Ghostbusting Plungers
spoliers for Army of Ghosts/Doomsday/Empty Child/Doctor Dances/Boom Town. And I had to put in the Ghostbusters bit, didn't I? Strong language.
"I really should have bet a tenner that we'd get roped into helping Jack with something," Rose said wistfully, taking a moment to reflect - even though they didn't really have a moment, as Jack's Torchwood team were acting like it was last call at the pub. Everyone was running around and screaming, while the Doctor and Rose stood off to one side, totally forgotten, trying to work out what was forcing its way through the void.
"I would have bet twenty," the Doctor replied, still staring intently into the computer screen.
Rose looked too, but only saw the white fuzzy outlines. "They're like ghosts ..." she noted, trailing off from her frankly stupid idea.
The Doctor looked round at her, eyes wide. "Rose Tyler, you are officially a genius!" he said, giving her a kiss before running out the room, Rose hot at his heels. OK, maybe not such a stupid idea then. She wondered where he was going, before she realised he'd left the TARDIS just outside for convenience.
The Doctor fiddled with the TARDIS, which opened with ease. "If they're ghosts ... I don't believe in ghosts, to be honest ... then I can just use my Apparitional Stabiliser with incorporated hydrophyatic modules to moderate the frequency ..." he stopped speaking, just running around grabbing bits of wire. "Go and open the floor panel for me!" he shouted, as he passed the control room, trying to go from one room to another.
Rose wrenched open the floor panel that the Doctor often disappeared down to the tweak the TARDIS. "What do you need that for?" she asked, but never got an answer as he vanished down into the pit.
"Well, don't tell me you're just gonna vanish down there and do nothing?" Rose said incredulously - it wasn't the Doctor's normal behaviour to do nothing at all.
No answer. Rose huffed, but nevertheless stayed where she was. She did have a idea to close the floor panel and trap him down there, just for fun. Rose was standing, looking down into the TARDIS's depths when she felt a wave of nausea and almost did drop the floor panel; but luckily it went as quickly as it had came.
He emerged three and a half minutes later with a plunger-like object, holding it like gun. "Who ya gonna call?" he said, trying to moonwalk out the TARDIS.
"Ghostbusters!" Rose sang back as she leaned against the console, refering to the movie they'd watched a couple of nights ago. The Doctor had sat through the whole movie complaining about the lack of authentic aliens in movies, only really enjoying the soundtrack - which he'd proceeded to sing every moment he could since then.
"I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" He said, giving up on the moonwalking and just running out the door instead, Rose's laughter following him as he ran from the TARDIS back to Torchwood.
"Oi, Jack! You're mate's holding a plunger and he's the only guy I've ever met who looks threatening with said plunger!" Owen yelled, his eyes trained on the Doctor and Rose.
"Don't worry, he can make anything look threatening!" Jack replied, at the Doctor rolled his eyes. Everyone resumed their work.
"Isn't anyone going to ask what I'm doing with a plunger?" the Doctor asked, waving the object around. Rose had to duck suddenly - he almost hit her in the head whilst waving it around like a farewell hankerchief.
Nobody said anything.
The Doctor heaved an exasperated sigh.
Rose recognised it and decided to diffuse the situation before the Doctor blew up and went into a rant. And besides, she was genuinely curious as to what he was doing with a plunger. "What are you doing with a plunger, Doctor? As far as I know, Torchwood's toliets are fully functional. I just went about fifteen minutes ago, give or take."
The Doctor swung around to face her, his grin dazzling; Rose couldn't help but beam back. "Thank you, Rose!" he said loudly, trying and failing to attract the others. "Well, when the 'ghosts' - although I'm positive they aren't ghosts - appear again, I sucker it with this and it downloads data. Then, I take it back to the TARDIS and it pinpoints it's source, and whey-hey! There's your ghostmakers," he finished, looking immensely proud of himself.
Jack looked up, as did Owen. "That's actually not a bad idea," Owen said, looking impressed.
Jack smiled brilliantly. "That's the Doctor! Always ready with a completely random but fantastic idea and a banana from the groves of Villengard," he said, clapping Owen on the back as he ran to the Doctor to inspect his plunging-sucker machine.
Owen just looked confused, but nevertheless followed Jack up to evaluate his newly created machine. Gwen and Ianto reluctantly came as well, although they didn't look as excited or curious about the machine as the others did. Tosh never moved from her computer, but threw a sneaky glance at them now and then when she thought no-one was looking.
"Not bad. What exactly are you a Doctor of? If you don't mind me asking?" Owen said, looking at the machine with awe.
"A lot of things. So many things I forget."
"You forget what you're a Doctor of?" Owen said incredulously, tearing his gaze away from the plunger, albeit reluctantly.
"Don't listen to him, Owen. He knows exactly what he's a Doctor of, he just doesn't want to share it with ... well, anyone, it seems," Rose said, laying a hand on Owen's shoulder in sympathy. Owen looked delighted that Rose had even spoken to him, never mind remember his name or touched him; the Doctor noticed and shuffled slightly closer to Rose.
"So, how often do these 'ghosts' appear?" the Doctor said, changing the subject quickly before anything more could be said between Rose and Owen. As far as he could tell, Owen was a flirter, and him anywhere near 'his' Rose was not a good thing in his eyes. The Doctor knew he was being unreasonably territorial, but he couldn't find it within himself to care.
"About every half an hour or so. I think Tosh has been monitoring the patterns," Gwen spoke for the first time, and went over to the computer beside Tosh.
For the first time, Tosh looked at the Doctor. "Are you the Doctor? As in the Doctor?" she said, looking at him.
"That's me! The one, the only, and the best!" he replied.
"'Coz I knew a man called the Doctor. Met him in Albion Hospital about two years ago, undercover for this place. Maybe it was three. After those aliens destroyed Big Ben? The alien was a pig in a suit. This man called the Doctor - well it couldn't have been unless there is two Doctors - said it was like-"
"A mermaid," the Doctor replied, understanding drifting into his eyes. "I knew I recognised you from somewhere! And now I remember!" He turned to Rose. "Remember when I left after we first met the Slitheen? I went to Albion Hospital to check out the alien, and it seems Tosh was the person in charge. But weren't you a medic?"
"Yes. Owen and I were there. He was off consulting with other doctors, I think. I don't really remember, I was stressed. It was you? But it couldn't have been, it was a completely different person!"
"I changed to save my life. I don't wanna go into it - but I'm the same person, different features. Do you believe me?"
Tosh nodded. "I've seen too many twisted, crazy things since joining this job not to. It's one of the more sane answers I've had."
Everyone else was watching this exchange with wide eyes. Rose turned to Gwen suddenly. "While we're on it, I recognize you," she said.
"I've never seen you before in my life!" Gwen said, looking slightly shocked.
"Ooh, I see, I recognize you too," the Doctor said. "You look like Gwyneth, someone we met in-"
"Doctor, let's not get into it," Rose said, cutting over him. "Tosh, when did you say the ghost-things were coming?"
"If the patterns stay the same, then there should be another sighting in around twenty minutes," Tosh replied, punching buttons. Everyone seemed to let out a breath they didn't know they were holding, and the shouting and running seemed to fade into brisk walks and loud voices. Again, no-one seemed to notice the pair of time travellers.
"And now we wait," Rose said, settling herself down on the couch.
"And now we wait," the Doctor repeated, sitting beside her, smiling slightly as she cuddled into him.
A whirring noise filled the small Hub, seemingly eminating from the computer. Rose raised her head from it's position on the Doctor's shoulder, the man himself looking towards the computer, but not daring to go over and touch it, no matter how much he wanted to. Anyway, Tosh was over there before anyone else could register something going on - she was certainly very protective of her computer.
"Ghost sighting, two minutes," she said to Jack, who had come up behind her.
"You ready, Doctor? This machine of yours better work!"
"I'm locked and loaded," the Doctor replied, leaping up, holding the machine in the same way one would hold a gun. "Da-da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da, da-da-da ..." he hummed, trying to sing the James Bond theme and failing.
Rise giggled. "However hard you try, you won't be James Bond," she said, giving him a consoling hug.
"Why not? I've got the looks, the intelligance, the ..."
"License to annoy people? Travel in time? Zoom across space as if you own it?"
"Shut up, Jack," The Doctor said, pretending to be annoyed at Jack's comment. Rose - and probably everyone else, although they didn't show it - knew he wasn't.
"Anyway, can everyone get into their designated positions? Ghosts in 55 seconds!" Tosh said, getting impatient with the banter that was being exchanged. The Doctor nodded and set off wandering around the Hub, waiting for the ghosts to appear.
"Over there, Doctor!" Ianto said, pointing to a malformed shape to the Doctor's left. He swivelled around, but before he could get fully around the shape moved.
Gwen pointed to Rose. "Beside Rose!" she yelled, gesturing to the shape that was forming. The Doctor ran full pelt over to her, and waiting until the shape was seemingly fully formed, or as formed as it was going to be. He thrust the machine into the ghost, which surprisingly reacted to the thing on it; it squirmed, trying to dislodge the machine but it held firm.
"It's actually reacting to it," Gwen said, standing beside Rose, who had scarpered as soon as she realised there was a ghost standing alongside her.
"I know, I didn't think it would do something like that. So it must be an actual entity rather than a apparition," Rose deducted, just as the ghost started to flicker.
"It's fading!" the Doctor said, looking puzzled.
"Don't worry, they only last for a minute at the most!" Jack said reassuringly.
Finally, after a lot of flickering, fading and false disappearing alarms, the ghost faded away, leaving the Doctor holding the machine. "Right! Off to the TARDIS! Rose!" he said, pulling Rose along by the hand to process the information he'd collected.
The Torchwood team all started to follow after him, but Jack reached out a cautious hand. "I wouldn't. He's very, very protective of his ship."
"Honestly?" Owen said incredulously, "It's only a ship."
"Yeah, but it's the only thing the Doctor's constantly had in nine hundred years. It's a touchy subject." Jack's look made it clear that he'd thought the same as them, once upon a time, whenever he first met the Doctor. "Trust me, I would know. Used to take the absolute piss out of him ... before he changed. I don't know how he'll react if he catches any of you guys in the ship."
"Why?" Tosh said, her voice curious. "It's not like we're going to damage it or anything."
"It's not that he doesn't trust you. Honestly, just leave it. I'll be back in a moment. Don't follow me." His voice held a note of finality that everyone knew not to challenge.
Jack left, entering the blue box that parked right outside. Everyone looked a little disappointed.
"I hate it when he keeps good alien devices to himself," Owen grumbled, getting murmurs of agreement from the rest of the team.
"It's like he doesn't want us to be a part of this," Gwen said, sitting down and folding her arms over her chest.
"Have any of you guys actually thought that maybe this Doctor is really protective of his ship? He certainly is protective of Rose," Ianto said, adding in the last part for Owen benefit, enjoying the flicker of annoyance that flashed across Owen's face.
"He sure is. He won't let go of her, even let her out of his sight for more than ten seconds. If at all," Owen said, clearly irritated by this fact.
"I'd let it go Owen, if I were you," Ianto smirked, enjoying taking the mick out of Owen.
"Might as well. Won't get within a hundred miles of her with that skinny idiot in the way," Owen said, defeated.
"You're just jealous 'coz he's better Doctor than you," Ianto said, Gwen nodding her agreement.
Owen said nothing.
The Doctor strode up to the central column, where there was an opening already in place for the machine to slot through. After the Doctor had done just that, he leant back against the column, waiting as it processed.
"What do you think of Jack's team, then? Don't tell me you haven't assessed every person in there," Rose said, wrapping an arm around his waist, leaning on his shoulder.
The Doctor threw her a look, but Rose threw it right back; she knew that Doctor better than that, and she also knew that he would have made up his mind about every single person in that room within five minutes of meeting them.
"Well, that Tosh looks like a little bit of a brainbox. And Ianto seems OK, a little but quiet if you ask me. Gwen ... she acts like she's some sort of wet blanket, to be perfectly honest."
"Doctor! She's in the middle of a breakup, according to Owen," Rose said, as the Doctor 'aahed' in realisation, before his expression darkened at the mention of Owen.
"I have to admit, there is something about Owen I haven't taken to," he said, as Rose snorted. "What?" he looked down at her.
"'Something I haven't taken to'?" Rose said, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "You plainly dislike him."
"He irritates me, that's all."
"Why?"
"He just does. A little bit cocky, walks around as if he's the best doctor on the planet. Well, I showed him something!" he said, adopting a smug expression.
"Ugh. You're the worst, honestly!" Rose teased, hitting him lightly in the stomach with her free arm.
"Cheers," he said rubbing it with a wounded expression as Jack burst through the door.
"Bonjour mon amies! Sorry about the team, too damn curious for their own good," Jack said, a genuine look of apology on his face.
"No need to apologize. They're a good team," the Doctor said, nodding to the door.
"Yeah they are. When they get their heads together and work, that is."
The TARDIS console beeped, grabbing the three's attention immediately. The Doctor - being the only one who could ready Gallifreyan - seemed disturbed by the array of symbols. The more he read, the whiter he became.
"Doctor? What's wrong, what is it?" Rose said, her voice getting higher with every word.
"Doctor, what's wrong? Are they ghosts?" Jack said as well, his voice conveying his worry.
"They're not ghosts," the Doctor whispered, his face ashen.
"How do you know?" Jack asked.
"Well ... does a footprint look like a boot?" He answered, turning to face them, his expression grim.
Ooh. Well, Doomsday next chapter! Don't really know how it's gonna turn out ... it's going through some major edits. Should by next week.