White Lies and Telescopes

by torchwoodtimelord

The first of the James Harborne Tales. - The quiet and idyllic town where Jack Harkness has hidden himself away with his half-human son gets turned upside down when the boy and his friends find a space ship in the sky... And the Doctor teaches English.

1. Chapter 1

Title: White Lies and Telescopes
Series: The James Harborne Tales
Fandoms: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Fic!Verse: Resurrection!Verse
Pairings: Amy/Rory, Implied 11/Jack, OC/OC

Authors: Z & TWTL

DISCLAIMER: We don't own Torchwood. We don't own Doctor Who. We wish we could own them both, but we can't. Hell, we'd settle for the K9 spin-off pilot that failed many years ago... but sadly, we can't have that either. All of that is owned by the BBC.

---

The day was, as with every other day, boring. The weather was turning cold as fall began to ebb and winter's rolling march from the mountains began.

The calm, small, and idyllic town of Cartersville was just like most other communities in the New-Dixie Territories: dull despite the constant threat of conscription.

At least, that's what the boy sitting by the long row of windows thought moments before his attention was stolen once more by his talkative and rather obnoxious best friend.

"Did you see the dishy sub yet?"

"Jess... Not again. That's the 27th time this week." He put down his pen with a groan. Brown eyes glanced at the doodle on the table's surface beside his plastic tray. A circular pattern, with little hatch marks around an edge. More circles inside, overlapping almost, and a half-closed one near the top.

"No, James. Seriously. He's totally dishy whoa," she said, seconds before shoving a forkful of mac-n-cheese in her mouth and continued to talk around it.

He moved his textbook to cover the doodle and started to read in an attempt to ignore her. It worked, for a short while. When he did pay attention again, all he heard was "Epic fail. But totally your cuppa tea, mate."

He was taken off guard and looked up to stare at her. "My what?"

She smiled a catty grin. "The new sub. He's sooooo your type. Tall, handsome, and English."

"English?"

"Oh yeah," she said with a nod. "He's got a great Midwest accent. Probably had a bit of practice with it at some point. But I can tell. He slips up sometimes. Okay, a lot. But I know proper English when I hear it. And you did say once you'd do anything for proper English-"

"Okay, that's enough," James said, flustered by her comments. "Eat your food before I take it."

Her eyes grew wide as she gasped. The fork dove in, then back to her mouth. Quickly she shoveled her food in, keeping an eye on him as if anticipating an attack on her lunch tray if he decided to follow through on his threat.

o0o

James found himself in his gym class thinking not of the game of floor hockey going on, but rather the substitute gym teacher supervising another class on the opposite side of the gym. He was quite handsome, in an almost boyish sort of way. Tall, gangly, but quite fit. He was running them through basic basketball drills.

Had James been focused on the game he was supposed to be playing, he would have seen the puck flying through the air towards him. He would have moved out of the way.

Unfortunately the teen was oblivious until the puck cracked him in the back of his head. The force of the blow caused him to stumble forward. Quickly, that clever mind of his calculated the velocity of the puck and the angle at which it hit. James almost seamlessly pitched his body forward as if propelled by the blow and fell to the floor in a heap.

First he felt only slightly dizzy. This was followed by the sensation of tingling at the back of his skull. He knew this was only his bizarre genetics at work. The pain was very brief as the soreness faded and his "bruise" healed before his classmates could even crowd around.

With an inward sigh, James began the show. Moaning as if he'd just come back around. The false confusion of a black out. A groan of pain when appropriate. He'd done this hundreds of times in his life, having been told by his father it was imperative that he do so. That he do his best to seem... normal. Months after the car accident now, he was more inclined to put on a show.

"Who slapped that puck!" shouted Coach Hibberts. "Erickson! Get over here!"

He sat up, rubbing his head in the right place. Between the bodies, he saw the other class. They had stopped their drills. Their teacher barked at them. James' ears caught the sound of a strange vowel...

"On your feet, Harborne," Hibberts barked sharply. "To the nurse! The rest of you, back to starting positions!"

Slowly the teen stood. He was still rubbing the back of his head as if in pain. Staggering off the gym floor, he headed out.

James had no intention of going to the nurse, but couldn't sneak back into the locker room without being seen. So the teen picked the lock of the weight room, slipped behind the rack of barbells, and waited. He had history next period. If he was quick, he may just make it before the bell.

o0o

Having spent the remainder of the day faking his injury, James was looking forward to the afternoon. The one and only sport his father had allowed him to take part in... And that was only because he'd been outsmarted. Track.

All he had to do was run. Once that starter buzzer went off there was nothing but himself and the track beneath his feet. Whatever problems plagued him, whatever troubles were following... When he ran they seemed to melt away. It reminded him, partially, of his youth. Before the accident, when his eccentric uncle would come to take him on the most amazing vacations. To the most dazzling of worlds... It felt as if one of those nagging voids in his life were filled. Just for a short time.

To his surprise, as he was stretching for a good run, a man was seated with the substitute gym teacher in the stands. The man was, James thought, wearing what looked like a fez.

"Odd," he said, watching them.

The boy stretching in the lane beside him laughed. "Just a recruiter," he said.

"How's the head Harborne?" shouted his track coach, who'd heard about his accident with the puck earlier that day.

James forced a groan, more out of annoyance than any residual non-existent pain. "I'll be better in a mile, Coach!" he called back, getting into position.

"That's the spirit!"

The buzzer went off and James ran. As he felt the blood pumping through his limbs, he forgot about the substitute and the man watching them. His boredom, his unease faded as if caught in his wake and unable to keep up. The absolute dullness of this life was replaced with the rush of air as he rounded the turn. With the oxygen in his lungs as he became acutely aware of his breathing pattern. Soon he'd made the first lap. Uncaring and unknowing that he'd broken out ahead of his teammates. He was at the head of the pack, and he just kept going.

All that matters was the running... Each step closer to that unknowable, unseen world beyond.

And he never wanted to stop.

o0o

The door started to open. Voices drifted into the locker room from the outside.

"Because, Rory, not all alien invasions start in big cities or as noisy parades."

"But Doctor, it's just a rumor. We've been here two days and not even a-"

The substitute gym teacher cut himself off when the door opened.

James stood holding the door open a moment, dialing a number. He gave the pair no thought as boys filed out behind him.

He put the phone to his ear. "Ello, dad... Yeah, pizza cool? Really craving a broccolli-spinnich pie..."

Rory stared at him as he passed between the two men without even looking up.

"Oblivious much?" he said quietly.

The teen then stopped, blinked and turned around. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then frowned and shook his head. Rubbing his eyes, he went on his way.

"That was close," the Doctor said, releasing the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"You sure these perception things will work?" Rory asked, indicating the key on a string around his neck.

The Doctor nodded, and then smiled softly as if recalling a distant memory. "Kept Martha out of trouble for a year."

The lone Centurion didn't know whether to be reassured or not.

"Come on," the Doctor said. "We'll rendezvous with Amy in the cafeteria and start searching... Did I ever tell you about the time I actually found the teachers sleeping in the headmaster's office? Hanging from the ceiling like bats. Nasty creatures..."

o0o

James stood out front of the school, texting with the vice president of the Astronomy club. Apparently she'd seen a strange object while looking at the constellation Virgo two nights before... but since then there was nothing. No trace of it.

The old, battered truck pulled up to the curb. Sniffing the air by the door James smiled, the text messages forgotten for the time being. "Broccolli-spinnich?" he asked hopefully.

The older man nodded. "We'll pick up Jesse on the way. She's stranded at the Waffle House again."

James laughed, and then asked. "Did you grab my telescope?"

"Packed away with the camping gear."

The teen tossed his duffle bag over the side of the truck bed and climbed in. Unknown to the pair as they left the school parking lot, the three new substitute teachers were snooping through the school searching for evidence of an alien threat...

And they were starting in the boys' locker-room.

o0o

James lay back on the grass, an empty cardboard box beside him and a thermos of hot tea on his other side.

"I tell you, it was there! A comet was cutting across-"

"Impossible. If it was a comet, it would still be there. We'd see the tail!"

"Not necessarily. If the velocity was..."

James sighed. Sitting up he adjusted his telescope and trained it towards a nameless patch of night sky. Jesse came to sit beside him and huddled in a light blue thermal blanket. She grabbed up the thermos and opened it up.

"Your old man makes the best tea."

"Don't drink it all. It has to last the weekend. And you know I get cranky without my tea."

She groaned, but poured only a small amount into her small tin cup and took a sip.

"What are you looking for?"

"I... Don't really know."

Jesse rested her head on his shoulder. He took her cup and sipped it before handing it back as the rest of the Astronomy Club bickered over comets and meteorites.

o0o

Morning found James and Jesse huddled under her blanket behind his telescope. As well as at the scrutiny of their fellow club members. James opened his left eye, then his right. "What... What time is it?"

"Half past 8," one said. "You slept out here all night. Going to catch your death, the both of you."

With a yawn Jesse woke. A slight purr escaped her. Had their friends not been under the impression she was the child of a circus side show, they may have thought her to be one of those aliens they kept hearing about in Europe. But, as they fully believed her to have come from the circus, they thought little of the strange black and purple patterns showing through her makeup that had been made damp from the morning dew.

"Food," she said, scratching the side of her head.

"Jess, you wake up and head out with Holly and Meaghan to search for firewood. Bobby, you go with 'em."

Bobby groaned. "Who put you in charge, Jack?"

He rolled his eyes as he got up, brushing himself off. "President," he reminded the other boy. "Unless you want to get the fire going and try to cook on it."

"Come on," Jesse said, jumping to her feet. "The sooner we get more wood, the sooner I can eat!"

The four of them set off down the trail, leaving James and the club's vice president alone at the campsite. Raven knew he'd picked her to help him for more than a lack of cooking skills.

As he started the fire and got it going really well, he prepped the food he was going to cook and the cast iron cookware his father had let him borrow. Then, he sat back and looked at her, waiting for the fire to be just right before he started cooking.

"You said it was a comet."

She nodded. "All the classic signs. Routine stargazing, really. But I calculated the angles, the direction, even the distance from earth. It just didn't sit right with me."

"Log it?"

"Always," she said then disappeared into her tent. She returned with a touchpad. "I even cross checked my numbers against the old NASA databases."

"Those were lost in the Floridiana Wars. What the-"

"Mom used to work for the government. Before the disunification. But look."

He did. Quickly filtering through her superfluous mathematics he saw the answers. With these numbers there was no way that comet could have disappeared so quickly. James tapped the screen and called up the additional files.

"This is... strange."

"I know. Every 17 years. Like clockwork. But I couldn't find a trace of information other than the reported sightings. And they're all identical. Reports going all the way back to the beginning of NASA. But there's a patch between 2000 and 2009 when one should have taken place. But... Nothing. Just the letter T keeps popping up."

James handed the pad back to her, then set to work cooking up their breakfast. "Keep an eye on that. I've an uncle who's a scientist. I can try and ring him up. Ask him to have a look if he's not too busy."

With that, the duo continued on with getting breakfast underway for the others.

o0o

Night fell on the campers as they set up their equipment. Radio scanners, telescopes, even a device James had built and had brought along for this specific weekend. He called it an infra-polarity scope. It was this complex piece of technology he was fiddling with now.

"So what exactly does it do?" Bobby asked, examining a bit of exposed motherboard. "You did this?"

"Of course. You know. Total techno-scrapper. Nearly got my head shot off when I was looking for parts." He handed Bobby the small converted Kindle reader. A wire led out of an attachment soldered to the top which connected it to the main body of the machine.

"It records in infrared. Nothing new there," Bobby said.

"Ah," replied James, fully in his element. "That's just a bonus. The primary function is to scan for radiation bursts, then log them according to the frequency and polarity of the neutron flow." He busied himself with adjusting the telescope apparatus connected to it. "With that data we can, in theory, pinpoint novae, pulsars, even supernovae. And calculate their distance from our solar system with an error percentage of point-oh-nine!"

The infra-polarity scope was complicated and a rough piece of work. The exposed motherboard was attached to the backside of an old TV remote from the previous decade. Much of the wiring came from gutted computers found in the scrap yards in Taylorsville. The positioning controls came from an ancient Famicom system, modified with a tiny, handmade device to boost the power of the controller to make it compatible with the half of an X-Box he'd attached to a radio telescope he'd gotten from his uncle for his last birthday.

An antique coffee maker was built in... Just because he thought it would look cool. And he may get thirsty while searching the skies.

Bobby shook his head. He'd known James for most of his life. They'd met in 3rd grade at the county science fair. He knew then the other boy was absolutely brilliant, but had hid his intelligence from everyone. By rights, he should have come in second to James' hovercar project that year. But the boy had purposely sabotaged his own project to let Bobby win with his non-functioning light saber.

"Whatever it does, I'm sure it'll cause us trouble. Probably break every known law in Dixie. Accidentally crash one of Britain's spy satellites."

Holly was the one to say it as she handed each of the boys a tin cup. It was warm. James smiled when he saw the marshmallows floating in it.

"Dark chocolate, just the way you like it," she said to Bobby.

He laughed. "You spoil me woman." Taking a sip, he moaned appreciatively.

James did as well. It was absolutely delicious.

The night went on. The astro-nerds looked at the stars in the sky. Discussed the science fact of science fiction. Debated about the aliens that had turned up in Europe. But James remained at his machine. What he hadn't told his fellows was that the infra-polarity scope had another function built in. One that had his father known he was even building it would have earned him a swift kick in the rear. Not to mention into trouble with the authorities.

As his fellows enjoyed their educational camping trip, James sat searching the skies. Connecting old, abandoned satellites together, rebooting the long forgotten Archangel Network, from his machine. He was attempting to find a world beyond knowledge. Beyond time itself...

And he was doing it by locating and analyzing rift storms rich in artron radiation.

o0o

The Doctor, Amy, and Rory were in an all night shop off the main road in town. Firstly because Amy was bored and wanted to do more than wait around in the TARDIS while the Doctor explained in many technical terms that their search of the school yielded nothing. Secondly because the Doctor needed to buy milk.

Rory found it quite funny that of all the amazing foods and exotic drinks and spices the TARDIS kitchen kept in infinite supply... Milk was not one of them. And jam. There was never enough jam in the pantry.

"This place has everything!" the Doctor exclaimed happily.

Amy sighed, stopping to look at a rack of books. "Once you've seen one shop like this, you've seen them all."

"Yes, well, obviously," the Doctor said, peering around a corner to see tanks full of various varieties of fish. Then down the other end to see big flat screen televisions. "But this one-stop is in America," he said. "Well, what used to be. The point is, Pond, that I can purchase my milk, telephones, and dog food all while my car is being serviced and my children try on cheap clothing."

Rory blinked at him. Did he hear that right? "But you haven't got a car," he said. "Or kids." The thought of already being a grandfather at his age nearly gave him a stroke. He'd only just gotten comfortable with the idea that his daughter, who he'd met before she was born, was married to this strange space man. But the thought of them having children already?...

The Doctor grinned, almost manic. "I've got you two. My companions. That's close enough, isn't it?"

Rory hadn't realized he'd looked so horrified until the Doctor laughed, pointing at his face as if he'd seen something rather funny. Amy's eyes narrowed as she looked up from the latest rubbish vampire novel she'd picked up. "If you say I'm the car in for service, I'll slug you."

This brought poor Rory out of his horrifying trains of thought, causing him to laugh some as he moved aside to let an older gentleman pass. "Sorry mate," he said as the gentleman started to look through the books.

"Oh!" the Doctor exclaimed suddenly. "A bin FULL of DVDs! Most of these haven't even come out yet in your time. You humans like DVDs, don't you?" He rushed off, Amy trailing behind calling after him.

"Doctor! Wait for me! I'm still not clear on who's the car!"

Rory sighed. It was going to be another long night.

The older gentleman chuckled to himself. "Lively pair," he said, blue eyes glancing at the tired Rory.

"Oi! You put that computer down mister! I'm not paying for that when you break it!" Amy's strong Scottish voice rang out.

Rory rubbed at his eyes with a sigh and a mutter. "Oh lord..." He left the aisle to follow his wife's voice.

Mr. Harborne shook his head and smiled to himself as he looked through the sci-fi books before selecting a few he thought his son might like. "Some things never change..."

"Hey! We still need milk!" Rory shouted as the Doctor became utterly fascinated with a wall covered in bins of yarn.

"But I neeeeeed it! You don't understand! I've got this friend and I need a new sweater for Christmas! You know, Christmas Sweaters. Those itchy things that you only wear when your grandmother's visiting!"

"Doctor, no," Amy snapped. She was soon dragging him back through the electronics section, towards the food side of the large store. When passing the book aisle, the Doctor looked down it and dropped the skeins of TARDIS blue yarn.

Rory, trailing behind them a bit and laden with all sorts of gizmos and discounted DVDs watched as the older gentleman stooped down to pick up the yarn. He tucked them under his arm with a rather amused, yet handsome grin before going back into the books.

By the time Rory reached the end of that aisle and looked down it, the man had gone. Yarn and all.

"Rory! Get over here and keep him from wandering off! I need the loo."

The centurion sighed. "Yes Amy," he intoned, walking on.

o0o

Morning. Colder than the day before.

Most in the community would be waking only to get dressed in their Sunday best. The teenagers camping in the hills at the edge of town rose for an entirely different reason.

And one never went to sleep.

Raven was shaking James awake in excitement.

He opened first one brown eye, then the other. "Wha?..."

"I found it!" she exclaimed. "The comet! I found it again, I'm sure of it!"

He sat up, fumbling with his sleeping bag zipper. Finally he got it undone and climbed out. Rather than reach for his shirt, he grabbed up his shoes in a hurry. Following her from his tent he hopped on one foot while pulling on a sneaker. "Show me," he said, uncaring of the cold.

She took him to Meaghan's radioscope and put the headphones on him, then handed him her own data log. He listened for a moment, eyes scanning through the information before ripping them off and taking the pad to his infra-polarity scope. Using the game controller he changed its position, pointing it towards the coordinates in the morning sky.

There on the modified Kindle was an infrared image of something strange.

"See!" Raven pointed at it. The others had awoken from all the noise, and had now started to gather around blearily.

"Raven," James said seriously. "Comets don't register as heat in space..." He tapped the Kindle screen and a section enlarged in amazing detail.

Bobby was the first to comment. "What the hell is that?"

"Engines," James said, checking the readings. "Ionic storm drive by the look of it. Possibly with a secondary set of impulse particle thrusters if the neutron polarity readings are correct."

The whole of the astronomy club stared at him in confusion. As if he'd spoken a completely different language. His words had come fast, and they'd had trouble following along. Megan finally spoke up. "You're saying... We've found a space ship? In space?"

"In short," James said, searching himself for his phone. He quickly realized he'd left it in his tent. "Yes. Quite possibly. But not exactly in space. More like parked in a geostationary orbit using a rather clever cloaking device."

"No way," Bobby said dismissively. "You're just tossing words out nobody gets to wind us up. Why would aliens park in our orbit?"

Jesse rolled her eyes. "Hello. Europe being taken over by radioactive slugs from Mercury last year."

Holly nodded in agreement. "Don't forget those weird ones that settled in Antarctica."

"My mom told me they went to the African deserts."

Jesse, watched as James pulled away from them to fetch his phone.

"Raven, keep logging this! I don't want a single string of data missed!"

o0o

The Doctor's pocket started ringing.

"What's that?" Amy asked, snooping about the console room.

The Doctor slipped a hand in his pocket. He didn't need to see the number to know who was calling. That line hadn't rung in years. Not since he regenerated...

Amy stopped snooping, having followed the noise back to her best friend. "Is that.. You've got a mobile, haven't you? Why didn't you tell us you had a mobile? It could have saved us a lot of trouble. Not that you'd answer when I called anyway but-"

"It's not important," he said quickly cutting her off. "I've only got it to play Angry Birds. And Sudoku. Some reason I like Sudoku now."

The ringing stopped.

"See, wasn't important. Probably just one of those-"

The brief period of silence was broken by another round of ringing.

Amy crossed her arms over her chest with an amused and haughty smirk. "Just one of those what, Doctor?" She waited. He made no move. "Might as well answer it. Could be important after all."

He sighed and took it out. The time lord looked down at the smiling face in the LED screen of his sonic amplified smart phone. It was James, as he had been at age 12. The Doctor let the smallest of smiles play across his face before banishing it quickly, hoping Amy's eagle eyed stare hadn't caught him.

"Well?"

He ignored the call, letting it go to voicemail before putting the ringer on mute. "Like I said. Not important." He pocketed the phone, rubbed his hands together and went right back to work. "So," he said in a tone that told his companion the subject was firmly closed. "We know there's a ship in orbit, and a dead gym teacher. What we don't know is why. Ideas, Pond. I need ideas."

"Who would want to kill a gym teacher?" she asked, letting the Doctor's peculiar behavior slide... this time.

"A morbidly obese child adverse to exercise bent on revenge," the Doctor replied, half joking.

Rory poked his head into the console room. "Or pod people."

The Doctor tutted, then shook his head as he checked the controls. The scanner still showed the infrared image of the alien ship in orbit. What he didn't tell them was he had absolutely no idea how the TARDIS had picked up on it. "No such thing as pod people," he declared. "Unless you count that time the Rutans tried to take over Chealsea 426. Nasty race, Rutans... Then there's the Krynoids. But they don't usually travel by ship. More like a, well, space pod."

"Still," Rory said. "Pod people a possibility to consider. So ridiculous, so silly and overdone by Hollywood that it's right up our street. No one would suspect it."

"Except a Roman with an affinity for jam," the Doctor said, seeming to not really be listening as Amy protested the perceived insult. Absorbed by his scanner, he didn't seem to notice when Amy stopped trying to argue and left the console room with her husband. But he did notice. Had been waiting for it. As soon as he was sure he was alone, he took out his little smart phone again.

The envelope symbol blinked in the corner. A voicemail. He sent a quick text to the boy. Something about midget Cybermen should suffice. Short. Simple. He smiled at the pun. Once sent, he listened to the message.

The teen's voice was worried and fast paced. Just like his last self had always been.

His high forehead creased in concentration as he deciphered the run-together message telling him of a ship in the sky... cloaked to the naked eye.

Amy peered from around the corner to see the Doctor completely absorbed in his phone. She turned to Rory with a hiss. "See. He's acting weird. Strange even."

"He's the Doctor," Rory said plainly. "When have you known him to be normal?"

"Ever since we arrived he's been... off. More than usual."

The expression she tossed her husband was all the warning the poor man had. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this. You just watch me."

o0o

The members of the Astronomy Club stood outside their president's tent. "Who do you think he's trying to call?" Holly asked.

Jesse rolled her eyes and went inside as the others continued to ponder. She put a hand on his shoulder. James looked up from his phone.

"He's not answering," he said. "He always picks up for me. Always." He showed her the text.

She read it out loud softly to herself. "Sounds like he's got his hands full. Cybermen..."

"What should I do?"

"Go to your dad?"

He shook his head quickly. "No. He'll kill me for sure. I'm not even supposed to use a computer unsupervised after the Sontaran incident. Knocked out the entire satellite network for a month with a cell phone. He finds out I built a hyperscope-"

"You WHAT?"

He put a hand over her mouth and shushed her. When he took his hand away, she was furious. "You said it was an infra-polarity scope. Why in the name of the Holy Salvation did you build a bloody hyperscope?" she hissed at him angrily.

"I don't know," he replied, raking a hand through his brown hair. Some of it remained apooft, as if to accent his worry. "To see what's there? See if I could do it?"

She shook her head and forced herself to take a deep, calming breath. One of them had to have some common sense here, and it sure wasn't the genius standing in front of her. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. You're going to bust that machine down-"

"But it took me two years to-"

"Bust it down and we'll stow it at the lab. Then we're sending what we've got to UNIT. Anonymously. We can use my... status to do so. Then, we drop it. You left your uncle a message. UNIT will know. We can't do anything."

"Yeah..." he said, sounding relieved. "Yeah. Sounds good."

She glared daggers at him, and he held his breath under her heated glare. "You'd better pray I don't get sent back to Cardiff for this mess. So help me I'll kill you so dead you'll never come back the same again, you hear me James Harborne. I'm NOT going back to the camps."

He nodded slowly. Jesse put on a smile before leaving his tent, as if suddenly switching bitch mode off and going back to her normal, jovial self. James took a deep breath. "Sorry Jess... But I can't let this die."

James stepped out into the sunlight, slipping his phone into his back pocket. Back to his usual self. "Holly, Meaghan. Bust down the tents. Bobby, start on the gear. I'll deal with my scopes. Jess, Raven, you're on loading detail."

Bobby groaned and rolled his eyes. "Can't we have lunch first, Captain?"

"We'll eat on our way back to town. My treat. But the sooner we get back, the sooner we can finish logging our finds."

o0o

Monday morning was always the part of the week James hated most. Especially when he didn't get much sleep the night before. Raven and Jesse had stayed over to help him catalogue their research.

But James had gotten up, groggy and ill tempered, and gone to school.

Now he sat in his Calculus class. Bored out of his mind and idly doodling on his desk. Circles, joined together by smaller ones. Then he went back and outlined part of the design, making it thicker, darker.

"Mr. Harborne," the teacher called for the third time, holding up a marker. "Come on up and prove this theorem."

He looked up, blinking a moment as if coming out of a daze. "What?" he asked. Some of the other students laughed.

"Come on up to the board," the teacher said, waving the marker. "And prove this theorem. Not that hard."

James put down his pen and stood. Shuffling forward with a yawn he took the marker and stood in front of the board. A few scribbles in green, then he wrote down 42, circled it and made an arrow back to the original proof. "Done," he said.

The teacher looked at the board, stared at it, then looked at the class. It was supposed to be an impossible problem, which at the fact that it couldn't be solved would have led into his next lesson. "How..."

James sat down, picked up his pen, and returned to his doodle.

"That's... that's supposed to be.. But it's unsolvable!"

James didn't look up, and spoke matter of factly. "No. You just don't understand how hypertrigonometry relates to the transdimensional properties of the singularity principle under the parameters you defined in the theorem." He sighed. "Thus, the answer is and will always be 42. The question posed by the theorem is therefore proved to be true. It's basic mathematics, Mr. Kendricks."

The teen just kept doodling, ignoring the strange looks he was receiving from his teacher and his classmates.

He knew he was showing off again. Knew he was in danger of exposing himself by displaying the full scope of his intelligence for what it was.

And quite frankly, it was Monday morning and he just didn't give a damn.

o0o

English was boring to Jesse. More so when there was a substitute, like today. Usually she adored the works of Shakespeare. Found his sonnets intoxicating. His plays, the sounds of the words spoken sent her Sardosi vibrational senses tingling with delight.

But today was... She just couldn't put her finger on it. The teacher at the front seemed to her as different. Odd, even. From her seat in the back she could swear he smelled different, too. Almost familiar, but there was a hint of something she did not recognize.

He finished writing on the chalkboard, dropped the chalk into the tray and rubbed his hands together as he turned around.

"Now then boys and girls," he said, adjusting his red bowtie. "Who can tell me where Mr. Shaw left off last Friday?"

Jesse's voice caught in her throat as she gasped. Eyes wide as she saw Mr. Smith smile. She'd recognize the look in those eyes anywhere. Saw that look every day. And though this was a different man, literally, than the one she had become accustomed to there could be no mistake.

She raised her hand, swallowing hard. He pointed to her and nodded. "Yes, you there with the... Is that a ham sandwich in your hand? At 9 in the morning? Really?"

She blushed slightly, bringing a gentle purple shade to her painted cheeks. "Act two, scene 2," she said.

The Doctor gave a nod. "Okay. Well then. Where's my Puck?"

Jesse smiled. Had she not been holding her second breakfast she'd have been texting James about this...

And if she had been texting, well... she'd have realized there was a signal jammer somewhere in the building.

o0o

Amy Pond spent the first half of her day wandering about the school. She had little to do, being only a teaching assistant rather than an actual substitute like her companions. She'd wanted to snap her ruler right over that crude Mr. Bagwell's head for his rude dismissal of her. She had only corrected his remarks on the soldiers of ancient Rome.

Rome was, for Amy, the one subject she knew better than all others. And that was before her husband (then fiancé) had gone off and joined a legion.

She'd been put on a fool's errand to get her out of the way.

Just as well. she had thought to herself. It gave her the perfect opportunity to look around during daylight hours.

She turned right at the next corner. She recognized the posters for the WinterFest carnival next month. The library should be just ahead.

When she came to the glass doors, a girl was rushing out and bumped right into her.

Amy grabbed her to steady the girl. "Whoa, careful."

"Sorry," the girl said quickly, head down as she scrolled through information on her data pad. "Sorry," she repeated before scurrying down the hall.

Amy watched her go, then turned to go into the library. If anyone in this place could give her any answers, the librarians would be it. They'd always been the centre of gossip when she was a kid.

She approached the circulation desk, a scrap of paper in hand. "Hi, can you help me?" she asked, tucking a tuft of red behind her ear.

The kindly old woman smiled. "Mr. Bagwell kick you out, did he?"

Amy laughed. "You are quick on things. How did you-"

"Not many ladies in the school system these days. I make it my business to know who all of them are. We girls have to stick together." She reached out her hand, and Amy gave her the list. She looked it over quickly. "Rome, eh... Well, I'll see what I have left."

The woman went off into an office behind the desk. Amy took the time to look around. In the light the room looked even more empty than it had in the dark. Bare shelves. An old, tatty set of World Book Encyclopedias sat in a corner. Untouched and collecting dust.

Her heard seemed to break at the poor state of things.

"everyone has those data pads these days." The old librarian sorted a stack of metal lock boxes. Fumbling with a large set of keys, she began to unlock them. "Not enough in the budget for proper books. They wear out and we can't replace them anymore. Not unless they're text books."

"Then how do you keep this place going?"

The librarian smiled. "Sometimes teachers need to have a free period. Send the kids in here. Or the students need a quiet place to study... or hide from bullies."

The Scottish girl nodded in agreement. "Say," she said, remembering she'd wanted information. "You know a lot of what goes on here, don't you?"

The old woman grinned. "It's my business to know. How else would I keep myself entertained?" She pulled the stacks of books from the metal boxes. "Be a dear and fetch that card by the door for me."

Amy did as she was asked. The librarian loaded the books. "Come back when you've got a free period," she said. "I'll make us some tea and fill you in on all the juicy bits."

When Amy left the library, the bell rang. Teenagers poured out of classrooms. She got jostled about and the cart nearly toppled over. But some of the books slid off the top of the stack.

Before she could react, two hands shot down to pick them up.

She stooped down to pick one up and saw the boy helping her. His brown hair a mess, but it suited him. "Thanks," she said.

He smiled at her, picking up the last few books as his brown eyes seemed to scan every detail of her face. "Scotland," he said. "But you've spent a lot of time in... Leadworth I think."

She laughed, unsure what else to do. "That's good. Really good. Too good."

The boy shrugged, standing up to put the books on the cart. "I've an ear for accents," he said, carefully stacking the books up for her. He opened his mouth to say something more, but the bell chimed again.

"You'd better get on. Don't want us both to be late now."

He gave a nod. "Good luck, Leadworth," he said, pulling the strap on his backpack and heading off towards the cafeteria.

All Amy could think as she made her way back to the horrible Mr. Bagwell's classroom was how peculiar the boy had seemed. Almost reminded her of...

She shook her head and pushed the cart into the classroom.

"Took you long enough, Miss Pond," complained Mr. Bagwell. Amy stifled a groan.

o0o

Rain. Cold and freezing rain with a dash of sleet.

Rory stood in the gym with a whistle hanging from his neck and a clipboard in his hands. If not for the rain they'd all be outside in the dry cold, running the mile. As it was, all three gym classes were forced to stay in the gym.

When roll had been called, Mr. Hibberts pulled out the rack of basketballs. All of the practice nets had been dropped down to give the students plenty of room and spots to play. Soon, Rory found himself watching a group of boys at a nearby net. They weren't actually playing a game as such. More like randomly shooting. One boy seemed to sink the ball more than the others.

"That'll be Erickson," Coach Hibberts said. "Star player on the Varsity team."

"Really?" Rory asked, only half interested. He was looking out more for the unusual and strange alien variety than a couple of kids playing basketball.

"Could really be something if he was more of a team player." He indicated another boy playing a pick-up game with some others at the opposite net. "Now Harborne on the other hand..."

"God hit with the puck last Friday, right?"

Hibberts nodded. "That's the one. Been trying to get him on the team for years. That damn father of his won't let him do much more than run. If he only knew how good he was. Could get him into the pro circuit, keep him from Conscription if he wasn't so hell bent on the kid being a scientist."

Rory shrugged. "Maybe the kid likes science."

Coach Hibberts gave him an odd look. "Thought you said you were from South Canada."

The Englishman blinked, realizing he'd let his fake accent slip up again. "Yeah," he said, trying to think up something fast. "My parents came from England. Sometimes I sort of let it drop in. Can't help it, growing up hearing it all the time."

This seemed to satisfy the tough old gym teacher. "Yeah... My wife, rest her soul. She used to have that problem before they shipped her off to the Warzone. Born and raised in Old Florida, you know. Had the accent, so they shipped her off."

Rory looked at him from the corner of her eye. He'd have to be careful. He'd have to tell Amy and the Doctor when he got the chance. Wouldn't do them any good to be deported to God knows where.

o0o

Amy checked her watch. The bell had rung. She was really getting tired of that bell. Two more classes until the day was over and she could get back to the library. If she could just sit and have a chat, girl to girl, with the librarian she may just crack this case wide open.

Students filed into the room. Among them she saw the boy from earlier. "Hey Leadworth," he said quietly when he passed. Amy perked up when he acknowledged her. She'd become almost cheerful as the boy went to his seat. By the window on the far side of the room.

He sat with his head turned away, staring out into the dreary rain.

A girl leaned over, her hair bright yellow, to speak to the boy. But before she could open her mouth, Mr. Bagwell barked at her. "Miss O'Mally. Backside in the seat, thank you."

The girl looked at him and stuck out her tongue. It was blue. Amy stifled a chuckle.

The girl seated herself properly in the desk, but if looks could kill Amy thought for sure this school would be one teacher short in about five minutes.

As the lesson began, Amy couldn't help but watch the boy by the window between grading quizzes. He seemed so bored with it all.

"...Contrary to popular belief, it is important to note that the Romans stationed in England at that time held no interest in the area known as Stonehenge. It was not logical from a strategic point of view, nor was it valuable."

"Wrong."

"Excuse me?"

The mop of brown didn't turn as the teen boy spoke, the blond girl next to him shooting him a warning glare. "You're wrong. The Romans did send a small force to Stonehenge. This happened in 102 CE. While it held no strategic value, as you say," the boy continued, now looking at his teacher. "It happened. However, history is unclear as to what happened to said soldiers. One theory suggests they returned to the main encampment empty handed. Others suggest more outlandish, conspiratorial ideas. If you like, I can cite specific examples."

"That will be quite enough out of you, Mr. Harborne," the teacher said. "Now knock off such ridiculous fictions and open your text book."

"But it's wrong."

"One more remark like that and it's detention for you, young man."

"How do you expect us to learn history from someone who doesn't actually know it?" The boy was smug. No, not smug. Not quite. Amy, astonished that the boy could even have such knowledge, stared at him in amazement.

"Detention!"

James didn't mind it. He'd actually been hoping for it. He couldn't do the work he needed at home. No, his dad would find out and be on him like a shot. No... but he could spend his time in the library...

o0o

James was escorted to the library for his detention. Grinning broadly he strolled in, hands deep in his pockets. "Hey Mrs. Donaldson," he said cheerfully, much to the annoyance of his escort.

The old librarian sighed. "What did he do this time, Mr. Bagwell?"

"Insubordination to start." He whirled around to see the teen sit at a table and pull out his history book. "One more detention and I'm calling your father," he growled.

James pulled a face when he wasn't looking. The old woman nearly laughed, but stopped herself. "I'll ensure he keeps to task, Mr. Bagwell," she said.

"See that you do." The history teacher glared at him before storming out.

After a few moments, James hopped up and shoved the book away. "That man is an idiot!" he exclaimed.

"Stonehenge again, huh?"

He made a clicking noise with his mouth and gave the old woman a wink as he shook his head cheekily. "It works every time. He really hates when people correct his history."

She shook her head with a sigh. "You could at least cause trouble in a different class once in a while."

He went to the circulation desk and leaned against it, still grinning. That boy was always cheerful... always up to something in that head of his. "Can I use the phone?" he asked. "My mobile's not working. And I kinda need to call my dad, tell him I got in trouble again."

She shook her head. "Sorry, sugar. The whole network is down. Phones, InfoNet, everything. County may be doing maintenance again. You know how it is."

He nodded. "So... The computer's out too then."

"Now I didn't say that. The InfoNet's down, but the programs should still work. Anything as recent as 2AM should still come up."

He brightened. "Great!" he exclaimed, circling the desk. "Don't forget to pop on the Holo. Can't have old Bagwell poking his head in and thinking you've let me do a runner."

She gave a small nod and a warm smile as she slipped her hand under her desk. The chair James had pulled out was now suddenly filled with a body. Rather, a looped image of a body. He seemed fast at work, ever the studious boy. Meanwhile the real James slipped into the librarian's office and shut the door behind him.

Mrs. Donaldson was flipping through an old magazine at the desk when the door opened. The hologram boy looked up, then dove back into his book as Amy came into the library accompanied by the Doctor. The librarian smiled. "Hello again, Miss Pond," she said. "Mr. Smith."

"Oh you're good," the Doctor said, quite impressed that she already knew of him.

Amy was beaming. "I told you she was good."

The Doctor looked around, taking in the sorry sight of the empty library with distaste. There needed to be more books. Loads more books. Then his eyes caught the boy at the table. Working hard... but never going to a second sheet of paper. When the head popped up briefly, he saw the face and had a sneaking suspicion...

"Are you aware, Mrs. Donaldson, you've got an imaginary student. Just over there."

Amy turned to look, seeing the boy from her class. "Oh, the troublemaker," she said. He looked up again, then put his head back down to work. The Doctor noticed the eerie repetition as the boy did it a third time.

Mrs. Donaldson rose, closing her magazine. "I'll fetch us that tea, shall I?"

"Amy can help," the Doctor said, starting towards the holographic boy.

"It's just in this office. I won't be a minute."

"I insist," the Doctor replied, reaching into his coat and removing his sonic screwdriver. "Now then... Just where are you coming from..."

Just before Mrs. Donaldson opened her office door, she and Amy heard a loud crack from inside. Alarmed they flung the door open to see James, still seated in the chair, on the floor facing the ceiling. The computer hard drive tower was open and smoking...

As was the boy's hair.

"James!" the librarian exclaimed, rushing to him.

The Doctor appeared in the doorway behind Amy, peeking in over her head. "Oh, he'll be alright," he said as if such a sight were merely trivial. "Give him a hot cuppa and he'll be right as rain."

Amy punched him in the arm. "He just fried himself and all you can say is tea?"

The boy blinked, then grinned. "I think I crossed the booster wires with the probability matrix and my phone. Because I swear I just saw the Wikipedia entry for The Lion King in my brain." He gave an almost manic grin, looking past the librarian to see Amy. "Hey Leadworth!"

After getting to his feet James was led out to a chair. A plastic cup was put in his hands. It was cold, but it was still good.

"Honey and lime," Mrs. Donaldson said. "Just the way you like it."

James greedily drank the sweetened tea. Amy crinkled her nose at it. The Doctor took a sip, declared it rubbish, and refused to touch his again. After enough time had passed and the girls were sure James would be alright Amy looked at the old woman. "You were covering for him. Why was that?"

She smiled. "Kids like James and his friends need to be looked after. They don't fit in here. Too bright, too clever. And the closer they get to 18, the more they need protecting."

"Why, what happens when they turn 18?" Amy asked, leaning closer.

"Conscription." The voice was solemn. Devoid of feeling as the single word came out of his lips. He sipped his tea, the Doctor turning to him with eyes narrowed.

"War," the Time Lord said, just as solemnly. Things were worse than he had been led to believe when he was younger. Suddenly so many things were much clearer. If Jack had only told him before...

Mrs. Donaldson spoke. "Detailed records are kept throughout school. It's how they measure who goes to the front lines, and who rides the officer desks. Prone to fights? Front lines. Smarter than the others?-"

"Front lines," James said. "If you're too clever, they want you out of the way. Why not let your enemy do that for you and call it an act of patriotism, of martyrdom for the Glorious South." The boy sounded disgusted by his own words. Mrs. Donaldson put a hand on his arm. He patted it with a nod, then drank his tea again.

The Doctor understood the problem and only gave a nod before turning his gaze to the librarian again. "You care a lot about these children."

"Like they're my own. I help, when I can."

Amy sat back and drank her tea, the taste of it growing on her a bit. "Who's idea was that hologram thing? Your country doesn't have that technology for the public yet. Still using those 3D tellys."

The old, wrinkled face smiled. "One of James' gizmos," she said. "If it scans one of the students in its database, it can produce a holographic copy of them in whatever position they were in at the time. It only records a few minutes at the most, but it helps"

"Where did you get it?"

"Built it," the teen said matter-of-factly.

Mrs. Donaldson nodded. "James is a Scrapper. And rather good, too. My coffee maker can send e-mails now, when the Net's up of course."

The Doctor looked at James again. "Is that what you were doing in there? Trying to jumpstart the network?" The Doctor couldn't, wouldn't show it, but he was rather proud of the boy's ingenuity. Even if it was haphazard, it was more than just brilliant. But he couldn't say a word of this. Not now.

He looked sheepish. Hesitant of what he should say. Glancing to Mrs. Donaldson, he set down his nearly empty cup. "You won't tell my dad, will you?"

"We don't even know who he is," Amy said reassuringly. "So we couldn't if we wanted to."

He seemed to think about it for a moment. But Mrs. Donaldson saw that familiar gleam in his eye. He wasn't going to say a word... So she wouldn't either. He didn't trust them. No, he couldn't tell them what he was doing. Not really. "I was trying to boost the signal to get a call through. My old man doesn't know I got detention. Didn't want him to worry. I thought if I tapped into the hard-line, I could route my call through the old phone lines. I used the booster to establish a base current to temporarily open the lines. Like a switchboard."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes, wanting to say something. Anything to tell him he knew the boy was lying. But he remained silent. This was not something he wanted to share with Amy. One of those secrets of his past he'd rather leave hidden. For the boy's sake.

"I think I'd better head home," James said. "If I start now I should reach Raven's by nightfall. Her brother can give me a lift home."

"If you wait, I can give you a ride," Mrs. Donaldson said.

The boy smiled. "Nah. I'll be fine. Just need my phone and I'll be out."

When James was in the office gathering his things Amy leaned over and whispered to the Doctor. "After a shock like that, should he be walking around on his own?"

"He'll be fine. Promise. These Dixie folks are resilient. They have to be."

James came back out, backpack on his shoulders and phone in hand. It couldn't make calls, but it could be used to light his way after the sun fell. The Doctor noticed a few wires hanging out the side of the backpack, sticking through the zipper. "See you tomorrow, Berta," James said, then looked to Amy and the Doctor. "See you 'round Leadworth and the Fez."

As the teen left he heard the Doctor ask Amy "Why does he keep calling you Leadworth?"

He didn't hear her reply, but was sure it may have been something rude about fezzes.

o0o

True to his word, James went to Raven's, but decided against going home. Instead he called his dad, his phone finally registering a signal, and told him where he'd been. And that the girl needed him to stay over.

Her brother was missing, and the poor girl was a mess.

o0o

After the boy left them, Amy and the Doctor were able to chat up old Mrs. Donaldson. They didn't learn much in the way of James's computer antics but they were able to find out more about why all the teachers were men. Dixie, as it turned out, was a male dominated society, harkening back to the days when women were left at home to care for the children... That is, unless they had skills that could be put to better use in the war up north.

After circling around the issue, talking about everything from the children under her careful watch to the gossip of the school, the Doctor was able to prise out of her information about the complete systems failure of the phones and InfoNet. Nothing in, nothing out.

The Doctor left Amy to keep asking questions while he slipped into the little office to have a peek at the computer. The boy had known exactly what he had been doing. "The hologram set up must have been wired through here," he said out loud to himself. "When I cut it off, the feedback sparked an overload..." He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the motherboard.

The machine hummed back to life. A few passes over the keys and the Doctor found what he'd been looking for. The last program accessed.

His stomach dropped as he stared at the symbol spinning on the screen. At the complex strings of data scrolling up faster than the human eye could read. But he could follow it. Aiming the screwdriver back at the computer, he changed the setting and smashed the button in disgust. The machine smoked, sputtered, and then sparked as it tried to survive the high frequency blast before finally giving up the ghost and burning out.

As he opened his tweet jacket to slide the screwdriver back into the lining pocket, Amy poked her head in the office door. "I think we've got something on the dead gym teacher," she said.

"Please don't tell me pod people. Rory will never let me live it down."

"Not so far," she said. "But it seems he'd been shagging the basketball coach's wife. Could be worth a look."

"You humans and your jealousy... it's just not practical."

o0o

Dawn came, and so did news of Raven's brother... in the form of two uniformed soldiers banging on the door.

They knew there was only one reason officers would make a house call. Well... and one other. They didn't want to think about that one. It was far too soon.

"Conscription?" Raven exclaimed when they gave her the news. "He was exempt. We have the waiver. Nessie, Nessie go get the lockbox. The one momma used to always keep," she said, her voice frantic as she turned to her younger sister.

The girl ran for the back of the house. Raven turned to James. He could only shake his head before looking at the uniformed soldiers in the front hallway. "This family's already paid their dues," he said. "Both their parents were taken in the War. Cored was given special dispensation. Special circumstances exemption from the dispatch service."

As if on cue Nessie returned with the box, her small hands shaking as she opened it. Raven turned to rummage through in search of the officially stamped and notarized letter. "I know it's here... We always make sure to keep it updated..." she said.

"Miss Tidwell, we have no record of such an order having been issued," one of the squaddies said.

"Then check your bloody records again!" James barked.

The bigger of the two officers eyed him down like he was a small, furry creature. And lunch was due any moment... With one hand on his pistol, the other at his side, he contemplated shooting the teen right then and there. He could claim the boy was resisting and provoked the incident. But he decided against it. Would be a waste of a good bullet and potential meat for the war machine up north. At last, he broke the tense silence and dropped his hand from his gun. "What's your name, son?"

"James," he said, not stepping down.

"Papers," the smaller officer snapped. James produced his wallet unquestioningly. It wasn't the first time his documentation had been demanded, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. The officers looked it over, nodded that everything was in order, and handed it back. "Almost 18," the bigger one said. "Almost old enough to join the ranks."

"Even if I was forced to," James said boldly. "I'd be a deserter before getting to Boot."

The shorter one grinned, and even James felt chills in his bones from it. "We'll see about that, young Mr. Harborne. Come June, you may find you've grown a patriotic backbone."

James would not be intimidated. Could not be. "When the war's over," he said darkly. "You'd better pray you don't see me again. Now get out. You've done your damage."

James followed them out the door and stood on the porch. He hated them. Part of him had hoped the big one had shot him... Just so he'd have a good reason for putting his Gondorian battle training to work on their fragile human necks. Once they were gone, he took a deep breath to let his anger subside.

"No," he told himself, gripping the post by the steps of the porch. "No. It's not what Uncle John would want. Wits, not violence, Jack. Brains, not brawn."

He went inside once he was calm enough, not wanting his friend and her sister to see him shaking with rage. He crouched between the two sisters among the pile of papers from the lockbox. They were sobbing, still searching for the special waiver for their brother. Still searching for what they hoped would be their brother's salvation.

He put an arm around each of them, pulling them close and let them cry on his shoulders. He had one for each of them.

"We'll get this sorted," he said, trying to sound hopeful. "We'll figure this out and bring Corey back home."

He didn't sound too convinced of himself. But it was better than saying nothing at all.

o0o

Jesse sniffed the air before waking. Limbs hanging off the back of the couch like a cat. Her face turned, cheek pressed against the corner at the end. The fact that she hadn't fallen off for the entire 10 hours of sleep she had been laid out in such a position was a credit to her feline ancestry. But that nose, striped with purple and black, twitched as the smell roused her from her sleep. "Bacon..." she murmured, pulling her limbs up and using them to push the rest of her body straight upwards.

Balanced precariously on the top of the back of the couch, she remained on her hands and knees, yawning and giving a soft mewling noise as she then stretched and arched her back.

Then, she rolled down onto the cushions and bounced to sit up straight. Arms now stretching towards the ceiling, she yawned again, and repeated her previous statement. "Bacon."

Following her nose the teen was guided to the kitchen. Opening her eyes at last she saw the back of her best mate's dad at the stove. The family dog Rose at his feet sitting patiently for scraps to fall from above.

She didn't like that dog, knew it was an irrational instinct, and forced herself to tolerate her presence as she stated for the third time in fourteen minutes, "Bacon."

She plopped herself down unceremoniously in a chair. Then Jesse noticed someone was absent. "James never made it back?" The girl had fallen asleep lazily before her friend had called to tell his father he wouldn't be home. She reached out and grabbed a piece of buttered toast.

"Drop it," Mr. Harborne said. He smiled to himself as he heard the hardened edges of the toast hit a plate. "And no. He called last night. And around 6."

"So? What's happened?" Jesse asked, now fully awakened more by the aromas of the kitchen rather than the news. "Pod people? Slitheen? Cannibals? Midget Cybermen from Mars?"

"There's no such thing as midget Cybermen. They all have a standard technical spec. And they certainly don't come from Mars. Those are Martians," he said as if such things were normal conversation in his home while using the tongs to pluck the strips of bacon from the skillet. As he pulled out the last piece, he frowned and replayed Jesse's comment in his head.

The brief pause in his concentration was rewarded with the smacking jowls of the Barcelona Retriever who had proven that patience was a well rewarded virtue.

"Jessica Ziama Tr'Challe O'Mally..." he said, turning around with narrowed blue eyes. Even in the pale purple apron (which she and James had given as a joint Christmas gift three years ago) he was an imposing figure.

She clamped her mouth shut. Mr. Harborne never used her proper name, her proper Sardosi name, unless she was in trouble. Hands tightly covering her mouth, she fought hard for self control.

"What aren't you telling me?.." He held up the plate of bacon as if he wouldn't set it down on the table. As if he'd keep it from the hungry creature at his table.

Jesse looked from him to the plate of bacon held up even with his head. Then back again. Finally, she uncovered her mouth and not able to take the overpowering need for pork products any longer, she broke. Her words ran together that if Jack hadn't had to decipher the Doctor's nonsense and technobabble so often, he'd not had a chance in hell of knowing what she said.

"The Doctor's a teacher at my school and we found a spaceship and James tried to call but he wouldn't answer so he left a message and I said we should send the stuff to UNIT and not get involved but James got detention on purpose because he wanted to use Mrs. Donaldson's computer so you wouldn't yell at him for using yours and I WANT THAT BACON!"

The last bit came out with a yowl of agony as she gripped the table, claws digging into the antique pine rather than jump the man to get that bacon. The moment the plate was set down, she pounced.

But the man swatted her with the tongs. "Body OFF the table!" he snapped as if to an errant pet.

The dog barked. Jesse looked at her and hissed before planting her butt back in her chair and snatching up the plate of bacon. She wrapped an arm around it possessively.

Jack watched her as he thought about the news. He knew the Doctor was in town. Had learned that last Friday when he'd gone to do a little early Christmas shopping. But this Doctor, this was a future Doctor who had made a point of avoiding him.

Then, Jack smiled as an idea occurred to him. There must be a reason the Doctor hadn't come by and poked his head in yet. "Jessica," he said, almost sweetly. She hissed at him, clutched her plate of bacon, and watched him close with narrowed eyes. "How would you like to do me a favor. I'll get you more bacon."

Her eyes widened as if she'd just seen God. "Bacon..." she said, starting to drool before shoving a strip of pork in her hungry mouth.

o0o

After the incident at Raven's James had gone to school. He couldn't afford not to. He was on thin ice with Bagwell, whom he knew to be an informant on the errant children in need of military discipline. And then there was the strangeness that seemed to have settled over his school like a rain cloud. Things didn't feel right, and he didn't know he knew. Just sort of... felt it.

He was late, of course. Rather than go into Calculus and receive a lecture on tardiness, he chose to duck around and have a look for himself. The teen wasn't too surprised to see the ginger teaching assistant doing the same when they found one another near the gym.

"Leadworth," he said.

Amy looked at him with obviously false authority. "You should be in class."

He smirked. "So should you," he replied.

She couldn't argue him there. He gave a nod towards a doorway leading to the side stairwell.

Amy gasped and felt her face flush just a little. "You're not... I'm not one of your little girlfriends," she said heatedly, almost offended at the thought. "Just because you've got a nice face for a boy your age doesn't mean you'll be getting a snog off your teachers."

"You, not a teacher. Not even an assistant I suspect. Besides if I want a snog off a teacher, it'd be that Coach Williams. Man looks good in shorts."

Amy's demeanor changed as she couldn't help but laugh. This was something she was definitely going to have to tell her husband about later. "You mean Rory?"

"Rory?... Well, good enough name I suppose. Though I'd have pegged him for more of a Roranicus." Catching himself rambling, James mentally had to redirect his thoughts from the substitute gym teacher back to what he'd been planning to do. Investigate. "You're here, so I thought maybe four eyes better than two. We can hide out in the weight room," he said. "Come on!"

Before the woman could protest James pushed the door to the stairwell open rather dramatically and then disappeared on the other side.

When Amy reached the bottom of the stairs she found him again. He was crouched at the end of a hallway in front of a door. Hands at work with, as Amy got closer, what appeared to be a paperclip and a piece of a coat hanger.

She hurried her step to join him. When she was at his side, the door clicked. He looked up at her with a grin, opened the door and let it swing open. "Ladies first," he said as he rose up.

"I don't put my back to a creepy kid," she said, not entirely sure if she should trust him. He was far too clever, which meant he was dangerous even if he was just a boy.

James shrugged, pocketing his tools and striding in. He waited for her to join him and shut the door, locking it back. "No one comes in here anymore. Not unless they're skipping."

"Obviously," she said, running her fingers along a bench. She rubbed the thick dust between them before wiping her hand on her blouse.

"We'll wait for the first bell. As they leave we can slip past easily enough. By the second bell the coaches should be in the gym so we won't get hassled."

"What are you?" Amy asked, watching the teen as he pressed himself against the wall by the door, peering out the small window at its side. The light that filtered in from the hall was so dim, she didn't see him freeze at her question. She continued. "You're like some sort of super covert secret agent boy. First you fry yourself with a computer, now you're skulking about as if you're afraid of getting caught."

He eased up a bit and left the wall, turning to face her before walking past and slinging his pack off his back. "There's more going on here than you'd believe," he said seriously, unzipping the pack. "And you can see it, too. Otherwise why would an assistant be so keep to ask questions?"

"Got a job in a place I know nothing about. I like to be informed."

James scoffed as he rummaged. "Don't know how you got hired, Miss Pond, but you had to have help. Foreigners are lucky not to get shot in these parts. Must have been one hell of a resume. Unless you were sent in covertly."

Amy caught the hint and decided to play along. She may get more out of him that way. "Yes," she said. "My partner, the Fez, and I are in the middle of an investigation."

"Explains why he was talking to the new coach then. UNIT must have got the intel before the systems went down. I've got more data collected from the weekend, but I don't have it here. We can exchange info later. First, I've got to find someone."

He pulled out a rough looking device and set it on a bench. Amy came closer as James pulled out a flashlight. When he clicked it on, Amy saw the insignia on the side. A capitol T, made of stylized hexagons in red. It was faded and scratched. The symbol meant nothing to the young woman from Leadworth.

At closer look, she saw it was not a device, but a box. A small black box. James held the flashlight out to her. "Hold this and aim it here."

She did as he asked while the teen pulled out another item. It was small. Looked like it'd been made from scrap. He pressed it against the lock. There was a click, followed by a low whine as he waited. Then the device disengaged.

Flipping open the lid, James grinned and reached in.

What he pulled out was something Amy had seen before on many an occasion.

And as James strapped it on his wrist, Amy's next thought was of her daughter... River Song.

o0o

The bell sounded. The Doctor was getting worried. He didn't like being worried. It didn't suit this version of him. But Amy hadn't checked in and it was time for the next class.

Not that the shaping of young minds, especially those oppressed and fearful ones, wasn't important but there were bigger things going on here that he wanted, no needed, to look into.

"Why did it have to be here?" the Doctor groaned as he watched the students file in for next dreadfully dull English class.

He was pulled from his thoughts as a Starbucks cup was set on his desk in front of him. Looking up he saw Jesse, smiling her most devious of smiles. "Morning, Mr. Smith," she said.

"Miss Ham Sandwich."

Her cheshire grin never faded as she held up a McDonald's bag. "Ten bacon egg and cheese McMuffins today. James's dad bribed me."

"I... see that."

She remembered the message she was supposed to deliver in payment for getting the foodstuffs. Coded, cleverly, in conversation. If her belief about this man was correct, Mr. Harborne had assured her he would catch on quickly. "I would have settled for nine, but ten is such a nice round number."

The Doctor struggled to keep a straight face as he picked up the cup and sniffed at it. Coffee. He wasn't too fond of coffee. Used to quite enjoy it, but now... he just liked the smell. His eyes caught sight of a scrap of paper that was hidden beneath the cup. The real purpose of this generous gift... Jack's handwriting.

He smiled and gave a nod of understanding to her. "I would have held out for eleven myself," he replied, playing along. "But around Christmas I like getting ten. I can save room for pudding."

She nodded, fishing out one and putting it on the desk. "In case you get peckish," she said, finally strolling to her seat.

The Doctor scribbled something down, folded it up, and placed it beneath the gifted breakfast sandwich before the tardy bell rang.

Moments later he was his usual undercover self. "Now, who can tell me why Puck..."

Jesse had already tuned out once her rump hit the seat. She sat licking her gloved fingers before reaching in for her second bacon egg and cheese McMuffin.

o0o

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, James darted out the door. Amy chased after him. She saw him check the wrist strap on his arm before signaling for her to follow. He slipped into the hall, and across the crowd into the gym. Briefly Amy lost sight of him. But it was okay. He'd told her what to do. Stay close to the wall. This end of the gym had access to the locker rooms so they'd be able to hide among the students going in and out of the doors. Easily make their way across to the set of doors opposite, leading to the offices.

When Amy saw him again he was partially hidden by the bleachers. But the second bell was chiming, and she knew she wouldn't make it. Not in these shoes.

As the students cleared out, Amy found herself exposed. Thankfully she had an ace in the hole. Rory. He'd help cover for her. She started for the door and, sure enough, she was spotted. By Coach Hibberts.

A quick glance towards her goal told her James had gone. Sodding kid abandoned her!

"Can I help you Miss..."

"Pond," she called out, her Scottish voice echoing in the cavernous gym. She tried to come up with a convincing lie. "Yes.. Um..." she started. "I've been sent to fetch..." She searched her pockets for something she could use. She found a receipt for a diner from the night before. Unfolding it, she pretended to read. "Coach Williams, I think. Hard to read. Theresa's handwriting is rubbish."

Hibberts looked to Rory. He handed over his clipboard. "Won't be a minute," Rory said, jogging over to his wife.

In a low voice Amy said, "I've got a lead. Weird kid. Will explain, but right now you need to look really sad."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. Just... uh... Oh tell him your wife died or something."

"But you didn't."

"They don't know that. Look, I need your help. Can't do that with you playing around with your balls all day."

Rory fought hard not to laugh, and somehow managed to keep a straight face. Amy glared at him.

"Any time now, Miss Pond!" called Hibberts, annoyed. "We do have a class to teach!"

Amy hissed. "Look sad. Cry if you have to. But you've got to come with me. Crying Roman with a baby, yeah."

"I'll try," he said, putting on his best sad face. Amy put a hand on his shoulder. "What's that for?"

"People watching. You just got terrible news. I'm trying to comfort you. Now go, Roranicus," she said.

He nodded, sighed, and thought of how Jell-O is made.

Amy waited long enough for him to make a distraction then she made her escape to the door she had been attempting to reach. She went through and waited. Moments later Rory burst through, bleary eyed and wiping tears from his cheeks. "Alright," he said, sniffling. "What's going on? Where's the Doctor?"

"In his class I think. But look," she said, pulling him along the corridor. She looked into every cubby and alcove for James, explaining her morning. "...And then this one kid, he thinks we work for UNIT. Well, me and the Doctor. He's investigating things here, too. And he's much farther ahead than we are."

"And why are we going towards the coaches offices?" Rory asked.

Amy was struck with an idea. "Computer! Is there one nearby?"

This was something Rory could do. "Hibberts. He has one to edit game footage. Won't let anyone near it," he said. "This way." He led her down to a small corridor off the main. "He keeps the computer passworded, and the office locked so we'll..." He trailed off when they reached the door. It was slightly ajar, and they heard soft mutterings beyond it. "Need to break in," Rory finished for lack of what to say or do.

"Anyone inside?" Amy called.

"Who's with you?"

"Don't worry. He's one of us. UNIT, yeah. We're coming in." Amy nodded. Rory pushed the door open and she went in first.

"Took you long enough, Leadworth," James said. "Started to think you'd gotten lost." He looked up from the computer briefly. "Coach Williams?"

"You're the one who got cracked in the head!"

"Yeah..." the teen said, stretching out the vowels a bit. "Kinda busy. Nearly got it now..." He grinned broadly as the light from the computer brightened, illuminating his face in its electronic glow. "Molto bene!" he exclaimed. "Hot Legs, Leadworth, we've got a signal!"

Rory blinked and looked at his wife. "Hot Legs?" he asked. She snickered.

"What?"

"He means you," she replied.

"Hey, you two can help. Look around. List of names, dates, allergies, anything odd. Hibberts was the last one to see him, and we haven't much time."

Amy and Rory were rummaging through the bookshelves. Filing cabinets and boxes.

James nodded. "AngelNet's reporting that the ship's still in orbit," he muttered. "Now then, the War Boards..."

Rory came across an unmarked file in one of the cabinets. Inside a single sheet of names. "Amy, what do you think?" he asked his wife quietly, showing her the paper.

James was at work behind them, fingers flying over the keys. The wrist strap on his arm was blinking. He'd used it to boost the wifi power of the machine to get a signal. It was taking an incredibly large amount of energy. Camey Thatcher... Cody Tickle.. No. NO. This isn't right," he muttered to himself. "He should be here. He has to be here..."

"Who?" Rory asked, looking over his shoulder at him.

"My friend Corey," he said. "Officers came this morning, said he was sent off. But he has to be here. He'd be on the Boot lists. But he's not. Not a single trace of him. Like he's disappeared."

Amy looked over the list. "James... What did you say his name was?"

"Corey. Why?"

Rory took the list and looked it over. Near the bottom was a name crossed out like many others on it. "Last name Tidwell?" he asked.

James brightened, hopeful. "Yeah. You found something?"

The companions looked at one another. Rory spoke up, taking the list to him.

James looked down at it, horror twisted in his features. Every name there he recognized. Every name belonging to classmates. Friends. Neighbors. All Conscripted. All gone in the last few months without a single trace. Not even a Chinese whisper.

Only two names remained uncrossed. Reggie Erickson, with a handwritten note beside stating his birthday and his activities.

And then there was James Harborne. His birth date and a note stating his rank on the track team.

For an instant, James swore he heard himself screaming.

But when he looked at Amy and Rory staring back at him, he knew he hadn't made a sound.

o0o

Jesse stood in the hall at her locker, stuffing the last bites of the sandwich the Doctor had given back to her in her mouth. Greasy gloved fingers were licked before she unfolded the note.

Her eyes narrowed as she read it.

"Don't interfere, eh..." she said, tapping her chin. "We'll just see about that."

She opened her backpack hastily and shoved her books into her locker. Once empty she zipped it back up and looked around. The girl slammed her locker shut, spun the combination lock dial, and stormed off with a determined look upon her painted face.

First stop, the library.

She rounded the corner, then darted into another to take a short cut through a few disused classrooms.

Once there she'd be able to rally the troops. Something spooky was going on, and the Astronomy Club and the Mathleats were going to get to the bottom of it!

o0o

The Doctor was on a mission. Now free of his annoying cover he was free to spend his free period as he saw fit. And he needed to find Amy.

He knew of only one place he could get news and fast. Mrs. Donaldson.

He came to the glass doors and adjusted his bowtie. "Time for a little charm," he said, reaching out to open the glass doors.

o0o

Jesse stood at the head of the table. Students were crowded around to hear her. "Nobody's seen James?" she asked.

"Nah," Bobby said, hands folded behind his head so that his elbows stuck out from either side. "Wasn't in Calculus."

"What about Raven?" Jesse again.

A ginger girl from the back piped up. "She e-mailed me before school. Her brother was Conscripted, so she's skipping."

"Any word of James though? He was with her last night."

"Nope. Just that he left. She assumed he was headed to school."

Jesse nodded in thought. When James wasn't around to take charge, it left herself. And she didn't like being stuck with the responsibility. After a deep breath, she nodded. "Okay. Astro Nerds, you're on surveillance. We need those halls cleared and we need to know the location of every Snitch. Distractions, people." She turned to Bobby. "See if you can fix Mrs. Donaldson's dinosaur. We need it to scramble the CCTV feeds."

The boy gave a grunt, nodded, then broke away from the group to set to his task.

"Mathleats!" she barked. "You're on search patrol. Get the Band Geeks to help with Recon."

"What are we looking for?"

"Aliens."

This got a laugh from her peers. "Aliens?"

"This isn't Cardiff, Jesse."

Jesse was serious. "Meaghan, we'll need the Comms. Everyone gets a set. This is not a drill. All general weirdness gets reported back to me. If you locate James, you call in."

o0o

There was a noise outside the door. "Hide," James hissed, regaining his senses. He could fall apart later. With a keystroke he shut down the computer, breaking the connection to his wrist strap. He grabbed the paper, that unholy list of names, and shoved it in his pocket hastily.

Amy and Rory looked around before spotting a coat closet. Rory pulled it open and shoves his wife inside. She opened her mouth to protest, but he shut it back again.

James ducked behind an equipment rack, peering between the narrow shelves.

"What the... Who's there?" An angry voice shouted. The door was flung open, and the light turned on.

Rory had just scrambled between two bookshelves, thinking he could flatten himself against the wall. There wasn't much to him. It could work.

That had been his working theory until he found himself in a wholly different space. A hidden room filled from floor to ceiling with computer banks. Equipment far beyond that of any Earth technology he'd ever seen. Blinking lights and screens filled with teens in classrooms greeted him.

"What is this place?.." Rory whispered.

"I think the question is, Mr. Williams..."

Rory spun around to see Coach Hibberts looking back at him. Only he wasn't Coach Hibberts. He didn't know WHAT this creature was let alone the who.

The creature that was Hibberts held up a small device, and it buzzed and whined in similar fashion to the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. The sound was followed by an echo. A pounding against a steel door.

Rory swallowed hard. Hibberts must have sealed them in.

"How did you come to be in my office?"

o0o

When the Doctor came into the library, teens suddenly pushed past him to leave. Scrambling like soldiers.

"Where's the fire?" he shouted.

When they had cleared Jesse stood alone. An old Bluetooth device on her ear and a data pad in her hands. "This is Stripes to Red Team Leader. Confirm that link is open." She only glanced at the Doctor.

Bobby chose that moment to slip out of the librarian's office. "That thing's fried." He took off a pair of sunglasses that had what looked like microchips soldered into the side. They rested on top of his head in his hair. "Looks like James tried to boost the power too high."

"That was me." The Doctor raised his hand with a childish grin.

Bobby stiffened. It was an immediate reaction to being caught doing something he'd been taught was naughty.

Jesse waved. "He's with us," she said, listening to the comms as each team checked their lines. The last team checked in. She was free then to engage the others. "Bobby, see what you can do with this." She held up the data pad. "I need AngelNet loaded pronto. Hack, patch, whatever you've got to do."

Bobby took it and scurried back to the office.

The Doctor was a little impressed with the girl, even if he was a little miffed.

Jesse smiled a cheshire grin, relishing the vibrations she caught coming off the Time Lord as he silently fumed. And it only fueled her on.

"I told you not to interfere," he said, chastising her.

"No," she replied. "You write a response. To Jack. Telling him not to interfere."

"This isn't a game. A man has already died, Jessica."

She wasn't going to let this... New Doctor tell her what to do. Her Doctor knew the value of help. This one seemed to... Well, she certainly didn't like him treating her like a child. "Which is precisely why you need every Nerd, Geek, and Brain on this campus on high alert. We're organized, we're efficient, and there's a lot more of us than there are of you, Space Man."

The Doctor looked at her in thought. She'd never stood up to him like this before. She'd always been so... Then he realized why. "Sardosi..." he said before giving a laugh. "The angrier I get with you, the more stubborn you get."

She grinned again. "It's a talent." She shrugged. "Our first priority is to locate James. He may be on the premises. Priority two, the aliens." Then, her face turned serious. Hand flew to her ear as she listened closely. "Repeat last trans, Fox Leader." She frowned. "I see..."

"What's-"

"Bagwell's been found near the Field House."

The tone the girl took told the Doctor all he needed to know. He ran from the library. Jesse ran after him but stopped at the door. "Bobby! Call back Mrs. Donaldson! I'm heading out!"

"Will do, Jess!" the boy called back.

Having lost the Doctor in the bowels of the school, Jesse took a shortcut. Through the cafeteria to the back lot of portable classrooms. Down the row she pounded, keeping close watch just in case of Snitches. She couldn't afford to be caught by a hall monitor, nor a teacher at a time like this. Ahead her keen eyes spotted the fence dividing the portables from the practice soccer field.

"Jess!" she heard someone call. But she didn't have the time to stop. Picking up her pace she judged the distance. Closer and closer the fence loomed.

The Sardosi didn't think. Her pupils constricted into vertical slits as she jumped. Jesse soared through the air, arms stretched out. She caught herself on the top of the chain link fence with gloved fingers and used it to redirect her momentum downward.

Instinctively she relaxed her body before landing smoothly in the grass on her feet. Seconds later, she was running again, darting across the field.

The teens who'd spotted her could only watch in amazement, jaws hanging in awe. Finally one girl said excitedly, "Did anyone get that on vid? This is sooooo Facebook worthy!"

o0o

"It's no use," Amy said. "It's rock solid."

James swore under his breath. Desperately he tried to break the encryption on the passage using the wrist strap, but it was no use. "I'd need my datapad to crack this," he said.

"Then get it!" Amy's voice was desperate. Angry. "You're the genius! You open this bloody door and get my Rory back!"

James raised a brow. "Your Rory?" He shook his head. "We have to go. If Hibberts is one of them there's no telling how many others are, too. We're sitting ducks in here."

"I won't leave him," Amy protested. "He never gave up on me, and lord knows I deserved it. I won't abandon him."

James grabbed her by the arm before she could get hysterical on him. She tried to pull away, but his grip was firm. "Listen to me, Leadworth," he said. Amy was reminded of the Doctor right then. The serious tone he took when he was unsure what to do, but didn't want to seem just as confused as the rest of them. The look of control and authority that said simply Trust Me. "We'll get Rory back. They won't kill him. They'll need him to find out why he's here. He'll lead them to you and your partner."

"How can you be sure?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

Brown eyes were hard. Dark as if the boy were recalling some horrible, distant memory. "I've dealt with this kind of thing before. He's useless to them dead. Now come on. We can't be caught loitering in the lair of the beast. Can't save Hot Legs if we're prisoners, too."

The boy had a point. She was useless to help her husband if she were to get caught and join him. Reluctantly she followed the boy out, sure to stick close as they made their way back to the gym.

o0o

Rory rubbed his head groggily. He wasn't sure where he was, or how long he'd been there. Slowly his vision cleared and he reached out. A quick zap and a fiery pain in his fingertips told the unfortunate companion he was behind a force field. He climbed to his feet and took stock of his surroundings. His cell was bare save for a cold metal slab jutting out from the wall opposite the force field. Through the barrier he could see another cell. Sitting on a slab in the equally plain cell was a boy.

Rory guessed he couldn't be younger than 16. No older than 18 at the most. He looked reasonably fit. The boy sat with his head in his hands.

"Hey!" Rory called. "Hey you!"

The boy looked up, his face drawn and tired. Rory wondered how long he'd been there.

"Where are we?"

The boy continued to stare. Then, with a sad look on his young face, he pointed to his ear.

Rory stepped closer, as close as he dared without getting shocked. Concentrating harder, he could see why the boy was pointing.

His ears were packed with bloody gauze.

Rory's heart sank as he realized communication was hopeless. He only hoped Amy and the Doctor would find him before something equally horrible befell him.

o0o

They saw Jesse first. She skid to a stop in front of them moments before the Doctor came up from the other direction.

"Thought I told you-"

"Stuff it, Space Man," she snapped, catching her breath. She wiped at the sweat from her forehead, smearing the carefully applied makeup to reveal the black and purple stripes of her natural skin beneath. "Show me what you got, Sparks."

"It's the weirdest thing," the girl said, leading them around to the back of the building. Leading them to the prone body of the schools most hated Snitch. She stayed back, not wanting to get too close as she nodded towards the prone form.

There was little blood. Just a few drops around his collar. The Doctor pulled out his sonic. With a flick of his wrist and the press of a button he scanned the body.

"He was bitten," Jesse said, sniffing the air and poking him with a stick. "No longer than an hour or so. Still smells fresh." She glanced at his neck. "Those holes are huge."

DNA readings are coming back strange. Human mixed with..." He scanned again. "Snake? Well that just doesn't make sense."

Jesse used her stick to pull the collar away from the neck for a better look. "Got any tubes or jars or a baggie?"

"Why?"

"Chemicals check," she said flatly. "Alien DNA, alien poison. Might be what killed that other bloke you talked about."

The Doctor patted down his pockets. Finally he reached in and found a retainer case. "This do?"

"It'll have to," she said, stooping down. She snapped off the end of her stick, jammed it unceremoniously into one of the puncture marks, and pulled it back out with a rather loud and wet pop.

She put it in the case and dropped that into her backpack. "Doctor," she said, rising to her feet.

"Yes?"

Her cat-like eyes narrowed at him. He could tell she was beyond serious. She was furious with him. "This could have all been avoided if you'd just picked up your bloody phone."

The Doctor couldn't argue. He wanted to. Oh, he could craft quite the tirade. But he also knew the girl was right.

The teen tapped the piece at her ear, turning away as she gave the command for anyone nearby to disperse and remain clear of the Field House.

The school bell rang. It sounded distant. As the Doctor and Jesse began a thorough search of the area for clues, he wondered how many of these innocent country fold would have to die because of his one mistake.

o0o

James poked his head around the corner. Amy had insisted they go straight to Mr. Smith, but when they'd got there he was gone. Now the bell had rung and they were working their way to the library. The only safe haven James knew.

"Now," he said, darting out from where he and Amy were hiding between sets of lockers.

When they were just outside the library doors they were spotted. James stood with an arm out protectively as if shielding Amy from a potential threat. He held his pen out, brandishing it much like Amy had seen the Doctor do on many occasion. He was pointing it accusingly at the other student, finger on the edge of the cap as if to pop it off at any second. "What's my call sign?" he snapped.

"Scrapper," the girl replied.

James didn't waver. "Everyone knows that," he said. "Arrest records are public. I changed it since then. My call sign or die."

Amy gasped at his cold threat.

"Banana Marauder," the girl replied, almost unsure of her answer.

At this James was satisfied. He lowered his pen, tucking it back into his pocket and the three entered the library. "What's going on?" he asked as if an officer addressing a subordinate. The girl quickly explained about the body of Bagwell. Of Jesse's gathering of the Brain Trust and Mr. Smith's current aid with Bagwell's very dead form.

"Can't say I'm sorry," James said without any trace of compassion.

Amy took him by the arm roughly. "See here," she said. "You weren't actually going to kill her, were you?"

Two young faces were hard as he spoke. "Yes. If I had to."

"Why? She's just-"

"And Hibberts was just a gym teacher. An evil, psychotic alien who's kidnapped Rory, probably killed everyone else on this list, and there's a bloody space ship in orbit around our planet. Cloaked, but there. And it's parked right on top of my city! So," he snapped, pulling out of her grip. "Excuse me if I thought Davina might be a fracking pod person!"

The doors swung open. Davina turned, slingshot raised and the band pulled back taut as she took aim. To figures strolled in. One a stripe faced girl, the other Mr. Smith.

"James!" Jesse exclaimed, running past Davina who had lowered her weapon. She wrapped her arms around her best friend tightly. But James was preoccupied, suddenly...

As Jesse had called out his name, Amy called out to her own best friend. But she didn't call him Mr. Smith. Or John. She had called him Doctor.

James looked past Jesse's shoulders at the pair of adults. His brown eyes narrowed as he saw this man take Amy into his arms and hug her tight.

And for the first time in his life, James Harborne felt the sharp sting of betrayal.

o0o

Rory had been pacing up and down the cell. Confusion had given way to helplessness. Then anger. Frustration at his anger. And now he was in a perpetual state of annoyance.

The boy in the cell across from him watched unnervingly. Rory stopped pacing to look at him. The boy wasn't signing. He knew enough of the hand language to know that straight away. But the boy was gesturing toward the hall. In particular, Rory's right.

Not quite understanding, the Centurion didn't realize he was being warned until he saw the snake creatures outside his cell. They held spears with a series of buttons on the shaft. The tops looked like oversized gun barrels.

One creature was bigger, taller than the other. He tasted the air with his tongue as his colleague opened the cell.

Rory surprised himself when he didn't back away as they came in and god him. He wasn't sure if it was the soldier in him or the desensitivity to such incidents that came with being the Doctor's companion. Whichever it was, it amused his captors.

Rory was pushed forward with the butt of a staff. As he was led down the corridor he could see other prisoners. All male. All around the same age as the deaf one. Some slept as some sat lethargically.

Rory thought to himself as he counted them. Fifteen total. All in peak physical condition. These weren't just any prisoners. These were athletes.

As he was ushered into the life Rory knew these were the missing boys from the list. And judging by the fact he didn't see that wild boy James among them, it was a list still incomplete.

o0o

James pulled away from Jesse, whipping out his pen again. He stood with it aimed at Amy and the Doctor, his finger rubbing the edge of the cap and ready to pop it off. "You're not UNIT," he said, a dark edge to his voice.

"Technically," the Doctor said, "I never sent in my resignation." He looked at the pen in the boy's hands, unsure of what it truly was. The boy, he knew, was very inventive when it came to technology. But after being forced to fight a war that wasn't theirs he knew how creative, how cruel the boy could really be with something as innocent as a kettle and some string.

Brown eyes narrowed as the Doctor put his hands up, motioning for Amy to do the same.

"James, it's the Doctor," Jesse said.

"No. The Doctor, he..." James' resolve hardened. "Tell me something only I would know."

"That wrist strap there. It's your father's."

"Too obvious. Try again." James popped the cap to reveal not the plastic coated tip of a pen but the business end of a deadly dart.

"You can't hit both of us with that pea shooter," Amy said.

The Doctor cast her a warning look and said under his breath, "Don't provoke him, Pond. I've seen this kid choke an orc with its own hand. Would not be a good idea to make him angry while he's pointing a potentially deadly poison dart at us."

Jesse pulled on his other arm, but James didn't move. "James, stop it! This is the Doctor! I can smell it! Don't you trust me?"

Amy didn't take her eyes off the boy's tiny, tiny weapon. "Doctor, do something!"

Then the Doctor got an idea. Something only he, Jack, and the boy would remember. Something special that not even Jesse could know. "Barcelona! July, 2001!" he exclaimed. "When you were eight I took you and your father to Barcelona. We were kidnapped, but you braved the Tower Charon with Rose, your dog. You rescued us with green mold creatures from the TARDIS fridge."

James seemed to consider this. His hand started to lower.

The Doctor saw this as an opportunity. He had to play this very carefully. If he was hit, he could regenerate. Not that he wanted to, but he had a better chance than his companion. Cautiously he took a step closer, and James brought the pen back up with narrowed eyes.

"Psychic parasites could have easily gotten that information."

"James, it's me. Your Uncle John," he said, braving another step. "You and me went camping last summer. Went to see the famous libraries of Gondor's white city. But we got there too early. The TARDIS was taken by the Uruk-hai. Remember that?" The Doctor could feel Amy's eyes on his back nervously. "Only it wasn't last summer. Not for us. You and me, we spent a year looking for the old girl. You were forced to join the army of Gondor when I was arrested for trying to break into the holy relics tower. Gandalf had to spring me out after the fighting was over."

As the Doctor spoke, James lowered the pen, no longer pointing it at anyone. The Doctor came forward, placing himself fully between James and Amy. The ginger scurried forward and scooped up the pen cap.

"You were knighted by King Elessar himself. And we accompanied the hobbits as far as Rivendell. You wanted to see the Shire, but we turned back to Rohan because you got a call from Jesse about an exam on your birthday."

James was stunned. His hard, dark gaze softened as he was reminded of his last adventure with the Doctor. Reminded of the blood and the death and the stench of war that had made him so hard and cold. Brown eyes started to well up as he realized the man in front of him spoke only truth.

"Only the Doctor would know..."

The Doctor was right in front of him now, hand open. "I'm still him. Different, rather cool package, but still your Doctor. Now give me the pressurized dart launcher before Amy and Jesse conspire to tackle you to the ground for your temporary madness."

After a long moment of consideration, the boy nodded and laid it carefully in the Doctor's hand. That hand was held out to the side, and the pen snatched up by Jesse, who held it out for Amy to cautiously cap.

Once his hand was empty, the Time Lord wrapped his arms around James, speaking quietly to him. "The last thing I wanted was to get you involved in this," he said.

"It's too late for that," James replied just as quietly.

o0o

Rory was taken to a room that didn't look particularly inviting. And as he was shoved through the door he made his thoughts on the subject quite clear by insisting they install a gift shop to appear more friendly.

The walls were a sickly green. The lighting above made the room hot and harsh compared to his holding cell.

"Ah, the bungling detective." The voice was almost cheerful. A woman clad in shorts and a tank top was the owner of it. Her red curls were pulled back into a frizzy bun at the back of her head. The way she wore it, it reminded him of River.

"Boys, you know what to do."

She even carried herself in the same manner as his daughter. Chills went down his spine as he remembered Germany. How he and his wife's best friend regenerated before their eyes. How she had revealed herself to be a psychopath with the same innocent glee as this woman seemed to exude.

Rory swallowed hard, but was thankful that when she glanced towards him, that face was not that of Dr. River Song.

The bigger of the two snake men held him as the smaller prepared a small alcove in the wall.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, taking out a pair of glasses and slipping them on.

"Lady, if this is your idea of beauty then I'd really hate to see your picture of ugly."

The woman sighed, her attempt at idle chit-chat obviously thrown back in her face. "I hate working with the mature ones," she said then checked her charts. "Still, they have their uses."

"The pod isss prepared, Missstresss."

Rory's eyes went wide as he tried to get away. "I don't want to be a pod person!"

She turned her back to them. Rory struggled but was unable to get out of the creature's grip. "Strap him tight," she ordered.

Rory fought back, pulling with all his might. One hand got free and he used it to deliver a hard right hook. The creature's scales sliced his hand as it struck. While it was momentarily stunned Rory managed to break free completely.

But his victory was short as he felt the bolt hit him in the back. Stumbling forward he fell against the wall. As he lost consciousness the second time today Rory felt the pulsing, fibrous material of the wall beneath his hands and swore this thing was alive.

"Load him in. The sooner he gets scanned the sooner we can find out what he was up to."

o0o

Amy stood by at a distance, watching the Doctor and James curiously... But Rory's fate was never far from her thoughts. "What's up with those two?"

"James and the Doc?" Jesse asked, tracing a doodle etched into the table with her fingertips. "Family."

"I didn't think he had any."

"Yeah... well... It's complicated."

"Can't be any worse than my relation," Amy muttered.

Jesse just smiled. She knew the truth. Had always known since first meeting the Doctor at 13 years old. She smelled it, that exotic, intoxicating madness. She felt the energies that surrounded the Time Lord. Erratic and wild and burning at the heart of the universe... Identical. Replicated with exact precision in her dearest, most loyal friend. But even to this girl who traveled with the Doctor, even to James and his father, she would never speak of it.

After learning what she was, the Doctor made her swear to never let it slip. To never tell a living soul.

And the word of a Sardosi warrior was her bond.

"So..." Amy said, looking at the striped girl. "Alien. In the middle of farm country. I'd have thought they'd burn you at the stake."

"I tell them I came from the circus. Get great discounts on body paint and makeup." Jesse sighed and leaned forward to prop herself up with her elbows.

Soon the Doctor came over alone. James was approached by a couple of students.

Smiling the Doctor rubbed his hands together. "Good news, Pond!"

"You have a plan to rescue Rory?"

"No. Not yet." He watched her face fall. "But the boy's agreed not to try and kill us. He's also agreed to take me to his lab he thinks his father doesn't know about. We only have to do three little things in return."

"What's that then?"

The Doctor counted them off on his fingers as he spoke. "Help save his friend, help get rid of the aliens, and not breathe a word of this to his father."

"Again with that? What's he afraid of?" Amy asked. "By the looks of things I'd think he'd be rather proud of James."

Jesse's voice was serious. Far too serious for a girl of only 17. "No one must know about him. Every impossible thing he does, every stroke of genius puts him at risk of exposure. Miss Pond, if the wrong sort of people found out about him, about his father... and what they can do..."

Amy realized what the girl was trying to say. Reminded of Melody, she knew what could happen. Had seen it with her own eyes. "They could use them as weapons. Use him."

"Just like River," the Doctor said, then deftly changed the subject, not wanting to grieve Amy further. "Jess, I've got a plan. Sort of. More like an idea. A rough sketch of an idea on the back of a used napkin."

The girl brightened. "Anything. You name it."

"Can you get the school evacuated and canceled?"

She grinned and Amy saw the razor sharp canines for the first time. "Got enough bacon?" she asked.

"All you can eat."

She was on the comms faster than Amy could say boo. "Stripes to all roving teams. Banana Marauder has been located. We need a Chaos Bomb..." She left them as she continued to bark orders.

Amy looked to her best friend, confused and concerned at the same time. "Doctor?"

He was thoughtful. Amy recognized that look of his when he was just starting to form a plan of action. "Jesse was right. We need every intelligent mind we can get on this. They're organized. Prepared. You stay with her while I go with James."

"What about-"

"You'll be safe. I promise. She may not look it, but that girl's tough as nails. Her species was once known across the universe as one of the most cunning, most deadly of warrior races. You're in good hands."

"But that's not what I... What about Rory?"

"In good time, Pond. You forget, he's a trained soldier. A roman soldier. Can't get any better than that. He'll be alright."

James' voice rang out in the library as he looked up from a data pad. "Has anyone seen Berta?"

Bobby shook his head. "I've been trying to reach her, but... She stepped out for lunch and never came back."

o0o

Rory moaned.

"The more you fight, the more it hurts," she said. "Eventually the pain will become too much to bear."

He would not give in. He was strong. Stronger than the living wires that burrowed into his skin. His will was like steel, his patience deep. He was the Boy who Waited for the Girl who Waited.

And then he waited nearly 2000 years more.

If the endless boredom didn't break him...

She pushed up her glasses and tapped the screen. Images flashed by. Faster and faster. The same few faces popped up again and again.

The scientist looked at Rory in disbelief.

"Impossible..." she said. "Your cellular memories extend further than any human being on this planet. Lifetime after lifetime." She turned back to her screens, checking the readings. One particular chart was climbing faster than the others. "These chronon waves are unbelievable!" She looked back at him. Struggling still. Fighting on despite the futility. "What are you?..."

Through clenched teeth Rory forced the words out. At the same time his memories of the Battle of Demon's Run appeared on her screen. She gasped in fright.

"Last. Centurion," he spat, ripping himself free of the pod. The wires still embedded in his skin flailed wildly before falling out and burrowing themselves into the floor.

He fell to his knees, glaring at her.

"Guards!" she called. "GUARDS!"

Rory had begun to crawl towards her, intent on proving he wasn't just some mere human. He was more than that. The universe itself wouldn't let him die, and he certainly wasn't going to let some two-bit alien scientist be the death of him.

He had nearly grabbed her ankle before he felt the butt of a staff in the small of his back. Forcing him to lay on his stomach.

"Lock him up! Then fetch me another growth pod!" She flicked through the images she had recorded. Searching them for information before smiling to herself. There, near the end of the recording was Hibberts' office. And a boy's face lit up by the light of a computer screen.

"This one just proved worth the trouble," she said. "And fetch me that miserable Hibberts! I've got a job for him!"

o0o

Operation Chaos Bomb.

They never thought they'd get the chance to use it. A very particular, specially cultivated strain of food poisoning that mimics the deadly African Bovine Flu. Harmless to the bovines, who could vomit into one of their other stomachs... Deadly to the humans as due to their obvious differences in genetic makeup occasionally could cause one to... lose a few organs on the way up.

The strain, of course, was created by none other than the ever resourceful James Harborne, in his own personal chemistry lab.

Special vials of highly concentrated (yet rather harmless to humans) bacteria were passed out amongst selected members of the Brain Trust.

Shortly after Jesse's order to unleash the Chaos Bomb, students became very ill. This triggered a psychosomatic response in the student body as well as some teachers.

The effects were rather... quick. Amy had been appalled by Jesse's comment on how terribly short the chaos was. But it had done its job.

In the chaos of the emergency evacuation, Jesse was directing her troops. Amy explained about the list they'd found and about Hibberts' deception.

"When we searched the school before we only found a body. Now nothing. Except in that office."

"And the Field House, I suspect," Jesse said. "There's a park nearby. We'll gather there and wait until the heat's off and the place is empty. We'll have until dawn before the hazmat crews move in." She checked her datapad, but the thing was still on the fritz.

Amy saw the screen flicker. "You too? My phone's been doing that." Amy took it out and showed it to her. "See. Not a signal. Which is impossible. This thing works everywhere. Any time, any place."

"That's strange," she replied, looking at her. "The comms are working fine..."

Meaghan looked up cheerfully. "That's because I set them to the subwave frequency bands. It seemed the logical step when the normal channels were dead."

Jesse looked back at Amy with a grin. "That means only one thing. There's a jammer in this building. And when we get back, we'll find the bloody thing!"

o0o

James and the Doctor climbed out of the back of the truck. James was walking while the Doctor waved after the truck. When he could see it no longer he turned to follow.

Soon they were standing outside a crumbling structure. It seemed to the Doctor the building had been from the first Civil War period. Bars on the windows, the bolts holding them in place corroded and barely clinging to the stone. This place, he knew, had been a prison.

"Around back," James said, stepping down the steep slope into which the building was built. Again, the Doctor followed.

"There's no door."

"Don't need one." James touched the stonework. A panel parted beneath his hand. It scanned his palm.

"Voice print analysis required."

"Beans are evil," James said rather unenthusiastically. "Those evil beans. Those evil bloody beans."

The Doctor watched, trying not to laugh at the password James had chosen to use. But his laughter was suddenly replaced with suspicion, which he hid rather well he thought, as a door appeared, then parted down the middle to allow entry.

"Voice print confirmed. Welcome, Jack."

James stepped through. "Come on, Doc. Don't dawdle. Lives at stake. Hot Legs in danger."

"Hot Legs?" The Doctor asked, stepping into the darkness of the old prison. "Who's legs?" He received no reply on the matter.

o0o

Hot Legs, or Rory as the rest of the universe knows him, pulled himself up using the edge of the slab. He turned quickly to hurl himself at the serpentine guards. A desperate act of attempted escape.

They waited for him to get into the entry before activating the force field.

Rory screamed as electricity shot through his body. The guards' hissing laughter was barely heard over the ringing in his ears and the rapid beat of his heart.

"ENOUGH!"

The guards as one looked down the corridor. A man stood there, dressed similarly to the female scientist. However he had one difference. A black band wrapped around his left bicep bearing a special golden crest... rimmed in red.

"You know how Mimir hates her subjects to be damaged!" he snapped angrily.

The guards hissed to one another before slithering away. Rory watched them go from his place on the floor. He wondered, laying there and thinking he smelled strangely of lightly poached eggs, if he would ever see Amy again.

o0o

The Doctor, his keen Gallifreyan eyes far superior to those of mere humans, looked around in the darkness. The room was small. Very small. "Not much of a lab," he remarked.

"Computer, Lab 24." Moments later there was a loud groaning noise from the far wall. A light appeared, followed by a door. A rather average looking door. The Doctor knew this wall to be the one opposite the way they'd entered. This wall was buried beneath the earth.

The door, quite unremarkable in all other aspects, boasted the numbers 24 in white-out on the red paint.

James went inside ahead of him. "My humble workshop. Well," the teen said, striding across the room nearly the size of his home. "One of them."

The way the boy acted here, in this his sacred space, was much as he had known him in years, decades past. Comfortable. Confident. And a smidge like his most recent past self. The Doctor cracked a very small smile when he thought of this.

"This is the main one," James continued. "Sorry for the mess." He slung his backpack from his shoulders and began pulling items out.

The Doctor frowned now. He had expected a small workshop. A few computers stolen from school. Perhaps some rather comical failed inventions. But not this. Not something as sophisticated, as advanced as-

"Bigger on the inside," James said. "Not infinitely bigger, mind. Haven't worked that part out yet. But the whole place," he said, waving a pencil around without looking up. "Made out of a rather strange sort of stone. I call it SmartStone. Responds to just the lightest of touches. I augmented it-"

"With DNA coders and voice activated security protocols."

James nodded. "This and 42 are my leisure labs. The rest are messy, specialized, under construction, or lost. If you see a door marked 665, let me know. I think I may have left a take away in that one. Probably grown fridge people by now."

"None of this should exist, James. Not here." The Doctor's tone was serious. He was worried, as he always had been, about the boy. About if he'd get found out. If he'd slip up and show the world he was more than just an intelligent child.

James was examining a random circuit board. Forcing himself not to reach for the plain, harmless looking device just two feet away from where he stood. Laying on the table in the open. Forcing himself to accept the facts he had been presented with. To think like a scientist, like a logical soldier rather than the confused and paranoid teen he truly was. At last, he decided not to reach for that lightsabre prototype. He spoke quietly, but knew the Doctor could hear his words.

"Neither should I," he said, then dropped the piece of scrap to the workbench. Drawing a deep breath, he turned around. "Now Doctor." The title was spat out and uncomfortable to use for this strange, new man.

But the Doctor's attentions were elsewhere. He was examining the curious telescopic device on another workbench. "Exposed motherboard," he muttered. "Oh! A coffee maker! Forgot how you Jacks need a steady supply of the stuff."

"Doctor, you said you had a plan. Well, here's the lab. What now?"

"You built a hyperscope!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Yeah. It's how I found-"

"No. You don't understand. This is the hyperscope."

"Yes. And it needs a bit more work."

The Doctor finally looked at him, blinking as if James had just said the dumbest thing he'd ever heard. "You don't..." he started. "How'd you get the idea for this?"

"The library at the Shadow Proclamation. We were stuck for weeks while you tried talking your way out of parking tickets. So I took a stroll. Figured they'd know what the blasted things were since you never bothered to explain them to me when I'd asked back on Barcelona."

The Doctor laughed. "Fancy that. You invented the hyperscope because..." he paused. "Because you invented the hyperscope. Blimey." He remembered how Amy had named her newborn daughter after her best friend, who turned out to be her not-so-newborn daughter. "My relations. You're all doing a lot of paradoxal things lately."

"Doctor!" James shouted angrily.

"Oh right. The plan. I'm going to need 27 coffees, eight jammie dodgers, everything you've got on that ship, and a fez."

"A fez?" James was confused.

"Yes. I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool."

James sighed. "So are badgers, but you don't see me dragging one around."

The Doctor gave his most devious, infectious smile. "Not since you were 10."

---

A/N - End of Section 1. It MAY take a while to get Section 2 up. SORRY! But it's being posted on Z's dA account (the-lady-harkness) as each smaller portion is completed. As of Dec. 16 2011 this is parts 1-16 from dA and is all that is currently written.

A/N-2 - While it's listed as 11 and Amy as the main, I had to list SOMEONE and they appear in it quite a bit. The main characters are OCs from the parent fic, Torchwood: Resurrection (which is also a good read!) but it can be read alone.

A/N-3 - in the Resurrection!Verse timeline, this takes place in the year 2017(ish) at the start of winter. Roughly... early to mid November. It also takes place AFTER the short "Harborne Antiques" for anyone that's interrested.