Disclaimer: I don't own anything that I've written. Yep, that's right, I own not even one iota of the below work.
Summary: Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' does have a pendent for running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (A twist on the usual OC and The Doctor formula has original ideas and later on, canon divergence. M/M)
Warnings: This is a Doctor Who fic, so I doubt any of the readers will turn down reading this just because it's slash. After all, we have the canon Jack Harkness. (Who deserves a warning all on his own.) Canon typical violence, language, and later on there will probably be more explicit sexual content.
Authour Note: So I based a bit of the power system for Able on The Flash TV show. Calories burned during its use, more will be explained and discovered as we go on, but that's the gist of it. I'm starting to plan on dispersing these chapters after a bit more time has passed. I really hope that more of you guys will start reviewing the story as well. Of course you don't have to, but meh. It actually seems like not a whole lot of people are interested in the story, which kind of makes me sad. Nothing for it though, I'm enjoying writing it and I've fallen in love with my own character. I love the next episode, "Dalek", so I'm bound to have loads of fun writing that one.
I've got to say, I feel like Able sort of fell into the background in the second part of of this chapter. The beginning was all well and good, but when you have four characters in the room, it's hard not to let one of them go, I also feel like there were a lot of canon-lines this chapter. Not that Able said them, like those other OC stories, but just like, it felt like a whole lot of regurgitation. I hope it's still enjoyable, and please, leave me your thoughts.
Chapter Five: World War Three
...
Electricity coursed through Able's body, and he could feel it within every cell, the pain was horrible, excruciating, and he couldn't help but ask himself if this was the sort of pain the hazmat suit guy that Able had killed went through. Then, the ginger noticed something strange. Every time one of his cells died, that cell just flipped itself around, back in time to just a few moments before it had died, and every cell in his body was doing so. When his heart stopped beating because of the electrical currents disturbing it, the heart went back to the state it had been just a few moments before, when it was beating strong. The process continued on and on, never stopping, as the 'aliens' that had designed to kill him laughed at their misfortune.
...
It was no surprise that Able wasn't thinking to the best of his ability. With so much electricity running through his body at once, it had to interfere with the neural connections in his brain. That, and the horrible amount of pain coursing through his body. The Doctor didn't seem to have the same problem, as he lifted his hand and pulled the I.D. off of himself.
Why didn't Able think of that?
Probably because he didn't have a super advanced Time Lord brain to protect from electrical interference.
So he didn't come up with the idea on his own, but once Able had seen The Doctor do it, he followed suit. Although, frankly, Able was much less dramatic. He just dropped his on the floor, whereas The Doctor held it in his hand for a few moments as he turned toward the Slitheen, walking closer with his I.D.
"Deadly to humans, maybe."
He took the electrified I.D. and pushed it into the unsuited Slitheen, making the suited one next to him also wither in pain as the electricity ravaged through them.
The Doctor quickly turned toward Able, seeing him panting on the floor, rather boneless for the time being. Despite the situation, the Time Lord looked rather intrigued to find his companion still living – Relieved to be sure – but it was dreadfully interesting, and The Doctor wanted to understand it.
"The Able, you are one lucky little ducky." The Doctor whispered, looking the panting, pained ginger over once again.
"This is why people do kink negotiations first. My no-no list has electricity play, and they didn't listen when I said my safe-word either..." Able joked rather feebly, pulling himself together.
The Doctor kept an eye on the pained Slitheen as he asked, "Safe-word?"
"Yep, my safe-word is, 'please daddy!' I know, it's more of a phrase. I've gotten a lot of complaints about that over the years."
The pain quickly faded completely, did joking help? Wasn't there that one movie that had the punch line of laughter being the best medicine? Maybe that was true, well, either that or being a Time Rift. Could have been either of those things.
"Run?" Able asked, a grin on his face, but it faded when faced with the emotional baggage.
"Run." The Doctor agreed with a manic grin.
The Doctor grabbed Able's hand and they were both rushing out the door without another second to lose. The second they were in the hallway, they released their grip on one another and they came across the armed guards a few more hallways over. The Doctor was practically making a joke out of it, "You want aliens? They are here in Downing Street, come on then, chop chop."
The soldiers followed The Doctor without question. That was perhaps one of the most interesting things about this day – Why did they do that? Where they told to do that? Was it the tone that the Doctor had used, or was it perhaps the fact that they already knew the possibility? They could have even been in on it – Far too many possibilities and far too little time to think them all through.
When they got back, both of the 'aliens' were back in their suits and the one masquerading as the Prime Minister pointed toward The Doctor, "Why, there was this electricity, and they all dropped dead... Them, they're the ones that did it."
"I think you'll find that the Prime Minister is an alien in disguise." They all looked at each other for a moment.
"That's never going to work, is it?"
"No." One of the soldiers replied, but Able and The Doctor had already taken off, racing down the halls with the military then on their heels.
"The Doctor, I'm starting to think you are hazardous to my continued living." Able claimed as they ran, the adrenaline flowing through Able's body, his high now almost completely faded, considering how much cell regeneration he went through, likely not a surprise.
A moment later, they were surrounded, guns pointed toward them from everywhere.
Yet, neither Able nor The Doctor were really worried.
"I demand that you execute these two, right now!" The 'Prime Minister' exclaimed, looking rather put out by all the running.
"Well, as it were, if I was the one ordering the execution of someone, I think I'd make damn sure that the wall I was backing that person up towards is indeed a wall, and not a lift." The door opened, and both Able and The Doctor stepped in, "You see, The Able, it's not that bad. I always get out of the trouble I get into... Eventually."
"It's the eventually part that's particularly worrying."
The Doctor pressed his sonic against the lift's control panel, just as the door opened to reveal another Slitheen
"Hello!"
The door was already closing, Able could see Rose running around behind and felt a sting of worry, but had his own potential execution to worry about at the moment. Besides, she seemed to have someone else with her. At least, Able tried to calm himself by thinking that, it didn't work.
"How many are there, do you think?" Able asked, not really sure he wanted to know with Rose running around without him.
"Can't have been too many, there weren't enough fat people in the building." The Doctor stated bluntly.
If nothing else, all the running around was going to end up doing wonders for Able's stamina, because when you were with The Doctor, that seemed to be a vast majority of what you did. The second they were off the lift they were running down stairs, and they second they were down stairs there was more running, then –
The sound of the Slitheen coming down the hallway, The Doctor grabbed Able and pulled the ginger behind the door with him.
Pressing them way too close together for Able to want to keep his best wing-man status, because all the running did The Doctor a lot of good. It was easy to tell, from the way they were pressed so closely together. Before Able could think of something that would undoubtedly be a hilarious and inappropriate for the situation comment, they were running off again, this time following the Slitheen closely. The Doctor grabbed a fire extinguisher on the way, and upon hearing Rose scream, rushed into the room, spraying the Slitheen with the powder.
"Who the hell are you?" The Doctor asked, looking at the elder woman who had been with Rose.
Able grabbed his best friends hand tightly in his own, feeling her shaking.
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydate North." The woman stated rather officially.
"Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." She said, fixing her outfit.
"Is this really the time for pleasantries?" Able asked, looking at the two having a little introduction. Instead of answering, The Doctor triggered the fire extinguisher once again and they all ran out of the room, down a corridor – at this point they all looked the same – and The Doctor seemed to be looking for something specific.
"We need to get to the cabinet rooms." He stated as he looked between doors.
"The Emergency Protocols are in there! They give instructions on aliens!" Harriet exclaimed.
Able suddenly burst, "STOP IT WITH THE ALIEN THING! God that word is so damn offensive do you even think about the things that come out of your mouths! Universe, you people!"
"Really?! Now is the time you decide to say that?!" Rose asked, looking at her ginger jogging buddy incredulously.
Eventually, they followed The Doctor and he unlocked a particular door with his sonic. The Slitheen were fast approaching, staying on the humans, and Time Lords tail. The species seemed to be able to have short bursts of incredible speed before they slowed down to a human running speed. Yet, they were intelligent to use the ability correctly, picking times when they needed to turn to use it, almost never during a straight line. If anything, they were falling behind despite their physicality being better than a humans. Once they were safely in the room which the Time Lord led them to, The Doctor grabbed a bottle of alcohol and held up his sonic to it.
"Come another step and I'm triplicating the alcohol content of this brandy and setting it off, BAM! We all go up, so, kindly back off a bit." The Doctor spoke, a familiar manic grin across his lips.
The green beings froze in place, even going as far as to take a step back.
"Right then, time for a little pow-wow, who exactly are the Slitheen?" The Doctor asked.
"They're aliens." Harriet answered.
Able couldn't help the sardonic smirk that crossed his face, especially after she used that word after his outburst,"What a help you are Harriet Jones."
He promptly got an elbow to the stomach, and Harriet had a small offended look on her face, although she seemed to get over it quickly enough, and smoothed over her expression. Able was still quickly making a disapproving outlook on her.
"Who are you, if not human." The Slitheen asked in return.
Able narrowed his eyes, "I believe The Doctor asked a question first, and seeing as how he's the one with the weapon..."
"We are hunters." One of the Slitheen stated, keeping it as simple as possible. Perhaps Able had underrated their intelligence. After all, they did invade the British Government. Maybe they weren't comparable to Able's intelligence, but then again, few were.
"So then, what's the plan?" The Doctor followed up with, although he looked rather unimpressed with the previous answer, "You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea, transmitting a signal, and you've murdered your way to leading the government, whatever for? Something bought the Slitheen race here, what is it?"
"The Slitheen race?" One of them asked, a hint of laughter in their voice.
"Slitheen is not our species, it is our surname. I am Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer Day Slitheen, at your service."
Able blinked, "Hello Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer Day Slitheen, I'm Doctor Able, nice to meet you."
"Didn't you just tell me off for doing that, The Able?" The Doctor mentioned, before turning back toward the Slitheen, "So, you're a family... Must be out for profit then, the only reason other species ever really come to this planet. So, what is it that you're here for?"
"Ahhh, excuse me, what did you say your device would do, triple the alcohol content and set fire...?"
Caught~ Able sang in his mind childishly.
The Slitheen was getting ready to attack, having noticed the falsity, when The Doctor just stared them down, "Fascinating history, Downing Street. Nearly two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. Then, in the 1730s, it was occupied by a Chicken, he was a nice guy. Nearly turn of the 1800s, this is the cabinet room, and if the cabinet is in session and in danger, these are the four safest walls in the whole of Great Britain." The Doctor gave a cheeky smile, "End of lesson."
He pressed a button on the wall, and the room was blocked with large, thick panels of metal in all directions, safely trapping the Slitheen on the outside, but them together on the inside.
"Installed some time in 1991, three inches of steel lining in every wall. They'll never make it in."
"Guess that means we won't be making it out, either." Able stated, getting a sheepish look from The Doctor.
A few minutes later, Able was sat against the wall, just sort of staring off as The Doctor put several dead bodies into the cabinet and away from the general viewing. He was so caught up in what was happening at the moment that he'd forgotten the extent to which he'd been burdened the past few days, and maybe that was how The Doctor did it. Instead of dealing with the things he'd been through, like his whole race dying, he ran and did dangerous things. Several people did it, and Able was quickly becoming one of them.
"What was his name?" The Doctor said as he walked past with a familiar body in arms.
"Indra, and what a shame that is." Able said, shrinking away a little at the sight of such a bright handsome person going before their time.
"Really?" Harriet asked, looking rather guilty, "I didn't know... I talked to him, brought him coffee, but I never thought to ask his name..."
"Sorry..." The Doctor said to Indra's limp body, perhaps wishing he'd figured it out sooner and had been able to save the secretary, "Right, have we got anything in here? A terminal, computer, anything?"
"No," Rose stated, looking around the room, "This place is completely antique. Something I don't get, is when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they just use him as a disguise."
"He's too slim, they are far too big to fit inside a human that isn't of similar stature." As The Doctor explained, he took out his sonic screwdriver and started to scan around the walls.
"But the Slitheen are about 7 feet, how do they squeeze inside?"
"That's the device around their necks, compression field, literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas, it's a big exchange." The Doctor explained, grabbing Able's attention. He couldn't help but wonder how the device worked, but not only that, why the gas was rather continuous. After all, sure, the has made sense a few times, but it seemed to be continuous even after they had been wearing a human suit for some time. At which point, they would have already been packed in, so there was no more exchanging to be done. Maybe the size fluctuated, or something along those lines.
"Wish I had a compression field I could fit a size smaller." Rose joked.
"You don't need it, Lover." Able assured, looking Rose over with a keen-eye.
Harriet looked a bit put out, "Excuse me, people are dead, this is not the time for making jokes!"
"A good lot of humans, and from what I've seen, other species, use humour as a way of dealing with stressful situation. It helps to lighten the tense atmosphere and promotes better thinking. Stressed brains typically don't work as well as the otherwise, probably because stressed people are more likely to get frustrated." Able mused, getting another look at Harriet. She certainly seemed like the stern type – The kind of person you really didn't want as your math teacher, but likely made a good politician. The type that would stick with their opinions and what they were put into office for.
"Harriet Jones, I've heard that name before, Harriet, you're not famous for anything, are you?" The Doctor asked, staring at her face closely, giving it a study, as Harriet read over the protocols.
"Hardly! Lifelong back-bencher I'm afraid, and I'm not much use now. The protocols are redundant, they list the people who can help and they're all dead downstairs." She admitted, seeming a bit frustrated.
Who could blame her?
That was either a wonderful streak of brilliance on the Slitheen's part, or a horrible moment of stupid from the British Governments. There was a reason high profile people don't just all meet at one place at one time. Looking back on it, Able should have been far more suspicious from the start.
"Hasn't it got like defense codes and everything? Can't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?" Rose suddenly asked.
"You trying to get us killed, Lover? They are in this building, if we were to launch such a bomb at them we would die as well, along with countless civilians in Britain, not only from just the bomb, but also the radiation... Britain would be devastated." Able explained, "Since we don't know what exactly they are up to, we can't known that such a sacrifice would be worth it either."
Harriet just kind of stare at Rose, "You're quite the violent young woman... Regardless, there is nothing like that in here. Those sorts of strikes need a release code, that release code is kept secret by the United Nations."
"Which we wouldn't be using if we could!" Able added, looking unamused. This was the sort of thing that would stop humanity from making it to 5.5/apple/26, just nuking one another to death.
"Say all that again." The Doctor demanded suddenly.
"What, about the codes?"
"Yes, all of it."
"Well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a special resolution from the United Nations." Harriet said, slower this time.
"Like that's ever stopped them before." Rose added.
"Exactly, given our past record, and I voted against that I'll have you know. The codes have been taken out of the governments hand and given over to the U.N." Harriet paused, looking at The Doctor full on, "Is it important?"
"Everything's important." The Doctor put simply.
"Well, they're just one family so it's not an invasion. They don't want Slitheen World, they're out to make money. That means they want to use something, something here on Earth, some kind of asset." The Doctor thought aloud.
"Like what? Gold, oil, water?" Harriet listed.
"No, if it was something like that they wouldn't need to infiltrate the government on such a level to achieve it. Must be something else." Able waved away, starting to get more and more excited as this went on. Who wouldn't, it was like a puzzle they only had half of the pieces for, but somehow, it was still coming together.
"Harriet Jones, why do I know that name?" The Doctor asked himself again, looking rather agonized.
Able smiled to himself, "Well The Doctor, your memory getting bad in your old age?"
"I'm only 900." He defended.
That... Was certainly not what Able had been expecting, he didn't look a day over mid-thirties. Then again he was a Time Lord, maybe his body just stayed that young. All of which was beside the point, because 900 could mean anything considering, "On what planet?"
"What do you mean?"
"900 years, but on what planet? A year for Earth is 365.25 days long, Earth-time. But, for all we know the years that are are telling us could be from Jupiter, which has 4,300 days Earth-time in a year." Able expanded, getting a sheepish look from The Doctor.
"You, The Able, are far too good at this." He admitted, but didn't expand upon just how old he was.
Able didn't really expect him to, but that just meant the ginger had been right in his theorizing, The Doctor was much older than 900 Earth years. With such a long life, it was no wonder he ran around with a manic grin, looking for an endorphin rush. Now that Able was going to live that long – Should his vision into the future of his own timeline had been correct – He knew himself well enough to say that something similar would have happened with him.
Rose's mobile went off a second later.
"Oh! That's mine." She said in surprise, taking it out of her pocket.
Able turned his analytical eyes toward The Doctor, who immediately understood what the ginger was trying to ask, "I posted the signal incoming through her phone and funneled it through space and time. I linked the telephone waves into the TARDIS' heart, and therefore the vortex. In order words, it's a super phone."
"Well we can call for help! There must be someone that we can contact." Harriet reasoned, looking toward The Doctor.
The Time Lord nodded in agreement, "Yeah, dead downstairs. The only ones that were on the list that survived were me and The Able."
Whatever Rose's phone had rung for, it wasn't a phone call. Likely a text message.
"It's Mickey."
Able immediately groaned in annoyance, just the thought of Mickey annoying him, "You've broken up with him right? He's just so... Stupid, and you've been gone for a year, surely he found someone else...?" Able finished hopefully.
"Not so stupid now, is he?" Rose said with a smug look toward her best friend as she lifted her phone, displaying a picture of a Slitheen in the Tyler's house.
"I'm not so sure that his ability to take a picture speaks much for his intelligence." Able returned.
Doctor's lips spreading in a beaming smile, "Quite right."
Rose's phone started to ring again, only this time it was a phone call. The blonde wasted no time answering – Swiftly asking over her mother's safety.
Before she could get an answer though, The Doctor strode up and took the phone from her, sarcastically speaking into it, "Is that Rickey? Don't talk, just go to your computer."
Exactly the way Mickey should be spoken to, utilizing the correct amount of respect for a worm. Able wondered, just for a second, if he was being too harsh on Mickey. A year had passed, the male might have actually matured. The ginger liked his title as open-minded and knew that he was massively hypocritical toward Mickey – The second those thoughts entered his mind, Able decided to give him one, just one chance.
Of course, that by no means meant that Able had to be nice to him, just that he didn't need to actively push against Mickey.
"Mickey the Idiot – I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but, painful as it is, I need you." The Doctor said, looking actually, physically pained to have to speak the words.
The Doctor put the phone onto speaker and started to give step-by-step instructions on what to do. The first was how to get to the website needed, the different steps to get to the page that they needed to be on, before finally Mickey was where The Doctor wanted him to be.
"It says password." He announced.
"Buffalo, two F's and one L." The Doctor answered, almost absentmindedly.
"U.N.I.T were the soldiers that came to bring me here, got a nice little eyeful as well, they did." Able announced.
"All the secret information known to mankind, " Mickey spoke, completely ignoring Able's words, and from his smug tone, the child knew what he was doing, "See, they've known about aliens for years, they just kept us in the dark."
Adorable, Mickey wanted to make Able seem stupid by knowing something about U.N.I.T that the ginger hadn't. The one change that he was giving the child was rather swiftly being thrown down a slope and into the sewage.
"A good number of the U.N.I.T leaders were in that meeting, although not all of them, they aren't idiots." The Doctor said to Able, before shooting at Mickey, "You were born in the dark, Mickey."
"Oh, leave him alone."
"Thank you." Mickey spoke, his tone lovesick, "It says password again."
"Just repeat it, it's the same every time." The Doctor expressed.
Able looked positively horrified, "You've got to be joking – You just claimed they were idiots, yet they gave the same password multiple times. That's beside the fact that Buffalo is a horrible password to begin with. No special characters, numbers, or capitalization. It's got to be the most unsafe, secret organization there is. No wonder Mick of all people can get onto it."
"Usually they aren't idiots." The Doctor amended his past statement without pause, recognizing the truth of what Able said.
Able suddenly had a stroke of inspiration, thinking back on the trajectory that he'd been given, something occurred to him that he hadn't thought to question, "The landing was incredibly staged."
"We know that." Harriet pointed on, wondering where this was going.
"It was VERY staged. The trajectory reports showed a fluctuation in the path right before it hit Big Ben. Which means that it wasn't going to hit on the first trajectory the Slitheen had planned, and they forced it to hit last minute. There is no possible outside forces present that could have brought about that change. It had to have been done internally, which begs the –" Able spoke.
"Why would they do that, yes it makes sense. If they wanted to gather the experts there was no need for a crash in the middle of London, those lot would have gathered for a strangely coloured weather balloon." The Doctor interrupted and finished the thought in a rush.
"The Doctor, what have I said about interrupting my moments of brilliance?"
"That you'd forgive me because I was so incredibly good looking?" The Time Lord returned.
Able thought it over, and gave a shrug, "Yeah, it was probably something like that."
Rose looked a bit put out, probably because of the mock flirting. It was as if the blonde didn't know her best friend at all! He was the best wingman ever. The little bit friendly flirting wasn't a pass on her future man. Still, she interrupted the exchange, "The Slitheen were hiding, but they went and put the entire planet on red alert, so other than the meeting, what else would that cause?"
At the very least, she did ask the right questions.
"Oh listen to her." Jackie said, apparently having grabbed the phone from Mickey.
"At least I'm trying." Rose defended.
Able turned toward The Doctor with a little grin and mock whispered, "Looks like it's getting a bit domestic."
He got a blank stare back, seems like the Time Lord really didn't like those sorts of dramatics then. Able had taken it as almost a joke, but The Doctor seemed to take it much more seriously.
"Well I've got a question if you don't mind, because ever since that man walked into our lives, bad things have happened. I've been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room. That's not even mentioning my daughter and her best friend suddenly disappearing off the face of the Earth." Jackie ranted, not even listening to Rose immediately stepping in to defend The Doctor, "I'm talking to him Rose! Stay out of it! I've seen this life of yours, Doctor, and maybe you get off on it. I don't know, maybe you think it's all clever, smart, but I'm willing to bet you can't answer me this, is my daughter safe with you?"
The Doctor just stared at the phone in shock, a blank sort of shock.
It hurt Able to see The Doctor looking so empty, "Tell me Jackie, is your daughter always safe with you? Last time I checked, you don't need to be going on any grand adventures though time and space to die – and if you were to get hurt, when on Earth it's so meaningless. Out there, with The Doctor, you get to see things, experience things that nearly no one else in this century ever will. Passing something like that up just because there is a small increase in the odds someone will get hurt... It's plain insanity. A cowardly thing to do, and my Lover, my Rosie Tyler, isn't a coward like that."
The second the words had left Able, he was shocked by just how passionate they were. The ginger wasn't even sure if they were for Rose either, because in some way, a lot of those felt like they were for The Doctor.
A new connection made, and Able hadn't even noticed it, nor did he notice the profound looks he was getting from both Rose, and The Doctor, both grateful for the interruption and words spoken.
"Ahem..." Mickey interrupted awkwardly, "We're in."
The Doctor snapped his eyes away from Able, and turned toward the phone on the table once more, "Right then, on the left there should be a tab or an icon that looks like little circles, you've got to click on that."
Clicking was heard, even as Mickey asked, "What is it?"
"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that particular signal, now please hush up and let me work out what it's saying." Silence reined for a moment, The Doctor's brows were furrowed in concentration, "It's the same sort of message."
"Not a language, or the TARDIS would have translated it for us." Able observed, listening to the message himself, "You know what it says, The Doctor?"
"No, it's on some sort of loop though, keeps repeating itself."
Before farther theorizing could be done, a doorbell was heard from the other side of the phone, The Doctor snapped at the interruption, but Mickey quickly defended, "That's not me. Go see who it is, Jackie."
"It's three o'clock in the morning." The room could hear the woman grumble.
"Wait! Don't do it. Think about it for a second, these Slitheen are in the government and they could probably look us up, never mind the potential to trace Mickey's computer – They were already looking for you before you went to Mick's place, logically speaking the person at the door will probably be –" Able rushed to explain, but Jackie was quicker.
"I looked out the window, it's one of them, the Slickereen!"
"You got to block the door." The Doctor instructed, ignoring Rose's frantic cries for her mother to get out of there, "Mickey, we need that signal."
"Are you kidding! They have got to get out!" Rose said, looking horrified at the phone, worried for her mother and boyfriend.
"It's unmasking, oh my god it's going to kill us." Mickey exclaimed, sounding horribly panicked.
Harriet turned toward the Doctor, "There's got to be some way of stopping them, some weakness! You're meant to the expert, think of something!"
"I'm trying." The Doctor hissed out, focusing his concentration
Mickey then did something that surprised and endured himself to Able greatly, when he said, "I'll take it on, Jackie, you just run! Don't look back, just run!"
The sound of a doo being broken into splinters erupted through the phone, sending Rose into hysterics.
"Right! IF we are going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from, which planet. So, judging by their face and shape, it narrows it down to five thousand planets within graveling distance. What do we know, give me information!" The Doctor exclaimed, pacing around
"They're green." Rose stated.
"Yep, narrows it down." The Doctor answered.
"Good sense of smell."
"Narrows it down."
"Not just good, they can smell pheromones in the air. They blink left and right as opposed to up and down. The way their eyes evolved hints toward their planet being either consistently light or constantly dark. They have the technology to drive here, and they genetically spliced the pig. They wouldn't have come here without knowing something was here, meaning they could study our planet from theirs. Resistant enough to the electricity of the I.D's." Able rushed out with all the observations he'd made thus far, "They were scared about the possibility of fire. Sight not that good, they couldn't see through the extinguisher's powder. They talked about or alluded to eating humans."
"Twenty planets left." The Doctor announced as Able's string of observations stopped.
"They hunt like it's a ritual." Rose provided.
"Wait a second!" Harriet chimed in, "Did you notice, when they farted, it doesn't just smell like a fart – pardon my language – it something else, it's more like..."
"Bad breath!" Rose finished.
"Calcium decay!" Both The Doctor and Able announced, just the Doctor finished off with, "Now that narrows it down!"
"All these things put together narrows it down to one planet! Raxacoricofallapatorius!" The Doctor exclaimed, getting excited, before turning back to the phone, "Get into the kitchen. When there is calcium, compression fields, ascetic acid, you need vinegar!"
"Like Hannibal!" Harriet referenced, excitement clear on her face.
"Just like Hannibal. Mickey, do you got any vinegar?" The Doctor asked.
"How should I know?" Mick asked, sounding stupid as always. It was one step forward, two steps back with that guy.
"Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf." Rose spoke her input, sounding incredibly worried.
Jackie was the one that seemed to be at the shelve, because she suddenly asked what they needed.
"Just anything with vinegar would work." The Doctor said, sounding impatient.
"Pickled onions! Pickled eggs!" Jackie exclaimed, and the room could hear her banging around in the cupboards, it sounded like she was opening them up and putting them into something, although the quality wasn't the best. You could hear the banging at the door, before it broke. There was a splashing sound, before a rather incredibly pop.
The Doctor's face screwed up in mild disgust, Able quickly following suit at just the thought, "You kiss this man?"
Somehow that came before the thought of the two being safe.
Alcohol all around though, as the lot of them faced a bit of relief. The clue in regards to where they were from was undoubtedly to be a huge help in resolving the situation. That was beside the fact that they had just saved two lives which were rather important to someone in their little group.
Able downed his alcohol like a shot, Rose and Harriet sipped at it, but The Doctor, he rather dramatically choked it down.
"Guys! Listen to this." Mickey said.
"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads, and they have found massive weapons of destruction, capable of being deployed within 45 seconds. Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction, unless we can strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only change of survival. Because, from this moment on, it is my solemn duty to inform you that planet Earth itself is at war."
"He's making it up. There's no weapons up there." The Doctor stated, looking angry, "There's no threat, he just invented it."
"They can't just take his word for it. They'll have to scan themselves, not to mention the logical fallacies that are presented. How can there be such advanced weapons and space craft, but our technicians actually be able to 'battle' the technology. It doesn't make any sense, surely we aren't that stupid."
"All the alien experts are dead." The Doctor stated, suddenly understanding the plan far better, "The U.N. will have to allow it because anyone that was an expert on these things is now dead. That's why the Slitheen created the spectacle. It panics you lot, takes the experts out, and forces the U.N into a decision, because humans lash out when scared."
The Doctor suddenly walked over to the wall, opening it up to show several Slitheen there, along with one still in their human suit, "So that's it, isn't it. You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space. After all, there's nothing there. Instead you attack every other country on Earth, and they retaliate as is human nature, and World War Three begins and ends with the whole planet getting nuked – Along with all the humans dying out."
The smug looking Slitheen in their human suit gave a dirty little smirk, enough to make Able want to shiver and jump into the shower from the sheer grime of it, "We get to sit through it safe in our spaceship, waiting on the sidelines. Not crashed of course, just parked."
"It's always about money, so how does this make you a single credit?" Able asked, his eyes narrowed onto the smug gaggle of green-skinned bastards.
"Sale of the century. If we reduce the Earth to molten slag, radioactive molten slag, then we can sell it. Chunks of Earth, with the capability of powering every cheaply made ship out there. You see, it's a recession out there, and people are buying cheap. This rock is about to become raw fuel."
"We'll stop you." The Doctor stated.
"What, you and your human sidekicks, locked away in a little box?" All of the Slitheen gaggle started to, well, gaggle. Their laughter was thick with their smug intent.
"Yes, us."
As The Doctor announced that, the steel doors and shutters closed again right in their face, and the last those Slitheen saw of the quad was glaring, or heavy set eyes.
...
...
...
Able started thinking, but his brain was going in a million directions at once. In that moment, he wished he could see into his own timeline as he had before – He could come up with the solution to this mess that would allow for them to all come out of this alive. Yet, there was nothing. Apparently the only good thing that came out of being The Human Rift was the fact you couldn't die very efficiently.
"There's a way out." The Doctor suddenly stated, "There's always been a way out."
Somehow, Able knew that didn't bode well.
"Then why haven't we used it?" Rose asked, she sounded pretty worried herself, having got to know The Doctor so well.
The Doctor went over to the phone that was still placed on the table, his voice heavy with intent, "Because I can't guarantee that Rose or Able will be safe."
"Don't you dare, whatever it is, don't you dare." With the strong conviction that only a mother could have, Jackie pleaded.
"That's the thing, at this point, if I don't dare, than everybody dies."
"Do it." Rose stated.
"Yo don't even know what it is, but you'll just let me?" The Doctor asked, shocked by the faith the little human seemed to have in him.
"Yeah."
"Please, Doctor, they are just kids really, they have a lot of potential." Jackie begged. Able was rather shocked at this, he hadn't know Jackie felt so much for him. Although perhaps he should have expected it – He'd been a companion to Rose for a good eight years now.
"Do you think I don't know that? This is my life Jackie Tylor. It's not fun, or smart, it's usually just me standing up and making decisions when no one else can, or will." The Doctor had a despondent, forlorn tone to his voice.
"Jackie you have to understand. Four lives, or even millions of lives, they can, and should be sacrificed if it means saving billions." Able explained, wondering how many times he'd have to do this in the future.
Then, he wondered if he even had the right to say that. After all, considering the electricity incident, the chances were with him. It could very well be that nothing would happen to Able simply because he was The Human Rift, now. The side effects were no clear, but one was shown earlier. The gingers cells would flip backward in time to save themselves if they needed to. Maybe this was a limited ability, that didn't change the fact that out of everyone here besides possibly The Doctor, he was the most likely to live.
Live on, when Rosie Tyler was dead.
"This isn't your decision, Doctor." Harriet interrupted, "It's mine."
Able fought the urge to retort the woman. It wasn't her decision, she wasn't the only person in this room – It was their lives at stake! Why did Harriet think that just because she was a politician she had an opinion that inherently weighed more than the other people in the room. It reminded Able a great deal of the Gwyneth situation.
"Who the hell are you?" Jackie asked.
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people, for the people. On behalf of those people, I command you to do it." She announced.
Able hadn't voted for Harriet, and really what gave her the right... Still, her's was the logical decision, and argument on it would only prolong things. Plus, The Doctor was looking as though a weight was lifted off of his chest, as he reached forward for the protocols.
"Use the buffalo password, it overrides everything." The Doctor instructed Mickey.
"What's going on?" Jackie asked, sounding lost.
"Hacking into the Royal Navy. Well, we're in, and here it is. HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth." Mickey informed.
"Right, select a missile."
"We can't go nuclear, we don't have the defense codes." Mickey stated, confused.
"Thank the universe you people don't have the codes. First My Lover, now you? Why does everyone want to blow each other up with dirty bombs all of the sudden." Able said, mostly to himself.
"We don't need it, all we need is an ordinary missile. What's the first category?" The Doctor asked, focused on nothing more than the situation at hand, not even giving Able a cheeky look for his comment, as he usually would have.
"Sub harpoon, UGM-84A, it says."
"That's the one, select it. Now, Mickey the Idiot, the world is in your hands. Fire." The Doctor instructed, and Able felt something, an urge come over him.
"Mickey, you did good, mate." Able whispered into the phone, then went on to pretend it never happened, and brushed his shoulder to The Doctor's.
Immediately, their minds touched. Able was confident in the plan, worried about his friend, worried for his life, but also weirdly sure that he would live. The Doctor seemed full of sympathy, worry, and he even seemed to be regretful in that moment. Able kept the connection open, needing it, and The Doctor – Well – He didn't pull away.
"How strong are these?" Harriet asked, motioning toward the walls.
The Doctor just frowned, "Not strong enough. Build for short-range attacks, nothing like this."
"All right then, since you all seem pretty resigned, I'm the one that get's to make the decision. Strange, when two genies are in the room, they seem to be unable to rely on common sense. We are going to ride this out." Rose stated, her voice strong as she walked toward the cupboard where they had placed Indra and the other bodies, "It's like an Earthquake, you can survive them by standing under a door frame. This cupboard is so small, therefore it's strong. Now let's get in here!"
Able could feel both his and The Doctor's combined feeling of admiration mixing together, so tightly knit that they could have been the same person, and they strode forward, shoulders touching. Once they were close, Able gave Rose a kiss on the forehead, "Oh you brilliant girl, I always knew this creative, wonderful min would save my life."
The smile Able got warmed his heart more than any comfort he'd taken from his neighbors.
All of them started to take the unnecessary things out of the cupboard, The Doctor and Able separating eventually as the Time Lord was needed to continue talking Mickey through things.
"It's on radar, counter defense 556." Mickey announced, and he sounded horrible, guilty. In essence he was killing his girlfriend to save the entire world. A tragic story that he'd probably never be able to tell anyone.
"Stop them intercepting."
"I'm doing it now." Mickey stated.
"Good boy." The Doctor said, sounding proud. It seemed that he was starting to like Mickey as well tragic, although Able supposed his plans to get Rose and The Doctor together didn't matter much, since in all likelihood they would be dying in a few moments.
"556 neutralized."
Everyone stood in the cupboard, pressed against one another, and Able without thought reached out for the now familiar mind of The Doctor, and the man was feeling so intensely at the moment that Able almost wanted to pull always, but he couldn't, because he needed it, they both needed it, comfort, knowing, familiarity, bravery, and amazement toward The Doctor were sent over, and the man sent back so much warmth that Able thought his mind blacked out, and the connection in that moment was every bit as strong as the one that Able had with The Original Rift, different, but strong.
Then shaking, a noise louder than anything Able had heard in his life, and pain as they were shaken around inside the cupboard.
SNAP, PAIN
Able could feel his arm break, it felt like it had shattered to pieces. However, the second the pain was there, the next there was another snap, and the pain was gone. Able could feel the cells pushing themselves back in time, and he felt tired, so tired.
The world was still.
The Doctor got up and kicked the door open. Able stumbled out without regard to the others, and promptly threw up against their life saving box. He felt sick, and tired, and the fear in knowing his life was forever changed – There wasn't any denying it now. Once is a coincidence, twice is a fact, and the fact was that Able was self healing himself. Now that he wasn't in denial so much, now that he had to face up to it, every time he felt a cell die, and he could feel them, each of them, they went back, and he started right back where he was.
In other words, there was no aging of his body.
Able didn't know which thing made him sick, the thought, or the horrible experience being bumped around in the box had presented.
"Made in Britain." Able found hear Harriet say, before he felt Rose hugging his side, and The Doctor's hand on his shoulder, before there was a comforting press against minds – In which Able didn't send any feelings, or talk, he just curled against the comfort the familiar mind provided.
"Oh my god, are you alright?"
"Harriet Jones, MP, Flydale North. I want you to contact the U.N. immediately and tell the ambassadors that the crisis has been averted, and that they can step down." Harriet ordered, "Go on, tell the news."
"Yes, Madam."
"Someone's got a good job ahead of them, sorting all of this out. Good lord, we don't even have ourselves a Prime Minister." She spoke, looking a bit worried
"Maybe you should have a go." The Doctor stated, pulling away from his companions to face the Politian, a familiar maniacal smile flourishing on his face.
"Me? Ha. I'm only a back-bencher."
"I'd vote for you." Rose stated, Able looked up toward the sky, knowing damn well that no, he wouldn't vote for her. Yet the woman would still think she had come control over his fate – The ginger really didn't like Harriet Jones.
"Now don't be silly. Look, I'd better go and see if I can help them." Harriet was off, leaving a grinning Doctor watching her.
"I thought I knew her name. Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister, she was will be elected for three successive terms. The architect of Britain's Golden Age."
Rose went to her mother's house a moment later. Probably good, to let the woman know her daughter was still alive. This left both Able and The Doctor on the street to themselves, The Doctor was bouncing on his toes, a large smile on his face, hands in his pockets, "To the TARDIS?"
Able gave the most genuine grin he'd managed for the past few days, and it felt real, it felt like healing, it felt like no matter what happened, what he became, he'd be okay.
"Sounds about right. Besides, we've got to have you take a look at me, the weirdest things have happened..." Able trailed off, and The Doctor looked even more excited than before.
"Fascinating."
...
...
...
The Doctor had immediately went to the main console and shut down the broadcast the Slitheen were using, before turning toward Able and pulling out his sonic, he waved it over the ginger, who leaned back against the console. Then, when The Doctor got results, he switched modes and did it again, his eyes glowing with awe.
"Fascinating, you really are, The Able. Of course, I knew, I could feel it within my senses, but to see the effect that it has on you, to see your cells themselves dying before resetting themselves, I've never seen anything so amazing."
Moments later, the two were in Able's grey room, Able laying on his bed reading one of the text books he'd gotten from the library as The Doctor brought large amounts of equipment into the gingers room, running test after test, and if there was ever any doubt that the man was a scientist at heart, it would have been quickly patched from the way he was acting.
"When are you going to start construction on your sonic?" The Doctor asked, making small talk as he checked Able's heart rate once more.
Able looked up from the book and thought the answer over, "Actually, soon. The TARDIS supplied everything I needed, sweetheart that she is. I didn't even notice at first, but the stuff has been on my desk ever since the Original Rift dying. They were friends, I think."
"I can't wait to see what an impossible ape like you comes up with." The Doctor half-joked, although he was genuinely interested in knowing Able's construction plan.
Able gave The Doctor a little coy smile, "You'll have to just wait and see. Now, what have you found, The Doctor?"
"It's amazing real, ever cell, every time one of them goes to die, it reboots its own timeline. However, the same thing is happening the opposite. Every time a cell goes to split itself, it's stop, and it goes back in its own timeline. From what I can tell, your injuries that were healed quickly are a result of this fascinating phenomena. Having said that, the ability didn't stop, but it did exhaust you. I would theorize that if something were to happen that caused your death, or repeated deaths, well, honestly I have no idea what would happen, but most likely you would end up passing out. It seems to burn calories primarily, but since your cells regenerate, when you run out of calories there is no telling what would actually happen. You could go into coma – So, don't go dying anytime soon, The Able. For some unexplainable reason, I like having you around." The Doctor explained, everything came out in a rush, not even taking a breath.
"Well, I haven't planned on dying anytime soon. Something's are better not to test I should think." Able paused for a second, "Been a busy few days, The Doctor. I don't suppose we could take a break from leaving the TARDIS for awhile, maybe just go to a few sights?"
The Doctor was grinning from ear to ear, "I know just the thing, let's call up Rose, shall we?"
A few minutes later, The Doctor was back in Able's room with a phone, and was dialing her cell phone number, "Hello Rose, just finished stopping the Slitheen's broadcast and giving The Able here a checkup. We were thinking it might be time to leave in a few hours."
There was a pause as Rose spoke, although Able couldn't hear any of it.
"Good! Put er on a slow heat and let her simmer."
Pause again, although he did seem a little bit disgusted at whatever was being mentioned, "I don't do that... Not to me it isn't... Well, she's not mine!"
Suddenly, The Doctor's eyes brightened, and whatever was bothering him faded, "Well, you can stay there if you want, but right now... Right now there is this plasma storm brewing in the horse head nebula." His voice was utterly captivating, transfixing, "Fires are burning ten million miles wide, and I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it all, before riding the shock wave all the way out – Hurtling across the sky and ending up anywhere...It's your choice."
Able couldn't help the smirk that crossed his lips, because he recognized that tone, never used like that, but he knew it, "You just seduced her, oh you handsome Time Lord, you. Have a thing for my dear blonde?"
The Doctor looked taken back, "Pfft, no I haven't."
"You seduced her into coming to the TARDIS, you used a deep bedroom voice, I knew one when I hear one and I just heard one, an extremely attractive one by the way." Able spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Thank you!" The Doctor said, before realizing that he sort of just agreed to the entire statement, and just kind of gave up and left the room.
Able the best wingman in the world strikes again! Somehow though, the feeling was hollow. It wasn't because of what he'd been through, and yes the ginger was still broken because of that, but it was healing. This was something completely different, and Able hadn't found himself feeling such a thing before, not since the first time he'd seen Mickey and Rose together.
Jealousy.
The first time Able had seen Rose together with Mickey was a few months after they had broken up, or rather, Able broke up with Rose because of the fact he couldn't allow himself to be completely honest with her. Rose had accepted it gracefully, since then they had been friends, but the sharp sticks of jealousy attacked when Mickey was first introduced.
Able was feeling that toward Rose Tyler because of The Doctor and it certainly didn't take him too long to realize just how deep into the shits he'd gotten.
R&R
What do you guys think of Able's situation thus far?