Torchwood's Flower

by winter129

A whovian falls through the Rift into the Doctor and Torchwood's reality. But when she gets to join Torchwood, she is left with the burden of knowing the timelines and wishing to change it. Just how much would she risk for the team and the Universe?

24. The Poison Sky

A/N: Hello everyone! I apologize for the long absence once again. Schoolwork is piling up and being sick is also not helping. I have been coming back to this chapter as much as I could and hadn't realized how much time it would require for me to work on it when I do. Thank you all once again for the long wait! And once again, please leave me reviews!

Chapter 24: The Poison Sky

After about an hour, Iris heard the familiar rumble of the Rover come over. She rolled her eyes as Donna muttered incredulously, "Isn't travel time from Cardiff to Chiswick around 3 hours?"

Iris muttered back, "It's Jack. He doesn't follow traffic laws. And the world is emitting gas and cars are not going to really be driven. He's probably the only one driving at this point."

The Doctor chuckled while Jack parked the rover and asked, "Delivery service? Someone ordered for one Jack Harkness?"

Iris rolled her eyes at that and went up to his hug and said, "I believe I ordered for one Rover, plus a side of Harkness?"

Jack laughed and then saw Donna. Unwrapping his arms and walking over to Ross, he said, "Hi, I'm Captain Ja-"

"Oh don't start!" The Doctor yelled. He looked annoyed and impatient as he headed towards the rover while Donna laughed at his attitude and said,

"Donna Noble. Glad to meet you. Heard all about you Jack."

Jack smiled widely and said, "Well, we better get to work, shouldn't we?"

Iris exasperatedly answered, "Yes please! Now, Donna, get in the back with the Doctor. Grab on tight. He's a reckless driver."

Ross frowned as he said, "We're not riding in a Torchwood vehicle."

Iris sighed and looked at him with annoyance as she ordered, "Yes we will. We don't really have the time or patience to argue Ross. This is urgent business and we don't want the world to become the Sontaran's plaything do we?"

Ross shook his head, looking a little dejected at that and Iris continued,

"Then get in the car, please."

Ross followed instructions.

Jack chuckled before buckling himself up and driving towards the ATMOS factory. Donna looked at the high-tech car and gasped as she said, "Oh my God… you work around with this?"

Iris shrugged and said, "Best way to get people out of the way from traffic if we need to. Although, it's not that secretive, considering it has Torchwood written on it."

Jack just rolled his eyes at that. As they were driving, Jack reported back to Iris and the Doctor about the situation in Wales. Iris made sure to keep in contact with Tosh and had her stop Mason from sending the nuclear weapons out. The Doctor was visibly angry when Iris had told them about the weapons, but he didn't mind Torchwood stopping UNIT from firing those missiles. Honestly, when one of them seemed good, the other seemed to do something immensely stupid.

When Jack parked by the industrial estate, Ross got out and headed towards the building when the Doctor suddenly grabbed the man's arm and said, "Ross, look after yourself. Get inside the building."

Ross nodded and said, "Will do." Then he talked into his communicator, "Greyhound Forty to Trap One. I have just returned the Doctor and Iris to base safe and sound. Over."

Jack looked at Ross and then back to Iris, who merely shrugged and followed the others, not liking how heavy the air seemed to be getting with the gas the Sontarans were emitting. Donna looked disgusted as she said,

"The air is disgusting."

The Doctor just made a nonchalant noise before saying, "It's not so bad for me. Go on, get inside the TARDIS. Oh, I've never given you a key…"

With that, he pulled one out of his pocket and tossed her one as he said, "Keep that. Go on, that's yours. Quite a big moment really."

Jack smiled widely, seeing the special moment and Iris just hugged him, having missed his warmth. Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they watched Donna, who looked flabbergasted before getting a hold of herself and cheekily answered,

"Yeah, maybe we can get sentimental after the world's finished choking to death."

Iris smiled and said, "Good idea."

Donna noticed how the Doctor, Jack and Iris were all heading away and asked incredulously, "Where are you lot all going?"

The Doctor answered, a gleam in his eyes not up for an argument, "To stop a war."

Donna swallowed a little bit and followed his instructions, unlocking the TARDIS before heading inside the ship. Jack had to explain his way through so that he could get inside the mobile HQ. Once they were all inside, the Doctor said,

"Right then, here I am. Good. Whatever you do, Colonel Mace, do not engage the Sontarans in battle. There is nothing they like better than a war. Just leave this to me."

Mace looked annoyed as he asked, "And what are you going to do?"

Jack answered this time, stepping up his authority with, "He's got the TARDIS. He's going to get on their ship. And then, he's going to do something amazing and prevent a bloodbath."

Iris grimaced at the last word, but nodded all the same. She eyed the second Martha, who was oblivious to Iris' wary glance. The Doctor felt the suspicion from Iris and wasn't sure what to feel, until he smelt it. He didn't say anything much but did turn around to face the other Martha and said, "Come on." And led the way.

The Other Martha looked confused as she followed the Doctor as she asked, "But where's the TARDIS?"

The Doctor ignored the question as he said, "Taste that, in the air. Yuck. That sort of metal tang. Teleport exchange. It's the Sontarans. They've taken it. I'm stuck on Earth like, like an ordinary person. Like a human. How rubbish is that?"

Then a whack to his arm made him cry out in pain and glare at Iris as he asked, "What was that for?"

Iris glared at him and said, "If you haven't exactly noticed, Donna is still in that TARDIS of yours. Also, that was for insulting us humans."

The Doctor heard the venom in her voice and cringed as he said, "Oh…"

Jack saw how vocal Iris was in this case compared to herself at Torchwood and smiled a little. The Doctor was doing her some good. Iris was coming out of her shell, and the Doctor was the key to her being more open to them again.

Other Martha looked a little frustrated as she asked, "So what do we do now?"

The Doctor looked a little tired as he said, "Well, I mean, it's shielded. They could never detect it…"

A glare from Iris made him wince a little as he changed the topic and asked Martha, "I'm just wondering, have you phoned your family and Tom?"

Jack looked over, wondering who Tom was when he spotted the ring. He looked over at Iris for confirmation and she nodded as they heard the Other Martha respond with,

"No. What for?"

The three all frowned at that response. Jack stepped a little closer to Martha and said, "The gas. You should probably tell them to stay inside."

The Other Martha's eyebrows shot up in realization and she said, "Course I will, yeah, but… what about Donna? I mean… is she gonna be alright?"

Iris interjected and said, "Yeah, I made sure that it's safe enough for her."

The Doctor whipped his head over and asked, "When?"

Iris shrugged and said, "Well, it's not too hard to ask the TARDIS to set protective programs up. The Sontarans can't get near it. I made sure of it."

The Doctor smiled proudly at her and then looked over back at Martha as he said, "Right, we got that settled with. So… Avanti."

The four people walked to the Mobile headquarters and then the Doctor told them, "Change of plan."

Mace misunderstood him as he smiled and said, "Good to have you fighting alongside us, Doctor."

Jack shook his head at that and said, "You guys really don't know him well, do you. He's not going to fight."

The Doctor nodded and the Colonel looked angry at being corrected by Torchwood, but the Doctor quickly added a question, "Now, does anyone know what this gas is yet?"

Other Martha shook her head as she said "We're working on it."

Another person piped up with, "It's harmful, but not lethal until it reaches 80% density. We're having the first reports of deaths from the centre of Tokyo City."

The Doctor looked impressed as he asked, "And who are you?"

The person who responded answered with, "Captain Marion Price, sir."

Iris and the Doctor groaned at the salute as the Time Lord said, "Oh, put your hand down. Don't salute."

Jack chuckled and nudged Iris, whispering, "He really doesn't like that does he?"

Iris glared at him and said, "He only accepts it from special people. Otherwise, he's not going to accept it from others."

Jack just nodded and then saw why Iris seemed a little distracted. She was watching Martha. It didn't seem like much, but it was clear that there was something going on. He trusted Iris on her decisions and hoped that nothing too bad will take place. Colonel Mace then spoke up with,

"Jodrell Bank's traced a signal, Doctor, coming from five thousand miles above the Earth. We're guessing that's what triggered the cars."

The Doctor thought about it for a moment and then realized, "The Sontaran Ship."

Mace then said, "NATO has gone to Defcon One. We're preparing a strike."

Jack then stepped up, glaring at the soldier and said, "We're not gonna let you do that. Those missiles won't even scratch the surface. I know, I used to be a Time Agent. Sontarans don't fall from just human nuclear weapons."

The Doctor also added, "Let me talk to the Sontarans."

Mace, clearly angry with his face going red, said, "You're not authorized to speak on behalf of the Earth."

Iris scoffed and said, "Well, that's not really the case Colonel. Just wait a few years and your policies make him the diplomat for all of this planet, so just let him talk to the Sontarans."

Mace cringed and didn't seem to agree on it, but he relented as the Doctor had already whipped out his sonic screwdriver and began calling the Sontaran Command Ship. With the impatience clearly marked on his face, he answered to Mace,

"I've got that authority. I earned that a long time ago…. Calling the Sontaran Command Ship."

Jack glanced over at her and put an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him. They saw the Sontarans come up on the screen as the Doctor said,

"Under Jurisdiction Two of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement. This is the Doctor."

Mace 's mouth dropped in shock as he saw the Sontaran for the firs ttime and muttered, "My God, they're like trolls."

Iris hissed out, "Yeah, wonderful diplomacy skills there."

The Doctor shushed her as he turned around back to the screen and said, "So, tell me, General Staal, since when did you lot become cowards?"

They all winced as Staal furiously yelled back to the Time Lord with, "How dare you!"

Mace rolled his eyes as he muttered, "Oh, that's diplomacy?"

Iris glared at him in warning, but as she saw him open his mouth again she rolled her eyes and put her hand over his mouth, surprising Mace and earning his glare. Iris just glared back, hearing Jack chuckle a little to keep himself from laughing out loud at that.

They all heard the Sontaran general add on, "Doctor, you impugn my honor."

The Doctor responded back nonchalantly, "Yeah, I'm really glad you didn't say belittle, because then I'd have a field day. But poison gas? That's the weapon of a coward and you know it."

Jack raised an eyebrow at how the Doctor kept on goading the Sontarans. Iris noticed and shrugged as she didn't really know why he did what he did even if she shared a bond with the Time Lord. She wasn't willing to learn how he thought these things through, as it would complicate things with how she withheld the information regarding the travels she recognized. The Doctor's voice brought her back to the present events as he said,

"Staal, you could blast this planet out of the sky. And yet you're sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? Where's the honor? Or are you lot planning something else, because this isn't normal Sontaran warfare. What are you lot up to?"

Iris and Jack both sighed out loud at that, not sure what was wrong with the Time Lord. But they didn't do anything else as they all heard the general say,

"A general would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing forces."

The Doctor then looked over at Iris with a look of realization as he said, "Ah, the war's not going so well, then. Losing, are we?"

Staal scoffed at that and said, "Such a suggestion is impossible."

Mace looked instantly wary at the word 'war' and asked to the Time Lord, "What war?"

Iris whispered bac to him, "The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans. It's been raging, far out in the stars, for what? 50,000 years of bloodshed, and what was that for?"

The general had heard her ask this to the Doctor and answered with, "For victory. Sontar-ha."

Then the Sontarans started chanting altogether, causing the Doctor to groan in frustration and mutter "Give me a break."

With that, he changed the channels with the screwdriver, turning on a cartoon. Jack smirked at that while Mace said,

"Doctor, I would seriously recommend that this dialogue is handled by official Earth representation."

But he didn't get a response as the Time Lord went back to the feed with Sontarans as he asked,

"Finished?"

Staal looked even more infuriated and he stated, "You will not be so quick to ridicule when you'll see our price. Behold. We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a TARDIS."

Jack's eyes widened and he looked down at Iris, who looked upset, but calm. Knowing her temper, he saw that she was worried about the well-being of Donna Noble, but wasn't too concerned that something terrible would happen. Iris chuckled a little, feeling the comfort flow through the bond she shared with the Doctor as the man said,

"Well, as prizes go, that's noble. As they say In Latin, Donna nobis pacem. Did you ever wonder about its design? It's a phone box. It contains a phone. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic. Like, if only we could communicate, you and I."

Jack realized what the time traveler was indicating and smirked when the Sontaran general responded with,

"All you communicated is your distress, Doctor."

The Doctor merely shrugged as he smiled and said, "Big mistake though, showing it to me. Because I've got remote control."

Staal looked panicked as he yelled at someone to end the transmission. The screen went blank and the Doctor drawled, "Ah, well…."

Mace looked angry at the trio and said, "That achieved nothing."

Iris merely shook her head and smiled at him as she said, "Oh, you'd be decently surprised."

Jack grabbed Iris' hand and had her look up at him. She saw an intense look in his eyes and she blushed, not able to hold the eye contact. He smiled at how she looked flustered and he just gently tilted her chin over to look at him again. Her face flushed red as he leaned in to kiss her. It had been a while since he got to really be up close with her. She leaned in to deepen the kiss when suddenly, they heard a throat get cleared and they separated. The Doctor looked uncomfortable as he tried to quell the protectiveness from his side of the bond. It wasn't that he had felt the way he should have when he made the bond with Iris, but regardless, the bond worked in mysterious ways, making male Time Lords super protective over the ones sharing their bond.

He blushed at the open displays of affection his two companions shared and stuttered, "Uh… we should… probably get a move on and talk to Martha…"

Jack laughed at his awkwardness but didn't let go of Iris. Iris raised an eyebrow at his behavior but didn't say anything as she leaned into him. She missed him dearly, and she enjoyed the warmth he provided. Jack then said,

"Let's get on then. Here goes nothing!"

The Doctor smiled, relieved that the two didn't take it badly. Although, if Jack's glance was anything, he noticed the short-lived look of protectiveness from Jack. He sighed in relief that Iris hadn't felt his discomfort at his conflicted feelings. Iris heard a beep and looked down at the small communicator that she had been using to communicate with Luke. She quickly read a message that Luke wasn't sure what to do with the students, and she quickly replied to connect himself with Torchwood, giving him her code. He quickly agreed to contact Ianto and get the situation sorted so that the students could get to safety.

Jack and Iris walked behind the Doctor and when the trio found Martha, Iris looked a little hesitant, which didn't escape Jack's notice. He raised an eyebrow and Iris seemed to contemplate before shaking her head. Even if the clone wasn't Martha, Iris couldn't deny that the clone was still alive at this moment. And it seemed horrible to kill off a life like that.

Martha's clone talked to them once she felt their presence and said,

"There's carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, but ten percent unidentified. Some sort of artificial heavy element we can't trace. You ever seen anything like it?"

The Doctor put his glasses back on and muttered, "It must be something the Sontarans invented. This isn't just poison. They need this gas for something else. What could that be?"

But as Iris was about to reply, they all heard a voice say, "Launch grid online and active."

Then Mace walked closer to the screens and said, "Positions, ladies and gentlemen. Defcon One initiatives in progress."

Jack turned around with a glare and said, "What, he told you not to launch! Stop this right now!"

Iris looked up and wasn't sure what to say as the Colonel responded with, "The gas is at 60% density. 80% and people start dying. We've got no choice."

They all heard the countdown Price was saying out loud and cringed. While the Doctor was arguing with Mace, Iris glanced secretively over at Martha's clone and saw her look up back at her warily. Iris didn't look happy with her and the clone stopped. Iris just nodded subtly and the clone's eyes widened before hurrying to press the button with 'No' on it.

The clone looked back at Iris, who didn't look happy with what was being played out in front of her but was letting it happen anyway. When the system shut down, Mace and the others looked confused as the Colonel asked,

"What is it? What happened? Did we launch? Well, did we?"

Price looked over her shoulder and shook her head while still confused as she responded with,

"Negative, sir. The launch codes have been wiped, sir. It must be the Sontarans."

Mace sighed and asked, irritation clear in his voice, "Can we override it?"

Price answered with, "Trying it now, sir."

The Doctor noticed through their bond at how Iris was not irritated and feeling impatient. It was as if she was getting sick of Mace and his militaristic behavior. He gave her a worried glance before asking to his companions,

"Missiles wouldn't even dent that ship, so why are the Sontarans so keen to stop you? Any ideas?"

Jack shook his head while Martha said, "How should I know?"

Iris grimaced and decided to answer with, "Because they need this planet. If this was a battleground, they would have already stormed us and taken over. But that's not the case. They want something from the Earth itself."

The Doctor's eyes brightened at that revelation and he pounded his head, irritation taking over as he couldn't figure out what exactly the Sontarans needed. What anything had to do with the gas outside right now. Iris felt the turmoil inside the Doctor's mind and just calmly watched him, not wanting to give him the direct answer.

Even though she wanted to, the incident with Death caused Iris to shrink back every time she felt tempted enough to tell the Time Lord of the events that were to come and how to stop this from continuing to happen. She feared the consequences. What would happen if she had pushed too far and it caused the timelines to collapse?

But it didn't take too long for her to hear Ross' voice as he said, "Grehyound Forty declaring absolute emergency!"

Iris bolted up and pushed Mace out of the way as Ross continued with, "Sontarans within factory grounds. East corridor, grid six."

Iris glanced over at Jack, who quickly got her wary look and the slight tip of her head to hold down Mace. He grabbed the officer as Iris leaned over to communication unit and said, "All troops retreat! Do not engage!"

Mace glared at her and tried to get out of the 51st century man's grasp, but couldn't as he yelled out,

"We are all at danger! We can't just let the Sontarans roam free!"

Iris glared back and said, "You don't understand how many lives you are risking. Until we have a way to cancel out the cordolaine signal, your men are weaponless and cannot fight back."

Mace's eyes turned cold as he said, "that's why we are soldiers."

Iris snapped and said, "You're setting up your me for slaughter without a valid reason. If you're ready to go about being responsible for the death of your men, go ahead."

Jack felt Mace's body stop struggling as if the statement Iris made started to sink in. Jack let go of Mace and said, "Tell me you have a way of stopping that signal."

Mace was thinking on this as Iris then stepped up to Martha's clone and whispered, "Keep pressing no."

Martha was so surprised to hear this. Nobody else had heard it and she looked back at the other woman before hurriedly pressing no again.

The Doctor was watching the screen as the Sontarans were taking over the factory, murmuring to himself,

"Why? They don't need the factory. Why attack now? What are they up to? Times like this, I could do with the Brigadier…"

When Iris elbowed him with a look, he gulped and looked back at Mace and said, "No offence."

Mace shook his head as he was still trying to figure out a way to cancel out the cordolaine signal and said, "None taken. Sir Alistair's a fine man, if not the best. Unfortunately, he's stranded in Peru."

That was when the launch grid turned back online and Iris waited for it to shut down. Once it did, Iris pulled the Doctor into Mace's office and said,

"You're really slow when it comes to finding out what they need the planet for."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at that and asked, "Are you telling me things now?"

Iris sighed and said, "Might as well… I'm getting tired of letting the soldiers remain vulnerable. We should stop this as soon as we can."

The Doctor saw exhaustion in her eyes and nodded. He felt how she was becoming restless at the events that were being played out right now. He asked,

"So what do we have to do?"

"Retrieve the one thing that they need to guard within this factory."

The Doctor's eyes widened as if understanding what she meant and glanced over at Martha. Iris then curiously asked, "Since when did you know?"

The Doctor looked a little guilty at that and answered with, "Well, I might have sneaked into your thoughts once or twice when you were debating about whether to talk to the clone."

Iris slapped him on the arm, causing the Time Lord to wince in pain as he muttered,

"I deserved that."

She just shook her head and left the office as the Time Lord followed out when Mace walked up to the duo and asked,

"This cordolaine signal thing, how does it exactly work?"

The Doctor quickly answered with, "It's the bullets. It causes expansion of the copper shell."

That's when Mace smiled and said, "Excellent. I'm on it."

With that, they saw Mace walk away while Jack joined them. Jack smirked and said, "Despite everything, I have to say that I missed this. We have Tosh making sure that the nukes won't fire, so don't worry too much about that. Owen is also trying to determine what the compound is. He says he's almost done with the analysis."

The Doctor nodded, impressed with how quickly Torchwood was working compared to UNIT. He commented as he reached for the phone Iris was handing him, "Oh, your team is good. Maybe I should meet up with them. They certainly get things done quicker."

Iris laughed at that and said, "Not too long ago, you seemed disappointed that we work under the name of Torchwood."

The Doctor shrugged and quickly dialed the number as he re-entered the office and glanced over at Martha. Iris glanced back with a worried look. Jack quietly asked while the Doctor was calling Donna and instructing her in how to get the TARDIS and herself off the Sontaran ship.

"What is it?"

Iris grabbed Jack's hand as she responded, "That's not really Martha. Or… at least not the Martha we know."

Jack's eyes widened in alarm as his voice got low and asked, "What do you mean?"

Iris glanced up at him and said, "The Sontarans made a clone of her. Given, the clone itself is connected to Martha right now, so Martha is being kept alive for now. We're gonna head down there soon once the area leading up to there is clear."

Jack sighed as he asked, "And there's no chance of you staying here?"

Iris glared at him and said, "I understand where that's coming from, but I assure you, I'm safer with the Doctor right now, trust me. I know that he tends to bring trouble with him everywhere but this is necessary."

Jack nodded and hugged her. When they broke apart, they heard the Doctor say, "Got to go. Keep the line open."

With that they saw him end the call and then they all headed out when Mace said,

"Counter attack."

Iris groaned but didn't say anything as the Time Lord angrily retorted with, "I said, you don't stand a chance."

Mace ignored them and continued to say, "Positions. That means everyone."

The pointed look he gave them was not missed as the man handed them gas masks. Iris looked at hers disdainfully before putting it on. Martha grumbled, "You lot are not going without me."

Jack winked at her and said, "Wouldn't dream of it!"

Iris felt a twinge of jealousy and quickly grabbed Jack's hand to drag him with her. Jack noticed the tenseness in her shoulders and worried a little. He hadn't seen this side to her before. As they walked outside after putting on the gas masks, they heard Mace ask,

"Latest firing stock. What do you all think?"

The Doctor said, "Are you my mummy?"

Jack laughed out loud at that and clasped his stomach. He hadn't expected that response and thought back to the time when he first met the Time Lord. Iris mentally groaned and said to the Doctor via their bond,

"Really? Is that the one thing on top of your mind right now?"

The Doctor laughed and said back to her sheepishly, "I couldn't help it."

That finally caused Iris to laugh a little while Mace glared at the trio and said, "If you all could concentrate."

This earned hard looks from the three people who had only been laughing just moments ago. He continued with,

"Bullets with a rad-steel coating. No copper surface. Should overcome the cordolaine signal."

Jack shook his head and said, "But the Sontarans have lasers. I don't think that's really efficient."

The Doctor added in, "Also, you can't even see in this fog. The night vision doesn't work."

Mace sighed and said, "Thank you, Doctor. Thank you for your lack of faith. But this time, I'm not listening."

With that, Iris removed her gas mask, knowing what was going to happen. The two men by her side also did the same as they heard Mace say,

"Attention, all troops. The Sontarans might think of us as primitive, as does ever passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more. From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back, and we show them. We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do."

With that, Mace said through his communicating device, "Trap One to Hawk Major. Go, go, go."

Iris grabbed Jack's hand upon the appearance of the Valiant as the Doctor said in awe,

"It's the Valiant."

Jack noticed the dark look flash before Iris' eyes and grasped her hand tighter. Despite it being a while since the Year that never was, it was clear that Iris still remembered the pain that came from it. The Doctor glanced back down at the woman by his side and wished he could console her. Iris felt the Doctor trying to console her through their bond and smiled up at him wryly as she looked back up at the ship as the gas was blown away from their immediate area.

The Doctor looked at Mace and said, "Whoa, that's brilliant."

Mace smirked a little as he asked, "Getting a taste for it, Doctor?"

Iris glanced warily at the man across from her as the Doctor scowled and said, "No, not at all. Not me."

That was when Iris remembered something she had been forgetting as Mace ordered, "Valiant, fire at will."

Iris reacted too late as the Valiant shot down at the ATMOS factory. She saw the massacre of the Sontarans and shuddered. It brought images from her vision of the woman back to her and it terrified her. Although she tried to hide it, it did not go unnoticed by Jack, who knew her so well that he practically caught onto most of her thoughts while the Doctor felt the fear wash through her through the bond they shared. The two men had eye contact, clearly worried for the woman as she put on a determined look and sauntered away from Mace and towards the ATMOS factory.

Martha's clone saw this interaction with confusion. She remembered Jack being in a relationship with Iris, but couldn't be disturbed by the look in the Doctor's eyes. It was a very guarded look, but if she had to say anything about it, she thought it resembled something closer to a more intimate feeling. But she was brought out of her thoughts as the trio headed towards the factory.

Confused, she asked the Doctor, "Shouldn't we follow the Colonel?"

The Doctor smiled a little while using his sonic screwdriver to scan the area as he said,

"Nah, you, me, Jack and Iris, Martha Jones. Just like old times."

Martha's clone smiled at that while stopping the nuclear strike as the Doctor looked around and muttered,

"Alien technology, this-a way."

He led the companions to a safer area. Once they finally reached the basement, the corridor lights flickered on and the Time Lord said,

"No Sontarans down here. They can't resist a battle."

He sonicked the door and when it clicked unlocked, he smiled and said, "Here we go!"

They entered and Iris immediately ran over to Martha, who was lying in the contraption, still linked to the clone. She looked back up at the clone apologetically before working to safely turn the machinery off.

The Doctor realized what she was doing as he ran over to her and said, "Oh, Martha, I'm so sorry."

Iris said, "She's still alive."

But that was when they heard a gun click followed by another. Iris looked up to find the clone pointing a gun to the Doctor's head while Jack pointed his at the clone. Iris sighed and looked towards her boyfriend and said,

"Jack, don't."

Jack looked hesitant, but when she gave him a look of reassurance, he turned the safety back on and stowed his gun safely in its rightful place."

The Doctor eyed the clone warily as he asked, "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

The clone smirked a little as she asked, "Wish you carried a gun now?"

The Doctor shook his head, disappointment showing as he said, "Not at all."

Iris carefully continued to study the machine to find a safe way to turn the machine off while she heard the clone claim, "I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time."

The Time Lord answered, "Doing exactly what I wanted. I needed to stop the missiles, just as much as Torchwood and the Sontarans did. I'm not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent."

Jack stepped and took the gun from the clone as the grip on it loosened. Martha's clone asked carefully,

"When did you know?"

The Doctor answered in a nonchalant manner, "About you? Oh, right from the moment Iris let it slip. Also, it's pretty obvious. Reduced Iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple. And frankly, you smell. You might as well have worn a T-shirt saying clone…Although, not in front of him."

Jack looked over at the man with clear irritation as he said, "I'm right here you know."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and said, "But you remember about him and Iris, don't you? Because you've got all her memories. That's why the Sontarans had to protect her, to keep you inside UNIT. Martha Jones is keeping you alive."

With that, the Doctor turned around and gave Iris the signal to wake up Martha. Iris looked up at the clone and said,

"I'm really sorry about this."

With that, Iris gently removed the device from Martha's head, causing the clone to collapse. But before the clone could fall to the ground, Jack caught her and gently laid her on the ground.

The real Martha gasped as she jerked up into a sitting position. The Doctor grabbed onto his companion and said,

"It's alright. It's alright. I'm here, I'm here. I've got you."

Martha yelled out in panic, "There was this thing, Doctor, this alien, with this head…"

Iris quickly hugged Martha and reassured her and talked to her about the clone while the Doctor answered the phone that had suddenly began ringing. When Martha finally calmed down, she looked over to her clone and said in surprise,

"Oh, my God. That's me…"

Iris nodded and helped Martha get off of the contraption and walk over to her clone. When she got close enough and crouched down, the clone, still leaning onto Jack, whispered,

"Don't touch me."

Martha whispered, "It's not my fault. The Sontarans created you, but you had all my memories."

Jack looked up at Iris, who had a solemn look on her. Jack knew how she felt and let the clone cling onto him for support in her last moments. The clone looked warily at Martha before saying,

"You've got a brother, sister, mother and father."

It almost sounded wistful, and Martha had a small smile on her face as she said, "If you don't help me, they're going to die."

The clone hesitated, not sure how to responde. When looking up towards Iris, she saw her friend nod and then answered, "You love them."

Martha nodded as a tear fell down her face as she gently asked, "Yes. Remember that?"

But the moment was broken as the Doctor rushed over and asked the clone, "The gas. Tell us about the gas."

Iris scowled at the Doctor and said to him, "Doctor. Look at her…"

The Doctor looked over to Iris at her scolding and then realized his mistake. He gave an apologetic look as the clone hissed, "He's the enemy."

Iris shook her head while Martha said, "Then tell me. It's not just poison. What's it for? Martha, please."

Martha grabbed onto her clone's hand, squeezing it gently to indicate the urgency of the situation. The clone looked at the group before sighing as breathing became more difficult as she answered,

"Caesofine concentrate. It's one part of Bosteen, two parts Probic five."

The Doctor whispered out, "It's clonefeed."

Jack asked, "What's clonefeed?"

Iris answered, "It's a gas that allows the world to become a clone world for the Sontarans. They reproduce via cloning, and this gas allows them just that. It's kind of like amniotic fluid."

Martha didn't respond as she saw how quickly her clone was deteriorating. The clone said weakly,

"My heart. It's getting slower."

Martha shook her head as she felt guilty about her death as she whispered again, "There's nothing I can do."

The clone smiled sadly as she said, "In your mind, you've got so many plans. There's so much that you want to do."

Martha nodded and smiled as she said, "And I will. Never do tomorrow what you can do today, my mum says, because-"

"Because you never know how long you've got. Martha Jones… all that life…"

And giving Martha a longing look, the clone closed her eyes an fell limp in Jack's arms. The four people remained silent for a little bit and watched Martha eventually take her engagement ring back.

They hadn't really noticed the Doctor calling Donna for the moment until they heard him shout "Now!"

They all looked up to find him zapping the teleport with his sonic screwdriver and watch Donna appear inside the teleport pod.

Iris stood up and hugged Donna, a small smile coming back to her as Donna hugged her back. The red-haired woman then sauntered towards the Doctor and punched him in the arm as she said,

"Have I ever told you how much I hate you?"

The Doctor grunted while saying, "Hold on, hold on. Got to bring the TARDIS down."

Once he was finished with that, Iris helped Martha stand up while Jack approached the Time Lord, glancing warily down at the dead clone. He sighed as the Doctor spoke to Martha,

"Right, now, Martha, you coming?"

Martha nodded as she walked up to the Doctor and asked him, "What about this nuclear launch thing?"

Iris answered with, "It's best to just keep pressing N. We don't want the missiles to do anything."

Martha nodded when Donna had finally noticed the clone in the corner, who had been carefully set down on the ground. Donna looked back up at Martha and then down at the clone as she whispered out in shock, "There's two of them."

The Doctor nodded and impatiently said, "Yeah, long story. Here we go. The old team, back together. Well, the new team."

The five people all stepped into the teleport pod as Iris rolled her eyes while Jack chuckled. Donna yelled out, "We're not going back on that ship!"

The Doctor smiled and said, "No, no, no. I needed to get the teleport working so that we could get to here. The Rattigan Academy, owned by…"

Iris looked up to find Luke pointing a gun at them, hands shaking. When the boy realized she was there and not Sontarans, he immediately dropped the gun, sighing with relief as he said,

"You're here. I thought you guys were-"

But the Doctor had walked quickly and took the gun away and threw it as he bit out, "If I see one more gun…"

Iris apologetically looked at Luke and patted him on the shoulder as she followed the Time Lord. She knew what he was looking for and began helping him while Jack said to Martha,

"You know, that coat sort of works."

Donna nodded at that and said, "Yeah, looks good on you."

Martha laughed at that and said, "I feel like a kid in my dad's clothes."

Donna laughed along with Martha as she then said, "Oh well, if you're calling him dad, you're definitely getting over him."

Jack laughed along with them as they went to find the Doctor and Iris. When they walked into the laboratory, they found Luke, Iris and the Doctor building something as the Doctor rambled,

"That's why the Sontarans had to stop the missiles. They were holding back. Because caesofine gas is volatile, that's why they had to use you to stop the nuclear attack. Ground to air engagement could spark off the whole thing."

Martha looked surprised and asked, "What, like set fire to the atmosphere?"

Iris nodded as she said, "Yeah. They need all the gas intact to breed their clone army."

The Doctor hummed in agreement and then said, "And all the time we had Luke here in his dream factory. Planning a little trip, were we?"

Luke tensed up at that and muttered, "I was stupid to believe that they would let me go to a new world."

The Doctor's eyes softened at that and said, "You were building equipment, ready to terraform somewhere so that humans could live there and breathe the air with this. An atmospheric converter."

Jack noticed how Luke's shoulders sunk down in defeat even more and he stepped and said, "I understand that you wanted to travel the universe. But hey, maybe if you clean this up, you can get a better grasp of things and help out here with UNIT instead."

Luke looked up at him in surprise and Martha looked over and said, "Yeah, we can maybe sort things out. I will put in a good word for you Luke. You realized that you made a mistake and had been saving the lives of those in your academy. There will be repercussions for the ATMOS, but once we arrange that, we may use your skillset."

Luke smiled at that, when suddenly the Doctor rushed out with the machine he and Iris finished setting up. The group followed after him when Donna stopped at the site of London as she murmured out in shock,

"That's London. You can't even see it. My family's in there."

Iris went up to Donna and hugged her as she said, "Don't worry. This will clear up the atmosphere."

Donna smiled at that. Iris looked a lot better than before and she seemed to be recovering her old humor and attitude back. Before, she couldn't help but notice that Iris had looked strained, and it seemed that having Jack there helped her feel more comfortable about things.

They heard the Doctor grunt as he set up the machine down, "If I can get this on the right setting."

Martha looked at him with uncertainty as she asked, "Doctor, hold on. You said the atmosphere would ignite."

The Doctor smiled mischievously as he looked at his friend and said "Yeah, I did, didn't I?"

Then the Doctor activated the atmospheric converter, causing the atmosphere to ignite the atmosphere. The people in the front of the academy all looked up in amazement as the gas began to clear away from them. Iris smiled widely as the joy from the Doctor emanated through their bond.

Luke was in awe as he said, "He's a genius."

Martha chuckled as she added, "Just brilliant."

Jack laughed out loud with "Yes!" He then hugged Iris tightly, lifting her up from the ground and spinning her around. This action caused Iris to laugh at the giddiness she felt along with the dizziness. When Jack stopped, Iris caught her breath and kissed Jack with one of her wide smiles.

Jack smiled even more to see how the smile she gave him wasn't strained like most situations when they had a case going. But that moment ended really quickly when the Doctor muttered

"Now we're in trouble."

Iris had Jack set her down and look at the Time Lord with worry in her face. Then that look changed to one of determination as she ran inside the academy with the Doctor.

The atmospheric converter was carried inside the teleport pod when the Doctor looked at Iris intensely. Iris gulped as she whispered,

"Do you really have to do this?"

The Doctor responded, "I have to give them a choice."

Iris shook her head, not enjoying this. But that was when the others filed in and the Doctor looked at every single one of them with a wistful look and said,

"Right. So, Donna, thank you for everything. Martha, you too. Oh, so many times. Jack, keep your team going. Luke, do something clever with your life. And Iris… I-"

Iris went up to him and hugged him tightly as she whispered, "Come back. I have to tell you so many things…"

The Doctor swallowed thickly as he tried to stop himself from letting tears fall at that overwhelming sensation of potentially losing the bond he shared with Iris. He hugged back without a word. Donna realized what this was and she said tearfully,

"You're saying goodbye."

The Doctor released Iris, who stepped outside of the pod and responded with, "Sontarans are never defeated. They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know, I've recalibrated this for Sontaran air, so…"

Martha's eyes widened as she realized what he was indicating and said, "You're going to ignite them."

Jack went up to Iris and pulled her to him as he said, "Doctor, if you do that… there's no coming back."

Luke said, "You- you can send that thing up on it's own. I don't know, can't you put it on a delay or something?"

Iris looked over at Luke, surprised that he had said that. That was when she realized something and reached inside her pocket and felt the small machine she had built earlier while helping the Doctor out. She eyed Luke carefully and kept her pokerface on as the Doctor said,

"I can't."

Donna asked, "Why not?"

The Doctor stayed quiet for a few seconds before finally responding with, "I've got to give them a choice."

With that, the Doctor teleported away to the Sontaran ship. The moment he disappeared, Iris pulled out the remote control she had built and tossed it over to Luke, saying,

"Luke, when I tell you 'now' press the button there."

Luke asked, "This can't be what I think it is… is it?"

Iris nodded distractedly. She was trying to use her bond with the Doctor to find the right moment to bring the man back and prevent Luke from going over there. Jack studied the remote control and realized as he explained,

"This is going to activate the atmospheric converter while…"

Martha continued with, "While we bring him back through the teleport! We can activate it from here!"

Donna smiled in relief and said, "Oh, that's brilliant!"

Iris didn't react much to that as she finally managed to get through with the bond to see what was going on through the Doctor's perspective.

"I'll do it, Staal. If it saves the Earth, I'll do it."

Staal studied the Time Lord and said, "A warrior doesn't talk, he acts."

The Doctor gripped the button in his hand tighter as he said, "I am giving you the chance to leave."

Anguish filled his two hearts as the general didn't seem to change his mind. Why didn't they understand that he didn't want to take this path? As he grit his teeth, he heard the general say,

"And miss the glory of this moment?"

Another Sontaran appeared and reported, "All weapons targeting Earth, sir. Firing in twenty."

The Doctor's grip tightenend on the control even more, his palm sweating as he desperately said, "I'm warning you."

Iris grimaced at the overwhelming sensation of the Doctor's guilt and anguish. The desperate wish of his to let the Sontarans live another day. To not be responsible for another potential genocide. She let a worried sigh out while the rest of the group waited for her signal.

She continued to hear,

"And I salute you. Take aim."

The Doctor felt the rapid beating of his two hearts as fear began to creep just a bit as he said, "Shoot me, I'm still going to press this. You'll die, Staal."

Staal smiled evilly as he answered, "Knowing that you die too."

The other Sontaran said, "Firing in fifteen."

Once the Sontarans started chanting, the Doctor decided what he had to do and breathed in, trembling just a little. He whispered, "I'll do it."

At that moment, Iris yelled out, "Now, Luke! Now!"

Luke quickly pressed the button and caused the teleport to activate and within that second, they saw the Doctor fall down into the teleport. He looked in surprise as he calmed down his breathing. Nobody had left, but he was brought back.

"What? What happened?"

Iris knelt down in front of him and said, "We activated the converter from here. I… I waited for the right moment."

The Doctor looked back up at her in surprise as he asked, "How?"

Luke lifted the remote control. This caused the Doctor's eyes to widen even more. He was quiet for a few minutes before a wide smile came on his smile as he said,

"Thank you."

Everyone smiled in relief. They had thought the Doctor was angry at what they had done, but that wasn't the case. Eventually, Iris helped him stand up. With that, the Doctor walked towards Luke, taking the remote control before disabling it. Stretching a little, the Time Lord then said to Luke,

"Well then Luke, I think it might be best if you start clearing up some things here."

Luke nodded and said, "Yeah… I think it might be best to do some good here before doing anything else."

Jack chuckled and said, "Don't worry Doctor. I might stay behind to help this fella with whatever he needs to do. He definitely needs to explain to UNIT and Torchwood about this little teleport pod. Probably better if we get rid of it."

The Doctor nodded and said, "That would be good. Well then...Donna, Martha, Iris, should we head back?"

They all nodded and before heading inside the teleport pod, Iris ran over to Jack and gave him a peck in the lips. Jack responded quickly and gave her another kiss and said,

"Hey, be safe."

Iris nodded and then told him that she would. "I love you." Iris murmured in his ear. Jack smiled widely and kissed her forehead and released her, watching her wave back at him before being teleported.

Donna giggled at Iris, seeing how adorable she was with the 51st century man and said,

"Awww, you're so adorable."

Iris blushed bright red before clearing her throat and marching towards the TARDIS trying to hide her face. The Doctor chuckled as he unlocked the TARDIS and entered it. Donna stayed back to call her family. Martha did the same. For a while, the Doctor and Iris were the only two who stood in the console room.

"Oh, uh… what was it that you needed to tell me earlier?" The Doctor asked, remembering that Iris had mentioned about having to tell him something.

Iris' eyes widened in surprise as she had remembered that she did have something to tell him. She bit her lower lip and looked at the ground trying to debate whether to tell him now. She needed to get it out of her system. She needed to know if what she was dreading was true.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before sighing in frustration. The Doctor waited patiently, noticing that she was struggling. Iris finally looked up at him, guilt written in her entire body posture as she said quietly,

"I… I keep hearing a voice… and he calls me by a name that… that I…. no that you used to be called for an amount of time in your 8th regeneration."

The Doctor's posture changed a little at that, tensing as he warily asked, "What name? Do you recognize the voice?"

Iris hesitated again before responding, "The voice… I think it's Rassilon's… And he… he calls me-"

But before she could finish her statement, Martha entered and Iris stopped talking. The Doctor looked at the other companion and realized that this conversation was best saved for later. If Rassilon was involved, he needed to talk with her privately on this matter.

"We'll talk about this later." He said.

Iris didn't look too happy about that but nodded. Martha noticed the tense atmosphere and warily eyed the two people when Donna entered the ship. Trying to change the topic, Martha asked the other woman, "How were they?"

Donna smiled and said, "Oh, same old stuff. They're fine. So, you going to come with us? We're not exactly short of space."

Iris smiled tightly when she felt the Doctor's arm drape over her shoulders as his hand gave a reassuring squeeze on her arm. Martha smiled and responded with,

"Oh, I have missed all this, but you know. I'm good here, back at home. And I'm better for having been away. Besides, someone needs me. Never mind the universe, I've got a great big world of my own now."

And that was when Iris' eyes widened as she shouted a, "Oh no!"

Everyone turned to look at her with confusion when the doors slammed shut on their own and the TARDIS activated. They were thrown about as the TARDIS started traveling through the Vortex violently as the Doctor shouted,

"What? What?"

He desperately tried to control the flight but was failing. Martha glared over at the Doctor as she yelled at him,

"Doctor, don't you dare!"

Iris answered back, "I'm so sorry Martha! I completely forgot about this! He didn't touch anything. It's not him!"

Donna asked, panicking, "Where are we going?"

The Doctor looked confused but curiosity twinkled in his eyes as he answered, "I don't know. It's out of control!"

Martha yelled out again, "Doctor, just listen to me. You take me home. Take me home right now!"

Iris held onto the railing tightly, feeling the ship jerk to and fro violently as the Doctor put his arms around her to support her as they traveled without control.