The End of the Universe

They came for her in the middle of the night. She had tried to lay low, as boring as that had been. Sure, she'd disposed of a few thugs, and most knew to stay away from her and "her" neighborhood. Those same thugs had listened to the whispers of a powerful organization looking for someone resembling the blond avenger. They followed her, keeping a respectable distance out of fear.

Rose wasn't even aware of the intruders until they had her hands bound. Before she could think and try to escape, she felt a needle press into her skin and everything went black.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

When Rose finally awoke, it was only to find herself strapped to a table. She was still groggy, but could tell that she had an IV line in as well as something sticking to her all over her body. She was also completely nude. Every last shred of her humanity and dignity stripped from her. She hoped that the longer she was awake, the more coherent she would become but after laying there for a while, the groggy feeling never left. She hovered on the edges of sleep until she heard the door click and suddenly, she wasn't alone.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

The clattering of metal on metal sends a shot of adrenalin through Rose. She's almost coherent enough to take in her surroundings properly and maybe even devise an escape.

"I wouldn't, if I were you." Rose angled her head towards the voice, but can't see the figure. She searched the room frantically before suddenly, he was standing directly over her.

"You see, Mrs. Noble, we've had thousands of years to devise a way to keep you in one place. Your disappearing trick soon after Torchwood's creation had the leader at the time sequester away not only your medical records, but also a small division of labor to develop a way to sedate you. Most we've tested this on die within a few minutes. But you...you have been here for two days now. At our complete mercy, I might add. Don't worry, no one had touched you. We wanted you awake when we started on you."

Without further preamble, the scalpel he held in his hand broke Rose's skin and she screamed.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

That first day, Rose learned many things. First, she couldn't die. She couldn't even really be hurt, not for long. Any damage that was afflicted on her healed almost immediately. It frustrated her captors, but she hoped.

The second, was that even though she was basically immortal, some combinations of drugs still worked on her. Specifically, most things that would work on a Time Lord. She was afraid this would happen at some point. She just didn't think it would happen this soon or in a Universe that didn't have Time Lords.

Third, torture hurt. It wasn't just the physical wounds, either. The entire time he worked on her, the man spoke. He assured her that it was her fault that her brother had died. He even went so far as to tell her it was her fault that her mother, father, and husband had also died, even though they led full lives.

The next day wasn't nearly so simple. The wounds became larger, harder to heal quickly. Her body took care of it automatically, but it was more difficult to heal multiple bullet wounds. Being impaled was one of the worst but it was the poison that weakened her the most. Through it all, they would watch her energy levels. The moment they got too high, the torture would stop long enough for them to sedate her again. She would heal over night and the next day, the pain would begin again. Not once did they let her off the table.

Rose felt her body and mind weakening. With each cut of a blade, her control over herself crumbled. She couldn't die. Not that they would let her test that theory. But with how quickly her cells replaced themselves from the damage, she didn't think she could. But she could be kept in immense pain for days on end. So that's what they did. They broke her body as they tried to break her mind.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Rose soon lost track of how long she had been bound to the table. Time, her one constant companion, seemed to abandon her in the endless pain that she had to endure. It seemed to stretch on forever with her mind slowly cracking. She felt that there would never be an end. She felt that she had been at their mercy her entire life. She could scarcely remember what her life had been like before the torture.

Another of her torturers leaned over her. He bent close to her ear, seemingly sure that his next words would break her.

"Your precious Doctor isn't coming, Rose."

Everything seemed to click in place for her. Where she was. Her life, before here. And how much Time had passed. Five and a half years. Well, he had always said that five and a half was the amount of time to wait. He'd meant hours, but it seemed fitting. A rage built quickly in Rose, burning away the last of the sedatives they dosed her with. For the first time, Rose knew she could defeat them. She barely registered the beeping of the machines before her shackles dissolved along with the various node attached to her. The man scrambled back from her in fear. Good, he needed to fear her.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Rose strode from the room to confront the armed guards in the hallway. They immediately began opening fire. Most of the bullets dissolved long before they reached her, however, a few did make it through. They hit her, but her steps barely faltered. Instead of the red they expected to see, the wounds glowed gold before closing

Anger, like she had never felt, coursed through her. They had tortured her for years. To gain what, she would never know. She raised her hands and spread her fingers.

"Everything ends, and everything dies."

With that, she erupted in a fire of gold. In seconds, the planet was consumed. In minutes, the Universe. Everything burned with her.

When the burning stopped, she found herself enveloped through an endless darkness.