I had some ends to wrap up, and I just couldn't leave one of my characters wandering around without any proper ending, now could I?
Jacob Brown was walking down a sidewalk in New York City, smiling. He'd just gotten a job with a publishing company, and he'd rented an apartment yesterday. He had a new life, one completely separate from the chaos in Los Angeles.
He was free, and not Freed. To Jacob, that made all the difference.
He didn't even realize where he was until he stepped on the book. Jacob looked down in surprise, and picked up a paperback mystery novel.
"Crooked House," he mused. "Might be interesting." Jacob looked up, and saw with surprise that he was standing almost directly underneath Stark Tower.
He gazed at the Tower for a few moments, thinking. Jacob blinked in surprise as a black jet came into view between the skyscrapers, and slowly landed on the top of Stark Tower.
Jacob smiled, tucked the book into his pocket, and walked away.
The nurse in the New York hospital said patiently, "I'm afraid you have amnesia, my dear. You survived quite the fall. It may take you a very long time to remember anything. I don't suppose you do remember your name?"
The blonde woman shook her head slowly, green eyes confused. "No. I don't remember anything."
The nurse gave her patient a small smile, and said gently, "That's all right. Your memories might return soon, or they could take a little longer, and come gradually. Try not to focus on it too hard." The nurse made a note on her clipboard and left.
The woman in the hospital bed stared out the window at the sunshine. She couldn't remember her name, or who she was, or anything, except . . .
Except that when she closed her eyes, she saw a grey gaze looking back at her.
I would like to offer a Hulk-sized THANK YOU and matching hug to my friend, Avengers-Captain America, who kept me sane during the writing process. Cap, you put up with my babbling, my nagging, and my frazzled expressions at rehearsal. You read it, liked it, reviewed it, and called me on it when I screwed up. You are my lifeline to the real world.
Thank you.
Well, I'm done with Riven's story now. I'll probably write more Avengers fanfiction, but I'm not planning on returning to Riven any time soon. Don't get me wrong, I love her very much, and writing this was a blast, but I'm really glad to be done with it. There's nothing quite like the feel of finishing a story.
I do have some short stories hopping up and down in the back of my mind, yelling Pick me! So a few of them might make it on here. I will admit that I borrowed shamelessly from the DC Universe with Riven's role as Oracle (Batgirl fans will know what I mean), but I think it turned out well.
I want to thank Shadow Felis again, because you rock. You really do. I love your reviews so much, and your advice helped me finish this story.
One more time, everyone - leave me review, please.
K.S.