"I swear, Pietro, if you try that shit again with (Y/n), I will turn you into a pickled herring."
You softly laughed as you watched the illusions of Pietro and Wanda interacting. You used illusions to recreate a memory. You couldn't sleep properly because you were afraid of experiencing another nightmare. When you first met Pietro and Wanda, you swished your fingers and modified the illusion. As the illusions smiled broadly at you, you grinned longingly. They appeared to be present. However, your illusions could be persuasive enough to be real and true.
When the ground began to shake, you lost focus. Your illusions unexpectedly shifted to a moment when Novi Grad was struck by a massive earthquake and you were trapped beneath the ruins. You sat up and realized that your friends were also getting up. Molly scanned the area. "What's happening?"
"Earthquake!" Chase exclaimed.
You stood motionless, staring at the illusions of Pietro and Wanda attempting to assist you.
"Help! I'm trapped!"
You grabbed your fists on each side of your head as your head began to throb. "Oh, my God!" You heard Wanda's yell. "(Y/n)!"
"You're okay, (Y/n)." You heard Pietro's voice of reassurance once again. "Do you hear me?"
"I don't wanna die..." You whispered as you shut your eyes close.
"You're gonna be fine, I promise..."
"(Y/n)!" Alex, Nico, and Chase yelled collectively at you to get your attention. They had already exited the room to seek safety, but you remained stuck on the ground, your illusions replaying what had occurred on your last day in Novi Grad.
In the room, Gert and Molly were still there with you. Gert dragged you beneath a table to hide, but Molly and the others noticed a pillar sliding down. "Gert! (Y/n)!" Molly rushed towards you and her adoptive sister.
Chase shook his head. "Molly, no!"
Your eyes popped open, and you leaped to your feet, raising your arm to use your powers to prevent the pillar from crushing Gert. You extended your arm even more and restored the pilar back to its place. Gert peeked her head out. "Holy shit, that was close." She breathed.
When the earthquake subsided, Alex, Nico, and Chase dashed over to you, Molly, and Gert. Alex exhaled deeply. "We're safe. We survived."
You suddenly sensed something and you immediately turned and used your powers to catch a falling broken chandelier. The group flinched in surprise but they were relieved that the object didn't crash. You gently placed it on the ground. Chase looked up as the others gathered behind you. "This place held, though."
Old Lace came to Gert's side, and Gert comforted her by petting her dinosaur. "For now."
Nico soon discovered that someone was absent from the group. "Wait, guys..." She called out. "Where's Karolina?"
Alex shook his head. "We don't know. I saw her last night with you."
Nico stayed when she discovered you weren't moving, while the others moved to separate sections of the mansion. "(Y/n)?"
As you stared down at the shattered chandelier in front of you, you stayed still and silent. Nico blinked her eyes and slowly approached cautiously. "(Y/n), come on. We have to find Karo—"
When Nico reached out to you, you instantly grabbed her arm. You stared her down, your face and eyes were dull. Your eyes were turning red and blue, with the red being more noticeable. "(Y/n), it's just me." Nico reassured. "The earthquake is over. You're safe."
As you became calmer, your grasp on Nico's arm loosened. Nico breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed your shoulders. "Do you want to find Karolina together? So you won't be alone?"
You locked your gaze on her for a moment before nodding softly. Nico grinned as she took your hand and brought you to one of the mansion's rooms in search of her companion. "Karolina?" Nico called out loud as she opened the doors. "Karolina?"
You raised your other hand and, using your powers, formed a ball of light. However, you saw that the color of your abilities was still attempting to alter to blue or red. "Something's not right." You murmured.
"Yeah, no shit." Nico sighed as she focused on finding her girlfriend. "Earthquakes and now Karolina being gone without saying something to us? That's unusual of her."
You looked at Nico before shaking your head in dismay before continuing your search for the tall blonde-haired female. Nico and you returned to the main hall with no luck, hoping to see the others return as well. "There's no sign of her upstairs," Gert informed the group as she walked down the stairs.
"Although," Chase added as he also walked down the stairs from the other side. "Pretty sure I saw, like, rat-sized cockroaches back there."
Old Lace growled in delight, causing Molly to smile. "Bite-sized Old Lace snacks."
Gert shook her head at Old Lace and Molly while resting her hands on her hips. "No. Gross." While you, Nico, and Alex stood there watching, Old Lace whimpered and lowered her head in sadness. Gert sighed. "Fine. Who am I to judge the dietary habits of a homeless dinosaur."
Old Lace roared with delight as she dashed upstairs to the location where Chase had stated she could find her food.
"Guys!" Nico yelled sternly as she placed her hands on her waist. "Focus. Karolina."
"Look," Alex sighed. "She's not in here injured, okay? Which means she's out there, probably totally fine." He tried to calm Nico down.
Nico shook her head, getting more agitated. "Except it might be worse out there." She argued.
You crossed your arms and stood next to Alex. "Way to reassure your ex, Wilder." You whispered.
Alex winced. "I tried. I'm not good at comforting."
"We need to partner up, comb the area nearby," Nico instructed the team.
Molly turned her head to see the person that you and your friends have been looking for for hours. "Or maybe we don't need to go anywhere," Molly stated with a smile.
You and the others turned to Molly and saw her looking behind. You turned your heads and saw Karolina entering the mansion. "Hey." She greeted with a smile. "Is everyone okay?"
Alex took a deep breath of relief and sat down on a chair. Nico crossed her arms. "Where were you?" She asked sternly. "We were worried."
Karolina sighed. "Sorry. I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk in the woods. I really didn't mean to worry anyone."
Nico gave up her angry expression and embraced Karolina, knowing she couldn't bear being upset with her partner any longer. You cast a glance down at Alex, who was looking away. Molly grinned as she prodded you lightly. "If you just make a move on him already, I'm sure he could fully move on from Nico." She whispered.
You give her a cold stare before taking Molly away from the team. "Molly, enough." Molly furrowed her eyebrows. "Enough?" She asked.
"I'm not making a move on Alex, okay? Having a boyfriend, a girlfriend, or a romantic partner is not my priority right now." You stated in a hushed tone. "There are more things to take care of than my feelings for him, got it?"
Molly stared at you for a minute. "But what if he does like you and—"
You grabbed her shoulders and took a deep breath. "I... I don't care." You shakily exhaled, knowing that what you said may be true or false. "I'm still confused about my powers. That's what I want to prioritize right now."
You nodded and tugged Molly back to the group when she didn't respond. Gert took a seat on the stairwell and looked at Karolina. "How bad is it out there?" She asked.
"It's definitely way worse down here," Karolina answered. "The rest of the world is still intact."
Alex nodded. "Okay, so this isn't the one that Molly's parents warned us about."
"Or it's the pre-shock to that one," Gert replied. "We don't know if we permanently shut down that construction site."
"We didn't double-check so that's a possibility." You agreed with Gert.
Nico looked at you and Gert. "You think they restarted the drill?"
Chase shrugged. "That Jonah guy seemed pretty determined. I'm not sure one cement truck is gonna stop him for long."
"Sometimes an earthquake is just an earthquake..." Karolina blurted out, sounding as if she was trying to defend Jonah. "...especially here."
"And sometimes it's an evil PRIDE plot to frack LA into the ocean," Alex replied.
"We have to make sure the dig site's destroyed," Nico remarked. "Permanently this time. We need to power up, which means I need the Staff."
Alex furrowed his eyebrows as he stared up at Nico. "You realize your mom has it, right? I mean, why don't we start off by stealing something easy like the Elder Scrolls in Skyrim." He sarcastically commented.
You and the rest of the group stared at Alex in confusion. Alex looked around and noticed that his friends were quiet. "Obviously a joke." He said. "Everyone knows how hard those are to steal."
You shook your head. "No, everyone does not know that. Nice reference, though."
Chase sighed. "It's risky..." He told Nico as he indicated Nico's suggestion earlier. "...going back into the belly of the beast. What if you get caught?"
"Yeah, or worse," Alex added.
"That's why I'm going with her," Molly announced.
Karolina crossed her arms and nodded. "Me, too." She glanced down at Nico, who gave her a smile. Nico, Karolina, and Molly turned their heads to see you. You smiled at Nico. "Of course, I'm going with you." Nico smiled back at you.
"I'm not much good without the Fistigons, and I can't fix those until I steal some power, and get this place back on the grid," Chase stated.
You smiled at Chase. "Pretty boy is an electrician."
Gert glanced at Chase. "I'll stay, too." She looked around the mansion. "I need to make sure this place isn't a structural death trap now."
Alex got up from his seat with a small groan. "I gotta get to my job."
You and your friends faced Alex in complete surprise. Nico scrunched her face. "What?" She questioned.
"Since when did you have a job?" You asked.
"You never said you had a job," Nico added. "What are you talking about?"
Alex shook his head. "I never said I didn't have a job."
"You know what, Wilder?" Chase exclaimed in annoyance. "I'm sick of this secretive shit. What job?"
Gert got up and stood behind Chase, looking at Alex. "Yeah. He's right. You gotta tell us."
Alex raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Shocking that you agree with Chase."
"Wow." Gert scoffed. "Thanks for that refreshing dose of patriarchal thinking, 'cause I just—I can't have an opinion of my own?"
Chase nodded, looking at Alex in disappointment. "Oh, boy. Now you've done it."
Alex scoffed. "You know what? I'm leaving." Alex turned around to leave, but Chase yanked his arm to bring him back. "No, you're not. Not until you tell us where."
Alex glared at Chase as he stared at him. "What are you gonna do, Chase?" He questioned. "Beat it out of me?"
"Oh, don't you think I couldn't."
Everyone began to argue, and you stood there with your arms crossed, watching. Growing tired from their never-ending arguments, you shouted. "Guys!" Everyone stopped and looked at you. You snapped your head towards Alex, giving him a look. "Alex, you told me to tell you guys everything when it comes to our safety. You have to tell us."
Alex looked into your eyes, considering whether or not he should be obstinate. He knows he won't be able to visit his friends again if he walks out of the mansion without you and the others knowing what he's been up to. That includes you.
"Our parents lied to us every day of our lives," Molly added, standing closer to you. "If we're gonna be different, we gotta trust each other."
"And that means no more secrets." You concluded, your gaze fixed on Alex, oblivious to Karolina's reaction. "Otherwise, we're just like them."
Alex gave up and sighed. "Fine. I'm working for Darius."
Nico furrowed her eyebrows while Chase scoffed in disbelief. "The guy who kidnapped you and almost shot you?" He laughed. "That's a great plan. Good thing you don't need an IQ test to stay here."
"Yeah, 'cause then where would you stay?" Alex questioned. "Look, you guys asked me to tell you and I did, so now I'm leaving." He turned around to leave and this time, Chase didn't stop him.
"Alex," Nico called out, but Alex didn't look back.
Molly shrugged with a small smile. "At least he told us the truth."
You sighed. "I'll be right back." You ran in the direction where Alex had gone. "Alex!" You raised your voice. You saw him open the door to exit, but you grabbed his hand and forced him to look at you. "Just like that you're gonna leave?"
"I told you already. I have a job to do." Alex replied.
"And you didn't even think that this job might not be a good idea? Unless there's another reason why you're going out to meet him."
"Just..." Alex sighed. "Trust me on this, okay?" He put a few dollars in your hand and closed them. "Here. Buy some food for the group. I don't know how long I'll be back. If something happens, you call me on the burner phone."
You exhaled in defeat as Alex slipped away from your grasp and left the underground mansion. You crossed your arms and shook your head. "I swear to god, if he comes back and has a girlfriend because of that job of his, I'm done." You muttered.