I cant fix myself

New York City 2008

"I need help," you say coldly at the front desk. 

After ten years you finally decide it's time to get help. You've tried everything. Researched everything you could. But everything's been a dead end.

The receptionist looks you up and down confusedly. "Are you hurt?" She questions.

"No?"

"Then what do you need help with miss?" She questions again.

"Somethings wrong with me"

"If you need psychiatric help, there's a clinic down the road" She scoffs as she returns to her work at the desk

"I think I have a brain tumour" you lie.. but at least you got her attention.

"Oh... ehm I'm so sorry. I'll see what I can do"

You hand her a file of a certain doctor. You were told he's the best in the business. And that's exactly what you need. The best of the best. She nods as she walks away.

"She insists on meeting with you"

"If you don't have proof she's sick I have more important matters to attend to. Get her an MRI scan and I'll have a look at it"

You listen in on their conversation quietly. Hearing as they discuss for minutes.

"She's not leaving"

"Where is she?"

She points to you. You smile and wave. As the doctor walks up to you.

He reaches out his hand. "I'm doctor Ste-"

"I know who you are Stephen...I also know you're the best at what you do. That's why I need your help. I'll pay whatever you want I don't care just fix me" you plead.

"Well okay then.. follow me miss?"

"No miss please I don't do that. You can call me Jones" you sigh.

"We'll follow me... Jones." Stephen sighs, as he walks with you into a small room. He takes a few blood samples and tests on you... struggling to get enough blood from you. Every time the needle pokes through your skin it heals itself.

You sit patiently waiting for an answer you've not yet heard. This time you're not leaving before you have something to act on.

"There's nothing wrong with you" he states as he untangles the wires.

"Yes, there is" you say confidently.

"I've done the tests and signs of a tumour would have shown up on those tests. You're not sick" he assures you

"I know I'm not sick. I just said that" you admit

"You just said that?" He scoffs annoyed.

"Yes, cause I need you to fix me" you plead.

He rolls his eyes."Alright frankly I'm done here, you're wasting my time and resources" he scoffs before walking halfway out the door.

You grab a hold of his wrists. Before You grab a scalpel. He panics as you run the blade over the surface of your skin creating an open wound that with a blink of an eye closes again. You drop the scalpel looking at him waiting for a response. His mouth is wide open and so are his eyes.

"Well I can do it again... but I think you got my point... now will you help me or not?" you say coldly.

"Oh I'll help you" he smiles intrigued. You've read everything there is to know about him. Therefore you know he can't say no to a challenge. Some might call his type ambitious, you'd call him narcissistic.

For hours you go through every possible scan, and test there is. Whatever is happening to you, the answer has to be in your nervous system.

Stephen looks shockingly at the images from your scan.

"So did you find something"

"It's beautiful.. absolutely amazing"

"Yes I know thank you... now what did you find"

"It's like, unlike anything I've ever seen. I don't know how it didn't show up on your initial blood tests. Probably why I had so much trouble even tapping any blood from you" he grins, as he keeps studying the numbers on your tests

"Please get on with this. I've waited long enough"

"Your red blood cells... I can't believe it..." he scoffs amazed by what he sees. "Your collagen numbers are extraordinarily high. A normal person would take days or weeks to heal.. but you" he trails off"You heal within milliseconds.. seems something has stopped the process of ageing"

"That doesn't explain why I can't die," you say sadly. One thing is the ageing problem. But why can't a bullet hurt you? Why can't be beaten up kill you

"You can't die?" He asks. He looks so intrigued by your story.

"I'm still here aren't I?" You smirk.

"how long have you had this issue" he questions.

"Well since 1940 you're the doctor do the math" you hiss.

Stephen falls down onto his chair, looking at you in pure shock once again. He's just sitting there.. trying to figure out what to say to that. "That's impossible..." he explains.

"Clearly not"

"That would mean Your cells have stopped dividing themselves. Preventing cells from reaching senescence could possibly make a person immortal. But I have a feeling that's.. not what you've done" he explains further. And honestly, you don't understand a word of what he's saying.

"No shit Sherlock how should I have done that"

"Have you tried hurting yourself?" He asks, there's a hint of worry in his voice.

"Are you always this idiotic?" You ask coldly.

"Are you?" He spits back.

God, you thought you were annoying guess you haven't seen half of what annoying could be.

"Of course, I haven't harmed myself," you say.. sure you want to die someday but you don't have a death wish. Not anymore at least...

"Perhaps that could kill you.." he proposes.

"I doubt that... I've been shot in the head a couple of times.." you exclaim. He probably thinks you're a psycho.

"You've what?"

"Secret work for the Russian mob," you say mockingly.

"Should we try poison then.. could hopefully at least shut you up for a short while." Stephen scoffs. As he looks through the papers once again.

"Isn't that illegal"

"So is cutting yourself open with a scalpel"

"So what you're saying is you haven't found out what's wrong with me.. you've been completely useless" you growl. You begin pacing back and forth in the room.. you didn't wait 10 years. Building up the courage to seek help.. for this..

"I did what you asked me to.. I held my part of the deal"

"No way... I asked you to fix me. Do I look fixed to you?" You hiss.. you're so done with him. He's so over his head.

"No you look like a spoiled brat to me" Stephen hisses. You can't help but laugh at his shitty comeback.

"Geez... having a bad day are we?" You smirk.

"I am now... I have a 100% success rate" he says irritated.. guess you just ruined his statistics.

"Looks like it's just gone down" you smile darkly as you sit back down on the bed. Crossing your arms.

"I'll fix you... I just need more time" he sighs.

"Well I have all the time in the world don't I?" You grin

"I need to find a more effective way to take your blood. Sticking you in the arm over and over isn't working for me"

"Looks like we finally agree on something" you scoff."While you do that, mind if I watch some tv?"

"No go ahead I'll be right back.

Stephen walks out of the room. You turn on the tv flipping through the channels. There's a press conference. About that moron in a flying suit on the tv. it's been all over the news the past weeks. You haven't really paid much attention to all of it. Seeing as you've been stuck at work for 6 months in Russia.

You feel your heart stop, dropping the remote. You quickly grab it from the ground turning up the audio.. you can't believe your eyes.

"I know that it's confusing.. it is one thing to question the official story and another thing entirely to make wild accusations or insinuate that I'm a superhero"

The voice of none other than Tony stark comes from the television. It's not that you haven't seen or heard of him since... But watching him again.. he's a grown man.. and you.. well, you're still you.

"Truth is... I am iron man"

You quickly turn off the tv, grabbing your bag as you stumble out of the hospital room. You bump into Stephen as you fall to the ground. Then everything darkens.

Your eyes flicker as the blinding lights return your throbbing headache. You then realize an intense amount of pain in your lower arm. As you look down you're wired up to a device tapping your blood. There's a small device blocking your body from healing itself. Holding the wound open.

"What the fuck are you doing" you murmur as you try to move. You feel extremely heavy.

"I'm just taking some blood, I had to take some more painful matters to use" he explains. "Please lay still I'm almost done.

Shortly after he retracts the device from your arm, and as the wound closes back up you whine in pain.

"Are you okay?" He asks referring to you fainting on the floor.

"I'm fine it's nothing" you sigh.

"Hey I'm not complaining, it kept you quiet.. " he smirks. You roll your eyes as you look over at the tv. "So how many know about your...situation" he questions as he sits down beside you.

"Does dead people count?" You chuckle sadly.. he raises his eyebrow.. "well my boss.." you trail off.. "and you" you admit.

"Really?" He asks, almost honoured.

"Would you have believed me?" You question. He stays silent. "That's what I thought... I can't go around cutting myself to prove a point"

"Thank you for sharing with me... I'll do everything In my power to figure out what's going on with you.. but I need to know when this started"

You take a deep breath as you look up at the ceiling. Where should you even start.. you don't know what happened.

"Well that's the issue.. one second I was living my life, just like anyone else. Suddenly I wake up in Brooklyn." You explain. "At one point I was shot. I felt it. But before I even realized it, I was healed"

"So you don't remember how it happened?" He asks.

You simply shake your head.

"Maybe you're just looking at it the wrong way," he says with a smile on his lips. "You're invincible" he chuckles.

"I'm a monster" you sigh... "I can never be with someone... grow old. Start a family. Everyone I love, I have to watch grow old and die.. and I'm stuck here" you whimper. "I just want to be happy"

Stephens's face softens.. looks like you struck a nerve.

"My..." he starts. "My sister.. she ehm" he trails off again.

"You don't have to" you assure him.

"She died when we were kids.. she fell through the ice on a frozen lake.. I couldn't save her... I lost both my parents.. so I might not know exactly what you're going through" he says softly. "But I know what it feels like to lose the ones you love... it changes you.. It's better to leave.."

"Before you get left," you say finishing his sentence. He looks down at you with a weak smile on his face as he nods. "Yeah, I thought so too.."

"Thought so?"

"A couple of years ago I broke someone's heart.. and I broke my own while doing so" you share.

He reaches out for your hand, hesitating for a moment before grabbing onto it. "Perhaps we could help each other out.."

You visit the hospital every week. And as painfully annoying as Stephen could be, he seemed to understand better than anyone ever had what kind of pain you went through. You went to him looking for answers about one thing. Instead, you got the answers to a completely different thing. How to appreciate the smaller things. The weekly visits quickly turn into daily visits, spending his lunch break together grabbing coffee talking, laughing and driving each other crazy. You were a poor match that made you the most chaotic friends. Bonding over the one thing both of you can't seem to figure out, how to maintain a healthy relationship.