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Summary: After Cybermen invade her office and Daleks invade... well, the Earth, Sarah Jane Smith decides to investigate. Little does she know what the Doctor will get her into this time...
Spoilers all through Series 2, but even if you haven't watched it (in which case WHYEVER NOT?) you should be able to understand most of the story.
[size=8pt]So you find the breach, the sphere comes through. Six hundred feet above London, BAM! It tears a hole in the fabric of reality. Now this hole, do you think, "Ooh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off, play it safe?" Nah, you think, "Let's make it bigger!"[/size]
It was just another normal working day for Sarah Jane Smith, senior investigative journalist for the Sunday Times, stuck behind her desk on a sunny summer afternoon.
Well, as normal as you could get for Sarah Jane Smith, former time-traveller and companion of a Time Lord, the only person left in the building who didn't trust the ghosts, uncharacteristically slumped behind her desk and glancing occasionally over at the empty desk next to her, cleared out only two weeks ago.
Sarah Jane sighed quietly as she remembered Atif, the bright young journalist she'd affectionately nicknamed her "protégé". He was one of the few who'd sided with her on the issue of the ghosts, refusing to believe that they were harmless figures from the dead. While everyone else rejoiced at the return of their relatives, Atif threw himself into his latest project — one he never discussed, not even with Sarah Jane. All she knew was that it involved something ("It's the story of the century — a Big Important Secret, ma'am," he'd told her with excited pride two months ago, on the first of many late nights) called Torchwood, whatever that was; and she didn't push for more information, knowing only too well the conflicting feelings of responsibility and guilt that accompanied Big Important Secrets.
And then he'd disappeared, a simple letter of resignation and thanks for his colleagues materialising on the notice board one morning. Sarah Jane couldn't understand it — his mother seemed quite relaxed about it all on the phone, explaining that Atif had just left to do an undercover investigation in Sri Lanka and wasn't that exciting? And no, she hadn't seen him leave either, but he's always running off somewhere, he's sure to be back in six months with a big grin and an even bigger ego.
"You never said anything about a Sri Lanka job in the last meeting," Sarah Jane said to her boss the next day. Emma Rushbridge smiled a bit too quickly before answering.
"Yes, well, Max from International Affairs had to pull out, private issues — did you know he's finally proposed to Donna? So I decided to let Atif have a go — you know, get the full experience and everything," she replied cheerily before downing the rest of her coffee and muttering about some kind of urgent business call in her office, "so keep up the good work, and we'll do lunch sometime!" she called over her shoulder. Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as she trudged back to the piles of paperwork in her suddenly emptier room.
The piles were still there today, and she had no choice but to carry on working through them — even with the advantage of a highly advanced metal dog, she knew she didn't have Atif's technical expertise with computers and encrypted passwords and all that kafuffle; moreover, she wasn't sure this Torchwood was worth the risk. Atif had family and friends to worry about him when six months had passed; Sarah Jane only had a tin dog from the 51st century and fond memories of adventure.
Sure, there had been times when the Doctor had been just damn annoying, and his turning up like that with a younger "assistant" hadn't helped matters, but they'd had a laugh in the end; and sometimes Sarah Jane hoped that, if Rose decided to stay one day, she'd come and work with her, brighten each other's days with tales of the past and future. They'd already made a start, and Sarah Jane was sure they could discuss their experiences with monsters and robots in a little more depth…
A scream, piercing even from the ground floor, followed by breaking glass and more unsettling shouts, both human and… "Speak of the devil," Sarah Jane breathed in panic as she stared out of her third-floor window. So much for ghosts, she thought, raising her hands in surrender moments before the Cybermen broke down her door.
After being escorted to the ground floor alongside an inconsolable Emma, Sarah Jane slowly made her way towards the window, only for another unwelcome sight to greet her… Oh, brilliant. First Cybermen, now Daleks… if the Doctor doesn't show up… right now —
"Look out!" She barely had time to register the voice before she was shoved to the floor; suddenly a second explosion swept through the building, and a man's bloodied, cooling body fell on top of Sarah Jane from where she'd just been standing, horrifying her but shielding her from the rubble flying through the smoke.
The Cybermen had abandoned their positions by now, shooting instead at their new enemy in the sky, and Sarah Jane could see more people running for cover as pieces of ceiling crashed around her. She pushed blindly at the dead man sprawled on top of her, and couldn't help but cry out in despair as she realised that both their bodies were already trapped by the falling debris. Oh no you don't, a small voice said in the back of her head. You've done this before; you've beaten Cybermen and Daleks. You didn't survive them and anti-matter monsters and dinosaurs and the bloody Loch Ness Monster to get crushed by a newspaper office…
All of a sudden, the noise stopped. For a few, stretched out moments, Sarah Jane thought she was dead; she felt herself lifting, the rubble somehow rolling away to let her escape the dirt and the blood that stained her surroundings…
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Cybermen being lifted and pulled away by some swift and invisible hand; the Daleks were also getting sucked into what looked like the top floor of Canary Wharf, tumbling out of the sky as quickly as they had swooped in; but Sarah Jane was still floating gently towards the same building, more than a little dazed and confused.
As soon as she could feel her fingers, she grabbed onto a lamppost, the nearest object still standing, and held on in wonder for another two minutes before gradually falling to her feet, completely unnoticed by passers-by who were more amazed by the sudden lack of aliens. Still not trusting her feet entirely, Sarah Jane hurriedly hailed a cab back to her flat.
"K9? I'm home," she called as she locked the door behind her, looking forward to telling her loyal dog of the day's events — if he hadn't heard them already.
Or been involved in them.
"K9?" Still no answer. "This isn't funny, where are you?" she shouted as she rushed into every room, not caring that the neighbours might hear her. "K —"
Sarah Jane's keys dropped to the floor to join the shards of glass, the one mini-satellite dish of an ear, and the pile of scorched and twisted 51st century metal, still smoking in the gentle breeze.
It didn't take long for her to wipe away her tears and sweep K9's remains into an old cardboard box, which she pushed under her bed into the corner and covered with a rug from the back of her old car. After a few deep breaths, Sarah Jane grabbed her torch and camera and set off for Canada Square, weaving quickly through the crowds of people on the streets celebrating their freedom. The worst I'll get out of this is a front page story; at best, I'll see him again…
For who else could have fought off the Cybermen and the Daleks in the same afternoon? She was sure — more than sure — that the Doctor was at the bottom of all this, and Sarah Jane wasn't going to let him get away without some answers.
And it would be good to see Rose again.
A/N: Constructive criticism would be very, very much appreciated, as I'm trying to get this the best I can before posting it to whofic.com
Summary: After Cybermen invade her office and Daleks invade... well, the Earth, Sarah Jane Smith decides to investigate. Little does she know what the Doctor will get her into this time...
Spoilers all through Series 2, but even if you haven't watched it (in which case WHYEVER NOT?) you should be able to understand most of the story.
Prologue — Just Another Day
[size=8pt]So you find the breach, the sphere comes through. Six hundred feet above London, BAM! It tears a hole in the fabric of reality. Now this hole, do you think, "Ooh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off, play it safe?" Nah, you think, "Let's make it bigger!"[/size]
[size=8pt]The Doctor, Army of Ghosts 2.12 Doctor Who[/size]
It was just another normal working day for Sarah Jane Smith, senior investigative journalist for the Sunday Times, stuck behind her desk on a sunny summer afternoon.
Well, as normal as you could get for Sarah Jane Smith, former time-traveller and companion of a Time Lord, the only person left in the building who didn't trust the ghosts, uncharacteristically slumped behind her desk and glancing occasionally over at the empty desk next to her, cleared out only two weeks ago.
Sarah Jane sighed quietly as she remembered Atif, the bright young journalist she'd affectionately nicknamed her "protégé". He was one of the few who'd sided with her on the issue of the ghosts, refusing to believe that they were harmless figures from the dead. While everyone else rejoiced at the return of their relatives, Atif threw himself into his latest project — one he never discussed, not even with Sarah Jane. All she knew was that it involved something ("It's the story of the century — a Big Important Secret, ma'am," he'd told her with excited pride two months ago, on the first of many late nights) called Torchwood, whatever that was; and she didn't push for more information, knowing only too well the conflicting feelings of responsibility and guilt that accompanied Big Important Secrets.
And then he'd disappeared, a simple letter of resignation and thanks for his colleagues materialising on the notice board one morning. Sarah Jane couldn't understand it — his mother seemed quite relaxed about it all on the phone, explaining that Atif had just left to do an undercover investigation in Sri Lanka and wasn't that exciting? And no, she hadn't seen him leave either, but he's always running off somewhere, he's sure to be back in six months with a big grin and an even bigger ego.
"You never said anything about a Sri Lanka job in the last meeting," Sarah Jane said to her boss the next day. Emma Rushbridge smiled a bit too quickly before answering.
"Yes, well, Max from International Affairs had to pull out, private issues — did you know he's finally proposed to Donna? So I decided to let Atif have a go — you know, get the full experience and everything," she replied cheerily before downing the rest of her coffee and muttering about some kind of urgent business call in her office, "so keep up the good work, and we'll do lunch sometime!" she called over her shoulder. Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as she trudged back to the piles of paperwork in her suddenly emptier room.
The piles were still there today, and she had no choice but to carry on working through them — even with the advantage of a highly advanced metal dog, she knew she didn't have Atif's technical expertise with computers and encrypted passwords and all that kafuffle; moreover, she wasn't sure this Torchwood was worth the risk. Atif had family and friends to worry about him when six months had passed; Sarah Jane only had a tin dog from the 51st century and fond memories of adventure.
Sure, there had been times when the Doctor had been just damn annoying, and his turning up like that with a younger "assistant" hadn't helped matters, but they'd had a laugh in the end; and sometimes Sarah Jane hoped that, if Rose decided to stay one day, she'd come and work with her, brighten each other's days with tales of the past and future. They'd already made a start, and Sarah Jane was sure they could discuss their experiences with monsters and robots in a little more depth…
A scream, piercing even from the ground floor, followed by breaking glass and more unsettling shouts, both human and… "Speak of the devil," Sarah Jane breathed in panic as she stared out of her third-floor window. So much for ghosts, she thought, raising her hands in surrender moments before the Cybermen broke down her door.
After being escorted to the ground floor alongside an inconsolable Emma, Sarah Jane slowly made her way towards the window, only for another unwelcome sight to greet her… Oh, brilliant. First Cybermen, now Daleks… if the Doctor doesn't show up… right now —
"Look out!" She barely had time to register the voice before she was shoved to the floor; suddenly a second explosion swept through the building, and a man's bloodied, cooling body fell on top of Sarah Jane from where she'd just been standing, horrifying her but shielding her from the rubble flying through the smoke.
The Cybermen had abandoned their positions by now, shooting instead at their new enemy in the sky, and Sarah Jane could see more people running for cover as pieces of ceiling crashed around her. She pushed blindly at the dead man sprawled on top of her, and couldn't help but cry out in despair as she realised that both their bodies were already trapped by the falling debris. Oh no you don't, a small voice said in the back of her head. You've done this before; you've beaten Cybermen and Daleks. You didn't survive them and anti-matter monsters and dinosaurs and the bloody Loch Ness Monster to get crushed by a newspaper office…
All of a sudden, the noise stopped. For a few, stretched out moments, Sarah Jane thought she was dead; she felt herself lifting, the rubble somehow rolling away to let her escape the dirt and the blood that stained her surroundings…
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Cybermen being lifted and pulled away by some swift and invisible hand; the Daleks were also getting sucked into what looked like the top floor of Canary Wharf, tumbling out of the sky as quickly as they had swooped in; but Sarah Jane was still floating gently towards the same building, more than a little dazed and confused.
As soon as she could feel her fingers, she grabbed onto a lamppost, the nearest object still standing, and held on in wonder for another two minutes before gradually falling to her feet, completely unnoticed by passers-by who were more amazed by the sudden lack of aliens. Still not trusting her feet entirely, Sarah Jane hurriedly hailed a cab back to her flat.
"K9? I'm home," she called as she locked the door behind her, looking forward to telling her loyal dog of the day's events — if he hadn't heard them already.
Or been involved in them.
"K9?" Still no answer. "This isn't funny, where are you?" she shouted as she rushed into every room, not caring that the neighbours might hear her. "K —"
Sarah Jane's keys dropped to the floor to join the shards of glass, the one mini-satellite dish of an ear, and the pile of scorched and twisted 51st century metal, still smoking in the gentle breeze.
***
It didn't take long for her to wipe away her tears and sweep K9's remains into an old cardboard box, which she pushed under her bed into the corner and covered with a rug from the back of her old car. After a few deep breaths, Sarah Jane grabbed her torch and camera and set off for Canada Square, weaving quickly through the crowds of people on the streets celebrating their freedom. The worst I'll get out of this is a front page story; at best, I'll see him again…
For who else could have fought off the Cybermen and the Daleks in the same afternoon? She was sure — more than sure — that the Doctor was at the bottom of all this, and Sarah Jane wasn't going to let him get away without some answers.
And it would be good to see Rose again.
~tbc~
A/N: Constructive criticism would be very, very much appreciated, as I'm trying to get this the best I can before posting it to whofic.com
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