"Okay," said Rose as she sat facing the younger version of herself in the infinite space of white. "You're me from when I look inside the heart of the Tardis, yeah?"
Younger Rose nodded, smiling slightly. "And you're on your way to go help the Doctor defeat the daleks?"
At this the nineteen year olds expression darkened.
"Basically, but I've gotten kinda side tracked…" The younger girl trailed off as she looked past her older counterpart.
"What do you mean? The Doctor told me that I looked inside the vortex and then came and destroyed all of the daleks." Rose questioned slowly. She was honestly confused. The memories of her time as the Bad Wolf were almost nonexistent, and learning that she apparently had taken the time to visit her future self was a bit unnerving.
"When I looked inside the heart of the Tardis, inside time itself, I could literally see everything that would ever and could ever happen to everyone in the whole of creation. I was suddenly so much bigger than anything ever encountered in this universe and the power almost killed me." The younger girl's voice was heavy with the weight of the experience and her eyes seemed to glow a golden hue.
"Bad Wolf." Rose whispered.
Her counterpart nodded. "I needed to become something that was still human at heart but could tolerate that much power, so the Bad Wolf was created. However as I saw the future that would lead to where you are now I knew I would have to intervene, as the original purpose of the Bad Wolf is to get Rose Tyler back to her Doctor. And let me tell you, the job is not an easy one."
Rose's heart sped up. After two years of living in a parallel world with no prospects of getting back to her original universe, this was too much to hope for.
"You're saying that you can help me get back to the Doctor?" She asked slowly.
"Possibly," The younger girl began. "It all depends on what's about to happen."
"And that would be what?" Rose questioned. "I don't even know how I got here and it's not like your being real specific on anything." She folded her arms across her chest in a defiant manner looking her younger self in the eyes.
The girl in question absently picked at a stray string on her pink jacket, understanding her older self's need for an explanation
"You're unconscious." The younger Rose finally stated. "An organization called UNIT kidnapped you while you were running in that park in London. They believe that your reappearance two years ago is connected the cyberman attacks and void activity being detected. They consider you a threat to the general public and because of your affiliation with Torchwood, a threat to UNIT.
"But why wait two years to get me if I'm such a danger to society?" Rose asked.
"Because they haven't had any proof, UNIT is run on a very strict operating policy and apprehending a seemingly innocent young woman with a billionaire father would require some serious paperwork. But recently a photo was uncovered from the last birthday party Jackie Tyler had before she disappeared, and guess who happens to be in the background? A pretty young servant who is an exact match on UNIT's facial recognition program for Rose Tyler. And do you remember what happened at that party?
"The cyberman attacked." Rose whispered.
Saying she was shocked was an understatement. She had been under the impression her integration into this world had gone smoothly. Sure there had been gossip and conspiracists with their own theories to her disappearance. But any real problems had been cleared when the DNA match came back positive that Jackie and Pete Tyler were indeed her parents. And now apparently there was an alien organization that had been plotting against her since she arrived in this world.
"Right, and now they had enough evidence so you were drugged and taken to the main UNIT building were you are being kept for observation and testing as we speak." The younger Rose said while glancing apologetically at her older self.
Anger coursed through Rose's body. How dare they kidnap and run tests on her, She was Rose Tyler, the highest ranking Torchwood field agent and alien negotiator. She had seen the end of the earth, fought a werewolf, and met the devil. She promised herself that she would show UNIT a real threat as soon as she woke up.
"However," The younger girl began. "That is the least of your problems."
Rose's surprise was evident on her face but she nodded for the younger girl to continue.
"Three years ago UNIT hired a woman named Jane Brown. She is actually an alien from the planet Eros and was abandoned by her parents on earth when she ten. Her goal in life is to find out why she was left here and get back to her home planet. About a year ago she found a book left by a time agent in a café with information on how to build a relay machine that will allow the user to relive past events in their own time line. She has been working on the machine since she found the book and it will be completed today."
The nineteen year old brushed a stray piece of her long blonde hair behind her ear as she paused to make sure her older self was following what she was saying.
Rose contemplated what she had been told "If it allows you to relive past events then won't she cause a paradox when she goes back and stops her parents from abandoning her?" Rose stopped as realization dawned on her face. "Is that why you need me? To stop her from creating a paradox?"
Her younger self shook her head. "The machine doesn't actually travel in time. It just deposits you in the pre-established timeline. You can stop things from happening and change the outcomes of situation but it doesn't actually do anything to the real world. You're basically just interacting with shadows of the past. Jane's going to use the device to see if she can get some answers about why her parents abandoned her and where they went."
The older woman seemed to be absorbing the information well when suddenly her face contorted into a grimace, she felt as if someone had punched all the air out of her body. Her cry of pain echoed in the infinite space as her body dropped onto the white flooring.
"W-What's happening?" she choked out as her fingers clawed at the tile around her desperately trying to relieve the piercing pain working its way through her entire body. "P-Please."
The younger girl kneeled down in front of Rose taking her face between her hands. "Rose, I know it hurts and I'm sorry but I need you to be strong 'cause things are about to become much worse. Jane never gets to try out the machine; you're going to be its first test subject. You're not going to remember much of this conversation when you wake up but don't worry ill talk to you again soon."
Tears clouded her vision of the girl in front of her and Rose Tyler lost herself to the welcoming darkness.
…
The brown haired woman walked up to a large sealed metal door at the end of the medical hallway. Her plastic I.D. cart made a pleasant click as she swiped it through the access bar and the Robotic female voice that followed granted her entry.
"Access granted, welcome Doctor Brown."
The door unsealed itself with a dramatic hiss and Jane Brown stepped into the quiet medical room whose only occupant was unconscious on an operating table.
Jane started the routine check of making sure all of the many wires and tubes sticking out of Rose Tyler were in proper working order and the patient was properly sedated. She then looked over the girls vitals and took a quick blood sample.
Jane honestly hated this part of her job. She saw a part of herself in Rose and hated to think of UNITs plans of mental torture and analysis that were an inevitable part of the woman's future. UNIT was under the impression Miss Tyler had been gallivanting with aliens and cyberman up until her reappearance into society. Jane doubted this but thought it best to keep her mouth shut. She was so close to finishing her project and could not let her pity for the young woman get in the way.
"Doctor Brown?" The static voice from the radio hooked to her side made the woman stop her work and place the blood sample aside before grabing the walkie-talkie.
She spoke calmly into the device. "Yes, this is Doctor Brown from Medical."
"Is the patient prepared for surgery?"
Jane glanced at Rose before answering. "Yes, the patient is ready."
"Good, we shall have the operating team together in half an hour, standby"
Perfect.Jane thought to herself.
The woman quickly pulled a rolling metal table towards her before taking what looked like a small laser pointer from her pocket and setting it on the small table.
Jane then reached into her lab coat, pulled out the pink notebook and started flipping through the pages at a rate that made the hair around her face dance. Stopping on a specific page the woman grabbed the mysterious contraption and was about to press the small button at the top when the sealed doors hissed open.
"Hey Jane, how's our guest doing?"
Jane quickly slipped the laser pointer into an empty blood sample carrier lying next to the bed before turning around to face the visitor.
"Hello Marcus, I'm very busy at the moment so if could allow me to get back to—"
"Ralph wants to talk to you."
Jane glanced quickly at the carrier; Ralph was the head of Medical and known for his quick temper. If she refused to go she could very well lose her job. Making the decision that her project was safe for the time being, Jane nodded and headed out the door.
Marcus seeing the full blood sample on the table beside the patient took the vial and slipped it into the carrier on the tool table. Unknown to him the vial was set directly on top of the Laser pointer look alike, pressing down on the small button.
The yellow light that came through the carrier startled the young intern as he looked up from where he had been organizing lab equipment. The light radiated forward until it landed on the silent body of Rose Tyler. Marcus was mesmerized by the light and watched as it seemed to engulf the blonde woman entirely. It was when she started the disintegrate that broke him out of his hypnotic state. He ran to the red alarm on the wall closest to the door and pressed down. Immediately a shrill bell sounded throughout the building and gas masks fell from the ceilings. A familiar Robotic Woman's voiced called out instruction for what to do in case of alien infiltration.
This had no effect on the light and Rose Tyler disappeared without a trace.
…..
The pounding headache was what brought Rose into the limbo between being fully awake and deeply asleep. As she became more aware of her surroundings the ache quickly became more intense and Rose flipped onto her stomach and dug her head under her pillows. The blonde couldn't recall the last time she had this bad of a hangover and hoped she had at least stayed within the confines of her parent's house while under the influence. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with the press or Pete's Public Relation department asking what she was thinking.
Wait a tick.
She hadn't been drinking. It was her baby brother's birthday today and she wanted to be a part of that, not in a pain induced stupor. She recalled having trouble sleeping and going for a run, then…
Rose sat up straight in her bed and gasped. She remembered a mysterious woman telling her about being kidnapped from the Forrest she was running in and then being drugged by an organization she couldn't remember the name of. Rose knew that there was more to the conversation but the pounding in her head became more painful when she tried to remember. It was then that Rose noticed her new surroundings and let out a small scream which she quickly muffled with her pillow.
Her gaze slid along the hot pink walls cluttered with pictures and posters cut out of magazines before drifting down to the shaggy brown carpet littered with clothing and trinkets tossed carelessly onto the floor. Finally her eyes followed the curve of her ceilings coral strutting that climbed up the sides. The distant hum she heard in the background only added to the overall picture.
Rose Tyler was back in the Tardis.
Okay Rose deep breaths, you can figure this out.
Two years ago if Rose had magically appeared on board the Tardis she would have run down the corridors straight to the Doctor without a second thought. Now with her background with Torchwood she had a much different approach.
Rose quietly slid her legs over the side of her bed and maneuvered herself through the organized mess on the floor. Someone had drugged her, if she had any doubts about this; they were confirmed as soon as she saw where she was. Whoever had taken her was obviously trying to use her memories against her through some sort of virtual reality. It wasn't unheard of, captured agents had told stories about aliens creating environments where the victim was most comfortable then impersonating someone the victim would relay information too easily. It was an extremely effective technique, but Rose was not going to fall for it. She had the advantage of knowing that this was all a lie, and would use it to escape.
With that in mind, Rose quietly opened the door leading out into the hallway.