After meeting with a certain man with an eye patch, Prime returned home, holding a piece of paper tightly. It contained various pieces of information about Prime, including the revelation that he was not human but rather an inorganic, amorphous, symbiotic alien life form. Prime was surprised by the level of detail in the document.
Even powers that Prime had never revealed were listed as abilities he might possess, which genuinely surprised him with the amount of information they had about him. However, details about his possible origin were classified as unknown. Prime hoped they had some clue, as even he did not know where he came from.
These thoughts made Prime recall part of the conversation he had with the man with the eye patch, with his words still echoing in his mind.
***
"I've always wondered why you show such a strange affection for humans. I confess I expected the first extraterrestrial visit to be marked by gunfire and laser cannons"
Sitting at the table, Prime was chewing his burger while listening to the man in front of him. Without giving it much thought, he decided to speak candidly.
"I wouldn't say I have an affection for humans. Honestly, even if I saw an entire city being destroyed and millions of humans dying, I'd hardly feel anything. It's not that I don't care about humans, but, to start with, I can't really feel empathy for them"
Prime noticed that the eyepatch-wearing man narrowed his eyes upon hearing his words. To be fair, Prime still couldn't quite understand exactly what was being said. Although he didn't care much about humans in general, a few people, like Tony and Peter, managed to convey a sense of closeness that one usually feels with friends.
However, if you asked Prime if he felt close to humans or if he wanted to help them, the answer would be indifferent. Prime didn't care about the life or death of humans in general, as long as it didn't affect his close friends and family.
"But still, you chose to join one of those humans and showed compassion for several others. Your words seem to contradict your actions, although... there is a kernel of truth in what you say"
With these words, the eyepatch-wearing man and Natasha stood up, seeming ready to leave. However, before they completely left, the man cast one last glance at Prime.
"Anyway, think about what I said; your power could really help many people. Also, my name is Nick Fury. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Ryan"
After saying these words, the man and Natasha left the diner, leaving Prime alone with his thoughts. He glanced briefly at the outside of the establishment, sighing as he noticed the dark clouds beginning to form in the sky, predicting that rain was on its way.
***
Already in his apartment, Prime was calmly observing the rain falling outside through the window. His daughters would be back in a few hours, but at the moment, what occupied his mind was the file Fury had given him. On the back of the document was a phrase that wasn't directly related to the information about Prime, but still made him reflect on its meaning.
"You can make a difference..."
It was something simple, anyone could say something like that, but the phrase kept echoing in Prime's mind even after he got home. Although Prime didn't believe he could simply care about any human just by hearing those words, it was undeniable that he wished his daughters could show who they were without fearing people's reactions.
Humans tend to fear and despise what they don't understand, and, of course, Prime was an alien beyond comprehension. Even he had difficulty believing the extent of his own abilities. If humans knew Prime, they would surely be terrified, and in the end, that aversion would extend to Ema, Annie, and Sara.
These thoughts led Prime to reflect that, while he didn't deeply care about humans, he didn't harbor hatred for them either; he was simply indifferent. However, this raised a question: does indifference really imply not helping in an emergency? Prime had to admit that it was unlikely something requiring the intervention of beings like symbiotes would occur.
However, Prime was not omniscient; he didn't know everything. If something really required his intervention, it would likely be a threat to humanity as a whole, such as an alien invasion. From Prime's perspective, this would be ironic, as he himself was an alien.
"I think Tony's hero syndrome is starting to affect me. Spending so much time with him seems to be a bad influence, as Sara and Annie had already said"
As he spoke with an ironic smile, Sara's voice suddenly began to echo in Prime's mind.
(Prime, we have a problem. I need you to come here immediately)
Prime was momentarily confused by hearing Sara's voice. She rarely communicated with him this way, as she said it violated her privacy rights or something like that. So, they reserved telepathic communication only for extreme emergencies.
(First, calm down before you speak. Honestly, I'm not understanding a word you're saying. Also, what happened for you to sound so desperate?)
Prime also responded to Sara mentally, and just as Prime mentioned, Sara's voice sounded relatively breathless, almost as if she had run a marathon moments ago. At this point, Prime was starting to become seriously worried.
(... Okay, I apologize for that)
Noticing that Sara's voice had calmed down, Prime managed to keep his own calm as well. However, he could tell that, despite Sara's calm words, her heart was racing, and she seemed anxious about something.
(Sure, now tell me exactly what's going on)
After saying this, Prime waited in silence for Sara's response. A few seconds later, she spoke.
(We were waiting for Ema at the usual spot, but she just didn't show up. When we went to her room, everyone said she disappeared after lunch and hasn't returned since)