Not sure how this one's going to work out, it was basically requested by a friend and I'm starting it at a time when I don't have a lot of spare time to write it. But hopefully people will enjoy it.
CHAPTER ONE
Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce looked wearily at the report that had just arrived on his desk. He looked around for a sympathetic ear, and, when he found one, held the paper out to the person attached to the ear. "What do you make of that, Benton?"
Sergeant Benton looked over the paper. "Anomalies in New York?"
"Glowing golden patches appearing in the sky. Earth tremors. Suspected extra-terrestial involvement. Request urgent assistance." He gave a long-suffering sigh. "I suppose the Secretary-General expects us all to hop on the next trans-atlantic flight. And hope the Nestene don't decide to invade in the meantime."
Benton mulled this over. "Could always send the Doctor, sir?"
The Brigadier fixed him with a penetrating gaze. "The Doctor?"
"And Miss Grant."
"Yes…yes, we could probably spare them for a bit." The Brigadier gestured to the report. "These people they'd be expected to liaise with though, do you think the Doctor would get on with them?"
Benton gave a ghost of a smile. "I guess we'd find out."
Travelling by plane depressed the Doctor somewhat. It was a reminder of his current status. Not so long ago, he could have used the TARDIS to travel instantaneously from London to New York. Well, in theory anyway. If he was honest, journeys of that kind never seemed to go according to plan. None of that altered the fact that the TARDIS was currently grounded. The Doctor was not only marooned on Earth but forced to rely on the humans' primitive modes of transport.
The other problem with the ridiculously long flight was Jo Grant. Jo had not been his assistant for long, having been provided for him by the Brigadier. In the short time the Doctor had known her, she had proved herself enthusiastic, loyal and even capable on occasions. But she was still not the person he would have chosen as his sole source of conversation for several hours.
"Have you ever been to New York, Doctor?"she asked.
The Doctor had been trying to use the journey to do some work on the TARDIS circuits; there was, after all, no point wasting time. But he paused at the question. "Why, yes, Jo. I went there once when I was caught up in a chase through time."
"Through time?"Jo gaped. She still hadn't quite got used to the Doctor's more outlandish claims. "Well, who was chasing you?"
The Doctor opened his mouth to answer but then a voice came over the tannoy. "Final descent to JFK International Airport begins now."
"About time too,"the Doctor sniffed. "Strap yourself in, Jo. This could be a bumpy landing."
A few minutes later, after a landing not quite as bad as the Doctor had predicted, they were disembarking from the plane. A crowd of UNIT personnel was greeting them but that was merely a formality. Standing in front of them were the four people they would be working with: A tall, dark-haired man who seemed to be somewhere in his 30s, a younger man and woman with blonde-hair, obviously siblings, and what the Doctor could only describe as an orange rock monster.
The dark-haired man stepped forward. "The Doctor? I'm Reed Richards. My wife Sue, her brother Johnny Storm and our friend Ben Grimm."
"The Fantastic Four!"Jo exclaimed.
Although neither of them knew it, there was at that time another Time Lord in New York. Former friend and now arch-enemy of the Doctor, the Master looked around with distaste at the equipment in front of him. It was a complicated lash-up of different machines that covered the entire room. It more closely resembled the sort of improvisation the Doctor was known for than the finesse the Master preferred. "Hopelessly amateurish,"he said with a deep sigh.
"Your comment implies a lack of appreciation for what we have achieved,"noted a deep voice behind him.
The Master turned to face the tall, armoured figure of Doctor Doom. "Not at all, my dear Doom,"he replied smoothly. "I'm sure our partnership will be most profitable. And when we are finished, the planet Earth will be ours."