Since I had been gone it seemed that no one had bothered trying to fix up that bar which had once been so popular on Knowhere, though looking down at the rubble I couldn't imagine anything being salvageable. Not that I was really complaining. The brief time that I had spent within it's rowdy walls hadn't been the most pleasant experience. If I had it my way I would have never returned to the site at all, if it wasn't for one tiny little annoying hindrance that would not leave me be. Shaking my head, I ignored the room, moving through the remains onto the much more important room.
The Collectors glorified prison/museum which had been so soundly tucked away behind the bar was relatively quiet, especially for a building that had just undergone a major remodeling via living bomb. Various shards of glass, rubble, and some questionable goo substance (which I really did not want to think about) littered the ground. Making multiple unpleasant sounds as my heeled boots made their way through it all. It was at last in the middle of this chaotic mess that I found the person I had gone so far to see.
Taneleer Tivan sat atop a ruined ledge, looking almost mournfully at the ruins of his twisted palaces while drinking something alcoholic out of a surprisingly intact glass. By his side sat the space dog, who would occasionally lean over to sniff curiously at the drink as if he thought he might like to try it.
I was so focused, and a little pissed off, that I wasn't even remotely surprised by the giant humanoid duck who sat with a drink on a higher ledge.
"So you've finally arrived." The Collector called eerily without looking in my direction, lifting up his cup to take a long sip of his drink.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I got hung up saving a galaxy." I announced sarcastically crossing my arms while all but glaring up at the unusual man.
Now that I was finally here, I'll admit I felt a bit foolish. After all the trouble of lying to my friends and traveling back across the galaxy, only to find him sitting here in the ruins. All because some kleptomaniac psycho made a suspicious passing comment. But I just couldn't shake the need for answers, not when they were so stupidly close. This whole thing just didn't sit right with me no matter how I looked at it. So feeding off my uneasiness I feigned annoyance as I demanded, "You obviously already know why I'm here, which will make all of this go all the smoother. So tell me what I want to know and I'll be on my way."
"My, you are impatient," Tivan observed dryly. For the first time since I arrived he shifted in his seat to watch me, a smug smirk pulling up his lips as if he found me amusing.
Like a spoiled toddler, I stomped my heeled foot, now full on glaring at the infuriatingly calm man. One hand lifted to point accusingly at Tivan while the other tightened to a fist at my side. "Listen up you Lady Gaga wannabe, I am not in the mood for your cryptic bullshit! I had enough of that in the past few weeks! Everything I ever loved was ripped away from me before I even had a chance to stop it, and I damn well better get my answers! So either you tell me what I want to know, or so help me I will finish what that pink assistant of yours started and turn the rest of your precious collection to space dust!"
My chest heaved as I listened to the satisfying sound of my rant echoing off the remaining walls.
Now panting heavily I listened as my rant echoed off the remaining walls back at us. My jaw was clenched, teeth grinding together as I waited for the strange alien to respond. The Collector seemed unaffected by my threat, retaining his smile as he announced, "Don't be so dramatic, half-blood. I shall give you the answer that you seek."
"Half-blood?" I repeated lowering my other hand slowly, my anger slowly been converted into confusion. What could he possibly mean? Half of what? What had that stupid tesseract done to me exactly? Shaking all the thoughts from my head, I demanded no less sharp but more controlled, "What do you mean half-blood? Half of what? And why does it make me so special?"
"Because there has not been one of your kind in thousands of years," The Collector announced his grin turning a bit more menacing. "In fact I was sure the last of them had died off ages ago."
"And what exactly do you consider my kind?" I snorted in response crossing my arms again as I leaned heavily on one leg, thoroughly unimpressed. "Last I checked there was a whole planet full of humans, my kind, just to the right of a shiny thing called the sun, buddy."
The Collector seemed relatively amused by my response, and the dunk behind him even let out a quacking sound that almost reminded me of a laugh. Leaning forward to rest his elbow on his knee Trevan leveled me with a curious look, the glint in his eyes made me uneasy. Ominously he announced, "You misunderstand. Your blood is only half-human. It is the other half that is so interesting."
"The other half...?" I parroted my voice soft, feeling a bit like an echo that was only able to repeat it if he said it. My mind was racing, unintentionally going through everything I knew about human biology. And it felt like I had been given a pile of puzzle pieces that didn't go together. Although I can't say I ever knew her, I had always safely assumed that the late Anthea Stark had been human. But now, hearing this man speaking of another half... it seemed like the only thing that made sense. Unless... no, it had to be the tesseract. Narrowing my eyes, I found myself half asking half demanding, "Are you talking about my mother?"
"Perhaps I am," The Collector answered without actually saying anything remotely useful. He leaned back shaking his head as he lifted his drink. "I could also be speaking of your father. Though by your reaction I image that it is safe to assume that it was your mother."
"Great, so you're telling me the answers to all my problems has been lying in her grave for a decade?" I translated unhappily, being unnecessarily defensive at just the mention of my mother's name.
"No," The Collector corrected shaking his head. Then he paused, standing for the first time and pointing down at me, "You're carrying the answer to your questions on your wrist."
Almost on reflex my hand clamped down over my wrist, over my mother's necklace, eyes widened in shock as I tried to comprehend that he was being serious. That was the final straw of my patience, shaking my head I shouted, "Alright, I'm done with this! No more ominous bull! You said you'd tell me what I wanted to know, so do it! I've got all day!"
"Very well," Tivan nodded taking a sip again. "Tell me, Alexandria, how much do you know about the Olympians?"
Hello, friends and readers! At long last the wait is over! Mostly! I have finally found the time to weed through all my drafts to plot out the first sequel for the Girl the World Forgot! So I humbly announce the new part of Alexandria Stark's journey which I call 'The Girl the World Forgot: Who Found the Truth'.
I hope you all stick around to find out how the story goes, and I still plan on making one or two prequels (set in the Amazing Spider-Man movie and the Avengers movies or possibly the Thor movie, so many possibilities). If I do continue the prequels though I will be titling it something besides 'the girl the world forgot' just to split it up a bit for my sanity. I'll probably end up posting a lot of one-shots I've been thinking up with for no purpose.