Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or Avengers. I do, however, own Nightingale. Please enjoy. This is just an idea so far. I'm a bit nervous about writing this because I'm exactly clever like all the other lovely storywriters out there. I would love some advise and your opinions on what you think.
The helicarrier flies high in the sky as Nick Fury begins to debrief Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner about the situation at hand. Just a few days ago, Loki had infiltrated a secure S.H.I.E.L.D base, taking the Tesseract and a handful of valuable S.H.I.E.L.D employees and scientists. Nick had Phil Coulson and Natasha Romanoff help round up the individuals involved with the Avengers Initiative. Tony Stark had declined to show up, claiming he had better things to do then help "Agent" and Patchy the Pirate. Steve was the most willing to be involved out of those chosen for the initiative. It was more understandable as to why. He was the man out of time, a soldier out for the 1940s. It took more convincing for Bruce to go to S.H.I.E.L.D. Well, considering the fact that Natasha brought him to an abandoned building and surrounded said building with a good amount of S.H.I.E.L.D agents. Pretty convincing, huh? As for Natasha, it was easy enough. She was S.H.I.E.L.D agent first and was already originally on the roster. However, with Clint Barton being compromised, this only fueled her personally to see Loki either dead, or near death.
Coulson was explaining to Bruce where S.H.I.E.L.D was with finding the Tesseract when Natasha eyed a nearby computer screen. Images of Clint and Natasha were shuffling on the screen, trying to find a match for Clint. The images paused on an image from "Operation Abiojan." A sigh escaped from her lips. Strike Team Delta was unstoppable. They were unstoppable. The computer flashed once more, pausing on a particularly blurry image. Now this image was weird. Usually, any images collected from the field weren't supposed to be blurry, or as blurry, as the one on the screen. You could make out her, Clint, and another individual, someone familiar. Taking a closer look, Natasha moved the S.H.I.E.L.D agent away from the computer and enhanced the photo. It was a woman. She was short, about 5'2 in height, with long fiery red hair. Surprisingly, Natasha could make out the color of her eyes in the blurry photo. They were green, piercing emerald green eyes. Who was this woman? Natasha's eyes widen when they read the boxed words, "Operation Buda-" Oh shit.
"Agent Romanoff, would you show-"
"Director Fury, I need to speak with you." Whatever conversations were going on in the Helicarrier Bridge had stopped. Fury had only now taken notice to Natasha's position in front of the computer.
"Excuse me Romanoff?" Usually, Fury would be fine with an interruption if was necessary but not now when work needed to be done. Finding and getting back the Tesseract was priority number one in order to commence to Phase Two.
"It's urgent. Level seven clearance only." Natasha and Fury stared eye to eye before he called a nearby agent to direct Bruce to the laboratory while directing another to show Steven where the gym and lounge were onboard. He then dismissed all agents that didn't have level seven clearance, which was everyone but him, Natasha, Coulson, and Maria Hill. Hill had taken the position of directing the helicarrier while Fury, Natasha, and Coulson began talking.
"Now, Agent Romanoff, what the hell is so important that you needed to interrupt me and making me dismiss probably everyone on the bridge." The S.H.I.E.L.D agents that worked on the bridge were mostly made up of level sixes and fives but where probably going to rank up to seven if things go south.
"Have you contacted Nightingale about Agent Barton's condition?" Natasha asked. She probably knew the answer already but she had to get a verbal confirmation for Clint when he returned to normal. Fury's eye gaze shifted from Natasha to the blurry woman now labeled as Nightingale. Coulson looked at the pair with a frown graced on his lips. Surely Fury had at least attempted to contact her in some form or way.
"I have not." Fury replied, returning his gaze back to Natasha. "The council has elected to not inform UNIT or Torchwood about the current situation."
"Sir, you and I both know that if UNIT or Torchwood weren't aware of the situation now, they sure as hell do now." Natasha almost growled out.
"If either one of them does get wind of this, including any information about Phase Two, they'll inform Nightingale or her brother. Now, I wouldn't mind see either one of them again, but with out current situation, their reaction will not be pretty. If you, me, or Natasha don't get to her first and inform her about Barton and keep Phase Two a secret, we'll see exactly how she earned her nickname." Coulson reasoned. They were in a bind. Either they risk the wrath of the council or play with fire with Nightingale and possibly the wrath of both her and her brother. Letting a barely audible sigh release from his lips, Fury turned his eye lazily to Maria.
"Hill, I want you to get everyone back on the bridge and working." Nodding her head and answering a quick "Yes sir", Maria set the craft to hover mode before rounding up all the agents. Turning to Coulson and Natasha, Fury's tired persona turned back to the harden director from earlier.
"Coulson, Natasha." Both snapped their heads to the Director. "Make contact with Nightingale. Make sure that this stays off the council's and S.H.I.E.L.D's radars and records. If, and when, she gets here, I will deal with council if necessary. Use any and all resources." With their orders, Coulson and Natasha were about to slip out of the bridge when they were interrupted.
"One more thing." Pausing, their attention was to Fury once more. "Do not inform her of Phase Two. Under no circumstance is she to know about Phase Two." And once more, the two left the bridge, making their way to one of the many lounges onboard. Taking a seat in one of the loveseats, Coulson handed Natasha a cup of water.
"I'll contact UNIT while you contact Torchwood. Martha, Donna, or Jack should have a clue to when or where she is."
It would be a lie if she said that today wasn't a normal day. Always on the run with her brother and his companion(s) from either an alien race or the human race. Today, she was with the tenth incarnation of her brother, the Doctor, and Rose Tyler. Somehow, the Doctor had managed to piss off the royal family of Rokshan. So here they were, running. Nightingale loved her brother, but sometimes he was too much. This could be one of the reasons why she never fully traveled with her brother. After the fall of Gallifrey, the Doctor and Nightingale started traveling on their own. She had her own TARDIS (which she nicknames as Handsome compared to the Doctor's Sexy), which was ruby red rather then blue, and even her own vortex manipulator, thanks to the handsome Jack Harkness and lovely River Song. The two would meet up for random adventures, bonding time, and of course, the introduction of companions. The Doctor loved introducing her to his companions no matter what incarnation he was. There were times at the beginning of their separation where the siblings would hole up in one of the TARDIS' and mourn over the loss of Gallifrey. Despite being the youngest, and certainly the earliest incarnation, Nightingale quickly adapted to her new life, stating once to the ninth incarnation of her brother that if she didn't live out each of her lives to the fullest, she would be dishonoring the memories of their fallen race. Whenever they were on adventures together, Nightingale would safely hide her TARDIS and take her brothers.
"Run faster! The TARDIS is just in range!" The Doctor yelled.
"We wouldn't have to run in the first place if you didn't run your mouth off about the Queen having an affair with the King's brother!" Rose yelled, trying to keep up with the Doctor's long legs.
"It didn't help either that you also accused their son of trying to elope with the Shia duchess and the Esko priestess!" Nightingale added. She had a difficult time trying to keep up with both of them. At 5'2, Nightingale was short compared to Roses' 5'4 and the Doctors' 6'1.
"Whose side are you on Night?! And the three of them were making all those lovey dovey eyes that you and-" Before the Doctor could finish his sentence, Rose and Nightingale shoved him inside of the TARDIS.
"Less talking, more flying. Rose! Pull that lever next to the toaster!" Rose gave her an incredulous look.
"What is a toaster doing there in the first place?" Pulling the lever, she waited for either Night or the Doctor to tell her which button or lever was next.
"I was experimenting with it! Hit the red button right there." The Doctor yelled, pulling another lever across the panel. A few seconds later, the trio was safe in the TARDIS, floating around in the vortex and a thousand miles away from the planet.
"That is the last time we let you choose a planet with a dart and map." Sitting down, Nightingale sneered at the outfit she was currently wearing. Rose had convinced her to dress up this one trip and she couldn't say no to the combined effort of her brother and Roses' puppy eyes.
"It wasn't all that bad. We had fun right?" The Doctor asked, smiling that cheeky grin that Nightingale loved and yet hated with this incarnation of her brother. Out of all the incarnations that she's seen, his first, fourth, and tenth incarnation always had a great smile. Curse him.
"If you call running around, insulting royalty, and running some more fun, then yes, we had fun." All three of them laughed at the statement. It wouldn't be the same if it wasn't. The trio agreed to take a break from traveling, with Nightingale went off and retired in her own room that the Doctor's TARDIS created a long time ago. It was a simple room with a closet full of clothes, a bed, a desk, and a small bathroom connected to the room. There wasn't much in the room since it was rare when Nightingale slept over. With a small smile on her lips, she walked over to the closet and changed out of her clothes. Her typical outfit with her current incarnation was a self-stripe shirt with a grey herringbone waistcoat, black tights, a pair of red converse, a red scarf, and a black military belted mac.
Nightingale POV
Trying to keep up with Theta in this incarnation, especially with Rose, has always been a trouble. He was just so damn happy and energetic. It's like dealing with a human child on a sugar high or a human child waking up during Christmas day. I'd like to think it's because he's finally healing from the Time War, but it's most likely due to Rose. Rose was the light in his life that I could never be, a breath of fresh air from all the violence. It makes me sad thinking how much longer he'll have her for. I've met Theta's next companions before but he's never told me what happened to Rose. Even his eleventh incarnation has yet to tell me. He would just smile faintly and whisper "spoilers". There were times when I've seen him past the 'Rose Era' and all I want to do is tell him about River, his future wife and bond, but I can't.
Bonds were unpredictable, life binding, and sometimes magical. Just thinking about bonding made me sad. Bonds are basically the Time Lord version of soulmates and Time Lords typically bond with other Time Lords (or Ladies). When a Time Lord or Lady can't find their bonded by their 400th birthday, there is usually an agreement between families to be married off. That was the case with Theta. I remember the stories our parents and our teachers told us about the experience of finding a bond and telling how you were suppose to know they were your bond. There are two tells that a person is your bond. The first tell was the feeling of instant attraction on an emotional level. There is a sense of curiosity and wonder, yet a feeling of apprehension towards one another. Now while this isn't really as much of a tell, the other tell is the imprinted mark. These marks are basically brands that appear on a Time Lord or Lady's body after regenerating and meeting your bond. When Theta regenerated to his eleventh incarnation, there was a brand of a small prayer leaf with the initials R.S on his left hip. Still don't know how he met her in his tenth incarnation…damn spoilers. When one has found their bonded, there are specific actions that the pair must take. Bonds must make vows to one another before the birth of either a new star or planet. They must then partake in handfasting and exchange their "true" names. A creation of a mental bond is then created between the bonded, where everything from memories and emotions are shared.
Rolling onto my stomach, I looked at a photo of Theta and me in our first incarnation. I hated thinking about bonds. It was unusual for a Time Lord or Lady to bond with another race. Theta was bonded to River, who herself was part Time Lord. About 5% of the Time Lord race bonds with another race due to the difficulties with the creation of a mental bond and with the Time Lord race gone, there is an extremely low percentage of me finding my bond. It sucks and every time I see Theta and River, I can't help but feel jealous. Sue me, I'm only 775 years old and in my fifth incarnation. There is someone though who I've been, I guess, recently attached to but there is no way in the entire galaxy system that he's my bond. I'm not exactly that luck, especially with someone like Theta for a brother.
Enough mopping. Time to actually go do something.
Nightingale POV Ends
Sitting up from the bed, Nightingale walked over to the desk and opened the top drawer. There laid her vortex manipulator. The Doctor always whined and groaned whenever she wanted to bring it with her whenever they went on adventures together. Slipping it onto her left wrist, Nightingale exited her room and walked to where the kitchen was located. All that running left her starving and the worst part of being on the go with her brother in this incarnation was the fact that there was nothing but bananas hanging around in the kitchen. At least when he starts to travel with Martha and Donna there was at least variety.
So there she sat on one of the chairs, eating a banana and staring blankly at the wall. Maybe she could had back to her TARDIS and go visit Jack at Torchwood or bust River out Stormcage for a good hour or two. Her decision was made for her however when she felt a light buzz coming from her manipulator. A green light was blinking.
'Message from Captain Sexy'
"Why hello there Captain Sexy. I was just thinking about you."
"You always know the right way to make a man feel important Night." Nightingale laughed. There were no romantic feelings between the two, besides maybe one amazing night of passion together due to a ridiculous amount of alcohol. The two were close, best friends. They always had each other's back, especially when Nightingale didn't want to bother her brother. When Ianto Jones died, Jack had come to her for comfort and support. They had traveled for a good two years before he decided to go back to Torchwood.
"Well I couldn't possibly tell you a lie now can I Captain. Was thinking about picking you up and breaking out the lovely River Song out of Stormcage for an adventure." Nightingale stood up, threw away her banana peel, and made her way towards the nearest couch in the TARDIS.
"As much as I'd love that dear, I have bad news for you Nightingale." It was rare when Jack was serious and she knew he was since he used her full title.
"What's up Jack? Weevils on the loose again?"
"Nightingale, he's been compromised." Her eyebrows furrowed. Who would she know that's in trouble?
"Compromised? Jack, what are you talking abou-"
"Clint Barton has been compromised."
A/N: So there are clearly some changes in certain aspects
1. Donna still has her memories. She just cannot travel through the vortex. I really love her and I really hated it when she lost her memories.
2. Nightingale does travel space and time on her own. She has both a vortex manipulator and TARDIS. She mostly uses the vortex manipulator for communication and for quick get aways.
3. The Doctor and Nightingale meet at different points of their lives after the fall of Gallifrey.
4. For this story, the Doctor's real name is Theta. So when, and if, it is Nightingale's POV, she will address him as Theta in her internal monologues. For her real name, I was thinking of making it Zeta. Tell me what you think of that :)
5. As for the bonding thing, I wanted to include the handfasting from the episode of The Wedding of River Song.
If there is any detail that is confusing or that I've missed explaining, please tell me. I do not have a beta reader for obvious reasons. Hopefully I was able to get certain personalities correct.
EVERYTHING IS A WORK IN PROGRESS! Please just be patient with me.
Please, read, review, and enjoy! :)
