“You!” Carol shouted at the white-skinned alien before her, “You pushed me out into space!”

 Oracle pursed her lips, “Hmmm, so I did. Yet here you stand, none the worse for wear.”

 Carol continued, undaunted, “What have you done to me?! I should be dead from being in space! Or the cold! Or burned to a crisp! I should be dead in so many horrific ways!”

As she worked herself into a fury, she failed to note either the warm, rushing sensation creeping across her skin or the glow emanating from her tightly clenched fists. Oracle calmly closed the distance between them and held out the keys she’d confiscated earlier. Carol began to snatch them away and finally noticed her hands. Startled, she broke her concentration and the glow faded away.

 “Wh... what?” she blurted out.

 “Energy manipulation is one of your abilities. With practice, you should be able to project bursts of energy and even absorb energy in defense. Surely by now you realize that you are no longer a normal human. You flew with a fifteen hundred kilogram vehicle on your shoulders and withstood an environment that should kill you in the blink of an eye. As I said, here you stand none the worse for wear.”

Oracle placed the keys on the table.

"You are not unique, nor are you our first. We have identified many hundreds of individuals with the anomaly. We are working tirelessly to transition many who would stand up to the Brotherhood of Badoon and defend this world. Be vigilant; the threats will be grave and will not necessarily be obvious. For as past tyrants and dictators such as Vlad Tepes or Napoleon rose to power, so too will new ones by the doing of the Brotherhood. You’re familiar with the threat posed by Daesh in your Middle East, for instance? How do you believe they came to be?”

Oracle moved to the window and gestured for Carol to follow. She was hesitant, causing Oracle to smile widely.

“Carol Danvers, this is your purpose. You are one of the Earth’s Guardians. You will avenge those incapable of fighting for themselves. And you will not be alone. Some will come by their powers naturally and others, like you, will need a boost. Others will fight by your side and the Shi’ar will be ever present.”

She gestured to the city visible in the distance across the lake, “People will be inspired by your example. They will rally behind you. They will marvel at your exploits.”

She turned to Carol and extended her hand. Carol gripped it silently and the two women shook, as if in assent. Finally Oracle spoke, “We will see each other again, of that I have no doubt. Good luck Carol Danvers.”

And Oracle vanished.

To be continued...

@korver - Thanks! That means a lot to me coming from someone I consider to be a master of SC4!