I can’t get the thought of an AU where Tim becomes Head Archivist, Martin gets replaced by the Not!Them, and Jon slowly gets pulled into the hands of the Web as he desperately tries to keep his dwindling handful of precious people safe
Like
Martin rushing out to warn Jon during Prentiss’ attack on the institute and narrowly saving his life, and in that moment Jon really SEES him, only for Martin to get replaced. But that moment still happened, still left an impression on Jon, and it spurs him to be better, to trust his friends, no matter how secretly terrified he’s been.
Not!Martin is stereotypically handsome, confident and collected, and probably takes sick pleasure in getting closer to Jon than Martin ever had when his life had still been his. And maybe Jon feels...off about things sometimes, like something isn’t quite right when with Martin, but before Prentiss he hadn’t really known Martin very well?
That one person that can tell Martin was replaced? Is Martin’s mother.
When Tim finds out the truth about Not!Martin, he doesn’t bother to go after the table. He takes his axe directly to the imposter.
When Tim gets his mark from the Web, it’s when Jon slices his cheek open with a letter opener, defending “Martin” from Tim. After all, Tim has been cracking at the seams for months at this point.
And yeah, Tim could have handled this better. Tim could have handled the fall out better as well, could have tried to take the time to explain things to Jon, to convince him to stand back. But Tim is also a lot bigger than Jon. Getting him out of the way and bringing the axe down on the thing wearing their friend’s not!face is so much faster
And in the end, seeing Not!Martin survive getting his head lopped off convinced Jon that whatever he was defending wasn’t Martin. But not before showing him just how useless he is
It leaves a yawning void in his chest that the Mother is more than happy to fill, and it starts with the intricate bindings carved into a table in Artifact Storage. Not!Martin forces Jon back, and Jon’s feet are pulled toward it, unthinking. He reaches out toward it, desperate, and the room is filled with screaming
When Jon opens his eyes, the Not!Them is gone, and a man he doesn’t recognize is standing in his place, shaken and pale, holding his hand, palm pressing against the intricate patterns winding their way up his arm
