I
Tires squealing, John slid to a stop in front of his house. He leaped out of the car charging up his front walk. Approaching the door he hesitated, unsure how to gain access but the door opened on its own. Running through the portal he found himself inside the control room of the Executor's TARDIS.
It was silvery white and oval-shaped, the apex on the far side. There were two consoles set side-by-side with chairs near the apex of the oval. Rose sat at the console on the right, obviously fretting. The children were nowhere to be seen.
Rose turned hearing the door iris open and found John standing there, frantic and disheveled. She jumped to her feet and raced across the room, leaping into his arms.
Pulling back slightly, she noted the bloody handprint on his shoulder and checked him for injury. "God I thought you were dead. Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"
John pushed her away. "I'm fine. I'm all right. Where are…?"
"Sleeping they're exhausted. What happened? We were in the living room and I was yelling at Liam and then we were in here," Rose said. She looked past him. "Where are the soldiers?"
John moved past her to the Executor's console. He sat at the motorcycle-like controls and accessed the TARDIS' command systems. "The TARDIS was keyed into your DNA. It accepted you and the kids."
"Liam and the others?" considered Rose. She put her hands to her mouth. "He killed them?" She knelt placing a hand on his arm. "What is happening?"
John kept working his face stern. "They murdered Jenny. They dissected her like a bug. They threatened you. They threatened our children. "The Executor is…setting things right."
"But you're gonna talk him down," Rose said, nodding. "You're gonna stop him?"
"Rose, the Executor is not one that can be stopped," John said. "Not when he's like this."
"John you can't just stand by and do nothing," Rose urged.
Halting, John turned to her. "During the Time War, the last time he lost someone he winked an entire galaxy out of existence; just erased it from Creation. He killed his entire crew, destroyed a TARDIS and decimated another galaxy to do it. He nearly died in the process himself. And that was after he burned through billions of lives on countless worlds in the effort. He has all of his strength and power. I have nothing that can stop him." He went back to his work.
"You are the Doctor," Rose stated. "You fought in the same Time War and since took on aliens and monsters and the Devil himself. You are the cleverest man in this and every universe. Surely there's something…"
John rounded on her. "Rose, I am only human! I was the Doctor but now I am just John Smith. He is a Lord…of…Time, the Time Lord Merciless!" John turned back to the console. "I can't hope to stop him." He tapped a few keys.
"What are you doing?" Rose asked.
John pressed a few more keys and turned a dial, "Calling someone who can."
The Time Lord Merciless
In another universe another TARDIS, this one a blue police box, hovered in the vast emptiness of space. Inside, its owner leaned heavily against a ruined control panel trying to shake off the shame and disappointment of being misled and the self-loathing that came with allowing such a thing to happen in the first place. Pushing himself upright, he smoothed his vest and adjusted the cuffs of his white shirt before slowly making his way to a nearby chair.
Tall and spindly, with gray hair, a grim line of a mouth and fierce frowning eyebrows, the Doctor dropped into the armchair and held a fisted hand to his mouth considering what to do next. His eyes, blue and probing, glanced over the control room seeing into his mind. Of course she'd lied. That's what she did. It's what she'd always done in any form. What was he to expect? How foolish was he to believe her? What was that blasted beeping noise?
Eyes flicking toward the command console, he saw a blinking light on the battered panel. He'd had only a few dozen years or so to get used to this version of his TARDIS; a few of the controls remaining a mystery. Rising to his feet, he drew his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the light. A quick scan revealed that it was linked to a communications system.
Grabbing the view screen he swung it round to the panel and accessed the communicator. The screen lit with an icon. There was a message for him. He arched an eyebrow. Clara? No, she would have just called. This was different. He accessed the icon.
"This message is from John Smith for the Doctor. Doctor we need you. Come at once."
The Doctor recognized the voice. Of course something was happening now. Why wouldn't it be happening now? Now was the perfect time and he in the perfect mood to have something be happening. Sighing, his shoulders slouched. He shook his head and massaged the bridge of his nose.
His nasal brogue sounding small in the cavernous room, he muttered, "Why not?" He moved to the flight controls and put the ancient vehicle in motion. Twisting a few dials he activated the special drive system that would allow him to fly completely out of this universe and into another.