Chapter Text
Hermann was his brother’s name. He died in the battle of Canary Warf. Owen never found out if he’d been converted or just a causality - just an informal note passed to him from the government informing him of his loss.
After being dead for half a decade, Owen decides to leave his stupid name, his sex addicted past strewn with the dead bodies of his friends and the near constant barrage of alien junk to move far away. Learn a new language, go back to school. Always wanted to pick up German.
Odd how his father had always pushed him to become a doctor, and yet math sang to him, gave him purpose, made him feel alive again. Well, not alive. But sometimes it felt close when he got carried away in his formulas and theories.
Tosh would have laughed to see him this excited about numbers. He never slowed down enough in life to appreciate her mind. He doesn’t make that mistake in death.
The name on his new degree, Hermann Gottlieb feels less like a fresh start and more like old ghosts following him. He goes by Dr. Gottlieb, writes a few papers, gets noticed. Then the attacks begin.
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Kaiju. A rift opened in the middle of the ocean. It’s like Torchwood will never just LET HIM DIE ALREADY. He follows his passion and his fear all the way to Stacker and starts to work for a cause. Again.
Hermann Gottlieb is more than just a name, it’s who he is. He sheds the slang in favor of formal speech, trades his style for…not, and begins life as the celibate antithesis of his former self.
And his asinine little lab partner flaunts what he misses every day.
Newton Geiszler, the perfect model of LIFE incarnate. Jittering with energy, passion, enjoying loud LOUD music and digging needles that he can FEEL under his skin. Every glance at his tattoos reminds him of the skin that breaks, erodes, never to be replaced until he will ultimately fall to weathering, not age.
This manic whirlwind with a passion for science, constantly showing him what he used to be. When he was a doctor of just the medical persuasion. When his friends were still alive. When Tosh and Ianto were still alive and he wasn’t so damn BROKEN.
So he becomes a bitter old man. In just a few years, everything that reminds him of Owen fills him with jealous hate until the only way he can show his affection for this alive ALIVE human that shares his space is through constant jabs, insults to show his worry for his friend’s health. Hermann may not have to worry about his own but he’s damn well going to protect Newton’s.
He always refers to Dr. Gieszler as Newton in his head, it’s hard not to after working with this man for so many years. He never says it aloud, hoping futilely that by being formal with Newton he will stop calling him by the name of his Owen’s dead brother.
It doesn’t work. It wouldn’t have worked on Owen either.
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So he throws himself into his equations, secretly relishing in the surface rivalry that makes him feel some semblance of life. Even the kaiju guts on his side of the lab, but honestly they remind him his days as a doctor and he could use not remembering Owen more than once a day so Newton should really cut that out.
He helps create the Jaegers, improves upon an old design from Tosh. She was working on an alternative use for Cyberman armor. Unfortunately their design required the user to be deleted and reprogrammed to a specific brainwave pattern or…the rejects, the insane and those who seemed to hide a spark of humanity would emerge. Owen could never let a travesty like Lisa happen again. He created the idea of a ‘neural handshake’ after it became apparent that one could never upload themselves alone without severe damage. He really wanted to call it a ‘mind meld’ but he had a feeling neither Tosh nor Hermann would approve.
Time passed with regularity. His predictive models for Kaiju attacks were coming along but had some worrisome trends. He only hoped that by staring at them long enough its pattern would emerge.
Newton keeps pestering him to eat. When Hermann is so busy, he forgets to maintain the illusion of necessity. Sleep and food are for the weak. Everyone just assumes he’s an eccentric scientist and leaves it at that. Perfect.
Though getting drunk, he really misses that. And the sex. And the eating. But mostly the sex.
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Then his absoluteidiotwhatthefuckwereyouthinkingyoucannotleavemehereallaloneitsnogoodifwe’rebothedead of a friend decides to drift with a goddamn kaiju and he can feel his senses whiting out as he discovers the prone body lying on the floor. He cannot WILL NOT see his friends die again.
And when that idiot of a six degree genius decides to drift with a fetus, he steels his resolve, pushes Owen down and volunteers.
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Alive
Manic excitement - Kaiju specimens; real ones up close! Not harvested months ago by some basic biologist just out of grad school with no idea how to properly store the remains. DNAsequenceCONNECTIONmustdriftitstheonlywayIHOPEHERMANNgetsabetterlabpartnerONEWHODISPOSESofremainsproperlyTHATPOMPUSjerkface~~affection~~
HECANNOTFINDOUTABOUTowenwonderifheknowshowmuchofaSEXADDICTIUSEDTObe
JACKtoshGWENiantoSTACYgodImissbeingadoctorANDBEINGALIVE
Death.I’mdead.NOfoodsleepsexwhycan’tIjustdiealready
Tosh.
Blue
SpacepeoplecreatedcloneattackragerevengeBEATIFULOCEANTAKEBACKFORQUEEN
ServeServeServeServeServeServeServe
VerminNOATTACKverminDIEvermindon’tknowONLYWECANPASS
ServeServeServeServeServeServeServe
Itisn’tgoingtoworkWHOTHEHELLISHERMANN Fucktheplanwon’tworkFUCKIHOPENEWTONDOESN’TSEEOWEN VERMINKNOWPROTECTTHEPORTAL
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Hermann’s first thought when he comes to is “Oh god he knows about Owen” after which he promptly throws up in a conveniently placed toilet.
They turn to each other, silently conferring to disregard the drift between themselves for a moment and rush off to tell Stacker.
Owen wonders in passing if saving the world multiple times is infinitely superior to those who might have six degrees and wonders how to edge that into a conversation. The one he knows and fears is coming. Fuck that.
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The world is saved and Owen has to leave. Back to Germany for a few years at least. His new name will have to stay for a while now that he and Newton are legitimately “rockstars” of the scientific community.
He puts another blackboard into a crate and sighs, he will really miss this energy. Tenured teaching somehow doesn’t have the same allure.
“What the hell, dude” startles him out of his thoughts.
“W-what?” He manages to reply.
“What. The Hell. Dude.” Newton repeats.
“I haven’t the faintest what you’re talking about now if you’ll excuse me I am really quite busy.” He brushes off, pleased that it only came across as mostly sarcastic.
“No.”
“Dr. Gieszler…”
“NEWton. Newton. I know you call me that, I’ve seen your head remember?”
Hermann blanches a bit, “A-alright Newton. I really must be go---“ he tries, making a beeline for the door. Anything to avoid the inevitable, really.
Newton blocks his path. “Who ARE you?”
Hermann stops short but says nothing. Newton barrels over the silence as if it never existed.
“Because I was in your head dude and I’m confused. Like, REALLY confused. You look at me and see you? The you who was a doctor? And all those flashes, the death, the aliens. Ohmigod are you an alien? Because that would explain so much – the predictions, the resistance to me drifting----. What?”
Hermann has no idea what to do with this barrage so he….just breaks down laughing. Eventually his injured leg would strain so he sits down, giggling like a madman at his worst fears.
“No,” he eventually replies to Newton’s stare (has he never laughed as Hermann?), “I’m not an alien. Human. Well, I was. Not sure what the hell I am now---“
He cuts himself off as another fit of giggles rises in response to Newton’s stunned face at his switch in diction.
“I---ha---I mean, no. I, I used to work for this…organization. Peacekeepers of a kind, they fight aliens. Well, fought aliens. Most of us are dead now. Well, so am I but…I was brought back and now…I can’t die. Besides I fought you drifting with the kaiju because have you no idea about personal safety you daft creature?” he says slipping back in Hermann.
“Hey I saved the world. A little corneal reminder was worth it.” Newton shoots back. Then, a little more seriously, “So, is that who Owen is. Was?” and a little less so “Can I totally have a tissue sample though because man I really want to sequence you right now.”
Hermann chuckles a little, mostly in relief. “You can try, but my skin doesn’t grow back. Ever. So be careful.”
“Woah. Well, now that the apocalypse is over, I can start working on this polymer mimic for human skin that I’ve been designing. Maybe you could test it for me?”
Hermann looks at him. “Designing it? Since when?”
“Oh, about 20 seconds ago. Already got a composite all planned out.”
“Thank you, Newton.”
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The world adjusts to the lack of giant monstrous beasts. Hermann and Newton both manage to get teaching positions in Germany, though luckily without shared lab space. Which Hermann secretly missed, but the rest of the university staff were glad about, though they did not know it.
It’d only been a month since the last event. Mako and Raleigh try to visit, but are mobbed with adoring fans almost everywhere they go so they decide to sneak away and covertly drop off the face of the earth for a few weeks. Together, of course.
Hermann and Newton meet up almost every hour they aren’t teaching. Being in a drift does that to people. Especially when faulty equipment means the already-barely-tested mental separation issues might be more severe. They don’t know. Neither of them have the desire to spend enough time apart to test the theory.
But recently Owen’s been seeing things. A flash of navy blue and an asininegorgeous smile.
Shit.
For the first time all year, the rest of the staff are surprised to see Newton alone on his lunch break.
Owen chases after Jack.