Carol has been looking up her entire life.

Every time someone told her she couldn’t do something, she strives to prove them wrong. Each time she hears no, it’s another hurdle she’s going to have to cross in order to get to where she really wants to go. Every time the sky stretches out ahead of her, she can’t help but reach for it. Climb higher, reach further, do the things she’s told she can’t.

And each time she succeeds, she makes them eat their words about how wrong they were about her. She’s a girl who runs on spite and determination, after all.

The first time she sits in a cockpit, feeling the g-forces lift her up and away, she thinks this must be what freedom feels like. This must be how she can finally feel like she’s made it to the top of the mountain, and no one can pull her back down again.

But that turns out not to be true freedom, not really. It’s hard to be free when the means of that freedom belong to the U.S. Government.

She goes from the Air Force to the Kree, forgetting who she is and getting trapped in another system that only wishes to control her. She finally breaks free and shoots into the stars on her own, with no restrictions, and realizes that this is the freedom she always wanted. The rush of air around her, the clear blue sky rising to meet her: this is the mountain’s summit.

She wakes up after relighting Hala's sun, however, and for the first time in a long time sees a sky she doesn't recognize. It's not a new experience - she saw many unfamiliar skies as she explored the universe for a quarter of a century. But it's been a long time since one was truly new.

Did she burn too hot, trying to do something she isn't sure she could do in the first place? Did she tear a hole into another universe, like Dar-been did? She could have told Monica that this all was a mistake.

There's a soft, tentative meow at her shoulder, and she glances down with a frown to see Goose sitting there next to her. Her feline companion was not there when she closed her eyes, so something weird is definitely going on. She pushes up to her feet, holding out an arm so that Goose can climb up on her shoulder.

"C'mon, Goose. Let's go see if we can find some people."

Hopefully the people are friendly ones. If not, well. Carol is pretty sure she can handle it.