EVERMORE ─ marvel

III. Return To Hala

Chapter Three
Kieran

I can't remember the last time I saw Hala and was filled with anything other than disgust. Every time I came back from a mission, I would look at the glistening bronze buildings and glowing holograms and feel my stomach churn. I would feel so suffocated I could hardly breathe. When my people put that cuff on me, when they enslaved me, when they killed my mother, Hala became a prison. It's been a prison for me for centuries. But even before that, it wasn't my home. My mother was, and the Kree took her from me.

I can still see the look on her face as she saw me off for my first mission. The last time I saw her alive. She looked proud, but sad, worried. I told her that I would be fine, that I would be back before she had time to miss me. She hugged me, tears in her eyes, and told me to be brave. And I tried. I tried to be brave by deserting, but choosing to do the right thing over following orders. When she found out that I had left the army was she proud? Was she scared? Was she even told why she was being murdered before Kree soldiers forced her from our house and cut her down?

The Supreme Intelligence showed me her dead body, showed me what the price of my attempted desertion was. I can't stop seeing her body; the slashes, the blood, the lifeless gloss of her amethyst eyes. If my mother's life was the price for desertion, if they mauled her body for what I did back then, then what will the price be for sentencing Hala to four and a half years of purgatory?

"I still think you should have gone with the others to Muspelheim." Soroya appears by my side. I've been staring out the window of the ship, staring at Hala.

I shake my head, not tearing my eyes away from the dark blue planet. "I won't let Naomi go there alone."

"We would never let anything happen to her. We would protect her."

"If you were in my position, would you let Bucky go without you?"

Soroya opens her mouth to reply but halts, her shoulders sagging as she sighs. "No. No I wouldn't. I just fear for your safety. You may live on Earth and work as an Avenger, but you're still a Kree citizen—"

"Don't worry about me," I cut her off, giving her a nod. "You have bigger things to worry about."

I can tell Soroya wants to say more, but she doesn't. With a squeeze of my shoulder she leaves, and seconds later Naomi appears by my side, her hand on my arm, her voice filled with concern. Soroya must have sent her over.

"I'll be there the whole time." She assures me. Despite my fear I can't help but smile. My wife doesn't seem to be thinking about how dozens of Kree officials might try to use her against me, she's only concerned with how coming back here is making me feel. I'm always amazed by how selfless she is, not just with people she cares about, but everyone. She's unlike any being I've ever met.

I kiss her cheek, trying my best to smile. "I know."

Since this is a diplomatic mission, Naomi contacted Hala ahead of time to alert them of our arrival. All she said was that she, the directors of the Avengers, and a few other Avengers would be coming to Hala to negotiate peace. She didn't say who specifically she was bringing, and I'm positive that will give us some trouble. The Kree don't like surprises.

We land our ship on a landing pad outside the communications center on Hala, the place we will be meeting with the new Kree leadership. I don't know who they are, but if I had to guess, I would say whoever rose to the occasion after the Supreme Intelligence was destroyed is probably former military. Maybe a general. If I'm right, then I'm even more screwed. Any general or high ranking Kree officer will see me as even more of a disgrace than an average citizen or politician.