hawkeyekate | Thy Kingdom Come: Seek the darkness and ye shall find it.

(One had to be careful when they start searching for answers. The ones they find, or stumble across, might not be what they want or were looking for.)
She had settled into sleep, and her brain patterns slipped into REM sleep. The dream state. She was outside by the Avengers mansion, watching time shifting and changing all around them. Because of Kang, and Kang the Conqueror. The changes took away Billy, and Teddy. Possibly Cassie too.

"She's going to betray you all later, I saw it. And one of the Witch's spawn? Why should he matter, or you? You were never on my younger self's list." It was the older Kang, Kang the Conqueror staring back at her, and their surroundings shifted. Walls of an old hospital by the look of it. Paint crumbling, sickly dim yellow light.

"You're not really an Avenger. You have no power, and the little you have... can be taken away." He was taunting her with her sword again from one end of the hallway. "You couldn't leave well enough alone. Just like your dear old mother." He was aiming his futuristic gun at her mother now, and still had the sword aimed at Kate.

She tried to run toward them, only for her mother to be shot and vanish again, "No!" She was then stopped as she was grabbed from behind, an arm catching her around the neck to choke her. And the other hand going lower... No, no, not this! Not again! Hard to breathe, but she could still elbow him in the chin, stomp his foot, and kick him in the gut. And felt her attacker fall away and disappear.

"So you are an Avenger... or should I say, killer," Kang the Conquerer taunted her, "You killed me after all. As surely as that whelp of my younger self did."

She shook her head as he approached her while she was still coughing and struggling to breathe again, "Avengers don't kill."

"No? Isn't this your sword? Your stolen sword from the Avengers lockers? The one that sliced through my gut? Do you want it back?" He hissed at her, and then suddenly charged forward to plunge into her stomach.

"TAKE IT!" He yelled. She turned so it only hit her to the side of her torso. Narrowly missing the vitals as it sliced in. She sank down as he removed it and he then vanished. She plunged her fist into the wound, trying to limit how much she would bleed out. Even though, trickles of blood pooling around it, and over her knuckles, dripping on the tiled floor. It hurt, why did it hurt so much in a dream?

And there were footsteps approaching, and a voice, German accent by the sound of it. What's going on?

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Malcolm is moving fast, letting his years of training (and, unfortunately, the great amount of practice he's had since arriving here) take over.

"We're not losing her, Will. Not tonight."

Malcolm has an IV prepped in no time, then turns to Kate, checking her vital signs.

He's not showing it, but he doesn't like what he sees.

"Kate?" he says softly as he quickly checks her eyes and pulse. "Can you hear me? It's Dr. Crowe, Kate. I'm here with Will now, and you're safe in the infirmary. Can you understand what I'm saying?"

Malcolm's voice is calm and steady as he works, trying to give Kate another lifeline, another reassuring voice to hang on to.

Her pulse was erratic and her breathing was fast and shallow.

She tried to nod, and swallow. She whispered, trying to meet their eyes, "Have to stay awake."

Can't be that bad, not dying. Just a bad wound. Patriot got one worse than this. Right?

"Aye, love, stay awake with us. We're to go ridin' together an ye must best me with a bow."

His hand is resting on her forehead so Malcolm can work, but he's not leaving her side for a moment,

"Look, Dr. Crowe is carin' for ye, couldna ask for better an ye're strong an will be well."

There's a crack of fear in his voice but Will keeps going, not letting his voice or gaze fail.

Medusa had heard the shout (half the bar heard the shout for help), and despite all misgivings about getting back to her right time, she had padded behind them. She knew them, after all. Will Scarlet and his Kate and Doctor Malcolm Crowe...

"I can heal her," she says quietly, voice the same as their Medusa's but the accent posh and British colonial. Nice deep purple skirt, black halter top and nice, nice glasses...No, not their Medusa in rough tunics at all.

Perhaps not, but Malcolm has little trouble seeing the resemblance.

Hard to miss those wings either. But all that can wait.

"Medusa," Malcolm nods abruptly. "Anything you can do."

Malcolm shifts a bit to let her come up to the bedside, but he keeps doing what he can to halt the blood loss.

Kate was just focusing on Will now, barely aware of Malcolm or Medusa arriving. Forcing her eyes to remain focused on him and alert as she can. Everything seemed so quiet and distant.

Will hears Medusa and possibly nods but he's too focused on Kate,

"Aye, love, yer blue eyes are lovely, clear days ahead. An we'll ride under green boughs an just live for a time, na more wars, just us."

Medusa walks forward, quickly but without panic. Keeping her eyes on Kate, the Gorgon unsheathes the claws on her left hand and slashes her right palm. Her blood wells up, bright red, and just as quickly and smoothly as she does everything else, Medusa presses her bleeding palm against the wound in Kate's side.

Healing hurts, it should be said, but it's over quickly.

Malcolm is very glad he's spent the last couple of weeks reading Ovid and other sources. He still wasn't quite expecting this, but he had a rough idea what Medusa was likely to do.

He has to suppress a twitch at the sight of Medusa mixing blood with Kate, though. Anyone from Earth, 1999, can't help but feel an instinctual horror at the sight of it.

But this was no ordinary blood. And while he can see the pain Kate is feeling, as a doctor, Malcolm can also see the immediate effect it has.

Quietly, he puts his hand on Medusa's other arm and gives it a very slight squeeze of thanks.

Edited 2008-02-03 05:37 (UTC)

The Gorgon blood dripped on the open wound. If she had been more aware, she likely would have been worried. Before everything was cloudy, quiet, almost like she was drifting away.

And now she felt like she got yanked back from wherever she was drifting to, her senses clearing and sharpening. Painfully so. She gasped as severed tissue, blood, and skin all knitted back together in a matter of moments. Itching and burning in her stomach, and on her leg, and her hand suddenly tightened hard on Will's hand.

She was breathing better, and there was more color and warmth returning to her face.

He clasps back tightly and kisses her forehead, he didn't even see the healing but saw it reflected in Kate's face,

"Medusa's made ye better, love, just breathe an 'eal. I'll be 'ere beside ye."

Medusa had gone stiff when Malcolm touched her (despite everything and all that time, people randomly touching her is never going to feel fine), but hadn't moved. Not until Kate's cheeks were no longer quite so pale.

A quick smile, and she steps back. The other puncture has healed, a beat after the main one, and now she just has to wait for the slash in her own palm to fade.

Malcolm picks up on her reaction, of course. "Sorry," he whispers. "I didn't mean to startle you. Just.... thank you."

He leans over Kate slightly, to check her color and the progress of the healing.

"Will's right, Kate," he says gently. "Looks like you've got some friends in high places."

In its own way, the healing is abrupt enough to be a kind of shock to Kate's system, but her body seems to be coping with it well.

It was, which is why she wasn't going to make any motions to get up yet for a while. Just adjusting to being healed again. She wondered if this was anything like how it was for those who do have regenerative powers.

"Thank you both, Medusa, Dr. Crowe. If you ever need help with anything at all, just let me know, and I'll come running."

She then glanced at Will again, and gave his hand a squeeze back.

"I love you," she whispered to him.

Now that Kate looks more like her self, Will turns to look at everyone else with a huge, relieved smile on his face,

"Thank ye both. We'll find who's 'urtin' souls some'ow."

A quick smile.

"My pleasure, Will."

"You're both welcome," Malcolm smiles.

"Get some rest. We'll talk later."

And Malcolm steps away to leave a report for the rest of the medical staff before heading upstairs.

Thy Kingdom Come: Seek the darkness and ye shall find it.

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