Prompt: To the world, you are a weak damsel in distress in need of saving but underneath you are not what it seems, since you capture all the heroes who come to save you. Until one of them escapes and you realize that you miss him. 

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Psychosis NOS, she entered into the computer. "The orders are in. Give him 2mg IM of Haldol and a 1mg Ativan to start with. He needs a 1:1 sitter too."

A large male nurse gripped Batman's arm. "Alright Buddy, just a quick poke." 

Batman looked unperturbed. He turned to Dr. Cole. "You should resist this madman's demands. I can break you free," said Batman forgoing a band-aid from the nurse with a dismissive wave and slowly walking towards Dr. Cole. The nurse started to hold him back, but Dr. Cole put up her hand to stop him.

"Mr," she hesitated, "Batman," she smiled with an exasperated look on her face. Her hair was a mess. There were rings under her eyes. It was 3:42 am. "I can assure you that nurse Chris is no madman. We are all trying to help you here. You were about to jump off the Columbia Tower."

"In a single bound," added the superhero with a proud fist aimed at the ceiling.

"Wrong quote," nurse Chris corrected.

Batman tried Dr. Cole's patience. He was the eighth superhero who had been brought in to the Harborview ED tonight. A full moon one week after the release of Endgame had really spiked the superhero delusions through the roof.

"I am the attending physician here tonight. I ordered the medications that Chris just gave you."

"But you are no doctor," replied Batman with a suave smile and flirtatious wink. "You are a young woman and aren't even wearing a white coat."

"White coats are really quite unhygienic and a throwback to the patriacharch—." She was cut off in her rant to the lunatic by an overhead page.

"Dr. Cole, Bay 3, Medic 1 arriving in 2 minutes: Psychosis NOS." Dr. Cole sighed —and without finishing her exhausted tirade—turned and left the room.

"I will save you, lass..." called out Batman as the door swung shut.

Why was she even trying to explain herself to this joker? They had all been the same. Ironman had insisted the building was on the brink of collapse and insisted she needed saving, repeated calling her 'little lady' even when she held her credentials up to his face. Captain America, swore her coffee was poisoned and threw it across that room — it was her favorite Starbucks mug too. Green Lantern commented on her frail skinny arms (despite six weeks of Crossfit) when she took off her sweater to assist the nurse. Green Lantern was apparently delusional enough to think she was taking off her coat in anticipation being restrained herself, not to help get him into four-point restraints. "Bunch of chauvinist bastards trying to save damsels in distress to stroke their own egos," she mumbled under her breath.

Dr. Cole refilled her coffee cup at the nurse's station and walked over to Bay 3. 'Medic 1,' she thought. 'Hardly necessary. Maybe this one swallowed something dangerous.' She sat down on a round rolling stool and logged into the computer just as Medic 1, rolled through the door.

"Hi guys," she said watching the medics roll in a strapping young man lounging on his side on the stretcher. He wore blue tights and a red cape. "Why didn't you turf him to an AMR ambulance," she asked.

The medics gave each other a glace. "He, er...freaked out the EMTs...They made us take him." Superman looked up at her and smiled.

'Handsome one', she thought and quickly mentally slapped herself. God she really needed a vacation. Whatever.

"Ok I'm ready for report," she said to the medics while she turned to her computer.

"Sure thing, Dr. Cole. We have a 30-something-year-old male found down at Pike Place Market next to the flying fish stall. He is afebrile with stable vital signs. He appears alert and oriented to," the medic paused looking at his partner again, "time and place. Although it was radioed to us that he may have had a severe arm injury, we noted no such injury when we arrived at the scene." The medics again exchanged a knowing look.

"Buddy, you have a first name," Dr. Cole slowly turned and faced the patient. His deep blue eyes twinkled with kindness and...mirth? They seemed intent on piercing her soul and made it hard for her to catch her breath. She took a large swig of coffee and along with a deep breath.

"When I'm not working, civilians call me Clark." His voice was deep and gravely. "You can call me Clark if it makes you feel more comfortable, but I think you know who I am." Dr. Cole just stared at him, coffee cup still raised half way. She shook her head to clear her mind. Instead, the clip holding her hair up fell out, and her long brown messy hair fell around her shoulders. "Better," said Superman.

"Mr. Super...Clark, do you remember what happened?" She turned away to take notes at the computer.

"Well, Dr. Cole, I was unwittingly duped by Lux Luthor, who has taken on an alter ego here in the Seattle area as a wealthy philanthropist. I had followed him to the Pike's Place Market, not knowing he was aware I was trailing him. He hit me in the right arm with a blast of Kryptonite in Gum Alley. I staggered to the flying fish stall before briefly passing out."

"I see," responded Dr. Cole with a fake smile and little enthusiasm. "How is your arm now."

"Well I've healed it already," replied Superman. "The speedy recovery seemed to disturb your EMTs."

"Great," replied Dr. Cole. "Are you thinking of hurting yourself or anyone else?"

"Believe me, Dr. Cole. When I find Lux Luthor, I will destroy him." Superman smiled proudly.

"I see. You plan to destroy one of Seattle's great wealthy philanthropists."

"Some of them are actually greedy bastards," said Superman.

"You don't say?" asked Dr. Cole, silently agreeing. Without waiting for a reply, she continued, "Do you ever hear things or see things that other people don't hear or see?"

"All the time," answered Superman.

"Dr. Cole, Bay 1, AMR ambulance arriving now: patient covered in green with scrotum caught in zipper," rang out overhead.

"I'm being paged," said Dr. Cole rising. "I'm sorry Superman, but I can't let you go until I'm certain you can contract for safety. I will be back in a few minutes."

"Busy night for those fighting for truth, justice, and mental health of America," said Superman. 

A lock of hair fell loose and hung over his right eye. Dr. Cole fought an urge to brush it back, again mentally slapped herself, turned and walked quickly from the room.

After releasing a large drunk green man from his jeans, Dr. Cole had to listen to the Hulk's promises to smash her free from her bondage. The argument only lasted a few minutes before the Hulk passed out. Chris placed him in a back room to sleep it off and Dr. Cole again refilled her coffee before she returned to Bay 3. 

Superman lay idly on his back, arms behind his head staring at the ceiling. A nurse sat in the corner by the computer. When Dr. Cole walked up, Superman sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the gurney. Dr. Cole tried not to look at his muscled chest and broad shoulders. Again he caught her with those eyes.

"Come with me, you are exhausted," said Superman. Dr. Cole considered his offer for a full second before answering.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you go."

"And I can't let you go either." Again Dr. Cole hesitated, slow to process in the wee hours of the morning what he had just said. Superman placed his hands on her shoulders and tilted her chin up. The nurse in the corner rose and started to speak but a quick glance from Superman made him sit back in his chair stunned. 

Superman turned back to Dr. Cole. "You are a menace to Superheros." He began to close the gap between them. "Don't worry," he whispered. I'm not going to erase your memory tonight." His lips were soft and gentle. The kiss was brief but left her weak. 

He turned and walked out the double doors. Dr. Cole tried to call out but her voice stuck in her throat. As the doors swung back and forth she saw two security guards approach Superman. Again, he gave them one look and they sat down on the floor.

"What just happened?" she thought. But she didn't have time to dwell before the next overhead page.

"Dr. Cole, Bay 2, AMR ambulance: delusional medical student in yellow tights found hitting things with a hammer in Pioneer Square."

At 7:23 am Dr. Cole finished signing out to the day team and sat down in front of the computer to finish charting. Her stomach hurt from the endless cups of caffeine. Her eyes were dry and her deodorant had given out hours ago. She longed for her bed and something else she couldn't put her finger on. When she got to Superman's chart, she remembered. "Damn, he got away," she said under her breath. She would have to report him as a missing person, not an uncommon problem. Harborview reported almost 400 missing persons a year. The police would not take his vague threat to Lux Luther seriously enough to fill out any kind of official report. 

"But that's not what you were really thinking when you said, 'Damn, he got away,'" said a little voice inside her head that wasn't sleepy at all. 

Closing out her last chart, Dr. Cole walked through the blindingly bright morning to the light rail. She closed her eyes after finding a seat in the train car crowded with morning commuters. A few stops later after pulling out of SoDo station a terrible sound of bending metal forced her eyes open.  The curve in the track allowed all of the passengers a view of a gaping hole in the elevated track just a few yards ahead. A bald man with a maniacal grin stood holding the broken track. The conductor slammed on the breaks but disaster was imminent. Then, from above, came a flash of blue and red. The train began to elevate instead of plummet to the ground. Superhuman strength placed it gently back on the track. Superman entered the train car, took Dr. Cole in his arms and flew off into the subset which made a funny bing bing noise.

She opened her eyes and wiped the drool from her chin as she realized the train was at her stop. "Lord do I need a vacation", she thought as she dragged herself up the stairs to her apartment. She stripped off her clothes and stepped into a hot shower to wash off the remnant thoughts of psychotic superheroes before collapsing into bed.

At 5:00 pm her alarm went off. She groaned because she realized she wasn't going to work. Far worse, she had planned a date with an IT guy she had met on Tinder. She kept swearing not to go back on dating apps and not to go out with the thousands of IT guys in Seattle who trolled those sites but in a moment of weakness she had swiped right.

An hour later she sat at a table at Fonda La Catrina and ordered a Tommy's Scratch margarita. Thirty minutes later, annoyed she had been so foolish to be stood up again by an online date, she ordered another margarita. As the whoosh of the tequila eased her frazzled nerves, she looked over towards the bar. A pair of familiar blue tights and a red cape sat with his back to her. Grinning, she got up and walked over silently chuckling that she lived in a city where nobody blinked an eye at superheroes in costume. 

Neither of them spoke for a moment. The heat rose between them.

"Do you capture all the superheroes who try to save you?" asked Superman.

"I haven't lost one yet," replied Dr. Cole. Their eyes met and she smiled.