//This is a collaboration with Aine a.k.a. Glimmer.
Nearly two weeks ago...
She had tried to run away, but found her way back home after a heart-to-heart with Einar, and that’s where she’s been since. Of course, upon returning, she also had a fruitful heart-to-heart with Adam. The two decided to postpone their engagement, while opting to make new memories together; something she had suggested a long time ago. Over time, the pair grew close, with her actually beginning to feel like a person, instead of a ghost from time unknown. It had been during a particularly flirty cooking session in the kitchen, when the doorbell rang.
Letting him get the door, she continued making their supper, only for him to return with two packages: one addressed to him and another to her. Curious, she turned the burner off beneath the vegetables and moved to the box with her name on it. A simple glance and she noted he was holding nothing more than a card envelope. “Go ahead,” she motioned for him to go first.
“All right...” Adam said in response, now opening the envelope. Reading that is an invitation to something called the Hellfire Gala, though the card reads that it’s from ‘Anonymous’. There were pictures of the logo and the place where it’s going to be held at. However there is an inclusion of a picture that causes Adam to pause. Speechless, all he did was stare at the picture with a very confused look on his face.
He looked at whom he believes to be Aine for a second, then going back to the picture. Though Aine appears to be fine in front of him, however in the picture she looks...not entirely well. Major thoughts running through his mind, could this be an answer to what he’s been trying to find out? Finally words manage to escape his lips, “oh my God.” That being the only thing he can say.
The entire mood of the evening changed at that moment, the flirty vibe now gone. The expression on his face, especially when he looked at her, told her something was wrong. "Wha' is it?" Stepping up beside him, she looked over at the card, which seemed innocuous enough, but the photo of...her?! Lips parted, green eyes not believing what she was seeing. "...'ow?" She's standing right here, perfectly healthy. Is there a chance this an old photo? No, she tossed that out, because their faces, though one gaunt by malnutrition, were identical.
Turning, she moved toward the box which arrived for her. A quick glance back at Adam then she began opening it. Inside was a wrapped orb. Pulling it out, she managed to make a makeshift stand on the kitchen table to set it upon then unwrapped it. When the wrapping fell away, which she realized was made from seaweed by the texture, she saw what seemed to be a crystal ball. "Is this some sort o' joke?" Green eyes darted to Adam, confusion in her gaze, still not quite yet understanding what this was about.
Adam now made his way towards the box as well, looking inside of the box. Seeing the seaweed surrounding what seems to look like a crystal ball inside of it. He didn’t know what to say in response to what she just asked. “I...” escaped from his mouth. “I don’t know what this is all about.” He still had the card in his hand, looking back down at the picture again. “I don’t know what the hell any of this is about...”
Slowly setting the card down on the table, though his eyes remained locked on it for at least two minutes before he switched his attention to the box with what looks like a crystal ball. He picks up a piece of the seaweed, to confirm if it was what he thought it was. “This is really seaweed...strange.” Even after saying that, his eyes shifted back to the picture on the table.
"Yea', seaweed can actually be made inta paper, 'owever it looks like th' process wasnae fully completed," she mentioned somewhat softly, her attention still on the crystal ball. Reaching out, she paused before her fingers touched it, pulling back ever so slightly. Eyes darted around, wondering if they were being watched. A nearly overwhelming feeling of dread settled into the pit of her stomach. Turning her attention back to the orb, she took a deep breath and picked it up.
The orb shimmered in her hands, before a visual appeared. Brows furrowed, watching the visual move through what seemed to be a botanical garden of some sort. "Whoa!" Startled, she jumped and dropped the orb, though it seemed to be made of sturdier stuff than crystal, since it struck the floor and rolled under the table.
Glancing at him, she knelt down and peered at the object. When it finally stopped against the wall, she noticed the visual was still going, with a hand reaching out and plucking a flower. A brief shot of red hair was noticed when the person moved past a small body of standing water (a small fountain or birdbath, possibly) but the image wasn't clear enough to make out who it was.
Adam rushed over to her side after she dropped the crystal orb, “Aine!” Still calling her that because he still feels that is his Fiancee after all. He also watched her very carefully when she knelt down, following her in doing that as well. He can see that she was looking at the orb, as if she can see something. So he looked as well...but what can he see? Nothing, just a clear ball that rolled under the table.
“You all right? What was that all about?” He asked her, putting his arm around her to try comfort her. But with what just happened, his mind is still stuck on that picture that was included with the invitation. But even with that, though something very weird is going on...making sure that Aine is all right is still his top priority. He stands back up, helping his Fiancee back to her feet as well.
"Yer tellin' me ye didnae see tha'?" Her gaze had shifted to him, before leaning against him when his arm encircled her. Gaze moved back to the orb, the sensation of dread growing stronger now.
"Somethin's wrong," she spoke again, accepting his help and rising to her feet. "I dunnae know wha', bu' somethin' is'nae righ'." Moving around the table, she picked the orb and set it back upon the makeshift stand. "I saw...movement. Like I was seein' through someone else's eyes. There was a garden, o' some sort. A 'and pluckin' a flower. An' a blurry sho' o' red 'air." Shaking her head, "wha' does this mean?"
After hearing everything she just said, Adam’s head tilted to the side. The picture that came with the invitation, and now the information being dropped on him is bringing even more thoughts to his head. “You’re right...” a deep breath escapes him after that. “What we just got is very strange, but...” though his arm remained around her, his eyes went back to the picture on the table. “we’ve got to go to whatever this Hellfire Gala is...”
Could this be a trap? That thought is definitely in his mind. But if that is the case, it is a trap that Adam needs to fall into. No matter what happens, he will use his powers to fight any threat that lies ahead of them both.
With a trembling lower lip, she tensed her jaw to cease it, while nestling herself into his embrace. Right arm sliding around his waist, her gaze moved between the orb and the invitation: Adam Park +1. She immediately knew she'd be attending alongside him. Hey, if it gave them answers - even closure - she's all for it...but that pesky dread. Resting her head against his shoulder, she silently pondered over what this could all mean: for her, for them.
Current Time. The Arrival.
Adam and Aine are now in the Command Room, with their robot sidekick, Alpha 6. “Aye-yi-yi-yi, everything you’ve told me before just seems so weird.” Said by the A.I. “You need to be heavy on your guard for this one, Adam. Even I do not know what’s going on and I’ve been trying to find out more from here.”
“Right, I’ll do my best to make sure we’ll both come out of this okay.” He said, while taking the hand of whom he still believes to be Aine. Both of them being dressed for the occasion. “You got the coordinance, right?” Adam asked Alpha 6 who nodded in return, putting up his robot thumb to let them both know that everything is ready. “Here we go...” saying that before they are both teleported to the entrance of the Gala.
“You ready?” Asking her before they eventually enter. Taking a look around at the other arriving people at the same time. Though he doesn’t recognize some of the faces of the other people arriving, there is one face that seems to be pretty recognizable, that being the man known as Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man. But other than him? Thus far, nope.
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