Alternates (10/?)

[walkwithheroes]

Title: Alternates (10/?)
Author:

walkwithheroes
Rated: PG (for curse words)
Spoilers: Up to Doomsday
Word Count: 6,200
Disclaimer: The Doctor, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Jackie and Pete Tyler, Torchwood, etc, aren’t owned by me. The third narrative's dialog is taken directly (or pretty much directly) from the S1 and S2 Doctor Who trailers. I did not write those trailers, therefore the words in them are not mine.
Pairings: Ten/Rose, Alt!Eleven/Tess. Hints at others.
Summary: Another post-Doomsday fic. Everyone ends up where they need to be, which doesn't mean it's where they want to be.
Author's Note: The italic bits are ‘spoken’ by different people, ala Rose’s narration in ‘Doomsday’. Each companion will get a small narration, okay. Thanks to my beta for loving my cliffhangers. 

 

 I knew a man once. History will never remember him; though that is the way he would have wanted it. The important thing is that I remember him. He was a man with a traveling machine, who could change his face. He was simply called ‘The Doctor’. And one day, with a grin and a wink, he saved the whole of existence.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Earth, this is where I was born. This is where I died.

Once upon a time, I met a man called the Doctor. A man who laughed in the face of danger; a man who wasn’t a man; a man who took me away in his magic box. He showed me the whole of space and time. I thought it would last forever. But, then came the rips in time, the armies, the Torchwoods, and war on Earth.

This is a story of how the Doctor saved the universe. This is the story of how I died.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you wanta come wit' us?

Think you've seen it all?

'Cause if you do, we should warn you.

You should think again.

You're goin' t'see all sorts of things.

Once we step outside those doors, we might see anything.

Ghost from the past.

Terrifying monsters.

Aliens from the future.

Impossible things.

The day our home world died in balls of flames.

We'll find new worlds.

It won't be quiet, it won't be safe, and it won't be calm. But, I'll tell you what it will be.

It'll never be the same again.

The trip of a lifetime.

For the first eighteen years of my life, nothing happened to me. Nothing at all. I didn't live, I just existed. Then, I met the Doctor and everything changed. For the first time in my whole life, I lived. Actually lived. He took me away and showed me the wonders of the universe. . . the wonders of everything.

But then, it all ended. It ended in his death...in the death of everyone and everything I ever knew.

“This is so going to backfire.” Tess whispered to her lover. The pair leaned against a work table in one of Torchwood's labs. Together, they watched Pete Tyler and Mickey Smith carefully take out large, yellow things on strings from an iron box. “We'll probably end up on Mars or something.”

The alternate eleventh incarnation of the Doctor held back a laugh. “Maybe, Tess. 'Least things'll be calm.”

“Until my head explodes or somethin'.” Her Doctor gave her a look. “Mars...no...never mind.” She rolled her eyes upward. “And you call yourself smart.”

A couple of feet away from them, the mysterious Levi and Lily were whispering quietly; Tess took note that Jack Harkness was watching them. Leven and her Doctor were by the door, silently standing in pure awkwardness. Closest to Pete and Mickey, Rose and the Doctor in the camel colored coat were peering over Pete's shoulder. Clearly those two knew something about the machines that were to take them all back to their rightful Earths.

“Here's how this will work,” Pete began as he turned toward everyone. “You'll all put these on and press. They should bring you directly to your Earth's Torchwood headquarters in London. From there...well, you all know what to do.”

From her spot, Tess raised a hand. “Yeah, hi. Uh...what if we don't end up where will belong? Do we keep pressing until we 'port to the right place?”

Pete narrowed his eyes. “You stay.” A few people began to question that, his sanity, and a few other things. Pete held up a hand. “You have to. We can't afford to make any more rips than we have to. You stay, until the last possible moment, which is when the TARDISes will be leaving this world. If...if...you get brought to the wrong place or Earth, you stay where you are until the last possible second. Then, when you come back here, you try again. If it doesn't work that time...”

“Hope you end up in a place that shows your favorite program?” Tess asked with just the tiniest hint of humor in her voice.

Pete chose to ignore the question. “You'll all be fine. Jake and the lads spent all night tweaking these things.” He handed one to the Doctor nearest him, than one to Mickey, and another to Rose. “Come and get them, say your goodbyes, if you like. You'll all press at once, okay?”

Everyone seemed to agree to the plan.

Tess' Doctor placed a cold hand on the side of her face. “It'll be okay.”

Tess shrugged. “No...yeah...'course.” She briefly dug into her skirt pocket and pulled out the key to her front door. “Give it back to me, after...”

The Doctor grinned softly. “Brilliant.” He gingerly placed the key into one of the pockets of his jeans, before handing Tess his psychic paper. “Keep it for a bit, yeah?”

Levi hugged Lily close, breathing in the scent of her hair as he whispered: “We've been apart before. We could survive it again.”

“Don't go all human, Levi.” Lily whispered softly, her lips barely half an inch from his ear. “It's you for the win, remember?”

Levi's only response was to hug her tighter.

“Don't be so human, Pete's worked it out.” Lily paused in thought. “No, be human. 'Cause they've worked it out.”

Leven thought her Doctor's gaze was disconcerting. She glanced towards the door, to the other pairs of people, to anything but him. She concentrated on what Pete Tyler had just explained, on her maths, on the bookstore that her stepfather owned. She wanted to say something to him, but she didn't want to deal with him.

“If this could be the last time I see you, I want you to know I hate this shirt.” The Doctor stated flatly, though there was mischief in his eyes. “Hate it. Fashion in your time is so...ugly.”

Leven smiled at him despite herself. “When we get back home, after we save everybody...cause we will save them, we'll go find you a new shirt. A better shirt. A shirt that ain't brown and that don't got a high collar.” She slipped her small hand into his.

“You gonna stay with me?” He asked her, his voice lower and more pleading than he wanted it to be.

“Yeah.” Leven's smile grew wider. “For as long as ya want me too.”

The Doctor knew that meant she'd stay forever, and for that he was truly grateful.

Rose hugged her father, Mickey, Jack, and finally her Doctor. She felt rather foolish for hugging all of them, but she also knew she'd never see many of them again. “I just...” Rose began, but was cut off by Mickey.

“We know, Rose.” He offered her a large grin.

“Rick-Mickey's right.” Jack agreed with a sharp nod. “Besides, we should clearly be taking this moment to discuss how truly in love we all are with one another.” He gestured toward the other pairs of Doctors and companions.

The Doctor and Rose shared a look, before Rose softly giggled. She felt for the others, but she'd also felt embarrassed about wanting to have a moment alone with the Doctor. She reached out and took his hand, instead.

Rose opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped by Pete, who began speaking again. “You're all ready, press on three.

One.

Two...

Three.”

And just like that, in a flash of several brilliant lights they were all gone, and Pete was alone. He glanced around the room, praying they had all ended up where they needed to be.

The first thing that Jack noticed was that it smelt faintly of oil; the first thing he felt was someone's hand reaching out for his coat sleeve. Opening one eye and then the other, Jack found himself looking into darkness.

“Doctor?” The voice was female and familiar. “Levi?”

Lily.

“ 'Fraid not.” Lily moved her hand away from his coat. In the darkness, Jack rolled his eyes. “Looks like Pete's little devices didn't work so well, huh?”

Lily chose to ignore Jack's obvious question. Instead, she let her hand slide up against the wall nearest to her. “I believe we're in a cupboard.” With a small push, the wall, or rather the door, swung open. Without a care in the world Lily walked out.

Jack followed suit, asking: “Since I'm here, where do you suppose your Levi is?” With a quick look around the room, he took in the fact that the two of them were apparently in some kind of lab. It was a Torchwood building, that he knew. “Nobody's home. That's always a good sign!”

Running a hand over one of the lab tables, Lily discovered a thick layer of dust. “Perhaps, this lab just doesn't get used a lot. Maybe the head of Torchwood used some funds for new labs that are located in a different area of the building...” She glanced back to see Jack raising an eyebrow. Lily blushed and didn't meet his gaze. “I'm guessing.”

Jack only stared at her, his face unreadable. She nervously cleared her throat, before going on. “Levi's not here. I thought...he's not coming, is he?”

“No,” Jack told her in a soothing voice. For a moment, he reminded Lily of a parent trying to comfort a scared child. “He's not. He must be on one of the other Earths.” Moving toward her, Jack went on. “I know your first thought is to press that little thing around your neck and go find him, but you can't. It's me and you in this, together. No Time Lords are coming to our rescue.”

Lily knew he was right, she knew her first impulse was to find Levi, but she also knew she was trying to save several universes. Her own small needs were nothing compared to the overall scheme of things. Still, she needed Levi; needed him in more ways than the man before her could ever know.

Jack moved as close to her as he dared to get. “It's okay, Lily. We need to get out of this room... Find the leaders of this Torchwood.”

“I...I can't.” Jack could see the glowing tears forming in her eyes. “Levi's the Doctor. I'm just...just the girl.”

“No way.” He smiled warmly at her, trying to ignore her glowing tears. He wasn't totally sure what they meant, but he knew it wasn't good. He had to try and calm her down. “Clearly, you've played the hero role once or twice.”

Lily's lips formed a soft smile. “Once or twice. It's just been such a long time since I've been anything but the companion.” She sniffed, wiped some tears from her eyes, and slowly stood taller. “Look at me, carrying on! I'm so sorry, Jack...”

Jack shrugged dismissively. “Yeah, well...” He briefly considered asking Lily if she needed a hug, but decided against it. There was work to be done, after all. “...We should get going.”

“Uh...yeah.” Lily offered him a small smile, before turning away.

Jack watched Lily walk to the large iron doors of the lab, before quickly jogging to catch up with her. He wasn't sure it was such a good idea to just walk on out. In fact, he was about to tell her so when she opened one of the large doors. The two of them gasped in shock, stumbling backward a few steps. Without thinking, Lily grabbed onto Jack's hand. Several heavily armed men stared back at the duo.

“Hi! Yes, hello! Sorry. I know how this must seem, but it really...Sorry!” Lily rambled on, trying to regain her composure.

Feeling strangely protective, Jack moved himself in front of Lily. “Hi there, Captain Jack Harkness. This lovely woman is Lily Tyler. We're here...”

“To help!” Lily jumped in. “We're here to help, with your problem.” The heavily armed men continued to stare at the pair. “You do have a problem, don't you?”

The soldiers raised their guns and aimed them at Jack and Lily. Jack stumbled backward into Lily, who moved back a few steps.

“We don't have any weapons. Put your damn guns down!” He'd be okay, but he was worried about Lily.

Their guns still raised, the soldiers took aim.

Jack held tightly to Lily's hand.

Lily closed her eyes tightly. “Gallifrey Proclamation, section two, paragraph eight!” The soldiers suddenly lowered their weapons.

Jack looked back at Lily. “What?”

“They have to take us to the head of this Torchwood,” she filled in quickly. Her eyes narrowed coldly on the people in front of them. “Gallifrey Proclamation.”

“Lily...”

“No. Jack...Gallifrey Proclamation. Signed by the Doctor himself, last of the Time Lords.”

The weapons were lowered. Lily tightened her hand around his and Jack felt a goofy grin form over his lips.

“Boys, take us to your leader.”

If had felt like someone had turned her insides outside; like she had gone on one of those carnival rides that turned a person upside down, while dangling them several feet in the air. And, just like that, it was over and she found herself staring into her Doctor's warm gaze.

She felt a small laugh escape her lips. “I was scared that we wouldn't be together.”

“Oh, Leven.” The Doctor shook his head in disappointment. “Not even inter-reality travel can break up a duo like us.” His eyes sparkled with happiness. “We are partners in crime.” Reaching out, he took her soft hand in his. “Now, where are we?”

Tearing her eyes away from her Doctor's, Leven glanced around their new surroundings. The place looked remarkably like the fancy loo of an upscale loft. It also appeared as if Leven and the Doctor were standing in the middle of a tub.

“Oh, dear.” Leven breathed. “This isn't Torchwood, is it?”

“Well, to be perfectly fair, I don't recall us having a Torchwood.” The Doctor told Leven with a smile. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, before climbing out of the tub. “Let's just hope no one's home, yeah?”

Leven allowed the Doctor to help her out of the tub, before saying: “Yeah. Wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea, would we? 'Sides, we're trying to stop universes from bleeding into one another. That means...”

“No time for coppers getting in the way.” The Doctor finished for her with another charming smile. “We have to be quick, in control, completely at ease, and above all else,” he gave Leven a serious look, “not let our emotions get in the way. That means...”

“I can't visit Mummy, Mr. Jones, and my cousin Alex,” Leven finished with a knowing nod. “I guess you are right, there's no time for personal visits. 'Specially when you remember that we haven't got a Torchwood.” She chewed on her lower lip for a brief moment. “But Doctor, if there's no Torchwood, how are we supposed to help?”

The Doctor paused for a moment to consider the question. “We'll just have to find the next best thing, won't we?” He opened the door and lead Leven into the loft's sitting room. “Best be off, then.”

The Doctor and his young companion quickly headed out of the loft, and down the stairs to the street below.

“We could try UNIT. Course, they may not have gotten over that little argument we had a few years back.” The Doctor muttered to himself, dragging Leven along behind him.

“Who?” Leven skipped twice, to get herself to walk beside him.

“Oh, uh, UNIT. I'll explain later.” The Doctor shook his head. “ 'Cause, I'm not fully sure where they'll be. Haven't seen them since the 1980s.”

Leven silently walked alongside him for a while, thinking that people who knew about aliens in the 1980s- a time when the first televisions were just being made- sounded almost impossible.

“Doctor?”

He glanced over to her. “What?”

“I know you said we should just stick to our plans, but...I think I might know someone who might be able to help us find your UNIT or at least people like them.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, not liking the direction Leven's mind was taking. After all, she didn't have any friends and the only people she hung around with were her family. “Are you suggesting that your parents or cousin could help?”

Leven nodded proudly. “Sort of, yeah.”

He narrowed his eyes on hers, pulling her to a stop. “What?”

Leven grinned playfully, she couldn't help it. “I'll explain later. First thing, I gotta find a phone.” With that, she began to drag him along the empty night streets of London.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

The moment Levi felt his hearts settle back into their rightful place, was the moment he knew he didn't like traveling between parallel universes without a TARDIS.

“Lily.” He could just see the blonde out of the corner of his eye. “Next time...fuckin' 'ell.” The blond wasn't Lily, rather it was Rose. That made things slightly more complicated.

For her part, Rose seemed to feel the same. “You're not the Doctor.”

“Brilliant deduction skills you got there, Rose.” Levi rolled his eyes, sighed, and quickly gathered himself. He and Lily weren't together – she would be with someone else, no doubt, he hoped she hadn't ended up on Mars on or at the North Pole – but that didn't mean their game had ended. No human emotions, and no crying to alternate-Mum. No, he was the Doctor and he'd just have to act like it.

Levi took in his new surroundings, the Torchwood lab, only...well, destroyed. “Either we're too late or this isn't my world.” He turned and regarded a confused Rose. “Yours?”

Rose nodded wordlessly. She was determined not to let Levi, strange and familiar as he was, make her feel like some idiot. She worked for Torchwood, had traveled with her Doctor, she wasn't some newbie to aliens. “The Cybermen must have done this, back when they first came through. Torchwood would have been moved, no doubt.”

Rose picked up a piece of metal, which had been laying by her feet. Upon closer look, it appeared to be a piece of a Cyberman -Rose quickly threw it across the lab. “Jack told me there are three other branches.” Levi raised an eyebrow, wordlessly telling her to go on. “One is in Glasgow, one's missing, and the other is in Cardiff. Cardiff's our best bet.”

“Cardiff?” Levi repeated in a voice that, to Rose, seemed to resemble some kind of horror. “I suppose we'll even have to take the bus.” Rose only response was to shrug. “Fantastic.”

Rose wrinkled her nose up, that 'fantastic' had sounded awfully familiar. “What?”

But Levi was already headed out the doors of the lab.

With a sigh of frustration, Rose jogged after him. “Are you...you said 'fantastic'.” She finished lamely.

“Yes, that word is apart of my rather extensive vocabulary.” Levi shook his head, at once slightly annoyed and amused by Rose and her statement. “Rose,” he stopped walking and faced her with a small grin. “I am the Doctor, alright? There will be slight similarities between me and the other Doctors that you've met. Don't let it bother you. There's important work to be done.”

Again, Rose nodded. “Right. Let's get to Cardiff.”

Levi's grin widened. “We have work to do, universes to be save, people to put back in their rightful places, and maybe, just maybe...a Cardiff joke or....twenty to tell.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

The Doctor could feel his hearts sinking to the bottom of his stomach. He'd never get used to traveling between dimensions. Taking in his surroundings, the Doctor noticed four things: he was in the labs of Torchwood, Rose Tyler was not with him, Tess Hartnell was with him, and they were surrounded by very large and very armed men.

Tess glanced sideways at the Doctor. “'Least we're not on Mars, right?”

The Doctor smirked softly. “To say the least.” He raised his arms up in surrender, something which Tess groaned at. “Hello. I'm the Doctor, this is Tess. We're here to help you.”

The guards didn't react, they simply kept their ground and their guns raised and pointed at the pair.

“Good one, Doc. They look really interested now,” Tess told him with a small groan. “By the by, is this your place? It certainly isn't my place.”

“What?” The Doctor looked over at her, his facing saying it all: He had thought they were on Tess's world. And with no Rose...Oh! Things had certainly gotten messed up in the alternate reality traveling department.

“Hell.”

They both sighed in frustration.

The Torchwood guards didn't seem moved.

“Move, move. Move!” The Doctor and Tess exchanged a surprised look – the voice that was coming from behind the guards was awfully familiar. Too familiar.

“Is that...?” Without thinking, Tess reached over for the Doctor's hand, wanting to give him some kind of comfort. Because, even though it sounded like, it couldn't be...

A blond woman strode forth through the crowd, dressed in a suit, and walking like she owned the joint.

“Rose...” the Doctor breathed.

“Middle-aged Rose,” Tess added, her eyes wide in wonderment. “Curiouser and curiouser.”

The blond woman – who was Rose, but not – gave them the once over, before finally speaking. “I'm Mary Tyler, head of Torchwood. We've been waiting for you two for a long time.”

“Have you?” Tess raised a doubting eyebrow.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was more interested in other things. “Mary, Pete and Jackie's...that's, oh...that's brilliant!” A made grin spread across his face. “A copy of Rose,” his eyes narrowed on Mary's, “right down to...every...detail.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “Doc, stop it.”

From the look Tess was giving him, the Doctor knew what look was on his face – bittersweet and full of awe. Right. Now, was certainly not the time. But...

“Is Rose...”

“Doctor! Really, not the time.”

Mary, whom had been silently watching them, suddenly spoke up: “My sister Rose, she's dead. She died when I was a small child. And yet, it is because of her that we knew the two of you would be coming. With a grin and wink, you're supposedly going to save us, Doctor.”

“Um, if we were expected guests, why the guns?” Tess asked. “It's not very polite.”

His face slowly becoming a cold mask, the Doctor added: “If it's alien...”

“It's ours.” Mary finished with a large, white, smile. “You and Ms. Hartnell are now guests of Torchwood, until such time as you save us.”

“Save you from the...”

Mary paused, looked down, before meeting their eyes. “From the opening of the Void. From the Cybermen and Daleks that will come out of it and kill all of us in,” she glanced at her watch, “eight hours.”

“Oh,” Tess swallowed, “plenty of time, then.” She tightened her grip on the Doctor's hand, suddenly more scared then she had been in a very long time; wishing her Doctor was with her.

Mickey Smith.

Out of everyone in the lab, he had gotten Mickey Smith. It wasn't that he knew Mickey well enough to like or dislike him, it was just that the Doctor knew he'd fit right in with Tess's friends, and he hated Tess's idiot mates.

The Doctor and Mickey hadn't even ended up in Torchwood, either. They had, through some twist or glitch, ended up just down the street from the flat that Tess shared with her often absent father, Michael.

“Pete had wanted me to check on the future of our Earth.” Mickey said, as he took off his device.

“So...you and Tess crossed?” The Doctor guessed, stuffing his hand into his jean pocket, feeling the key that Tess had given him. “She's in your future and you're here. Brilliant.”

Mickey took his device off and held it tightly. “I guess.”

“And, your paths crossed, causing her to end up there and you to end up here.” The Doctor nodded firmly. “Right.”

“It...”

“I don't know where Torchwood is.” The Doctor cut-in.

“London,”

“We are in London.”

“Yeah, but...” Mickey trailed off, finally taking in his new surroundings. It was a familiar alley, one that he had been in before. Actually...he and Rose had shared their third kiss up against the brick wall with the graffiti on it.

They were literally less than a minute from the old Estate. Mickey stood up on his tip-toes, fancying he could see it from where he was standing. He suddenly felt giddy. Sure, it wasn't his home, but the old Estate sure as hell looked the same. It probably was even home to some of the same people...or rather, their kids and grandkids.

“Mickey?” The Doctor's gaze followed Mickey's. “Tess's home? You know it?”

“Me an' Rose an' Jackie used to live there.” Mickey explained, still clearly in a daze. “But, that was another world, another time. God, these versions of my mates are all...old.”

“Grandpas and grandmas.” The Doctor agreed with a nod. “Which means you don't have to bother seeing them, because they don't know you and they're very old and tired.”

“Yeah...but...”

“Mickey, we're saving lives, universes, everything. No time for family visits.” Mickey didn't look so sure. “Alright, you take one step toward that place, and I will leave you here...alone. And, you have no idea where anything is.”

“Fine.” Mickey took in a deep breath. “Would've been nice, though.”

The Doctor didn't agree. “Not really.”

The two of them turned to leave the alley, when a voice called out to them.

“Doctor? I know it's you, Doctor!” The duo turned to see someone running toward them from the Estate. “Where the hell have you been and where the hell is my daughter?”

Comments

[neptunepirate.livejournal.com]

Love it. Love it, love it, love it.

I can't wait to read what happens next and how everyone gets along with each other (or rather, if they can get along). And I'm really glad Lily and Jack ended up together. :)

I can't wait to learn more about these original characters- they are all so engaging. Wonderful job. :)

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Love it. Love it, love it, love it.

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

can't wait to read what happens next and how everyone gets along with each other (or rather, if they can get along).

Some people will get along, others won't so much. And some people are just going to get really upset about certain things.

And I'm really glad Lily and Jack ended up together. :)

Lily and Jack had to end up in the same place. I couldn't not do it.

I can't wait to learn more about these original characters- they are all so engaging.

I love my original characters and can't wait to tell more about them. I'm so glad to hear that you enjoy them.


Thanks for reading.

[kitmarlowescot2.livejournal.com]

Lovely as always, part of Levi is Rose. I don't suppose we see a female Doctor though, that would really turn the companion's heads. Though Levi and Lily would just laugh.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

don't suppose we see a female Doctor though,

I think Lily is the closest we'll get to that. Though, you never know who will pop up. ;)

[rawthorne.livejournal.com]

I can't decide if I like the characterization better than the plot or the other way around. Even with four pairs of Doctor/companion and co, you've still managed to keep them all in character and do write their interations in a manner that is both beliveable and exciting to read.

The amount of "stuff" happening should have caused you problems in keeping everything balanced, and yet, there's a consistent amount of emotions vs descriptions vs actions.

And there's a mean cliffhanger to top it off, of course. Really, can't you write something bad for once?

Only joking. Praise is all I have for you.

As always, I'm eagerly awaiting to see where you will take us next.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I could write a long winded reply, but instead I'll just say this: Thank you so much. I always love your reviews, and as always I thank you for the beta.