Boom Town
The Professor looked over from where she stood by the console, her dress now red with small white dots on it, when there was a knock on the door. The Doctor glanced down from where he was stood on a ladder, working on some wiring when Jack walked over to answer it.
"Who the hell are you?" Jack asked, eyeing the young black man who stood outside the door.
"What d'you mean, who the hell am I?" Mickey Smith glared, "Who the hell are you?"
"Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever you're selling, we're not buying."
He moved to shut the door but Mickey pushed past him, "Get out of my way!"
"Don't tell me, this must be Mickey," Jack rolled his eyes, shutting the door.
"Mickey!" the Professor smiled, moving over to hug the man tightly, Mickey laughing and hugging her back.
If he were being honest, he was actually really happy that the Professor had called him up and invited him to come see them while they were stopped in Cardiff. He couldn't really say that he was surprised that they'd invited him and not Rose, the Doctor having shouted in the background very specifically that Rose was not to come with him. A little less than six months ago, Rose had reappeared, crying, before Jackie's flat when he'd been there helping repair some wires. After Jackie had made her some tea and calmed her down she'd explained what happened. Apparently she'd done something she felt was good, but ended up being very, very wrong and very bad. The Professor had nearly died because of it, the Doctor nearly destroyed by it, and they'd sent her back. She hadn't told her mother, but she'd told him what she'd done, saving her father even after they'd warned her not to do anything, just making the situation much worse as it went on, and how the Doctor had kicked her out of the TARDIS and refused to let her back in.
His musings were cut off when Jack tugged him away from the Professor. Mickey turned to glare at him slightly, "What was that for?" he asked, "I was just saying hello!"
Jack laughed, nodding back at the Doctor, "He doesn't like anyone 'just saying hello' to her. Believe me, I know."
The Doctor just smiled to himself, he didn't like anyone 'paying attention' to her either as he'd let slip when they'd dealt with Jamie and Nancy.
~/~\~
He grinned widely, whistling softly to himself as he walked into the library of the Academy, hopping up the stairs two at a time to reach this little study area at the top floor, it was where he tended to find her now. According to her, there were too many people on the lower floors which left the upper ones relatively empty and private, just how she liked it. She wasn't one for big crowds, not even large classes, and would usually fall quite quiet when put before a large group of people.
Except him. She talked to him whenever he was around. And that made him smile for some reason. She wouldn't even talk much to his friends if he was with them, getting shy...it made him feel special that he was the only one she really talked to. He knew, though, that he'd have to work on that soon, she should have more friends than just him, friends made people happy and he wanted that for her, he wanted her to be happy...
His thoughts cut off quickly when he stopped short in the doorway, staring at the sight before him. She was sitting at a study table, another boy standing across from her, gathering up his books and papers, clearly having just finished talking to her. His smile faded and he could feel himself starting to frown, tensing, his hands clenching into fists as he watched the boy say something quietly to her. She nodded and the boy, whom he didn't even notice wore an irritated expression, turned and headed for him, for the stairs.
He stepped to the side, glaring as he watched the boy head down the stairs, waiting till the boy was out of sight before he turned back to her. She didn't even seem to have noticed he was there, something that...hurt...
He shook his head and walked over to her, pulling out a chair the boy had vacated and sat down heavily. She looked up, startled a moment, before she started to smile, not seeming to notice his dark mood, "Who was he?" he asked, not even letting her speak.
"He's from my class on the basics of time."
He nodded, feeling a bit relieved.
"We're supposed to do a project together," she continued, "About fixed points in time and the consequences of altering one."
Oh, they were just working on a project. He started to smile again...
"He had a brilliant idea about it actually."
And there went the smile, "Did he?" he asked, tense.
She nodded, "He wanted to research just how much you can alter a fixed point before reality starts to fall apart."
He frowned, that WAS a brilliant topic.
"He's actually found a lot of really interesting instances of these events too. He's a great researcher."
He started to clench his fists again.
"And he's very eager to get the project done quickly and promptly so we don't waste time."
He closed his eyes, he always wasted time...
"It's rather impressive how much he's gotten finished already for his portion of the project..."
"Sounds like a great partner..." he remarked sourly, she made the boy sound wonderful.
"Yes I suppose he is."
He sighed, feeling rather sad that she actually thought so, "You must be pretty good friends by now."
"Not really, I don't like him much."
His head shot up, his eyes snapping open as he stared at her, his hearts racing, mouth dropping open, "W-what?" he swallowed hard, feeling a hope rise in him for some reason, "Why not?"
She looked at him, "YOU'RE my friend," she reached out and put a hand on his lying on the table between them, squeezing it a bit as she smiled, "You're a rather tough act to follow you know. I don't think I'll ever find a friend as brilliant and wonderful as you."
He started to smile.
"He only worked this hard because he wanted to be done with it," she told him, "I can tell. He wasn't very fond of having to work with me in the first place. He wasn't in class when we were to pick our partners, no one wanted to work with me, they all think I'm rather stupid because I don't speak in class."
"Don't you listen to them," he told her, moving his hand to hold hers, "You're really smart, brilliant. You think faster than anyone I've ever met!"
She gave him a little laugh, "Faster than you?"
"Much faster than me," he nodded, squeezing her hand, "And you'll be 10 soon, then you can start picking your own classes, any class you want," he smiled, an idea hitting him, "We can pick the same classes, have them with each other, that way you'll always have a partner in me."
She gave him a cute little blush that made him grin wider, "I'd like that."
He beamed, squeezing her hand once more. Perhaps trying to get her to talk to other people, make other friends, could wait...just for now...
~/~\~
The Doctor nodded, "Hands off my Bonded," he called down, fixing more wires.
The Professor just laughed and rolled her eyes, giving Mickey a one armed hug on the side before heading back to the console. The Doctor hadn't been pleased when she'd told him she'd like to invite Mickey to stop in, in his mind Mickey was simply Rose's boyfriend, and anyone associated with Rose he wanted nowhere near her or the TARDIS. But she'd just reminded him about what Mickey had done for them when the Slitheen got involved. Reminding him that Mickey seemed willing to blow Rose up (even if he'd also been willing to blow them up too) had been what it took to get him to agree. That, and her sad eyes, telling him she liked Mickey, not more than the Doctor of course, but that she missed him and really wanted to try and get him to agree to be their new Companion. He'd hesitated on the last part though, but in the end even he had to admit Mickey was amusing and would probably provide them with a laugh or two.
"How're you doing, Ricky boy?" the Doctor called, looking down, a red flashing light strapped to his head as he worked.
"It's Mickey!" he shouted.
"Just ignore him Mickey," the Professor patted his shoulder, "He knows your name, he's just doing that to wind you up," she threw a mock annoyed look at the Doctor who just grinned back cheerily.
Mickey shook his head, "So, what're you all doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash?" he started to smirk, "I mean, you sure about letting him on board Doctor?" he called, "He's a bit…"
"Handsome?" Jack smirked.
"More like cheesy."
"Early 21st Century slang, is cheesy good or bad?"
"It's bad."
"But bad means good, isn't that right?"
The Doctor just tottered down the ladder, frowning at Mickey, "Are you saying I'm not handsome?"
The Professor rolled her eyes as he started to narrow his gaze at Jack, even when Jack didn't exactly seem attracted to her, the Doctor still got quite jealous and possessive of having another man there, "You're handsome to me," she reassured him, giving him a peck on his cheek, making him beam and wrap an arm around her as she turned to Mickey, "We just stopped off to refuel."
The Doctor nodded, "Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city."
"It's invisible, but it's like an Earthquake fault between different dimensions…"
"The rift was healed back in 1869…"
"By a girl named Gwyneth when these creatures called the Gelth tried using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it…"
Mickey frowned, looking between them, he'd almost forgotten how they talked, but then Jack jumped in and spoke with them as well.
"But closing a rift always leaves a scar, and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race…"
"But perfect for the TARDIS," the Doctor nodded, "So just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and…"
"Open up the engines, soak up the radiation…"
"Like filling her up with petrol," the Professor added, seeing Mickey get a bit lost, "And off we go!"
"Into time!" Jack shouted, punching the air.
"And space!" they all cheered.
Mickey just stared at them in disbelief, "My God, have you seen yourselves? You all think you're so clever, don't you?"
"Yeah!" the Doctor grinned.
"Yep!" Jack nodded.
The Professor rolled her eyes, "But neither of them can think as fast as me."
"Oi!" Jack and the Doctor shouted, making her laugh before she took the Doctor's arm and lead him to the doors, stepping out with Jack and Mickey.
"Should take another 24 hours, which means we've got time to kill," the Doctor grinned at the Professor.
"Our second date," she laughed.
"That old lady's staring," Mickey called, eyeing an old woman in the distance.
"Probably wondering what four people could do inside a small wooden box..." Jack started to grin, patting the Doctor suggestively on the shoulder as the Professor sniggered.
"What are you captain of?" Mickey shook his head, "The Innuendo Squad?" Jack just made a 'whatever' sign and headed off, "Wait! Er, the TARDIS…we can't just leave it. Doesn't it get noticed?"
"Yeah," Jack turned around, "What's with the police box? Why does it look like that?"
"It's called a Chameleon Circuit," the Professor explained.
The Doctor nodded, "The TARDIS is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands."
"If this was Ancient Rome, it'd be a statue on a plinth."
"But I landed in the 1960s, it disguised itself as a police box, and the circuit got stuck."
"Ok you two have really got to stop doing that," Jack shook his head at them with a laugh.
"So it copied a real thing?" Mickey asked, "There actually was police boxes?"
"Yeah, on street corners," the Doctor nodded, "Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested someone, they could shove them inside until help came. Like a little prison cell."
"Why don't you just fix the circuit?" Jack asked.
"I like it! Don't you?"
"I love it," the Professor patted him on the shoulder, it just…fit, the police box image.
"But that's what I meant!" Mickey exclaimed, "There's no police boxes anymore, so doesn't it get noticed?"
"Ricky," the Doctor sighed, "Let me tell you something about the human race. You put a mysterious blue box slap bang in the middle of town and what do they do?" he put his hand on Mickey's shoulder, "Walk past it. Now stop your nagging, let's go and explore!"
"He broke the circuit Mickey," the Professor called back as the Doctor took her hand and walked off, "So badly, in fact, not even I can fix it. And that's saying something."
"Oi!" the Doctor called.
"I've told you time and time again Doctor," she turned back to him, "If you don't make any cheap shots at Mickey, I won't make any at you."
Mickey grinned and jogged over, putting an arm around the Professor's shoulders, "That's my girl!" the Doctor glared at him and he quickly removed his arm, "I mean, YOUR girl but…my friend?"
"You're my friend too," she smiled at him, squeezing the Doctor's hand reassuringly even as he tugged her closer and put an arm around her waist.
"What's the plan?" Jack asked, walking on the Doctor's other side.
"We don't know," the Professor smiled, "It's Cardiff. Early 21st Century…"
"And the wind's coming from the...East," the Doctor inhaled deeply, grinning, "Trust me, safest place in the Universe!"
~8~
The group of four were sitting around a small table in a restaurant along the water, listening to Jack telling a humorous story. The Doctor and Mickey were sitting on one side while the Professor and Jack were on the other, the Professor across from the Doctor. It had been a bit of a debate when they'd first decided to eat there, whether he wanted the Professor sitting beside him or across from him. A very silent debate as it had been done in their minds, which made Mickey and Jack stare at them as they just stood at the table for about a minute before sitting. In the end, the Doctor decided he'd rather be able to look at her than simply feel her beside him. He'd claimed, making her blush quite a bit as a result, that he'd spent enough time apart from her, thinking he'd never see her again, he was not about to miss an instant of observing her.
"I swear, six feet tall and with TUSKS!" Jack was saying, laughing hard.
"You're lying through your teeth!" the Doctor shouted.
"I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean TUSKS! And it's woken, and it's not happy…"
"How could you not know it was there?" the Professor giggled a bit at the thought.
"And we're standing there, fifteen of us, NAKED, and I'm like, oh, no, no, it's got nothing to do with me! And then it roars, and we are running. Oh my God, we are RUNNING! And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and I say…"
"I knew we should've turned left!" Mickey shouted, finishing the punch line, making them roar with laughter.
"That's my line!" Jack laughed.
"You are so lying," the Professor laughed, her laughter breaking off a moment when she saw the Doctor get up and snatch a newspaper from an old man nearby, frowning at it.
"I just picked him up went right for the ship," Jack continued to explain, not seeing the Time Lords weren't paying attention anymore, "Full throttle, didn't stop until I hit the spacelanes, I was shaking! It was unbelievable, I'm freaking out and by the time I got there I was fifteen light-years away, I was like this!"
"And I was having such a nice day…" the Doctor sighed, holding up the paper for them to see Margaret the Slitheen was the new mayor of Cardiff.
~8~
The quartet strode purposefully up the steps of town hall, where they knew the mayor currently was, walking up a set of steps in the entrance hall, stopping at the top to look around a moment.
"The target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family," the Professor explained, taking charge, "A criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit. Plan of attack, we assume a basic fifty seven/fifty six strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. The Doctor will go face-to-face, that'll designate Exit One, Jack'll cover Exit Two, I've got Exit Three, and Mickey will take Exit Four. Understood?" she looked over to see Mickey was barely keeping up, Jack was eyeing her, rather impressed, and the Doctor was smiling a bit at how she was taking control.
"Excuse me," the Doctor smirked, "Who's in charge?"
"Still me," she shot him a smirk back.
"Oh, is that right?"
"Don't make me pull rank on you soldier."
He laughed, "Nice plan. Anything else?"
"Present arms," she ordered lightly and they pulled out their mobiles, the Professor putting on a small Bluetooth-like earpiece that the Doctor had soniced to be connected to the other phones.
"Ready!" the three shouted.
"Speed dial?" Jack called, and they each pressed a button. He laughed, "See ya in hell," and headed off to the right, the Doctor and Professor heading straight, leaving Mickey to the left.
~8~
The Doctor walked up to the secretary sitting at a desk just outside the mayor's office, "Hello!" he grinned, "I've come to see the Lord Mayor."
"Have you got an appointment?" the man asked.
"Nope, just an old friend passing by, bit of a surprise, can't wait to see her face!"
"Well, she's just having a cup of tea."
"Just go in there, and tell her the Doctor would like to see her."
"Doctor who?"
"Just the Doctor. Tell her exactly that. The Doctor."
The man sighed and stood, "Hold on a tick..." before entering the room.
The Doctor stood there with his hands behind his back, waiting serenely, barely reacting to the sound of a teacup smashing inside.
The secretary reappeared, flustered as he slid through the door, shutting it behind him, "The Lord Mayor says thank you for…for popping by...she'd love to have a chat, but, um...she's up to her eyes in paperwork. Perhaps if you could make an appointment for next week…"
"She's climbing out of the window, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is."
The Doctor nodded smugly at that and pushed past him into the office, dashing across the room to the open window and hurrying out onto the balcony where Margaret was hopping over onto a scaffolding along the side of the building.
"Slitheen heading North," the Doctor called into his mobile.
"On my way," the Professor called back, "All units move out!"
He laughed, rushing over towards Margaret, only for the secretary to grab him from behind and try to stop him, "Leave the mayor alone!"
~8~
The Professor ran down a corridor and pushed past two secretaries in her hurry, sending paperwork flying, before she burst out of an exit.
~8~
The Doctor looked over as Margaret hopped off the scaffolding, running off as she pulled off a brooch, but then he saw the Professor emerge from her exit, running at Margaret. The alien turned and tried another exit, pulling off her earring, only to see Jack heading towards her, before trying the third exit. He shoved the secretary aside and made his way down the scaffolding after her, "Margaret!" he called mockingly.
Margaret ran around a corner, the three of them catching up, only to see her running off, "Who was on Exit Four?" Jack gasped.
"Mickey," the Professor sighed.
A door burst open and Mickey ran out, a bucket stuck to his foot, "Here I am!" he panted before noticing Margaret getting away.
"Mickey the idiot!" the Doctor glared.
Mickey glared, "Be fair, she's not exactly gonna outrun us, is she?"
But then Margaret disappeared in a blue light with a small ting to it.
"She's got a teleport!" Jack gaped, "That's cheating! Now we're NEVER gonna get her!"
The Professor just laughed and pulled the sonic out of the Doctor's jacket, "The Doctor's very good with teleports," she held it up to him.
He grinned and flicked it on, making Margaret reappear, running towards them. She stopped and turned around, running back, disappearing once more. The Doctor flicked the sonic on again and she appeared, much closer, heading for them, only to try once more. The Doctor shook his head and she appeared nearly right in front of them, exhausted and gasping for breath.
"I could do this all day," he said cheerily.
Margaret put her hands up, "This is persecution. Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"
"You tried to kill us and destroy the entire planet," the Professor reminded her.
"Apart from that…"
~8~
The small group followed Margaret into an exhibition room, a small display of a power plant set up on a table, a banner promoting the project hanging on the back wall.
"So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped," the Doctor spoke, his hand in the Professor's, "Your family get killed but you teleport out, just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do? You build a nuclear power station," he gestured at the model as the Professor stepped away from him to examine it closer, "But what for?"
"A philanthropic gesture," Margaret glared, "I've learnt the error of my ways."
"And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift," the Professor muttered, clearly not believing her.
"What rift would that be?" Margaret asked, far too innocently to be believed.
"A rift in space and time," Jack said, "If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go schwwwupboom!"
"It wouldn't go into meltdown," the Professor shook her head, straightening, "This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity."
"Didn't anyone notice?" Mickey frowned, "Isn't there someone in London CHECKING this sort of stuff?"
"We're in CARDIFF," Margaret rolled her eyes, "London doesn't care! The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice…oh...I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native."
"But why would she DO that? A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself."
"She's got a name, you know."
"She's not even a she, she's a..." he eyed her, "Thing."
"But she's a clever thing," the Professor sighed, pulling the middle section off the model and flipping it over to reveal a giant circuit board.
"Fantastic," the Doctor grinned, moving closer to look at it.
"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?" Jack's eyes widened as he stared at it.
"Couldn't have put it better myself!"
"Ooh, GENIUS!" Jack gently took the board from her, looking at it intently with the Professor while the Doctor's gaze was caught by the banner on the wall, "You didn't build this," Jack shook his head at Margaret.
"I have my hobbies," Margaret shrugged, "A little tinkering…"
"No, he means, you REALLY didn't build this," the Professor glanced at her, "This technology is far beyond your capabilities."
"I bet she stole it," Mickey muttered.
"It…fell into my hands," Margaret supplied.
"Is it dangerous?" Mickey asked, eyeing the board, "A weapon?"
Jack shook his head and placed the extrapolator on the floor as the Professor explained, "It's transport."
"You see," Jack jumped on the board, "The reactor blows, the rift opens, phenomenal cosmic disaster, but THIS thing shrouds you in a force field, you have this energy bubble, zzhum, so you're safe."
"Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top, and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system."
"It's a surfboard!" Mickey laughed.
"A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah," Jack nodded.
"And it would've worked," Margaret said bitterly, "I would've surfed away from this dead-end dump and back to civilization."
"You'd blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?" Mickey stared at her, incredulous.
"Like stepping on an anthill."
"How'd you think of the name?" the Doctor called. They all looked over to see him staring up at the banner, the words 'Blaidd Drwg' written across it. The Professor frowned and took a few steps closer, to his side, staring at it.
"What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh."
"We know, but how did you think of it?"
"Chose it at random, that's all I dunno. Just sounded good. Does it matter?"
"Blaidd Drwg…" the Professor murmured, in thought.
"What's it mean?" Mickey shook his head.
"Bad Wolf…" she frowned, "I've heard that before, Bad Wolf," she looked at the Doctor, "We've both heard that lots of times..."
"Everywhere we go," he nodded, "Two words. Following us. Bad Wolf."
"But how can they be following us?" the Professor shook her head.
The Doctor stared into space a moment, thinking before shaking his head with a grin, "Nah! Just a coincidence! Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day."
"Never ignore a coincidence," the Professor reminded him.
"Unless you're busy," he tapped her on the nose, making her go cross-eyed a moment, "Which we are, come on! Things to do," he clapped his hands and turned to Margaret, "Margaret, we're gonna take you home."
"Hold on, isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?" Jack frowned.
The Professor gave the banner one more look before turning around as well, "Not really, they have the death penalty."
"The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty," Margaret glared at them, "With no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor?" she turned her gaze on the Doctor's cold stare, "Take me home and you take me to my death."
"Not my problem," he shrugged, indifferent.
"And you Professor?" Margaret turned to her as well.
"I've sent plenty of your brethren home for their executions," she told the woman, seeing her eyes widen in shock, clearly not having known that, "Your branch of the Slitheen family were by no means the first to come across me."
Margaret let out a shaky breath, swallowing hard.
~8~
That night Margaret the Slitheen stood in the back of the TARDIS, looking around in wonder, her hand skimming a few controls on the console, "This ship is IMPOSSIBLE! It's SUPERB. How do you get the outside around the inside?"
"Like we'd give YOU the secret," the Doctor scoffed, working at the console while the Professor stood, leaning against a railing, her eyes on Margaret, watching her warily.
"I almost feel better about being defeated. We never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods."
"Don't worship me," the Doctor called, "I'd make a very bad God. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters...could worship the Professor though," he shot her a small grin, "She's a goddess."
She rolled her eyes, "Stop it."
He laughed, 'What? Don't want to be worshiped Kata?'
'Nearly 900 years, I don't think anyone's ever worshiped me before.'
He gave her a sly smirk, 'I think I worshiped you thoroughly just last night…'
Her eyes widened and her face flushed at that, 'Theta!'
He chuckled to himself, the humans and Margaret eyeing them oddly, having been watching their expressions but hearing no words.
"Jack," the Professor called, clearing her throat, ignoring the Doctor full out laughing now, "How are we doing?"
"This extrapolator's top of the range," he replied, getting back to work on hooking up the extrapolator to the TARDIS, kneeling beside the console and working on it, "Where did you get it?" he glanced at Margaret.
"Oh, I don't know..." she sighed, "Some airlock sale..."
"Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power."
"But we can use it for fuel?" the Doctor looked over.
"It's not compatible...but it should knock off about twelve hours. We'll be ready to go by morning."
"Then we're stuck here. Overnight."
"I'M in no hurry…" Margaret replied.
"We've got a prisoner!" Mickey laughed, "The police box is really a police box."
Margaret smiled unpleasantly at them, "You're not just police, though. Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you..."
Mickey frowned, "Well, you deserve it."
"You're very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood. Which makes you better than me, how, exactly?" Mickey couldn't answer, "Long night ahead..." she moved to sit elegantly on the captain's chair as the Professor watched her with a frown, "Let's see who can look me in the eye," she fixed her gaze on Mickey who held it for a moment before looking away, then to the Doctor who only glanced up for a second before returning his attention to his work at the console, and finally to the Professor.
"Oh Peggy give it up," the Professor pushed off the railing and moved to help Jack, "I've killed worse monsters than you with my bare hands, taking you to your death means little to me."
The three men looked at her, Mickey shocked at her words, the Doctor nodding a bit, understanding that she was trying to get Margaret to stop, and Jack sadly for what the girl before him had been through.
She and the Doctor had told him exactly who they were if not Time Agents, Time Lords. And to hear that the girl before him, in the attractive dress, with the cute little smile was THE Professor…he'd nearly fallen over when he'd heard that. Being a freelance agent as he'd been, going rogue, he'd encountered a few of the higher species, heard stories of the war, the Last Great Time War, between the Daleks and the Time Lords. He'd thought it was a myth, especially the stories of a girl who would appear moments before utter devastation would occur to the enemy, fearless, emotionless, heartless, who would just as soon kill you if she saw you with the enemy. The ultimate warrior, the ultimate weapon…and there she was, kneeling before him, in a polka dot dress, helping him wire a police telephone box up to an intergalactic surfboard…
~8~
The Professor stepped out of the TARDIS to see Mickey standing a few feet away on his mobile. He'd left a few minutes ago to answer his phone, complaining of bad reception in the alien box, but she knew that he just didn't want them to know who was on the phone, she could guess.
"…yeah, I'll try," he was saying as she stepped closer, wanting to check on him, "I'll tell 'em. Sure. Ok, bye," he sighed, ending the call and looked over, seeing her walk over.
"How's Rose?" she asked, getting to the point. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the girl. She knew she'd 'died' because of what Rose had done to save her father, but it was weird, she couldn't really remember it. One minute she'd been pushing the Doctor away from the Reapers, the next she was standing just a few feet away from the doors of the church and walking towards the Doctor. She'd been displaced in time it seemed, but the Doctor hadn't. He'd thought she died, he'd felt her die, he'd been without her because of Rose, and for that…she wouldn't forgive Rose quite so easily for putting the Doctor through that, whether she knew it would happen or not.
Mickey sighed, "She's been going on about how sorry she is that everything happened ever since you brought her back," he told her, "She's been trying to think of a way to apologize, to make up for it," he eyed her, "But she won't be able to, will she?"
The Professor sighed, shaking her head, "I don't think she will. The Doctor," she shrugged, "He's as possessive of me as I am of him…he loves me very much, I think I love him more but the point stands, if he'd been taken instead of me…there wouldn't have been a Rose to bring back," she warned him, "Be thankful Mickey that the Reapers took me and not him. He won't ever forgive her, it really would take a miracle for that to happen."
Mickey nodded, "I know, she wanted me to tell you though, that she is sorry."
"The Doctor won't listen to it, not now, not with it having happened so recently. It won't change his mind."
"I know that too."
She smiled, "The Doctor ought to give you more credit, you're a brilliant, understanding man," Mickey smiled, "Want to head back in now?"
He glanced at the box and nodded, the two of them heading in to see the Doctor at the console, working away while Jack continue to work on the extrapolator after the Professor had tweaked it a bit before stepping out.
"I gather it's not always like this..." Margaret called from where she was sitting a few feet away, her back to the console, "Having to wait. I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. You and the Professor. Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last, you have consequences...how does it feel?"
"We didn't butcher them," the Doctor countered.
"Don't answer back," the Professor walked over to him, "That's what she wants," he looked at her and she put a hand on his shoulder, 'WE know we didn't butcher her family.'
He nodded, dropping a kiss onto her hand before looking over at Margaret, "What about you? You had an emergency teleport, you didn't zap them to safety, did you?"
"It only carries one," Margaret sighed, "I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up on a skip in the Isle of Dogs," the men started to snigger as the Professor shook her head at them, "It wasn't funny!"
"Sorry," the Doctor said sheepishly, still grinning, "It is a BIT funny!" they started laughing again, the Doctor nudging the Professor, getting her to smile, even Margaret started to laugh.
"Do I get a last request?"
"Depends what it is," the Professor told her.
"I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals...the brushing of the teeth, and the complicated way they cook things...there's a little restaurant. Just round the bay…" the Time Lords glanced at her, "It became quite a favorite of mine."
The Doctor moved forward, leaning on the railing to look at her while the Professor took over working on the console, "Is that what you want?" he asked, "A last meal?"
"Don't I have rights?"
"Like she's not gonna try to escape," Mickey scoffed under his breath.
"Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger?" Margaret snapped, bitter, "And if I tried, the Professor would hunt me down herself, wouldn't she?"
The Professor just looked up, "You wouldn't make it ten feet," she shrugged, "Not much of a hunt."
Jack looked up at that a moment.
Margaret turned her attention back to the Doctor, considering him, "But I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. The Professor, well, we all know how strong her stomach is, the things she's done…but I wonder, how strong is yours?"
"Strong enough," the Doctor glared at her bringing up the Professor's past. She hated her war-self, hated it, hated what she'd been made to do, especially to other species, and was determined to make up for that as much as she could. She didn't need all these reminders of who she'd been.
"I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies...now dine with them."
"You won't change my mind," he told her, "The only person who's ever been able to is back there," he nodded at the Professor, "And she won't change hers either."
"Prove it."
He just stepped back, walking over to the console again, "There are people out there. If you slip away just for one second, they'll be in danger."
"Except...I've got these," Jack called, holding up two bracelets, the Professor's words reminding him of them, "You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away..." he imitated electric shock, making Margaret jump in alarm and the Professor flinch, "She gets zapped by ten thousand volts."
The Doctor, who had put his arm around the Professor at the flinch, grinned at Margaret, "Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner with us? Our treat?"
Margaret smirked, "Dinner in bondage...works for me."
The Professor rolled her eyes, "Mickey, can you stay here and help Jack?"
"Oi!" the Doctor shouted as Mickey started to nod, "I'm not having Mickey the Idiot touch my TARDIS."
"Our TARDIS," the Professor corrected, "And if you try and say he'll break something, I'll tell him about everything you've broken in this box since you found me…"
The Doctor opened his mouth as though he were going to argue but shut it quickly at her threat, he hadn't broken that much…
'The Chameleon Circuit,' she reminded him.
'That was before I found you again,' he countered.
'And that was on your very first trip, you've had this box for centuries…' she smiled at him victoriously, 'My point proven.'
"Take care of her Mickey," the Professor called, heading for the door, pointing back at him, "Don't let me down."
"You can count on me boss," he laughed, pointing back at her.
~8~
The Doctor held the door to the restaurant open for the Professor and Margaret to step through, quickly taking the Professor's hand once they were all inside and a waiter took them to a table, handing them their menus after they'd been seated.
"Here we are, out on a date, and you haven't even asked my proper name," Margaret remarked, eyeing her menu.
"It's not a date!" the Doctor snapped.
"Not with you anyway," the Professor added, smiling at the Doctor.
He grinned back at her before sighing at Margaret, "What's your name?"
"Blon Fel Fotch Pasameer Day Slitheen," the Professor answered and he recalled she had experience with the Slitheen family.
"That's what it'll say on my death certificate," Margaret nodded.
"Nice to meet you, Blon," the Doctor smiled.
"I'm sure."
The Doctor moved to read the menu, the Professor having only glimpsed it a moment before putting it down to keep an eye on Margaret. The plump woman set hers down and looked out the window, "Look...that's where I was living as Margaret…" the Doctor turned around, "Nice little flat. Over there. On the top. Next to the one with the light on…" Margaret reached out to open her ring over the Doctor's wine glass when she hissed.
The Doctor turned around quickly to see the Professor had grabbed her wrist, jerking the woman's arm towards the end of the table and spilling a white powdered poison onto the floor instead of in his glass. He grinned widely at that and went back to reading the menu.
The Professor let go of Margaret's wrist, watching the woman rub it a moment, "Tell me," Margaret looked between them, "What do you know of our species?"
"Only what I've seen," the Doctor answered for both of them, knowing the Professor knew far more about them, having paid more attention in classes than him.
"Did you know, for example...in extreme cases...when her life is in danger..."
'A female Raxacoricofallapatorian can manufacture a poison dart from her finger,' the Professor warned him silently, he gave her a minute nod, readying himself.
"A female Raxacoricofallapatorian can manufacture a poison dart within her own finger," Margaret suddenly pointed a finger at him, releasing the dart but the Doctor just caught it between his fingers, not even looking up.
"Yes, I did," he replied.
"Just checking," Margaret smiled pleasantly, "And one more thing...between you and me..." she leaned in.
'Careful,' the Professor called, 'The excess poison can be exhaled through the lungs.'
She watched as the Doctor subtly put his hand in his pocket, pulling out a small bottle of breath spray.
"As a final resort," Margaret whispered, "The excess poison can be exhaled through the lungs!" she hissed at him, breathing out a green gas but he squirted her with the spray.
"That's better," he leaned back as Margaret stuck out her tongue at the taste.
"Best be careful Peggy," the Professor remarked, even though the Doctor was fine and safe and prepared, she did NOT like the fact that Margaret was actively trying to hurt him, "Try that again and I'll rip your tongue out. See how much you like the food then."
The Doctor laughed at Margaret's startled expression, reaching out to take the Professor's hand, calming her, reminding her he was ok, "Now then, what d'you think? Mmm, steak looks nice. Steak and chips!"
~8~
"Public execution is a slow death," Margaret told them, pleading her case as they ate, "They prepare a thin acetic acid...lower me into the cauldron...and boil me. The acidity is perfectly gauged to strip away the skin. Internal organs fall out into the liquid. And I become soup. And still alive. Still screaming."
"There are worse ways to die," the Professor muttered, thinking of a few of her own past deaths.
The Doctor squeezed her hand, "We don't make the law."
"But you deliver it," Margaret glared, "Will you stay to watch?"
"What else can we do?" the Doctor countered.
"The Slitheen family's huge. There's a lot more of us, all scattered off-world. Take me to them. Take me somewhere safe."
The Professor shook her head, "But then you'll just start again."
"I promise I won't," she whispered.
"You've been in that skin suit too long," the Doctor frowned, "You've forgotten. There used to be a REAL Margaret Blaine. You killed her and stripped her and used the skin. You're pleading for mercy out of a dead woman's lips."
"Perhaps I have got used to it. A human life. An ordinary life. That's all I'm asking," they just stared at her, unmoved, "Give me a chance, please...I can change."
"We don't believe you," the Professor told her.
She sighed, shaking her head, earnest, "I promise you, I've changed since we last met. There was this girl...just today...young thing. Something of a danger. She was getting too close. I felt the blood lust rising, just as the family taught me, I was going to kill her without a thought. And then...I stopped. She's alive somewhere right now, she's walking around this city because I CAN change, I DID change. I know I can't prove it…"
"I believe you," the Doctor said softly, there probably was a girl out there alive now.
"Then you know I'm capable of better."
"It doesn't mean anything though," the Professor shook her head.
"I spared her life!"
"You let one of them go, but that's nothing new," the Professor explained, "Every now and then, a victim is spared. Because she smiled...because he's got curly hair...because they begged...and that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction...you happen to be kind."
Margaret glared at her coldly, "Only a killer would know that."
She shook her head, "I'm not a killer Peggy…" Margaret scoffed and moved to argue but the Professor continued, "I'm much worse than that. I'm a weapon. I know I am. I am what the Time Lords made me. And you'd better not forget that because when a mission comes around I won't be kind, I won't let one go. I will kill every last one and spare none. Because that's the way I was trained. I know what I've done, all I can hope to do is use what I am in a different way, become a weapon for good, for life and creation, instead of devastation and destruction."
The Doctor reached out and put an arm around the Professor's shoulders, rubbing her arm, letting her lean on him. That had been her during the war, let no one go. Anyone and everyone associated with the enemy was to be destroyed, no survivors. And she'd done just that and then some.
"But don't you see?" Margaret tried again, desperate, "That is the way you were trained, this is the way I was raised!"
"The difference between us," she continued, "Is that I took no pleasure in it. I hated every minute of what I did. I feel regret and sorrow. I did what I had to in the middle of a war and not for sport, not for fun, not for profit in a family business. I did what I had to, to save my people."
"I did what I had to to save myself!" Margaret cried, "In the family Slitheen, we had no choice. I was made to carry out my first kill at thirteen. If I'd refused, my father would have fed me to the Venom Grubs."
The Professor frowned, glancing over, hearing a rumbling in the distance, the Doctor as well.
"If I'm a killer, it's because I was born to kill…it's all I know!" she frowned, seeing them looking out the window, "Professor? Doctor? Are you even LISTENING to me?"
"Can you hear that?" the Doctor murmured.
"I'm begging for my life…"
"No, listen!" the Professor hushed her. There was silence a moment before the glass completely shattered, causing chaos, the diners screaming as they scattered.
"Come on!" the Doctor shouted, taking the Professor's hand and they ran for the door, Margaret close behind because of the bracelets. They ran down a line of shops and down a flight of stairs, people screaming around them, things smashing all over.
"The handcuffs!" Margaret called as they reached the bottom step.
The Doctor waited impatiently for her to get down the stairs before he pulled off her bracelet, but grabbed her wrist, "Don't think you're running away."
"Oh, I'm sticking with you," Margaret said fearfully as he pulled her off in the direction of the TARDIS, "Some date this turned out to be!"
"Best one yet!" the Professor smiled at him, making him laugh as they ran down another set of stairs to the ground. They ran for the Millennium Center Square, gasping when they saw the TARDIS was the cause of the destruction, a bolt of lightning ripping out of the top of it and into the sky.
"It's the rift!" he shouted, "The rift's opening!"
They ran for the TARDIS as storm clouds gathered over it, the ground starting to crack beneath their feet. The Professor pulled the key to the box out of his pocket and opened the door, ushering them in, only to see Jack and Mickey running around, trying to pull out sparking wires, trying to get control as the whole ship shuddered.
"What the hell are you doing?" the Doctor shouted.
"It just went crazy!" Jack replied.
"It's the rift!" the Professor told them, running to the console with the Doctor, "Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to be destroyed!" they flinched back as small explosions erupted from the console, "Mickey the fire extinguisher," the Professor pushed him towards the back of the box, near the doors.
"It's the extrapolator!" Jack yelled above the noise, "I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine! It's USING the TARDIS, I can't stop it!"
"Never mind Cardiff," the Doctor pulled a lever, "It's gonna rip open the planet!"
"What's happening?" Mickey called, rushing back with the fire extinguisher, only for Margaret to grab him.
"Oh, just little ME!" she shouted, freeing one of her arms from her skin suit and grabbing Mickey around the neck with her claw, "One wrong move and he snaps like a promise!" she threatened when the Professor took a step forward.
"I might've known," the Doctor glared.
"I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it," she moved closer, "You," she turned to Jack, "Fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet," Jack hesitated but Margaret tightened her grip around Mickey's neck and Jack moved forward, placing it down, "Thank you. Just as I planned…"
"Thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station…" Mickey strained.
"Failing that, if I were to be...arrested...then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to Plan B! To lock on to the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found...I'm back on schedule...thanks to you!"
"The rift's gonna convulse," Jack shouted, "She'll destroy the whole planet!"
"Plan C then," the Professor smiled, completely calm, "Extrapolator offline!" she called.
And suddenly, everything stilled.
Margaret looked up, alarmed that her plan was failing, "What?" she demanded.
"Calling the Doctor a god?" the Professor crossed her arms, leaning against the console, "Admiring the TARDIS by touching everything? And don't think I didn't see you watching us hook up the extrapolator. I saw your ploy coming a mile away Peggy. Overrode the extrapolator settings while I helped Jack hook it up to create a voice-activated failsafe command, completely cutting off the extrapolator's control."
"Brilliant!" the Doctor cheered, pulling her to him and hugging her, she was a genius!
"Yes well I've still got your dogsbody, don't I?" Margaret glared, squeezing Mickey's neck tighter, making him gag a bit, "So…you are going to take me wherever I want to go or I snap his neck."
A moment later there was a burst of light and a panel of the console started to open, a blinding white light flooding out, taking Margaret by surprise as she stared at it.
The Doctor smiled, putting his arm around the Professor's shoulder, now as calm as her, "Of course, by trying to open the rift you nearly pulled this ship apart."
"So sue me," she glared.
"It's not just any old power source. It's the TARDIS. My TARDIS…"
"Our TARDIS," the Professor nudged him.
"Our TARDIS," he agreed, smiling, "The best ship in the Universe."
"It'll make wonderful scrap," Margaret sneered.
"What's that light?" Mickey frowned, squinting at it.
"The heart of the TARDIS," the Professor explained, "This ship's alive. You've opened its soul."
Margaret stared at the light, blinking as she became more dazed, just looking at it dreamily, "It's...so bright..."
"Look at it, Margaret..." the Doctor told her.
"...beautiful..."
"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light."
Margaret stared at it, transfixed, loosening her hold on Mickey till he could scramble away and back up behind the Time Lords, watching in safety as Margaret smiled, "Thank you…" she breathed, closing her eyes as the light got brighter, engulfing her.
A moment later her skin suit flopped to the floor on top of the extrapolator, the Time Lords springing into action, darting around the console, "Don't look!" the Professor ordered the humans, "You two stay there and close your eyes!"
The Doctor slammed down a lever and the panel closed, "Now, Jack, come on, shut it all down. Shut down!"
Jack rushed over as the Professor turned to Mickey, "Mickey, that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right," and he did.
The four of them worked busily making sure the TARDIS settled, that whatever Margaret had done was reversed, calming the ship. Just because the extrapolator had been turned off, didn't mean the ship wasn't still unsettled from the use of it.
"Nicely done," the Professor smiled at Mickey.
"Thank you all," the Doctor had to agree.
"What happened to her?" Mickey nodded at the skin suit.
"Must've got burnt up," Jack shrugged, "Carried out her own death sentence."
"No," the Doctor shook his head, "I don't think she's dead."
"Then, where'd she go?" Mickey asked.
"She looked into the heart of the TARDIS," the Professor explained, "Even I don't know how strong that is."
"The ship's telepathic," the Doctor added, "Gets inside your head. Translates alien languages."
"The raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts as well."
The Doctor moved to the skin suit and looked closer, pulling something out, an egg with little tentacles sticking out of it, "Here she is!"
"She's an egg?" Mickey grimaced, it was one ugly egg.
"Regressed to her childhood," the Professor nodded.
"She's an egg?" Jack looked at it.
"She can start again!" the Doctor grinned, but his gaze was fixed on the Professor and she nodded, smiling, regeneration was great for that, "Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell 'em to bring her up properly, she might be alright!"
"Or she might be worse."
"That's her choice," the Professor nodded.
"She's an egg…" Mickey reached out to poke it.
"She's an egg," the Professor laughed.
~8~
The Professor hugged Mickey goodbye, pulling away to let him step out of the TARDIS, having dropped him off at the courtyard of the Powell Estate, the boy still turning down the offer to travel as their Companion, but she'd given him a small gift, a key to the TARDIS so he could drop by and see them if ever they popped in.
"All powered up," the Doctor called as the Professor walked back over to the console, "We can leave. Opening the rift filled us up with energy."
"But let's not do that ever again," she added, seeing his thoughts turning curious as to whether it would always refuel that quickly if they did.
"Off we go, then," he grinned at her, "Always moving on..." he squeezed her hand as she pulled a lever.
"Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius," Jack nodded, turning a knob, "Now, you don't often get to say that."
"We just have to pop her in the hatchery," the Professor smiled at the egg resting on the console, "She gets her second chance."
The Doctor kissed the back of her hand and she turned her smile on him, kissing him quickly, reminding him that he was getting a second chance as well, they both were, to recover from the war, to be with each other.
The box faded away, the engines rising and falling…
A/N: I'm really glad I took Rose out of this episode…she irritated me like you wouldn't believe in it. I mean, she runs off, leaves Mickey, basically dates/flirts with other men, comes back and expects him to only be with her and stay loyal even when she hadn't? And then she has the nerve to shout at him about trying to move on from her and date other women…and then she leaves him again, not even shouting a warning like 'duck and cover' or something...and then she doesn't even think about him till it's too late. Urg. If Rose and Mickey had only been good friends (even friends with Mickey having a crush on her) I'd like her better. But everything she does to him…I can agree with Rose in one regard, he definitely deserved better. How she treated Mickey is one of the reasons she's not my favorite Companion.
I like to think that Mickey (mostly in my original Academic Series) was like the Professor's Companion even though he was technically both hers and the Doctor's. Like Rory was more her Companion. And since Rory was the Professor's 'pretty kitty' according to Idris, I felt like here, this was the TARDIS's way of helping protect the Professor's other 'pretty kitty' Mickey Smith :)
Now for the surprise news...well, really it's more like a confession. Now, this is difficult for me to say, so I'm just going to come right out with it...
I've been cheating on the Professor with another OC.
I know! I'm so horrible. But as I was writing the Academic Series I started thinking of how another character would have reacted and things I could have done differently (like in Human Nature or in Flesh and Stone or all of Series 4, etc) and just things I WISH someone would have said at certain parts and a different plot line behind that character and before I knew it…I had already mostly written out another revision of DW starting in Series 3 with this new character. And since you guys have been so great in reading/reviewing/liking this story, I thought I could give you a little sneak peek (don't want to give away too much) about it since...I'm going to post it after I finish this AU Professor series and a few stories for Recollections…yay!
This OC is a Time Lady (I just love the idea of one coming back). She's been trapped somewhere and rescued by Torchwood (Jack's Torchwood) who help her find the Doctor again. She knows EVERYTHING about the Doctor and shares this enormous connection with him but the Doctor knows nothing about her. He doesn't even know she's a Time Lady even though she's travelling with him and Martha! So, she has to pretend to be human (she has a reason for that) while also trying to help the Doctor and not give too much away about her identity, which is made all the more difficult when the Master recognizes her for what she is. So far she's a semi-sarcastic but far more light hearted, teasing/joking character than the Professor, much less 'baggage' and dark past/suffering than the Professor (I sort of wanted someone almost opposite of the Professor for a different POV), but she does have some skeletons in her closet along with…a secret ability and a knack for doing what the Doctor would call the impossible at times.
This way, even though the Academic Series might be over till Series 7 ends, we'll still have another series to enjoy between me adding stories to Recollections. I'm thinking of updating this new story every day too, but breaking each episode in two, that way we still get a chapter a day but it also gives time to catch up if someone falls behind :)