Marvel: Ned the Master of Mystic Arts

"Don't be like that, Fury. Look at you, acting like you've never seen anything like this before."

Ned said with a laugh as he returned through the portal.

"Uh… sir, you're… what exactly…"

Coulson was utterly flabbergasted by the sudden appearance of a plane, wondering if anyone among them could even pilot it. Certainly, he couldn't.

"Coulson, don't be so surprised," Ned said, walking over to stand beside him. "Honestly, buddy, not meeting you sooner was one of my biggest regrets. But now, here I am, meeting a less stressed version of you and teasing Fury when he still has hair. I couldn't be more satisfied."

"Uh… it's an honor, sir," Coulson said awkwardly, smiling timidly as he tried to process Ned's peculiar remarks.

"With all due respect, Mr. Mysterious, while this big bird has the potential to get us to Louisiana, I'm afraid no one here can actually fly it," Nick Fury said, still skeptical.

Ned turned to Carol and said, "No, Fury, we have the best pilot in the world right here."

"Really?" Fury asked, looking at Carol with suspicion. "Can you even fly an Earth plane?"

Fury's face was full of doubt, but Carol ignored his skepticism. She walked past him, shoved him aside, and confidently climbed into the cockpit. After fiddling with the controls for a moment, she simply said, "Yes."

Ned shrugged at Fury with a smug smile and was the first to step onto the plane.

"Let's go, boss," Coulson said to Fury.

"Hmm," Fury grumbled as he followed Coulson onto the plane.

Once inside, Carol turned to them and asked, "Which way to Louisiana?"

"Fly east and turn right at Memphis," Fury replied.

"Hey, is Maria Rambeau here?"

After arriving at their destination, Carol stepped forward and addressed a figure busy working in the distance.

"Huh? Aunt Carol?!"

A little girl climbed down from a nearby airplane model. When she saw Captain Marvel, her face lit up with excitement. "Mom! It's Aunt Carol!"

She ran over and threw herself into Carol's arms. "I knew it! Everyone said you were dead, but I didn't believe them…"

As the girl chattered away, she seemed to notice something different about her beloved Aunt Carol and gradually stopped talking.

"Aunt Carol?"

"Sorry, I might not be the person you remember," Carol gently pushed the little girl away.

At that moment, Maria Rambeau walked over, her face filled with disbelief and joy as she looked at Carol.

"I've never heard something so outrageous."

"Aliens turning into humans? Impossible!"

Inside Maria's house, the group had gathered, sitting or standing around the room. Young Monica looked skeptical after hearing Carol's story.

"You're right, little girl. There are no aliens. And even if there were, we shouldn't go around telling people about them," Nick Fury said, glaring pointedly at Carol.

Carol ignored him, her mind flooded with fragments of memories since arriving here.

She had come to believe that she was indeed human—or at least had lived on Earth for some time, like Dr. Lawson.

"Don't believe me?" Carol asked. She walked over to a stainless steel teapot on the table, placed her hand on it, and, moments later, the water inside began boiling and steaming.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Monica, who had been skeptical a moment ago, immediately lit up with excitement and exclaimed in amazement.

"Her hands can do more than just boil water," Fury muttered sarcastically.

"Hey, maybe you guys should step outside for a bit?" Carol said, cutting Fury off and gesturing for him, Coulson, and Ned to leave.

"What does this have to do with me?" Ned asked, looking confused but still obediently stepped outside.

"Alright," Fury grumbled, realizing that if even the most powerful among them—Ned—was complying, it wouldn't be wise to provoke Carol further. He shrugged and left with Coulson, who had been silently blending into the background the whole time.

Once outside, it wasn't long before Monica ran off excitedly to a small room. The sound of rummaging and clattering soon came from within as if she were searching for something.

"By the way, Mr. Mysterious, we still don't know what to call you," Fury said, seizing the opportunity to gather more information about Ned while they waited.

"Mystic Sorcerer," Ned replied nonchalantly, deliberately withholding his real name to avoid Fury tracking him down later when he became the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and discovering he was just a chubby high schooler.

"Oh, Mystic Sorcerer. Sounds cool," Fury said, nodding. Then he added, "A sorcerer, huh? The kind I've read about in comics, where many people can learn it?"

"Yeah," Ned replied, glancing at him without elaborating.

"Uh… mind if I ask where you learned magic?" Fury asked, his interest piqued. "Think I could learn it too?"

"I don't know," Ned said, maintaining his calm demeanor.

Before Fury could ask further, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Carol and Maria came out of the house. Hearing the knocking, Maria started walking toward the door, saying, "It's probably the neighbors…"

But before she could finish, Carol stopped her, stepping in front and saying, "Those guys can turn into anyone."

She motioned for Fury and Ned to hide behind the door, her face cold and serious as she approached to open it herself.

"Hey there," the neighbor greeted warmly, seemingly confused but polite.

"What do you want? Did you really think your disguise could fool me, Talos?" Carol said coldly, ignoring the neighbor's friendly demeanor. It seemed like her glowing fists were ready to strike at any moment.

"Hey! Tom, this is my friend Carol. Uh… I've got something to do. Let's chat next time, sorry," Maria quickly apologized and closed the door.

She turned to speak but was interrupted by a voice from behind.

"You should be nicer to your neighbors. You never know when you might need to borrow some sugar," Ned quipped.

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