Chapter 24

Author's note: I know this took a bit long than I wanted and I'm sorry. Thank you all for reading!

The Doctor was slightly hesitant as he placed his hands on Jack's temples. He'd heard enough of the man's innuendos on a daily basis, he didn't want to see it. He looked at Jack sternly, pausing before he began.
"If there is anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door and close it. Or anything you know I won't want to see." He instructed, raising an eyebrow at him as Jack smirked.
"Aw come on Doc, where's your sense of adventure?" he asked cheerfully. The Doctor continued to glare at him and tightened his jaw.
"Not everyone is quite as adventurous as you." he said and glanced in River's direction. "Well, almost everyone." She smirked back at him and he turned back to Jack. "Now, how long has it been since you left the Agency?"
"Mmm I'd say about just over two hundred years, it's a bit sketchy." Jack shrugged. The Doctor nodded and closed his eyes once more.
"Good, at least that gives me an idea of where to look. I don't want to go searching forever in this mind of yours..." He frowned in concentration. Jack's mind was surprisingly orderly but he had a lot to go through. His frown deepened as he passed several very clear thoughts that Jack failed to block off; he tightened his fingers on Jack's head and Jack smirked.
The Doctor paused his mission, attempting to sense where Jack's repressed memories were. While his mind was bright and organized, dark tones of gold, black and navy wove throughout his thoughts. The Doctor shivered involuntarily as he picked up on the heartache and despair that Jack hid so well. He felt guilty that he'd never made an actual attempt to help him through his newfound immortality and the grief that inevitably came from it. The Doctor hastily moved forward, following the dark colors as they spread to around a large empty space, attempting to twist around it like it didn't exist. As he touched it with his own mind, it repelled him, shooting him back several decades in Jack's mind. He returned with more caution, carefully judging the space for a weakness. It was small and nearly undetectable but he pressed and it blossomed into a full memory, two years of actions and thoughts throwing him out of Jack's mind. The Doctor let go of Jack's head and stepped back, waiting for him to assimilate the new memories.
"That's...wow..." Jack sat down, his eyes wide. "All this time...I thought I...but I was inciting a revolution!" he grinned up at the Doctor. "Guess I didn't need you after all, I was getting along just fine." The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Don't get cocky, we need to know what they're doing." the Doctor replied.
"Give me a second, there's a lot to sort through," Jack looked up at River, rubbin his head as he tried to sort through his thoughts. "I'm beginning to understand what it's like to have all this madness in your head...and I only had two years..." River nodded slightly. "We didn't have a lot of information, me and a couple others had managed to tap into their meetings. It all has to do with that machine...but I don't remember why." Jack scowled and rested his head in his hands. "There's so much..."
"I know, I'm sorry." The Doctor laid a hand on his shoulder. "That's good though, the machine is the key. Martha how are those readings?"
Martha slipped her clipboard towards him, catching his eye and straightening under his gaze.
"The telepathic field is growing, while the other numbers aren't. People have begun to just disappear in the streets, whole blocks have just vanished without a trace." She explained. Donna's eyes widened as she looked at Rose.
"You don't think they're converting people do you? He said they wanted to make the human race better, like gods." She remarked.
"But that would take...oh...oh no." The Doctor's eyes widened. "They can't..."
"Can't what?" Gwen asked sounding slightly exasperated.
"They want to completely rewrite human genetics...they're going to physically change the human race."