Storm Warning, Part Four
Title: Storm Warning (4/10)
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Torchwood through Exit Wounds, Doctor Who through Journey's End.
Summary: The TARDIS makes her opinion known.
A/N: Fourth story within the Something the Starts with "S" AU, specifically the +25 year era. A fic requested by avon_09 based on a posting by her beta jo02.
PART THREE
Ianto watched the battle ensue on the main work floor of the base. The Doctor was like a kinetic sculpture, constantly moving but accomplishing nothing, while Branwen sat at her station with her arms crossed and an eyebrow cocked at the Time Lord. He looked over to where Martha and Jack were standing to the side, barely containing their mirth at the scene. Ianto's breath hitched as the Doctor pulled the pen-like device from his pocket and pointed it at the storage device sitting on Branwen's desk; followed by a frown as he pointed the device at himself then shook it and hit it with the flat of his hand.
Toshiko Sato's voice boomed through the cylindrical structure, "Unauthorized sonic manipulation device disabled." Ianto started down the staircase to get a better seat for the floor show.
The Doctor spun around, looking for the source of the voice, "Oi! That's my screwdriver! You don't muck with my screwdriver- now undo whatever you did." His face like a toddler about to throw a tantrum, "And how'd you do that?"
It was Franklin that walked over to the pouting Time Lord, "It's my fault sir. I built something once that broke all the glass in here and ever since, Tosh put a damper on anything that can do things like that. She's a little nervous about breaking glass." The Doctor stopped and looked at the little boy who was giving a look that probably was common to a Jack at the same age. Franklin continued, "Your thing will still work outside the base."
"Fine. This is coming with me!" The Doctor made to grab data device and found a Torchwood issued handgun pressed to his nose by Branwen, "Jack- I thought you said Torchwood changed!" The Doctor backed off slightly and shot daggers at Jack, who continued to barely contain his laughter.
"It has sir. In the old days, Torchwood would have locked you in a secured cell and impounded your vessel without a second thought," Ianto answered cooly. "But these days, we do expect at least basic manners from our guests- Bran," Ianto looked at his daughter, who nodded and put her gun away before picking up the data device and handing it to the Doctor. "Now, what do we say?"
Franklin pulled on the Doctor's jacket, causing him to turn and look down at the boy who quietly whispered behind his hand, "You're supposed to say 'thank you'."
"It's the last straw Jack; I can't let this go. Those fools raped her for years just so they could make those abominations." The Doctor was pointing at Jack's wristband with a look of hatred. "It stops now."
Ianto was watching from his position against one of the giant coral struts in the TARDIS console room as the Time Lord continued his tirade. Martha was sitting on the jump seat talking with Branwen; who Ianto noticed had subtly placed a small purple-tinged crystal on the strut behind her. Ianto watched with amusement as the crystal was slowly absorbed into the coral, leaving no trace.
"Doctor, do you hear any of us disagreeing?" Jack finally shouted at the Time Lord who stopped dead in his tracks. Franklin took that moment to press a button on the console which caused the exterior door to slam shut and the time rotor to begin its up and down movement. Ianto clenched his hands on the coral, only slightly surprised to feel a sense of warm calm in the back of his mind. Franklin quickly backed up to Ianto and held onto him tight.
"I didn't mean to do it Tad, the singing said to push it." Franklin's blue eyes were nearly black with fear, but Ianto just pulled him close.
Ianto was going to calm his son, but Jack chose that moment to speak, "It's okay Frankie. We were going anyway." Jack glared at the Doctor, "The question is, what are we going to do when they get there?" The Doctor started to build up his steam again and started raging.
"I'm going to stop them before they ever start. It will never happen." The Doctor reached for the console and quickly pulled his hand away at the shock he received, "Hey! I'm the boss here, you don't get a vote." He tried for the console again, this time the entire console went dark- only the time rotor still lit.
Franklin quietly whispered, "I guess she doesn't agree with him," then quickly clasped his hands over his mouth when his voice carried to the far corners of the room. His face flushed a familiar pink and he looked down at his feet, "Sorry."
Ianto rubbed his shoulders and Jack said rather pointedly, "You're right actually; the TARDIS is apparently smarter than the Doctor at the moment." Jack shot a look at him where he was still seething at the console, "You spent years berating me and my vortex manipulator on the outer chance that I'd mess with time; but you just said you were going to change the entire course of history."
The Doctor was about to bite back when Branwen cut him off, "You think we're a paradox, imagine the size of the paradox you'd be creating. No vortex manipulators would mean the Captain and you never met; he'd never have become immortal which would mean that Earth would have been destroyed by Abbadon long before the Daleks could have dragged it into the cascade. Humans would have become extinct in the twenty-first century, so you'd never meet many of your future or past companions. I doubt the universe would survive that level of hubris - even from you!" The Doctor visibly shrank away from Branwen as she stalked over to him, "But that's just details isn't it Doctor, you don't do details." Branwen placed her hand on the console, which lit back up and the time rotor stopped moving. "It appears we've arrived," she stepped away from the console and went to Jack and cocked an eyebrow.
The Doctor frowned as he read the readout on the console, "5114; Earth colony- oh no way," he turned to glare at Jack who had no clue what the Doctor was on about, "Villengard. Did you know Jack?"
Jack was confused, "Know that they were doing this? I hate to break it to you Doc, but even though this is my home time, I never actually lived through this era. When I left, they were still based on Earth. I guess they decided this was something too dangerous to have near the rift." Jack's expression went blank for a moment, which caught Ianto's attention.
"Jack, what do you remember?" Ianto's voice was soft, but enough to pull Jack back into the present.
"Just something John said the first time he showed up. He said the Agency was shut down and that there were only seven left." Jack looked at the Doctor, "It happens now, because I've already heard about it."
"Absolutely not. I am not staying behind!" Jack was fuming at them, "You have no idea what you're up against. The Time Agency isn't Torchwood- and you don't know the era; they will dust you so fast you won't even know that you've been removed from history!" Jack paced over to the Doctor, "You can't let them go. It's got to be me- remember, can't die?"
Branwen huffed and walked over to her father, "Enough of this." She put her hand on his shoulder and he fell back unconscious, "Can we get moving now?" The Doctor and Martha were both on their feet checking Jack while Ianto and Branwen hitched the packs onto their backs. "Franklin, stay here with aunt Martha and keep an eye on Captain Dad. If he tries to follow us, give him the waterworks." Franklin sat on the floor and held his father's hand while nodding to his sister. "Doctor, we need to get going." Branwen turned and headed out the door of the TARDIS followed by Ianto.
The Doctor looked up like a gaping fish, then back down at Jack and then to Martha, "Blimey, I don't even want to imagine what she'd do if she was mad!" The Doctor hit several keys on the console which went dark, "I've secured the systems- once I walk out that door, it won't open again from the inside unless you enter the code. It's your phone number, but don't let Jack know- he needs to stay out of this time stream." Martha nodded to the Doctor and he ran out the door, slamming it behind him.
Franklin sat holding Jack's hand, looking at Martha, "He'll wake up in about ten minutes; Bran's stunner never keeps him down for long."
PART FIVE
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Torchwood through Exit Wounds, Doctor Who through Journey's End.
Summary: The TARDIS makes her opinion known.
A/N: Fourth story within the Something the Starts with "S" AU, specifically the +25 year era. A fic requested by avon_09 based on a posting by her beta jo02.
PART THREE
Ianto watched the battle ensue on the main work floor of the base. The Doctor was like a kinetic sculpture, constantly moving but accomplishing nothing, while Branwen sat at her station with her arms crossed and an eyebrow cocked at the Time Lord. He looked over to where Martha and Jack were standing to the side, barely containing their mirth at the scene. Ianto's breath hitched as the Doctor pulled the pen-like device from his pocket and pointed it at the storage device sitting on Branwen's desk; followed by a frown as he pointed the device at himself then shook it and hit it with the flat of his hand.
Toshiko Sato's voice boomed through the cylindrical structure, "Unauthorized sonic manipulation device disabled." Ianto started down the staircase to get a better seat for the floor show.
The Doctor spun around, looking for the source of the voice, "Oi! That's my screwdriver! You don't muck with my screwdriver- now undo whatever you did." His face like a toddler about to throw a tantrum, "And how'd you do that?"
It was Franklin that walked over to the pouting Time Lord, "It's my fault sir. I built something once that broke all the glass in here and ever since, Tosh put a damper on anything that can do things like that. She's a little nervous about breaking glass." The Doctor stopped and looked at the little boy who was giving a look that probably was common to a Jack at the same age. Franklin continued, "Your thing will still work outside the base."
"Fine. This is coming with me!" The Doctor made to grab data device and found a Torchwood issued handgun pressed to his nose by Branwen, "Jack- I thought you said Torchwood changed!" The Doctor backed off slightly and shot daggers at Jack, who continued to barely contain his laughter.
"It has sir. In the old days, Torchwood would have locked you in a secured cell and impounded your vessel without a second thought," Ianto answered cooly. "But these days, we do expect at least basic manners from our guests- Bran," Ianto looked at his daughter, who nodded and put her gun away before picking up the data device and handing it to the Doctor. "Now, what do we say?"
Franklin pulled on the Doctor's jacket, causing him to turn and look down at the boy who quietly whispered behind his hand, "You're supposed to say 'thank you'."
"It's the last straw Jack; I can't let this go. Those fools raped her for years just so they could make those abominations." The Doctor was pointing at Jack's wristband with a look of hatred. "It stops now."
Ianto was watching from his position against one of the giant coral struts in the TARDIS console room as the Time Lord continued his tirade. Martha was sitting on the jump seat talking with Branwen; who Ianto noticed had subtly placed a small purple-tinged crystal on the strut behind her. Ianto watched with amusement as the crystal was slowly absorbed into the coral, leaving no trace.
"Doctor, do you hear any of us disagreeing?" Jack finally shouted at the Time Lord who stopped dead in his tracks. Franklin took that moment to press a button on the console which caused the exterior door to slam shut and the time rotor to begin its up and down movement. Ianto clenched his hands on the coral, only slightly surprised to feel a sense of warm calm in the back of his mind. Franklin quickly backed up to Ianto and held onto him tight.
"I didn't mean to do it Tad, the singing said to push it." Franklin's blue eyes were nearly black with fear, but Ianto just pulled him close.
Ianto was going to calm his son, but Jack chose that moment to speak, "It's okay Frankie. We were going anyway." Jack glared at the Doctor, "The question is, what are we going to do when they get there?" The Doctor started to build up his steam again and started raging.
"I'm going to stop them before they ever start. It will never happen." The Doctor reached for the console and quickly pulled his hand away at the shock he received, "Hey! I'm the boss here, you don't get a vote." He tried for the console again, this time the entire console went dark- only the time rotor still lit.
Franklin quietly whispered, "I guess she doesn't agree with him," then quickly clasped his hands over his mouth when his voice carried to the far corners of the room. His face flushed a familiar pink and he looked down at his feet, "Sorry."
Ianto rubbed his shoulders and Jack said rather pointedly, "You're right actually; the TARDIS is apparently smarter than the Doctor at the moment." Jack shot a look at him where he was still seething at the console, "You spent years berating me and my vortex manipulator on the outer chance that I'd mess with time; but you just said you were going to change the entire course of history."
The Doctor was about to bite back when Branwen cut him off, "You think we're a paradox, imagine the size of the paradox you'd be creating. No vortex manipulators would mean the Captain and you never met; he'd never have become immortal which would mean that Earth would have been destroyed by Abbadon long before the Daleks could have dragged it into the cascade. Humans would have become extinct in the twenty-first century, so you'd never meet many of your future or past companions. I doubt the universe would survive that level of hubris - even from you!" The Doctor visibly shrank away from Branwen as she stalked over to him, "But that's just details isn't it Doctor, you don't do details." Branwen placed her hand on the console, which lit back up and the time rotor stopped moving. "It appears we've arrived," she stepped away from the console and went to Jack and cocked an eyebrow.
The Doctor frowned as he read the readout on the console, "5114; Earth colony- oh no way," he turned to glare at Jack who had no clue what the Doctor was on about, "Villengard. Did you know Jack?"
Jack was confused, "Know that they were doing this? I hate to break it to you Doc, but even though this is my home time, I never actually lived through this era. When I left, they were still based on Earth. I guess they decided this was something too dangerous to have near the rift." Jack's expression went blank for a moment, which caught Ianto's attention.
"Jack, what do you remember?" Ianto's voice was soft, but enough to pull Jack back into the present.
"Just something John said the first time he showed up. He said the Agency was shut down and that there were only seven left." Jack looked at the Doctor, "It happens now, because I've already heard about it."
"Absolutely not. I am not staying behind!" Jack was fuming at them, "You have no idea what you're up against. The Time Agency isn't Torchwood- and you don't know the era; they will dust you so fast you won't even know that you've been removed from history!" Jack paced over to the Doctor, "You can't let them go. It's got to be me- remember, can't die?"
Branwen huffed and walked over to her father, "Enough of this." She put her hand on his shoulder and he fell back unconscious, "Can we get moving now?" The Doctor and Martha were both on their feet checking Jack while Ianto and Branwen hitched the packs onto their backs. "Franklin, stay here with aunt Martha and keep an eye on Captain Dad. If he tries to follow us, give him the waterworks." Franklin sat on the floor and held his father's hand while nodding to his sister. "Doctor, we need to get going." Branwen turned and headed out the door of the TARDIS followed by Ianto.
The Doctor looked up like a gaping fish, then back down at Jack and then to Martha, "Blimey, I don't even want to imagine what she'd do if she was mad!" The Doctor hit several keys on the console which went dark, "I've secured the systems- once I walk out that door, it won't open again from the inside unless you enter the code. It's your phone number, but don't let Jack know- he needs to stay out of this time stream." Martha nodded to the Doctor and he ran out the door, slamming it behind him.
Franklin sat holding Jack's hand, looking at Martha, "He'll wake up in about ten minutes; Bran's stunner never keeps him down for long."
PART FIVE