Tomb Raider - Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel

17 ~ Mystery and Magic

"That's weird as hell," Fury commented when they showed him the glowing piece of space-magical staff.

"Yeah," agreed Nora. "Space-magic. This just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

"Damn right. I've been thinking: you said it was a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who came to tell you your parents were missing, right?" She nodded. "Do you think if you saw their picture, you would recognize them?"

"Yes."

"We can work with that." He withdrew a tablet from his inner jacket pocket, tapping the screen a few times before handing it to her. "This is a facial recognition list of all the agents working at the time your parents went missing. Flip through and see if you recognize anybody."

She nodded and began scanning the faces. She scrolled through two whole pages before she saw someone. "Here, him!" She pointed to one man.

"Agent Dawes?" Fury tapped the man's image and a personal file came up. "Well, we're outta luck here: the guy's dead. Died in action five years ago."

Nora sighed. Definitely out of luck.

"Keep scrolling. See if you can find the other guy."

The list was alphabetical, and long. She thought she was out of luck again until she reached the last names beginning with 'S'. "This guy."

"Agent Jasper Sitwell?"

"Yes. He was the other agent."

"Well, he's very much alive. You're sure it was him?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright then. I'll contact him and tell him he has urgent business to attend to in the UK."

"Thank you, Fury."

"Just doing my job. Now, back to this magic wand thing."

"Staff," Carol corrected.

"Yeah, whatever. What's so significant about it?"

"If we find all the pieces and put them together, they'll form the full staff and I can use it to help contain and use my powers," Nora explained.

"Which have to do with space-magic," added Carol with a grin.

"Space-magic?"

"Sounds silly, doesn't it?" said Nora.

Fury sat down at the table. "You know, in all my years with S.H.I.E.L.D., I never had any dealings with any magic mystery or space stuff until you came along." He nodded to Carol, who continued to grin.

"You're welcome."

"Now this stuff seems to pop up all the time."

"Lucky you."

"Yeah, lucky me." He left to contact Sitwell and returned with the details. "He'll be here within twenty-four hours, so I suggest getting together all the questions you have."

Nora nodded. "Thank you."

"I hope this helps."

"Yeah, me too."

----------------------------------

"Dr. Eleanora Bane?"

Nora looked up from her plate of chips to see a bald man in a suit and glasses standing before her table. Fury had arranged a meeting place for them.

"Agent Jasper Sitwell?"

"Yes, nice to meet you." They shook hands and he sat down across from her. "So, Director Fury tells me you're looking into your parents' disappearance."

Getting right down to business.

"Yes. You came to tell me of their disappearance thirteen years ago."

"Yes, I remember. And again, I'm very sorry. And sorry that they are still missing."

Nora only nodded. So am I. "So you worked with them? On whatever project they were working on at the time with SHIELD?"

"Yes. I wasn't working quite so directly with them, it was more a project they were working on themselves, though within a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and with our help. But I was part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team they were reporting back to, working for."

"So, what were they working on?" There was a pause. "Fury gave me clearance to know such things."

"Alright, fair enough. Well, speaking of clearance, I was still a fairly new agent at the time, so I didn't have very high clearance, so I didn't know all the details."

How convenient. "So what about someone who does?"

"Your parents weren't the only ones working so closely on this project, and to disappear suddenly and mysteriously while working on it. We lost a lot of agents that day. Good agents. My mentors."

"I'm sorry."

He nodded.

She waited a moment. "So was there a file?"

"There was, but after the disappearance, the project was terminated, and the research removed."

"Removed?"

"Destroyed. Too dangerous."

"That's strange, wouldn't it potentially help with figuring out the disappearances?"

He shrugged. "Not my call."

She only nodded. It honestly sounded suspicious.

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help, however, the best help may not be from S.H.I.E.L.D. Your mom kept a journal while she was working with us. I think she may have recorded some notes on the project in there."

This was the first Nora was hearing of a journal. "What did it look like?"

"Thin, blue cover."

Looked like she had more digging around the house ahead of her.

"Thank you, that gives me a place to go from to keep looking." They shook hands again. "Where are you headed now?"

"Back to D.C."

"Ah. I heard Captain America is working through SHIELD in D.C. now."

"He is."

"How exciting."

"Yes. Black Widow too."

"Ah, interesting. Exciting colleagues."

"Yes."

"Say hello for me."

"I will."

"So, how'd it go?" Fury asked her when she met up with him and Carol again afterwards.

"Fine. He didn't have much to say on the project my parents were working on when they disappeared, but he said my mum kept a journal, so I should start looking there."

"Huh. Where's this journal?"

"No idea. Somewhere around the house, I'm guessing. Thank you again for arranging the meeting."

"Hope it helps."

"Well, good news," stepped-in Carol. "I received a response about the staff from a contact in space, and I know where another piece of it is."

"That's great! Where is it?"

"Up there." Carol smiled and pointed upwards. "Suit-up, Doc. We're going to space."

(Of course, we all know the HYDRA reveal is yet to come... But some space-travel next and some more romance to come! ;)

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))