Chapter Five: I Get Knocked Down, But I get up Again
[In which the Doctor and Rose are victorious]
"So," said the Doctor, restrained anger in his voice as he held tightly to Rose's hand, "We meet again for the very first time."
Van Statten looked first baffled, then outraged as he seemed to realize an unauthorized person had just entered his office without invitation.
"How did you get in here?" van Statten demanded. "Guard!" he yelled, trying to aim his voice past the Doctor and into the hallway.
"How did I get in here?" said the Doctor. "You just saw me walk in here. Clearly you must have either a vision problem or a memory problem. Perhaps I can be of assistance. Dr. Arthur Noble, here to help. Then again, I'm really here to help Rose, and you've given me reason to believe we're working at cross purposes, what with having kidnapped her and all."
Van Statten was clearly unused to being treated with anything but respect and deference, and being treated without these by two different people in the span of a few minutes was definitely something he didn't know how to react to. Between that and his guards' continued absence, van Statten was momentarily at a loss as to how to react.
"So," said the Doctor, a bit of a cheerful tone and smile returning briefly to his face, "We can do this two ways. You can either give the order to let us go, now, unharmed, or we can escape while bringing down your entire facility. Your choice. Personally, I prefer the excuse to bring this place down, to watch it fill with rubble, to see your life's work undone for your daring to take Rose Tyler without her consent."
As he spoke, his countenance changed, and the contrast between the carefree smile and the stare of the Oncoming Storm, complete with flashes of anger behind his eyes, made the later look even more effective than usual.
Van Statten took a small step backwards, pushing his chair with him, before finally finding his voice.
"This is not your domain," he sputtered, taking a step forward again. "It is mine. This is my domain, my world, and you don't belong here unless I say you do. I think you both could do with some medical experimentation. Guards!" The last was shouted more loudly this time.
The Doctor grinned after one more angry look, and he turned to face Rose, still holding her hand.
"Well," he said happily, "it looks like we get to fill this place with cement again."
Rose's returning grin wasn't quite as wide as the Doctor's. Yeah, she thought filling the place with cement sounded perfect, but she didn't often see the Doctor show glee at the thought of destruction.
"Let's do it, yeah? But how, without hurting any of his employees?" Rose asked the Doctor. "We don't have a Dalek to hurry up the evacuation this time."
"Well," said the Doctor confidently, "First, I'm going to tell van Statten here that if he holds that device," he pointed to an object on a shelf, "and turns in a circle twice while picturing clouds, he can teleport one time, only to these same coordinates, just above ground. This is important," he continued, "because step B is to lock him in the office."
They took the two steps to get outside the office. The Doctor quickly closed the door and used his sonic screwdriver on the lock.
"There," he grinned, "That should hold him."
He wrapped his arms around her again, holding her tightly before reluctantly letting go.
"We'd better get started. Jack's distraction won't keep the guards much longer, and we need to make sure everyone's out. He's got them as close to the exit as he can. Luckily, this place is much smaller than it was in the other world. We've just got to retrieve the technology specialist."
He paused and made a face.
"I hope it isn't your pretty boy, Adam. C'mon, this way," he said, gently leading her back towards where she'd been held. "The science office is this direction."
They made their way down the corridor at a brisk walk, hands swinging, shoulders bumping. Anyone who saw the pair would be unaware they were possibly in a life-or-death situation.
The Doctor stopped them at an unmarked door. It was unlocked, and he opened it before walking through the doorway. Inside was a larger collection of artifacts than the one in van Statten's office, these clearly still in the process of being studied rather than displayed. Standing at one of the workstations, intently studying an object that wasn't from this world, was a woman with dark hair and glasses.
"Hello!" the Doctor addressed her. "You're not Adam! Excellent."
The woman blinked.
"No, I'm not Adam. Toshiko," she added.
"Judging by the accent, you're not from around here, either," ventured Rose, glad she didn't have to meet this world's Adam.
"You're right," replied Toshiko. "Can I help you with something?"
"Yes," said the Doctor. "We're looking for something to seal this place off for good."
Toshiko stared intently for a moment before smiling.
"You're here to take down van Statten and his collection? That is excellent, indeed."
She turned to a computer in the corner of the room and started typing rapidly.
"I've been waiting for this for years," she explained as she typed. "I have a program in place to erase all of van Statten's accounts, replacing them instead with outstanding warrants for theft, blackmail, kidnapping, extortion, failure to pay taxes. All fabricated, of course, but no less true for all that they're faked."
She finished typing and turned to a safe, entering a long combination of numbers before opening it.
"I kept the most dangerous of the artifacts away from van Statten without him even realising it," she said, standing away from the safe's door to allow the Doctor a closer look. "You look like you have an eye for this stuff. I can usually read people pretty well."
The Doctor nodded and moved to the safe, releasing Rose's hand for the first time since they were reunited. As he studied the safe's contents, Rose studied Toshiko.
"How long have you worked here?" she asked.
"Five years now," the woman replied. "I applied on a whim. I'm not good at big changes and thought maybe this would help me get out of my shell. It didn't work. I think it might have done the opposite, really."
"Aha!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Perfect!"
He turned to face the women, an unremarkable-looking object in his hand.
"Toshiko, is there an evacuation system? Some way to tell everyone to get out?"
"Yes, there is," she replied, moving back to her computer. "Ready."
The Doctor set the object on the table and fiddled with it. Rose couldn't tell quite what he was doing.
"Okay," he said, "start the evacuation. Everyone should already be close to the exits. This device will fill every open space down here with a sort of indestructible goo. When I say go, we need to go fast."
An automated voice filled the room.
"Warning, evacuation. This is not a drill. Emergency evacuation protocols have been activated. Warning, evacuation. This is not a drill."
The message repeated as the Doctor finished what he was doing. He grabbed Rose's hand and gestured for Toshiko to go ahead of them.
"Run!" he said, a bit of glee showing as it often did when he had to say that word.
They ran back toward van Statten's locked office and past it. Rose looked back only once, seeing a purple goo filling the corridor behind them as they ran. Finally, they reached the surface, climbing a ladder and crawling through a circular opening in the ground. The Doctor quickly turned after they were all above ground, and he shut the opening, once again using his sonic screwdriver to ensure that it would stay shut.
Looking around, Rose saw several guards standing about, with Jack and van Statten off to one side in what looked to be a heated discussion.
"Accepting payment is not the same as giving loyalty," she heard Jack say as she and the Doctor approached. "Hey, Doc," he said, turning toward the approaching couple, "What are we gonna do about this guy?"
"He's taken care of," said the Doctor, "Thanks to this fine lady over here." He gestured at Toshiko, who'd made her way over to the group.
"All I did was make sure he'd be charged with every crime he's committed," she said, not looking half as pleased as Rose thought she herself might in the situation.
"Hello there," said Jack smoothly, reaching to take Toshiko's hand. "Jack Harkness. Pleasure to meet you."
"Oi, stop that," said the Doctor as Rose said, "Not now, Jack."
"I'm just saying 'hello'!" said Jack.
"I don't mind," protested Toshiko simultaneously, blushing slightly.
"The guards don't seem to have any more loyalty to this man than you do, Jack," the Doctor said, looking to Toshiko and Jack for confirmation.
"Right," said Jack, with Toshiko nodding in agreement.
"Oi! You lot!" the Doctor hollered at the loitering guards, sounding more like Donna than usual. "This man is now without funds, without power, and without the means to pay any pending checks. He will be arrested by the first policeman who realises he has outstanding warrants, so you may not want to present yourselves as his associates."
He stopped, turning to those closest to him and then continuing in a normal voice.
"Rose, I think we can go home now. We do have some good news to share, after all," he added with a grin. "Jack, Toshiko, you can come with us, if you'd like. Jack, I'd like to investigate your, ah, unique situation a bit further, and Toshiko, you did an excellent job of sorting those artifacts with what has to have been relatively limited knowledge. We may be able to put you to good use a little closer to home."
Both agreed to accompany Rose and the Doctor back to London, and the group set off for the rental car and airport, ignoring Henry van Statten's shouts of outrage as some of his guards proceeded to escort him, presumably towards the nearest police station.
O~O~O~O~O~O
The four got to know each other better on the long flight home. Though none present knew their prior world's Toshiko to compare her, they found this one pleasant to be around. She was intelligent and friendly, if a bit on the shy side, and she could "read" people well enough to border on a psychic ability.
This Jack had a similar life to their first Jack, up until they would have met. His warship instead crashed on the planet he'd chosen for his con, and he'd stopped using the title of Captain when he started working as muscle for hire after arriving back on Earth, having arrived with a vortex manipulator that was no longer capable of long jumps through space or any travel through time.
During the flight, Jack and Toshiko were convinced to consider working with Torchwood. Rose even promised Jack a position in which he could regain his former title as Captain. The Doctor explained that he couldn't be in close contact with Jack on an all-day every-day basis; though his presence was much easier to cope with than it had been initially, easier, even than it had been at their last encounter in his Time Lord body, he still couldn't fully relax around the man.
"However," said the Doctor, "One or both of you can take mine and Rose's flat." He looked at Rose. "I have another surprise for you, but it won't be ready for a few days, so we'll have to stay with your mother."
He grimaced.
"I suspect, though, that Jackie will want you there anyway so you can talk wedding stuff," he finished.
Rose smiled at her Doctor adoringly.
"Thank you, Doctor. I know this isn't your thing. You've done great with all the domestics, but I'm guessing planning a wedding with mum might cross even your new comfort levels." She leaned in for what started as an innocent kiss, pulling back with a blush when Jack interrupted with an, "Awwwww, you two are so sweet."
He chuckled. "You forgot we were here, didn't you?"
"Oh, shut up," replied Rose, laughing. "I've seen much worse from the other Jack."
She went on to explain a time during which she and the Doctor had returned to the Tardis to find him naked in the console room with not one, not two, but three other women. The flight continued in this lighthearted manner, and they landed in London without incident.
A/N: I'll admit, this was a harder chapter for me to write, at least the first bit. I'm not good at action or strategy, but this is what made the most sense to me. I hope you liked it! Just a final chapter to go (with possibly an epilogue if the next chapter runs away with me), but I'm open to writing sequels if enough people tell me they liked this story ;)
-Kita