BLOOD

Bern, Switzerland

1999

Time was ruthless. That was one thing Abel understood better than anything. It was an unyielding force of absolution that had never known mercy and would never care to show it. The mounted wall clocks and evolving phones that people owned were nothing but a reminder that time will move on despite their pleas, and it will inevitably leave you behind too if you're not willing to move with it.

Abel acted like a cold statue and didn't let her eyes look away from the wall clock reflecting behind her in her vanity mirror, burning up seconds and leaving hundreds of people behind with every tick. It was days like New Year's Eve that made her wonder how many people weren't going to be here by the next morning. A new dawn of a new year…with just fewer people in it. How typical, but it was also strange to think that people were partying right outside her doors, enjoying themselves and bringing in the new year with a bang.

Abel lowered her head and welcomed the smile that was trying so desperately to crawl to her face. She had to admit it, she always admired the ability that people had to let go of their worries and just live for the now. For just a single night, they didn't have to be concerned with life, love, or the lack of it. They were just letting this one day be the day worth living for.

As her endless train of thought passed in one ear and out the other, it was abruptly disturbed by a knock coming from her bedroom door. Abel turned her head towards the sound and tilted it curiously to the right. "Hello?" she called out with a gentle voice.

Her door opened and Dr. Ho Yinsen peeked inside to see if Abel was done getting ready for the party, and of course she was, and was looking beyond stunning. Her light blonde hair was carefully curled and done up into a stylish bun, and she wore this vibrant blue ballgown that faded out into a white gradient at the hem. The only thing she had left to put on were simple diamond earrings.

Abel's deep brown eyes brightened wondrously when the doctor entered her room. "Ah, Dr. Yinsen. Did I miss Tony Stark's speech? I heard him talking a while ago," she asked.

Yinsen bowed his head and smiled sadly. "I'm afraid you have."

Abel's glossy pink lips pushed out into a playful frown. "Oh, that's too bad. I was wanting to hear it." She shook her head and got up to smooth out her dress. "No matter. We don't have long until the new year, so might as well enjoy the last hour of 1999, right?"

Dr. Yinsen linked his arm with Abel's and walked out into the hall to join the rest of the crowd.

"I don't think I ever thanked you for inviting me," Yinsen said earnestly. "I'm pleased to be here."

Abel gave a light giggle and smiled up at him. "Oh, there is no need to thank me. I've rented this place myself for the night and I'm glad everyone's having fun. I'm even surprised to hear that Tony Stark showed up."

"Do you wish to meet him?" he asked curiously.

She nodded her head eagerly as her smile melted into an intrigued smirk. "I do. I find it quite fascinating to talk with people like him. It is New Year's though, so I'm afraid he might've already drunk himself silly. I won't put it behind him to not even remember half of what happens here tonight."

Yinsen shrugged. "I will have to agree with you there."

Abel had planned for the event to be a formal kind of gathering, but once they entered the main hall, it was clear that the atmosphere was that of a college party. The room was flooded with people that had drinks in their hands, beads around their necks, and 2000 hats on their heads. It looked no less fun though and Abel was eager to join them.

"Would you like a drink?" Yinsen asked.

"Oh, yes. That would be wonderful. Thank you so much." She thanked him and watched as he disappeared into the crowd to fetch something to drink.

Once she was alone, Abel walked over to one of the mirrors mounted on the wall and did a quick make-up check to make sure everything looked fine. She was inspecting her lip-gloss when something caught her attention in the reflection. It was a man standing a couple of feet behind her, staring with this gaze that she could only describe as fixated and intense. He seemed to be rather disheveled too and was carrying a crutch under his arm that he used for support against his weak legs.

Abel turned around to see what he wanted but was a bit startled when he began limping over to her in a mad rush. "Wow. Hold on. No need to rush." She gave him a friendly warning and placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to support him since he seemed very unstable and wobbly. "I'm sorry, is there something you need?"

The man smiled widely and gazed at her in awe. "Wow. Just...wow. It's actually you. In the flesh... standing in front of me. Like, like...I saw your name on the host sheet and thought it couldn't be true, but...here you are." The gleeful grin he was wearing was now starting to look ominous the longer she stood before him.

Abel blinked and stared curiously at him for a moment, hoping to tell what he wanted without having to ask. She couldn't quite explain it but there was something about his overall demeanor that was very worrying to her. In her eyes, he seemed a little obsessive. "I'm sorry, but you might have the wrong person. I don't know who you are, good sir." Abel said to try and end the conversation as politely as she could.

The man rapidly shook his head like a dog shaking water off its body. "No, No. You wouldn't know me, but I do want your help. You see, I got a proposal I'm putting together with myself. It's a privately funded think tank called Advanced Idea Mechanics." He rushed to pull out some business cards but ended up dropping all of them on the floor. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that." He apologized and tried to pick them up as fast as he could.

Abel tucked in her dress and crouched down to help him. She picked up one of the many cards and read it out loud. "AIM?"

"That's right. My name is Aldrich Killian, and I wish to make a business proposal with you," he said and forced a sweaty handshake on her.

Abel was rendered speechless from this man's ramblings and didn't even know what to say, much less think. It was like his lips were moving faster than his brain could process. "I'm...I'm not sure what I could offer you. I'm sorry." She turned around to leave but nearly stumbled over when he suddenly grabbed her upper arm.

"I know how this may sound but please hear me out. You can offer me a lot of things," he said, still desperately trying to sell his pitch, but this time he was acting in a way as if she could disappear before his very eyes. "You...you could offer me the secrets of your immortality."

He may have said those last words in a hushed tone, but he might as well had screamed them from the top of a mountainside and let the whole world know. What he said was so startling that it knocked Abel's polite nature right out of her.

"I don't have a single clue what you're talking about," Abel said chillingly and pulled her arm free in one rough yank. "I think it's time for you to leave."

Panic bubbled up in Killian's face when it finally dawned on him that he went too far. At this rate, she might actually disappear like she hadn't even existed in the first place. "I'm not crazy. I know who you are. You're an immortal." He tried reaching out again but Abel stepped out of range from him.

"Sir, you need to stop. I can't help you," she said to him one last time before turning around and walking away.

"No, wait! Please!"

Without even giving it a second thought or word of protest, Killian reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe he had waiting. He hobbled over to Abel and pulled back his arm, plunging the needle straight into her exposed skin. Abel instinctively let out a gasping scream from the pain and was loud enough to alert Dr. Yinsen who just happened to come back.

"What are you doing?" the good doctor dropped the two drinks he was holding and ran over towards them. Killian didn't stick around long after that though and disappeared into the sea of people. Dr. Yinsen thought about giving chase to the lunatic but thought twice about it when Abel fell to her knees, clenching her upper arm that was ruthlessly stabbed by the rogue needle. "Ms. Bamlett, are you all right?"

Abel let out a shuddering exhale as the feelings of fright washed over the entirety of her body. She peeked down at her trembling arm and saw that it was bleeding, but only slightly. It was in the process of healing though and beginning to steam up as it usually did. "I have to go," she said under her breath before rushing to her feet and fleeing in the opposite direction.

"Ms. Bamlett!" Yinsen called out.

She put Dr. Yinsen's voice to the back of her head and weaved in and out around the crowd of people, trying to find the closest exit. It didn't matter to her if it was a balcony or front door. She just needed to leave before questions could be asked, demanding answers she knew she could never give.

Abel looked up and saw an approaching hallway where she knew the back doors would be. So keeping her head low, she turned the corner swiftly but ended up ramming her shoulder into someone she didn't see in time. Abel would've fallen over too if she didn't catch the wall with her hands. She turned her eyes up to see who it was and instantly sucked in a deep breath when she found herself…standing before Tony Stark of all people. He had women on both his sides and a very eager bodyguard standing behind him.

"You've gotta…be kidding me." Abel scoffed at her chain reaction of bad luck and shrunk into herself. She hugged her arms tightly around her body and began to feel the flutters of embarrassment bubble up in her stomach and heart.

Tony's eyes immediately took to Abel's stunning looks and scanned every inch of her body before turning up to her face. He studied her full pink lips, beautiful brown eyes, and flustered red cheeks. On a scale of 1-10, Abel was a solid 12 in his eyes.

Tony turned the charm on in an instant while gesturing to the open elevator behind him. "I'm heading up. You going my way?"

Abel blinked and just stood there for a moment with her mouth hung open. She had to wait for her brain to play catch up before she could talk again. "No. I'm sorry. I was just heading home for the night when I...bumped into you." She straightened her body up and bowed her head. "Please enjoy the rest of the night, Mr. Stark. Now…if you will excuse me." She turned away from him and began to walk a lot calmer towards the back doors, pushing them open with both hands and stepping outside.

Abel breathed in the frosty air while running her arm over the needle prick, which by this time had already healed without a trace to be seen. She looked back towards the door that had shut behind her, muffling the sounds of music and people from within. She thought about staying to enjoy the night but that gleeful feeling from before had already been ripped away from her.

It wasn't the first time people had asked questions about her immortality, and nor was it the first time someone had been so bold about it either. Yet, it couldn't stop being a frightening experience for her. Each time it happened always felt like the first, and she just couldn't bring herself to get over it no matter how many times it came up.

Abel turned her head up to a high-pitched whistling noise that pierced her ears. She turned around just as the darkness was thrashed away. Fireworks flared up in the night sky and displayed this arrangement of colors that burned into both her eyes and mind. It was the end of yet another era…for the billionth time.

"Happy 2000..." she said in a melancholy whisper before walking down the cobblestone streets with a million shadows at her back.