| Date: 12 February 2008
Characters: The Master, Jack Harkness, The Doctor Location: hotel lobby Link to IJ: thread #61987 |
 Leaving Adric to think over what they'd been talking about, the Master ambled down the street, looking for all the world like a man just out for an afternoon stroll. Well, perhaps a wealthy and a bit arrogant man, but nevertheless, trying his best to look like he was harmless. He glanced at various buildings around him, cataloguing them. Shops, a handful of office buildings, some open spaces with greenery. Some pubs, what gave the appearence of a club, a coffee-house that he made a note to return to later for further examination. A library further along, and a hotel.
All in all, rather a bland place so far. He stepped into the hotel, looking around the lobby, his lips twitching at the decor. Not a place that would be expensive, if he had to pay for it. And somehow, if this place was outside of space and time, he doubted he would have to. Not that he had any intention of doing so, even if they wanted some form of payment. Ah, and there was who he was looking for. He smiled, the expression lighting up his eyes with a dangerous glint. "Jack Harkness. What a delightful surprise to find you here." |
 Jack turned at the sound of his name. He nodded, very slightly in acknowledgment, and his eyebrow lifted just the slightest bit. "Do I know you?" |
| "You don't remember me?" The Master sighed, giving Jack a mock-pout. "I'm heartbroken." He smiled, his hands still in his pockets, his eyes glittering with malice. "You die so beautifully, and keep getting up and coming back for more." |
| He drew back, just a little. "Are you sure we've met? Because really, dying a lot for a psychopath's usually pretty memorable." |
| "It's the face, isn't it?" The Master pulled out one hand, holding up the laser screwdriver, raising an eyebrow. "Perhaps this is a little more familiar?" He aimed it right at Jack, holding his gaze and waiting a moment to let the implication sink in before he fired. |
| Jack's expression shifted from one of wary confusion, to disbelief, to pissed the fuck off while that thing was pointed at him.
And he couldn't do a god damn thing about it. Not before the thing went off except be pissed off. |
| The Master took a deep breath, smiling broadly as he leaned back against the front desk, waiting for Jack to get back up. He kept his laser screwdriver in hand, just in case, but he really had no intention of using it again. Well, unless he had to. Not that he'd mind. At least it was entertainment.
He just... he really had hoped Jack would recognize him without needing to kill him right off. A little toying around with him before he killed him. He doubted, after all, he'd be able to get Jack to play a good little lackey, regardless of what he said. |
| He came back around, fast and hard and climbing to his feet quickly, with a low, feral growl. He was pissed the fuck off, he was scared, and he was trapped somewhere with multiple versions of the Master.
Who kept shooting him and by DAMN if he had reason to think there was danger to others, his reaction was going to be to find a way to kill first and worry about the consequences later. The truth was, quite simply, that he didn't have much choice. He'd rather just be left the hell alone. |
| "Hmm. Rather a bit faster than I expected, but still satisfying." The Master watched Jack, not moving from where he stood, relaxed and almost cheerful. "I am actually rather glad that I found you. I was starting to contemplate seeing if there was any animal life in this place to put out of its misery. Really, not nearly as enjoyable as being able to watch my prey get back on his feet."
Nevermind that he'd been looking for Jack, and would have kept looking until he found him, just to have the chance to kill him. Less waste of potential that he could use. |
| Jack got back up on his feet fast, yeah. Adrenaline and anger when he died was a good push back to life. Getting his brain on-line too longer and intelligence and coherence came back during the course of the Master's remark, and was still coming back.
"Why aren't you dead?" |
| "Back-up plan." The Master shrugged. "Though I suppose that does mean the Doctor hasn't yet told you I'm not so dead after all. How rude." He smirked. "And yet, so very much the Doctor. But you already know that, and you still are his loyal and faithful friend. That always has rather amazed me." He tilted his head. "How is it that the Doctor can treat you so shabbily and still keep your loyalty?" |
| "He's got a huge cock," Jack snapped. "What do you want?" |
| The Master shook his head, chuckling. "Is that really all it takes to gain your loyalty, Jack? As for what I want? Control over the universe, the Doctor on his knees - though not begging, that was pathetic. A good coffee, a chef who knows how to cook." He tapped a finger against his lips a moment, looking thoughtful. "I do believe I'm forgetting something. Oh, yes, to go back home so I might get on with that. But really, I doubt you could help with that."
Jack he didn't feel quite the need to hide his frustration around, though he supposed it wasn't good for him. Not trust, certainly, but perhaps just familiarity. Still, more openness than perhaps was particularly healthy for him. |
| "Great. I'll let you know if I come up with a plan," Jack said blunt, in the extreme, voice rough. "Meanwhile keep that screwdriver to yourself and don't start shit here or I will blow your fucking brains out, timeline be damned." |
| "Oh, Jack, Jack, you don't expect that to actually deter me from doing as I please, do you?" The Master gave Jack a mocking look. "Really, what could you expect out of a new regeneration of mine? And I do hope you won't say 'respect for life' or 'rampant desire for sex'." He paused. "Though I do believe you might find that I have some modicum of the first, if rather a good deal less of the second compared to the regeneration you first met. Who knows what I'll be like if you force a regeneration on me?" He gave him a faintly sinister smile, almost as if daring Jack to try to cause him trouble. |
| He lifted his eyebrows. "I expect you not to want to be murdered, and if you think I can't and won't eventually do it, should you present any inclination to act like a predator in a closed environment, you're sadly mistaken. I keep coming back. You? You've got how many regenerations? You can't kill me, "Master," He sneers. "I certainly can kill you, so either behave yourself or." He shrugged, pulled the gun and the trigger in one fluid motion, bullet just grazing the outside of his arm. "Die. Repeatedly and slowly."
He wasn't joking. He wasn't kidding. He wasn't bluffing. He could, and would, damn well do it. He didn't want to. He'd rather protect the timeline, but forced? Oh hell yeah. |
| The amusement and ease vanished from the Master's stance and expression when Jack shot him, a snarl crossing his face.
"I do not take orders from someone like you, Harkness," he hissed. "I didn't ask to be in this miserable excuse for a pocket dimension, and while I would prefer the broader universe and a proper chance at the Doctor, if I must need make do with this place, I shall. As for regenerations..." He smirked. "It doesn't matter if you force each and every one of them I have. I have more resources than just that. I might be a little miffed to see this face go, but you can't get rid of me quite so easily." |
| "I'd just as soon not have to get rid of your sorry ass at all. You're not worth the bullets," he said, voice almost dismissively. "Never mind the risk to time and space. But if you force my hand by putting more at risk, don't doubt for one second that I will." |
 The sound of a shot being fired drew the Doctor's attention, and he stepped into what appeared to be a hotel, tensed for a confrontation.
"Oh no, not you," he groaned as he took in the situation, and the greying man standing next to the front desk, facing off with Jack. "Well, at least better than finding you've taken over half a galaxy, I suppose." He sighedd, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was really not what he wanted right now. Just... no. Bad. Especially after his run-in with the other Master, the earlier regeneration. "I should just let Jack kill you, you know." |
| The Master didn't look over at the sound of someone else coming in until he heard him speak. Then he curled his lip up in disgust.
"Come off it, you idiot. You enjoy this game every bit as much as I do." He didn't take his attention off Jack for a minute, even as he snapped at the Doctor. |
| He kept his gun up, and aimed, at the Master.
He didn't look at the Doctor, either, but he had the good sense to work out who it was. "I don't care who's playing what game, but you've got about thirty seconds to work out a way to get this psychopath on a leash and keep him from being a threat to every timeline represented here, before I put a bullet between his eyes and we worry about one." He actually felt kind of sick. He really hadn't been away from the Master long enough to have to deal with this shit again. |
| "I actually would rather not be worrying about that particular one that you're talking about, Jack." The Doctor sighed, moving into the line of fire, between the two. "It's my timeline, after all. And for all that the Master is a psychopath, I'd rather not have him regenerate again. This regeneration seems to have a bit of a reluctance to kill people." |
| "It's hard to summon up the glee at killing people when it doesn't appear to do much to make you upset and rightous and absolutely beautiful." The Master rolled his eyes. "You've gotten a little more like me than I expected this regeneration. Irritating, that. There's not enough room in the universe for that." |
| He dropped his gun as soon as the Doctor stepped between them. He didn't put it away but he used his other hand to rub his eyes with his thumb and first two fingers. "Great. Fantastic. Your universe, your problem. Keep him from murdering anyone who won't stand up again, would you?"
He avoided twitching, but only just. Kind of by about as much as he avoided crying. |
| "I'll do my best, but the more I care, the more he's likely to actually try to do so, just to irritate me." The Doctor gave the Master an annoyed look. "As for you? If you don't behave, I'll go find your former regeneration - and every other variation of you I can - and hand you over to them. I'm sure they can be quite creative, without forcing you to regenerate."
He paused, processing Jack's words, and rolling his eyes. "Did you have to kill Jack, again?" |
| "Would you prefer I killed some hapless piece of local wildlife instead?" The Master crossed his arms, smirking. "And other variations of me? That actually sounds rather... kinky. You surprise me, I didn't think you were into that sort of thing." |
| Jack dropped his hand. "Do you two actually need me for anything, or can I leave you to your foreplay?"
He was exhausted. He hadn't realized just how much until he popped up from being dead again, but he'd been killed countless times for the Master, gone back home, come here, and since he'd been here he'd been screwed twice - ha - by laser screwdriver, and killed by a vampire. He was just about to get hysterical. |
| The Doctor turned towards Jack, a concerned frown on his face when he peered at Jack. "Are you all right, Jack?" He stepped closer, reaching out a hand to tilt Jack's head up a little, studying his face a moment. "You look... rather a bit less handsome and more wrung out than usual." |
| The Master rolled his eyes, pocketing his laser screwdriver for now. "You and your obsessive need to care about everyone," he muttered, then raised his voice. "Do you have to flirt with him in front of me? I'm hurt." He mock-pouted, though if his audience even noticed, he wasn't certain. |
| Jack noticed and he carefully pulled back away from the Doctor after just a second. "I've spent a lot of time dead, lately. Speaking of dead, how about we not make the homicidal maniac jealous; I like breathing." |
| The Doctor grimaced, and nodded. "It would have to be the psychopathic ex-boyfriend who survived to annoy me for the rest of my regenerations. I'm sorry about that, Jack. Really." He gave the Master an irritated glare. "And I wasn't flirting, I was just asking if Jack was all right." |
| "If I didn't know better, I'd say you'd regenerated with him in the audience. You flirt with everyone, and half the time by just saying hello." The Master regarded Jack for a long moment. "Though if you must flirt with any real intention behind it, he's acceptable. For a human." |
| "You," Jack said, pointing at the Master. "Can keep your opinions about my relative attractiveness to yourself." He glanced back to the Doctor and lifted his eyebrows. "I'm fine, you weren't flirting. I've seen you flirt, that wasn't it. Look - just tell me he's not going to kill people here and tear the universe apart." |
| "If he tries to do anything like that, I'll force a regeneration on him myself." The Doctor sighed, rubbing his temple with one hand a moment. "And if I'm not there, and you are, feel free to shoot him yourself. I'll deal with the consequences to my universe if and when they happen. Since there's no way to know if forcing him to regenerate here will have any effect at all there." |
| "Now that's really rather unkind of you, Doctor." The Master moved closer, meeting the Doctor's gaze steadily. "And you should know better than to think I would do that." |
| "Are you two going to kiss and make up now?" Jack asked. "That's very sweet. If he does, I will. If he kills me again, I'm taking out his knee-caps. Actually, maybe I'll take his kneecaps and balls out, no matter what." He walked a few feet away and flung himself down on a sofa, sprawled. |
| The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Jack, a mischevious smile on his face. "I hadn't really intended to, though if you're wanting a show, I'm sure I can provide one." He glanced over at the Master, the smile becoming a smirk. |
| "Oh, grow up!" the Master snapped, stepping away from the Doctor. "Really, one would think you'd grow out of the adolescent need for public displays of attraction." |
| "I can't believe I'm going to say this," Jack said, thoughtfully, "But I'm with him." He pointed at the Master, again. "Mostly because him and sex are a nasty combination in my mind. You," he directed to the Doctor. "on the other hand - Nice body. Much better than the toothpick one." |
| The Doctor grinned, and shrugged. "I think I did rather nicely in this regeneration myself, yes. Like it rather a bit more than the last one, though the tendency towards Master-esque mind games is a little disturbing. And I think I like the previous regeneration better - he looks nicer in a suit. Though he's a little less capable in some respects, and I'm sure the drums are louder in his head than in the current one's." |
| The Master smirked. "A little harder to get into my head, isn't it? Though yes, the drums aren't nearly as loud as they were, no thanks to you. Or is it?" He frowned, giving the Doctor an appraising look. "One wonders, considering I here you've gotten rather a nice sense of rhythm this time, and bought yourself a set of drums." |
| Jack held up both of his hands. "All right, you two. I'm done. My head's pounding hard enough to make me think I've got my own set of drums." He pulled himself up to his feet. "Don't kill anyone, don't fuck everyone, and enjoy your stay in the middle of nowhere." |
| The Doctor rolled his eyes at the Master, and reached out to put a hand on Jack's shoulder, asking without words for him to wait a moment.
"You, old friend, can wait over there," he pointed to the front desk, "a moment. We need to talk." He turned back to Jack, an easy smile on his face a moment before he stepped into Jack's personal space, angling in to kiss him, brief and hard and what he'd been wanting to do since he'd made up his mind to go back to Cardiff and ask Jack to come with him. What he'd wanted to do a regeneration ago, and avoided because Jack had felt wrong to him then. Well, and he'd been a bit of an idiot about personal stuff. |
| The Master rolled his eyes, his lip curling up in disgust as he turned away, heading for the exit while the Doctor was distracted. His day had gone rather downhill since running into Adric. Though, perhaps, this place was shaping up to be more interesting. |
| Jack returned the kiss - of course he returned the kiss. He put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder to do it, though, and after just a moment he pulled back.
"What?" Well. he was confused. Last he knew he was wrong. |
| The Doctor curled a hand around Jack's neck a moment, a pensive expression. "I've been wanting to do that for the last month or so. Just haven't gotten around to getting to Cardiff to do so. And when I finally set the coordinates to there, I stepped out into a pub here." He shrugged, one corner of his mouth lifting up in a wry smile. "Should have done that a regeneration ago, really." |
| "I just spent a year dying in a lot of creative, painful and humiliating ways. Since I've been here I've run into three versions of that guy - two of them shot me, one of them I hit, and one took me home for a threesome with his version of the Doctor. I've been killed by a vampire, and I've met more versions of you than I can count. I am glad as hell you're coming back to Cardiff, and kissed senseless isn't something I'm going to object to, but between you and me senseless isn't going to be a long trip with the way things are going." |
| The Doctor stroked a thumb along the side of Jack's neck. "I'd take away that year, if I could. Avoid the psychotic ex." He paused, a small frown on his face. "One of those versions of the prat wouldn't be the previous regeneration, would it?" |
| He tilted his head a little to the side, some of the tension leaving his shoulders and his posture with the soft exhale. His eyelashes fluttered and he just - yeilded and gave. He really was that easy. The kiss be damned, nice as it was. One touch against his throat, casually affectionate, and every bit of the defensiveness and reserve went away. "Yeah," he said. "Both of them, actually, but only one's psychotic. The other's just got the face. No drums," he explained. |
| "When did you run into the psychotic one?" He kept up the gentle movement of his thumb, his voice soft and quiet.
He really, really hoped that it wasn't the one he ran into the day before in the pub. It would be... well, very annoying to find out that he'd been part of Jack getting shot. He'd had enough of that during the year that he'd erased from most of the universe. |
| He frowned a little. "I don't know. It's hard to keep track of the passage of time in this place, especially when I die. Yesterday, maybe? I ran into him out at the lake." |
| The Doctor relaxed a little, though he still wasn't certain that he didn't have something to do with Jack getting shot.
"Just a little worried, is all," he murmured, before leaning in to kiss Jack again, slow and gentle. He'd worry about the rest of it later. When he could do something about it, if he could do anything about it. |
| This kiss he really returned. Hand curled around the Doctor's hip, open and warm and loving - and tired. No reserve, still, just giving and very, very, Jack.
"Worried about what?" he murmured, without actually pulling away. |
| "That it was the one I ran into in the pub when I arrived. Rather messed with his head, I'm afraid." He stroked his thumb over the pulse-point in Jack's throat, the words murmured against Jack's lips, barely audible. |
| The thumb against his pulse was a serious 'hot spot' for Jack. Not just arousing, but generally.. primal. With the Doctor, that meant aroused and relaxed and damn close to pliant. Relaxing meant reaction and exhaustion came crashing back down on him, hard.
"Drums," he agreed. "That one's definitely got them." His fingers against the Doctor's shoulder tapped the rhythm out, almost without realizing he'd done it. |
| The Doctor twitched away from the rhythm, pulling back slightly, and he reached for Jack's hand automatically, fingers wrapping gently around his wrist. "Drums with an infectous rhythm, yes." |
| Jack blinked a couple of times, not in confusion but to focus his eyes on the Doctor's. He didn't even try to get his hand back. "If he'd killed me less often, I'd almost feel bad for the guy," he admitted. It was also an apology. |
| The Doctor smiled ruefully, holding Jack's gaze. "I won't expect anyone to feel bad for him," he said softly. "Nor for anyone to understand why I still care for him." An oblique nod to his strange behavior when the Master had chosen to die rather than regenerate. |
| "People put up with a lot of really shitty behaviour from people they love. Especially if the alternative's eternity alone. Believe me, I get it." His gaze was steady, warm and not at all accusing. He did get it. Both sides of it. |
| "Except the alternative wasn't eternity alone. I was just shite at the personal stuff." The Doctor shrugged. "I got better, at least a little." He paused, amusement on his face. "I hope." |
| "Maybe. I don't know," he admitted, with a faint and vaguely weary smile. "I hope, too. On a lot of counts, and only some of them involve me." |
| "I haven't gotten slapped by my companions since I regenerated. That should count for something. And one of them did it purely on principle," he pointed out, grinning a little. "She said you recommended it for getting me to think straight." |
| He deliberately leered, just a little. "Now why would I want you to think straight." Then he dropped it and flashed a quick smile. "Of course if she was a she that advice might actually have been worth something." |
| The Doctor laughed, leaning in to kiss Jack again before shaking his head. "She wouldn't want me to think straight anyway. Actually think, though, that might have been a good idea. Might have resulted in me not getting killed." |
| He nipped lightly at the Doctor's lower lip, then gently disengaged to sit down before he fell down. "Getting killed's never good. What happened?" |
| The Doctor sat down on the arm of the couch, wriggling his toes against the fabric of the cushions a moment. "I was trying to negotiate a truce between two factions warring on a planet that never should have had a civil war. One of the leaders decided he'd had enough of this attempt at peace, and decided to blame me for all their troubles. One of his lackeys stabbed me in the back."
He shrugged. "Barely made it back to the TARDIS before I regenerated. Diana almost went back out there with a blaster. Something about concluding the negotiations with prejudice." The Doctor narrowed his eyes a moment. "She likes that concept a little much sometimes. Almost reminds me of Ace." |
| "She sounds like someone I'd like," he agreed. "I have no idea who Ace is, but I'd probably like her, too." He watched the Doctor, he was listening, he just didn't know what to do with a lot of that information. Not that it wasn't interesting. |
| "I'm sure you will, when she comes along." The Doctor grinned. "Be a while, though. I didn't coax her off on adventures in time and space until the middle of the twenty-first century. Something about travel and not dealing with a boss who flirts with everyone else on his staff, and nevermind what that does to her sex life." |
| "...Is she one of mine?" he asked, just bewildered. That that's where he went was probably pretty telling though. |
| The Doctor shook his head. "No. Name of Diana Jones; apparently one of your employees had a 'aliens made me do it' night with her grandmother, or so her story goes. Not that he remembered it, for all that she does. Lovely woman, not at all like the maternal figures in the lives of most of my companions recently."
He reached out, stroking Jack's hair a moment before settling his hand at the nape of his neck. "As far as I know, you don't have any offspring, though. Just a family built around the offspring of various lovers and employees." |
| He closed his eyes and went a bit limp. "I'm fucking time. Of course I don't have any offspring." He was just. Exhausted. |
| "Oh, I don't know. You could have some, and I just don't know about them." The Doctor leaned back, closing his eyes. "Didn't really get a chance to stop and chat while I was on Earth the day I picked Diana up. Just long enough to snag a piece of technology that really didn't belong there, and no matter how much I trust you, I don't trust Torchwood with it. She just was in the wrong place at the wrong time when it all went a little pear shaped." |
| "Isn't that how you pick up most of your companions?" Jack asked, a little snidely. Just a little. There was some humor there, too. |
| The Doctor chuckled. "Oh, the situations are as varied as the companions. But a lot of them do end up coming along after some trouble." He opened one eye to look at Jack. "I offered to take her home after, but she told me I was being daft, and it wasn't like most of your lot would miss her. Did upgrade her phone, and she had a blazing row with someone who called that she wouldn't tell me about after. She really didn't want to go home after that." |
| He made an indecisive sound. "Sounds like your kind of woman," he agreed, very blandly. |
| The Doctor shrugged. "Not particularly. Wonderful companion; I'm still going to leave her in Cardiff when I go off on the next adventure. Rather, when I go off looking for Mr. I'm An Evil Genius. Wherever and whenever he's gotten off to, trying to take over the universe. Can't leave him alone too long. Don't want to turn around and find he's taken over half a galaxy just because he can." |
| "That'd be after you track me down and kiss my senseless, right?" he asked, with a quick smile. |
| "Oh, I think it'll be after a good deal more than that, but yes, after tracking you down and kissing you senseless." The Doctor leered at Jack, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "Rather thought I'd enjoy the trip to Cardiff, and maybe ask you to come along when I leave. Might take the long way around the universe looking for the prat." |
| "I've got no idea what the future's got in store for me, but maybe I'll take the invitation this time. Sounds like a good time." |
| "I hope you do. Missed having you around these last few years." The Doctor lapsed into silence, just sitting there, one hand lazily tracing random lines of equations on the back of Jack's neck. |
| Jack dropped his chin toward his chest, eyes sliding closed, hands relaxing. His breathing went deep, and he just. Yeilded to the touch. |
| The Doctor watched Jack, his eyes half closed, reluctant to move. He knew he'd have to go track down the Master before too much longer, or risk him doing something stupid. But he didn't want to leave Jack alone right now, either. |
| He actually came damn close to falling asleep. He didn't - but he half drowsed off, eventually turning in toward the Doctor with a stifled yawn.
"You can leave," he mumbled through that not-quite-yawn. |
| "Mmm." The Doctor leaned down to kiss Jack gently before sliding off the couch. He wandered to the door, looking back a moment before heading out, the gentle care fading from his expression as he focused on the task of finding the Master before he did something... well, stupid. |