InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "R.E.S.P.E.C.T you need it"

The Doctor (not_your_tardis) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2012-06-16 20:28:00

Entry tags:

jack harkness, jonathan crane, rose tyler, the doctor (10)

Who: The Doctor and Open
What: Having given his temper several days to decide, The Doctor visits a lake, sees Jack, and ends up getting in a fight with a very strange thing and....RUNNING!
Where: The Lake, and surrounding grounds, possibly spilling out into the city.
When: Saturday, June 16th, late evening
Rating: Likely PG - now updated to R, for language.
Notes: Random Scenes make me happy!

It had been one of his worst days ever, and since, he'd not run, but walked. He'd walked, and walked, being careful to stay away from any would be passerby, from anyone who might have spoke to him, from anyone who might have talked to him at all. The Doctor knew, understood, what his temper could do. He knew, better than anyone could have imagined, because he'd been there. He'd been the one to think it, to see it unfold in front of him, to make it happen. He'd been the catalyst for the greatest undoing, the greatest legends, across time and space - and he knew better than to risk subjecting anyone else to that.

His message had been heard, of that he was certain, but The Doctor gave no reply as he wandered the streets of this new city with a downcast gaze and tattered suit. He now understood just what was in front of him. Rose was here, Martha was here, even River Song was here. There was, of course, The Master as well, and several other voices he did not recognize. Everyone though, save three, and the voice of a child, were all reminders of how he'd failed and he wasn't entirely convinced the others weren't part of some strange time stream of his either, given how non-nonchalantly they'd responded.

At least now he knew that Molly had been telling the truth, and that meant there were others out there, another Doctor, at the very least - and that was never a good thing. The Doctor had struggled to find his bearings, wandering the city, trying to think. Did he trust The Master, was Wilfred really going to be fine? How could he even have known who he was talking about unless..

The Doctor didn't even finish the thought. There was no need. If it was The Master, somehow making his way back from the other side of the Time Lock, this place wouldn't look like this at all. There would be no park, no lake, no buildings, no city, no people. The Time Lords would have erased it all, and it simply never would have been. There was at least a small comfort in that, as he approached the edge of the lake, dropping down to his haunches to run his fingers through the blades of grass. He sighed, softly, whispering to himself the one question he always seemed to be asking himself.

"What do I do now?"

His dark eyes drifted skyward, as if the stars themselves might have an answer or, at the very least, a TARDIS.

That would have been nice.

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timeaftertime
2012-06-17 05:04 am UTC (link)

"Wait, what are you talking about? You tried to play God?" Jack got the feeling he was missing a fair bit of context there; had the Doctor done something he regretted after catching Wilfred up in it? Was Wilfred trying to stop something? Obviously, the Doctor felt absolutely horrible about whatever it was.

Then he remembered talking with the next Doctor about timelines, and about the Master coming back to life in that other universe. Now him playing God and getting people killed for it, Jack could easily envision. Maybe this Doctor was from the same one after all.

"Doctor-- I get the whole heroic sacrifice thing, you know that. And being completely bewildered when you're somehow alive when you were sure you weren't going to be. But if I'm following right, you're saying you were going to sacrifice yourself for someone who asked you not to. What happened?"

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not_your_tardis
2012-06-17 05:15 am UTC (link)

"All I had to do..All I had to do, was push a button. Just one button. My hand was almost touching it..and the next thing I know, I'm standing in a library." That was the truth of it, or as much as he'd want to say. The Doctor was really quite good at dodging questions he didn't want to answer and this instance would be no different. "And after the day I've had.." He didn't finish the sentence at first and, for a long moment, fell silent.

"I just wanted one. One more win. One last, really, good day." He said with a tremor in his voice that began at the bottom of his hearts. "One last day where everybody lives, where The Doctor saves the day and flies off in his box. One last day where everybody laughs and lives at the end of the day, but what did I get? I got stolen away." His lips pursed into a deep scowl.

"And you?" He figured establishing timelines was probably important.

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timeaftertime
2012-06-17 05:29 am UTC (link)

"I'm thinking Asaph grabbing someone who just had one button to push to save someone's life is one of the biggest asshole moves I've heard of from him."

He could tell there was some dodging going on, but the Doctor seemed determined to do it and Jack knew it'd take awhile to pull out answers. If he got too direct, the Doctor would just shut him out and change the subject. Jack would have to piece together the hinting and emotions until the Doctor was willing to really say anything.

"'Everybody lives'. I remember that. That'd be the way to go. But what made it the last day, anyway?"

Right, it was always important to check on that. Jack shrugged, and went for the faux-casual. "Things. Putting Cardiff back together after the Daleks stole Earth and we dragged it back, after it'd already been wrecked because my brother came back with one hell of a grudge. Trying to keep up with the Rift with too few people and in-between random kidnappings to other realities. Oh, and I got married. It really would've helped if Martha and Mickey had joined the team like I wanted them to."

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not_your_tardis
2012-06-17 05:42 am UTC (link)

"Yeah.." He replied again in a soft and drifting tone. "Always was my favorite, that, and I never did get it often enough." He doubted he'd told such a serious truth in a very long time.

"Right. The great Cardiff Rift - hold on, you had a Brother? Bet he's a character." The Doctor mocked softly. "And you got married?" The Doctor asked seriously, before he posed the next question quite seriously. "Does she know?" They both knew to what The Doctor was asking.

"And you mean Martha Jones? She'd have done well with Torchwood - mind you, Osterhagen Key - can't say I saw that coming - can't say I liked it much either. No more teleporting I assume?"

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timeaftertime
2012-06-17 05:56 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, me too. I wish we had more of that. Usually we're lucky if anyone is reasonably intact and not too traumatized." Okay, maybe he wasn't just talking about times with the Doctor any more.

"Yeah. He was tortured into insanity and blamed me for it, buried me in the past, nearly blew up Cardiff, killed one of my best friends and got another one killed so... a character. I guess you could use that word. He's in stasis now." As much as he disagreed with how any of the Doctor's selves handled the Master, he knew the Doctor would understand keeping Gray alive. The scale of what Gray did was very different, anyway. At first, he was very confused by the marriage question, and then he laughed. "Hey! He knows! Everyone knows! I didn't secretly marry someone without anyone knowing about it!"

"Of course I mean Martha Jones! You think I'd have just any Martha? I was pretty shocked at that thing, too. She got rid of it, you know, after. I can't believe I missed that."

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not_your_tardis
2012-06-17 06:22 am UTC (link)

The Doctor was, to be entirely honest, relieved to hear that Jack had taken a different path when it came to the man, and one that didn't involve killing him at that. His features softened, the first sign of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. "Careful Jack." The Doctor warned, staring out over the water. "I just might change my mind about you."

Which was highly unlikely, and they both knew it. Still, The Doctor didn't deny he saw a lot of himself in Jack, likely due to their adventures together, but that didn't matter. Jack was, at the end of the day, a good person. Sure, he made every hair on his head want to jump up, and every muscle in his body told him to run away, but The Doctor had just learned to tune those things out.

"Him?" The Doctor questioned with a raised brow. "Right. Fifty first century. That's old news to you. Still, progressive for Twenty First Century Earth. What's his name? - and yes.." The Doctor replied, looking at Jack with a bit of a smug grin. "I do think you'd have any Martha. You're Jack Harkness..." His voice trailed off.

"..Anything that moves.." He teased.

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andintheendfear
2012-06-17 06:27 am UTC (link)

Jonathan stalked through the park, a near visible aura of rage around him. Yes, it had been several hours since the message, and Jonathan's ears were still ringing, pain lancing from them.

The loud ringing from the message had interacted unexpectedly with the brain damage left over from the toxin, sending the electrical impulses in his ears to go haywire.

He stormed up to the two men, eyes flashing behind his glasses. Without speaking he reared back, and landed a solid punch in the Doctor's face, hissing in pain as he did and drawing back, shaking his hand.

"Asshole." he hissed, glaring and nursing his wounded hand. "Owe."

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not_your_tardis
2012-06-17 06:34 am UTC (link)

The Doctor had been quite happy with this little chat, a rare thing with Jack it seemed, but all of that was shattered in a rush of skin, muscle, tendon, and bone. The Doctor didn't even have time to react and found his sprawling self really quite thankful he hadn't been wearing glasses, as he crashed into the dirt with a loud groan of surprise.

Followed by another expression of absolute rage.

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timeaftertime
2012-06-17 06:46 am UTC (link)

He glanced over at the Doctor and cracked a smile, coming more naturally to him than to the Doctor. "What, because I didn't execute my brother? Naaah, same old Jack. You know me."

It wasn't surprising that Jack would have a lot in common with the Doctor; Rose herself had seen it in them, and travelling with the Doctor had done a lot to shape who Jack had become. Their long lives and history of tragedies gave them a certain understanding as well. Despite the time apart, it was easy to fall back into their old banter.

"Yeah, gotta remember the times! You kinda 'met' him on screen, if you remember-- Ianto Jones. Got me a Jones." He laughed and flashed a grin back. "And I'd have that Martha in other circumstances. But no! Not anything that moves! I have my standards!"

The Doctor was calming down, actually making jokes, and Jack thought things were going to get better. They'd get that anger dealt with and find somewhere to settle the Doctor in. And then some psycho came up out of nowhere and punched the Doctor.

Jack was too shocked by the suddenness of it to catch the Doctor, but he soon enough got caught up in his fury as he threw his own fist in the assailant's face. "Oh, he's the asshole?! For hurting your hand with his face when you punched him?"

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andintheendfear
2012-06-17 06:57 am UTC (link)

Jonathan stumbled back as he was punched, holding his broken nose, tears filling his eyes. He opened his mouth to answer when a low, animistic growl spilled from him.

Eyes widening in horror, Jonathan opened his mouth again to warn them, and instead of even a growl, a cloud of Fear Toxin spilling out.

Jonathan stumbled back from the pair, trembling in fear, shaking his head in denial as a pain filled scream was wretched from him.

Clothing tore, skin splitting, Jonathan simply 'grew'. His body filled out, muscles rippling, being coated with a burlap 'skin', threaded through with yarn veins. The bones of his feet expanded, sinking into the grass, naked and visible wile black fur started sprouting over his arms, head and legs.

Straw started shooting out of his body, sticking out between the 'skin' and bones of his arms, legs and neck.

"Little toys..." the beast growled, more toxin being expelled with each breath. "Little toys that hurt little Crane..."

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not_your_tardis
2012-06-17 07:13 am UTC (link)

There was something about getting punched in the face by an effective stranger that had a way of making you very, very, angry. Then there was something about seeing the person get punched in return that was, even to The Doctor, at that moment, very, very, satisfying. Even in the face of it all he had no stomach for violence. Then, of course, there was something about seeing someone who just got punched in the face grow much, much, taller and start sprouting straw and oozing gas.

"Jack.." The Doctor spoke his name fervently, clambering to his feet and grabbing the other man by the arm. "Remember that thing we used to do a lot of back in the day?"

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timeaftertime
2012-06-17 07:18 am UTC (link)

Retaliatory punches were definitely satisfying for Jack, and he actually knew how to punch without hurting himself. The satisfaction, of course, was very short-lived. Usually, punching someone didn't start them morphing into some kind of gas-spewing straw-creature.

Jack brought up his free arm so the sleeve could help against the gas. "Yeah. Oh yeah. It's definitely coming back to me. RUN!"

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	not_your_tardis 2012-06-17 07:24 am UTC (link)
	"That's the one!" The Doctor replied, tugging his own arm up and over his face before tattered white shoes got down to that very thing. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	andintheendfear 2012-06-17 07:25 am UTC (link)
	"Little toys scared?" the beast asked, a grin crossing it's grotesque face, pointy teeth on full display. "Run, little toys!" he growled, lashing out at them with sharp claws, eager for the chase. He lumbered after them, toxing spewing behind as he occasionally swiped, laughing manically. "Chase, chase, chase, FEAR." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	timeaftertime 2012-06-17 07:33 am UTC (link)
	He would've hollered a response to the Doctor except he was a bit busy with the nose-covering and the running. He had no idea what that gas was, but it couldn't be anything good, considering the source. If nothing else, it might make their clothes stink. "I have a gun!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

not_your_tardis
2012-06-17 07:36 am UTC (link)

The Doctor just groaned as his legs broke them into a full sprint.

"What is it with you and guns!?" He shouted. "It's twelve feet tall and made of STRAW!! A cigarette would likely do more good against the thing or a blowtorch - don't suppose you've got one of those, have you?"

It was just like old times, so much so that The Doctor actually laughed

"Have you missed it?" He quipped as they moved deeper into the park, hoping the trees gave them cover.

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	andintheendfear 2012-06-17 07:42 am UTC (link)
	"Pretty little toys with pretty brown hairs..." Scarebeast said, managing to gain a bit of ground with a few leaps, reaching out, claws just barely brushing over the tips of the Doctor's air, giggling. "Can I play with little toys? Such soft skins..." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

timeaftertime
2012-06-17 07:48 am UTC (link)

The reach and gait really weren't fair, not that turning into a crazy monster was fair.

He yelled over at the Doctor, "I have to shoot things! I don't smoke! Do I look like I have a blowtorch?!"

He instinctively ducked when the creature reached for the Doctor and couldn't help laughing as well. Yeah, if he could laugh over running at the end of the universe, he could easily laugh in the park. "Hey, who're you calling little?!"

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	not_your_tardis 2012-06-17 07:50 am UTC (link)
	"I've seen you ride bombs!" The Doctor defended, arcing his figure to increase his speed a little better. "It seemed like a reasonable question!" The Doctor was pulling the screwdriver from his pocket, his eyes spinning around the park around them. Suddenly laser didn't sound so bad. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	andintheendfear 2012-06-17 07:53 am UTC (link)
	"Little toy two is mouthy...Like little toy two, little toy one useless and boring, Scream for me" ScareBeat roared, swiping at them again. There was a heavy panting sound from the beast, the toxin coming out in little puffs. "Little toys...fast..." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

timeaftertime
2012-06-17 07:57 am UTC (link)

"It was the Blitz! There were bombs aplenty! What are you gonna do, throw a yo-yo at it?!"

He didn't chance throwing off his balance to look back at the monster, but he had to wonder at the sounds he was hearing. Was the thing getting tired? Was it really a human transformed or something else? The swipe came close enough for the air to throw his coat about and he was very glad it didn't tear the fabric.

"Doc!" He threw out an arm to point at the lake.

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not_your_tardis
2012-06-17 08:03 am UTC (link)

"Better than you!" He shouted. "Trying to use a Banana as a gun! Mind you - I much prefer Bananas!"

The swipe and stumble was enough for The Doctor to stumble a step, the arm of his coat flapping away from his mouth for a moment before he tucked it back up against his face.

Was it..wheezing? Was it running out of Breath?

When Jack pointed at the lake The Doctor looked at him, quite serious. "Now is no time for a swim!"

Then it occurred to him and The Doctor started changing course, running straight at the lake.

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andintheendfear
2012-06-17 08:06 am UTC (link)

"Wrong...screaming..." Scarebreast yelled, stumbling after them.

Unfortunately, even for a creature for enhanced endurance, he could only use the reserves Jonathan had in the first place.

And Jonathan, for all his brilliance and medical training...didn't eat.

Scarebeast stumbled over his feet, collapsing to his hands, panting. A screaming growl was torn from his throat as his body shuddered and collapsed in on itself, shifting and mutating, leaving behind a naked Jonathan Crane who was clutching at the grass, as if trying to hold onto the ground.

The man was crying, soundless, but with large tears rolling down his cheeks, body shaking from strain and stress, bruises on his flesh from where the bones had shifted and mutated.

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timeaftertime
2012-06-17 08:11 am UTC (link)

"Because you tricked me! And it was sonic!"

He almost retorted when the Doctor caught on and veered towards the lake, Jack close with him.

Then the sounds behind them got very strange. Jack chanced a look both to see what they were and if the creature was following their changed course. The chase had abruptly ended, and Jack watched in confusion as the monster morphed into... well, a really pathetic sight.

"What in the..."

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	not_your_tardis 2012-06-17 08:20 am UTC (link)
	"It was still a gun!" The Doctor shouted back, only to follow suit moments later when the chase ended. He paused for a moment, before his brows knitted in confusion and the screwdriver was turned, in a semi-threatening manner..or as much as one could threaten with a sonic screwdriver anyway..toward the man. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)