"Nice to see you too Thor. But I have some important matters here. All of you, this is Dr. John Watson and had lifted your hammer Thor and apart from that, he was hit by a stray lighting of yours and that red substance..." Coulson said.
Everyone present in the room just stared at John in shock with wide eyes as if wondering how he was even alive. John shuffled uncomfortably from all the stares, not meeting anyone's eyes. "He picked up Mew - Mew?" Dracy asked. "He doesn't even have much of muscles and all..." she said, eyeing John.
"What are you the doctor of? You got hit by the Aether and lightning two months ago. How are you even alive? Did you experience anything strange after you got hit by it? Better yet, how did you first of all get hit by it?" Jane asked rapidly.
"Well... I used to be a field surgeon but now I work at a local clinic. I don't know... was that supposed to do something? I was travelling with my friend along the college when this portal opened and weird elves came in... the both of us along with the local police helped in the evac. When Thor and that elf were fighting, a boy was in the middle so when I got him out of the way, the lightning hit me along with the red light..." John explained.
"Well... from what I know about it, it is known to be able to convert matter into dark matter, and has a bond like a parasite with its host. and trust me, I know how it was experiencing it myself. Once bonded, the energies of the Aether slowly consume any mortal host, and also have a volatile and deadly effect on any who come into contact with the host in a manner that the Aether perceives as threatening." Jane said.
"Well... I haven't felt weak or some weird energy coming out of me whenever someone tries to harm me or I don't know what it would've done when I fought with Agent Hill." John said with a wince, shocked that he had been exposed to something that dangerous.
"Maybe it had to do something with the fact that you had also been hit by lightning maybe. And you said you lifted my hammer. Shall we see if you can lift it now?" Thor asked. "Well... I would like to give it a try but before that... you asked me whether I was feeling weird... does this count as one?" John asked as he quickly scanned Phil with his eyes before willing it to form a hologram with all the details.
The others just stared at John in awe as he mentally produced a hologram of whatever injuries and illnesses he had sustained all along, especially the most recent one being Loki. "And this happened after that fight in the college campus?" Selvig asked, coming forward to touch the hologram out of curiosity and it was perfectly solid.
"Yeah and also the electricity used to flicker a lot when I was emotional and trust me, I was going through a rough time then so I was kind of freaked out when the lights started flickering. I've got it under control though, somewhat." John said.
"Maybe we must do a blood test on you to see the effect of the lightning and Aether on you John. My best bet is that when they collided with your body, they somehow merged and caused this to happen." Jane said.
"And when were you planning on telling this to me brother?" Phil asked. "When I got to know how I got the power." John replied back instantly. "Wait. Suit has a brother?" Dracy asked. "Well... I do have a brother who I was separated from at birth and we only met three years ago so chill." Phil said as Thor summoned his hammer and put it down.
"Lift it up Dr. Watson. If you do, I think I must test one more thing before we discuss on what we are going to do further." Thor said. John took in a deep breath and reached out his hand to clasp the handle and said a silent prayer before pulling at it, the hammer too coming away smoothly.
"Well then Doctor, I think you might want to remove your shirt and go to the balcony for this. I want to see if Mjolnir has completely accepted you." Thor said. John, a little uncomfortable in removing his jumper, hesitated a little before giving in and removing it, revealing his body except for the part his undershirt covered.
Many of them stared in shock at the scars littered all over his body, the most prominent ones being the MH and SH with a crude heart around it on one shoulder and the bullet wound on the other. Even after three years, the bullet wound still looked gruesome. Most of them averted their eyes from the scar wound, John just looked at his brother who gave him an encouraging look.
"Wow. I take it back. He is ripped." Dracy said, ogling at the muscles. John lifted the hammer again and looked at Thor. "So... I just lift it up?" he asked. "Yes, and if she accepts you, she will award you with an armour of your own." Thor said.
John, who was currently holding the hammer in his dominant hand knew that his shoulder with the bullet wound would feel strained while the other shoulder won't be in much pain. So he shifted hammer to his right hand and lifted it up, praying that nothing should happen.
But of course with John's luck, something happened. There was lightning and thunder heard around, one flash of lightning hit the hammer and proceeded to travel through John's body, leaving a traditional Asgardian armour in its wake.
It was just like Thor's, a lightweight and flexible chainmail which was extremely comfortable topped off with a cape, which was a mixture of blue with small designs in black. John admired his armour and looked up to see a grim Thor, an excited but stoic Coulson and the rest of them open mouthed.
"You might need some time to train your new found powers Doctor. If let without proper training, it will do you more harm than good." Thor said with a grave look on his face. "I guess I should call up Mycroft then?" John asked with a sigh as Coulson nodded.
"Where did you first meet Mycroft?" Fitz asked. "Afghanistan" was John's instant reply but never elaborated after that. The only ones who knew it were Mycroft, Tony, later on Coulson and himself and he wanted to keep it that way. He just called Mycroft and asked him to come ASAP.
The following discussions were all very serious. Where would it be safe for John? Must he practice it here or should he go to America? "Let me just summarise it right now. He was hit by some lightning and a foreign substance and then developed some healing abilities and can diagnose anything in a single glance and can lift Thor's hammer?" Mycroft asked.
When everyone nodded in affirmative, Mycroft sighed and came to a decision. "John, I think it is better for you to go to the States as it seems Thor is going there anyways and you need to train yourself. Fury want you to be Thor's backup in case he isn't here. I get it that you might want to stay here but it is for the best." he said.
John was internally jumping with joy. Yes, he would miss everyone here but nothing was the same here without Sherlock and he desperately needed a change in scenery and this was the perfect opportunity for him. "I am ok with going Mycroft. And please don't threaten anyone there about me please. Maybe just hide a few files about my personal information as I would like to tell it to them myself when I trust them." John requested.
"Anthea is going to have so much fun with that request. And alright, I won't threaten anyone. Maybe it is time that you met him you know, he is gonna be pissed of that you didn't contact him yet." Mycroft said.
"Maybe that was in order for me to do. I can see you have a question for me Dr. Froster. What is it?" John asked. "You said you were a field surgeon/medic, yet your scars say otherwise Dr. Watson. Were you in the front lines? And please call me Jane. Can I have some blood samples? I would like to examine how the Aether has affected you." she asked.
John contemplated on what to tell her for a minute before opening his mouth. "Sure Jane. I was a field surgeon but I was also a Captain in my time in the army Jane. The bullet in my shoulder caused me to retire." John said. "What about your other scars? They seem to be a little more recent?" Selvig asked.
"Well... running around with a genius does that to you who loves crime does that to you." John said with a shrug, not wanting to talk about it. He knew Sherlock was alive but it still hurt that he did not inform him before faking his death and it was a little tough to come out of grieving.
"I think it is better we leave at the earliest so that you can come back sooner. I think you might enjoy your time there though Dr. Watson" Thor said. "Just call me John Thor. I need to pack up though so... I'll meet you all at the airport tomorrow?" John asked and they agreed and they dispersed after Jane took some blood sample from John.
John went back to his apartment, dropped by Coulson thank god and started packing after telling Coulson to meet him in the morning by 221B. He then called over Lestrade to 221B and informed Mrs. Hudson that he will be coming there soon. After packing everything (Not that he had much to pack in that lone apartment) he took a cab to 221B.
There, he had a long chat with the two of them on what had happened and what he was about to do. They spent the rest of the day chatting around memories and went out to eat as a goodbye treat for John. Mrs. Hudson pampered John relentlessly, gushing out on how she was going to send some of her home made goodies to America and for him to call them often.
John was taking a final look around the apartment that night before going to sleep where he found a picture of himself and Sherlock at the Chinese restaurant after their first case. He picked it up along with Sherlock's skull as a remembrance and payback for Sherlock to find his favourite skull gone.
He then quickly wrote a letter and stuffed it in his pocket, grabbed a coat and went to the cemetery to visit Sherlock's grave one last time. He had been visiting it since he had found out that Sherlock hadn't died and found out that someone visited the grave once a week so he planned on leaving the letter there so that one of Mycroft's men could collect it and give it to Sherlock.
After the quick visit, he had been thoroughly exhausted and went to bed to catch as much as sleep as he could with all the nightmares he will be having. The next morning, he woke up quite early, got ready and hugged Mrs. Hudson a goodbye before leaving with Coulson.
"Ready for the days ahead John? And also, I wanted to ask you whether you would be interested in flying with Mjolnir?" proposed Thor. "No thanks Thor. I will maybe take some flying lessons before I even think about flying with your hammer. And honestly speaking, I am quite nervous on meeting the team." John said.
"Fury has asked the team to assemble tomorrow and get a room ready for you in the tower brother. So that problem is solved. The only issue will ne to get along with them, though I think you would fit in quite well with them." Coulson said.
"Well brother, whatever your boss says, I am going to drag you to the meeting if you hadn't told them that you are alive yet, even if it means that out that you are my brother. Honestly though, it is quite rude that you leave them mourning when you are still alive. They are yet to get over your death." John said.
"I was planning on revealing it along with our relationship when we reach New York, don't worry." Coulson reassured. "Ok then. If you shy away, I will kick your ass and drag you along, remember that. And thank you for everything here Mycroft. Will see you in a year or two, maybe sometime after Sherlock decides to come back from the grave." John said, whispering the last part.
Mycroft just stood shocked and then nodded. "I have asked Fury not to give any file with your details as I know you would like to disclose it yourself with time. Though I suspect you will drag it out just for him to get frustrated." Mycroft said.
"Maybe I will. Let us see. Good bye Mycroft." John said as they both shook hands. John then boarded the plane, off to the next adventure.
A/N: Chapter 9 is longer as I promised. And I am surprised that I wrote this in... 1 and a half hours give or take. Hope you all liked it! All comments and criticism accepted and appreciated. The next chapter will be the start of John staying with the Avengers (Finally!)
One doubt... how long must John take to reveal his story (Time period and not chapters)
Thank you all for reading!
Rasi10 signing off
Published on 15 September 2018