"Do you think that's enough?" asked Ron, firing off one last firework into the sky as Harry and Hermione put their wands away. "Do you think we've got their attention?"
"We better bloody have," said Gene. "Because I'm not waiting around out here for them to…oh, there's one of them."
"Blofeld," said James, drawing his gun. "I've got…wait, is that…?"
"Sherlock?" asked John. "I thought he was already inside."
"He is," said Mary, coming out of the TARDIS. "Well, I certainly didn't account for THAT happening."
"For what happening?" asked Martha, currently disguised as Sherlock. "I thought you knew the woman you took the hairs from."
"I never said that," said Mary. "I literally walked outside and yanked some hairs out of a passing woman's head. She said some rude things to me, but I just left to get some Polyjuice Potion and find where you ended up."
"Fantastic," said Harry sarcastically. "Now we may have to help Sherlock."
"…I mean, we don't HAVE to…" started Ron.
"RON…" said Hermione, in a tone that gave her voice a sharp edge.
"Alright, what's the plan?" asked Ron.
"Well, they don't know about Martha yet," said Hermione. "That could come in handy as a distraction."
"I'm not sure I approve of putting Martha in danger," said the Doctor.
"Neither do I," said Martha.
"You don't have to get into any kind of danger," said Hermione. "You just need to be seen. As for some of us though…Harry, do you have your Invisibility Cloak right now?"
"Give me a minute," said Harry, who apparated away, only to reappear a few seconds later. "Found it," he said, holding it up for everyone to see. "James was trying to hide it in his room. I think he's determined to have it one day."
"Excuse me?" asked James. "I can't say I own anything like that."
"Not you, my son James," said Harry.
"Oh…thank you for naming him after me," said James, with a bit of mock gratitude in his voice.
Harry sighed. "No, he's named after my father," said Harry.
"Oh…" said James. "You look a bit old to be my kid. Though I guess it's possible. Was your mother Honey Ryder? Tatiana Romanova? Pussy Galore?"
"What the hell are these names?" asked Hermione.
"It's not important," said Mary, stopping the conversation before it got any more explicit. "Right now, we need to focus on getting Mr. Holmes back…"
"I suppose…" muttered Gene.
"…so let's get to…" started Mary, as something on the TARDIS's console started beeping. "What's that?"
"Sorry, we're getting a message," said the Doctor, rushing to answer it. "Hello, Doctor speaking."
"Ah, Doctor, just who I wanted to speak to," said Missy, appearing on a screen before them. "I believe this is a friend of yours?" Missy stepped aside to reveal Sherlock, looking very shaken but otherwise unhurt.
"What the hell did you do to him?" demanded John.
"Oh, just this," said Bellatrix, drawing her wand as she came into view. "CRUCIO!" There was a sound like a crack of thunder, following by Sherlock writhing in pain.
"Stop it…" said John, trying to contain his anger. "STOP IT!"
"Okay Miss Lestrange, I think you've made your point," said Missy.
"Well, that's no fun," whined Bellatrix, who still cut the spell.
"Anyway, now that you've seen what's going on here…" said Missy. "Here are my demands, and then I'll release Sherlock."
"We don't negotiate with terrorists," said Mary, stepping in front of the Doctor.
"Miss Poppins, please step aside, this is between myself and the Doctor," said Missy impatiently.
"What did you just say?" demanded Mary, clearly not amused.
"You don't want to say that to her," the Doctor. "She gets a bit snippy."
"Oh, do you want to join her?" snapped Mary.
"No, no, absolutely not," said the Doctor, backing off. "Just trying to warn her not to make you angry."
"Oh? And why's that Doctor?" asked Mary, in a tone that made it clear she knew why and was daring him to say what it was.
"Would anyone like to back me up here?" asked the Doctor.
"Sorry mate, you got yourself into this mess," said Ron, watching on in amusement.
"Can we please get back on topic?" asked Missy, disliking being ignored.
"Oh, that's right, you're still pretending you're a threat," said Mary dismissively. "We'll be around shortly to deal with you."
"What did you…" started Missy, but Mary had already disconnected the call. "Did she just hang up on me?"
"To be honest…I would too," wheezed Sherlock, still recovering from the pain of Bellatrix's last curse.
"Oh, quiet you," said Missy impatiently. "Now, what can you tell me about your team's plans?"
"Oh, come on, are you really that stupid?" asked Sherlock, knowing full well what was about to happen.
"Bellatrix?" asked Missy.
"CRUCIO!" yelled Bellatrix, causing Sherlock to grit his teeth to in order to avoid screaming out in pain.
"Isn't it adorable that he's pretending to be so tough?" asked Missy. "Okay, stop for a moment, let's ask again.
"I will get him to scream, I swear," said Bellatrix, cutting off the spell. "They're not normally this resilient."
"Don't worry, I believe you," said Missy, as Sherlock regained his senses again.
"What I meant…by my earlier answer…" breathed Sherlock. "Is that any other halfwit would at least have an idea of what their opponent was planning by now."
"You really do like pain, don't you?" asked Missy. "Bellatrix, could you put him under for a full minute?"
"Ooh, sadistic," said Bellatrix with a grin. "CRUCIO!" This time, Bellatrix held the spell for far longer than before. However, Sherlock seemed intent on holding back his screams of agony no matter what.
This time when the spell let up, Sherlock let out a relieved sigh, before breathing in and out deeply to calm himself. "You know, you don't have to go through all this," said Missy. "Just tell me what you know, and…"
"You realise they've probably made new plans at this point, right?" asked Sherlock. "Plans I wasn't there for?"
"Possibly," said Missy. "Though I will admit, it is fun seeing you try to avoid screaming in pain."
"You won't," said Sherlock. "I've already figured out how the spell works."
"Huh?" said Bellatrix, confused. "It's magic, that's all you need to know."
"Yes, it's magic," said Sherlock. "But there's more to it. I realised after the first one that it activates my pain receptors, so I've been focusing my thoughts on not using them. Basically, your little spell won't work on me."
"Huh…" said Missy, stunned. "That was unexpected."
"What do we do now?" asked Bellatrix.
"There's still two other Unforgivable Curses, right?" asked Missy.
"You mean…" started Bellatrix.
"Yes," said Missy. "The Imperius Curse."
"Okay, I suppose I can use that one first," said Bellatrix, a note of disappointment in her voice.
"The what?" asked Sherlock, somewhat concerned.
"Never you mind," said Bellatrix, raising her wand. "Imperio!"
Meanwhile…
"Can't say I ever cared much for sneaking about," muttered Gene. "I like my enemies to know they're about to feel the force of Gene Hunt."
"I'm surprised you ever get anything done then," said James, just ahead of him.
"Guys, quiet," said Harry. "This cloak only makes us invisible. It's not soundproof."
"That's another thing," said Gene. "Why can't you make this thing bigger so we don't have to crouch to sneak through the place?"
"Because this thing is an ancient artifact created by Death himself," said Harry. "I don't know that it would be a good idea to mess with it."
"Death…created this?" asked James, somewhat concerned.
"I thought it looked familiar," said Gene.
"So did I," came a voice behind them, and suddenly they felt the Cloak being ripped off of them. "Honestly, I thought sneaking was supposed to be quiet."
"And I thought you were supposed to be a copper Keats, but turns you're the bloody devil in disguise," said Gene, turning to face his old acquaintance.
"Oh, don't be like that Gene," said Keats. "Just think of all the good times we had."
"You mean like ten seconds from now when I've beaten you to a bloody pulp?" asked Gene. "Because that will be the best time I've ever had with you."
"Aww, that's adorable Gene," said Keats. "You think you have a chance against us."
"Bring it on, wanker," said Gene, striding forward to throw his first punch. "You two go ahead, this won't take long."
"You sure?" asked Harry. "Because that's an awful lot of fire coming up behind him."
"Well, unless you have a better idea…" started Gene.
"Aguamenti!" yelled Harry, pointing his wand at Keats. A strong stream of water blasted out of Harry's wand, knocking Keats to the ground.
"That seems to have worked," said James. "Now Keats is all washed up."
"If I didn't need you as a possible distraction, I'd kill you for that pun," said Gene.
"Oh please, allow me," said Keats, getting off the ground with fire forming around him.
"Petrificus Totalus!" yelled Harry, and suddenly Keats's arms were pinned to his sides and his legs were stuck together, as he fell over.
"Did…you just kill him?" asked James.
"No, just a body binding spell," said Harry. "He won't be moving for a while."
"Pity," said Gene, walking up to Keats immobile body. Without warning, Gene brought his leg back and swiftly kicked Keats in the face. "Prick."
"Oof, I've been where he is," said Harry, grabbing his cloak and leading the others through the warehouse.
Meanwhile…
"Are you sure you'll be able to find Sherlock?" asked John.
"Absolutely," said Hermione, pulling out her wand. "Appare Vestigium." A yellow dust started flowing out of her wand, and the floor became covered in footprints. "Let's see…Sherlock was disguised as an old lady, with a shoe size of approximately 8, so…this is probably him. Especially if he was being led by Moriarty or Voldemort at the time."
"Then let's…" started Martha, before pulling up short. "Um, are you two vampires and that's just a mirror ahead of me, or…"
"Sherlock!" cried John, starting to run forward, before Hermione grabbed his wrist. "What are you doing? He's right…"
"Something seems off," said Hermione.
"What's wrong, Miss Granger?" asked Sherlock. "You're pretty smart, you should know that I could figure out how to escape."
"From at least two of the most powerful dark wizards of all time?" asked Hermione. "I don't buy that for a second."
"Miss Granger, you must believe me…" started Sherlock.
"No, I won't," said Hermione, pointing her wand at Sherlock. "I'm sorry Mr. Holmes, but I can't…"
"No, I'm sorry Miss Granger," said a new voice, and Moriarty walked out of one of the nearby rooms. "Actually I'm not, but that's beside the point. You see, Mr. Holmes is on our side now. So don't try to reason with him, he won't. Also, he'll be the one to kill you, so there's that too. Sherlock, if you would."
As if on command, Sherlock reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Martha, and began to squeeze the trigger…
"Expelliarmus!" cried Hermione, blasting Sherlock with a powerful disarming spell. The gun flew out of Sherlock's hand and straight into Hermione's. "Here, take this," she said, shoving the gun into Martha's hand.
"Oh, you think you've won?" asked Moriarty, almost laughing as he spoke.
"You're outnumbered three to one, and one of those three is one of the most powerful witches in the world," said John. "I don't like your chances."
"You're forgetting him, aren't you?" asked Moriarty, still smirking as he leaned against a nearby wall. "Sick 'em, Sherlock."
Sherlock got back on his feet, and just as Hermione was raising her wand to cast another spell, Sherlock threw her to the ground and kicked her wand away, then started trying to grab the gun out of Martha's hands. "Stop it! Get off of me," said Martha, trying to hold the detective off as best she could.
"Sherlock, stop this," said John, trying to step between the two. "Leave her alone. Don't you remember who you are?"
"He's under the Imperius curse," said Hermione. "Basically, whatever they tell him to do, he has to do."
"He's been brainwashed?" asked John, looking concerned.
"Put simply, yes," said Hermione, trying to grab her wand.
"Not so fast," said Moriarty, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her backwards. "This is getting interesting."
"SHERLOCK! SNAP OUT OF IT!" yelled John, slapping Sherlock as hard as he could. Sherlock looked at John, stunned, before punching John as hard as he could, knocking him to the floor, and making another grab for the gun.
"No you don't," said Martha, pointing the gun straight up and firing until it ran out of ammo. Martha threw the gun to the floor and continued to wrestle with the detective, making it difficult to tell which one was which.
"Good luck figuring out which one is which now," said Hermione. "Identical clothes and appearance, and there's still forty-five minutes before the Polyjuice wears off."
"And I was told you were smart," said Moriarty, heavy disappointed in his voice. "Sherlock, speak up so I know which one is you."
"That would be me," said both Martha and Sherlock at the same time.
"Hmm, being tricky are you?" asked Moriarty, smirking. "Okay, let's try this a different way. You on the left, say your name."
"Sherlock Holmes," said the Sherlock on the left, who then reached his hand up to scratch his chin.
"Now, you on the right," said Moriarty.
"Sherlock Holmes," said the Sherlock on the right, sounding exactly the same as the first Sherlock. The first Sherlock moved his hand away from his chin.
"Huh…wasn't expecting that," said Moriarty, confused. "Okay, Plan B." Moriarty walked up to the second Sherlock, and punched him in the face.
"Ow, what the hell?" snapped Martha, before realising her mistake.
"There we go," said Moriarty, handing a gun to Sherlock. "Kill her."
"NO!" yelled Hermione, making another dive for her wand as Moriarty blocked her. "SHERLOCK!"
"Just one question Moriarty," said Sherlock as he pulled the trigger…
…while pointing the gun at Moriarty. "Did I have you fooled?" Moriarty stared at Sherlock, stunned. He didn't even seem to have registered he had a bullet hole in his shoulder.
"Wh…what?" asked Hermione. "How? I assumed you were…"
"Under mind control?" asked Sherlock. "Sorry, it was necessary so I could get them away from each other."
"But…how did you break through it?" asked John. "I mean, Hermione and the others make it seem like magic is very powerful, so much so that even actual witches and wizards have a hard time resisting it."
"Elementary, my dear Watson," said Sherlock. "You see, I worked out what magic is."
"You…worked out what magic is?" asked Hermione, sceptical.
"Yes, Miss Lestrange was most helpful in that endeavour," said Sherlock. "That torture spell she put on me helped me realise that all the spell was doing was activating my pain receptors. With that in mind, when she cast the mind control spell on me, all I had to do was work out what the spell was doing to me, and break through it. Then, as I was wrestling with Miss Jones before, I made sure to whisper everything into her ear so she wouldn't give anything away. I knew Moriarty would ask to hear my voice if we seemed identical, so I pretended to scratch my chin when Miss Jones supposed to talk, in order to cover the fact that she was lip-syncing me."
"That's…incredibly impressive," said Hermione. "Most wizards couldn't do that, and you only learned about magic a few hours ago."
"Well, not to brag, but I am quite brilliant," said Sherlock with a smile.
"Heh, but not brilliant enough," said Moriarty, who'd collapsed against the wall.
"What do you mean?" asked John, standing over him.
"Can't you hear them?" asked Moriarty, grinning like a maniac. "They're here for you."
"Who's here for us?" demanded John.
"Uh, guys?" said Martha. "You might wanna see what's happening out here."
Hermione, Sherlock, and John rushed over to the window, and saw the crowd of people below. "What…" started Hermione.
"We knew you were coming…" said Moriarty. "We knew we couldn't overpower you by ourselves. So, we're letting the people of London do that for us, thanks to our latest video."
"There's another one?" asked John.
Meanwhile…
"…and now that we're under attack, you need to ask yourselves: do you want your loved ones back, or not?" asked Moriarty on the video.
Mary walked over to the window and saw the crowd surging below them. "Well, that could be problematic," she said, as Ron and the Doctor finished tying up Blofeld.