Meanwhile

Part 4

"We're demigods, like you...we found you in a monster's trap," Renata explained.

Lily nodded vigorously. "you got spider poison in you, but we healed you. With gorgon blood." she held up the empty bottle as evidence.

"Can you tell us who you are?" Ren asked him.

He ran a hand through his hair, covering his fingers with webs. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. He looked around, sizing everyone up. "my name's Alabaster," he said finally.

'Strange name..' Ren thought to herself. "How did you end up in that hospital? Do you need us to contact someone for you?" Ren wasn't sure exactly how to handle this situation, but she was trying her best.

Alabaster blanched. "hospital? How did i end up in a hospital? Were there people there?"

"No, no, we didn't find anyone else...It was an abandoned hospital." Ren tried to not freak him out any further.

Lily looked him over. "it was inhabited by these gigantic spiders. There were the bones of deer and things like that, so could you have been caught in the forest?"

Alabaster seemed hesitant to speak. "yeah... I was spending the night in the woods. That was the last thing i remember."

"They probably caught you while you were sleeping....was anyone else with you?" Renata inquired.

"no," he said quickly. Lily narrowed her eyes; she knew a lie when she heard one, but she didnt press further. she gave him a glass of water and the last sandwhich. "you should probably eat something, you... Look like you were in there a while." And smell, she thought silently.

"Last sandwich?" Ren asked. Lily nodded.
"Well then we're officially out of food..we'll need to restock soon."

Lily nodded. "yeah, lets wait for everyone to recover, first. And take showers," she added as Bonny bustled into the bathroom after examining her ruined hair.

"Sounds good." Renata replied. "Turn that marvel marathon back on." She said to Mark, joining him on the bed while she waited for her turn to shower.

After bonny was finished, alabaster walked into the bathroom looking awkward and wary, as if they were going to jump him any moment. Lily shrugged off his accusing stare. she would be freaked out if she woke up in the company of an entire convoy of strange demigods.

"Nah man, Iron Man is SO much cooler than Thor. He's a billionaire with awesome tech and he's sassy and it's hilarious." Penny argued against Mark's statement that Thor was the superior avenger. "Lily, what do you think?" Ren asked.

She seemed contemplative for a moment. "well, i have to agree, iron man is a cooler person... But thor is way more powerful. But it doesnt really matter, because youre both wrong; captain america is obviously the best avenger."

Bonny rolled her eyes from the corner of the room, closing her book. "you three are ridiculous, you live in a world of gods and monsters and yet you're arguing over which superhero is the best. You do realize you ARE superheroes, right?" everyone contemplated what she had just said, quiet for a full minute.

"so what youre saying is, were kind of like the avengers." Mark laughed and pointed out, "more like the guardians of the galaxy. We arent exactly the worlds last hope, more like backup singers."

"True, true." Renata agreed. "But what is a song without backup singers..." She thought about what she had just said, "...huh, I guess it would just be a song without backup singers...but that's not the point. This prophecy is happening for a reason, obviously, so it's probably really important. Our work is going to help a lot."