Hey, folks! Yes, I'm back. Grad school is, unsurprisingly, quite challenging, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Now, this story is a hard one to write-Human Nature/Family of Blood is really such a wonderful story that I wanted to keep a lot of the core elements, but at the same time, some things are going to be VERY different, oh yes...
There were times, especially since regaining his powers, when Barry reveled in his super-speed; the feeling of the ground beneath his feet, the wind rushing through his hair, the lightning surging through every cell in his body. Then again, there were also times when he just found it really handy, like when he, Martha, and the Doctor were watching a concert, and suddenly four beams of emerald energy lanced over their heads and vaporized a few audience members in front of them.
Rushing his friends into the TARDIS, he kicked the doors shut behind them. The Doctor, not even stopping to take his coat off, lunged for the controls and set the TARDIS into flight.
"Did they see you?" he snapped as he pulled a lever.
"I don't know," Martha gasped.
"But did they see you?" the Doctor snapped.
"No, they couldn't have," Barry shook his head. "I grabbed you guys the second the energy bolts started moving. Literally the second…"
He trailed off as the Doctor let out a yell. "They're following us!"
"Stolen technology," he added in response to his friends' unspoken queries. "They've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator. They can follow us wherever we go, right across the universe. They're never going to stop, unless…I'll have to do it."
The Doctor ran his hand through his hair. "Martha, Barry, you trust me, don't you?"
They both nodded, and the Doctor held out an ornately decorated pocket watch.
"Take this watch, because my life depends on it. The watch is me."
Martha shot a look at Barry, who shrugged eloquently. Seeing the confusion in their eyes, the Doctor explained further as he manipulated the controls on the console, almost dancing around in his agitation.
"Those creatures are hunters. They can sniff out anyone, and me being a Time Lord, well, I'm unique. They can track me down across the whole of time and space."
"And the good news is…" Martha raised her eyebrows.
"They can smell me, they haven't seen me. And their life span'll be running out, so we hide. Wait for them to die."
"Still not understanding," Barry put in. "What's the watch gonna do?"
"I have to stop being a Time Lord," the Doctor explained. "I'm going to become human."
He nodded to a headset descending from the ceiling. "Never thought I'd use this. All the times I've wondered…Chameleon Arch. Rewrites my biology. Literally changes every single cell in my body. I've set it to human."
As he inserted the watch and lowered the arch onto his own head, he explained that the TARDIS would invent a backstory for him, but they would have to improvise. "I should have just enough residual awareness to let you in."
"Wait, if they have a time machine, how do we know they won't go after some other version of you?" Marta piped up.
"They're locked on to our time track now," the Doctor explained, nodding in appreciation of the point. "They'll be following us."
"How long?" Barry asked.
"Oh, shouldn't be too long…say, three months, tops?"
"But, hold on," Martha protested. "If you're going to rewrite every single cell, isn't it going to hurt?"
"Oh, yeah," the Doctor said grimly. "It hurts."
And it did.
After what felt like an eternity, the Doctor stopped screaming, and crumpled to the ground. Martha and Barry, who'd been holding each other tightly, knelt over him.
"How is he?" Barry asked his friend.
"Pulse is steady," she reported, trying to keep her voice from quavering. "His hearts…I mean, heart is beating a little fast, not exactly surprising." Martha took a deep breath. "Temperature seems normal. Human normal. Oh my God, he actually did it. He really turned himself into a human."
Barry heaved a sigh and touched the pocket where he'd tucked the identity papers the TARDIS had made for them, shrugging as the itchy collar of his jacket scratched his skin. Martha nodded to him and reached up to grab the watch, tucking it securely in a pocket of her own coat and buttoning it shut.
"I guess…I guess we'd better get started."
With a bit of help from Martha, Barry got one of the Doctor's—no, John Smith's—arm around his shoulders, the other around Martha's, and staggered upright, taking most of the weight himself. While he wasn't anywhere near Cap's strength, his muscles had definitely been improved by the lightning, enough that the body slung over his shoulders wasn't too much of a burden. He cast one last look behind him at the console room, saying a silent goodbye.
Martha stepped ahead to open the doors, revealing a small, abandoned building, possibly a former storehouse of some kind, with nothing of interest save the older man sitting cross-legged in meditation posture in front of them.
"Who…" Martha started. The man raised his head and smiled.
"Hello again, Barry."
For the first time since the Family had gotten onto their trail, Barry smiled. "Hey, Max! Good to see you again."
Yep, Max Mercury is back! He is a time traveler, after all. Never late nor early, always arriving precisely when he means to.
In case anyone's wondering, well, I don't usually do the fancasting thing, but I could definitely see him as Sir Ian McKellen. If anyone else wants to come up with a better idea, I'd love to hear it!
Next chapter will be up...soon. Ish. Thank you all for your patience! :)
