Scraps of Humanity
The room was cold and dimly lit, which suited its occupants just fine. Dark surroundings for dark deeds, was how their host had put it. Even so, some of them cast furtive glances around (others performed biometric scans) at the things sat beside them. Mortal enemies, some of them, united for now against the one common foe that had affected each and every one of them.
They were still waiting for their host's arrival, but none of them complained about his tardiness. Some of the most evil, despicable creatures on the Universe had been scared almost witless by a person that was, at this point, no more than a voice to them. But that voice had been more than enough to terrify them into quiet subservience. The Voice, and what it had described, suggested, insinuated.
"Good evening, friends." Many of the things jumped, some hissed and growled in shock and fear. He had not registered on any scans, any wavelengths. They had not seen, or heard or even smelt him enter the room. The distrust and awe quickly subsided – now was not the time to become sentimental.
"I am pleased to see that all of you responded to my invitation with such haste." They could all hear him, but still he was hidden in the shadows, too deep to be natural, at the head of the table. Those with eyes strained to see, but it was like trying to make out a ghost behind an iron screen – impossible. There were only too indicators that he was there at all; his voice, liked ice silk laced with frozen threads, and the unnerving sense of the presence of unparalleled evil. This was saying something, considering the other people in the room.
"I will firstly apologise for the secretive nature of this meeting, but, as I'm sure you can appreciate, we don't want our quarry catching wind of our plans." There were several murmurs of agreement.
"In which case, let me outline why we are all here. I understand that under any normal circumstances, we would undoubtedly be at one another's throats at this very moment, but I have not brought you her under normal circumstances. Because I have decided that it is time for us to join forces, in order to wipe out the greatest stain in this blighted Universe." Angry mutterings this time, punctuated by the occasional low growl or snarl.
He waited for them to calm down, enjoying the hatred that filled the air already, despite the fact that their foe's name hadn't even been mentioned yet. When they were silent again, he continued.
"I have studied everything we know about him, searched out and researched his weaknesses; of which, you'll be pleased to know, he has many. The most notable one, of course, being his unexplainable fondness for that miserable little speck of space dust known as Earth." More anger at this; he knew that many of them had prior failed dealings with said miserable little speck of space dust and its half-witted life forms.
Again, he waited for quiet.
"You have all been most invaluable, both for the supply of your race's knowledge concerning this matter, but also for the use of your various technologies and other . . . resources." This last part confused some of them, but for those who understood, it was like a smack in the face and they recoiled from the Voice. He had promised that what they had done would never be openly mentioned to the others. He ignored this.
"And it is for those . . . sacrifices that I thank you most gratefully. Without you, none of what I am about to show and tell you would have been even remotely possible." He paused, gathering his thoughts for the final reveal; his final part of his speech.
"We all know that we want him dead, wiped out, eradicated from existence, but the question has always been how. Many of you have tried, and all of you have failed." For a moment, his voice developed a razor-like edge.
"But no matter. Because I have come up with an answer. So, friends, I ask you this. How do you kill a Time Lord?" Those that could exchanged a look, unable to imagine what he had come up with, what he had done.
"In that case, let me tell you. The only reliable way to kill a Time Lord, to make sure he won't simply regenerate and prove more of a nuisance, is with another Time Lord. It's actually quite a well-documented phenomenon. The killer absorbs the regeneration energy, thereby stopping the victim from coming back to life."
As he finished speaking, lights flickered on, illuminating a table that none of them had noticed up to that point. Even with this new source of light, the shadows around the Voice were unchanged, if anything, they seemed even darker and more malevolent than ever.
"Let me introduce you," the Voice purred triumphantly, "to Time Lord 2.0."