The Hazy White Walls of A Hospital
Make Me Nauseous.
Blip. Blip. Blip. DripBlip. Blip. Blip.
Her body ached. Mostly, it was her head that was hurting. She didn't know why. All she could remember was…
She sat up, immediately regretting it. Her head was dizzy and she had begun to gag, eventually vomiting whatever was in her system onto the thin white blankets that covered her lap. After that was over and done with, the brunette shifted her gaze to her arms. IV, she had IV in her arms.
For some reason or another, she just didn't like that. IV's meant hospitals, that much she remembered. Hospitals were… bad. Very bad. She had to get away. Had to. She began to tear the IV from her arm, soon followed was anything else attached to her, an oxygen hose that went to her nose and the thing on her finger that told her heartbeat. When that went off, a long steady Bliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii- began to ring.
Nurses swarmed the room, looking relieved and annoyed to find her, fine and dandy, other that completely unhooked and covered in vomit. A nurse, Betty from her nametag, took over and shoo'ed the others away.
After everything was cleaned up and the patient was calmed down, the nurse sat on the bed, taking the patient's hand with her own, "Hi, sweetie. I'm Betty-"
"Wh-where? Wh-who…?"
"You're in Malibu Central Hospital, and I already told you, sweetie, I'm Betty," A strained smile showed that she'd been working long hours, perhaps she was nearing the end of her patience.
"No-not… you.." Her voice sounded like a frog, it kept breaking. She frowned, "Me? Who.. am I?"
Betty sighed, letting her hand go. "The ID you had on you said Alyse Morrison."
Alyse Morrison? Yes… That man… he had said that was her name. "Where did he go?!" Sudden movement and she felt dizzy again. The nurse gently pushed her back to lay down.
"Where did who go, Alyse?"
"I… don't remember…" She rubbed her hands against her face, in annoyance. "He said… his…. Lackey hit me, must've hurt my head… It's so fuzzy." Now Betty had gotten a chart and was marking this down. "Something… to do with my legs?" Her hands flew from her face, to her legs, as if to check and make sure they were still there, wiggling her toes for good measure. It seemed rather important that she did so.
Betty looked through the chair after hearing the leg comment, quirking a brow, "It says here your legs use to be paralyzed, no mention of how you're able to move them now…" Odd. She was going to have to go to the doctor about this. Maybe that explained the scars on her legs? Had this girl discovered how to repair her paralysis? If so, she would definitely have to make a few calls…
"All right, Alyse, I have to go check in on something, but if you need anything, just press the call button right here," She reached other and pointed at the button, Alyse nodded. "And someone will be in to help you. Now, don't mess with the IV's anymore. I'll be back in a little bit."
The young woman tipped her head back, staring at the white ceiling, a chilling feeling overcoming her. She ignored it, opting not to think about it and instead ponder over… why had she lost her memories. What had she done that would make someone try and extract information from her by such… forceful means? All these thoughts made her strangely sleepy. She just wanted to sleep….
She had fallen asleep, apparently, the nurse walking in with a blondish-orange haired woman waking her up. They both paused, as if waiting for someone else. Oh, they had been. A man walked in shortly after them, wearing a nice suit, though the rest of him looked sort of rough. He had facial hair, a goatee and some 5 o'clock shadow, he wore sunglasses that were sloped down his nose, and his hair was in a state of disarray. He looked as if he didn't need to present himself, but did so anyway.
"Hello, I'm Tony Stark," A pause, then brow quirk. He kept going, "Owner of the widely known Stark Industries?" Nothing. A blank stare. "Iron Man?"
She stifled a laugh, her hand covering her mouth, "Sounds like a bad porno."
The woman, not the nurse, smiled quietly, before stepping in, "Unfortunately, Mister Stark here wasn't informed of your current condition, so excuse him while he goes to nurse his ego." Stark shot her a look.
"Miss Potts, what are you talking about?"
"… I'd like to know my condition too, if you wouldn't mind," Alyse crossed her arms as best she could with a needle piercing her skin. Sure, she couldn't remember who she was or what she did prior to her, she figured, ass beating by that strange guy with pretty blue eyes, but she knew the basics. Math, science (this she felt a bit cocky about), etc. She also knew that hospitals weren't to give out patient information without consent, unless the family was involved. Hey, her throat was feeling better.
The nurse chose this time to step in, before Miss Potts could do her job for her, "Sorry, sweetie, I completely forgot to tell you… We can't find much physically wrong, excluding bruising around your shoulder and wrists and a wound on your head, that seems to have contributed to your memory loss. We're unsure as to how long it'll be until your memory returns to you… if at all. Your speech seems to be doing very well, later we'll have you do a few tests to see what else you remember, other than your past." Alyse's head hit the pillow, her eyes shutting. Okay, so, she couldn't remember anything about herself, but she could remember the things she learned throughout her life? How screwed up was that!
"Can we get back to whatever we're doing…?" The man's voice. Stark.. She could feel the wrinkle that formed on her nose when she grimaced.
"Damnit, I'm apparently in this situation because of whatever it is you wanted, so you expect me, if I do recall how it was done, to tell you?" She snorted, her eyes opening to hopefully lock gazes with those eyes hidden behind sunglasses. He seemed to get angry, his head shifting towards Miss Potts. Potts nodded faintly.
"Look, Miss Morrison…" She went into a little spiel about how this would benefit the world and how she would be rewarded handsomely if she were to tell them how she had managed to remove the 'problem' from her legs. Warily, Alyse agreed. A few days later she was released, given vitamins and other things to take. Stark, or should she say Pepper, set up a comfy little place to stay at, her accounts mysteriously vanishing.
Work began a week after she 'moved' in. She would be taken to Stark's place of work, to some lab, and would write whatever she could remember. That was the hard part. Yes, she remembered the processes, but… there were several processes for this surgery in her head. Obviously she had created several scenarios or something and chose the best one and ended up lucky.
Each time she had written a complete process down, Stark would take it and she would be taken to her place and was left alone for the next day or so. Then she'd be called and brought back. Rinse, repeat.
Error: Try Again.
She blinked at that thought, caught in the middle of writing out another process out. She shoved the pen down onto the tabletop. Stark entered the room minutes later, "Done?"
"No."
He paused, frowning, "No?"
"No. I refuse. I could be doing funner things, better things. Finding out who I am, Stark. I refuse to write another word unless you take me out," her arms crossed as she turned on her stool, legs crossing as well. She gave him a hard stare. He frowned.
"But.."
"No buts. I want to go to one of those… karaoke joints!" Her hands clapped together, finalizing the whole thing. Stark seemed to be pouting, but then put on his suave face, nodding.
"A date then?"
"No. Pfft. Man-slut. We need Pepper too, you work her too much," Alyse hopped off of the stool, wiping her hands over her pants. Pants, she never wore skirts, for obvious reasons… That, and they felt wrong. She had actually tried to wear one once, but… she ended up angrily shouting at anyone who stared too long.
Stark agreed, which surprised her, but she was happy for it. They called a taxi and Alyse rode to her place to get an outfit better than a T-shirt and jeans.
Later that day, Stark rode up in one of his vehicles, she never knew cars, Pepper sitting beside him. Stark ended up squished in the middle, not that he seemed to mind too terribly. They arrived at a place Alyse hadn't been expecting. She had been waiting to see some halfway decent building that had individual rooms for the people so sing in. No, this was set up in a ritzier manner, and looked more like open mic night.
They sat for a while in a table near the middle, ordered drinks, Alyse getting Pepsi, not paying any mind to whatever the other two got. Her eyes lit up, watching people pour their songs into lyrics that weren't meant for them to sing. Someone announced they were going to be singing a song called 'Going Down in Flames'.
The light in her eyes seemed to disappear for a moment, coming back only after Pepper had begun to shake her.
"Are you alright, Alyse?" A concerned look flashed across the orangish-blonde haired girl's eyes, locking gazes with the brunette, who's red roots were showing. Alyse shook her head, then smiled.
"Sorry, was thinking… I wanna go next. Save my seat!" A quick change of subject and then she was gone, nearing the stage.
After a few moments, she was introduced and handed the mic. "Hey, everyone.. I'm going to be singing a slightly altered version of a song from the movie Repo! The Genetic Opera. It's called 'Didn't Know I'd Love You This Much'. Thank you." The polite clapping occurred here, hoping the alterations weren't horrible.
"Please be still, there is nothing you need say, it can wait..."
Everyone quieted down a moment, staring towards the stage. Girl didn't have a spectacular voice, but they wanted to listen now that they'd heard her.
Stark and Pepper blinked at each other, Stark shrugging, Pepper smiling. They got comfortable and watched the show.
Alyse's eyes shut, "Sometimes I wanted to cry, when the people on TV were not quite the way we were, somehow I guess I just knew…" She swayed under the bright light directed at her.
"But I didn't know I'd love you so much… Didn't know I'd love you so much, didn't know I'd love you so much, but I do." She turned her head to the side, the sad tune flowing out from the speakers.
She took a breath, "Sometimes I'd stay up all night, wishing to God that I knew who you were, but sometimes it's not enough time..."
Her gaze met the crowd's, eyes twinkling in the lights, "But I didn't know I'd love you so much, didn't know I'd love you so much… didn't know I'd love you so much, but I do." The lights faded slightly, clapping commenced. Yes, the song was short, but it would be awkward without a male partner to sing with. She bowed slightly and began to walk back towards her seat.
The lights were still dark when a set of long fingers wrapped around her upper arm, it's match slipping over her lips. Warm breath tickled her ear as someone whispered in her ear, "If you make a fuss, I'll kill everybody in this room…" She nodded against his hand, which released her mouth. The voice… familiar. Alyse tried to catch a glimpse of his face, but he shoved her forward, making the duo head quickly towards the door.
The man at the door quirked a brow at the odd 'couple'. Perhaps it was rare for a girl that went into a place with Tony Stark to come out with another man. She waved a hand at him, giving him a light smile, walking steadily. She wouldn't let this crazy kill anyone else. What did he even want with her…? Was it what Stark had located her for? Seriously, this was getting old, quickly.
A block or so down from the door, Alyse ripped her arm from the man, turning, lips parting as if to say something, but she froze. It was… Him! He had… before the hospital.
Oh gods, her head hurt. Her hands moved to her head as she took a few steps away from him, eyes watching him warily.
"Rae, is that how you greet someone who saved you from sudden death?" A cocky smirk played on his lips.
Now he was confusing her. And her head was throbbing all the more. "Rae?... I'm Alyse." Rae… fit better though felt better. Felt right.
System Error… System... Error…
Shutting Down.
Woo?
First chapter of the Sequel, and yes, this is a sequel, if you didn't already know that.
Obviously, I don't own any Batman characters or Iron Man characters, so no suing~! –Fingerwaggle. -