First off, he slowed time, because there simply wasn't enough of it to deal with the situation and Time is only relative after all. So, he slowed it, froze the moment and looked about him at the graveyard and the enemy. It looked worse now he was outside and the whole situation wasn't sanitised by appearing on a screen like a movie. Out here he could not only see but feel the situation, the slowed cold breeze and the ground underfoot. He was immersed and it wasn't looking very good for Team Who.
The Doctor took a few more paces forward until he stood between the first two lines of gravestones, the TARDIS at his back and the light from it spilling around the weeping angel in its doorway. Weeping Angels? How had they got involved apart from the sheer irresistibility of the situation. They didn't like him either, any opportunity to make his life a misery, or indeed just kill for fun and they would be on it in a flash. He really had wracked up a lot of enemies in his lifetime and on reflection most of them would volunteer to help the Time Lords with their hunt or accept bribery without too much negotiation. He tried not to think of what else might get sent through the Time Rift if he wasn't quick. Daleks, cybermen, reapers… his old friend the Veil?
He spun in a slow circle to check every corner of the graveyard before returning his gaze to the TARDIS. The current Angel was still frozen but it had expanded its wings a little to help to block the door. Behind them, was Clara. The Clara he had remembered only recently, back again as though summoned, searching for him as he had searched for her in each chip of memories. How cursed were they? A few minutes into their reunion, one kiss, and this was the outcome. Oh, the Time Lords must really want him. They must be on watch every moment, listening for Clara's thoughts and feelings, waiting to spot him. He wished they would make up their minds. They spent eons chasing him and then they had armed him with a full set of regenerations. Did they want to kill him, torment him, or champion him? He could never be sure, but then he often felt just as conflicted about his so called home and its residents.
He had no time for pondering. The Doctor swept his eyes across the usually peaceful graveyard where Clara's body lay and saw only danger now. The ranks of Judoon were marching at a lumbering but steady pace and he tracked them back across the ground to another light shining raggedly amongst the trees close to her Diner. The Time Rift, wide open, tall enough for the army to step through, wide enough to allow them to do so dozens at a time. He swallowed, it would take a lot to seal something that unstable, a lot of concentration and effort and that was a hard thing to sustain if fighting off that many alien soldiers.
And there was the small matter of getting close enough.
Well, Clara had been right about one thing, they were clumsy and slow, and he could be quick when he wanted to, if slightly inelegant. He would have to rely on the basics, out manoeuvre them if he could. Not a very advanced technique but he would take anything that worked and sometimes basics worked. He assessed the numbers. There were fewer of them he noticed on the left, on the side closest to the Diner they had damaged and given up on. He could see a gap and the darkness there was dense, the light from the time rift blocked by the trees and TARDIS. It was his best shot.
The Doctor unfroze relative time and ran.
He dipped between grave stones and through shadows, calculating the length of the graveyard and his average speed; he should make it to a position close enough to close the rift in approximately seventeen point three seconds. That was quick. Quicker than Judoon could manage. He surprised himself and nimbly hurdled a stone, smiled and laughed a little at this unexpected ability. This body had never exactly been athletic. This was going well, he could still put on a spurt of speed if needed, the old dog wasn't done yet…
He ducked under a tree and came almost face to face with six Judoon, rounding on him as he slid to a halt before them, weapons levelled and shoulders set.
'Ah,' he said and held up his hands, his fingers wiggled nervously.
More heads turned in his direction and he heard the change in pace of the ongoing march behind him. Low grumbling and gurgles of interest. They were turning, as one, back towards him, missing a step and then coming back. Hundreds of them, he realised as he was presented with the stale breath of a Judoon General, now leaning over his target.
'Hello,' the Doctor said staring up at him, it, the creature far larger and taller than he had remembered Judoon being. He quickly scanned its uniform and weaponry. They had certainly had some input from the Time Lords, possibly biologically, which made him wonder just how long they had been employed in this chase, but certainly with weaponry. He could see Gallifreyan symbols on their guns. That did little to reassure him. Ordinary weapons were one thing. Gallifreyan ones could be more than capable of draining the life force straight out of him and leave him unable to regenerate. He was going to have to be careful.
And so too would Clara, he realised with a twinge.
He looked over the Judoon's shoulder at the oncoming ranks of soldiers.
'You know… you've found me now,' he said, 'Could we call off the invasion? I'll come back to see your…er… commanders… if you stop your boys from overrunning London.'
And my TARDIS. Which has Clara in it. Leave her alone.
The Judoon General just grunted, a snort like a rhinoceros, hot and stenching and grinned widely, the tough skin of its face creaking with the unusual use of musculature. The Doctor winced.
'Why stop?' it heaved out, 'Invasion…. Bonus. Fun!' It nodded towards the group of soldiers who had returned to witness the Doctor's capture and sent them hobbling back towards the TARDIS and Clara. 'Onward!' it commanded.
There was no freezing time now, he had to act, without hesitation or reluctance. The rift was enormous, the best he could do was patch it. Behind him the Judoon were closing in on Clara, still holding a standoff between herself and the Angel, her newly refined Time Lady physiology going some way to help with the staring contest but it could only last so long. The clock was ticking down, if she did what he had told her to, the doors of the TARDIS would shut soon. At least he hoped the TARDIS, offended as she was by Clara and worried for him, would do the right thing for the woman he loved. He sent her a psychic message somewhere along the lines of 'don't let me down,' but the ship was too far away to beam reassurance.
The Doctor switched focus. He measured distances again. From where he stood to the rift. Back to the TARDIS. He activated the screwdriver and emitted a high frequency the Judoon found hard to tolerate, watched distractedly as they clutched their heads. It was a delaying tactic. As they went to their knees he had only a few seconds to patch what he could of the rift and stem the flow of Judoon a little. The others were already recovering from the frequency so he sped up his work. He could feel the Time Lords power behind it as he wrestled with the closure but he managed something before two heavy arms grabbed at his and lifted him straight off the ground.
The Doctor was thrown back against a yew tree and winded as he collided with the trunk. He saw the General look back angriliy at the almost closed rift and then focus its attention sharply on the TARDIS. Clara could still be seen behind the angel and with a shout the General ordered a flood of Judoon towards her at a trotting pace. They would be on her in seconds.
'Clara! The Door! Clara, go!' he shouted across the graveyard hoping her new sensitive hearing would find his words. After a beat they seemed to and he felt a rush of panic that wasn't his. The angel fell heavily backwards and the doors slammed shut just as a dozen Judoon crashed into the body of the TARDIS. They righted themselves, gathered some companions and ran again for it, believing he thought that they could knock down the entrance but he knew the TARDIS could withstand almost anything. Clara was inside she was safe, she was…
He looked up and found the General standing over him again with a lascivious grin. He was salivating.
'Oh,' the Doctor commented. 'Um… right, we aren't done yet… how rude of me.' A small circle of Judoon were closing in on him. The General raised one hefty arm and held it before the Doctor. On its wrist he could see a psychic teleportation device, lent to him presumably by the Time Lords. 'Ohh,' the Doctor breathed with more levity that he had managed since the beginning of this battle, 'I see, you're to bring me back with you.'
'Clever man,' the General said and wrapped one huge hand around the Doctor's unresisting wrist. 'You come now to Time Lords and Judoon get paid. At last,' it added with a hint of bitterness.
'Right… yes well that sounds very reasonable. Very civilised arrangement,' the Doctor said. 'Please… go ahead.'
He smiled at his captor innocently and for a moment a flicker of something confused appeared in its face before it shrugged and pressed a button on the device.
There was a disconcerting undulation in space and time, associated with the cheaper less reliable versions of the transporters and time hopping devices, before the Doctor and his warden crash landed in the middle of a white room.
Except it wasn't quite the white room the Judoon General had expected. In its shock it let go of the Doctor's arm and in that moment the Time Lord took the opportunity to bind the creature with invisible sonic ties. Then he stood and leaned against the console, catching his breath and looking around him.
'You could have decorated a little,' he muttered, 'Although I do like the classic look.'
The Judoon at his feet grunted in irritation so the Doctor leaned over it slightly.
'Yes, sorry, didn't they explain to you? That little device,' he unhooked it from its wrist, 'It's very basic. Think of a destination and go there. It has to be simple for your rather primitive brain to get it to work and that was a nice idea but…. But you see I'm a Time Lord. My psychic ability far outweighs yours, is made for this technology in fact, and as such I was easily able to reroute the destination. Same timezone, slightly different place. We've only hopped a few yards really, but it gets me away from your lot for a while. Now you sit there quietly while I think what to do next...' he began to circle the console, tapping it lightly with the fingers of one hand.
Clara had his TARDIS, and hopefully the Old Girl was being co-operative. He had her Diner, in need of superficial repairs but generally working. And London had rather a lot of Judoon and a scantily closed time rift in a graveyard. The Time Lords wouldn't be happy with any of it and he had his hands full.
The Doctor swung a screen towards him and typed in a few formulae. He pursed his lips as he viewed the results and then sighed. This clear up was going to take a while.
And then the light on the coms grid lit up. He pressed a button.
'Hello Clara,' he said.