Marvel: Ned the Master of Mystic Arts

"I need you to decode the coordinates left by Mar-Vell for me."

After Captain Marvel had calmed down, Talos approached her and said.

"No, it's not actually a coordinate," Captain Marvel replied to Talos. "It's a state vector."

"A state vector? You mean the kind used to determine orbital paths and velocities?" Nick Fury said with his mouth full, munching on a piece of bread.

"Her lab isn't on Earth, which is why you couldn't find it," Maria Rambeau added, taking a sip of water.

"The coordinates point to the orbital position of her lab six years ago. Once we calculate the orbital trajectory, we can figure out where it is now," Carol explained, glancing at Talos, who looked utterly perplexed.

"It's just high school physics," Maria Rambeau chimed in again, delivering yet another blow.

Hearing this, Talos was still doubtful and turned to the Skrull chief scientist standing nearby. "Is it really that simple?"

The Skrull chief scientist shrugged.

"If it's that simple and you couldn't figure it out, how do you even call yourself the chief scientist?" Talos grumbled, wishing he could kick the scientist into orbit. However, reason prevailed, reminding him that the Skrulls were already a dwindling species, and he couldn't afford to persecute one of their own further.

"Rogers will come looking for me soon. We need to find the energy core before he does," Carol said.

"How do we get to space?" Coulson asked, raising a crucial question.

"Just modify one of the planes outside. I can handle the retrofit," the Skrull chief scientist interjected enthusiastically, finally finding a problem worthy of his title. Little did he know what awaited him.

"Alright, looks like you live up to the title of chief scientist," Ned said as he walked up to the Skrull scientist, patting his shoulder before casually leaving the room.

The others exchanged glances, shrugged, and said nothing more.

"My memory fragments don't include you, and Maria doesn't recognize you either," Carol said as she stood with Ned under the starry sky, the two of them on a grassy field.

"So, brother of mine, what's your story?" she asked pointedly.

Ned smiled and said, "Maybe Maria doesn't know everything after all?"

"Hmph," Carol snorted but didn't press further. After all, Ned had never lied to her about his origins and had even helped her rediscover herself. Even if he had joked about taking advantage of her earlier, it was no big deal.

Meanwhile.

"Sir, what are you looking at?" Coulson asked as he and Nick Fury stood in a corner, watching Ned and Carol from afar.

"That guy is still a mystery. No one knows where he came from or even what his real name is," Fury said, his eyes glinting dangerously. "But he seems to know everything. Coulson, what do you think—how dangerous is a person like that?"

Coulson hesitated before answering, "Uh... Sir, I think the Mystic Sorcerer is friendly toward us. Maybe we can trust him?"

"Is there such a thing as an absolute friend in this world? A friend forever? Is there?" Fury asked, casting a sharp glance at Coulson.

Ashamed, Coulson lowered his head, feeling guilty for letting down the organization by trusting someone so easily. It was far from the behavior of an elite agent.

"So, what are you planning to do, sir?" Coulson asked after regaining his composure.

Fury, satisfied with Coulson's shift in attitude, said, "Keep things friendly. Become his friend. Wait for him to reveal his identity himself."

"What?" Coulson's face was filled with confusion.

"What else? Track his background through small clues? The guy literally fell from the sky—how do we investigate that?" Fury snapped. "Or should we arrest him and interrogate him? Do you think you can capture him?"

"But—" Coulson tried to argue but was quickly interrupted by Fury. "No buts, Agent Coulson. You need to learn flexibility. Stop relying solely on what you learned in spy school!"

"... Yes, sir," Coulson replied, frustrated.

Just as he lowered his head, Coulson noticed a red laser dot sweeping across the ground, targeting Fury's chest.

"Look out!" Coulson shouted, instinctively tackling Fury to the ground. A specialized bullet whizzed past, slamming into a large tree behind them and leaving a massive hole in the trunk.

"Motherf—! Coulson, good work!" Fury exclaimed as he scrambled behind another tree for cover. Based on his combat experience and intuition, he judged that the shooter would need to pass at least four more trees to reach his position, so he felt relatively safe.

"Sh—! Sir!" Coulson shouted, drawing his gun and firing at several shadowy figures in the distance.

Fury immediately recognized them as a heavily armed assault team. Panicking, he pulled out his pistol and began firing alongside Coulson.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Sh—!"

"Ah!"

Despite their skills, there was no way Fury and Coulson could hold off an entire assault team with just handguns. The first two operatives to fire back quickly pinned them down, and Coulson was shot in the shoulder, collapsing to the ground.

"Coulson!" Fury shouted, trying to reach him, but another hail of bullets forced him to retreat.

"Motherf—!" Fury cursed, frantically trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly, a portal opened in front of him, and a matching portal appeared in the air above the assault team.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

"Ah!"

"Sh—!"

"Ah!"

Bullets fired into the portal on Fury's side rained down on the assault team from above. After several screams, the gunfire ceased entirely.

"Fury, you're looking a little rough," Ned teased as he emerged from the shadows, ignoring Fury and walking straight to Coulson. After inspecting his wound, he said, "Congratulations, you've just missed your chance for a space adventure."

"Well... I hope you all have fun up there," Coulson replied weakly, drenched in sweat.

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