CHAPTER 5

CHANGELING

Constance was in her study pouring herself a stiff drink when she heard loud, angry voices coming from out in the hall. Thinking Tobias Black had had the audacity to follow her to the mansion, she cursed under her breath. The door was thrown open and, to her astonishment, it was Jason who appeared on the threshold, a man to be reckoned with.

A vexed servant was at the young man's heels making no progress at slowing him down. "I tell you, sir, you can't go in there!"

"Oh, can't I?" the aristocrat thundered. After his fruitless search for both the Doctor and Tobias, he'd taken the only option left to him and gone directly to Constance.

Miss Sorenson stared at him in amazement before dismissing the servant with a wave of her hand. She half smiled at the glowering youth before saying politely, "This is rather unexpected, Lord Krystovan. Would you care for a drink? You look like you could use one."

Constance reached for a second glass, stopping when Jason snapped, "I don't have time for social pleasantries. I'm cold. I'm wet. And I'm tired. So you can drop all the Lord Krystovan nonsense and call me Jason like everyone else."

Miss Sorenson turned to face him, her head high, her expression unreadable. "Very well. Then I assume you have a good reason for forcing your way into my home, Jason."

"I need straight answers, and I need them now."

"My dear young man, I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."

"Then I'll tell you some things that you do know," Jason said firmly as he stepped further into the room. "First off, you're Alterran, not human. Your name is not Constance, and you are not the daughter of Emil Sorenson. You couldn't be. Because he never existed! Shall I go on?"

Miss Sorenson's expression was fixed, and for what seemed an eternity, she remained silent. Suddenly she moved towards the door. "I think you should leave now, Krystovan."

The venom with which his surname was spoken momentarily threw Jason. If this woman wanted a battle of wills, she was about to learn that he was more than equal to the task. Recovering quickly, he said forcefully, "Not until I get what I came for. Toby's playing with fire. He's been dabbling in forbidden research that's completely beyond his capabilities."

Constance turned to face him. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the Changeling Project. The idiot's gone and dosed himself with the stuff—"

"What does all that have to do with me?" Miss Sorenson cut in sharply.

"Everything. I know you're a Changeling," the Healer announced startlingly. "I also know that you've been cured of the condition."

"How dare you!" The woman's cool reserve fell away like a mask. "How dare you come in here and accuse me of—"

"Being in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Jason suggested helpfully, his voice softening slightly. "Look, I'm not here to judge you, I haven't the right. It's Toby I'm worried about. He's getting unstable fast. I'm certain he's already entered the first stage of the Changeling mania. The idiot probably ingested the stuff, so there isn't much time."

"How can you possibly know all that?"

"I'm a Healer. It's my job," Jason said sardonically. "And because he's assumed the Doctor's identity. He tried the impersonation on me and vanished before I realized it wasn't really the Doctor. I came to you on the off chance he might've come to seek out the cure."

Constance shook her head. "He already knows it. He also knows its unattainable."

"If you obtained it, he can."

"No, Jason, you don't understand. The cure is lindos."

The Healer's eyes grew wide in horror. "What!" he gasped.

"Lindos. It's the hormone that initiates regeneration—"

"I know what it is!"

"Then what are you getting so excited about?" Constance asked mildly. "It's unattainable."

"Unattainable!" Jason exploded. "Constance, the Doctor is a Time Lord! A nice, convenient, walking supply." He turned and headed for the door. "I've got to find him before Toby does."

"You're too late."

Jason stopped dead in his tracks and spun around. "What?"

"I said you're too late. Black already has the Doctor a prisoner in the lab behind his office."

"How do you know that?"

Miss Sorenson met the young man's accusing gaze steadily. "Because I saw him there less than half an hour ago."

"Alive?"

"He was when I saw him."

"Where exactly is this lab?" Jason demanded.

"You don't understand—"

"Oh, I understand alright! More than you realize," the Healer snapped. "If he tries to extract that hormone, the Doctor will die. And you know it too, don't you? You just don't care."

Constance's eyes flickered but her expression did not change. "I can't afford to care," she said frostily. "I can, however, afford almost everything else."

Jason's eyes narrowed. "So can I," he said, his voice cold and hard. "I was born to it. Money, power, position. I already have them. So if you want to buy my silence, you'll have to give me something else."

"What else is there?"

With a wry smile, aristocrat said, "The Doctor's life."

Constance gave him stunned look. "Surely you are joking?"

"I am dead serious," Jason replied, his voice and expression making this point perfectly clear. "I'll make a bargain with you. You tell me where he is, and I give you my word I won't reveal your whereabouts to anyone."

After a thoughtful silence, Constance asked, "How do I know you'll keep your word?"

"You don't. But I can guarantee I'll call the Lord Emperor personally if you don't help me now."

Realizing she really had no choice, Constance grudgingly accepted Jason's terms, telling him the quickest route to the store room. There was a door concealed in the bookcase behind the Director's desk that led into a private surgery. From there he could gain entry to the storeroom where the Doctor was being held.

Even after telling him all this, Constance still tried to dissuade the determined Healer from going. "Jason, under the influence of the mania Black won't be your friend Toby anymore. He'll kill anyone regardless. He'll kill you both if he gets the chance."

Jason was already at the door and turned back, a wry smile on his face. "Then your worries about me keeping my word will be over, won't they?"

Toby returned to the storeroom, having once again taken on Jason's human appearance. He went to the cell and glowered down at the captive Time Lord before turning on the speaker. "Well, Doctor? Are you ready to apologize for your insulting behavior?"

"No, actually," the Doctor replied airily, "I've been rather busy reviewing my accommodations, and I'm afraid I could never recommend them to any of my friends. The atmosphere is overdone. The rooms are too small. And the furnishings are nonexistent."

"Your pitiful attempt at humor—"

"Oh, yes, and the staff is extremely surly," the Time Lord interrupted. "Y'know, if I were you, I'd have a little talk with the person in charge. You do talk to yourself, don't you, Mr. Black?"

The face of his captor darkened considerably as the arrow found its mark.

"Yes, I know who you are," the Doctor said, his voice suddenly cold and accusatory. "So perhaps you'll be so kind as to stop this pitiful impersonation of Jason and let me out of here."

"Perhaps you'd like the real me again, Doctor," the Alterran snarled. His body shimmered and the Doctor found himself looking up at the creature that had dragged him through the tunnels. "Well, Time Lord? What do you think of the real me?"

All the Doctor could think of at the time was he was trapped in a confined space by a lunatic who could kill him effortlessly.

The door to the enclosure was flung open and the Alterran bore down on its defenseless occupant, dragging him to his feet. The Doctor chose the path of least resistance in order to humor his obviously unstable captor.

Black pressed a button near the enclosure controls and the walls parted to reveal the private surgery on the other side.

The Doctor was taken into the room and abruptly released. Although puzzled, he remained perfectly still. Suddenly his scarf was yanked off and flung to the floor. Then his coat was roughly stripped off and tossed aside. After a momentary pause, he was roughly spun around and the collar of his shirt was pulled open. He had to fight the urge to back away as a tendril moved closer, touching his exposed throat before withdrawing.

In as even a tone as he could manage, the Doctor said, "I could've done that for you, you know? You only had to ask."

"I need ask for nothing any longer," Black stated categorically, suddenly sweeping the Time Lord off of his feet and placing him onto the table in the center of the room.

Even while it was happening the Doctor could not help but marvel at the dexterity of the tendrils that held him immobile. Almost simultaneously, straps were fastened around his wrists and ankles while others were tightened across his chest and legs. When the coils finally released him, he was securely bound and barely able to move.

Tobias changed form yet again, taking on Jason's human appearance while keeping his own voice. This caused the Doctor to wonder if the Alterran was losing his identity as well as his mind.

Rubbing his hands together, Tobias could scarcely contain his delight. "The gods have smiled on me, Doctor. It was divine providence that brought you to me. Divine providence. When I join with the god that be, I shall thank them for this blessing."

Now the Doctor was certain he was dealing with a lunatic. "Excuse me," he said politely, "I don't mean to interrupt, but…don't you think they'll be looking for you the other way?"

"No, Doctor, I need this form. These hands." Tobias held up his hands. "These delicate surgeon's hands." Suddenly enthralled by the hands that were a duplicate of Jason's, he began stroking them in loving fascination.

The Doctor was liking the sound of this less and less, and he positively hated it when he saw Black setting out a number of very unfriendly looking surgical instruments. While his captor's back was turned, he tugged at his bonds in the hopes of loosening them.

When the unstable Alterran set out the last tray, he passed a trembling hand over its contents. "Soon. Very soon," he said softly and then turned back to face his prisoner.

"If I may make so bold, your Divinity," the Time Lord began evenly, "just how exactly do I figure in to this magnificent transfiguration?"

The face that looked back at him may have been Jason's, but the eyes were the eyes of a madman. Tobias Black laughed evilly. "It's a sur-pri-ise," he sing-songed.

The Doctor groaned inwardly. He had been hoping to delay the inevitable by getting his captor talking, but it was becoming painfully evident that he was jumping from one extreme to the other with almost no rest in-between. As if to verify this, Black suddenly started turning on every piece of equipment in the room.

An enormous light came on directly over the Doctor's head, practically blinding him. He was forced to close his eyes and turn away. When he reopened his eyes, he saw his captor's attention had been caught by something somewhere above his head but was unable to move enough to see what it was.

Black abruptly came to his senses and shot a glance over at his puzzled captive. Then he started rummaging around in the cupboards and drawers before returning to the table and smiling down at the helpless Time Lord. Changing back into his own human form, Director Black said happily, "Duty calls," and jammed a large piece of adhesive tape over the Doctor's mouth.

The startled Time Lord blinked up in bewilderment.

"Don't go away now," Tobias chirped brightly. He took a step away, hesitated and then stepped back, scowling down at the Doctor and putting his fingers on his exposed throat. "I'll have to take care of those vocal cords when I get back," the maniac muttered thoughtfully. "Can't be calling any attention to ourselves, can we?" With that, he strode into the next room.

The Doctor had heard quite enough and struggled frantically to free himself. All he needed to do was free one hand, he thought desperately. Just concentrate on one hand.

The straps on his wrists gave slightly, tearing into his flesh as he tried to wrench his hand free. The Doctor tried to ignore the pain from the gashes he was inflicting on himself, being perfectly willing to lose some skin if it meant saving his life.

From somewhere just above his head, he thought he heard a low, grinding sound. This was followed by the sound of someone moving around. He wondered if he were starting to imagine things and listened a moment, only to freeze when a figure suddenly loomed over him.