Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who or this episode, my problems with which I will outline when they arise. I know, I said Wednesday, but this is coming along better than I thought. I trust there will be no complaints. Thanks for the reads and reviews. Happy reading!

Falling from the time vortex and into a pungent side street, Donna almost toppled to the ground, the Doctor grabbed her by the waist as Jack and Rose moaned audibly.

"What was that?!," spat Donna.

"Time travel without a capsule," said the Doctor. "It's a killer. You alright?"

"Yeah," said Donna. She nodded. "I'll be fine."

Rose tried to shake off the sensation of the vortex. "What happened?"

"What happened?," asked Donna. "What usually happens?! You don't do what you're supposed to and everyone else pays for it!"

"How was I supposed to know?!"

"That you were supposed to keep him from opening the watch just in case a complete psychopath came out of it?! Have you seen Aladdin? Any idiot would know that!"

"I am not an idiot!," Rose shouted back, her foot involuntarily stomping against the ground.

"Really? Since when?," asked Donna.

"Okay, ladies," said Jack, "let's just calm down. The moral of the story is, if you're stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator."

"No, the moral of the story is get back in the box!," shouted Donna.

"The Master, though, he's got the TARDIS," said Rose. "He could be anywhere in time and space."

They walked out of the alley and into the street.

"No. It's here. Trust me," said the Doctor.

"Who is he anyway, Doctor?," asked Rose. "At the end, that wasn't the professor."

"If he's a Time Lord, he must have regenerated," said Jack.

"If he's regenerated, how do we find him?," asked Rose.

"I'll know him, Time Lords always do," said the Doctor.

"And who is he to you?," asked Donna.

"Sorry?," asked the Doctor.

She narrowed her eyes at the Doctor. "You clearly know him. You've got some weird thing going on," said Donna. Her mobile beeped in her pocket and she pulled it out. "Oh good. Messages. Nerys got a new job. My mum has tried to ring about twenty times and another message from the temp agency. I am late for my first day. Oh, look. We missed the election. Wizard."

They looked up at a jumbotron.

Rose pointed. "I said I knew that voice. I heard it all the time."

The realization dawned on Donna as well. "Oh, my God. It's Harold Saxon."

The screen had banners proclaiming "The New Prime Minister" as a manicured man and a blonde woman came on the screen.

"That's him," said the Doctor. "The Master is Prime Minister."

The Master kissed the woman at his side.

"The Master and his wife!," the Doctor exclaimed.

"Why does that sound like it surprised you more?," asked Donna.

The man himself spoke. "This country has been sick. This country needs healing. This country needs medicine. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, what this country really needs, right now… is a doctor."

They stood for a moment.

"Okay," said Donna, "anyone think that was just a turn of phrase?"

"Not really," said the Doctor. He shook his head. "It never is."

"We need someplace to regroup," said Jack.

Donna looked around. "My flat's not far."

Donna unlocked the door to her flat. It seemed like eons since she had been there. "Home."

"What have you got?," asked the Doctor hurrying in. "Computer? Laptop? Anything?"

"I have an old one," said Donna, getting into a cupboard. "You might recall I took the good one on the TARDIS."

Rose looked at Jack. "Who are you phoning?"

"Jack! You can't let anyone know we're here!," said the Doctor.

"Friends of mine," said Jack, "but there's no reply."

Donna handed the Doctor the laptop.

"When is that thing from?," asked Rose.

"When you start paying for anything, I'll be sure to listen," said Donna.

Jack took the laptop from the Doctor. "I can show you the Saxon websites. He's been around for ages."

"Oh, look, more messages," said Donna, looking at her machine.

"Miss Noble, this is American Express calling. We would like to discuss your delinquent account-"

Donna hit the delete button.

"Donna, this is your mother. We're leaving for Dorset-"

She hit it again.

"Hi, Donna! It's me, Nerys! You won't believe what's happened! I got this smashing new job-"

Donna hit the button again.

"Miss Noble, this Selfridge's calling about your charge account-"

Donna hit the button again.

"Miss Noble, this is Topshop Credit-"

Donna pulled the plug out of the machine.

"How many credit cards do you have?," asked Rose.

"Still less than the number of bottles of mascara you put on this morning."

Jack exchanged a look of concern with the Doctor. "Okay, here he is, Harold Saxon. Former Minister of Defence. First came to prominence when he shot down the Racnoss on Christmas Eve. Nice work, by the way."

"Donna helped," said the Doctor.

"Yes, if you can count getting poisoned by your fiancé as helping," said Donna.

Rose cleared her throat. "I watched all about Harold Saxon when I worked at the hospital. Everyone knows him. He's famous." She motioned at the laptop. "See, went to Cambridge, won the sport thing, rugby, went into business. He's got a wife and everything."

The Doctor looked to Donna. She seemed to be deep in thought.

"What is it?," he asked.

"See, that's always bugged me," said Donna.

"What has?," asked Jack.

"See, I remember everything. Ask me who was the first person to go out on the first series of Pop Idol and I remember."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we know your head's full of pub quiz answers..."

"Rose, hush up!," snapped the Doctor. He turned back to Donna. "What are you saying?"

"I don't remember hearing about Harold Saxon, though. I mean, shouldn't I remember hearing about him? It's like all that stuff is there, but it's not..."

"Maybe the Master went back in time-" said Jack.

"No. When he was stealing the TARDIS, the only thing I could do was fuse the coordinates. I locked them permanently. He can only travel between the year 100 trillion and the last place the TARDIS landed. Which is right here, right now."

"But a little leeway?," asked Jack.

"Eighteen months, tops," said the Doctor. "The most he could have been here is eighteen months. So how has he managed all this? The Master was always sort of…hypnotic but this is on a massive scale."

"I would have voted for him," said Rose.

"Really?," asked the Doctor.

"I liked him," said Rose.

"Yeah, me, too," said Jack.

"Why do you say that? What was his policy? What did he stand for?," asked the Doctor.

Rose shook her head as she absentmindedly tapped her fingers. "I... He always sounded... good."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Would you please stop tapping your fingers?"

"I wasn't tapping my fingers!"

"Yes! You are!," said the Doctor. "What is that?"

Rose looked at her fingers against the wall. "I don't know."

A tune played from the laptop.

"Saxon Broadcast all channels," read Jack.

Donna turned on the TV.

"Our lord and master is going to speak to his kingdom," said the Doctor.

"Oh, yay," said Donna.

"Britain, Britain, Britain. What extraordinary times we've had. Just a few years ago, this world was so small. And then they came, out of the unknown, falling from the skies. You've seen it happen—Big Ben destroyed..." he said as the news played video to go along.

"Oh, that's what happened to it?," asked Donna.

"A spaceship over London-"

"Is that when I was hung over?," asked Donna.

The Doctor nodded.

"All those ghosts and metal men..."

Donna pointed at the telly. "Oh, is that a Cyberman?"

"Yeah," said the Doctor.

"Sorry," said Jack, "you missed the Cybermen?"

"She misses everything," said Rose.

"The Christmas star that came to kill..."

"Didn't miss that," said Donna. "Oh, wait, you did."

"Time and time again the government told you nothing. Well not me. Not Harold Saxon. Because my purpose here today is to tell you this—citizens of Great Britain…I have been contacted. A message, for humanity, from beyond the stars..."

A metal sphere appeared on the screen. "People of the Earth, we come in peace. We bring great gifts. We bring technology and wisdom and protection. And all we ask in return is your friendship."

Donna shook her head. "Not buying it."

"Ooh, sweet," said the Master. "And this species has identified itself. They're called the Toclafane."

"The what?!," exclaimed the Doctor.

"And tomorrow morning they will appear. Not in secret, but to all of you. Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin. Tomorrow, we take our place in the universe. Every man, woman and child. Every teacher and chemist and lorry driver and farmer. And every… oh, I don't know… temp?"

"What?," asked Donna.

The Doctor bolted to his feet, looked behind the TV and saw a bomb.

"Everybody out!," he shouted, grabbing Donna. They, Rose and Jack rushed out into the street just as the window of the flat exploded.

"Everyone alright?," asked the Doctor. Rose and Jack nodded. He turned back towards Donna. "Donna?"

"He blew up my flat!," said Donna.

"I know," said the Doctor.

"HE. BLEW. UP. MY. FLAT. I spent three days putting together that bloody entertainment center! I am going to bloody kill him!" She shook her head. "He knows about me. What about my family?"

"I don't-"

Donna's phone beeped. She looked at it. "It's my mum. My granddad's back in hospital."

"Donna, you can't. It could be a trap," said the Doctor.

She glared at him. "I am going to make sure my family is safe. You can either help or say goodbye."

The Doctor stood there, looking at Donna. Rose and Jack waited for his reply.

"Alright," said the Doctor. He looked over. "Jack, we need a car."

"I've got the Smart," said Donna.

"I'm not riding in that car ever again," said the Doctor.

"Right, stealing something with an engine," said Jack, hurrying off.