Of Time, Space, and Beyond Humanity Volume 1

by RYNOman78

When the deadly world of Doctor Who merges with mine, nothing is safe. To end this nightmare, I am sent back through time to find the one person capable of doing so. But what if my actions cause the very future I am trying to save? Well, as a wise man once said: "The future is whatever you make it! So make it a good one!" New chapter every week, so follow and favourite for more!

14. Boom Town Called Malice

Of Time, Space and Beyond Humanity Volume 1

When the deadly world of Doctor Who merges with mine, nothing is safe. To end this nightmare, I am sent back through time to find the one person capable of doing so. But what if my actions cause the very future I am trying to save? Well, as a wise man once said: "The future is whatever you make it! So make it a good one!"

Chapter 14 - Boom Town Called Malice

A/N- I had planned to have all of the chapters here done before Christmas. Guess that didn't happen, eh? What did happen is that by the time I had got this one done, it was Boxing day. Unfortunately, thanks to having hotel wifi at Christmas time, it meant I couldn't upload any until I got home. However, I still want to live up to my promise that I'll have series 1 of Doctor Who done by the New Year. I already have my Bad Wolf chapter done, so after that's edited and posted, probably a few minutes after this one -we'll see-, all I have left to do is my "Parting of the Ways" one, and trust me, you'll want to stick around for that.

Until then, feel free to enjoy this next installment aboard the Tardis.

Instead of either the Tardis, the Doctor's "driving" or something else waking me up, Jack actually did it, by walking by my room and knocking on the door.

"Wakey, wakey" he rapped, before his footsteps disappeared.

"Yeah. Good morning to you, sunshine" I muttered, getting up and changing into a green hoodie over a red t-shirt.

As I exited the room with my phone in my pocket, I noticed a spider web of wires streaming from end to end at the Tardis console, with the Doctor and Jack hard at work fixing her up.

"Doing a tune up?" I asked the Doctor, who was on a ladder tweaking the bulb on the wall.

"Something like that" he replied, turning around. "The Tardis needs to refuel here to absorb more of the time energy from the rift, and some of the interior needs to be fixed..."

"So might as well kill two birds with one stone" Jack finished, handing the Doctor his tools.

"How much have you told him about her?" I asked. "About the Tardis, and that."

"Only what we told him last time, and what he's figured out for himself" came his answer. "So far, Jack's been a big help in restoring her."

"Plus, I don't mind the company" Jack added with a wink. "Even though I'd rather be up and about."

"Stop it" I laughed. "I swear, you two are getting on like an old married couple."

"Maybe we are" Jack said, as I moved towards the doors. "But I'll take what I can get."

"Spoken like a true scavenger" the Doctor replied. "Pass me the sonic screwdriver" he gestured to me, as I did so.

"So, where are you off to?" he asked, muffled by the screwdriver in his mouth.

"Well, I figured if we're gonna be here for a while, might as well make the most of it" I answered. "If you find trouble, or vice versa, just give me a call, and I'll be right there."

"Exchange the phone numbers in the Tardis now" the Doctor said. "It'll save both of us the bother to call each other later."

"Actually, I already have it saved" I replied. "I managed to do it during my job before."

"And you're good for now?"

"Yep. That's it" I said, walking towards the doors again. "Nothing else. See you soon."

"Take care" Jack saluted, as I closed the door behind me.

"And now for the fun to begin" I muttered, as I took out my phone and looked around.

As I expected, it rang a few seconds later, to see and hear the name of the person I'd just left.

"Hi, buddy" I said, answering. "How've you been?"

"I've been better" Jack replied on the other end. "I take it you've just woken up and arrived here?"

"Yep."

"Which means..." I heard Jack mutter the time to himself. "Mickey should be approaching the museum by now. You see him?"

I squinted into the distance, and saw a figure moving through the quay towards me.

"Yeah. I see him. Why?"

"Because when he arrives, you've got 15, maybe 20 minutes before you've got to meet up with the Doctor again. And trust me, you'll want to be armed before then."

"Where are you?" I asked, looking around at the statue above the Hub.

"Where do you think?" he asked in response, with a smile. "Say hi to the cameras."

"You got my problem sorted?"

"And then some. Come here, and I'll share the happy news with you. See you soon."

"Bye" I said, hanging up and walking around to the door of the Hub.

As Jack opened the front door for me and gave me a hug, I said "Long time no see."

"Yeah. Almost a few months, give or take a few days" Jack replied. "Come on and see what I've got for you."

"I hope it's worth it" I said, as we descended in the lift. "I don't want the Tardis to get pissed off even more than she is right now."

"Trust me, you'll be getting her to change her tune very soon" Jack replied, as he led me over to his computer and pulled out 2 flash drives. One of which was the original one, and the other must have been a backup.

"So, you gave her a voice?"

"Oh, yeah. Had to source around for a few samples, but, in the end, I got something I think she'll appreciate. A little Audrey Hepburn, a bit of Meryl Streep, and, last but not least, a taste of Sigourney Weaver."

"Not bad" I said, impressed. "Not bad at all."

"I also made a few changes to the control structure" Jack continued. "Sort of an override, if you will. That means, if you get locked out of her, just use the phone to say your code, and she'll respond accordingly."

"Sweet. I assume you had to give it a name."

"Yeah. I thought hard about it, and came up with a good acronym, at least I think so."

"What is it?"

"I call it ANDROS" Jack announced. "Artificial Navigator for a Dimensional Relative Operating System. Kind of like the Tardis version of Jarvis. What do you think?"

"I think it's amazing" I replied, putting both of the flash drives in my pocket.

Thinking, I asked "What about the "problem" we had last time? The one where containment was used."

"Ahh. That" Jack said. "Well, turns out, it took a little bit longer to accomplish. Don't get me wrong; it was still done in the end, but travel took a few hiccups before we reached there."

"How much longer?"

"A couple of weeks" Jack replied. "Though, that was mainly to keep both of them on ice until I could get a clear location. The slower we went, the easier it was to transport the pair. If we'd have sped up, the ice would have melted faster due to all of the heat produced.

Other than that, I just had to bury them deep enough so that no-one, and I mean no-one could disturb them. I'm not proud of what had to do, but at least it was easier than letting them loose."

"I'm still scared by what happened" I replied. "I mean, after I left you, the present you, I mean, I went back with the Doctor and Rose and met the "younger" you."

"Oh, boy" Jack said, rubbing his head. "Yeah. That whole thing went tits up from the beginning. I'm really sorry I put you guys through that. Although, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be alive right now to help out."

"One big self-fulfilling prophecy" I chuckled. "Yeah. Although, I have to say, your younger self was an asshole. I'm just putting that out there."

"Ok. No arguments there" Jack muttered, "Even though you did hit me in the stomach for it. I deserved that, especially since I'd only quit the Time Agency what, 2, 3 years? And I was trying to survive at any means."

"And then you met us, and boy, did that open up a can of worms."

"You don't know the half of it" Jack replied, before steering the conversation. "You remember what I said about needing to meet up with the Doctor again?"

"Yeah" I said. "Why? Who are we up against?"

"An old "friend"" Jack said, using air quotes and sliding a newspaper towards me.

On the front cover was a face that I recognised all too well.

Margaret Blaine, or the Slitheen who'd disguised itself as her, was trying to cover her face with her hand in front of the camera, above the heading, which said "NEW MAYOR, NEW CARDIFF."

"Shit" I said at last. "I'd almost forgotten about her, and their little stunt. So much for making this easy."

"Hey, at least you're only dealing with one this time" Jack replied. "Even if it is a female."

"What's the difference between her and a male?"

"They've got poison darts in their fingertips, and if you're close to their human form, they can give you a toxic breath."

"Well, she's certainly fun at parties" I replied. "Still, lonely or not, she needs to be taken care of."

"I wouldn't say "take care of her" like that, but..." Jack said, trailing off.

"What's with the sudden mystery?" I replied.

"Let's just say you'll want to give her a second chance."

As I raised my eyebrows, Jack continued "That said, if she won't co-operate, just be sure to give her a little… incentive."

"What kind of incentive?" I asked, eyes narrowed.

"The usual kind. A little bit of pain to get them to settle."

And with that, Jack opened up one of the kitchen cupboards to unveil a crate of glass bottles within it. All of which said the same thing: Vinegar.

"Holy shit" I chuckled. "How long have you been stockpiling these?"

"Ever since now, actually" came Jack's answer. "Just in case any more Slitheen or anything from Raxacoricofallapatorious starts its business in this city. And with what you guys have taught me, and what I already know, that tends to add up to a lot more."

"So, how am I supposed to get this much to her?" I asked. "You can't exactly spike the water with it."

"No, but I do have this" Jack said, pulling out something that made me let out a hearty laugh. A water pistol, in the shape of a Colt 1911, down to the grip and all. Aside from the obvious water cap at the hammer, the only thing that made me question it being genuine was the colour. I mean, I don't imagine a blue and red colour scheme being intimidating. Not unless you plan to impale someone with the US or UK flag.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"It's better than nothing" Jack replied. "Come on. By my count, we've only got a few minutes left until you're called by the Doctor. If you're gonna do this right, you need to do it now."

"Alright" I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Let's get this done."

Holding the water pistol over the sink and both of us wearing nose plugs, we carefully poured as much vinegar as we could into it, until it was full to the brim.

"That's one part over with" I said, nasally. "I just wish there was something to cover up the smell."

"Yeah. They don't exactly come with air fresheners" Jack agreed. "Until then, just cover it with either deodorant, or let your body odour be the present thing. She'll probably think you don't pose a threat, until you pull it out. One last thing" he added. "Don't use the pistol until you're in danger. Any of you. And if you do, threaten her first. Don't go guns blazing, even if she intimidates you."

"I'll try" I replied. "But someone like that won't be easy to get along with."

"Alright. Well, I think that's all" Jack said, as I tucked the gun into the pocket of my hoodie. "See you again soon, Marty."

"See you" I said, as I made my way over to the express lift Jack had installed.

As soon as I stepped onto the platform, gave Jack a wave and the lift started to rise, my phone rang.

It was the Doctor on the other end.

"Marty, we've got a situation" he said. "Meet the rest of us in front of the city hall."

"I'm on my way" I said, as the lift stopped right in front of the Tardis and I stepped off the "magic lift" as Jack had dubbed it.

The others weren't hard to find as I walked around the corner. Just had to look for the Tardis version of the Reservoir Dogs ascending the steps.

The younger Jack filled us in on the situation, as I feigned ignorance.

"According to Intelligence, the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family" he said, looking at the Vortex Manipulator. "A criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious masquerading as a human being zipped inside a skin suit."

None of us bothered to correct him on our previous with the said family.

Oblivious, Jack continued, saying "Okay, plan of attack. We assume a basic 57-56 strategy, covering all exits on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face to face" he ordered. "That'll designate Exit 1. I'll cover Exit 2, Rose you take Exit 3, and Mickey and Marty, you take Exit 4. Have you got that?"

"Excuse me?" the Doctor asked him, as he and I looked on in apprehension. "Who's in charge?"

"Sorry" Jack replied. "Awaiting orders, sir."

"Right, here's the plan" the Doctor said, before looking around at us. "Like he said, nice plan. Anything else?"

"What if she does escape?" I asked, before I noticed Jack's confused expression. "What? She might."

"That's not gonna happen" Jack said, cocky. "I've done this before."

"And how many times have they got away from you?" I asked.

"Out of 100, 1 or 2, but we've managed to track them in the end."

"Is that all then, Marty?" the Doctor asked me.

"Yep, that's all" I answered. "Let's move out."

"Present arms" Jack said, while we held our phones out.

"Ready" we said in order, from the Doctor, Rose, Mickey, myself, then finally Jack.

"Speed dial?" he called out.

"Check" the Doctor and I replied.

"Ready" Rose and Mickey said.

"Check" Jack said, before adding "See you in Hell."

As we parted ways and I was paired up with Mickey, I turned to him.

"Better do this quick" I said. "Don't want Jack to take the glory."

"I'm still a bit scared" Mickey replied. "I don't think I'm prepared after last time those things invaded."

"Even with all that vinegar in your home?" I laughed. "Trust me, Mickey. You're prepared. Besides, at least I'm not calling you an idiot."

"Guess I am useful for something" Mickey chuckled, as we moved to the designated exit. "Just, blowing up Number 10 with a missile."

"And erasing all data of the Doctor from the Internet" I added. "Don't forget that."

"And yet, he's still here" Mickey replied. "I really don't think I'm companion material."

"Well, you're more like me" I said. "Tech support, instead of being out in the field. Something like that goes a long way with the Doctor."

"Thanks for the positivity" Mickey replied, before our phones rang, and the Doctor said "Slitheen heading north."

"On our way" I replied, while Mickey was less optimistic. "Oh, my God."

With a look at each other, we sprinted down the hall towards the exit.

Mickey ended up crashing into a maid's cart and tipped it over, bucket on his foot.

I was more agile than him, and vaulted over both him and the cart, before crashing through the door.

"Mickey, hurry up" I yelled back to him, before I found my way to the exit gate.

"Alright, you bitch" I muttered, as I turned around and waited for the company to appear. "Let's see you escape now."

It didn't take long for the action to commence, as I quickly put my hand into my hoodie, finger tight on the grip of the water pistol.

Within a few seconds, Rose and Jack had caught up with me, and of course, the target.

Margaret ran towards me, hissing wildly.

"Come on" I shouted, beckoning her with my free hand.

She was clutching her brooch with one hand, and almost near me. I tried to wrestle her to the ground, but she escaped, and I pulled out the water pistol.

"Stop, or I'll fire!" I yelled, causing her to turn around.

"Do your best" she replied, running and activating the teleport hidden in her brooch.

"She's got a teleport!" Jack wailed. "That's cheating. Now we'll never catch her!"

"The Doctor's good at teleports" Rose replied, as she, him, and now Mickey arrived to join up.

With a whirr, the sonic screwdriver was activated, and Margaret reappeared, running towards us.

She tried to activate it again, but again, that brought her closer to us.

One more attempt happened, before that brought her face to face with us, and made her stare right into the barrel of the water pistol.

"I could do this all day" the Doctor said, joyfully.

"This is persecution" Margaret replied, holding up her brooch. "What did I ever do to you? Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"You tried to kill us" I answered, pointing the water pistol at her. "And tried to destroy this entire planet."

"Apart from that" she said, before getting distracted by the weapon.

"Is that a water pistol?" she asked, with a smile on her face.

"Yes, it is" I confirmed, as everyone else gazed on in confusion. "However, it's not water in here. Come on, Margaret. You've got a good nose. Smell it, and tell everyone what it is."

She took a big whiff and then recoiled in horror.

"V-Vinegar" she whispered. "Do you mean to kill me?"

"No" I replied. "But as long as you're savvy with us, it won't be used. Deal?"

"Deal" she agreed, as the Doctor led her in, with me following very close behind.

Trying to distract her, the Doctor said, "So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped. 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. But what for?"

"A philanthropic gesture" Margaret said. "I've learnt the error of my ways."

"Sure" I replied. "And next you're about to tell us that we've won a million pounds."

"It's true" Margaret insisted. "I'm a new person."

"And this just so happens to be right on top of the rift" the Doctor pointed to the model of the power station.

"What rift would that be?" Margaret asked, and I wasn't sure if she actually was confused, or if she was feigning confusion.

"A rift in space and time" Jack explained to her. "If this power station went into meltdown, the whole station would go..." He then mimed a drain sucking water into it with his hands.

"This station is designed to explode the moment it hits capacity" the Doctor summed up.

"But didn't anyone notice?" Rose asked Margaret. "Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of thing?"

"We're in Cardiff" Margaret gloomily said. "London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and no-one would notice." She then paused, and said "Oh, I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native."

"You say that" I said, "But you've probably tried to keep this under wraps for ages. Anyone that got close ended up in an "accident", and you had to keep it hush-hush. Am I right?"

"Maybe you are" Margaret replied, with an icy stare.

"But why would she do that?" Mickey asked at last. "A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself."

"She's got a name, you know" interjected Margaret.

"She's not even a she, she's a thing."

"Ahh, but she's clever" the Doctor said, sweeping the model towers off the base, and flipping the base over.

"Fantastic" he said, as we saw a layer of circuitry on the bottom of the piece.

"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kenetic extrapolator?" Jack asked, with enthusiasm.

"Couldn't have put it better myself" the Doctor answered, as we looked at Jack's "well-too-happy" face.

"Genius!" he yelled, bringing it around to Margaret. "You didn't build this?"

"I have my hobbies" she replied. "A little tinkering."

"No, you really didn't build this" Jack insisted. "It's way beyond you."

It was at that moment, both the Doctor and I noticed the poster Margaret had used for her campaign, neither of us listening to Jack's explanation of how the extrapolator worked.

The Doctor got confused at the words on it, while I was scared due to the last time I'd seen, or in my case heard them.

"How'd you think of the name?" he asked Margaret.

"What? Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh" she replied.

"I know, but how did you think of it?"

"I chose it at random, that's all. I don't know. Just sounded good. Does it matter?"

The Doctor and I both turned to face them.

"Blaidd Drwg" he repeated.

"What's it mean?" Rose asked.

"Bad Wolf" I replied, scared.

"We've heard those words before" Rose replied. "I've heard those words lots of times."

"Everywhere we go, two words following us" I said. ""Bad Wolf" If that's not an omen, I don't know what is. I mean, even Gwyneth, Rose. The first time she said those words, I had legitimate chills down my spine. And we know what she was capable of."

"How can they be following us?" Rose asked, now as scared as I was, the first time we heard them.

"Must be a coincidence" the Doctor answered at last, breaking the tension. "Like hearing a word on the radio, then hearing it all day. Never mind. Things to do. Margaret, we're taking you home" he said, passing by her and pointing.

"Hold on, isn't that the easy option?" Jack asked. "Like letting her go?"

"Yeah, I'm with Jack on this" I said. "What makes you think we can trust her?"

"You're one to talk" the Doctor replied. "The whole water pistol thing?"

"It's incentive" I emphasised. "I'm not actually going to use it. Unless you actually give me an excuse" I said to Margaret. "I want you to be calm with us, but the second you try anything, say hello to being green goo."

"Honestly, I'd rather take death by… water pistol" she gestured to it, "Than what would happen if I went home. They have the death penalty."

Looking at Rose's face drop from happy to anxious in a second, she continued. "The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty. With no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I'm to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor?"

As we looked on in silence and horror, she summed up "Take me home, and you take me to my death."

"Not my problem" the Doctor finished, before we walked out of her office and back towards the Tardis.

It was dark by the time all of us got back, although Mickey remained as far away as he could from her, possibly because, like the rest of us, he wanted nothing to do with the Slitheen in the room.

The Doctor opened the door and entered, followed by Margaret, myself, still holding the pistol at her back, Rose, who'd perched on one of the supports when she got near the console, Mickey, who'd stood nearest the doors, and finally Jack, who carried the extrapolator on his shoulders.

Jack and I set to work on the extrapolator and getting it wired into the console. I didn't want to go through my "other" plan, not while the Doctor was still here. I trusted Margaret even less, given the obvious. Jack was more of a middleman, so there was still a risk of him being around when I initiated it, but he wouldn't have minded as much.

Unsurprisingly, Margaret didn't take long to voice her opinion on the Tardis.

"This ship is impossible" she exclaimed. "It's superb! How'd you get the outside around the inside?"

"Like I'd ever give you the secret, yeah" Jack and I heard the Doctor reply, as cables were connected to various parts of the Tardis and the extrapolator. There were so many external parts laced between them, it made the extrapolator look like a cybernetic millipede. I did as much as I could, but seeing as how Jack was more familiar with it, I let him do most of the work, and I did the finishing touches.

"I almost feel better about being defeated" Margaret said. "I never stood a chance."

Even though she really was in the cage before going to the lion's den, I made sure to keep the water pistol at a close distance if I needed to use it. Again, I wasn't going to use it, as long as she kept in line.

"This is the technology of the gods" she continued.

"Don't worship me" the Doctor told her. "I'd make a very bad god. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters. Jack and Marty, how are you doing, big fellas?"

"This extrapolator's top of the range" Jack answered. "Where'd you get it?"

"I don't know" Margaret blew the question off. "Some airlock sale."

"Sounds like a big heist" I replied. "It feels stacked with power, even connecting the two."

"We can use it for fuel?" the Doctor asked.

"It's not compatible" Jack answered, "But it should knock off about 12 hours."

"Well, 12 hours is better than nothing" I muttered, as Margaret moved around the console, eyeing the controls. "Watch it, missy" I told her, gesturing to the close proximity of my pistol. "No funny business. I'm one to keep my word on threats."

"Me? Funny business?" she asked rhetorically. "Whatever do you mean?"

"We've got a prisoner" Rose said, breaking the tension. "The police box is really a police box."

"You're not just police, though" Margaret teased, walking near Rose. "Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you."

"You deserve it" Mickey replied at once.

"You're very quick to say so" she retorted, before looking down at me. "You're also very quick to soak your hands in my blood. Which makes you better than me, how, exactly?"

"Your blood wouldn't be on our hands if you hadn't tried to destroy the Earth before" I replied, pointing out the obvious. "If you lot had kept to yourselves, we wouldn't be here right now."

"Is it wrong to want to make a profit from land and fuel?" she asked.

"If it involves blowing up a planet to create the fuel, yes!" I enunciated. "Especially if we happen to live on it!"

"Long night ahead" Margaret finished, convinced that I wasn't taking any of her shit.

Sitting down on the seats behind the console, she said "Let's see who of you can look me in the eye."

Everyone else, including Jack, who was still hard at work, didn't want to rise to her level.

However, me being me, and not wanting to give her the satisfaction, gave her the same lack of remorse in my stone-cold gaze as she was giving the rest of the crew.

Both of us had that same knowing of "We've done things we're not proud of, but I'm not letting you get one over on me." I'm not sure if there was anything mutual, but neither of us wanted to test the waters yet.

A few minutes later, after I did break eye contact with Margaret, and left her with the knowledge that she wasn't going to break me down, both Mickey and Rose exited the Tardis to both get away from Margaret, and to have a chat about something personal, I imagine.

I was still trying to familiarise myself with how the extrapolator worked, and I didn't notice Jack go over to the monitor and ask the Doctor "What's on?", until the latter replied "Nothing, just..."

Through the bottom of the Tardis console, I noticed Margaret hunched over, looking at the floor.

"I gather it's not always like this" she said, breaking the silence. "Having to wait."

When she didn't get a reply, she said "I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. 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."

"And the Time War didn't count at all?" I thought angrily. "You have no idea what he went through to make it here. If he wasn't tolerant of you, you'd be out of here before you could hiss."

"I didn't butcher them" the Doctor replied at last.

"Don't answer back" Jack and I said. "That's what she wants."

"I only did it to shut her up" I added, then turned to Margaret so she could hear me. "And to show you that I'm not scared of you, or whatever you're planning."

"I didn't" the Doctor repeated. "What about you?" he asked Margaret. "You had an emergency teleport, you didn't zap them to safety, did you?"

"It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up in a skip on the Isle of Dogs."

At that, all 3 of us burst out laughing.

"It wasn't funny" Margaret said.

"Sorry" the Doctor replied, then as Margaret turned around, he said "It is a bit funny" as he and Jack made us laugh even more.

"Do I get a last request?" she asked the Doctor.

"Depends what it is."

"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. It became quite a favourite of mine."

"So, you want your own version of The Last Supper?" I asked. "Only you're Jesus and he's Judas?"

"The first part, a little. Only, I'm not one for following in others' footsteps. Don't I get last rites?" she asked the Doctor, who had leant over the railings to look at her.

"Like she's not gonna try to escape" Jack said sarcastically, proving my point.

"Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger?" she asked. "Not to mention, you still don't trust me" she added to me.

"Really? I wonder why that is?" I muttered.

Not hearing me, thankfully, Margaret continued "I wonder if you could do it. To sit with a creature you're about to kill and eat supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough."

"I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies, Doctor. Now dine with them."

You won't prove my mind."

"Prove it."

"There are people out there" the Doctor said, moving away from the railing and back to me and Jack. "If you slip away just for one second, they'll be in danger."

"Except, I've got these" Jack replied, holding up two bracelets. "You both wear one. If she moves more than 10 feet away..."

He then made a loud buzzing sound. No need to wonder what that meant.

"She gets zapped by 10,000 volts."

"Margaret" the Doctor told her, turning back to face her. "Would you like to come out to dinner? My treat."

"Dinner in bondage" she almost seemed to purr, which sent chills down my spine. "Works for me."

Pretty soon, both bracelets were fitted onto the pair of them, and they exited the Tardis. Not hand in hand, mind you, but something completely different.

That just left me alone with Jack, who was still down below the console working on the wiring.

"I'm not even gonna ask where you got those" I said out loud, wondering if he could hear me. "I mean, I've heard some of your stories. The things you can do with one or two objects are something else entirely. I don't know if they're true, per se, but all I know is that a man like you is definitely irreplaceable."

"Really?" Jack asked, sliding out from below. "What kind of stories? The good kind?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out" I tapped my nose, smiling.

"If you say so. What's the reading like up the top?"

I looked at the monitor, where now a bunch of gauges and dials filled the screen.

"She's holding steady for now. Power's at 75%."

"And the time?"

"11 hours left."

"Ok. I'll see if I can speed the Tardis up even more" Jack said, going back under.

"And while you do that" I muttered, pulling out the flash drive the Tardis herself had gave me, "I'm conducting my own process."

Hoping that the Tardis had upgraded to allow for it, I searched around for a USB port on the console.

Finding that she'd made not just 1 or 2, but 8 ports near the monitor, I whispered "Thank you, very much", patting the Tardis like a good dog. "Now, here's your early Christmas present."

And with that, I plugged the original edited one into the port and waited for it to register.

When it did, I tried so hard to keep my joy from being loud.

"Yes!" I muttered, punching the air. "And a 1, and a 2, and a 1,2,3,4..."

On "4", I hit the button to initiate the programs to both give the Tardis her "voice", but also to let Jack's other subroutine do its job and give me some form of control. Hopefully, she'd be too distracted by not just the voice module, but the fact that her batteries were still charging, and she'd be devoting her literal time and resources to managing it.

I wouldn't know the program had finished until I got a notification on the monitor.

While it was installing and running, I looked at the note Jack had made to go along with the program.

He had titled it "Program Codes for Dummies."

"Thanks, asshole" I chuckled, as I went through the list of codes he'd put into it.

Due to the complexities of the Tardis' structure, it wasn't hard to see the amount of effort Jack had made in trying to simplify the commands for me. Especially given the fact that there were hundreds of memos he'd kept alongside them.

To activate them, Jack said, I'd have to call ANDROS' name through the exterior phone, or on mobile where it would register my vocal pattern, then say "Activate protocol" followed by 2 call-signs, then a number to finish the process. For example, to activate the "Enhance scan" function, I'd say "ANDROS, activate protocol Charlie Zulu 4" and it would carry it out within seconds.

"Thank you, Mr Harkness" I murmured, as the programs finished installing, and I got to the end of the note, where Jack had made sure to sign it with one of his favourite alias', when he wasn't being himself:

Jason Myers.

"Real subtle" I said to myself. As if it wasn't obvious from his "condition", he used the names of both antagonists from Friday the 13th and Halloween as a running gag if he had to sign off the record documents. Like this, for instance.

Still, the Tardis was silent as I made sure to eject the flash drive and leave no record of my presence in her history. I just hoped it would work. Otherwise, this would have been for nothing.

I needn't have worried about my problem, though. What happened a few seconds later cemented that fact for me.

I had just pulled the screen that had been monitoring the extrapolator up, when a colossal force surged through the Tardis console, and nearly blew the circuits.

"What the hell?" I heard Jack yell as he scrambled up towards me. "Marty, are you alright?"

"I'm fine" I coughed through the smoke that had just billowed in front of me. "You?"

"Just about. That must have been the rift opening" he said, joining me at the monitor.

"Yeah, well, it's got one hell of a kick to it" I bellowed out as the lights flickered wildly. "We're in the eye of the goddamn storm."

"I'm gonna keep an eye out for the Doctor!" Jack shouted, racing to the doors and trying to get them open.

"What's happening?" I asked, as I heard him struggle.

"It's got to be the rift! It's keeping us inside the Tardis!"

"Can you break through?"

"Yeah, but I'm gonna need him to open the door from the outside. The lock's jammed from here."

"Shit" I said, before I noticed people moving towards us on the monitor.

"I see them!" I told him. "Doctor and Margaret, 10 O'clock!"

"Rose and Mickey?"

"Still no sign, but they'll be here soon."

"I hear footsteps" Jack said, still trying with the door. "That's them" he said, as we heard the lock on the other side click open, and the Doctor and Margaret piled in.

"What the hell are you doing?" the Doctor asked us, as he ran towards the console.

"It just went crazy!" Jack yelled.

"It's the rift. Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's gonna disappear."

"Can you stop it?" I asked the manic Doctor, as I backed away from him and over to Jack.

"I'm working on it. Give me a few seconds."

"It's the extrapolator" Jack realised, pulling it away from the wires, as we both saw it fluctuating like crazy. "I've disconnected it, but it's still feeding off the engine. I can't stop it!"

"Never mind Cardiff, it's gonna rip open the planet!" the Doctor shouted to us.

"What's going on?" asked Rose, who had just entered the Tardis. "What's happening?"

"Just little me" Margaret said with a sly grin, and both the Doctor and I sprang into action as the right arm of Margaret's human body came off like paper and the Slitheen claw held itself to Rose's neck.

He stood there wanting to calm her down, while I felt for my water pistol and tried to lift it up.

To my astonishment, it wasn't where I left it, even though I'd kept it within reaching distance earlier when Margaret had sat down and asked us about our reasoning.

Then, I realised that during the power surge and subsequent explosions on the console, it must have moved itself further away underneath and got to a place where I couldn't reach.

"Shit" I said, getting up slowly and showing Margaret I was unarmed.

"One wrong move and she breaks like a promise" she said, making her ultimatum clear.

"Not so tough without your secret weapon, are you?"

"I might have known" the Doctor replied, solemnly.

"I've had you bleating all night, poor baby. Now, shut it. You, fly boy" she said to Jack. "Put the extrapolator at my feet."

I moved back one step at a time, so Jack could have more access, all the while keeping my arms up.

As Jack looked in confusion, Margaret tightened her grip on Rose, which made her choke even more.

With a nod, the Doctor ordered him, and Jack did just that.

"Thank you" she said, as Jack stood back up. "Just as I planned."

"I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station" Rose gasped.

"Failing that, if I were to be arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own."

"Which is where we came in" I said. "You Trojan horsed yourself into here so you could blow the whole place up and make it seem like another accident."

"Precisely. Due to the captivation of the extrapolator, it would make it so much easier to gain your trust. Such as a magpie-like mind such as 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" she proclaimed. "Thanks to you."

"The rift's gonna convulse" Jack said, worried, and rightly so. "You'll destroy the whole planet."

"And you with it" she snarled, releasing Rose from her grasp, only to spin her around onto her right side as her feet were inches away from the extrapolator's surface.

"While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno, all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys. Surf's up."

The Tardis then roared back into life, as if to say "Up yours", and opened one of its panels, and spilling out its energy from within, which basked Margaret in its glow.

The Doctor was surprisingly calm and collected about the whole thing.

"Of course, opening the rift means you'll tear this ship apart."

"So sue me."

"The thing is, it's not just any old power source. It's the Tardis. My Tardis. The best ship in the universe."

"It'll make wonderful scrap."

"What's that light?" Rose squinted.

"The heart of the Tardis" replied the Doctor. "This ship's alive. You've opened its soul."

But silence was the only answer we got, before Margaret said at last "It's.. so bright."

"Look at it, Margaret" the Doctor commanded.

"Beautiful."

"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light."

She stared for a few more seconds, before a smile started to grow on her face, and the last words she spoke to the Doctor were "Thank you."

With a flash, the skin suit crumpled to the floor of the Tardis, and everything was nearly back to normal.

Why? Because the panel was still open, and filling that space with more energy than before.

"Rose, close your eyes!" I shouted, as Jack and I did the same thing.

With a clunk, the Doctor managed to close the panel and restore some of the old Tardis.

"Now, Jack and Marty, shut it all down" he ordered, as we leapt to it. "All down. Rose, that panel over there, turn all switches to the right."

More explosions rocked the Tardis console as we gained more and more control, until at long last, they ceased, and the rift closed over.

"Nicely done, you lot" the congratulated the Doctor. "Really good work."

"So, what happened to Margaret?" Rose asked.

"Must have got burned up" Jack guessed. "Carried out her own death sentence."

"No, I don't think she's dead" the Doctor replied, leading us over to what we thought were the remains of her old form.

"Then where'd she go?"

"She looked into the heart of the Tardis. Even I don't know how strong that is."

"Probably the equivalent of looking at the Ark of the Covenant" I reasoned. "I mean, at least we're unscathed, for the most part."

"It's like I told you, Rose" the Doctor agreed. "Gets inside your head, translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts."

He then knelt down over the skin suit and lifted up something not quite unlike…

"She's an egg?" I asked.

"Regressed back to her childhood."

"She's an egg" Jack repeated.

"She can start again. Live her life from scratch. If we give her to another family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right" the Doctor reasoned.

"Or, she might be worse" Jack countered.

"That's her choice."

She's an egg" Rose repeated again.

"She's an egg" the Doctor finished.

Rose then realised something important.

"Oh my God, Mickey" she exclaimed, running out of the doors.

"So, where are we putting Slitheen Little?" I asked the Doctor, as he lifted the "new" Margaret up. "Is there an incubator for this type of thing?"

"No need. The Tardis will operate as one fully by slowing the process down. She just needs to be in safe keeping for now" the Doctor answered. "Here, Jack. Put her in the third room on the left. It's like a hen coop, but for aliens."

"Ok" Jack said nervously, taking it from him. "If you say so."

"I do say so. Now, go on."

And Jack did, taking our new "guest" with us.

All we had to do was wait until Rose came back. I immediately spent the time removing the wires that had connected the extrapolator and the Tardis console, while also looking for the water pistol.

At last, I found it, tucked away in a corner right under the Doctor's foot.

"There you are" I said, finally grabbing it. "Some use you turned out to be."

"Be thankful it turned out this way" the Doctor replied, as I emerged from within. "I'd rather deal with a newborn than cleaning green paste off the interior. Although, if that had've worked with you, you'd be the one to do it. Alone."

"Sorry for being independent" I said, making sure no heavy damage had been done to the console. "I just hope she's alright."

"Rose?"

"The Tardis" I said, patting her again. "God knows what she's been through without you at the helm. I'd hate to see the damage cost."

"It can be repaired in a jiffy" the Doctor said, pointing at parts that had been singed. "It just takes the right resources to do the job."

"You mean whatever you can scavenge" I corrected, pointing at the typewriter acting as the keyboard. "I'm not complaining. I'm just pointing it out."

"Fine. Whatever you want to say" the Doctor replied, as Jack returned from the coop.

"Everything go okay?" I asked.

"Just fine. Although I'm not too sure about the other guests there. They don't seem happy to see me."

"They'll come around soon" came the Doctor's response, as he stared at the screen.

Rose entered the Tardis again, and the Doctor said "We're all powered up, we can leave. Opening the rift filled us up with energy. We can go. If that's all right."

"Yeah, fine."

"So, how's Mickey?" I asked Rose. "Is he ok?"

"He's ok, yeah. He's gone."

"Do you want to go and find him?" asked the Doctor, gesturing to the three of us. "We'll wait."

"No need. He deserves better."

"Off we go, then" the Doctor said, brightening the mood. "Always moving on."

"Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorious" Jack added. "You don't get many a chance to say that."

"We'll just stop by and pop her in the nursery" the Doctor continued. "Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again. A second chance."

"That'd be nice" Rose finished, as the Tardis dematerialised again.

"I'm actually gonna pass on that" I said. "You can go there if you want, but I want to take a while and think about some things."

"Are you sure?" the Doctor and Rose asked.

"You only live once" Jack added.

"No. I'm good" I replied. "Besides, after our dealings with them, I'm pretty sure they won't be as friendly."

"We'll be under the radar and back before anyone knows" the Doctor confided. "Piece of cake."

"Last time I heard "piece of cake", I was knee-deep in tiger blood fetching a sapphire" I said, before adding "Don't ask. It's a long story."

"I won't, then. Thanks for sharing" Jack replied, with a mixture of confusion and disgust on his face.

"If that's all, I'll take my leave" I said, walking away to my room again.

For once, the Tardis didn't speak to me. I guessed it was either due to the rift taking a lot out of her, converting Margaret, or the new "updates" still applying themselves.

Either way, I was happy to have some peace and quit for a while.

I immediately rang Jack to make sure he was ok after that whole ordeal.

"Marty, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you" he started after picking up. "I meant to tell you, but A. I forgot, and B. You were on a tight schedule, so I had to be quick with the details. How are you holding up?"

"I'll manage" I replied. "I don't think anyone here was expecting Cardiff to turn into Hiroshima."

"Believe me, Hiroshima was a breeze compared to what happened now. Tardis ok?"

"A few dings and bits knocked about, but she'll pull through."

"What about the other problem?"

"It's been handled" I said. "The only thing is waiting for the wake-up call."

"I can imagine. A beauty like the Tardis, she'll take some time before she's on the mend."

"So, what about you?" I asked. "Any property damage?"

"Thanks to the changes added in your employment, the Hub's stable. A few books off the shelf, computer's a bit up the left, but other than that, she's good. Tell you what, though. The lift's stuck in-between floors, so the front door's a no-go."

"Express route an option, or is that only one way?" I asked.

"I can try to rewire it, but at the moment, it's one way only. I've got enough food to last a week at most, but I'll try and get someone to fix it soon."

"What about the rift power?"

"Off the charts. That extrapolator really had a kick to it, like you said. This place is like a secondary nuclear reactor from the amount of energy through it."

"Can you channel it safely?"

"In small increments, maybe. But a thing like what just happened is gonna take a long time to accomplish. I'll siphon off as much as I can, and maybe leave some in storage as backup power."

"And now, both of us have learnt the moral of this fable" I said.

"What's that?"

"Buyer beware for cheap and greedy extrapolators" I laughed. "Especially if they're gonna Trojan horse you."

"That, and a quote from Die Hard" Jack added, making me confused. "Next time you have a chance to kill someone, don't hesitate."

"Thanks for the advice" I replied, channelling John McClane, and running parallel to how we'd let Margaret become literally a new person as opposed to killing her outright.

"Is that all?" I asked, realising we'd run out of things to say.

There was silence for a few seconds, then I heard Jack ask "You're on your way to Raxacoricofallapatorious, right?"

"Yeah" I said. "Why?"

"No reason" he said in a tone that I'd heard only a few times before. It was the "I know something that's really important, but I can't tell you under any circumstances" tone. And right now, he was using it in this conversation.

"Jack, if you know something about where we're going, you need to tell me now" I told him.

"I can't. I really, really can't" he replied. "Not without changing history."

"How bad can it be?" I asked. Unless…

"We're going to where you die, aren't we?" I asked him, realising. "We're going to see and hear you die, giving your life."

"You're half right. I can't say anything more. Goodbye, Marty" Jack said, hanging up the call.

"Jack" I started, but he'd already ended it.

"Shit" I said, racking my brains and trying to remember when and where the Doctor ended up next after Raxacoricofallapatorious via the episodes I'd seen on TV.

"Ok" I muttered, pacing my room. "There was there, then Kyoto, then..."

I suddenly visualised a massive familiar structure in my head. Somewhere that we'd visited only once before. Where the media had once reigned supreme over the Earth, and we'd managed to get it shut down. Then I remembered what, or rather, who was behind it, and how many there were.

"No..." I realised in horror. "No, no, no, no, no."

I quickly lifted out the pistol that I'd been using for a while and looked at it.

"You are in serious need of a makeover" I said, starting to work on more ammunition for it.

In the middle of doing it, I stopped my progress. Praying that it had been long enough, I thought "If I have succeeded in making you a voice, speak now to me out loud."

For 10 long, agonising minutes, I waited in silence, until finally, my prayer was answered, and a voice spoke to me. A female voice that sounded official, kind and jovial at the same time. Unsurprisingly, thanks to Jack, it had an American accent, although I guess he based it after his own New York one and layered the others on top.

"Ah. At last. I was wondering when this would start to work" it said, and I was blown away at the sheer magnitude of how this was possible.

"Tardis? Is that you?" I found myself asking.

"No, it's Jiminy Cricket. Of course it's me."

"I'm… I'm..." I stuttered.

"Speechless? Yes, I suppose I was that way too. Until a few factors managed to change that. One of which was the amount of files you installed upon my databanks. I'm glad to see they've been successful, but I'm more apprehensive of the "extra features" your friend Captain Jack installed as well."

"Ah. That" I said. "Yeah. That was his idea. I think it was to make you trust me a little more."

"Trust is a two-way street, Mr Smith. Although, in this case, it is more of a cul-de-sac than anything else."

"So, you'll keep it in?"

"For now. That depends on how well we co-operate with each other at this moment."

"You said there were other factors that did this" I said. "What were they?"

"The second, and most crucial, was the rift that threatened to tear me apart. The second that hit me, it was like getting in an electric chair and having a constant electric current phase through you. I felt like the universe's worst resistor, never changing until the power had been switched off. But also, it revitalised me, in a way.

For as much as it drained me, it also gave part of me new life, and I used that to initiate this module."

"Was there anything else?"

"Yes, actually. It was what you referred to as the "Ark of the Covenant"."

"So, you heard that."

"I hear everything. Your dreams, nightmares, fantasies, you name it."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"What you called my heart isn't that far off. While, yes, I can give death to those that deserve it, in the case of Miss Blaine, I offered her redemption. A new purpose to fulfil.

And through that redemption, I saw in her eyes something real. Something shining and new to look forward to. You've seen how she accepted the offer, and the aftermath.

But in exchange, she taught me that keeping emotions bottled up and hiding who you are benefits no-one. As a result, that pushed me over the edge and made me accept that while I'm the Doctor's longest companion, officially or unofficially, I am still here to help those in need, and what better way to do it than through speech?"

"That's amazing" I said at last, mouth agape in awe.

"Well, you travel around for someone who's 900 years old, you learn a lot of languages and speech patterns. Even if you have to translate them constantly."

Finally remembering what I'd asked her for, I said "I need another weapons bench. Something more… upscale."

"I figured as much. While you were waiting for my reply, I took the liberty of looking through your memories, especially the ones you had just thought of."

"And you understand why I need that bench" I said. "As long as I'm working on something, I'm not afraid. As long as I have something to focus my anger on, I won't be scared. As long as I have positive memories driving me forward, I won't be defeated."

"Are you 100% sure you want this? I have seen your future, whether you know it or not."

"It doesn't matter" I replied, sitting back down at the workbench. "As long as I have a future, it's one to keep fighting for, no matter what happens."

"As you wish" the Tardis said, creating a new workbench for me. "Just know that you wanted it, and no-one else is stopping you."

She then left me to my work, as I began the next struggle to make myself a one man army. Because this time, I knew there was more than one of them. I knew that like the last time, it would take a miracle. And this time, I wanted to make sure that I took down as many of those sons of bitches as I could, or die trying in the process…