A/N: This is the sequel to The Widow's Web and part of an ongoing series of stories called The Hunt For Torchwood. Enjoy!
Prologue
"What's this about?" Ianto asked as he followed Gwen, Owen and Tosh through the hub.
"Jack's back." Gwen said.
"He is? I've been sitting at the front desk and I never saw him come in." Ianto replied.
"Trust me, he didn't use a conventional way this time." Owen said.
Ianto frowned, but said nothing more.
He entered into the main room and stopped short when he saw Jack standing in front of a blue box.
"Evening, Ianto." Jack said waving.
"What is this police box doing here?" Owen asked, pointing to it.
"This is a TARDIS." Ianto said.
"A what?" Gwen said.
"A TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S, stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space." Ianto explained. "It's a combination space ship and time machine. I remember hearing about it when I was working at Torchwood One. It belongs to the Doctor."
They looked at him.
"Doctor who?" Owen asked.
"He's known only as the Doctor." Jack said.
"That's right." Tosh said. "I've met him before."
Owen and Gwen looked at her.
"You have? When?"
"When I was a medical examiner at Albion Hospital, I examined an alien corpse there. That's the only time I met the man."
"But, the Doctor…isn't he Torchwood's sworn enemy? The reason Torchwood was started in the first place?" Ianto asked.
Jack glared at him.
"Yes, but Torchwood doesn't know him like I do. He's not a threat." He said.
"But, isn't he the one who put Torchwood One out of commission?" Ianto said. "I was there that day, you know, when the Cybermen were attacking the building and killing people and they tried to make Lisa…"
He caught himself and averted his eyes. The others looked at each other, but said nothing.
"Look, despite all the rumors and lies that Torchwood has put out over the years about the Doctor, he is not the evil bastard they made him out to be. If you all step inside the box and meet him, I think you'll see for yourselves what he's really like."
They looked at each other again for a moment and then they moved slowly towards the police box. They stopped just outside the door and looked at Jack.
"Go ahead." He said pointing to the door.
Owen looked at Ianto.
"After you." He said to Ianto.
"Me? Why me?" Ianto asked.
"You know the guy."
"No, I don't, I just know what was in the Torchwood files." He protested. "Besides, Tosh knows him better than I do, why don't you make her go first?"
"Just…go." Owen said impatiently.
Ianto glared at him. Sighing, he put his hand on the door and opened it a crack. Sticking his head in, he saw a man and a woman standing in front of a console."
"Hello." The man said. "I'm the Doctor and this is Rose Tyler. You are Ianto?"
"Um, yes I am." Ianto said stepping inside.
The Doctor smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Ianto." He said extending his hand as he walked towards him. "Jack has told me a little about you. I understand you were at Canary Wharf the day the Cybermen and Daleks attacked."
"Yes, I was." Ianto said shaking his hand.
"Jack also told me about Lisa." The Doctor said. "I'm so very sorry for what happened to her and to all the other innocent people working there that day."
"Yeah." Ianto said softly.
"Hi, I'm Rose." Rose said coming up beside the Doctor.
Ianto smiled at her.
"Nice to meet you." He said.
"You too." She said shaking his hand.
The Doctor looked at him.
"So, are you the team then? I mean I was under the impression there was a group of ya." He said.
"No, there's more…they just won't get in here…"
He turned and walked to the door as the Doctor looked at Rose and shrugged. He leaned outside the door speaking to the others and then pressed himself up against the railing as the others came in.
"Ah! This is more like it." he said as they looked around bewildered.
Jack came in behind them and pointed to each of them.
"This is Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato and Owen Harper," He said "And Ianto Jones, of course."
"Pleasure to meet all of you. I'm the Doctor and this is Rose Tyler." He said smiling at them.
"No, you're not!"
Everyone looked at Tosh.
"I'm sorry." The Doctor said.
"You're not the Doctor."
The Doctor looked at Rose and looked back at her.
"Yes, that's me, I'm the Doctor."
"No, you're not. I've met the Doctor and you're not him."
The Doctor frowned.
"You met me, when?" he asked.
"I met HIM working at Albion Hospital. I was examining this alien and…"
"OH!"
Tosh jumped when the Doctor yelled and stuck his finger out at her.
"YES, I thought you looked familiar! I'm sorry I took off and left so quickly, but…"
"Look, buddy, you are not the Doctor." Tosh said emphatically. "You don't even look like him!"
"Well, that's one of the things I'll explain as we get ready for our first mission."
He sauntered over to her.
"And for the record, the alien was a cute little pig in a space suit. The poor thing had been altered as part of a cruel hoax by the Slitheen." He said.
Tosh's mouth dropped open as the Doctor sauntered back to Rose.
"Now," he said turning when he reached Rose's side. "As I said, I am the Doctor, I know certain members of your team have trouble believing that at the moment, but the reason why I appear different to her will be explained in due time. Right now, I have a favor to ask all of you."
The group looked at each other.
"Yeah, what favor?" Owen asked.
"I believe Jack told you that he was heading into London to search for a missing friend, well…I am that friend."
They glanced back at Jack who nodded. They looked at the Doctor.
"Jack just helped me and Rose defeat a Racnoss hybrid who called herself the Widow."
"A what?" Gwen asked.
"Great, big, ugly, spider bitch. Nasty temper. Killed me and tried to rape the Doctor." Jack replied.
Their eyes widened.
"A great, big, bloody spider tried to rape you?" Owen asked in disbelief.
"Weeeeeeell, actually, she didn't get quite that far. But she did web me to the wall and sliced my cheek open with her talons, hence the scars on either side of my face." He said gesturing to them. "Scars which in due time will fade, thank Rassilon. But anyway the point is this Racnoss was a human hybrid made by Torchwood."
They looked at each other.
"Wait, we never made any Racsoss/human thingy." Owen said.
"RacNoss. And I know you didn't. It was made by another branch of Torchwood. A twisted scheme to make money to build a bigger lab so they could continue their operations."
"Okay, what has that to do with us?" Tosh asked.
"That Torchwood lab was put out of commission by the Widow when she killed all the personnel working there. But Rose and Jack and I were left to deal with what they did and this was the second time I had to put a stop to one of their schemes. Canary Wharf was the first. I'm tired of cleaning up Torchwood's messes and watching as they endanger the lives of innocent people."
He looked at Ianto.
"Like your girlfriend." He said to him.
Ianto lowered his eyes as the others cleared their throats.
"I trust you lot because I trust Jack. He has given his assurance that you are on the level and that's why you will be spared."
They looked at each other.
"Spared what?" Gwen asked.
"Spared my wrath." The Doctor said. "I'm going after Torchwood with a vengeance. Rose and I want to put them out of commission permanently. Jack has agreed to help and I'm asking for your help as well."
They turned and looked at Jack.
"You want to shut down the other Torchwoods?" Owen asked.
"Yes, I do."
"Um, not to split hairs here, but isn't that biting the hand that's feeding us?" Owen said. "I mean, we are a part of Torchwood, you know."
"We are not like the other Torchwoods. We're different. The Doctor's right. The other Torchwood branches are irresponsible and reckless and the whole universe will be safer if they're put out of commission. I saw more of the Widow than I cared to. She killed me once and she almost killed them. The Doctor almost lost Rose that day at Canary Wharf because they allowed the Cybermen and Daleks to come through the void and she almost got sucked back into the void with them when he reversed the process. Who knows what they're planning next. For the sake of the planet, Owen, we have to turn against them."
Owen looked back at the Doctor.
"So, you want us to come with you and help find these other Torchwoods?" he asked.
"Yes, Rose and Jack and I believe that there may be hidden labs scattered throughout the world. We want to find them and destroy them for good."
"And if there aren't any hidden labs?" Gwen asked.
The Doctor smiled.
"Well, you get a nice little holiday traveling with me." He said, shrugging.
They looked at Jack.
"How about it, team? Are you in?" he said.
They looked at each other for a moment. Ianto looked at Jack.
"I'm in. After what happened to Lisa, I don't want Torchwood tearing apart any more lives." He said.
"Great!" Jack said. "Tosh, Gwen, Owen, how about you guys?"
"I'm in, Jack." Gwen said.
"Me too." Tosh added.
Jack looked at Owen.
"Owen, buddy, you in?" he asked.
They all looked at him.
"Yeah, I'm in." he said after a moment. "It sounds like a wild goose chase to me, but hey wouldn't be the first nutty thing we did."
"Gee, Owen, your confidence in me is overwhelming." Jack said rolling his eyes.
He shut the door as the Doctor slapped his hands together.
"Great, so first things first, before I fill you all in on everything, there is the matter of my appearance and why Tosh doesn't recognize me now. Well, Tosh, there's this thing I do called regeneration…"