Earth-717: Ms. Marvel Vol 1

Chapter 1: Star Journal

In a secluded meadow bathed in starlight, a lone child wandered to the top of a lonely hill. The blades of the summer grass massaged the exposed skin of her lower legs, just above the lines of her socks and just below the edge of her skirt. A scenic lake, still as the windless air, gave moisture to the area around her.

The girl was only eight years old. She had flowing locks of golden hair, that reached down almost as low as her elbows. She was wearing her favourite t-shirt, which was made of black fabric, and had an image of the USS Enterprise on it. Her outfit was completed with her blue skirt and matching running shoes.

Reaching the highest point on the hill, the girl then looked up at the majestic painting that was the starry night sky. This far away from any type of civilization was the perfect place to get a good look at the cosmos, for there was no light pollution to sully the wondrous sights of the stars. Grinning widely, the girl then sat down, crossing her legs and putting her hands in her lap.

In her left hand was a small book. It was a green journal with metal wiring to hold together the lined pages, and had a piece of tape on the front cover. The tape had been written on with black felt tip pen, with it reading as 'Carol's Star Journal'. Using the tips of her fingers to open the journal, she looked over the various scribbles and notes that she had made inside it.

She giggled as she looked over her earliest attempts at mapping out some of the constellations. She smiled as she reread her accurate listings of the nearest galaxies. She rolled her eyes as she got to the page where one of the boys at school had written in a note about how much he loved her, which of course made her extremely upset because he wrote it over top of a diagram she had drawn of all the planets in Earth's solar system.

Finally flipping to a fresh page, Carol pulled out her pink, heart-covered pen from within the journal spiral. Plucking off the cap and putting it on the back of the pen, she then wrote in the current date at the top left corner before looking back up into the sky. Tapping the back of her pen rhythmically against the page, she thought about what she was going to write inside her journal as she perused the endless palette of stars above her.

Finally settling on charting some new constellations, Carol started to draw in a star chart. Taking note of the locations before drawing lines between them, she was deep in focus for several minutes, and so did not notice that another figure was approaching her from the distance. The figure was a grown man in his early forties, and he stepped over a run down wooden fence that marked the perimeter of the meadow.

Slowly walking up behind her, the man stopped about ten metres away, putting his hands on his hips. He watched her continue to write for a few minutes, with a feeling of pride swelling in his chest. He then continued to walk towards her, before sitting down on her right side. She blinked and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Awh. I gotta go back already?"

The man laughed.

"Don't sound so upset."

"I just got out here!"

The man crossed his legs, imitating the position that Carol was in. She sulked and turned away from him, looking back at the stars.

"Mom wanted to know where you were," said the man. "Says it's way past your bedtime."

"Bedtimes suck!"

"Yeah. I agree with you. But, rules are rules."

"Rules suck too!"

"Carol . . . ."

Carol shrugged and looked sullenly at the ground.

"Sorry, daddy."

The man smiled before putting his hand on Carol's shoulder.

"It's okay. Look, I'll make you a deal. Don't tell on me . . . . and I'll let you have five more minutes. Okay? I'll say I had trouble finding you."

Carol's eyes lit up as brightly as the stars.

"Really?!"

"Sure," said the man, as he held up a finger. "But five minutes. No more, you understand?"

"Yes."

"Alright."

The man took his hand off Carol's shoulder. With renewed zeal, she continued to draw, finishing off her star chart.

"Hmmm. My Carol. Always staring into space."

"You never liked space."

"Yeah. Was too busy living life here on little old Earth. But your head's always in the stars."

"Stars are cool, dad."

"Thought they were hot."

The man laughed again as Carol rolled her eyes at him.

"Not funny."

"Come on, it's a little funny."

Carol shook her head.

"Nuh uh."

"Ah, whatever."

Carol blinked before looking up again.

"The stars are all so clear. I can't see the planets yet, but one day I will."

The man raised an eyebrow.

"How you gonna do that? Build a giant telescope? Think they did that already."

"Noooooo. I'm going to build a spaceship."

"Oh, an astronaut. Look at you. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you don't dream big, kid."

"I'm gonna be the greatest astronaut ever! I'm gonna go on lots of adventures, just like the Enterprise! I'm gonna go and see the stars and planets that nobody ever saw before! To boldly go, where no woman has gone before!"

"Think you got the quote wrong."

Carol groaned.

"Well, I'm a girl, so I changed it, okay?!"

The man held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Okay, okay! No harm, no foul, kiddo. Don't shoot me with your ray gun, or whatever."

"It's called a phaser, dad!"

"Uh oh. I'm in trouble now."

Carol giggled, and the man laughed along with her. After a few more seconds, Carol scribbled in the last few details on her star chart before closing the journal. Slipping the pen back inside of the metal spiral, she then turned to her father.

"You believe I can do it, don't you, daddy?"

The man exhaled as he took a few seconds to consider his response.

"Of course I do," he said. "I think you can do anything you want to. Not just saying that because I'm your father, I promise. I think you're destined for the stars, Carol."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really really?"

The man smiled.

"Really really."

Carol leaped forward, tackling her father and wrapping her arms around him for a hug. Clearly startled, the man coughed as he caught his breath before warmly smiling and returning her embrace. They held their hug for half a minute before Carol pulled away. She beamed at her father, who then held out his hand.

"Come on."

Carol frowned for a moment, but then relented and took his hand. They both stood up, and he took a second to look down at her.

"Hey. Before we go back, I want to give you something."

"What is it?"

The man knelt down, reaching into his pocket. He then pulled out a beautiful red scarf, which he held out to her. She looked at it with confusion.

"A scarf? But it's summer, daddy."

"It's not just any scarf, Carol. You remember Granddad?"

"Yeah."

"This was his scarf. His lucky scarf. He had it when he was on his own adventure, across the sea."

"He went on an adventure? What adventure? He never told me!"

The man chuckled.

"Was a long time ago. Lots of people were on adventures back then. They were trying to save lives. Your Granddad, he . . . . he was doing things. Trying to help good people. But there were others who wanted to stop him, you see. Bad people. They wanted to hurt him. But your Granddad wasn't scared."

"Why not?"

"Because he knew he was gonna be okay."

"How?"

"Because he had his lucky scarf."

Carol blinked as she looked down at the scarf again.

"You see, he knew that as long as he had his lucky scarf, that nothing bad was going to happen. He knew that something would come along and help him. And it did. That was the day that he met Captain America."

Carol's eyes burst wide with shock.

"The hero?!"

"Yeah. The hero. Captain America saved your Granddad. All because of this scarf."

"Wow."

"Go on. Take it."

Carol held out her hand, but hesitated. She waited a few more seconds before eagerly snatching it up with both hands. She looked at it with reverence, as if it were some sacred item of the cosmos. She breathed heavily as she held it close to her chest.

"He gave it to me when I was about your age. That's when he told me that story. He told me that he wanted me to give it to my son."

Carol tilted her head to the side.

"But you don't have a son."

The man chuckled.

"I know. Figured it was time to give it to you."

"Thanks, daddy."

Wrapping the scarf around her neck, Carol then held both of her arms up. The man acknowledged the gesture, reaching down and scooping up his daughter. Holding her up near his right shoulder, he then began walking back down the hill, towards the dilapidated fence at the edge of the meadow.

After a few minutes, they arrived at a lone cottage in the countryside. The lights on the ground floor were on, and a woman was standing in the open doorway. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she was tapping her foot repeatedly against the porch.

"What took you so long?!" she said, as the man walked up the front steps. "You been gone for twenty minutes! It's way past her bedtime, Joseph. Almost midnight!"

Joseph shrugged.

"Had trouble finding her. Swear, I raced right back."

The woman scoffed before turning around. Joseph then winked at Carol while his wife's back was turned.

"Come on, get inside," said the woman.

Joseph took Carol upstairs to her bedroom. He took her journal out of her hand as she yawned, putting it on her bedside table for her. After she changed into her pyjamas, he tucked her into her bed, which was in perfect view of a window that allowed her to see the moon and plenty of stars. She was still holding the scarf.

"Goodnight, daddy."

"Goodnight, Care-Bear."

Joseph reached forward and kissed his daughter on the forehead. He then got up and left the room, closing the door behind him. Carol turned her head to the left, looking out the window. Holding the scarf close to her chest, she quickly drifted off to sleep, dreaming of all the wonderful adventures that the future would bring.