|
|
Post by The Second Doctor on Jul 11, 2011 0:33:50 GMT -5
Malcolm Asutian was not a happy person these days.
"Nine." he slammed down his drink and called out the number.
After quitting his job at Nodhaven, he had begun a bit of a drinking habit. Competitively.
He had continuous flashbacks to his time teaching...
Two months ago
Malcolm had just blown his whistle when he heard it. An explosion. Who would do such a thing?
"Class dismissed!" he yelled, hoarseness of yelling every day evident.
He ran out the door of the gym, catching a glimpse of Blue. It kind of surprised him to see Blue, he would've expected him to be hiding under a table. He was probably looking for one...
Malcolm saw it. A smoking window, fire from it. Who had been killed? It could have been an accident, but...
One month ago
"I can't do this Sarah, I'm sorry," were the opening words to his letter.
"I don't know where I'm going, or when I'm going to. I'm going, and I'm not coming back. I'm sorry."
Present Day
Malcolm collected his money, and walked out the bar. He sneered as a child walked by, waving happily as Asutian dug his hands into his brown trench coat. It wasn't his usual trend, but it kept him warm and concealed his handgun better.
A gust of wind brought a newspaper into view, showing a grim scene of a murderer being executed.
He had developed a friendship with the student who had died in that explosion, like a younger brother.
He walked out across the street, not caring about cars coming. A volley if honks rang out even as he unstrapped his Vortex Manipulator. It was in fact his second one, the old one he kept at home wasn't as efficient.
But he was through. All the trouble this thing had gotten him in. He lifted it high in the air, chucking it across the street. A taxi swerved to miss it, but hit it.
His mistake.
The Manipulator exploded in a flash of blue fire, and light consumed the city. Everyone saw it. And then it was gone.
Replaced by it was mayhem. Mayhem from all different eras, centuries, and prehistoric times.
Roman warriors attacked cars as British Soldiers fired upon civilians. Indians and cowboys fired at each other, and Nazis tried to kill police officers and businessmen.
Malcolm cursed using a word he was glad no one he knew was around to hear. He needed help, fast.
He could only hope someone with experience noticed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Susan Foreman on Jul 11, 2011 4:20:19 GMT -5
Susan wasn’t a stranger to strange hiccups in time. She had even caused a few accidental ones in her time, and fought desperately to right them. But her lousy track record aside, Susan was at least fifty percent sure that this one wasn’t caused by her. She had just arrived on the street when something blew up, and she could feel the prickle of time shifting and warping desperately. Her own vortex manipulator seared her skin, a painful reminder of its disapproval. She hissed under her breath and tore it off, sticking it into her jacket.
She hurried to the site of the explosion. Cars were pulled over, and a taxi cab driver was gesticulating wildly about the front end of car. He threw off his cap and stomped off. She rolled her eyes and continued to examine the sight around her. A cowboy rode past her, chasing after a pterodactyl. She rubbed her forehead warily, having half the mind to just turn on her heels and continue on her merry way to anywhere except here. Blue eyes landed on a man that seemed shell-shocked, rooted to the ground as he surveyed the same scene she was.
Guilt and desperation was poised both in his face and on his shoulders.
Gunshots fired as warriors from different eras met each other. She winced and walked carefully to the man in the straight, stepping over discarded items carefully. “What did you do?” she asked of the man, regarding him with reserved suspicion. She could smell alcohol on him; not just on his breath, but on his clothes and skin. Her nose twitched disdainfully.
If he were a time agent, he was already going to be difficult to talk to. But a drunk time agent was arguing with a brick wall.
ooc| oh geeze, I'm really sorry about this post. D: But I couldn't really think of anything for Susan to do... forgive me. -grovel-
|
|
|
|
Post by The Second Doctor on Jul 11, 2011 8:56:30 GMT -5
OOC: Nah, it's great. XD
"What did you do?"
Malcolm, absorbed in what was going on, could hardly speak.
"Vor...Vortex," he started, breathing more heavily as he went on, "Vortex Manipulator."
His eyes we're trained on the skies, watching what the was sure was Amelia Earheart. Now he knew why she didn't cross that ocean...
"I've had a bit of a bad past few months," he commented, his eyes slowly dropping in Susan's direction.
He noted her caution.
"Don't worry, I'm not drunk." he assured.
And he wasn't. He would just have a bit of trouble concentrating...
"Now, what's a nice young lady like yourself doing in the middle of all this?" he asked.
|
|
|
|
Post by Susan Foreman on Jul 11, 2011 17:42:50 GMT -5
“Vor…Vortex,” the man stumbled over his own words. Susan’s eyebrows knitted together, a flurry of concern rising in her. “Vortex manipulator,” he finally managed, and the Time Lady nodded. She glanced behind her to the where the burns on the road were the thickest and the damage done to the taxi. Even if the rift hadn’t been affected by the vortex manipulator, the explosion would have taken a long time to clean up. The initial heat – and it seemed the taxi took most of it – had melded the metal to the pavement. But the way that the historical figures were causing quite a stir… well, Susan wasn’t quite sure how to solve the dilemma.
She turned her focus back to him as he spoke to her once more. “I’ve had a bit of a bad few months,” he said. She smiled and patted his back.
“It’ll get better,” she said, more because that was standard protocol to say to somebody rather than because she thought it was being okay. As he told her that he wasn’t drunk, she chuckled. “Ah, that’s excellent, because, if you had forgotten, we seem to be in a bit of a dilemma. How are we going to restore them all to their natural timeline?” she put a thoughtful finger to her lips and continued looking around.
She stepped over a wounded French soldier, gesturing for him to follow. “Maybe if we… oh, I don’t know, destroy another manipulator? Actually, that probably wouldn’t be a very good idea.” Susan began to pace back and forth, hands held behind her back as she mulled over how to fix this dilemma. If the Doctor came – doubtful, because it seemed he took a sadistic pleasure in being absent when the world and his friends needed him the most – then he could just… reverse the polarity or something stupefyingly simple like that.
“Now,” the man began, and Susan looked up expectantly. “What’s a nice young lady like yourself doing in the middle of all this?” he asked. She stared at him, mouth dropping slightly open. They were standing in the middle of timelines collapsing and colliding, and he was going to call her a nice young lady?
She crossed her arms. “Well, my dear little gent, it does appear that I’m trying to clean up your mess, doesn’t it?”
|
|
|
|
Post by The Second Doctor on Jul 11, 2011 18:29:20 GMT -5
"It’ll get better,” she answered a bit insincerely.
Malcolm smirked.
"I doubt it."
She responded to his comment about not being drunk.
“Ah, that’s excellent, because, if you had forgotten, we seem to be in a bit of a dilemma. How are we going to restore them all to their natural timeline?”
Malcolm shrugged.
"I don't know. I guess we could round them up in Cardiff and-"
His soft, rough voice was either inaudible or she didn't care.
“Maybe if we… oh, I don’t know, destroy another manipulator?"
He muttered a response under his breath.
"Yeah Genius, 'cause that worked so well last time." he immediately regretted being so rude.
"Actually, that probably wouldn’t be a very good idea.”
Malcolm nodded. He decided he would at least attempt to be kinder. His mouth twitched into a warm smile. It's not like she had done anything mean to him- she hadn't caused the problem.
"Now, what's a nice young lady like yourself doing in the middle of all this?"
It must've come out wrong, or something, because she almost looked offended.
She crossed her arms. “Well, my dear little gent, it does appear that I’m trying to clean up your mess, doesn’t it?”
Asutian felt a swelling in his stomache. His eyes widened slightly.
"I-I didn't mean..." his smile dissapeared in the blink of an eye, "Forget it."
He turned around and his hands dissapeared into his coat. His tone had dropped an octave and his eyes darkened. More like he normally was.
"If only we had a Tardis." he didnt care that there was one in a million chance she new what it was. With his day she probably did.
|
|
|
|
Post by Susan Foreman on Jul 11, 2011 19:09:26 GMT -5
“I-I didn’t mean… forget it,” the man said, and turned away from her. Susan blinked, uncertain of whether she should apologize or continue trying to find a way out of the mess she had. Choosing the latter, she thought about everything her grandfather had told her about the fragile thread of time: don’t mess with it he always said, even though that’s exactly what he did for fun. She sighed, frustrated by both her lack of knowledge and experience, and the way she had burnt the man when he hadn’t meant any harm. She glared daggers at his back, grousing internally over the reluctant apology she had to give.
She had just damped out the last of her ego, and was going to walk over, when he said something that completely ruined whatever charity she was feeling at the moment. “If only we had a Tardis,” the man said. Her blue eyes narrowed. She wasn’t just how the man had put together she was a Time Lady, but that insult was below the metaphorical belt. Susan bit her bottom lip harshly, barely holding back the string of curses that threatened to barrage the man. Just because she had given him one little jibe about having to clean up his mess, that drunken idiot had to go around and be passive-aggressive?
“Yes, yes, I’m aware how useless a Time Lord is without a TARDIS. You don’t have to rub it in. It’s painfully clear that I’m about as useless as a lump,” she growled, her fingers itching to latch around his throat and throttle him. “Now if you don’t mind, sir, I would really enjoy if we could fix this without screwing up the timeline more than we have to. If you have any brilliant ideas that don’t require a TARDIS, I would be so happy to hear them,” she said, and gritted her teeth, plastering a small smile to her face.
There, she thought triumphantly, I kept my temper well enough.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Second Doctor on Jul 11, 2011 19:24:53 GMT -5
“Yes, yes, I’m aware how useless a Time Lord is without a TARDIS. You don’t have to rub it in. It’s painfully clear that I’m about as useless as a lump."
Malcolm turned back and his mouth flew open.
"You're a...and you don't have a... I'm so sorry! I didn't... Oh, I'm such an idiot!" he said, stomping.
“Now if you don’t mind, sir, I would really enjoy if we could fix this without screwing up the timeline more than we have to. If
you have any brilliant ideas that don’t require a TARDIS, I would be so happy to hear them,”
He was grateful for the small smile she manages, even with his unwitting insult.
"I didn't know...I'm so sorry." he said.
He could tell this conversation needed to end.
"Well, nice meeting you, even if the feeling wasn't mutual. Thank you for letting me waste your time, bye." he said, turning and walking off at a fast pace.
Malcolm sighed. He had enough problems without making himself an enemy. He had heard about these Timelords. They didn't need to touch you, they could talk you into killing yourself.
|
|
|
|
Post by Susan Foreman on Jul 11, 2011 19:51:24 GMT -5
“You’re a… and you don’t have a… I’m so sorry! I didn’t… Oh, I’m such an idiot!” the man said, looking thoroughly embarrassed and guilty. Susan’s smile faltered slowly and she felt stinging in her nose. She clenched her fists, trying to distract herself from the situation. She was not about to cry in front of a complete stranger, regardless of whether or not he had hit the nail on the head in her insecurities. And the worst part? She knew what he had said was truthful. If they had a TARDIS, this wouldn’t have been a problem. Only a minor, slap on the wrist half an hour adventure.
She shook her head. “Stop,” she muttered, staring down at her feet. “I know how useful it’d be to have a TARDIS,” she mumbled, sounding dejected as she thought about her complete ineptitude with a vortex manipulator; the burns on her wrist was enough to prove to her that even being a Time Lord, she was missing something that made her even remotely like her grandfather.
The human sounded almost… frightened. She shrugged again as he told her that he had no clue what to do. She had figured as much. “Well, nice meeting you, even if the feeling wasn’t mutual. Thank you for letting me waste your time, bye.” She widened her eyes as he walked away. Now that he knew that she couldn’t help him, was he really just going walk away?
Lovely. It wasn’t as though she was a stranger to people abandoning her, but somehow a total stranger giving up on her stung just as bad. She kicked the nearest corpse angrily, growling angrily under her breath. She took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to remain calm. “Wait,” she called, hurrying after him. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I thought you knew what I was, and…” she faltered off, and stopped abruptly, deciding that if she explained any further she was going to either start crying or strangling the nearest person.
She was pretty sure that he didn’t want either of those. “Let’s just not talk about that anymore, all right? It was stupid of me to jump on your case.”
“I think maybe we should find someone who knows how to fix this,” she suggested. “Or was your plan to just get the hell out of dodge before someone else realized it was you? I mean, that’s a plan, too,” she rambled.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Second Doctor on Jul 11, 2011 21:15:46 GMT -5
Malcolm looked back. From the sight of it, it looked like she was about to cry. He sighed, it was his fault, he couldn't just walk away...
“Wait,” he stopped short, "I didn’t mean to snap at you. I thought you knew what I was, and…”
Her voice trailed off. He felt a sting in his chest, and sighed. Either she had worse problems that him, or just a bit unstable.
“Let’s just not talk about that anymore, all right? It was stupid of me to jump on your case.”
Malcolm attempted a smile.
"Its fine, you don't have to."
He was pulled back to what was happening.
“I think maybe we should find someone who knows how to fix this or was your plan to just get the hell out of dodge before someone else realized it was you? I mean, that’s a plan, too,”
"I'm going to take a stab at fixing this. This is my fault, and if I die trying, I probably deserve it." he said, training his eyes on things he had never noticed in his sneakers.
"We're near Cardiff, and there's a rift there. If I go there, and burst another Manipulator, it should open and suck anything that has enough chronodimensional energy back in. Anything that's been through time." he said, his smile now sincere.
|
|
|
|
Post by Susan Foreman on Jul 11, 2011 22:13:53 GMT -5
The man seemed to be genuinely sorry for his (unintentionally insulting) words. Susan exhaled sharply; this man was making her feel even guiltier about getting so angry. “I’m going to take a stab at fixing this,” the man told her. Susan glanced around at the scene around them and then returned her gaze to him, her eyebrows raised a little skeptically. “This is my fault, and if I die trying, I probably deserve it.”
She frowned. “Hey, don’t say that. Even if you are one of the most idiotic, insulting people I’ve ever met, it doesn’t mean you need to die. Why would you even think that?” she asked. The logical part of her – which really was the larger part of her, but sometimes her mouth had a mind of its own – wondered if calling a possibly suicidal person idiotic and insulting was a very good move.
What had he said earlier that she had brushed off as just another drunk man’s whine? I’ve had a bit of a bad month. And what had that to do with the bizarre incident that was happening? Obviously something, or she doubt he would have mentioned it. He didn’t seem too keen on giving her his name, least of all something personal such as a ‘bad month’. “You lost someone?” she asked curiously.
“We’re near Cardiff, and there’s a rift there. If I got there, and burst another Manipulator, it should open and suck anything that has enough chronodimensional energy back in. Anything that’s been through time,” he said, and Susan returned his smile.
She dug into her pocket and dangled out her own manipulator. “That plan does sound a lot better when you say it,” she teased. “But wouldn’t that mean us as well?”
|
|
|
|
Post by The Second Doctor on Jul 12, 2011 13:43:45 GMT -5
“Hey, don’t say that. Even if you are one of the most idiotic, insulting people I’ve ever met, it doesn’t mean you need to die. Why would you even think that?”
Malcolm's eyebrows curled in, hurt.
"Do you reall think I'm-" he cut himself off, the question wasn't really relevant.
He sighed.
"I don't know, I did a really bad thing." he said.
He purposefully kept his words light to keep the story from sounding intriguing.
“You lost someone?”
"Let's just forget get it." he said, frowning.
He realized he really didn't want to talk about this while trying to stop rabid forces from the past.
“We’re near Cardiff, and there’s a rift there. If I got there, and burst another Manipulator, it should open and suck anything that has enough chronodimensional energy back in. Anything that’s been through time,” he said, and Susan returned his smile.
“That plan does sound a lot better when you say it,” she teased.
Malcolm smirked.
"That means it sounds horrible and you are trying to be optimistic." he jibed sarcastically.
“But wouldn’t that mean us as well?”
"Ah, that's where your Manipulator comes in. I have another one, which we'll use. We use yours to get out. I can't leave you without any form of transportation." he commented, guestering to her wrist.
|
|
|
|
Post by Susan Foreman on Jul 13, 2011 15:14:53 GMT -5
“Let’s just forget it,” the man said shortly, leaving her question dangling. She narrowed her eyes, her upper lip twitching from annoyance. She took a step back, taking a slow breath to stifle her temper. The man had let the fact that she was a Time Lady drop without any argument. She should grant him the same courtesy about the really bad thing he had done. “Sure,” she agreed with a small nod. She pinched her index finger and her thumb together and ran them along her lips, childishly ‘zipping’ them. Despite the pleasant smile on her face, she made an inward note to harass him about the subject when this had blown over.
At her words about how the plan sounded better coming from her, he smirked. “That means it sounds horrible and you are trying to be optimistic,” he teased.
Susan widened her eyes in a mock show of innocence. “Moi? Oh, my dear sir, you should know by now that I am anything but optimistic,” she returned, her smile widening. “But you are clearly the expert on these matters,” she said, trying to stifle her grin and remain serious.
Good job, she told herself, you can be civil!
“Ah, that’s where your Manipulator comes in. I have another one, which we’ll use. We use yours to get out. I can’t leave you without any form of transportation,” he said, and motioned towards her wrist. She withdrew it immediately, placing both her hands behind her back. Despite how the man’s gesture towards her wrist had made her uncomfortable, her smile remained stubbornly on her face.
She rubbed the burns the Manipulator had left on her wrists softly. “I think you should keep it. I can’t use it very well, and I don’t have anywhere to go back to,” she laughed, trying to keep the conversation light. “Onwards and forwards?” she suggested.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Second Doctor on Jul 13, 2011 22:44:53 GMT -5
Malcolm smirked at Susan's reaction.
"Ok, my negative friend," he said sarcastically, "Let's get a move on."
Malcolm raised an eyebrow at her retraction of her arm, then lowered it apologetically. He wondered why she was so skittish about it, and why the Manipulator had affected her as such.
“I think you should keep it. I can’t use it very well, and I don’t have anywhere to go back to,” Malcolm laughed along with her, attempting to conceal the shakiness. “Onwards and forwards?”
Malcolm nodded, already forming an offer he would propose when this was over.
"I suppose."
|
|
|
|
Post by Susan Foreman on Jul 24, 2011 20:24:26 GMT -5
It was beginning to seem like a very bad idea. Susan kept her hands inside of her pockets as they continued towards the rift. The trip had passed mostly in silence – except for a futile conversation starters from both parties. It was like the man had said – the exploding Vortex Manipulator had been the very thing that spurred the mess, which was thankfully only heavily concentrated in one area. Throwing another Manipulator in the rift was a slightly doubtful solution. It could – if she were being optimistic – work, and perhaps could erase all the damage done to the city. Or, if she were being her normal pessimistic self, it could make a bigger mess.
She was very much hoping that it would take the former, more cheerful approach. She fingered the Manipulator in her pocket, feeling the effects of the rift. It felt – not quite exactly, but almost – like her grandfather’s TARDIS had. She glanced over at the man and raised her eyebrows. “You’re sure about this?” she asked, more because she thought one of them needed to say something than anything else. It was too late to think of another plan, and to be honest, she doubted if they even could think of a new plan at this point.
Susan handed the man her Manipulator. “You should probably be the one to lead us out,” she said. “I can hardly work it.”
ooc| :/ sorry. [/font]
|
|
|
|
Post by The Second Doctor on Jul 25, 2011 10:47:01 GMT -5
Malcolm's eyes reflected no light as the two trudged down the street in the direction of the Rift. Every few minutes, words came to his lips. Compliments, desperate gratefulness, even a few sharp comments directed towards his stupidity. But nOtho h escaped his throat. He eventually dug his hands into the pockets of his trench coat.
"You're sure about this?" his temporary partner asked him, seeming a but unsure.
He answered with a single nod. It wasn't like he had an alternative. Of course, he could run. Wait for some other idiot to stop his mess or die trying. But did he really have the heart to do that? No, this was his problem, and he sure as heck was going to fix it.
Asutian let loose a half-sigh, half-growl of irritation as he saw even more yet destruction and death, with no one to blame but himself. Mercifully, they reached the Cardiff Rift and Susan handed him her manipulator.
“You should probably be the one to lead us out,” she said. “I can hardly work it.”
"Agreed." he said, gently taking it and strapping it on. He felt a familiar surge of power, like he could do anything, go anywhere. But he was focused on right here, right now. Taking his alternate manipulator out of his pocket.
"Okay, I'm going to need you about a hundred feet back, away from the blast. When I get done, I'll come back and get you back to the city we were in. Then we can go our seperate ways- I might even manipulate time so that we never met, if you'd like. Ready?"
|
|
