Work Text:
Although the sterile walls of an exam room may seem intimidating to the average person, for the doctor they were a source of comfort; he sat idly in a plastic and metal chair- which was far too small for his frame- legs pressed together, twiddling his thumbs, waiting for his next patient. His schedule had been abruptly altered, being informed only just that morning that he’d be moved from field work to inpatient care- which he hadn’t actually done in quite some time, and he was eager to tackle his next case.
Upon noticing the sound of steady footsteps approaching, he gleefully stood to as much of his full height as was possible, but his excitement tapered to a subdued cheerfulness once a nurse opened the door. She tried to keep a calm and professional demeanor, but the doctor could tell that something was pressing on her mind as she greeted him with the wrong name- she was probably new and still very nervous, understandably so given his status as one of the greatest healers of his era.
“How are you feeling?” She asked.
“ Me? Oh- oh absolutely wonderful! You wouldn’t have happened to bring my tools with you, right? ”
“I’m sorry, you can’t have access to those right now.”
“ Aw okay, ” They were probably still being disinfected anyway, “Is there someone waiting to see me?”
“Not at the moment,” She paused, “Do you know where we are?”
“ Of course! We’re at the hospital. ”
Her furrowed brow shifted to that of mild concern, “ The hospital? Which one? ”
“ It’s the uh, the uhm… ” Baldhead racked his brain trying to recall the name, but nothing was coming to him, “ I don’t know- I’m sorry, I don’t know the area yet. ”
“We’re in the Maximum Security Extradimensional Holding Facility of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights,” The nurse replied as she sat, placing a slate colored file on the table between them. What a long name , he thought, it must be pretty important; important places always have long, complicated names.
“Do you know why you’re here?”
“ You want me to help people! ”
“That’s right.”
She proceeded to open the folder and lay out a series of photos in front of him- faces of all kinds with no clear theme or connection, “Do you recognize any of the people in these pictures?”
He nodded, “ Those are my patients- I could never forget them! ”
“Do you remember what you did to them?”
“I operated on them, that’s my job after all!”
“Do you remember why you ‘operated’ on them?”
“ So they’d feel better! ”
The nurse glanced down at her collection, then back up at the doctor; when she spoke she once again addressed him with that strange name, “Every single one of these people are dead- because of your actions.”
Baldhead felt an uncomfortable twinge from deep within his chest, though he didn’t entirely understand why, “ O-of course they are! I tried my best, but it’s a sad truth that you can’t uh- you can’t save everyone- and everyone is going to kick the bucket some day! It’s just a matter of when! ”
“ You tried your best? From what I’ve read throats were slashed, torsos cut open, I believe you somehow even removed a man’s spine. You’re saying that they were all in better conditions after what you did to them?”
“ Surgery- surgery isn’t going to look too nice! You should know how messy it can get! ”
“These weren’t surgeries, Doctor, they were mutilations .”
“I understand that my methods might look different from what you were taught in school, but you can’t deny the results!”
She opened her mouth to retort but all that escaped was a tired sigh; the photographs were retrieved and the sound of shuffling papers filled the space between them. “Do you remember when you began these ‘operations’- your field work, I mean.”
“A few years ago?”
“Would you say at least sometime after 2177? ”
“ I-I think so? Why do you-? ”
Baldhead was presented with another picture- this time of a little girl who couldn’t have been more than 14, sat upright in bed, smiling, reddish-brown hair resting softly on her shoulders, a bold, pink gown and white sheets covering her frail figure. He tried to reach out and hold her, but his hands bumped up against an invisible barrier.
“Do you remember her?”
He felt like he should, that she was deeply familiar to him, that he knew her voice and her laugh, and most importantly that she desperately needed his help.
“ Is she here? ” He asked, his high-pitched, manic tone having sharply fallen to that of a low murmur, “ Can I see her? ”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“ You must understand, ” The doctor’s eyes widened with a feverish panic, nearly crashing his head into the ceiling as he stood, “ I must attend to her right away- she needs medical assistance! ”
“Doctor, please sit back down-”
“ She’s sick! I know how to fix this- I can save her! Just let me get to my equipment! ”
“That’s from 2177, she’s not-”
“ Direct me to her room, ” He sternly, yet uselessly, raised his voice as he struggled to break the bindings on his wrists, “ We don’t have much time! ”
“Calm down. That’s not going to happen-”
“ Let me see her, damnit! ” Baldhead pounded his fists against the forcefield, the pale light which indicated it’s presence rippling as he did so, “ Let me see her, nurse! Please- let me see her! ”
As he continued to bash his fists against the transparent wall, the ‘nurse’ calmly collected her documents; his forceful, demanding cries turning to desperate pleas as she stepped away from his cell.
“ No- I can fix this! Get me out of here! I need to help her! I can fix this! ”
The detective opened the door.
“ She’ll die! Please! ”
And shut it behind her.