Battling Guilt Part 6

Petra heard the echo of her own foot steps behind her as she climbed the flight of stairs, as she felt a wad of heat and tension gather in her feet and hands. Her emotions felt stiff yet chaotic some how. Oh how she desperately wanted to wring Ivan's neck. That was all she could think about; that and relieving Thor from the excruciating company of “Ivan the Great,” a nickname he gave himself that he was no doubt resounding in Thor’s presence. It was Ivan’s cheesy attempt at asserting male dominance. Ew. Poor cousin Thor.

Ivan was one of those people that you just questioned being around, let alone dating. Why would you date someone who mouths off to a waitress for not putting extra salt on his fries? And what's more, someone who becomes increasingly full of himself the more you get to know him. Ivan started off sweet and endearing, Petra remembered.

Petra was alone at the club she often frequented, the one where she often spent her nights chasing away the perves who preyed on young adults. This was also the night she met Frank.

One night in particular she was face to face with a forty five year old man who insisted on groping a newly legal drinker on the waist after she refused to dance with him. "Hey, is there an issue here?" Petra said, eyes planted firmly onto the young woman's. "Go on somewhere else. We're busy," said the middle aged man. Petra's gaze grew even more tense, as did her stance. With a stiff neck and a balled-up fist, she shifted her body in his direction. "Sorry, was I talking to you?" she said through gritted teeth. The man let out a pretentious laugh. "That's adorable. Go back to drinking your little margarita's in a corner and let me do my thing with this one," he said, quickly shifting his attention back to the twenty one year old nervously gripping her own arm.

Petra shook her head and grabbed him by his shirt, looking him dead in the eye. "I don't think you heard me. I don't think I was talking to you." She looked back at the young woman who was watching in shock and horror. "Now, is he bothering you?" No answer. She just looked at Petra as if she were the monster instead of the man who just tried to assault her. Petra felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Ready to hurl the man at whoever dared touch her, she turned around to see a pleasant figure with an immaculate white smile, hypnotizing blue eyes, messy blonde hair, and a swimmer's frame.

"Hey, I think I can take it from here," Ivan said softly, gingerly brushing Petra's arm holding the man, causing her to drop him to the ground. When Petra turned back around to try to comfort the poor girl, she was gone. Not only did she scare off the pervert, but she scared off his victim too. Oh well. She felt another gentle touch on her shoulder. She turned around expecting to see the same slim, yet muscular figure from before, but it was Frank. “Hey, you can’t be starting fights in here. Next time, let me do my job.” Petra scoffed.

“Whatever. You weren’t fast enough.”

“Well, thanks for beating me to it I guess,” he said with a chuckle. She almost said something back to him but then felt another tap on her shoulder. “The next person who touches me is going to get punched,” she threatened. When she turned around and saw Ivan, her heart nearly leapt out of her chest. Petra typically didn't bat an eye at anyone, let alone an attractive stranger. But there was something alluring about Ivan.

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So this was supposed to be the final scene, but given how invested I am in this story, I think I will write one to two more final excerpts, and then that will conclude this part of the short story series. I also want to write a spine-off series about how Petra comes to terms with her super-powers, Thor's death, as well as how she becomes "Petra the Powerful." Stay tuned guys! :)