Co Author: muserofasgard

"I can't make sense of this! It's all to nebulous!"

The apartment was perfectly untouched, even the dust remained undisturbed. Locks attached and windows solid showing no signs of forced entry and yet somehow a couple vanished from their homes. The two cups of cold tea sitting sadly on the table with a small plate of now-stale biscuits seperating them. Outside a light mist was falling from the sky, the kind of rain that leaves droplets clinging to your clothes. This had been happening for days now but that's nothing new in London. Rain was second nature to the usual Briton. What was new was the kidnappings. All over London people, young and old, were mysteriously vanishing, never to be seen again. No bodies found, it was as if they were gone off the face of the Earth. Lestrade never really got involved in kidnapping, his division was homicide, yet after the report of an eight kidnapping - this time of a young couple, D.I. Lestrade was called in. Man and woman, both in their late-twenties with no children. Both lived a highly sophisticated lifestyle with no apparent worries financially with the husband being a doctor and the wife having worked for Scotland Yard. Lestrade never knew her personally but could recognise her face. He remembered admiring her unrelenting ambition and intelligence, convinced there was a bright life ahead of her and yet shes gone now. Her and her husband disappeared together. Completely baffled by the situation he rang Sherlock for help.

The consulting detective glared at the shards of glass on the floor.
"Sherlock relax." Sherlock ignored his friend John behind him. His main focus was on the unusual scene surrounding him.
"It makes no sense. The place is locked with the only thing unusual is this useless broken lamp!"
John straightened up, releasing a loud sigh. He needed Sherlock to calm down and concentrate. Half heartily he drew out a cigarette and waved it in Sherlock's face. Sherlock still surveying the room takes the cigarette from John's hand and placed it smartly in his mouth before lighting it. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled the nicotine, closing his eyes allowing the drug to take effect. John rolled his eyes, three weeks of cold turkey gone to waste but he knew Sherlock needed the kick to get him going. Sherlock's eyes suddenly shot open..
"John don't move!" Sherlock dove straight to the wooden floor, his magnifying glass out.
"What is it?" asked John and Lestrade in unison. Sherlock followed the traces from the lamp. The bulb had exploded, the lamp was still live, power surging through it. The real clue laid a foot away from the it.
"Dust." replied Sherlock simply. He scooped up traces of the grey matter and stored it in a petri dish.
"What about the dust?" questioned John. The floor appeared the same to John but not for the keen-eyed detective.
"It's darker than the rest, most likely from our serial kidnapper!" Straightening up she shot John a knowing smile. "Now come on we need to go to St. Bart's!" With those word Sherlock dashed out of the room followed by his loyal companion.

In the morgue, there was a light tapping sound as Sherlock's fingers drummed the workbench. In a barely audible breath he began muttering as he peered through the lens of a microscope. Leaving Sherlock to think, John disappeared to the gift shop to buy himself some snacks. The small sound of timid footsteps was registered by Sherlock as he prepared himself for the inevitable act of socialising.
"Is this over the kidnappings?" came the voice of Molly Hooper. "I was talking to Greg and I was wonder if you needed help-"
"Yes could you determine the pH of the substance?" interrupted Sherlock not taking his eyes off the lens.
"Yeah, sure." mumbled Molly pulling out some equipment.
Meanwhile, John was deciding whether to bother buying Sherlock something to eat, but after several minutes of staring at the multicoloured wrappings he decided against. Knowing the mans twisted logic, Sherlock would point-blank refuse to eat during a case no matter how hungry he was. Finally buying a snack for himself and Molly, for he assumed she would show up, he returned to the lab. There she was bustling about helping Sherlock. He couldn't help but admire her sincere loyalty. Giving her a friendly smile, he handed the snack over to Molly. Molly briefly thanked John before setting the snack aside for later. Equipment laid used around the workbench while a large pile of notes had grown next to Sherlock. John sat in the chair and began to watch Sherlock work. He never grew tired of it, watching Sherlock perform. Especially the grande finale when Sherlock discovers the truth of their mystery. Life was never boring with Sherlock Holmes.
"Impossible!" shouted Sherlock at the computer screen causing poor Molly to jump. John peered over Sherlock's shoulder to read the black word 'Error' flashing on the screen.
"What's wrong?" asked John.
"It's saying that this matter doesn't exist! It's as if it's not from this world but that simply imposs-" Sherlock froze mid-speech and a large smile spreads across his face. "Yes this is brilliant, marvelous!"
John and Molly both shot him a confused look.
"Oh don't you see. Ah-ha Mycroft was wrong, I knew it!" Only Sherlock would find an exit at a dead end.
"Sherlock care to fill us in?"
"I'll explain in a cab we have to move, now!" Sherlock darted out the door leaving John behind to thank Molly and apologise for the mess.

"Baker Street. And quickly!" demanded Sherlock as soon as he sat in the cab. The cabby looked up and recognised his passenger, giving a brief nod her speeds down the road. The mist had turned into rain now as it battered against the windows. Sherlock gazed at the raindrops running across the glass until John interrupts his train of thought.
"So Sherlock what's happening? Why are we going home?"
"John, when I was younger I noticed something. There was a man who appeared in photos from all over the world and from different times. A man who never aged. Now we could just say that they are just look similar and it's a coincidence but there's no such thing as coincidence. My younger self confided in Mycroft about this but he shot me down saying it was impossible. I foolishly believed him but now another impossible event has occurred and I believe it is linked to this mysterious man somehow."
"You can't be serious? You're not actually suggesting that this has something to do with time travel?"
"I'm not sure, all I know is there's link between the man and the kidnappings."