Work Text:
It’s never a good idea to get interrupted mid-time-warp. Worst-case scenario, you’ll end up in the middle of nowhere, inside-out and choking to death on your own spinal fluid. Lucky for me, the warping process had only just begun when I got pulled out of it, so my organs were going to stay right where they were supposed to.
It was still far from ideal – even then there was still danger of a concussion or some kind of brain damage. But that was the last thing on my mind.
I tossed and turned, trying to force myself awake. Then came a voice from a million miles away, followed by a blinding white light…
I jolted upright, slamming my face into an overhead lamp. There was an explosion of pain as I fell back on a cold, hard surface.
Then came a voice: ‘Ah, good. You’re awake.’
I looked up again, more carefully this time, scanning the crumbling brick walls and multitude of tool benches until I settled on the gaze of a tall dark man sitting in the corner next to the door.
I lunged forward, hoping to catch him by surprise and maybe make my escape. But my arms and legs were a dead weight. I tumbled off the table and onto the floor, landing hard on my right arm.
‘Could you try not to knock yourself out again please?’ He said with mock concern. ‘You only just woke up.’
Summoning all my strength, I rolled over so I was on my back again. My limbs flopped onto the ground, useless for the time being. The stranger came back into my field of view.
‘What have you done?’ I spat.
‘Mild paralysing agent.’ He replied. ‘I injected you when you began to stir. Should keep you still for at least another hour. Long enough for me to get some answers.’
Then without warning he hoisted me up by my arms and slung me over his shoulder like a rag doll. With his massive stride it was only a few steps until he dumped me unceremoniously back on the table.
‘Now, first question,’ He held something up for me to see. ‘What the hell is this, and where did you get it?’
The world swam into focus. My eyes widened at the sight of the bulky frame of my Quantum Skipper.
I tried to keep a neutral expression, but he was having none of it. ‘So you do recognise it.’ He grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me towards him, then used his free hand to stop my head from lolling back. ‘What is it?’