Chapter 7
Peter awoke to the sounds of meat sizzling in a pan. He tried to sit up but it was too painful to move. "Where am I?" he whispered. He looked around looking for any sign of what had happened to him and Olivia. He was in an apartment, smaller than his but comfortable. It was filled to the brim with books. Three shelves on one side and a desk with two shelves on the other. He was in a bean bag with a plushie on his stomach and another on top of his hand. He'd never seen so many books in one place except for the University or the Government Libraries. Government Libraries were strongholds of knowledge, they had guards on patrol and metal detectors at every entrance. They were made so that people could read and learn "the truth" and not fall into the trap that many had fallen into in the old days. Most people didn't believe that but you'd be surprised how many agreed with it.
"So…you're finally awake," said a man clad in darkness. He was making bacon in the kitchen across from him on the other end of the apartment. "Care to tell me what the hell happened on 6th?" he asked, like a cop interrogating a suspect. "Who are you? Where's Olivia?" "Oh, right! You're still stuck lying down. She's to your left on her bed." the man answered as if he was disinterested and could care less about what he said. Only interested in the answers that Peter gave. "Now, I'm going to ask again. What the hell happened on 6th Avenue?" "We were attacked outside of Gold Experience. Some guy with tentacle arms. I think we beat him but I passed out before I could make sure." "Did the guy say anything about a sapphire? Or a company?" "He said that if we worked for the company we would have benefits," said Peter. Now, feeling a bit better, enough so that he was able to sit up and get a better look at who he was talking to. "Alex!?" Peter yelled in surprise before regretting it as his chest spiked with pain. "Hey! Shut up or you'll disturb the neighbors." Alex said. Annoyed with having to deal with Peter. "So you fought Sapphire, the guy with tentacle arms, and you woke up here, right? With no idea of what happened?" "Yeah, why?" "Oh, man, I have a lot to explain to you guys," he said. Tired of having to spoon-fed information.
When Olivia woke up, she looked rather sluggish at first but then immediately jolted from her bed and started to try and hide some of the books. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Peter said. "I wasn't ready for… anyone to come over so give me a second while—" she said frantically as she tried cleaning up more books before tripping on some different books on the floor. "Don't worry, I already read most of those books. They're actually quite interesting. Great plot, a story narrative that could use some work but overall pretty good. You should try reading it sometime, Peter. I'm sure you would just love—" teased Alex before getting hit in the head with a copy of The Lighting Thief. "Why the FUCK is Alex in my apartment!?" she yelled as she kicked the rest of the books underneath the bed before Peter even saw what the title was. "He got us out of 6th Avenue before anybody else came after us." "Okay… I still don't like that he's here." "Yeah, I don't want to be here either," Alex whispered, still sore from the book she threw at him.
"So, I get that you have questions about what the hell is going on. Now, I'm going to explain what I know and what I think is going on, got it? Good!" he said while interrupting Peter. "When the government found Obratride back in the '20s, they found something else there in the New Mexican and Arizona deserts. It was a material called Adraxium, which when fused with a living creature would give them the power to survive based on their specific attributes and abilities. Ouroboros has been tampering and experimenting with it for as long as the company has existed. The power given to us and the company's assassins are called Gauntlets. They resemble one piece of armor where the Adraxium fused with the subject. They can't be removed without killing the subject." explained Alex. "So, we're stuck with these powers?" asked Peter. "Yeah. Also, don't interrupt someone when they're speaking." Alex said before taking a sip of beer from the bottle he had. "Now, as I was saying, the company is doing this ultimately so they can sell their product to our and other militaries. Making some of the best profits of any company that has been made in the past 50 years." "So then why did they give these powers to us?" asked Olivia. "Shut up! I was getting there! They gave us these powers because we are some of the best candidates for the specific model that they have created. They gave you guys, what I'm guessing at least, the SH-2 model which is the newest one so far,""You said 'Us' when talking about who has the Gauntlets, do you also have one?" asked Peter "Yeah, but I ain't showing you shit. So, 2 things, 1: what are you guys going to do? I'd love to know what you guys think." Alex implied, still mocking them. "We should find out more about what's going on. That way we can figure out what to do next." Peter said, slowly formulating a plan in his head of what to do. "Alright, so you know what you want to do but what about you, princess?" Alex questioned, he started to sound a bit more drunk than before. "Oh, shut up. I'll go with Peter since he's the only rational person here besides me," she said begrudgingly. "Hey, what's that supposed to—" said Alex before falling asleep on the ground. "I wonder what the other question was," Peter said to himself. "Do you want anything to drink? You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I'm going to take a shower. Being near this guy just makes you feel like wet cigars and chewed-up tobacco." she said, still bitter over the fact that Alex was here in the first place. "And whatever you do. DO NOT look at what's under my bed." "Wasn't going to either way," replied Peter.
Peter sat down at the table in the kitchen and drank a soda he found in the fridge. He tried eating some of the bacon that Alex made but it was practically just ash. "Hey, Clint Eastwood! How's it going, hotshot? Oh, you went back to her place? You really are lucky!" said E.L, popping into view and sitting down in the chair opposite of Peter. E.L can't interact with the physical world so when he sits down it just looks like a green, holographic, chair appears. Peter didn't really care at this point since he was just trying to think of anything else that wasn't about today. "Can you shut up for a while?" "Okay, just because you didn't get laid doesn't mean you gotta push away your main man like that! Look, you should try looking around and see what she likes, get to know her more!" "Dear God, I already told you I'm not interested in her! We just needed her so we could get into the party! Look right now I just need to figure out what the hell I'm going to do. I just really need to relax and not think for a bit." "Alright, fine. I'll leave you alone for now." E.L said before disappearing like an old memory in the rain.
Peter laid there on the table looking around just trying to do anything to get his mind off of things. Looking around the fridge, trying to balance a water bottle, even contemplating grabbing Alex's beer bottle. He decided to listen to E.L and look around the apartment (because what else could he do?). He recognized some books here and there, Fahrenheit 451, Macbeth, Of Mice and Men, etc. They were everywhere, not just the shelves but on her desk, the table, her bed, the ground, he even found one (somehow) in the freezer. He took notice of the amount of plushies she had. She had all of series 12 and most of series 7 which totaled to about 19 plushies. The plushies were a bit more organized than the books with them only being on the shelves and bed. They looked like great explorers who had found a new land to call their home.
He kept looking around and decided to see what was on her desk. Mostly paperwork and sketches for designs of engines but also some different drawings of what appeared to be a tall and imposing woman. Her eyes were completely black with red pupils. She had two daggers on her sides, and matching red gauntlets. She was dressed in a red hood but most of it was ripped and bloodied, to the point that it didn't really hide who she was, as if she wanted to be seen. He grabbed the drawing to get a better look when he heard Olivia's footsteps coming from the hall to the side of the desk. He "neatly" put the paper back onto the desk when she came into the room.
"Do you wanna go back to your place? If so, please take Alex with you." "Yeah, uh, I don't know. They're probably looking for us, so we should try not going anywhere by ourselves." "That's true." she thought for a moment and then spoke, "How about you stay here, we throw Alex in a closet and we keep watch overnight?" "Perfect. Also, where do I sleep?" "You can just stay there in the beanbag you were in before. I'll go grab you a blanket." "Thanks. Also, where did you get all these books from anyways?" When Peter questioned this, Olivia stopped walking in the hall upon hearing his words and then spoke, "They were my dad's before they shut down the libraries and made those government-funded ones. He was always reading and teaching to those who came in." "Like a bard?" Peter asked. "Yeah… like a bard," she replied now filled with sadness, tears forming in her eyes. Peter only brought it up because he had remembered a librarian like that. He was younger, around 10 or 12, when he started going to the university's library in the city. He loved the stories that the man told. He spoke as if he were singing, loud for all to hear and happy so others felt the same. He made sure that all the books were shared and all the knowledge of his classes was to be heard by all who wanted to learn. The Bard of Princeton, he brought light to that small part of the world. It was the only good thing at the time. The new president had created more tension and conflict with other nations, making life as terrible as a massacre with no name. Although he did later step down, his son took his place about a year later.
"I'll leave you alone for a bit… If you want," Peter said regretfully. He left and went to the bathroom to freshen up. He knew he would stay for the night, so he attempted to freshen up a bit. Olivia sat on her bed wiping the tears from her eyes and holding a plushie for comfort. Then suddenly her Gauntlet appeared, Ruby Queen. "Are you seriously crying? Please, you're supposed to be stronger than this! How can you let a fool like him make you this upset!? 'oH, LiKe a bARd?' really!? Just because he knew the Bard of Princeton doesn't mean he knows who your father is or what happened to him!" Ruby Queen yelled. "Hey, Ruby. Nice to see you too." "Oh, don't give me that! I'm here to make you stronger than whatever the hell this is!" She fussed, pointing at the mess that was Olivia's apartment. "Don't worry we'll just forget about it and go along with Peter's plan tomorrow." "Oh come on! Can't you think of something yourself?" "Shut up, just let me go to sleep already." "You do know I'll be there in your dreams, right?" Ruby said before disappearing.
Peter, now done taking a shower, came out of the bathroom and asked jokingly, "Do you actually want me to put Alex inside of your closet?" but was met with silence. He walked into the bedroom(which is the living room) and saw someone go flying across the room and into a wall. Before he knew it, he was electrocuted by something. He didn't even see what it was and only felt as hundreds of volts went through every part of his body. Before he lost conscience he saw Olivia dodging as much as she could as a man sped around at lightning speed. He collapsed to the ground with only burning electricity in his veins.