A SON'S RESTITUTION

Chapter 6

(A Month Later: The White House, Washington DC, 9:00 AM)

Carol Danvers or Captain Marvel had another follow-up meeting with the Head of State. She flashed a holographic screen of the globe in the Oval Office as he intently looked and carefully studied it.

" We call it the Planetary Defense Shield, Mr. President, " she explained. " An impenetrable force field designed to stop the earthbound flow of extraterrestrial travel...hostile or otherwise...in its tracks. "

" Colonel Danvers, when you say impenetrable? " he asked.

" We need to do the field testing. But on paper, it looks like Galactus himself couldn't bring this thing down, sir. It will perform as advertised. And that's important given where we are right now. "

The President seemed to be interested and kept listening, however he was considering the other officials who would hear from this proposal. He put his hands on his pockets and continued thinking. Carol was waiting for him to agree with it. Then, she recalled an incident where she, Rhodey, and her teammates were in space to defeat Thanos which it caused a great problem. The Inhuman boy, Ulysses Cain had foreseen that day as it was fulfilled.


" The last Civil War started because Thanos and a Celestial were able to just show up and not see a single bit of resistance until they made landfall. And we're looking at this Chitauri fleet which is the largest single alien army to ever come our way, even bigger than the annihilation wave. Getting closer every day, we need to be ready, Sir. "


" Hmmmm... It's certainly an intriguing proposal, " he answered. " But I need to consult with Congress and Steve Rogers. "


Carol felt very perplexed which she remembered the day when the President was so eager to hear about her request. This time, he became uncertain to decide and execute such plans and proposal.


" Wait a sec, you had given me your blessing to ask anything before. How come you need anyone's help? Is this something's fishy going on here?! " she thought and calmly replied. " With all respect, Sir. I don't think that's a good idea. You're aware of the politics at play, here. This technology was brought to me by Maria Hill, the former director of SHIELD. No one admires Steve more than I do, but I'm concerned he might be a bit biased against it. But beyond that, if we're going to move forward with this, I need to have complete autonomy. I need to know that Steve might be the authority down here, but I'm in charge up there. "

" Well...I... "

" Look, Mr. President. The last time I was here you asked me what I wanted to do going forward. You put a lot of impressive options on the table. And I told you I'd been thinking about the future. Well, this is it, " she smiled and kept convincing. " This is our future, one where we control our destiny. "

(Two days later: Capitol Hill, Washington DC, 10:00 AM)

The sea of crowd and mediamen flocked around at one of the most prominent places in the nation's capital. The event was televised which Captain America or Steve Rogers stood beside the government official. The patriotic Avenger swore an oath and proclaimed as the succeeding SHIELD Director for his second term.The other heroes attended and witnessed his oath taking ceremony. Standing beside the official, Colonel Carol Danvers also came to this event. Somehow, she felt very uneasy even she remained calm at this moment.

Moments later, Steve stood on a wooden podium which it has a SHIELD emblem on it. He took a deep breath to pacify himself and faced in front of the crowd. The people were tuning in to his speech.

" I understand how you feel, " he said. " You're looking around you at a world you don't recognize anymore. A world that doesn't seem to make you sense anymore. I've been there. When they pulled me out of the ice, I woke up to so many changes...some amazing: new technologies that made our lives easier, advances in human rights, and a growing yearning for peace. But others were terrifying. Doomsday weapons, people being born with strange abilities they couldn't control. Gods walking on Earth. What I learned...what made me cope with that...is an understanding that the more things change. The more they really do stay the same. That there are values we hold...beliefs that we have...that are timeless and remain true in the pace of any threat. And we do face some threats now. Perhaps more than ever before. They've become more insidious. "

" This new HYDRA and its terroristic attacks have made Americans afraid to congregate in public and distrustful of their own neighbors...while they spread the message of hate to the most vulnerable among us. Unknown monsters from beyond the stars fill us with a sense of omnious dread, making us question our place in the universe. And then, there are the monsters we know all too well...the ones we've struggled against for so long...the ones who would seek to tear down everything we've worked so hard to build. "



" Faced with all of this, you turned to us and this is where it is high time with someone was honest with you...WE LET YOU DOWN. " Steve glared at the Colonel Danvers and continued. " When you needed us the most, we let ourselves get distracted by our own... PETTY SQUABBLES AND THIRST FOR POWER! "


Sitting beside Monica Rambeau, Carol's face grimaced and crossed her arms. She became more uninterested to listen. Those harsh truthful words from Steve Rogers had roasted her ego. The memories of that troublesome battle had returned to haunt her again. She became so uneasy as her monstrous skeleton was terrorizing her mind. The so-called future turned mistake she believed, reminded of how the Avengers failed tremendously.


" I could have died more than a week ago. No one even listens to me right now! " the blonde half-Kree woman angrily thought. " Steve is blatantly pointing at me as a damn failure! Why do I need to attend this crap?! "


" Whether it was through carelessness or corruption, we failed you. And we let these dangers get much too get close to our doorstep. But I am here to promise you now, that it will never happen again. I speak for everyone serving under the SHIELD banner and everyone from this platform. When I say that, from this day forward, we are going to redouble our efforts. We are going to reaffirm our solemn commitment to you...to protect this country and this world from all those who would do us harm. People will feel safe again. Now, I understand the enormity of this movement, never in our history has one person been trusted with this much power. And truth be told, I was reluctant to accept it. I didn't ask for this role nor did I seek it. In fact...I wasn't even my own first choice. "

" But when I looked at the challenges before us and the defeats that preceded them, I realized there was no decision to be made at all. That none of us could afford to do so less than everything our abilities allowed. And so I accept this position with a heavy heart. And a desire to see its authority and reach diminshed the moment it is no longer needed. Until that day, though, I will work to honor this sacred trust that you have placed in me. To use these powers responsibly and in keeping those values we hold so dear. Because I believe that's really what this is all about, not just to avoid catastrophe or destruction, but to use these adversities to make ourselves something stronger. To forge something great from the fires they would see burn. "

" That's my call to all of you to assemble. Assemble under one banner, from the Avengers to SHIELD to the United States and our allies to the World Security Council and the United Nations, to every man, woman, and child who believes in good on this Earth. Let's not just seek to survive these tragedies. Let's build something better, something nobler, something truer in the face of them. Let's not just save the world, let's prove this is a world worth saving! "

Everyone applauded and cheered at Captain America's long speech, except for Carol who never reacted at the event. She was not pleased to attend this event, but she had no choice for the sake of her fellow Avenger.