Captain Jack Harkness had never feared for a life moreso than for the man before him. Captain John Hart would always be his rival, but truth be told, he found the circumstances pathetically amusing. Trust The Master to invade the body of one of the last Time Agents. The Master, being the rival of the Doctor, a pair of Time Lords, but however, The Master no longer held a body. Instead he was just essence, and he could have sworn that the Doctor had dealt with that during their last meeting. As the TARDIS phased into view and the door cracked open, Jack turned his head slightly to see the grinning face of his Doctor.
"I was wondering when you'd show up", mumbled Jack. "Thought you'd be leaving me to my own devices with this one", his hand gestured to the Master, whose grin broadened as the Doctor approached the group.
"Funny story, actually", replied the Tenth incarnation of the Doctor. "There I was, facing certain regeneration when suddenly – this hoodwink decided to take my place. Shoved me out of the way he did, naturally absorbing far too much radiation for his own good. Naw, now I know you saw me regenerate... yes you did", the Doctor waggled his finger with a grin at the Master. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. Besides! The TARDIS need refuelling anyway, and what better way to restore the energy of my beloved ship than test out this recently restored rift? I don't suppose you had anything to do with it, buddy ol' pal?" He raised a brow and put his hands in his pockets as the Master was silent. "But oh, by the way... can't let you stay in that body. I'm afraid you're going to have to leave or I'll stop you for good".
The Master remained silent as the Doctor spoke, his old rival peeling through the energy surrounding them with little concern. "Oh, don't worry. I'm going to leave this body now, but you can't catch me!" An almighty scream came from John's body as he shuddered violently, blood pouring from his ears, nose and mouth. Jack and the Doctor watched in horror as a black streamlined mist fed its way through the cracks of the roof and John's body collapsed onto the concrete floor. Jack ran to John's side, trying to find a pulse.
"Come on, you son of a bitch", Jack wiped away the excess gore from John's lips and started to press down on his chest. "You're not getting away with murder this easily". He pushed his lips firmly against John's, breathing life into his lungs. Jack was thrown back with force as John snapped up, wiping his lips and eyes struggling to focus on the men before him.
"I wasn't dead you git". John got to his feet and brushed himself down, using his shirt to wipe his face. "I appreciate the kiss. Still would've liked a bit of tongue you know, to get the excess blood from the back of my throat".
"Did he say where he was going?" The Doctor asked John, unamused at the thanks he gave Jack. The Doctor knew very little about Captain John Hart, and he could now see why the pair made such a good rivalling team.
"We had a lovely little chat, actually". John began, Jack getting to his feet and looking like he was ready to cause another broken nose. "Seems he still likes you". John swaggered to the Doctor. "I think we should keep an eye on this countries state leaders and our dear Prime Minister".
"What are you talking about?" Jack demanded. "Did he say where he was going or not?"
"I just gave you the answer, kitten. Now, where are those girls of mine..." John started off in the direction where the girls were last seen running. Jack started after him but the Doctor held him back.
"Just let him go. Anyone who survived being possessed by the Master gets a tick in my book. Judging by the look in his eyes, I'd say he liked it a little too much". The Doctor patted Jack on the chest as the taller, broader man listened to him with a sigh. "He won't hurt anyone, definitely not the girls either".
"All right, we need to get this place set up before that friend of yours causes any more trouble", Jack looked around the debris, old burnt out computers scattered across broken tables and chairs. Spider webs glistening the ceiling and the only object which seemed to last the fire from what Jack could see was that cabinet Desiree had found with the help of her Grandfather. "I take it you're not staying?" Jack asked, noticing that the Doctor hadn't moved and instead was watching Jack rather bemused.
"Oh, no", he waved his hand a bit. "Thought I'd treat myself to a little vacation while she's refuelling, I'm pretty confident you can handle the Master on your own. Besides. Torchwood! A mere rearranging of my name, didn't you notice that? Good old Queen Victoria, oh how pleased she was when Rose and I defeated that Werewolf. Didn't know she was going to set up an organisation to stop me, though", he sniffed, feeling a little defeated. "No, no... You go ahead", Jack was beginning to look downright furious at the Doctor's attitude. "It's interesting how I tend to meet Queens and the next thing I know they're trying to kill me".
Jack realised the Doctor had changed much since their last meeting. It was as if he really didn't care about saving the Earth at all, but then again, the Doctor was now on his side of the fence. This was Torchwood. Jack had managed to save the Earth countless times from certain doom without the help of the Doctor – only to brag about it later. Jack had picked up some old cabling and was fiddling with it, yanking it to see where it led to as several old computer shells fell crashing to the concrete floor. "No... You know, you're right. You need a vacation. I suppose if it weren't for me the Torchwood motto was no longer about hunting you down. The folks in London were pretty pissed about it". Jack dropped the cabling and wandered to the pile of computer shells on the floor. He picked up an old looking drive and pursed his lips together in thought. "Odd", he began. "I thought this place was burnt out during the Second World War. This technology is far too advanced for that period of time. These chips alone were recently manufactured". He rose to full height. "I have a laptop back at the hotel. I'll check it out from there".
"Or I could hook it up to the TARDIS and..." Jack threw him a glare as the Doctor raised his hands in self defence. "Right, right. Your side of the fence. Got it. I'll just... go take a nap. Read a book!" He went inside the TARDIS and closed the door, as Jack started to wander in the direction of where John had exited. He heard the TARDIS door creep open. "Hang on. No, I can't just sit back and watch. The Master is going to take over the bodies of those in charge of this country. Can I help you... please? I don't eat much and I promise I won't get in the way of your err... Torchwood... things..."
Jack faced his old friend and shrugged his shoulders. Fair enough the Doctor would be there to help if Jack made the wrong decision, causing the death of his new friends. "All right, the least you could do is work on a better way to contain that Master friend of yours".
The Doctor skipped a little as he wandered after Jack, looking around the burnt out hub. He found it odd that he was now letting Jack take the lead, but the Doctor was constantly telling himself he was on vacation and it made him feel a little better. The TARDIS would be refuelled in a couple of days, and he hoped by then this mess would be over. Unless the Master worked out a way to close the rift entirely – BUT... the Doctor didn't think that was possible.
"How have you been?" The Doctor asked Jack, his hands in his pockets once more. "I heard about the 456..." he cut himself off, feeling the air around them turn rather heavy with remorse. "...ahh. Not a good conversation starter. I've been, good! Faced certain regeneration but slowly getting back to it although I'm not really liking this new personality. A possible side effect, I think. A little too hyper and insensitive..." he paused, Jack was ignoring him. "...silent. Got it".
Jack was thinking about the hard drive in his pocket. It seemed too recent for his own liking, and he was curious to get back to the hotel and hook it up to proper equipment so he could investigate what was on the drive. He didn't think either of the girls would have known about this place well Desiree being the exception. His thoughts had deceived him before. It was a crash nearby that alerted the pair and they broke off into a run.
