Chapter 5: Sort of, a Bit, but not Really Time Travel

Amy and Koschei walked side by side behind Rory towards the mouth of the alley that held the TARDIS. Koschei lagged behind casually munching on his licorice, but no matter how nonchalant he was being about it, the behavior instantly made Rory suspicious. Amy had stuck to the alien's side like glue after noticing the umpteenth distrustful scowl from her husband. However, other than an unusually lazy pace on Koschei's part, he actually seemed to be behaving. Rory found that fact in and of itself very suspect. He glanced back at them over his shoulder before he turned the corner, heading into the alley. Koschei raised his eyebrows at him, not bothering to pull the vine of licorice from his mouth. It was the first sign of acknowledgement he'd bothered to show either of them since they'd left the shop.

"Stop." He stated neutrally, putting a hand up in front of Amy just after the Biosynth had disappeared round the corner.

"What? Why?" Amy sputtered, startled. He shushed her, putting a finger to her lips as he looked about for something. He stared fixedly up at a cracked window in the building across the street. Amy followed his gaze and saw nothing particularly interesting. "Koschei?" She whispered.

"Not a word." Was the immediate reply. He seemed to be calculating something. Then he held out his hand in front of her expectantly. "Quarter." He prompted.

"Rude." She chastened even as she slapped it into his hand like an assisting murse. He looked at it, let out a huff, and gave it back.

"No. A shiny one."

"A shiny one, please." She corrected, handing him the requested item.

"Yes, that." He said, adding with a smirk. "Now watch." He flipped the coin up into the air. When it got to a point just above eyelevel between them and the window, it lit up like a prism, reflecting a rainbow of light.

"Oh… Wow. That's… beautiful!" Amy breathed. Koschei caught the coin and grinned cheekily as a white light flashed in the suspect window. "What was that?"

"We were being viewed through a spectrum lens. I just showed you the beam." Koschei explained. "Not visible to the human eye unless distorted."

An annoyed Rory came back around the corner with his arms crossed over his chest. Koschei showed him his innocent face as Rory chucked his phone at him.

"You did that on purpose." Rory grumbled.

"Did what, Tin Man?" Koschei responded smoothly, continuing into the phone before the other man could reply. "Tell me, Doctor, was it worth it?"

"What? Oh, the ocular damage is temporary. Be better in no time." The Doctor answered amiably over the speaker. "We got a note from Canton. He wants us to contact him as soon as possible."

"So that's his tail, then." Koschei surmised. Rory scowled at him.

"What?"

"He spotted them when you turned the corner." Amy told Rory.

"The second story window above the supply store." Koschei added patronizingly.

"I can see it." Rory snapped.

"Are you two bickering again?" The Doctor asked.

"No." Koschei responded at the same time that Rory answered "Yes."

Amy face-palmed.

"I'm behaving." Koschei stated, staring challengingly into Rory's eyes.

"Why?" The Doctor asked, taken aback, before he caught himself. "Wait. I meant—"

"Oi! Look!" Amy shouted and darted across the street to pursue the figure that'd just dashed out of the shop.

"Call you back." Koschei said hanging up on the Doctor and tossing the phone to Rory as they chased after her.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor jumped up out of his seat.

"No wait! Don't! Kos—" He dropped the phone back down on the console. "He hung up on me." He said dejectedly before picking the phone back up and redialing Rory's number.

"Not a good time Doctor." Rory answered, continuing to run after Amy.

"I figured. Why is that?"

"Amy spotted the woman who was spying on us. We're sort of chasing her at the moment."

"Koschei too." The Doctor concluded.

"Yep."

"Listen, whatever you do, don't lose him. He's behaving. He never behaves."

"Got it." Rory acknowledged. Then there was a loud crash. "Bollocks!" Rory exclaimed and hung up.

The Doctor sighed and sat back down. He still had to wait for the treatment on his eyes to take effect. He would have to remain inside until then.

Rory pressed himself against the brick wall of the building in order to avoid being hit by the falling barrels. Amy tripped and fell in her shuffle to avoid being crushed. Koschei paused only to help her up and make certain that she was okay before he ditched them to pursue their escaping quarry.

"Rory?" She called to her husband.

"I'm fine! Go!" Rory called back. Amy hesitated for a second before resuming her chase.

Rory rolled one of the barrels out of his way with his foot, noting absently that the brand of beer was inferior, in his opinion.

"That's one bar to avoid." He commented to no one in particular and jogged over to the other side of the building.

"Hey!" A man (presumably an employee of said bar) called after him, noticing the mess, and Rory decided this was the proper time to break into a run.

"Sorry, Mate!" He shouted, turning the corner and looking for the others. When he finally caught up to them about a block and a half down the street, Amy already had the other woman pinned to the wall with an arm held behind her back.

"I'm warning you, you should let me go! You don't know who you're dealing with!" The woman protested.

"Who's that then?" Amy returned, not the least bit intimidated.

"I'm a government agent, Secret Service. If you'll just release me I can show you my badge." The woman said. Amy paused to consider this.

"Like a Warehouse Agent?" She guessed, surprising her captive.

"Where'd he go?" Rory muttered, looking around for any sign of Koschei. Amy begrudgingly released her grip and glanced over at him.

"Who?" The supposed Agent inquired more calmly, reaching into her jacket pocket.

"I don't know." Amy said, pacing a bit as her gaze darted around. "He was right behind me just a moment ago! Yes, got it. That's a badge!" She added shortly when Agent Wells presented her identification.

"I'm sorry, but if you mean to say that someone was with you when you grabbed me, I'm afraid you were alone." H.G. informed her. Amy turned to stare at her.

"No, I wasn't. He was right here! He even got here ahead of me!" Amy disagreed. H.G. just shook her head. "He helped me catch you!" Amy insisted as if she were mad.

"I didn't see anyone but you." Wells assured her.

"You're saying that you never saw the skinny ginger bloke chasing after you." Rory clarified. "About six foot three? Dressed all in white?"

"Oh, yes. I did see him." H.G. confirmed, and Amy gestured to her victoriously, only to be disappointed when the other woman continued. "But we left him behind a ways back."

"I don't… When?" Amy queried, feeling the hairs rise on the back of her neck.

"He stopped running shortly after we left the alley." Wells said easily.

"But I saw—" Amy's face lit with realization. "That bloody bastard! He hypnotized me!"

"He hypnotized you?" Wells echoed, at a loss. Both Ponds ignored her.

"You're sure?" Rory said, stepping closer.

"When he helped me up." Amy confirmed, with a curt nod. "He was staring at me for too long. Right in the eyes!"

"The Doctor warned me not to let him out of my sight." Rory remembered, not at all looking forward to letting the Timelord know just how quickly he'd failed.

"Oh, I am going to kill him!" Amy fumed. "What the hell is he thinking?"

"Not to interrupt, but who?"

Both Ponds turned to look at her. There was an awkward pause before Rory answered.

"Apollo Pond." Making it sound almost like a question. Amy shot him a look.

Koschei smiled to himself as he shed his white button-down shirt, revealing the worn-out 'The Clash' T-shirt that he'd had hidden underneath. He abandoned the other shirt, along with his jacket, on top of the garbage can that he was strolling past, then just as casually picked up the slightly torn, black denim jacket off the end of the bench. He shrugged it on as he rounded the corner. There was pallid but immaculately dressed middle aged woman watching Koschei from the diner to his left. He smirked and winked at her as he reached the corner, tugging on the red beanie that he'd stolen earlier. She didn't even bat an eyelash. He shrugged at her, undaunted by her continued stare. She took a long drag of her coffee before giving in and giving him a little wave.

"That's more like it."

Koschei grinned broadly at her before turning away and jogging across the street, headed back towards the point of origin.

Claudia sat across from Mr. Valda at their window adjacent table in 'Bud's Coffee', a local coffee shop that somehow actually did have WiFi and a flood of customers, despite the overall terribleness of the actual coffee. Claudia suspected they were mostly there for the WiFi. Mr. Valda pointed out in reply that the pastry was edible, as if that would be enough. Then again, this was a fairly small town.

The whole place had a pastel, flowery grandma sort of theme to it. It was the type of décor in which one would not be shocked to find antique dolls in frilly dresses, or figurines of various birds. Luckily, Claudia had not yet spotted any.

"So why are we waiting here, exactly?" Claudia asked as the nice young girl who had taken their order (most likely the owner's kid) brought over her strudel. "Thanks."

"We're meeting someone." Valda replied easily.

"Okay, cryptic. Am I allowed to know who this mysterious someone is?"

The bell on the door jingled to announce a new arrival and Valda smiled. Claudia turned around to try and see who had inspired such a reaction.

"Canton!" A young man in an ill-fitting tweed suit and red bowtie called happily as he came over to their table.

"Doctor." Mr. Valda returned, accepting a hug. "Nice to see you again." He glanced over the Doctor's shoulder and added in a more characteristic tone. "Agent Wells."

"Sir, I can explain." Agent Wells began, sounding uncomfortable.

"No need. Agent Nielsen sent you to spy on us." Valda said smoothly. "Amy, Rory…" He trailed off, noticing that one was missing. "Where's Apollo?"

"He ran off." The Doctor explained, clearly displeased.

"What, again?" Valda asked.

"What?"

"Never mind, must not have happened to you yet. This is Junior Agent Claudia Donovan." Valda deflected quickly, prompting H.G. to narrow her eyes at him.

"Um, hi. Yeah, I'm Claudia." Claudia said with a little awkward wave. The Doctor immediately flitted over to her.

"Claudia." He muttered, looking her over intently. "You're the one who had the vision."

"Um, yes?" Claudia said, looking questioningly over at Mr. Valda as the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began to scan her with it.

"Sorry. He does that." Amy told her apologetically, taking a seat beside her. "Don't worry. He knows what he's doing."

"Okay…" Claudia muttered, but recovered quickly. She was a Warehouse Agent, after all. It took a lot to weird her out. "So, you were with Dream-Dude in the alley."

"Dream dude?" Rory echoed, from his seat beside Valda.

"Apollo." Mr. Valda explained. "She saw him in her premonition last night."

"Nope." The Doctor piped in, returning his sonic to his pocket and straightening up.

"Excuse me?" Claudia responded, nonplussed.

"Not a premonition." The Doctor expanded. "They're mostly rubbish anyway, especially on Earth. Psychics playing scams."

"Doctor…" Amy warned gently.

"Tell me, Claudia, what did you see?"

"I'm not lying. I didn't—"

"Yes, sorry. I know, but it wasn't a premonition. What did you see?" The Doctor persevered.

"I… Well, I was dead in a crashed car. Dream dude—I mean, Apollo was in the passenger's seat, and there were these guys—Like, military, or SWAT guys, or something- with guns, chasing us. They found us and he tried to run for it, but they shot him. Listen, I know it's bizarre, but this is going to happen. I can feel it! If it wasn't a premonition then what was it?"

"Time travel…ish." The Doctor replied.

"Time travel is impossible!" H.G. countered incredulously. The Doctor grinned broadly in amusement.

"Did you hear that Amy? H.G. Wells just told me that time travel is impossible!" They shared an excited and amused giggle at that. Rory smiled.

"It is! I've looked into it!" H.G. insisted. "Why is that funny?"

"Apollo's going to love you." Valda observed, falling back into the old pattern. Rory nodded in agreement.

"Sorry. Seriously, it was sort of time travel, metaphysics." The Doctor said, sobering. "You didn't, but you also sort of did reside in a future."

"So she popped into the future and saw what could happen." H.G. guessed skeptically. The Doctor tilted his head to one side in an almost shrug.

"If you like. Yes, a bit, but not really. She witnessed a future, certainly. She's buzzing with chronon radiation."

"With what now?" Claudia inquired, feeling utterly lost.

"Time particles." Rory supplied calmly.

"Ah."

"One more thing, though, very interesting and just a tad impossible." The Doctor continued. "There was something in your hand." The others frowned at him, waiting for him to continue. "There are actually traces of a third radiation signature in your right palm. Barely anything, but the signature is still recognizable. It doesn't match either temporal destination."

"How? Where- When is it?" Amy asked. The Doctor didn't answer, just stared into space for a few seconds before jumping up out of his chair and bolting outside.

He ran out onto the sidewalk and looked around as if searching for something.

"Hello, Doctor." An emotionless feminine voice greeted from behind him. The Doctor whirled around to face a tall, dark-haired woman in a business suit. She was leaning back against the outer wall of the restaurant, pretending to have a smoke, but no smoky breath escaped her dark red lips.

"What do you want with him?" The Doctor demanded. "He doesn't have the artifact if that's what you're after."

Valda and Amy hurried out of the coffee shop and skidded to a halt when they noticed the exchange going on.

"It could prove useful to have, I suppose." The too-pale woman admitted, not-taking another puff of her cigarette. "That's not our directive."

"So just the murder, then." The Doctor countered accusingly.

"We are performing our function, Doctor. You should let us do so." The woman replied, unfazed.

"She's a Gremlin!" Amy realized. The Doctor came forward until he was toe to toe with the Gremlin woman.

"If you continue to threaten my friends, I will stop you." He warned. "This is your chance to walk away."

"We are not your enemy, Doctor." The Gremlin responded, dropping her cigarette and stamping it out with her expensive looking high-heeled pump. "And he is not your friend." She turned and walked away around the corner, with the Doctor gazing solemnly after her.

"You're just letting her go?" Amy asked disbelievingly.

"Yes." The Doctor confirmed, still solemn. He finally stopped staring after her when the others joined them outside. "Well, I say just." He added. His expression changing to a cocky half-smile, he pulled his sonic out of his pocket and tossed it to himself.

"What I'm really doing is tracking her. She's been near him recently." He said, tapping his nose.

"That sounds more like you." Valda remarked. "Where to?"

"Ah, what about Seattle?" The Doctor interjected abruptly.

"Seattle?" H.G. questioned.

"I've got Agents there, but how did you know?" Valda inquired.

"I didn't. We're splitting up." The Doctor concluded. "Claudia, Rory, H.G., you're with me." Valda looked like he really wanted to argue, but to the surprise of the Warehouse agents present. He reigned it in with a stiff nod.

"Back to the Warehouse for us, I guess." Valda supposed.

"Yes, perfect." The Doctor agreed. "Come on, you lot, before we lose her!" He called to his team and disappeared around the corner with Rory and Claudia close behind. H.G. hesitated momentarily to look askance at Valda. He nodded to her and she ran off after the others.

A/N: Yes. I know this chapter is both late, and long. Hopefully one makes up for the other. Thanks for reading. Special thanks to Mistydrop for the review. Feel free to mention any questions impressions and theories or whatever. It's always good to hear what you guys think of this.