Ad Infinitum
An Adventures of Tintin/Torchwood Crossover
Written by: FossilQueen1984
Disclaimer: Hey there my fellow readers! I apologize about the real lack of updates, but school has been eating up a lot of my free time. So, here I am with another story. This time around, Haddock has not revealed anything about working for Torchwood and Tintin suspects his father-in-law is hiding something. Those aside, ages are the same as in my other stories, but its set 20 years earlier, so right after World War II and a mix of the movie and comics universe. Enjoy!
Suggested soundtrack: Ice Dance/Overture- Danny Elfman, Doctor Who Theme- Murray Gold
Chapter 1: H equals Harkness?
The ground rumbled suddenly as everything swan in front of Helene Berlioz's one good eye. Grabbing on to one of the pews inside the partially roofed chapel, she slid underneath and called to the fox terrier who was nearby, "Snowy, Snowy stay with me!" As the canine careened next to her very swollen belly, a hideous cracking could be heard as the roof collapsed, covering woman and dog in tons of plaster, wood and stone. The last thing Helene saw before blacking out was a blur of dust and golden brown before a flash of blue eclipsed that. Then, everything turned black.
Thompson and Thomson had seen the explosion from their picnic. Worried that there had been some sort of construction accident, they had hurried over to the Church of Our Lady of Grace. The scene when they arrived was horrifying; nothing remained of the 16th century sanctuary except a gigantic pile of rubble. It looked like something a Nazi pilot had obliterated, and Thomson was the first to call out, "Hallo? Hallo, is there anyone here?" Thompson followed and they both exchanged a worried glance. The atmosphere was drenched in the perfume of gasoline, this was no mere accident, and this was arson!
Making their way to where the damage was at its worst, Thomson stumbled over a loose stone and Thompson slid down some loose gravel, and his heart stopped. No more than 20 yards from him was a main in a pinstripe suit, orange trainers and spiky dark brown hair. He was kneeling over a familiar young girl and something golden was flowing into her. It was Helene, what was that man doing to her? Snowy looked up at the man and whimpered. He nodded and turning around to see the Interpol agent, his mood brightened and he ran off.
Thompson fired off a few rounds as he and his partner ran to Helene's side. Her breathing was slow and labored, and she had a fever! However, her pulse was normal and a large wet spot under her bottom made the situation more urgent. Scooping her into his arms, Thompson darted back to his partner, Snowy at his heels. "Thomson, call an ambulance! Helene's all right, but she's gone into labour," he cried hysterically as the men gingerly placed her in the passenger seat. Snowy jumped in behind them, worried out of his mind about his owner's mate. Was Tintin and Helene's human puppy going to be all right? There was no time to lose, and as more officers arrived on the scene the Thom(p)sons saw Helene and Snowy off to the hospital. They wanted to help with the crime scene investigation, but they were ordered to contact Helene's next of kin, in this case her husband Tintin and her father, Archibald Haddock.
As it happened, Haddock and Tintin had just gotten back from a scientific expedition in the Artic involving a Russian sub and a group of Japanese captives. Tintin was looking forward to getting back to Brussels, "to see Snowy and dear Helene again, and maybe our new baby." Haddock was looking forward to the birth of his first grandchild, and had bought more books for the unborn child and parenting guides than you could shake a sonic screwdriver at.
As they made their way into port, Tintin approached Haddock with a concerned look on his face. "Captain, something's wrong. I called home and Helene didn't answer. Mrs Finch hadn't seen her, and I'm worried." Haddock took one look at his son-in-law, laughed heartily and clapped the lad on his back. Tintin glared at him, how could Haddock have such a caviler attitude towards his missing daughter? What if there had been some sort of accident?
Haddock good naturedly apologized, "Billions of blistering blue barnacles, Tintin! You mean you haven't figured out your probably a father right now? That makes me a grandfather, how about that!" Tintin's ice blue eyes widened when the whole thing clicked, of course Helene went into labour, it all made sense! But, that meant he was a father now, and the gravity of the whole thing caused him to faint. Haddock rolled his eyes and splashed some water on Tintin's face while making a remark about how Tintin shouldn't react like that when Helene handed him the baby.
By now, they were making their way down the gangplank and Tintin insisted he was not going to faint once he was in the delivery room. The port was a welcome sight, and as they made their way out of the jetty and towards the public parking lot, they caught sight of the Thom(p)sons. What a pleasant surprise, and both men waved to the officers who seemed gloomy for some reason. Waving to them, the officers' blurted out, "Tintin, Haddock! Thank God we found you; something terrible has happened to Helene!" Both men felt the area spin, what had happened to their beloved Helene?
During the nerve wracking drive, both officers explained the situation. Tintin felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach when he heard what had happened to Helene and Snowy, but was partially reassured when he was told she had been admitted in stable condition. Haddock was in and out of bouts of rage and tears, who would harm his little girl? The Thom(p)sons admitted that they had no idea, but promised to keep them updated.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Haddock darted over to the receptionist and shouted, "Ten thousand thundering typhoons, what have you done with them? My daughter and grandchild you freshwater pond scum! Tintin let me go!" Tintin loudly scolded his father in law to calm down. Being angry wasn't going to help matters, and he inquired about his wife. The frazzled woman pointed towards the surgery ward and off they sprinted.
Upon arrival, Tintin and Haddock made several inquires to passing doctors, but nobody seemed to have any answer. Sitting down on a leather sofa in defeat, both men were at their wits' end when a soft woof was heard. Looking up, a tall woman with frizzy, light brown hair was walking towards them, a tiny pink bundle wiggling in her arms. Following behind her was Snowy.
"Hello gentlemen, I am Doctor Melody Pond. You must be Tintin and Archibald Haddock. I was the surgeon on call when Helene was rushed into my emergency room. Poor dear, her system was flooded with adrenaline, and she had gone into labor from all the stress her body was under. Baby was crowning when we began the blood transfusions," she explained warmly as she placed the teeny-tiny bundle in Tintin's arms.
"Congratulations Mister Tintin, you have a healthy baby daughter and she weighs just 6 pounds."
"I can't believe it, she's finally here. Hello Lynette, I'm your father," Tintin cooed softly to the little girl. Lynette opened her eyes when she heard her name, and gazed up at her father. Her little hands gripped at his fingers, and he smiled.
Haddock grinned at his granddaughter, "Aye, she's a fine wee one, looks like her mum when she was brand new." Both men thanked the doctor and asked if they could please see Helene. Melody nodded and directed them to a private room on the third floor. Carefully cradling Lynette in his arms, Tintin carried her over to the elevator followed by Haddock and Snowy. Snowy jumped up on his hind legs and Tintin greeted him affectionately. The elevator dinged and they wandered into the room where Helene was resting up.
Opening the door, Helene looked up from her magazine and gasped in surprise, "Father, Tintin? When did you get back? Oh hello there sweetheart." Scooping the baby into her arms, Helene nursed Lynette as she and Tintin shared a short, passionate kiss. Haddock warmly embraced her, and Snowy barked excitedly, happy to see everyone was safe and sound. Placing Lynette down for another nap, Helene explained to the men what had happened. "It was all very sudden, but I saw someone loitering near the art gallery. Then, the explosion went off…" Tintin stroked her forehead and assured her that once they got home, everything would be all right.
It was here Haddock excused himself to speak to the doctor. Something was bothering him, and he wanted Tintin to stay out of it for the time being. As he walked down the hallway, he took a long swig of Loch Lomond when Doctor Pond admonished, "Really sweetie, you know it's in bad form to consume alcohol in a hospital."
"So it is, isn't it Melody Pond? Or should I be calling you by your real name, River Song?"
"Nothing much gets past you does it, Archibald? I won't lie to you, Helene would have gone into labour within the next day or two, but if there hadn't been… an intervention… things would have turned quite differently."
"Intervention? You mean the Doctor-?"
Melody was unable to say anything else as she was called back into surgery. Haddock let out a sigh of relief. With his clandestine chore finished, he went back to admire his granddaughter. Tintin and Haddock stayed for several more hours before returning to Marlinspike Hall for the night. The nurse told them that Helene and Lynette would be able to go home in about 4-5 days. Saying good night, both men returned home in high spirits, Snowy with them as he was ready to be someplace safe.
A fortnight later, Lynette was by far and away the favorite resident at Marlinspike Hall. Tintin and Helene couldn't help but marvel at the human they had created, and read to her no less than 14 books a day. Haddock would walk her around the grounds in her stroller, singing sea shanties and telling her stories about her parents and their adventures. Calculus used her in experiments regarding newborn cognitive skills and tastes in music. Snowy would watch her for hours on end, fascinated by Tintin and Helene's human puppy.
By now, the church arson was being fully investigated and Tintin and Helene were asked to write a story about it. The early October rains had moved south and they thought they should take the baby along. Haddock was skeptical, how were they going to keep an eye on Snowy and Lynette at the same time? Helene solved the problem by wearing a front facing baby carrier, and Lynette slept the entire time.
When they arrived at the charbroiled ruins, the entire area had been quartered off with jersey boundaries and police tape. Showing the officer on duty their press badges, Tintin, Helene and Snowy were allowed access. Tintin whistled as he looked around, "Rather unusual target for arson to occur. I understand the church was undergoing renovations."
Helene agreed with his theory and added that the person of interest she had seen had been slinking around the basement where art classes were held. Tintin inquired, "There's a good chance some stolen art is down there. Snakes Helene, you are brilliant" He scooped her into his arms and kissed her! Putting her back down, he kissed the top of Lynette's thick, curly dark hair. Lynette sneezed, before opening her pale blue eyes. She made a small noise before focusing on the pattern of her mother's sweater.
Ambling towards the exposed doors, Tintin opened them slowly. After the doors lurched open, the ambitious family made their way down towards the basement, neon lighting flickering with their heavy footsteps. Rounding a corner, Snowy paused at the entryway and barked happily, they had arrived. Helene whistled, "Holy TARDIS! Look at all these pieces, Tintin. Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh. Whoever stole these hit a lot of galleries." Running his fingers against the paint, Tintin frowned. As far as European news went, there had been no major art gallery heists written up, same for America and Japan. It was also unlikely that they had been smuggled across the Iron Curtain.
Just then, the whole thing clicked when Tintin spotted an unframed version of Van Gogh's Starry Night. "Crumbs, it all makes sense now. Helene, take a look at this. You said you had a print of this very picture in your bedroom as a child. Now, look at the swirls. Look at their direction, they are counter-clockwise. These are art forgeries, the arsonist wanted to cover his tracks!"
Helene gaped, was he serious? He had to be, there was no way such an obvious flaw would not have been noticed. With this bit of evidence collected, Helene phoned the Thom(p)sons and they contacted Professor Calculus to confirm if they were forgeries. He said he would be delighted to do so, as he liked Impressionist-era landscapes.
It took three days of nonstop testing, but soon Calculus had some results. Showing the Thom(p)sons, Haddock, Tintin, Helene, Lynette and Snowy into his laboratory, he began his presentation. "I am glad you all could make it this afternoon, after much examination I can without any doubt proclaim these pieces as frauds. Your suspect, gentlemen and ladies, is an admirer of fine art, but is self-centered, obnoxious and eager for any sort of attention. See this image? It is an x-ray of Van Gogh's Starry Night, and as you can see there is a large letter 'H' in the center. Every other picture has the same mark, but Rembrandt's Girl with a Pearl Earring gave me the biggest clue. See, the message reads H for Harkness. Thompson and Thomson, your suspect is none other than Jack Harkness, con man and war hero. I observed him the other day checking into the Hotel Amigo just this morning while I was having breakfast with Castafiore." He stopped and allowed the news to sink in.
The Thom(p)sons thanked him profusely, and hurried off to obtain an arrest warrant for Jack Harkness. Tintin and Helene weren't sure what to think, this seemed to be too easy for a simple open-and-shut case. Above all, Haddock was dreading where this would all lead.