Chapter Five: Doubling Up

"It's just some bad bruising and a slight sprain," Bashir diagnosed after examining Miss Gayle's wrist as minutely as his limited means allowed. "If you're careful not to strain it further, I don't think you even need the support of a pressure bandage, unless you think you'd be more comfortable with it?"

Miss Gayle shook her head. "No; it's fine," she said a little stiffly.

Bashir merely nodded and sat back, gently laying Miss Gayle's hand in her lap. He would have offered her some liniment if he had had any, but he had discarded most of the bag's original contents with which he was unfamiliar, and his own supplies didn't include ointments for injuries he would typically heal completely within a few minutes.

"My wrist is fine," she continued almost icily, "but I believe you promised me an explanation?"

"Yes," Bashir agreed, turning toward Sisko. "Captain?"

Sisko shook his head, gesturing toward Bashir. "You had more to do with it than I did."

Bashir nodded acknowledgment and proceeded to tell Miss Gayle how they had found Steed injured on a space vessel roughly four hundred years into the future.

Miss Gayle crossed her arms, wincing slightly at a twinge in her sore wrist. "And even if I believe this rigmarole, how does it prove that Steed wasn't the one who attacked me?"

"Miss Gayle, how long before we arrived were you attacked?" Bashir questioned.

"About a minute," Miss Gayle replied. "Steed ran out, then came back a minute or two later with you."

Bashir shook his head. "It wasn't Steed, Miss Gayle."

"Well, then it was someone who looked just like him!" Miss Gayle said hotly.

"Exactly!" Steed exclaimed. "I have a double, Miss Gayle; he's the one who attacked me and sent me into the future."

Miss Gayle narrowed her eyes. "And why should I believe that?"

"Because Sisko and I can both swear that Steed was with us for a full hour before we arrived; he wasn't out of our sight."

Miss Gayle shook her head. "I'm grateful to you for helping me, of course, but that doesn't prove you're not lying for him for some reason."

"Miss Gayle," Steed said earnestly, "even if you believe I'd attack you, wasn't there anything about him that didn't seem right?"

His words triggered a memory, and Miss Gayle leaned back, closing her eyes in thought. "The voice," she murmured. "It was your voice…but something was off…like someone trying to imitate your mannerisms but not getting them quite right. And the way he fought… I'm sorry, Steed; you're right — it wasn't you."

"Miss Gayle, you wound me!" Steed exclaimed in mock hurt.

Miss Gayle smiled slightly. "No offense, Steed; you're good, but not that good. It was as if he was…inhuman."

Sisko glanced sharply at Bashir, who met his captain's eyes with a feeling of dread. "Could it be an…'alien'?"

Bashir shook his head, swallowing hard before speaking. "Or…superhuman."

Sisko' eyes widened; he read his own horror in Bashir's hesitance. "You mean…enhanced?"

Bashir merely nodded, not trusting his voice.

"You knew," Sisko whispered.

"I…suspected. What Steed told me…and his injuries…"

"You didn't tell me."

"No. I — hoped I was wrong."

"What do you mean, enhanced?" Steed questioned.

Sisko nodded for Bashir to explain. "Doctor?"

Bashir drew a deep breath, forcing himself to speak through stiff lips. "In our time, scientists have discovered how to genetically enhance people to give them superhuman abilities — superior senses, strength, mental abilities. But those who have been genetically altered can be mentally unstable; sometimes power-hungry dictators, so the procedure has been outlawed."

"I've seen plenty of power-hungry people who weren't enhanced," Miss Gayle remarked wryly.

"Yes, and not all enhanced individuals will be that way," Bashir agreed, struggling not to sound defensive.

"I've never heard of any who weren't," Sisko muttered.

Bashir forced himself not to flinch. "I think the fear is that an enhanced power-hungry maniac has more ability at his disposal to gain that power."

"While a non-power-hungry enhanced individual would have more ability to fight him," Steed suggested.

Bashir flashed him a quick grin. "Theoretically, yes."

"So, you think my double's enhanced?" Steed questioned.

"It seems likely; either that or he's not human at all."

"Are the genetic enhancements what made him look like Steed?" Miss Gayle questioned.

"I doubt it," Bashir responded; "I never heard of genetic enhancements altering one's physical appearance to that extent, though I suppose it isn't outside the realm of possibility. But more likely he was surgically altered to match, or possibly he's even a clone. You're familiar with the term?"

"Vaguely…"

"A genetic copy of another person," Bashir explained simply.

"Ah."

"Whatever his origins, we need to find out what his goal is," Sisko stated.

"Oh!" Miss Gayle gasped. "He told me — There's a reception tonight in honor of Admiral Westlake — he wanted me to play bodyguard."

"Did he say where the reception was being held?" Steed questioned.

Miss Gayle shook her head. "Not that I can remember."

Steed appeared thoughtful, absently drumming his fingers on the arm of the sofa. "I can't call any of my contacts in case they've already spoken to the double…but I think I have a pretty good guess." He pulled out his watch and grimaced as he looked at the time. "Tonight; I'd better get busy if I want to be there in time to stop him."

"Wait, Steed, I'm coming with you," Sisko told him. "Bashir, you stay here with Miss Gayle."

"I don't need a babysitter!" Miss Gayle protested before Bashir could object to being the one left behind. "I'm a judo expert, not some weak female; Steed, tell them!"

"I thought you didn't want to help on this case," Steed said dryly.

Miss Gayle's eyes narrowed. "And how would you know that if it was really your 'double' who attacked me?"

Steed raised his eyebrows. "Don't you always object to helping me?"

"It has nothing to do with chauvinism, Miss Gayle," Sisko put in. "I know plenty of female Starfleet officers who can handle themselves as well in a fight as a man. But whatever kind of expert you are, you didn't make out too well against him the first time — and now you can barely stand on that ankle."

"And I'm not about to let you try," Bashir added firmly. "Though as far as being a woman goes, Steed actually got it a lot worse than you."

"You healed my injuries, Doctor," Steed pointed out; "can't you fix her ankle?"

"I can," Bashir said slowly, "but using my modern equipment could alter this timeline…"

"She wouldn't have been injured at all in the original timeline," Steed pointed out. "Wouldn't you just be putting things back the way they were meant to be?"

Bashir glanced at Sisko. "Captain?"

Sisko sighed. "He makes a good point," he admitted. "Go ahead, Julian."

Bashir grinned and turned to remove his familiar instruments from the depths of his bag, the tricorder humming to life in his hand as he switched it on. He unwrapped Miss Gayle's ankle, then ran the device over the injury. "Good; it doesn't look like the ligaments were damaged after all." He grinned. "A few minutes with the muscle regenerator, and you'll be all set."

Miss Gayle watched with interest as he ran the glowing regenerator over his ankle, feeling a pleasantly warm tingle deep in the joint.

"It will still be little weak for a while," Bashir warned as he finished, "so you should avoid putting any strain on it — I wouldn't advise any judo for about a week, unless you want to risk having it give out on you. Let me fix your wrist now."

After repairing the damage to Miss Gayle's wrist, Bashir took the precaution of sealing off the blood vessels in her nose.

"This doesn't really change anything," Steed pointed out as Bashir returned the instruments to his bag. "Miss Gayle, Dr Bashir hasn't actually cleared you for 'duty,' so you should stay here. Bashir, you're still staying with her on the off chance the double comes back here; if he's really enhanced, I don't want anyone facing him on their own."

"Agreed, but I think you should stay with Miss Gayle while I go with Steed," Bashir countered.

Sisko raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

Bashir flushed. "I don't know what racial prejudice was like in 1960s England; but no offence, Captain, I look and sound a lot more British."

Sisko shook his head. "Dax is right," he muttered; "you just want your spy adventure." Even as he spoke, he admitted to himself that Bashir was right, his slight British accent becoming stronger in the presence of Steed and Miss Gayle.

"He has a point," Steed admitted. "And there's more likely to be need of a doctor where I'm going."

Miss Gayle jumped to her feet even as Sisko sighed in defeat. "Doctor —! Steed, what if he went after Martin?"

Steed turned without a word to pick up the phone. "Operator, get me Dr King. Dr King, it's Steed…I need your help."

He spoke with the doctor for several minutes, convincing him to make an appearance at the reception, and then hung up the phone and turned to Miss Gayle with a smile. "He's fine, my dear; the double didn't even approach him about helping."

Miss Gayle relaxed, sinking back down to sit on the sofa. "Why did you make him come to the reception?"

"Safety in numbers," Steed responded. "Coming, Bashir?"

"Wait, Doctor. I'll agree your skills might be needed, but you shouldn't face him unarmed; take my phaser."

"And then what will you use if he comes here?" Bashir retorted. "I have a hypospray with a powerful anesthetic."

"That's good only at close range," Sisko objected. "And we're already established he's not as likely to come here; you need it more than I do."

Bashir still shook his head, and Miss Gayle got to her feet and went to open the drawer of her desk. "Take my pistol," she offered.

Bashir extended his hand reluctantly, inwardly recoiling at the feel of the cold metal on his fingers. A projectile weapon had no stun setting; at best it could be fired to maim rather than kill. "I changed my mind," he said abruptly, spinning back to face Sisko. "I'd rather have the phaser; you can take this."

"It might be better for you to have it," Sisko objected. "It's probably a better idea not to attract attention by using phasers if we can avoid it."

"Then I won't use it unless I absolutely have to. Please, Captain?" His voice was almost pleading, and Sisko looked at him curiously.

"All right," he said slowly, "but why?"

"I took an Oath, remember; 'first do no harm'?" he responded almost sarcastically. "I know sometimes even a doctor has to fight, but I'm in no mood to patch up the kind of damage that would inflict if I had to use it."

Sisko shrugged, accepting the pistol from Bashir and handing over his phaser. "I wouldn't worry about that, Julian. He's enhanced, a monster; it's not as if he were really human and your Oath applied to him."

Bashir turned abruptly, hiding a brief flash of hurt in his eyes before veiling his emotions completely. "Yeah, sure," he said flatly. "Unless they replaced his brain with a computer, he still counts as human in my book. And if it comes to that, I've known robots who were pretty human."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, and then Sisko turned to Steed. "Hadn't you better take a pistol, too?"

Steed shuddered dramatically. "I'm with the doctor on that; I'm not fond of guns."

"If you don't want to shoot anyone, you could use it to bash the side of his head," Sisko suggested half seriously.

"My brolly's good enough for that," Steed retorted lightly, swinging the umbrella.

Bashir snorted softly. "Lot of good it did you before," he muttered.

"Ah, but I didn't know he needed to be bashed. Seriously, though, Doctor, can he be knocked out?"

Bashir hesitated a split second before answering. As a doctor, he might reasonably be expected to know the answer, but he wasn't sure that was why Steed had asked him rather than Sisko. "Yes, unless they did replace his brain with a computer — and even a computer can be disabled by smashing. But how hard a blow it would take depends on what his…creators…focused on when they enhanced him." He winced slightly as he spoke the word creators; Sisko didn't appear to notice, but he wasn't so sure about Steed. "If they were counting on his reflexes enabling him to duck a blow, they might not have bothered with increased skull strength to guard against concussion. Or if they're unenhanced Humans themselves, they might not have thought of it either way."

"If, Doctor?" Sisko asked sharply.

Bashir shrugged. "Probably unenhanced, but the Earth human is a guess; some species' intellects are at least as high as an enhanced Terran's. In any case, he does have lightning reflexes, Steed, so don't count on getting in that blow to the head."

"What about this?" Steed questioned. With a twist he pulled the handle from his umbrella, and dropped into a fencing stance holding a rapier-thin sword.

Bashir whistled softly. "Not bad," he admitted. "But again, you'll have to count on getting a chance to use it."

"I'll trust you to watch my back," Steed said lightly, returning the sword to its disguising sheath. "How good are your reflexes, Doctor?"

"Oh…um…fair," Bashir stammered, his guard up at once.

"Then let's get going. Stay out of trouble, Miss Gayle."

Ignoring her infuriated gasp, he grinned and disappeared out the door with Bashir.

Next chapter coming next week!

A/N: I wrote this chapter based on Patrick Macnee's comment that Steed didn't rely on guns, before watching the early episodes again and realizing just how often he used them… Oh, well!

This is also the point in the story where presumably they update Jadzia on what's going on, but I have yet to figure out how to actually fit it into the story. Barbie

I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know! (Note that the spelling of some Avengers characters' names has been changed intentionally.)

Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Deep Space Nine or Avengers alternate histories, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie