An Offer You Can't Refuse (The Other)

[Eugene "Flash" Thompson]

(January 15th. Morning.)

"Eugene! Stand up straight. You want to embarrass me in front of everyone?" said a voice.

Eugene paused looking up seeing his parents walk up to him.

"But I'm bored. Can't I just go to my room or stay a friend's while you have this boring party." said Eugene.

Mr. & Mrs. Thompsons glared at Eugene.

"This party is not boring. It has some of the rich and elite of the town. My new fashion line will be the hit of the town. Some from Paris have even come to see a preview." said Mrs. Thompson.

"And let's not forget the businesses associates from the law firm are here as well." said Mr. Thompson.

"But it's my birthday. You said we'd have a cake and a party." said Eugene.

"I'm sorry but we have far more important things to do today. But I think the cook has made a delicious strawberry shortcake." said Mrs. Thompson.

Eugene frowned.

"I'm allergic to strawberries." said Eugene.

"That's enough from you. Go out and mingle with some of the other kids. It will be good for us if you have some more friends outside of school." said Mr. Thompson.

Eugene sighed and walked away. His parents never had time for him. He felt more like an inconvenience or a trophy they'd parade out to impress people. Sometimes he wished he had a different family.

Eugene gasped as he woke up. That party had been one of the last times he saw his parents. He knew they didn't love him. Their marriage had been arrainged after all. If they didn't love each other how could they possibly love him. He figured out the only thing they really loved is themselves and money. That didn't mean he didn't try in vain to please them but in the end he was never good enough. And now he wasn't even sure if they were alive right now. He groaned as he got up out of his bed. His body was still sore from the fight the previous day. He didn't see The Other anywhere but he was going to get up quickly before he got in trouble. He glanced at his watch and saw it was 9 o'clock.

"Oh no. I slept in. I better get started so he won't be too mad when he comes back." said Eugene.

He started to try to tidy up the room dusting a little. Then when he grabbed the broom and started sweeping. His back starting hurting a little so he shoved a pillow under the back of his shirt to try to ease the pain a little. Coming home after the battle he was unaware of how close he'd come to being very badly hurt or worse. The doctor had told him to take it easy for a few days but Eugene only remembered the fight. Well the parts he could remember before he blacked out.

"Got to finish before he gets back. I don't want to get hurt again." said Eugene.

The Other(Chitauri Leader)

[The Other(Chitauri Leader)]

The other was informed of Eugene's injuries and the other was given a few pep talks about eugene's condition. Loki and Trigger both confronted him about his... harshness, saying the boy needed a kind hand as opposed to a harsh one. The other was unsure how to take this. On one hand he would never dare question the king's judgement. He wasn't in the position or power to dare do that. On the other, he didn't really understand the change in the king too much and he never really was told to be nicer. So that was hard in itself. Yet the other didn't find that to be a really bad thing. If anything the other looked into eugene's memories and kind of felt that the boy did have a harsh hand in life. He didn't have a supportive family, he was insecure. But was he as evil as the other previously assumed? Not really. He was young and could always learn. The other... dare he say, felt sorry for the young man.

He went to go check on the man and immediately heard noise of work. While a part of him was pleased eugene was so quick to obey him now, another felt a bit guilty for hurting him. Not that he would admit it yet but the creature did believe eugene was supposed to be resting, not working. If anything eugene was nearly close to death. The hulk nearly cost the boy his life. The other DID know the boy should at least be given leniency logically. The other opened the door to notice the man stuff a pillow in his shirt to prevent back pain. The Other calmly, but firmly replied "Halt boy. Stop what you are doing"

The other felt very awkward now as he said slowly, hesitantly but kindly "You were almost killed in battle. I do not think you should work for now. I order you.... I suggest to you that you should go back to bed"

[Eugene "Flash" Thompson]

Eugene paused at his words and flinched.

"I'm sorry I can't do this as fast as I usually can. I'm still hurt but I can..."

He frozed at The Other's words.

"You don't want me to work?" asked Eugene.

He paused shaking his head.

"This must be a test. I'll do better. I'll try to be faster. I promise." said Eugene.

He looked nervous as he tried to keep sweeping.

"Please don't hurt me again." thought Eugene, unaware the Other could probably hear him.

(ooc: Eugene's a little scared The Other's testing him/about to punish him so he's trying to keep working. The Other will need to show him he's sincere. at least about resting. xD)

[The Other(Chitauri Leader)]

(OCC: No worry)

"Enough boy" The Other repeated, slightly more gently than before. He could tell the effects of his powers were a little more than the other originally thought. Then again he didn't pay attention to care at the time. Now that he was ordered to be nicer, he tried to inspect the effects and the other did feel a tad bad. The boy was not that old and was of a weaker species anyway. Humans were already pretty fragile, so the other tended to wonder how deep was the effect. Apparently pretty deep enough for eugene to keep working. Claiming it was a test. The Other replied back, walking over and taking the broom away from eugene "Believe me boy, if I was going to test you I would tell you" He then took the broom, putting it away. He then went over and heard eugene's thoughts

Please don't hurt me again

The other stepped back and tried to appear more genuine. He didn't really know how but he had to try. So he snapped his fingers and pointed to the bed "I am not going to hurt you. But I do want you to rest. You are not capable of working right now. And besides, I think it would be best if you laid down in bed. Because I believe we need to communicate some changes in how we operate"

[Eugene "Flash" Thompson]

Eugene flinched at the Other's words. Words both of his parents had said to him plenty of times before dismissing him. Would the Other grew tire of him too? Only unlike his parents he might try to kill him. And despite the life of slavery Eugne didn't want toi end up dead.

"Not if it was a surprise. We have pop quizes all the time at school to test our knowledge." said Eugene, nervously.

He paused remebering The Other was a telepath.

"Of course you'd say that if you were really going to. You'd just t\Torture me when I lower my guard or something." said Eugene.

He paused reacting to rest of the Other's words.

"Wait. You really don't want me to work. You want me to rest?" said Eugene.

Fear of being killed or locked in a cell struck him as turned to him.

"I've had rest. I need to work. I need to prove my worth. Always had to prove myself and no one was ever satisfied. But I'll do better. I don't want to go back to that cell or end up in a grave." said Eugene.

He couldn't help it as he having a mini panic attack of sorts. Not too serious but still enough to freak him out.

(ooc: He can be a little stubborn. Maybe he can convince him he cares. Get him some food, a book or something. Being a telepath he should probably know Eugene even better than Eugene knows himself. xD)

[The Other(Chitauri Leader)]

(OCC: Lmao true. Don't you worry I got it)

The Other looked at Eugene with a bit of surprise at how surprisingly insightful the boy was. He wasn't as stupid as he appeared. The Other chuckled at the boy's stubbornness "You know. Your stubbornness would be admirable if it was not so foolish" He then sighed, feeling a tad guilty for how his previous treatment left eugene "You are not well. That is the fact. I am not someone who surprises people often unless needed. If this was a test, know that it would be more obviously than that"

He then felt a bit confronted when eugene rightfully called him out for being nice only to lower his guard. While he was no longer allowed to torture and while he didn't really want to anymore, he was genuinely trying to lower the boy's guard. But mostly to help him. He replied "You are correct. I am trying to lower your guard. So you can rest. I could simply just command you to do it but that would not solve anything nor make you genuinely heal" He then saw the boy panic a bit, it wasn't too serious but he could tell the boy was scared of him. Now this seemed to be concerning. This was unhealthy fear. The Other did like that the boy feared him but not to this extent. This was a bit much even for him. He then began to read the boy's mind to proceed to find things of comfort that might snap him out of it. He then snapped his fingers having a bit of magic release a plate of a couple things eugene liked to eat. He then put the food near the bed and carefully guided the boy to the bed.

He then replied gently, sincerely "Listen bo----Eugene. You are not well. You were in a great battle, against a creature no one is safe from. You may be my servant but you are still human and mortal. You could've easily died. Luckily you haven't. Now I have this food you enjoy. Try to eat it then lay down"

[Eugene "Flash" Thompson]

Eugene blushed at bit at the words.

"That's never stopped me before. I always had to be perfect. Perfect son, perfect grades... and now a perfect servant. But nothing I do is ever good enough." said Eugene.

He paused at the words as his eyes widened.

"I'm sorry." whispered Eugene, afraid of retaliation.

He paused at his words as The Other said he just wanted to him to rest.

"Really? You just want me to rest." said Eugene, confused.

Eugene sighed.

"I picked the wrong opponent. I didn't recognize him at first when he was human. I was trying to do good. And I couldn't even do that right." said Eugene.

He paused at his words as he brought him food. Eugene was more skeptical at the mention of food..

"Ok. I don't think you'd have poisoned it. If you wanted me dead... I'd probably be dead by now." said Eugene.

He paused looking around.

"So what did you bring?" asked Eugene.

[The Other(Chitauri Leader)]

"Hmmm. I would not go that far. Despite what you think, I do think you have done good" The Other assured. He could tell this was gonna take longer than he thought. Maybe trigger was right. Maybe being cruel didn't get things done faster. Maybe this was wrong to have the boy be this way. He then sighed softly as the boy apologized again "You need not apologize. You did not do anything wrong" He sighed some more as the boy rightfully was weary. The other though would figure SOMETHING out eventually. Just needed Eugene's trust now.

"Yes. I am being sincere. I want you to rest. You need to. You cannot heal if you do not rest" The Other assured, his tone slightly kinder than before. If taking his time meant eugene would do what he wanted then so be it. He then made a sympathetic nod as the boy replied he was just trying to do his duty and felt like a failure. The other gently patted his shoulder and replied "You are correct that you picked a poor opponent. But you are incorrect in that you did not do right by your king. You did. Your loyalty is far more important than the defeat of the enemy. The beast shall be dealt with eventually" He then pointed to the bed "Now lay down while you eat please. Your injuries need to heal"

He then made a slight, amused chuckle as eugene commented on poison and that the other would've killed him already if he wanted to "You are correct. The food is not poisoned though. I assure you" He then answered calmly "It is your favorites. I did my research and got curious as to what you liked so here" He then pointed at the food, which was filled with Eugene's personal favorites.

(OCC: Idk what Eugene's favorites are so feel free to just write them down for later reference lol)

[Eugene "Flash" Thompson]

Eugene paused at his words.

"You think I've done good?" asked Eugene, confused.

Then the Other said he didn't do anything wrong which was puzzling but he wasn't going to complain. He paused at his words as he said to lay down and nodded.

"Alright. Thank you." said Eugene.;

He paused as he kept eating as it was quite good and was many of his favorites. Things he hadn't eaten since coming here and some new favorites of Asgard. Eugene was touched his new master thought to get him this at all. He was hungry enough he probably would have eaten anything but here it was.

"You got all my favorites. You really do mean it." said Eugene.

He paused with fresh tears in his eyes. No one had cared this much about him to give him anything.

"Thank you." said Eugene.

He wiped the tears away and grabbed what he could from the buffet. A sandwich, some vegetables, and fries. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten some of this Earth food but he guessed it was probably by magic. He moaned at the first bite of food as it tasted better than anything he'd had before and it was delicious.

"Now I see. You're trying to fatten me up so I can't run away." said Eugene, with a grin.

[The Other(Chitauri Leader)]

The Other nodded insistently, trying his best to be as sincere as possible. He knew this new change of pace was awkward for Eugene and to be honest, it was awkward for the Other also. He was used to being cruel and stern but he didn't dislike this new change of pace. He was a dark monster but he wasn't heartless. He did, in his own weird way, care for the kid. He was pleased the boy took the food, enjoying it and graciously eating. He then felt Eugene hug him. The Other never was hugged in his life. The hug wasn't unpleasant but it was new. The Other awkwardly patted the boy's back, not willing to discourage the boy's affection "You're welcome. Keep eating. You need subsidence" He allowed the boy to keep eating, sitting in his chair, observing the boy. He then, genuinely, chuckled at the boy's teasing "Hm. You have a active imagination, Eugene. Humans never cease to impress me. They are far cleverer than I realized" He looked to Eugene, replying with evident fear in his voice "I do want this to happen to you again. I will find ways to help you protect yourself. That beast is one of the more powerful heroes. We need to find a way to make sure you are prepared"

[Eugene "Flash" Thompson]

Eugene smiled at him.

"Alright. Thanks." replied Eugene.

He grinned.

"Thank you. There was a popular fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. A witch would kidnap children and fatten them up to eat them. But eventually, a couple of kids broke free and turned the tables on her, and killed her. Some tales in our world can get dark but they often have morals to teach us. Even if the heroes in the story don't get a happy ending." answered Eugene.

Eugene sighed.

"Well, I'm not a superhero. Spider-man was my hero before all this. And it's not like I can gain superhero powers. The Fantastic Four got their powers from a space storm. Others on my plan from experiments. Unless you or Loki know of a way to make me stronger. Because I train but some of them have months or years of fighting experience. Or superpowers. I guess I could fight some weaker members but it's hard to know who's weak without knowing what everyone can do." replied Eugene.