Chapter 2 – Rough Landing
A sudden flash of light illuminated a darkened alley and a body was deposited roughly onto the concrete floor. Groaning loudly, The Doctor rubbed the back of the head and made a quick mental check of her faculties. She was satisfied that every part of her had made the journey through the portal but travelling that distance without a capsule wasn't good for anyone's health. The Time Lady allowed herself a few moments to catch her breath before sitting up and taking a look around. Wherever she was it was somewhere that didn't believe in public hygiene. The alleyway smelt like everyone used it as a public toilet, it was just as clean as one as well.
Her thoughts instantly went to Jenny and the others trapped in the school. The portal program fundamentally worked, however, they had no control over the exit location. In theory she could get back into the school but it would take time to get everyone out. That was assuming she could figure out what went wrong in her program. There was no point using the technology if it dumped people in various different places across the galaxy. She didn't want to leave Jenny to hold down the fort but she trust that her daughter would be able to handle the situation until she found a way back to Coal Hill.
Suddenly a grim thought flash across her mind and she starting patting down her jacket, "My screwdriver", she groaned. She remembered that she had left her device in the school. The program was stored on the sonic and without it, she had no way of returning. The Doctor rubbed her hands on her face and let out a cry of despair. She was God knows where without her TARDIS or sonic screwdriver and everyone she cared about was stuck in a building that could be sucked into another dimension at any time. If there was a definition of worst case scenario, this was probably it.
Deciding to see exactly where she was, The Doctor dragged herself up from the smelly floor. There was a light at the tunnel and the Time Lady walked slowly toward in that direction. She shielded her eyes from the lights and as her eyes adjusted, the skyline looked a little blurry. Stepping into the light The Doctor suddenly became aware that she wasn't alone. Someone was slowly creeping up behind her and the Time Lady saw a hand stretching out for her shoulder. Spinning around quickly she grabbed the outstretched hand of her attacker and pinned it firmly behind their back. Her assailant was a woman with hair almost as dark as hers. Dressed in a dark, fitted leather jacket and tight jeans, the woman seemed to define the word 'shadowy'.
As the woman struggled against The Doctor's grasp, a familiar voice could be heard calling her name, "Doc, Doc", the man called. Confused the Time Lady looked around and to her surprise, she noticed the familiar man running in her direction, "Let Gwen go", Captain Jack Harkness added.
The Doctor loosen her grip on the woman and slowly turned her around. The annoyed face of Gwen Cooper glared back at her, "Oh, sorry about that Gwen", she said sheepishly, "but you really shouldn't sneak up on people".
"I'll be sure to remember that in future Doctor", the Welshwoman grunted in response. She shook off the Time Lady when she attempted to smooth out her jacket, opting to do it herself.
"What are the remnants of Torchwood doing in this rotten part of the galaxy", The Doctor asked once she had regained her composure, "don't tell me you were sucked into dimensional portal as well".
Jack looked to his partner and then at The Doctor, "Hate to disappoint you Doc but you're still in London".
The Doctor frowned and finally allowed herself to take in her surroundings. The immortal man was right, the dimensional tear had disposed her back into London. Not just any part of the British capital either, she was still in Shoreditch. If she wasn't mistaken they were in the same building site where the TARDIS landed four days ago, "Ah yes", The Doctor snorted, "forgive me for not identifying my location from a urine soaked alley". The Time Lady had experienced her fair share of luck in the last two thousand years but the odds of her falling into a dimensional portal and landing just a mile away from where she left were astronomical. That wasn't the only thing confusing the raven haired woman, "You're both a long way from home", she continued, "what's Torchwood's interest in this grotty patch of land".
"Torchwood doesn't really exist anymore", Gwen replied, "officially anyway. Jack and I still use the name but we're freelance agents now".
"A mere technicality I'm sure", The Doctor snorted, "doesn't really answer my question though".
"We answered a call from an old friend of yours", Jack interjected, "perhaps we can take this meeting somewhere a little quieter and all will be explained".
The Doctor allowed herself to be lead deeper into the building site and towards a wooden hut that was labelled as the site manager's office. The inside of the hut was much different than its unassuming outer appearance. It was actually a small base of operations filled with computers, a large television monitor and a small laboratory. Behind one of the computers was a familiar looking UNIT scientist that the Time Lady had met once before, "D-Doctor", Winifred McQueen stammered, pushing her glasses onto the top of her head, "the disturbance was you?"
"Clearly", The Doctor replied with a raised eyebrow, "a team up between UNIT and Torchwood", she said the last word using air quotes, "this must be much more serious than I thought". She took a couple of strides around the small space, taking in as much detail as possible, "I'm almost insulted that no one called me"
"That would be my fault", the monitor activated, "I thought we could handle this without your assistance".
The Time Lady turned to face the screen and almost instantly a smile appeared on her face, "Sarah Jane", she beamed, "this is turning into a little reunion".
Sarah Jane Smith smiled at her old friend, "It's good to see that the rumours of your survival were true, I like this new regeneration".
"Well you would know, you've seen more of them than anyone else", The Doctor couldn't put her finger on it but something was different about her old companion. She was looking a little skinnier than she remembered and there was a sadness behind her eyes that she wasn't used to seeing, "I'm happy to see you Sarah but there's a major situation at Coal Hill School. Perhaps we can all share what we know and we can formulate a plan from there".
Sarah Jane nodded, "Very well Doctor, about two weeks ago Mr Smith detected some disturbances in the vicinity of Coal Hill. I conducted some preliminary tests but it soon became clear that I needed some help, that's when I put a call into Jack".
"That doesn't sound like you Sarah", The Doctor frowned, "normally you and the kids would like getting your teeth into something like this".
The journalist let out a deep sigh, "Unfortunately my current situation excludes me from getting involved". The Time Lady nodded but sensed there was some hidden meaning behind her words, "Luke and the others aren't really kids anymore Doctor. Apart from Sky all of them are away at University, I can't ask them to take a break from their studies to go monster hunting".
"I dunno, my daughter loves monster hunting with me", there was a gasp of surprise from everyone, "oh yes, I have a daughter now", she added with a shrug, "long story, perhaps we can save that for another day". She immediately turned to Captain Jack, "Don't let me catch you flirting with her Jack".
"I better not get caught then", the immortal replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows. His bravado was immediately shattered by a furious look from the Time Lady. Jack swallowed deeply and quickly changed the subject, "Since Torchwood isn't officially operational, we don't have access to the Hub anymore. Gwen and I were willing to provide the man power but we needed technology".
"We put a call into UNIT but since there was no concrete evidence to suggest there was a problem, Kate was only willing to donate one of her scientists", Gwen finished the story.
"Not a bad person to call upon", The Doctor smiled at Winifred, remembering how helpful she was during their last encounter. The scientist blushed at the praise and desperately tried to conceal her embarrassment with some loose strands of hair. The Time Lady's attention then fell on a device in the corner of the room. Leaving the conversation behind she walked over and began to inspect the contraption, "Is this what I think it is?" she asked in amazement, "have you created your own vortex manipulator?"
The machine took up about half of the desk it sat on and to the untrained eye it was just a jumble of wires, circuit boards and levers. The Doctor though immediate recognised for what it was, "Not quite", Winifred replied, "it can't transport anyone but it can detect activity in the Time Vortex. That's how we detected your arrival".
"But this is brilliant", The Doctor gasped. She grabbed Winifred and immediately planted a firm kiss on her forehead, "You're brilliant, this must've taken you ages to come up with something like this". Despite the scientist's declaration that no one could teleport using this device, it wouldn't take too much modification to make it fully operational.
Winifred blushed again, "Not too long, Captain Jack was kind enough to let me inspect his own manipulator", she answered, "he helped me figure out some of the more complex systems".
"Yes I bet Jack loved helping you out", the Time Lady replied dryly. A few plans began to form in her head but she didn't want to rush into anything just yet. That's what got her into this situation in the first place, "Alright team here's the situation", she began, "Coal Hill has been quarantined by the Vortex itself. Reality is collapsing around the school and if that wasn't bad enough, creatures from another dimension have begun to slip through the gaps. We can't get it via normal methods but with this device", she pointed at Winifred's invention, "we might stand a chance".
"How many people are in danger Doc?" Jack asked the question that none of them wanted to think about.
"Approximately four hundred", she replied, "including Clara and my daughter".
"If she's anything like you then the students are in good hands", Sarah Jane chimed in from the video link, "I just wish I had gotten a chance to meet her", she sighed.
The Time Lady turned her attention to her old companion, "Plenty of time for you to do that Sarah", she smiled.
Sarah Jane didn't reply straight away, instead she offered the Time Lady a weak smile. "I'd better let you four continue planning", she said quickly, "good luck with you mission". Her gaze fell on The Doctor and their eyes held contact for a few moments, "Goodbye Doctor", she added with an air of finality.
The Doctor frowned at her tone of voice, it was almost like Sarah Jane was saying goodbye for the final time, "Goodbye Sarah Jane Smith", she replied, trying to sound as positive as possible. The Time Lady was certain that she noticed the journalist wiping her eye before the link was shut down.
The atmosphere in the room had turned heavy. The Doctor wasn't completely stupid, she knew what a conversation like that usually meant. It pained her to push her former companion aside but the lives of the students were more important. Sarah Jane would want it that way. Clapping her hands together The Doctor declared, "If I can get to the TARDIS, I reckon I could wire Winifred's device into the console. The power of the old girl would allow a stable portal for everyone to escape through".
"What about the walls of reality", Jack asked, "could it also rebuild those enough to make them stable".
The Time Lady looked at the device and thought about this for a moment. It was possible but would the Earth made technology be enough to make the seal permanent, "Its worth a try", she replied. "Since my screwdriver is at the school I'm afraid we're going to have to go the TARDIS the old fashioned way". She opened the door to the office but paused in the gap, "Well don't just stand there", she encouraged the group. Empowered by the Time Lady's words the quartet left the base of operations and venture out into Shoreditch.
A/N - The Sarah Jane situation will be picked up in a separate story that I will post once this episode is done. I was going to include it here but it would've spoilt the flow.
Don't think I've mentioned this but I'm imagining Kate Beckinsale in the role of Winifred. I've got a range of photos I've source from the internet which I'm using for reference for these characters. I could compile them together on a photo hosting site if anyone's else wants a peek.