"…just as I thought."

There weren't any new traits or talents added to his extraordinary list this time after fusing the replicated characteristic, Magical Energy. What he got instead was a boost to his magical reserves. And he could feel it, thrumming through every ounce of his being, even if at first glance it didn't look like much.

No, on the contrary, it was a considerable increase—ten thousand, to be exact. The last time he had fused an extraordinary trait was half a year ago with the Sling Ring, and back then his magical energy sat at about 22,700. Then over the last six months, with nothing but his body's natural cultivation, that number had risen by about 400, reaching exactly 23,096—until just a few minutes ago. And now it had leapt to 33,096.

When he thought about it, ten thousand units—if he had to claw his way there by himself—meant years of grinding practice saved. So really, even if it wasn't enough to push him straight into Warlock rank, it was still a massive leap forward.

And if I'm not wrong…

He summoned the Tesseract into his hand again. It glowed in his palm, humming quietly, and he found himself grinning before he even realized it.

The same prompts were still there, both characteristics glowing like they were waiting for him. Normally, once he had already replicated a characteristic—say, his wand's Excellent-Grade Spellcasting—the system would mark it or otherwise let him know he could no longer replicate it for a second time. Even if it came from another wand, as long as it was the same grade, he couldn't copy it a second time.

But in this case, the Primal Energy trait was still flashing, showing it could be copied again. That meant as long as he had points, and was willing to spend them, he could keep replicating it. Ten thousand units of magical energy increase every year… that was enough to push him to Warlock in just two.

No, in just one year. By next year, if he wanted, he could do it. His system points were already nearing 8,000, and by then it would be well over 10,000.

So here it was—the headache of a choice: should he use the extraordinary characteristic point he would gain next year, spend his system points as well, and throw it all into leveling up?

To be honest, the system points were the trickiest part. Burning them felt… unwise. In his mind, using them to boost his talents and spell proficiency made far more sense than just pumping up his magical energy. Then again… if it meant evolving an entire rank, that didn't sound too bad either.

Practically, the only logical—and probably the most efficient—option was to hoard extraordinary characteristic points: first for two years to advance to Warlock, and then for ten consecutive years to attempt replicating the Sub-Universal Law of Space from the Space Gem.

He let out a long sigh. It was a big decision—and one he couldn't rush to make.

His gaze fell back onto the glowing cube in his hand once again, the Tesseract pulsing with otherworldly light and humming softly. "So… what am I going to do with you until then?" he murmured.

Should he let the cube follow its original trajectory? Or keep it, at least until he could replicate the Space Stone?

Again… decisions, decisions.

He rubbed his chin for a moment, then suddenly thought of an even better solution—one where the Cosmic Cube would stay with him until he could replicate the Space Stone, and at the same time…

---

Wush!

When Maverick returned, the first thing Isabella noticed was the obvious absence of the glowing blue cube. But while she was curious, time was too critical, as nearly half an hour had already passed since they had returned to Earth, and she was growing truly worried about Danvers and the others.

Even though it had only been a couple of days since meeting them, especially Danvers, her story had truly moved Isabella, stirring a deep sense of empathy for the space girl.

"No more hiding, right?" Isabella slipped her arm through his, watching inquiringly as he traced the familiar swirling motion. But just as her words settled, he paused halfway too, fingers hanging in the air before drifting to his chin.

"Ricky…?"

"Hmm… now that you mention it…" Maverick cast her a sideways glance and chuckled. Yes, now that he had what he wanted, and Danvers too was about to awaken her true potential, there was no longer any need to hide.

But first, the drip... cough cough cough...

And with that thought, his fingers danced through the air, first over Isabella, then over himself, ending in a crisp snap that sealed the gesture.

At his current level of proficiency in the talent, transfiguring small things like clothes or other non-living objects was easy, and the effects could last for hours, even an entire day. Moreover, if he continuously channeled his magic into them, the change would last even longer.

What he had just done was simply change their gear, after all, they had to look presentable, right?

Isabella's casual clothes gave way to a sleek black dress, one shoulder bare, falling to her knees, with dark fabric draped from the opposite side. Buckled boots grounded her look, while a wide-brimmed hat angled over her face, giving her an aura of elegance and marking her as every bit a captivating witch.

Maverick was clad in a black jacket over a dark vest, black trousers, and polished shoes. A slim leather strap crossed his chest, a pocket watch chain glinting at his waist, and a long dark coat draped over his shoulders. The ensemble gave him a mysterious, enigmatic aura—precisely the effect he wanted, not dangerous.

The change took only a few seconds. "Now, we're ready…" Maverick said, conjuring a mirror and nodding at their reflection.

"I'm not even going to ask how you came up with an outfit like this for me…" Isabella sighed, though the small smirk she tried to hide told him she liked what she saw.

The next moment, familiar orange sparks flared to life as Maverick traced a circle with his hand again, completing the passage to the Kree Imperial Space Station.

"Wait!"

Isabella pulled him back just as he was about to step forward, and this time he turned to her with a puzzled glance.

Under his raised brow, she twirled her wand playfully and tapped it against his tousled hair. At first, he thought she meant to fix it—until a black top hat with a single white band shimmered into place atop his head.

"Perfect," she said, returning his earlier nod and smirk.

Okay… her little touch suited his new look perfectly, and besides, he couldn't bring himself to argue with her anyway. With a chuckle and a shrug, he wove a thread of his own magic through her transfiguration, and together, hands locked, they stepped into the sparking portal.

---

Boom!

Crash!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Crash! Boom! Crash!

The interdimensional portal opened in the middle of the imperial spaceship, and as soon as Maverick and Isabella stepped through, they were hit by the roar of constant explosions and the crash of metal debris raining from every corner. The situation had clearly escalated, but first, they needed to figure out what was happening and what was causing all the chaos.

Fortunately, mages are the best equipped for situations like this. Extending his magical senses to cover the entire spaceship, Maverick first focused on where the noise was most intense and saw Carol Danvers, her whole body glowing like a human disco ball on steroids, radiating raw energy as she tore through Kree grunts one after another. It looked like she had finally tapped into her full power, but with so many of them, she was still having a bit of trouble keeping up.

Still, it looked more like a hassle than a serious problem. She didn't seem to be running out of energy anytime soon and just needed to get used to controlling it. His magical senses were practically screaming at him—her power was off the charts, radiating from her like nothing he had ever felt.

In other words, on Carol's side, she didn't seem to need any immediate help.

But on the other side, it was total carnage, with Fury, Maria, and Talos trading alien fire with a group of about ten Kree soldiers. The numbers were technically in the home team's favor, but most of the Skrulls weren't combat-trained, leaving it really just the three of Fury, Maria, and Talos holding the line behind a corner.

"Get your wand ready, hon…"

---

Time tracks back to about half an hour earlier…

After Yon-Rogg took control of the spaceship, the occupants were split into groups and taken to holding cells. Fury and Maria were put in one cell, while the group of Skrulls was placed in another nearby, all before the interrogations began. What they wanted was the Tesseract, which had somehow gone missing, and only once they had it could they get rid of their prisoners.

Meanwhile, Danvers' unconscious body was taken to a cabin, where she was covered rather than restrained, using Kree nanotech to… let's say, correct her mental state according to their needs. Even though she had gone rogue, she was still a walking, talking weapon of mass destruction—far too valuable for them to simply dispose of.

They wanted to brainwash her again, and the purpose of the nanotech was precisely that: for their supreme intelligence to attack her mentally, in other words, to erase the contradictory emotions she had for… well, anything besides the good of their galactic empire.

Unfortunately for them, they had still underestimated the dormant power Danvers had gained from the blast of Mar-Vell's lightspeed engine, something fuelled by the Tesseract itself. And coupled with her strong resolve to break free from their control, the mental battle between her and the Kree Empire's supreme intelligence eventually ended in Danvers' victory.

The first thing she did after waking up was fry the restraining chip on her neck and take full control of her body. With her dormant powers now awake, she basically skipped the beginner stage and jumped straight to boss-level strength, even if she didn't have perfect control yet. But it was still more than enough to take care of the few miscellaneous grunts guarding the cabin where she had been held captive.

After that, she didn't waste any time and went straight to rescue Fury and the others, telling them to take the Quinjet back to Earth. Yon-Rogg and his troops were still somewhere on the ship, searching for the Tesseract, and she was determined to finish the job. For her, revenge wasn't complete until she dealt with the man who had fooled her all these years.

Which brings the scene to the present: Danvers now battling Yon-Rogg and his entire troop, while Fury and his group being intercepted by another group of Kree soldiers on their way.

---

"Get down!" Fury shoved the green-skinned alien to the ground just as a blast of energy tore past, denting the metal wall behind them.

"Keep your head down and your trigger finger up!" He snapped at Talos without even looking, too busy tracking the ten freaks advancing toward them.

Explosions rocked the corridor, metal screaming under the relentless assault. On one side, ten blue-skinned aliens were closing in with triple the firepower, and on the other, Fury and his team found their corner had become a death trap.

Only three of them were actually shooting back—one because there was barely room to move, and two because the rest of the group were Skrulls, about as useful as wet cardboard with zero combat experience. Sparks flew and smoke curled as the three of them fired back at the advancing soldiers. Every shot bought a few precious seconds, but it was only delaying the inevitable.

"Damn it!" Fury ducked behind a bulkhead and spat a curse. "Where the hell is Danvers? Can't she hear all this firepower?"

"I think she might be a bit… occupied," Talos said, moving alongside Fury and Maria, firing in rhythm with them. "My ears are sharper than you humans. I can hear the exchange of fire clear across the ship."

"She'll come for us, I know it!" Maria also slammed her back against the wall as another blast streaked past, showering sparks over their shoulders. The aliens, they were getting closer and closer by the second. "We just need to hold on a little longer—just a little longer."

"You have nowhere to hide, terrorists. Lay down your weapons and surrender, and we'll consider giving you a painless death."

One of the Kree yelled between bursts of fire toward their corner, but Fury didn't even hesitate.

"FUCK… you, ugly blue-skinned bitch!"

"Human, this is not your war! Why do you interfere? You can't seriously think your primitive planet is sending anyone to your aid all the way here—"

Continuous firepower was cutting through the metallic corridor, both words and blasts flying back and forth between the two sides. But then, all of a sudden, a slow, rhythmic set of footsteps began to echo over the chaos.

Under normal circumstances, it should have been impossible to hear over all the noise, but somehow it cut through everything, as if someone had deliberately turned down the volume of the world around them.

Tuk…

Tuk…

Tuk…

Tuk…

The steps echoed louder, drawing nearer, and before long, both sides had lowered their weapons, caught in the strange, gripping tension.

Every head had turned instinctively toward the source.

It was two humans, a man and a woman, dressed in strangely elegant clothing, moving with a casual, almost leisurely gait that made the chaos around them feel absurdly out of place.

"Stop!"

The Kree snapped to attention first. The nearest raised its weapon and shouted, and like dominoes, the rest followed, ready to fire.

But their warning seems to have fallen on deaf ears, until they saw the female raise a strange object and point it at them. And in this situation, whatever it was, it was most likely a weapon.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

All ten of them opened fire without any further warning, even ignoring the enemies they had been trading shots with just moments ago. Their instincts screamed that these two had to be dealt with first, no matter the cost.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"An energy barrier?" one of them shouted over the firing, seeing what indeed appeared to be a shimmering wall of energy suddenly materialize between them.

"No… the female is gone!" another yelled, but it was already too late.

Petrificus Totalus!

The full-body binding hex shot from Isabella's wand in rapid succession—boom! boom! boom! boom!—striking each of them in turn. The moment they raised their weapons, she had already apparated above them, channeling her magic mid-air to rain destruction down. She was a Garling, after all, and though barely past her teens, she was already a Magus-ranked witch, trained by one of the best the wizarding world had to offer.

The ten Kree soldiers had no idea what hit them. They were still conscious, but their bodies were frozen, as if an invisible force had seized them in place. Not even their lips could move to form a sound.

The entire exchange took only a few seconds, and then, with a woosh, Isabella landed gracefully in the center.

Maverick nodded approvingly to her, a small smile playing on his lips. He walked past the frozen aliens to the center of the chamber, stopping in front of Fury and his team, then he tipped his hat.

"Agent…"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?"

—————————

Author's Note:

🔥 Drop those Power Stones! 🔥

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