an Emergency/Doctor Who crossover story
Roy tried, but failed, to contain his interest and curiosity.
I should be in mourning for my friend, he admonished himself, not standing here being fascinated with a man from another planet!
But it was hard not to be amazed by the Doctor, who upon regaining consciousness and doing a quick self-diagnostic, almost immediately lept from the gurney, and dashed out of the console room and down the corridor. He returned just moments later fully dressed in baggy brown pants, a slightly crumpled white dress shirt, a loose tie, and a wildly patterned blazer, and carrying a multi-coloured umbrella with a red, upside down question mark on the bottom of the handle. He talked almost nonstop the whole time, popping into the control room to ask questions, but never really waiting for the answer before disappearing again. Eventually, Dr. Brackett was able to get a few words in edgewise, and soon the man calmed down enough to have everything explained to him.
The man fascinated Roy, and he could tell Dr. Brackett was under the man's strange spell, too, although the emergency room physician was trying hard to be calm and professional. They had so many questions about the man's strange physiology, and his unusual respiration and lower-than-normal body temperature, about where he was from, and what he was doing here.
And, Roy thought, who is the Master, and how do we defeat him?
Roy knew Chet had a plan to capture the Master, and for some reason he could not quite explain, it seemed like a good one. At least it had when Chet was telling them about it earlier. Now that he and the others had taken off somewhere, Roy grew concerned that Chet's plan might end up getting everyone in trouble. Tentatively, he shared his feelings and concerns with Dr. Brackett and the Doctor.
"Well," the Doctor said, thoughtfully, "There are Time Lord forces at work here, and they're influencing this situation. I can feel them. The Master is one, but there is another one I don't recognize . . ."
"Chet!" Roy snorted, then blushed furiously as both Dr. Brackett and the Doctor turned to look at him curiously.
"Chet's pretending to be a Time Lord, " Roy explained. "Calls himself 'The Phantom.'
"The Phantom," the Doctor pondered the name. "Doesn't sound familiar."
"It's just the name he uses at the station when he's pulling pranks on people," Roy said dismissively. "He's using it now to get in with the Master and do . . . I dunno . . . something to him. Get him back for killing Johnny."
"Johnny?" the Doctor inquired.
"Johnny Gage. My, uh, partner," Roy frowned, remembering his dead friend. "The other paramedic who was helping me with you in the park."
"The Master killed him?"
"Yeah. Shrunk him with some . . . gun, or something. He's in the other room." Roy indicated with a limp wave of his hand.
"I believe Ace called it the Tissue . . ." Dr. Brackett began.
"Compression Eliminator," the Doctor finished morosely. "Yes, I'm familiar with the device."
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, and quietly left the control room, turning towards the room where Roy indicated Johnny was. He was gone for several minutes, then returned, still pensive, and stopped directly in front of Roy, looking him straight in the eye.
"I am truly sorry for your loss," he said simply, honestly.
Roy turned away, almost embarrassed by the Doctor's sympathy, and unnerved by the man's intense, penetrating stare.
"Thanks," he mumbled, absently fingering the material on the gurney.
"Chet, one of the other firemen, decided to get back at the Master for killing John, and devised some sort of plan. They're all off implementing it now, I guess," Dr. Brackett explained. "He was pretending to be a Time Lord, like yourself, to trick the Master. I'm not sure. I wasn't really privy to their plans. He and Ace really came up with it. The others just seemed to go along with it."
"Ace is involved with this?" the Doctor asked, slightly annoyed, but not at all surprised.
"Yeah. You know, now that I think about it, Roy, the rest of your crew, including your captain, seemed awfully interested in going through with Chet's plan of revenge, even though it really goes against everything you've been taught and trained to do. Hell, even I thought it was a good idea at the time. Now, however, I'm thinking it's all pretty crazy."
"Mind control," The Doctor said thoughtfully.
"What?" Brackett asked.
"Mind control. We Time Lords have the ability to control people's minds, their thoughts. Not everyone has the same level of ability, mind you, but it's a gift we all possess and can develop. Personally, I can be very persuasive when I want to be, but I find I enjoy people more when they're using their own free will! The Master, on the other hand, has worked hard on his talent, and tends to use it to make people do his bidding. I can definitely feel his presence here."
"Yeah, the others have mentioned feeling something as well," Dr. Brackett told him. "It's apparently not too strong down here in the basement of the hospital, but up on the fifth floor where you were, and where the Master is holed up now, there's apparently a very strong, I guess you'd call it a suggestion, to leave the premises."
"Yes, but there is another one. Another Time Lord is here, and is in control of some minds, probably the other firemen you mentioned. He's the one who convinced everyone Chet and Ace's plan was a good one. Tell me, Roy, how well do you really know your friend Chet?"
"Pretty well. I've worked with him a few years. He's a good fireman. Little rough around the edges, maybe, not the brightest bulb in the box, but basically a nice enough guy. Practical joker. Always after Johnny . . ."
"Has he ever done or said anything you would consider . . . odd?"
"Just about everything Chet does or says is odd!" Roy exclaimed with a snort of laughter. Suddenly, he sobered as the Doctor's inquiries sank in. "Are you telling me you think Chet could be an alien?"
The Doctor shrugged, and Roy and Dr. Brackett exchanged shocked glances.
"No, wait!" Dr. Brackett said suddenly, snapping his fingers. "He can't be a Time Lord! He's only got one heart, and all his vitals are normal, for a human being, that is."
Roy and the Doctor looked at him questioningly.
"Remember, Roy, about a year ago when you had your tonsils out? There was a fire or explosion or something, and Chet was injured. Remember? You two shared a hospital room together!"
"Yeah, that's right," Roy said, remembering being forced to listen to Chet's incessant chattering helplessly, unable to talk back.
"He was obviously checked out in the hospital," Dr. Brackett continued, "and any abnormalities - no offense, Doctor - would've been discovered."
"Well, he might've stolen a human body," the Doctor said with a distracted shrug. "The Master is a Time Lord, however the body he presently occupies is Trakan," the Doctor explained.
"Not any more," Kel interjected. "He stole the body of one of my colleagues, a Dr. Steven Langford, earlier today."
The Doctor frowned at this new information, and at the same time was saddened that yet another life was lost to the Master. "I'm sorry," he said with a tired sigh.
"So, the other Time Lord must be someone else," Roy said. "What about Ace? Is she a Time Lord?"
"No, she's not one of us," stated the Doctor. "Anyone else in your crew, Roy? Or, elsewhere in the hospital, Dr. Brackett?"
"No," Roy said firmly, positive none of the men he had worked with for so long were from any planet other than Earth.
"None that I can think of," Dr. Brackett replied, "but, naturally I don't know everyone who works here."
"Well, never mind," the Doctor replied flippantly. "There's a third Time Lord involved here, but he appears to be on our side, so I don't think we need to worry about him. Now, where were the others going to meet the Master?"
Chet lead the team quickly but cautiously up the stairway. As they approached the third floor, a sour, nauseating odour assaulted their noses. Chet flushed with embarrassment as he realized what the smell came from.
"Watch your step," he mumbled as he approached the landing where he'd earlier become violently ill. "It's mostly in the far corner there, but . . ."
He didn't bother finishing his sentence, and made sure to not look at the puddle as he passed it and continued quickly up the stairs. He paused in front of the door that opened onto the fifth floor. The uneasy feeling was still there, but Chet noticed it didn't seem as bad as it had earlier.
Maybe I'm getting used to it, he thought.
He turned and faced the assembled crew. It felt weird to be in charge of this situation, and felt even more strange to be about to give his Captain, is superior, orders. He thought it odd that no one seemed to question his authority, even Cap, and everyone seemed to be eagerly awaiting his instructions. He looked steadily at his Captain, searching for any signs that the man was about to re-take control of the situation, but found nothing in Hank Stanley's eyes but anticipation and maybe even a little excitement.
'I can't believe Cap's going for this!' Chet thought. 'I can't believe any of the guys are going for this! It's insane!'
Chet's initial anger and desire for revenge had been slowly dissipating over the last few hours, while his crewmates' eagerness to get the Master had grown. He'd gotten quite a scare when he'd gone to confront the Master. He realized he was way out of his league, dealing with something he didn't understand, nor could he hope to defeat. However, Chet's Irish temper continued to override his better judgment, and he had defended the Phantom's plan of revenge to his Captain, who had initially dismissed the whole idea, then suddenly and inexplicably decided to go along with it. He wondered for a moment if it was a trick, but nothing on Captain Stanley's face now indicated anything other than eagerness to go on. He continued to scan the familiar faces before him, finally landing on the one in particular that he seemed to derive strength from. He couldn't quite explain it, but the man made him feel more confident, and made him believe he could go through with the plan. He gave his friend a grateful smile, and turned to open the door.
No turning back now.
When everyone was assembled in the side hallway on the fifth floor, Chet turned to face them once again. He had a feeling he should say something at this stage of the operation. Something that would rally the troops, so to speak. Something that would motivate them, remind them why there were here, and encourage them to go through with the plan. Looking at each face now, however, Chet wasn't sure a pep talk would be necessary, as each man, and Ace, all appeared eager to get on with it. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable being in what was really a position of command, Chet dropped his gaze to the shiny tiled floor, trying to gather his thoughts.
He remembered them all coming up here together the first time to collect the AWOL paramedic. Cap had been muttering about how much latrine duty Gage had coming to him after the little disappearing stunt he'd pulled, and Chet and the others had attempted to conceal their snickers behind their hands. Chet himself had been silently rejoicing over what he expected would now be a latrine duty-free career for him in the fire department, and thought he should perhaps do something nice for Gage to thank him.
As they had all exited the elevator, and spilled out onto the fifth floor landing, however, the mood changed suddenly, and their lives changed permanently. Chet stared at the spot on the floor where they had found John's shrunken, mutilated body, and recalled the shock and horror they'd all experienced. He recalled his captain's shattered expression, and his muttering about Gage's latrine duty going on well into the young man's retirement, changing to a cry of horror and disbelief. Chet could see in his mind's eye Captain Stanley kneeling to gather oh, so gently, the miniature body of the paramedic in his hands, and leading them back into the elevator without a word, returning to the Doctor's TARDIS with his small, but heavy burden.
Staring at the floor, and recalling that horrible experience, made Chet's blood boil once again, and with the return of his anger came the resolve to exact his own brand of revenge on the man responsible for killing Johnny.
Ace had told Chet the Doctor would be taking the captured Time Lord back to his own planet to be tried and punished for his multitude of crimes by their laws, but Chet wanted to do something to make the Master pay for killing John; to let that sonofanalienbitch know he shouldn't mess with firemen, particularly this crew of firemen! Ace had agreed with him, and now they were moments away from putting their plan into action.
Chet's eyes shot up and met with the intent gazes of each of the crew and Ace in turn.
"Gentlemen," he said, not bothering to separate Ace from the others by saying 'Lady.' "As we all know, it is our intention to capture the renegade Time Lord known as the Master, and deliver him to the Doctor. The Doctor will in turn, and after he's fully recovered, hand the Master over to the Time Lords to be tried for his numerous crimes against the various citizens of the Universe. Before we turn him over, however, we're going to show him what we're made of. We're gonna show him you don't mess with our friend, our brother, without paying dearly for it. Now, I'm going to go down there and get the Master, then we're going to kick his ass the best way we know how!"
Chet wasn't sure where the words came from that flew out of his mouth, nor where the unusual amount of verve originated, but the words came, and with an intensity he never realized he possessed. The emphatic nods and murmured agreement from the group assembled before him gave him the final amount of resolve needed to go through with this plan. All of it.
Some of it they all knew, but there was more, and only he and Ace knew about that, because he knew his captain, for one, would never go for it, regardless of what the man had agreed to do thus far. Oh, they would soak the Master in true Phantom fashion, that much was true, but what the others didn't know was Chet and Ace's plan to blow the Master to smithereens with the help of a can of homemade Nirto-9.
Strangely, Chet felt no apprehension over the idea of killing a man, nor did he worry about what the consequences might be for it. The feeling of absolute power washed over him again, and he felt invincible. He could go up against the Time Lord, and he could win. He couldn't explain why this feeling would come over him periodically, usually when he was feeling particularly nervous, or was ready to give up on the whole thing, but he had a nagging suspicion he knew who it was originating from, and he exchanged a knowing look with the man he believed was responsible for sending him the power.
"Okay, Chet, let's get this show on the road," Captain Stanley quipped, rubbing his hands together. "Marco, grab that hose back there, and Mike, get ready to send the water."
The two men moved to obey the captain's command. Marco snatched the small emergency fire hose from it's wheeled bed hooked onto the wall, and brought it back, while Mike stayed behind, ready to flip the switch. Captain Stanley took his position behind Marco, although back up for such a small hose with very little water pressure was unnecessary, and Ace just stood back, out of the way, but already digging into her coat pocket for the canister that would effectively end the Master's reign of terror.
When all was in place, Captain Stanley nodded to Chet, "Bring him on down, pal!"
Chet returned the Captain's nod. "Yes, sir."
He turned to leave, meeting Ace's eyes one last time, before heading down the hallway to lure the Master to his demise. As he walked, a determined mantra played again and again in his head.
This is for you, Gage! This is for you!
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor began flicking switches, and turning dials on the multi-paneled control console quicker than Roy or Dr. Brackett could keep up with. The pillar in the middle of the console lit up suddenly, and began slowly moving up and down, while a strange wheezing, metallic scraping sound emanated around them.
"I only hope we're not too late," the Doctor muttered. "I hope they're not doing anything stupid!"
When Chet would think about it later, he found he was hard pressed to recall many of the details. He remembered leading his captain, crewmates, and co-conspirator to the fifth floor, then leaving them to set up, and going to get the Master. He remembered convincing the evil Time Lord that the Doctor was now unguarded, and at the Master's mercy. He remembered leaving the office with the Master and heading back down the hall towards where his colleagues lay in wait, but after that, it was all a blur; a jumbled mess of sights, sounds, images, and emotions.
There was water involved, oh, to be sure, for it was to be the Phantom's finest and final water bomb, but no one had anticipated the sudden arrival of the Doctor's TARDIS just as Chet instructed Ace to throw her own bomb, the canister of Nitro-9 she had mixed up earlier that day, at the Master's flailing, water pummeled form. The homemade bomb merged with the materialization of the Doctor's time and space machine, and the resulting explosion was not so much seen or heard, as it was felt and experienced.
Chet remembered a sensation of floating, and recalled seeing a myriad of colours, shapes and forms moving and twisting around him. He thought he heard the voices of his crew mates, captain, and Ace, but also thought Roy, Dr. Brackett, and John, were there, too. There were other voices as well, most he didn't recognize, but one he thought might be the Doctor's, as it was filled with a sense of urgency as he frantically tried to regain control of the TARDIS, and land it properly somewhere.
Chet wasn't sure if he was dreaming, having a bad trip, or if he was dead. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant experience at first, so he really didn't care which one it was. He floated along, eavesdropping on other people's childhood memories, making a mental note to himself to ask Marco about putting the goldfish in the Holy Water at church when he was nine, and Roy about that Christmas tree fiasco when he was five. Both experiences sounded interesting and amusing (and full of ammunition for future Phantom pranks!), but he only managed to glean part of each story.
As he went along, people from his own past popped up, along with people he didn't know, but who knew him, and they either coddled, harassed, or threatened him. Chet began to feel uncomfortable and sought a way out. Mike Stoker was there suddenly, trying to reassure him that everything would be okay, but he just as suddenly morphed into Chet's dead grandmother, an image Irish fireman found quite disturbing. Chet became confused and agitated by a sudden onslaught intense mental power both directed at him, and seemingly emanating from him, and a sense of fear and foreboding enveloped him. Something wasn't right. He felt like he was being attacked both inside and out, and the cheerful, friendly colours that had been there at first, were suddenly horrifically bright and uncomfortably loud. Everything began spinning faster and faster, and Chet felt as though he was being sucked down a whirlpool. Finally, he could take no more, and slamming his hands over his ears, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "STOP!"
The next thing Chet Kelly remembered was laying on his back on a cold, hard surface, staring up at the bright fluorescent lights in the ceiling. Around him the sounds of moans and groans as Captain Stanley, Marco Lopez and Mike Stoker began picking themselves up off the floor. Chet, himself, rose unsteadily to his feet, and made his way over to help Ace, who was still slumped against the wall a few feet away from him. In the middle of the pristine hallway stood the Doctor's TARDIS, apparently as undamaged as everything else was, and from it the animated Time Lord emerged, followed by a shaken Roy DeSoto and unsteady Dr. Brackett. Chet could not see the Master at all, and wondered fleetingly where the evil man had got to.
"Is everyone alright here, Captain?" the Doctor asked bruskly, approaching Captain Stanley, and making a quick introduction.
"I believe so," the captain replied, rubbing the back of his sore head.
He turned to find Mike and Marco leaning on each other, somewhat unsteadily, and Chet just helping Ace to her shaky feet beside them. Roy and Dr. Brackett, moved instinctively to each person, checking their condition.
"Everyone seems fine here," Dr. Brackett announced, and Roy nodded his agreement with the physician's assessment.
"Excellent!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Now, do I even need to ask who is responsible for this little time storm?"
His intense eyes fell hard upon Chet and Ace, and the pair cringed. Both of them knew there would be consequences for their actions, but neither of them expected it would come so soon. Before either could respond, however, the TARDIS doors opened again, and a disheveled John Gage staggered out before the stunned group. His glassy gaze scanned the crowd, searching for and finally landing on his partner. He stretched his hand out before him, and after a couple failed attempts, he managed to whisper, "Roy!" before collapsing to the floor.
"Johnny!" Roy was at his side in an instant, followed quickly by Dr. Brackett.
"He's breathing!" Roy exclaimed after a moment's pause, looking up at Captain Stanley and the rest of the crew. "He's breathing! His heart's beating! He's alive!"
"Yes," Dr. Brackett agreed. "He is alive! Johnny! Johnny, can you hear me?" Dr. Brackett gently shook the unconscious young man, and received a moan in response.
"I think he's coming 'round," the physician said.
Johnny Gage moaned and tried to open his eyes. The light above him was bright and sent sharp stabbing pains through his skull.
"Oh, man!" he exclaimed groggily, and tried to open his eyes again. Blinking a few times to bring his vision into focus, he sought out the one face he was looking for. " Roy?"
"I'm right here, partner," Roy said smiling. "How do you feel?"
"I dunno," Johnny answered, still struggling to clear his foggy mind. He tried to sit up, but a couple strong hands held him down.
"Now, don't move, Johnny! Just lie still!"
"Doc?"
Dr. Brackett smiled. "Yes, Johnny, I'm right here. And so is your entire engine crew. Do you remember what happened to you?" the physician asked, becoming serious once again. "Do you know how you got here?"
Johnny squeezed his eyes shut trying to visualize the events of the day. There was the Doctor's heart attack first thing this morning, then the restaurant fire. Then he'd gone off to help Ace try to save the Doctor from the Master, then . . . then . . .
Johnny opened his eyes frowning. He looked up at the concerned faces hovering around him, familiar faces he thought he might never see again.
"I dunno," he answered finally. "I don't remember what happened. What happened, Roy?"
"Never mind," Roy said. "It's okay now. You're okay now, and everything is okay now."
"Help me get him into a room over here," Dr. Brackett requested. "I'd like to check him over more thoroughly."
Several hands reached down to gather Johnny up and carry him to a nearby recovery room. Once he was placed on a bed, Dr. Brackett asked everyone but Roy leave the room, and the other firemen reluctantly did so.
Once outside in the hallway, Chet leaned against the wall, and slid down it until he was sitting on the cold, hard floor, and took in the scene before him. Marco paced the floor, fondling his rosary and saying prayers of thanks for Johnny's sudden resurrection, Captain Stanley stood with a silly grin on his face, and Ace and the Doctor had their heads together in the opposite corner. It looked like Ace was getting quite a talking to, and Chet imagined he'd be getting his own lecture soon. A movement beside him made him look up into the concerned face of the crew's quiet engineer.
"You okay, Chet?" Mike asked.
"Yeah, Mike, I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. How 'bout you? How are you?"
"I'm fine."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Mike slid down to sit beside Chet on the floor. "That was a pretty wild ride, huh?"
"Yeah," Chet agreed. "What do you remember?"
Mike looked sideways at Chet trying to figure out what to say, when a sound came from the scrub room across the hall from them. Hank and Marco spun around, and Mike and Chet were on their feet in an instant. Ace and the Doctor went to join the group.
"What was that?" Marco asked. "There's no one else here but us."
"The Master?" Ace asked, looking to the Doctor for an answer.
"I don't know," the Doctor replied, hesitantly moving towards the closed door that lead to the scrub room. He heard the shuffling sounds of the firemen moving up behind him. The Doctor reached out, extending his umbrella and was about to use it to push open the door, when it suddenly flung open on it's own. A tall, blonde-haired man staggered out, one hand clutching his head, his face screwed up in pain. He looked up at the bizarre group before him, and promptly fainted.
Momentarily stunned, it was Hank Stanley who finally brought them all back. "Let's get this guy into the room so Dr. Brackett and Roy can look at him."
Chet, Marco, Mike and Hank carried the man into the room where Roy and Dr. Brackett were just finishing up their examination of Johnny, and laid him on the other empty bed.
"Dr. Langford!" Dr. Brackett exclaimed, rushing over to him. "Where did you find him?"
"It is Dr. Langford, isn't it, Doc?" Johnny asked, his voice somewhat stronger than it had been in the hallway. The last time he'd seen the blonde cardiologist, he'd been taken over by the Master, and had shot him.
"I don't know, Johnny, but I guess we'll find out soon enough; he appears to be waking up. Dr. Langford, can you hear me?"
The man in the bed moaned, and opened his eyes. "Kel?"
Brackett smiled with relief. "Yes, Steven, it's me."
"How do we know he's not still the Master?" Chet asked, warily eyeing the man he'd had a rather tense conversation with just a few hours earlier. "How do we know he's not just faking?"
"I don't believe he's the Master any more," The Doctor answered as he and Ace came through the door.
"We searched the scrub room, and the Master's old body wasn't there" Ace explained.
"Well, what does that mean?" Captain Stanley asked.
"I believe the time storm your Phantom and my Ace created with their irresponsible little stunt had a sort-of reversal effect here. Johnny Gage, who was once . . . um," The Doctor hesitated and whispered conspiratorially to the group, "he knows, doesn't he?"
"That he was dead?" Dr. Brackett asked, also whispering, though he couldn't say why. "Yes."
"Ah, good!" The Doctor replied grinning. "Didn't want to needlessly upset the poor boy after such a trying day. Anyway, Johnny, who was once dead, is now alive. I believe the Master's taking over of Dr. Langford's body was also reversed: The Master was returned to his old body, and Dr. Langford was returned to his."
"So then, where's the Master? Why wasn't he on the floor with the rest of us, too?" Mike asked with a little more intensity than he had intended. He flushed when the others stared at him, startled by his outburst.
"I don't know where he is," the Doctor confessed eyeing Mike steadily. "My guess is when he was returned to his own body, he managed to escape while we were distracted with Johnny."
The group murmured their displeasure and concern at the Doctor's announcement.
"His TARDIS was in the basement, close by yours," Johnny said, slowly sitting up in his bed. "You can check down there to see for sure if he's gone."
"Yes, we can," the Doctor agreed. "Later. Right now," he added with a grin, "we have something to celebrate: The resurrection of these two fine gentlemen! What say we go for a little ride, eh?"