OUT OF THE PAST
Chapter 2
Battered and bruised they looked as if they have been fighting for their lives.
"Doctor, it's us." Luke said.
"Well, well. What have we here?" The Doctor queried.
"I think you know as well as we do. We're you, from the future." Doctor B replied a bit crossly.
"Oh really?" Doctor A said as he pulled his sonic screwdriver and waited for the other Doctor to do the same, which he did a bit irritably.
"Yes, they'll spark." Doctor B said crossly as they briefly touched the two sonics screwdrivers together and they sparked. "Satisfied?" Doctor B asked sarcastically.
"So, what is going on? Let me guess. You can't tell us. Time laws and," Doctor A started to say when Jack B interrupted.
"Doctor! It's a Rutan! He took over George Wingers body and attacked the man's daughter! We have no idea why!" Jack B said.
"Three minutes, thirty-eight seconds." Luke B said looking at his watch.
"Of course! A Rutan. I should have guessed. The unseasonably cold weather and the fog. All trademarks of a Rutan." Doctor A asked. "And why the countdown?"
"He's counting down until the Time-Door opens." Doctor B replied.
"A time door?! You've got to be joking!" Doctor A demanded.
"Do I sound like I'm joking? Never mind! You four must go through that door. There's no other way." Doctor B insisted.
"Why can't I just go back in the Tardis?" Doctor A asked.
"Because if you fail then you can't go back. We saw no future selves. Obviously someone knew that we weren't going to solve the mystery the first time through so," The Doctor B explained.
"Whereas you tell us what you know and we use that knowledge to stop it once and for all." Doctor A mused. "Interesting. Shame you had to shoot him though Jack."
"Wasn't me. I started to but the Rutan charged me and knocked the gun out of my hand. It was him." Jack B said nodding towards Detective Bishop B.
"Hey, he was trying to kill us and that little girl. I had no choice." Detective Bishop B insisted.
"Still, too bad we couldn't have tricked him to come out of the body instead." Doctor B mused.
Doctor A suddenly got an idea. Turning to Jack A.
"Jack give me your gun." The Doctor A insisted.
Jack A handed his gun to Doctor A.
The Doctor took the bullets out and using his sonic screwdriver he made some adjustments on the bullets.
"Doctor what are you doing?" Jack A demanded.
"Your bullets are like blanks now. That should trick the Rutan into abandoning the body and hopefully that'll give George a fighting chance at survival." Doctor A finished.
"Two minutes twenty-two seconds." Luke B Said.
"You know I've always wondered what made the Rutans such a threat to the Sontarans?" Jack B mused out-loud.
"The Rutan's can give off a deadly radiation that destroys a clones cells." Doctor A informed him.
Luke A looked worriedly at Luke B who briefly put his hand on the piece of shirt he had tied around his arm and discreetly nodded to Luke A. Clearly Luke had been injured from the radiation.
"I'm surprised you guys didn't disappear the minute we showed up." Jack A commented.
"Our Tardis is about seven hundred yards north of here. Whoever knocked us off course, made sure our Tardis' didn't wind up in the same spot." Doctor B said.
"So what happened to this Rutan?" Detective Bishop A demanded.
"That's the million dollar question." Jack B said sarcastically. "We don't know. After Detective Bishop here Shot George, the Rutan dispersed an energy charge that knocked us out. When we came to,"
"The Rutan had disappeared." Doctor B finished for him. "By the time we got upstairs, the Rutan was gone. And we couldn't use the Tardis because it didn't arrive until twenty minutes later and by the time we got to the Hospital, Paulette was there, safe and sound and the Rutan had disappeared. "
"Forty seconds." Luke B said.
Luke had an idea.
"Doctor why not have K-9 move the Tardis back about forty minutes in time. That way it will be there waiting for us." Luke A asked.
"The Time Door will open any second now." Doctor B warned. "You won't have time to go back to the Tardis."
"We don't have to." Luke said holding up his left hand. "I have a wrist communicator. We can talk to him from here."
Doctor-A quickly grabbed Luke's wrist.
"K-9!" Doctor-A shouted into the communicator.
.
Inside the Tardis K-9 had been peacefully downloading information from the Tardis matrix.
"Master." K-9 said.
.
"K-9 move the Tardis back in time forty minutes. Same coordinates. Understand? Move the Tardis. I'll explain later." Doctor A said.
"Five seconds." Luke B said.
.
"Affirmative Master." K-9 said as he began to make the necessary arrangements.
.
"Well that's one problem solved." Jack A said. "But,"
He got no further then that when there was a sudden blast of energy about fifty feet to their left.
"Time to go." Doctor A said solemnly.
"Don't be afraid." Doctor B said.
"I'm not." Doctor A said confidently. To Jack, Luke and Detective Bishop he said. "Let's go!"
They leaped through the doorway.
Once through they quickly got their bearings.
Luke noticed a few yards down the dock a little blond girl about ten with pig tails playing with a jump rope. Near her was a ten year old boy with a crew cut wearing a scout uniform. He was watching ships from the dock.
.
The boy didn't seem to notice their arrival but the shocked look on the little girls face indicated she saw them appear out of nowhere.
"Those must be the two kids who help Paulette escape." Luke said nodding towards them.
The Doctor thought there was something familiar about them.
"I wonder who they are?" The Doctor asked out loud.
"Does it matter?" Jack demanded. "We need to find,"
He got no further when a girls screams came floating up the steps of the warehouse.
"There already in there!" Jack said as he rushed into the warehouse followed by The Doctor, Luke and Detective Bishop.
Jack quickly made his way down the steps and having fought many creatures in his time that could dispense an electrical charge, he knew exactly how to fight a creature like this.
He ran towards George Winger and then flew at him with a backwards kick. This sent the Rutan/George to stumble backwards a bit.
Luke picked up a lid from a wooden crate and used it for defense. The Doctor picked up a piece of wood and used it to strike the Rutan.
"We don't want to kill him!" Luke said. "We're here to save George."
"Sorry Luke, but if it's a case of kill or be killed," The Doctor replied.
"Mother said you never tried to hurt anyone." Luke said. "You always tried to find the most peaceful way to solve problems."
The Doctor sighed and began using the wood for blocking only.
Jack noticed Paulette hovering in the right hand corner scared to death to move. Next to her lay an orange cat. It appeared to be dead.
"It's okay sweetheart. We're going to get you out of here alive." Jack said to her.
She looked confused and upset.
"Why is my daddy trying to kill me?! Look! He's already killed my Cat!" Paulette screamed pointing to an orange calico cat lying dead on the floor.
"He's been taken over by a Rutan." Luke responded without thinking.
"A what?!" Paulette asked.
"A creature from South America." The Doctor quickly interjected as he ducked a blow from the Rutan. "They take over a person body and attack the first child they see. They are extremely rare though."
Paulette wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. But she was too scared to ask anymore questions.
"You need to get out of here!" The Doctor ordered. "We'll try to save your Daddy." The Doctor said.
"But no promises." Jack added as he did a round-house kick to the Rutan/Georges face.
Paulette tried to run to the stairs but she tripped and sprained her ankle.
The Doctor, Jack, Luke and Detective Bishop were too busy keeping the Rutan away from Paulette to be able to help her.
"You've got to get out of here, now!" The Doctor demanded.
"I can't! I hurt my ankle." Paulette said crying.
Just then the two children from the dock slowly descended the stairs. They took in the situation.
Scary glowing man fighting with four men. Girl crying on the floor holding her ankle.
The Doctor saw them.
"Get out of here! It isn't safe!" The Doctor shouted at them.
But the girl got this stubborn look on her face.
"Come on." She said to the boy. "We'll help her up the steps."
And with that the boy and the girl quickly made their way down the steps and each put Paulette's arms around their shoulder and helped her to the steps.
As they were helping her up the steps The Doctor found himself annoyed with those two children.
"Why don't you two ever listen?" The Doctor demanded to know. "Children rarely listen to me." He added.
The Rutan saw that his intended target was getting away and was getting ready to release a mass of energy towards them.
Jack saw this and pulled his gun.
The Rutan saw this action out of the corner of his eye and instead sent an energy wave towards Jack who went flying backwards crashing into a wall. Jack then slumped to the floor. Jack lay there dead.
The gun flew across the floor and landed in front of Detective Bishop.
Luke remembering what was about to happen next dived behind some heavy crates.
Detective Bishop leveled the Gun at the Rutan and fired just as the Rutan released a large mass of energy.
And then there was silence.
Soon Luke realized that all was quiet and he lifted his head.
The others were unconscious.
He noted that the cat was missing and George Wingers body lay on the ground.
Luke rushed over to check George's pulse. He was STILL ALIVE!
Luke made his way up the steps and stepped out into the bright sunlight.
People along the docks were coming out of their houseboats and out of the other warehouses in response to the gunshot.
Luke ran to the spot where the Tardis was suppose to be appearing. He looked at his watch. Two more minutes before it would materialize.
He spotted A woman helping Paulette and the two kids into her car.
As they were driving off, Luke spotted Paulette's cat following them.
Luke quickly deduced that the Rutan must of taken over the cat's dead body.
Luke raced back to the others.
Inside the warehouse The Doctor quickly came to. He lightly slapped Detective Bishop awake.
Captain Jack suddenly came to life again with a start.
They scanned the warehouse. The Doctor noticed Luke as he came rushing down the stairs.
"Doctor, Jack I know where the Rutan has gone. He took over Paulette's Cats body. One of the kids mother is driving all three of them to the hospital and the Rutan is following them." Luke said.
"Well done. But wait. Something is bothering me." The Doctor said. "Our other selves said we by the time we got to the hospital, Paulette was fine and the Rutan was gone."
"Isn't that good?" Detective Bishop demanded.
"But why? Here a Rutan comes all this way to kill this poor child and then suddenly abandons the attempt." The Doctor was puzzled.
"Luke, good question. Can you find the answer outside? Remember everything you have seen and heard and try to ask the right questions." The Twelfth Doctor said.
Luke frowned and headed upstairs.
"Hey Luke! Where are you off to?" The Doctor demanded. "We need to figure this out! Why does the Rutan suddenly abandon it's attempt to kill Paulette?"
"Maybe we scared him off." Detective Bishop suggested.
As Luke reached the top of the stairs he could hear The Doctor scoffing at such a suggestion.
"Are you insane? After beating us why would he be scared of us?" The Doctors voice echoed up the stairs.
"Luke try to resist easy answers and that's all I'm going to say." The Twelfth Doctor insisted.
Luke really felt his adrenalin flowing and his heart was beating fast.
Luke tried to piece together the puzzle.
What has happened? What was said? Someone or Something with enormous power took over Mr Smith.
He wanted the Doctor to save them. THEM?! But only George Winger wound up dead in the first time-line. So who is, "Them?" Who have they met or seen other then George Winger and Paulette?
No one. Except those two kids.
Those kids! No! Yes! Wait! What did the Doctor say to them as they were rescuing Paulette? "Why don't you two ever listen?"
But who were these kids? Someone The Doctor knew? Or would know as adults? The Girl! She was Ten Years old and blond just like Paulette! What if. What if...
He saw an elderly woman walking a small dog towards him. Luke ran towards the woman just as The Doctor, Jack and Detective Bishop came outside.
The Doctor could hear the sound of the Tardis materializing in the distance.
"Luke we have to get after the Rutan!" He shouted at him. "What on earth is he doing?" He asked of Jack and Detective Bishop as he followed Luke.
They just shrugged and followed The Doctor.
"Excuse me Miss." Luke began.
"Yes, dear. Oh my. You look as if you've been in some sort of fight. Is everything okay?" The woman asked.
"Maybe, maybe not. Do you live around here?" Luke asked.
"Why yes, I've lived in this area for over thirty years." She replied. "By the way son, my name is Ann. And you are?"
"Luke. Do you know the children around here?" Luke asked.
"Of course. They love to play with poodles." Ann said indicating her small dog.
"A few minutes ago two kids came into the warehouse and rescued a girl by the name of Paulette. She had sprained her ankle. The girl that helped rescue her was also blond. She had pig-tails."
Ann thought about it for a few seconds before she shrugged her shoulders.
"Sorry Luke. But that description could fit about half a dozen girls along the waterfront."
Some more people joined them.
"Perhaps if you gave us more to go on young man." another elderly woman said. "What color were her eyes, what kind of clothes was she wearing."
"Oh Blue eyes, a white dress with blue and yellow flowers and a white sweater." Luke replied.
But this still didn't help.
Suddenly Luke heard a soft whisper.
"personality. describe her personality." The Twelfth Doctor whispered.
"Oh and she was very stubborn. Very bossy." Luke added.
This made several ladies laugh in recognition of the description Luke gave.
"Oh that must have been little Margaret. She is a lively one. She has more courage then some grown men I've known." Ann said.
"Margaret?" The Doctor said with a puzzled look on his face.
"Oh and there was a boy too. He had a crew cut and he was wearing a scout uniform," Luke began when another elderly woman chimed in.
"Oh that must be little Benji. He's here visiting his Aunt Sonia for the Summer." She said.
The Doctors face suddenly became very serious.
"Guys with me now or be left behind." He ordered.
They fell in quickly behind the Doctor as he made his way towards the Tardis.
Suddenly he spotted two people stepping out of the shadows of the back of a building.
Jack seemed to recognize them. He started to pull out his gun when the Doctor stopped him.
"Jack wait. They're not here for either of us. I think you'll find they're here for Detective Bishop." The Doctor said as he looked from the two people to Detective Bishop.
"Torchwood." Detective Bishop groused. "What do they want with me?"
"Your on your way here to investigate a murder. Well, an assault. You can't be in two places at once." The Doctor turned to the Torchwood couple. "Am I right?"
They nodded and the woman waved Detective Bishop towards them.
"Don't Worry. They won't hurt you and if they do, they'll have to answer to me." The Doctor said in a slightly menacing tone.
Detective Bishop sighed.
"Very well. I'd like to say it was good to see you again Doctor, but my father taught me never to lie."
"Good-bye Detective Bishop." The Doctor said as he went inside the Tardis followed by Jack who couldn't resist glancing back at them one last time before entering the Tardis followed by Luke.
.
The Doctor is frantically working the console.
Captain Jack and Luke wait for The Doctor to explain who the two children are.
"Well Doctor?" Jack asked.
"Well what?" The Doctor responded irritably.
"Who are those two children? I mean have you met them before?" Jack asked.
"In a manner of speaking yes and no." The Doctor said cryptically.
Seeing Jack and Luke's puzzled faces he added. "I do know them and they will know me."
Luke figured it out.
"They're former companions! As kids!" Luke exclaimed.
"Exactly! Can't have my enemies going around trying to hurt my companions when they're at their most vulnerable." The Doctor said evenly.
"So who,?!" Jack asked as The Doctor took off through the doors and down the corridor.
The Tardis materialized a few blocks from the hospital.
"Does that happen often?" Luke asked Jack.
"What? Enemies coming after revenge. Sometimes. So you better get used to it ki, er Luke. Can't go whining to The Doctor every time something happens. Besides I can take care of any alien myself." Jack boasted before adding. "Well, maybe with a little help from my friends." He finished.
"Where do you think the Doctor's gone?" Luke asked.
"He's probably digging some equipment out of one of the storage rooms. Don't worry. There's only a few hundred." Jack said with a chuckle.
"Whoa! How big is the Tardis?" Luke asked.
"It's about the size of a small ocean liner." Jack said.
Noting the look of disbelief on Luke's face he added. "I'm not kidding. There are over 20 levels to this ship."
"Is there a lift?" Luke asked.
"Nah. Used to be but The Doctor told me it's been broken for centuries." Jack said.
"Are they all storage rooms? I mean aren't there any bedrooms?" Luke asked.
"Plenty of bedrooms. " Jack laughed. "But one thing. I'm very serious." Jack said suddenly turning very somber. "I'm telling this to you, companion to companion. Don't ever try to go into the room at the end of the third hallway. The one on the right. It is always locked. I was curious why it was the only bedroom locked, so I tried to pick the lock. The Doctor caught me. I had never seen him so angry."
"Why? What's in there?" Luke asked.
"I don't know. All I do know is he wouldn't speak to me for three days after that. And when he finally started speaking to me again, I got up the courage to ask him what the hell he had in there that was so valuable?" Jack said recollecting.
"What did he say?" Luke asked.
"He got this really weird look on his face and he said 'A piece of my heart'. And that's all he would ever say about it. I haven't brought it up since and if your smart, you won't either." Jack warned him.
Just then The Doctor returned with several pieces of equipment.
"K-9 scan Earths orbit and search for any traces of a Rutan Ship." The Doctor ordered.
"So those two kids are the real target Doctor?" Jack asked.
"Indeed they are. No wonder we lost, well, our other selves lost him at the Hospital. He must have somehow figured out his mistake and went after his real target." The Doctor explained.
"Who are?" Jack demanded to know.
"Margaret and Benji, or as I knew them when they traveled with me, Ben and Polly." The Doctor said.
"Ben and Polly?!" Jack exclaimed.
Luke started searching the Tardis date banks for information on them for himself.
"It says here they stumbled onto your ship shortly after you fought something called the war machines. " Luke read from the date banks.
"Yes, they did. And they were with me when I first regenerated." the Doctor recollected. "Regeneration is normally a very private thing for a Time Lord. We normally only do it around family. Though that might have changed after my time. I seem to recall Romana treating regenerating as a very casual thing. But for me it was something special and they were with me. So there is a special bond between me and those who I'm with when I regenerate.
"No wonder you said, "Why don't you two ever listen?" Luke said.
"Yes, I must have instinctively known them." The Doctor pondered. "I did get a feeling of recognition when I first saw them on the docks."
"So now this Rutan is after them." Jack said matter-of-factly.
"Yes." A dark look crept over the Doctors face. "And now we will show this Rutan why you don't mess around with my friends. Especially when they are children."
"What is that your building Doctor." Luke asked.
"A teleportation gun. You can teleport your enemies anywhere providing you have a teleportation pad. Which you and Jack can put together."
"So your just going to teleport it back to it's ship?" Jack asked in disgust. "Why not lean on it a little? Make him think twice before trying something like this again?"
"It's set for wide dispersal." The Doctor answered.
"Your going to kill him Doctor? Luke asked astonished . "Mother said you never killed unless you were left with no other option."
"No one goes after one of my friends Luke." The Doctor snapped. "And if quoting your mother is going to become a habit, then maybe I ought to take you back to your house after this is done."
Luke doesn't know how to respond to this.
"Luke! Don't take that from me. Talk back." the Twelfth Doctor told Luke. "Trust me."
"Mother said you only used violence as a last resort. Because you didn't want to sink down to the level of those you spent your entire life fighting against." Luke answered matter-of-factly.
The Doctor looked like he was going to blow and then he let out a huge sigh.
"Your right. Sorry. Jack hand me that spanner. I'll give him a choice. Okay? Leave my friends alone or I will disperse him." The Doctor decided.
"Does that sound fair to you Luke?" The Doctor asked somewhat sarcastically.
"Yes Doctor." Luke said.
"Good for you Luke. Well done." The Twelfth Doctor said. "Don't take any rubbish from me. Well him."
So the Doctor made some more adjustments to the gun. Soon the teleport gun was ready. As was the teleport pad box.
"Alright. Now I'm in charge. Do as I say. Now we confront this Rutan. See if we can't show him the errors of his ways." The Doctor said.
.
They stepped outside the Tardis. They noticed lots of window washing equipment lying on the ground. ropes, buckets, even a tall ladder leaning against the building.
"So first we determine where the Rutan is. We give him a chance to leave of his own free will or we send him on a trip from which he will never return." The Doctor said.
They see Ben and Polly entering the hospital while the woman helped Paulette out of her car and into the Hospital.
"Okay the cat/Rutan should be showing up any minute. Luke, go into the hospital and ask Ben and Polly to come here." The Doctor told him.
Luke headed for the hospital.
"Doctor what are you doing?" Jack demanded. "They're not your companions yet. They're just kids."
"I know what I'm doing." The Doctor insisted.
.
A few minutes later Ben and Polly ran up to him while Luke followed behind.
"Well hello there. I'm John Smith. I need to ask you a very important favor." The Doctor said.
"What kind of favor?" Polly asked.
"Is it legal?" Ben asked.
The Doctor couldn't chuckling.
"Yes, Ben, it is legal. I wouldn't ask you to do something illegal now would I?" The Doctor asked.
"We don't know. We don't know who you are or what you want us to do." Polly said.
"Quite right. Well you see this box over here?" The Doctor asked as he led them around the corner.
"That's a Police Box." Ben said.
"Well not really. I just have a very special box that looks like one. I want you two to keep an eye on it and make sure no one disturbs it. Can you do that for me?" The Doctor asked.
"What's inside? Do you have a body in there?" Ben asked.
The Doctor laughed.
"Oh Ben, always," The Doctor stopped himself abruptly. "Er, I mean, No. No body. Just special equipment. I'm a scientist."
"Then wouldn't that make you Dr Smith?" Polly demanded to know.
"Why, yes. Yes it would." The Doctor agreed. To Jack and Luke he whispered over his shoulder. "See what I had to put up with?"
To Ben and Polly he added. "Well? Can you two handle such an important task?"
"Doctor." Luke admonished. "They're just kids."
"Yeah, but we can watch this old box." Ben said. "But I don't need some girl to help me."
"I'm not 'some girl' and I can watch this box as well as any old boy." Polly shot back.
"Whatever you say Duchess." Ben said.
"Oh don't you two start." The Doctor pleaded. "Luke, Jack with me."
They make their way to the alley between two buildings. The Doctor indicated to Luke to hide behind the dumpster on the right hand side.
"Luke, you wait there with the teleport box. Now Jack," The Doctor began.
Meanwhile Ben and Polly crept forward to eavesdrop.
"You go inside the Hospital and discreetly inform the Rutan that Ben and Polly have decided to walk back to the waterfront. Then you lead him down this alley." The Doctor said pointing towards the street at the end of the alley.
"Then Luke you can trap the Rutan inside the teleport box while I activate the gun from up there. We need him in one spot for just a few seconds." The Doctor said as he pointed to the roof of the building on the left.
"I think right about...Here. Be careful not to let the Rutan transfer itself into you. It can transfer into any being, living or dead. Now let's put this plan into motion. He said as he walked back to the front of the buildings.
Ben and Polly scrambled to get back to the spot they were told to stay.
"Exactly what I need. A ladder." The Doctor said as he grabbed the ladder and carried it over to the other building.
"Jack do your thing. Luke be ready. This will require split second timing precision. Once we have the Rutan trapped, we warn him and then we can send him back to where he came from." The Doctor reminded them as he started making his way up the ladder to the top story window. He planned on making his way from the room to the hallway and then up to the roof.
Jack meanwhile made his way to the Hospital.
As he entered the hospital he overhears a nurse is telling an angry woman that she cannot bring an English Bulldog into the hospital.
"But he's like a child to my sister Irene. What do you mean I can't take Charlie in to see her?" The Woman angrily demanded.
"The rules are clear. No animals in here. Take him outside and tether him to a tree." The Nurse ordered.
The woman indignantly took Charlie outside.
"Isn't it sad how some people just don't respect the rules anymore?" Jack asked pretending to sympathize.
"I'm just doing my job." The Nurse insisted.
"I know. It must be so rough. So much work and so little respect. I know I could never put up with it." Jack said sweetly.
Just then the woman who drove the kids to the hospital came out of Paulette's room just as the Rutan/Cat made it's way towards Paulette's room behind the furniture.
"Where's Ben and Polly? I need to go pick up Paulette's mother." The woman said to the Nurse.
The Rutan/Cat suddenly stopped and looked at the woman.
"Very good Mrs Wright. It is such a shame what happened to the poor child." The Nurse replied.
"Uh, excuse me Mrs Wright. The kids told me to tell you they decided to walk back to the docks. I'm going that way myself. I'll walk with them if you like." Jack offered.
"Well, okay. I don't know why they wouldn't want to stay and find out if their friend was okay." Mrs Wright said.
"They have full confidence in the fine staff here." Jack replied with a smile. "Well, I'll be off."
Jack turned and left while watching the Rutan/Cat out of the corner of his eye.
The Rutan/Cat followed Jack. Jack made sure not to walk too fast lest he lose the Rutan/Cat.
Jack made his way down the street till he came to the alley.
He looked up briefly as he headed down the alley he nodded to the Doctor on the roof to signal him to be ready.
The Doctor signaled back he's ready.
As Jack made his way down the Alley The Rutan/Cat turned the corner and continued following Captain Jack.
As Captain Jack passed Luke he nodded slightly backwards to indicate that the Rutan/Cat was right behind him.
Luke nodded and got ready.
Just as the Rutan/Cat started to pass the spot where Luke sat, The Rutan/Cat suddenly looked to it's right and spotted Luke and jumped aside just as Luke tried to put the Transporter box on top of him.
Captain Jack turned around and brought out his gun and then remembered the gun was filled with blanks. He thrust it back into his pocket and picked up some wood.
The Doctor seeing the plan ruined took off to join them.
Meanwhile Ben and Polly had crept back to watch and saw what was going on.
"We have to help them." Polly said.
"We're just kids. We can't do anything." Ben said.
"Fine. But I'm going to help." Polly said definitely.
"Okay, but what can we do?" Ben demanded.
Polly looked around and suddenly had an idea.
"Listen." Polly said as she quickly whispered something in Ben's ear.
"Yeah, that might work." Ben said as he took off.
Meanwhile Jack and Luke struggled to get the Rutan under control.
The Rutan/Cat suddenly leaped on top of the dumpster and then suddenly sprang at Jack. The Rutan/Cat released an energy burst which knocked Jack out.
Now it was between the Rutan/Cat and Luke.
Luke fought to keep the Rutan/Cat from touching him with it's energy.
As he stepped backwards he tripped and fell and hit his head, stunning him, just as the Rutan/Cat advanced on him.
The Rutan/Cat seemed to be laughing at Luke.
The Rutan/Cat prepared to hit Luke with a full on blast when suddenly Ben and Polly appeared with the English Bulldog Charlie. They held on tightly to Charlie's leash.
Charlie growled menacingly at the cat.
The Rutan/Cat jumped backwards and hissed. But then he laughed.
"Stupid boy and girl. Do you think this body is the only one I can take over?" To a stunned Ben and Polly.
"That cat spoke!" Polly said.
"Cat's can't talk, Peggy." Ben said refusing to believe what he just heard.
"This one can! And my name isn't Peggy!" Polly said as they backed up while still holding on tight to the leash.
Suddenly the Rutan transferred itself from the Cat to Charlie and the cat collapsed.
"Stupid Human children." The Rutan/Charlie said over his shoulder.
Ben and Polly suddenly dropped the leash and took off screaming as they ran down the alley.
The Rutan/Charlie stood there laughing at them for a few seconds before taking off after them.
Ben and Polly ran as fast as they could.
The Rutan/Charlie kept gaining on them.
As Ben and Polly are running Captain Jack awoke with a start.
He rubs his head and then noticed Ben and Polly being chased by the English Bulldog he saw earlier.
He spotted the cat lying next to Luke's feet and quickly deduced what happened. He noticed Luke stirring. Jack stood up and kicked the bottom of Luke's feet. Luke woke up out of his daze.
"Fix that!" Jack ordered pointing at the broken box. Jack then quickly entered some digits into his vortex manipulator and disappeared.
Luke quickly set to work fixing the transporter box.
Meanwhile Ben and Polly have almost reached the end of the alley when they do something amazing. They stopped and turned around to face the Rutan/Charlie.
The Rutan/Charlie is getting closer and closer and just as he gets within a few feet of them he tries to lunge at them when he suddenly STOPS! He is unable to go any further. He looked back and suddenly noticed that Charlies leash had been tied to a piece of rope. And the other end of the rope was tied to the dumpster.
The Rutan is furious! He'd been outsmarted by a couple of ten year old Humans!
"What is this?!" The Rutan/Charlie demanded.
"We've tied it off!" Polly proudly boasted.
Looking up to where she thought The Doctor still was.
"Dr Smith! We got him! He's in one spot!" Polly called up to him.
"Yeah! I used a double-square knot I learned in the Scouts!" Ben boasted.
The Rutan/Charlie laughed.
"You stupid children. These bodies just make it easier for me to move. But I can still move without them." The Rutan/Charlie said in a mocking tone of voice.
But as he got ready to lunge at them Captain Jack suddenly appeared in front of them.
"Grab my arms kids and hold on!" Jack ordered Ben and Polly.
Ben and Polly have no idea what's going on but they did as they are told.
The Rutan/Charlie is clearly surprised by this.
"What is this?! Humans do not have this technology in this era. You cannot be of this time!" The Rutan/Charlie said astonished.
Captain Jack just laughed.
"Don't be too flustered by my sudden appearance Rutan. It's who follows, you should worry about." Jack warned him.
And with that Jack activated his Vortex Manipulator and he, Ben and Polly vanished.
And right behind the spot where Captain Jack and the kids had stood was, The Doctor! He held the teleport gun in an upward position.
"Hello." The Doctor said in a mock pleasant voice. "I'm the Doctor." He quickly swiveled the gun around towards the Rutan. "And I understand you have a problem with a couple of my former companions?"
"So Doctor. Come to save your two former companions? I should have known you'd show up." The Rutan complained.
"Why are you hunting my two former companions?" The Doctor demanded to know.
The Rutan refused to answer.
"Very well. I'll just disperse your atoms for millions of miles." The Doctor said mildly.
"For the prize." The Rutan hissed.
"The prize! You mean someone has put a hit out on my two former companions? And what about the others?" The Doctor demanded.
The Rutan wouldn't answer.
"Alright." The Doctor raised the gun.
"Yes! All of them!" The Rutan reluctantly answered.
"I see. But why hunt them as children? That's hardly the Rutan way. Why not at least hunt them as adults? Since when do you," The Doctor stopped. He had a sudden hunch. "Or maybe you did and you couldn't kill them!" The Doctor crowed with delight. "You tried and they probably kept outsmarting you! Didn't they?!" The Doctor practically laughed as he said this. "Didn't they?!"
"I hunted them down in a place called India. And that girl Polly lured me under a dock and then Ben came up behind me and trapped me inside a wooden box. Then they tossed me out to sea where I was trapped for months!" The Rutan/Charlie said angrily.
The Doctor laughed at the irony.
"So they used a variation of our trick on you first. That's why you didn't fall for it now. So you thought they would be an easy target as children and they still outsmarted you. Tied off the leash! They're brilliant!" The Doctor taunted the Rutan. "You assumed that if they hadn't met me yet they'd be a piece of cake! But they weren't, were they?!" The Doctor laughed. "Oh I teach my companions plenty but let me clue you in on one thing. My companions are brilliant even before they travel with me. Now, I'm going to send you back with a word of warning."
The Doctor moved the lever on the teleport gun.
"You are going spread the word that if one of my companions gets so much as a cold, there's no place in time and space they can hide from me. Is that understood?" The Doctor said as he raised his gun.
"You will die before I let you deprive me of the prize!" The Rutan threatened.
But just then there was a loud thud next to the Rutan which distracted it just as the teleport box dropped on top of the Rutan. The Doctor quickly fired the teleport gun and the Rutan was gone. He had seen Luke getting ready to distract the Rutan before throwing the teleport box on top of him. Luke had used his skills from Basketball to throw the box.
Charlie dropped to the ground. The Doctor quickly rushed over tossed the teleport box aside to check on Charlie. He seemed weak so the Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and started working on Charlie.
Soon Charlie was breathing again. Then Charlie sat up and was panting happily.
"Alright Luke. We have one healthy canine alive and well. Take him back to that tree and tether him." The Doctor ordered Luke.
Luke quickly did as he was told.
Just then Captain Jack returned with Ben and Polly. They ran up to the Doctor.
"What happened? How did we get here? And how did this Captain Jack appear and disappear like that?" Polly asked.
"You must have fainted. Or maybe you're seeing things." The Doctor said to her.
"Dr Smith! Dr Smith! Did you do it?! Did you get rid of the Rutan?!" Ben asked.
"Me?!" The Doctor asked incredulously. "Look at you two! When I saw the Rutan chasing you two, I was so scared" The Doctor confided to them. "But you two clever children! You tied the leash off! It blows my mind at how clever you two are!" The Doctor said.
Then suddenly he turned serious. "Didn't I tell you to stay put and watch my box? I don't know whether to spank you or hug you!" The Doctor said angrily. Then suddenly he relented. "Oh, of course I'm going to hug you." The Doctor said as he stretched out his arms and hugged them both.
"Thank you Jack. You don't know what this means to me." The Doctor told him.
"I think I have a pretty good idea." Captain Jack said somberly. Then he smiled. "These two really are something aren't they?"
"How did you ever think to tie off the leash?! That was amazing!" Jack asked them.
"Well, I remember Dr Smith saying these Rutan's could travel body to body. And I thought if we tricked it into traveling into the body of a dog that's tied up, Dr Smith here could remove it." Polly said.
Luke ran up to them and hugged Ben and Polly too.
"You guys. You saved my life. If you hadn't distracted that Rutan with the dog, I could have been," Luke began when The Doctor interrupted.
"Yes, well now maybe these two should go home. It's getting late." The Doctor said.
"Yeah, but we never did find out what's inside of that special box of yours." Polly said.
The Doctor crouched down and spoke confidentially to them.
"Tell you what. In about, oh, what year is it? Oh yes, 1956. So in about ten years if you see this police box, it will be in the charge of a grumpy old man. Well you never mind him, you just go right ahead and go inside." The Doctor told them.
"But what's inside?" Polly wanted to know.
"Always full of questions aren't you." The Doctor said chuckling.
"What do you mean always. You act as if you know us." Polly said.
"Yes, I do, don't I?" The Doctor asked. "Well, I do and I don't." was his cryptic reply.
"That makes no sense." Polly said.
"No it doesn't!" The Doctor exclaimed as he stood up. "Now off you two go."
Ben looked curiously at Captain Jacks Army coat.
"Hey! I've always wanted to go into the military. Maybe I should go into the Army just like you Captain Jack." Ben said.
Before the Doctor could say anything Captain Jack said reassuringly. "I've got this."
"Say Ben. When we first arrived I couldn't help noticing you were watching the boats." Jack said.
"I love boats. I would give all the money I have for a boat." Ben said wistfully.
"Well then. Wouldn't it make more sense for you to join up with the Royal Navy?! I mean for someone who loves boats, it would be the ideal job." Captain Jack said.
"The Royal Navy." Ben repeated. "Yeah! That's a great idea! The Royal Navy it is."
Captain Jack stood up.
"See? Nothing to it." Jack boasted.
"Nothing to what?" Polly asked.
"She is just full of questions." Jack chuckled.
"Tell me about it." The Doctor said.
"I can't join the military. I guess I'll just become a librarian or something." Polly said.
The Doctor couldn't resist.
"You know Polly, secretaries make pretty good money. Of course they must be reliable and intelligent."
Captain Jack had a sour look on his face. The Doctor noticed it and guessed what was wrong.
"We have to consider the times Jack." The Doctor reminded him.
"I know." Jack said with reluctance.
"Now scoot!" The Doctor shooed them away.
Ben and Polly waved good-bye and left.
As they were walking away Luke couldn't help being worried.
"Shouldn't we walk them home?"
"Different times Luke." The Doctor reminded him.
"That's one thing I wished had never changed." Jack commented.
"Me too Jack." The Doctor replied.
"Well, can't hang around here forever." Captain Jack said. "I've got work to do. Good seeing you Doctor." Jack said as he entered some digits into his Vortex Manipulator.
"And you Jack." The Doctor said.
"Luke, take good care of him. He gets into the worst predicaments." Jack said only half-jokingly.
"I know. Mother told me lots of stories about him." Luke replied with a smile.
"I know I'm leaving him in good hands." Jack said as he disappeared.
"Right! Now clean up the equipment and put it inside the storage cupboard inside the Tardis." The Doctor ordered. "Come along, spit-spot."
Luke smiled. The Doctor noted this.
"What? You find it funny I ask you to help clean up? It's part of the companions job." The Doctor informed him.
"Yes. Mother used to tell me, 'A companions work is never done'." Luke joked.
The Doctor pointed a finger at him.
"Just, you get busy." The Doctor said to him in mock anger.
The Doctor noted how Luke seemed a bit more like his old self.
Luke and The Doctor entered the Tardis. K-9 was busy scanning Earth's atmosphere.
"Well done everyone." The Doctor said as he began setting some coordinates.
"Yes, well done Luke. You did good." The Twelfth Doctor said.
"Did your mother ever tell you about the time we first met?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes, she said she masqueraded as Aunt Lavinia. And that she had stumbled into your Tardis and found herself in the middle-ages."
"Yes, but did she mention the part where she thought I was in league with Lord Irongrod?" The Doctor casually asked.
"No. She made no mention of that." Luke replied surprised.
I'm not surprised. When we first met, she had no idea who I was or whose side I was on." The Doctor began. "Anyway, she assumed because I was obviously an alien that I was behind all the strange happenings. But of course it was Linx. A Sontaran. He actually gave Lord Irongrod a robot to help him fight."
"Yes. She mentioned a robot but she said it malfunctioned." Luke said.
"Malfunctioned?!" The Doctor responded indignantly. "I'll have you know Luke Smith that it was I, who saved Hal the archer. When the robot was getting ready to chop off Hal's head I sneaked up behind some of Irongrons men and found a crossbow and I fired it at the remote control box." The Doctor said as he acted out some of his earlier actions.
"That's brilliant. If you had shot at the robot," Luke began.
"It wouldn't have done any damage. I know! That's why I shot at the control box. It caused the robot to behave erratically allowing Hal and your mother to escape. She then later accused me of being in league with Irongron! Me?!" The Doctor said with a touch of indignation.
"That was a good beginning Luke. But I'm afraid the darkest hour is rapidly approaching. Be brave my young friend. Be very brave. Oh, pay attention. I'm about to ask you a question." The Twelfth Doctor warned.
"So Luke did your Mother tell you how we sneaked into the Irongrons castle?!" The Doctor asked.
"Humor me. Please." The Twelfth Doctor said sighing.
"Uh, no. She just said the two of you sneaked in. She never mentioned how." Luke lied.
"We dressed as Friars. Once inside we were able to locate the kitchens and...
The Doctor continued on with his story as the Tardis traveled silently through the stars.