"Ughh…" A boy with black hair stretched after sleeping, slowly opening his eyes and looking around, confused. "What the…" he mumbled under his breath, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling.
Oliver quickly threw the covers off himself, and when he did, he noticed his hands. 'These aren't my hands,' he thought. 'They look like they belong to some ten-year-old kid.' Panic began to bloom in his chest, but he took a deep breath to calm himself. 'Let's not panic. Think.'
After a few moments, he managed to steady his breathing and climbed out of bed. The floor was scattered with clothes tossed carelessly beside the bed, which was rather large, taking up nearly a fifth of the space. Opposite it stood a cabinet. Oliver opened it to find a mix of clothes, toys, and books inside. He picked up one of the books and read the title aloud. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - The Chronicles of Narnia." A small smile tugged at his lips as he remembered reading it for the first time as a kid. He looked over the other titles, more from the Narnia series, a few fairy tales, and some school textbooks.
Next to the cabinet was a simple desk with a chair tucked in neatly. He pulled the chair out and sat down, eyeing the items laid out before him: a few notebooks, some stationery, and a computer.
'This computer looks old… but new at the same time,' Oliver thought, brushing his fingers over the keyboard before pressing the power button. 'Someone must've taken really good care of it, or…' He glanced at his hands again. 'I've somehow travelled to the past'. A flicker of excitement cut through his confusion. 'If that's true, I could become the richest man on Earth.'
He let the fantasy play in his head for a moment but shook it off with a sigh. His attention drifted back to the notebooks. He picked one up and flipped it open to the first page. "Oliver Bennett, Year 6." He read the name again. And again. 'Did I really travel back in time?' The thought hit harder this time. 'But this isn't my childhood room…'
Before he could think further, the computer finished booting up, and its soft whirring drew his attention. "Let's see…" he muttered, scanning the icons on the desktop. "Workbench, Trash, Lemmings, Sensible Soccer, Deluxe Paint…"
Before he could explore more, the door to his left opened. A woman stepped in, long black hair, soft green eyes, maybe in her mid-thirties. She looked surprised to see him awake. "I see you're up, Oliver…" Her eyes flicked to the computer, and she sighed. "I know you're excited about your new computer, but you could at least eat first."
She was scolding him lightly, though there was warmth in her smile. Oliver just stared, unsure what to do. 'Who is she? Is she this Oliver's mother?' Before he could panic or say something stupid, the woman's expression turned mildly stern. "Turn off the computer and go wash up. Breakfast is almost ready, you can play your games later." Then she left the room, leaving the door open behind her.
Oliver let out a quiet sigh of relief and looked back at the computer before switching it off. He was about to stand up when the woman appeared again. "And throw the dirty clothes in the basket," she said, glancing at the mess on the floor before leaving once more.
'Let's do what she says for now… and think about what to do later,' he told himself. He gathered the scattered clothes and tossed them into a wicker basket in the corner, then grabbed a random shirt and pair of trousers from the cabinet and stepped into the hallway.
He half-expected to have to open every door to find the bathroom, but the door were already open ajar. Inside, the first thing he noticed was the mirror. The boy who looked back at him had the same black hair as the woman earlier, but his eyes were a deep black instead of green. 'I look almost the same as I did when I was eleven,' he thought. 'The hair and eye color are different, but the face looks exactly like me back then…'
He stared at his reflection for a long moment. 'If I really time-travelled, or whatever this is, what happened to my real body? Did it die? Disappear?' He frowned. 'I remember going to sleep after reading some fanfics and waking up here…' Oliver shook his head and turned away from the mirror. 'No sense thinking about it now.'
He climbed into the bath and washed up quickly. When he was done, he glanced at the sink, four toothbrushes sat in a cup. He grimaced. 'No way I'm brushing my teeth with someone else's toothbrush.' Gathering his dirty clothes, he went back to his room, tossed them into the basket, and then stepped into the hallway again.
From the top of the stairs, he could hear voices drifting up from below. 'That must be where the dining room is.' He hesitated, bracing himself. 'If they start asking questions, I can fake a headache or something.' His pulse quickened. 'Come on, don't be a coward.' He lightly slapped his cheek and began to descend.
The hallway came into view first, its walls lined with framed family photos. He stepped closer to one, and just as he leaned in for a better look, a strange sensation washed over him. He suddenly saw a book inside his mind, vast and endless, its pages stretching out into infinity. One page tore free, and he could almost feel the words written on it…
Category - The Adventurer
Off The Watch List
Cost - Free Current CP - 100
Origin: Loki
It would be unfortunate, not to mention rather unfair, to be erased from existence or otherwise targeted because you're not 'supposed' to exist in this particular reality, or struck down without warning because your mere presence is interfering with some grand cosmic plan. Now, entities and organisations such as The Watcher, The Ancient One and The TVA either won't notice your presence and actions, not notice you as anything unusual, or will assume what you are doing is all according to a greater plan that they believe in. They'll completely overlook or ignore you, preventing them from doing anything about your interference or presence... unless you go after them directly, at which point they might take notice.
"What the…?" he almost shouted out loud, but quickly calmed down as a wave of information seemed to transfer directly into his mind. 'So the name of this book is the Celestial Grimoire,' he realized, focusing on the page. He could feel that he had a choice, accept the power offered by the Grimoire, or refuse it if he didn't want it.
'I don't see why I would want to refuse a free power… especially one as useful as this,' Oliver thought. He accepted, and the page transformed into motes of light that fused with him. He waited, expecting something dramatic, but he didn't feel any different.
'Is this some hallucination of mine, or…' he wondered. He focused harder and could feel the Celestial Grimoire inside his mind, as if it had become a part of him. Curious, he tried thinking about rolling another power, but nothing happened. 'Worth a try,' he shrugged, lost in thought.
Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Oliver jumped up, startled, and quickly turned around.
"Dad?" he asked.
The man in front of him had short brown hair and black eyes. He was a little overweight, with a small belly, but his arms were visibly muscled. "I heard a voice and came to check if something was wrong. Why are you just standing here, Oliver?" the man asked.
Oliver froze for a moment. 'He looks exactly like my dad,' he thought. Then he quickly recovered and replied, "I was just looking at the photos."
The large man glanced at the wall covered in family photos and a smile appeared on his face. "I see. Let's go. The breakfast is already cooked, and it'll get cold if we don't hurry," he said, starting to walk.
Oliver quickly followed, his mind racing as he tried to process everything that had happened so far. 'It's not a normal Earth, is it?'