Work Text:
It’s dark when it's late in the lab. A quiet, solemn darkness overlaps the room. Instruments, vials, and other remnants of a past life, hidden from the eyes. The artifacts of an old self, and another. All of these things, Medkit wished to forget. This is why he works alone, in the dark, with only one lamp to work by. He sets several vials upon the countertop, along with a mortar and pestle. He comes here every night, to prepare for his next fight. Preparing for when Medkit will see him again.
He reaches into his bag, retrieving several crystals. As he grasps the first crystal, about as large as his fist, he pauses for a moment. These crystals, too, were laden with memories, memories that he puts to the side as he lays the crystals to the mortar, and begins to grind. Smashing, splitting, crushing, sweeping that past away. There’s nothing he’d want more, than to separate himself from his past as easily as he did the crystalline structures.
“...”
Suddenly, with one burst of frustration, he slams the pestle down, utterly obliterating the crystal. Shards fly throughout the lab, flinging into walls and other fixtures. Medkit sighs. That burst of emotion would cost him several hours of his time. No, he corrects himself. Not emotion. I feel nothing for h- that. For one agonizing moment, he seizes up, before he banishes the thoughts from his mind, turning back to his work.
“That might be the most human I’ve ever seen you act, Meddy,” A voice rasps from the corner of the room.
The voice is unmistakable. Medkit’s eyes widen, but he quickly composes himself. How did he get here? Why? It doesn’t make any sense. And yet, that manner of speech… there’s no one else it could belong to.”
The voice creeps through the air once more, thick and heavy. “At least, not since then.”
The overhead light in the center of the room flickers, and then switches on with a faint glow. Stepping into the light is a man that Medkit knows all too well. The man is, without a doubt, Medkit’s old coworker, Subspace. My coworker, and ONLY my coworker, Medkit repeats in his head. With a leather strap over his left eye, and a breathing mask over his mouth, his voice, although labored, carries confidently.
“Heh, be careful in the lab. You wouldn’t want an accident to happen,” Subspace chuckles. “Like the accident on that day. You remember it, don’t you? Because I remember it…” Subspace creeps closer. “ Very… well. ” The intent in his voice and actions are just vague enough to give Medkit pause. At least, that’s what Medkit tells himself as he stands, paralysed.
“Why are you here?” Medkit speaks at last. Of course, this simple question does not encapsulate all of the confusions, all the inner conflicts, rattling around in his mind.
Subspace responds. “What’s wrong with me being here? I’m just visiting an old friend.”
“I swore we would never talk to each other on even terms again.”
“Swore to who? Don’t go telling lies to yourself, Meddy. I know what you are.”
“...”
Medkit stops. This bold accusation strikes him to the core, but he would never admit it. So once again, he banishes the thought from his mind, and speaks.
“You don’t know who I am, but I’ll tell you. I’m someone of real importance, someone who doesn’t sniff the boots of Blackrock for a crumb to put their experiments on. Someone who can help, instead of harming.”
Subspace draws back for a moment, but if it hurt him, he refused to let it show.
“At least I know who I am. Unlike you. Just look at yourself. A shadow of what you once were. Of what WE once were.”
For the first time since Subspace made his presence in the laboratory known, Medkit allows those forbidden memories that were long pushed down to resurface, albeit subconsciously.
“What are you playing at?” Medkit exclaims, louder than he intended.
“Don’t be so harsh now, Meddy,” Subspace giggles. It’s a strange sound, coming from those damaged vocal cords. The noise manages to make even Medkit shiver.
“I know you hate it. Playing nurse for those thankless idiots. Don’t you miss it? Those old days, when we would work together on those engineering projects? We were powerful, instead of powerless. I don’t know about you, but when we first found the crystals, and what they were capable of? I felt… unstoppable.”
Medkit searches his mind for an answer, but falls short. Subspace takes his silence for acknowledgement, and continues.
“We could be like coworkers again. Like… partners. Come on Meddy, don’t you miss those days?” Subspace creeps closer.
Medkit stays paralyzed. He watches Subspace carefully, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. He doesn’t know what to think. Split in two, but he can’t go either way.
“Come on Meddy… all it takes is one single step.” Subspace reaches out, and his hand grazes Medkit's arm. All the thinking in Medkit’s mind stops, replaced by panic.
“NO!” Medkit cries out, sweeping his arm through the air, striking Subspace in the face. Subspace cries out while stumbling backwards, holding his face as he falls onto his back. Medkit watches him, shaking, too scared to follow up. Subspaces glares back at him with hatred and contempt, but he slowly composes himself.
“Just like old times, huh?” Subspace slowly allows his hand to fall away from his face. Medkit’s eyes widen once more at what’s underneath.
Under Subspace's hand, an empty eye socket glares back with no eye. The flesh surrounding it has been eaten away, and a charred mixture of black, red, and pink has replaced it. As Medkit stares, it seems to pulse slightly.
“Yes, just like old times,” Subspace cackles. “Oh well. I see how it is. I won’t come back. I could be wrong. Maybe you really are just… better now.” He speaks confidently, but his voice is noticeably shaking. He sounds like he’s trying to convince himself more than anyone else. “See you around, Meddy. ”
As quickly as he had arrived, Subspace slinks away, into the darkness. Medkit scrambles for the light switch, but when he hits it, no one is there. Medkit stands alone, shattered crystals behind him. He cries out, slamming his fist down onto the countertop, kicking the nearest shard. He quickly composes himself, as he sits back down to perform his work.
It’s going to be a long night.