Soulmates? No thanks. Nadia would much rather spend her time bathed in the blue glow of her computer screens. The cyber-world? That is something she can control. Soulmates... not so much.
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Nadia has spent most of her life tracking down...
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Nadia stared at the results that flashed on the screen before her. She had run them again and again... and then again just for good measure. By now, the blood sample Stark had given her was completely depleted. The first stage is Denial. Beneath her, the old office chair creaked as she leaned back. Nadia's hair had very obvious trails where she had raked her fingers through time and time again. Her eyes were wide, disbelieving, and bloodshot. Suddenly, she stood and staggered towards the open balcony door. The brisk air assaulted her senses, and yet she still seemed to be trapped in a deep reverie. It was a rare sight to behold- to see her so shaken to the core. Rarer still to see a scientist deny blatant facts. The second is Anger. Nadia swung her fist forward blindly. She felt the windowpane shatter beneath her knuckles. Organic matter meeting glass. Blood dripping on crystalline shards. In her chest, thunderstorms gathered. Gods of old rioted, and volcanic ash choked her as it slithered up her throat. Nadia's eyes flashed as she glared at the sky. Had anyone dared ask her she would have sworn she heard the Universe laughing at her misery. The irony that was her life. Next, Depression crept in. The same fearsome eyes that had been glaring at the sky now had tears gathering in them. This was fear. Agony. Nadia was convinced that if she had ties to bind her, she would never be free. This was a deep-seated fear. Of losing her individuality. Of judgment. Sadness over what she thought she knew the future would hold once this information came to light. Bargaining is a slippery slope when you hold no power. Despite logic, Nadia prayed to whatever entity presided above her. She made promises she knew she could never keep. She swore to never sin again. She vowed to devote her life to good. She promised anything and everything so long as the information on the screen was false. Finally, there was acceptance. Well, not an acceptance per se, but an understanding that the information was unchangeable. Nadia knew her program was flawless. She had ran every test on it and it had never once been wrong. She glanced again at the computer screen where Tony's results mocked her. "SOULMATE FOUND. NADIA DOWERY. MANHATTAN, NEW YORK."
