Doctor Omega's Farewell

"You can't leave us. Not now." Jekyll clenched his fists against his thighs. "We don't have any leadership."

"Yes, you do." The Doctor looked askance at Valjean. The old man's eyes immediately lowered, though not out of fear. He was avoiding the truth the Doctor's voice and eyes conveyed with unfaltering faith. "And there are those here who will give their support to that leadership." His eyes moved to Sherlock and Erika. Sherlock's brow was still tightly pinched, and Erika's eyes glimmered with frustrated tears, but they both returned his gaze.

"You don't need me. The road ahead of you will be hard, but you have everything you need." That distant, sad smile returned to his face. "And believe me, that's not an easy thing to say. It's nice to be needed. Someday you'll know what I mean."

The group held a tense silence. As the weighted seconds passed, glances were exchanged. Eyes watered. It felt only right to the Doctor that he wait for someone else to speak first, for once. Another thing that didn't come easily for him.

Then Jean Valjean stood up. The burden of many years of trauma and loneliness could be detected in his movements, but he walked over to the Doctor with steady resolve. As soon as he stood face to face with him, Valjean extended his hand. "Thank you, Doctor." He paused, searching for the right words. "We . . . can't guarantee perfection. I don't even know if we can guarantee our best effort. But . . . I can guarantee my own loyalty to everyone here, and to this world." He slowly looked around and gauged every face.

The Doctor's smile brightened. He grasped Valjean's hand and shook it. "I expect nothing less."

Literary Avengers as featured in [link] , now with the Doctor (aka Doctor Omega).

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BBC Sherlock (c) Moffat, Gatiss, Doyle
PotO (c) Leroux
DW (c) Moffat, BBC
Jekyll (c) Moffat, BBC, Stevenson
Les Miserables (c) Hugo
Arsene Lupin (c) LeBlanc
Doctor Omega (c) Galopin
Avengers (c) Marvel