Huh, It Really is 'Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey?'
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.
On my first outing with The Doctor, I saw a lot of amazing things, ranging from alien killer robots, the interior of the TARDIS, and even the Chronodyne Trap in action, but above all else, I think the most amazing thing that I encountered, was just a man. A former soldier trying to redeem himself by nurturing the next generation.
The Doctor may hate soldiers, but I won't let that cloud my judgement. Sometimes, people can surprise you…
-Excerpt from The Consultant's Journal. Entry: Caretaker.
"Alex? Alex!"
"Wha-what?!" exclaimed Alex in surprise as he tried to get his bearings.
To his surprise, he realized he was back in the Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS with said Time Lord looking at him in concern.
"I asked you if my plan was going to work," said the Doctor, "but you just stared off into space like you got bit by a memory worm."
"Sorry," replied Alex trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he was pretty sure that moments ago, he had been standing in an abandoned building with a robot firing an energy cannon in his face., "just got a bit distracted. Yes. Your plan is definitely going to work. Just be sure to be careful with the placements of the Chronodyne Generators."
"I'm always careful," protested the Doctor.
"I think Amy, Rory, River, Rose, and Martha would be inclined to disagree," chuckled Alex weakly.
"Ok now that's just low," protested the Doctor.
"Fair enough," said Alex, shaking his head to try and clear the haze and the memory of the gun's heat from his head, "though, I think I forgot something back in my room. I need to grab it. I'll be right back to help set up the generators."
"I'm sure I can handle it myself," said the Doctor.
"I'm sure," said Alex, "but haven't you heard that more hands make fast work? The sooner we finish the sooner the Blitzer is dealt with and Clara won't have anything to be mad at you about…at least for now"
"You make a good point," agreed the Doctor, "she can get rather cross. Very well, run along and hurry back. I'll be getting started in the meantime."
"I'll be quick," said Alex as he ran off into the halls of the TARDIS. The ship's gentle hum soothed the nerves his near death (but could you really call it near when he had actually died) experience had left behind. And although still wasn't completely familiar with the layout, but with the familiar pulsing from the TARDIS guiding him along, he didn't need to be.
"Thanks, luv," he said softly as he walked up to the door of his room and pressed on the control to open the door, getting a comforting pulse in response.
Once he was secure in his study, the full magnitude of what happened hit him in full, barely allowing him to stagger to an armchair before his legs gave out and he collapsed into said chair.
"What the hell just happened?" he breathed, his voice sounding shaky to his ears. He wiped away the cold sweat from his brow, "I swear I was just here. I REMEMBER the Blitzer killing me. I could feel the energy bolts burning into me. I-"
"Chirp!"
He looked up and over to his tablet, sitting right where he left it on the desk. It made the noise again as a light started to blink. The screen had been off when he'd come into the room. It was deadlocked after all. He walked over to the desk to investigate.
"What now?"
"Chirp!"
He sighed.
"How do I..." As he suddenly remembered the note from his future self and, most importantly, the Sonic in his pocket. He used it to bypass the Deadlock Seal and unlock the tablet. The lock screen disappeared, the screen to turned on, and a video recording of himself, or rather, the Consultant started to play.
"Right then," said the Consultant, "so if I remember correctly, you'll be seeing this message right after your encounter with the Blitzer. Yes, that did happen…sort of."
Alex blinked in surprise at that statement, wondering what the Consultant meant. Did he die? Was he dead now?
"Right, sorry," apologized the Consultant's recording, "I forgot that that confused me when I heard it. Sometimes I don't think before the words leave my mouth."
Alex raised an eyebrow, hoping this recording would get to the bloody point.
"I know you're getting annoyed with me by now, so I'll get to the point," continued the Consultant, as if the recording knew what he was thinking, though, considering the one making it was him from the future, he probably did, "to put it simply, an unexpected, yet quite fortunate side-effect of the method that we use to travel across the Doctor's Timeline tethers us to said Timeline, so that whenever we die, the Tachyons infused into our bodies activate and yank us backwards to a safe moment in in said timeline, giving us the opportunity to avoid the situation that led to our demise."
Alex couldn't help but blink in surprise at that. It was rather convenient for his supposed purpose here.
"It's convenient, I know," continued the Consultant, "in more ways than one. In fact, the Doctor is fully aware of this phenomenon, and believes that it is part of the reason you have, or will have, such a large amount of foresight into current future events. I recommend you encourage that belief, as it is better than trying to explain that the world, he lives in is actually just a show you watched on the-"
Suddenly, an explosion boomed from somewhere behind his future self. It shook the screen and made whatever device he was recording on become askew. The Consultant winced looking over his shoulder in the direction of the noise. winced and looked over his shoulder, "Ah crap," he said, "I think the Sontarans just realized I replaced their engine fuel with maple syrup. Looks like I gotta run, those guys do NOT look happy. Anyway, as a parting note, be sure to help the Doctor with his plan. You might make things go a lot smoother this time." The Consultant looked away from the camera and at something of to the side. "Damnit you stupid potatoes! Don't scratch the finish or I'll-"
With that, the message ended and the screen of Alex's tablet switched off, causing him to shake his head in exasperation.
"Do I really get that quirky in the future?" he sighed and re-deadlocked the tablet, "Right, probably should find the Doctor. If the Consultant's advice should be followed, then I'd better help him set up the trap against the Blitzer."
Alex exited his room and followed the TARDIS's directions to arrive at the Control Room where he found the Doctor pulling on a brown warehouse coat with a mop leaning against the console.
"Deep cover then?" asked Alex as he walked up.
"Correct," said the Doctor as he finished and turned to face Alex, "how do I look?"
"Not bad," said Alex, "at least you didn't include the fez."
"I felt that would be a bit on the nose for a Caretaker," shrugged the Doctor, "now, I'll be off. Be sure to take care of the old girl."
"Actually," said Alex, "I was wondering if I could help set up your trap for the Blitzer? More hands make fast work after all."
"That is true," agreed the Doctor, "but the Chronodyne Generators need to be placed at precise locations around the school for them to be able to generate a properly calibrated vortex through time. There really is no margin for error."
"If you can draw me up a map of where you want the placements to be, then I can get it done," said Alex, "also, considering this is Clara's school, you might need one of us to run interference while the other works so she doesn't get suspicious…or more suspicious in this case."
"I don't know," said the Doctor, "I'm quite good at deep cover and my disguise is flawless."
"Doctor," said Alex as he looked at the Time Lord with a flat expression, "she'll know something's up as soon as she sees you. That girl is a lot more observant than you give her credit for."
"If you insist," said the Doctor.
Flipping a switch on the TARDIS Control Console, the Doctor pulled up a diagram of the school on one of the monitors with several locations highlighted with red dots, "these are the locations around the school where I need to set up the Generators. Each one needs to be tuned to frequency 875.3 alpha and set to standby mode, but your Sonic should be able to handle that. Just make sure the placements are exact and out of sight."
"Got it," said Alex as he headed for the door, before pausing and turning back towards the Doctor, "you think I could borrow your Psychic Paper for this outing? Just in case anyone asks any questions."
"Sure," said the Doctor as he tossed him the paper, "just remember to focus so you don't claim to be something outlandish."
Alex paused, "…do I ever do that?"
That caused the Doctor to chuckle, "Spoilers."
"Right," sighed Alex, "something to look forward to then. Well, Allons-y."
With that, Alex headed out the doors, prepared to do what he could to make a difference.
He might not have been able to save officer Matthew, but he wouldn't let that stop him from trying to change things for the better.
xXsceneXx
After leaving the TARDIS, Alex carefully made his way through the school, trying to keep from drawing attention to himself as he set up the Generators as per the Doctor's instructions. Whenever anyone confronted him about his presence in the school, all he needed was a convincing story and a quick flash of the psychic paper and he was able to go back to his job without incident.
Well, almost without incident.
"Oi, you there!" a somewhat familiar voice called out while Alex pretended to work on an old fuse box to cover his setting up a generator, "What are you doing?"
Alex whirled around, already ready to whip out the Psychic Paper again and then froze., Standing in front of him with a stern visage was the Coal Hill Maths teacher, Rupert "Danny" Pink.
For the first time in his life, Alex was at a loss for words. One of the first things most people noticed about him was that he always had something to say and couldn't be silenced.
Alex didn't consider himself the kind of person to be reduced to silence in the presence of someone famous, and yet here he was.
Maybe it was because of the way he constantly strived to make up for that "one bad day" when he was in the army. Maybe it was because of the way his love for Clara was so strong and true that he'd been able to resist the programming of the Cybermen and keep his sense of self all so that he could keep her safe. Maybe it was a bit of both. Either way, he greatly admired Danny Pink. So, is it any wonder that seeing the man in person left him a little tongue tied?
"You ok?" asked Danny, his voice snapping Alex out of his thoughts, "Do you need me to call someone?"
"Y-yes," said Alex, only just remembering to keep his accent up, "I mean, no. I'm just helping the caretaker out around campus. Sorry, I guess I got a bit distracted."
"You're helping Mister Smith?" asked Danny with a raised eyebrow.
"That's right," replied Alex as he collected himself and showed Danny the Psychic Paper, hoping that it showed the proper credentials instead of how cool Alex thought he was. "t, "Caretaker's Assistant. That's me."
"I see," said Danny, "well I'm Danny Pink, Maths teacher here at Coal Hill."
"A pleasure to meet you sir," said Alex, "actually, some of your colleagues mentioned you in passing. They said you'd be the person to ask if I needed help, as you've had prior experience in the field."
"Did they now?" chuckled Danny, "Seems Adrian is telling everyone now?"
"Seems so," chuckled Alex. In truth, he hadn't been told any of this, but he remembered seeing Adrian tell the Doctor on the show, so he technically wasn't lying. He had heard one of his colleagues mention it. Just not to him specifically., "but it's in my favor, as I'm having trouble figuring this fuse box out."
"Let me take a look," said Danny as he moved closer and began to inspect the device.
As Danny continued to fiddle with the fuse box, Alex decided to take a chance and try something. Something that would hopefully help Danny find a measure of peace about his past before his departure from the mortal plane.
"So, you served in the Army then, Mister Pink?" Alex asked Danny, "That's where you learned all these useful skills?"
"Yeah," replied Danny, "I was in several humanitarian aid tasks during my tour. I picked up a thing or two."
"You must have done a lot of good," said Alex, "I've always respected soldiers you know. It takes real courage to go out and put your lives in danger to fight for the safety of your people back home."
"I guess," said Danny, he said more out of acknowledgement of the statement than actual agreement.
"I mean it," said Alex sincerely, "despite what others say, I think you're a good person. You didn't just go into the service to fight. You helped people in need too. You're a good person Danny Pink. Don't let anyone tell you different."
"Heh," chuckled Danny, "you're a bit weird, aren't you?"
"Well why not?" laughed Alex, "Being normal is no fun."
"If you say so," said Danny before stepping back, "I bypassed the defective circuit, so it should work for now, but you might want to get a more permanent solution later on."
"Thanks Mister Pink," said Alex with a smile.
"Danny," he corrected, "call me Danny."
"Will do," said Alex, "now I'd better be off. The repairs won't tend to themselves."
Danny nodded and headed off to teach his class and Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a Chronodyne Generator. Once he made sure nobody was watching, he pulled out his Sonic Pen and used it to prep the device, before placing it securely in a nook, out of sight and out of mind.
'Hopefully,' thought Alex, 'I can make sure things go right.'
When I met Danny Pink, I was caught off guard. At the time I assumed it was because of what I had seen in the show…but now, as I write this, I wonder if it was also because I knew the tragedy that awaited this rare good man. It is a shame about what befalls Danny Pink, but he held true to what he said: in the end, he was the one to pull us out of danger, even at the cost of his own life.
-Excerpt from The Consultant's Journal. Entry: Caretaker.