Chapter 18 - Observed

"So, here we are, Virginia" 

Sara said as she looked around once she stepped off the bus. After an exhausting eight-hour journey, Sara sighed in relief to finally feel a bit of fresh air. Strangely, she, who usually felt sick on buses and cars, felt relatively well this time. As she didn't think she had been miraculously cured overnight, she figured it was Prime's doing.

Well, she was right, but instead of saying that he had cured Sara's travel sickness, it was something passive that Prime fixed without being aware of it. In fact, several things that used to make Sara feel unwell in some way were healed thanks to Prime, and both of them just didn't know it yet.

(Have you been here before?)

Prime asked. Sara struck a thoughtful pose, as if trying to remember something that happened years ago. In the end, it was just a pose, as Sara had the answer in her mind from the beginning.

"Actually, no... I mean, I'm an orphan. Honestly, I never thought I'd make it out of New York"

Hearing Sara's words, Prime thought about how sad her future life plans must have been. He understood her to some extent, as he was also an orphan. If it weren't for his best friends, Prime surely wouldn't have come as far as he did. And Prime wanted to be for Sara what his friends were for him.

(No worries, we can visit any part of the world you want. Just give me a name and location, and I promise I'll find a way to take you there)

Prime said. Hearing Prime's words, Sara laughed before starting to walk towards the college campus. Along the way, she made the most of the opportunity to buy various foods, as she was a gastronomy enthusiast. Sara was an experienced foodie, so practically everything she saw made her want to try it.

Ironically, in this situation, it was Prime who was funding the trip. Since they saw the news in the newspaper, Prime decided to come to Virginia in search of Dr. Bruce Banner. However, unfortunately, without money, this would be impossible.

So, with some money left over from Sara, Prime bought a small notebook and used it to make money. In fact, it wasn't that difficult, considering that, in his previous life, Prime studied business-related subjects with the goal of becoming an entrepreneur.

Although it started out simple, Prime's business grew considerably this month, providing a good income so that both could take the trip without financial worries. Prime was also considering the possibility of sending Sara to school, but the look she gave him when he mentioned it made her opinion on the matter clear.

In the end, it was decided that they would address this issue again later, when they had fewer concerns in mind. As she walked down the street, Sara enjoyed a hot dog, and reflecting on the situation, she questioned Prime.

"By the way, why do you think this guy might have information about your origin? I mean, even you don't know where you came from, so why would he know?"

Hearing Sara's words, Prime pondered for a few seconds, thinking about how he should answer that question. In the end, he decided to contextualize it for her.

(I'm not really expecting him to know where I came from or anything like that... actually, I am hoping, but even if he doesn't know, maybe he can tell me other things, like how long I've been alive, for example)

Hearing Prime's words, Sara let out a cute laugh as she asked. 

"And how would he find out something like that?"

Answering Sara's playful question, Prime mentally smiled before responding.

(I don't know, ask the guys who can do that with dinosaurs)

Both laughed as they continued their way to the college. Unfortunately, there was no way to know that they would both get involved in something completely out of the ordinary, not that the fight between Prime and the other symbiote had been normal, of course.

***

While Prime and Sara were having a good time in Virginia, a well-dressed man in a black suit walked down a long corridor. Upon reaching a door, the man knocked twice, and immediately a voice responded from inside the room.

"Come in"

Seizing the opportunity, the man opened the door and entered the room, executing a brief military salute. With determined steps, he approached another man in the room, an African American seated in a chair, focused on analyzing some documents. A distinctive feature was the eyepatch covering one of his eyes.

"Sir, I believe you should take a look at this" 

Declared the man, handing over a folder with a name written on it. Lifting his gaze to the man in front of him, the individual sighed briefly before taking the folder and examining its contents.

Upon opening the folder, the first thing that caught his attention was the name engraved on the cover: "Top secret" A somewhat peculiar choice of a name, to tell the truth.

Temporarily ignoring the name, the man opened the folder and began examining its contents. Various burnt images and documents were present. Although there wasn't much information, piecing the puzzle together made it easy to understand what had happened. Additionally, the photos alone confirmed the entire situation.

"Is there any video of the incident?"

Upon hearing the question from the black man, the man in the black suit nodded and then inserted a flash drive into the seated man's laptop. As soon as the video played, two viscous creatures were fighting on a rocket launch platform, one of them gray, while the other was red with a white coat.

The video ended with the red and white creature winning after detonating the rocket with the other inside. The man just observed the situation, already knowing that there were more things to monitor. Although, at the moment, they still had no idea what that thing was and, most importantly, where it currently was.