a second chance | gwen stacy (wlw!)

20: Crashing Down

"Ma'am, we've searched the apartment. There's nothing here." A man arrives back in the kitchen, where Doctor Octavius waits. She seems interested in the pictures on the fridge, inspecting them with a curious look. "What do you mean there's nothing here? Search again. Search everywhere if you have to." She waves her hand, opening the fridge to grab a fruit.

The leader of the group of armed men seems to grunt slightly before signaling her men to search again. The place has been turned upside down. The couch cushions are thrown onto the floor, the cupboards are all open, and the rooms have all been messed with. One of the men wander into an already searched room, walking over to the open window and looking out onto the brightly lit city, the lights piercing through the night sky.

They turn their head, spotting a broken part that seems to be like a USB drive, next to it is a picture of two girls. He looks around at the decorated room filled with trophies and awards. He grabs the small object, walking towards his captain. "I found something, ma'am." He says as the captain nods towards him. "Look's about right. If this doesn't satisfy her, what will?" The woman replies as she sighs loudly, walking into the kitchen as she holds up the broken drive in her hand. "Is this the drive you were looking for?"

Doctor Octavius snaps her head, throwing the fruit in her hand away and quickly inspecting the USB's damaged state. She turns it around to see the Oscorp symbol on it. "No! Damn it! It's useless!" Her eyes narrow as she crushes it with her foot. "We planned the perfect time to search. How the hell did it end up like that? God damnit!" She continues stomping on it as she paces around the kitchen. The captain glances towards the ground, seeing the broken drive beneath her feet.

"Ivan.. you son of a bitch. You really like keeping me from doing things, huh? Killed yourself before you could ever share the glory.." Octavius turns towards the fridge, pulling off a picture and ripping it in half, separating my dad from the rest of our family. "If I have a suggestion.. Liv.." The captain clears her throat as Octavius continues temper tantrumming. "What?! What is it?!" Octavius tightens her fist, slamming it onto the kitchen counter and laughing crazily.

The captain seems unphazed by her as she picks off the goober from the ground, placing it the garbage. "The girl.." She points to the ripped part of the picture. "We found it in her room. Maybe, she.. would know something." The captain raises her eyebrows, crossing her arms. Octavius looks towards the torn picture, seeing my face as her eyes lower. Her expression calms as she raises her eyebrow, giving a thoughtful hum.

"Interesting suggestion, captain." Octavius sighs, straightening her lab coat. "We're running out of time. And Harry.. here, isn't giving us an easy one. We need to make it quick and fast. No distractions. We're getting that information." She puts her goggles down as the captain salutes. Octavius steps out of the apartment as the rest follows behind. The captain takes the drive and the picture of me and my mom, placing it into her pocket.

\\

As the trumpets, trombones, and the rest of the band instruments were heard through the curtain backstage, the music ensmeble had finished. I was backstage, readying to go on again and announce the last band. I readied my microphone, stepping on stage as smiled widely. "Alright, and that was the junior band! Everybody give them a round of applause."

The crowd claps as people cheer. The instrumentalists stand up, bowing before the audience as they bring their stands and chairs, exiting the stage. The lights were bright, and the crowd looked just like dark figures in the audience with a few faces peeking out. I glance to the side as the curtain closes behind me. "Mr. Able, would you wanna come on stage and say a few words before we end off with the last band?" I look to the side, seeing Mr. Able coming on stage as people clap again for him.