Doctor Who: Series A [COMPLETE]

Episode One: The Doctor Calls

If there was one thing the Doctor loved to do, it was run. The wind in his hair, the pounding of his heartbeats in his ears, the slamming of his feet on the ground; there was no greater feeling for a man who had seen the stars and learned their names and always had a mantle to uphold as the smartest man in the room. When he was running - whether it was towards his next adventure, or away from danger - none of that mattered. He was just a Time Lord, running for his life, never not running. And this body? Oh how it loved to run.

It was still fairly new, mad brunette hair flapping wildly as he ran. For some reason, this incarnation had drifted towards a dandyish look, a Victorian scientist who people were wary of, and yet nevertheless invited him to their high society dinner parties. The eyes were different too, switching from wild to warm in moments. There were some familiarities, of course: his voice sounded a little like his third body in the way his word curled with his smile, and he'd retained that childlike awe at the universe which had followed him since birth.

A lot of things were different, too, but he didn't have time to think about any of that: as long as his legs worked and he could keep outrunning the Daleks firing at him...that's all that mattered.
As he ducked and weaved from their fire and the sparks flying as shots missed, the Doctor finally caught sight of his TARDIS, blue doors calling him to their safety. He couldn't help but grin as his hearts pounded and the thrill of the chase caught up with him.
"EXTERMINATE!" shouted the Daleks in their usual shrill, electric screech.
Keep shouting after me, he thought, clicking his fingers with an out stretched arm. The doors of the old blue police box flung open and the Doctor crashed into his ship, onto the floor. He turned over and clicked his fingers again, the doors slamming shut just in time, as the Daleks made their final, futile approach.
He laughed. He laughed in a way he hadn't laughed in a long time, amused at the adventure and entertained by the close call. This Doctor was risky, and he had still to learn to curb his recklessness.
For now though, he leaned back, laughing, taking his time to disembark on his next adventure, even as the TARDIS whirred encouragingly to life.

***

Jade Priestley was tired. No, that's not right: she was exhausted. For the last nine hours, she had been called from emergency to non-emergency, the ambulance ducking down side streets and overtaking traffic at speed, desperate to reach those in need. Already today, she and her partner Shane had attended to a nasty fall, a suspected heart attack, and the fallout of a street brawl, and now it was finally time to call it a night.
"Did you get that?" Shane asked, drawing Jade's attention away from the glowing streetlights and back into the ambulance.
"Sorry, daydreaming."
"One more call. Then we can call it a day."
Jade sighed. She had once loved her job, and now all she wanted was to crawl back under the covers and sleep for the whole weekend. There was little chance of that.
"Sorry, sleeping beauty."
"Don't call me that," she snapped "let's just get on with it."
The sirens fired up, blue light swamping the street, and they were off once again, heading towards a danger they couldn't yet understand.

"According to despatch, somebody called from here saying their friend was having some kind of fit."
Jade was only half listening as she ran the torch over the darkness.
"I don't see anybody. It better not have been a prank, I honestly can't be dealing with jokers right now."
"Hello??" someone called with a tone of desperation and fear.
"Hello? Are you OK? Where are you?" Jade called back, her voice full of authority earned through years of training and staying calm under pressure.
"Over here! Come closer."
"Wait," Shane said, holding Jade's arm back.
"What? Do you think something's up?"
"I've got a gut feeling."
"You're welcome to go first," she said, gesturing with a sweeping arm.
Shane gulped and took a few steps into the darkness of the alleyway from where the voice was coming.
"Hurry!"
The paramedics approached cautiously, but the darkness overtook them with suspicious haste.
"Hello?" Jade called again, the torch light sweeping the darkness, not strong enough to cut through it entirely.
And then it landed on the face.
"Help us," it said, though there was a second voice talking at the same time, screaming in the distance.
Jade and Shane froze where they were as the face rose, and the body it was attached to became clearer. It was tall, thin, and oh so pale green. At the end of its long fingers were broken claws, and its face was unusually babyish. It wasn't human.
Nearby, a pile of skin - of human skin - was crumbled beside some bins.
"W-what are you?" Shane said.
Jade suddenly calmed, her mind firing into action when she spotted the boils and blisters covering the creature's body.
"H-help me..." it said, falling suddenly to the ground.
"Jade... It said 'we'. Is there another?"
Jade moved her torch around the area again and spotted the creature's companion, half squeezed out of human skin and clearly dead, slumped against the wall.
Suddenly, a man appeared behind Jade and Shane, and they both let out screams of varying pitches.
"Hello! Thanks for everything you've done so far, but I'll take it from here," the man said slapping them both on the back and squeezing between them to take a closer look at the still-breathing creature.
"Are you in pain?" he asked, with tenderness.
The creature nodded its baby-faced head. From his pocket, the man pulled out a silvery wand-shaped tool that seemed to buzz at a high pitch and glowed with a hypnotic purple light.
"I'm afraid it's not looking good, my friend. I'm sorry. I'll try and make you comfortable."
"This is judgement," the creature croaked, its eyes blinking slowly as if every movement cost all of its energy.
"Shhh, it's OK, I'll get to the bottom of this, I promise."
The man stroked the creature's head comfortingly, and then it breathed its last, sinking into his touch.
"What is that thing?" Shane asked, bluntly, unable to contain his curiosity.
"Oh! I didn't realise you were both still here. You should really say you're staying. Or wear a bell. Or just loudly declare you've decided to linger."
"I'm calling despatch."
"No need. They're dead. And you lot wouldn't know what to do with them anyway."
"They're aliens," Jade said, matter-of-factly.
"Bingo! Ten points to the lady in fluroscent," the man said, clicking his finger in Jade's direction.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The man looked like he'd been waiting for this question.
"I'm the Doctor. And these poor things," he gestured behind him "are Raxacoricofallapatorians. Yes, they're aliens. But they live here now, nearby in Trap Street. And some thing's wrong with the inhabitants. They're ill, and I can't figure out what's wrong with them."
The Doctor looked at his captive audience and their raised eyebrows.
"Sorry, I do like to witter on. Probably should learn to hold my tongue, going about telling everybody my business," he laughed at himself.
"What do we do?" Shane asked in a hushed voice, turning to Jade.
"I'm not sure."
"Go home? Forget all this? Tell despatch it was a hoax?"
"You go home," she replied, resting a hand on Shane's shoulder.
Jade then turned to the Doctor and withdrew her hand.
"I need to know more. Maybe I can help."
"Jade, now is not the time for one of your reckless quests to help everybody. You can't save everyone!" Shane hissed.
This remark obviously hit a nerve, and he quickly apologised, but it was too late: she was making her way to the Doctor, who had stayed staring, hands in his pockets.
"Let me help. I don't care what they are... They were suffering, and I'd like to help."
"You're more than welcome to join. Shall we?" the Doctor said, offering his arm.
Although a little old fashioned, catching Jade off guard, she still accepted the arm and strode off with the Doctor down into the darkness of the alley.