt.
After all, it was she who had promised to help the Skrulls find a new home. And after more than ten years of searching, it was also she who had failed to deliver.
From that perspective, the crisis Earth now faced almost felt like it had started with her.
"No, Talos… don't think that way. Actually, I… I'm sorry too," Carol said as she stepped forward and gently patted his shoulder. "The universe may be vast, but planets truly fit for life are far more rare than I once believed. I was too optimistic."
Talos's rough features twitched slightly, but from Captain Marvel's softened tone, he saw a glimmer of hope.
"This isn't your fault," he sighed. "It's just… from now on, we'll be without a home again, forced back into that uncertain, scattered life. But even if we're drifting through space with our families aboard ships… life still has to go on."
"I just hope we don't run into a Kree fleet too soon."
Talos spoke with deliberate intensity, painting a vivid picture. "Their ship cannons are powerful enough to obliterate our vessels without effort… and they hate us with everything they've got. If we cross paths with them, they'll launch an immediate attack. In the end, who knows how many of us would survive? It's just... such a shame, especially for the children."
Carol's expression remained composed, but her eyelashes trembled. The images Talos described formed clearly in her mind, each one fueling the guilt she already carried.
After a moment of inner conflict, she stepped forward and interrupted him.
"There's still one option."
Talos looked weary, his voice almost lifeless. "What option? We have nowhere left to go."
Carol pressed her lips together. "Earth wants you gone because they're afraid of your power. So we just need to show them the truth. I'll vouch for you."
"If they can believe in who you really are, then maybe you can stay."
She clenched her fists, her voice steady. "I'll contact some allies. I'll do everything I can to find you another suitable home as soon as possible. But keeping over a million Skrulls gathered in one place—it's too dangerous."
Though sympathy filled her heart, she wasn't going to lose sight of reason. "I trust you, Talos. But the larger your people's numbers, the harder it becomes to avoid problems. Someone will start thinking thoughts they shouldn't."
"So when the time comes, you'll need to send part of them to another location. As long as the population is smaller, they'll be easier to manage, and it'll buy us more time to keep searching."
In Carol's view, it was the best solution available—for everyone.
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