" Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. "

     - Robert A. Heinlein -

(Rouen, France, 3:30 AM)

Carol Danvers was still comforting the boy to sleep as she sat on the bed. The lizard boy leaned his head closer to her legs. She kept touching his head. He remained awake and had trouble in sleeping. The elderly half-Kree woman had understood now why he was having nightmares every evening. She recalled his memories were linked to 682's past. Those things had been bothering him which he couldn't get over with it. She waited for him to speak up as her left hand gently touched his rough scaly skin. She noticed the numerous blue scars around his body when he took off his clothes earlier.

    " Did you encounter anyone else to hurt you? " she asked.

    " Yes, there were other subjects who tried to exterminate me, " he answered.

    " You have experienced it almost everyday? "

    " Yes. That made me think I don't deserve to live at all. "

    Carol sadly sighed as she heard him. She gently patted his back and thought of changing the topic.

     " Did you ever have another friend aside from Jared before? " she asked.

     " Yes, few of them. "

 " Did he or she hurt you? "

     " No, but I will tell you a story..."

     " Okay, the floor is yours and my ears are all tuned to you. "

 

     " All right..."

(Several years ago: MTF Headquarters, United States)

    The young Kree-Lizard hybrid was sleeping inside the containment cell. He never realized how much blue blood was flowing from his body which he got from those brutal activities. His laboratory dress was fully stained and torn which he couldn't clean and repair it by himself. Moments later, he was crying and wailing intensely as the MTF soldiers heard him, especially the man who got irritated and covered his ears.

" Can't this kid just shut-up?! " the MTF soldier whined at his partner. " I can't stand his frequent crybaby moments! " 

" Still, we have to make absolute certainty he doesn't break out containment, " the other MTF Soldier commented before looking at the thing. "Still I don't blame boss about the damn thing, it's a freak of nature. "

" Yeah, I wonder why if we could sedate him. "

" Shooting makes him more agitated after a couple of minutes. And using any other chemical method results in instant flaws. The only thing we could do is just find enjoyment from his crying. "

" Well, yeah. But that kid is something else. " his partner pointed at the window which blue blood was seen and splattered on the floor. 

" The blue blood, you mean? " the other said and intently looked at it. " I find rather odd a clone would bleed blue instead of red. Perhaps it's some sort of liquid that is similar to blood, but acts on a different level."

" Yeah, I don't even know where did he get that thing. "

" Either something went wrong in the cloning process or a sample got mixed in. Either way, it's making me unease by just looking at the damn thing. "

" Well, just heard of the Kree race though, no one knows why do they exist. "

" It's the same with every life organism, dumbass. They live and thrive in their home world and eventually get the technological innovation to explore outside of their home world. "

" Yeah, right. " he sighed. " They might invade us anytime soon..." 

The crying became more intense as the two got annoyed. The other felt uneasier than his partner. This time, he wanted to end the Kree-Lizard boy's life once and for all.

" Oh for crying out loud! "

" Just get used to it before it becomes soothing to you..."

" Yeah...but he's still damn annoying...sheesh! "

" If you want to shoot him, shoot him. It'll only make it worse. " 

" So, he's just a cowardly boy, after all, " the MTF Soldier evilly grinned and took his rifle. " I'll just shoot him, then! "

" The 05 council will decide your fate afterwards then. "

As the guard was ready to fire, the two of them heard a thumping noise outside of their station. The two of them were alerted as they glanced to each other.

" There was a noise. We should check it out, " his partner reminded. 

" Right, " he sighed, lowered his weapon, and followed his partner. 

The two MTF Guards left their station to check the source of the noise. Coming back to the station was an abyssal blackened haired and winged angel as she to the best of her ability sneaked her way into the station.

" They surely keep top secret project secured, " Skoúro Valour sarcastically said as she glanced around the room. The guard nervously gulped and scratched his head. He was not easy in looking at her.

" Damn, I should have blasted that kid's head! " he thought and walked away. 

The angel roamed around a little more before noticing the boy, " Oh?...what is that? "

The Kree-Lizard boy was just waking up from his repetitive nightmare as he got shocked seeing his blue blood splattered from the floor. He was slowly sitting and standing up when he stepped back in fear. His both hands were shaking and feeling terrified to see his own blood. 

" No...no! It's happening again! " he anxiously muttered to himself, trembling in fear. " No! No! No! " 

Skoúro seemed confused of the boy as she looked at the blood and wondered of its origins. She intently observed the Kree-Lizard hybrid's uneasy behavior. 

" It can't be any kind of human blood or even my or Kai's blood. It's different and blue like lobsters, " she thought before looking back to the boy and slowly walk closer to the reinforced window pane. " Hey! Can you hear me?!"

He turned around as he got surprised to see her. He was afraid to confront her. The boy thought of hiding to protect himself from his brutal visitors coming and endangering his life. Skoúro was not one of those people who would do those horrible things. She was still watching at him. 

" Y-Yes... P-Please don't tell me....Are you going to hurt me again like the others did? " he tremblingly answered.

" Hurt you? No, I'm here to know more of this place...and it seems even worse more that I explore deeply. "

The Kree-Lizard boy turned closer to her as he sensed Skoúro's curiosity. He touched the window and looked intently at her. The angel saw those two humanoid eyes with green irises. They were different from 682. 

" You're not the ones who come here to intrude me and destroy my life. "

" No, My new goal is too save lives now. That's what the Elite Commander said I can do now. "

" I see... You may come in," he politely spoke.

" Well, I'm sorry...I can't exactly phase through the window. And it's bad to break highly important containment chambers. "

" I-I see.. " he nodded. " You can visit me here. I want to know what's outside of these four cornered walls. I feel very isolated here. "

" Even if I could bring you out of the cell, I can't. That would be a death sentence...However? I can tell you what is like being free of here though, " she said as she sat down in front of the boy.

For the first time, this moment had sparked hope to the Kree-Lizard boy which he wanted to bring up a conversation. It wasn't a usual test subject experimentation and extermination which he frequently experienced. He got interested in talking to Skouro as he was thinking of something which both of them would share their thoughts to each other. Finally, he thought of talking about the Avengers which he had heard from the MTF Soldiers. 

" Yes, one of your guards talk about Captain America. Is he a good man? " he curiously asked. " I want to know more about him." 

" I've never met the guy myself or even seen him, just heard all about him, " she answered. " From what I hear he is like the best of the best soldiers ever. Even more successful the anyone here."

" I wish to see him someday or any of his friends, " he said. " But everyone will be afraid of seeing me. " 

 
" I've seen worse things than you. "

" Can you tell me? " he asked.

" I can give you the gist of it. I've saw the father of Darkness himself, seen deadlier and uglier creatures of universal ending potentials. Mythos' and more."

" Those beings? "

" Yep " she said as she nodded.

" Can you tell me more of it? " he asked.

" Um...Well, I can't. The Researchers won't allow even me to share information. They fear that you can use them for your own gains. "

" Well then, I guess it's complicated. Am I right? "

" That's just the surface of the iceberg. "

" I see, " the Kree-Lizard boy nodded and sadly sighed. " I wish I can find the truth about this world. I don't have any idea of everything. All I spend here is nothing, but being beaten up by someone else and waiting for myself to die. " 

 

Skoùro intently listened to him as she understood what he said. The hybrid clone was in the motive of finding truths and knowledge of this planet. He had no any idea of what was really going on. This time, he waited for any spark of hope from the Dark Angel herself.



" Honestly..." she explained. " In my eyes, the world is a lot darker than what it is in here. Here, the beings of dangerous potential are locked up for experiments, containment, and benefits of survival mostly for the human race. " 

He again sadly sighed and thought of other things aside from his nightmares and being locked up as an experiment. Hopelessness was his constant companion, no more, no less. Skoùro noticed the hybrid's melancholic humanoid green irises in his eyes as water dropped on his face.

" Hey, hey there...You want out don't you? I can see it by your tears. " 

" Freedom from my own bondage..." he instantly said. " It's hard to explain. "

" I was the same when I was younger. Only reason I was kept alive was through experiments...until" she said before shaking her head. Then, footsteps were heard as Skoúro quickly got up in a hurry. " I'm sorry, but I've seen too much. " she sadly said as she quickly rushed out.

" It's all right. I understood now. You better go, " the Kree-Lizard hybrid spoke. The boy sat alone inside his room looking at his blue blood. He kept thinking about it.

(Few Hours Later)

The hybrid felt more uncomfortable than ever when a group of MTF scientists took his samples. He never wanted to harm them just like the brutal monster did. He remained silent, but his face was grimacing in pain when a syringe needle punctured his scaly skin.

" Why are they doing this to me? I have nothing done wrong, " he thought.

The scientists already took his samples as the boy sadly sighed. Hopelessness and depression have been running on his head. Somehow, his conversation with Skoúro had alleviated him a little. He was hoping for her to return. 

He looked at the window and waited until he closed his eyes and fell asleep. The room was peaceful, but suddenly an earthquake occured. The hybrid instantly woke up and saw the sudden trembling. He was afraid the walls would crash him down. He never had an idea in what to do with this unforeseen circumstance. 

Outside the containment cell, the MTF soldiers were evacuating from the facility the earthquake was still present. Skoúro helped the others to escape and waited for them to leave. Then, she headed to the room where the boy had stayed. He was the only one left in the facility. She took a long tunic for him to get dressed.


" Hey! Are you okay? " she asked. 

" What is that?! " he cried. " I'm so scared! I'm going to die! "


" It's an earthquake. "

She entered the cell and approached him. The boy felt scared to come near her. The memories of 682 had haunted him which the monster terrorized the Dark Angel before. This time, the tremendous shaking had changed his mind. He wanted to reach her hand.


" Come on, I'll help you out of here, " she said and grabbed his hands. " I'm not gonna hurt you. "


" Why are you doing this? I deserve to..."


" Just follow me..."


The Dark Angel and the Kree-Lizard Hybrid were still walking and rushing into safety while the ground was shaking. Finally, they found an opening going to the outside. Skoúro brought him into the forest and touched his face.


" I don't know what to say...." the boy said. " But thank you..."


" You're welcome, " she answered and gave the cloak to him. " But I want you to stay hidden and avoid any trouble, okay? "


" I will, " he nodded. " Will I ever see you again? "


" I don't know maybe. Perhaps, all you have to do is to find yourself and more friends to be with. Someday, we'll see each other. "


" Thank you..."


" You're welcome, " she hugged him and kissed his forehead. " Good luck on your new journey. " 

Skoúro and the Kree-Lizard hybrid boy watched each other and waved their hands as they parted their ways. The boy never had an idea how to wear the cloak as it took so much time for him to figure it out. Finally, he got it right. He continued walking in the forest and saw some fault-lines on the ground. The boy avoided to step on them. Still experiencing the mild aftershocks, he turned around and got lost. He had no idea where to go, but he kept walking.



Going to the end of the forest, the boy found a bright yellow star in the sky. He was smiling to see it. For him, it was a sign of hope and freedom. The Kree-Lizard hybrid was ready to face his journey to the outside world.