Note: Oh boy, that was probably the fastest update so far *raises hands in triumph*
Chapter 6 - He or She?
Alex perched on the autopsy table as Jack ran a head scan on him.
"You know, the Doctor always wanted to be ginger," Jack mumbled as he studied the results on the monitor. Alex snorted.
"Really? I'd happily give him my hair. People like to make fun of ginger people…"
"Don't say that to him," the ex-Time Agent chuckled before giving him a nod. "Your health is in pretty tip top shape, but I can't guarantee that since I'm not a proper doctor."
"That means you're letting me go?" Alex asked, feeling a little hopeful.
"Not really," Jack murmured, grabbing his arm. "We don't want to let you loose whilst the Shadow Proclamation is still out there hunting you down," he said in answer to Alex's groan.
"I haven't even done anything to upset them," he protested but Jack shook his head.
"They claimed you were involved in case 1011. Does that ring any bells?"
Alex shook his head. "I swear. I've done nothing. Cross my hearts."
"Well, I can't argue with that," Jack murmured as he circled the autopsy table.
"There's something else, isn't there?" Alex questioned. "It's to do with my memory isn't it?" Jack sighed and leaned against a nearby surgical table.
"Doesn't it bother you that you never knew you were a Time Lord? Or your home planet?"
They were suddenly disturbed by the Doctor's calls from the main Hub. Jack looked back at the ginger Time Lord and gave him a wry smile. "Stay here."
He turned on his heel and bounded up the stairs two by two. The Doctor was slumped on the sofa with a frown on his face.
"What's wrong?" The Time Lord's face perked up and he ran a hand through his hair making it stand on end.
"Case 1011. I've read about it. It's linked to the Time War, Jack," the Doctor murmured.
"You're kidding."
"I wish I was…" the Doctor muttered. He handed Jack the piece of paper he retrieved from the bounty hunter and Jack read it. "Seems like Alex has accidentally gotten herself into a bit of trouble…"
Jack looked back at the Doctor confused.
"Genocide?" he boggled. Then something else written on the paper grabbed his attention. "Alex is a female?!"
"Must be a past regeneration," the Doctor summarised. "It's rare for a Time Lady to switch genders upon regeneration, or for a Time Lord to do so, too." Jack grinned.
"Think you can swap genders?" The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Stop it." He propped himself up on the sofa and buried is face in his hands. "Her name sounded slightly familiar, it was just the face I didn't recognise…"
"So you do know her."
The Doctor nodded and stared at the grey floor, looking distant. "I was looking through the Gallifreyan databases in the TARDIS. She was on the exploration squad. They were sent out to search for worlds that can help us in the war. Stumbled upon a level 5 world and they refused to engage in such an event. The Time Lords wouldn't tolerate it and threatened to kill them all if they didn't co operate…" The Doctor sighed and cursed Rassilon under his breath. Jack swore he almost saw his eyes water up for a moment there… "The Aridians did nothing to deserve that fate. Rassilon ordered the exploration squad to eliminate every species on the planet. He didn't want to get the blame and made it look like they did it. No wonder the Shadow Proclamation is after Alex. She's the last of the exploration squad…"
"My God…" Jack breathed. "But how did she end up here?"
"That's still something I've yet to find out…"
Jack hesitated. "Should we tell Alex?" The Doctor immediately shook his head.
"We can't just throw her… him into the deep end. I think it's best he doesn't know of his horrific past." Jack nodded before handing back the piece of paper back to the Doctor.
"What about the Shadow Proclamation?"
"I'll sort them out," the Doctor declared with defiance in his eyes. "Rassilon brought this upon us. That was uncalled for."
It was from then on Jack confirmed there was nothing stopping him.
"What about the blue reptilian creature?" the Doctor asked, his demeanour suddenly fluctuating. "Did you manage to sort it out with it's family?" Jack nodded.
"Found out his species from the Torchwood database. He descended from the Reptoid race. I've transmatted the body back to his family and covered up his back-story so he won't look to shame." The Doctor nodded sincerely and clambered from the sofa and started walking back to his TARDIS. Then he looked back at Jack with sadness in his eyes.
"Shame… we didn't know the Reptoid's name…"
…
"So, Alex!" the Doctor called out as he walked out from Jack's office shrugging on his long brown coat. "Fancy a trip across space?" At once, the young Time Lord's face lit up – something he never thought he'd react to.
"You're kidding me, right?" the ginger man chuckled. The Doctor grinned and pulled him up from the sofa, clearly in the middle of eating pizza. "What about Jack?"
"Oh, don't worry bout him!" he vaguely replied, pulling Alex towards the TARDIS.
"Where are we going?" he wondered as the Doctor fumbled around in his pockets. He didn't reply as he produced a key from his pocket and inserted it into the door. He hummed in approval as the door clicked and pushed the door inwards and dragged Alex into the ship. "The sign on your door says "pull to open" you just pushed it." The Doctor shut the door and arched a brow.
"So?" He dashed towards the console and began his frantic activity around the console.
"Where are we going?" Alex repeated, looking intently at the Doctor who was already taking it out on the console. He looked back at Alex with an infectious grin making him grin, too.
"You better hold on tight."
The Doctor dramatically pulled a lever and the TARDIS did it's usual lurch into the Time Vortex. Alex flung to the floor, completely taken by shock.
"Where are we going?" he shouted, feeling a little hesitant.
"I don't know!" the Doctor laughed. "I set her to random."
Suddenly the TARDIS was thrown around quite violently – Something the Doctor got used to, however, it didn't feel right at all… and considering all journeys in the TARDIS were pretty hectic and bumpy, this particular lurch was a bad lurch...
"Does your ship usually fly like this?" Alex boggled. He wrapped his arms round a TARDIS coral beam, clinging onto dear life.
"Yes," the Doctor lied, walloping a panel with a rubber mallet before being thrown off his knees.
"Right…"
Suddenly, the monitor started beeping and the Doctor glared at it. Then he gasped. "Something's disabled the TARDIS' defences and now they're pulling us out of the Time Vortex… how is that possible?" He ran his hand through his hair and scrunched the bridge of his nose. Alex watched the Doctor busy himself with the console. He wished he could do something but what did he know of flying a living space ship? "Brace yourselves, Alex," the Doctor muttered. The TARDIS came to a standstill and Alex looked back at the Doctor for help.
"Where are we?" he asked for what was the third time that day.
"I don't know," he murmured, picking himself from the pilot's chair and brushing down his suit. "But whatever is outside those doors can pull out a time capsule in the midst of vortex travel against the natural forward progression of the fourth dimension, let alone temporarily disable TARDIS defences. That's tricky stuff-"
He was interrupted as the TARDIS doors suddenly slammed open and five Judoon stormed through, guns held high and aiming at the two Time Lords.
"Oh my God, it's those rhino aliens from when I jumped off the building," Alex exclaimed.
"They're called Judoon and now's not the time to discuss stories about jumping off buildings," the Doctor muttered. "Raise your hands, we can't cause any uproar." Alex did what he was told and frowned.
"Are we being arrested?"
"Yes, now shut up and move."
The Judoon grabbed the Doctor's arms and shoved him out of the TARDIS and into a grand white hall with Alex in tow with his own Judoon restraining him. A red-eyed woman in a black dress approached them with a grim expression on her face. "I am the Shadow Architect."
"Yes, I know who you are," the Doctor waved off. The Architect glared at the Time Lord. "Doctor, I am arresting you for aiding a criminal. Your TARDIS will be confiscated and you shall not say any more before the trial other wise they can be used against you."
"What?!"
She turned to Alex, ignoring the Doctor's protests.
"Alex Johnson. You are arrested for involvement in case 1011 and the attempt to escape custody of the Shadow Proclamation. You shall not say any more before the trial other wise they can be used against you."
"What the hell is this case 1011?!" Alex shrieked, trying to wriggle free of the Judoon's grasp.
"You shall not say any more before the trial other wise they can be used against you," the lady repeated coldly. A Judoon moved towards her and grunted a few words before she groaned. Then she glared at the Doctor and Alex. "We cannot take you into trial yet as along with several witness reports, there aren't enough evidence to prove you guilty." She looked at the Judoon. "Take them to the cells. Unless you don't come up with a confession within twenty-four Earth hours, we will execute you if need to be. And don't get cocky, Doctor. We know that Time Lords have regenerative abilities."
The Time Lords were dragged towards a lift. A rhino pressed a button and the Doctor felt the lift go down… no, down was bad. Very, very bad… He looked back at Alex and gave a wry smile of reassurance. "I'll get us out of this," he mouthed. The lift jolted to a halt and the silver doors broke apart, revealing a never-ending corridor of cells lined along both sides of the walls. They were led past nine empty cells and stopped at the tenth cell, which was surprisingly already occupied. The Doctor stared at the man inside the cell.
"You've got to be kidding me," the Doctor muttered, still staring inside the cell.
"Well apparently I was accused of aiding a criminal," the man quipped. The Doctor groaned at that American accent.
"Jack?" Alex wondered. The Doctor groaned.
"I am not sharing a cell with you."
"Why not? We can be new cell buddies," the American mused.
"Stop it."
The Doctor was sharply nudged by a Judoon and he groaned as the force field that sealed Jack's cell sizzled and lowered. He trudged inside, followed by Alex who was shoved in before the force field shot back up at once. Jack arched a brow.
"I come back to the Hub after paying the pizza delivery boy to see the TARDIS disappear and suddenly a platoon of bipedal rhinos teleport into a highly secured base and arrest me, demanding where the TARDIS is," he summarised too calmly to be sane, staring wearily at the Doctor.