"Oh, Franken… come out! I'm not gonna hurt you!"

Her sing-song voice carries out through the laboratory, and Stein desperately tries to keep his wavelength hidden.

Please don't find me. Don't find me.

"Franken! I just want to play!"

Oh, Death.

The scientist pulls his knees closer to his chest, desperately hoping that the bathroom lock holds. The perils of being a near six-and-a-half foot tall man were becoming apparent as Marie was in this state.

The twisted game of hide-and-seek has been going on for half an hour now, and Stein remains in the corner of the shower cubicle. His eyes flick to the ceiling and when he hears the banging on the door, he nearly shrieks.

"Oh, Franken, come play with me,
happy little ones we'll be,
Franken, please come play with me!"

Her inane giggles and little ditty send shivers up Stein's back, and he recoils further.

"Franken, if you're in there," Marie giggles, "then you're in trouble!"

Stein gasps as tiny jolts of electricity curl around the door handle, and when the door blasts open he knows it's all over.

"Franken! You've come to play with me!" Marie clasps her hands together, eyes wide with glee as they flick over the figure in the corner of the shower.

"Marie… Marie, I don't want to play." Stein replies, his voice desperately trembling. Marie pulls back the shower curtain, and her wide, dilated pupils flick over Stein's face.

"Yes, you do! You wanna play with Marie!" her insane giggle rips through Stein's very soul. He stands up and tries to advance on Marie, but in her insane state she retains one thing – her strength.

"Franken," her palm extends against Stein's lower back and the paralysing wavelength shoots through him, sending him collapsing to the floor, "we're gonna have so much fun!"

The last thing Stein sees is Marie's wide, mad smile.

Then a sharp scratch on his neck.

Then black.

"Oh, Franken, come play with me,
happy little ones we'll be,
Franken, please come play with me!"

Not that again. Stein doesn't want to hear that again.

Marie approaches, that smile still gracing her face. Stein sucks in a breath as she caresses his cheek, shuddering as her nail digs into his jaw.

"You don't want to play with me, do you, Franken?" Marie asked, head cocked innocently to the side. Stein swallows.

"O-Of course I do." he lies. Marie brings a hand down hard on Stein's cheek, sending his other cheek to press against the cold steel he is strapped to.

"You're lying to me. I don't like it when Franken lies to me. Franken's lies make Marie angry." Marie crosses her arms and she looks like some sick, twisted twelve-year-old.

"I'm sorry for lying to you, Marie. I'm sorry." Stein pants, heat building on the spot where Marie had hit him.

"You should be sorry, Franken." Marie says, her voice domineering and sadistic. Stein trembles as Marie walks away from the head of the table, under her breath murmuring the rhyme again.

"Oh, Franken, come play with me,
happy little ones we'll be,
Franken, please come play with me!"

Stein wishes she'd stop that.

"Now, because I'm nice," Marie accentuates that word as if it will make Stein believe it more, "I'll ask again. Franken… do you want to play with me?" Marie asks, her words like venom. Stein swallows again, and this time tries to reply with more gusto.

"I want to play with Marie." his attempts seem to work as Marie claps her hands together, the insane giggles escaping once more as she unstraps his arm from the table.

"Now, let's see, Franken… where do we start? How about… here?" Marie shoots a bolt of electricity down Stein's middle finger, and his arm jolts violently, wrenching his shoulder and causing him to gasp in pain.

"Franken! Aren't you having fun?!" Marie exclaimed. Stein pants and nods.

"I'm having fun, Marie. W-We're having fun, yes!" he replies, hyperventilating. Marie laughs and moves down the table, this time unstrapping Stein's knees and ankles from the table. She removes his shoes and socks, and he winces in anticipation. He knows what's going to happen.

As the electricity bolts up through Stein's legs from the soles if his feet, he cries out.

"Marie, please, haven't we played enough?!" he calls, his legs still spasming against the cold table, no matter how hard he tries to stop it.

"No, Franken! We can play some more, isn't that great?!" she giggles with glee. Stein throws his head to the side and squeezes his eyes shut.

"Oh, Franken's come to play with me,
happy little ones are we,
and Franken's come to play with me!"

The rhyme grates on Stein's very soul and he feels her hand trail up his chest to his neck, and when her hand passes his ear and continues he knows where this is going.

"Marie… Marie, please, you know I don't like this game. Marie, not this game!"

"Oh, Franken… I want to play this game!"

"Marie…" Stein's voice is raw and vulnerable and Marie giggles.

"Yes, Franken?" Marie asks, feigning innocence. Stein whispers in a voice so scared that even he can't quite believe it.

"Please don't." he whimpers, and Marie giggles again in response.

"Marie…" Stein looks up at her for a second, trying to stare through the madness into her humanity. It is futile however, and before her hand grips the head of his bolt, his hand lurches out for something to grab onto. Stein bites down on the ruler, the only thing saving him from biting his tongue off as the electricity rips through his body.

His whole body spasms and his eyes roll back into his head, his jaw clenching and nearly biting through the ruler. His muscles tense and his back arches violently, his breaths escaping through the gaps in between his teeth as he holds onto a few more seconds of consciousness. Then is all goes black.

Marie giggles.

Stein wakes up at some point – the next day, the next week, he's not sure. What he does know is that Marie is sleeping next to him, curled up and looking innocent as ever.

He knows he might regret this, but he gently shakes her shoulder. She stirs and opens her eyes, and her pupils are regular, her eyes the familiar honey-gold once more.

"Good morning, Stein." she smiles sleepily and he tries to return the expression. But the things she's done to him are still fresh in his mind. She tilts her head thoughtfully and sits up out of bed, pulling a robe around her and leaving the room.

And this is the worst part. Stein knows that Marie never remembers her episodes of madness.

She's humming happily when Stein walks out from the bedroom, and her head flicks around. She looks as cheery and normal as ever, and Stein's relieved that her episode is over.

"I'm going for a shower." Marie smiles and walks past Stein and as she shuts the door, she flashes a deviant smile. As Stein listens outside of the bathroom, his eyes widen and a shivers goes up his spine.

"Oh, Franken, come play with me,
happy little ones we'll be,
Franken, please come play with me!"

She remembers. She definitely remembers.

A/N: So, I guess it's pretty obvious why this is AU. But, I've wanted to write Mad!Marie for a while.