Continued from here part 2
Steve sat by the fire as Barry tried his hand at cooking a stew. Steve looked up to the sky as he saw a blazing trail coming down, "That a shooting star?"
Barry shrugged, "Make a wish."
Mary and Casey were a bit away having found a clearing where Mary clocked Casey's foot speed, "I need to do some calculations to get an exact number but you're pushing sixty mph."
Casey smiled, "Too bad I'm off the track team."
Mary started to chuckle but was cut off by something slamming into the ground hard and causing enough of a shake to take the girls off their feet. Casey sat up now covered in a fine layer of dirt and dust, "What the hell was that?"
Mary hopped up, "Let's go find out."
***
A few minutes later they found the crater and were surprised to see a man laying in the center. Casey dropped down and knelt by him as his eyes popped open. She jumped back a bit as he sat up and spoke, "I suggest if you ever get the chance to piss off the Living Tribunal, give it a pass."
"The living what?"
He turned, "Always forget how little they teach on this planet."
He then grunted as he stood and put out his hand, "My real name, is unpronounceable in most human languages but you can call me the Traveler."
He then hopped out of the crater and walked over to a busted tree stump. He dug a bit by the root and picked a small bit of metal, "Look at that, already on the road to success."
Mary's shock faded as curiosity took over, "What is that?"
"Hard to explain, I got into a spot of trouble with the bosses and they sent me on, to put it as simply as a human could understand, a cosmic scale scavenger hunt as part of my punishment."
He waved the object, "Gotta find seven of these or a cosmic monster will eat the Earth."
Casey stepped up to Mary, "I think he's crazy."
"He did just fall from space, and considering the impact he was moving at incredible speed so brain damage is possible, though the fact he isn't dead proves at the very least he's nearly invulnerable."
"Ladies, it's rude to talk about people like they aren't there when they're in earshot."
They turned to him to apologize but were stunned as he threw the metal bit into the air and were surrounded by a large stellar map that shifted around until it landed back on Earth and shifted to Doomstadt, New Latveria and focused right above Castle Doom. He then leaned in, "Alrighty, nice to meet you ladies but I gotta..."
Casey cut him off, "Any chance you can give us a ride?"
Mary looked at her like she was crazy, "We can't go to New Latveria."
"If we stick around here eventually soldiers are gonna catch us, at least they don't shoot on site in New Latveria."
Mary sighed, "Fine, lets go get Steve and Barry."
The Traveler shrugged, "Hurry it up kids, I got a schedule to keep."
***
Steve and Barry looked suspicious of the Traveler and were about to question him when suddenly they were surrounded by bright light and then in Castle Doom a half second later. Surprised guards and Shield agents looked on as the Traveler walked up to one of them, "Is the Queen around?"
The Agent shook her head, "She's away at the moment, I'm sure she...."
He then wandered away and shoved open a door where General Kurske was giving a briefing. The general ordered him out but was ignored as the Traveler yanked up a bit of floor and grabbed the second item, "Gotcha."
He then walked out to the hall and tossed it in the air and noted the star chart as it focused in on the Shi' Ar Aerie. He then shook his head, "This is gonna be a pain."
He then got an idea as he turned to Mary and her group, "How would you kids like to meet some real live aliens."
Steve was about to say something but Casey and Barry spoke up with notions of adventure swimming in their heads, "We're in."
Mary nodded, her scientific curiosity wouldn't let her pass it up. Steve sighed, "Okay."
As the chart lowered they noticed the guards standing around them guns drawn, "You are und...."
Suddenly they found themselves aboard a the Kree ship Starjammer. They were on the comand deck as the four teens had a bit of trouble breathing,"Need four breathers."
Captain Hal-Lass nodded to an ensign who opened a hatch on the wall and tossed four small devices to the Travelver. He turned to the four, "These are called breathers, they convert any atmosphere around you into breathable air, also acts as a universal translator. The Kree are nothing if not efficient."
Hal then stepped over to the Traveler, "There a reason you're here?"
"Saving the Earth from becoming a snack as part of an ironic punishment from a cosmic prick with no sense of humor."
Hal's eyes narrowed, "I never know what you're talking about. What do you need?"
"Just the breathers, need to make a run to the Aerie and figured it'd be helpful if my assistants here could survive and stuff."
Hal shook his head, "The Aerie isn't really a great place to go right now. The Shi'Ar are in the middle of a full blown Civil War, turns out the royal line wasn't exactly open to Emperor Kallark's ascension."
The Traveler shrugged, "No choice in the matter."
He looked back, "You guys still willing."
The group were a bit put off as it finally set in that the Traveler was speaking the truth and Earth actually was in danger. Casey looked on her friends, "Okay, we're maybe a little in over our heads here but its not like we have a home to go back to and our world is in trouble. I'm going."
Barry shrugged, "You had me at aliens."
Mary and Steve looked a bit reluctant but they couldn't argue with Casey's logic, "We're in."
The Traveler grinned, "Cool, by the way you guys need better names. You sound like the cast of a Disney Channel show."
They looked at him blankly, "Never mind, time to go."
(To be continued)
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