Shareen vs the Universe
Army of Ghosts
Thanks to nesrine59 for favouriting and following this story.
Shareen Costello was chilling out in her flat when she suddenly heard a familiar wheezing and groaning noise. She went out onto the balcony just in time to see the TARDIS materialise in a playground near the Powell Estate. "Well, about time." Shareen muttered, then she threw on a hoodie and went out to meet the Doctor and Rose. She caught up with the two time travellers on the plaza near Bucknall House. Rose had a rucksack slung over her shoulders and both she and the Doctor looked at peace with the world. "Rose!" Shareen called as she hurried towards them.
"'Reen!" Rose called back, and both friends hugged each other.
"About time you came back!" Shareen said when they broke apart, "Peacock treatin' ya alright?"
"Yeah, 'course he is." Rose replied, "We just popped back to see you an' mum."
Shareen turned to the Doctor. "Peacock." she nodded
"Shareen." the Doctor nodded back, and the trio headed upstairs to the Tyler flat.
"Mum, it's us!" Rose called as they entered the flat, "We're back."
"Oh, I dunno why ya bother with that phone." Jackie remarked as she came out of the kitchen, "Ya never use it!"
"Shut up, come here!" Rose laughed, and mother and daughter threw their arms around each other.
"Oh, I love you so much." Jackie whispered to her daughter, then she noticed the Doctor trying to sidle past. "Oh no you don't. Come here!" She pulled the Doctor towards her and planted one on him, much to his embarrasment. "Oh, you lovely big fella!" Jackie fussed, "Oh, ya all mine!"
"Just... just... just put me down." the Doctor protested weakly
"Hahaha! lovin' that, ain't ya, Peacock?!" Shareen chortled
Jackie let the Doctor go and turned to Shareen. "Ah, always glad to see ya, 'Reen." she said, and she and Shareen hugged each other.
With the greetings out of the way, everyone went into the living room. "I've got loads of washing for ya." Rose said, casting off her backpack and dumping it in Jackie's arms, "And I got ya this." She held up a small ornate bottle-shaped object. "It's from the market on this asteroid bazaar. It's made of, um..." She turned to the Doctor. "Wos it called?"
"Bezoolium." the Doctor answered, flicking through magazines on the coffe table.
"Bezoolium. When it gets cold, yeah, it means it's gonna rain, when it's hot, it's gonna be sunny." Rose told Jackie, "You can use it to tell the weather."
"I've got a surprise for you an' all." Jackie said
"Oh, I get her a bezoolium, she doesn't even say thanks." Rose muttered dryly
"Ya might wanna listen, Rose." Shareen said, going serious.
"Guess who's coming to visit?" Jackie said to Rose, "You're just in time, he'll be here at 10 past. Who d'ya think it is?"
"I dunno." Rose shrugged
"Oh, go on, guess."
"No, I hate guessing. Just tell me." Rose said impatiently
"It's ya granddad." Jackie told her, sounding very pleased, "Granddad Prentice. He's on his way. Any minute! Right, cuppa tea." And she went off into the kitchen, leaving Rose staring in disbelief.
"She's gone mad." a stunned Rose said quietly
"Tell me something new." the Doctor smirked
"Just shut up and listen for once, will ya, Peacock?" Shareen said dryly, "Tell him, Rose."
"Granddad Prentice, that's her dad. But he died like, 10 years ago." Rose explained, "Oh, my God. She's lost it. Mum?" She went and stood in the kitchen doorway. "What ya just said about granddad..."
"Any second now." Jackie said
"But... he passed away." Rose told her gently, "His heart gave out. D'ya remember that?"
"Course I do!" Jackie answered lightly
"Then how can he come back?"
"Why don't ya ask 'em yourself?" Jackie replied and checked her watch. "Here he comes!"
There was a low whooshing sound and right before their eyes, a figure stepped out of nowhere in the middle of the kitchen. It was featureless, like a shadow, but definitely Humanoid. It stood beside Jackie.
"Here we are, then!" Jackie said cheerfully, while Rose and the Doctor could only stare, dumbstruck. "Dad... say hi to Rose. Ain't she grown?" Jackie said casually.
~8~
The Doctor and Rose hurried out of Bucknall House and looked around. "They're everywhere!" the Doctor realised. And sure enough, the ghostly figures were all over the estate. And what was more, no one seemed alarmed by their presence, they were all just carrying on as if it was perfectly normal.
"Oh, you have no idea, mate." Shareen said as she joined them
"Doctor, look out!" Rose warned suddenly, and the Doctor turned round to see a ghost appear behind him and walk straight through him.
Just then, Jackie joined them. "They haven't got long." she told them, "Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade."
"What d'ya mean, 'shift'?" the Doctor frowned, "Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?"
"Oh, he's not happy when I know more than him, is he?" Jackie remarked
"Hmm, sometimes I think he craves being the cleverest person in the room and just can't accept that sometimes he isn't." Shareen replied
"But no one's running around or screaming or freaking out or..." a completely baffled Doctor frowned
"Why should we?" Jackie replied and checked her watch again. "Here we go. 12 minutes past." And with that, the ghosts disappeared into thin air.
The Doctor glanced around, looking more confused than ever. "I think you need to watch telly, Peacock." Shareen told him, "You might find it educational." And the quartet headed back to the Tyler flat.
~8~
The Doctor was soon flipping through TV channels to get more information. First up was a programme called Ghostwatch. "On today's Ghostwatch, claims that some of the ghosts are starting to talk, and there seems to be a regular formation gathering around Westminster Bridge." the presenter said, and the screen cut to footage of ghost milling about Westminster Bridge. "It's almost like a military display..."
"What the hell's goin' on?" the Doctor frowned, and changed the channel to what appeared to be a weather forecast, but instead of weather symbols, there were little pictures of ghosts on the map of the UK.
"And tonight we're expecting very strong ghosts, from London, through the North and up into Scotland." the weatherman said.
Next was the Trisha Goddard Show. "So basically, Eileen, what you're telling me is, you're in love with a ghost?" Trisha asked
The shot changed to a woman sitting next to a ghost. "He's my ghost and I love him 24/7!"
The Doctor changed channel to an interview with Derek Acorah. "Well, no needs me anymore!"
The next channel was a rather cheesy advert, with a housewife in a flowery apron addressing the camera in her kitchen while a sad-looking animated ghost hovered around the worktop. "My ghost was pale and grey until I discovered... Ectoshine!"
With an expression of complete bewilderment, the Doctor flipped over to a French news channel, which showed footage of ghost wandering around the Eiffel Tower. Next was an Indian news channel, which showed ghost milling about the Taj Mahel. The next channel was a Japanese one, which a group of girls screeching loudly and showing off their ghost t-shirts.
"See, this thing's global." Shareen told the Doctor and Rose
The Doctor flipped over to a channel that was showing an episode of EastEnders. "Listen to me, Den Watts. I don't care if you 'ave come back from the grave. Get outta my pub!" Peggy Mitchell shouted at a ghost inside the Queen Vic. "The only spirits I'm servin' in this place are gin, whisky an' vodka. So you 'eard me, GET OUT!"
The Doctor decided he'd seen enough at that point and turned the telly off. "When did it start?" he asked Jackie
"Well, first of all, Peggy heard this noise in the cellar." Jackie replied, thinking he was referring to EastEnders. "So she goes down..."
"No, I mean worldwide." the Doctor elaborated
"About two months ago." Shareen told him
"Just happened." Jackie added, "Woke up one morning, an' there they all were, ghosts everywhere. We all ran around screaming, the whole world was panicking... no sign of you, thank you very much. "
"I did try to call ya, Rose." Shareen said, "But you didn't answer."
"Yeah, um, I've got a new phone." Rose said, "Forgot to give ya my new number."
"Then it sorta sank in." Jackie continued, "Took us time to realise that... we're lucky."
"What makes ya think it's granddad?" Rose asked
"Just feels like him." Jackie murmured, "There's that smell, those old cigarettes. Can't you smell it?"
"I wish I could, mum, but I can't." Rose told her gently
"Well, you've gotta make an effort. You've got to want it, sweetheart."
"And the more ya want it, the stronger it gets?" the Doctor asked
"Sort of, yeah." Jackie shrugged
"Like a psychic link." the Doctor mused, "Course ya want ya old dad to be alive, but ya wishing him into existence. The ghosts are using that to pull 'emselves in."
"You're spoiling it."
"I'm sorry, Jackie, but I keep tellin' ya, there's no smell." Shareen told her tactfully, "I'm afraid that's just you."
"But if they're not ghosts, what are they, then?" Rose asked
"Yeah, but they're Human!" Jackie pointed out, "You can see 'em, they look Human!"
"She's got a point." Rose agreed, "I mean, they're all sorta blurred, but they're definitely people."
The Doctor pondered. "Maybe not. They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn't look like a boot."
"Talkin' of footprints, these ghosts have actually started leaving footprints." Shareen said, "Have a look at this." She took out her mobile phone and showed the Doctor and Rose a photo of a footprint in some mud. "This was a few days ago. It'd had just been raining when a ghost shift started, and I noticed this." Shareen explained, "Whatever these ghosts are, they've got bloody big feet!"
"Hmm, so they do have some physical presence." the Doctor observed, "No time to lose!" He got to his feet and left the flat, deciding that he needed to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.
~8~
Presently, Rose and Shareen were walking towards the TARDIS, Rose carrying a newspaper. "So I've been in touch with Sarah Jane." Shareen was saying, "She's been trying to investigate these ghosts, but she's hit a dead end."
"Hmm, probably hasn't got the tech." Rose nodded
"Well, she's got this alien super-computer thing, but even that doesn't have a clue where these things are coming from." Shareen replied
"So you don't think they're real ghosts?" Rose queried
"No." Shareen replied, "Those things give me the creeps. I keep tellin' Jackie that she's just imaginin' that fag smell, but she won't listen. Heck, hardly anyone will listen. Sarah Jane's the only person I've spoken to who doesn't think they're ghosts."
They entered the TARDIS to find the Doctor rifling through a storage compartment under the floor grilling. "According to the paper, they've elected a ghost as MP for Leeds." Rose told him, "Now don't tell me you're gonna sit back and do nothing."
The Doctor suddenly popped up from the storage compartment. "Who ya gonna call?" he said in a sing-song voice as he climbed out, carrying some equipment.
"Ghostbusters!" Rose laughed
"I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" the Doctor finished as he waltzed out of the TARDIS. Rose giggled and followed him out. Shareen just shook her head at their antics and brought up the rear. Jackie was waiting for them outside. "When's the next shift?" the Doctor asked her as he arranged three conical devices in a triangular pattern.
"Quater to." Jackie replied, checking her watch, "But don't go causin' trouble. What's that lot do?"
"Triangulates their point of origin." the Doctor replied
"Don't s'pose it's the Gelth?" Rose suggested thoughtfully
"Nah. They were just coming through one little rift." the Doctor replied, plugging some wires into the cones, "This lot are transposing themselves over the whole planet. Like tracing paper."
"You're always doing this. Reducing it to science." Jackie huffed, "Why can't it be real? Just think of it, though... all the people we've lost, our families comin' back home. Don't ya think it's beautiful?"
"I think it's horrific." the Doctor answered grimly. "Rose, give us a hand." he called and started unwinding a cable, leading it through into the TARDIS, Rose following. The Doctor plugged the other end of the cable into the console as Jackie and Shareen entered the box. "As soon as the cone's activated, if that line goes into the red, press that button there." the Doctor told Rose at breakneck speed, "If doesn't stop..." He brandished his sonic screwdriver under Rose's nose. "...setting 15B, hold it against the port, eight seconds and stop."
"15B, 8 seconds." Rose nodded, taking the sonic screwdriver.
"If it goes into the blue, activate the deep scan on the left." the Doctor continued
"Hang on a minute, I know..." Rose cut in and leaned over the console, pointing out a button. "It's that one."
"Mm, close." the Doctor replied
"That one?" Rose pointed to another control
"Now you've just killed us." the Doctor said flatly
"Er, it's that one." Rose said, putting her hand on another control.
"Yep!" the Doctor grinned. "Now, what've we got?" he asked Jackie and Shareen
"You've got two minutes." Shareen told him, checking her watch. "When you two're finished mucking about, of course." she added dryly
The Doctor went outside while Rose plugged the sonic screwdriver into the console. "What's the line doin'?" the Doctor called through the open doors to her.
"It's alright, it's holding." Rose called back, checking the instruments.
Jackie all the while had been contemplating her daughter. "You even look like him." she commented
"How'd ya mean?" Rose asked, then shrugged. "S'pose I do, yeah."
"You've changed so much."
"For the better." Rose insisted
"I s'pose." Jackie muttered, sounding not quite so sure of that.
Rose turned to her. "Mum, I used to work in a shop!"
"I've worked in shops." Jackie retorted defensively
"Me too." Shareen added, "And ya don't see us two complainin' or buggering off with weird aliens."
"It's not like that." Rose huffed, "I didn't mean that..."
"I know what you meant." Jackie said, folding her arms, "What happens when I'm gone?"
"Don't talk like that!"
"No, but really. When I'm dead an' burried, ya won't have any reason to come back home. What happens then?"
"I dunno." Rose said quietly. She'd never given much thought about the future, preferring to just live in the present.
"D'ya think you'll ever settle down?"
"The Doctor never will, so I can't. I'll just keep on travelling." Rose said flippantly
"An' you'll keep on changing." Jackie said grimly, "And in 40 years' time, 50, there'll be this woman, this strange woman... walkin' through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. But she's not Rose Tyler, not anymore. She's not even Human."
"I'm sorry to say she's right, Rose." Shareen agreed, "You're becoming just like the Doctor. Just as alien and uncaring."
"I still care!" Rose shot back, "And so does the Doctor!"
"Well, he's got a funny way of showing it." Shareen remarked
Just the, the aforementioned Time Lord's voice broke the moment. "Here we go!"
"The scanner's working, it says delta one six." Rose called out.
"Hang on, I wanna see this." Shareen said and dashed outside.
She found the Doctor standing by the triangle of cones. "Come on, then!" he called out to the heavens, positively jiggling with anticipation.
A ghost appeared in the centre of the triangle of cones. As it did so, beams of blue electricity shot of the cones, connecting them and forming a pyramid around the ghost.
"Well, looks like you've manage to catch a ghost." Shareen remarked
The Doctor pulled out a pair of 3D glasses and put them on, then knelt down and adjusted a dial on a control box. A green light blipped, and the ghost began to squirm. "Don't like that much, do ya?" the Doctor taunted, "Who are you? Where're ya comin' from?"
The ghost suddenly tried to lunge at him.
"Woah! That's more like it!" the Doctor smirked as he removed his glasses, "Not so friendly now, are you?"
The ghost continued to shudder and twitch before disappearing as ghost shift ended. "Well, did ya get anything useful outta that?" Shareen asked the Doctor, who started rushing about gathering up his equipment.
"Yep, plenty." the Time Lord answered enthusiastically, "Well, don't just stand there! Help me!"
"Yes... sir." Shareen huffed indignantly, and helped the Doctor pack his equipment away, neither of them noticing a security camera turning in their direction.
~8~
Once the equipment was packed away, the Doctor threw his coat over a Y-beam and ran to the console. "I said so!" he rambled excitedly, "Those ghosts are being forced into existence from one specific point, and I can track down the source. Allons-y!" And he set to work piloting the TARDIS to the location their equipment had pinpointed.
Shareen suddenly noticed something. "Uh, Doctor..." she began, but he was too busy rambling to himself to pay attention.
"I like that. 'Allons-y'. I should say 'allons-y' more often. Allons'y." he rattled off, "Look sharp, Rose Tyler, allons-y! Shareen Costello, allons-y! An' then, it'd be really brilliant if we met someone called Alonso, cos' then I could say 'allons-y, Alonso!' Every time!"
Rose had been listening to the Doctor with a strange smile on her face. "My mum's still on board." she told him quietly
The Doctor looked up to see Jackie sitting on the gantry, legs dangling over the edge. "If we end up on Mars, I'm gonna kill you!" she said, folding her arms and sending a glare at the Time Lord.
Rose laughed, while the Doctor's face fell. "Why didn't either of ya say something?" he moaned
"I did try but you wouldn't shut up!" Shareen retorted
The TARDIS landed and the quartet checked the monitor to see that they'd landed in what appeared to be a storage area. Armed soldiers ran up and aimed their rifles at the box. "Oh well, there goes the element of surprise." the Doctor said, "Still! Cuts to the chase. Stay in here, look after Jackie." he told Rose and Shareen, then made towards the doors.
"I'm not looking after my mum!" Rose said indignantly, trailing after him.
"Well, you brought her!" the Doctor retorted
"I was kidnapped!" Jackie said indignantly
Rose pushed past the Doctor and blocked the doorway so he couldn't get past. "Doctor, they've got guns." she warned
"And I haven't." the Doctor said simply, "Which makes me the better person, don't ya think?" He caught her round the waist and moved her smoothly away from the door. "They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine." And with that, he opened the door and stepped out.
As soon as he was outside, the soldiers all took aim at him. He raised his hands just as a smartly dressed woman came running up. "Oh...! Oh, how marvellous!" she said excitedly and clapped. "Oh, very good. Superb. Happy day!"
The soldiers lowered their weapons and started clapping too. Rose, Jackie and Shareen, watching through a crack in the door, could only stare in bewilderment.
The Doctor lowed his hands tentatively, unsure of what to make of this reception. "Um, thanks." he said, "Nice to meet you. I'm... the Doctor."
That set the woman and the soldiers off clapping again. "Oh, I should say. Hooray!" the woman said.
"You... you've heard of me, then?" the Doctor questioned
"Well, of course we have." the woman replied, "And I have to say, if it wasn't you, none of us would be here. The Doctor and the TARDIS...Oh!" And she started the applause again.
The Doctor, revelling in the attention, gestured for them to stop. "And... and... and you are?"
"Oh, plenty of time for that." the woman waved him off, "But according to the records, you're not one for travelling alone. The Doctor and his companion. That's a pattern, isn't it right?" Her voice suddenly adopted a slightly sinister undertone. "There's no point in hiding anything. Not from us. So, where is she?"
The Doctor thought quickly, deciding that it was best to bring Jackie instead of Rose. "Yes! Sorry, good point." he said to the women, "She's just a bit shy, that's all." He opened the TARDIS door slightly and felt around for Jackie, then pulled her out. "But here she is: Rose Tyler. Hmm, not the best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that..." He mimed a chatting gesture with his hands, causing Jackie to glare at him. "And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex an' aged 57 years. But she'll do."
"I'm 40!" Jackie hissed indignantly
"Deluded, bless." the Doctor waved her off, "I'll have to trade her in. Do ya need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say, very good, I mean... Anyway. Lead on."
"And what about your other friend?" the woman said
"Pardon?" the Doctor asked, tilting his head.
"We saw you on a security camera leaving the Powell Estate with a dark-haired girl after you'd trapped a ghost." the woman said, her smile never faltering, "So where is she?"
"Here." Shareen said as she exited the TARDIS, "Shareen Costello, and please, stop applauding Peacock here. His head's big enough as it is without you lot making it worse."
"Oi!" the Doctor grumbled, then turned back to the woman. "Allons-y! But not too fast, Rose's ankle's going."
The woman turned and walked away. "I'll show ya where my ankle's going'." Jackie growled as they began to follow the woman.
"And my fist won't be far behind it." Shareen added, "Doctor, who are these people?"
"No idea." the Doctor replied, "Let's find out!"
Rose watched the party leave on the monitor and realised that the Doctor wanted her to do something, so decided to sit tight and wait for further instructions.
~8~
The woman led the Doctor, Shareen and Jackie down a corridor. "It was only a matter of time before you found us." she said to the Doctor, "I'd like to welcome you, Doctor." She pushed open a door leading to a huge hangar full of alien artifacts and scientists examining them. "Welcome... to Torchwood."
"Looks more like Area 51." Shareen muttered
"That's a Jathar Sunglider." the Doctor said, noticing a spaceship in one corner of the hangar.
"Came down to Earth off the Shetland Island 10 years ago." the woman nodded
"What, did it crash?" the Doctor asked
"No, we shot it down. It violated our airspace." the woman said simply
"So ya decided to shoot first and ask questions later." Shareen said, "And I thought only the Yanks did that."
"Then we stripped it bare." the woman continued, ignoring Shareen, "The weapon that destroyed the Sycorax on Christmas Day? That was us! Now, if you'd like to come with me." She led them further through the hangar. "The Torchwood Institute has a motto: If it's alien, it's ours. Anything that comes from the sky, we strip it down, and we use it. For the good of the British Empire."
"For the good of the what?" Jackie questioned
"The British Empire."
"There isn't a British Empire." Jackie scoffed
"Not yet." the woman said smugly, "Ah, excuse me..." She took a weapon off a passing soldier. "Now, if you wouldn't mind... do you recognise this, Doctor?"
"That's a particle gun." the Doctor replied
"Good, isn't it?" the woman smirked, pulling the weapon out of Jackie's reach when she tried to touch it. Took us eight years to get it to work."
"It's the 21st century. You can't have particle guns." the Doctor frowned
"We must defend our border against the aliens." the woman replied simply and handed the weapon back to the waiting soldier. Thank you... Sebastian, wasn't it?"
"Yes, ma'am." he replied
"Thank you, Sebastian." the woman smiled and turned back to the trio. "It's very important to know everyone by name. Torchwood is a very modern organisation. People skills, that's what it's all about these days." She smiled smugly. "I'm a people person."
"A people person who likes blowing stuff up for the fun of it." Shareen muttered, growing wary of this rather patronising woman who apparently led an organisation of amoral scavengers.
"Have ya got anyone called Alonso?" the Doctor asked randomly
"No, I don't think so. Is it important?" the woman asked
"I s'pose not." the Doctor shrugged, "What was your name?"
"Yvonne." the woman replied, "Yvonne Hartman."
The Doctor turned to examine the contents of a crate next to him.
"Ah, yes. Now, we're rather fond of these." Yvonne said as the Doctor pulled out a black object with a handle, that rather looked like a kickstool. "The Magnaclamp. Found in a spaceship buried at the base of Mount Snowdon. Attach this to an object and it cancels out it's mass. I could use it to lift two tons of weight with a single hand. That's an imperial ton, by the way. Torchwood refuses to go metric." she finished lamely as the Doctor put the Magnaclamp back.
"I could do with that to carry the shopping." Jackie joked
"All these devices are for Torchwood's benefit, not the general public's." Yvonne said patronisingly
"So much for the good of Britain, then." Shareen remarked, while Jackie scowled at Yvonne.
"So, what about the ghosts?" the Doctor asked, playing around with a magnifier.
"Ah, yes, the ghosts." Yvonne said, "They're er... what you might call a side effect."
"Of what?"
"All in good time, Doctor," Yvonne replied "There is an itinerary, trust me."
Just then, Jackie noticed the TARDIS being moved on a lorry. "Oi! Where're ya takin' that?" she asked sharply, knowing that her daughter was still in there.
"If it's alien, it's ours." Yvonne replied simply.
"You'll never get inside her." the Doctor said calmly
"Hmm! Etc." Yvonne waved him off and walked away.
Rose opened the TARDIS door a crack and peered out. The Doctor nodded encouragingly at her before going after Yvonne. Rose closed the door and went over to the Doctor's coat. "Psychic paper... psychic paper." she muttered to herself as she rifled through the pockets. She found the item in question and pocketed it, knowing that the Doctor wanted her to snoop around and find out more about this rather shifty Torchwood.
~8~
Yvonne, the Doctor, Jackie and Shareen walked down a corridor, flanked by armed soldiers. "All those times I've been on Earth, I've never heard of you." the Doctor remarked
"But of course not." Yvonne replied casually, "You're the enemy. You're actually named in the Torchwood Foundation Charter of 1879 as an enemy of the Crown."
"Huh, why doesn't that surprise me?" Shareen snorted
"1879... that was called Torchwood, that big house in Scotland." the Doctor remembered
"That's right. Where you encountered Queen Victoria and the werewolf." Yvonne confirmed
"I think he makes half of it up." Jackie snorted
"And let me guess, Queen Victoria wasn't amused by Peacock's antics?" Shareen asked Yvonne
"She sure wasn't." Yvonne replied, "Her Majesty created the Torchwood Institute with the express intention of keeping Britain great and fighting the alien horde."
"But if I'm the enemy, does that mean I'm a prisoner?" the Doctor asked conversationally
"Oh yes." Yvonne replied lightly as they rounded a corner and found themselves outside a large black door, "But we'll make you perfectly comfortable. And there is so much you can teach us. Starting with this..." She pressed her ID card against the door's digital lock, which opened the door. On the other side was a lab that contained a huge black sphere. A pair of technicians in lab coats were busy running tests on the sphere. "Now, what do you make of that?" Yvonne asked the Doctor
Noticing their arrival, one of the technicians, an Indian man, straightened his coat and approached the Doctor. "You must be the Doctor. Rajesh Singh." he introduced himself, "It's an honour, sir." He held out his hand, but the Doctor was too immersed in gazing up at the sphere to notice.
"What is that thing?" Jackie asked as Rajesh lowered his hand sheepishly
"We've got no idea." Yvonne replied
"But what's wrong with it?" Jackie questioned
"What makes you think there's something wrong with it?" Rajesh asked her
"I dunno... just feels wierd." Jackie shivered
"The sphere has that effect on everyone. Makes you wanna run and hide. Like it's forbidden." Yvonne said, while the Doctor went over to the sphere to examine it with his 3D glasses.
"We tried examining it using every device imaginable." Rajesh said, "But, according to our instruments, the sphere doesn't exist. It weights nothing. It doesn't age. No heat. No radiation. And, has no atomic mass."
"But it's there. We can see it!" Shareen pointed out
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Rajesh remarked, "It upsets people because it gives off... nothing. It is... absent."
"'Fascinating' ain't the word I'd use." Shareen muttered, "More like, 'creepy.'"
"Well, Doctor?" Yvonne asked the Time Lord
"This is a Void ship." the Doctor replied
"And what's that when it's at home?" Shareen asked
"Well, it's impossible for starters." the Doctor replied, taking his 3D specs off. "I always thought it was just a theory, but... it's a vessel designed to exist outside time and space. Travelling through the Void." He sat down on the steps, Yvonne and Rajesh crowding him.
"And what's 'the void'?" Rajesh asked
"The space between dimensions." the Doctor explained, "There's all sorts of different realities around us, different dimensions, billions of parallel universes all stacked up against each other. The Void is the space in-between, containing absolutely nothing. Imagine that: nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down. No life no time. Without end. My people called it the Void, the Eternals called it the Howling, but some people call it hell."
"But someone built the sphere." Rajesh pointed out, "What for? Why go there?"
"To explore? To escape?" the Doctor suggested ominously, "You could sit inside that thing and eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang... end of the universe, start of the next, wouldn't even touch the sides."
"So that thing's like a bomb shelter, yeah?" Shareen asked
"And a stasis chamber." the Doctor replied, "Inside there, you'd exist outside the whole of creation."
"You see, we were right." Yvonne said smugly "There is something inside it."
"Oh, yes." the Doctor said darkly, hardly daring to think of what could be inside the sphere.
"So how'd we get in there?" Rajesh asked
"We don't!" the Doctor said sharply, standing abruptly, "We send that thing back into hell. How'd it get here in the first place?"
"Well, that's how it started." Yvonne replied, "The sphere came through into this world, and the ghosts followed in it's wake."
"Show me." the Doctor commanded and strode off, turning left outside the door.
"No, Doctor." Yvonne said dryly, and the Doctor sheepishly amended his direction, heading to the right this time.
~8~
Rose tentatively stepped out of the TARDIS and found herself in a tucked-away corner of the hangar. She quickly dodged out of sight of two guards, taking refuge behind the TARDIS until the coast was clear, then she grabbed a discarded lab coat and slipped it on. She then walked confidently out of hiding, with no one giving her a second glance. She spotted someone walking purposefully through a door and decided to follow them.
~8~
Yvonne had taken the Doctor, Jackie and Shareen to the top floor of the building they were in and was now showing the Doctor a blank white wall at the end of the room while Jackie stood in Yvonne's office at the other end of the room and Shareen stood by the glass partition wall outside the office. Suddenly, she saw a familiar face. "Addy!" she exclaimed as Adeola Oshodi entered the room. "Addy, you work here?" Shareen grinned, but Adeola made no sign of acknowledgement whatsoever. "Addy, it's me. It's Shareen." Shareen frowned, somewhat puzzled at Adeola's lack of recognition.
"You know her?" Jackie asked
"Yeah, Addy always says hello to me when I'm busking at Canary Wharf." Shareen replied, "She's a good tipper and always gets me a drink." She turned back to Adeola, who was sitting down at a computer terminal. "Hey, Addy, this is a turn-up, isn't it?" But Adeola still made no sign of acknowledgment whatsoever. "Alright, suit yourself." Shareen huffed, thinking Adeola was just being unfriendly.
"The sphere came through here. A hole in the world." Yvonne told the Doctor as he ran his hand over the wall, "Not active at the moment, but when we fire particle engines at that exact spot, the breech opens up."
"How did you even find it?" the Doctor asked
"Well, we'd been getting warning signs for years." Yvonne replied, "A radar black-spot. So we built this place; Torchwood Tower. The breech was 600 feet above sea level. It was the only way to reach it."
The Doctor slipped his 3D specs on and studied the wall carefully. "You built a skyscraper just to reach a spatial disturbance?" he frowned, "How much money have ya got?"
"Enough." Yvonne replied simply and walked over to her office.
The Doctor removed his glasses and folded his arms, still contemplating the wall.
Jackie was looking out of the office window. "Hold on a minute... we're in Canary Wharf." she realised, seeing Central London beyond the window. "Must be. This building, it's Canary Wharf."
"Oh, yeah. There's the tube station." Shareen added, pointing to a landmark below, "And there's the Docklands Light Rail. So we're in the Canary Wharf tower."
"Well, that's the public name for it." Yvonne replied haughtily "But to those in the know, it's Torchwood."
"So, ya find the breech, probe it, the sphere comes through." the Doctor said as he joined them, "600 feet above London, bam! It leaved a hole in the fabric of reality, an' that hole, ya think, 'oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe? Nah, ya think, 'let's make it bigger!'"
"It's a massive source of energy." Yvonne defended, "If we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again. Britain will become truly independent. Look, you can see for yourself. Next ghost shift's in two minutes." She left the office and went back into the main area.
"Cancel it." the Doctor ordered
"I don't think so." Yvonne scoffed
"I'm warning you, cancel it!"
"Oh, exactly as the legends would have it." Yvonne rolled her eyes, "The Doctor, lording over us, assuming alien authority over the rights of man."
"Look, lady." Shareen spoke up, "I may not agree with the Doctor most of the time, but I really think you should listen to him this time. Ya keep messing about with things ya don't understand, eventually something's gonna break."
"Let me show you." the Doctor said. He took out his sonic screwdriver and stood on the other side of the glass partition between Yvonne's office and the main area. "Sphere comes through..." he said, pointing the sonic screwdriver at a pane of glass and switching it on. The glass splinted and the crack spread outwards, continuing to do so as the Doctor spoke. "But when it made the hole, it cracked the world around it. The entire surface of this dimension, splintered. An' that's how the ghosts get through. That's how they get everywhere. They're bleeding through the fault lines, walkin' from their world, across the Void, an' into yours, with the Human race hoping an' wishing an' helping them along! But too many ghosts and..." He placed the lightest fingertip on the cracked pane of glass, which shattered all over the floor.
"Well, in that case we'll have to be more careful." Yvonne said nonchalantely, and turned to her staff. "Positions! Ghost shift in one minute."
"Miss Hartman, I am asking you, please, don't do it." the Doctor said as he pursued her
"We have done this a thousand times!"
"Then stop at a thousand!" the Doctor said furiously
"We're in control of the ghosts." Yvonne persisted, "The levers can open the breach, but equally they can close it."
"Ok." the Doctor said suddenly in a casual tone, causing the others to stare at him.
"Sorry?!" a surprised Yvonne questioned
"Never mind, as you were." the Doctor said simply, grabbing a chair from the office.
"What, is that it?"
"No, fair enough, said my bit." the Doctor said casually, sitting down on the chair, "Don't mind me. Any chance of a cup of tea?"
"Ghost shift in 20 seconds." Adeola announced
"Mm, can't wait to see it!" the Doctor grinned
"You can't stop us." Yvonne said suspiciously
"No, absolutely not." the Doctor replied lightly and turned to Jackie. "Pull up a chair, Rose. Come an' watch the fireworks. You too, Shareen."
Shareen realised what the Doctor was up to. "Right with ya, Peacock." she said, standing behind the Doctor's chair.
Jackie joined them in an act of unity, her enthusiasm about the ghosts having waned now that she knew where they came from.
"Ghost shift in 10 seconds." Adeola announced, "9... 8..."
Yvonne looked at the Doctor, who just sat back in his chair, as if he was daring her to continue. As Adeola reached two on her countdown, Yvonne broke. "Stop the shift." she ordered, "I said stop."
"Thank you." the Doctor said gratefully
"I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible." Yvonne grunted, "But the program will recommence, as soon as you've explained everything."
"I'm glad to be of help." the Doctor smirked
"And someone clear up this mess." Yvonne ordered the room at large. "They did warn me, Doctor. They said you like to make a mess." And she stalked off into her office, the Doctor, Shareen and Jackie following. None of them noticed Adeola and her two male colleagues exchange glances and resume typing on their computers.
~8~
Rose walked down a corridor, following the man from a distance. She peered round the corner, seeing the man disappear through a door. Once she was satisfied she'd left a suitable interval, she approached the door and pressed the psychic paper against the ID card reader. The doors opened and Rose walked through to find herself in Rajesh's lab. Her eyes immediately fell on the sphere, and she felt the same uneasy feeling as everyone else did when looking at it.
Rajesh spotted her and approached. "Can I help you?" he asked
"I was just..." Rose mumbled, transfixed by the sphere.
"Try not to look. It does that to everyone." Rajesh advised "What d'you want?"
Rose pulled her gaze away from the sphere. "Sorry, um... they sent me from personnel. They said some man had been taken prisoner. Some sorta Doctor? I'm just... checkin' the lines of communication, did they tell ya anything?"
"Can I see your identification?"
"Sure." Rose handed him the psychic paper.
Rajesh checked the paper. "Well, that's lucky." he said, and Rose smiled, thinking she'd pulled the wool over his eyes. "You see, everyone at Torchwood has at least a basic level of psychic training. This paper is blank, and you're a fake." Rajesh told her, causing her smile to fade. "Seal the room." Rajesh said into his earpiece. "Call security." The doors slammed shut and Rajesh turned to the man Rose had been following. "Samuel, can you check the door locks? She just walked right in."
"Doin' it now, sir." the man replied, turning round. Rose stared in disbelief. It was Mickey Smith. He looked a little bit older than he had when he'd left them, but it was definitely him. He put a finger to his lips and gave Rose a thumbs up, grinning.
"Well, if you'd like to take a seat." Rajesh said dryly to Rose, blissfully unaware of his assistant's true identity.
Rose complied, deciding not to make a fuss.
~8~
Meanwhile, Yvonne was sat at her desk with a laptop open in front of her. "So these ghosts, whatever they are, did they build the sphere?" she asked
The Doctor was sat on the other side of the desk with his feet propped up on it. "Must have." he replied to Yvonne's question. "Aimed it at this dimension like a cannonball."
Just then, Rajesh's voice came over the laptop's webcam. "Yvonne? I think you should see this. We've got a vistor. I don't know who she is, but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor.
Yvonne turned the laptop round so that the Doctor could see Rose and Rajesh on screen. "She one of yours?" she asked him
"Never seen her before in my life." the Doctor lied
"Good. Then we can have her shot." Yvonne said simply, causing Jackie to gasp in horror.
"Don't you dare!" Shareen growled fiercely
"Oh, alright then. It was worth a try." the Doctor said, taking his feet off the table, "That's... that's Rose Tyler."
"Sorry." Rose said sheepishly over the webcam. "Hello!"
"Well, if that's Rose Tyler, who's she?" Yvonne asked, gesturing to Jackie.
"I'm her mother." Jackie retorted
"Oh, you travel with her mother?" Yvonne smirked
"He kidnapped me." Jackie protested
"Peacock here was too busy lovin' the sound of his own voice to pay attention to who was with him." Shareen chortled
"Please, when Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don't tell people I travelled through time an' space with her mother." the Doctor moaned
"Charming." Jackie grumbled
"I've got a reputation to uphold." the Doctor defended
But before anyone could say anything else, the sound of particle engines powering up was heard. "Excuse me, everyone." Yvonne said, going into the lever room. "I thought I said stop the ghost shift."
The three people at the desks ignored her and carried on typing, staring straight ahead.
"Who started the program? But... I ordered you to stop! Who's doing that?!" Yvonne pointed to the levers, which were rising upwards on their own accord. "Right, step away from the monitors, everyone."
The three people continued to ignore her.
"Gareth, Addy, stop what you're doing!" Yvonne demanded, "Matt, step away from your desk. That's an order! Stop those levers!" she ordered two technicians, who rushed over to the levers and tried to push them down, but they had a mind of their own.
Shareen noticed that Adeola seemed to be the ringleader. "Addy, what're ya doing?" she asked, going over to her, "Are ya deaf or something? She's tellin' ya to stop! Oi!" She clicked her fingers in front of Adeola's face, but Adeola didn't react.
"Addy? Step away from the desk!" Yvonne ordered as she and the Doctor came over as well. "Listen to me, step away from the desk!"
"She can't hear you." the Doctor said grimly, observing Adeola's computer screen, "They're overriding the system. We're going into ghost shift."
The white wall at the end of the room started to glow brightly.
~8~
In the sphere chamber, Rajesh had found out what was happening upstairs. "Yvonne, I thought you said the next ghost shift was cancelled." he said into his earpiece. "What's going on?" He received no answer. "Yvonne?"
The whole chamber suddenly shuddered and the readings on the sphere went haywire.
"It can't be!" Rajesh gasped and rushed forward to check, Rose and Mickey following him. A loud crash sounded from within the sphere. "It's active!" Rajesh realised.
~8~
The Doctor studied Adeola's earpiece closely. "It's the earpiece controlling them. I've seen this before." he said grimly. He took out his sonic screwdriver and stood behind Adeola. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he said sincerly and flashed the sonic screwdriver at her earpiece, deactivating it.
Addy screamed in pain and slumped over the desk, dead. Matt and Gareth did the same, as though the earpieces were connected.
"Addy!" Shareen hollered, shaking Adeola's body vigorusly in the vain hope that she was still alive. "Addy, it's Shareen. Can ya hear me?"
"What happened? What did you just do?" Yvonne gasped
"They're dead." the Doctor replied grimly
"You killed them!" Jackie gasped
"Oh, someone else did that long before I got here." the Doctor told her, turning to the computer.
"But you killed them!" Jackie spluttered
"Jackie, I haven't got time for this!" the Doctor growled, frantically trying to override whatever it was that Adeola had done to the computer.
"What're those earpieces?" Yvonne asked, noticing that the earpieces were a different design to those worn by herself and other Torchwood personnel.
"Don't." the Doctor warned, knowing full well what they were.
"But they're standard comms devices. How does it control them?" Yvonne persisted
"Trust me, leave 'em alone." the Doctor warned, rushing over to Matt's computer.
"But what are they?" Yvonne took hold of one of Adeola's earpieces and pulled right out of her head, a trail of brain tissue coming out with it. "Urgh! Oh, God! It goes right inside their brain!" Yvonne squirmed in disgust, dropping the earpiece.
Shareen promptly ran into Yvonne's office and threw up in the bin, revolted at what she'd just seen.
"What about the ghost shift?" the Doctor asked, messing with Matt's computer.
"90% there and still rising." Yvonne replied, "Can't you two stop it?"
"They're still controlling it. They've hijacked the system." the Doctor answered, giving up on the computer.
"Who's 'they'?" Yvonne questioned
The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and held it flat in the palm of his hand, turning slowly. "Might be a remote transmitter, but it's gotta be close by." he said to no one in particular, "I can trace it. Jackie, Shareen, stay here!" he advised and dashed off, having picked up a signal on his sonic screwdriver.
"Keep those levers down! Keep them offline!" Yvonne ordered her staff as she followed the Doctor.
Shareen meanwhile noticed Rajesh speaking frantically into the webcam on Yvonne's laptop, the words 'Sphere activated' flashing across the screen. "Rose!" she gasped and hurried over to Adeola's dead body. "Sorry, Addy." she said as she removed Adeola's ID lanyard.
"Where're ya going?" Jackie asked her
"To find Rose." Shareen answered and hurried off towards the sphere chamber.
~8~
In the sphere chamber, Rajesh was at panic stations. "We've got a problem down here." he said into the computer. "Yvonne, can you hear me?" The sphere was now vibrating. "Yvonne, for God's sake, the sphere is active! The readings are going wild! It's got weight, it's got mass, an electromagnetic field, it exists!"
"Rose!" Shareen hollered as she barelled into the room.
"'Reen, what's goin' on up there?" Rose asked
"Search me." Shareen sighed, then she noticed the other occupant in the room. "Mickey?!"
"Hello, 'Reen." Mickey smiled, "Long time no see."
Suddenly, a crash sounded from behind them. "The door's sealed." Rajesh realised, "Automatic quarantine, we can't out!" He frantically rushed off to try and override the quarantine.
Mickey on the other hand was calm as a cucumber. "It's ok." he said to Rose and Shareen, . "We've beaten 'em before, we can beat 'em again. That's why I'm here. The fight goes on."
"The fight against what?" Rose asked as the sphere continued to vibrate.
"What d'ya think?" Mickey retorted, then they all stumbled as two violent crashes emitted from the sphere, shaking the room.
~8~
The Doctor ran down a corridor, letting his sonic screwdriver guide him. Yvonne followed him and stopped two passing soldiers. "You two, come with us." she ordered, and the soldiers complied
~8~
In the lever room, technicians tried and failed to push the errant levers back down. Jackie squinted as the light from the wall became increasingly brighter.
~8~
The Doctor, Yvonne and the soldiers stopped by a curtained-off area. "What's down here?" the Doctor asked
"I don't... I dunno." Yvonne replied, "I think it's building work. It's just renovations."
"You should go back." the Doctor advised as he pushed the curtains aside and stepped through.
"Think again." Yvonne retorted as she and the soldiers followed him. As they made their way through, the sonic screwdriver began to bleep. "What is it? What's down here?" Yvonne asked
"Earpieces, EarPods, this world is collidin' with another." the Doctor frowned, "And I think we know which one."
Then, they heard metallic clanging from the other side of the curtains and on the other side were some very familiar silhouettes getting into position. "What are they?" Yvonne whispered nervously
"They came though first." the Doctor replied grimly, "The advance guard. Cybermen!"
And sure enough, Cybus Cybermen burst through the curtains and marched towards the group. The two soldiers opened fire on the Cybermen but had no effect on their metal armour. The Doctor and Yvonne tried to slip away, but they were surrounded.
~8~
More crashes emitted from the sphere. "But... but I don't understand." Shareen said, "What's goin' on?"
"We had 'em beaten, but they escaped." Mickey explained, "The Cybermen just vanished. They found a way through to this world, but so did we."
"The Doctor said that was impossible." Rose reminded
"Yeah, well it's not the first time he's been wrong." Mickey replied
"Well, in this case, I'm glad of it." Shareen said, happy to see Mickey again. Rose and the Doctor had told her about Mickey staying in the parallel world and she had been upset to hear that she would never see Mickey again.
"What's inside that sphere?" Rose asked as more crashes sounded from within.
"No one knows." Mickey replied, "Cyber-Leader, Cyber-King, Emperor of the Cybermen... whatever it is..." He grinned. "He's dead meat."
"It's good to see you." Rose smiled
"Yeah, it's good to see ya too." Mickey smiled back, just as the sphere juddered again.
~8~
The Cybermen led the Time Lords and Yvonne back into the lever room. "Get away from the machines, do as they say, don't fight them!" the Doctor warned the Humans.
The Cybermen revealed weapons in their wrists and shot the technicians by the levers anyway. "What are they?!" a terrified Jackie gasped
"We are the Cybermen." a Cyberman answered. This one had black handles, denoting it as leader.
The Doctor then realised that someone was missing. "Where's Shareen?" he frowned
"She ran off to find Rose." Jackie told him, "What is it? What's happening?"
"The ghost shift will be increased to 100%." the CyberLeader announced. It clamped a fist to it's chest plate and the levers shot up by themselves, activating the ghost shift.
"Online." the computer announced
"Here come the ghosts." the Doctor said grimly as the light brightened. He knew what the ghosts were now, and it meant disaster for the Human race.
~8~
All over the world, more ghosts than ever appeared. "It's extraordinary, there are more ghosts than we've ever seen before." the Ghostwatch presenter commented, "And it's happening all over the world."
~8~
"As far as we know, the increase in ghost activity is harmless." a police superintendent said at a press conference.
~8~
Rajesh frantically tried to make contact with the outside world. "Can anyone hear me? Come on, I need help down here! I need..." He was cut off by a loud screech from within the sphere.
Mickey removed his lab coat and earpieces, ready for action. "Here we go." he said grimly as a smooth crack appeared in the sphere and it began to open.
~8~
In the lever room, rows upon rows of ghosts marched out of the breach. "But these Zbermen, what've they gotta do with the ghosts?" Jackie asked the Doctor.
"Don't ya ever listen?" the Doctor hissed, "A footprint doesn't look like a boot!"
"Achieving full transfer." the CyberLeader announced
"They're Cybermen. All of the ghosts are Cybermen." the Doctor said grimly, "Millons of 'em. Right across the world.
~8~
And sure enough, all over the world, the ghosts solidified into Cybermen. Naturally, panic ensured as people screamed and ran from the terrifying metal monsters.
~8~
"They're not ghosts!" the Ghostwatch presenter hollered, "They're metal men..." He was cut off by a Cyberman stomping across the studio to him and then it strangled him.
~8~
"I urge you, stay in your homes!" the police superintendent urged.
~8~
Hundreds of Cybermen stood in the lever room of Torchwood Tower, all ready for war. "They're invading the whole planet." Yvonne realised
"It's not an invasion, it's too late for that." the Doctor said grimly "It's a victory."
Then, they looked round as Yvonne's laptop started bleeping. "Sphere activated." it announced. The Doctor looked at the computer with his brow furrowed. The day had started so well, and now all this had happened.
~8~
Light continued to spill from the sphere. "I know what's in there, an' I'm ready for 'em." Mickey said, "I've got just the thing." He retrieved a huge gun that he had been hiding under the sphere's platform and positioned himself in front of the sphere. "This is gonna blast 'em to hell."
"Samuel, what're you doing?!" Rajesh stared
"The name's Mickey. Mickey Smith. Defending the Earth." Mickey replied, cocking his gun ready to face whatever it was that was about to come out of the sphere.
"Wow, you've changed." Shareen remarked, "Long way from PlayStation, eh, Micks?"
~8~
"But I don't understand." the Doctor said to the Cybermen. "The Cybermen don't have the technology to build a Void ship, it's way beyond you. How did you create that sphere?"
"The sphere is NOT ours." the CyberLeader answered
The Doctor was stunned at this news. "What?" he stared
"The sphere broke down the barriers between worlds. We only followed. It's origin is unknown."
"Then what's inside it...?" the Doctor breathed
"Rose and Shareen are down there." Jackie reminded him
~8~
Four objects began to emerge from the now-open sphere. "That's not Cybermen." Mickey frowned
And indeed they weren't. They were four pepper pot-shaped objects; one black, three bronze, and all four had an eyestalk on top and a plunger arm and laser gun on their mid-sections.
"Oh, my god!" Rose gasped in horror, knowing only too well what they were.
"What the hell are they?!" Shareen stared
"Daleks." Rose answered fearfully
"Location: Earth." the black Dalek announced, "Life forms detected. Exterminate!"
Recovering from his shock, Mickey aimed his gun at the Daleks while Rose and Shareen could only stare at them in wide-eyed fear.
"Exterminate!" all four Daleks chanted, "Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!"
To be continued...
Author's notes: And after a detour to Pete's World, we're back with Shareen and the prime universe. She's in at the deep end once again and is about to have her first encounter with the Daleks. Note that Shareen gets to hang around with the Doctor a lot more than she has previously, useful practice for when she becomes a full-time companion which won't be long now. Note that I had Shareen not be a fan of the ghosts. I felt that maybe there were a few people who weren't desensitised to the ghosts and so I made Shareen one of them. She's not too fond of Torchwood either and who can blame her? Now Jack Harkness' Torchwood is another matter entirely but that won't be for a while yet. A lot going on in this chapter, so I hope ya like and hope to see ya next time for Doomsday.