Just A Bit Unlikely….

Summary: Rose did what The Doctor failed to do. She saved The Master and cured the drums. Now The Master is a companion and when they bump into Donna Noble, you can bet that trouble will follow. But what happens when The Doctor returns, along with familiar enemies and friends? Sequel to Just One Second. AU of series 4 with a sarcastic Master.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DOCTOR WHO!

Songs for the chapter:

- A Noble Girl About Town (Doctor Who: series 4 soundtrack)

- Martha's theme (Doctor Who: series 3 soundtrack)

- UNIT rocks (Doctor Who series 4 soundtrack)

- Rose's theme (Doctor Who: series 1 and 2 soundtrack)


Chapter Six: Sontaran Stratagem: Part 1


This has to be the biggest mistake in the universe, Rose thought as she looked at Donna nervously who was at the controls with The Master teaching her how to fly the Tardis.

….

Okay, we'd better go back to this morning. Or at least that's what Rose could tell by her watch. She and The Master were having breakfast when Donna came in with a smirk on her face.

She then gave Rose a request.

"Teach me how to fly."

Rose spat out the sip of tea she just drank and started to cough. "What?" she spluttered.

Donna sighed. "I've been thinking…"

The Master snorted. "That's a miracle in itself. Fire Head has more than one brain cell."

Donna glared at him before turning to Rose. "What if you and Misery Guts over there gets ill or injured? Maybe even trapped? I can't rely on you two all the time."

There was a tense moment as Rose and The Master looked at each other. Both seeming to have a silent conversation.

"Alright Fire Head. Let's see what you got," The Master said as he got up and took Donna to the control room.

Rose sighed. She had a bad feeling about this.

….

Donna grinned. "I can't believe I'm doing this!" she said happily.

"Neither can I," Rose muttered as she held onto the controls.

The Master hit the controls with a hammer and flipped a switch. "Alright ape. Left hand down. Not right! I said left!"

"Donna! You're getting a bit too close to the 1980's. Careful I was born in that time!" Rose shouted.

Donna huffed. "What am I gonna do, Space-Girl? Put a dent in it?"

The Master shrugged. "Someone did," he said.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Rose frowned. Her phone never rang anymore. Not since her mother got trapped in the parallel world with The Doctor.

Donna paused and looked around confused. "That's a phone. You've got a mobile? Since when?" Donna demanded.

Rose rolled her eyes. "I've always had it. I offered it to you, but you looked at it like it would bite you," she replied and Donna smiled sheepishly before paying attention to what The Master was telling her to do.

Rose bit her lip as she flipped open her phone and held it to her ear. "Hello?" she asked softly.

"Rose? It's Martha. And I'm gonna be bringing you back to Earth."

….

Martha smiled as she heard the familiar sound of the Tardis materialising behind her. Memories came rushing back as she thought about her adventures. The door opened and Martha turned around to see Rose walking out and she couldn't help but gasped quietly. Gone were the comfy jeans and hoodies. They were now replaced with a dark blue leather jacket, purple tank top and dark skinny jeans and blue conversers. Her hazel eyes looked older and her hair was falling over Rose's shoulders like a blonde curtain.

"Martha Jones," Rose said quietly.

Martha nodded once. "Rose," she replied before she broke into a run and hugged her first best friend.

Rose laughed. "Oh you haven't changed a bit," she chuckled.

Martha snorted. "You have. Where's that pink hoddie you practically lived in?"

Rose shrugged. "Can't live in hoodies all the time. How's the family?"

"Not so bad. You know, recovering," she said trailing off when The Master and Donna hopped out of the Tardis. "I should've known. Didn't take you that long to replace me then," she added jokingly.

Rose sighed heavily. "You've already met The Master. Martha this is Donna. Donna this is Martha. Please don't fight!"

Donna snorted. "You'd wish Space-Girl," she muttered making Martha smile. "Hi, Rose talks about you all the time," she added, shaking Martha's hand.

Martha smiled slightly. "I dread to think," she joked, laughing nervously.

Donna shook her head. "Oh now. She says nice things… good things actually."

Martha sighed. "She told you everything then?"

The Master smirked. "Oh yeah. Everything," he teased making Martha glare at him.

Rose gasped. "Martha Jones! What is that on your left hand!"

Martha smiled. "It's an engagement ring," she answered.

"Nice," Rose said grinning as she looked at the ring. "Who's the lucky man?"

"Tom. Tom Milligan. He's in pediatrics working out in Africa right now. And yes, I know, I've got a doctor who disappears off too distant places… tell me about it."

Rose sighed. "A mysterious doctor who travels to places. Tell me he's not tall, dark and skinny?" at Martha's nod, Rose shook her head. "Oh great. I'm becoming a bad influence."

Martha snorted before a woman's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Dr Jones, report to base, please."

Martha took it out of her pocket and held it to her mouth. "This is Dr Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go. I repeat this is a go."

The four of them went around a corner and saw tank trucks rolling into a company.

"Greyhound Six to Trap One. B Section, go, go, go! Search the ground floor, grid pattern Delta," Martha said into the walkie-talkie.

Rose frowned. "What are you looking for?"

"Illegal aliens," Martha, replied quickly.

The Master snorted. "I'm technically one."

Martha rolled her eyes, trying her hardest not looking at the man who kidnapped and tortured her family. "Yeah. But Rose is in charge of you so UNIT can't touch you." As Martha ran off, Donna turned to Rose, disgusted.

"Is that what you did to her? Turned her into a soldier?" she accused.

Rose shook her head. "No. Experience turned her into a soldier form that year. If I were in her shoes, I would've done the same thing," she replied, glaring at The Master who looked incredibly bored.

Fifteen minutes later, Martha came back, looking grim but at least still happy to see Rose again.

"You're an actual doctor now? Congrats," Rose said when Martha reached them.

"UNIT rushed it through, given my experience in the field. Here we go," Martha replied as the four of them walked towards a huge black truck. "They're dying to meet you," she added.

Rose and The Master glanced at each other.

"I wish we could say the same," Roe muttered as they entered.

Inside the truck was spacious, filled with computer gadgets, television screens and desks.

"Operation Blue Sky complete, sir. Thanks for letting me take the lead. And this... is Rose. Rose, Colonel Mace," Martha introduced Rose to a man who looked to be the senior officer.

Colonel Mace nodded to Martha before he saluted Rose.

Rose sighed heavily. "Please, don't salute."

"But it's an honor Ma'am. Not only are you The Doctor's successor, but you were recommended by the Torchwood team and Sarah Jane."

The Master snorted. "Wow, huge recommendations," he muttered.

"I'm not The Doctor's successor. I'm not even equal to him," Rose protested, blushing slightly. "Although I never expected this to be like James Bond."

Martha grinned. "Come on Rose. You've seen it. You've been on board the Valiant. We've got massive funding from the United Nations, all in the name of Homeworld Security."

"A modern UNIT for the modern world," Colonel Mace added, after Martha.

Donna glared at the officer. "What, and that means arresting ordinary workers? In the streets? In broad daylight? It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there. Donna, by the way. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute," she growled, making The Master smirk.

Mace turned to Rose who shrugged slightly and nodded before he turned to Donna and saluted.

"Thank you," Donna huffed.

"So what's going on out there? Why are you arresting workers?" Rose questioned as she and The Master walked to some computers.

"Yesterday, fifty-two people died in identical circumstances right across the world, in 11 different time zones. 5am in the UK, 6am in France, 8am in Moscow, 1pm in China…"

"In other words, they died at the same time?" The Master interrupted.

Colonel Mace tensed before he nodded. "Correct Sir. Fifty two deaths at the exact same moment worldwide."

Rose frowned. "How'd they die?"

"They were all inside their cars."

Martha turned to Rose, trying her hardest to avoid looking at The Master. "They were poisoned. I checked the biopsies. No toxins. Whatever it is left the system immediately," she added.

"Clever," The Master commented, nodding his head and did a sarcastic clap.

Martha huffed before turning to Rose. "You still haven't killed him yet?" she hissed.

Rose glared slightly. "He's changed, Martha. The Drums are gone; he's just a bit sarcastic crazy. Not killing crazy," she whispered. "What have the cars got in common?" she asked in a louder voice.

"Completely different makes but all fitted with ATMOS. And that is the ATMOS factory," Martha explained.

"What's ATMOS?" Rose asked, confused.

Donna snorted. "Oh come on! Even I know that. Everyone's got ATMOS."

"So even Fire Head knows what ATMOS is. Interesting…" The Master muttered as they went inside the factory.

….

"Stands for "Atmospheric Emission System". The ATMOS in your car reduces CO2 emissions to zero," Martha explained as the group walked along a catwalk on the upper level of the factory.

Rose raised her eyebrow, shocked. "Seriously. No carbon? Zero, nada, none at all?"

Donna shook her head. "And you get sat-nav thrown in, plus 20 quid in shopping vouchers if you introduce a friend. Bargain," Donna added with a frown as she saw workers getting pushed into a line with their hands above their heads.

"And this is where they make it, Miss Tyler, shipping worldwide. Seventeen factories across the globe but this is the central depot, sending ATMOS to every country on Earth," Mace said as they entered a room where an ATMOS device was on a table.

The Master snorted. "Why would you think that ATMOS is alien?" he asked.

"We have to investigate all possibilities, Sir," Colonel Mace replied. "And here it is, laid bare. ATMOS can be threaded through any and every make of car."

"You've must've checked it before it went on sale," Rose said.

Martha nodded. "We did. We found nothing. That's why I thought we needed a expert."

"So who'd you get?" Rose asked, looking at the device. When there was no reply, she looked up to see everyone looking at her with raised eyebrows. "Oh you meant me. Right…" she trailed off, looking at the device instead, hiding her blush that appeared on her cheeks.

As Colonel Mace and Martha left the room, Donna moved closer to Rose and The Master.

"Okay, so why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?" Donna asked quietly.

The Master frowned. "Good question Fire Head," he said.

Donna glared at him before turning to Rose. "Maybe they want to help… get rid of pollution and stuff."

"Do you know how many cars there are on planet Earth? Eight hundred million. If you could control them, you'd have 800 million weapons ready to be used," Rose hissed back, making Donna's eyes widened in shock.

….

"Tetchy," Martha commented as Colonel Mace left when Rose told him off since he had a gun.

Rose looked up, suddenly defensive. "What? He has a gun!"

"He's a good man," Martha argued.

Rose snorted. "Anyone with a gun is bad in my books," she explained as she used her sonic to try to open the device.

"What about The Master? He always carried a gun during The Year That Never was. And anyway, if anyone got me used to fighting, it's you," Martha said, walking up to Rose.

Rose glared at Martha slightly before going back to the ATMOS and used her sonic device. "First of all, I already said that The Drums were the source of his madness, he was used as a weapon by the High Council of Gallifrey and his best friend took off and left him alone when they made a promise to travel the stars together. No wonder he went mad. So that's my fault is it?"

"Well, you got me the job. Besides, look at me," Martha demanded which made Rose turn off her sonic to look at Martha. "Am I carrying a gun?"

"Nope."

"It's all right for you. You and him can just come and go, but some of us have got to stay behind. So I've got to work from the inside and by staying inside, maybe I stand a chance of making them better," Martha said.

Rose smirked slightly. "And there's the Martha Jones I know."

Martha shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I learnt from the best."

Donna appeared with Colonel Mace, looking completely satisfied which made Rose and The Master glanced at each other nervously. Whatever she done, Rose hoped to the gods that no one faced the Donna Noble slap. The Master was thinking the same thing as he subconsciously rubbed his cheek. For a human, she had a nasty slap up her sleeve.

"Oi, you lot! All your storm troopers and your sonics… rubbish! Shoulda came with me," Donna said happily.

The Master frowned. "Why? Where were you Fire Head?"

Donna smirked. "Personnel, Misery Guts," she replied which made Rose smile slightly as she remembered the first time she'd met Donna. "That's where the weird stuff's happening… in the paperwork. 'Cause I spent years working as a temp, I can find my way around an office blindfolded, and the first thing I noticed is an empty file," she added, holding an empty blue folder.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's supposed to be inside it?"

"Sick days," Donna replied opening the blank folder. "There aren't any. Hundred of people working here, and no one's sick. Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip. Nothing. Not ever. They don't get ill."

"That can't be right," Colonel Mace said as he took the folder and examined it.

Donna smirked. "You've been checking out the buildings, should've been checking out the workforce."

Martha chuckled. "I can see why Rose likes you. You're really good," she said to Donna who nodded.

Donna nodded, satisfied. "Super temp," she said smugly.

"Dr Jones, set up a medical post, start examining the workers. I'll get them sent through," Colonel Mace demanded before he left the room.

Martha sucked in a breath. "Come on Donna. You can give me a hand," she said as she walked out with Donna following her, leaving the two Time Lords alone.

….

Donna bit her lip as she moved furniture in the room while Martha was examining her notes.

"Do you think I should call my mum? About the ATMOS in her car?" she asked Martha.

Martha paused but nodded. "Better safe than sorry," she replied, speaking from past experiences.

Donna sighed. "I'll give her a call," she muttered before she started to leave.

"Donna!" Martha called which made Donna stop and look at Rose's last companion. "Do they know where you are? Your family… I mean, that you're travelling with Rose?"

Donna shook her head. "Not really. Although... my granddad sorta waved us off. I didn't have time to explain."

"You just left them behind?" Martha asked quietly.

Donna nodded. "Yeah."

Martha bit her lip and gave a nod of understanding. "I didn't tell my family. Kept it all so secret and it almost destroyed them."

Donna's eyes widened. "In what way?" she asked, a feeling of dread in her stomach.

Martha sighed heavily. "They ended up imprisoned. They were tortured, my mum, my dad, my sister... It was really because of an evil man that wanted Rose and The Doctor. It wasn't Rose's fault, but you need to be careful. 'Cause you know Rose, she's wonderful, she's brilliant, but she's also like fire… stand to close and people get burned," Martha warned before she left the room, leaving Donna to think about what she said.

A/N: YAY! Martha's back! How did you guys like Martha and The Master. I thought of them being tense, but I din't want too many scenes in this chapter since there would be a lot with The Doctor's Daughter episode. By the way, I got the best idea for that episode :)

Until then please review! They make me happy, even if it's to say hi!

Thank you everyone :)