One more chapter of exposition. And the mystery begins. Now come on people, I know you can do better than one story favorite. Review!
flames and kisses,
Mlle. Phoenix Fox
A few days later, Main Street was being turned into an outdoor fair. Booths and tables full of collectables were being set up, a 3D movie screen was being erected in Archemedies Park for a special showing of The Day of the Doctor, and a holographic banner was activated over Main Street. Welcome to Eureka Con 2013 it read.
Jack and his robotic deputy, Andy, were walking down the street watching all of this take place. When Andy asked,
"I don't understand Boss. Why do humans obsess over entertainment media like this?"
"Well it's an escape from the day to day reality Andy. A fantasy. And fantasies help us cope with the harshness and boredom of life. I used to dream about being Superman." Jack said.
"Why'd you stop?" Andy asked with his friendly smile on his face.
"I moved to Eureka..." Jack sighed opening the door to Cafe Diem, the town restaurant and main gathering place. It was warm and cozy and full of people chatting. But Jack looked up and did a double take seeing a familiar face.
"Zoe!" Jack cried embracing his blonde daughter.
"Hey Dad. Hey Andy." Zoe said.
"Hello Zoe. What are you doing home from medical school?" Andy asked politely.
"Well it's almost Thanksgiving and I'm done with finals. And there was no way I was going to miss Eureka Con." Zoe said.
"Oh no. Not you too." Jack groaned.
"Hey watching Doctor Who helped me fit in around here. And it's a cool show once you give it a chance." Zoe said as they sat at the counter.
"So what is this show about?" Jack asked.
"It's about the Doctor. He's an alien from another planet who travels through time and space in a spaceship that's bigger on the inside and disguised as a blue police box. He fights hostile aliens trying to take over the universe." Zoe explained.
"Uh huh. Okay so it's about aliens?" Jack said.
"It's more than that. It's...hard to describe. It gets you thinking about morality. It's full of action and adventure. It can be scary, funny, sweet. It let's your imagination go wild." Zoe said.
"So long as the town doesn't go wild and blow something up, I'm happy." Jack said.
"Give it back right now Parrish!" Yelled a ticked off voice.
"Make me Fargo!" Came the reply.
"Spoke too soon..." Jack moaned turning around to see Dr. Douglas Fargo and Dr. Issac Parrish glaring at each other. Again. Jack had almost missed their constant bickering since Fargo and his girlfriend Dr. Holly Martin had briefly moved out of Eureka to work for the government. Almost. He was quickly reminded of what it was like when Fargo and Holly had to move back due to 'an unfortunate incident'. Which in Fargo speak probably meant he pushed a button he shouldn't have.
Jack sighed as he got up from his seat and stepped between the pair.
"Problem fellas?" He asked.
"Make him give it back Sheriff!" Fargo barked.
"Give what back?" Jack said eyeing the other doctor with a beard.
"Douglas's collectors edition replica of William Hartnell's TARDIS key. First seen in the pilot episode, 'An Unearthly Child'." Holly replied bubbly.
"Fargo if you'd shut your trap a second, I was about to say that this doesn't look like a reproduction. But if you spent money on it, maybe I'm wrong." The man with a beard said handing Holly back the key.
"Are you saying I'm cheap?!" Fargo gasped.
"Enough! Look Fargo you got your key back so let it go. I mean who is this William Hartnell guy anyway?" Jack laughed. Then he noticed it went dead silent in Cafe Diem. He looked around seeing everyone staring at him in shock. Andy cleared his throat and softly said,
"William Hartnell was the first actor to ever portray the Doctor in the show, Boss. When it got started in 1963."
"Oh. Right. I knew that." Jack nodded nervously as Zoe rolled her eyes. Thankfully his cell phone rang and he answered it as the crowd began to mutter again.
"Carter."
"Jack. It's Jo. We've got a problem at GD." The feminine head of GD security stated.
"On my way." Jack said before hanging up and beckoning Andy to follow him.
Meanwhile, in a dark pit of a place called Section Five, an object resembling dead twisted roots sat silently in a huge lead lined storage chamber. But then, a small spark of golden light flickered in the center of the object.
The big kids said the old Barlowe house was haunted. But five year old Daisy Foster had an IQ of 173. She wasn't stupid. But there were a lot of weird noises that came from the old bed and breakfast at night. And there wasn't any proof that monsters didn't exist. At least that's what Dr. Taggart always said. Maybe if she made a sonic screwdriver, she would scare the monsters away. Like the Doctor did. So using her best crayons, Daisy started to design a complicated schematic of the famous gadget. Now if she could just convince her Mom to let her work with power tools.
"How can you lose a bio printer?" Jack asked examining the storage room where the huge piece of equipment once sat.
"We didn't lose it. It was stolen." Jo Lupo insisted with frustration. It was bad enough that the young Latina was already stressed about her upcoming wedding. She did not need something like this happening on her watch.
"But you said no one has been in here for months. And there's no evidence of scuff marks to indicate it was moved. Maybe someone transported it." Jack theorized.
"The logs could have been fixed and the transporter hasn't been used in years." Jo replied folding her arms.
"How do you know the transporter logs haven't been altered?" Jack said.
"Because Zane triple checked them. And he triple checked the logs for the storage room. The bio printer disappeared!" Jo said slowly.
"Huh. I knew something crazy like this would happen during this whole Eureka Con thing." Jack said.
"Oh don't get me started on Eureka Con. Do you know Zane actually suggested we move up the date so we could have a Doctor Who themed wedding?" Jo said as if it was a crime.
"He wanted to win that Ultimate Whovian contest right?" Jack nodded.
"Said we could honeymoon in freakin' Cardiff!" Jo hissed as Jack chuckled.
"Have you watched the show?" He asked.
"Yes and I like it but I'm not going to name our future kids Amy and Rory so Zane can yell 'Come along Ponds!' And every one at GD is just as crazy. Holly and Fargo are designing some top secret holographic game and they are constantly bugging me about keeping their lab secure. Taggart has nearly blown up his lab trying to create a working K9 robot and just yesterday I had to bust someone's chops for turning everyone's skin in their lab TARDIS blue." Jo ranted before taking a tired breath.
"Just keep telling yourself it's only once every eight years." Jack reminded his friend.
"Anyway as for the case, the only thing we found hinky in the logs was a spike of energy here in the lab at midnight." Jo said.
"Like the energy consistent with a transporter?" Jack asked.
"No...Henry's still trying to pinpoint what it was." Jo said.
"Hmm. I'll get Andy to stake out GD tonight. See if he finds anything similar." Jack said. They were interrupted by a scientist at the door who said reluctantly,
"Miss Lupo? Someone invented a knitting machine to create Fourth Doctor scarves and it won't stop. Half the lab is buried in wool..."
Jo looked dryly at Jack before stomping out and muttering,
"It's only once every eight years...only once every eight years...only once every eight years..."
Jack couldn't help the chuckle at her expense once she left. Even as he was worrying over the disappearance of the bio printer. It was the same machine after all that brought Holly Martin back to life. In the wrong hands it would be a disaster.
He was still trying to work it out as he drove home. It looked like an underground bunker outside, but it was really a stylish and modern Smart house.
"Good evening Jack. How was your day?" Asked the soothing AI interface of the house S.A.R.A.H.
"Long. How are things around here?" Jack asked.
"Kevin is staying at Dre's house to work on their project for the Ultimate Whovian contest, Zoe is staying over at Jo's house to help her with the wedding, JJ and Jenna are in bed and Allison is taking a bath. Shall I pour you a beer?" S.A.R.A.H reported.
"How about chilling some champagne?" Jack mused in thought.
"How romantic!" S.A.R.A.H said as Jack went up the stairs. He found his wife in a hot bubble bath reading a book and listening to the baby monitor.
He leaned against the door and smiled softly,
"Hey."
Allison beamed as she gazed up at him.
"Hey you! Find the bad guy yet that's run off with our bio printer?" Allison asked.
"Working on it. Whatcha reading?" He asked.
"Um...it's called, Winner Takes All. It's a Ninth Doctor adventure." Allison said embarrassed.
"Seriously?" Jack quirked a brow.
"Come on! So it's the one area of my life where I'm the stereotypical nerd. Sue me!" Allison laughed as Jack sat on a chair next to the tub and looked at the book he took from her hands.
"I thought Doctor Who was the guy from that Harry Potter movie?" Jack asked looking at the cover depicting a serious man with blue eyes, a buzz cut and prominent ears.
"That's David Tennant and he played the Tenth Doctor. And it's just the Doctor, not Doctor Who. Christopher Eccelston played the Ninth and the current Doctor, the Eleventh Doctor is played by Matt Smith." Allison patiently explained.
"There's been eleven Doctors?" Jack asked.
"The shows been on for fifty years Jack." Allison pointed out.
"And they explain the new actor how?" Jack asked.
"When the Doctor is close to death, he regenerates. New face, new body, new personality." Allison explained.
"Huh. That's convenient. So why do you like the show?" Jack asked.
"I had a crush on the Ninth Doctor." Allison said coyly.
"Seriously?" Jack chuckled.
"Guess I've got a thing for strong, silent types." Allison purred propping her head on the edge of the tub.
"Yup. That's me." Jack said leaning in.
"Who are also completely goofy." Allison added.
"That's it." Jack said scooping up a handful of bubbles to smoosh playfully in her face. They started a splash fight which quickly got a little heated, until Jenna could be heard crying in the other room.
"I got it." Jack smiled pecking her lips. He stood up to shed his soaked shirt and head towards his adoptive daughter's room.
Andy whistled happily as he patrolled the darkened halls of GD. He didn't need a flashlight, his eyes were upgraded with night vision a month ago, but he carried one as a curtesy to anyone who happened to be working late in their lab.
Then he stopped when he heard a noise down the hall.
"Hello? Anyone there? It's Deputy Andy. I'm going to need you to identify yourself please. Hello?" He said stepping into a dark lab. Then, his flashlight found something in the dark. He vanished. The flashlight dropped.
Daisy whimpered as she listened to the noises coming from the old Barlow house next door. Her Mom had asked her if she wanted her TARDIS nightlight on. But Daisy wanted to be brave. Just like the Doctor. Still, that didn't stop her from letting out a squeak and hiding her head under the covers when she heard another noise.