Chapter One
"Please let me out of here… I know you can hear me!" Olivia pounded her fist against the glass as Walternate stared pensively at her, "Please…please let me out of here" It was not in her nature to plead this way, but panic was setting in as she slammed her hands against the thick glass. Walternate placed his hand on the blind, slowly dropping them. The light was leaving her cell. "No, no, no," she choked as the stream of light was diminished. "No!" She was screaming now, "No! No!"
Olivia rested her forehead on the cold pain of glass wide eyed feeling the darkness that had swallowed her whole. Her breathing was ragged, escalated. Each gulp of air seemed to be incomplete, her lungs were constricted in hyperventilation and dizziness set in. Olivia closed her eyes tight, as if trying to forget a nightmare, which, indeed she was living. She focused on her breathing, Inhale through the nose; exhale through the mouth she repeated in her mind. Slowly her lungs were filled and her heart rate slowed, not into relaxation, but it kept her anxiety at bay.
She retreated back into her corner and returned into the fetal position she had taken before Walternate had appeared. She pulled her legs tight against her chest and rested her forehead upon her knees; a protective gesture that she knew was futile. Think Olivia, think!" Biting her lip she reflected on what had transpired within the last few hours. The back of her head still throbbed as she remembered how her alternate self smashed something into the back of her skull. Her gun? A rock? She wasn't sure. It did not matter; the blow had knocked her out cold. Olivia placed her hand on the lump that had formed just below the crown of her head feeling the dried blood that had matted her hair. Her hair…Perhaps that had been her downfall. She could only assume that "Bolivia" had replaced her. They were identical now, and her side knew it, she was unsure, however, if they would figure it out. They had to. Olivia had cut her hair and dyed it to match Bolivia's, but didn't mean there weren't subtle differences. As Bolivia had said "you keep your backup gun in your purse? I keep mine in my jacket." Olivia didn't expect anyone to notice that slight difference, but Bolivia didn't know the details of the life Olivia had lived, and it was only a matter of time before someone would notice…before Peter noticed. Surely he would notice. Wouldn't he?
She wondered if they had crossed over safely without her. Made it home. Her heart ached at the thought. How long would it be before someone came to rescue her? Would they rescue her? So many questions raced through her head it made her nauseous. She thought of Peter and their stolen moment, where she told him how she felt, pleaded that he would return with her; stay with her, love her. Maybe he wouldn't notice the difference between Bolivia and herself. Maybe he would go one loving her, kissing her. The thought made her skin crawl, made anger surge through her, pain grip her, and utter hopelessness take hold of her. Olivia tried to push the thought of this and focus on getting out of her cell, but she was haunted. Not only by thoughts of Peter and her "twin", but her current isolation, her current fear.
It reminded her of the Cortexifan trials. She began to rock slightly, to shake in the darkness. She hardly remembered those times in her youth, but in this current position memories were flooding, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not escape them. She was curled up in the corner, not in the alternate world, but in the world of her childhood, in the schoolroom where she had unintentionally set on fire. Its all right Olive, it wasn't your fault," Walter had said, so long ago. She was frightened. She doubted that spontaneous pyrokenesis would occur, or even help in the situation she was presently experiencing.
Olivia curled up on her side, pressed tightly against the cold white tile wall furthest from the door. She was exhausted. Crossing over was strenuous enough. Crossing back alone seemed impossible. She felt she had no control over that ability. What was it the Nina Sharp's scientist said? Particle acceleration, reformation of atoms, the instability of atoms…how being put together could go very wrong. She had seen that earlier in the day with James Heath. His grotesque tumors hadn't quite hit her when she was in action; she hadn't had the time to think about it then. But now, the reality set in. What had they done?
Olivia sighed deeply. What were they going to do with her? Peter was who they wanted, and using her as bait was an odd choice if Bolivia had gone in her place. What did they want? She kept screaming in her mind, over and over. Secrets? What did she know that they didn't? They had their shape shifting observers that knew what they were looking for. That information evaded Olivia, and from what she knew Sam Weiss was still at large. Isn't that what they had wanted? Wasn't he their master plan?
Well, before Peter becoming the destroyer of universes. She prayed he was able to cross back safely, and would not turn back. Yes, it was better this way. It was better for her to die if everyone else at home, Walter, Astrid, her sister, Ella…Peter…if they were safe. Perhaps they just were letting her sit, to observe her like some sort of animal until they grew tired of her and killed her. More likely, Olivia knew, they would experiment with her; draw memories out of her by cutting out parts of her brain.
Olivia was important, she knew, because she was still alive. This could be a bargaining tool if she could just figure out why they wanted her. Did they know of her abilities? She hoped they did not. This factor could be an advantage in the long hall. Dread pulled at her stomach. Bait. For Peter. Was that it? For once in her life she imagined a sort of knight in shining armor that Peter could be, rescuing her from her cell and whisking her away. She scoffed at the idea. As much as she longed to see him, she knew that it was not safe for him to come back. They would use him. And she couldn't bear to have that happen because of her. She'd rather rot in her confinement.
Drowsiness settled in over her and her eyelids felt heavy. The last few weeks had taken a toll on her. Losing Peter, crossing over, finding Peter…and losing him again. And this damned cell. She felt the tension loosen slightly in her muscles, her body ached for sleep, but her mind still raced. What would happen when she fell asleep?
It had been three days since Peter had seen Olivia. He had spent most of this time either at home with Walter trying to convince him he wasn't leaving again, or at the lab drawing out diagrams of the weapon's configuration, explaining its reaction to his person. He had called Olivia twice; the first time it hit voicemail he quickly hung up, feeling like an idiotic schoolboy. The second day he left an awkward voicemail, telling her to come by the lab sometime. Walter was making cotton candy, so if she wanted, she should stop by. She didn't.
He swallowed hard at the thought. She had been the one to initiate that kiss, not him. Was she regretting it? It certainly seemed like it. Although reason told him to leave her alone, it was, after all, only a matter of time before events pulled them back together in the lab. The war wasn't over. But he was tired of waiting. Tired of the anxiety that made him jumpy. It made him feel like an idiot. He took a deep breath as he rapped his knuckles on Olivia's door, cursing mentally for bringing himself into such a situation. What was he going to say? He should have thought of that before he brought his sorry ass to her doorstep.
He waited a few moments. Nothing. Maybe this was his lucky break, and she wasn't home. The thought of her not being there also made him worry, since no one had seen or heard from her since they had returned from the other side. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the door open, and there she was.
"Oh, hello Peter." She smiled, her recently dyed hair hung about her shoulders in an elegant manner. He liked when she wore her hair down. "Please come inside." She led him into her apartment.
His heart raced a little. "Walter really missed you yesterday," he said, and this was true. "He was excited for you to try his cotton candy, but I gotta say, I'm not sure what he used in it. Its probably safer you didn't have any." Peter smirked.
"I'm sorry I missed that" she laughed lightly, "I was catching up with my sister and Ella."
Peter nodded in understanding. There was a pregnant pause and Peter took a deep breath. " So, if you get a chance you should come down to the lab. We're working on trying to understand the schematics of the technology Walternate had been trying to use. And," he added with a lopsided grin, "Between you and me, Walter really misses you."
Olivia nodded curtly, and another smile appeared. "Sure. I'll be down there in a few hours."
He returned her smile. He wanted to kiss her goodbye; he wanted to hold her again. Peter looked into her eyes and tried to search them, read what she was thinking, if she had changed her mind. Her green eyes looked at him quizzically, almost blankly. It was then he realized that it wasn't her. Peter hid his surprise as best as he could and forced another smile. "Well," he said, "we'll see you then." And he turned and left as quickly as he could.