Scottie opened her eyes to see she was laying down on a floor, staring at a white ceiling. She quickly sat up and found herself looking at a see through, golden barrier. On the other side, there was a break for a walkway before there were other rooms; they were empty… except for the odd-looking people in them.
The people looked like they were straight out of Lord of the Rings. They were in armor and had that old-timey look to them… if that made sense. One had horns and discolored skin, glaring at one of the other men in the same room as him. Scottie moved her brown eyes away from him and swallowed. What kind of dream was this?
"And who might you be?"
Scottie cried out as she instantly jumped to her feet. She turned towards the voice, but at first did not take notice of the person. Instead, she took notice that this room was nicely furnished, especially considering the other rooms. However, when her eyes found the bed, she was greeted with a familiar looking man.
He had sleek black hair that went to his shoulders. He wore a green shirt and black jacket over it, then black pants and moccasins. He looked very… regal? She wasn't sure of how to describe the attire he wore. It was beautiful fabric, but nothing you would see in the twenty-first century. Her eyes went back to his face; he had pale skin and bright blue eyes. He had killer facial structure with his cheekbones and jawline. He was certainly a handsome guy… That thought jarred Scottie's thoughts.
Her ex-roommate had been crazy over this guy. She had gone nuts over him, talking about how good-looking he was. This man was the very one who had launched an attack on Earth, specifically New York. The very one the Avengers had taken down and caused a huge controversy with (there were those mutants that had been causing controversies for years, but evidently government hired heroes were more "acceptable" than mutants that were just trying to peacefully co-exist).
What had the news said this guy's name was again? Ugh, it took her the entire first semester of college to learn her ex-roommate's name, no way would she remember his. However, she did remember the dark hair and green attire of his. People had dressed up like him for Halloween, though they mainly stuck with the Avengers, as the heroes who had managed to put a stop to him were called.
"Holy crap!" She snapped, running her hands through her hair. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"
"Excuse me?" The man glared at her, but she honestly didn't give a crap. He had scared her. "Last I checked, this was my cell, which you seemed to have just appeared into."
"Oh, well... Still!" Scottie folded her arms, her face contorting into a scowl. "That's no cause to scare someone out of their mind! I didn't mean to pop into your bloody cell." She moved away from him to the clear barrier. He had called this his cell… Was he a prisoner? She tensed up when she realized he was a criminal. She was stuck with a criminal… Unless there was a way to get out? "What is this place? Why am I here? How did I get here?" She turned so she could still see him out of the corner of her eye, not trusting him whatsoever.
"I wouldn't recommend touching that wall, unless you enjoy being shocked."
Scottie turned towards him with narrow eyes. "You attacked my home planet, dim-wit, don't give me advice." Even if it's useful, she added silently.
"Oh, I should have guessed you are a Midgardian by your... attire." She looked down at her blue jeans, long sleeved thermal shirt, and converses. She looked back up at him, slightly offended.
"What's wrong with my attire? Besides, you don't look too ravishing yourself with all of that product in your hair," Sheturned sideways once again so she could look out of his cell. She craned her neck and saw guys in gold armor with swords standing at a set of stairs. "Hey, guards? Guys, over here! Hello!"
After five minutes of that, she heard the man behind her sigh in irritation.
"I do not believe they can hear you." He snapped. Scottie turned back to face him completely, folding her arms over her chest and a scowl on her face.
"Where am I?" She demanded from him, pissed at his attitude. She would yell at the guards for hours if she wanted to.
"You're in Asgard,"
"What?" Her head snapped to him. Had she just heard him right? Surely she didn't. He had to have been lying.
"Did I stutter?"
"No, smart ass," She snorted, glaring at him with disdain. "But Asgard is a myth in Norse mythology. I've heard stories from when I was in school, and I'm sorry, but I simply don't believe that this is happening. This must be a dream," She turned back to the walls. "If this is a dream, then I should wake up any moment! I mean, I have to be asleep right now… I-I… Oh, shit."
Scottie's thoughts had all snapped back into place. She wasn't sure why she hadn't remembered before now, but now the beam falling on her was the only thing on her mind. Her heart began beating faster and she felt like her head was going to explode. She had been in that burning building… She had been hit before that blonde guy had saved her… Oh God, was she dead?
She had brought her hands to cover her mouth and was trying to keep herself from losing it all. She wasn't sure if she was alive or dead, if this was a dream or not… What if this was Hell? No, she couldn't accept that; she could never accept defeat so easily. She had to be alive. But was sacrificing herself for someone else really a defeat? Nonetheless, Scottie still couldn't accept it.
This is just a dream, she thought to herself, you will wake up soon; until then, you will be okay.
"Perhaps I should alert the guards?" The man suggested from his position. He had sat up on the bed and was now watching her with curious eyes.
She abruptly turned towards him with wide eyes, a bit of fear seeping into her. "No, don't! Even if this is a dream, I don't want to be chased away by guards." She sighed as she leaned against one of the white walls, her mind thinking back to her last memories. She was thinking to that guy who had run in to save her. She had seen that he was tall muscular, and blonde. She couldn't recall the minor details because of all the smoke, but she had an idea of what he looked like. He was such a good guy, or at least she would like to believe he was. Who else would have done such a thing for a stranger?
"Hm," Scottie felt the man's eyes on her as he begun to speak with her again.. "Would you care to explain why you are in here then?"
"I don't know how, honestly. I was in a burning building in Manhattan, then when a beam comes swinging towards me I black out and I'm here," She sighed again. Why was she telling him this stuff? Well, it was a dream, so maybe it wasn't that huge of a deal. "I mean, thank God I'm dreaming, because if I had actually died, I wouldn't be dreaming… right?" She looked back over at him.
"How am I supposed to know that?
"Oh, sorry, dream guy," She glared at him as she put her hands on her hips, looking at him condescendingly. "I was under the impression you know everything."
He stared at her more intently now; something shined in his blue eyes that was unsettling to her. What was going on in that brain of his?
"You truly believe you are in a dream?" He asked her.
"Of course," Scottie folded her arms over her chest, growing more and more uncomfortable by the moment. His gaze didn't move from her once, so she did her best to avert his attention elsewhere. "I've got a question... What's your name again? I remember seeing you in New York, but I can't for the life of me remember names, even in dreams."
The man was quiet for a moment before he finally spoke up. "Loki of Asgard."
Scottie blinked open her eyes, half expecting to see a smooth white ceiling. Instead, she was greeted with a grayish color on a popcorn ceiling. This had been her greeting the last couple of days, but she still wasn't used to it. It was unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Now, the sun was shining through the blinds, hitting her right in the eyes. She closed her eyes again and relaxed her tense body back into the hospital bed.
Had it already been three days? Three days since she had woken back up on Earth? It was crazy how it felt like she hadn't been on Earth in years. She felt like she had aged so much, but she was still the same age, just a few weeks older. She kind of wished she hadn't have woken up, that she had stayed in her dream forever.
Dream. Had it been all a dream? Everything she felt, everything she experienced… was it all just a dream? Everything was so real in it; the colors, the scents, the people.
It made all this, Earth that is, seem… Well, boring.
Scottie knew she was going to have a hard time adjusting to life back on Earth when she was in that dream or whatever it was called, but it was something she thought she could handle. Now it seemed like her head was going to explode with the huge migraine she had and that she was going to die of boredom. Groaning, she turned her head to the side to see the flower Steve had brought her. A small smile pulled across her lips.
She knew that Steve Rogers was such a nice guy, even though she had only seen what he had done for her so far. Also he wasn't bad to look at with his blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. It didn't help that he wore tight shirts that showed off his muscles… She knew someone else with fantastic muscles…
No, I refuse to think about him, Scottie thought to herself as she closed her eyes. He was just a part of the dream you had. Nothing more. Besides, it was obvious he was in love with someone else, even in your dream. And yet… Scottie couldn't get the beautiful, blue eyed man from her dream out of her head. She blamed her ridiculous ideas of romance on that. Well, past ideas of romance. She had gotten over her childhood dream of a knight in shining armor, but that was before she had met him. Now she was believing in it a little more, despite her reminding herself constantly that he was just in a dream and he had a girlfriend, a very smart and pretty girl at that. Ugh, what was she thinking? If it was nothing more than a dream, it wasn't that big of deal that he had a girlfriend. How could he not? He was perfect. She felt as if she was in the wrong for even feeling something for a taken man.
Scottie managed to bring her thoughts back to Steve. She owed him her life and so much more. It made her wonder how she could ever repay him for it. Not only had he done that, but he had visited her every day and brought her flowers, even reading for her. He had much more than her father had for her. How do you repay someone for that? That she did not know, but she knew she would try her best. He had promised her that he would come back today since he didn't end up coming yesterday. He had told her he would give her the space he thought she needed to get comfortable, but if she was honest, this was not the time she wanted to be alone. Plus, Steve's presence was quite comforting.
Scottie's stomach rumbled, alerting her of the hunger she hadn't noticed she had. With a sigh, she began to reach over to press the call nurse button only to find she was no longer in the hospital bed. Instead, she was standing in the hospital hallway, her feet moving without her permission. Immediately she made herself stop moving and looked down to see a clipboard in her hand. She looked down at her outfit and saw that she had scrubs on and her body was most definitely not her own… it was a man's. She looked over her arms and hands. What the hell was this?
"Ethan, hey!" A blonde nurse with a sickly sweet smile walked up to her. Her spray tan was evident by the color washing off around the collar of her neck. "Are you coming out tonight still?"
"W-wh—?" Scottie said out in a man's voice but stopped at the sudden dizziness she felt. She grabbed at her skull and started coughing.
"Ethan? Oh, my God! Ethan!" The blonde nurse called as Scottie fell to the ground. Scottie squeezed her eyes closed, waiting for the pain to be over… When it suddenly was. Opening her eyes, she found herself back in her hospital room in her own body.
She stayed still for a long while, her mind processing what had just happened. There was no logical explanation to what had just happened then… Unless it was a dream also. Yes, that made sense. She was thinking about Steve and had dozed off for a moment. A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts.
"Come in." She called, her voice sounding similar to a frog. She reached for the glass of water on her nightstand, greedily taking a sip. The door opened and she saw the lovely face of May Parker. A smile broke across her face as she sat the now empty glass back where it had been before. "May! I am so happy to see you."
"Good morning, sweetheart. It's good to see you, too." May walked in with a smile as she pulled her salt and pepper hair back into a ponytail. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"Okay, I guess. A little light-headed." Scottie replied as she brushed her brown hair out of her face.
"Aw, sweetie. What's wrong?" May asked as she walked over to the bed. Scottie's mind flashed back to the dream she had moments before and looked down at her lap.
"It was just bad dream, nothing more. I, uh, didn't expect you to be here; I thought you had today off?" Scottie tilted her head slightly in question.
"Oh, Peter went to some event with Harry, and one of the other nurses asked if I could cover her." They had the conversation about Peter and Harry the other day after Steve had left. Scottie, since her father had worked for Oscorp all of her life, had grown up with Harry Osborn and Peter Parker. Of course, she had lost contact with them both over the years – Harry had been sent to a boarding school, Peter's parents died so he became distant from everything – but she still remembered her childhood friends. She wondered if she'd ever see them again.
Scottie nodded and looked down at her hands again. While she did appreciate May's company, a part of her wished to be alone to mull over her thoughts. However, that could be saved for later when she was.
"How is the patient today?" Scottie's attention was brought to another person walking into the room, Dr. Strange. She smiled at him, small and forced. She still wasn't sure how to feel about the doctor completely. He wasn't very friendly, though he could be polite. And arrogant. He was very arrogant. Nonetheless, he was her doctor while she was in a coma, so she would try to be as nice as possible.
"The patient is fine, other than the headache she has." Scottie answered, not too thrilled with him calling her "the patient." She was right in front of him, surely he could have asked how she was doing by speaking to her and not May.
"You have a head trauma so that's expected." Strange walked over to her side and shined the flashlight in her eyes. He told her to follow it with her eyes and she did as she was told, though her head continued to feel as if a hammer was smashing against it. "Everything appears fine, however. You are a rare case, Miss West."
Scottie looked up at him, her smile dropping. "Why do I get the feeling a 'but' is about to be said?"
"No, there is no 'but.' I am just simply surprised at you waking up at all. With the injuries you had, you should have died. Yet here you are, able to move around as if nothing is wrong."
"Well, we are happy that you woke up, Scottie." May said as she walked over to the corner that concealed the door from sight. She reached down to grab something and returned with a humongous arrangement of flowers that blocked her face from view. She sat it on the space she had just cleared some of Scottie's flowers.
"Well, you have an admirer, don't you?" Strange commented and Scottie shot him a look before looking at the various flowers in the bouquet May had just brought in. None of the flowers were the kinds she liked. It was extravagant, yet boring.
"My dad is hardly an admirer. He's hated me from the moment I took my first step, probably even before then," Scottie said as May took a note from the bouquet and handed it to her. She opened it and read it aloud. "'Scottlyn, my dearest apologies for not being able to visit you. Feel better soon. – Jonathan West.' Thank you, dad, I'll make sure to send the hospital bill to you... or to your secretary who I'll send a thank you note for the flowers." She shook her head and looked over at May and Strange. "When can I check myself out?"
"Well, I would prefer you stay another day or two." Strange responded as he looked over the clipboard in his hands. "You heal a bit more quickly than the average person, so all of your injuries have turned mostly just scars. The only problems left are your burns. I trust you've scheduled your skin grafts already?"
Scottie looked away from the doctor and exhaled. "I'm not getting them."
Strange's eyebrows rose and he looked up at her with surprise. "You aren't getting them? And why is that? Surely it isn't money. I'm sure your father could at least pay for that."
"No, it's not that," Scottie shook her head and brought her gaze back to Strange. "Not everyone who gets burns can get a skin graft to make it go away. Why should I deserve it more than them? I have already been informed of a couple of people who are in the same boat as I am but deserve it way more than I do; I'm planning paying for their procedures."
Strange stared at her for a long moment. Scottie stared back at him, uncertain how to take the way he was looking at her. She couldn't decipher if it was good or bad, she just knew it was unwavering.
"I can see why you and your father do not get along," Strange finally said then folded his arms over his chest. "This money, you will borrow from him?"
"No, I have my own money saved up. I will never ask him for anything until the day I die. Call pride or stubbornness, but I refuse to get that bastard the satisfaction." Scottie responded, holding her head up high. Strange shook his head slightly and looked over at May.
"I suspect you are the one who told Miss West of these people? Must I remind you of the patient privacy you are supposed to keep?" He said in a harsh tone.
"It wasn't her," Scottie stated immediately, her eyes darting in between the two. "I asked some of the other doctors around here. They were more than willing to tell me. Evidently there's only one doctor here against charity, which is ironic considering all the work he does for charities."
Strange's eyebrows furrowed and his face contorted into an unamused expression. "You speak your mind, I'll give you that, Miss West. Let your boyfriend know when he visits that visiting hours have to be followed, even for Avengers." With that, Stephen Strange turned on his heel and walked out of the door.
"Ugh, he infuriates me!" Scottie said, smashing her fists on the bed. "He is such a jerk."
"Dr. Strange is certainly a piece of work," May agreed then her solemn expression was changed with a smile. "Are you hungry, sweetheart? I should go get your breakfast."
"Oh, if you don't mind, May." Scottie smiled sheepishly just as her stomach began grumbling again. May promised to be back in a moment and left the room. Scottie sighed and leaned her head back into the mattress, hoping for a pudding cup and some more silence for the rest of the day, gods knew she could use it.