INERTIA ↠ AVENGERS FANFIC

TWENTY TWO- INTELLIGENCE

[REST IN POWER, CHADWICK]

--

ZARA DIDN'T WANT to leave Earth. But she had too. She was getting too close, too trusting, of the planet's inhabitants. And that was the one thing she was trained not to do. 

Aboard her ship, she knew exactly where she was headed.

Hala. 

Not to ask for repentance, or to taunt the Kree, but simply because her curiosity had gotten the better of her. 

Back in 2013, they'd sent their almost whole militia in hopes of obtaining Loki's sceptre, only to be defeated by Zara and the Avengers. 

The Kree had managed to make a lot of enemies, and with no army, the population couldn't possibly thrive for long. 

Zara regained manual control of her ship, landing softly on the rough surface of her home planet and opening the doors to step into dry, dusty air. 

The planet looked nothing like she remembered. 

When she left, the Kree civilization was high-tech and benevolent, each citizen had a small part in making them so powerful. 

But now, a thin layer of gravel and dust coated the surface of the planet. 

Zara coughed, adjusting to the new atmosphere. There were people scattered around, some skinny and malnourished, some just looking depressed eating bland food. Though her ship was large, no one seemed fazed by her entrance. A young Kree boy ran to her, stopping a few meters ahead. He wore ripped clothes and had dirt on his face, maybe ten years old at most. 

Zara tilted her head and examined him, he looked innocent, but at his age Zara was doing things that would make her anything but virtuous. 

"Are you here to rescue us?" The boy asked meekly. 

Zara searched for the boys mother. "Rescue you? From what?"

"From the famine. So many of us are going hungry."

"What happened to the Star Force?"

The boy scratched his head. "I dunno. They sent lots to go fight who never came back. I think the ones that were left took the last war ship and took off before the first wave of famine. They're probably looking for a new planet for us, a fresh start-"

"I wouldn't hold your breath." Zara passed the young boy, spotting Upper Hala in just less than a mile away. 

Upper Hala was Hala's main city, furnished with tall buildings, schools, recreational centres, anything a person would want. 

What she remembered as Upper Hala was now laid in ruin. That didn't come as a surprise, though, how could it?

A bad feeling brewed in her stomach- anger mixed with anxiety mixed with fear- a feeling so strong she'd never felt before. Zara tried to push the feeling aside, focus on where she was, but it kept crawling back up her throat, suffocating her alive. She knew where she had to go. Who- what- she had to see. 

The Intelligence. 

--

The last time Zara walked these steps she was a different person. Completely. She tried to push her past out of her mind, though the Intelligence was sure to bring it up. 

If it was even still there. 

Maybe if she could get over herself, spit out her fear, shun her emotions for just a little bit longer, she could get through seeing the Intelligence.