Don't You Look Familiar? (Mihkayla and Lindmann)

Mihkayla had spent rather a lot of time wandering the world as a wraith, the violent manner of her death had prevented her from moving on from this world for a very long time. It was only a few years ago that she had actually managed to seek some sort of redemption and be allowed to move on peacefully once more.

Now she didn't know if this happened to everyone, to every spirit, but it most certainly happened to her.

She was reincarnated. She knew that much. But what was the pain was remembering what she had done in her past life! Mihkayla could recall the barest whispers of where she had been as a wraith, what she had done...but nothing before that. Taking on her new identity, Mihkayla stuck with her new name, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention from her past life to her now.

Even if the people she knew then were still alive, she doubted they would be all this past life stuff happened from hundreds of years in the past, not from a few decades ago. Surely?

At the moment, Mihkayla was sitting in the slot area of one of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas, apparently she had a VIP membership here but she hadn't used it before. A perk that the old spirit inhabiting her body had gotten through work but never used. It was strange the way this body looked so much like her own, but, Mihkayla loved it. She was so lucky that when this woman had passed away, she had been ready to be reincarnated.

Placing a dime into the slot machine, she pulled down on the lever, raising an eyebrow when a load of security guards came down the escalators right beside her, someone important must be about, she thought to herself.

Daniel Lindermann was a healer and one of his life's greatest goals was to heal with world. To make all of the hate and intolerance that polluted the world just... disappear. But to heal some wounds you had to operate. And operating sometimes required that you cut out the infected tissue and that, unfortunately was what the world needs. But that was getting off topic if he was honest.

The reason why he was entering the casino floor of his main casino in Las Vegas was that someone had arrived to take on Mihkayla's gambling tab.

The problem with this was that Mihkayla had never used the tab, even at the grand opening party 20 years ago. And that was the one and only time she had set foot inside the casino before she was killed in that very bloody hostage situation. Lindermann still had nightmares about the blood... and about Adam's reaction which had sent him on the road to true madness.

Shaking his head a little bit, Lindermann went to the bar and ordered a cocktail as two of his biggest security men picked the woman up by her arms and carried/marched her over to the bar. Lindermann didn't turn to her, just twirling the alcohol in his drink,

"A parasite is a creature who takes things from a host, someone else, to do as it pleases with." he paused before sipping the cocktail, "You are using a tab not set up for you but are helping yourself. Therefore you are being a parasite. And what we do to parasites here, at my casino, is... unpleasant. So give me one good reason why you are not a parasite please."

Mihkayla squeaked unhappily when the security guys came over to her and physically picked her up by her arms and dragged her god knows where! Memories were flashing back to her, of being picked up and grabbed like this, it had happened before but she...she couldn't quite remember where, when or why she had been picked up like this.

The residual feeling however, was not a pleasant one. Did someone kidnap her in her previous life, was that how she died? Oh the annoyance of not being able to remember flurried through her mind, as well as the anger of these men grabbing hold of her like she was some disgusting animal! Thank god the lounge that they were in was empty apart from her, these guys and one other sitting at the bar.

When he spoke, Mihkayla furrowed her brow softly. Had she heard that voice before? It was achingly similar to someone she knew...had known? Wiggling around in the guards grasp she tried to get them to let her go by kicking out at their legs but that did nothing.

"H-hey let me go!" she cried out "Don't do this to me again!" Mihkayla pleaded, not even sure why she said that it had happened to her before, but the feeling...the feeling it had was just too scary to be ignored. Mihkayla was scared, so scared. She didn't know who this man was! What he wanted! What he was going to do!

As soon as she looked at the man properly, she was hit by that familiar feeling of knowing him before, she had definitely seen this man before or someone very much like him. Biting her lip, she asked softly; "Do I...Do I know you from somewhere?"

Daniel sighed a little bit when he realised that the men he had sent over had yet to actually set her down on her feet like they should have done. He waved his hand and they dropped her onto her feet before taking a few steps back from the two of them. He smiled a little bit as he sipped at his cocktail a little bit,

"I've done this to you before?" he teased her a little bit, "Or have you just been carried by two large and intimidating men to places unknown before? Both are unpleasant I will admit."

He sighed a little bit in annoyance when she asked if she knew him from somewhere. For the past two decades he had backed every successful US president candidate, his was the largest casino in Las Vegas, he was a massive giver to charity and one of the biggest art collectors in the world. It was fair to say that she could 'know' him from quite a few places,

"I'm sure that you've seen a poster or a billboard or something..." he stopped suddenly because he had turned to look at her for the first time. His eyes were wide before he recovered and turned to his guards and the bar staff, "Get out. Out... get out now!"

The security took the terrified barmaid out of the longue and emptied it quickly, closing the doors behind them to leave them alone. As soon as they were gone he turned to the woman, Mihkayla maybe, and blinked a few times,

"You... you're dead. 35 years dead... you can't be here!" he muttered half to himself before frowning slightly, "Who are you?"

Mihkayla as soon as the men dumped her on the floor whined a little bit, it really hurt her legs she had to admit being dropped awkwardly onto her heels when she wasn't expecting it. This man, she knew him but he was different know, his face...she definitely knew him she couldn't be mistaken about that! Biting her lip she tried to stop it from wobbling with the fear and anxiety that was rushing through her right now.

The reaction that the man gave when he saw her for the first time again made her heart thump in her chest, this man...who was he to her? He was from her past life she just knew it! But who was he? Her friend? Her lover? Her son? Who did he used to be to her?!

Now that the lounge was completely empty, and Mihkayla so scared by the events that had happened since she had come in there she limped a little bit towards the door, as far away from the strange and scary man as she could get. Hearing him exclaim that she was dead, Mihkayla shook her head and didn't let her gaze drop from the man's body, not knowing what he would do.

"I...I'm sorry I don't..." she sobbed "I don't know! I don't know who I am...please just let me go. You're scaring me!"

Wiping at her eyes Mihkayla regained a little bit of her ability to speak, the frog in her throat disappearing for a little while; "All my cards and ID say I'm Olivia Bakefield but...but I don't remember...I don't think that's my name, no not at all."

Lindermann had to admit that of all the people he expected to see waltz into his casino, Mihkayla Quinn was perhaps the second least likely. The first actually being Adam Monroe due to the several layers of security keeping him very much locked up behind the thick concrete and bulletproof glass in the Company holding cells. But after Adam, the most surprising person was Mihkayla. None of them had seen a body at the time he supposed... but then again the person they were hunting exploded things.

People too if the blood on the walls and ceiling were any indication.

He listened very carefully as she begged and pleaded with him. About how she didn't know who she was and about how he was scaring her. The criminal mastermind in him wanted nothing more than to ignore what she was saying. She was just trying to save her own skin, he reasoned to himself before sighing a little bit. He nodded slightly when she said she wasn't sure if that was actually her name,

"Okay settle down." he advised her, placing a hand on her shoulder. With a brief use of his power her feet, where she had been dropped, would feel instantly better. He paused for a moment as he finished off the last of his cocktail, "What about the name... Mihkayla Quinn?"

He turned to see her reaction to the name,

"How does that feel to you?"

Mihkayla tried her very best to settle down, and after putting her head between her legs to take deep breaths, she found that she was slowly getting back to normal, not so panic mode. Unable to understand why she had almost gone into a little mini panic attack there, she attributed it to the fact that sensation that she had felt, was connected to something that she had endured in her past life, something that...she had feared.

Flinching when he placed his hand on her shoulder, Mihkayla blinked a little bit when her leg began to feel instantly better, offering up a hesistant nervous smile, she rubbed at her calf and sighed in relief; "Thank you..." she whispered, running her hand through her hair in an overfamiliar gesture of comfort. She had the feeling she'd done it a lot before as well.

As soon as she heard the man speak a name to her, a spark of recognition ran through her and she furrowed her brow. Was her name Mihkayla? Mihkayla Quinn? Concentrating, she tried to remember, anything, about her real name, about this man! A flash of memory popped into her mind, a conversation, the man was much younger, his name was Daniel? He used her name, Mihkayla.

"I've met you before." she whispered incredulously "We were sitting out on a terrace, there was a pool in front of us it looks like...we were someplace abroad. Europe maybe? Italy...And you! You are called Daniel and you...you called me Mihkayla..."

Placing her head in her hands she groaned lightly, it was beginning to pound with all of this effort; "I can't...I can't remember any more I've...I've forgotten." she stated, her voice soft as she saw those little black spots swim in front of her eyes.

Daniel gave her a small smile before he moved around to the other side of the bar. It was always a pleasure to stop the pain someone was in, even if he was totally convinced that she was actually Mihkayla. He would have liked to think that, even reincarnated or whatever, she would be able to remember him. Daniel had been her best friend ever since they'd first met after all,

"Don't mention it, I always have liked to use my gift to help people... and if you truly are Mihkayla you would know that." he explained to her firmly before pausing for a moment, "Just like I know that you like Long Island Ice Tea, rock music, shorts and men in suits. If you truly are Mihkayla Quinn come back from the dead... you'll know that I am your best friend."

He could see that she was trying desperately to remember and him just giving her that hint actually helped her pin it down a great deal. When she told him about the trip they had taken together, the one time they'd slept together too, he paused but it was when she used his first name that he actually came alive even as he passed her a long island ice tea,

"We went to Italy, to Florence, to take your mind off of a bad break up." he told her honestly, "And yes... you called me Daniel. Because that is my first name, something that few people use. I need you to keep pushing to remember... please?"

He wanted his best friend back... was that so selfish and wrong of him?

Mihkayla tilted her head to one side, he knew her, he was from her past life he had said as much herself! So all of those little half thoughts about things that she wasn't sure were true and things that might have been a little bit strange to say out loud were probably correct! If she had some vague memory of them maybe piecing them all together would help her to remember Daniel more, to get her full memory of him back.

"I...I'm sorry it's just going to take me a...a little while longer to think about..." she whispered as she came to sit down at one of the nearby bar stools, she wanted to remember everything and so she thought more about that conversation, more about that trip "I'm trying..."

Although she didn't think it was a good idea to start drinking when she was trying to use her mind to remember things, Mihkayla couldn't help but take a sip to steady her nerves. Today had been a strange day, one of those times where she wished she wouldn't have gotten up out of bed but here she was, learning about herself again.

More small flashes were coming to her, of other people, different people that she must have known, they were talking about them in that memory, talking about someone called Adam, she loved Adam? She must have done...she remembered him so clearly now, she remembered Daniel so clearly now. Things were gradually falling into place, but only about those two people.

"You...you were my best friend...I talked to you about everything. I was worried about...about the Company? There was a company, you and me were there and Adam..." she whispered, a little frantic with trying to process all this information "I am remembering more about you, about Adam too but I'm stuck...I can't...I can't get any more. Can't you help? You...You can heal peoples minds as well as their bodies right? Can you try?" Mihkayla all but pleaded, wanting to know the answers to all of her questions.

Daniel wanted Mihkayla to remember him more than he had ever wanted anything in the entire world in his entire life. He wanted her to be his best friend again, the one he could always count on to be there for him. He had waited for so long that now she was here... and telling him to wait, it hurt deeply and all he wanted to do was shake her. Shake her and tearfully demand that she return to being the only woman who had ever made him feel complete,

"Okay just take your time." he encouraged her, sounding a lot calmer about the situation than he actually was considering how impatient he was feeling about getting his Mihkayla back, "Just do it slow and steady... want to do it right, no matter how long that takes."

Lindermann would never have thought that something this amazing would be happening today. But then again a large part of him was amazed that it even could be happening - it wasn't exactly normal even by the standards of a man with the power to heal any injury from anyone else.

Of course he could see the emotions rushing across her face, like she was experiencing them with each memory she unearthed, and he couldn't help but reach out and take her soft hand in his own. He wanted, needed, her to know that she wasn't on her own in this. His face lit up when she realised that she had been his best friend. It was working! Of course he wasn't too thrilled she was remembering Adam. He was the one who had torn Daniel's dreams apart and he'd done it without even noticing,

"I can heal people... I'm glad that you remember that." he told her with a soft smile before holding a hand over each of her temples. Touching her head gently, his fingertips began to glow as he helped to develop her memory again, using some of his own memories of shared events to fill in some elusive gaps for her. As he finished the healing of her memory, he ran his fingers through her soft hair gently, "How do you feel Mihkayla? Anything different?"

Mihkayla, although Daniel was telling her to take this slowly, wanted nothing more than to speed through this as quickly as possible and get her memory back. She wanted to know the things that had been haunting her in her sleep since she had first inhabited this body, since she had first came to be in this world. If she had those answers, then she would know what to do, she would know exactly who she was.

Him reaching out to hold her hand was unexpected, but Mihkayla didn't flinch, instead she entwined the fingers of her hand with Daniel's, enjoying the comfort that he was providing through such a simple touch. It was familiar to her, and familiar was comforting. Each realisation seemed to cheer Daniel and make his previously hard impassable face brighten, and this made Mihkayla all the more determined to continue.

As he reached out to touch her forehead, Mihkayla blinked a little bit not knowing what to expect, but as soon as he began to heal her -or she assumed that was what this was- Mihkayla gasped sharply and closed her eyes tight shut against the flood of memories. Each thing, each detail of her long life was rushing back into her and it made her knees weaken slightly so she placed her hands on Daniel's forearms to steady herself.

When he was finished, Mihkayla was still reeling with all of the information, but now she could remember, now she could remember everything!

"Oh...Daniel!" she cried out, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him to her tightly "Daniel I missed you so much, I can't believe its really you. It feels so good to see you again, after all these years."

Laying her head on his shoulder, Mihkayla felt some sweet tears rolling down her cheeks, the sheer happiness of knowing who she was once again, and knowing about all of her old friends, her old life, her power...it explained so much and she felt like she could begin to move on. Instead of being stuck in that rut.

"I can remember now, I can remember everything." she whispered softly, before realising it might be a little bit awkward to just be hugging Daniel like this, and she let go of him slowly, stepping away so she was standing just before him "You must tell me everything! Everything that's happened since I've been...away. I'm so eager to hear what you have been doing with yourself, unfortunately, I was prevented from following you around after my...uhm...break so I don't know."

Daniel had kind of tuned out as he was working his power on her mind to try and fix her memory. It was the same as always, he needed complete and total focus if he was to keep himself on task and not end up ineffectively trying to heal healthy tissue. It wasn't bad for anyone but him though, it would drain him for no really useful reason so he did his best to ignore the world around him as he used his power.

The first hint that he had done it was her shouting his name mere seconds before she was hugging him so tightly and that was honestly beginning to hurt a little bit. He grinned at her and held her close,

"I've missed you too Mihkayla! Not a day goes by where I don't miss you..." he told her quietly before chuckling a little bit, "Of course I imagine it seems like it wasn't too long ago for you... or have you been following us around a little?"

He stroked his fingers through her hair as she rested her head against his shoulder. He loved that she was just so loving and caring for him right now, it made him sigh contentedly as he held her. Seeing some of her tears, he began to wipe them away,

"Well don't worry, the world still turns and people with powers are still born." he teased her a little bit before holding a hand up to calm her a little bit, "Calm down my lovely friend! There shall be time to discuss your missed time. Ask your most burning question though."

Mihkayla was just so relieved, so relieved and happy that she was able to be with her friend again, to be able to use her powers again, even know she could sense the shades in the room, some of her old friends who were attached to Daniel were here. Although she didn't really have the time or the energy to channel them right now, perhaps later, when she had gotten up to speed with what had been going on in the world since she had left.

Sighing happily as he held her close to him in return, Mihkayla was glad that she was with one of her old friends, because he was the most important, the closest and dearest friend that she had ever had.

"Oh it makes me so happy to hear that, so happy to hear that you hadn't moved on and left me behind. Even making me an account at this casino, I didn't even know that you owned it until...I was lifted off my feet before you." she teased, giving him a little squeeze in the hug "It feels like an enormously long time for me..." Mihkayla commented, her voice trailing off a little towards the end.

The sensation of Daniel stroking his fingers through her hair calmed her down, brought her levels of adrenaline down so that she could actually have a conversation without bursting out in some sort of random declaration. Now that her cheeks were free of tears and she had released Daniel from her vice like embrace, Mihkayla sat back down on the barstool and exhaled slowly.

Unable to keep the smile from her lips she asked excitedly; "You know me too well Daniel! Where is he? Where is Adam? Is he alright? Did he miss me? Can I go and see him soon, I've missed him so much."

Daniel had to admit that having her here, especially when she was in his arms, was like filling a hole that he hadn't really known had existed until she filled it with her presence and made him so happy to be alive. He had been oh so very depressed when she had died that the only thing that kept him going was his hatred of one Adam Monroe.

He smiled a little bit when she said that he hadn't moved on. She honestly had no idea how true that sentence was considering even now he was in love with her and even now he refused to be with anyone else,

"I could never leave you behind Mihkayla - you mean far too much to me." he told her honestly before smirking a little bit, "Yes, please forgive my men for their rough handling... I didn't think they'd be that rough."

When she asked about Adam his blood froze cold and he wanted nothing more than to tell her that Adam was dead, that they had killed the smug little bastard! Bit no, he had to lock him away for as long as possible,

"Yes well..." he coughed a little bit as he took her arm and began to lead her towards his art gallery in her honour, "I haven't seen Adam in years - not since he went underground after we discovered his part in the kidnapping."

As he guided her into the lift, he waited as it descended to the gallery before pausing, the doors still close at their destination, "You okay to go on? I have a nice surprise for you."

Mihkayla was just glad that she didn't have any broken bones from being dropped on her feet like that, although if she had had any she was sure that Daniel would have fixed them for her in a heartbeat. He had always taken care of her like that. After all her ability was hardly putting her in the front line for fighting, she often got wounded by specials while the Company was out trying to gather them together.

"Please don't worry about it." she grinned "Anything that could have been wrong with me you can fix, and a few bruises might make me look tough." Mihkayla joked, hugging her arms around herself as she took in the new situation that she had found herself in, here with her oldest friend, simply enjoying a conversation when an hour or so ago she had been living with no clear idea as to who she was.

Allowing Daniel to take her by the arm, Mihkayla linked her own with his so that they would be able to walk easily beside each other. As soon as she heard what he had to say however, her heart faltered in her chest, the news took her completely off guard. Adam...Adam wasn't here? Daniel didn't know where he was, none of the Company knew? He was a part of a kidnapping? What kidnapping did he mean?

"W-wait what kidnapping are you talking about?" she asked, squeezing the hand holding onto Daniel's arm and gazing confusedly into his eyes as they walked "What has happened since I have been away, what has the Company been doing?"

Nodding her head, still a little shaken by the news, Mihkayla smiled softly at Daniel, sure that whatever Adam had done had been nothing to do with what had happened to her, and had been after her accident had occurred. Adam wouldn't have done anything to harm her; "Of course, I'm excited now I want to know what this surprise is!" she exclaimed, bouncing on her feet happily as she waited for the lift to open.

Daniel agreed to take her advice and not worry about it. He could heal anything just shy of death after all so there was never going to be any damage to her person if he had anything to say about it. And, not surprisingly, he did have something to say about it so there was no damage done to her in the slightest. He smirked a little bit,

"Might take more than some bruises for that." he teased her with a little wink, "You're much too pretty to ever be seen as tough by most people I'm afraid."

He hated Adam Monroe.

That much was clear to anyone who even knew remotely about him after all. He swallowed a little bit when she asked him what kidnapping he was talking to. While he might hate Adam, he also knew that Mihkayla, for some reason, seemed to worship the ground that he walked on. It was more than annoying to be sure,

"Your kidnapping and hostage situation." he lied convincingly to her, not having to act a little bit panicked. When she asked what the Company had been doing he shrugged a little bit, "Still tagging them, making sure we don't lose track of any of them."

When the doors to the lift opened, Linderman took the overly excited reincarnated woman over to the beginning of the gallery. The first piece of art was a painting of Mihkayla surrounded by clouds and mist,

"This is the Mihkayla gallery." he told her with a grin that turned to a small town, "Well it was set up in your memory so... sorry if you get a bit creeped out by seeing yourself all around here."

Mihkayla pouted softly when Daniel told her that she was much to pretty to ever be seen as tough by most people, although she was glad of the fact that she had retained her looks, she still wanted to be seen as tough because she was! After what she had been through in her purgatory, she was pretty sure that she could take on anything she needed to.

"Awww well beauty is a curse." she sighed dramatically "I'm sure I'll be able to live with that."

Complete and utter disbelief swam onto Mihkayla's face, Adam would never have had anything to do with her kidnap, would he? Why would he do something like that to her? They loved each other! They had wanted to spend the rest of their lives together...so why would he go and hurt her like that, why would he cause her to be killed?!

"A-are you sure?" she asked softly, biting her lip "Adam would never do something like that to me, it's like you setting me up for something like that. When you are as close as we were, and as close as we are Daniel, you can't do something like that to the other person...right? So...so there must have been a mistake..." Mihkayla whispered, her eyes misting up a little bit.

Despite her upset at what Daniel had said about Adam, Mihkayla gasped at the sight of the memorial gallery of herself. The painting...well the painting of her was so beautiful, did she really even look like that to other people? Is that how she looked to Adam, to Daniel? Smiling broadly to Daniel she leant her head against his arm;

"It's such a beautiful gesture, thank you so much Daniel. Making me a gallery in honour of my memory, it is such a thoughtful thing to do..." she complimented, gazing up at him with smiling eyes "Was this your idea?"