The Inevitable [closed to Kerrigan]

[on_your_nerves]

Good God, he needed a cigarette. Between the world being destroyed and all his friends besides John possibly dying along with it (or the entire thing being a total lie), John punching him and storming off, the talking ponies, the random superhero bringing up his cocaine addiction, and arguing with a space elf over (ugh!) politics and clandestine rebellions...actually, forget one cigarette. He needed a whole carton. Strike that, maybe a truck full.

Reaching into his many coat pockets on an instinctual search for cigarettes he knew weren't there, he found that a pack actually was there. And so was his lighter.

Maybe there was a God. Maybe there was a merciful God, or at the very least, maybe the ship really was as benevolent and merciful as she tried to make herself out to be and decided to smile upon him by snatching up a box of cigarettes with his belongings.

...Probably not, but this at least still was a fine bit of serendipity. Sherlock would take it.

Leaning into the doorway of a building in what he didn't realize was another blind spot in the city, he lit up his first post-end-of-the-universe cigarette and took a long drag from it. To be honest, it wasn't really enough, and like it always did when he least wanted it to, old cravings crawled up in the back of his skull and demanded something stronger.

"Not now."

No, not now, though the way he closed his eyes as he leaned against the door of the building and let out a lungful of smoke, would have made it clear to anyone looking that he was a fair bit more overwhelmed than he could even admit to himself.

It seemed that for now, however, he could be content with causing himself harm with only one cigarette at a time.

Comments

[on_your_nerves]

John had his murder face on.

And that was because he was paying attention to him. Good.

"There was some sort of Security officer there." He paused. "I think. It was a bit of a blur. She might be in custody now."

[couldputitback]

"If security was there, then she's in custody," Faiza assured him. "Nightwing and Dean Winchester don't really put up with this. Though...this happened in the City? Had it happened in the crew areas, she wouldn't have gotten as far. Stacy would have stopped her."

Just...in case he ever wanted to go insulting powerful psychics with knives again, it was useful information.

"And, Dr. Watson, I merely meant that there are many people on this ship with powers that have better manners. Many of us live by the creed of, 'With great power comes great responsibility'."

Hey. Spider-Man was on the ship. It was going to come up eventually.

[nerves_of_steel]

"I'd like to talk with security then, just to be sure," John said, relaxing by a few hairs. "Nightwing and Dean Winchester you said?"

He didn't ask what kind of name 'Nightwing' was supposed to be. It wouldn't do to be insulting of anyone else's culture, considering how he and Sherlock had gotten off on awkward footing with Councilor Kang.

At Faiza's words, he deflated somewhat and offered her a more genuine smile. "I'm glad to hear it," he said, standing up and moving over to lean against Sherlock's cot. "I suppose I should have expected people with unusual abilities, of the sane and otherwise varieties."

He'd get used to it, eventually. He'd gotten used to Sherlock after all.

[on_your_nerves]

"Speaking of Nightwing, I was due for an interview with him before I was nearly murdered. We may as well see him in person."

He needed to see if he could find someone that could salvage his coat, as well.

Sherlock swung his legs over the edge of the Medbay bed, completely ignoring all previous instructions of taking it easy for a while--because he generally ignored people when it came to his health--stood up, and took a few steps away from the bed.

He realized his mistake pretty much by the third step. All the color drained out of his face, he reeled, and then he turned on his heel to go back to the bed, looking as if he was trying to reach it before he fainted but not going to make it all the way there in time.

[couldputitback]

Depending on the canon, Nightwing is a Kryptonian name, anyway.

Faiza smiled at John and was about to say something when Sherlock...did pretty much what she expected of him. Which was to ignore perfectly sound medical advice and do whatever the hell he wanted anyway.

She huffed a sigh, moving expertly under one arm. Luckily, she wasn't exactly petite. "One day," she lamented, "my patients are going to realize that I know what I'm talking about and when I say to stay laying down, they will."

[nerves_of_steel]

"Sadly, that patient will never be Sherlock Holmes." John ducked under Sherlock's other arm and helped Faiza get him back onto the table-cot, moving with practiced efficiency to make their patient comfortable and elevate his legs. "Which reminds me, Councilor Kang said I was to talk to you about joining the Medical staff here." He gave her a slightly crooked smile. "I don't exactly have my C.V. on me, so I'll understand if you want to test me or put me on probation for awhile, but I am quite a good doctor. And I don't know if Sherlock mentioned it, but I do have significant experience as an army doctor as well."

John had, incidentally, missed all discussions involving Sherlock being one of the most recognizable characters in western literature.

[on_your_nerves]

"She already knows, John," Sherlock said woozily. "We're apparently famous literary characters in other worlds. If alternate universes exist, it makes sense, because there must be an unlimited number of possible realities, including ones where authors coincidentally wrote the life stories of other people in other worlds as fiction. They were apparently written by Arthur Conan Doyle, though. Shame, that."

[couldputitback]

"The stories aren't actually that bad," Faiza told him, setting up the bedside monitor. "I mean, yes, there are the usual issues that come with writing in the Victorian period. Little to no respect for women, the othering and caricatures of foreign cultures. And the fact that Sir Arthur...didn't actually like you all that much."

She brought up the holographic file again, adding a few more notes. "And Councilor Kang is right. I'm the head of Medical and, frankly, we could use all the help we can get down here. It's usually fairly boring, but when it gets exciting, it tends to be an 'all hands on deck' exercise."

[nerves_of_steel]

John paused, hand still resting on Sherlock's knee, and boggled at the two of them.

"...Was he writing science-fiction then?" he asked after a moment, latching onto a minor detail in his confusion. "Sherlock and I are from 2012, and Conan Doyle was writing in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries."

Somehow, he wasn't exactly surprised that "Sir Arthur" (what had he got the knighthood for?) didn't like Sherlock much.

He shook his head to clear it of the worst of his confusion and nodded to Faiza. "Well, you can certainly put my name down then. I'm more than happy to help."

[on_your_nerves]

"Apparently, he set the stories in his own time. Victorian versions of us."

Wait a moment.

"What do you mean Doyle didn't like me? He wrote about me."

His own author didn't like him?

"Not that it matters, his writing was insipid, anyway."

[couldputitback]

"I'd rather say you were modern versions, but I suppose either is true. Everything else certainly seems to have translated. But the stories always have had a timeless quality to them. Like when you see Shakespeare performed in a different time period." It seemed to make sense to Faiza, at least.

She nodded. "Said you took his mind away from other things. And he far preferred his historical novels. Which, of course, nobody now remembers him for." It really did say a lot about the strength of Sherlock Holmes that he was still so remembered. "He tried to...umm..." She paused, looking between the two of them. "Dare I ask what you last remember before you arrived here?"

[nerves_of_steel]

It's not very often that one hears one's life compared to Shakespeare. John wasn't a man who blushed easily, but he could feel the warmth of something not unlike embarrassment creeping up the back of his neck.

He tensed at her question, glancing away for a moment, the hand on Sherlock's knee shifting into a grip.

"I'm not too up on politics and such," he said. "I've been a bit out of it for the past few months. Just found out today that Sherlock's death was faked." Which was why there'd been a bruise for Faiza to heal on Sherlock's chin when he'd come in.

[on_your_nerves]

She probably needed more specifics if she was comparing to the stories.

"Moriarty and I had our final confrontation," he explained, holding his hand to his head, eyes closed, trying to will the dizziness away. "Leaving the world thinking 'the Reichenbach hero' was a fraudulent fantasist who'd committed suicide after the revelation he was a fake."

Even though John's grip on his knee wasn't the most pleasant, he didn't tell him to let go. Right now, John seemed to need the contact.

[couldputitback]

Faiza hummed at that, frowning. "That's a very definite deviation from the stories," she admitted. "Not that there was a final confrontation with Moriarty. Though, to be honest, it had also been the first confrontation, so far as the stories went. But the confrontation took place at Reichenbach Falls."

She glanced over at them both, then paused. "Dizziness? Is there any nausea as well?" It was probably blood loss, but that still didn't mean it was fun.

[nerves_of_steel]

John realized he was gripping Sherlock's knee and released it. He'd given his friend enough bruises today already.

"I imagine the first confrontation with Moriarty would have gone a little differently without the BeeGees," he muttered under his breath. He made an abortive move to assist Faiza and Sherlock, then realized that he had no idea where anything was kept in here. Something he'd have to remedy quickly.

[on_your_nerves]

"I haven't been to Switzerland recently. I did, however, recover a lost painting of the Reichenbach Falls. One of the ones by J.M.W Turner. The case, unfortunately, brought me more into the public eye, which Moriarty was able to use against me."

Interesting, the similarities and differences.

Oh, right. The dizziness. For a moment, he'd almost forgotten he wasn't just lounging there. He'd almost passed out.

"A bit of nausea, yes. And I'm thirsty. Dehydration, most likely."

His electrolytes were probably out of whack.

[couldputitback]

"No doubt, considering the amount of blood you lost." Faiza keyed something into the holographic interface and a bit of tubing came out of the wall with a needle attached. She pulled it to expose more, taking hold of Sherlock's arm and checked for a vein in his arm. "This should help. Bit of a blood transfusion--the ship can clone blood supplies, so it should be exactly what you need. It should help your electrolytes. And I'll get you both a cuppa once that's done."

It was a fairly slow day in the medbay, thankfully.

"Dr. Watson. Am I right in assuming you're generally his GP of record?" Or, at least, as close as possible. Somehow, she doubted that Sherlock Holmes went to the GP's office on a regular basis.

[nerves_of_steel]

John watched what Faiza did with the holographic interface and the wall-tubing very closely -- not out of suspicion or anything, but so that he could see how it was done and remember it when he needed to do it himself.

He smiled and nodded at Faiza's question. "You'd be right," he said, "though he seems to be behaving himself much better for you." GP's office nothing, sometimes John would be lucky if he could haul Sherlock to the emergency room -- that would be the downside to one's best friend knowing full well that one could stitch up the more minor wounds back at the flat.

[on_your_nerves]

"That's only because she can do a thing you can't do, and I'm hoping she'll do it again."

Her power was interesting.

[couldputitback]

"You're fine, so you'll not be seeing it again right now. If you get up and fall over to crack your head, you won't be conscious to see it. And if you get injured on purpose and aren't dying, I'll leave you to get on with healing on your lonesome." Because she knew damned well that he might do it on purpose to see what she was doing.

She looked to John, flushed slightly in embarrassment. "It's what I do. I...have powers that basically allow me to pull someone apart without harming them and fix their injuries." She made a motion toward Sherlock. "That's why there's no stitches. I'm pretty sure you're also trying to figure out just HOW a human can do things like that," she noted to Sherlock, before offering a holographic file to John. "Everybody goes through a physical when they arrive here. The general information, though, is something you can likely fill out yourself." And would be faster for everybody.

[nerves_of_steel]

"...No wonder he's so well-behaved then," John said, accepting the holographic files. "Sherlock's always wanted to see his own organs."

It was possible to see on John's face the moment when Faiza's words registered in his brain, as well as his own response. His brow creased up like an accordion and his mouth dropped open slightly.

"Er," he said, then shook his head as if to clear it. "That's remarkable. And very handy. Does everyone on your Earth have abilities like that?"

[on_your_nerves]

"No," said Sherlock for her. "As is fairly obvious by the callouses on her hands."

Come on, John, you're not even trying.

Sherlock leaned over to look at the holographic file, making sure not to lean over so far that he was dizzy and there was the slightest crease of his brow when he saw some of the questions. John could likely guess what questions had caused it and even if he hadn't been able to, the question Sherlock posed to Faiza next likely made it quite clear.

"How confidential are these records?"

He didn't exactly want some of his past...habits being common knowledge, especially if he was going to work with Security.

[couldputitback]

"I'd be interested in knowing why you think my callouses say that powers aren't common in my world," Faiza said mildly. "Also, he's shaken my hand exactly once. I don't think he's made a grand study of the fact that my hands aren't silky smooth. He's a warrior himself, after all."

Army doctor. It was close enough.

"Anyway, I wouldn't say they're common. They used to be more common, but something like...I think it was ninety-odd percent of the mutants in my world lost their powers. Mutants being short hand for people with a mutated gene that causes them to display powers beyond that of so-called 'normal' people. Somehow, the gene switched off in a great many people." She shook her head. "Mine aren't like that, though. You get hit by an alien scientific possible-death ray and wake up with nifty powers. It was an interesting trade."

And...she was babbling again. Faiza huffed a sigh at herself. "And the records are locked to medical personnel. The only reason for someone outside our department to look at them would be if you did something completely idiotic and we had to identify your body afterward." She leveled a steady gaze at him. "Which means you don't have free reign of them either, even if Dr. Watson is working in the department."

[nerves_of_steel]

John's mouth quirked in a smile and he winked at Faiza. "Go on, then," he said to Sherlock. "Regale us with how you know her powers aren't common because of her callouses. I know you're d-- you want to."

Sherlock's been in hiding for three months, after all, it's not likely that he's had much opportunity to show off. Especially not in front of an appreciative audience. And, well, John hasn't had the opportunity to hear Sherlock show off in three months either. It'd be a lie to say that he didn't miss it, too.

Faiza's explanation of her world with its mutants and spontaneous world-wide gene silencing and super-power-granting alien maybe-death rays got a polite if somewhat bewildered nod as John looked over the forms. Her response to Sherlock's question earned another smile, though whether it had to do with pleasure that medical ethics were still upheld in spite of the crazy circumstances or in anticipation of a Sherlock-sulk, it was hard to say.

"I'll save my questions about how the files are accessed for when Sherlock's not listening in, then," he said.

[on_your_nerves]

"The callouses are a clear sign of her having learned to use a sword--broadsword most likely, and she walks as if she's used to carrying something heavy at her hip--meaning that she carries the sword with her. An unusual practice for a doctor. They're recent, however--these are not the callouses of someone that's trained with a sword her whole life and the scars on her forearms, visible because her sleeves are rolled up, match. They're recent as well. What would make someone pick up a sword in the modern day? Some sort of recent life change, one she's explained now as becoming a superhero, one that makes sense given how careful she was when using her power on me. The powers are new, just like the use of the sword, that much is obvious by the care she took with them and her nervousness. If powers can be acquired at all, that means that there are at least some individuals that are born baseline human, powerless, and if such powers were a natural acquisition over time, they'd certainly happen at an earlier age, puberty at least, where they'd be more advantageous. If it happened to her in adulthood, it was a sudden change, more likely with an unexpected and artificial cause, further reinforcing that there are at least some individuals born without powers in her world and that such powers aren't something that everyone expects."

"Now how I do know baseline humans like her are the norm rather than the exception? If a society were full of individuals that are capable of powers--some of which were healing powers--why would there still be institutions like medical school and doctors? For her to even be a doctor, it means society is still geared towards training the unpowered in their respective fields. At the very least, even if those who have powers are more common, it's a recent enough change that such institutions haven't been dismantled."

Bringing it all together.

"In short, the callouses suggest a recent acquisition of powers, a recent acquisition of powers indicates they're not inherent for some individuals, her status as a doctor indicates there are still massive institutions in place to train the unpowered in certain fields. If powers can be acquired, but society is still geared towards training the unpowered, powers are not the norm."

Now finished, there was a brief glance at Faiza, but most of his attention was directed at John and there was something plaintive in his gaze, as if he was absolutely desperate to hear something he hadn't heard in some time.