StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Introductory notes, can be skipped for the disinterested

So this is an idea that should probably have never been written.

An image floated around the internet recently of the "British Avengers" which was a crossover of a ludicrous amount of UK based heroes.

My brain thought how ridiculous it was, then my brain wanted to imagine how it could be done.

Then my brain wanted it written. So I did.

I didn't use all the figures in the traditional image largely because:
A. Gene Hunt or whatever? No thank you.
B. I wanted more women.

So now we have a crossover of:

Doctor Who - For those that care it is set in the 11th Doctor era, probably sometime mid Season 7 after he has lost Amy and Rory.

Sherlock - For those that care set sometime mid season 2.

Harry Potter - For those that care it is set after the books.

Tomb Raider- For those that care I only really know the movies - it is set after them.

James Bond - Come on? A canon? For Bond? Come on!

The Avengers - For those that care treat this is a modern reboot.

It is already written, I am just posting slowly so I can give each section a check through for spelling/grammar. I hope people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I don't expect it to change anyone's life, but hopefully it has its fun moments.

Story Begins
The fire raged around the Doctor, his face blackened and bloodied. He slammed his hand down onto a barely visible scorched button on his TARDIS’ console.

“You can’t control her anymore Doctor.”

The voice was more present this time, it wasn’t echoing around the TARDIS’ endless halls.

“You can’t resist gloating,” the Doctor resisted a knowing smile. “Even when it puts you at grave risk.”

“Really Doctor,” the voice came from a humanoid form, glowing with the TADIS energy it was composed of. “Do you really believe you can threaten me now?”

“Why do you always have to try to hurt those around me?” the Doctor dragged his body round to face his enemy, and leant his wearied and wounded body on the console. “Why do you hurt my companions, my friends?”

“Your pet?” the figure, so bright its features were not discernible began to float forward.

The Doctor pressed his weight onto the back of his feet.

“She is not my pet,” he said slowly before jumping forward into the form of his enemy and squeezed his sonic screwdriver, its green energy intermingling with the yellow energy of the Master.

The figure yelled in frustrated anger and defiance and tried to struggle away from the Doctor’s grip.

“You may have been able to worm your way into her systems because I couldn’t stand to hurt her,” the Doctor’s voice was deep and almost a growl. “But if I give her the chance she will hurt herself to make sure you don’t corrupt her.”

“I’ll survive,” the figure said. “And just to spite you I’ll be master of your precious Earth and this time I’ll make it suffers like never before.”

“And I’ll stop you, again,” the Doctor said just before the teleport kicked in – powered by the TARDIS core and sending both passengers hurtling through space barely protected from the void and blasting pieces of the control room in every direction.

//

The Doctor didn’t have long, he knew that. He didn’t know exactly where he was; Earth, probably twentieth or twenty first century Britain, probably London by the smell, and he was in someone else’s flat. This was probably going to annoy them. Particularly as he was about to collapse from the combination of the explosion and the exposure to the void.

“Who are....?What...? how did you...?” a voice came from behind him.

“Doctor...” he coughed out in an attempted response to the first question as he turned

“How did you know I was a Doctor?” the man asked, not putting down either the toast or the newspaper he was carrying.

“I didn’t,” the Doctor struggled to get his words out and fell to his knees. “That’s me. Don’t treat me, hide me, two hearts, he’ll come for me He’s taken my TARDIS, and my regenerations...”

“Your what?”

“I’ll have to stop him,” the Doctor was on his hands and knees by now..

“Stop who?”

“The Master.”

And with that the Doctor collapsed onto the carpet.

“John are you talking to yourself agai...” another robed figure entered the room.

“Sherlock this man just appeared out of nowhere in front of me,” Doctor John Watson looked at his friend to try and make this man, this entirely rational man, believe something so insane.

“And I thought it was going to be a slow day.”

“Come along Emma,” John Steed revved the Bentley’s engine and tooted the little air horn on the side. “The bosses await us.”

Emma Peel half danced down the steps of the town house she had come to call home recently and flopped into the car. She was strangely energised; usually a call to go the HQ was one that caused her brain to rot.

“Emma?” she asked. “I don’t think you have called me Emma before.”

“First time for everything Mrs. Peel,” Steed smiled a new smile, one that was new on him. “I feel quite a new man today.”

Steed set the old car, a car that would have been anachronistic had it been fifty years earlier let alone 2012, leisurely on its way down the road.

“There’s something different about you,” Emma said. “Are you up to something... John?”

“I might be,” John Steed pulled around the roundabout. “Best not to think about it; it’s a surprise. You might even like it.”

“I am not always unduly fond of surprises.”

“Here,” Steed said turning on the radio. “Take your mind off it.”

She found herself drifting along in thought as the melody of The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra played and seemed to be singing the praises of the grand London architecture that surrounded them as they headed towards Westminster.

She found far sooner than she expected that the grand buildings were replaced by darkness as Steed’s Bentley descended into the tunnels beneath the Palace of Westminster to their headquarters.

“Good morning Mr. Steed, Mrs. Peel,” Vincent said at the door as he glanced over their passes.

“Its Emma and John now apparently,” Mrs Peel smiled her mocking smile at the man she still thought of as Steed; their shared mock formality was one of the things she held most fondly. She still struggled with why he might want to distance himself from it.

“I’d best stick to Ma’am and Sir if I know what’s good for me,” Vincent saluted and opened the barriers for them.

“Good young lad that Vincent,” Emma smiled.

“Your type perhaps?” Steed smiled.

“Perhaps.”

Steed parked the Bentley and they headed towards the security desks. After they had got through security Steed took her by the arm gently and whispered.

“Would you mind going on ahead to the boss? I just have to run a quick errand; it is to do with the surprise.” Steed walked away from her with a heavier tread and more determined stride than she was used to.

As she began to wonder about him she found herself whistling Britten and sat with the boss, codename ‘H’, she suspected, for Holmes.

“Why are you whistling?” Mycroft asked.

Emma continued to whistle contentedly, sat in the chair across from Mycroft.

“Are you feeling alright? Emma Peel are you feeling focused?”

She mentally shook herself and bolted to her feet.

“No,” she said. “Something’s wrong with Steed.”

At that moment the alarms blared out briefly before they were suddenly silenced by a resounding crack that also knocked out all of the lights.

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Mycroft’s voice penetrated the darkness before he lifted his phone. “The line is also dead. What is wrong with Steed?”

“I don’t know, but he seemed different enough today to be suspicious, and the fact that he went to run an errand and this has happened. I think there were some elements of hypnosis on me involved,” as she spoke she tried her mobile phone to see if it would produce light but it did not respond, she made her way to the door.

The door swung open and a voice spoke through the darkness.

“Hold still or we fire; Mr. Holmes are you alright?” came the voice of the Captain of the guard.

“Yes thank you,” Mycroft said. “Where is Steed?”

“He did it Sir, I saw the beginning on the monitors,” the Captain said. “He went to vault twenty six and immediately attacked the guard, killing him with a concealed blade before using some kind of small device to open the vault. He then used the same vault to knock out electrical equipment in what I suspect must be the whole base. I came here as soon as I could, is Mrs Peel here?”

“Yes,” she said as she lit up a rag she had covered in Mycroft’s vodka which she wrapped around an umbrella. “Over
by the drinks cabinet.”

“That won’t stay lit for long,” Mycroft said

“I’ll top it up,” Emma said as she grabbed bottles as refills. “You always have the strongest stuff over to the left side of the table. To avoid temptation?”

“Those are very expensive,” the Captain said.

“So are the contents of vault twenty six,” Mycroft said. “Give her your side arm Captain. Go.”

Emma caught the pistol and weaved her way across the room and through the corridors heading towards the vaults. Soon she could hear the sound of men yelling and screaming as she approached the darkened chaos.

As she came round a corner she saw a small yellow light point of light suddenly point in her direction almost as soon as she saw it. She dived to the ground and rolled throwing a small flask of vodka she had in her pocket at the source. Upon impact she heard Steed’s voice give an expression of pain in a way she had never heard from him before; the voice was angry.

She leapt off a wall and slammed down upon his body as her makeshift torch went out. She grabbed onto Steed’s forearms.

“What’s going on Steed?” she asked calmly.

“I suppose he is a Steed in some ways,” Steed’s voice said. “Carrying me from place to place.”

“Then who are you?” she asked.

“I am The Master,” he said. “Pleased to meet you Emma.”

A button clicked on the device he held in his hand and the lights flared on and the alarms blared. In a moment she saw the slaughter around her and in that distraction she was thrown to the side. She rolled and pulled the pistol out of her belt and fired it just above Steed’s head. This was just enough to get the Master’s attention and he instinctively ducked giving her enough time to leap upwards and swat the device he held out of his hand and grab the bag he was carrying.

“I can see why he liked you,” Steed’s voice was more his own this time, with all the charm and lightness she had come to know. “You’re very clever.”

The Master slammed his foot onto the device on the ground and a yellow bolt of energy blasted along the ground into her foot. As her leg buckled she used what power she had in her other leg and arms to pull the bag open and its contents – two chest plates of some kind – spilled onto the ground. The Master scooped up one chest plate and his device as soldiers’ boots could be heard approaching.

“Time to go,”

The Master clicked a button on his device and the lights all went out across the complex. Emma tried to move after him but her foot was too damaged to do much more than crawl.

“That usually works,” Lara put her pistols back into their holsters and turned around and began to run.

“Lara, what’s going on?” the voice of her technical assistant, Bryce, came over the comm..

“Hit a bit of a snag, the old five rounds rapid didn’t do anything,” Lara leapt from where she was standing, on top of a temple in the middle of the jungle. She grabbed onto a vine and swung towards a tree.

“What did you wake up this time?” asked Bryce.

“Humanoid, silvery, and...”

There was a flash and small explosion where she was about to plant herself and she let go of the vine in surprise and dropped a few feet before grabbing onto a lower branch and spinning herself around.

“It can fire laser blasts.”

“Did the ancient Incans have that kind of technology?” came the voice of Hilly, her butler.

“If they did they kept quiet about it,” Lara had to leap from branch to branch as further blasts demonstrated that this power wasn’t some kind of one off.

“I’ll send in some of the toys,” Bryce said.

“I’ll get into covering positions.” Hilly said.

“Stay out of sight,” Lara said. “This is new.”

Lara was relieved however when she heard Bryce’s “toys” flying their way through the jungle treetops towards her attacker. As it looked up at them she took the chance to observe her attacker; there was an armament on it for sure, and it was joined on to its arm which it was now aiming at the “toys”.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” she muttered. “Futuristic”

“Cyberman,” came a voice over the comlink.

“What did you say?” she asked running into the temple through the door and beginning to work her way upwards.

“I didn’t say anything,” Bryce’s voice was at its pique. “This thing is taking them out in one shot, they’re properly armoured peices of metal! That shouldn’t be happening.”

“It isn’t half a bad shot either,” Hillie said. “And I didn’t say anything either. Let me know when you want me to open fire.”

“Almost,” Lara was charging up the stairs and prepping something in her hands, she leapt from stair to stair avoiding trap locations she had spotted on her way in the first time, before this thing had confronted her.

“That’s the last of them down,” Bryce said.

“Behind the back of the head,” came a voice over the comm.

“Now Hillie,” Lara said.

Hillie opened fire with his rifle and the creature turned and opened fire at him as Lara emerged from inside the temple onto the balcony planting an explosive behind the head of the creature and planting a grappling hook onto the temple before leaping over the side.

An explosion rocked the creature and it sunk to its knees as Lara slammed into the temple wall and eased herself towards the ground

“Best be quick, more may come,” a voice said over the comm..

“OK who is that?” Lara snapped. “Thank you for everything but who is that?”

“Come inside and see.”

She scrambled to her feet and headed inside and found a man in a suit and long brown coat standing before her, glowing.

“For an ancient Incan spirit you’re a lot more Caucasian thank I expected, and, a lot more sharply dressed, although... convers?” she took in the view of the man in front of her as best she could, but he was an odd sight even on this odd day.

“They’re my running shoes,” the man explained. “But I don’t have much time. Hello, I’m... well I’m not sure who I am really... usually I’d say I’m the Doctor but that’s not true at the moment, he doesn’t look like me anymore, well not in our mutual timeframe, he’s probably around looking like me somewhere but right now he looks different. Anyway I suppose I’m more of a combination of the spirit of the TARDIS, an incredible amount of time energy, and the physical projections and ideas kept inside the emergency programs within the TARDIS, only he hasn’t updated them to have his new face yet so here I am, stuck with face ten. Hello.”

“A lot of that made no sense to me, and you said you didn’t have much time,” Lara said.

“Right yes, distractable, always was, still am, course now it’s more of an echo, a personality echo embedded within the echoes of the circuits of the... I’m doing it right now aren’t I?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll start making sense. I’ve exploded."

“Exploded?”

“Well... that’s the simplest way of putting it. A dangerous man, a Time Lord, by the name of the Master had hidden himself inside me, I’m a ship by the way, and he tried to take me over. The only other Time Lord, the Doctor, who I usually travel with, and I, had to stop him. We had to come up with a rather extreme reaction and, well, to cut a long story short...”

“Exploded?”

“Yep. One of the pieces is here, the Incans built a temple round it because this projection appeared to them and I tried to explain I wasn’t a God but... well, sometimes I just seem godlike I guess.”

“Where is the piece?”

“I’m standing on it.”

Lara dug into the sand and found a piece of wood, perfectly preserved. At any other time she would have thought
that it couldn’t be what she was looking for, especially as it had English words “Police telephone box, call to open” written on it.

“I suppose this is actually it,” Lara said.

“Precisely.”

The figure began to fade.

“I told you I didn’t have much time,” he said.

“Wait, what do you want me to do with this?” Lara asked. “Are there more pieces?”

“Yes,” the voice said. “I’ll be around somewhere, find the Doctor, via UNIT if you have to. And keep it away from the Master.”

The figure was gone.

Hilly and Bryce came through the entrance.

“Lara,” Hilly said. “Are you alright? Does it all make sense now?”

“No,” Lara said. “But we have some people to contact.”

//

Emma Peel read over her notes again as she considered once again walking herself around the hospital room.

“Mrs Peel,” said the nurse at the door. “Mr. Mycroft is here for you.”

“Its Mr. Homes,” Mycroft sighed as he came through the door. “People just don’t like to confuse me...”

“With your more famous brother,” Mrs Peel finished for him. “I know.”

“How are you Emma?” Mycroft’s smile never truly put her at ease, but it was an attempt to be not truly business like and it concerned her.

“You have bad news,” Emma said. “I know it.”

“Worse news than a break in by one of our top agents...”

“It wasn’t Steed,” she said. “Steed is a good man. He is possessed somehow.”

“Perhaps,” he said sitting down. “But first of all I want your full report.”

“Of course.”

She delivered the report as she half limped around the room, occasionally stopping to lean on the bed frame or a chair.

“Do we know what was stolen?” Emma asked.

“Not precisely,” Mycroft said. “The chest plates were something we picked up around a decade ago because they were showing odd readings on various scanners we have around the place keeping an eye out for... strange activity.”

“What kind of strange activity?” Emma asked.

“There are more things in Heaven and Earth Mrs Peel, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” Mycroft leant forward.
“I’m afraid now is the time to give you the bad news.”

“What is it? Is it Steed?” she asked.

“No contact as of yet,” Mycroft said. “Possessed or not.”

“As soon as I get out I’ll track him down and bring him in,” she said.

“I’m afraid that’s not the chosen course of action,” Mycroft got up from his chair. “We’re assigning someone from outside the department to track him down and... terminate him.”

Emma said nothing.

“I’m sorry Emma,” Myrcroft threw his coat over his shoulders. “But there are too many things at stake to think of our fondness for Steed.”

“Our fondness?” Emma asked.

“Yes,” Mycroft said. “Ours.”

Mycroft opened the door.

“Mycroft these things you speak of that are beyond my philosophy,” Emma asked. “Are we referring to magic or aliens?”

Mycroft paused and considered for a second.

“Both,” he said and left.

Emma wrapped bandages around her foot and hobbled her way to the window. She knew that Mycroft would know she would go after Steed, and would have taken steps to stop her escaping. Emma knew she did not have long – they would be sending their best after Steed.

//

Emma was not wrong.

“I quite understand. I will get my best on it.... Yes Mycroft I know, he will have to be briefed on the wider picture.” the woman said as she put the phone down.

She pressed a button on her intercom.

“Pull 007 from his assignment, get him back here as fast as possible.”

The Master, still inhabiting the body of John Steed, was whistling a jaunty tune as he strapped the chest plate to himself in the middle of Kings Cross station.

“Can I help you Sir?” asked a policeman who had stepped up to him investigating this strange behaviour.

“Yes probably my good man,” the Master smiled, he enjoyed the extreme politeness of this body; this incarnation of sorts. “I was wondering if you might help me make a scene.”

“If this is some performance artist thing I haven’t really got the time for...”

In a flash the Master’s device, in fact a laser screwdriver, was in his hand and fired out a pulse at the policeman who was thrown backwards into his partner. The Master brought out a short wooden stick from his other sleeve and began to wave it in the air.

“Expelliarmentirum, Abjuranus!” he shouted amid a cackling of energy, a billowing of smoke and a rushing of winds all around him.

His scene was set, the stage and place perfect. He began to levitate upwards in the air and he fired out blasts from his laser screwdriver as the crowds screamed and dispersed.

“And in five.. four... three... two... one,” the Master dropped to the floor as a wall of energy slammed into him.

“In the name of the Ministry of Magic! Stand down and face arrest!” a voice shouted over the din of the wind that whistled all around them, through the smoke the Master could just about make out a shape.

“I shall do no such thing!” the Master shouted. “You’ll have to do better than that!”

“We are authorised to use lethal force!” shouted another voice from the Master’s right.

The smoke began to clear and in the otherwise abandoned station the Master saw two dozen men and women all in brown coats, all clutching wands and all pointing directly at him.

“Do any of you recognise him?” asked the one who had first spoken.

“None of you do,” the Master said. “Aren’t I right? Now I give you two options. I have no idea how things work on your side of the divide but on this side of the divide I am about to make myself ruler and there is nothing you can do to stop me. I, however, would like some useful people around and your knowledge of the energies you call magic could help me a great deal.”

“Who are you?” asked the lead man.

“Oh please,” the Master said. “That’s rude. It is far better to introduce oneself first.”

“Fine,” the man said. “My name is Harry Potter, I am head of the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic, I have defeated Voldemort, whom I suspect you have some fealty to, and if you do not come peaceably now I will have to use force.”

“Well then, Harry,” the Master tipped his cap with his laser screwdriver and twisted a lever with his thumb. “It is a pleasure to meet you, but I’m afraid if you or your associates aren’t fast enough I will aim my other hand at you and speak the words of a killing curse.”

The Master whipped his hand towards Harry and all around him the combined force of the Aurors, and a few from the Ministry who weren’t, fired off powerful spells at the Master. Each and every one of them backfired.

“Ferrekuntash Ferrekuntesh,” the Master said to no effect before smiling. “In one land on a distant planet that is the curse of an Emperor that means his servant must die for failing him. I did not lie, I spoke the words of a killing curse at you. The fact that they would have done nothing doesn’t change a thing. Thanks for incapacitating yourselves though.”

The wizards and witches attempted to get up as the Master took the wand from Harry.

“This one should do me,” the Master said. “Now I can use magic, rather than that little bag of tricks that fooled you quite so easily. Humans, even with great power you’ll always see the enemy you want to see.”

The Master muttered under his breath and threw magical spells, curses, at the surrounding wizards and witches, as they each in turn either ran or attempted their own spells only for them to backfire again.

“Why are our spells backfiring?” came a woman’s voice over the din.

“I don’t know!” shouted another. “It’s like magic is disrupted!”

“It is isn’t it?” the Master laughed bringing sections of the roof inwards largely for his own amusement.

“Ron! Hermione! Get them back to the Ministry!” shouted Harry as he spoke a short wandless spell that brought his broomstick to him, though even this made pain go up through his arm. “I’ll handle this Master!”

“I can help!” Ron shouted running directly at the Master to attack him head on. The Master flicked his wand at him sending Ron to the floor painfully.

“No! I have to do this alone!” Harry shouted. “I can travel faster on my own, he won’t catch me. I’m going to the Huvux Stone!”

“The what?” Ron managed to half choke out grabbing onto Hermione as she pulled him up.

“What? No! You can’t!” Hermione shouted. “It’ll turn you evil!”

“Go!” Harry shouted whizzing away on his broomstick.

Hermione grabbed Ron and they headed in full retreat for the divide to Platform 9 and ¾. The Master stopped his pursuit of the others and headed after Harry.

//

The Doctor awoke with a start and checked all his fingers to check they were still there. Beside him John Watson started and dropped his tea.

“Aha! You didn't take me to a hospital!” the Doctor spun off the bed and got up and attempted to straighten his bow-tie only to discover he wasn’t wearing one, dressed as he was in pyjamas.

“Are you feeling alright?” asked his new companion, sat in a chair beside leant back in shock, tea spilled on the floor.

“Yes, quite alright,” he said. “Though I’m missing my regenerative energy, my TARDIS... and my bow-tie.”

“Your bow-tie is in the closet with the rest of your suit hung up,” John said. “I had to clean your wounds and you were covered in... well what I assume is your blood.”

“It is blood. Same as yours, just tastes different, apparently a little bit of raspberries.” the Doctor said. “Right, introductions. I'm the Doctor, you are...”

“John Watson,” the man said. “Doctor... John Watson.”

“Pleasure to meet you; now I arrived with a device, could you...”

“It isn’t a weapon,” said a man coming through the door. “That’s the first thing I notice about it.”

“Sherlock, our friend is...”

“Awake yes, thank you, his eyes were open and he was talking, it is why I came in to talk about his device,” Sherlock said. “Now, I am genuinely curious to know all about you.”

“People always are,” the Doctor smiled. “But there’s a lot that needs to be done, the master is out there...”

“How do you know it’s not a weapon?” John asked.

“Weapons and tools are used in very different ways,” Sherlock said. “First, look at the device; a few buttons here or there but nothing that functions as an off switch or safety. Now this is unfamiliar technology but the principle is the same; you’d want a way to turn it off if you were going to have it holstered. Maybe they trust the holster like a sheath of some kind; swords don’t have an off button. Then you look at the clothing however and it isn’t the clothing of a warrior – there is nowhere to put this device so you can be sure that a button isn’t going to get knocked accidentally. If this was a weapon he’d have no idea if it was going to blow his nipple off when in his top pocket. Then you look at the exact nature of the indentations on his hands; people grip weapons tighter than tools, they’re using them at periods of high stress; there would be evidence of greater variance in his skin’s toughness, and there were no major indentations on his fingers when he arrived.”

“Very good,” the Doctor said.

“Plus I took it to a field, pointed it upwards and pressed it and it didn’t fire out anything that looked dangerous,” Sherlock said throwing it back at the Doctor.

“Thank you,” the Doctor said. “Now, the Master will be up to something. We need to track down where he might be.”

At that moment there was a knock on the door. Mrs Hudson bustled in.

“Sorry to interrupt but something’s going on, there’s been a major incident of some kind at King’s Cross station. People are saying they saw flying men and explosions and people have died. “

“Well that’s where I’d start looking,” Watson said.

Harry Potter swerved just above street level, using skills he hadn’t had to use for a while as his mind raced. From behind him his own wand fired off blasts of energy that cracked into the corners of buildings as he spun away, avoiding the damage he knew he could not avoid forever.

Who was this man? Why had Harry’s, and everyone else’s, magic been useless against this new threat, and how was he going to challenge him beyond this immediate plan?

“You can’t get away young little Wizard!” came the Master’s shout from behind him as he flew along, unaided by a broom, wielding both Harry’s wand and his own technological device. “I’ll stop you and grab this Huvux Stone of yours.”

Harry pulled his broom upwards and raced towards the top of a tower; too many of these blasts were striking lower parts of London buildings where defenceless muggles were. He would take this flight to the skies, and he had noticed that his pursuer seemed to be slowing his attacks and his pursuit – perhaps he was running short of power.

A series of rapid fire blasts came from beneath him rubbishing the theory and splitting his broom. He leapt onto the spike on top of the tower as his broom tumbled beneath him.

“Now,” said the Master. “Tell me about this Huvux Stone that your friend seemed so concerned about.”

“Never,” Harry said stalling for time. “You’ll never learn its secrets; you’ll never gain its power.”

“Look into my eyes,” the Master said to him quietly. Before Harry could look away he found himself drawn into those eyes.

Harry had seen evil before, and ambition. He shuddered at the reminders of how he used to bury a fear of Voldemort
deep within him. Yet at the same time he was reminded of another pair of eyes; those of Dumbledore. The eyes he faced, despite belonging to a young looking face, were lit with experiences, pains, and tales that spanned unimaginable lifetimes.

“Tell me about the Huvux Stone,” the eyes seemed to say.

“It is a lie,” Harry responded. “A ruse. It is code and plan that Hermione set up in case we came up against a foe we could not defeat and needed to tempt. Only she and I know the truth.”

“A ruse,” the Master smiled turning his head away. “I have been getting old. To think I would fall for such a thing. No matter, it has cost you your life.”

The Master turned his device upon Harry when suddenly from beneath them, standing on the top floor of the tower, a man opened fire with a pistol, shattering the glass of the top floor office. The Master was struck twice in the chest before was able to flick a switch on his device and a protective barrier of yellow energy appeared between him and his attacker.

“That was an unfortunate moment to interrupt,” the Master coughed and some blood came to his lips. “Damned weak body.”

“Come on Steed,” said the man. “I don’t care how much power you gain, you’ll still be one man, and you’re riddled with bullets.”

“Two bullets is hardled riddled James,” said the Master who tilted his head. “This body knows you. James Bond, the Queen’s assassin. Agent 007. Always uses a sup bar pistol, and likes his martinis with ice.”

Bond reloaded and pointed his gun again.

“That shield doesn’t look like something that will last forever.”

The Master winced in pain as he pointed the wand at Bond.

“Now what was that spell I heard your friends attempt to cast on me earlier? ... Ava...”

Harry leapt from where he was and grabbed onto the Master and wrestled for the wand.

“Expelleramus!” Harry shouted and the blast struck him, feedback as it had done in the train station. But it was also enough to throw the Master forwards into the tower as Harry fell downwards against the wall of the tower.

A window opened outward inexplicably, just catching him and closing at the right moment to push him into the building, wounded but alive. Down on the ground the Doctor whispered “Gotcha.”

High up at the top floor the Master rolled and came to a halt at the doorway. He rolled onto his front and pointed his
device at Bond and fired. Bond leapt behind cover and aimed his pistol as the door burst open and Emma Peel limped inside.

“Not yet,” Emma put a foot on the Master’s back and shielded him with her body, leaning forward with a hand outstretched, imploringly at Bond.

“Out of the way or I will fire at you!” Bond rose slightly from cover and pulled the trigger back to emphasise his point. “Emma, that isn’t John Steed anymore.”

“There isn’t nearly enough information to know that,” she said.

“Orders come from upstairs, higher ups,” Bond said. “And in two seconds I will be firing this gun, no matter who it hits.”

From underneath Emma came a sphere of telekinetic energy that swept her away into Bond as he opened fire. The Master pulled himself onto one knee, channelling magical energy through the wand and began to bring it into a tornado like whip that he thrashed out towards Bond and Peel. All of a sudden it fizzled to nothing.

“What?” the Master whispered. “That’s not possible unless... Doctor.”

“Stay there,” came a voice from a speaker phone. “This has gone far enough. If you want to fight me, duel me, then let’s do it. Let’s go to the Determinent, or the Hiral galaxy in its final days, make it a duel worth remembering. Not here, not amongst others who will only make it harder for you and for me to really focus.”

Down on the ground the Doctor spoke into a call phone as his sonic screwdriver whirred to make the connection.

“Really Doctor,” the Master said. “Do you really expect me to accept? When have I ever wanted to make it easier for you? And I have done so much work here. I have you regenerative energy, I’ll gather the pieces of your TARDIS, I’ll take over this pathetic planet, and I’ll harness the power of M Space. I can’t believe you’ve hidden it all these years. You may have cut me off to it for a brief respite but I shall get it back. ”

“No,” the Doctor said. “I suppose it explains why I protect this place so much, I’ve always wondered. But to answer your question, no. No I didn’t necessarily expect you to accept my offer but it bought me a little time.”

“Time?” the Master said. “Oh have you got one of your assistants to do your dirty work for you again? Coming up here to arrest me?”

Around the corner came Sherlock and Watson.

“No,” said Sherlock. “I’m not a policeman. What I do have however is a short stick that the Doctor has informed me drain the power from the wand.”

Sherlock gripped a wand, dropped at King’s Cross station not long before, glowing with blue energy.

“Something to do with being a lightening rod,” Watson said. “Apparently you’d understand.”

“I do,” the Master scowled. “Of course I do.”

“And your screwdriver,” Sherlock said. “Running a little short on power wouldn’t you say? Not helped by this place, this whole tower, sucking energy from it.”

The Master looked down at his laser screwdriver, the device he had carried as a backup and saw it drifting to low power.

“No!” the Master shouted pointing the screwdriver at Sherlock.

As he did John leapt in front of Sherlock to block the shot, but before anything came from the Master’s device Bond fired his pistol three times more into the body of John Steed which crumpled to the ground before Emma Peel could wrench the gun from Bond.

As a cloud of yellow energy drifted away from John Steed’s body a noticeable change came over him. He smiled somehow differently and he released his tight grip on his weapons.

“Mrs Peel?” he asked quietly.

Emma crawled forward to him and looked down at him, one hand clasped in his.

“I’d like to just mention that it was awfully good of you to try and save my life,” he said. “Really quite decent all things considered.”

“I’m sorry...”

“Not a bit of it,” John said. “I haven’t behaved that well really, and you really have been quite.... marvellous.”

His head rocked back, and he was dead.

Lara Croft was not used to having much backup; two men who hung back and let her be in the middle of the danger. To go from that to what she had now was a culture shock to say the least.

“Alpha team standing by,” came a voice over the communicator in her ear.

“Beta team standing by,”

“Omega team in position and standing by,”

“This is central point, standing by.”

The final voice was one Lara had got to know over the last few days; Kate Stewart, head of the Unit Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Lara had found her way to her to give her a piece of the TARDIS, this alien bit of technology that had split up in the atmosphere and also scattered in time. They were about to recover one of the largest pieces; to do so they had travelled deep underneath the Pacific Ocean and found a door stuck to the ocean floor. When UNIT had tried to move it they found that impossible – the door opened up and revealed a maze that Kate had identified as TARDIS rooms. She had intended to find the Doctor to get him to help them but so far that had not been possible; and something had forced her hand.

Lara swam along the sea bed, feeling the intense water pressure around her even within her protective suit, and looked at the only visible lights she was using to guide herself. An alien spacecraft – here to claim a piece of ‘Time Lord’ technology for themselves, possibly under some thrall of the Master.

Sontarons were a short and proud warrior race she was told, and they would likely be in slow lumbering protective suits as they made their way across the ocean floor. Lara knew that any moment now would be her window of opportunity when the teams of UNIT made their move.

“Go go go,” came Kate Stewart’s voice over the comm..

UNIT’s submarine, heavily in stealth mode, suddenly fired up its engines and fired its missiles at the Sontaron ship. It wouldn’t penetrate the hull but it certainly got the Sontaron’s attention and forced them to seal their access doors. Meanwhile all around the area where Sontarons had gathered around the door UNIT soldiers fired their lasers, reverse engineered from alien technology. The lasers struck the Sontaron warriors on their backs and lumberingly they turned and began to return fire on the already retreating UNIT soldiers.

Lara swam at their feet and gripped the device in her hand.

“Sonic Lipstick,” Kate Stewart had said. “Secured from the late and excellent Sarah Jane Smith upon her death. We still haven’t quite figured it all out, it seems to be a little isomorphic, but we are confident that it will do the job we need it to do.”

Lara clicked the device and all around her the Sontaron warriors lifted their hands to their helmets in panic as the suits depressurised allowing water to come rushing in. Lara pushed her way into the door. She found herself suddenly in open air and at the whims of a capricious gravity, falling towards a wall. She slammed into the wall and rolled upwards pointing her gun at where she had just come from to see no door.

“Confusing isn’t it?” came a voice from a white curly haired man who was stood a doorway near her.

“How are you standing like that?” Lara asked with one gun pointed at him. He was stood seemingly upside down from her perspective; the whole places gravity seemed to be arbitrary.

The man raised his hands. His velvet cape draping behind him.

“That isn’t going to hurt me you know, I’m not really here,” he said.

“Let me guess, another holographic projection?” she asked.

“Quite right,” said the man. “A far younger version of me. I was barely a few centuries old. I think.”

“You look older than when I last saw you,” Lara eased herself upwards and holstered her pistols and began to make her difficult journey over to him.

“Well I probably did, that’s the thing with regeneration. Anyway, enough chin wagging my dear. You need to make your way through the TARDIS and take hold of its dematerialisation circuit; it, along with many of the TARDIS’ components is in the part of the ship that buried itself here. And if the Sontarons get hold of it they will give it to the Master, and I don’t want to see that.”

“How will I know which way to go?” Lara said as she reached the door and saw multiple corridors.

“Just follow the sound of my voice,” the man disappeared.

“This way,” came a different sounding voice from down another corridor. “Sorry, I’ll try not to change too much.”

As Lara crawled along a corridor’s ceiling she could see the holographic image again, though this time he had brown curly hair, and a long scarf.

“Just don’t start to look like a Sontaron or I’ll waste my...” Lara was about to say bullets. “Lasers?”

“Oh we wouldn’t want that.”

//

“It won’t be long until Mycroft’s people get here,” Bond said. “Let’s secure the area.”

Emma laid down Steed’s head and shut his eyes.

“We need to secure this technology,” Emma said.

“Quite right too,” the Doctor said coming through the door carrying Harry.

“Is he all right?” Bond asked. “I thought he was dead for sure.”

“Well it never hurts to check up on someone,” the Doctor said laying him down. “To see if they can be saved.”

Sherlock approached Bond and Bond only had a moment’s curiosity before Sherlock had disarmed him and was aiming the gun at John Watson. Bond was about to attack back when the Doctor shouted.

“Wait! He knows what he’s doing!”

“Sherlock what are you doing?” Watson asked, backing away astounded.

“Don’t play coy with me, you know I’m too smart for that,” Sherlock said.

“Fine,” Watson smiled a new smile, an unnatural smile for him. “What are you going to do? Shoot? It won’t kill me. I’ll just go into another one of your bodies. I am invulnerable.”

“I will find a way, I don’t know how yet, to make you pay if harm comes to John Watson,” Sherlock said lowering his gun.

The Master, knelt and rolled picking up his wand and screwdriver before rolling out of the window and flying away.

“Base this is Bond...” Bond began on his communicator. “I need a pursuit on...”

“No, let him go,” the Doctor said. “We need to prepare before we can stop him. I think it is about time we all had a little talk.”

I'm interested. Please keep going.

Thank you for the encouragement Lady Tevar. Most appreciated.
It was not long until Mycroft had gathered them in a hospital room in a secure building, sat just outside of London. Harry lay healing on a bed, propped up with visible bruising on him. Emma was having her foot rebandaged as she leant back on a chair, her foot propped up on a stool as a nurse tended to her wound. Sherlock looked through the window, his face not betraying whatever concern he might have for his friend, now out there possessed by some kind of evil alien. The Doctor paced back and forth in front of the two patients as Bond stood by the door with Mycroft, both unwilling to enter into the room.

“I can be healed a lot quicker if someone can get me my wand,” Harry said. “Or you can call one of my friends.”

“There are no wands this side of the divide - I think the Master has destroyed them - and none of your friends can’t make it here,” the Doctor said. “I already made one attempt to reach them.”

“You know of magic?” Harry asked.

“Why do you think it has remained hidden from the universe?” the Doctor asked. “The mythical idea – M space, and to think I thought it couldn’t possibly exist and of course I was the one who had hidden it.”

“You hid it from yourself?” Emma asked.

“Absolutely,” the Doctor said. “Back when I was young, impossibly young, I came here, running away from home and I was exploring the universe and I spotted this strange reading. ‘M space’, this theoretical idea that in some universes thought and language could have immense power. It was coming from this planet. Earth. I landed where I could be ignored. I stayed there a little while, me and... well, family. I never did figure out why I settled for so long but it was because I had set my TARDIS, my beautiful TARDIS, to expand its own chameleon circuits to disguise these gateways to M space, or magic space. I made sure that nobody from off this world would be able to perceive it. Of course this broke the chameleon circuit on the TARDIS itself but otherwise it worked perfectly; this planet has had visitors from all across the universe and at all times there are tourists, invaders and explorers. In all those times, past and future, nobody ever had or will discovers Earth’s little secret; hidden by my clever TARDIS. Even from me.”

“Why did you hide it?” Bond asked. “Too dangerous?”

“Much,” the Doctor said. “In every corner of the universe there are beings that seek power through any means; even my own people have had their dark times. We have had elements that drew on similar powers as M space and we sometimes used them for good, but sometimes we didn’t. Other species with that kind of power... unimaginable.”

“What has changed?” asked Mycroft. “It seems obvious to me that it is no longer hidden in the same way. This man, this ‘Master’ who attacked us, he isn’t human is he?”

“My ship exploded,” the Doctor said. “Pieces scattered across this planet landing at different times. It is no longer hiding M space and it won’t be long before the residual chameleon energy wears off and all sorts of creatures and empires descend on this planet to pull it apart piece by piece. Gradually this event is feeding back through the time vortex so that this planet will be the centre of a universe wide war in the past and in the future unless we can get my TARDIS back into one piece and defeat the Master. He only meant to target me, but found a far bigger prize..”

“How do we kill him?” asked Bond.

“That’s not the question I’m going to answer,” the Doctor said. “Killing is not what we are aiming for.”

“How do we stop him?” asked Emma.

“If we could get to the Ministry of Magic I am sure we could stop him,” Harry said. “If we can work out why our magic backfired.”

“It backfired because the Master has been able to engender instability in M space that always exists within it. He has also sealed off the passages between M space and normal space, it is why your friends can’t come and get you,” the Doctor said. “He is immune because of the chest plate he wears that helps to order M space. If only we had another...”

“We do,” Emma said. “He tried to steal two but only got away with one.”

“We have kept it on the move ever since,” Mycroft said. “And under constant guard.”

“Excellent,” Harry said. “I will require it, and then I will see about getting a wand. Is there any way to breach the barrier between the two worlds?”

“With the help of my TARDIS it might be possible,” the Doctor said. “I assume that’s something you have been working on?”

“We have one of the best on the case,” Myrcroft said.

//

“You’re in the right room now,” the figure, now an older man with white hair said. “Lara is it? Well, this is the room indeed.”

“Where is it?” Lara asked.

“Oh well,” said the holographic form appearing behind once now as a short haired man in a leather jacket “First you have to pass the test.”

A door swung open and a Sontaron clutching his side with one hand and a device in the other half fell in. He stumbled forwards and fell onto the ground and breathed a heavy sigh of pain.

“I will not be defeated,” he breathed before passing out.

Lara crept forward checking down the corridor that he had come from. She kept her gun trained on him as she snuck forward, took the device from him, and tiptoed backwards.

“Well done,” said the holographic man behind her, now short and holding a recorder. “You didn’t kill the Sontaron. Quite right. The device you seek is not in your hand, it never was – and the Sontaron was never here, all a test you see.”

Lara looked down at her hand to find nothing in it, and the Sontaron she had thought was there had indeed dissapred.

“The device is lowering from the ceiling now,” said the hologram, form changed again to a long haired man checking a pocket watch. “Get yourself back to your friends at UNIT with this and the door will come to you. Don’t worry about the Sontarons, I should be able to force their retreat for now.”

Lara took the little device and headed back the way she had come,.

“Other way,” said the holographic man. “Oh my. What do they teach them in these schools?”

How long do we have before the Master strikes again?” Bond asked.

“He will need to gather energy for his laser screwdriver,” the Doctor said. “And he will be unable to do much magic for a while because I drained the chest plate making it risky to do much. He’ll also be adjusting to his new body and that can sometimes take a little while. We should be able to move next.”

As he said that alarms went blared out throughout the complex, disturbing the calm,

“Unless he gets some help,” the Doctor muttered meekly.

Mycroft went to the phone on the wall and picked it up.

“This is Mycroft.”

“Mercenaries,” Sherlock said under his breath. “And stupid ones, footsoldiers no doubt.”

“What?” Harry asked.

“Think about it. He can’t attack us himself so what does he do? He sends someone else to attack us. He doesn’t have allies, and he can’t trust anyone because he’ll want to keep these M space revelations to himself so what does he do?” Sherlock said.

“He calls in mercenaries,” Bond said. “Types who won’t ask questions, who won’t be able to detect or react to the hidden agenda.”

“Ones who wouldn’t know M space,” Emma said.

“Ogrons,” the Doctor said.

As he said there was a loud explosion coming from above them.

“Air defences just shot at an alien craft entering the atmosphere suddenly, unidentified,” Mycroft said. “We need to get you out of here; we can’t afford to lose either the Doctor or Mr. Potter.”

“Such brotherly affection I’m blushing,” said Sherlock but he still moved to remove instruments from Harry.

“Ow,” Harry said. “Careful.”

“We might be better staying put,” the Doctor said. “If that’s an Ogron chaos cruiser it won’t have fired back but it will have launched pods and all of those pods are about...”

An indistinguishable number of smaller explosions appeared to be coming from all around them,

“...to impact the building,” the Doctor finished as he sprung out his sonic screwdriver. “This place is about to be crawling with Ogrons.”

“Where’s the armoury?” asked Bond to Mycroft. “I need to get to it now.”

“Follow the blue signs,” Mycroft said to Bond who began running for the armoury. “Miss Peel, dearest brother...”
Both brothers smiled at the forced sarcasm but the Doctor could not help but wonder if it guarded a genuine affection.
“... guard this room.”

Mycroft walked briskly in the opposite direction to Bond.

“Miss Peel I am sure you are capable of protecting one room,” Sherlock said moving to follow his brother.

“Sherlock,” the Doctor said. “Whatever you find. I have seen humans do worse. I likely will again.”

Emma finished loading a pistol and aimed it at the door.

“If we are involved in the fighting,” Emma said. “Just stay behind me.”

“I may be without my wand,” Harry said climbing to his feet and strapping the chest plate to his chest that allowed him to safely use magic. “And wounded. But I am still a Potter, a Gryffindor, and a wizard. I will not be idle.”

“Great,” the Doctor said. “I’ll just stand behind both of you then.”

“There are spare guns behind you,” Emma said. “But I suspect it won’t be to either of your tastes.”

“Not anymore,” the Doctor said.

//

Bond had not been the only one to head to the armoury. As he rounded a corner he saw two dead creatures, Ogrons he presumed; thick skinned, sunken eyed, dim looking creatures that were larger than a man and looked strong. He noticed that he didn’t see any of his own species lying anywhere injured but saw singe marks on the walls and a rifle, that he had heard fired as he descended a stair case, still smoking.

As he momentarily pondered this his reflexes kicked in and he opened fire as another Ogron came round the corner. He did not stop at a single bullet but continued firing; perhaps treating Ogrons like humans who would be incapacitated after a single shot was why he could not see whomever had held the rifle that lay beside him. The Ogron took the impact of the first shots and was still beginning to turn his gun on Bond when one of the bullets struck him in the head and he fell to the ground.

“Aim for the head I guess,” Bond said picking up the rifle and working his way forward.

//

Sherlock watched Mycroft sneak into secret door using a nine digit code. Sherlock followed a little behind him and entered a slightly altered code before slipping through the door.

“Really Sherlock?” Mycroft said as soon as Sherlock got through the door. “You have to investigate? You can’t just for once not know?”

“Something to hide?” Sherlock asked. “And really, a simplistic rotation code? Are there any security measures that are any less banal?”

“It keeps most out. I know that if anyone can crack that they’ll likely crack anything else and anything more complicated will make people I want to be able to get in unable to do so. As for hiding well everything I do,” Mycroft turned and descended some stairs. “Is about having something to hide. Not everything that is hidden is hidden for ill intent.”

“Not in the eyes of the secret keepers,” Sherlock said.

As explosions rocked the place Mycroft swiped his card at another door and typed in a code.

“But if you really must insist on seeing.”

As the door opened Sherlock saw what looked to him like he had imagined a lunatic asylum to be. There were men and women; some in chairs, some in beds, others were wandering one way or another, all of whom were surrounded by doctors and nurses who were attempting to soothe them.

“Dr. Jones,” Mycroft said as a woman approached him. “I need to speak with them.”

“Right now?” she asked. “They aren’t at their best when there are explosions rocking the building. I’m not at my best and I haven’t...”

“I am aware of the emotional stress these men and women have gone through,” Mycroft said. “You have explained it to me many times.”

“Well I’m sure you can appreciate that right now it isn’t....”

“I am sure that you can appreciate that perhaps if the sky is falling in I don’t have time, now gather them together,” Mycroft spoke without raising his voice but his authority and determination were clear none the less. “Now please.”

Dr. Jones moved away and begun to ring a bell, the first in a series of bells that sat upon tables.

“What is this place?” asked Sherlock.

“Our library of other times and places,” Mycroft said. “Set up by a combination of UNIT and Torchwood in a timeline now alien to us. It was set up as a space out of time, using technology scavenged from a Dalek spaceship that in our timeline never crashed to Earth. It allows people within a certain space to remain immune to major changes within the timeline that constantly occur. It allows us to see what has been, what might have been and as the threats in the universe remain the same; it allows us to prepare for them.”

In a central area chairs were already laid out and the patients, or whoever they were, were being sat down by patient and sympathetic medical staff.

“But it does rather take a toll on sanity it seems,” Mycroft said. “It is a volunteer program entirely, and these people know the risks. Many simply think they won’t lose their minds, but invariably they all do. Most of the time they are happy and docile, with their families, even if their families still exist, thinking that they died in the most noble and heroic ways. Which, in many ways, is the truth.”

Dr. Jones finished ringing a final bell and set it down on a table and the room was as calm as Sherlock had seen it. He watched in morbid fascination as the men and women, some with bandages on them (from where they had injured themselves Sherlock could see) stood and put their hands together in a sort of prayer.

“For a little while we serve this land, for a little while we lend a hand,” they said together.

“Routine and ritual calms them,” Mycroft whispered to Sherlock. “And we can get something from them for a time.”

They sat in unison.

“Let me explain the situation.”
//

Bond, by now, had made it to just outside the armoury where several Ogrons had set up a defensive position. Bond had just round out bullets in the rifle and he had no more clips in his pistol, Ogron bodies lay behind him like breadcrumbs. He had tried to use the Ogrons’ weapons but they had failed to fire in his hands

An Ogron smashed its way out of a door right by him and Bond smashed the rifle butt into the Ogron’s head. The Ogron staggered backwards momentarily from a blow that would have killed a human instantly. Bond hooked his leg behind the Ogron and barrelled forward putting the Ogron on its back. Bond decided to take his chances with Ogron weaponry and grabbed hold of the Ogron’s hand, putting his entire weight onto the Ogron’s arm and forcing the weapon towards the Ogron. He pressed down on the trigger using the Ogron’s own weapon which caused it to fire into the Ogron. The Ogron disappeared and Bond slammed into the ground.

“Well at least I don’t need to aim for the head,” Bond said.

He looked up and saw an Ogron standing above him aiming his pistol down at him

“Oh...gron then, one more,” Bond said charging forward at the Ogron’s legs and being thrown down the corridor by the

Ogron’s powerful muscles.

Bond knew there were at least two Ogrons behind him and one ahead of him from where he lay. He leapt to his feet and feigned an injury in his leg, screaming in agony, before throwing himself at a wall as beams from the Ogrons weapons went passed where he had stood. Two ogrons killed each other in crossfire and he was left, grounded, with one final Ogron aiming its gun at him. Bond kicked off his shoe and flicked it in the air and the beam from the Ogron’s shot disintegrated it but no further.

“See,” Bond said at the confused Ogron. “A bullet would just have gone through it.”

Bond slid along the floor before rolling to his feet, grabbing a spend ammo case from the floor and jamming it into the
Ogron’s eye.

“I think there’s something,” Bond said grabbing the gun in the Ogron’s hand as he had done before and firing. “In your eye.”
Bond headed into the armoury.

//

Up in the sickbay Emma Peel was holding back Ogrons who were approaching from each direction.

“They seem to all be coming here,” Emma said firing Ogron pistols in both directions.

“Try to conserve your fire,” the Doctor said using his sonic screwdriver on another Ogron pistol. “These are isomorphic controls. It is not easy to trick any of them into accepting your DNA and they aren’t designed to just keep firing willy nilly.”

Emma fired down one corridor with both pistols.

“Doctor, if I don’t fire as often as I do then the Ogrons will be at this room in no time,” Emma said. “I can’t shoot nothing!”

As Emma said this she leapt from her cover firing multiple times in both directions before both of her pistols made pathetic winding down sounds.

“Well you’re about to,” the Doctor muttered hitting the Ogron gun. “Come on come on.”

Emma dove into cover as an Ogron fired its pistol down the corridor.

“It’s coming,” Emma said grabbing a stool.

“Get out of the way,” Harry said grabbing his broomstick. “Wait for the Doctor to have your pistol ready.”

“What are you going to do?” Emma asked. “Sweep them away?”

“Something like that yes,” Harry said.

As the Ogron rounded the corner Harry went flying forward on his broomstick and slammed into the Ogron’s chest. Harry flew forwards, pushing the Ogron backwards into the wall on the opposite side of the corridor. Harry rolled into the impact well and rolled off his broomstick. He stood quickly and delivered a punch to the dazed Ogron. The Ogron dropped its pistol which Harry kicked back into the room for Emma and the Doctor. Harry climbed onto his broomstick again and flew upwards into the corridor quietly wandlessly casting a spell. Smoke began to fill corridor obscuring the Ogron’s view and making them cough and struggle down the corridor. Harry winced in pain as the instability of M space started to feedback on him.

“Shut the door!” Harry shouted. “I’ll try and confuse them!”

Harry flew amongst the Ogrons slamming into them and making it hard for them to work their way towards the door. The Ogron he had attacked first lumbered forward into the room as Emma reached the door; they slammed into each other with
Emma going backwards struggling momentarily with her injured foot. The Ogron saw the Doctor and strode towards him.
The Doctor ducked and rolled before leaping onto the bed.

“I should warn you I tussled with an Ogron before,” he said. “And I won. Sort of.”

The Ogron grabbed for the Doctor’s legs and the Doctor leapt onto his shoulders and slid down his back.

“Actually a short woman hit him over the head with something,” the Doctor said shuffling backwards towards the corner of
the room.

At that moment Emma, perched delicately on one foot, smashed a stool onto the Ogron’s head which sent it to the ground.

“Funny how history repeats,” she said.

“Actually it was in the future,” the Doctor said.

//

Within the lower levels of the institution Mycroft was speaking to his assembled group. Sherlock sat drinking water in a corner. Dr. Jones came up to him.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“You have the combined neurosies of a hundred men and women driven mad by being dragged away from what they know and placed in these halls that don’t let them see the outside world and you ask me how I’m feeling? Haven’t you got others to worry about?” Sherlock asked.

“Habit I suppose. I’m Martha by the way,” she said.

“I didn’t ask.”

“You think it’s wrong don’t you?” she asked.

“Institutions, governments, men with offices and suits like Mycroft are all too willing to forget things, so they make others remember for them,” Sherlock said.

“I hate it too,” she said. “Sometimes. But I have seen things in my time, things that I shouldn’t remember. I know that the Master is who you are dealing with; I encountered him before. He made the lives of my family living hells, and turned this whole planet into part war factory, part gulag. The universe is just too dangerous for us to not use everything we can, which is why this place was created, in whatever timeline it was. I’m only a small part of it, I know that, and we make it as comfortable as we can.”

“I once lost my mind, ever so briefly,” Sherlock said. “It is not an experience I would care to repeat for an entire lifetime.”

“These people are all volunteers.”

“People will always volunteer. People will always put their name forward for things if they are told about it in the right way. People will suffer and sacrifice. People will sign their names in blood for a flag or Emperor or General or Queen or country or anything that might be willing to take their lives and minds and souls. That is why the most enlightened do not demand too much of people.”

Sherlock got up and threw his plastic cup in the bin.

“Is the Doctor upstairs?” Martha asked. “Mycroft said he had a gathering of those who could help...”

“He wouldn’t want to see you down here,” Sherlock said. “He didn’t want to. It’s why he let me see it for him.”
Sherlock moved away to the door. He had seen enough.

//

Harry had run out of room; his flying around the Ogrons and magic smoke were enough for a time but he knew he didn’t have long until he was struck. As he had that thought he was too slow and an Ogron was fast enough; through the thinning haze the Ogron struck forward with his fist and sent Harry backwards off his broomstick. Harry struck the ground, winded, and all around him the smokey haze dissipated into nothing. The Ogrons, covering the corridor pointed their pistols down at him.

At the end of the corridor Bond turned the corner, two large guns resting in his forearms, and opened fire at the Ogrons in the corridor blasting them all away in a haze of lasers and bullets.

“I have to say,” Bond said as the last Ogron fell. “This place’s armoury is very creatively stocked.”

From behind Bond an Ogron emerged pointing its pistol at him. A sudden shot rang out. A bullet struck the Ogron in the head and he fell.

“No matter how well an armoury is stocked,” said Lara Croft from behind the Ogron. “You should always check your bind spots.”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” Bond said as soon as he turned around. “Though I doubt you’ll ever be in a blind spot of mine if I can help it.”

From down the corridor Harry coughed and tried to make it to his feet. The Doctor and Emma Peel came out of their room.

“What? Oh yes, of course,” the Doctor said helping Harry up, “You can’t assist your fellow human in distress until you’ve finished flirting.”

Hm. OK. I know the Doctor, Harry Potter, Bond and Lara Croft require no introduction.

But the Avengers, I assume, you're using the '98 remake as your basis to explain why they're not dead of old age. And this is the recent contemporary TV adaptation of Sherlock Holmes?

Hi Simon_Jester.

Sherlock is the modern BBC adaptation yes - Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman etc.

The Avengers is based off an idea of a modern remake that didn't occur. The '98 remake didn't feel quite right. In my head I have tended to picture the original performers; ludicrous I know but ultimately probably not the most ludicrous thing about this project!

Thanks for the interest.

“What will you tell him?” Mycroft asked Sherlock as Sherlock began to walk away towards where Emma Peel was waiting with a car. “When you and the Doctor are finally alone; I know you’ll make your chance happen not matter what I do. The information wasn’t worthless, I’ve been able to give our military information on magic, cybermen, the Master. All of it may become essential soon.”

“I’ll tell him what you know I’ll tell him,” Sherlock said getting into the car.

The car sped away. Mycroft looked at the ground before returning to the dock where Kate Stewart stood, surrounded by guards.

“No no no,” the Doctor said coming out of the door of his TARDIS that stood embedded into outside wall of a Submarine, now parked on the river Thames. “There isn’t enough to reform the TARDIS completely, and the bad news is what is missing.”

“What’s missing?” asked Kate Stewart, stood wrapped in a coat.

“The psychic circuitry,” the Doctor said. “It is never supposed to be separate from the rest of the TARDIS machinery and now that it is...”

The Doctor trailed off.

“Doctor none of the rest of us have intrinsic knowledge of Time Lord technology,” Kate said. “You need to explain.”

“Every TARDIS is capable of subtle links with its pilots,” the Doctor said. “It is why I have been able to pilot it for so long and so successfully without co pilots. Even with that it is difficult. The point is that it is capable of an enormous complexity of reading of a mind, and along with that an incredible ability to read a situation. Usually that is all in the mix of other parts of the TARDIS, diluted if you will by the TARDIS constantly reading its own systems and checking for inconsistencies and problems and fixing them.”

“And now it isn’t distracted by that,” Kate said. “You now have the smartest and most intuitive piece of telepathic technology ever created...”

“In the hands of a madman who wants you and the Earth to suffer,” Mycroft said. “What can he do?”

“If I were him and had his desires,” the Doctor said. “I could set up a negative feedback loop of terror which would leave every person on this planet staring at their worst possible nightmares and then feeding that energy back to the Master. Nobody is safe.”

“Then why are we still standing here?” Kate said.

“He’ll need time, and it’ll be obvious when it is warming up,” the Doctor said. “He’ll be establishing a base of operations,
defences.”

“Ogrons again?” asked Kate.

“I doubt it,” the Doctor said. “I think they were just easy to get hold of. With more time he’ll have something else in mind.”

“Analysis seems to suggest Cybermen. We've been interpreting signals that seem to be coming back and forth from space to London. We don’t think he has left the city,” Mycroft said. “We have caught him on a few CCTVs around the place. And we’ve had the roads, rails, airports and boats all watched. And we have seen other things as well; mysterious deaths, technology disappearing.”

“Have you got people searching for him?” the Doctor said.

“We have teams out there searching for him,” Mycroft said. “Sherlock is following up leads he gained consulting his contacts in the underground, Peel is backing him up. Harry is in the skies but staying close. Bond and Croft are staying mobile and following up anything that is reported by local media or emergency services.”

“Don’t confront him without me,” the Doctor said. “Find him, but don’t confront. And if there are Cybermen then don't confront them either; he won't be able to control a proper battle fleet, probably just a badly made unit, sent for scrap, but that's still enough to obliterate anything you can throw at them. I am going to try and punch through to M space, get backup from Harry’s people.”

//
Not far from the docks Sherlock and Emma came to an abandoned office on desolate industrial estate.

“Why would he come here?” Emma asked.

“I am not sure,” Sherlock said using a crowbar to open a door. “But my sources were able to lead us here, and the cameras show him going in here.”

“Do you not suspect a trap?” Emma asked.

“Of course I do,” Sherlock said. “But we’re going to have to spring it to get to John, and isn’t it better, if it is a trap that it only springs on the two of us and not on and not on the others? On the Doctor and Harry, who I suspect are the two we really depend on.”

“Steed would always spring a trap,” Emma said. “It was frustrating to work with him sometimes, for that reason, but...”

Sherlock pushed the door open.

“I’m not the best person for grief,” Sherlock said pushing aside doors carefully. “I am not the best person for feelings.”

Sherlock turned a corner and saw John laying on the floor, his hands bound, his foot entangled in some glowing wires.

“John.”

Sherlock half ran forward and knelt next to his oldest and only friend.

“Sherlock,” he hoarsely whispered. “I’m sorry. He was inside my head...”

“I am sure there was nothing you could do,” Sherlock said beginning to unbind his hands.

“It’s too late,” John said. “You have to get out of here.”

“Whilst you’re breathing you’re...”

“I know things he knows,” John said. “I’ve been exposed to lethal amounts of radiation from sticking my foot into those wires.”

Sherlock looked at John’s foot, jammed in amongst a complex pattern of loops and knots.

“Why did you?” Sherlock asked.

“They’re the detonator,” John said. “This place could have exploded. I knew you’d come for me alone and wouldn’t bring the Doctor. I knew...”

John coughed and began to fall backwards.

“No John,” Sherlock said pulling him away from the wires.

“Wait!” Emma shouted. “Don’t you think that you might set the bomb off?”

“I don’t have time to risk....”

“This is grief,” Emma said. “This is what it is. Let me at least get close and see if I can untangle his legs without setting off the explosion.”

Emma bent down low and begun to untangle the wires from John.

“Sherlock,” John croaked out. “He has an army, about to be there in London. He has changed his form, he’s more powerful. His plans.... you have to get to the Doctor now. Trust me just this once to be right about something, go and run your fastest now.”

John tapped Sherlock on the arm and lost consciousness.

“Get him out,” Sherlock said turning and heading for the door. “And then hurry to join us.”

//

“So tell me,” Bond said driving his car along Marylebone high street. “Why didn’t you ever sign up for something? Mi6? This UNIT or Mycroft’s people. You must have had offers.”

“Many,” Lara said. “But I preferred being my own boss. When I fire my gun I like to be able to decide to do it or not based on what is in front of me, not based on what someone has told me to do when I arrive.”

“You think sometimes they are wrong?” Bond asked.

“I think sometimes they’re right,” Lara said.

“I see,” Bond said. “You ever wish that you had some backup in the field? Beyond a butler and a computer nerd? Ever get lonely out there?”

“Once or twice,” Lara said. “But a conscience keeps you in good company.”

“And yours is clean?”

“Is yours?”

“What’s this about?”

“John Steed.”

The name hung in the car as Bond came to a stop in front of some lights.

“I had my orders, and he was a threat to countless others. How do you know him anyway?”

“I don’t,” Lara said. “That’s not the point.”

“What is the point?”

“The point is that if this Master takes control of someone else; someone I know, or me, or another one of the group of us,” Lara said. “I don’t want you to shoot first and see if it was the right thing to do later.”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” Bond said. “But for the record, I’d never shoot at you without thinking it wasn’t something I wanted to do.”

“But that wouldn’t necessarily stop you,” Lara said.

“There have been times I haven’t had a choice.”

Bond suddenly swung the steering wheel to the side to avoid a creature that appeared in the road ahead of them.

“What the hell was that?” Bond asked.

“Were they,” Lara pointed down the street at dozens of other creatures who had appeared and were appearing. “And the answer is Cybermen.”

Lara leapt from the car opening fire with her pistols at the nearest Cybmerman sending it to the ground before she dove into cover. Bond reacted too slowly to prevent a one armed Cyberman pull him from his car and throw him across the street. All around people were panicking and fleeing Cybermen that appeared to be in various states of repair.

They had come in numbers, they were clearing the streets.

Harry landed his broomstick, still wearing the chest plate provided to him by Mycroft; if he could get his wand back he could use the power he had developed over his life. He burst through the TARDIS doors to find the Doctor, without his jacket or coat, stood on a chair with a receiver in one hand and wire in his mouth. A small crack in the TARDIS wall, about a finger wide, glowed with blue energy.

“It’s a little temperamental and bespoke but it works,” the Doctor spoke half muffled by the wire. “I have a Miss Grainger on the line.”

“Hermione!” Harry shouted through the crack.

“Harry!” came the reply. “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine, a little beat up and missing magical healing a great deal, but I’ll be fine,” Harry said.

“Take this, in case we lose the connection,”

Through the crack came an envelope. Harry looked inside.

“I hoped it wouldn’t be necessary,” Harry said. “I didn’t want it found, let alone remade.”

“I think it is,” Hermione said. “We’ve been able to scry a little to see what is going on. You can’t fight him without a
wand. I don’t even know if you can fight him without this one.”

“Do you know what he is planning next?”

“He’s starting already Harry,” Hermione said. “In the middle of London, he’s setting up his base, protected by these robot aliens...”

“What?” the Doctor shouted. “Describe them.”

“Cybermen, we know the name. They look like they are damaged or partially constructed, but they’re still powerful,
and they are already starting to create a perimeter.”

Harry turned to make his way to the door.

“Harry wait there’s something else you have to know,” Hermione sounded desperate. “He came here Harry. He was
able to lower the barriers for a second and he was here so quickly and he took.... he took...”

“What did he take?” Harry asked.

“He took Ron,” Hermione said. “He’s possessed Ron now. Harry you can’t kill him, please. We’ll work out a way.”

“Doctor can you keep this connection open?” Harry asked.

The Doctor shook his head.

“I promise you Hermione,” Harry said. “I’m not letting Ron die over this.”

The Doctor dropped the aerial and the wire and leapt down from the seat, grabbing his coat and jacket.

“Something is bothering me,” the Doctor said.

“What?”

“Aliens are attacking London,” the Doctor said. “From what Hermione says the streets will be in chaos.”

“And?”

“And nobody has told us,” the Doctor opened the TARDIS door.

Soldiers that had been guarding the TARDIS lay dead around it. Cybermen stood in their place pointing their rifles at
the TARDIS door. At their head immediately in front of the door stood a red haired man carrying the Master’s weaponry; his laser screwdriver and wand.

“Ron,” Harry whispered going for the contents of the envelope.

The Doctor spun in front of him and looked at Harry whispering “Wait, not yet” before turning again to face the
Master.

“Master,” the Doctor said and placed his hand on a force field that sent a spark through him.

“Doctor,” the Master smiled. “Why didn’t it occur to me before to steal the body of a wizard? Why didn’t it occur to
me before that the best way to deal with you was simply to leave you boxed in an impotent TARDIS? Well better late than never.”

“Because you are an unimaginative plodder,” the Doctor said. “And I am not afraid of you.”

“You never will be,” the Master said. “But soon all the humans here will be in fear of my name. I will create a psychic feedback loop so powerful that they will be forced to obey out of sheer overwhelming terror. And from here, with M space, I shall make that name the name of fear, the name of the Master.”

“I will stop you,” the Doctor said. “Again.”

“This forcefield,” The master pointed down. “This clever device will patiently create an impenetrable forcefield around your TARDIS door, which I must say looks splendid on the side of that primate underwater boat. We both know that you are stuck, I have enough pieces of your precious TARDIS to make it immovable. Now Doctor, I really must go. I have a destiny to fulfil.”

“How did you get this rag tag group of half formed Cybermen?” the Doctor asked

“They’re the remains of an invasion force to this very planet sent a few hundred years in the future,” the Master.

“Defeated and shut down but can be reawoken, and with the right codes anyone can be a cyber controller.”

“There’ll be nobody left to impress,” the Doctor said. “When you’ve inspired terror in them all, defeated the Daleks, wiped away the Cyberman fleets.”

“You’ll be here,” the Master said. “You’ll be here to marvel at it all. That’ll be enough for me.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just kill me?” the Doctor asked.
“Oh if I take this forcefield down you can just get inside your TARDIS and I still couldn’t get in,” he said. “But now you can’t get out. And I always find it is never wise to turn your back on you Doctor.”

The Master turned his back on the Doctor.

“Well,” he turned his head over his shoulder. “Not without having you trapped first.”

“Leader, that boat,”” said one of the Cybermen, pointing.

A large riverboat was heading across the river towards the submarine at full speed.

“Destroy it,” the Master said flying up into the air.

The Cybermen opened fire at the river boat. On the boat Emma Peel ducked and locked the controls before running
to leap into the river. From his vantage point on the top floor of a window Sherlock opened fire with a rifle stolen from a Cyberman who lay, defeated, on the floor of the room he was in. The laser blasts smashed into the sides of the Cybermen who turned from the boat and began to open fire on Sherlock who retreated back into the room as laser blasts tore away the side of the building.

The Master pointed his wand at the boat and began to force it away from the submarine. From the water Emma, kicking her legs furiously to push away from the boat, opened fire with her rifle and caught the Master in the arm in which he held his wand. The Master dropped the wand, screaming in fury and began to fall towards the water. As he fell he grabbed the wand again, using his Time Lord regenerative energy to heal his hand. Before he could cast again the boat impacted the side of the submarine puncturing its side. Water rushed into the submarine.

“Brilliant!” the Doctor shouted. “Genius plan! They’re going to sink the submarine!”

“Will that work?” asked Harry.

“Probably!” the Doctor said as the submarine began to sink. “You see the second we descend below to the water the forcefield won’t be able to focus on this area it was supposed to be protecting – the water will confuse its sensors. It’ll shit down. At which point... water will rush into the TARDIS possibly slowly draining the Thames and we’ll struggle to get out. But we can adapt to that. You get on your broomstick and get up there and stay with the Master.”

The Master aimed down into the water as Emma dropped her rifle and dived below the water. Unable to get a clear shot of where she was the Master turned his attention to Sherlock and toppled the building he was standing in. Sherlock dived from a window towards piles of rubbish. The Master floated towards where Sherlock was struggling away from the rubbish when he was hit by Harry flying his broomstick directly into him. The two of them tussled as Harry reached for the wand the master had stolen from them and they landed back upon the shoreline, separating and rolling separately.

“You can’t face me without a wand Harry!” the master shouted waving the wand he still held in his hand. “You’re nothing without it!”

“That’s not the only wand I have ever known,” Harry said taking another wand from the envelope. “Allow me to introduce the Elder Wand.”

Harry fired a blast of energy at the Master which sent him toppling backwards clutching his stomach.

“Sorry Ron,” Harry said starting to move forward.

“Look out!” shouted Emma as she climbed to shore.

Cybermen came around corners opening fire with various kinds of weaponry. Harry threw up an energy barrier that blocked their attacks and levitated up into the air before firing off a blast that cracked a building, crushing the Cybermen under a wall.

“Going to fight them all?” the Master said getting to his feet and firing off a blast of energy at Harry.

“If I have to!” Harry parried and fired back.

Harry and the Master’s energies clashed between them, each balancing the other. Emma grabbed a rifle and opened fire at more Cybermen coming down the dock to intervene. Sherlock made it out of the rubble and leapt into the water towards where the Doctor was struggling in the water with various bags full of equipment

“You know I used to know how to swim!” the Doctor shouted. “Although this stuff may not be helping!”

“You know I can let this magic go,” the Master said, his face lit up by the light spilling off their clashing magic. “And your magic will smash into the vulnerable form of your friend, and he’ll die like the friends of those around you have died facing me.”

“You’re bluffing,” said Harry, magic sparking around him. “You remember, I have looked into your eyes. And I saw a
lot of things – I saw age, I saw intelligence, and I saw malevolence, but I saw one more thing.”

The magic was pressing closer to the Master.

“Cowardice,” Harry said. “Because this is magic that attacks more than just the physical body, and you aren’t so sure you can survive that. Bullets? Anyone can avoid being hurt by that. Magic? Well now you’re wondering.”

The Master spun the magic off to the side before creating a portal that he leapt through. Harry chased him through it. Emma limped her way through it. Sherlock dragged the Doctor to the shore.

“Go!” the Doctor said. “Follow the Master! I can make my own way there!”

Sherlock charged through the portal which closed just behind him.

“I think,” the Doctor said gathering equipment to him and creeping his way towards where a pillar of light was emerging above London.

Closer to that pillar James Bond came to consciousness. He looked up at Lara Croft who was knelt over his body firing a Cyberman’s rifle around the corner of a skip she was using as cover.

“Lara?” Bond asked.

“You’re awake,” Lara said passing him a rifle. “Get involved.”

Bond looked at the rifle and leap into the skip to get a better piece of cover.

“I have to ask,” Bond said firing the rifle at advancing Cybermen. “Did you save my life?”

“Your higher ups would not have approved I’m sure,” she said. “Not a cold enough decision.”

“Well,” Bond said. “You’ve never seen my higher ups. Though I am a big fan of yours.”

Lara shot him a glance as she continued firing.

“How’s the car?” Bond asked.

“You’re worried about your car?” Lara asked. “Boys and their toys.”

“It’s very expensive,” Bond said leaping out of cover and opening fire. “Cover me.”

Lara barely had time to emerge from cover and open fire to try and cover his run to the car. Bond leapt through the
smashed window, remembering now how he had been dragged out and thrown by a Cyberman. Bond smiled to himself; Lara must have been truly concerned for his welfare to protect him like that. He looked up and saw Lara retreating, firing a rifle in each hand as a larger force of Cybermen closed in. He realised that she had put herself in the fire, because otherwise he wouldn’t have made it to the car. As she backed away and stumbled slightly one of the laser blasts struck her once on the arm and she toppled backwards in pain.

Bond immediately sprang into action. He revved the engine, and fired the car’s onboard missiles at a group of Cyberman, scattering most of them to pieces. He raced the car over to Lara and flipped the driver’s side door. A few laser blasts from the remain Cyberman struck into the car, bouncing off. Bond ducked low before activating a machine gun that popped out of the boot, opening fire on their attackers. Bond dragged Lara into the car and she shuffled across into the passenger seat.

“Why didn’t you say that this car could do that?” she asked

“Boys and their toys,” Bond smiled swinging the car round to the approaching Cybermen and activating two side guns.

“Some toy,” she muttered.

“Are you a fan of toys?” he smiled.

“Just concentrate on the road,” Lara said patching her wound. “I think it missed the bone.”

“More company,” Bond said using the full arsenal of his car at advancing Cybermen.

“A lot more,” Lara said looking up.

Above them a long cylindrical spaceship suddenly appeared, as if coming into focus. In the midst of it was the pillar of light that extended into the sky.

“Now that’s a big toy,” Bond said pushing the car forward.

“Bond, come in,” came an American voice over a radio. “This is Eagle’s nest.”

Bond pressed a button and smiled.

“Felix, about time some of you boys showed up. Have you brought the cavalry?”

“Not a lot,” Felix said. “Everyone has been blindsided by this. We’ve pulled in everything we’ve got in Europe when we saw
what was happening; UNIT is leading forces from every nearby nation here but it isn’t exactly the full force of this planet. What’s the situation at yours?”

“Quiet at the moment,” Bond said.

“Too quiet.” Lara said

“The Cybermen have formed a perimeter around the pillar of light which is deep except at your position. You seem to have stopped them properly fortifying. Keep doing what you’re doing and we’re going to send people to reinforce your position,”

Felix signed off.

“Well I’m glad we have this piece of hardware,” Lara said tapped the door of the car.

As if on cue a light blinked on the dashboard of the car. Bond flicked a button on the steering wheel and the front two seats popped out of the top of the car, propelled upwards by rockets. Beneath them the car was destroyed by a missile.

As parachutes quickly deployed and the two chairs floated separately towards the ground Bond shook his head.

“You had to say it didn’t you,” Bond said.

“Me and my big mouth,” Lara said

“Please find your own emergency pack behind your seat.”Bond said.

“So all we have to do is defend this street against Cybermen?” asked Lara. “Make sure there’s an access route.”

“Yes,” Bond said. “Though now it looks like they have toys.”

As they landed on the ground and rolled from their seats they saw hovering armoured tanks rolling down the streets, pushing aside the assorted debris from their fighting so far.

“You don’t have another car do you?” Lara asked.

Bond opened fire with his rifle at Cybermen advancing in front of the hovertanks and dove into cover.

“I’ll take that as a no,” Lara said following suit.

The Master ran through the corridors inside the spaceship, Harry hot on his tails. Behind them both Sherlock ran after them, with Emma Peel limping as fast as she could bringing up the rear.

The Master reached a large circular control room and leapt, magically aided, up to a balcony. He flipped a switch before turning to fire his wand’s magical energy at Harry who deflected it before firing back at the Master, forcing his way into the room.

From out of the walls came fully operational Cybmermen.

“Recognise Cyber leader,” the Master said trading magic with Harry and retreating. “And attack.”

“Do you think this will stop me?” Harry said back away and putting up an energy barrier around him as the Cybermen opened fire with lasers strapped to their arms.

“It might slow you down...” the Master grinned widely.

Harry could not help but see his friend, Ron’s, smile in that grin. It was always so all consuming, and somehow innocent.

The momentary distraction allowed one of the laser blasts to glance him on the shoulder; he fell forwards.

“A lot,” the Master said flipping more switches on control panels and turning to fire his own weapon at Harry.
Harry parried again created a ball of energy that expanded from the middle of the room and threw back the advancing Cybermen, they fizzed with energy and crumpled in the corners they had come from.

“Well,” the Master said. “Enough.”

“Slow me down enough for what?” Harry stood, burning hatred in his eyes for whatever manner of creature sat within his friend.

“I’ve set the attack protocols in motion,” the Master laughed. “There’s no way the Doctor is going to be able to get to me now, he’ll be blown to pieces. This ship is about to level the city.”

Harry turned to go, his priorities changed, he attempted to apparate to get outside but he could feel that a field to prevent that had been set up.

“No no,” the Master said. “You were so keen to fight me before.”

“Let me go Ron! People are going to die!” Harry shouted in desperation.

“Lots!” the Master said. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

“I will kill you!” Harry turned and fired at the wall above the Master bringing a part of ceiling around him. “But not yet.”
Harry ran for the door and fled down the corridor as ahead of him Sherlock and Emma Peel ran towards him.

“What’s going on?” Sherlock asked.

“He’s initiated some weapon procedure that’ll level the city, I have to get out there and stop it!” Harry said running.

A spell looped down the corridor and looped around Harry pulling him back towards the room.

“I can slow you down enough, even if you can try and defeat me.”

“What gain do you get if you just destroy London?” Emma asked.

Sherlock moved closer to Harry, whispering to him.

“Just a step on the way,” the Master said. “If London is destroyed so is your merry band coming here to disrupt my little psychic device. If a building or energy blast destroys the Doctor then there is no Time Lord anywhere in the universe who can untangle this technological puzzle I have left to undo. Already the first bombardments are beginning, all automated – first of all they are targeting military hardware that is no doubt rushing here, then it’ll just turn on the city itself.”

At that moment Sherlock pulled a pistol from his pocket and opened fire at the Master who quickly blocked it with a magic shield. As he did so Harry used magic to throw Emma Peel at the Master before throwing a spell which broke part of the shield. In flight Emma drew a thin blade from a concealed wrist pocket and sliced at the leather straps that held the Master’s chest plate in place.

“No!” the Master yelled as the chest plate fell open and dropped to the floor with a clang.

Harry advanced forward at the now defenceless Master.

“What’s that?” Harry asked. “Can’t use magic without a chest plate? Like I’m wearing?”

Harry asked before firing a spell that brought his own wand to him.

“And no technology,” Harry said firing again sending the laser screwdriver scattering sideways. “And stay on the ground.”

Harry fired a spell that bound that incapacitated the Master, making him unable to move.

“I have to get out there,” Harry said casting a spell that helped him run faster, and casting another to lead him to
the outside. “I’ll create a few magical barriers behind me to stop him getting any more Cybermen in here.”

“See if you can work out how to slow down this ships weaponry,” Emma pointed to the bridge controls as she and Sherlock headed up there. “And seal off the bridge,I daresay he has guards on the way and Harry’s magic is about to be tested to its limit I think.”

“His guards are here,” said voices from behind them. Two men had appeared as if from nowhere.

“That’s impossible,” Emma said as one of them opened fire. She and Sherlock leapt for cover.

“We just lost the entire attack wing coming in from Rammstein!” a woman reported, sat at her communication screen. “Off radar and communications.”

“How many does that makes?” Kate Stewart asked.

“That’s over a fifty planes in under a minute,” Mycroft said.

“Get pilots out of their planes, turn them back,” Kate said.

“Are you sure?” Mycroft asked.

“Give the order,” Kate said. “Get them to eject out where possible.”

“It isn’t your order to give,” Mycroft said. “We have planes from dozens of nations, with vast hierarchies...”

“And they’ll all be shot down,” said the Doctor coming into the room laden with bags. “Blasted out of the sky. It’s a Cyberman atmospheric destroyer from hundreds of years in your future built to attack an Earth hundreds of years in your future. Nothing you do can destroy it, believe me. Give a general warning, a general call; tell them you’ve got a plan, men in uniforms love plans. Let them send all the men with guns they want in civilian cars; they can be used to help evacuate the civilians and get me to the ship. But if you have ever trusted me and you’ve read my file Mycroft, you know I don’t do hyperbole lightly, any military machine you send into battle is dooming its driver to die quickly, suddenly, and pointlessly. They won’t even slow the Cybermen or the Master down.”

Mycroft paused momentarily.

“Do it,” Mycroft said. “Call a total retreat to everything besides infantry.”

“Good, right,” the Doctor said handing Kate Stewart a piece of paper. “I need everything on that list and I need a
way to that ship. Presumably the Cybermen have formed a perimeter. I’ll need to get through it.”

Kate handed the note to an aide and nodded

“They’ve fortified uniformly and heavily all around where the ship is hovering just above roof level, it appears to need to be there for some reason,” Kate said. “Their fortifications are identical and look pretty impregnable to me except for in this line here along Marylebone road where Croft and Bond have disrupted their efforts so far. We’ve been rushing reinforcements to them as fast as we can.”

“Then that’s our route,” Mycroft said.

“Careful with that stuff! Some of that stuff is limited edition!” the Doctor shouted at a UNIT officer going through his things.

The UNIT officer nodded meekly

“And also explodes if handled too roughly,” the Doctor said turning. “Now, we have the route, you’re getting my stuff
ready...”

“Ma’am I don’t think we have a fez anywhere close,” an officer said.

“Don’t worry about the Fez,” Mycroft said.

“I do my best thinking in a...”

“No.”

“Fine. Now we have the route, you’re getting all the stuff you approve of ready, and now all we need is transportation,” the Doctor said.

“I might be able to help with that,” said a man approaching and beckoning them to follow him. “I’m one of Lara’s friends, Bryce. I was assigned to the technical team before the attack. Well I was more of a partner to Lara really, associate, equal, some would say that our bond is...”

“I’m sure it is very special,” Mycroft said. “But how can you help?”

“I was about to launch my babies to help Lara,” Bryce said. “But I daresay you could hold on to one of the bigger ones. They’re quite fast, and I doubt the Cybermen would identify them as military.”
Mycroft, Kate and the Doctor looked at the rag tag pile of makeshift robots that Bryce had brought them to.

“I can see why,” Kate said.

“Are you sure they can take the Doctor’s weight?”

“And the weight of my stuff?” the Doctor said with a big grin.

“I’m somewhat certain,” Bryce said.

“You are either certain or...” Mycroft began.

“Get me strapped in! Or on! Or underneath! Whatever!” the Doctor said putting on a helmet.

//

Bond ran, firing a Cyberman’s rifle behind him, and leapt around the corner of a building as a Cyberman hovertank blasted where had just been.

“We’re going to struggle here,” Bond said finding Lara stood there reloading her pistols. “I haven’t been able to put a dent in those tanks, even with their own laser weapons like these, and there are a hell of a lot of them now. It looks like they have worked out where to throw their forces.”

“Same,” Lara said. “I can kill off the infantry...”

She nodded at Cybermen lying defeated in the alleyway before forcing her way into the building, in retreat from the advancing hovertanks.

“But unless we can deal with those tanks we’re not going to keep this road open,” Lara finished treading her way amongst the ruins of the building.

In amongst the rubble they found a policeman, lying wounded where a laser blast had him.

“Help,” he said. “Please.”

“Give me your radio,” Bond said. “Now.”

Bond went over to the man who passed him the radio. Bond looked down at where the man’s leg should be.

“I guess that’s what a full hit looks like,” Bond said adjusting the settings. “You’re going to have to crawl to the back of this building and keep crawling until you stop hearing explosions.”

“I can’t,” he said. “The pain.”

“Then you’ll die,” Bond said moving away towards the back.

Lara dragged the man, screaming in pain, after Bond.

“Lara we don’t have time!” Bond said. “The entire planet is at stake! Dozens of tanks will be here any second!”

Lara kicked the backdoor of the building open and knelt by the man.

“This is as far I can to,” she said. “Get as far as you can. It might be enough, and then help will come.”

Lara stood up and checked her pistols

“Lara! We can’t afford to protect individual...”

Bond stopped mid sentence and ran to tackle Lara to floor as a tank’s laser blast flew where she had just been standing.

“You were saying?” Lara asked.

“Fine,” Bond said running and carrying the policeman towards a rear fence whilst talking into the radio. “Felix do you read me?”

“Loud and clear,” Felix said.

“Where the hell is the backup I was promised? I know you Americans like to show up late for wars but you’ve made your point,” Bond said as Lara applied a tourniquet

“Bit of a problem, no fireworks, orders from higher ups,” Felix said as Bond and Lara left the policeman hidden, far away
from buildings. They leapt over fences to avoid being shot at again as buildings fell apart around them

“What?” Bond asked.

“We have some help about to get to you now,” Felix said.

Bond and Lara saw US marines aim heavy rockets at the lead tank and open fire. They crumpled its armour but it was able to return fire at them as they withdrew, returning fire when they could.

“Felix this isn’t going to be enough,” Bond said. “Where are the birds? They should be here by now.”

“Can’t make it. They’re being shot out of the sky, tanks too, ships, everything which seems military,” Felix said.

“To their scanners?” Bond asked.

“Precisely,” Felix said.

“I have half an idea,” Bond said.

Lara opened fire with her pistols as Cybermen, running parallel with the tanks tried to take them out from positions on tops of piles of rubble.

“Make it a full one,” Lara said. “Quickly.”

“I can destroy one tank,” Bond said. “I think.”

Harry stood at the bottom of pillar of light that pushed into the sky, fuelled by the spaceships above. He was reminded of his final moments with Dumbledore, when he had seen him wield a firestorm. Harry was now spinning and weaving flame around the bottom of the ship as the ship fired off missile and shell aimed directly at the city. Harry stopped them, destroying them before they could damage the city itself. Above him other, smaller missiles, fired. He dared not try to stop them as well, he hoped that by now the military had abandoned their machines and left them at the mercy of the Cyberman’s missiles. He was struggling to stop everything this cruiser had to throw at the city whilst also occasionally whipping the fire around him to destroy cybermen that approached him. He hoped that a relief from his task was coming soon as he was already exhausted.

//

Within the ship Emma Peel and Sherlock took a moment to recover from their shock.

“Surprised to see me Sherlock?” asked the voice of John Watson quickly reloading his pistol. “After abandoning me?”

“I didn’t abandon you,” Sherlock said. “I left you with Miss Peel who gave you over to an ambulance crew.”

“And armed guard,” Wastson said admiring the weapon. “But it was too late. I couldn’t be saved. Shame really. I died.”

“Dreadful shame,” said the voice of Steed beside him. “Struck down in one’s prime. I was even buried. Thankfully with my trust umbrella.”

Steed drew a sword from his umbrella.

“But then we heard the call,” Watson said. “Come back. Rescue the leader. He’s not in the best of states.”

Over in the corner the finger of Ron Weasley twitched.

“But he’ll be back to normal soon enough,” Steed smiled.

“Time Lord physiology, well, sort of,” Watson said. “Heals a great deal. And can be used as a rather handy bit of mental
control in the right hands.”

“My hands,” Steed said

“Well, our hands,” Watson said. “And we’re back to life.”

Watson opened fire once with the pistol as Sherlock poked his head up from behind cover.

“To kill you.” Watson finished.

“We’re stuck,” Emma said.

“Maybe,” Sherlock whispered. “But something isn’t quite right. That was a warning shot, or it felt like it. If he wants to kill me...”

“Why not just do it?” Emma asked.

“Unless he can’t,” Sherlock said. “Why hasn’t the Master possessed more than one person at once?”

“Unless it is unstable?” Emma said. “Difficult to control.”

“It would explain,” Sherlock said.

“So if we move together? Force him to focus on both,” Emma said.

“On three.”

“On three.” Emma agreed.

“Three,” Sherlock said leaping and rolling forwards charging his way around panels towards where Watson was standing.

Emma simultaneously drew her blade and leapt over railings to descent on where Steed was standing, sword drawn. As she fell towards his blade she parried it to the side and kicked him in the chest pushing him backwards, commencing their duel.

//

“Do everything we can now. Hold nothing back.” Felix’s voice over the radio was in the midst of its own firefight. “Word is the Doctor needs to come by this way.”

Bond and Lara, at the head of the human force. had managed to take out the very front tank with continued fire from the American anti tank weapons. They were using it as cover, taking point as troops, policemen and anyone willing to grab a rifle backed them up.

“That is the word,” said the Doctor’s voice over their radio. “Now, I’m heading towards you quite quickly but I think those tanks are going to destroy me if I try and fly passed them just like that.”

“That’s why we’re fighting isn’t it?” Bond asked as he and Lara were forced to withdraw as a Cybmeran hovertank finally broke through a building they had collapsed to block the road, to buy them time. “I have an idea that will work for one or two.”

“That leaves us with goodness knows how many back there,” Lara said as the rifle she was holding ran out of energy.
“Damned things. If only we could get inside them.”

“Inside them?” the Doctor asked.

“Open them up,” Lara said. “We can take what’s inside, just not what’s on the outside.”

“I’m good at opening things,” the Doctor said. “Bond, set up your plan for the two at the back, Felix get some of your men to get some operable cars to the front line and set up their radios to pick up this frequency. Lara get ready to be picked up, I’m taking you with me, and everyone else be ready to fire explosives at the opening doors of the Cyberman tanks.”

“Why am I coming with you?” Lara asked.

“Because we haven’t really met properly,” the Doctor said. “And I need an assistant.”

“Good luck,” Bond said passing Lara his rifle. “I’d like to have had the chance to get to know you better. Cover me as far as you can. I guess you’re about to found out how expendable I am.”

“We’ll see,” Lara said opening fire on Cyberman infantry to clear Bond a path as he weaved his way around hidden areas of cover, dodging laser blasts that came his way.

Bond looked back at the various soldiers, Lara amongst them, trying desperately to limit the Cyberman advance with bullets, grenades, rockets, and whatever came to hand. He ducked and wove his way through the Cyberman lines, taking a fallen rifle to provide his own cover. The Cybermen were mostly concentrated on advancing to eliminate the human force but as they became more aware of his presence the narrowness of his escape from being shot narrowed. Bond adjusted his watch and removed it as he approached the back of the line of tanks. He threw it between the rear two tanks and threw himself onto the ground.

“Come and get me,” Bond whispered.

At the front of the line various cars, their radios adjusted and volumes on full were driven into position. The Cybermen opened fire at them as a high pitched noise whirred from the cars. The noise near deafened all within the vicinity, and opened the tops of the Cybermen’s hovertanks.

“Now!” came the Doctor’s voice over the radios as he once again sent a sonic message through his screwdriver over the speakers, which reopened the few tops that the Cybermen had been quick enough to close.

The humans threw everything they had at these small gaps; killing the Cybermen inside.

“Unbelievable,” said Bond admiring the handiwork from near the back of the line.

“What about those last two Bond?” the Doctor’s voice said over his radio. “Those last two were too far away to be effected, and the Cybermen will be manually holding them shut.”

“Well I expect the Cybermen to solve the problem themselves.” Bond said.

A missile, fired by the Cyberman ship, smashed between the two tanks sending them both flying and leaving little trace of them.

“How did you do that?” Bond could picture Felix’s surprised face even over the crackly radio. It provided some comfort as his rifle ran out and he backed away, stumbling and falling into a hiding position that would not save him long.

“My watch is able to fake whatever I want it to fake,” Bond said. “Confusing enemy radar is a very useful skill as a spy. Still, it would have been nice to be able to keep the watch.”

He heard the boots of the advancing Cybermen approach where he lay.

“But you can’t win them all.”

Bond smiled to himself; those were final words to be proud of. As infantry Cybermen rounded the corner and spotted him he considered charging at them but thought he might prefer to die lying on his back, as he had partially lived.

As he closed his eyes the Cybermen in front of him were blown up by rockets fired from above. Bond opened his eyes and saw strange robotic contraptions flying along carrying the Doctor and Lara along.

“Told you that you weren’t expendable,” Lara’s voice came over the radio. “Be sure to thank my techie Bryce when you’re next around.”

“Techie, there’s the word he should have used,” the Doctor said.

“I look forward to being around,” Bond said with a sudden motivation to live just a little longer. He grabbed a rifle and made his way back towards the line as fast as he could.

“Can’t let me get my distance can you?” Steed said retreating backwards as Emma Peel maintained her quick attacks on him. “What with the length of my blade to yours.”

“It isn’t the length of the blade,” Emma said delivering a knee to the stomach that sent Steed coughing forwards. “It’s the skill of the...”

A blast from the laser screwdriver went over her head causing her to lose focus. Steed used the momentary lapse in concentration to push her away. Lying still where he was the Master’s third body had just about managed to grab hold of the laser screwdriver and had fired clumsily, his body still recovering from Harry’s spell.

“Blast,” Emma said.

“Quite,” Steed said bringing his guard up. “How rather unsporting.”

Sherlock meanwhile was grappling with Watson.

“Come on John, I know you’re in there, give me something to work with,” Sherlock said. “Something, however subtle.”

“He isn’t in here Sherlock, not really,” Watson said. “But he’s still got you beat on combat. He was in the army you know.”

“Yes,” Sherlock said. “He was. Though he didn’t return from the army completely intact.”

Sherlock delivered a blow to Watson’s thigh, exactly where he had been wounded. Watson screamed in agony, dropping the gun. Sherlock threw him over his shoulder. Watson landed on the ground momentarily spent. From the corner Ron, now on his knees, fired the laser screwdriver again, this time with a better aim, striking Sherlock in the arm.

“A wound for a wound ey Sherlock?” Watson took advantage of Sherlock’s pain and distraction and pulled on his leg dragging him to the floor.

Emma tried to defend herself and find an advantage, and Sherlock tussled now with one wounded arm. Ron crawled unopposed, drawing Ron’s own wand from a hidden pouch at his side, towards the chestplate that would allow him to use magic again. He used the laser screwdriver to repair the joins that Emma had cut.

“No Ron,” said a voice of a woman appearing, like a glowing apparition, just ahead of him. “You’re not going to do this.”

“Hermione?” Ron’s voice was full of surprise and recognition.

“Yes,” Hermione said, shimmering blue energy. “I can’t do much to help you but I can remind you who you really are. Your are under mind control.”

“Nice try,” said Ron. “But my hold on this little man is quite complete.”

Ron began shuffling forward.

“Steed,” Emma said dropping her sword and putting her hands behind her back. “It is Emma Peel. I need your help.”

“John,” Sherlock said letting go of him and moving away. “Come to your senses.”

All three of the Master’s possessed bodies struggled to know what to do.

“Don’t let him win Ron,” Hermione said. “I know it is difficult.”

“You could have been gods!” all three of them shouted suddenly. “Fine!”

The yellow energy that was the tell tale sign of the Master’s psychic energy burst out of Watson and Steed, momentarily blinding Emma and Sherlock. The energy flowed into Ron. The Master, his control on Ron once again secure, immediately grabbed the chest plate to throw it round himself. A shot rang out; a bullet from Watson’s gun struck Ron in the arm causing him to lose his grip on the chest plate. Steed reached the chest plate and took it from him, throwing it onto the ground. As Ron moved to attack Steed tripped him and pinned him to the floor. Watson grabbed the chest plate and threw it in a corner of the room as Steed took the laser screwdriver and wand from the Master.

“We’ve got him,” Steed said.

“He hasn’t got the energy to invade another mind,” Watson explained. “But he doesn’t think he needs to. His plan is soon to come to fruition.”

“What can we do?” Emma asked.

“I don’t know there is much we can do,” Steed said heading to the controls. “We can try and slow the missile attacks from here, and we’ve stopped him from locking down the ship like he’d planned. But really, it is up to the Doctor to see if he can stop what has been set up to go. If it does go we’ll all be stunned into terror, unable to do anything, and we’ll be brought to heel, to obey him, until the day we die.”

From beneath their grips the Master began to smile.

“I will enjoy watching you kneel.” He said.
//

Beneath the ship Harry Potter noticed the ship stop firing and he allowed his knees to fall. He was utterly exhausted and he crawled into cover. He knew that he should try to get up to the others but he was not sure he could muster the energy to get up to them or be of any use.

“I’m sorry,” Harry said to himself as he hid himself. “I will try.”

“Don’t worry Harry,” Hermione’s voice came as if on the wind. “You have done us all proud. That’s the longest period of abjuration and conjuration I have ever seen. It is longer than I have even read about, and you know me and my books. Nobody could expect more.”

“I just... need...” Harry tried to speak before passing out from the exhaustion.

The Doctor and Lara landed on top of the Cyberman ship.

“Right,” the Doctor said. “Grab the bags. Follow me.”

“I’m here to carry bags?” Lara asked.

The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to open an access hatch.

“Sometimes,” the Doctor said as a Cyberman climbed out of the hatch.

Lara fired her rifle quickly hitting the Cyberman directly in the head, removing it.

“Sometimes other things,” the Doctor said. “Quickly now.”

“What are in these bags anyway?” Lara asked.

“A short range teleporter, a long range teleporter...”

“You had a teleporter?” Lara asked.

“Not one we could use to get here,” the Doctor said. “I’m not an idiot. The short range will only work for very short journeys, roughly within the same structure, and you appear very slowly and very vulnerably so that was out. The long range one only works if you have it set up at two different locations.”

“Who is set up at the other location?” Lara asked.

“Never you mind,” the Doctor said tapping his nose before climbing down the access shaft.

//

“Look!” Sherlock shouted suddenly as over in the corner where they had bound him the Master disappeared.

“I didn’t know he’d be able to do that!” Watson shouted. “How did he keep that from us?”

“I didn’t think it was possible either,” Steed said as on a display screen the Master’s current possessed body appeared.

“I can keep a few secrets you know. A few ship based teleporters programmed with automatic initiators if I can’t access
them,” he said. “Important information for you to know for the future. Not that you have a future really. I’m going to trap you in there until you become my humble servants and I have, oh, two minutes to wait until that happens.”

From behind the Master a Cyberman appeared on the screen and spoke.

“Leader, the Doctor’s attempts to hack into the grid have been detected on level 19,” the Cyberman said. “Shall we dispatch a squad to kill him?”

“Send all we have on board,” the Master said. “And give me a weapon, I’ll be coming too.”

As the Master left the viewscreen the image changed to show the Doctor travelling along a street at high speed.

“Hello,” the Doctor said. “If you’re reading this message it means I’m a lot closer than I appear to be. Its pre recorded. So don’t try to reply!”

The video of the Doctor paused.

“I said ‘don’t try to reply!’” the Doctor shouted.

“We didn’t,” Watson said.

“Well you did just then!” the Doctor said. “Now I am going to be trying to hack into the Master’s make shift device to deactivate it but that’s going to be difficult and take time. So it is going to be up to you to keep Cybermen off me, I’ve disabled their weapons at least within the ship; in a few moments anyone that I recognise as being on my side will be teleported to assist in that defence. Grab hold of anyone you trust and they’ll come with you. Good luck.”
Sherlock held Watson by the shoulder as Emma locked arms with Steed and they all disappeared reappearing in a corridor.

They appeared beside Lara Croft holding a rifle.

“Anyone else got a gun?” Lara ask

“Not one that’s going to hurt a Cyberman,” Watson said holding up his pistol.

“Well mine’s out of energy thanks to the company already received,” Lara said nodding to the Cybermen lying in the
corridor. “Why do their guns have to be built into their arms?”

“They’re a more advanced model,” Steed said. “That much I know. And here they come.”

The Cybermen strode around the corner.

“Do we have a plan?” asked Watson firing his pistol at the first one, denting its armour.

“Get in the way,” Emma said.

The Cybermen marched down the corridor. Those that stood in their way did all they could, tripping the Cybermen, pushing them into each other. Within a minute the Cybermen had grabbed and at least partially restrained them all, as they continued to duck, weave and struggle. With half a minute to go before his device went off the Master charged through the midst of them opened the door and pointed a gun at where he knew the Doctor would be attempting to tamper with his machinery.

But the Doctor wasn’t there.

“Hello,” said a young woman behind the door pressing buttons.

“Who are you?” the Master. “Where’s the Doctor?”

“Which one first?” asked the woman.

“Both!” the Master shouted.

“Clara Oswald,” she said. “Not here.”

“Where?” the Master half screamed

“In the other room,” said the Doctor as he slowly appeared besides the teleporter that sat beside Clara.

“What are you doing Doctor?” the Master asked. “Why are you not trying to disable your device.”

“I didn’t have the time, I can’t stop a psychic message from pushing its way into the head of every person on the planet; it is too well defended with your fractal codes and data trenches. So I let Clara here, with her impressive knowledge of computer systems courtesy of an earlier adventure of ours, try and hack in instead. I however did something else,” the
Doctor said. “I did what I can do; what only I can do; change the message.”

There was a whirring within the system. The psychic field broadcast itself around the planet.

“The message?” the Master said.

As the field took hold all around the world a figure appeared in front of every single person; it was as if he had always been there, and only they could see him.

“Trust me,” said the figure smiling with a kindness that seemed almost divine. “I’m the Doctor.”

Back on the ship the Master screamed and pointed his gun at Clara.

“You’ll pay for this Doctor,” the Master said firing.

The laser blast hit a barrier that appeared in front of Clara as she backed away.

“Am I magic now?” Clara asked shocked but delighted.

“No,” said a voice behind her. “But we are.”

All around the room and in the corridor people, wizards and witches, were appearing, wands already drawn. They quickly disabled the Cybermen with spells and dragged the Master’s rifle away from him.

“I then caused the feedback of energy to be fed into my TARDIS controls, still at the bottom of the Thames but when has
a little water slowed down a Time Lord. The TARDIS destroyed the barriers than prevented people from teleporting onto this ship,” the Doctor said. “And destroyed the barriers you had set up between M space and our space. And for a final trick she dismissed the instabilities you had caused there to be in using M space powers, or magic if you all prefer, within this side of the universe.”

“In other words,” said the woman coming from behind Clara.

“No,” the Master tried to run.

“We’re back,” Hermione smiled at Ron and pointed her wand at him.

She spoke a spell that dragged the yellow energy of the Master out of Ron Weasley and into a box that she held in her hand.

“No!” shouted Ron momentarily until the energy was dissipated.

In a moment the Master’s influence was gone.

“Oh thank god for that. That was horrible. And I’ve been shot.” Ron felt his injury.

“Sorry,” John Watson said from the corridor.

“It’s fine,” Ron said as Hermione embraced him. “It’s fine.”

“What’s happening down on the street?” Lara asked.

“A lot of the Cybermen were operated remotely from this location,” Hermione said. “We’ve disrupted their communication networks, they should be subdued but we’ve got wizards and witches watching on the streets to quietly disappear any that are still active.”

“I’ve never seen power used some responsibly,” the Doctor said, his sonic screwdriver whirring at a control panel.
“Now teleport us all somewhere cool or something, and say abracadabra as we do it. This ship is about to head into orbit, where it subsequently depart this planet. I’ll return it to its own time and space once I have the TARDIS fully up and running. That may be difficult as half of it is full of Thameswater now.”

“Sorry,” said Emma.

“Fine. Anyway, yes, abracadabra.”

Two months later.



Lara Croft and Bond slept peacefully as two Wizards, Luna Lovegood & Neville Longbottom, finished their chants.

“So is it a happy memory?” Neville asked.

“Oh yes,” Luna said. “I had them meet quite by chance, as in the best love stories. They meet both chasing the same taxi.

They share it, and now they share everything. They laughed, they loved, all they could ever want.”

“And will it last?” Neville asked.

“Oh no,” Luna said. “It’s magic, not a miracle.”

//

Mycroft placed his cup back in its saucer. Tea with Kate Stewart was something he had become quite used to since they got to know each other in the events that had brought their world so close to terror and tyranny.

“I must confess I didn’t expect things to seem so normal,” Mycroft said. “The virtues, vices and villainy of humanity appear to have gone on unimpeded by the Invasion of London.”

“London’s been invaded before,” Kate Stewart said placing her own cup down. “Even by extraterrestrials. These
things do seem to fall within the cracks of time. Buildings are coming back up too, remarkably quickly. I suspect that the magicians have decided to remove it from the memory of those on this side; too many people they couldn’t expect to forget the sights of magic, too many unexplained things if you get rid of the magic. They’re doing it slowly no doubt, but they’re trying to do it right, not leave confusing gaps.”

“They’ll keep a few key people within what they call the muggle world aware,” Mycroft said. “I would expect you and I to be such key people. We shall remember no doubt. I daresay Mr. Potter thinks of us as at least partially trustworthy.”

“Remember what?” Kate asked.

Mycroft frowned momentarily, then smiled politely at the humour.

“I see,” he said. “Has the Doctor been spotted?”

“Not since he took away the little project you had going downstairs,” Kate said. “He hasn’t returned a call I put into his answer machine to ask him for suggestions on how to replace it.”

“Pity,” Mycroft said. “I daresay someone down there remembering all of this will be very important someday.”

“What of the others?” Kate asked.

“Peel and Steed are back on duty,” Mycroft said. “As normal as can be expected. Bond has taken leave. Whilst Miss Croft...”

“Has taken leave of her senses I daresay,” Kate said before scoffing a biscuit.

“How so?” Mycroft asked.

“She can’t really expect it to last,” Kate said. “He’s classic womaniser. Obsessed with power, always in his fancy suits, everything has to be perfectly neat and....”

Kate stopped, looking awkwardly at the perfectly neat room and Mycroft, sat in his expensive suit, possibly one of the most powerful men in the country.

“Bit rough round the edges though him, not properly neat,” she said.

“Don’t fear offending me,” Mycroft said. “My brother and I both are deeply assured of ourselves. He has gone back to Baker Street again. I am back in my office. All is right with the Holmes brothers.”

“And UNIT will rebuild as well,” Kate said standing. “Until another day Mr. Holmes.”

As she stood Harry Potter, along with other Wizards and the Doctor, appeared in front of them.

“I’m sorry Katherine,” the Doctor said. “But I’m afraid I’ve persuaded them to add you to the list of those who forget.”

“Doctor really....”

“You shouldn’t have kept those people downstairs,” the Doctor said. “Forever remembering the terrible things that
have happened, for that you can’t be completely trusted. I just can’t be sure you won’t try to use magic yourselves. I can’t take that risk.”

//

“John,” said Sherlock coming into the room. “I’ve been thinking of going over some old cases that never quite made sense. See if maybe, after all this, it really was magic.”

“Magic Sherlock?” Watson asked. “Why on Earth would you of all people believe in magic?”

Sherlock smiled and chuckled.

“Why indeed.”

//

“But only for absolute emergencies,” Harry said as he closed the bonnet of John Steed’s Bentley.

“Can I at least take it once round the block?” Emma said. “I mean, just once?”

“Alright,” Harry said.

“What?” Steed said. “But it’s my car!”

“But you were evil,” Harry said. “She get’s first go, or its the wand for you both.”

“Alright then,” Steed said. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Emma revved the engine and the car blasted into the sky at an incredible velocity.

“She never learned to drive,” Steed said.

//

The Doctor stood by his TARDIS at the front door of Ron and Hermione’s house. In his hand he held the Master’s essence, trapped for now in the box Hermione had put him in.

“Thank you for trusting me with the box and with...,” the Doctor tapped his head. “Keeping the old memories intact.”

“You said we’d be unable to eliminate your memories of us,” Hermione said.

“Yes,” the Doctor said. “And you trusted me. I’ll soon forget this place; put it somewhere in the back of my mind. I’ve
reset up the TARDIS chameleon circuit to help hide you from other times and other planets. Just make sure you stay invisible to those nosey little humans. The galaxy is big, scary and confusing enough without adding M space power to the mix.”

“An alien wielding magic?” Ron asked. “That’d be mad.”

“Well quite young Weasley,” the Doctor said clicking his fingers to open the TARDIS door. “Quite mad.”

The TARDIS disappeared from their garden, and their lives.

The End

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

*APPLAUDS*