↳ ❝ [TAG, YOU'RE IT] ¡! ❞
PHASE TWO, CHAPTER 7.
by notanotherwinchester
3102 words
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"BULLSHIT!" Athena muttered angrily under her breath as she sat in the rainbow room, waiting once again — for Brenner to give instructions on what they were to do.
While she waited for the old fuck, she played a game with El. This was a daily thing for the two. Meet up in the rainbow room, then play any of the games. Somedays, Athena would teach her how to draw - and other days, Peter would have to teach her how to play certain games.
Athena and Peter were... acquaintances. They acted civil with each other around El, for her sake, but when they were alone, they bantered and argued a lot. It also didn't help that Athena loved to argue with people she found annoying, and Peter fit right in. Day after day, the two would fight and argue about the littlest things. It had gotten so bad one day that Brenner had come in between them, telling them to stop acting like a married couple and do their jobs. The brunette witch's cheeks had heated up in embarrassment and she looked away from the composed-as-ever Peter.
And while they had argued a bunch and purposely went out of each other's ways to recklessly annoy the other, Athena was sure they were at least friends. Peter was an enjoyable person to talk to when he didn't let his ego take over or tried to remain in control in every situation possible. So, she dealt with his rude remarks and his ridiculously attractive face.
Peter stood next to the door and Brenner was nowhere to be seen. One of the guards walked up to him, whispering something in his ear to which he nodded. He suddenly got up from his resting position and headed in the direction of El and her. Athena groaned and rubbed her eyes with her hands. When could she ever catch a break?
The blonde sent her an apologetic smile before telling her she needed to come with him. She nodded and apologized to El before following after her greek god out of the room.
They walked side by side, which they did every day. Brenner had put the two together to rotate to the different rooms each day, claiming: "You two will learn to tolerate each other and get closer." It sort of worked, surprisingly. All she had to do was keep quiet and focus on the walls surrounding them, it was easy.
Until it wasn't. The blonde greek god beside her had gotten aggravated by her annoying pestering on where they were going and shoved her against the wall. Peter looked both ways, to scout if any guard was nearby, before concluding nobody was. Athena's jaw clenched as his head whipped around to face her. He grabbed her arms, lightly squeezing them and keeping her trapped between him and the wall. The tension was rough, and the air was hot. She shifted her leg, accidentally hitting his ray of sunshine down there, making her apologize quickly.
Peter's jaw clenched tightly and his eyes sharply stared at her. His eyes had darkened, his eyebrows furrowing and his adam's apple bobbing in his neck as he gulped.
Athena smiled innocently. "Sorry." She lightly shrugged her shoulders. She made a move to get away from the wall and walk in the direction they were before, but Peter grabbed her shoulders and shoved her back. Her spine hit the brick harshly and she tensed. Immediately, her playful expression had turned into the one Peter was wearing. She shoved him away from her by the shoulders, Peter's feet stumbling back and he stared at her in rage with a hint of pride. She flipped the two so he was the one against the wall. Her arm went to his neck, her body trapping him in her once position.
"Are you forgetting I'm the one who can snap your neck like," She snapped her fingers right beside his face. He stared back at her, yet stayed still. "That."
She then observed his messy clothing and straightened his collar, sending him a sickly sweet smile before walking away. Peter threw his head back against the wall, watching her closely from the corner of his eye. Athena then stopped in her tracks at the end of the hallway, turning around to face him.
"Are you coming, or what?"
Peter nodded slowly, almost as if it pained him to submit to her. She smiled broadly at the pure pained expression on his face before skipping away. The blonde orderly shook his head and rolled his eyes at her giddy figure before following her.
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"So, where are we going?" Athena asked for the fiftieth time as they walked to some unknown room in the lab she had no idea existed. Peter's jaw clenched and unclenched as he ignored her and looked away, trying to keep his anger at bay. Athena scoffed at him and crossed her arms childishly.
The girl sighed consistently, just to annoy him. It worked, as he sighed in annoyance and ignored her the rest of the walk.
A snicker escaped her as she watched him angrily sigh and mess with his hair and fingers in an attempt to stay calm. She was thoroughly enjoying this, she concluded after snickering for a third time at Peter's aggravated expression.
Messing with him by teasing his clothes, claiming he didn't "iron them today," Peter suddenly grabbed her and shoved her against the wall.
"I have had just enough with you." He angrily growled, his finger pointing at her. Athena raised her eyebrows and smiled sarcastically.
"Glad we're on the same page, then!"
His eyebrows furrowed angrily as she leaned towards him, their bodies mere centimeters apart. Her lips grazed his ear, a shiver wracking his body.
"I affect you so much, it's hilarious." She whispered into his ear seductively, making sure her words echoed in his ear. A tint of pink littered Peter's cheeks and Athena wasn't sure it was because he was angry or flustered.
Either way, she was okay with it. A proud smile rested on her face as she leaned back against the wall, away from his body. Peter's hands suddenly gripped onto her waist, tightly squeezing her hips. Almost instantly, Athena's head shot up to look at him.
Confusion swam in her eyes as Peter suddenly leaned towards her, his hot breath fanning over her rosy cheeks, leaving them burning.
"I love the effect I have on you." He whispered in her ear, repeating the words she said earlier. His lips grazed her earlobe, causing an involuntary shiver from the girl. With a smirk on his stupidly attractive face, he backed away from her, stepping in front of the closed doors. His hands wrapped around the cold metal handles as he pulled them towards him. He strayed to the side of one of the doors, holding it open for her. Athena scowled at him and purposely hit his shoulder after walking past him. A tiny grunt escaped him at the force of the push before he walked up behind her, the door slamming shut behind them. Peter sent her a tiny glare and she smiled, her eyes bright.
"What do we need to do?" Athena asked Brenner as she looked around at the empty room, only the three of them there. A tank was inducted in the middle of the room, numerous levels ascending to the roof. She gulped and looked at Peter for any sort of reassurance, but he just nodded.
"I want you.." He paused, searching her eyes for any sort of fear. "I want you to go back to your old memories. Your suppressed ones." The brunette girl's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She didn't have any... suppressed memories.
"Is that it?"
Brenner looked taken aback at her question and nodded, though a perplexed expression remained on his face. He walked up to what she guessed was the control room and she raised an eyebrow, shaking her head with a sigh and waiting for instructions.
Peter suddenly walked up from behind her, holding clothes in his hands. The white shirt was folded neatly, matching white shorts stacked underneath. She looked up at him through her lashes, a small smile on her face from the little quirk she picked up on. He folds his clothes.
She reached her hand out to take it from him, her hand brushing against his. The warmth of his hand shocked her and she quickly pulled her hand away like it burned her. She quickly took the clothes and hugged them to her chest, walking to a supply closet in the back corner of the huge room.
Quickly changing her clothes, she gripped the tight shorts with her fingers, pinching them to try and release the tension it caused. The shorts uncomfortably hugged her thighs tightly as she walked out of the room. Her tank top was as tight as the shorts, which Athena assumed was so the water didn't cause it to fly up. She put her hair up into a tight bun and looked up at Brenner expectantly. He whispered something to the lady sitting at the front of the control system before walking down the stairs to her level.
"Peter, you can leave now. Your job is done here." Brenner advised the handsome man who stood to the side, watching them closely.
"What job?" Athena snarkily asked. Brenner looked just about ready to smack her so she quickly backed up away from him, crossing her arms behind her back with her fingers ready to do their magic.
"If you even think about smacking me, I will rip your head off and mail it to your family," She threatened him quickly, putting her hands back in front of her to emphasize it. Brenner looked unamused by her threats, to which Athena made sure to smile "innocently" at him. Peter made a sputtering noise behind them, a laugh and a cough put together. Her head whipped around to face him and he looked thoroughly amused at her, his lips twitching to keep from smiling.
She bit her lip to stop herself from smiling wider, turning around to face Brenner.
He shook his head like a stressed dad and motioned for her to follow him. He led her to the huge circular tub. Her hands sweated at the thought of going in there.
"I am not going in there." She emphasized her rejection of it and backed away from it. Brenner looked behind her at Peter, a silent conversation being spoken between them. She shook her head in denial and backed up, right into a... wall? There was no wall behind her.
She turned her head so the corner of her eyes could see that it indeed wasn't a wall and was instead, Peter. She turned around to face him.
"Move." She ordered.
Peter just shook his head with a sympathetic look on his face.
"I can't." He whispered to her, sneaking glances at Brenner behind her.
She stared at him in pure confusion, her eyebrows knitting together.
"Why?"
Suddenly, his face went void of any emotions. "You're not the only one who gets punished for not following the rules."
Her mouth fell open slightly in shock and she gazed at his stone-cold face. She faltered on her feet and sighed deeply.
"Fine! I'll do it."
An exasperated sigh left her at the thought of going in there and she pointed a finger in Peter's face.
"If I die in there, I'm getting my ghost to haunt you," She threatened him with a faux serious face.
His lips turned up at the edges. "My ghost won't associate with your ghost."
She raised her eyebrows. "It better. Or my ghost will kill your ghost." She got the final word in and walked to the tub, climbing the ladder and putting her foot into it to test the cold. Almost immediately, she snatched her foot back to the ladder.
"Nope. It's too cold." She announced to Brenner, sitting on the edge of the tub with her feet resting on the ladder.
Brenner shook his head exasperatedly and motioned for Peter again.
The blonde orderly walked up to her, placing his hands down on the sides of her. His hands were wrapped around the tub edges, her body trapped between his legs.
"Go in there, and sit." He demanded her with a challenging look in his eye. Athena opened her mouth to retaliate but stopped once she saw how hot he looked.
She struggled with her self-dignity before sighing, turning around to place her full body in.
The cold water chilled her arms and legs and she cursed. "Motherfucker!"
She shivered and shook her hands out to try and give them warmth. "This is so stupid." She whispered under her breath as she floated onto her back. She closed her eyes and felt a headpiece put on her head. Her eyes shot open and she ignored the chill in her temples as she stared in worry at it.
"What is that?" She asked one of the ladies who were strapping it on. The lady barely glanced at her and focused on snapping the pieces together.
"Tracks your brain movement and heart rate. We can monitor what you see up there." She pointed behind her to the glass windows covering the room.
Athena's eyes widened and the words faltered in her mouth. "I- What? I didn't agree to this!" She exclaimed angrily, moving to rip the piece off.
The lady merely gave looked her in the eye menacingly. "If you refuse this, the punishments will be harsh." Athena's eyes narrowed into a glare and she pulled the girl's hands off her harshly, pushing her away with her powers. She didn't fall or anything just stumbled. That was what Athena wanted.
No attention placed on her, she thought happily to herself. She closed her eyes and waited for the signal to start.
Brenner called out to her and she searched her head. It was weird, to search her mind. After being used to searching through others' minds, it was off-putting to go through her own. Her eyes moved side to side, twitching under her eyelids.
She focused hard, physically straining herself before she stopped. She opened her eyes with a small gasp and she took deep breaths. She looked up at Brenner's disappointed face.
"I couldn't find anything!" She called out to him. He stayed silent for a moment before yelling back.
"I can see that!"
She pursed her lips and closed her eyes, floating onto her back again.
"Let's try again." She avered.
Brenner said something incorrigible to the people beside him before she went back to focusing.
Suddenly, Peter's words echoed in her ears.
"Find the energy, feel it."
She focused hard, and finally, an image popped up. She looked around her at the young girl. It looked exactly like her. No, it was her.
She looked up at the older man who stared down at the younger her. He looked to his left where a beautiful blonde woman stood. The vision suddenly flickered, disappearing into the darkness. Athena was about to open her eyes but a voice called out.
"Mommy!" A 5-year-old Athena yelled out as her mother stood over the man's body. Blood coated her hands and a knife was held in her shaky hands. Her "mother" looked up at her, her eyes glazed over as if she were possessed, and she dropped the knife, stepping over the man's body. Her eyes were dark and unfamiliarly cruel.
Athena screamed in terror at the blood over her mother's clothes and she bolted in the other direction. A young Laila was heard as she yelled at her mom, her voice cracking and her nose all nasally. She was obviously crying, but she never made any noises or sobs. Her words were incorrigible. Chris and Michael were heard then, arguing and fighting soon following. Grunts and whimpers were echoing in her ears like a twisted melody as her motjer screamed out one last time. Silence followed the chaos.
A young Athena hid in her room, clutching her teddy to her chest with her eyes closed. The door to her room opened and she hid further into the darkness of her closet. Her hand muffled her scared cries as the figure wandered around her room, before stopping at the closet doors.
Suddenly, the doors slammed open and she screamed, throwing a shoe at the intruder. The intruder groaned as it hit him right in the head and he put his hands out to show no harm.
He moved away from her vision to a side of her room, turning on the light. It was Michael. She ran out to hug him tightly, crying softly into his chest. He rubbed his hand into her hair, muttering reassuring words to her.
The memory suddenly flickered, darkness taking its place. Athena's eyes shot open with a gasp escaping her mouth. She immediately sat up, moving to leave the tub. Peter helped her out, his hand wrapping around her arm and leading her out. A towel was then wrapped around her by him, his hands gliding against her collarbones and arm. She looked at him and bit her lip as she quickly averted her gaze.
A clear of a throat interrupted the awkward silence and she looked up at Brenner. He told her to change her clothes and get ready to go back to the Rainbow Room. She nodded and walked in the direction of the supply room. Once she opened the door, she collapsed against it.
Her heartbeat raced in her eardrums loudly, her hands soon shaking as an effect of it. She swallowed harshly and took her hair out of the bun, running her hand through it. She closed her eyes and tried to process all the events she had just seen.
Her father hadn't left them... he had been killed. By her mother. The woman who had birthed her raised her for half of her life, and then walked out of it. She had been lied to her whole life by people she truly cared about.
It's the fact she had to find out from somebody as evil as Brenner that that had happened that hurt her. Because she knew, they never would've told her.
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a/n wow this ones LONG 3k+ words yay
anyways i kind of dont like this chapter like it makes me wanna barf but tell me what you guys think