Chapter 5 Jack
The Doctor's voice became dangerously quiet. "Let us go. Now."
Snape scoffed. "I may have seen that you have a talent for escaping, but those 'memories' could be clever constructs, your arm faked with a perception charm. You are tied up, Doctor," he paused, his voice dripping with sarcasm on the last word, "And you have none of your tools. Forgive me, but I have trouble viewing you as a threat."
"You don't need to see me as a threat." The Doctor pleaded. "I mean you no harm. You obviously searched our pockets; you took my coat, my sonic, and Taal's replicator. You can see we were unarmed, and that we mean no harm!"
"The item you call a 'replicator' that was found on your companion has the potential to make weapons. Crude, muggle weapons, yes, but dangerous in the right hands nonetheless. You may not think that you are Barty Crouch Junior, but the physical evidence seems to point irrevocably to your guilt." Snape said. "It seems like you cannot irrevocably prove your innocence!"
While the two men were engaged in their argument, Taal was beginning to regain her strength and consciousness. She opened her eyes, and found Dumbledore looking at her. She raised an eyebrow, and Dumbledore flicked his wand. She immediately felt better, stronger, and less tired. He smiled as her face betrayed her confusion.
He flicked his wand again, and the oddly empty feeling coat that she wore was replaced by the comforting feeling of her possessions and tech. Everything was exactly where she had stored them, and it seemed like there were two new things in it. One was the weight that she recognized as the Doctor's screwdriver. The second was long and this, and barely weighed anything.
"Wand?" she mouthed. "Why a wand?"
Dumbledore didn't answer, just nodded and shrugged. He flicked his wand one last time, and Taal felt the ropes binding her loosen. She wiggled a bit, trying to get them off, but she caught Dumbledore's almost imperceptible shake of his head. "Not yet." He seemed to be saying. "Wait."
Snape finally finished talking with the Doctor, and returned to Taal. "Have you thought about the consequences of lying to me now, cat?"
"I have not lied to you." She said, trying to keep her anger under control. "And I might tell you more voluntarily if you'd stop calling me 'cat.' I have a name, you know."
"Hmmm…" said Snape, lifting her chin up with the tip of his wand, obviously deciding that she wasn't worth touching (or that her teeth were too sharp to risk putting his fingers anywhere near). "Yes, you did say that you have a name. However, at the moment, I do not believe that I shall use it. Cat."
Taal hissed and bared her teeth at him, but recognized a lost cause when she saw it. Taal's ears twitched. She heard a commotion outside, and it would only be a matter of time before the others heard it. Sure enough, Snape's head whipped around and he straightened up. He walked past the other two professors, and opened the door. Standing in the hall, being restrained by two aurors and led by Filch was a man in WWII era clothes, a coat similar to Taal's, and an American accent.
"Look, there's got to be some mistake. I'm no threat, look at me! You're wizards; I'm a… whatchamacallit, a muddle? No… that's not right, a muggle. Haven't read the books in a while." He grinned and laughed slightly nervously. "I'm just looking for the Doctor."
"Jack?" called the Doctor, straining against his bindings. "Jack, what the hell are you-"
"SILENCE!" Snape shouted, returning from conferring with Filch and the aurors. "Doctor, you consider this man to be a friend? He apperated onto school grounds using muggle technology, and was found with a highly dangerous gun in his presence! You say that you are not a threat, but this man seems to conflict with that."
"I didn't know he was here!" pleaded the Doctor. "I don't know- speaking of which, Jack, what the hell are you doing here?"
Jack shrugged, which was harder than you'd think when your every move is being constricted by aurors. "I was looking for you. You have my Doctor Detector, unfortunately, at the moment, but I managed to get my Vortex Manipulator working enough to track you to the right year, then use it to jump dimensions. I merged it with some Torchwood technology that we've been working on for dimension hopping, and here I am. I thought that you'd be visiting Rose or something, but I find you here!"
"I thought I broke that thing!" said the Doctor. "I can't have you or your… team… hopping about the universe messing up time and space and god knows what! And as for not having a Doctor Detector anymore, well… you shouldn't have had that thing in the first place!"
"Hold on, hold on." cut in Taal. "Doctor Detector?"
"My hand." Said the Doctor.
"Your HAND?" cried Taal. "But you've GOT both your hands! I saw them!"
"Long story. I'll tell it to you later, since we seem to have plenty of time stuck in here." The Doctor sighed.
"You most certainly do." Snape said, irritated that he would now have to interrogate Jack as well. "We will leave you now, to think of the crimes you have committed." He turned to the aurors holding Jack. "Tie him up. Make sure that they can't help untie each other."
Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore left the room. Taal could have sworn that she saw Dumbledore wink, but she chalked it up to her imagination. Jack was pushed into a chair and tied up. Taal and the Doctor's chairs were angled a bit, and Jack was shoved in between them. Taal held her breath until they were out of the room, fearing that they would check her bindings, but they simply left. She listened, and found that no one was left to guard the room. She almost laughed, but instead wiggled out of her bindings. The Doctor and Jack were engaged in a heated discussion over something called "Torchwood," and they unknowingly allowed Taal the distraction she needed to wiggle free.
"Jack, how could you just go and join Torchwood?" the Doctor cried.
Her arms were free, now. She reached into hr jacket and drew out her replicator. As much as she hated making weapons, a knife would go a long way, now.
"They're different now!" said Jack, "Most of them were killed or left after Canary Wharf-"
Taal sliced off the ropes binding her body. Now she could start on her legs.
"But I saw you during that whole affair with the Master. You fight and you fight. Guns are your weapons as much as words are mine." Retorted the Doctor, almost sadly.
Her legs were finally free now. She wiggled her toes to get the blood flowing again, and winced as the pins and needles feeling became painful.
"Well." Said Jack. "You go flying off with your little blue box, and sometimes you aren't even there! We have to protect ourselves!"
There was a pause, and Taal imagined the Doctor rolling his eyes. "There are better ways to fight than with guns!"
Taal finally stood up and put her replicator back into her coat. She pulled out the Doctor's screwdriver, a small gun that she figured must belong to this 'Jack,' and the wand that Dumbledore had put in there.
"If you boys are done arguing," she said, almost laughing out loud at their dumbfounded expressions, "Why don't we get out of here?"
She flipped the wand over a couple of times in her hand, then pointed it squarely at the Doctor.
"What are you doing, Taal?" asked the Doctor. "If my hands were free, I'd be raising them in surrender, but if you were going to point a wand at someone, why me? Jack seems to be the correct person to point it at. You've traveled with me for a month now, you've never even-"
"Shut up!" said Taal. "I have enough on my mind without having to worry about your petty feuds between Torchwood and team TARDIS. Now shut up, I'm trying to concentrate!"
"Ooooh!" said Jack. "Where'd you pick up this one?"
"Who are you, exactly?" said Taal, now pointing the wand at him.
"Captain Jack Harkness." Said Jack, as seductively as possible. "And who are you?"
"Major Lynsing Taal." Said Taal dismissively. "My friends call me Taal. You can call me Major Taal, as I have no inclinations of ever calling an egomaniac who believes that he is god's gift to woman my friend."
"Ah!" said Jack. "Maybe something more than friends, then?"
Taal gave him a look dripping with contempt. "Don't hold your breath, buddy."
Jack raised his eyebrows, and Taal rolled her eyes. She had had enough experience with people like him, and knew how to ignore them.
"Is there any point to this- admittedly amusing- banter, or you're randomly holding a wand that you can't possibly use?" asked the Doctor.
Taal shrugged and rolled the wand in her fingers. "As for the banter, no. Your… friend-" she gave Jack a pointed look, who smiled almost charmingly, "-seems to enjoy it, and who am I not to indulge him?" The Doctor rolled his eyes, but silently cheered. Taal was probably the first person he had traveled with who had no romantic designs on him or on Jack. "As for the wand… Well, Dumbledore made it appear in my jacket, so I assume that there's some point in it."
She looked at it thoughtfully. "Well, I'm sure we'll find out later. For now, a really nice knife'll do." She pulled out the knife that she had used to cut herself free, and cut off the rest of the ropes binding the Doctor. She threw him his screwdriver, which he tucked into his suit pocket, and looked thoughtfully at Jack.
"To free, or not to free. That is the question…" she looked at him almost coldly, before the Doctor put a hand on her shoulder.
"Let him go, Taal. He's a 51st century kinda guy. By your time, people have calmed down a bit, but during his century…" he trailed off, letting Taal finish the sentence herself.
"Alright, alright. I get it. You're gonna give me the whole 'he can't help it' spiel." She sighed. "I am so going to regret this…" but she cut him free.
"Now," said Jack, looking at Taal. "You have his screwdriver, a wand, and obviously a very large knife. Any chance you've got my sonic blaster?"
Taal raised her eyebrows. "What… this thing?" she pulled a small gun out of her pocket.
"Yes, that thing!" said Jack, making a grab for it. Taal pulled it out of his reach before he could get his hands on it.
"I do NOT trust you with a gun." She said, then dug around in her pocket. "Here. Have a banana." Jack reflexively caught it, then shot Taal a dirty look. The Doctor was having a hard time restraining himself from laughing. "What?" she said innocently. "It's a good source of potassium! Didn't anyone ever tell you that?"
Jack sighed, and decided that the subject wasn't worth arguing over. "Are we going to get out of here or not?"
Hopefully the next few chapters should be coming soon. No promises, though, I'm going on vacation today, and I have no access to a computer. As always, reading and reviewing is always appreciated!