Hi guys :) Next chapter is underway. The rough draft is about halfway done and is when things will start actually picking up story-wise.
As for other story aspects, I have been working on figuring out the names, genetics and whatnot of kits to come. I already have Mallowtail's kits figured out as she's pretty far along- I think she only has a week or a week and a half left- but I do need to figure out Redtail and Runningwind's next litter. I've also figured out the eventual sexualities and gender identities that all of the apprentices, kits, and Mallowtail's kits will express as adults.
If you guys are curious, I can answer just about any questions you have regarding this stuff :) The next chapter should be out before the end of Feburary and I will see you guys then! ^o^
I browsed through all the upcoming housing options last night, trying to plan ahead what to buy for my character(s) and I just can’t seem to find the right fit. Either some aspect of the place doesn’t work for my character or I just don’t like the design. So far the little Moonmirth House is the only one that I’d buy without a second thought, but trying to find something for Noelie or Davius is just ???
What do you think of the housing update on ESO? Im excited about the khajiit houses
I’m so excited! :D I hope I can find some kind of Imperial house for Davius so I can have a setting for all of my domestic headcanons, haha. Also, part of me wants to get that Covenant manor for Noelie (that Lady title would be long overdue), but 3,2mil gold is just a liiittle too much for me. But yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing all the options - I’m definitely going to get some kind of house or apartment for each of them.
Well hello anyone who is still around. I promise I did not abandon Alex and have no plan to in the future, though my recent writing activity speaks otherwise. Here is the latest chapter and I hope to update a bit more regularly as it has literally been years. Enjoy!
“Alexandra, oh thank God.” Monica said, enveloping Alex in a tight hug when she got to the hallway outside her apartment. “I didn’t know that you were out and when the officers knocked on my door and told me the apartment number…”
“I was working with Parker at his place on our midterm for Biochem,” Alex explained as she hugged Monica back, feeling very numb. “How bad is it? Have you seen inside?”
“Only a glimpse when I came charging up here, before the police officer could grab me. Alex…” The look on Monica’s face to let her know that whatever glimpse she got wasn’t good. “You’re staying at my place tonight, no arguments.”
Peter put his hand on Alex’s shoulder, making her jump because she forgot that he was there, and gave it a squeeze. She threw him a small smile over her shoulder to show that she appreciated the support, but there was no sense of loss or fear at the moment. There was nothing. This emptiness was either left over from whatever happened to her on the roof or a whole new wave of shock that was washing over her. At that moment, it really didn’t matter. She was almost thankful for it.
“I guess I should tell them that I’m not dead, huh?” Alex sighed before walking up to the officer that was standing outside the door, securing the crime scene. “Excuse me.”
“No one is allowed to enter, this is a crime scene. I am not allowed to provide any information so if you could please go back to your apartment, Miss.” The officer’s tone let Alex know that he had to repeat that same script to just about everyone in the building. A thankless job. Also she had no idea her neighbors were so nosey.
“This is my apartment, I’m Alexandra Harper.” Alex gave him a soft smile. “Is there a detective in charge here that I can speak with? I’m sure they’re going to have some questions.”
The officer looked very baffled by that, but he went into her apartment without asking for any sort of identification. The door was open, more accurately half ripped off the hinges, so she was able to peek around the door frame and look inside. At first her brain didn’t process what was in front of her, it looked as if it had snowed, before she realized it was her couch, pillows, and mattress shredded to pieces and the stuffing strewn everywhere. Then she started to pick things out of the wreckage, her grandfather’s trunk on it’s side, the floor lamp in pieces among the stuffing, and a female detective walking toward her looking a little haggard.
“Miss Harper? I’m Detective Demetria Donohoe,” the detective snapped off her gloves before offering her hand. “I’m sorry to meet you this way, but I’m glad to find out that you weren’t here when...whatever happened here happened.”
“Does this have anything to do with the other scientists' apartments that were destroyed?” Alex shook her hand, thankful to have something focused on other than the wreckage of her worldly possessions. “I read about it in the paper.”
“You’re a scientist? The doorman said that you were a college student,” Detective Donohoe looked a little confused, her grey eyes looking over her shoulder as if the answer was somewhere in the wreckage. Alex hoped she found it.
“I’m in my senior year of college, biochemistry major, but I’m an intern at Stark Industries as well. I don’t know if that qualifies as a scientist, but...” Alex shrugged.
“Well, that changes things a little. Shit,” Detective Donohoe muttered before turning to the officer at her shoulder. “Go ahead and call Sousa, let him know he has another one. However, Spider-Man did not show up this time so it’s still my case.”
“That’s a pretty long message,” the officer quipped back, but then got on his phone.
It took everything in Alex not to look over her shoulder at Peter. She knew that he had looked into the other two trashed apartments, which meant that he probably knew something about whoever did this. More than the police at any rate. However, she wasn’t going to pick his brain with people who would be all too happy to arrest him standing right there. Also, it wasn’t like she’d be able to do anything about it. This was a job for superheroes, not Alex.
As if on cue, God Bless America started playing from her backpack.
“Do you mind me answering my phone?” Alex asked, not wanting to be rude, but she also didn’t want Steve charging over to the apartment either. That would be a bit difficult to explain.
“Go ahead, I’m sure there are people as worried about you as your friends over there,” Detective Donohoe tilted her head over to where Monica and Peter were pretending not to be eavesdropping. “Take your time. Tell the officer when you’re free so I can take your statement.”
Alex rummaged through her backpack as she walked past Monica and Peter, both started asking her questions that she ignored, and dipped into the stairwell to answer the phone. Both of her friends were smart enough not to follow her right away. They were good people.
“Alex, is everything okay?” Steve said before Alex could even give him a hello. “Hill told me that the police had been called to your apartment building due to a disturbance. What did you do?”
“I like that it goes from am I okay to me being guilty very quickly.” Alex smiled, but she still didn’t feel anything. That was not good. When she did start feeling something, it was going to be a problem and poor Monica was going to have to deal with it.
“Alex,” Steve warned.
“I’m fine, as you can tell,” Alex sighed. “Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about my apartment. Apparently someone did not like my personal aesthetic so they decided to redecorate for me. There was a lot of slashing and breaking involved. Very modern art of them.”
Steve was quiet for a long moment and Alex could only imagine the face he was making. She gave him time to process what she had just told him while she attempted to process it herself. In all of the other attacks, the other scientists also weren’t home. Maybe whoever it was didn’t want to hurt anyone, but then what purpose did destroying the apartments hold? What were they looking for? It didn’t make any sense.
“I can send Hill over to get you and you can crash at my place in the Tower. I’m not there so you don’t need to worry about the gossip,” Steve finally said once he had mentally did whatever cursing he needed to.
“Steve, don’t you think the offer in itself will cause gossip?” Alex pointed out. “Monica is going to let me crash on her couch and I’ll figure something out tomorrow if I can’t get back into my place. I’m guessing you’re out of the country since you aren’t in your apartment and aren’t coming over here yourself.”
“You’d be correct. Is it safe to stay with Monica? Isn’t she a scientist as well? If this thing came for you, what’s stopping them from trying again? Or going after Monica and getting you as well?” Steve pointed out, which was a very concerning thought that had already crossed her mind.
“That’s true, but I’d rather be there to try and help her than leave her alone, if that’s the case. Also, I doubt that whoever this is will hit twice in one night.” Alex had no evidence that this was the case, but it sounded like a good convincing reason.
“I’d still feel better if you were in the Tower, but I know you well enough not to push it. I’m going to send you Hill’s number. Call her if anything happens before I get back and I mean anything.” Steve muttered something under his breath. “I have to go.”
“Be careful Steve.” Alex had no idea where in the world he was or what he was up to, but she doubted it was a walk in the park. It was so hard to remember that Steve was Captain America sometimes.
“You too,” Steve sounded almost sad as he ended the call.
Alex sat down on one of the steps and tried to wrap her head around everything that had happened in the last hour. She had literally swung through New York City, lost about twenty minutes of her life after hearing the sound of gunshots, and then found out that most of her worldly possessions had been ripped apart by someone or something attacking scientists. What was the point of trying to avoid superheroes and their bullshit if it just found her anyway?
“Hey,” Peter said as he opened the door to the stairwell and poked his head inside, “You okay?”
“Define okay?” Alex gave him a small smirk as she scooted over on the step so that he could sit next to her. “Honestly, this isn’t the craziest thing that has happened to me. I’m sure it’s going to hit me when I have to go in there and clean up my life, but right now I’m doing alright. What do you know about this guy? You’ve seen his handiwork before.”
“Not as much as I’d like. He’s crazy fast, even for me, so I haven’t been able to get a good look at him. He wears a suit of some kind that has large ears, which I am guessing has some sort of hearing equipment that helps him out, and ferocious looking claws that seem to be able to cut through anything. However, why he is going after scientists I don’t understand. At first I thought he had a grudge against Oscorp, that’s where the first two people worked, but now there’s you.” Peter bumped her shoulder with his.
“I always throw a wrench in everyone’s plans,” Alex laughed as she bumped him back. “Speaking of which, I should probably go talk to that lovely Detective about how I don’t know anything. You should probably get out of here before Detective Sousa shows up as he is the leader of the task force to capture Spider-Man and you’ve got all your gear on you.”
“But I’m just Peter Parker right now, so unless they’re going to do a strip search for some reason and find my suit, I’ll be alright. Besides, I have to provide you with an alibi.” Peter winked as he got to his feet and offered his hand to pull her up.
“You know something, Parker?” Alex took his hand and let him pull her up. “You’re alright.”
“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” Peter laughed as he held the door and waved his hand for her to go through.
Monica was chatting with the officer at the door, flipping her curls and turning on her charm. This seemed a little out of character for her, but Alex just added it to the list of weird things that happened that evening. It seemed to be just flirty small talk, which the officer was lapping up, and he was more than happy to get Detective Donohoe for Alex when she interrupted. Monica shot her a wink that Alex didn’t completely understand before Donohoe reappeared and instructed her to put on the crime scene booties before waving her underneath the yellow crime scene tape.
Stepping into the apartment was very surreal. Alex grew up in the Midwest and was no stranger to tornados and that was the level of damage in her small studio apartment. Now that she was inside, the stuffing wasn’t enough to hide the rest of the carnage. There were deep gashes in the walls and floors that were easily identified as claw marks, cabinets ripped off the wall with the contents broken all over the floor, and no matter where she looked there was just destruction. The amount of rage displayed for someone whoever it was didn’t know almost seemed comical to Alex. That was probably the shock kicking in.
“I know it might be stupid to ask if anything is missing, but can you pick out any large piece or item of significance that you can’t see?” Donohoe asked, but then gave her a small smile. “If you can’t, that’s understandable too.”
“I mean…” Alex looked around, “I have a laptop and notebook for research that was on my grandfather’s trunk. I don’t know if they’re still around here, just under stuff, or if they’ve been taken. Other than that, I can’t make heads or tails of all of this to really tell.”
“I’ll have the crime scene investigators look for those items when they get into this room,” Donohoe said with a nod. “Now, and I have to ask, where were you tonight?”
“I was at my lab partner's house, Peter Parker, who walked me home given that I had a run in with some not so nice guys a while ago. I think they’re all in jail, again, but maybe they have something to do with this. I don’t know their names, but it was the guys implicated in the Marquee club assaults.” Alex knew that they had nothing to do with this, but might as well throw it out there since the detective was going to find out about that mess anyway. “The only other person that might have a grudge is my ex-boyfriend Markus, but I think he’s in jail as well.”
“They’re all still locked up, I checked,” Micheal Sousa said as he walked into the apartment, hands in his pocket, and a smile on his face. “How’s it looking, Demi?”
“Just like the others, pure carnage,” Donohoe gave him a smile that Alex thought might have been a little more than professional courtesy. “Your boy didn’t show up here though, Mike. So, this stays my case.”
“From what I’ve heard, this guy has some serious claws,” Micheal waved his hand to the gouges in the wall. “That sounds like a case that would technically fall onto my desk, Spider-man or not.”
“We will argue about this later,” Donohoe said good-naturedly, as if she was looking forward to it. “Right now I am questioning Miss Harper, so if you don’t mind?”
“Oh, Alex won’t mind if I stay, we’re old friends at this point,” Micheal looked over at her with a smile. “I thought I told you to call if you wanted to see me. This is the third time this year that I’ve had to see you at a crime scene.”
“What can I say? You’re just so magnetic that I can’t help myself,” Alex laughed.
Detective Donohoe looked between the two of them as if she was connecting dots. Alex didn’t want to know what those dots were and she didn’t ask. Instead, she waited for the next question to be asked so that she could possibly get some clothes and go sleep on Monica’s couch. It wasn’t that she was tired, Alex was always tired these days, but she just wanted people to stop talking to her. Being an actual person was starting to become very annoying.
“So,” Donohoe said eventually, giving Micheal one more look before continuing, “you said that you were with Peter Parker all night? When did you arrive at his house?”
“Around six, I think. We worked on a project for about a half an hour, then had dinner with his aunt. We then worked on the project and I guess we left his place in Queens around 10:30ish? The police were here when we walked up to the apartment and then we ran right up here.” Alex might have fudged the time leaving a bit to make up for the twenty minutes for the bank robbery.
Micheal raised an eyebrow at the mention of Peter Parker, but didn’t say anything and let Detective Donohoe continue with her questioning. It was a pretty quick interview and Donohoe headed out into the hallway to corroborate the story with Peter. That left Alex and Micheal standing in the wreckage of her living room while two other officers were in the area designated for the bedroom.
“Peter Parker, as in the Peter Parker you asked me to do a background on?” Micheal asked softly so the other officers wouldn’t hear. “That Peter Parker?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. Did you get a chance to run that, by the way?” Alex now knew why Peter was acting so weird when she first met him, but might as well see what Micheal found out. If nothing else, she could tell Peter if the police were onto his vigilante identity.
“Seems like a run of the mill kid that’s been through a lot. Both of his parents were killed in an accident when he was young. Then a couple years ago his uncle was killed while he tried to stop a robbery in progress. Last year his girlfriend, Gwen Stacey, was killed in another accident. Poor kid seems to attract death, however, no criminal record and by all accounts seems to be a science nerd.” Micheal looked over at Alex. “You said he was your lab partner? Maybe don’t hang out with him more than needed? You attract more than enough trouble all by yourself.”
“But then I would never see you,” Alex laughed as she looked around the apartment. “Do you think I’d be able to take some clothes and things from here or is everything evidence.”
“That’s going to be up to Demi - Detective Donohoe,” Micheal caught himself. “As much as I like working her up, this is her crime scene. She’s also a damn good detective, so don’t give her too much trouble.”
“Me? Trouble?” Alex gave him a smile which caused him to roll his eyes. “I will be on my best behavior, scout’s honor.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Micheal laughed as they walked out into the hallway, Micheal holding up the crime scene tape for her to duck under. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a bank robbery that I need to get back to before one of the other officers messes something up.”
“That doesn’t sound like your normal gig.” Alex was starting to become concerned at how good she was at playing dumb. “NYPD short staffed or are they leaning on your expertise?”
“Smart-ass.” Micheal laughed before sighing. “Spider-Man decided to take on a dangerous gang and it ended up with a grenade going off inside the bank. No one was hurt, but the property damage has people up in arms. Mostly the people who own the bank. Also, they had interesting guns on them so they figured I was the one to catch that case. Lucky me.”
“Be careful out there,” Alex said with a smile. “And try to get some sleep.”
“Same to you,” Micheal smiled. He nodded at Monica and Peter before he disappeared around the corner.
It was about a half an hour before Detective Donohoe allowed Alex to grab a few things from the apartment. Monica, Peter, and Alex trudged down to Monica’s apartment, where she ushered them all inside before closing and locking the door. Monica immediately went into the fridge, pulled out the Louisiana Special, and poured three shots. They all took it without a word, the silence only broken when Peter started coughing.
“Well that will wake you up,” Peter said with a small laugh. “I don’t think I even want to know what that is.”
“Good cause I don’t know,” Monica smiled a little at him. “I guess I should have asked if you’re even old enough to drink. Don’t go tell the cops.”
“Oh, I won’t, though I might have to file an assault charge if I drink any more of that,” Peter laughed as he rolled his shoulders. “I should get home before Aunt May starts to worry.”
“Are you alright to get home by yourself Peter? We can grab you and Uber or Taxi or something,” Monica offered.
“Nah, I’ll be okay. Are you two going to be okay here? I know you don’t really know me, but I’d be happy to stay if it makes you feel better?” Peter’s fingers were drumming against his leg.
“No offense, but you look like a strong wind could blow you over,” Monica laughed. “As nice as it was to meet you, Peter. I think it’s time we all go to bed. Besides, what would your aunt think, you sleeping in the same apartment as two beautiful women.”
“She’s probably over the moon about it actually.” Peter laughed, but he knew a dismissal when he heard it, gave a little finger wave to them both before he saw himself out of the apartment. Monica locked the door again and poured out two more shots, which they both threw back without a second thought. After that, they both went and flopped down on the couch, eyes closed, and sighed. Alex wanted to say something, to thank Monica for once again being a better friend than she deserved, but the words just didn’t come.
“I know I can’t blame you for this recent incident, but girl, you are going to give me grey hairs. I swear.” Monica laughed after another couple minutes. “What the hell is going on in this city, A.J.? Why are scientists being attacked?”
“I wish I knew,” Alex sighed. “It just doesn’t make any sense. You know that I’m not a humble person, but I would not consider myself a scientist since I haven’t even graduated yet. The other two scientists, they worked for Oscorp right? Did you know them?”
“No, I’m just a lowly intern, but you know how gossip gets around,” Monica smiled. “Apparently they were both part of the genetics division, which isn’t a division known for taking their work home with them. The rumor, which you never heard from me, was that they were actually in the process of closing down a failed project. At first it might have something to do with that, but now there’s you.”
“Now there’s me,” Alex sighed. “A biochemistry student that is working at Stark Industries on a serum to stop organ rejection. While there might be a genetic component, I’m not seeing a strong connection.”
“I guess that’s why we aren’t attractive police detectives, though the officer at the door didn’t know much no matter how much charm I threw at him,” Monica laughed as she got up. “I’m exhausted. Let me get you some blankets and stuff. I’ll also give you the spare key since I know that you’re going to go jogging at an obnoxious hour.”
Alex didn’t protest as Monica moved about her apartment. Soon, there were two pillows, a sheet, and blankets beside her along with a key on her key ring. Goodnights were exchanged before Monica locked herself in her room. Alex dutifully made her bed, changed, and laid down even though she knew sleep wouldn’t come.
No matter how Alex twisted around the facts, none of it made sense. The attack on her didn’t fit with the other two scientists and why was someone attacking scientists in the first place? Maybe it had something to do with the project that the other two scientists were shutting down that was somehow connected to her. Hard to know without knowing what the project was. Maybe it was a project that was operating when Harry Osbourn was still in charge, though the CEO probably didn’t know everything that happened in the building. If Alex knew what the project was, maybe she would see the reason that she was attacked and somehow defend herself.
The minutes ticked by and Alex was no closer to sleep. She listened to the hum of the air conditioner, the fridge turning on and off, and every once and a while Monica’s bed would squeak as she rolled over. Exhaustion was settled deep into her bones, but no matter what she tried, her eyes stayed wide open.
It was almost a relief when her phone started vibrating where it was laying underneath her pillow. Alex pulled it out to see an unknown number, but she figured it was Steve checking up on her from a cell phone that was not his personal one. It only took her a moment to accept the call and put it up to her ear, saying hello softly as to not wake Monica. Instead of Steve’s voice, it was another one that she knew very well.
“Alex,” James was speaking just as softly, “is everything alright? Why are you whispering?”
“Because I am at Monica’s apartment. Why are you calling at three in the morning? Are you alright?” Alex thought it best to avoid trying to answer if everything was alright, it might be the thing that broke through her numb feeling and dissolve into hysterics.
“It’s not that late here, or early I guess. Why are you at Monica’s? Did something happen?” There was a slight tinge of concern in his voice now, which made Alex feel good and also pissed her off a little.
“If you must know, wherever you are in the world, someone broke into my apartment and tore it to pieces. It is currently a crime scene and so I’m crashing in Monica’s apartment. Steve offered his place at the Tower, but I thought that would be a bit much, don’t you?” Alex kept her tone breezy, as if this happened every day. Well, it was starting to happen annual, which was very concerning, but that was something to think about another time.
“It wasn’t that bastard from last year, was it?” James’s voice was low and dark, sending a chill down her spine.
“No, Markus is still in jail, Micheal checked because he had the same thought. James, why are you calling? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me?” Alex sighed. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to James, that was the only thing that she wanted, but this telling her goodbye forever and then calling her a few weeks later was ripping her heart into very small pieces.
“It’s not...Alexandra.” The way that James said her name sounded like his heart was being ripped apart as well. “There will never be a day I want nothing to do with you, but...you know who I am, but you don’t know what I did. Not all of it. If you did…”
“It wasn’t you, you were programmed to do those things. You aren’t a bad person, I know that even if you don’t. I’ve seen that you aren’t. If that is the only reason you are staying away-”
“I’m wanted for more than twenty-four assassinations, Alexandra. That also has to be taken into consideration.” James cut her off, but she thought that there might be a smile in his voice. Maybe she was just hoping that it was there.
“So there are some legal issues to work out,” Alex conceded. “Do you really think Steve can’t help you with that? I mean, Tony Stark probably has a whole legal division that could get you out of all those charges with enough money. If you wanted to be here, me and Steve could figure out a way to do it. I promise you that. You are just looking for an excuse”
“You really think that I want to be in the middle of nowhere and not waking up next to you in bed? Seriously?” Alex could practically see him shaking his head. “It’s not that easy, nothing is, and I don’t think Tony Stark is going to be all that interested in helping me. Call it a hunch.”
Alex wanted to ask James what he meant by that, but he started talking again before she could form the question. “Listen to me Alexandra. Don’t go and track down whoever it was that tore up your apartment. Leave it to the police, leave it to Steve, leave it to literally anyone who isn’t you. Keep your head down and stay out of it.”
“Why would I want to go look for someone who put claw marks into my wall?” Alex couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“Do I need to go over the entire week I was with you and all the less than intelligent things that you did, including even talking to me in the first place?” James was definitely smiling now. “Whatever this is, stay out of it. I’m sure Steve would be more than happy to play the white knight for you again.”
“Well, there is no way you’re going to know, now is there?” Alex pointed out, feeling a little smug. “And is that jealousy that I hear in your voice?”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that I wouldn’t know what you’re up to and yes, yes it is,” James said with a chuckle. “Будь в безопасности, любовь моя.”
The other end of the line went dead. Alex stared at the phone for a moment before she shoved it back underneath her pillow. There was exactly two hours and twenty-seven minutes before her alarm would go off for her run. Still, even though she was exhausted, there was a sense of peace that settled over her she hadn’t felt in a long time. Her Russian was still annoyingly basic, but she was pretty sure she picked out the word safe in there. Also, the petty part of her liked that James was jealous of Steve, though it made her the bitch girl in every rom-com ever written. It shouldn’t make her so happy that he still cared, that he still wanted to be with her.
He gave her an inch and Alex had always been one to take a mile.
