Doctor Who: Season 5 IC

[Raynn]

The Doctor is left alone.
He turns, starts to walk. In the distance; the TARDIS. As he walks, he loses the pretence. He's in so much pain. Dragging his feet. Every step. He winces, sharp pain, ow! Tries to keep going. The longest walk. Walking through the snow. Then it really hits him. Agony. He falls to his knees. desperate. And so alone. He heaves for breath. Can't find the strength. He could die, right here. But then... A song.
A familiar song. Drifting in through the night. The Song of the Ood. The Doctor looks up. Standing far away, in the snow. OOD SIGMA. The song is rising, now, soaring. The Doctor gaining strength from it.

OOD SIGMA:We will sing to you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep.

And the Doctor... Stands. The song all around him. Inspiring him.

OOD SIGMA:This song is ending. But the story never ends.

And the Doctor keeps walking. To the Tardis.

THE DOCTOR steps inside, exhausted. He stops by the doors, rests against them, lifts his hand. the faint GOLDEN GLOW. Then he walks up the ramp. Still surrounded by Ood-song, the unearthly choir swelling all around him. He reaches the console. Clicks a few switches. Watches the Time Rotor rise and fall...

THE TARDIS gently circling above the EARTH.

The song continues. THE DOCTOR at the console. More pain. Fights it off. But it's time. He stands back. Closer to the ramp. Ready, but never ready for this. Then, quietly:

THE DOCTOR: I don't want to go.

And then, slowly...

gently, a shroud of calm GOLDEN GLOW rises up around his head, his features still visible. lifting his GLOWING HANDS, in amazement, his face still visible within its glow. And then, a sudden acceleration, wham - ! THE DOCTOR VOLCANOES!!!GOLDEN ENERGY blasting out of his head, his arms - beautiful, ferocious - GOLDEN ENERGY from one arm - ripping into the console -
MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS, the whole thing going up - ! GOLDEN ENERGY from the other arm, rips down the ramp - BLASTING THE DOORS, a MASSIVE SHEET OF FLAME flaring up! the door-windows shatter out!
ENERGY still BLASTING OUT OF THE DOCTOR - FLAMES erupting all around, up through the floor! He's standing in the middle of an inferno! The Cloister Bell tolling! the Doctor's head, GOLDEN ENERGY streaming out, his
features finally disappearing... A new face forming...

He snaps upright, ENERGY BURNING AWAY, fast, gone! And there he is. Blinking. Dazed.
The New Man.

Whoiam, you are the Doctor, What do you do? By the way if you havent guessed you're CRASHING! This post is just to get a feel for your Doctor's personality:smallwink: Also the actor is Ben Wishaw! Allons-y!

[whoiam]

Beat. Beat. Beat. Beat.

"Oh, please say I'm ginger!" The first sounds to penetrate the silence in the TARDIS - well, apart from a little burning, some fizzing, a lot of smashing, and the cloister bell, but none of that was important - was the Doctor's entreaty to whatever power might be listening to give him the one hair colour he had never had before.

"Mirror, got to find a..." But the flow of words quickly trailed off. Something here was not right. He couldn't quiet put his finger on it, but it probably had something to do with the mass of devastated TARDIS console in front of him.

"I'm sure it wasn't in that state when I took off" he noted. His voice was almost puzzled. Full awareness was taking a few seconds to catch up with him, what with the shock of regeneration and all.

But the few seconds passed, and the realisation percolated into the Time Lord's mind. He was going to crash. This was the cue for him to leap forwards to the console and jab uselessly at the controls. After a couple of jabs, he graduated up the tool chain, moving up to a hammer. That just raised more sparks. In utter desparation, he went for his sonic screwdriver... but again, it did not help. The console would need actual repairs!

That brought a smile to his unfamiliar face. Who didn't love being buried up to their armpits in loose wires and components made for a different type of ship altogether? It was probably the most fun a Time Lord could have without causing paradoxes.

Another lurch served as a reminder that he should probably do something faster than pull the console apart. His TARDIS was crashing, after all. A half-smile (his face drawing back into a smile on the right, and the left remaining serious), delivered to no-one at all, and the Doctor headed further into the TARDIS. There was a mirror by his wardrobe. If he was going to crash, he might as well know who would be crawling out of the rubble.

"Black? BLACK? Honestly, I would rather have been bald for once!" The new incarnation was less than pleased with his hair colour. Still no impact, so he spent a few moments memorising his new contours. "Nice body, and the face isn't bad. Got to change the clothing, though. Shame Romana's not here - only companion I ever had who could navigate a trans-dimensional wardrobe! Ah, well, I'll just have to hope this me's got some fashion sense."

Although the TARDIS was still yet to crash, he knew it would only be a matter of time. Too little time to look through the wardrobe - he'd have to prepare for the crash landing. His sonic screwdriver and his glasses were both in his pockets - he checked. His old scarf was draped across one of the chairs in the back - he'd grab that as well, just incase he landed somewhere cold. What else did he have in his crash procedure? Ah, yes. Jelly babies and a comfy chair. "Gotta be on something that will cushion the fall" he muttered as he hunted for the bowl he always kept full for just such an emergency.

But, horror of all horrors, the shaking of the TARDIS had knocked the bowl clean off it's assigned table! "Alas, poor bowl, I hardly knew ye." Quickly gathering up as many of the sweets as he could easily find, the Doctor retreated to an old, well-padded armchair to await the impact. "After all, when the TARDIS is shaking like this, you know it's going to end up somewhere fun!"

[Raynn]

The cloister bells roars out as Jelly babies burn and pop and the over heating consoles. The tardis is literally falling apart, the coral desktop theme deteriorating around the Doctor as his Chair rocked threatening to throw him free.

Then gravity broke.

The Tardis let out a screech as evrything began to be thrown about, withonly the Doctor clutching his chair.

Fires burn and the debris races through the air as molten coral and metal.

A thud and the Doctor threatens to lose consciousness. The Tardis grows still but continues to burn. Gravity has Stabilizied but the Tardis has definitely crashed, virtually all systems screech and hiss at the Doctor as they begin to go offline one by one.

The Doctor sits on his armchair, reigning over chaos.

What you will see when you open the door of the Tardis.

From what the Doctor can tell he's crashed outside of an Estate, from the humidity, air quality, architecture and the day's newspaper discarded on the ground he can tell it's January 26th 2010, one he recognises but can't quite put his finger on why. He knows he hasn't drifted far but a crater with a diameter as wide as the Tardis' height surrounding the Tardis he knows he can't hide for long in the estate back alley he is standing in. then he sees them.


Small grey spheres, as big as basketballs? Bigger? Floating, playing with the children, with the pets, everywhere... like Toys.

Everywhere... the Doctor sees Boogeymen playing with human children like pets...

Everywhere he sees Toclafane!

[whoiam]

"Head. That's still on here. I've got senses - sight and smell and all that lot - but I really wish I hadn't. Rubble, smoke, and somewhere, the sound of ex-Jelly-Babies congealing on the floor. Poor TARDIS... Actually, poor Doctor! I'm the one who will have to clean this lot up! I wonder if anyone on this world has a vacuum cleaner? Legs. Do I still have legs?" Running his hands down his body, they confirmed he did, indeed, have legs. "Right. That means I can walk. Since I found that out with my hands, I must still have hands. I may have to feel my way to the door, so hands will be handy!"

The Doctor was half-way out of the chair before he paused again. "I hope my next pun's better than that one!" Interruption complete, he wrapped the old scarf around his face as a makeshift gas mask and continued his evacuation...

...Only to find that, once he'd exited the TARDIS, he was faced with the wall of a crater. But that was good. Craters were good. "You know where you stand with a crater. Usually at either the bottom or the top, and always at the one you want to be farthest from."

Climbing out was simplicity itself, and once out, he paused to survey the landscape, absent-mindedly helping himself to the discarded paper as he did so. It was then that he noticed the metal spheres toying with the population...

...and remembered. "How are they here, now, without a paradox machine? More importantly, do they remember me destroying the Master's one?"

"Even more importantly, why do I not see any adults around?"

...

"Even even more importantly, am I now wearing a great big bulls-eye?"

...

"Even even even more importantly, why.... okay, that's getting silly now. I'll stop stacking evens and go look for somewhere with a special on high-capacity cabling. There's got to be a store somewhere around this housing estate. Maybe if I find my way to the edge..."

[Raynn]

As the Doctor moves forward he sees some adults watching the children, they were out of view earlier, it appears to be a satuday with the amount of people not at work.
A child and a passing Toclafane pause at the mouth of the alley with the crater as you exit and give you a bemused look.

The Toclafane lazily drifts in front of you and with a more calm and mature voice than the Doctor was used to said "I am a personal entertain and protection entity, created, distributed and regulated by Leavyard Inc., you appear stressed, are you in need of assistance?"

The boy seems to be annoyed that you distracted his toy "Pep-e, come on, my mom said not to talk to strangers."

As the Toclafane or Pep-e spins around you see a symbol of a leaf overlaying a planet with the words 'Leavyard Inc.' underneath it.
The child and his toy make to move away.

[industrious]

One of the women on the street, a young brunette with her hair up in a braid, sees the Doctor emerge from the TARDIS. As the Time Lord interacts with the PEP-E unit, the woman's once-calm face turns more and more red with anger. Eyes flash with recognition; the poor Doctor finds himself suddenly on the floor, one side of his new face now red and swollen; he had just been punched! Him! the Doctor!

Cold blue eyes stare at the Doctor, and one side of the woman's mouth twitches. "I told you you'd get yourself killed without me. Hello, Professor." And the Doctor remembers that smile and can't help but shiver. Because Ace is back, and she's not very happy with the Doctor. Though to be fair, he did leave her twenty years in her future when she wanted to leave. And he did use her as a pawn for several of his schemes as Seven. But still. There was no reason to punch him.

[whoiam]

"Four times, actually. Shot, shockwave, irradiated, irradiated. Beaten to death will be a new one. Ah, well, maybe my next body will be a redhead..."

Pain and swelling aside, the Doctor had a pretty simple plan in mind: Make Ace laugh. Why? If she starts laughing, she'll stop punching. Then he'll have a decent chance to run away. The last thing you wanted to do was have a former companion with a grudge tagging along.

"Since you're here and I'm not regenerating again just yet, perhaps you could fill me in on something? Say... the address of the Leavyard, inc. offices? I may also need a decent helmet if you're planning to come too. Or a full suit of body armour, whichever is easiest to find."

Finally reassured that he's yet to annoy one of his companions to the point of lordicide, the Doctor slowly rises back to his feet. Toclafane were here, certainly. They were acting weirdly, certainly. Of course the potential had always been there. Those were still human minds in the spheres, and humans could be pretty serious and plenty devious when they wanted to be. You had to be something special to carve out an interstellar empire in a universe where the Daleks and Sontarans had gotten there first. Surviving to the very end of the universe...

The Toclafane had been childish before... why? The same reason anyone was, probably. There was so little competition in their life, so few needs or wants that they'd never had to mature. Which means that the Toclafane now had encountered something to make them take this... charade... seriously. What could have forced the maturation of the last form of sapient life... and forced it trillions of years into it's own past?

[Raynn]

Outside a nearby little corner shop a van sits unattended with the Leavyard logo, save for a man unloading from the back. You also notice the Toclafane high in the sky seem to be coming to and from the same location.

[industrious]

In spite of herself, Ace smiles. "Looks like you've lightened up a bit since we last met then. Sorry about dying. The industry showed up a few months ago; they've been wildly successful in the private security business. I don't trust them; I don't really trust anybody anymore."

Staring straight into the Doctor's eyes, the Time Lord can see the old Ace, that vulnerable girl he took away from Ice World and showed the stars to. The girl that he considered like a daughter to him. The girl who he manipulated as a pawn in his former life's games, all in the name of the greater good, and her own. The anger is just a mask for what she really feels. Betrayal. She looks about to cry, and suddenly, they're back on Zaston 6, when she demanded he take her back to Perivale, away from her.

"I trusted you, Professor."

[Raynn]

Far above in the darkness of space a man and his dog sit restlessly on board a small transport ship rumbling slowly towards the blue orb called Earth.
The undying man grunted as he slammed into the wall of what was essentially a cell, the dog remained still.
He was surrounded by aliens of every kind and kin, graske, adipose, Raxacoricofallapatorians and many others Jack couldn't quite place.
A large dining area mostly consisting of a large rectangular table and dirty metal waited outside the door of the cube in which he sat, waiting to arrive.
She ship shuddered to a halt, Jack's eyes shot to the warning light but it hadn't lit up. The ship hadn't meant to stop.
The lights when dark and he heard the others begin to roar "what's going on? Who turned out the lights?!"
Jack stood preparing to race towards the Captain's cockpit when his whole world disappeared.

When his vision refocus he saw K-9 was still with him and that from the view outside the ornate and large window to his left he had somehow arrived where he had intended, inner city London. He realised he was high up in one of the taller buildings.
He turned to search the rest of the large office when he saw it...
Or more appropriately, them...
A black suited man, young as far as he could tell stood with his back turned to him but the man could be a 51st century super model and it wouldn't have mattered to Jack in that moment.
She was impossible...
Bound by the hands in feet in a large advanced looking ring device, she hung on the wall, like an ornament, a trophy, robed in a simple white gown, the impossible girl.
Rose...
The spoke, coldly, but somehow Jack knew he had heard the voice before, somewhere "I plucked you from space, child of time, undying man... do you like the world I have made while you were away?"

[Raynn]

*********************Elsewhere******************** *******

Alec Winter had never lived an extremely exceptional lives, but only in his eyes.
He had fought in wars where he knew his mind was his greatest weapon.
He had defended the Earth against the myriad monsters of the deep, dark space between stars.
He had stood with Unit when twenty six planets stood in the sky and when when every person on the planet had become some blond uppity british guy that from the security tapes he had looked over seemed a bit full of himself.
So it was no surprise he felt a little put down to be on Tardis duty.
U.N.I.T. you see always has someone to investigate reports of the Doctor to ensure when he arrives U.N.I.T. is there to assist.
Obviously this system isn't usually effective so it came to be seen as the worst assignment available but the brigadier seemed to think otherwise when he assigned people, when pressed he always said "One day someone will get lucky and they'll thank me for it."

Alec Winter didn't know he'd be that person.
A small blip appeared on the screen, the first blip Alec had seen in days. Security footage showed the box, blurry, in a back alley. Probably nothing he thought.
He grabbed his coat, he had to investigate or he'd be reprimanded; at least he got a U.N.I.T. car.
Some times Alec Winter hated his job...

[whoiam]

The Doctor
"I trusted you, professor..." What did you say to a statement like that? Five choices. Mocking, Ignoring, Consoling, Confiding or Jovial. Mocking seems a little too suicidal for a guy that has to watch his regenerations. I don't have that many left. Ignoring just puts the problem off for another day: Best to get things over with. Ideally before she goes for a bat. So, console her, confide in her, or try and make her laugh? No time to find a three sided coin to flip. I'll go for the middle one.

"I fought a war since you left. Felt kind of weird, fighting Daleks without a ready supply of Nitro-9."

Wait, wait, wait. That was jovial! It started as confiding and ended up as jovial! This me must be a scatterbrain, there's no other word for it...

"People change, Ace. You grew up and I grew weird. Tch, still not ginger though - Romana was right, I should have studied harder back on Gallifrey."

Serious! I can do serious! One last try...

"What I am trying to say is... sometimes relationships, personal, professional or otherwise, just go wrong. You don't get anywhere by ignoring the fact that things just aren't working anymore. The only cure is time. Now, I can't speak for you... but I've had more than enough time..."

Slowly, cautiously, the Doctor extends his right hand to Ace. Hopefully, this won't result in further violence.

[Damian Jade]

Alec took his coat and checked his hat as he left the room. U.N.I.T. had a reputation for maintaining a certain standard of appearance, even when pursuing extra-terrestrial threats and possible sightings of alien professors.

Alec strode purposefully to his U.N.I.T. issue car and spent a second, it was only a second these days making sure he got in on the right side of the car. Once he was in, he was fully in what he liked to think of as "British Driving Mode" navigating from the right side and following all the traffic signs. It wasn't as fun as "Autoban/autostrada Driving Mode" or the sheer terror-inducing adrenaline rush that was "Iraqi Driving Mode" but it was part of this assignment and a definite part of daily life in U.N.I.T.
Alec double checked his GPS coordinates and set out. He'd been making forays out into the area, driving every day to build up his knowledge of the streets and felt comfortable that he could find the location. He knew he'd never navigate it like a local but he was learning, one wrong turn at a time.
He'd grown up in the rolling hills of the southeastern U.S. and his confidence in his driving had been shaped by years of strange places and stranger street names.
He set the two way radio to scan and muttered quietly, "Alright Doctor, let's check this blip on the radar and see what's what."

[Bowerbird]

Jack stares aghast at Rose, "W-what? The doctor said you were lost! You look good though, when am I? I'm guessing it's Earth, but when?" He looks around at the black suited man, "So who are you, and why do you have my friend strapped to your wall? Not that I'm not into that sort of thing occasionally, but there's a time and place." He mutters to K-9 next to him "You scanning anything important? Feel free to chime in."

[industrious]

And just as slowly, Ace puts her hand in it. "I missed you, Professor. And sorry for being so angry, but you let her just die and..." Wiping away tears that she would never admit to shedding, Ace looks at the Doctor once more, now calm, and smiles.

"You used my Nitro-9 in a war? And after all those lectures about me making it! You hypocrite!" There's laughter and mischief in her eyes, and the Doctor can feel their old relationship coming back again. It's shaky, and there are potholes of old wounds and misspoke words, but it's there. And the Doctor can't help but smile a little back.

[Raynn]

******************Ace's estate***********************
As Alec winter comes around the corner his breath catches in his throat, behind an arguing couple, who he must admit look like a very odd pair stands THE Police box.

He notices a few Pep-es rush off into the sky towards Leavyard inc. HQ which he passes everyday to get to work.

******************Unknown Office*********************
"This woman is not who or for that matter what you think she is, but your concern is most admirable."

He holds out a silver pocket watch with a chain like a necklace and places it around the Rose's neck.

"I am the CEO of Leavyard Inc. and this woman is here so that you will bring your Doctor to save her.

You notice this Rose seems injured and unconsious.

Jack was on a spacestation in the modern day so its 2010 January 26th, you can tell this because he meets midshipman Frame in the End of Time who exists in the present so he musnt have time travelled since he left Torchwood.
K-9 detects Timelord level Tech.

You can't make out the man's face or even where you recognise his voice from.

[AvianMalkavian]

The even more run down K-9 Mk III slowly turned, looking over the room and those within it. Its systems could not identify either the man in the black suit or the young woman, but this had come to often be the case. Its memory was lacking ever since it was brought back online by Torchwood, who had investigated the explosion at Deffry Vale School and found K-9, or rather what was left of it.

They had managed to build it, but even K-9, with a simple self-diagnostic, knew that it was only running at 70% efficiency. Its tri-sec bus-driver had corrosion in its circuits and its UART had been suffering from intermittent framing errors. Its integrated holographic memory, quicker and better than any human's, did not appear to be particularly damaged, and yet much of K-9's nontechnical data had been lost, perhaps a side effect of its less than perfect repairs.

The master spoke and K-9 immediately obeyed, making use of its damaged, but still very sophisticated, sensors, before 'chiming' in, "Master, I am detecting highly sophisticated, temporally advanced, technology. Possibly Gallifreyan in origin."

[Damian Jade]

Alec approaches the couple racking his brain for descriptions of the Doctor and any known associates. It wasn't the reporter, Sarah Jane Smith of that he was sure. He'd seen her picture in enough files to know. This woman was younger and looked a bit, well volatile. Best to approach with polite efficiency here. In Britain there was a definite hierarchy and the military seemed to end up lumped in with Civil Servants, functionaries to the higher class. Since he could be sure who he was dealing with best go for the old standard: Southern Charm.
He took a minute to make sure he looked official and then approached the couple who seemed to be shaking hands now.
Waiting for a pause between the two Winter puts on his best smile as he steps forward.
"Excuse me, my name is Sergeant Winter and I need to ask you some questions about this police call box."
He produces a pen and note pad. "I'd like to start with your names, if I could."

[industrious]

Ace raises an eyebrow at the newcomer. Having worked with UNIT previously, during and after her years spent with the Doctor, she knows all about monitor duty. Plus, somebody actually noticing the TARDIS was a rarity in itself; that perception filter was pretty strong.

"TARDIS duty doesn't seem like a waste of time anymore, does it?"

[whoiam]

Well, there goes that cover story. Plan: Reporters, the day is not ours!

"This, of course, is one of the primary functions of UNIT: Denying me any semblance of a social life by keeping me from ever finishing a conversation. I must say you're performing admirably!" A quickly flashed grin, and the hand that hadn't been extended to Ace executed a shoulder-clap on the soldier. "Well, since you're here you can give us a lift. To the Leavyard, Inc offices, specifically. The TARDIS looks even more weird than usual if you try and drive it through the suburbs."

Through liberal use of the hand on the soldier's shoulder, the Doctor attempts to get him moving back in the direction of his car. As the soldier is (hopefully) moving off, the Doctor takes the opportunity to whisper to Ace "I had to use your stocks up on *something*. It was dangerous, leaving explosives sitting around in the spare room!"

[Bowerbird]

Eyes widening at K-9's statement, "Wait, so if that's not actually Rose, why would I get the doctor to come save her? I mean this really does seem like a trap.. besides what makes you think I can even contact him?" he folds his arms into his coat and attempts to inconspicuously grab his pistol, "And who are you anyway? I usually don't forget a face, and I've seen yours somewhere before."

[Raynn]

*****************Leavyard Inc. Offices***********************
Its too dark for Jack to make out his features but Jack gets the odd feeling like it's not really as dark as it seems.

"The Doctor and I... We go very far back; I was there at the gates of Illysium when he tried to save Davros; I was an aid to Rassilon. Tell him one more thing and I could have a Dalek armada pointed at this building and he would come for this woman."

He turns and Jack can see his face but Jack realises what he seems, or for that matter can't see; the man is young and thin, brown hair. He wears a black suit with a black shirt and black tie but Jack can't see his face...

Jack has seen perception filters before but never one so powerful; he knows he knows the face from somewhere but he can't place it, it could be his own and he wouldn't know. Invisibility he had seen but this was something else, his brain simply couldn't comprehend this man's identity.

"Tell him that I was with Rassilon when he dethroned the last high president at the gates of Illysium after Davros flew the Crucible into the Nightmare Child. Tell him to come for her, tell him he shouldn't keep this president waiting."

He steps forward standing in front of his engraved mahogany desk "When he stands above you, tell him the Could have been King waits for him."

Toclafane begin to surround Jack and K-9 and back you against the window.

[industrious]

"Well, if you had just let me develop that preservative, that wouldn't be a problem. Just because I nearly blew up the console room once...twice...five times doesn't mean that it was too dangerous to continue."

Ace follows the Doctor into the car. Just like old times.

[Raynn]

I'm assuming for the sake of moving the story along that Alec Winter agrees to Drive you to the HQ

**************************Leavyard HQ**********************

"They're coming Jack, He's coming! So be a good little human and tell him what I've told you."

He reaches into his suit and removes a small black and silver tube, a blue light buzzes at the end pointed towards Jack and the windows behind him slide away.

He raises the screwdriver and points it towards the ceiling when it buzzes again, the stereo system begining to ring with 'Don't stop me now', With a look of glee on his face Leavyard roars to the Toclafane while never looking away from Jack "ALLONS-Y MES AMIS!

The Toclafane race towards Jack and K-9, blasting Jack till he falls out the window dead, another two slam to either side of K-9, holding him in place.

******************Outside Leavyard Inc. HQ*******************
The three odd companions step out of the black BMW right outside the front entrance of the Leavyard HQ.

A moment later with a thud a man hits the ground in front of them. He seems dead, to all except the Doctor at least who recoqnises him immediately.
Another moment later before anyone can react a robot Dog hovers slowly to the ground, unharmed.
People nearby scatter, running with their Pep-e from the scene.

[Damian Jade]

Ace raises an eyebrow at the newcomer.
"TARDIS duty doesn't seem like a waste of time anymore, does it?"

Alec smiles at her briefly before the Doctor takes his hand and begins to maneuver him towards the car. "No, no it doesn't. Since we're discussing explosives, does that make you Dorothy aka Ace?"

As they reach the car, Alec moves along willingly and even opens the passenger doors for the pair before moving to the driver's side. After all there were scant records of the Doctor showing up just take in a movie or have a pint.
"Well Doctor, all U.N.I.T. agents are instructed to keep you busy," he says with a wry smile as he starts the car. "We're afraid that if you were to take up knitting the earth might fall into the hands of cyborgs or giant alien plants. However, since I am to keep you busy, I'd be happy to drive you to Leavyard, Inc. Is there any chance you could fill me in as to why on the way?"

[AvianMalkavian]

As the spherical creatures closed in, K-9 moved to protect the master. Its photon laser beam, perhaps once deadly could now only fire in stun mode. It fired several blasts with little effect before two of the Toclafane caught it and fired upon Jack.

The master fell out of the window, and K-9 followed after him. Hovering slowly to the ground, it seemed to ignore the three who were standing nearby, rolling over to the apparently dead man, its ear probes rotating back and forth. At first, the sensors picked up nothing, and considering the height from which he fell that was not surprising.

"Sensors detect steadily increasing life signs. I am glad that you have not been permanently disabled, master."

[industrious]

Ace slaps Alec. Hard. "Never. Call. Me. That. Name. Again. I'm Ace. Got it?"

Seeing the dead body fall from the building, Ace runs over the Jack's corpse. "Professor! He's dead..."

[Bowerbird]

There's a sharp intake of breath as Jack's eye's snap open. "I really wish I had a doctor.." he groans as he sits up and looks around. Looking at the BMW, "Hmm, I was aiming for the car, well you win some you lose some," he turns and seems to notice Ace for the first time, "Oh, why hello there," He extends his hand, "Captain Jack Harkness."

[industrious]

Ace grins at the man's friendly demeanor, apparently taking it in stride that he just came back to life. Inwardly, she's more than a little panicked, but she had learned how to mask her reactions. At least, mask her reactions when they weren't caused by the Doctor. Taking his hand, she replies "I'm Ace."

Then, her smile grows even wider. "And you're barking up the wrong tree, Captain."

[AvianMalkavian]

As the master and the female spoke, K-9 turned its attention towards her, sensors detecting nothing immediately unusual about her, "Master, the human female struck one of the two males accompanying her while you were unconscious. Possibly volatile. Suggest caution."

[Bowerbird]

Jack frowns slightly, looking from Ace to K-9, "Very well then," Standing back up he looks at the other two and in the same friendly tone, "Hi, Captain Jack Harkness, and you are?" plainly not recognising the doctor's new regeneration.

[Damian Jade]

Alec managed to get an arm up and partly block Ace's hit. Dealing with the unstable was probably covered in the job description so he confined his response to "Understood."

When the body landed Alec caught himself thinking 'Oh crap! They really do bounce.' Alec fought down his own revulsion and then bit his lip in surprise as the man sat up. 'I may be in over my head,' was his next thought followed closely by 'Close your stupid mouth and stop staring like idiot. This sort of thing probably happened all the time when Harry Sullivan was around. Just be cool.'

Alec moves to one side as the man stands up, deciding to stay quiet for the moment and let everyone else talk to see what information he could glean.

[whoiam]

As Captain Harkness fell from the sky in front of him, the Doctor was studiously studying the section of the building he'd falled from - trying to work out the floor and building section so he could find his way back there later.

It was only when Jack sat up and tried charming Ace that the Doctor actually spoke. "Don't say that, Ace! If you tell him he's barking up the wrong tree he'll just go after one of us!" Slight pause as he finally glanced down at Jack. "Immortality still holding, I see. Jack, this is Ace, one of those who came before you. Ace, this is Jack, one of those who came after you. Several times. I'm sure he'll tell you the story one day if you ask nicely and kindly remove your spare detonators from his room." A quick wink at the pair of them before the Doctor turned to the soldier.

"Well, I was originally planning to walk in, have a look around, talk to a few people. That probably isn't going to work with the walking corpse in tow, and K9's conspicuous as ever" he patted the robot dog's head, almost absentmindedly "so I propose what we do instead is get Jack here to somewhere he's not being watched, and then Ace and I come back later to poke about inside."

[Bowerbird]

Jack looks back and forth between Ace and the Doctor in confusion, "One who came before? Wait, do I know you? I'm sure I'd remember if I came after you many times.. wait.." Comprehension slowly dawns, if he knows about him, and about K-9 then he must be the Doctor, his must be what that man meant by "He is coming." "Doctor? is that you?" At the walking corpse comment he looks offended, "Hey if this is the body of a dead man, then I think a lot of people I know need counselling." He looks up at the Toclaphane circling in the sky, and to where he was uncerimoniously dumped out th window, "Actually I'm pretty sure you're already expected, and whoever is in charge of this Leavyard Inc is an old acquaintance of yours I think, he had a perception filter over his face, but he seemed really familiar.."

[Damian Jade]

"Well, I was originally planning to walk in, have a look around, talk to a few people. That probably isn't going to work with the walking corpse in tow, and K9's conspicuous as ever" he patted the robot dog's head, almost absentmindedly "so I propose what we do instead is get Jack here to somewhere he's not being watched, and then Ace and I come back later to poke about inside."

Alec nods and produces his cell phone. "All right. Let me report in and then we'll see what we can do."
As Jack and the Doctor begin to talk about filters Alec feels sure he's in over head and a thrill of excitement runs through him. 'This is how the world gets saved. It's happened dozens of times and this time I'm a part of it. However small a part.'

[AvianMalkavian]

K-9's antennae tail wagged up and down, its ear-probes rotating back and forth as it was pat on the head by the unfamiliar man, "Unrecognized. I can find no records in my memory banks regarding this individual. Please be specific, master. Doctor who?"

[whoiam]

"You must have died more times than I have by now!" was the Doctor's first response to Jack's quip. But then the more serious part caught up with his mouth. "The Master, probably."

Where had that come from? Even the Doctor had to pause a moment until the reasoning registered. "He knows the Toclafane, he's fond of perception filters, and he and I are about the only beings left in the Universe that could create a powerful enough Paradox Machine to let them interact with Earth back in this era. Plus he 'disappeared' the last time I ran across him, and he holds the Universal Championship for not dying when he should do."

Now, on to lighter topics. After all, you couldn't be all doom and gloom all of the time. "Just the Doctor, K-9. Just the Doctor. Unless you make a habit of wearing a backpack full of explosives, in which case you can call me Professor just like Ace does." A truly impish smile flashed in the girl's direction after that comment.

"I've been a Professor once or twice, " the Doctor mused to himself as he went for the front passenger's side door to the UNIT car. "Just remembering the first year's education from Gallifrey would get you a cushy job in Cambridge's Theoretical Physics department."

[industrious]

"I'm not carrying a backpack now, Professor." It's true; Ace's long-suffering backpack, which the Doctor had made bigger on the inside after the fifteenth time she had asked, wasn't on her. Though judging from the bulging messenger bag she was carrying, it hadn't stopped her from cramming as much Nitro-9 she could with her whenever she could get away with it. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any room for a baseball bat.

[Bowerbird]

Jack falls in step with the Doctor, "The Master? Maybe, but I got the impression it was someone new, he called himself the Could Have Been King."

[Raynn]

Alec hears a scrambling on the other end of the phone as several higher ups all vie for the position of his contact at UNIT, eventually an older sounding man answers and simply says;

"Stick with him, keep him safe, keep Earth safe, UNIT is ready if you need backup."

After a salute the man hangs up.

The 'Pep-e' circle above the building like vultures but remain non hostile, none making a motion towards the group.

[Damian Jade]

Alec snaps the phone closed and moves toward the Doctor. "What's our next step, Doctor?"

[whoiam]

"Like I said - somewhere safe. They know Jack and K-9 and the Could Have Been King will probably be able to recognise me regardless of face... Ace and Sergeant Winter he may not know, and even if he's scanning for Time Lords or related technology... the two of you won't be carrying any when you come back tonight to have a look around, will you? I'm sure Jack's still got access to Torchwood's files somehow or other, and it would be good to pick through them, see what they know. Same with anything UNIT has that might be relevant. And me... I might get the ol' screwdriver out, see what I can do to fix K-9's head. Then start repairing the TARDIS."

[Raynn]

Jack is able to access some back up files on Leavyard from before he took over Torchwood while Alec is able to requisition, very easily, the U.N.I.T. files on Leavyard and the Pep-Es.

I PMed the appropriate people with the info in the files. If the Doctor would like to restore some of K-9's memory, noting he possesses all previous units memories sealed away in his head, then he must first have a specific event or time in mind to try and repair it. Difficulty 18. Roll: 2d6+13

Going montage style just describe what you're doing between the day and when you come back to Leavyard HQ to brake in. Don't forget to roll if you do something you can fail at:smalltongue: Otherwise montage within reason.

The Tardis is currently in ruins but no more fire it has very slowly begun to reform and the metal of the ground is now green and copper coloured.

[Damian Jade]

Alec arranges a time to meet up with Ace at a coffee shop near Leavyard Inc where they can move in for a raid. He preps himself with some dark practical clothes, nothing to grab attention while out and about but something that will blend into the dark and possibly be mistaken for a technician. Dark pants and shirt, dark coat, work boots, hat whatever he can put together.
Additionally he checks to see where there might be cameras that can be avoided and if he can find a building schematic on record. He composes a carefully worded report to his superiors that indicates he will be investigating but does not mention breaking and entering, no point creating a paper trail.
He takes a collapsible baton, no real threat to Toclafane but better than being empty handed.
He arrives early at the coffee shop and orders while he waits on Ace.

[industrious]

After Alec and Ace arrange a rendez-vous, Ace returns to her small flat. Once there, she opens her wardrobe to find a very familiar leather jacket hanging from its hooks, decorated with an obscene number of badges, pins, and patches. Staring at it for a moment, she closes the closet door, before heading to a small room that might have been a guest room at one point, but was now a makeshift chemical lab. Without looking, she prepares a new batch of Nitro-9; her motions are mechanical, formed of habit.

She really isn't seeing what's in front of her. She's remembering the events that lead her to leave the Professor. She had been happy, and he...he let her die. To save her world. But he didn't even tell her beforehand. Gordon Bennett, she had been in love! Tears trickle down the young woman's eyes as her hands perform the task at hand.

[Damian Jade]

When Ace arrives at the coffee shop, Alec stands and waits on her to be seated. "Do you want anything? I had friends who could never eat before a mission without getting sick but I've always been just the opposite. Give me coffee and pastries before."
He pauses and looks around to make sure no one else is paying attention to them. "Have you done this sort of thing often?"

[industrious]

Wiping her eyes, and wearing a leather jacket with far too much assorted miscellanea on it, Ace smiles at Alec before ordering a lemonade.

"I used to. Travel with him, I mean. I even worked with UNIT a few times." She pauses. "I also took a few things from the Buckingham Palace one time. It was an emergency; Cybermen and the Fourth Reich."

[Bowerbird]

"New regeneration looks good, still not ginger I see," Jack says as he follows the doctor back to the Tardis, "Ok, so the Torchwood Hub's been blown up, long story, long, sad story. But the database is still mostly intact, a lot of the data we'd gathered was lost, but there's still a fair piece of it there." He brings up the Torchwood files using the monitor in the Tardis, "What little I can gather says that Leavyard's been around since about 1991 in Cardiff of all places, we started investigating it after receiving some unusual particle emissions, possible due to the rift. Apparently it began as a fund, buying land rich in oil and raking in the profits. We never did find out who was at the top, but whoever it was was very interested in high-end tech, they hired an unusual amount of Ex-Unit scientists. Up until 2004 the fund acted primarily as a figure head, it then began its own major research division instead of the smaller projects it had worked on before. Pep-Es are the first product made directly by Leavyard."
Jack sighs and turns to the Doctor, "Look I didn't quite give you the whole spiel he gave me, and I could swear he had Rose in there, but he said it wasn't who I thought it was, and that I was to get you to go save her. K-9 could you play back everything the CEO said?"

[Damian Jade]

Wiping her eyes, and wearing a leather jacket with far too much assorted miscellanea on it, Ace smiles at Alec before ordering a lemonade.

"I used to. Travel with him, I mean. I even worked with UNIT a few times." She pauses. "I also took a few things from the Buckingham Palace one time. It was an emergency; Cybermen and the Fourth Reich."

Alec manages to avoid spraying coffee but only just. "Buckingham Palace, really." He shakes his head. "I guess that one never made it into a U.N.I.T. report. I jumped at the chance to be here, just for the chance that maybe I'd be one of the ones who saved the world. I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting into but after I read through the reports, well I guess I was hooked. Are you ready?"

[industrious]

For a moment, Ace looks tired. "Of course I'm ready." Standing up, ready to go, she puts her hand on Alec's forearm. "And you will. Save the world. Many, many times. But when you work with the Doctor, the most important things, the bigger and better things, they come second."

[Damian Jade]

But when you work with the Doctor, the most important things, the bigger and better things, they come second."

Alec leaves some money on the table as they depart. He starts to nod and then puzzled asks, "Like what?"

[industrious]

Her shoulders slump for a moment, and she caresses her ring finger, absently. Ace's eyes fade into the distance, looking down Time's corridors. "Love."

[AvianMalkavian]

K-9 followed after the Doctor and Jack, wheeling up into the Tardis and listening to the conversation. The man known as the Doctor had made mention of it, perhaps its memory. That, in particular, was of interest to K-9 who, ever since being rebuilt, was often troubled by its severely lacking memory.

"Affirmative, master," K-9's ears wagged, beginning to play back the conversation from start to finish.

[whoiam]

"Time locks, it turns out, are far more effective at keeping things out than keeping things in. Sometimes I hate temporal mechanics. Anyway, to business. K-9, I'm going to plug you into one of the less-dead TARDIS consoles, see if I can get a look at this not-Rose of theirs. Not that it makes any difference, of course - I'd be going after this one even without a hostage - but I may need some warning to prepare my pre-and-post-rescue one-liners. Can't let the side down in the wit department, can I?"

First the Doctor would be giving K-9's innards a quick once over. He made no attempt to restore past memories - he was simply checking the memory would be reliable from now on. Once he was finished with that he would graduate to attempting to extract a video stream.

[Damian Jade]

Alec can sense the conflict within Ace and decides not to push her. They've only just met and she seemed to have some trust issues and, likely, some aggression issues. She had a straight forward demeanor that he liked in his friends.
Following her out to the street, Alec nods to Leavyard. "Ready then?"

[Raynn]

************Outside Leavyard HQ*******************************
Alec and Ace can see the main entrance has been sealed, but through the bullet proof glass door is a large open reception area.

To the left side of the building they can see the loading dock down at the end of an long alley. A forklift is lifting celephane covered cubes of stacked smaller cubes, most likely the packaging for the Pep-E units from a large storage area within the building itself into the back of a large Leavyard Inc. truck. The large entrance means the two can easily see into the dockage area in the storage space that the forklift is passing in and out of.

************TARDIS******************************** ****

Seeing as the the memory unit appeared reliable the Doctor displayed the holographic memory.
He sees the events play out of front of him with little noticeable difference till the man places the necklace pocket watch on the Rose's neck.

Even in the hologram the Doctor can see the meaning behind what others would see as random circles . . .
R O M A N A

The man's face is static as K-9 was affected by the perception filter but the Doctor can tell that it is not the Master unless he has both escaped the Time-Lock and regenerated.

Then he hears the phase that should chill him mostALLONS-Y.

[Bowerbird]

In the silence that follows the playback: "So Doctor, any idea who we're up against? They did seem familiar, but the only person we've faced with Timelord technology has been the Master.."

[Damian Jade]

Alec nods toward the building's loading zone. "I have an idea that might get us in. What do you think of posing as electricians? Place like this would have tons of electrical boxes and wires and likely wouldn't tolerate any downtime. I'm thinking we're here to repair some bad connections to save the billing server and the executive suite. In the U.S. that'd get in just about anywhere because nobody wants to lose a dollar, I've never tried it here though."

[industrious]

"Too complicated. And we couldn't pass as inspectors in these clothes. Now, let me introduce you to the most wonderful, useful stuff on the face of the planet. It's a special chemical compound that I invented myself; I call it Nitro-9..."

Taking out a canister, Ace plants it so that the forklift operator would hear and feel the explosion, but not actually be harmed by it. Pulling the timer, she sprints back as far away as possible. "The Professor always gets mad when I do this. I think he's just jealous that he didn't invent it first."

[Damian Jade]

Alec follows Ace back away from the her project. "Umm, what exactly is Nitro-9?" He cuts off and his eyes widen he slips into his favorite britishism. "Bloody hell."
The explosion leaves him pale and wide eyed and for at least a second, he seems to be somewhere else, seeing something else.

[Raynn]

The fork lift operator stumbles out of his machine in terror, stumbling away. Within moments a horde of Pep-Es descend on the scene. They scan the area before rising to circle the building again.

A single Pep-E doozes the flame before departing back into the building, the forklift operator does not return within the minute or so that that takes place.

[Damian Jade]

Alec has a thin sheen of perspiration on his forehead which he quickly wipes away. "I'm not fond of explosions. Too many car bombs once upon a time." He nods at the door, "Let's go while things are quiet."

[Raynn]

In the storage area you see packaged Pep-Es in the dim lighting but little else a door near the far left corner of the large concrete room seems to connect to one of the buildings main stair cases.

To the right in the middle of the wall is a small ventilation shaft like tube, roughly the size of a Pep-E.

Another door on the south wall seems to connect to a long corridor that branches off at a T junction where the hall meets an elevator.

The lights are dim and the storage room seems devoid of either Pep-E or Humans.

[whoiam]

"Oooh, he's not the only one. Still, if you want the truth, that recording appears to feature a pair of Time Lords. Firstly, the captive - a youngish Time Lady that seems to be going by the name of Romanadvoratrelundar. Secondly, the captor - an oldish Time Lord by the name of The Valeyard." Hey, if his evil last incarnation already had a name, and he appeared to be dealing with an evil incarnation of himself, he may as well use it. "I certainly hope I've got the right man. If I have, I can walk right up to him and say hi and be none the worse for the experience - he won't want to risk doing anything to me while we're an endangered species." Or ever, because killing your past self screws up your timeline, big time.

...Unless being killed by me is what turned me evil in the first place...

...Still, nice to see Romana again. Hope she still likes running away from things. She may need to do a lot of it tomorrow...

[Damian Jade]

Looking left and right as they make their way in, Alec is hoping to spot any cameras that might be about. He's also hoping to see something that would stop up the Pep-E's tube. He pulls his cap down and moves purposefully toward the staircase. "Let's see what we can find, shall we?"

[industrious]

"Right. You need some thicker nerves mate." Following his lead, Ace scans the area. "If we want to go up, we should take the stairs. When you're dealing with advanced technology, lifts are never a good idea."

[Damian Jade]

"Well, when I start sleeping through the night without seeing the aftermath of a roadside bomb, maybe...'til then let's see if we can stop any Pep-E coming out after us." He scans the floor for a trash can, thinking a round metal can would be perfect to jam into the chute.

[Raynn]

You pass a few trashcans as you move up the stairs but they are afixed to the wall. The doors you pass seem to connect to large office spaces but are largely deserted.

Too empty; you begin to feel it might be a trap.

The stairs seems to rise all the way up to the top floor where Jack fell from.

[Damian Jade]

"Tell me Ace, do you get used to feeling like there's a large target on your back when you work with the Doctor or is it always a creepy sense of being watched by someone with delusions of grandeur? I mean really who thinks up plots to take over the world? That's one huge ego."

[industrious]

The young woman smiles. "Yes." She continues searching for a moment, letting Alec stew for a moment before elaborating. "The feeling never goes away, but you do get somewhat used to it. I mean, according to the Doctor, taking over the Earth is child's play. So you see universal threats, eldritch abominations(the girl shudders for a second), and Daleks. They get their own category."

[Raynn]

As you make you're way up the stairs, doing nothing noticeably different you begin to hear the alarm go off. Farther up the building then on every floor, ringing out in repetition.
Through the windows of the office spaces you see the Pep-Es race to higher up the building.

[Damian Jade]

Looking up, Alec turns to Ace,
"Well, then forward or should we try to find a main frame to raid while they are busy upstairs?"

[industrious]

"I was born in the seventies; computers really aren't my strong suit. Unless you've got any familiarity with them we best be moving forward."

[Damian Jade]

"As it happens computers are my specialty." He gestures to a flash drive on a lanyard around his neck. "I've got about 4 gigs of storage space if you think it would be more worthwhile. I don't know enough about what we're up against to guess without more information."

[industrious]

"I lived in an era when they couldn't pronounce that prefix correctly. It's all up to you. I'll just blow it up afterwords."

[Damian Jade]

"This smells like trap, let's try to find a way out of it and get me to a main frame." Alec says as he reverses direction and begins looking for an office or maybe a server hub.

[Raynn]

Alec sees that many of the doors on stairwell lead off to office areas filled with computers. He doesn't see any indication of the direction of the server hub as the alarms continue to blare.

[Damian Jade]

Alec heads immediately to one of the computers and loads up his flash drive. He begins searching for any files or information and loading it as quickly as possible. He has a few generic passwords in mind and a few ideas of how to override any he find, he just hopes they will be enough. "Keep an eye on the door will you? I want to make sure we have a way out. Hopefully, I'll find something useful."

[Raynn]

At first Alec makes decent progress, getting a full building schematic and a program able to track the Toclafane but he comes up against a security system he can't circumvent when he attempts to access something called Project Wonderland.

[industrious]

Ace leans over Alec's shoulder, forsaking her post guarding the door. "What did you get? Anything worth me not blowing the whole place up?"

[Damian Jade]

"Maybe. There's a file here called Project Wonderland that I can't hack. I've got quite a bit so let's take it and run and then look it over from somewhere safe. There's program that should track the Toclafaine and that has real promise all on it's own." Alec quickly disconnects and begins looking for the best way out.

[Raynn]

As you push open the door on to the stairwell you see a blonde young woman freeze at the top of the stairwell, from her black clothing and backpack you can guess she was the cause of the disturbance higher up.

She stares at Alec mainly for a moment before a large grin crossed her face "Alec! What are you doing here?!?" She screams running down to him and catching him in an embrace.

She leans back for a moment and gives him a perplexed look "no scar? younger? UNIT equipment?"

As if she noticed the alarm bell again she grabs Alec's hand and made to run down the stair well "You can tell me when we are later, right now we have to run!"

With that she tries to pull Alec after her and motions Ace to follow, racing out the way the duo came in.

[Damian Jade]

Alec follows along, glancing back at Ace, he shrugs with an I don't know either gesture.
"I'm sorry but where are we going and what was your name and how worried should I be about this scar I don't have yet?"

[Raynn]

"Well firstly I was thinking get outside then wherever you and my... the Doctor parked the Tardis."

Then she froze for a moment when she realised what Alec's second question meant "you haven't met me yet... my name's Jenny. Oh god Father's going to give me a speech about crossing over my own time-line, AGAIN!"

She smiles back at Alec at that "Trust me, it's just a scratch really, you should have... will see the other guy, now what he got was a scar!"

She laughed as she raced to the bottom of the stairwell.

[Damian Jade]

Alec follows along. "So what can you tell me without damaging the timeline? What are you looking for here?"
Alec checks to make sure Ace is keeping up and that no one has spotted them yet.

[industrious]

Hurrying to keep up with the two, Ace poses a question to the newcomer. "So I'm not with the Professor then? When you are?"

[Raynn]

"I was with you, Ace and the Doctor when Rose sent me here in the Tardis before I could figure out where I was the Tardis disappeared. I was actually following you when the timey-wimey detector went haywire and I went to investigate."

At this point you've all reached the exit and Jenny motions for Alec and Ace to lead the way to the Tardis.

"Sorry Ace, you always say that I give Alec too much attention, or is that will say. Of course your with him, mom and him would be dead by now if. . ." Jenny is cut off by a Pep-E firing on a nearby car and causing it to explode.

Doctor NOW Alec! Rose is in touble!" Jenny grabs Alec's arms and motions for him to lead her to the Doctor.

[industrious]

Seeing that Alec was still processing the development, Ace quickly takes charge, and pulls the three of them into the TARDIS.

"Oy, Professor! We're back! With your daughter! And I didn't blow anything up this time!"

[Raynn]

Jenny recognising her father runs over and hugs him with a smile on her face before than hugging Jack as well and patting K-9 on the head.

[whoiam]

"Daughter? I had a daughter, but she's long go" Glancing up to see what the Human had dragged in, "OH! It's you! Hello, you." A bright smile as he stepped away from the images of K-9's memory on the screen. "I could have sworn I buried you." Cheery tone that didn't match the content of the words, but Jenny was probably too busy receiving or dodging a bear-hug to wonder about the dissonance. "Still, if I don't tend to stay dead, why should you? Just so long as you don't make this whole returning-from-death thing a habit. A dozen times is fine, but any more than that and you're going to turn into another Master. Just the one of them is more than enough for a single Universe, especially when it relies on Charged Vacuum Emboitments for it's survival..."

[AvianMalkavian]

K-9's projected memory shut off as the Doctor stepped away, and it turned to meet the new face. Met with a pet, it wagged its ears and tail, "Binary vascular system detected. Greetings, Mistress. I am K-9, at your service."

[Raynn]

Jenny smiles "I still had enough regenerative energy to heal, I'll explain better later and nice to meet you K-9."

She hugged the Doctor again realising it was the first time the Doctor had seen her alive since her apparent death.

"We have to go back to Leavyard! Rose is trapped in one of the offices! We have to save her!"

[Damian Jade]

Alec offers his flash drive to the Doctor. "I've copied what I could from their mainframe." He stops and looks around. "I have no idea if you could even read technology that must be primitive by your standards but there could be something useful. Of course there could be all sorts of viruses here to infect the Tardis. This whole thing is a trap and I could have been given this information as a way to lure us in deeper but if I overthink this anymore I'm going to get a migraine so here's the information what do we do with it."

[whoiam]

"That's odd - Rose, you say? Besides the obvious question of how you'd know someone who got stuck in an alternate universe without the ability to time travel - or ever having met you - K-9's memory bank seems to indicate a less...human... captive. Who was also somewhat... inaccessable... the last time I checked."

Sitting on the TARDIS console, the Doctor takes the USB stick from Alec. "Alright, some explanations. First up, identities. Everyone, this is Jenny. She's what came out when I stuck my hand into an odd variation on the theme of a cloning machine. Not much of a childhood, but the result could definitely be worse. The lady packing more explosives than a Demolitions Dalek is Ace, one of the chosen of Fenric and the only person to ever attack a Dalek with a bat and live. The man about to start humping random legs is called" here he put on a pirate accent, if only for the next couple of words "Cap'n Jack, and he's been a lot of things, most of them only until a mob formed to chase him on to the next career. Especially when that mob is full of Gas-Masked Zombies. The robot dog is named K-9. I'm not sure where Jack got him from, or even which one of them this one is, but it's nice to have one of them back at any rate. There's also soldier-boy, whom I do not yet know, but probably will later."

Finally, a pause for breath!

"Second up, the task ahead of us. There are three things we know of working against us right now: Firstly, the Toclafane. One of the most technologically advances species the Universe will ever see - mainly because they're the last species the Universe will ever see. Those little balls are what humanity turns into once the universe is too old to support squishy organic biologies. Congratulations, don't your great-great-grandchildren make you proud? Heavily armed and armoured little things, but they need a pretty powerful Paradox Machine to actually effect significant changes here - remember they are humanity's descendants, so cannot normally kill humans off in their past without ceasing to exist themselves."

"The second foe we face is Leavyard. An anagram of Valeyard - a name that I doubt any of you would know, but one that means a lot to me. Specifically, it's the name of a future half-incarnation of myself - what I could become between the final regeneration and the final death. Like the Toclafane, my big weakness is that I can't meddle with previous versions of myself without a massive Paradox Machine on hand."

"The third problem is that of the captive. Jenny here seems to think it's Rose. Of course, K-9's memory of her contains the name 'Romana' written on her effects, so I think there's at least some possibility Jenny might have gotten the captive's identity wrong. Either way, we'll find out when we catch up with her."

"That only leaves the question of what we do from here. Personally, I wish my TARDIS was in better shape - time scanners would be a great help in checking for exactly the kind of Paradox Machine we need to be scared of. If there isn't one, then the Earth is pretty safe overall. If there is... well, Jack remembers what happened last time the Toclafane were combined with one."

"So, actual actions. Number one: Soldier boy is going to get onto the phone back to UNIT, and he's going to have them send a truck around for us. We're going to load the TARDIS in the back, because the last thing I want is to have my future self 'borrow' it while I'm away. It should be safer with UNIT than sitting in a housing estate. When we're with UNIT, we're going to borrow a computer, pull out the network connections, and take a look at the files you 'recovered'. And then, ready or not, it is time to meet our futures..."

[Bowerbird]

"Hi there, Captain Jack Harkness, I'll only do the pirate accent if you ask me nicely," Jack raises his eyebrows suggestively. "As for K-9, found him in pieces at a school, Torchwood managed to piece him together enough that he could work himself out. I thought she was Rose too, but this Valeyard indicated that she wasn't what she seemed."

[Damian Jade]

Alec moves off to one side and produces his phone to call U.N.I.T. and get the Doctor a truck and the office prepared. He watches the others with interest. He'd studied file after file on the Doctor and he was curious to watch the people who made the earth safe at work.

[Raynn]

An entourage quickly arrives on the scene, blocks it off and loads the Tardis carefully with several high ranking officials trying to ensure the Doctor they will not tamper with it while it was left for them thinking he might not trust them so trying desperately to get on the hero's good side.
The soldiers who before gave Alec little notice salute as he passes and shake his hand saying things like "job well done," and "wish I was you!" It seems that in a few hours he's become the talk of UNIT.

As everyone of the Tardis crew get into a UNIT van Jenny takes the Doctor aside.

Doctor:
"There's something about the Rose I knew that you and the other's kept from me, I never found out before now. I know her from your future. . . you say she got trapped on a parallel world, Jack said that once, he never explained how she got back. You keep saying this isn't Rose but then who did I know? Who taught me how to knock out a sontaran? Who taught me about cricket? Who showed me the wonders that are Jelly babies?" Jenny stops, almost in tears and searches through her bag for something.

She pulls out a audio tape and hands it to the Doctor "you told me I'd know when to give this to you, that UNIT would be here, and Alec, you said that it's for Betty and that UNIT would know where to find her. I think it's a message for you. . . from you. . ."


When she finished she wiped a tear from her eye and took a seat beside Alec in the UNIT van with a hug to him and a smile. As the Van began to slowly move and shook as it passed over a pothole Jenny laughed and said "it's like Time Agent basic training all over again!"

[Bowerbird]

Jack perks up at this, "Wait you were a Time Agent?! The Doctor's daughter and a fellow Time Agent, I like you already." He gives Jenny a wink.

[industrious]

Ace glares at Jack. "Don't you ever stop?"

Thinking for a moment, she grins, and turns to the Doctor. "You're a bit more organized (and talkative) than you used to be, Professor. Remember when the Earth was going to be destroyed by Nemesis, and you forgot entirely about it?" She shudders. "And please don't mention Fenric again. It was bad enough the first time."

[whoiam]

Quietly, he replied to Jenny: "I am not sure who is in that building. She had a name on her things - Romana - which belongs to a Time Lord I travelled with, a time or two. K-9 did not get the best of views, so... well, I'm reserving judgement on her identity until I actually see her."

The Doctor retreated into his own mind for a little while, but Cap'n Jack's actions quickly jolted him back out of it. "Leave it off, Jack." Dropping from a playful tone to a serious, pained, melodramatic one: "You do not know what it does to a man, to see someone he thought was a friend flirting with his daughter... Really tears you up inside, you know?"

Beat pause.

Back in his normal, slightly amused tone of voice: "I have got to stop picking soap-watchers as my company. Side note: I also need to wipe that room full of Coronation Street tapes Jackie made for Rose. That stuff's almost as dangerous as Ace's Nitro-9. Maybe I can use it to blow up Daleks as well..."

A wide grin, pointed directly at Ace. "As I'm sure you've noticed, my mouth tends to run away with itself a little." Leaning in closer, he added a little more. "If you talk about something you know well enough, you can think about something more interesting as you do it. Like why I'd be deliberately trying to goad myself into a fight. Fascinating thought, no?" "Besides, I hadn't forgotten the Earth was in danger. I just assigned it a different level of priority to that the rest of you thought I should have. Then you insisted on reminding me, so I had to jump it to the top of the queue..."

[Damian Jade]

Alec had no clue what to make of Jenny, he had never met anyone who knew him but was a stranger. He decided it must be part of dealing with time travel and let his southern gentleman shine through. Jenny was obviously under stress and needed the comfort of a familiar face, even if he wasn't familiar with her. "Time agent? That sounds fascinating. Can you tell me about it or would you have to kill me and my ancestors?" He quips with a wry grin.

[industrious]

Ace can't look at the Doctor directly. Quietly, she whispers a rely back to him, stammering as she does so.
You...you aren't mad, are you?

The young woman looks back at Jenny. "So if you're from our future, then shouldn't we know what we're going to say? To you? Since otherwise there would be a paradox, if we messed up our lines?"

[whoiam]

Ace's comment only inspires a fast spurt of laughter from the Doctor. "Eccentric, my dear, Eccentric. If one has a posh enough accent, one is never mad." Dropping back down to a murmur, he continued: "But here: I'll point out two things that may well set your mind at ease on the subject of my mind: Firstly, I did know Nemesis prior to *your* meeting with it, and secondly, all these companions and foes from my past - with the exception of yourself - have been pretty deliberately brought into my path - and all given access to knowledge designed to bring me into a confrontation with Leavyard. Who, according to all available knowledge, is a later version of me. So what I said about goading myself? That is literally what is going on. My future self is trying to goad me, and I wish I knew why."

[Raynn]

Jenny goes quite for a moment, her smile weakening before she speaks "They asked me to do something. . . I couldn't; I lost two years of memories and they sent someone else to do the job instead. . . So I imprisoned him in a time loop for five years. . . Apart from trying to kill me John seemed pretty okay with it for some reason. . ."

Her face grew red and she stared down at her hands ashamed, she began to lean into Alec but at the last second caught herself and pulled back. She smiled timidly at Jack and Alec "Do you remember me at all from the Time agency Jack? I don't remember much apart from basic training and my fall from grace?"

[Bowerbird]

Jack looks both surprised and a little sad, "I don't remember you exactly, but I was the reason John didn't mind the time loop so much.. and don't worry, he tries to kill everyone, it was probably nothing personal. I do know that apparently the Time Agency is gone now.." He stops talking and just stares into space remembering for a while..

[industrious]

If anything, Ace looks even more awkward and anxious, fidgeting in her seat and rolling her fingers, while her eyes dart here and there, but always avoiding the Doctor.

"Not...not that Professor. I don't think you're mad like that." She lowers her voice again.


"Mad about...well...um...me...and...snapping...Jack...h er." She manages to stammer out, mumbling the final fragment.

[Raynn]

The van rumbles to a stop and Jenny steps out first smiling at a UNIT soldier who helps her out. The UNIT soldiers have already unloaded the Tardis and seem to be moving it to a safe location. A few soldiers guard the gate and the main entrance to the large grey buildings in front of you.
A woman, lean and pale, motions towards a nearby door and the buildings wall, at the end of a corridor seems to be the open door to the UNIT warroom of this facility, ready and waiting.

[Damian Jade]

Alec does his best to get all the entry protocols finished up quickly and then finds a secure and isolated computer terminal to open his files for study. He looks around for Jack or K-9. "I wonder if K-9 might be able to sift through this data more quickly than any of us," he wonders aloud.
He gestures to the corner of the office. "Everything you need to make tea is over there as well as some cookies, er biscuits. There may even be a package of jelly babies. The Brigadier used to keep some around just in case."

[Raynn]

Seeing the jelly babies Jenny almost squels hugging Alec tightly "I love you!" she moves to kiss his cheek but catches herself at the last second and rushes over to the jelly babies her cheeks red.

[AvianMalkavian]

"My systems are more than capable of processing the data," K-9 approached the computer terminal, the telescopic probe in its 'eyes' extending and connecting to one of the ports. The tin dog's ear probes begin to swivel as are opened and sorted through at a blistering pace, "The process was simple."

"Security systems appear to be of Time Lord origin. No projects recorded use the necessary power for a Paradox Machine; it is possible Leavyard possesses a TARDIS," K-9's eye probe lowered back to its original place and it turned around towards the others.

"Data makes mention of a 'Project Wonderland' but no additional information available. One of the larger research projects concern investigating a Rose Tyler, Earth human, parents Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler and Peter Alan Tyler, Flat 48, Bucknall House, Powell Estate, South London, SE15 7GO-"

[whoiam]

An odd note of weariness in the Doctor's voice as he finally speaks up: (again): "Okay, okay, I'll admit: Balance of evidence indicates that they probably do have Rose hostage in there."

Kinda a shame. I really could have done with another adult around here - who wasn't an evil future version of me, at any rate.

"Project Wonderland does not mean anything to me - yet. But we're going to find out. Now if you're all going to spend the rest of the mission flirting with my daughter, I'll be in the next room." Adding a note of fierceness to his voice to replace the earlier weariness "*with* the Jelly Babies. At least they still love me..."

His walk over to the confectionary is interrupted only by a brief pause to pat K-9 on the head. "Good dog. Anything else in there?"

[AvianMalkavian]

The pat on the head was enough to send K-9's 'ears' twirling back and forth and its tail wagging up and down, "No, master. I could find no other useful information."

[Damian Jade]

Alec carefully avoids eye contact with the Doctor and instead begins scrolling through the files manually. "I remember something about a program to track the Pep Es which could be very useful if we could figure out how it works and then we might have some idea what they were up to or at least where they were hiding."

[industrious]

Leaving the Professor and Alec to go over the computer information and programs, Ace moves next to Jenny. Absently chewing on a jelly baby, she starts up a conversation.

"That must be embarrassing. He doesn't really know you, and now he knows the two of you are...together."

[Raynn]

Jenny turns to Ace and gives her a faint smile "We were. . ." her smile disappears for a moment as she wears her father's own trademark broken look before forcing back on the smile "but I'm happy for him, he's got so much to look forward to, like the time we first met. . . for me, and our first kiss. . . he's so lucky; so's Rose! Wait till you see her fly the Tardis, she almost makes my dad look bad! And she's the one who taught me how to use Time Lord telepathy! She was there when I met Mom for the first time!"
At that Jenny started to sob as her glee turned to sadness, she moved closer to Ace to hide her tears from Alec.

[industrious]

Ace puts her arms around the Time Lady, patting Jenny on the back. "There, there. It's going to be alright. It's going to be alright..." Holding her until she stops, Ace looks Jenny squarely in the eye, and grins. "So, what's your first meeting like? For him?"

[Raynn]

"John. . . he saved me from John. . . The first time I met him he saved my life with nothing more than a cheeky smile and that amasing human mind of his," she laughed at that.

"But then Alec. . . oh listen to me dithering on about the Future, no time like the present!" She stops herself and forces a smiling face pulling a wrist mounted vortex manipulator from her bag she seemed to check was it alright. A series of lights looped and glowed bright red in the shape of an infinity symbol, obviously the device was active. Jenny quickly stowed it again.

She pats Ace on the shoulder and motions towards the Doctor's direction "Now come on, Rose's two hearts will have stopped beating by the time we get to her at this rate."

[Damian Jade]

Seeing the other two getting up to leave, Alec gives up on finding the Pep-E locating program for the moment and shakes his head. He sets several thorough virus scans to run through the flash drive and makes sure the connection is isolated from the U.N.I.T. server then gets up in time to open the door for Ace and Jenny. "Ladies first."

[Bowerbird]

"Ah, young love," Jack looks at the vortex manipulator with interest, "That's a nice working vortex manipulator you've got there," with a look to the Doctor, "I wish mine still worked, it's always broken for some reason."

[Damian Jade]

Alec raises his eyebrows at Jack. "Since I grew up temporary deprived may I ask what exactly what is a vortex manipulator?"

[Raynn]

Jenny moves over to the Doctor and rests her hand on his shoulder "So Dad, what's the plan now? We have to save Rose, her hearts will have stopped if we don't hurry!" She says wiping away a few stray tears.

[Bowerbird]

Jack looks over at Alec, holding out his arm to show the wristband, "This is a vortex manipulator, it's a Time Agent's multipurpose ultra time-travelling, teleporting gizmo, except events keep conspiring to break mine," He says, giving the doctor a mock-dirty look.

[whoiam]

"You really are confusing me now, you know that? Stop it. It's supposed to be my job to confuse the rest of *you*."

Okay. If 'Rose' has two hearts, either someone built a reverse Chameleon Arch and put Rose through it, or Romana was actually cruel enough to take that on as a nick-nick-name.

Wouldn't put it past her.

"Alright, plan, plan. Yes! Something simple will do it. I am... going to take Jack here... and I am going to take K-9... and I am going to walk into the Leavyard building and face what I hope is just crazy-future-me. The rest of you... Well, I'm sure you'll find something to do to keep yourself amused. Kids these days are always messing around, disabling substations and dropping cans of Nitro-9 on backup generators and the like..."

[industrious]

Ace smiles at the mention of her favorite pastime.


"Which backup generator were you thinking of? With the Nitro I'm carrying, I should be able to cut off power to the building. Or just, you know, demolish it...you don't want me to do that, do you?"

[Damian Jade]

"Well we won't know if they've made any unadvertised modifications to the building but with the blueprints on file Ace and I should be able to find a way in to provide distraction support." He looks at Jenny with concern, "Are you up to going with Ace and me?"

[Raynn]

"Of course!" Jenny says beaming.

Motioning to her Vortex manipulator "It's stored up enough energy to jump us within the building but I won't be able to take both groups, I can program in the coordinates and whoever has it will just have to press a button. One group can take it and get where they need to be immediatley while the other sneaks inside. Who's going to use it?"

[whoiam]

"You are. I don't intend to sneak. If I'm going to meet the guy in charge, I may as well just walk in the front."

Which is why I'm taking the laser-cannon-equipped robot and the immortal soldier with me. Worst comes to the worst, I *know* Captain Jack'll stop Toclafane weapons fire.

[Raynn]

She took Ace and Alec's hands with one of hers and is about to activate the device with the other when she looks at the Doctor "The tape I gave you. . . Play it alone before you leave here, please. . ."

With that the trio dissappear.

As you reappear you feel the need to stop the world spinning so you can show the world what you ate for your last 2 dozen dinners.

As you steady yourself you see you've arrived somewhere on the third floor, along one of the main corridors. Its still dark so the place seems desserted. According to the schematics the generators are on the forth and final basement level. A stairwell is down the hall.

[Damian Jade]

Alec gives Jenny's hand a gentle squeeze just before the jump begins. Upon arrival he immediately releases her hand and squats down head between his knees for a second. "Wow, that was bad." He coughs and immediately regrets it trying to clamp down on his rebellious stomach. "Ahhh, man." He stands up and steadies himself. "O.k. I'm...I'm good to go, now. As long we don't have to fight anything that smells like fish and chips...or nachos. O.k. Ace I bow to your knowledge of demolitions here. What do we need to do?"

[whoiam]

"Alright, then. Jack, K-9... Don't you have some warpaint to apply or something? I need a minute alone with the computers before we leave."

Or a minute alone with the tape, at any rate.

[industrious]

"Well...let's see..." Ace kneels over. "That was nasty. We need to go down a floor first; then the fun begins. Well, fun for me, anyway. We're going to need to be fast when setting the charges. The detonator is a piece of string and a Zeppo."

[Raynn]

As you move down the stairs you see a Toclafane guarding the hallway down towards the generators.

[AvianMalkavian]

"Very well, Doctor," K9 turned around, making its way from the room and following Jack wherever he went so that they could give him a moment alone.

[Damian Jade]

Alec looks at Jenny, "How do feel about joining me as distraction number one? Worst case scenario we jump out of here and then back." Looking over to Ace, "Where do you want to meet back up?"

[Bowerbird]

"Ok Doctor, I'll be outside then," Jack says, following K9 outsidee. Once outside he looks down at K9, "So.. feel any different now after the Doc's had a look at you?"

[AvianMalkavian]

K9 turned towards the only person among this new group of people that it was familiar with, head tilting up to look at him, "No, master. My memories have not been restored. Perhaps they were too damaged to be salvaged."

[Bowerbird]

"Or he deliberately didn't restore them, he has a habit of doing stuff like that," Jack says as he idly rubs his wrist, "I'm sure he has his reasons.. any observations on this "daughter" of his?"

[AvianMalkavian]

"Possibly related. Sensors detected binary vascular systems in both the Doctor and the woman."

[whoiam]

With the room now vacated, the Doctor takes the time to listen to the tape, as instructed.

[Raynn]

Doctor:
[Spoiler] Unable to find a tape player in the room you ask a unit soldier who directs you to the truck the Tardis arrived, obviously quite old, nicknamed Betty. He points you towards the audio cassette player in the dash, puts the keys in the ignition and leaves you too it.

As the tape plays your voice eminates from the trucks speakers "Is this thing on. . . yeah. . ." you hear the voice breath in deeply to steady himself "The watch will changes hands four times. . . don't blame her for it. . . she didn't have a choice, she had to. . . oh god she had too. . ." you hear you future self try to stop himself from crying.

"Forgive her. . ."

The tape goes silent.

[industrious]

"We'll meet back where we first transmatted into." Ace pulls out a can of Nitro-9, and slaps it into Alec's hand. "Just in case."

[Damian Jade]

Taking Jenny by the hand, Alec double checks the way he wants to run and then moves out into the hallway looking officious and gesturing at the decor. "Now, I love what the designers did here, darling. I think we could use this firm to redo our corporate offices and be well served." He's watching the toclafaine out of the corner of his eye ready to bolt and run the minute it becomes hostile.

[Raynn]

The Toclafane sees Alec and Jenny and races into their faces, its blades shooting out to dance in front of them, trying to seem intimidating and succeeding. "Turn back, this place is restricted."

It does. . . nothing to you.

[Damian Jade]

"Well, I say, I was told we'd have unrestricted access to the executive level. Is this the executive level? Perhaps you could point us in the correct direction?" Alec has a cold sweat running down his spine but works hard to play it cool and seem bored and put out by the whole thing. He isn't sure if it will be enough of a distraction but he's hoping it won't see Ace if it is looking at him.

[Raynn]

Toclafane whirls its blades angrily, almost hissing its words but still does not attack even as it half screams "LEAVE!"

[whoiam]

"Wonderfully unenlightening. I'll have to have a word with myself about that. I shouldn't be treating me this way."

Despite his response to the message, the Doctor pockets the tape before exiting the truck. He had some colleagues to collect...

"Come on, you two. Time to see how well I age, hm?" At which point, he'd just head back to the parking lot. If he couldn't get UNIT to loan him a car, he'd just point the sonic screwdriver at one...

[Raynn]

As the Doctor, his pet and K-9 reach the Leavyard HQ the suffer no resistance as they enter the foyer. No Pep-Es seem to frequent the ground floor or hastle them; there's not even a receptionist.

The elevator pops open with a ping noise.

[whoiam]

"I'd say that someone must be expecting me... but then, he practically put an ad out for me." Quipping helped him get over the nerves induced by the thought of facing an opponent who probably already knew the result of this encounter. Surely his future self wouldn't be so fatalistic as to fight his younger self, knowing that he would lose? Which meant something odd had to be happening...

No time for this.

Getting into the elevator and pressing the button for the highest floor was easy enough. Assuming it had buttons and wasn't on remote control, anyway...

[Damian Jade]

Trying to look offended at the whirling blades, Alec takes Jenny's hand and begins moving away from Ace and toward the nearest exit. "Well, I will be reporting this rude behavior to your superiors I assure you of that." Trying to keep the toclafaine's attention on him as he departs.

[Raynn]

The Toclafane follows Alec and Jenny as they leave but doesn't speak or attack.

************************************************** *********

As the Doctor reaches the top floor the doors of the elevator slide open to reveal the office that Jack had been so unceremoniously expunged from.

The Rose, who or whatever she was, hung suspended in the same odd machine with the same watch around her neck.

The black suited man turns as you enter, standing behind the large wooden desk, his hands behind his back.

He smiles with his tenth face. . .

"Doctor, like the old look? I was thinking Retro and a hint of Johnny Cash funeral black, I gave him the look you remember? Or was it Elvis who helped me fight the Sontarans that time. . ."

His grin widens "Why, Doctor, you look like you've seen a ghost?"

[whoiam]

"A bad impersonator, more like. Haven't I ever heard the phrase 'Act your Age'?"

What do you do when faced with yourself? Swagger. Obviously he had a huge ego (by his standards) in the future, so he might as well start getting in on the action now. "But Toclafane? Honestly, why Toclafane? Were the Cybermens' wage demands too high? The Daleks too noisy? The Sontarans too ugly? I mean, just think of a seductive Sontaran Secretary... no, thanks."

[Raynn]

"because. . . because in my old age, dancing across the stars I thought it was only right that I bring the Human's home, but also it's just about the only thing I can scatter across the world for you to see and no one else will notice."

He smiles and turns back to Romana "oh and she does so love shiny things, she used to star at the lights of the lover's cluster for hours as I tortured her to madness."

[industrious]

With Alec and Jenny distracting the Toclafane, Ace attempts to make her way back down to the basement.

[Raynn]

As Ace reaches the generators she seems large humming monstrosities of metal that seem to go deeper than possible into the earth. The four main generators alone must be as big simply in width and depth as a football field. They seem impossibly advanced for 21st century human tech.

[whoiam]

Aside, to Jack: "Obviously I mellowed out a little in my old age."

To Himself: "So, what... at some point when I'm old, I catch Romana before she gets too involved in the Time War, trick her into a Chameleon Arch, and then use her as my own private toy until she breaks? Just, out of curiosity, and I know I may not want to answer this, but did the Master and I swap brains at some point? Him in my body and me in his? Because I always saw you as more of a shadowy universal domination type, and this smacks more of random Master(tm) Brand lunacy. After all, what could you achieve by luring you in?"

Quite a few things, stable time loops just being the most likely. Or... well, he could actually want me to fix her. Only so he can have the fun of breaking her again, admittedly, but if he just wanted to cast her aside, that's a nice high window...

[Raynn]

He laughs out loud "You made a whole other entity, you delayed a regeneration for what? Months? Years? I've lost track. You thought that would have no impact."

He takes the watch around Romana's neck, turns it over in his hand "I suppose I want to break you a little bit, or maybe it's all part of a master plan, I'm not saying."

[industrious]

As Ace reaches the generators she seems large humming monstrosities of metal that seem to go deeper than possible into the earth. The four main generators alone must be as big simply in width and depth as a football field. They seem impossibly advanced for 21st century human tech.

Ace doesn't speak. Not much point, really, since those generators were about to blow soon. The young woman carefully places cans of Nitro-9 at key areas of the generators...or at least places that look like key areas. And by carefully, she means that since her timed detonators were essentially long pieces of string, that she does the job in roughly twenty seconds. The remaining ten is spent sprinting back up the stairs.

"She's going to blow!"

[Raynn]

As the blast shakes the building Ace is knocked to the floor and surrounded by Pep-Es as every light in the building goes out.

[whoiam]

"Thank you, UNIT."

I'll have to get Ace something nice for that. I'm thinking a new chemistry set.

"For all the difference it makes, I did not deliberately create a clone of myself. You can thank Donna for that." Pause.

Oh, ****, he's probably visited Donna....

"Could have been King... It's an appropriate name. Because I really could have been. Timelords gone, Daleks gone, I really could have. I wonder why you tried it and I did not..."

Using his talk and the damage to the generators as cover, the Doctor was advancing (ideally with Jack and K-9 at his side) towards his half-human half-clone.

"Still, this explains why we could not detect a Paradox Machine running. You would not have thought you needed one. Probably because you didn't know this was before my first meeting with River Song..."

[Raynn]

He stumbles slightly at the blast the Pep-Es rush off "What do you mean?"

[whoiam]

"I mean, River Song and I are in the middle of a time loop. I've passed one end of it - my start, her end - and I'm still waiting to encounter the other. Time travel, eh? Still... I would have thought you would have remembered that one. You split off after the start of it. It's kinda funny, really. You spent all this time plotting to pull me in at the right stage in my life, and you still got me too early..." Followed by a burst of staccato laughter.

"Seriously, though, I have a question. Why did you not just commit suicide? If life was so unbearable, you did not need to live it. And it is not as though I was ever afraid of death..."

Afraid of what would happen if I died, yes. Afraid of being dead, no. If you are afraid of being dead, the last thing you do is make a habit of fighting Daleks...

[industrious]

Ace gets up, and brushes the debris off her outfit.

"Gordon Bennett that hurt! Aren't you lot supposed to be stopping that sort of thing from happening?"

One lesson Ace learned from the Doctor: When in doubt, bluff, and act as if you're in charge. Even if it's to the Queen, in the middle of Buckingham Palace.

[Damian Jade]

As the lights go out Alec fishes out a mini-Maglight. "Well, I guess Ace made it to the generators. Let's go see if she needs any help getting out." He glances at Jenny as they start back the way they came. "Any idea how to fight the toclafaine?"

[Raynn]

****************Alec & Jenny********************************
"Is it just me or have we not gotten in a single fight yet? The Toclafane seem almost unable to? Also we should go help my father."

****************Valeyard's office*****************************
"Death is not why you're here, YOU'RE not even why you're here."

He smiles and pulls out his screwdriver, he deactivates the device holding Romana and she drops to the floor, limp. He places the watch in her hand.

"Do you know how a chameleon arch works? Of course you do; it makes someone out of you; out of a story but Doctor. . ." he kneels beside the Romana Rose "what if someone makes you think of one story, only one, over and over, tilll it drove you mad. What story do you think the arch would pick then?"

[Damian Jade]

"I hadn't thought of it as odd but more lucky, but now that you mention it the toclafaine seemed reluctant to actually engage us." Alec turns down the hall, "O.k. let's find the Doctor."

[whoiam]

"It would take them both. A Chameleon Arch managed to grab the Master's mind, insane Romana is not going to prove a greater challenge. It will restore her memories and personality from before you got to her without erasing whatever she's accumulated since. What sort of person she will be afterwards... I am actually not sure."

Taking a few steps forwards towards Romana now. Despite what the Valeyard had said making less sense than he'd have liked, the Doctor knew he would not be in this situation unless the Valeyard had something to gain from it... and the Doctor could kind of guess what it would be. He even knew how the Valeyard would manage it.

It would not work as he thought it would, though.

"Anyway, to business. K-9, blow his arms off if he fails to explain the part that requires me to be here for any of this."

[Raynn]

As Alec enters the office with Jenny he sees the Valeyard about to speak when a voice breaks in from Romana Rose's once still form, the voice seems exhausted and weak "Doctor?"

The Valeyard takes her hand and helps her up shakily as she holds on to him tightly to steady herself "What happened?"

"These men are trying to take you from me Rose, they're imposters; not very good ones, they couldn't even copy my rugged good looks."

[Damian Jade]

Alec leans close to Jenny, "I don't follow all the meta-physical stuff with time travel but how can this guy be the Doctor when the Doctor is here. Shouldn't paradox be happening now?"

[industrious]

Still surrounded by Toclofane, Ace stamps her foot like a bratty teenager(which she used to be anyway, before the Professor got her out of Ice World), and puts her hands on her hips.

"Well? Come on! You've got more important things than hang around here!"

[whoiam]

Under his breath: "Where's Lethbridge-Stewart when you need him?"

Over his breath: "That won't work, you know. Not forever, anyway. The Chameleon Arch cannot wipe away her past and still keep her as a Time Lord - the only way you could pull that off would be to keep her from ever being restored. The worst you could do is restore a *different* Time Lord into her body..."

...why am I still giving him ideas?

"Rose, or Romana, or whichever you think you are now: You'll recognise K-9 or Jack. Go to them, they'll take you away from here to somewhere safe while I have a discussion with my ungracious shadow here..."

Obviously he's going for an appeal to familiarity - using my old face to convince the Rose Delusion in Romana's head that it's the correct personality and that he's the current Doctor. But both Romana and Rose know my face can change with time, so both he and I are potentially suspect. I cannot even tell her to count the hearts, because it is entirely possible he's had his human traits removed since I last saw him. Jack and K-9 should work, though. Both of them knew one or the other, so whichever one is in the ascendancy will know they're genuine. Then my half-human alter ego and I can finish our fascinating little chat...

...I wonder if the Brigadier used to find me as irritating as I find me? Maybe I should go back and ask him...

[Bowerbird]

Jack, having spent the majority of the conversation watching in silence as the two doctors argue, turns to the girl who looks like Rose, giving her a winning smile and a wave. Out of the corner of his mouth he mutters to K9, "We may have trouble soon, get ready for a fight, just in case."

[Raynn]

"Paradox. . ." Jenny looked at Alec like he had spit on the floor or something similairly distasteful.

"They're Lying Rose, check your heart, you've only got one," he brought her hand from one side of her chest to another and then the center.

Rose looked up at the group annoyed "I'm human, this is the Doctor, because I am who I am and I am not a Time Lord. . . Lady whatever."

Jenny tries to step closer, reaching for the watch Rose was holding but didn't seem to notice, hoping to open it. Valeyard noticed her and she stepped back.

[whoiam]

"Then go with Jack. You've been to the ends of time with him, you brought him back from the dead and fixed him in an unchanging, indestructable form - forever Jack. I could be a fake eleventh regeneration, or he could be a fake tenth, but nothing could fake the immortal man. Go with him - he will take you somewhere safe while you recover. Ace - whom I know I have told you about before - will be able to work out which of us is real while you rest."

Faintly, a smile starts to appear at the corners of the Doctor's mouth.

"Oh, and Rose... none of us mentioned a Lady Anything..."

[Raynn]

Rose rushes away scared and confused at the two doctors, she stumbles back against the window, terrified as Jenny approaches and takes the watch from her hand, changing hands for the third time.
"You can trust him, go with Jack."

Rose pushes her back, not noticing Jenny had taken the watch. Rose Romana seemed to be suffering from some sort of post regeneration instability like the doctor and stress could make her do something crazy very soon. She was eyeing the elevator and the window in equal measure.

**************ACE********************************* *****

The Toclafane seemed to be getting extremely annoyed "LEAVE HUMAN! OR WE WILL FIRE!"

[industrious]

Ace

The young woman holds back a smile. "Gordon Bennett, you are annoying. Alright, I'm leaving. See? I'm gone."

Walking to find the Doctor, Ace stares at the current situation.

"Professor? Who's the rubbish-looking one in the old suit?"

[Bowerbird]

Jack takes a step to the side, giving Rose/Roman a clear path to the elevator, "I can assure you the elevator's preferable to the window," he indicates for her to go, "If she jumps, I'm going after her, protect the doctor," he whispers to K9.

[Raynn]

Rose eyes Jack with almost a hint of fear "I'm ROSE TYLER! I know who I am, the Doctor wouldn't do this to me! He wouldn't just tell me when I'm scared! He wouldn't do something that would mess with my head so much! DID YOU SEE HIM REGENERATE JACK?! How is he anymore likely to be the Doctor than I am to be ME!?"

[industrious]

Ace's face goes red.

"OY! PRINCESS! WHAT DOCTOR HAVE YOU BEEN TRAVELING WITH? He loves messing with us; he showed me places and things and ideas that I didn't even have words for! He tore me down and build me back up again! Hasn't he ever shown you something unbelievable? Something you could never imagine, and he just stood there with a silly grin on your face? Gorden Bennett, the Doctor loves playing games with us."

[Bowerbird]

Jack shrugs, "You're right, I can't be 100% certain that he's the real Doctor, but I know for certain that that's not," he says, indicating the Valeyard, "I know what those are, and the Doctor would never use them," he says, indicating the Toclafane.

[whoiam]

"Ace, ace, ace... You're absolutely right. I've done many things to my companions over the years, almost none of them safe or pleasant. I get more desertions that way.

Anyway, if you want some proof... Then let's fall back on some logic, shall we? One of us is the Doctor. We're all agreed on that point, yes? So either the tenth incarnation is still current, and I'm the imposter, or the eleventh incarnation is current, and he's the imposter. So, we come up with a proper scientific theory. There are criteria for scientific theories: The main ones being that they have to agree with observable evidence, and they have to make predictions which can be tested in order to guage their validity.

So, here is my theory. You and Jack remember fighting the Daleks when Davros had created the Reality Bomb, yes? By the end of that encounter, there was one Time Lord and two Half Time-Lords - A Half-human clone of me, and a half-Time Lord Donna Noble. My theory is that he - the one still bearing my tenth face - is that hybrid, whom I sent to live out his life with Rose Tyler in an alternate universe. That explains what we can see here - one being who looks like my tenth incarnation, and one being who does not but claims to be the eleventh - and it gives us a prediction to test. Namely: His memories of my life should end at the point where I returned him to the alternate reality Rose was living in at the time. So anything I did with any of you lot after then... he won't know, but an authentic Doctor would.

Now, Rose, I'm not too sure that your memories are in good enough condition to test, so we'll go with our first runner up. That's you Jack. Just before my tenth regeneration, I paid you a last visit with the old face. I met you somewhere - we did not talk, but we saw one another. And you received something from me. Now, I know where that was, and what you received. As would any authentic Doctor. But my vengeful, half-crazed clone would have no way of knowing of that meeting...

So, here comes the test. Convince Jack that *you* did that last meeting instead of me. If you can pass my test, We'll listen to your theory on our identities... and try your test."

[Raynn]

The Valeyard smiles "The Midship man Alonso Frame you mean? And the piece of paper said 'his name is Alonso.' Now how would some mad clone know that?"

[whoiam]

"Interesting point. Especially from someone who'd forgotten who River Song was... Your turn then. Who am I, and how can you prove I am *not* the Doctor?"

[Raynn]

"I don't think I can prove that anymore than you couldn't prove I wasn't," Valeyard says in the matter of fact way that was a common 10 mannerism.