Doctor Who
by Tyloric

Beta read by the lovely youroctober.

Chapter 2

Captain Hammer was staring at Dr. Badeau, a look of deep concentration on his features. His mind was processing this new information, attempting to comprehend it. After a few minutes, he opened his mouth to speak. "What?"

Dr. Badeau groaned, rubbing his temples to try and combat an oncoming headache. "It's just like I explained it, Captain Hammer."

"Well, you're not explaining it very well. He's forgotten everything. How does someone just forget everything?"

Badeau sat back in his chair, looking at the Captain tiredly. "It's not that he's forgetting, it's that his mind won't let him remember."

Hammer's eyes narrowed, confused.

Leaning forward, the doctor attempted to explain it one more time, speaking as simply as he knew how. "It's like this: the events over the past few years have damaged not only his body, but his mind."

Captain Hammer nodded, following so far.

"Now, when he entered the facility, he most likely was Dr. Horrible. He knew everything about himself, had all of his memories, and was virtually undamaged." He waited for another nod before continuing.

"As far as we can tell, Captain Hammer, for however long he was there, he was constantly tortured."

Captain Hammer shifted in his seat, trying not to give off the fact that this piece of information was bothering him, mainly because he couldn't figure out why it bothered him. "What did they do?"

Dr. Badeau frowned. "The X-Rays we took showed that at one point or another, all of his bones have been broken multiple times; some are actually stilled fractured. There is scar tissue all over his body; many of the lacerations had to have been life-threatening at the time of their occurrence. Various other images show that several of his internal organs have been equally abused, including his heart. His liver and kidneys in particular have taken a good brunt of the damage. They're healing nicely, but a few more weeks, days even, and I'm sure he would be dead."

Happy that the doc was is speaking in… "normal" talk… Hammer leaned forward a bit. "You still haven't told me why he's forgotten everything."

The doctor sighed. "All of that is exactly why he's forgotten, or maybe even still forgetting."

Captain Hammer frowned again, his confusion back. "What?"

"The things that he has endured over the past few years, or however long he's been there, have been so traumatizing that to save itself, his mind has begun to block out anything it might deem harmful to his sanity. It's a defense mechanism, Captain Hammer. A way for his mind to save itself."

The Captain mulled over this information for a few moments. "So he'll never remember?"

"There is no way to be certain. He seems to be able to remember basic things: his name, how to speak, and his motor skills look more or less intact. He has no trouble comprehending what people are saying. He just doesn't remember anything specific, only bits and pieces…" The doctor hesitated, something Hammer noticed.

"What is it?"

"It's just that… we don't know if his condition is continuing to degrade, or even how long the process has taken. He could have been forgetting things for years of months, or it may have been in just one moment. We won't have any way of knowing unless we monitor him for a while."

Captain Hammer let out a loud, annoyed, growl. "Perfect!" he spat, standing up to pace around the room.

Badeau raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"So you're telling me that I've finally managed to find my arch nemesis, and he's too sick to remember it? We can't even throw him in prison?"

The doctor thread his fingers together slowly, bringing them to rest on the desk in front of him. "You would rescue him… only to have him committed?"

Captain Hammer scoffed, an action that Badeau was quickly realizing was a trademark. "The entire Guild assaulted that League stronghold. None of us knew what the facility was for, nor do we care. It's not like I went in there expecting to find him."

Badeau suppressed a grin, and he regarded Captain Hammer as calmly as he could. "So you would take him from the lion's den only to throw him into a bear's?"

"I would bring him to justice."

"It seems someone has already done that, Hammer. Or have you not been paying attention?"

Then the captain did something that Badeau wouldn't have expected: he looked hurt. He glared down at his feet, refusing to meet the doctor's gaze.

So, Dr. Badeau decides to tread through the rest of the conversation carefully, "I understand how he has wronged you, Captain Hammer." He meant to continue, but the hero cut him off.

"Do you?" Captain Hammer looked at him angrily, almost accusingly.

"I do." He leaned back into the chair once more, smiling weakly. "Or have you forgotten that I too was once in the Guild?" Hammer looked away again. "I understand what it's like to lose someone you care about, Captain. Especially to the hands of someone you can't stand. But understand me when I say this," he paused, waiting for the super hero to meet his gaze evenly, "I don't believe this boy is that person."

Captain Hammer, on the other hand, looked outraged. "He killed her! He's the reason she's dead!"

The much older man's eyes narrowed. "Do you truly believe that, Captain Hammer? Or do you just want to believe it?"

Scowling, Captain Hammer made for the door. "Enough of this. I was there, Heartwrench." He spat Dr. Badeau's former hero name like it was the name of the devil, causing the doctor to flinch instinctively. "He is the reason she died, doctor, and should he not remember that fact, I will only be too happy to remind him." And with that he flung the door to the office open and stormed out, slamming it behind him with such force that it shook on its hinges.

Badeau sighed yet again, feeling the migraine hit him full force. He had a feeling that the next few months were going to go by very slowly.

~tbc.

A/N:
Originally this was part of a larger chapter, but as I continued to write I noticed that it wasn't transitioning very well so I decided to cut it short, as this felt like a good stopping place.