Hello again. Time to make my triumphant return!

Artemis slowly opened his eyes. For a second, all he could see was a blur, then everything reasserted itself around him, forming a typical hospital room. He sat up and, automatically, his brain analysed all the details available to him. Smooth, metal bedside table. Large, white unadorned walls. Greyish green curtain hanging in front of his room, cutting him off from the outside world. Artemis was already searching for alternative escape routes when he pulled himself up short.

What am I doing? What happened to me?

These thoughts chased each other through his head before another, more terrifying thought occurred to him.

Who am I?

The more he thought about it, the more he realised that he didn't know the answer.

Alright, he told himself, I need to go through the facts I do know slowly. I'm in a hospital room. I'm...Wait, hospital room? Why...?

Suddenly, in a agonising wave of memories, he recalled waking up trapped beneath the wreckage of a house. He remembered the sickening ache in his skull. He remembered the blood on his hand, in his hair.

Compulsively, he reached behind him and felt the back of his head. The rough feel of bandages brushed against his fingertips. He became aware of pain in his head. It was far away but present. He got the feeling that the pain would have been a lot worse, but it was being held back by something.

Artemis glanced around him and saw a saline drip taped to his arm. He could see liquid dripping down the tube into his arm from the clear plastic bag that hung over his head. Artemis considered removing the drip from his arm but dismissed the thought; it would probably do more damage than good.

Artemis heard footsteps outside and quickly lay down again. It might be interesting to hear what these people had to say before they realised he was awake. Artemis closed his eyes just as a big, tough looking figure ripped the curtain back. The burly man stepped into the hospital room and was quickly followed by a harassed looking nurse.

"Sir, you can't come in here. It's against the rules."

"I'm his...uh, uncle. Can't I come see my favourite nephew?"

Artemis started, then froze, hoping no one saw him. When no one exclaimed in surprise, he relaxed again.

So, this man's my uncle. If these two keep talking I'll be able to find out more about my past.

Artemis opened his eyes a fraction, peering out through his eyelashes.

The nurse eyed him doubtfully. "You look nothing like Les Sheehan."

The man jerked with surprise and a frown crossed his face momentarily then was gone. "Sorry?"

The nurse set her clipboard down and began checking Artemis' drip, talking as she did so.

"Les Sheehan. His father. He came by here earlier. If you're this boy's uncle, that would make you two brothers, right? Unless you're related to Mr. Sheehan's wife..."

The man jumped in quickly. "Yes, the boy's mother is my sister. I just came to pick him up from the hospital."

The nurse frowned. "That's not what I heard. Mr. Sheehan was going to take him home."

"Well, there's been a change of plans." the tall man said, shortly.

Artemis lay curled on the bed, listening to every word of the interesting conversation taking place above him. He was suspicious of the mysterious man claiming to be his uncle. When Artemis heard the nurse mention Les Sheehan, his apparent father, the rough looking man didn't seem to recognise the name.

That would make either him or this Les Sheehan character an imposter. Or maybe both. Artemis thought.

Artemis might not remember his name or his past, but he was certain that the man arguing with the nurse above him was not his uncle.

Ajay's POV

I flinch as another train roars past me. The wind from the speeding train whips my black hair around my head. I push the hair out of my face and turn and glanced impatiently at the clock for the tenth time in the past minute. My train is due in ten minutes, but it seems like I've been waiting for an hour. It's late at night, I've been travelling all day and I'm aching all over. I glance nervously over my shoulder, scanning the jostling crowds of people for Butler. Call me paranoid, but there is no way I am going to let Butler stop me now.

When I'd made my wild dash from the hospital, Butler had attempted to follow me. It should have been easy for him to find me, but he was labouring under the impression that I was Artemis. He was predicting my movements as if I was Artemis, making the decisions and choices Artemis would make. But I was Ajay, not Artemis. I'd swapped my hospital pyjamas for a t-shirt, jeans and jacket as soon I had pick-pocketed enough money to buy them. So now I am just another obnoxious teenager among many. Let Butler find me now. He's looking for a suited teenager in a limo. I look like a street rat with an attitude. It's the best disguise I could use to give Butler the slip.

Still, I can't help but keep a constant lookout for Artemis' bodyguard. He's the best in the business, he still might manage to track me.

Finally, my train roars out of the tunnel and screeches to a stop at the station. A mass of people surges forwards to board the train and I am swept along with them. There is the usual awkward pushing and shoving at the doorway, as people try to board and others try to leave at the same time, then I am on the train.

I sit down in an empty booth by the window. I stare out the window and see my forlorn reflection gazing back at me. I pull my black fringe back and examine my face in the window. I really do look just like Artemis, despite the major clothing differences and my general grubbiness. I feel my pale skin and rub around my eyes. Suddenly, I start and examine my eyes again. They are a dark blue. Blue. I cast my thoughts to my creator, Artemis. I can picture his face vividly in my mind because it so closely resembles my own. But there is one difference. We are the same in every way except our eyes. I am a replica of Artemis' original, unaltered form. Which means I have two blue eyes instead of only one. The real Artemis has one blue eye and one hazel eye. I remember Artemis saying something about him switching an eyeball with Holly Short during some time-travelling episode of his life. The eyeball thing had occurred as a side-effect of the time-travel. Which means that his hazel eye is not actually his. I have Artemis' original features, not his altered ones.

I sit back in my seat and wonder if my discovery of the one difference between Artemis and I is a good or a bad thing. I decide it is a good thing. If I want to be mistaken for Artemis, I can easily hide my eyes with my hair. But if I want to prove I am not Artemis, I can use my eyes as verification.

I feel my eyelids begin to close as fatigue takes over. The train will not arrive at my stop for several hours so I lean my head on the cold glass of the window and let myself slump in my seat. Sleep is immediate.

Artemis lay in bed thinking. It was night, almost 2: 30 am. His "uncle" had left hours ago, promising the indignant nurse that he would be back tomorrow to pick Artemis up. The nurse had objected, saying that Les Sheehan was due to visit tomorrow. But she eventually gave in, although she did not seem entirely convinced that the tall man really was Artemis' uncle. Artemis didn't believe it either.

But why would someone want to pretend to be my uncle? Artemis' brilliant brain came up with the answer at once.

To kidnap me. It would be easy to just pretend to be my guardian and take me from the hospital. No one would question my own uncle taking me home.

Artemis frowned as a new thought occurred to him.

If my theory is correct, and I get the feeling it is, then why was my would-be kidnapper being so clumsy? He didn't even have a proper cover story prepared.

Again, his brain supplied the answer seconds later.

He's in a hurry. He's desperate. He has to do this quickly before I wake up and blow his cover. Of course, the smart thing to do in this situation is to notify the police. But if I don't know who my real parents are, how can they take me seriously? They'll just assume that I have amnesia...

Artemis sighed and shook his head. That was exactly the problem. He did have amnesia. He couldn't recall a thing about himself. He didn't even understand how he was able to make all these deductions.

I must be some kind of genius. he thought, even more intrigued by his former identity.

What I need to do is locate someone who can help me. Someone who might have some clue as to who I am.

Artemis considered asking the nurse but then remembered how she didn't seem to know much about him either. Thinking back on the past conversation, he had a sudden brainwave. Les Sheehan! The mysterious man claiming to b his father. Surely he must know who Artemis really was! Even if the man really was an imposter, he might be willing to help Artemis. Artemis remembered his would-be kidnapper's reaction when the nurse had mentioned Les Sheehan. A wise saying floated up from his subconscious.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

I've got to find this Les person, Artemis thought, this time quite sure of himself.

The man is coming to pick me up tomorrow, so I have to leave now before he gets the chance.

Artemis rolled out of his bedcovers and cautiously slid his legs over the side of the bed. He flinched as the cold floor touched his bare feet. Slowly, he stood, testing his legs carefully, seeing if they could take his weight. Artemis swayed and almost fell at first, then he found his balance and walked carefully round to the IV. Using knowledge of medical equipment he didn't know he had, he deftly detached the tube from his arm and turned off the IV. He squeezed his arm until the bleeding stopped and then turned and peered around the curtain, checking for any night-shift nurses. Seeing none, Artemis slipped out of his room and set about finding his way out of the huge hospital. This proved harder than he first thought, as he soon became lost in the many white halls of the hospital. Frustrated, Artemis searched for a map of the medical facility and found one taped to the wall outside an office. Quickly memorising the hospital's layout, Artemis soon found himself in the reception area. Artemis glanced round for the receptionist, but, surprisingly, there wasn't one. This small fact sent alarm bells ringing in Artemis' head but he ignored them. Feeling nervous, he pulled open the glass doors and a rush of cold wind hit him fall in the face. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, Artemis stepped forward just as rough hands grabbed both his arms, jerking him backwards.

"Going somewhere?" a rough voice snarled in his ear.

Now hopefully that was long enough for you. Four Word pages long. 1962 words. I felt guilty about not updating in so long that I decided to make a really long chapter to make it up too you, my readers. And I decided to end on a cliffhanger to keep you guys waiting desperately for more! Yes, I'm evil aren't I?

Please review. This AF fanfic chapter was written, as always, by:

~Spinnika