PASSING THROUGH THE FIRE: THE SECRET LIFE OF REINETTE POISSON

I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood and I am making no profit off of this.

This is an ongoing spin-off of my story, Clara Who, but you don't have to have read that story in order to understand this one.

CHAPTER 1

AN UNHAPPY REUNION

Paris, France - Sometime in the mid-1700s

The Baroness Clara ran for her life as the metal man came closer and closer to her by the moment. Even running as fast as she could, which was quite fast as a result of her usual daily activities, she could barely outpace him which was surprising since he looked like he weighed at least three times as much as she did.

If she could only get to Jeanne, then she would know what to do. Jeanne always knew how to defeat nightmarish things like this.

Jeanne seemed to have knowledge that was far beyond that of even a learned member of the royal court. In fact, it was often whispered around Paris that Madame de Pompadour was somehow divinely inspired and that she was even close friends with angels.

Clara didn't believe any of that of course. She already knew the real truth. It was Reinette's mysterious Fireplace Man, the Doctor, who had given her this knowledge. She had met him herself when he and her mirror image, the Doctor's wife Clara Oswald, had come to save them from the monstrous statues that had been plaguing the royal court at Versailles and despite what Reinette might think of him she knew that he was no angel. She had no doubts whatsoever that he was definitely on the same side as them though.

As the huge metal man finally drew within arm's reach of her, Clara began to start developing the first true pangs of fear in her heart at last as she started to realize with dawning horror that she might never reach Jeanne in time to save herself. Up until now she had held onto an unshakeable faith in her friend saving her at the last moment just as she usually did against things like this. Now though she began to really start doubting that she would survive this time.

She was already starting to cry despite her best attempts not to even as she suddenly saw a golden arrow come flying past her face at incredible speed. Then she heard the metal man behind her scream immediately in pain and collapse to the ground with a massive thud. She stopped running and turned around to see that it was now lying there unmoving and seemingly lifeless.

"Good work, Captain LeFevre," Reinette said as she and a small army of Musketeers, one of which was holding a bow instead of a sword, finally arrived on the scene.

Clara frowned as she said, "You cut that one a little bit too close, Jeanne, and in more ways than one. That arrow almost hit me instead of the metal man."

"My apologies, My Lady," LeFevre, the musketeer with the bow, said apologetically as he bowed to her.

"You should be lucky that his aim was as good as it was, Clara. He struck the Cyberman straight in the chestplate with the golden arrow. Luckily this version of them still had a weakness to gold. Not all versions of them do according to the Doctor's memories," Reinette said.

Clara looked at her in disbelief as she said, "So you didn't even know if it would work or not?"

Reinette looked suitably chagrined as she said, "No, but I was fairly certain that it would."

"How certain?" Clara asked.

"Reasonably certain," Reinette said as she began to look uncomfortable.

"What did I ever do to deserve a friend like you, Jeanne Poisson?" Clara said with a sigh.

Reinette looked at her with guilt written all over her face as she said, "I'm sorry, Clara. It was the only way to destroy him though. We had to lure him out of hiding by using you as his potential victim. Otherwise he would have just kept attacking the local villagers and sooner or later he would have captured one of them and converted them into another one of his kind. Then things would have really become bad. Luckily we also found the Cyberman's ship and blew it up with gunpowder. I only hope that he wasn't able to contact others like him to come here and rescue him."

"How do you know all of this, Jeanne? I know that you were in the Doctor's mind but that was only for a brief time from what you said. How could you have learned so much so quickly?" Clara asked.

"It's hard to explain, Clara. What we shared was a lifetime's worth of memories. He learned all about my life and I learned all about his and about so many of the monsters that he fights. I'm so glad that I retained that knowledge because it has helped me to save many lives since then including yours as I remember," Reinette said.

"There you go again. Every time I say anything to you even the slightest bit derogatory, you pull out the "I saved your life from the man in the mysterious clothing who tried to kill you" card," Clara said with a frown.

Reinette smiled as she said, "That's because it always works, my dear sweet friend."

Then she suddenly turned serious as she said, "I'm sorry. If you never want to help me again against any future attacks by the Doctor's monsters I'll understand. I would never want anything to happen to you because of me. I love you just as if you were my own sister."

Clara smiled at her now and embraced her as she said, "If I hadn't wanted to do it, I wouldn't have, Jeanne. We're a team and no matter what happens to me we always will be. We're like a two woman version of the Musketeers. All for one and one for all! Actually I like Robin Hood better despite his being English, but I don't fancy being a Merry Man because you would obviously be Robin. At least as Musketeers we would both be equals."

Reinette smiled as she said, "I daresay that you would be the equal of even the best Musketeer. You're just as brave and every bit as courageous. Some would say that you're even more dangerous, but I won't name any names."

Clara smiled as she said, "No, I think I'll stick with fighting the monsters with you, Jeanne, instead of trying to become a Musketeer. That's where the real action is. How about to celebrate our victory over the metal man we both have one of my freshly made soufflés? I've made more than enough for both of us."

Reinette tried very hard not to frown as she tactfully said, "I'll save mine for later, Clara. I just ate a very hearty meal not too long ago."

The truth was that she absolutely hated Clara's soufflés, but she valued her friendship far too much to tell her that. Whenever Clara would give her one to eat, she would always tell her that she would eat it later and then save it to use against one of the many foes from beyond the stars that seemed to constantly plague France. They had come in handy on more than one occasion to stop even the most determined of enemies.

She remembered with a smile that she had used the last soufflé that Clara had made her to successfully kill something that the Doctor would have called a Weevil. As soon as it had eaten the vile thing, the Weevil had instantly dropped over dead. She shuddered to think what would have happened to her if she had eaten it instead.

"What's that smile about, Jeanne?" Clara asked curiously.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about that last adventure of ours. The one with the monster that ate people," Reinette said.

"Oh, yes. I hated that awful thing. I was sure that nothing would ever kill it. I never did find out how you finished it off. What did you give it anyway?" Clara asked.

"The vilest most toxic poison that I have ever come across," Reinette said truthfully.

"It must be. I've never seen any poison work that quickly," Clara agreed.

They were interrupted by LeFevre as he said to Reinette, "Marquise, we have just received reports of several strange deaths in one of the poorer parts of Paris."

"Do you think that maybe we didn't catch this Cyberman as you called him in time, Jeanne?" Clara asked with a sad look on her face.

"I'm not certain. It doesn't sound right to me though. If the Doctor were here, he would say that the Cyberman might have killed if he felt threatened, but he was alone so he would have more than likely wanted to create reinforcements for himself by converting others. Can you give me more details, Captain?" Reinette asked.

"These murders were so strange that I think that they could have easily been caused by another one of these monsters from beyond the stars of yours, Marquise. Each victim was found missing a vital piece of their anatomy. Some were missing eyes, some were missing internal organs, and some were missing several layers of skin and hair. It's a very gruesome affair," LeFevre said with distaste.

"What?" Reinette asked in a shaky voice as she started to have flashbacks to what the Doctor had told her about the clockwork men that had plagued her for her entire life and how they had taken human body parts for their ship.

LeFevre looked at her emotional display in surprise because Reinette was one of the bravest people that he knew. He had seen her face down monsters and men of all shapes and sizes who were all extremely deadly to one degree or another with no trace of fear whatsoever while he had fought by her side so it truly shocked him to see her actually afraid of something for once.

He had never seen her show anything but the utmost bravely ever since the king had given her special powers over his Musketeers so that she could call upon them to assist her at all times in her quest to rid France of the numerous monsters that plagued it. The king had become convinced of the need for this after the clockwork men had almost killed Reinette. Now a special unit of the Musketeers was always available to assist her no matter what the hour or the task. He thought that he would hate working for a woman at first, but she had quickly impressed him with her wit, strength, and bravery until he had set all of his reservations about her aside.

He would now gladly follow her into the deepest darkest pits of Hell without hesitation and from what he had seen as he fought by Reinette's side he wouldn't be half surprised if he actually did wind up there someday! He trusted that she would safely lead him and his men back out again even if they did go there though.

"Are you alright, Jeanne?" Clara asked in concern.

Reinette nodded as she quickly recovered her composure and said, "I think that the clockwork men may have returned."

"Oh, wonderful!" Clara said with a sigh.

"I remember them from the day that they tried to attack you, Marquise. I'll give the men a detailed description and tell them to be on the lookout for them," Captain Lefevre said.

"Thank you, Captain. Tell them to be extra careful and to use explosives if they come across them. They may be some of the most dangerous enemies that you have ever met," Reinette warned.

Lefevre nodded as he realized that for Reinette to say that it must be true because she wasn't given to hyperbole.

"Do you wish to go with us as we search for them or do you want to inspect the bodies?" Lefevre asked.

Clara looked sick as she said, "I'd rather not see the bodies if it's all the same to you, Jeanne."

"No, I won't force you to do that, Clara. I'd much rather go after whoever did this than to see their bloodthirsty handiwork. They must be stopped as soon as possible, and I'm not just saying that because of my own fear of them," Reinette reassured them.

"We'll set out immediately then, Marquise. We'll comb every inch of the neighborhood where the victims were found until we find whoever or whatever did this," Lefevre promised.

Before they could leave though, one of the Musketeers rushed up to them and bowed before Reinette and Lady Clara as he said, "Marquise, Captain, I have more news of the horrible murders. One of the victims managed to escape just now and has given us a description of her attacker. She said that it was a man whose face was half human and half . . . machine. It would sound incredible to me if I hadn't already faced things just as strange in your service before."

Reinette looked thoughtful as she said, "Maybe they're not harvesting the parts for a ship anymore. Maybe they're using them for themselves now as well."

"What? You think that they're trying to make themselves look human?" Clara asked in horror.

"Yes. In fact, maybe they already have. That description of yours won't do any good, Captain, if that's true. They could look like anyone now," Reinette said.

"How will we ever find them then?" Lefevre asked.

Reinette smiled as she said, "They don't breathe. That's how."

"They don't?" Clara asked in surprise.

"No, they don't. It's obvious when you think about it," Reinette said.

Then her eyes lit up as she realized, "You're right. Of course they don't. They don't need to, do they? They're mechanical. That's how we'll find them."

Lefevre looked at Reinette with a smile, impressed yet again by her wisdom, as he ordered the musketeers to look for people who were either half mechanical or who didn't breathe. He could only hope that they would be able to stop this new version of the clockwork men if they found them and that they hadn't made themselves even harder to kill than ever somehow.

Reinette seemed to sense his thoughts as she said, "No, I think that this version may be even easier to kill if they're half-human. That means that they'll be able to be killed like a human as well."

"I certainly hope so. After what I saw of their victims, I'll enjoy running a sword through them," Lefevre admitted.

Reinette, Clara, and the Musketeers then set out to find the Half-Face Man as Clara had dubbed him by looking around the same area that the latest victim had seen him in earlier. After searching for several hours, Captain Lefevre finally called off the search as dawn approached. His men needed the rest after all.

"I'll tell the next shift of Musketeers to look for them in the daytime and our unit will go out to look for him again tonight, Marquise. Don't worry. We will find them. We won't rest until we do," Lefevre assured her.

"I'm certain of that, Captain," Reinette said with a warm smile.

Then she and Clara left him while the Musketeers disbanded for the day. The two women returned to Versailles where they planned to sleep the rest of the day so that they could go again at night to look for the mysterious half-faced killer.

It didn't quite turn out that way though unfortunately.

As soon as Reinette and Clara arrived back at the palace, King Louis greeted Reinette with a tender kiss and said in a voice filled with concern, "There you are. I've been looking for you all night. You've been out hunting another one of your monsters haven't you? I see that you've dragged my poor cousin into it too just like usual. Are you alright, Clara? You look horrible."

"Thank you so much, Louis. It's so nice of you to notice," Clara said with a frown.

"I didn't mean it like that, Cousin. I just meant that you look ill. You really need to go to bed right away. If you don't, then as your king I'll order you to do so immediately. I wish that I could do the same to you, Jeanne, but unfortunately I need you at the moment," Louis said.

"For what?" Reinette asked curiously as she knew of nothing that was on her immediate schedule that she needed to have done today.

"There has been a . . . diplomatic incident in Spain involving our ambassador, who I've dismissed, and even talk of war between France and Spain. I need to talk to the Spanish ambassador today while I try to calm things down as quickly and efficiently as I can. I need Spain to stay on our side in case I need their help against the English in the near future which I just might if things keep going the way that they are over in America. I hate to ask you, Jeanne, but I would feel much better if you were there. You could help me to smooth things over because the Spanish respect you. Will you?" Louis asked.

Reinette nodded even though she felt very weary and said, "Yes, of course."

"Louis, she's just as tired as I am!" Clara protested.

"I know and I wouldn't do this normally, but I need every advantage that I can get. I can't afford a war with the Spanish at this time," Louis said.

"I'll go. I'll be fine, Clara. You go and get some sleep," Reinette said with a reassuring smile.

Clara gave her cousin a dirty look despite knowing that it might be considered grounds for execution even for her and then stomped off to her room. She swore to herself that if Reinette became sick because of this that not even being the king would save Louis from her wrath.

As soon as Clara entered her room, all thoughts of Reinette immediately went out of her mind though. She knew right away that something was wrong as soon as she shut the door. All of the contents of her closet had been emptied out on the floor but its door was closed.

"What?! Who's been in here?! What's the meaning of this? I'll slap the life out of them whoever they are!" Clara screamed as she started toward the closet door to see if there was anything left in there.

That turned out to be a huge mistake. As soon as she opened the door, she briefly screamed in fear before a powerful hand quickly clamped itself over her mouth. Before she could try to escape, the owner of the hand's other arm immediately snaked itself around her arms and waist in a grip of steel.

She was completely trapped in her own room, and there was no way to escape.

She began to feel that maybe she had finally met her doom after all. How ironic that it had come when and where that she had least expected it.

After a long, hard and physically grueling day, Louis finally managed to stop all talk of war and allowed Reinette to leave in order to go to sleep. She was barely able to even walk as she slowly headed back to her room.

"Are you alright? I told the king not to involve you in this because you had already been out searching for one of your monsters," Queen Marie said as she passed her in the hallway.

Reinette smiled at the Queen and said in a reassuring voice, "Yes, of course, Your Majesty. I'll be just fine as soon as I get some sleep. There's no need to worry about me."

"I do though. Despite your . . . position at the court you've always treated me with the utmost respect and kindness. Not all of your predecessors were as gracious as you are. In fact, I consider you to be a good friend," Marie said.

"As I do you, Your Majesty. Don't worry. I'll be perfectly fine as soon as I rest for a few hours," Reinette said.

"I'll make sure that he never does this to you again, Jeanne. You can count on that," Marie said.

"Between you and Clara, I'm sure that the king will never even think about doing anything like that again. She was very angry at him," Reinette told her with a chuckle.

Marie smiled as she said, "Yes, so I've heard. The king told me that he fears to be alone with her now or he might have to explain a broken jaw at his next appearance at the court."

"Knowing Clara he might have to explain far more than that. He might just have to explain why he can no longer produce anymore royal offspring," Reinette joked.

The two women laughed at that, and then Reinette couldn't help herself as she finally gave into her growing weariness. She began to yawn. It was a large quite noticeable yawn.

"Get to bed right now, Jeanne. That's an order," Marie said.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I'll see you later," Reinette said as she curtseyed and took her leave of her.

She approached her room in an almost dazed state now and quickly closed the door. She was so tired that she never even noticed a tied up and gagged Clara propped up against the wall on the other side of her room. She also never noticed the very half-faced man that she had been looking for standing behind her.

Not until it was far too late.

Reinette woke to find herself and Clara both tied up now and inside of a small cottage that she was certain was somewhere in the middle of the same area where the murders had taken place earlier. She knew then that she had just been captured by the murderer himself.

"Jeanne, are you alright?" Clara asked in concern.

"Yes, I am actually. I finally managed to get some sleep at last," Reinette joked.

"You'll be sleeping forever if we can't get out of here. That thing that you've been looking for is here somewhere. I think that he's going to take something out of us just as he did to the others that he killed," Clara said.

"I'm afraid to say that I'm almost sure of that," Reinette said in a solemn voice.

"Thank you so much for cheering me up," Clara said with a frown.

"I'm afraid that she's right, Lady Clara. I need more parts including a brain," The Half-Face Man said as he looked pointedly at Reinette.

"Yes, I remember that your kind wanted my brain before as well," Reinette remarked in an emotionally detached voice.

"That was a different version of us. I've long evolved past them as you can see. I don't want your brain for a ship. I want it for a quite different purpose. I'll need it and its great intelligence for one of us," The Half-Face Man said.

"One of you? You mean that you want to put Jeanne's brain in one of your servants' bodies?" Clara said in disgust.

"No, I don't want to put it in the body of a servant. You see in order to fit in among your kind as much as possible we've started to practice your customs as well as acting and dressing as you do. One of those customs includes marriage. I want the Marquise's brain for . . . my wife," The Half-Face Man said with a sinister smile.

Reinette and Clara both looked at one another in shock and repulsion as Clara said with a sigh, "Here we go again. How are you going to get us out of this one, Jeanne? You'd better come up with something fast because I do not want this to be how I'm remembered as having become spare parts to a machine with delusions of humanity."

Reinette began to start trying to think of a plan to escape immediately, but so far nothing was coming to her. She could only hope that the Doctor didn't go through all of that effort to save her all of her life only for it all to end up like this because she definitely did not want to spend the rest of eternity as this hideous thing's wife.

Now she was almost wishing that the Doctor hadn't saved her. She would have much rather have fallen to the other clockwork men instead. This would be a fate truly worse than death.

Next: How do Reinette and Clara get out of this one? Is she really doomed to become the Half-Faced Man's bride?