Chapter 11 – "One Way to Say Hello" – Arcadia Bay Junkyard, Oregon, United States of America – 09:04 AM Local Time, 8th October 2013
The Professor momentarily paused at the entrance to the junkyard as he let his eyes wander over the chaotic landscape of the Arcadia Bay Junkyard. He slipped his hands into his suit pockets and watched the railway line on the other side of a junkyard as his ears picked up the sound of an approaching train over the otherwise calm chirps of birds from various trees which surrounded the junkyard.
The Professor remained in place as he watched the train speed past with its large haul of timber towards an unseen destination; once the train had vanished from view the Timelord slightly adjusted his tie and continued on his course towards his inactive TARDIS – which was located just behind a heavily rusted school bus on the other side of the junkyard.
Better make this quick…
The Professor ran a hand through his hair as he walked, cringing slightly at the squelching sound the wet ground was making as he moved over it.
This'll be the end of these shoes…
The Timelord wandered around the rusted school bus as he let his mind thinking back over the events of the day so far; the fact that he still had no further mental gains in regard to the pattern he'd deciphered in the Two Whales Diner continued to nag at him.
At the thought of the pattern, the Timelord removed his laser screwdriver from his pocket and brought up the display showing the repeating pattern. The Professor frowned as he mentally noted that over the course of the past day the pattern had become distinctly more noticeable against the typical background interference of Arcadia Bay.
That's not good…Compared to yesterday this pattern might as well be yodelling 'I'M MYSTERIOUS' with a megaphone.
The Professor paused mid-thought and frowned as he pocketed the screwdriver again, he turned away from the school bus and continued to walk in the direction of his TARDIS. His mind briefly corrected itself as the mention of yodelling dug up an unpleasant memory.
Hmm…Maybe not yodelling…That'd just be unpleasant.
Cringing briefly at the distant memory of an Alpine visit gone horribly wrong, the Timelord shook his head to clear his thoughts as he turned a corner forged by a rusted car, half a dozen barrels and various other wasted appliances – which even included an overturned boat next to a washing machine.
The things humans throw away…such a wasteful species.
He paused by the car for a moment and looked at an empty green bottle that was precariously balanced on the hood of the vehicle beside a comically oversized tire. Frowning slightly, the Timelord picked up the bottle and looked at it for a brief moment before his sudden curiosity ended and he flung the bottle over his shoulder with a meagre sigh; the sound of glass shattering against the rusted interior of the bus behind him which quickly followed caused the Timelord to cringe in discomfort.
Enough fooling around, I'd better get to the TARDIS.
The Professor only had to walk a few more meters before his beloved machine came into view, the two meter high black box was tucked comfortably against the side of the heavily rusted school bus and, much to the Professor's concern, seemed to have sunk into the muddy ground slightly. The Timelord rubbed his check as he quickly walked over to the front door of the TARDIS, his mood turning gloomy as a brief reminder that the control room would not be offering a welcoming beep or deet once he walked inside the door popped into his head.
Just hang in there, Sweetie…The Professor mentally consoled as he rubbed his hand gently against the dark exterior frame of the vehicle, his eyes gleaming over the slightly faded golden swirls of Gallifreyan text which still seemed to glow in the morning light, I'll get you out of this.
With a quick glance over his shoulder, the Timelord took out his screwdriver and quickly unlocked the main door to the control room. Letting out a small sigh as he gently pushed the door open and gazed into the dimly lit control room inside as the morning sunlight cast a lazy golden hue around the area close to the open door.
"Right then…" The Professor muttered as he stepped inside, closing the doors behind him as the sound of an approaching train became increasingly louder.
The Timelord squinted his eyes as he struggled to make out the finer details in the control room thanks to the sudden change in brightness, the control room was covered in a dark blue hazy fog and only illuminated by three dim white lights scattered across the ceiling of the control room.
The Professor traced his eyes over the dark walls of the control room as his eyes quickly adjusted to the low light level; he fixed his cuff links quickly before pulling a torch out of his pocket and wandering towards a door on the other side of the control room.
"Is this a race?" Max called out as she struggled to keep up with Chloe as the two of them entered the junkyard, casting a brief glance towards a freight train which was powering along the rails on the opposite side of the junkyard.
"Keep up," Chloe replied simply as she kept up the pace and took a right.
"How many times are you going to get pissed at me this week?" Max asked as she drew level with her blue haired best friend, referring to how Chloe had reacted earlier when Max had taken Kate's call in the Two Whales Diner.
"That depends on you," Chloe replied as she turned to face Max, "And how well you do in this phase of the test…" Pausing for a moment, the bluenette took a drink from her bottle of beer before turning on the spot, "Welcome to American Rust," She welcomed with a smile as she gesture around the junkyard, "My home away from Hell."
"Raw and rough," Max commented as she looked over the chaotic landscape of the junkyard, "It suits you…"
"Max, do you know how awesome this is?" Chloe exclaimed with a large smile as the two of them stopped walking. "I get my best friend back and she's also supersized?"
Max shrugged the last part of Chloe's comment off, "We don't know for how long."
"Exactly why it's time to have fun," Chloe added with a teasing smile as she walked off again towards the nearest corner of the junkyard.
Max kept up with Chloe as the sound of the passing train withered into the distance and was replaced by the peaceful humming and chirping of the birds that had nested around the junkyard. Chloe paused beside an old rusting junker which was propped up haphazardly by an assortment of random junk which had been piled up and reached into a pocket on the back of her jeans, her hand re-emerging a few moments later with something that almost stopped Max's heart dead.
"Are you kidding?" Max gasped as she took a step back at the sight of the revolver; the same revolver that Chloe had shown her at the lighthouse just before her vision as a token of Max's 'badassness', "Chloe, you said that you put that back!"
"Chillax would ya?" Chloe laughed as she playfully cocked her head at Max, "I need it for this phase of the test…" Chloe's smile quickly vanished when she saw the expression on Max's face, "What's wrong?"
"After yesterday, I'm kind of over guns, Chloe," Max silently muttered as she put her hand over her chest, "It freaks me out that you have one."
"What's wrong? Don't you trust me?" Chloe asked, sounding more than a little hurt at the idea.
"Of course I do…" Max assured as she took a step forward, still eying the weapon in Chloe's hand, "Just not that gun…"
"Pft. You have more power than an army…" Chloe remarked as she turned around and pointed the revolver at a rusted car behind the two of them, "Don't be scared of my little toy."
Chloe dropped the revolver to her side and turned back to face Max, holding out her half full bottle of beer, "Drink?"
Max shook her head and took a step back, "Yuck."
"You are so cute," Chloe laughed, taking a small drink from the bottle before continuing, "You haven't changed a bit."
"Okay, let's do this. Can you find five bottles while I prep the shooting range?"
"Beer and guns?" Max pointed out as she crossed her arms, "Nice combo."
"You can handle it," Chloe assured as she put her hands on Max's shoulders, "Now go find us five bottles," The blunette took a step back and clasped her hands before making a silly but pretty cute puppy face, "Pretty please?"
Max laughed as she turned on the spot, deciding to play along with Chloe's 'test' for the moment. So long as it just stayed harmless fun.
Harmless…Yeah right. Since when were guns harmless?
Letting out a sigh of defeat Max wandered off into the chaotic metal maze that was the Arcadia Bay Junkyard in search of five bottles, a small corner of her mind reminding her about the Professor's warning back in the Two Whales.
Remember, Max…This power is not a toy…The last thing I need is for someone like the Professor to be pissed off at me.
The Professor let out a low whistle as he navigated his way through the labyrinth of dark corridors of the TARDIS; the bright beam of his flashlight almost seemed to be a solid object thanks to the blue haze that appeared to be everywhere the Timelord went. His eyes darted from corner to corner as he hurriedly tried to worm his way towards the equipment storage warehouse fourteen levels beneath the control room, his flashlights beam dancing across the bland, angular grey walls and ceiling of the corridor as he walked.
"This is the last time I turn off environmental control…" The Timelord muttered as he turned a corner, the air from his mouth forming a cloud in front of his face for a brief moment as he expelled it from his lungs before falling to the ground and joining the rolling cloud of mist, "It's absolutely freezing…"
The Professor's footsteps and mutterings seemed to echo indefinitely in the empty corridors, something which only served to remind the Timelord that he was walking in a TARDIS that was near death; the Timelord sighed, he already missed the gentle ambient hum of the TARDIS.
He didn't feel so alone then.
A sudden feeling of vertigo stopped the Professor in his tracks as he felt the entire TARDIS shake, he continued walking after a brief pause to steady himself as he pushed both the rising pressure in his head and the quiet groans of the TARDIS' superstructure to the back of his mind.
Another rewind? You're really pushing it now, Caulfield.
The Professor remained quiet as the odd ambience that the rewinds had continued to play out, narrowing the Timelord's field of view as he forced his way through the now-much-more-resistive mist that flowed along the floor of the corridor. His mind momentarily hiccupped as the Professor's ears picked up the distant-yet-distinct sound of a train slamming on its brakes.
He turned on the spot in both concern and intrigue to look behind him, the beam from his torch vanishing into the darkness as the Timelord pointed it towards the distant end of the corridor. Almost as suddenly as the rewind had occurred; it stopped, taking with it the peculiar train sound.
Well…That was strange.
Mentally logging the oddity for future brainstorming, the Timelord turned around and continued to walk up the corridor, abruptly stopping after a few more minutes of walking and crouching down onto one knee to waft his hand into the mist, clearing it for a few moments.
"Figured…Gravity lift's out…" The Professor muttered with a hint of disappointment as he stood up again and darted his eyes along a nearby section of corridor wall before spotting a hexagonally shaped panel, "And…Maintenance hatch…brilliant…"
The Timelord briskly walked towards the hatch in question, putting his torch back into his pocket and exchanging it for his laser screwdriver. With a quick flick of his wrist, the Professor set the device to passive mode and ran the tip of it along the rim of the hatch as the screwdriver let off a low hum; moments later, the hatch clicked open as the Timelord pocketed the screwdriver and pulled the hatch off of the wall, placing it by his feet as he climbed onto a ladder inside a small vertical shaft.
Much to the Timelord's irritation, the mist poured in through the open hatch and began falling to the lower levels of the TARDIS through the shaft like a fluffy waterfall.
Great…Now the rungs will be freezing – if they weren't already.
Casting a glance downwards, the Timelord let out a low whistle before he pocketed his laser screwdriver began his descent, letting out a small hiss of discomfort at how cold the first few rungs of the ladder were as his bare skin made contact with them.
Max was here.
Max read over what she'd written on the wall of Rachel and Chloe's junkyard den for what had to have been the fifth time, her hand was still noticeably shaking as she cast a nervous glance towards the door.
Do I really have the right to do this? This is Chloe and Rachel's place…I probably shouldn't even be here.
Taking a step back, Max looked around the cluttered interior of the den from where she stood, her eyes darting between the various objects that Rachel Amber had left behind since her disappearance. Max's eyes lingered on the spot where she'd seen Chloe and Rachel's friendship bracelets, her chest tightening at the thought of Chloe replacing her.
I can't blame her…Max inwardly sighed as she turned back around and looked at her writing on the wall, I did leave her alone for five years and didn't bother trying to contact her…
Max reached out her hand and rubbed the wall with her still shaking hand as she smiled tearfully; sniffling, she took a step back and shook her head.
No…I shouldn't have written that. Not when Chloe's still hung up on Rachel…
The brunette closed her eyes and held out her hand, standing in place before she bowed her head and dropped her arm back to her side, mentally unable to even start the rewind. Max shoulders dropped as she quickly wiped her eyes and looked at the two empty bottles in her half-open camera bag and walking out of the den.
The Timelord sighed as he half threw himself out of the maintenance hatch, landing on his feet with a dull thud on the mist covered corridor floor. Looking around the darkened corridor as he took out his torch, the Timelord let out a small sigh before resuming his search for the TARDIS storeroom.
"Should be around here somewhere…" The Timelord commented with a quiet mutter as his eyes locked onto a corner about a dozen meters ahead of him on his left, "There it is…"
The Timelord quickly closed the distance between himself and the corner as he sped up to a jog, turning the corner quickly and continuing up a short corridor before stopping in front of a pentagon shaped door. Glancing over the door quickly, the Professor deduced that the door was inactive and proceeded to walk over to a small panel by the side of the door as he switched out his torch for his screwdriver again.
The Professor pulled off the access panel quickly and buzzed the inner workings of the door's circuitry with his screwdriver quickly before reading over his screwdriver's diagnosis. With a small shrug, the Timelord judged that the solution was a simple one and promptly adjusted the dial at the base of his screwdriver before pointing the device at the circuitry again and activating it.
"Open sesame…" The Professor smiled as the whirring of his screwdriver was soon accompanied by an affirmative beep as the door slid open.
Wasting little time, the Professor walked inside the storeroom and quickly began hunting down the various pieces of equipment that he was going to need.
"Gah!" Max gasped in fright as she jumped back to avoid a falling spool, "Shit…"
Max cringed as the spool took a large tire and wooden box with it as it fell, completely blocking her way out of the cramped party pit. The brunette didn't even have to think of a proper way out as she lazily held out her hand and braced for the slight pain that she had started to feel with each rewind.
Wincing slightly as she felt the pressure build up in her head, Max felt her vision cloud slightly as she watched the events of the last few seconds play out in reverse; the spool, tire and box tumbling upwards back to their precarious positions on the hood of a rusting car.
As Max lowered her hand to halt the rewind, she used her other hand to brace her camera bag (which was holding four glass bottles by this point) and hurriedly moved to get through the relatively narrow exit before the spool fell again. The brunette made it through and turned around only to raise an eyebrow in confusion when she saw that the spool hadn't fallen over.
Okay then…Well fuck you too, spool of doom.
Max rolled her eyes at the defiant spool and began to wander towards the other side of the junkyard in search of the final bottle for Chloe's test, casting a sympathetic glance at the rusted-beyond-repair school bus which dominated the centre ground of the junkyard as she slowly walked around it.
Max paused for a moment by an overturned boat close to the back of the bus as her eyes caught sight of broken glass dotted around the area, crouching down Max picked up a shard of the green glass and scowled when she realised that it was pieces of a shattered beer bottle which were scattered around the back of the bus.
"Urgh…Are you cereal?" Max groaned as she stood up and looked around the junkyard from where she was standing for any more bottles.
The brunette sighed as she adjusted the straps on her camera bag, deciding to continue towards the corner of the junkyard in search of a fifth bottle. She'd barely taken five steps forward when she paused again.
Are those footprints?
Max frowned as she crouched again to get a better look at the footprints in the muddy ground of the junkyard in front of her.
I'm no expert…But these look fresh…
Max continued to look at the direction of the footprints as they continued towards the other side of the bus; intrigued, she stood up and slowly walked alongside the trail as it suddenly disappeared behind the bus. Upon turning the corner, Max froze in place at the sight of a black box barely five meters in front of her.
"Holy shit…" Max breathed as she took a step back in shock, her heart missing a beat as she subconsciously recognised what she was looking at, "Oh my Dog is that...The Professor's TARDIS?"
Max slowly walked forwards towards the mysterious box; pausing for a moment to cast a glance in the direction of Chloe, who was still waiting on her to return, before she took another hesitant step. The sound of rustling leaves to Max's right drew her attention momentarily away from the box in front of her; turning to face the source of the noise, the brunette's eyes widened when she was confronted by the sight of a doe.
Wowzers…Max's dumbfounded mind quipped as she took a hesitant step towards the doe, squinting as she got closer to get a better look at the animal; It looks like that doe in my tornado vision…
Max's hand carefully wound its way into her camera bag as the doe began to move up a small hill a few meters to Max's immediate right. The brunette chose to ignore a sudden text alert on her phone for the meantime as she continued to watch the doe a few meters in front of her.
That doe is a perfect photo opportunity…
Max smiled as she pulled out her Polaroid camera and slowly worked her way towards the doe, which seemed to be waiting for her at the top of the hill.
"I should probably have brought a bag for this…" The Professor sighed as he hefted a dimensional feedback loop – a rather bulky piece of equipment, over his shoulder; wobbling slightly as he tried to steady his balance, "Argh…Scratch that…I should have definitely brought a bag for this…"
The Timelord sluggishly moved the piece of equipment towards a growing pile of various appliances close to the storehouse's entrance, casting a glance towards the pile as a large part of his mind began to wonder exactly how he was actually going to get half of the things in the pile out of the TARDIS without the gravity lifts running.
I'll think of something…I'm sure there's stairs somewhere on this level.
The Professor reached the pile after about a minute of walking and was in the process of carefully adding the dimensional feedback loop to the pile when a sudden alerting tone from his screwdriver caused him to haphazardly drop it; the heavy piece of equipment landing with a jarring clang which echoed throughout the store room.
Paying the sound little attention, the Timelord quickly removed his screwdriver and glanced at the sudden results that it was showing, his eyes widening in both concern and excitement.
"A dimensional rift?" The Professor asked with a growing smile as he abandoned what he was doing and ran towards the exit of the storeroom, "This just keeps getting better and bet-"
The Timelord froze in place as he became aware of a distinct purring sound that was quickly increasing in volume, his ears twitching as he tried to put his finger on where the noise was coming from. After a small two second pause, the Professor's grin widened as the purr turned into a constant hum and several lights switched on; the entire TARDIS seemed to shake for a moment before settling again as the environmental controls re-engaged.
"Oh!" The Professor almost gawked as he turned on the spot to see more lights in the corridor turn on, his loud and almost giddy laughter rebounding off the walls as he spoke, "A dimensional rift that's leaking Artron energy! Has someone been reading my Christmas Li-"
The Timelord's question was interrupted as he was abruptly reminded of precisely where he was standing as he was suddenly tugged upwards towards the ceiling, letting out a small sigh as he made to straighten his composure in his suddenly weightless and upward moving state.
"Gravity lifts…gotcha…" The Professor sighed before a sudden thought struck him, Wait…who turned the power back on?
The Professor didn't have long to ponder this thought before the lift, lights and ambient humming suddenly cut out, plunging the Timelord in darkness as he fell a good three meters back to the metallic floor below.
"Oof!" The Timelord grunted upon impact with the floor beneath him as the fall made him stumble; he quickly regained his balance and started to run towards the maintenance hatch which would take him back to the control room.
"Oh my Dog…" Max breathed as her curiosity got the better of her and she pushed open the door of the Professor's TARDIS.
Although Max had some idea of what to expect thanks to the Professor's memory transfer the night before, the reality of the TARDIS took her completely by surprise as she took a hesitant step into what she guessed was the main control room. Narrowing her eyes to see clearly in the dimly lit room, Max took another hesitant step forward as she walked onto the central platform and slowly looked around.
"Whoa…" The brunette mouthed as she looked at the inactive main control console, which was dimly lit by a small trio of lights; casting a cool blue hue over the rest of the room.
Max's hand was halfway into her camera bag when her eyes caught sight of a familiar face standing in front of a large screen on the other side of the console.
"Professor?" Max cautiously asked as she took a step towards the exit, casting a careful glance towards the flickering, blue representation of the Timelord, "I-I'm sorry for-"
"This is Security Protocol Six-One-Seven…" The unresponsive and rapidly flickering hologram of the Professorinterrupted as it looked directly at the central console, "This time capsule has detected the presence of an unsafe build-up of Artron energy within a localised life form…"
Max froze as the door slammed shut behind her, throwing the control room into total darkness – save for the dim blue lights above the central console; she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand as the hologram continued to speak in the same monotone voice.
"Please remain still and await Artron withdrawal…" The hologram requested briefly before it vanished.
"Er…Okay…" Max muttered as she cast another glance at the door and stepped back onto the central platform before freezing on the spot.
"Whoa…" the brunette shakily breathed as she held out her hand in front of her face, widening her eyes as she noticed that her right arm was completely engulfed by a blue hue that was steadily increasing in brightness and moving up her arm towards the rest of her body, bringing with it an uncomfortable sensation pins and needles.
Max's feeling of unease quickly turned to one of panic as her entire body became engulfed by the blue light, freezing her in place as her entire body went limp. The brunette's mind went into panic mode as she felt a throbbing pain in her hand that only got worse as she became increasingly light headed; the feeling stopped abruptly as she felt another nosebleed come on. Max staggered back a few steps now that she was suddenly able to move again as the control room lit up with a stunning combination of blue and white lights. Blinking a few times to adjust to the sudden increase in brightness, Max was quickly blinded again as the room plunged into darkness.
The brunette stumbled into a guardrail in the dark, knocking her camera bag against something; the jangling of the glass bottles bringing max back to her senses as the hologram appeared again.
"Artron withdrawal completed. Alert. Build up continuing…Recommend full cognitive scan…"
"Nope…" Max panted as she hurriedly backed towards the exit – which had opened at some point during the last few seconds, holding her nose as she felt a trickle of blood seep down her face and wiping it as she slammed the door closed behind her, "Nope. Nope. Nope."
The Professor rubbed his forehead as he walked into the control room following the conclusion of what had to have been the third rewind in less than a minute, looking concerned as he ran his eyes over the interior of the room; he'd heard the unmistakable echo of the main door slamming shut less than five minutes ago, which could mean only one thing.
"Someone was in here…" The Professor muttered as he calmly strode onto the dimly lit central platform, casting a glance towards the main door as he walked around the console, "But whom?"
The Timelord paused as he leant over the main console, giving it an affection pat as he took out his screwdriver and performed a quick scan of the console's low level subroutines that were still running.
"Well that's odd…" The Timelord commented as he raised an eyebrow at the results of the brief scan, "By the looks of it, the rift wasn't what supplied that sudden surge of Artron energy…Someone – or something – activated security protocol six-one-seven…And since we're running batteries now, the sensors can't tell me who it was…"
The Professor turned to face the exit of the control room, taking a step towards the door as his eyes caught sight of something shiny on the floor close to the exit which had briefly reflected some of the dim light coming from the control console.
Crouching into a squat, the Timelord quickly identified the object as a sheet of printed instant film. Curious, he picked it up and looked at it closely.
Where is there a picture of a tree and some bushes on the floor of my TARDIS control room?
The Professor stood up with the picture in hand and walked back to the control console, pausing for a moment as a thought popped into his head.
I only know one person in Arcadia Bay who uses instant film…
Putting the eventless picture on the console, the Timelord turned around and walked back towards the door with his mind running several different trains of thought at once.
Why would Max even be here? I swear; that girl's the one who's following me.
Strange how Max set off that security protocol; I hadn't even thought to check her body's background level of Artron energy. Thanks Sweetie…even if you did it on autopilot.
The Professor paused just in front of the doors, raising an eyebrow as his hand hovered barely an inch away from a hand-sized bloody smear close to the edge of the door.
Is she bleeding? Can't be…
The Timelord's inner thought patterns were shattered by the sound of a nearby gunshot and an accompanying scream.
"Looks like five will have to do…" Chloe said as she finished off her drink and added her bottle to the line of other beer bottles which mad up the shooting range, "Now," She continued as she aimed her revolver at the bottle furthest to the left, "You have to help me aim."
Max took a deep breath as she eyed the bottle that Chloe was aiming at; still not comfortable with the fact with a Chloe had a gun – especially not after seeing her get shot the day before. She gave Chloe the nod to fire, "You're on target…"
Max jumped at the sound of the gunshot, feeling like she was back in the Blackwell girls bathroom watching her best friend die in front of her; completely helpless to do anything to help her as the gunshot echoed in her ears.
Unless-
The brunette snapped out of it as she mentally assured herself that her best friend was standing beside her and was very much alive. Taking another breath to calm her nerves, Max remembered where the bullet had impacted and held out her arm to rewind a few seconds into the past; watching everything playback in reverse for a few moments before she dropped her hand to her side and looked at Chloe, "Aim a bit to the right…"
"Sir, yes sir," Chloe said with a smile before she pulled the trigger, looking at Max in amazement as the bottle shattered from the direct hit, "Oh yes! Did you see that shit, Max?"
"Duh."
"That was so fucking cool. Now for the second bottle. Now, Max. Where do I aim?"
Max assured as she prepared to rewind, "You're on target, pull the trigger."
Sure enough, Chloe's shot fell short, striking the woodwork of the shooting range beneath the second bottle. The brunette held out her hand and quickly rewound a few seconds into the past.
"-Where do I aim?" The bluenette 'repeated' as she steadied the revolver in her hands.
"Aim slightly above," Max guided as she crossed her arms and watched the second bottle.
"Right between the eyes…" Chloe smirked as she steadied her aim before pulling the trigger; sure enough, the second bottle suffered the same fate as the first once Chloe pulled the trigger, "Watch out, Nathan!" the bluenette quipped as she turned to face Max, "Now that is fun. Let's pump up the volume and find me another target," She turned away from the range, "I want to get creative here…"
After a brief pause, Max pointed towards a wheel rim that was balanced about chest height, "Let's take out this wheel rim on your left."
"Taking out the wheel rim now…" Chloe said as she turned to face the targeted wheel rim before pulling the trigger, her eyes widening as the bullet ricocheted off of the rim and shattered the third bottle, "Hella yes!"
"Nice shootin', Tex," Max smiled before she rubbed her head slowly, starting to feel a little fatigued by the number of rewinds she'd had to do in such a short period of time.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Chloe cheered, still impressed by the ricocheting trick shot from a few moments ago.
Max looked at the blunette as she put her hand son her hips, "Satisfied?"
"Like, never," Chloe chucked as she raised the revolver again, "So I want one more ubercool trick shot…"
Max pointed at the precariously balanced rusted car to the right of the shooting range, "How about using that junker for a target now?"
Once Chloe nodded in understanding, Max quickly looked over the target junker, "Put a real dent in that front bumper."
"Goodbye, cruel bumper…" Chloe said, jokingly mimicked a cliché as she lined up the shot and pulled the trigger.
Much to Max's horror, the bullet immediately ricocheted off of the bumper and struck Chloe in the chest; the bluenette doubling over in pain from the shot as Max's heart almost stopped.
"Jesus, I shot myself!" Chloe cried out in pain as she dropped the revolver and covered her wound; almost falling to the ground in shock, "I shot myself! Back up, back up!"
"Stupid gun!" Max muttered in shock as her arm shot out to hastily rewind, "Hold on Chloe!"
Everything froze in place as the rewind started the brunette wincing at a stabbing pain at the back of her head as everything began to play in reverse. Max couldn't help but feel increasingly light headed as the rewind progressed, causing her to drop her hand and cease the rewind altogether.
"H-how about aiming for the left tire?" Max directed as she continued to rub her head in pain; feeling entirely overwhelmed by the events of the past few moments. She couldn't lose Chloe…Not again.
"Adios, spinning wheel of death…" Chloe quipped as she lined up and took the shoot, the hissing sound of escaping air from the tire soon followed as the junker began to list and slide towards the shooting range from its already precarious position.
The junker crashed into the range, smashing the remaining two bottles before the bumper snagged; causing the car to abruptly flip forwards, landing on its roof with an ear shattering clang as the duo took a step back in awe.
"Ubercool," Chloe smirked as she broke the awe-filled silence; turning to face Max, she quickly pulled the brunette into a tight hug, "I cannot believe this is for reals. My best friend is a superhero! Now it's your turn to bu-" Chloe paused, looking concerned as she noticed the pained look on Max's face, "Max?"
"I don't know…" Max answered as she swayed on her feet, sounding somewhat distant as she put her hand to her nose to wipe away another seeping flow of blood.
"Max, your nose," Chloe pointed out as she put her hands on her friend's shoulders, "Damn…"
"Che?" Max breathed as she felt a massive pressure build up in her head, knocking her off balance as Chloe tried to keep her upright, "I…don't…feel so super…"
The last thing Max remembered before blacking out was Chloe calling her name.
The Professor looked around the swirling darkness that surrounded him, struggling to hear anything over the thunderous howling that seemed to be coming from everywhere.
"I remember you!" Called a distorted voice from behind the Timelord, "The liar!"
The Professor turned on the spot only to be confronted with a dark haze barely a meter away from where he stood.
"Hello!?" The Timelord called out as a fork of lightning shot through the sky, illuminating the environment where the Timelord stood; he seemed to be standing on an empty street corner close to the outskirts of Arcadia Bay, "Who's there?"
The area was suddenly plunged into darkness again as thunder boomed down from above.
"You think that I'd forget something like that!?" The voice called again as the Timelord froze at the sound of a metallic click which was close enough to be audible over the howling wind.
The Professor took a step towards the sound, and reached into his pocket for his laser screwdriver only to find it missing. Panic started to creep into the Timelord's mind as another fork of lightning shot through the air.
"YOU DID THIS! ALL OF IT!" Another voice roared as the Professor's eyes became fixated on the distant storm out at sea, already the waves at the coast were slamming into the tiny unprepared town, "AND I'M GOING TO STOP YOU BEFORE YOU KILL ANYONE ELSE!"
The Professor was about to turn to calm the newer voice down when he was suddenly shot in the back by an unseen assailant, his mind clouding as he heard the booming gunshot and then the thunder which drowned it out as he collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap.
Looking at the sky as his vision began to darken, the Professor struggled to keep his eyes open as the rain started to fall; large droplets slamming into his face like hailstones. The Timelord felt his blood start to seep out of his wound and wash away thanks to the rain as he struggled to move.
"Shh…" the first voice said again, strangely sounding like the person's mouth was at the Timelord's ear, "Just embrace it…Finish the job."
The Timelord grunted in pain and turned to face the source of the voice as he felt himself grow distant and his limbs frustratingly unresponsive.
The Professor froze at the sight of the man's distorted face; although it was difficult to make out much about the man's features, there was an unmistakeable thing that the Timelord noticed right away.
That man's eyes were glowing.
The Professor's eyes sluggishly opened to the sound of shouting just outside the TARDIS door; quickly pulling himself upright from his awkward position at the base of the control console, the Timelord blinked a few times as he steadied himself on his feet.
"Well that was bizarre…" He muttered under his breath as he started to walk towards the door, scratching his head as the voices started to become louder and more heated.
The Professor reached the door and slowly opened it enough to see outside without making it noticeable, he spotted two people outside by the corner where he'd broken that glass bottle earlier; their voices suddenly became much clearer and he recognised one of them immediately.
"That's Rachel's bracelet!" Shouted the blue haired girl from the dinner – Ms Price – as she circled around someone the Professor had yet to meet, "Why the fuck are you wearing her brace-"
"Calm yourself, alright?" The man, who was already giving the Timelord bad vibes, cut across as he took a step towards the young Price, "I was a gift."
"No it wasn't," Price snarled back as she in turn stepped towards the man, "You stole that shit," She grabbed the man's wrist, "Give it to me right now, asshole."
"You better step back before you regret it, girl," The man snapped as he pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, causing the Timelord to flinch when he saw the shocked look on Price's face, "I mean it. You want me to cut you, bitch?"
The man paused for a moment as he turned to look over his shoulder; the Timelord pushed the door open a little wider to see what he was staring at as the man took a step back from the bluenette. His eyes found the familiar face of Max, although his mind refused to believe what she was doing.
"Please…" The voice of Max pleaded as the Professor's jaw dropped slightly, her tone serious as she tried to steady the revolver with a shaking hand, "Please step back."
"You're kidding," The man reasoned as he took a step towards Max, "Put that down."
The Professor's hand quickly shot into his pocket and retrieved his screwdriver as his eyes kept an eye on the situation, the last thing he needed was for Max to do something-
Click.
Stupid…
The Professor let out a low sigh as he hit his head against the interior of the TARDIS door; She really just did that, didn't she?
"That is hilarious! Oh man…" The Professor heard the man's mocking tone as he took a step towards Max, his tone quickly turning threatening, "I'll remember you, kid," The Professor looked back out the door, watching the man like a hawk as he stood in front of Max and pointed a stabbing finger in her direction, "I'll remember that you almost shot me," The Professor decided what he was going to do and pocketed his screwdriver before opening the door enough for him to slip out, "And you'll wish I had no memory because I-"
"Never forget?" Max froze as a familiar voice interrupted Frank with a prolonged sigh; turning to face the source of the voice, Max saw that the Professor was leaning on the side of the rusted school bus a few meters behind them, "Please tell me you weren't about to say 'Never forget'…" The Timelord rolled his eyes before he continued, "Urgh. So clichéd."
The Professor snapped a twig in half as he watched the three people before him slowly turn to face him almost in unison, cracking a smile at Max's dumbfounded reaction which hadn't changed since she saw the Timelord standing there.
"One thing I have to say though," The Professor continued as he put his hands in his pockets and started to walk towards the tense trio, "Do you get a kick off of threatening teenagers?"
Frank tensed at the Timelord's comment as he directed his attention away from Max and Chloe, "The fuck do you think you are?"
Max glanced at Chloe, who was just as tense as Frank was; probably because of the confrontation she'd had with the men at the diner just before breakfast. The bluenette had gone on a five minute rant about how 'hella stuck up' the man had seemed – Max now wished that she'd brought Chloe up to speed on who the Professor actually was.
"The Professor," The Timelord replied simply as he cocked his head in Max's direction, "And you're threatening one of my students…"
Oh shit.
Chloe in turn looked at Max after the Professor had spoken, mouthing something along the lines of "I thought you said this guy was a detective?" Max couldn't think of a reply other than "Complicated," as Frank spoke again.
"Then your student better keep her head down if she knows what's good for her," Frank went on, not caring much for the Professor's comment, "She might get hurt."
Max flinched at that, something the Timelord seemed to pick up on as he paused to briefly fix his cuff-links.
"Oh I'm sure she doesn't need to," The Timelord retorted calmly as the two men started to circle each other, casting a quick glance in the direction of Max and Chloe before looking back at Frank; after a brief pause, he continued with a smirk, "Because unlike you; she doesn't give blow jobs to truckers.
Max and Chloe both looked at each other in a state of shock at the retort as the entire junkyard seemed to go silent; the bluenette seemed to be caught somewhere in between stopping herself from laughing and resisting the urge to add something to the Timelord's insult.
"I think I might actually like this guy…" Chloe muttered as she pulled Max away from the rapidly escalating situation in front of them.
"The fuck did you just say to me?" Frank spat as he took a step towards the Timelord, tensing his fists as he spoke, "I'll fucking kill you."
"Oh I dare you to tr-" The Professor was halfway through mocking when Frank suddenly swung his switchblade at him.
The Timelord quickly moved out of the way of the blade's path, but not before the knife snagged on the Timelord's red and black striped tie, cutting it clean off beneath the knot. The Professor caught the severed tip of the tie and looked between Frank, who was getting ready for another swing, and the strip of tie in his hand.
"I really liked that tie…" The Professor muttered before he turned to face Frank, who was already in mid-swing by this point, and merely grasped Frank's wrist with at a speed that just seemed superhuman like it was nothing before yanking it violently to the side to stop the second swing dead in its tracks, resulting in a sharp cry of pain from Frank, and swiftly incapacitating him with a hard elbow to the face; sending the drug dealer crashing to the floor without so much as a sound.
"Moron," The Timelord calmly stated as he stepped over Frank's prone form and walked towards Chloe and Max, taking off what was left of his tie as he closed the difference, "And just the girl I need to talk to…"
Max took a step back before feeling Chloe's reassuring hold on her shoulders, "Um…Hi, Professor…"
This is going to go from bad to worse quickly…He looks pissed.
"Hi, Max…" The Timelord seemed to force a smile as he threw his tie over his shoulder and began searching his pockets, "Enjoy the TARDIS?" The Professor nodded over his shoulder.
"Uh…" Max gulped as she tried to look the Timelord in the eye before quickly looking away again.
How did he know? I didn't leave anything, did I?
"You left this…odd choice of a picture on the floor of my control room…" The Professor continued as if he'd read her mind, pulling a photo out of his pocket and handing it to Max.
Wait…This is the photo I took earlier…Where's the doe!?
"Max," Chloe asked from over her shoulder, sounding concerned as she kept looking at the Timelord, "What's he talking about?"
"Oh…" The Professor said as his eyes widened, "You haven't told her yet? Should I? It'd be quick-"
"N-no…" Max said, finally finding the will to string a sentence together, "I will…I'd rather you didn't head-butt my best friend, thanks…"
"Well then…" The Timelord almost sighed as he turned on the spot, "I'll let you do that…While I think of something to do with moron number one in the corner here…We'll still be having that chat later though…"
Max and Chloe remained in an awkward silence as they watched the Professor walk back over to Frank's unconscious body and almost effortlessly lift him over his shoulders before starting to walk in the direction of the woods.
"Do you have anywhere we could go?" Max whispered as the two of them watched the bizarre and terrifying man in front of them, "I'd like to get out of here…"
"I was about to take you there…" Chloe quietly replied as she took Max's hand and led her in the direction of the railroad tracks, "My secret lair doesn't feel so secret today…"
"I'll tell you everything Chlo," Max swore, casting a final look at the now distant Professor as Chloe walked her alongside the train tracks, "I promise."
Author's Sidenotes: Well if there was ever a moment that screamed 'This Action Will Have Consequences' I think that was it. Hopefully this chapter will eliminate any confusion that people seemed to have in regards to the Professor compared with the Doctor. Sorry for the rather delayed upload of this chapter as well, this chapter doubled in size almost over the course of a few hours and as such ran me well over my expected upload deadline.
As always please favourite and/or follow this story if you're enjoying it thus far as well as leave feedback with reviews or PMs (very important, I can't fix any issues with the fic if they aren't reported to me). I'm really enjoying writing this fic and I hope you are all enjoying reading it, see you guys in the next update - which will also conclude Act II.
