Nightshift 38: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

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[From here]

Ophelia carefully opened the door, listening and looking around in both directions for any signs of monster activity. When she was satisfied that there was none that she could detect, she swung the door open and hurried down toward the main hall where more of the moonlight could be seen faintly. Once she got there, she knew she was definitely going to have to keep her guard up, considering that the main hall had been where the big monster from the previous night had been.

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[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

It felt just a little like he was going in circles as Tony headed north again, up toward the cell block that lay directly parallel to the one he was housed in. It was tempting to hurry, just because he was nearing his first destination for the night, and limited visibility be damned.

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

Aside from the pair of patients who seemed to be lingering in discussion, the southern part of the hall remained apparently deserted as well. "I don't think it's usually this quiet," Tony remarked. "Maybe the Head Doctor's finally figured out just why he's losing patients so frequently."

[wing-head.livejournal.com]

"I'm a bit old fashioned like that," Steve replied to the comment about no one sleeping at night anymore.

The mention of losing patients so frequently dispelled whatever pleasant mood Steve had, though. He also thought he saw a some blood on the floor in the light provided by Tony's flashlight.

"I don't think it's that quiet," Steve said, pointing out the blood on the ground. There wasn't too much of it, so whoever had been attacked had probably gotten away.

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

"I don't see any bodies," Tony replied. "I'm starting to think that might count." But he sounded grim, and when he looked up, his eyes searched the shadows all the more intently for any sign of trouble. The light moved in time with his steps, creating odd twitches of shadow, and he underscored better light source on the ever-growing list.

[wing-head.livejournal.com]

"A lot of the patients here are very resourceful. It could just be a minor injury," Or it could have been one of the patients that wasn't as able to defend themselves. Steve really hoped that wasn't the case, but there was nothing he could do about it now. If he'd been here earlier, Steve would have been able to help, but it was clear the fight was over now.

Steve was also a little worried about Tony. Kurt and Matt both knew how to fight unarmed, but he wasn't sure about Tony. "Do you know any form of martial arts or self defense?" Steve was expecting a 'no', but he wasn't certain about it.

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

"I don't see any dead creatures, either," Tony clarified. It didn't necessarily mean anything. If there had been an attack, the aggressors could have been driven off, or moved. "It could be from an old wound." It seemed too optimistic, but a slight twinge from his own injured arm reminded him just how possible it was. With the nights' activity levels, it would be all too easy to pull stitches and reopen injuries not quite healed enough to stand up to stress. Even if they did seem to heal at phenomenal rates.

The answer was the predictable one. Tony shook his head and admitted, "Not really. I didn't ever see a reason to learn..." He trailed off, leaving an unspoken qualification hanging.

[wing-head.livejournal.com]

"I could teach you, if you want..." Tony probably wouldn't be wandering around alone at night, but Steve could teach him a few useful things that wouldn't take long for Tony to pick up. There were other things that needed to be done, too, but Steve felt it was important for Tony to be able to better defend himself.

Steve still had no idea if the sort of training he would be able to give Tony in a short amount of time would be helpful against the monsters here, though. He hadn't even seen any yet, and it was entirely possible that there were things here that couldn't be fought without weapons.

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

"Later," Tony replied. "Right now, this is more important." He had no illusions about how much he might be able to learn in the sort of short time frame the night offered. Even ignoring the problems involved in dealing with creatures of tooth and claw, his expertise lay in areas other than fighting, and it was to those he had to look first if he wanted to be any use getting out.

He shook the flashlight again to jog it into another period of brightness. "You don't seem too surprised," he noted as an afterthought. Was it something he had in common with his counterpart? It wouldn't be a surprise, if they had the same background, or even a reasonably similar one.

[wing-head.livejournal.com]

"Well, like you said, you didn't really have a reason to learn..." It was a really strange thing to be talking about, to have to remember that this wasn't the Tony he knew when they were so similar.

They looked almost exactly alike, sounded alike. "This must be really strange for you," It was worded as a statement, but Steve voiced it more as an apology. He wondered if he seemed like a stalker. He knew a lot about Tony, while Tony hadn't even met him.

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

Tony suppressed a chuckle, turning it into a wryly amused snort instead. "Fair enough," he admitted. "And yeah, it's a little strange." And that itself felt strange. This was fundamentally different than encountering yet another person who recognized him, who knew bits and pieces about him. Usually the media-friendly bits, spun to reflect the agenda or bias of the day. It was eerie, and though outright skepticism was as good as self delusion in light even of what little he had witnessed, it was impossible not to harbor some doubt.

"How well do you know the Tony in your world?" It felt strange even asking, but short of stumbling over someone's conveniently placed primer on the similarities and differences between alternate versions of the same world, there wasn't really a better way to get answers.

[wing-head.livejournal.com]

"I know him very well, and he's one of my closest friends." Even with all their disagreements and arguments, and the issues they had fallen on different sides of, Steve did think that he knew Tony Stark very well.

"We have had our disagreements, but he is much more than just a team mate to me. We've helped each other through some very difficult times, even the ones that didn't involve Iron Man or Avengers," That was probably the best way to sum it up without going into details. There were details Steve wasn't sure if he should bring up or not.

Like Tony's drinking habits, or the loss of his company. That wasn't necessarily going to happen to this Tony, and Steve sincerely hoped that it didn't, but he didn't think now was the right time to talk about something like that.

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

"Now that's strange," Tony remarked dryly. On both ends, though he didn't acknowledge that aloud. It certainly couldn't be much more comfortable to go unrecognized by a friend, or the counterpart to one.

The noise of the main hall ahead was almost as solid a landmark as the actual end of the hallway. "Almost to the stairs," he muttered. The ones at the end of the hall were closest, with nothing else to choose between them.

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]