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TW fic: Children of (another) Earth. AU. 1/5
I have no idea why I'm posting this now. It's been sat in a folder for... ages and ages. Just started thinking about it last night, and decided that I really ought to just polish it off and get it posted, even though it is about the least Christmassy thing I can possibly think of.
Title: Children of (another) Earth.
Setting: The five days of 'Children of Earth', but in a parallel universe.
Summary: What would have happened if the 456 came to Alex's world. A re-write, not a fix-it.
Rating: 15.
Word count (this chapter): 800+
Characters: Lucy, Jack, Sarah Jane, Johnson, Alice, Steven, Dekker, OC (Alex).
A/N: After CoE aired I wondered if there was a way of incorporating the events into my Alex 'verse somehow. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that it'd be impossible. Because this is what would happen... So, it's AU from canon and from my own AU. Doubly AU?
There'll be one chapter for every day, and they'll all be from different points of view, and in some cases very restricted - if you've not seen CoE you won't have a clue what's going on, since most of the action takes place 'off-screen'. No knowledge of Alex's world needed, apart from the fact that in this world the Master and Lucy had a son during The Year That Never Was, and everything went AU from then on out.
The only other thing is that it'll help if you watch this, which is the beginning of 'In The Night Garden' - a programme very popular with young children. The little blue chap in the boat is called Igglepiggle.
Day One.
“Mum… there’s a funny smell.”
Hand stilling on the curtain, Lucy slowly turns towards her son’s bed. He’s sitting up, blond hair in disarray from sleep, but there is a frown on his chubby 2 year old face.
“What sort of smell?” she asks cautiously. It could be a gas-leak… or maybe even carbon monoxide – the things he can sense are endless.
“Dunno.”
He yawns, and then closes his eyes and breathes in deeply.
“It’s from out there somewhere.”
He points out the window, towards the sky, and Lucy feels her insides turn to lead.
“From space? It’s some kind of aliens?”
“I guess so,” he says, rubbing his nose. “It’s kinda yukky.”
“OK…” Lucy answers carefully. “Why don’t you come downstairs for your breakfast and watch In the Night Garden, and I’ll call the Doctor.”
Alexander nods, grabs his Igglepiggle doll and clambers out of bed, and Lucy tries to smile.
She is not smiling half an hour later when she still hasn’t got through to the Doctor.
It is typical – he’s probably running around on some pointless alien planet, saving talking vegetables or something… for one moment she lets herself wish them back to the Valiant and a life free from worry, but then shakes it off. She needs to get Alexander dressed if they’re to get to playgroup in time – routine is very important, especially now.
As she enters the front room, he looks up from his breakfast.
“Mum?”
“Yes darling?”
“There was… a thing. In my head.”
“What sort of thing?” she asks, puzzled and alarmed.
“A stopping thing. It’s gone now.”
Lucy stands very still. Yellow Cbeebies bugs are bouncing around the TV screen, and then the next programme starts up. Taking a deep breath, she forces her face into a smile.
“Well if it’s gone, then that’s OK, yes? Look, I brought your favourite top for you to wear.”
He happily lets her dress him, and when they’re at the playgroup later, Lucy is almost successful in eradicating her worries, as she tries to make small talk with the nannies and the yummy mummies. She’s good at this, this fake-pleasantness, and it gives her smile an extra shade remembering how she once ruled them all.
And then… silence, where there should be noise. Every child has stopped; standing – or sitting – perfectly still.
In seconds adults have scattered across the room, trying not to panic. Lucy can feel her hands shaking as she tries to turn Alexander’s little face towards her.
‘A stopping thing’ he’d said…
Then- an unearthly, piercing scream.
“Alexander!”
And as if by a miracle he shakes his head and turns to her.
“Mum?”
She hugs him, so relieved she could cry, and then notices that the other children haven’t moved at all, and are now all speaking in perfect sync.
“We… we… we…”
Alexander rubs his head and looks around.
“It’s like… a radio? But the signal is a bit not working properly.”
He closes his eyes and does his ‘I’m concentrating’ face that usually makes them all laugh.
“They’re trying to say ‘We are coming’.”
Lucy doesn’t wait any longer, and – ignoring the stares from the others – picks up her son and runs out the door, strapping him into his pushchair with shaking hands.
As she walks home she tries the Doctor’s number five more times, but has a horrible feeling that if these aliens can use children to communicate, then they probably know how to block signals too…
Alexander seems unfazed, and she puts on a DVD for him to watch as she decides to go to plan B.
To her immense relief Jack actually answers on first ring.
“Lucy! I was just thinking of you.”
“Shut up Jack, I need-“
“Listen – is Alex affected?”
She sighs.
“He was, but he snapped out of it. Said it was like a broadcast in his head.”
“Fascinating. Thank you, that is actually very helpful. You know-“
“Jack! Do you know what is happening?”
There is a pause.
“No. But if we had a kid to study…”
Lucy pictures smashing his head in, in vivid detail. Wouldn’t be the first time. He breaks so beautifully.
“I swear by the end of time, Jack Harkness, if you ever touch my son-“
“But Lucy, if we could work out what’s going on, maybe-“
“No. Find a child of your own. Actually, let your little worker bees deal with that, and you could come and protect us.”
There is a pause.
“Excuse me?”
“My son is the most important child on the planet Jack, if anything happens to him…”
She can’t finish the sentence. He’s her everything, her reason to exist.
“He is also, apparently, the only safe child,” Jack snaps back, then mellows his voice. “Please Lucy-“
“Not in a hundred trillion years. But you can call me back when you know anything.”
Before he can reply, she switches off the phone.
Bloody Torchwood. At least they’re tenacious. She just hopes that they don’t run out of employees before they discover what’s going on and put a stop to it.
Sighing deeply she fetches her address book and the laptop. Time to exploit old connections.
Day Two.
Title: Children of (another) Earth.
Setting: The five days of 'Children of Earth', but in a parallel universe.
Summary: What would have happened if the 456 came to Alex's world. A re-write, not a fix-it.
Rating: 15.
Word count (this chapter): 800+
Characters: Lucy, Jack, Sarah Jane, Johnson, Alice, Steven, Dekker, OC (Alex).
A/N: After CoE aired I wondered if there was a way of incorporating the events into my Alex 'verse somehow. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that it'd be impossible. Because this is what would happen... So, it's AU from canon and from my own AU. Doubly AU?
There'll be one chapter for every day, and they'll all be from different points of view, and in some cases very restricted - if you've not seen CoE you won't have a clue what's going on, since most of the action takes place 'off-screen'. No knowledge of Alex's world needed, apart from the fact that in this world the Master and Lucy had a son during The Year That Never Was, and everything went AU from then on out.
The only other thing is that it'll help if you watch this, which is the beginning of 'In The Night Garden' - a programme very popular with young children. The little blue chap in the boat is called Igglepiggle.
Day One.
“Mum… there’s a funny smell.”
Hand stilling on the curtain, Lucy slowly turns towards her son’s bed. He’s sitting up, blond hair in disarray from sleep, but there is a frown on his chubby 2 year old face.
“What sort of smell?” she asks cautiously. It could be a gas-leak… or maybe even carbon monoxide – the things he can sense are endless.
“Dunno.”
He yawns, and then closes his eyes and breathes in deeply.
“It’s from out there somewhere.”
He points out the window, towards the sky, and Lucy feels her insides turn to lead.
“From space? It’s some kind of aliens?”
“I guess so,” he says, rubbing his nose. “It’s kinda yukky.”
“OK…” Lucy answers carefully. “Why don’t you come downstairs for your breakfast and watch In the Night Garden, and I’ll call the Doctor.”
Alexander nods, grabs his Igglepiggle doll and clambers out of bed, and Lucy tries to smile.
She is not smiling half an hour later when she still hasn’t got through to the Doctor.
It is typical – he’s probably running around on some pointless alien planet, saving talking vegetables or something… for one moment she lets herself wish them back to the Valiant and a life free from worry, but then shakes it off. She needs to get Alexander dressed if they’re to get to playgroup in time – routine is very important, especially now.
As she enters the front room, he looks up from his breakfast.
“Mum?”
“Yes darling?”
“There was… a thing. In my head.”
“What sort of thing?” she asks, puzzled and alarmed.
“A stopping thing. It’s gone now.”
Lucy stands very still. Yellow Cbeebies bugs are bouncing around the TV screen, and then the next programme starts up. Taking a deep breath, she forces her face into a smile.
“Well if it’s gone, then that’s OK, yes? Look, I brought your favourite top for you to wear.”
He happily lets her dress him, and when they’re at the playgroup later, Lucy is almost successful in eradicating her worries, as she tries to make small talk with the nannies and the yummy mummies. She’s good at this, this fake-pleasantness, and it gives her smile an extra shade remembering how she once ruled them all.
And then… silence, where there should be noise. Every child has stopped; standing – or sitting – perfectly still.
In seconds adults have scattered across the room, trying not to panic. Lucy can feel her hands shaking as she tries to turn Alexander’s little face towards her.
‘A stopping thing’ he’d said…
Then- an unearthly, piercing scream.
“Alexander!”
And as if by a miracle he shakes his head and turns to her.
“Mum?”
She hugs him, so relieved she could cry, and then notices that the other children haven’t moved at all, and are now all speaking in perfect sync.
“We… we… we…”
Alexander rubs his head and looks around.
“It’s like… a radio? But the signal is a bit not working properly.”
He closes his eyes and does his ‘I’m concentrating’ face that usually makes them all laugh.
“They’re trying to say ‘We are coming’.”
Lucy doesn’t wait any longer, and – ignoring the stares from the others – picks up her son and runs out the door, strapping him into his pushchair with shaking hands.
As she walks home she tries the Doctor’s number five more times, but has a horrible feeling that if these aliens can use children to communicate, then they probably know how to block signals too…
Alexander seems unfazed, and she puts on a DVD for him to watch as she decides to go to plan B.
To her immense relief Jack actually answers on first ring.
“Lucy! I was just thinking of you.”
“Shut up Jack, I need-“
“Listen – is Alex affected?”
She sighs.
“He was, but he snapped out of it. Said it was like a broadcast in his head.”
“Fascinating. Thank you, that is actually very helpful. You know-“
“Jack! Do you know what is happening?”
There is a pause.
“No. But if we had a kid to study…”
Lucy pictures smashing his head in, in vivid detail. Wouldn’t be the first time. He breaks so beautifully.
“I swear by the end of time, Jack Harkness, if you ever touch my son-“
“But Lucy, if we could work out what’s going on, maybe-“
“No. Find a child of your own. Actually, let your little worker bees deal with that, and you could come and protect us.”
There is a pause.
“Excuse me?”
“My son is the most important child on the planet Jack, if anything happens to him…”
She can’t finish the sentence. He’s her everything, her reason to exist.
“He is also, apparently, the only safe child,” Jack snaps back, then mellows his voice. “Please Lucy-“
“Not in a hundred trillion years. But you can call me back when you know anything.”
Before he can reply, she switches off the phone.
Bloody Torchwood. At least they’re tenacious. She just hopes that they don’t run out of employees before they discover what’s going on and put a stop to it.
Sighing deeply she fetches her address book and the laptop. Time to exploit old connections.
Day Two.
no subject
no subject
Thank you. :)
I love your Lucy pov and this "Lucy pictures smashing his head in, in vivid detail. Wouldn’t be the first time. He breaks so beautifully." is totally chilling.
Isn't it just? I *adore* writing Lucy... (This should probably worry me. Heh.)
. I couldn't imagine the 456 being able to get to Alex, but I can quite understand Lucy not wanting to let Jack use him as a guinea pig. Very interesting start :)
It very neat writing characters with conflicting interests, esp when they hate each other, but have something in common despite everything. Which is all very convoluted... I should probably get back to editing fic. ;)
no subject
no subject
Thank you! And more coming - one of the chapters is from his POV! :)
no subject
no subject
:)
Great Lucy pov, and I like that Alex is affected but not completely and enough to snap out of it.
Thank you! And this was the temptation of my 'verse - how would a Timelord child react? And of course he's so young that he can't really explain things in any detail.
"Find one of your own" of course carries a great extra punch.
I was very pleased with that one, yes.
"And then you could come and protect us" immediately after is just so beautifully Lucy-esque as a sequitur.
I absolutely love writing her - in this 'verse her entire focus is her son, which in many ways makes her a lot more dangerous.
Now I'm very curious whether she'll meet Denise Riley.
You'll have to wait and see, I'm afraid...
no subject
no subject
Well it is, and it isn't. (Might edit the author's note a bit.) It's AU from my regular Alex 'verse... For a start Torchwood - and Ianto - are still around when Alex is twenty, so... *g*
On this note, two things - one, love how you write Lucy
Thank you. For some reason I have a great affinity with (semi-) evil characters. They just work for me.
two, was it ever explained why the Doctor wasn't there?
Nope. Best suggestions: 1) It was a fixed point, or 2) The 456 blocked communications from Earth, so no one could get hold of him. (Which is the theory I've gone with here.)
no subject
And of course she can't get a hold of the Doctor. It's a Fixed Point, isn't it?
I'm intrigued by Jack's ruthlessness. Very canon, and not what I'm used to seeing in fic.
But always good to see more Alex-verse!
no subject
Isn't she just? Making her a mother is great. :)
And of course she can't get a hold of the Doctor. It's a Fixed Point, isn't it?
You know, it's fascinating to see everyone's ideas about where the story is going. But I'm not saying anything!
I'm intrigued by Jack's ruthlessness. Very canon, and not what I'm used to seeing in fic.
CoE is overflowing with ruthlessness. I love it. :)
But always good to see more Alex-verse!
AU Alex verse, but yes. Heh. AU from an AU. I don't even know what that is.
no subject
A-AU? Gingerbread House? ::frowns:: Are there blimps floating in the air over this London?
The "Cut off Communications" idea is an interesting one too. And The Doctor could figure it out and swoop in to save the day! Or, you know, not. I know it's not a popular reaction in fandom, but I love the darkness of CoE!
no subject
LOL! :D
The "Cut off Communications" idea is an interesting one too.
I rather like the fact that canon doesn't give us an answer. Well, apart from Gwen's 'Oh how ashamed he must be!!!' - but really, the Doctor is well aware of humanity's failures. (Not to mention his own.) You never know, if Jack ever comes on DW again (Pretty please Santa Moff? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease?) we might get an answer of sorts...
And The Doctor could figure it out and swoop in to save the day! Or, you know, not.
See, this was part of the reason I wrote it. What would happen if the Doctor had a personal stake in things? What if he came? What if he didn't? Etc etc.
I know it's not a popular reaction in fandom, but I love the darkness of CoE!
Oh you and me both. It broke my heart, but it was so well done - without a doubt it's RTD's masterpiece.