Life Less Ordinary, Chapter 8
Chapter Title: Small Universe
Author: stormwolf10
Character/Pairing: Ten!Too/Rose, a special super-secret character ;)
Rating: PG-13 (or R, if you're really sensitive about language)
Summary: At the Black Hole Bar and Space Station, you meet all sorts of people. Sometimes, you meet people you'd prefer you hadn't.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, or any of it's canon characters, but a girl can dream, can't she?
Author's Notes: I wrote this during the madcap month of NaNoWriMo. I may have failed spectacularly on the wordcount front, but at least it gave me an idea.
Rose couldn't help but laugh as she looked around, peering up at the gaudy neon sign that read The Black Hole Pub and Space Station, ”So, you've brought me to what looks to be the seediest pub in the universe. Nice."
"What would be the fun to take you to a plain, boring pub with nice, normal people sipping at martinis?" the Doctor retorted with a snort of derision, "That would boring! This is where you can watch real life happening, Rose."
"Yeah, well, if you get mugged in your nice, expensive-looking suit, don't blame me."
The Doctor rolled his eyes and took Rose's hand to lead her off towards the bar. It was, indeed, the largest bar Rose had ever seen. The brushed metal counter stretched along the wall to either direction as far as she could see, dotted every six feet or so with a bartender that seemed to be competing with his or her neighbors for customers. A menagerie of alien races sat on stools and drank from glasses filled with a rainbow of colored liquids. Rose could recognize some races, but most were completely foreign to her.
"Think of it something like a street market of booze," the Doctor commented with a grin, "Each bartender rents their section of the bar and competes with the others to bring the punters in."
Rose looked around at all the people either calling for drinks or calling customers in. "Does the competition ever get rough?" she asked.
The Doctor shook his head. "Not anymore. The owners of the space station started chucking folks out into space as punishment for that sort of thing about fifty years ago when some of them started poisoning the drinks of the competitions' customers. It got so bad that people stopped coming, and that killed revenue for the station."
"A bit extreme, don't you think?"
He paused, pondering the question for a moment, and then simply said, "They were killing customers by the thousands." Before Rose could respond, the Doctor steered her towards one of the less-crowded areas and settled himself down on one of the bar stools.
A shapely cat woman with a coat of long, grey tabby fur leaned forward and grinned, purring, "What can I get for you and your lady-friend, love?"
"Two supernovas if you don't mind," the Doctor replied, giving Rose a wide, cheeky grin. It always worried her when he gave her that look. It meant he was in an adventurous mood and dragging her along for the ride.
"Alright, what's a supernova?" Rose muttered quietly to the Doctor.
"Well, it's when a star--OW!" he hissed, rubbing his arm where Rose had just slapped it, "Alright, it's...well...a drink. You'll see."
Rose lifted a brow, and then the other joined it's mate as the feline barmaid slid two glasses of bright red liquid that was belching steam towards them. "It's not going to kill me, is it?" she asked hesitantly, peering at it.
"Oi!" the barmaid snapped, sounding quite put out, "What business would I get if I kept killin' the punters, hm? It's safe, missy. Just don't try to drink it all at once or you'll find y'self on the floor before I can get another round in ya."
"Right."
Rose and the Doctor exchanged a look. His was one of mirth, but hers practically shouted, "I'm going to kill you for this." They both wrapped their hands around their respective glasses, took a small sip, and came up sputtering and wheezing.
================================================
The evening went on at a more sedate pace, with the two of them idly sipping at far less hair-curling drinks as they watched the crowd go by. Every now and then, they’d spot a brawl in the distance, or some shady dealings at a nearby table, but neither of them felt too inclined to stop it. As Rose reminded the Doctor, they were on their day off, and it certainly didn’t look like anyone was interested in planetary takeovers or universe-destroying plots. Still, something was tingling at the back of the Doctor’s senses, and as the minutes went by, he became more and more hyper-aware of what was going on around him, trying to find what - or who - was the cause of it.
And then, something in his senses snapped into full clarity. It felt like the time lines around them tightened, warped, and then focused on one spot…right behind Rose.
“Hey there, gorgeous, care for a drink?”
Both Rose and the Doctor froze. Rose looked up to the Doctor for suggestions, but his gaze was fixed over her head, staring at the man behind her. Slowly, she turned, and found herself staring into very familiar blue eyes. “Oh, uh, hello,” she stammered, “No thanks, I’m with the Doctor...” Her voice faded off as she motioned vaguely behind her. This is not Jack, she reminded herself, Just like the Jackie Tyler in this universe wasn’t my mum. This isn’t our Captain Jack.
The man who was not Jack grinned slowly and leaned on the bar as he gave Rose a lascivious once-over, and then did the same to the Doctor, who shifted uncomfortably on his bar stool. “Well, he can have a drink, too, if he wants. I’m not picky.”
“I guess some things stay the same, even across the universes,” the Doctor muttered under his breath, and Rose had to force herself not to snicker at that. Which really wasn’t hard, considering how shell-shocked she felt at encountering this universe’s Jack Harkness.
Clearing her throat, Rose shook her head again. “Yeah, well, I’m a bit exclusive, Mr…”
“Captain. Captain Jack Harkness, at your service, pretty lady. And what’s your name?”
“Rose…Rose Tyler. And this is the Doctor.”
But Jack wasn’t listening. His head snapped to the left as he heard the pounding of boots on the metal floor of the station. Cursing under his breath, Jack tried to back away into the crowd, but it was too late. He, Rose and the Doctor were surrounded by men and women holding very impressive looking rifles at the three of them.
An imposing looking woman with black hair pulled back into a severe knot stepped forward, crossing her arms over her chest. “Jack Harkness, you and your accomplices will come with us.”
“Accomplices?!” Rose snapped, but the Doctor put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed tight, whispering for her to hush, lest these soldiers had itchy trigger fingers.
Jack straightened and raised his hands with a smirk. “Well, an entire squad of Time Agents. I’m flattered. To what do I owe this honor?”
“Don’t play games, Harkness,” the woman replied curtly, “Just be glad that, as a Time Agent, you’re under our jurisdiction, rather than the Shadow Proclamation. Their Jadoon thugs would have shot you on sight.”
“I’m not so sure that’s the upside, really.”
“You seem to be under the delusion that you have a choice.” At her words, the rest of the Agents cocked their rifles and took aim.
The Doctor jumped up and threw himself between them. “Woah, now! Do you really think that high-powered weapons in the middle of a crowded bar is really necessary? You could kill someone.”
The woman’s gaze flicked sharply to the Doctor. “If anyone gets in the way, we will reimburse their next of kin.”
“That’s…not an answer I was expecting,” he sighed, and then yelped as Jack grabbed his arm and tugged, kicking the legs out from under the nearest Time Agent as he made a break for it, pulling the Doctor with him.
“Rose, c’mon!” the Doctor shouted over his shoulder as he struggled to keep up with Jack while shots rang out above their heads and chaos filled the station. A mass of people slammed into them from all angles, but Jack shouldered his way through until they finally ducked into a nearby hallway and collapsed against the wall, panting for breath. And then, a heavy feeling washed over him and he looked around to find that Rose wasn’t with them.
“Shit,” Jack spat as he peered over the crowd. The Doctor followed his line of sight, and rage started to boil in his gut as he watched a crowd of agents struggling to restrain her. Blond hair whipped about as Rose tried to fight them off, but there were too many of them.
“Rose!” the Doctor screamed and ran back into the roiling sea of people, shoving them aside with more strength than he thought he had, but again strong hands tightened around his arms and he was yanked back into the hallway and slammed into the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him.
“Are you insane?” Jack snarled into his ear, “The only thing that would have accomplished is getting you shot along with her.”
“This is all your fault,” he spat back at the Captain, “They wanted you for God knows what, and now they have Rose instead!”
“And as long as they think they can use her as collateral, she’s safe. She won’t be if you try to play the hero.”
The Doctor slumped against the cold wall and ran a shaking hand down his face. Just a drink before going home, that’s all he wanted. Instead, an alternative version of Jack Harkness manages to get Rose captured by Time Agents with guns. He should have known better.
“Come on,” he said sharply, spinning on his heel before striding down the hallway.
“Where are we going?” Jack asked as he jogged behind him to catch up.
“We’re going to my ship to try to get information on where they’ve taken Rose, and then you’re going to tell me what you’ve done to cause them to come after you like this.”
Author: stormwolf10
Character/Pairing: Ten!Too/Rose, a special super-secret character ;)
Rating: PG-13 (or R, if you're really sensitive about language)
Summary: At the Black Hole Bar and Space Station, you meet all sorts of people. Sometimes, you meet people you'd prefer you hadn't.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, or any of it's canon characters, but a girl can dream, can't she?
Author's Notes: I wrote this during the madcap month of NaNoWriMo. I may have failed spectacularly on the wordcount front, but at least it gave me an idea.
Rose couldn't help but laugh as she looked around, peering up at the gaudy neon sign that read The Black Hole Pub and Space Station, ”So, you've brought me to what looks to be the seediest pub in the universe. Nice."
"What would be the fun to take you to a plain, boring pub with nice, normal people sipping at martinis?" the Doctor retorted with a snort of derision, "That would boring! This is where you can watch real life happening, Rose."
"Yeah, well, if you get mugged in your nice, expensive-looking suit, don't blame me."
The Doctor rolled his eyes and took Rose's hand to lead her off towards the bar. It was, indeed, the largest bar Rose had ever seen. The brushed metal counter stretched along the wall to either direction as far as she could see, dotted every six feet or so with a bartender that seemed to be competing with his or her neighbors for customers. A menagerie of alien races sat on stools and drank from glasses filled with a rainbow of colored liquids. Rose could recognize some races, but most were completely foreign to her.
"Think of it something like a street market of booze," the Doctor commented with a grin, "Each bartender rents their section of the bar and competes with the others to bring the punters in."
Rose looked around at all the people either calling for drinks or calling customers in. "Does the competition ever get rough?" she asked.
The Doctor shook his head. "Not anymore. The owners of the space station started chucking folks out into space as punishment for that sort of thing about fifty years ago when some of them started poisoning the drinks of the competitions' customers. It got so bad that people stopped coming, and that killed revenue for the station."
"A bit extreme, don't you think?"
He paused, pondering the question for a moment, and then simply said, "They were killing customers by the thousands." Before Rose could respond, the Doctor steered her towards one of the less-crowded areas and settled himself down on one of the bar stools.
A shapely cat woman with a coat of long, grey tabby fur leaned forward and grinned, purring, "What can I get for you and your lady-friend, love?"
"Two supernovas if you don't mind," the Doctor replied, giving Rose a wide, cheeky grin. It always worried her when he gave her that look. It meant he was in an adventurous mood and dragging her along for the ride.
"Alright, what's a supernova?" Rose muttered quietly to the Doctor.
"Well, it's when a star--OW!" he hissed, rubbing his arm where Rose had just slapped it, "Alright, it's...well...a drink. You'll see."
Rose lifted a brow, and then the other joined it's mate as the feline barmaid slid two glasses of bright red liquid that was belching steam towards them. "It's not going to kill me, is it?" she asked hesitantly, peering at it.
"Oi!" the barmaid snapped, sounding quite put out, "What business would I get if I kept killin' the punters, hm? It's safe, missy. Just don't try to drink it all at once or you'll find y'self on the floor before I can get another round in ya."
"Right."
Rose and the Doctor exchanged a look. His was one of mirth, but hers practically shouted, "I'm going to kill you for this." They both wrapped their hands around their respective glasses, took a small sip, and came up sputtering and wheezing.
================================================
The evening went on at a more sedate pace, with the two of them idly sipping at far less hair-curling drinks as they watched the crowd go by. Every now and then, they’d spot a brawl in the distance, or some shady dealings at a nearby table, but neither of them felt too inclined to stop it. As Rose reminded the Doctor, they were on their day off, and it certainly didn’t look like anyone was interested in planetary takeovers or universe-destroying plots. Still, something was tingling at the back of the Doctor’s senses, and as the minutes went by, he became more and more hyper-aware of what was going on around him, trying to find what - or who - was the cause of it.
And then, something in his senses snapped into full clarity. It felt like the time lines around them tightened, warped, and then focused on one spot…right behind Rose.
“Hey there, gorgeous, care for a drink?”
Both Rose and the Doctor froze. Rose looked up to the Doctor for suggestions, but his gaze was fixed over her head, staring at the man behind her. Slowly, she turned, and found herself staring into very familiar blue eyes. “Oh, uh, hello,” she stammered, “No thanks, I’m with the Doctor...” Her voice faded off as she motioned vaguely behind her. This is not Jack, she reminded herself, Just like the Jackie Tyler in this universe wasn’t my mum. This isn’t our Captain Jack.
The man who was not Jack grinned slowly and leaned on the bar as he gave Rose a lascivious once-over, and then did the same to the Doctor, who shifted uncomfortably on his bar stool. “Well, he can have a drink, too, if he wants. I’m not picky.”
“I guess some things stay the same, even across the universes,” the Doctor muttered under his breath, and Rose had to force herself not to snicker at that. Which really wasn’t hard, considering how shell-shocked she felt at encountering this universe’s Jack Harkness.
Clearing her throat, Rose shook her head again. “Yeah, well, I’m a bit exclusive, Mr…”
“Captain. Captain Jack Harkness, at your service, pretty lady. And what’s your name?”
“Rose…Rose Tyler. And this is the Doctor.”
But Jack wasn’t listening. His head snapped to the left as he heard the pounding of boots on the metal floor of the station. Cursing under his breath, Jack tried to back away into the crowd, but it was too late. He, Rose and the Doctor were surrounded by men and women holding very impressive looking rifles at the three of them.
An imposing looking woman with black hair pulled back into a severe knot stepped forward, crossing her arms over her chest. “Jack Harkness, you and your accomplices will come with us.”
“Accomplices?!” Rose snapped, but the Doctor put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed tight, whispering for her to hush, lest these soldiers had itchy trigger fingers.
Jack straightened and raised his hands with a smirk. “Well, an entire squad of Time Agents. I’m flattered. To what do I owe this honor?”
“Don’t play games, Harkness,” the woman replied curtly, “Just be glad that, as a Time Agent, you’re under our jurisdiction, rather than the Shadow Proclamation. Their Jadoon thugs would have shot you on sight.”
“I’m not so sure that’s the upside, really.”
“You seem to be under the delusion that you have a choice.” At her words, the rest of the Agents cocked their rifles and took aim.
The Doctor jumped up and threw himself between them. “Woah, now! Do you really think that high-powered weapons in the middle of a crowded bar is really necessary? You could kill someone.”
The woman’s gaze flicked sharply to the Doctor. “If anyone gets in the way, we will reimburse their next of kin.”
“That’s…not an answer I was expecting,” he sighed, and then yelped as Jack grabbed his arm and tugged, kicking the legs out from under the nearest Time Agent as he made a break for it, pulling the Doctor with him.
“Rose, c’mon!” the Doctor shouted over his shoulder as he struggled to keep up with Jack while shots rang out above their heads and chaos filled the station. A mass of people slammed into them from all angles, but Jack shouldered his way through until they finally ducked into a nearby hallway and collapsed against the wall, panting for breath. And then, a heavy feeling washed over him and he looked around to find that Rose wasn’t with them.
“Shit,” Jack spat as he peered over the crowd. The Doctor followed his line of sight, and rage started to boil in his gut as he watched a crowd of agents struggling to restrain her. Blond hair whipped about as Rose tried to fight them off, but there were too many of them.
“Rose!” the Doctor screamed and ran back into the roiling sea of people, shoving them aside with more strength than he thought he had, but again strong hands tightened around his arms and he was yanked back into the hallway and slammed into the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him.
“Are you insane?” Jack snarled into his ear, “The only thing that would have accomplished is getting you shot along with her.”
“This is all your fault,” he spat back at the Captain, “They wanted you for God knows what, and now they have Rose instead!”
“And as long as they think they can use her as collateral, she’s safe. She won’t be if you try to play the hero.”
The Doctor slumped against the cold wall and ran a shaking hand down his face. Just a drink before going home, that’s all he wanted. Instead, an alternative version of Jack Harkness manages to get Rose captured by Time Agents with guns. He should have known better.
“Come on,” he said sharply, spinning on his heel before striding down the hallway.
“Where are we going?” Jack asked as he jogged behind him to catch up.
“We’re going to my ship to try to get information on where they’ve taken Rose, and then you’re going to tell me what you’ve done to cause them to come after you like this.”