fic_of_fork (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fic_of_fork) wrote2008-11-10 11:59 am
fic_of_fork) wrote2008-11-10 11:59 am
Entry tags:
Spiegel im Spiegel, Chapter 2
Word Count: 1518
Summary: Like a mirror reflected into a mirror, choices made create an infinite of possibilities.
Warnings: Swearing
Rating: Teen
Characters: Ten, Donna, Braxiatel, Torchwood, Original characters (Mike)
Genre: AU, Adventure
Author's note: Thanks to mtemplar_fic for the beta!
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, Torchwood, or any of its characters, and I'm receiving no profit from this beyond the joy of writing.
Chapter 1
The black SUV sped towards its destination, swerving effortlessly in and out of traffic. The blue emergency lights on the sides of the windshield gave the impression of authority, and rush hour drivers got out of its way.
"You sure it's not the Doctor?" Ianto asked, as he wove around a car in front of them.
"Positive. Wasn't the signature of a Type 40," Jack answered, readying a rifle loaded with tranquilizer darts.
"Bloody hell," Ianto uttered, while avoiding oncoming traffic. "What do the Time Lords want with her, anyway? I thought they kept to themselves."
"Beats me," Jack answered. "Hey, Gwen?" he said through his earpiece. "We're running low on those tranq darts. Can you get someone to bring some more? I'm sure Martha wouldn't mind a trip from Cardiff to London to see her family."
"Not now, Jack," came Gwen's voice. Even the lilt of her Welsh accent didn't betray her irritation at Jack's interruption. "We're in the middle of a fucking weevil migration, or so it seems. Shortly after you and Ianto got that signature reading, the rift opened up, and a whole mass of them came through. And did I mention the pro-weevil protesters blocking our way? Friends of the Weevil. Load of bollocks, if you ask me. If I didn't know better, I'd say all of it was related to your situation."
"Count on it," Jack said. "Keep on top of it, Gwen. At least the two newbies are getting practice."
"Perhaps we should open up another London office?" Ianto suggested.
"What, you're tired of your vacation with me?" Jack teased.
"Didn't know it was going to be a working holiday," Ianto said. The SUV turned into a residential area with its tires squealing. "So what's the plan? Capture, tag, and release?"
"Tag and bag," Jack said. "I want answers. We've spent a week tranquilizing Time Lords, microchipping them, then dumping them by their time capsules and forcing them off this planet at gunpoint. I want to know why they're here, and why they keep trying to abduct Donna."
"Got it," Ianto said, as he slammed on the brakes, gliding the SUV into a spot on the curb. He jumped out, unholstering his gun in one practiced move. With his other hand, he grabbed a pair of infrared goggles. Peeking through them, he said, "That's our man, on the right."
"Got him," Jack said, looking through the scope of the rifle. He exhaled and squeezed the trigger, firing the dart into the man's hip. The man took a few awkward steps, and crumpled.
Ianto reached the body first. "He's already been chipped," Ianto said. With a grunt, he hefted the unconscious Time Lord in a fireman's carry. "Do you remember this one's name?"
Jack studied the man for a moment. "I think he said his name was Solis." As they were walking back to the SUV, a door along the street opened, and an elderly man stepped out.
"That's the fifth one this week. Bloody aliens," he said. "What do they want with my Donna, anyway?"
"Thanks for letting us know, Wilf," Jack said, shaking his hand.
"Bugger was just standing around waiting all day. Not even trying to hide. Don't suppose I can offer you two some dinner? Going to have extra, since Donna's stuck working late and my daughter's out with her friends. And you boys have done so much for us."
Ianto turned. "Thanks, but we really need to get him back to Cardiff."
Jack considered Wilf's offer. "We're going to be stuck in traffic leaving the city," he mused. "And our guest is gonna be unconscious a good, long while. Would you mind if we tied him up and put him on a bed somewhere? Truth be told, I wouldn't mind that, myself. But we can't just leave him in the SUV."
Ianto turned away from the SUV. "It would be better than room service..."
***
"Martha," Jack yelled as they entered the Hub, "You're cleaning out the SUV."
"Me? Why?" She responded, as she came down the stairs to see Ianto helping Solis into the Hub. The Time Lord looked pale and shaky.
"That tranquilizer you formulated. It makes them carsick. Ever been stuck in traffic with a vomiting alien in the back seat? Not pleasant," Jack explained.
"Rather reminiscent of family holidays, complete with power struggles for the car radio. Don't ever remember almost being hypnotized over it, though," Ianto said. "I got the majority of the mess up, but we'll need to shampoo the upholstery in the back."
"I don't like the Eagles," Solis muttered. "I've had a rough night."
Jack manoeuvred him into the holding cells, "Luckily for you, I have the entire box set of everything the Eagles have ever recorded and our holding cells have a PA system. So why don't you have a nice little think about what you were doing in Chiswick, and I'll get the first CD ready."
Jack reemerged from the holding cells. "Ianto, play good cop in a few minutes and give him a cup of tea and something to settle his stomach. Martha, you and Mickey head back to Chiswick and continue the surveillance on Donna's house. Wilf knows you're coming. Better take your car, Martha, because the SUV is still a mess. Gwen, any word from the Doctor?"
"Not a peep. I've left message after message, too. None of the usual sources have heard from him, either," Gwen responded.
"Any word from the Time Lords?" Jack asked, taking off his coat and hanging it up in his office.
"Not yet," Gwen responded.
From Jack's office, a telelphone rang, shrill and strident. "I think, ladies and gentlemen, that we've got our contact." Sitting down at the desk, he let the telephone ring a few more times, then picked it up, putting it on the speaker so Ianto and Gwen could listen in. "Torchwood Cardiff. Captain Jack Harkness, speaking. To which illustrious Time Lord of Gallifrey am I speaking?"
"Is our agent safe?" the man's voice asked.
"For now," Jack said. "Wait, Octavius?" Jack inwardly beamed that they were important enough to deal directly with the Chancellor.
The man's voice sighed. "Jack, I'm going to be frank with you. Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Gee, I don't know," Jack said. "You're an alien power abducting perfectly innocent human beings. I'd say that's grounds for Torchwood jurisdiction. We're also entitled to redress under the articles of the Shadow Proclamation, should we seek it."
"Earth hasn't signed that treaty, yet," Octavius responded.
"Fair enough. Then give me one good reason why I shouldn't put a bullet in the brain of the Time Lord I have in our holding cells."
"The Doctor," Octavius said simply.
Jack spat, "If you hurt him, Earth won't ever be a safe place for any other Time Lord."
"Fine. All my cards are out on the table. The Doctor's TARDIS arrived here yesterday with him unconscious inside. He rescued a small child from the Mindwights. The Doctor has been in a coma ever since, and we haven't been able to revive him. Most of his mind is gone."
"Oh Jesus," Jack whispered.
"So you see that every second we delay is another second the Doctor doesn't have. We're aware of the metacrisis that happened with Donna, so we plan to take those centers of her mind that correspond to the Doctor's, implant them into his memory, then use that to effectively reboot him. We wouldn't need all of his memories from Donna, just a critical mass. The rest should come back."
Jack sighed and held his head. "The Doctor was forced to wipe Donna's memories. The Time Lord consciousness within her was killing her."
"Then it's absolutely imperative that we recover Donna as quickly as possible."
Gwen whispered, "I tried ringing Mickey or Martha, but neither's answering their mobile."
"They're probably in transit," Ianto said. "Give them a few hours to get to London."
"Can't wait for them," Jack responded with Octavius still on the telephone. "Pick up Donna, and we'll have your agent ready," he told Octavius. "I'll contact her grandfather."
***
Just after midnight, a phone rang on Jack's desk. The answering machine beeped, and Mickey's frantic voice echoed off of the damp tile walls, "Jack! Gwen! Ianto! Somebody? Pick up! Where are you? We just got to Donna's an' one of them collapsed on her front door. Donna and Wilf took him inside. Clever berk, there, faking his own illness. He isn't getting out of there with Donna."
***
Shortly after dawn, a phone rang on Jack's desk. Its shrill ring echoed off of the tile walls, until an answering machine finally picked up.
"Jack!" came Mickey's excited voice. "We got him! The one in Donna's house came back out. Spent the night there, cheeky wanker. No sign of Donna, an' I think she's still inside. Doesn't look like anyone's up, yet, so we'll bring him back. Hopefully he won't wake up on the way. He's a Time Lord we haven't seen before, since he hadn't been chipped."
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does the doctor know of this?
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Not yet. Although given his past relations with the Time Lords, I don't think he'd necessarily mind. :)
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LOL! That is so very Jack!
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