ℭ𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔦𝔣𝔣, 𝔚𝔞𝔩𝔢𝔰, 𝔈𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔥
𝔍𝔲𝔫𝔢 2005
In a comparison of day and night, EJ would always have chosen the night. Whilst it was dark, and he didn't like that, there were stars. He adored them, with all of the constellations, and beauty just left for everyone to see.
They would have chosen to escort Margaret to the Tardis sooner, however, it would have been highly suspicious for the Lord Mayor just to disappear midday. It also happened to be a lot more difficult than they had first anticipated. She didn't exactly want to cooperate with her own capture; and EJ didn't blame her. Either way, they managed to get her back.
Being an alien, EJ thought that maybe she wasn't going to be impressed by the Tardis. There was always the possibility that Slitheen were the most technologically advanced race in all of the universe. He simply didn't know. It came to his surprise that Margaret was just as in love with the ship as everyone else who had stepped through its doors.
There was something captivating about her that EJ just adored. She looked after him, if that was at all possible. It was like she was alive, looking at them, judging them, and caring for them. She was more human than most of the people EJ had met in school.
"This ship is impossible!" Margaret marvelled, her mouth open wide. "It's superb! How do you get the outside around the inside?"
The Doctor teased, lazily. "Like I'd give you the secret, yeah."
She seemed far too jolly about the whole situation, almost as if she were taking the role of a stereotypical Brit rather than a Welshman. "I almost feel better about being defeated. We never stood a chance, this is the technology of the Gods!"
"Don't worship me." He replied. "I'd make a very bad God."
EJ nodded in agreement from his place on the support beams. "He would."
"You wouldn't get a day off for starters." Swiftly, the subject altered. "Jack, how are we going?"
"This extrapolators top of the range." The Captain replied from his seat on the floor meddling with the mechanics. "Where did you get it?"
"I don't know." She hummed. "Some airlock sale."
"Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power."
The Doctor looked to him, concerned almost. "But we can use it for fuel?"
"It's not compatible, but it should knock off about 12 hours. We'll be ready to go by morning."
"Then we're stuck here." He paused. "Overnight."
Margaret shrugged, though her opinion wasn't valued. "I'm in no hurry."
"We've got a prisoner." Rose must have been feeding off the same excitable energy that Margaret as as she bounced on the spot. "The police box is really a police box."
"You're not just police though," She observed, slyly. "Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you."
"Well you deserve it." Mickey retorted.
"You're so very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood. Which makes you better than me, how, exactly?" She grasped the silence with both hands. "Long night, ahead." Just to emphasise her point, she sat, and looked at them all intently. "Let's see who can look at me in the eye."
She targeted Mickey first, and he held on, for a short while. Soon, his conscious forced him to look away. Rose did the same, only much quicker, and the Doctor hardly subjected himself to the task. It was easier for him not to take part. EJ, however, looked into her eyes. He held his gaze, strong, until Margaret became bored by him. Slightly impressed, perhaps, she turned away.
Much worse problems weighed upon his mind than sentencing someone who had murdered many to death. He knew secrets which didn't belong to him. He knew of his own father. All these were much worse offences than to stare someone in the eye.
Eventually, Rose and Mickey decided that they would go out somewhere together. While he had no say over what they did, EJ thought that it was quite unfair. Not on him, but on Mickey.
Whether he liked the man or not, EJ could see clearly that he would do anything for Rose. He loved her more than anything, and not having her around had taken a toll on him. Mickey was loyal, if nothing else, and she probably didn't deserve him.
The Doctor didn't pretend that he wasn't happy about it. He seemed alright, but they could see him watching the surveillance from outside as Rose ran over to Mickey. It was very slightly stalker-ish. EJ wasn't going to say anything about it. He was confused. It wasn't his place.
Jack leant over on the railing to try and sneak a peek. "So, what's on?"
"Nothing, just..."
"I gather it's not always like this." Margaret interrupted, slyly. "Having to wait. I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor."
"I don't think that's any of your business." EJ retorted, swiftly, but he was ignored as she continued.
"Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences. How does it feel?"
The Doctor just stared at her. "I didn't butcher them."
"Don't answer back." Jack hushed, softly. "That's what she wants."
"I didn't." The Doctor reiterated. "What about you? You had an emergency teleport. You didn't zap them to safety, did you?"
"It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up in a skip on the Isle of Dogs."
The Doctor laughed. "Ha-ha!"
"It wasn't funny." She grimaced.
"Sorry." He apologised, before realising what he had done. "It is a bit funny."
As they chuckled a little, trying to fill the silence, Margaret stared at them. She still had business on her mind. "Do I get a last request?"
"Depends what it is."
"I grew quite fond of my little human life, all those rituals. The brushing of the teeth and the complicated way they cook things. There's a little restaurant, just round the bay, it became quite a favourite of mine."
The Doctor just stepped over to her, keeping some distance. "Is that what you want? A last meal?"
"Don't I have rights?"
Jack scoffed, shaking his head. "Oh, like she's not gonna try to escape."
"Except, I can never escape the Doctor so where's the danger?" Margaret snapped at them, viciously. "I wonder if you could do it. To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"
"Strong enough."
"I wonder." She hummed. "I've seen your fight your enemies. Now dine with them."
The Doctor's face held strong. "You won't change my mind."
"Prove it." The words rolled off her lips like poison, taunting and teasing.
He straightened his back, making himself look much bigger, in the way prey might to distract a predator. "There are people out there. If you slip away just for one second, they'll be in danger."
"Except... I've got these." Jack held up two golden bangles. They were the ugliest piece of jewellery that EJ had ever seen. "You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away, zzzt. She gets zapped by 10,000 volts."
EJ scoffed, half impressed. "You kinky bastard."
The Doctor grinned at the plan. "Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat."
"Dinner in bondage." Replied the Slitheen. "Works for me."
Soon enough, the Doctor and Margaret left for dinner, leaving only EJ and Jack in the Tardis. He didn't know exactly what he should do to fill the time, but it soon came to him. The Tardis cared for EJ. He didn't know why yet, and he didn't ask either, because it wasn't up to him. She liked him enough to keep him around and alive, which was all he needed to move on.
Jack worked on the extrapolator and the way that the power could be siphoned from it and into the heart of the Tardis. It was sort of sexy. His tank top, army-clad trousers, and perfectly quiffed hair made him irresistible. EJ hated him.
He stood against one of the beams for a short while, eating a plate of eggy bread. It was absolutely delicious. He couldn't cook himself, but that didn't matter so much.
"Hey," Jack caught his attention when he realised that EJ was there. "When did you learn to cook?"
"I didn't." He replied, mouth full of food. "The Tardis made it. She takes care of me."
He chuckled a little. "Why?"
"Why?" EJ just shrugged. He honestly had no idea, but that was a boring answer. No one wanted to hear that. "Because she likes me, I guess. That's not the point."
"What is the point?" Jack's head tilted, very slightly. "Cos, well, you'll know that this should be impossible rewire, but I am getting there-"
"I wanna die my hair." It came out quickly, and he bit his lip. "Again. I wanna die my hair again..."
"Oh. Great!"
"Can you, uh, help me?" EJ didn't know whether he should ask at all. Maybe Jack didn't know what to do, and this was just a waste of time. "I'm... that was ridiculous. I'll do it myself."
"No, come on, EJ, it's fine." He held his hand out sort of testing the waters. "You got dye?" The blonde nodded. "Then let's go."
The last time that he'd dyed his hair, Soren had done it. Once upon a time, he'd been a hairstylist, and knew his way around a bottle of bleach to make him a blonde. Though this time, it was a little bit more simple. It was just a few layers of black to turn him into the person he saw in the mirror.
When he was younger, he was a mousy haired kid, just like his brothers and sister. They all suited it, but after so many surgeries and experiments, EJ didn't see himself anymore. The tattoos were the first step to seeing himself, but they didn't do it all. The ear piercings helped too; but even after that, there was so much missing. One day, he would get a nose piercing, and a lip piercing, and he would be everything he wanted to be. For now, he would just take the black hair, and he would run with it.
Then, it was done. After a few hours of laughter and fun, EJ looked fabulous. His black hair blended into him so naturally it was like nothing had changed.
Of course, there were a few kisses between them, but it was nothing he could do other than that to thank Jack for his effort. EJ still didn't know where he stood in that whole situation, but he liked it either way. The only thing which dampened it was the thundering boom which rattled through the Tardis, and probably all of Cardiff.
As soon as he realised what was happening, Jack got to work. It was hard to know exactly what was causing the issue until he really got down to it, and EJ knew he couldn't be of much help until the Doctor got back. For Jack to explain everything, it would take all of the time they had left.
Instead, he decided to stay at the sidelines, managing how greatly the sparks flashed so they wouldn't cause to much interior damage. It was a meagre role in a much bigger plan. This had to have been worked out by someone, because there was no way that this sort of incident was an accident. It had someone's name written all over it.
The Doctor, thankfully, was the first to return, with Margaret still in tow though their bracelets were removed now. However, that didn't mean he was happy about it. Cardiff was tearing itself apart, and the heart of it was the Tardis. She was being used.
"What the hell are you doing?" He bellowed.
Jack shouted back, slightly occupied. "It just went crazy!"
"It's the rift! Time and space are ripping apart, the whole city's gonna disappear!"
There was a chain reaction of explosions inside the Tardis, so much so, that there was nothing EJ could do to stop them. "Where's Rose?" He panicked. "Is she safe? Does anyone know?"
"It's the extrapolator." Jack announced as he shifted around, fixing as much as he could. "I've disconnected it, but it's still feeding off the engine! It's using the Tardis!"
"Never mind Cardiff," The Doctor's eyes widened. "It's gonna rip open the planet."
To EJ's surprise, and utter delight, Rose ran in, just as worried as everyone else. Before she could get a word out edgewise, the boy engulfed her. He was just glad to see her. "What is it? What's happening?"
Margaret smirked at them, and waved her small, wrinkled pink hand. "Oh, just little me!"
In one of the slickest, and most disgusting, moves that EJ had ever seen, Margaret's human arm was completely removed. Her big, great Slitheen arm was suddenly on show, and had grasped Rose around the neck. Her nails, which were more like talons, restricted her airways. Rose couldn't breathe.
"One wrong move and she snaps like a promise."
The Doctor sighed, spitting his words. "I might have known."
"I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it. You!" She shouted at Jack. "Fly boy!"
"Oi, that's what I call him!" EJ's eyes turned into splits with anger. "Don't call him that."
"You, then!" She commanded the Thompson boy. "Put the extrapolator at my feet!" Her grip tightened once more, reinforcing her point, so when he looked to the Doctor for confirmation, he did what she asked. "Thank you. Just as I planned."
Rose struggled to get her words out, but she did all the same. "I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station."
"Failing that, if I were to be... arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore... they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan b- go lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found... I'm back on schedule... thanks to you."
"The rifts gonna convulse." Jack breathed heavily, pulling EJ closer to him with every second that past. "You'll destroy the planet."
"And you with it!" She swung her arm to the side, moving Rose with it, so that she could stand on the extrapolator, and prepare herself to leave. EJ didn't like the way things were going. "While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom! Stand back, boys! Surf's up!"
However, she never got to moving. The Tardis' console was flashing brightly until it lifted up to reveal a golden light. EJ hadn't seen this happen before. It was the most pure view that he'd ever had of anything. The light wasn't directed at him, and though it was blinding, EJ couldn't take his eyes from it. It was just... so beautiful.
"Of course," The Doctor smirked, clearly aware of everything that was happening. "Opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart."
"So sue me." Margaret spat.
"It's not just any old power source. It's the Tardis. My Tardis. The best ship in the universe."
She spoke through gritted teeth. "It'll make wonderful scrap."
"What's that light?" Rose asked, distressed.
"The heart of the Tardis. This ships alive. You've opened its soul."
"It's... so bright."
The Doctor coaxed her. "Look at it, Margaret."
"Beautiful..."
"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch." He almost sounded kind. "Look at the light."
She was completely captivated by it, as anyone would be. There was nothing about the Tardis which wasn't beautiful. Everything was so consuming that she let Rose go, and EJ pulled her back into his arms.
However, Margaret seemed at peace now. She seemed... enlightened. "Thank you."
Her skin suit dropped to the ground, but there was no Slitheen in sight. The Tardis continued to spark as she was still in distress from the rift's pressure. She wasn't ready to open up.
"Don't look!" The Doctor commanded them as he ran to the console, half shielding his eyes. "Stay there, close your eyes!"
He pressed a few buttons and turned a wheel before it closed. After that, he seemed completely fine and dandy. It was enough for everyone else's mood to pick up, just a little bit, before they remembered they needed to fix the rift.
"Jack, shut it all down! Rose, that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right! EJ, this knob works like a safe! Forty-two, seventy-six, four!"
Their teamwork calmed the Tardis. There were an extreme amount of sparks, but eventually, the rift died down and left the ship alone. It left them alone, and healed itself. They would be okay to leave as soon as the Doctor cleared them.
"Nicely done," He grinned. "Thank you all."
Rose's eyes scanned the floor, unsure. "What happened to Margaret?"
"Must've got burnt up." Jack didn't seem interested. "Carried out her own death sentence."
"No." The Doctor shook his head. "I don't think she's dead."
"Boo!" EJ groaned, slightly upset. It would have been nice if she'd died. "Can we try again?"
Rose furrowed her brows again. "Then where'd she go?"
"She looked into the heart of the Tardis. Even I don't know how strong that is. And the ships telepathic, like I told you Rose, it gets inside your head, translates alien languages."
"What?" EJ's eyes widened, suddenly enthralled and encapsulated by the idea. "I didn't know that. That's so cool."
"Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts."
The Doctor crouched on the floor beside the skin suit, and so the others followed his lead, even if it was disgusting. He poked around for a moment, before grasping onto a spherical object. When it was presented to them, EJ wanted to gag at how disgusting it was. It was a green egg, with three tentacle like accessories sticking from the top.
"Here she is."
Rose deadpanned. "She's an egg?"
"Regressed to her childhood." The Doctor shrugged.
Jack laughed, amused. "She's an egg!"
"She can start again."
EJ just kept grimacing at the look of the object, stopping himself from sicking up the chips he'd had for lunch. "It's an ugly looking egg."
"If we take her home, give her to a different family who bring her up properly, she might be alright."
Jack was being more pessimistic than everyone else. "Or she might be worse."
"That's her choice." The Doctor replied.
Rose's brows furrowed. "She's an egg."
The Doctor just kept grinning in response. "She's an egg."
"Oh my God." The blonde girl's eyes suddenly widened and she sprinted out of the door. "Mickey!"
Leaving just Jack, EJ and the Doctor, the latter decided it would be best to compliment the newly black haired Thompson boy. "Nice hair, by the way. Really suits you."
EJ grinned, and blushed slightly. "You're a little sweet talker, aren't you."
They had to wait for Rose to come back before they could go anywhere. After all the kerfuffle, they just needed a moment to pause. EJ sat down, and watched as the Doctor patched up a few places on the console.
She came back, eventually. It was the dead of night, still. Mickey didn't return with her, which only made EJ wonder what happened.
"We're all powered up. We can leave." The Doctor informed her as she stepped towards them. "Opening the rift filled us up with energy, we can go. If that's alright."
Rose nodded, but it sounded unsure. "Yeah, fine."
"How's Mickey?"
"He's okay." She replied, and that was when EJ noticed the tear stains on her face. She looked completely heartbroken. "He's gone."
The Doctor was trying his best to be empathetic towards her. "Do you wanna go and find him? We'll wait."
"No need. He deserves better."
"Don't be silly." EJ smiled, it didn't matter if he agreed or not. "You're great."
She offered a faint smile which was quickly shrouded by the Doctor's swiftness. "Off we go, then. Always moving on."
Jack grinned. "Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius. Now, you don't often get to say that."
"We'll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery." The Doctor nodded. "Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again. A second chance."
Rose sighed. "That'd be nice."
"You're telling me." EJ threw his head back. "I'd kill for one of those."
They left Cardiff that night, wasting no time on their next journey. The universe held a lot of beautiful things, and there were far too many stars that EJ would never be able to see them all, but he would try. The next journey would be just as good as the last. That was a promise.
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Disclaimer!!!
I do not own Doctor Who, it's characters and original storylines. The only things I do own are my own characters, my addition to the series and my own storylines. Any similarities to real life are purely coincidental.