The Doctor stumbled into the TARDIS and quickly closed the door, locking it to prevent anyone from getting in. He staggered over to the controls, clutching his side as he went. He reached the console and slammed the nearest lever down, sending the old ship into flight. He leaned up against the console and reached up to straighten his bow tie. Sadly, it had been burnt in the firefight.
"Oh, well," he observed sadly. "Nothing lasts forever." He looked down at his side and pulled his hand away, revealing the red stain that had gathered there. He had had many demises before, but being shot was new on him.
"At least I didn't trip over a brick."
He knew it was coming. His body was getting weaker and he was feeling cold and numb. Soon his body would start the process of regeneration. This life would end and a new one would begin. No more madman in a box. No more cool hats. No bow ties.
"You know," he said to no one in particular. "One of these days I would like to get a body that lasts for more than a decade. Then again, if I had one of those I wouldn't be me. Never mind."
He raised himself off the console and went to stand in the center of the room. Last time he had done this, he had destroyed the console and nearly the entire ship. Then he had to stop an alien incursion with a fire truck and a cell phone. "Good old Ponds. They never let me down."
He looked around his beloved TARDIS one last time. In a minute or two, he would be looking at her through new eyes and he wanted to cherish his own for a moment longer. He looked down at his hands in time to see them glowing with Gallifreyan energy. Looking to the console, he said "See you on the other side, sexy."
His entire body began glowing and as it began to surge forth he cried out one last "GERONIMO!" as he burst with energy. The glow was so powerful it almost overpowered the lights in the TARDIS as every cell in the Time Lord's ancient form rewrote and renewed itself. Letting out a cry of pain as his new form completed himself, the surge of energy ceased and there was a new man standing in the Doctor's tweed jacket and bloodstained shirt.
He stood there for a moment as he caught his breath and adjusted to his new senses. He looked over himself. "Legs, check. Arms, noted. Hands, feet, fingers, toes, all seem to be in place. Eyes and mouth go without saying. Nose…" He sniffed the air. "Working. Mostly, anyway. Hair." He pulled a strand down and stared at it. "Not ginger, but not bad."
He ran over to the console and checked the monitor. "Still in flight, that's good. You've still got it, old girl." Turning his attention back to himself, he noticed the blood on his shirt. "This won't do. Old blood touching new body. Last thing I need is to get sentimental. I need a new shirt first. Then I'll get nostalgic." He started towards the wardrobe as he began to remove his outfit. He untied the remnants of his bow tie and gazed at it for a moment. "A new tie is in order as well."
Roughly an hour later, the Doctor emerged from the wardrobe clad in a new outfit. He wore a black button-down shirt and a platinum waistcoat and tie with a pair of carpenter jeans and a simple pair of sneakers. His sonic screwdriver was tucked into one of his side pockets and he had a pocket watch on his waistcoat.
He returned to the console room, grabbing a gray fedora from the hat stand as he passed it. Placing the hat on his head, he switched the monitor to mirror mode and observed his new face.
"Not bad, all things considered. In retrospect, it could have been worse. Still, I would have liked to be ginger." He returned the monitor to normal and turned his attention to the controls, flipping switches and pulling levers at random. "All right, gorgeous, where shall we go next?"
On Earth, a young woman was walking home from university after a long day of classes. Rebecca Wilson shifted her bag on her shoulder and continued to tread the path from her last class to her flat. It was the last class of the week for her and she was looking forward to meeting her friends this evening for drinks and dancing. Maybe Todd would be there.
It would seem, though, that fate had other plans in mind. Just as Rebecca reached the corner, she was surrounded by a strange purple mist. It coalesced around her and before she could even scream, she had been whisked away towards the heavens.
A thousand light years from Earth, on a strange alien world, creatures of all shapes and sizes and colors moved through the local spaceport. Different species moved this way and that, heading towards a ship, shopping with various vendors, and just generally milling about.
In a tucked away corner of the spaceport, far from the hustle and bustle, an unfamiliar wind kicked up and a grinding, whooshing sound started to sound. The noise grew in intensity as a light appeared in the air and a blue police box faded into view. The TARDIS finished materializing and landed with a loud thump. A moment later, the door opened and the Doctor emerged.
"Ah, the spaceport of Bu-Ruk Octavus. I haven't been here since the Prince of Ez'Bikoy visited before his coronation," the Doctor said as he looked around. "I hope he's not here. I still owe him a game hen."
The Doctor strolled through the spaceport, taking in the sights and occasionally stopping to chat with some of the locals. Everything seemed ordinary at the spaceport. Until, that is, the Doctor heard a scream of terror coming from somewhere nearby. Turning towards the sound, the Doctor grinned with delight. "That's more like it," he chuckled as he ran off towards the cry.
Rebecca found herself surrounded on all sides by strange creatures. They were tall, nearly seven feet, and reptillian. They wore black armor over their dark blue scales and they were pointing what looked like rifles at her. They spoke in a language that she couldn't understand. It was clear by the way that they kept glancing at her, though, that they were talking about her. One of them motioned at her with his rifle, indicating that she was to follow. She didn't know what they had planned, but she could guess that it wasn't good.
"Listen, I think there's been some kind of mistake here. I was just going to meet some mates at the club and I ended up here. So, look, I think I'll just be going." She tried to move away, but the lizard-man moved to block her path.
"Sorry to interrupt, lads, but I think you've got the wrong person," said a new voice. Rebecca turned to see a man who had just come around the corner. He looked rather normal compared to the lizard-men, dressed in jeans and a waistcoat, but still out of place in this alien surrounding. He pulled a strange device out of his pocket and pointed it at her. The device emitted a soft green glow and a strange buzzing noise.
"You see, I thought there was a mix-up," he said as he returned the device to his pocket. "You see, fellas, she's a human from Earth. There shouldn't be any humans on this planet for another three centuries."
The lizard-man spoke back in his strange language, causing the man to roll his eyes. "Oh, don't start with that. You think I don't recognize a multidimensional wave transducer when I see one? That's stolen technology. What's worse is you don't even know how to use it. Let me guess, you just picked a star and pushed the button, didn't you?"
The lizard hissed some more words, pointing at Rebecca.
"Call it what you like, Captain, but you kidnapped a citizen of a Level 5 planet. Do you have any idea how many articles of the Shadow Proclamation that violates? If they were here right now…Ooh, I wouldn't want to be you. Luckily for you, I'm a reasonable bloke. Let the girl go and we'll call this a big misunderstanding and go our separate ways? Deal?"
The lizard-man became agitated and hissed and spat at the man. Rebecca didn't have to know what he was saying to know that he was angry. He leveled his rifle at the man. In response, he pulled his device out and pointed it at the rifle, causing the buzzing sound again. The lizard pulled the trigger but nothing happened.
"In all fairness, I tried to be reasonable. Oh, well. Plan B." He reached around the lizard and grabbed Rebecca's hand. "Run!" he shouted, pulling her with him as he charged off.