Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Doctor Who or from DC Comics. They belong to their rightful owners. However, I do own Max Colbern and the Mendara Crystal.

If you are wondering about this beginning, I started this before I am finished with my other story. It is still a work in process. Please go and read that one if you want before this one. Also, I will be taking it that you already know about Doctor Who and will not go into details. You the reader should already know what I am writing about. Also, I am starting it towards the end of the third season.

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The One and The Doctor

Max stood in front of the Threshold Machine, its whirling bright energy churning in front of him. He turned around and looked at his friends. They had helped him build this machine to help him return home and close the off the tears between their multi-verses. Max was going to miss every single one of them. With a final wave to his first friend, Wally West, The Flash, Max turned to each hero standing in the Watchtower's reactor room. With a deep breath, Max took a single step forward into the event horizon of the Threshold Machine.

Images suddenly stormed around Max. The multiple universes in this reality were being left behind. He stood still as he traveled through the Threshold Machine's through way. Max watched on in silent awe as he witnessed different versions of the heroes he encountered: Superman, Wonder Woman, the different Green Lanterns, Wally, Zatanna, Hawk Girl, and all the others. He could even hear some of the different universes helping different versions of himself as well. Max's jaw dropped at the number different versions of himself.

"How are things Max," Batman called over Max's earpiece. "Energy levels seem to be steady and burrowing straight through to your home."

"Oh I wish you guys could see this," Max whispered in awe. "You would be dumbfounded at what I am seeing.

"Yea, but no one is suppose to see what you are seeing, Max," Orion sternly said. "You are in a place no living thing is suppose to be."

"Well, first time for anything, Orion," Max said with a smile.

"Stop smiling, Max," Batman said as he regained control over the mic. Max's jaw dropped.

"How the hell did you know I was smiling," Max asked.

"He's the Batman, Max," Wally said. "You just learn to go with it."

"Yea, World's Greatest Detective. Forgot about that," Max said with a hint of sarcasm. Just then, the 'tunnel' the Threshold Machine created specifically for him began to quake. "What the hell was that?" Max tried to get his balance, but there was nothing around him to compare to himself if he needed to be balanced. All he knew was that he was feeling like he was on a disorienting roller coaster ride while standing still. Soon, images of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Wally, and the rest of his allies were gone, replaced by images and short clips of events Max knew did not belong to his reality.

"Batman," Max said in a panic, "I'm not head towards my reality! What's going on?"

"Don't know, but were losing your signal," Batman said in concentration. "Something is pulling you out of your tunnel. It looks like neutrinos from-" and the signal was cut.

"Batman," Max said after a second of silence. "Anyone there?"

Max was on his own. Images surrounded him of women, each one of them attractive. Standing next to each of the women was a skinny man in a pinstriped suit and wild brown hair. Images of the women running from unseen pursuers flew by him. He heard their names from the man they were with, Rose, Martha, Donna. Then he saw a man that looked out of place. He had short brown hair that looked like he had bed hair and a long blue overcoat that looked as if it were from WWII. Then, mixed in with the images of the women and the two men were different creatures, aliens. One alien seemed to jump out at him and immediately mad him feel uneasy. The alien was in a metal suit of some sort with a strange antennae that went from one ear, over its head, and back into the other ear. Soon he started watching as those aliens began killing hundreds of people.

But what Max soon saw caused him to vomit in this strange reality tunnel. He watched on as the windows peered into large rooms with crude surgical and mechanical equipment. What Max saw was the assimilation of people into the metal suits.

"Dear God," Max said in disbelief. "They're creating cyborgs out of the people."

"-minate!"

Max looked around. He heard the first words that did not sound like they were said by a human. What was it saying?

"-minate!"

There it was again. It did not sound like the computerized voices of the cyborgs. This voice sounded menacing, deadly, evil.

"Exterminate!"

Max went stiff, his eyes widening at the full word. Images and events played out before Max in this tunnel as another strange alien race began attacking people on Earth. They soared through the sky and fired out a strange laser weapon and killed a person no matter where it hit on the person's body. He did not want to go anywhere near such creatures.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

That was the only thing the aliens said from their strange personal transports. Max saw one viewer near the top and the laser-type weapon near the middle along with what looked like a plunger, but was a control nod that connected the aliens to their technology.

Then, Max saw the man in the pinstriped suit battling the mechanical monstrosities and the aliens that wanted to exterminate everything. Over and over again, the man would go up against the creatures and defeat them.

Max was beginning to like this guy.

Suddenly, something took a hold of Max and pulled him violently to the side of the tunnel. He no longer felt control of his movements. Something was pulling him. Max tried to fight against the invisible force, but all he did was strain himself. The force was not letting go and got stronger the more Max struggled.

Up ahead, Max could see a bright silvery light that ended the new tunnel he was in. The light made Max feel very uneasy. The closer he got to the light, the more he felt danger, like it was a place no one was allowed to go or should go. Max was yanked aside suddenly as he made out another being in the tunnel. It was one of those aliens that with the plunger and laser death beam. Max kept completely still as he watched as the creature drew closer and closer to the silvery light. The creature looked as if it was escaping something… or someone. Max figured the thing was escaping the wrath of the man in the pinstriped suit.

"Life sign detected, not Dalek," Max heard from the creature. Max watched as the creature turned around and stared at him. "Being not Dalek, exterminate. Exterminate!" The creature began powering up his weapon. Max shielded his face as the creature fired.

Nothing happened.

Max opened his eyes once more. The creature was pulled into the silvery light. Just then, he heard a bone chilling scream that sounded like it came from the creature. The Dalek. Max knew then he should not get any closer to the silvery light. Max looked around at the images around him. They flew by his line of sight as if trying to watch a movie with the fast forward on at 100 times the normal speed. He could not focus on the images and events as they flew by. Then Max realized something. The images were flying by faster and faster. The light was pulling him. Max had to act quickly.

Throwing caution to the wind, Max forced himself towards one of the images. Max focused in on one image of a blue police box with strange colors flowing by and around it.

And on the outside holding on was the man in the WWII style coat.

"Here goes nothing," Max though a split second before he forced himself through the event.

Max succeeded on entering the event. But all he could hear was the man in the coat screaming as the police box traveled through some type of travel way.

"DOCTOR," was all that filled Max's ears as he too grabbed a hold onto the opposite side of the police box.

"We're at the end of the universe," The Doctor said with astonishment. "No Time Lord has ever traveled this far. Who knows what's out there." He looked over to Martha. Concern covered the Doctor's face. Martha, hearing what The Doctor said began to grow concerned as well. "We should leave. We should go. We should really...really...go." Just then, a smile covered his face.

"Oh yea," said Martha with a smile.

Each one raced to the door of the TARDIS.

The Doctor exited the TARDIS and began to look around at the surroundings of 100 trillion years into the future. Where they landed was not much to look at. Martha followed behind him and started looking around herself. When she turned to the right, she gasp.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed. She ran over to a man lying down on the ground not far from the TARDIS. She reached down and pressed her fingers to the man's neck for a pulse. "There's no pulse. I need to go get the medical kit." Martha stood up and ran back into the TARDIS.

"Hello again," The Doctor said as he stepped up to the man. "Oh I'm sorry," he said as he looked away from the man. Martha appeared with the med kit in hand.

"It's odd though, we being in the year 100 trillion. This man looks like he's wearing WWII clothing."

"I think he came with us," The Doctor said as he looked down at Martha and the man.

"What, from Earth?"

"He must have clung to the outside of the TARDIS," The Doctor said as he turned to look at his ship. "All the way through the vortex. Well, that's very him."

"Do you know him," Martha asked as she took off the stethoscope.

"Friend of mine," The Doctor said plainly. "Use to travel with me...back in the old days." The Doctor's tone began to lower as he remembered Rose.

"Well, I'm sorry," Martha consoled The Doctor, "but he's dead.

Just then, without any warning, the man breathed in a long gasp of air, causing Martha to scream and panic at a man who was dead and is now breathing and alive.

"Captain Jack Harkness," the man said as he focused in on Martha. "And who are you," he said as he gently touched Martha's chin with his thumb and index finger.

"Martha Jones," Martha reluctantly replied, a shy smile appearing over her face.

"Nice to meet you Martha Jones," Jack said with a smile.

"Oh don't start," The Doctor interrupted the moment.

Jack stood up along with Martha.

"Jack," The Doctor said plainly.

"Nice to see you too Doctor," Jack Harkness said as he stood straightening his clothes. "I've been chasing your signal around till I finally got a signal from you in Cardiff. I tried to get you to open the door before you took off, but you left. All I could do was hold on for the ride."

"Now we know why the TARDIS took us so far into the future," The Doctor said flatly. "She was trying to shake you off."

"Someone get the number of that truck," someone said from behind the TARDIS. The Doctor, Martha Jones, and Jack all turned towards the voice. From behind the TARDIS stepped a tall man with jeans, a white t-shirt and a button-up navy blue shirt with the top three buttons unbuttoned and a necklace with an emperor dragon on it. "And why the hell was a police box traveling in the first place?"

"Who are you," The Doctor asked, curious at this new person.

"My name is Max Colbern," Max said as he rubbed the back of his head. He had fallen backwards and landed on his back when the TARDIS landed.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack said as he held out his hand to Max.

"Stop it Jack," The Doctor said flatly.

"What," Jack asked the Doctor, not really expecting an answer. "Are you from around here," Jack asked Max.

"No," Max said as he stepped towards the three. Jack immediately raised his revolver, telling Max to stop right where he was. Max was taken back a little at the sudden 180 this Jack person reacted to him. "And trust me, you would not believe me even if I told you."

"Try me, I've seen plenty of things in my time," The Doctor said to Max.

"Then you know of the Threshold," Max asked the Doctor.

"Wow, something I don't know about," The Doctor blatantly exclaimed with a smile. He slid his hands into his pants pockets and kept his smile. The Doctor nodded to Jack to put his gun away.

"Well," Max began. "The Threshold is an infinitely thick yet infinitely thin wall between realities."

"You're talking about the Void," The Doctor said plainly, "the darkness that separates each parallel dimension."

"Not really, that can be traveled quite easily," Max said as if it were common knowledge.

"That's impossible," The Doctor exclaimed. "If one were to travel through the void, it would rip a whole in space and time."

"Not really, not if you know the frequency vibration and coordinates of the parallel universe," Max explained to The Doctor. "But it is still dangerous to travel through repeatedly in a short amount of time. What I am talking about makes the Void seem like a short rock wall separating two yards. The Threshold is more like an ocean separating two continents; its the impassible no-space that divides up and keeps each multi-verse from interacting."

While The Doctor and Max talked, Martha and Jack just stared on at the strange man who was informing their Doctor of things he knew nothing about. The Doctor seemed to know just about everything about anything or knew of it, but this was something he did not know, it was unheard of. The Doctor was intrigued.

"I was trying to get home when I was suddenly pulled off my travel way through the Threshold and back to my reality. I was being pulled towards this silvery light when I realized I had to get away from it. I saw a Dalek get pulled into it. I heard it scream like something was tearing it apart one molecule at a time."

"Wait, did you just say you saw a Dalek," Jack asked Max, breaking his silence.

"Yes, it was about to fire at me when it was pulled through the silvery barrier."

"Interesting," The Doctor said as he rubbed his chin. He gave a look of deep thought, but then quickly changed it back to his smile.

"I knew I had to escape, so I noticed the police box with Jack hanging on for dear life and forced myself out of the tunnel."

"So I wasn't the reason we came here," Jack said with a smug smile. "By the way," Jack said as his smile went away, "when is here?"

"You mean where," Max said, correcting Jack.

"No I mean when are we," Jack said to Max. He turned back to The Doctor.

"Wait, what is he talking about," Max asked The Doctor, confused.

"You caught us in a time vortex," The Doctor said. "We are about 100 trillion years into the future," The Doctor said with a smile. "No one's ever been this far out. Can't wait to see what's here."

All Max could do was look at The Doctor with his jaw dropped. Max was 100 trillion YEARS in the future? Time vortex?

"Where the hell am I," Max said out loud. "This can't be happening… to…" Max stopped talking when he looked up in the sky. "Doctor?"

"Yes Max," The Doctor replied as he looked around.

"Where are all the stars?"

"They are either dead or dying out. We are at the end of the universe."

Max had to take a second as he took in that little bit of information on top of what he has already taken in. All the time he was looking around, Jack was introducing himself to Martha and telling her about himself and how he trailed The Doctor.

"Very cool," Max said with an energetic tone. Max turned around and quick stepped over to where the Doctor and the others were standing.

"It must be a colony of some sort; a hive, a conglomerate, or a collective," he said as they stared down into a canyon. Along the walls were the remains of some civilization, now deserted.

"Well, we are not completely alone," Jack said as she looked off to the left, "he seems to be doing well." Everyone turned to see a man running down a dirt road that was well traveled. Behind the man was a large group of people that were screaming at the man. Max heard something like sounded like the man was food.

"And that looks like a hunt to me," The Doctor said just before he took off. Everyone began a long sprint down towards the man.

The small group, including Max, reached the man, but was quickly met by the people hunting the man. Jack pulled out his revolver and aimed it at the group. They acted as if they had never seen a revolver before. The Doctor tried to tell Jack to put it away. Instead, Jack fired it up into the air, scaring the group.

"Don't worry, I have a ship up that way that can get us out of here," The Doctor said as he pointed up the way they had run.

"No, we need to get to the silo," the panicked man said as he took in deep breaths.

"My ship is close by, we can escape with it." But as soon as The Doctor finished talking, another group of people began running down the way they had run.

"The silo," The Doctor stated more than asked.

"The silo," everyone said. Everyone ran, their lives depending on getting away from this group of cannibalistic people.

After a quarter of a mile, they could see the gate to the silo. The man had a smile over his face and tried with all his might to speed up. Max was at the back of the group. He turned his head to check where the hunters were. He was surprised when he noticed that they were catching up to them. Max looked at the gates and back at the hunters. There was no possible way they would make it in time. They were all dead if he did not do something.

"Doctor, go ahead, I'll give you enough time to get to the gates," Max yelled at the Doctor.

"Max, don't, we can make it," The Doctor yelled back.

"We won't make it. We will only get within a two hundred feet of the gate before we become their dinner."

"Don't Max," Jack said, pleading.

"Get going, I know what I am doing," Max said as he pushed Jack on. "I'll meet you inside." With that, Max skidded to a halt. Breathing heavy after the long mad sudden sprint, Max took a fighting stance. "You want them, you'll have to get by me first!"

"Human, you food," one of the men said to Max. The group began encircling Max. "Tall big man fill many stomachs."

"I don't think so," Max said. Max stood up from his stance and let his arms hang at his sides. The smiles on the hunters' faces began to slowly disappear. Max stood there as he changed his arms and hands into large green draconic limbs. His legs changed to reptilian hind legs. One of the hunters suddenly charged at Max with a large metal pole. The man raised the metal pole above his head and brought it down. With speed unlike a normal human, Max reached up with his left hand, now claw, and stopped the downward thrust. With a firm hold on the end of the pole, the man immediately began to pull on it, trying to get it out of Max's grasp. With his right hand, Max swiped his claws at the middle of the pole. Four pieces of the pole fell to the ground with metal clanks against rock. Immediately, the rest of the hunters converged on Max.

"Open the gate, open the gate," The Doctor and the man yelled together as they neared the gate to the silo.

"Show me your teeth," one of the guards yelled back.

"Open the gate," The doctor and the others yelled.

"Show me your teeth," the guard yelled back at them as they reached the gate.

Jack, the man, Martha, and The Doctor all showed their teeth.

"Okay, quickly, get in, get in," the guard said as another unlocked it and opened it. Each one was okay to enter. The Doctor wondered why they wanted to see their teeth. Then he remembered the hunters. Their teeth were all pointed. The Doctor turned after he was clear of the gate's door. Out in the middle of the mass of hunters was Max.

The Doctor stared out the gate at what Max was doing. Jack saw The Doctor staring out at the hunters. He did not want to look at them tearing Max to pieces in order to satisfy their hunger. Jack turned around and placed a hand on The Doctor's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Jack said as he looked at The Doctor. But what Jack saw on The Doctor's face was not a look of pity and regret.

The Doctor was smiling.

Jack saw this and was taken back. Had the Doctor snapped or something?

Jack turned his attention on the hunters outside the gate. His jaw dropped at what he was seeing. Out in the middle of the mass of hunters was a man that towered over all of them. It was Max. But what caused Jack's jaw to drop were Max's arms and hands. They were different, reptilian.

Max fought the large group. Through his training at home and the training and experiences he had with the JLA, Max knew that he could not keep this up indefinitely. His mind was calm as he fought off the hunters. Max took quickly glances towards the silo gate. Everyone had made it safely to the gate. Now all he needed to do was get the hell out of this mess of creatures. Max knew now that these hunters were not human at all. They looked like humans, but they were nothing like them. They were more savage, more bloodthirsty than anything he knew. But what came with savagery was superstition. Max remembered that in the past people were more superstitious about things they did not understand. With his changing in front of them, Max knew that would not mean anything. It probably meant a different taste in their food. But Max would not be anyone's meal. Then, a light bulb clicked on in his head. He knew what to do and kill two birds with one stone. Opening his door close to his back, Max quickly expanded the door around him, giving off an explosion of light without any sound.

The Doctor watched on in pure curiosity and intrigue.

"What the hell is he," Jack asked, not expecting an answer.

Just then, a brilliant light exploded in the middle of the hunters near Max. The Doctor, Jack, Martha, and the guards watching the amazing fight covered their eyes from the brilliance.

"Dammit, that little bugger bit me," an annoyed voice said from behind everyone on the inside of the gate.

Everyone turned around to see another mysterious source of light appearing. From the light stepped a dirty, torn clothed Max. On his right forearm were bite marks from one of the hunters. The teeth had sunk in deep. Max rubbed the wound. From one of the teeth wounds, Max pulled out a long pointed tooth from the hunter that bit him.

"Those guys fight dirty," Max said. He looked up from his wound and was greeted with over a dozen weapon barrels. Max stood stark still. With his forearm still out in front of him, everyone watched as the wound quickly healed. Soon there was no sign that there was a bite there at all.

"Show your teeth or you die," one of the guards said from the other end of his weapon. Max parted his lips and bared his teeth.

"Good, he's clean," the guard said as he lowered his weapon. The rest followed him.

"What the hell you," Martha asked Max.

"Who are you truly," The Doctor asked, no, demanded of Max.

With a sigh, Max knew that he was going to be telling The Doctor sooner or later,

"My name is Max Colbern, Chosen One, and Protector and Bearer of the Mendara Crystal," Max said with a pleasant tone, bowing at the waist towards The Doctor.

"What," The Doctor exclaimed in disbelief. "What was that again?"

"I am the Protector and Bearer of the Mendara Crystal," Max said again. The look on The Doctor's face was priceless to Jack. Jack began laughing at the shock and surprised look on The Doctor's face. "I take it you have hear of it?"

"You can't be. You simply can't be," The Doctor said in disbelief.

"What, what's wrong Doctor," Martha asked him as he began to pace and scratch his head.

"You cannot be real," The Doctor said, trying to figure out what Max was doing here.

Max looked himself over. "I'm as real as you and Martha, Doctor," Max said, trying to reassure him. "Don't know about Jack yet."

"Hey," Jack complained. All Max did was smile at him and gave a little laugh.

"You can't be real!"

"Why do you keep saying that Doctor," Jack said in concern.

"Because, Jack, the last Bearer of the Mendara was killed off in the Time War. The entire race that carried the Mendara was wiped out near the beginning of the War."

"And yet I am standing here in front of you after saving you from the hunters," Max said with a calm voice. "Like I was trying to say earlier, before all the running, I am not from this reality. I had to escape my travel earlier and wound up here."

The Doctor paced back and forth, running his fingers through his hair, messing it up even more.

"Tell me," The Doctor began when he stopped pacing, "what is your ability?"

"So you know of the Mendara," Max asked, curious at what The Doctor knew.

"What is your given ability? You just showed up two completely different abilities. The Bearer can only perform, at most, three major abilities that go along the lines of their livelihood."

"Well, that is a bit of a thing," Max said smiling and scratching the back of his head. "I was told I received it too early and I have yet to find out what all I can't do."

"Oh, that is just brilliant!" The Doctor smiled.

"What is, Doctor," Jack asked him. Both he and Martha were confused.

"Can I test something," The Doctor asked as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver. With a quick flicker of blue light, The Doctor scanned Max's head. "That is brilliant," The Doctor called out in triumph. "You can telekinetically transmorph the structure of your body at will and psionically open a transport tunnel, causing instantaneous travel from one point to another with the usage of the space between atoms. And from the frequency I picked up, you can do many other things. I have got to check you out in my ship," The Doctor said as he thought over the results from his sonic screwdriver. "Oi, we can't do that, my ship is out there with all those hunters."

"That is a problem," Martha said. "Why doesn't Max transport out and get it for you?"

"Brilliant," The Doctor complimented Martha. "Oh, wait," The Doctor suddenly said as he realized something. "She won't move. She's a bit stubborn right now, seeing as we traveled out this far. And if someone tries to move here with some type of transporter ability or device, she will be-"

"Here you go Doctor," Max said as he stood next to the TARDIS. "And she said she didn't mind one bit."

"Wait, you can hear her," The Doctor asked in disbelief.

"Yea," Max said as he turned to look at the TARDIS. "I had to thank her for saving my life when I was traveling through my tunnel. If it were not for her helping me get through to you, I would have gone through that barrier."

"Yes, that barrier," The Doctor said as he thought about a few things.

The small group entered the silo complex as Martha walked next to Max.

"So where are you from?"

"I live out in the Pacific Northwest in the States," Max said as he watched two children run by.

"So you're from Earth? When?"

"early 21st century."

"Then how come I never heard of this Mendara," Martha asked Max.

"I'm not from your Earth Martha, remember," Max reminded her.

"Oh yea, sorry," Martha apologized. "Do you have anyone special?"

"I have a girlfriend who I would die for," Max said as he memories of his girlfriend ran through his mind. "I think both of you would get along really well."

"Think I can meet her," Jack asked back towards Max.

"Not in your lifetime Jack," Max said with a definite serious tone.

"Which one," Jack asked jokingly. Max just stared at Jack in confusion.

"I can't believe it," The Doctor began, "it's the end of the universe itself, and here is the human race, thriving and living. The human race, indomitable. That's the word, indomitable," The Doctor said with a smile.

"So Max, what was with those arms of yours earlier with the hunters," the Doctor asked as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began using it on a locked door. "That wasn't reptilian was it?"

"Good eye, Doctor," Max congratulated him. "They were draconic."

"You mean, as in, dragon," Martha asked, not believing in what Max just said.

"None other. I learned how to do it at the last reality I was in," Max said to her. "The Justice League were great people to know."

"Who was there," Martha Jones asked, not sure if she heard Max right.

"The Justice League," Max said again.

"You're telling me that you met Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Batman and all the rest," Jack asked me.

"You know them," Max asked them.

"Yea, they're comic book characters," Martha said to Max with a laugh.

"Not these people," Max said as The Doctor opened the door.

"There we are," The Doctor said as he stepped through. A moment later, Jack was pulling The Doctor back. He was about to step out into thin air. And twenty feet out from the door was an enormous rocket. "Well, now that explains it. These people aren't refugees, their passengers waiting to board."

"But how was that possible for you to meet comic book characters," Martha asked Max.

"It's simple really. The creators of the comics could have had a subconscious connection to the world that they saw and began creating them in comics. Most of the stories they write are part of that psychic bleed through," the Doctor said if it were a well known fact. "And for all we know, someone in some universe is getting bleed through and is either writing about us, drawing us in comics, or portraying us in some brilliant television show."