Two things to say.

1) I am soooo sorry I didn't get this up sooner! I've been away from the Internet for the weekend, and I've been hit by headaches really badly these last few days, hence being away from a normal computer. Sorry it took so long!

2) I think I'll start the 50-75 comments here, because I think we got nearly a third of that amount last interlude. :P But the question I shall be answering is: when will the Doctor first appear? I will answer the question either way, but the closer we get to 75 comments, the more specific I'll get . . . like, say, which episode. ;)

That's all! Enjoy!

***

A young black woman bopped her head to the rap music of her phone when her phone actually rang. She took a look at the Caller ID, then answered. "You're up early," she said. "What's happening?"

"It's a nightmare, because Dad won't listen, and I'm telling you, Mum is going mental!" her older sister on the other end rattled off. "Swear to God, Martha, this is epic! You've got to get in there and stop him!"

"How do I do that?" Martha Jones asked with a grin. Tish always did exaggerate.

"Tell him he can't bring her!"

Martha looked down when her phone beeped. "Hold on, that's Leo. I'll call you back."

"Martha, if Mum and Dad start to kick off, tell them I don't even want a party!" her younger brother, Leo, told her. "I didn't even ask for one! They can always give me the money instead."

"Yeah, but why do I have to tell them? Why can't you?" She refrained from rolling her eyes when her phone beeped again. "Hold on. That's Mum. I'll call you back."

"I don't mind your father making a fool of himself in private, but this is Leo's 21st!" Francine Jones began as soon as she picked up. "Everyone is going to be there, and the entire family is going to look ridiculous!"

"Mum, it's a party," Martha sighed. "I can't stop Dad from bringing his girlfriend." She did roll her eyes this time when her phone beeped yet again. "Hold on. That's Dad. I'll call you back."

"Martha?" her father, Clive Jones, asked. "Now, tell your mother, Leo is my son, and I'm paying for half that party. I'm entitled to bring who I like."

"I know, but think what it's going to look like for Mum if you're standing there with Annalise," Martha tried to tell him.

"What's wrong with Annalise?"

"Is that Martha?" Annalise's sugary voice asked. "Say hi. Hi, Martha! Hi!"

Martha cringed. "Hi, Annalise," she answered.

"Big kiss, lots of love, see you at the party, babe. Now, take me shopping, big boy."

Martha quickly hung up and was about to continue when a woman with dark brown hair in fishtail braids came up to her. "Like so," she grinned, taking off the sparkling black scarf she wore, and she wound it around her hands in a complicated pattern. "See?" She winked, then walked off.

Martha stared after her in surprise. For one, it was weird she was American . . . but, then again, with Annalise, she could see weirder. She headed towards the entrance of the Royal Hope Hospital, and she made a noise of protest when a man in full motorcycle gear barged past her. "Oi!" she called. "Watch it, mate!"

The figure turned to look at her, but she brushed it off and headed inside. She put her purse inside of her locker, slipped on her white coat, then started to close the door. She quickly pulled her hand back when she got an electric shock, then closed the door for sure.

***

"I was all right till this morning, and then, I don't know," one of the patients, Florence Finnegan, told Martha's teacher, Mr. Stoker, as Martha and her students gathered around. "I woke up and I felt all dizzy again. It was worse than when I came in."

"Pulse is slightly thready," Mr. Stoker said. "Well, let's see what Britain's finest might suggest. Any ideas, Morgenstern?"

"Dizziness can be a sign of early onset diabetes?" he suggested.

"Hardly early onset, if you'll forgive me, Miss Finnegan," Mr. Stoker told the woman. "Any more ideas? Swales?"

"Er . . . could recommend a CT scan?" she suggested.

"And spend all our money?" Mr. Stoker snorted. "Jones?"

"We could take bloods and check for Ménière's disease," Martha suggested.

"Or we could simply ask the patient," Mr. Stoker said in exasperation. "What did you have for dinner last night?"

"I had salad," Florence answered.

"And the night before?"

"Salad again."

"And salad every night for the past week, contrary to my instructions. Salt deficiency, that's all. Simple, honest salt." Martha exchanged looks with her fellow medical students as she followed Mr. Stoker down the hall. "Hippocrates himself expounded on the virtues of salt," he explained. "Recommended the inhalation of steam from salt water. Though, no doubt if he'd been afflicted with my students, results might have been rather more colorful." They entered the last ward, and Mr. Stoker pulled away the curtain around a bed, and despite herself, Martha's eyes widened in astonishment. "Now, then, Miss Tyler, a very good morning to you. How are you today?"

The same woman she'd run into out in the street, her hair loose this time, though, gave a grin and answered, "Oh, not so bad. Still a bit, you know . . . blah."

"Caly Tyler, admitted yesterday with severe chest pains and migraines," Mr. Stoker told them. "Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me."

Martha took her stethoscope from around her neck. "That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?" she asked.

Caly blinked. "Sorry?" she asked.

"On Chancellor Street this morning?" Martha prompted, putting the stethoscope in her ears. "You came up to me and took your scarf off and did some sort of trick with it."

"Really?" she blinked. "Wonder what I did that for."

"I don't know. You just did."

"Not me. I was here, in bed. Ask the nurses."

"Well, that's weird, cause it looked like you. Have you got a sister?"

She knew she'd crossed some kind of line when the woman's face darkened. "No," she answered bitterly. "Not anymore. Just me."

"As time passes, and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones," Mr. Stoker sighed.

"Sorry," Martha blushed. "Right."

She placed the stethoscope on the left side of Caly's chest, checking the heart rate, then moved it to the other side. Her eyes widened when she heard a separate heartbeat. She gave Caly a quick look, unable to believe it, and was startled when the woman gave her a wink. "I weep for future generations," Mr. Stoker huffed. "Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?"

"Er . . . " Martha stammered, put off. "Chest pains?"

Mr. Stoker rolled his eyes. "That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart." Mr. Stoker picked up the clipboard, but quickly dropped it when the metal clip gave him a shock.

Martha frowned. "That happened to me this morning."

"I had the same thing on the door handle," Morgenstern nodded.

"And me, on the lift," Swales pitched in.

Caly looked very interested in that, but Mr. Stoker just brushed it off. "That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in, and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by . . . anyone?"

"Benjamin Franklin," Caly answered.

"Correct," Mr. Stoker smiled.

"My mate, Ben," Caly grinned. "That was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite . . . and then I got soaked."

Mr. Stoker frowned. "Quite . . . "

"And then I got electrocuted!" Caly laughed. "Oh, Jack didn't leave me alone for hours!"

"Moving on," Mr. Stoker said slowly, and led them off. "I think perhaps a visit from psychiatric." Martha grinned at Caly, which the woman returned. "And next we have - "

***

"No, listen, I've worked out a plan," Martha told Tish later that day in the resting area for the doctors. "We tell Annalise that the buffet tonight is one hundred percent carbohydrate, and she won't turn up!"

"I wish you'd take this seriously," Tish sighed. "That's our inheritance she's spending, on fake tan. Tell you what, I'm not that far away. I'll drop by for a sandwich, and we can draw up a battle plan."

"In this weather?" Martha frowned at the rain pouring out the window. "I'm not going out. It's pouring down."

"It's not raining here." There was a pause. "That's weird. It's raining right on top of you, I can see it, but it's dry where I am."

"Well, you just got lucky."

"No, but it's like in cartoons. You know, when a man's got a cloud over his head?"

"Yeah, but listen, I'll tell you what we do." Martha paused. She could have sworn she saw that Caly Tyler woman pass by. "We tell Dad and Annalise to get there early, abut seven thirty, and we tell Leo to get there at the same time so we can do all that birthday stuff. We tell Mum to get there for about eight thirty, nine, and that gives me time to have a word with Annalise, and - " Martha frowned when Swales shook her arm slightly. "What?"

"The rain," Swales answered.

"It's only rain."

"Martha, have you seen the rain?" Tish asked.

"Why's everyone fussing about rain?" Martha complained.

"It's going up!" Swales answered.

"The rain is going up!" Tish said at the same time.

There was a flash of lightning, and the hospital shook all over. Martha shrieked as she fell to the ground, and the hospital shook more, before it stopped. "What the hell was that?" she asked.

"Are you all right?" Swales asked her nervously.

"I think so, yeah," Martha nodded. "It felt like an earthquake, or - "

"Martha?" Swales looked around in the suddenly dark room. "It's night. Look. It was lunchtime!"

"It's not night."

"But it's got to be. It's dark."

Martha took a look out the window and did a double take. "We're on the moon," she breathed.

"We can't be!" Swales gasped, looking out.

"We're on the moon," Martha repeated in shock. "We're on the bloody moon!"

She ran out into the hallway, hearing patients screaming and going around, trying to find out what was going on. That Florence woman walked up and began to ask, "Have you seen?"

"I'm sorry, I can't," Martha shook her head, entering the orthopedic ward. "All right, now, everyone back to bed," she ordered. "We've got an emergency, but we'll sort it out. Don't worry." She walked up to the window, seeing the curtain around Caly's bed drawn already. "It's real," she said as she looked out to see they were still on the moon. "It's really real. Hold on."

"Don't!" Swales gasped as Martha reached to open the window. "We'll lose all the air!"

"But they're not exactly air tight," Martha reminded her. "If the air was going to get sucked out, it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So how come?"

"Very good point," an American voice said, and Caly drew back the curtain from around her bed. Martha blinked at how quickly the woman had changed from lying in bed. Her hair was in those fishtail braids of hers, now wearing a dark rose-colored turtleneck, black skinny jeans, grey knee-high cowboy boots, a black waterfall cardigan, and a black sparkling scarf, and she was busy checking the fastenings of the silver wristwatch she wore with swirling circles. "Brilliant, in fact," she added. "What was your name?"

Martha smiled in amusement. "Martha," she answered.

"And it was Jones, wasn't it?" Martha nodded. "Well, then, Martha Jones, the question is, how are we still breathing?"

"We can't be," Swales shook her head.

Caly sighed, rolling her eyes. "Obviously we are, so don't waste my time," she ordered, and Swales bit her lip, nodding. "Martha, what have we got? Is there a balcony on this floor, or a verandah, or . . . ?"

"By the patients' lounge, yeah," Martha nodded.

"Fancy going out?"

Martha nodded. "OK."

Caly raised an eyebrow. "We might die."

"We might not," she countered.

Caly nodded, seeming impressed. "Good. Come on." She wrinkled her nose at Swales. "Not her. She'd hold us up."

***

Martha took a deep breath when she stepped out onto the balcony. "We've got air," she whispered. "How does that work?"

"Just be glad it does," Caly shook her head, leaning on the rail.

"I've got a party tonight," Martha whispered. "It's my brother's 21st. My mother's going to be really, really . . " She trailed off.

Caly tilted her head. "You OK?" she asked.

"Yeah," Martha whispered.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"Want to go back in?"

"No way," Martha laughed. "I mean, we could die any minute, but all the same . . . it's beautiful."

"Do you think?" Caly smiled.

"How many people want to go to the moon?" Martha pointed out. "And here we are."

"Standing in the Earthlight," Caly mused.

"What do you think happened?"

"What do you think?" Caly turned the question around, looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"Extraterrestrial," Martha answered. "It's got to be. I don't know. A few years ago, that would have sounded mad, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben, Christmas, those Cybermen things." She swallowed. "I had a cousin. Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home."

Caly said nothing, but Martha could have sworn she saw something flicker in her eyes. Was that anger? Or was that rage? "Well, who knows what happened there," she brushed off, turning and looking around. "But for what it's worth . . . I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Martha nodded.

"I lost some good people there," Caly nodded. "I was there, too. In the battle."

Martha looked at her. "I promise you, Miss Tyler, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way."

"Yeah, my name's not Tyler," Caly sighed, pulling back. "That's not my real name."

"Who are you, then?" Martha asked.

"Don't freak out."

"Does it look like I am?"

"I'm the Apocalypse."

Martha blinked, staring at her. "The end of the world. That's your name?"

"Yep," she nodded.

"Just the Apocalypse?"

"Just the Apocalypse."

"What, people call you the Apocalypse?"

"Hard to believe, but yeah."

Martha snorted. "As far as I'm concerned, you have to be pretty bad to earn that title."

"Well, better start proving how bad I can be, then," the Apocalypse huffed, turning. "Let's have a look then. There must be some sort of . . . " She held out her hand, and Martha was about to ask what she was doing, when what appeared to be a ray of frost shot from her palm out into the air. It went straight through the air, before it hit something in the air. "Forcefield," the Apocalypse nodded, sticking her hands in her cardigan pockets as Martha stared at her in shock. "It's keeping the air in."

"How did you - ?" Martha began to ask.

The Apocalypse rolled her eyes. "There is a reason I'm called the Apocalypse, you know."

"Right . . . " Martha shook her head. "But if that's like a bubble, sealing us in, that means this is the only air we've got. What happens when it runs out?"

The Apocalypse narrowed her eyes. "How many people in this hospital?"

"I don't know . . . a thousand?"

The Apocalypse growled low in her throat. "One thousand people. Suffocating."

Martha blanched, horrified. "Why would anyone do that?"

"Why don't you ask them?" the Apocalypse asked, seeing something. "Heads up."

Martha turned as three columnar spaceships landed on the moon, and columns of marching armed beings stomped out of them. "Aliens," she whispered in shock. "That's aliens. Real, proper aliens."

"Also called the Judoon," the Apocalypse nodded. "But yes, real, proper aliens." She sighed. "It's always London."

***

The Apocalypse crouched above on the level above the main floor, watching the Judoon catalogue people, while also trying to evaluate this Martha Jones. She'd been interesting from the moment she'd pointed out the air problem. Since then, she was taking all of this rather well. No screaming when she mentioned her name, so that was all fine and dandy. "Oh, look down there," she grinned cheerfully. "You've got a little shop! I like a little shop."

"Never mind that," Martha shook her head. "What are Judoon?"

"They're like police," the Apocalypse answered. "Well, police for hire. They're more like interplanetary thugs."

"And they brought us to the moon?" Martha guessed.

Good girl, the Apocalypse thought, impressed. She might have just found someone she could travel with. "Neutral territory," she nodded. "According to galactic law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth, and they isolated it. The rain and lightning? That was them, using an H2O scoop."

"What are you on about, galactic law?" Martha huffed. "Where'd you get that from? If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?"

The Apocalypse grinned. "No, but I like that. Good thinking." She shook her head. "But I wish it was that simple. They're making a catalogue. That means they're after something nonhuman . . . which is very bad news for me."

"Why?" Martha asked. The Apocalypse gave her a pointed look, and Martha's jaw dropped. "Oh, you're kidding me. Don't be ridiculous. Stop looking at me like that!"

"Come on, then," the Apocalypse told her, standing up and heading off.

***

"They've reached third floor," Martha reported as she entered the administrator's office, and she blinked, seeing the Apocalypse using . . . something black and gold on the computers. "What's that thing?"

"Sonic screwdriver," she answered shortly.

Martha huffed. "Well, if you're not going to answer me properly . . . "

"No, really, it is," the Apocalypse told her. "It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic. Look!"

"What else have you got, a laser spanner?" Martha rolled her eyes.

To her surprise, the Apocalypse nodded. "I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst. Jack insisted. Cheeky woman," she added as an afterthought. "Oh, this computer!" she said loudly, smacking the top of it, making Martha jump. "The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon. Because I was just traveling past, I swear, I was just wandering, haven't been looking for trouble for a long time since I lost . . . " She cut off. "Anyway, I wasn't looking for trouble, really, I wasn't, but I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital. That's the lightning, that's a plasma coil. Been building up for two days now, so I checked in. I thought something was going on inside. It turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon above."

"But what were they looking for?" Martha asked.

"Something that looks human, but isn't."

"Like you, apparently," Martha rolled her eyes, she still wasn't sure she was an alien.

"Like me," the Apocalypse nodded. "But not like me."

"Haven't they got a photo?"

"Might be a shape-changer."

"Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?"

"If they declare the hospital guilty of harboring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution."

Martha blanched. "All of us?!"

"Yes, and I'm determined to keep this face. So if I can find this thing - oh!" she shouted, slapping the computer again, again making Martha jump. "You see, they're thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick!" she complained. "They wiped the records." She pouted. "Oh, that's clever."

"What are we looking for?"

"I don't know. Say, any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms? Maybe there's a backup."

"Just keep working," Martha told her. "I'll go ask Mr. Stoker. He might know." She headed down to his office. "Mr. Stoker?" she asked, then froze at the sight she saw.

A pair of feet stuck out from behind the desk, and two of those motorcycle men stood there. Florence Finnegan stood up, sucking on a straw, but she froze when she saw Martha. Martha's eyes widened, and she ran out the door. "Kill her!" Florence shouted.

Martha nearly ran into the Apocalypse in her rush. "I've restored the backup," the woman began.

"I found her," Martha gasped.

The Apocalypse blinked. "You did what?" Mr. Stoker's office door crashed down, and the motorcycle men climbed through the rubble. "Oh," she nodded, then grabbed Martha's wrist. "Run!"

Martha scurried after her, heading down the stairs, but they scrambled back up when Judoon started marching up. They headed up the stairs instead, and the Apocalypse opened the door to radiology. She held the sonic screwdriver to the lock, then gestured Martha behind the radiation screen. "When I say now, press the button," she ordered.

Martha poked her head behind the screen, looked over the myriad of buttons, then said, "But I don't know which one - "

"Then find out!" the Apocalypse snapped.

Martha ran behind and tried flipping through the Operator's Manual. The door to radiology broke off its hinges, and the x-ray machine swung around. "Now!" the Apocalypse shouted.

Martha slammed her hand down on one of the buttons, and the motorcycle man got blasted with radiation. He fell face down, and the Apocalypse blew out a breath. Martha turned the machine off, then asked, "What did you do?"

"Increased the radiation by five thousand percent," the Apocalypse answered, wincing and bouncing on her feet.

"But isn't that going to kill you?" Martha asked in confusion.

"Nah, it's only roentgen radiation," the Apocalypse shook her head. "We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery, followed by radiation absorption during the Experiments program. It's safe for you to come out," she added, and Martha slowly did. "All I need to do is expel it. And all I can say right now is that I'm sorry."

"For what?" Martha blinked.

"The bill." The Apocalypse did the ice ray again, but this time at least ten times more powerful, and aimed at the radiation screen. She broke it through, and ice started splattering the back wall. She blew out a breath, then cracked her knuckles. "Done."

Martha stared at her. "You're completely mad," she decided.

"Yeah, I've been called that," the Apocalypse nodded.

"So what is that thing?" Martha asked, looking down at the motorcycle man. "And where's it from, the planet Zovirax?"

"It's just a Slab," the Apocalypse answered, crouching by it. "They're called Slabs. Basic slave drones. See?" She punched it in the chest. "Solid leather, all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish."

"But it was that woman, Miss Finnegan," Martha told her. "It was working for her, just like a servant."

The Apocalypse would have answered, but her face fell when she saw her sonic screwdriver entirely fried. "My sonic screwdriver," she whined, pulling it out.

"She was one of the patients, but - "

"Oh, no. My sonic screwdriver!"

"She had a straw like some kind of vampire."

"I loved my sonic screwdriver!"

Martha rolled her eyes. "Apocalypse!" she snapped.

The Apocalypse snapped out of it. "Sorry!" She threw her sonic screwdriver behind her, and Martha blinked when it landed perfectly in the rubbish bin. "You called me Apocalypse," she said with a grin.

"Anyway?" Martha glared at her. "Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr. Stoker's blood."

"Funny time to take a snack," the Apocalypse mused, thinking. "You'd think she'd be . . . hiding . . . unless . . . " She blinked. "No," she breathed. "Yes! That's it! Wait a minute. Yes! Shape-changer! Internal shape-changer! She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it! If she can assimilate Mr. Stoker's blood, mimic the biology, she'll register as human. We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!"

Martha followed her out, but was quickly pulled down behind the water dispenser as the other Slab thumped along. "That's the thing about Slabs," the Apocalypse sighed. "They always travel in pairs."

"What about you?" Martha asked.

"What about me?" the Apocalypse asked.

"Haven't you got backup? You must have a partner or a friend or something."

+++

"I don't know, but the maintenance duct is just behind our guest suite," Jabe suggested. "I could show you and your friend."

"You two go," Rose told them. "I'm going to catch up with family." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder to Cassandra. "Quick word with Michael Jackson."

"Don't start a fight," the Apocalypse joked before smiling at Jabe. "Shall we?"

"And I want you home by midnight!" Rose joked, and the Apocalypse laughed as she and Jabe headed out.

+++

The Apocalypse frowned, more at Martha's probing than the memory. "Oh, humans," she rolled her eyes. "We're stuck on the moon running out of air with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, you're asking personal questions? Come on."

"I like that," Martha huffed as they stood and headed down the corridor. "Humans. I'm still not convinced you're an alien."

They turned the corner, and the Apocalypse nearly walked right into a Judoon. She got scanned, and the Judoon announced, "Nonhuman."

Martha stared at her in shock. "Oh, my God, you really are!"

The Apocalypse rolled her eyes. "And again!" she shouted, pulling her down the corridor, narrowly ducking a shot.

They ran up the stairs, into a corridor where people were slumping. "They've done this floor," the Apocalypse guessed, seeing the marks on people's hands. "Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky."

"How much oxygen is there?" Martha asked Swales, who was on the floor giving oxygen to one of the patients.

"Not enough for all these people," Swales answered. "We're going to run out."

"How are you feeling?" the Apocalypse asked Martha. "are you all right?"

"I'm running on adrenaline," she answered.

The Apocalypse smirked. "Welcome to my world."

"What about the Judoon?"

"Nah. Great big lung reserves. It won't slow them down. Where's Mr. Stoker's office?"

"It's this way," she answered, gesturing. The Apocalypse followed Martha down the hall and frowned when they entered Mr. Stoker's office to see no one there. "She's gone," Martha said in confusion. "She was here."

The Apocalypse crouched by Mr. Stoker's side, looking his white body over. "Drained him dry," she said softly. "Every last drop. I was right. She's a Plasmavore."

"What's she doing on Earth?" Martha asked.

"Hiding," the Apocalypse answered. "On the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. What's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all." She stood up, heading for the door. "Come on."

"Wait a minute," Martha shook her head, crouching by Mr. Stoker, and she closed his eyes. The Apocalypse smiled and nodded at her before they stepped out.

"Think, think, think," the Apocalypse muttered to herself as she walked down the hallway. "If I was a Plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?" She looked up at the sign above her head, and smirked. "Ah. She's as clever as me. Almost."

Martha jumped when there was a crash from behind, and patients began to scream. "Find the nonhuman," a Judoon ordered. "Execute."

"Martha, stay here," the Apocalypse ordered, turning to her. "I need time. You've got to hold them up."

"How do I do that?" Martha blinked.

The Apocalypse sighed. "Never thought I'd be in this scenario again," she mumbled to herself. "Doing this . . . don't take this the wrong way," she told Martha. "Because this honestly means nothing."

And she pulled a Cassandra and kissed her, grimacing as the past memory of this kind of situation hit her.

+++

The Apocalypse frowned. "What's . . . what's with the voice?" she asked.

Rose looked her over in an odd way. "Oh, I don't know. Just larking about. New Earth, new me."

"Well, I can talk," the Apocalypse shrugged. "New New Caly."

"Aren't you just," Rose agreed before doing something that utterly shocked her. Rose grabbed her scarf, pulled her down, and actually kissed her! It barely lasted a few seconds, but when Rose pulled away, the Apocalypse was sputtering and staring at Rose in shock. "Terminal's this way," Rose offered, turning away.

The Apocalypse stared after her. "What," she said. "The. Hell. Just happened?"

+++

She pulled away from Martha and sprinted down the hall towards the MRI room.

Martha stared after her in shock, blinking, more from shock than trying to figure out why some random woman just kissed her, and all she could sputter out was, "That was nothing?"

***

The Apocalypse poked her head into the MRI room to see Florence Finnegan working at the control booth, energy dancing over the scanner. She took a deep breath, then stumbled in, playing the part of a confused patient, and put her gob to work. "Have you seen them?" she shrieked, looking around wildly, as Florence looked at her in surprise. "There are these things! These great big space rhino things! I mean, rhinos from space! And we're on the moon! Great big space rhinos with guns on the moon! And I only came for my bunions, look." She held up her foot, showing that she was "able" to wear her boots now. "I mean, all fixed now. Perfectly good treatment. The nurses were lovely. I said to my sister, I said I'd recommend this place to anyone, but then we end up on the moon! And did I mention the rhinos?"

"Hold her," Florence ordered, and the Apocalypse blinked as the remaining Slab came out from behind the door to grab her.

***

"Find the nonhuman," a Judoon ordered as a troop came down the hall towards Martha. "Execute."

"Now, listen," Martha began, stepping in their way. "I know who you're looking for. She's this woman. She calls herself Florence - "

The Judoon stopped to scan her. "Human. Wait. Nonhuman traits suspected. Nonhuman element confirmed. Authorize full scan." Martha squeaked as she was pushed into the wall. "What are you? What are you?"

***

The Apocalypse tilted her head, looking at the MRI machine. "Er . . . that, that big machine thing. Is it supposed to be making that noise?"

"You wouldn't understand," Florence told her.

"But isn't that a magnetic resonance imaging thing? Like a ginormous sort of magnet? I did magnetics GCSE. I mean, I had to help out my husband, too, he was a bit of an idiot." She grinned. "I think he just wanted me to help him."

+++

"Lypse!"

The Apocalypse, startled, looked behind her, her red hair flying out of her face as her brother's best friend, the Doctor, ran up to her. "Doctor!" she smiled, ignoring the stares of the other Time Lords around them. "Yeah? Something you need?"

"The Master said you were heading into better schooling," the Doctor answered, tilting his head and looking at her in concern. "Will you still be here, though? In the Academy?"

The Apocalypse smiled. "Why do you want to know?"

"You're one of us now," he smiled. "And . . . " He cleared his throat. "You always were the smartest of the three of us."

She sighed. "Doctor, what did you do in the GCSE class?"

He blushed. "What makes you think it was me and not your brother?" he tried to defend.

She just laughed. "Yes, I'll still be in the Academy," she assured him with a smile. "I just won't be around as much."

He brightened. "Good," he nodded. "Our usual place?"

"I'll be there," she nodded, walking off, not seeing her brother smirk from where he hid nearby behind a door.

+++

"He failed, but I still think he learned," the Apocalypse smiled softly at the memory.

"The magnetic setting now increased to fifty thousand Tesla," was all Florence said.

The Apocalypse blinked. "Ooo, that's a bit strong, isn't it?"

"It'll send out a magnetic pulse that'll fry the brain stems of every living thing within two hundred and fifty thousand miles. Except for me, safe in this room."

"But, er . . . hold on, hold on. I did geography GCSE. We all passed that one. Doesn't that distance include the Earth?"

"Only the side facing the moon. The other half will survive. Call it my little gift."

The Apocalypse shook her head, still playing clueless. "I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me, I'm a little out of my depth. I've spent the past fifteen years working as a postwoman, hence the bunions, why would you do that?"

"With everyone dead, the Judoon ships will be mine, to make my escape."

The Apocalypse shook her head. "No, that's weird. You're talking like you're some sort of alien."

Florence smiled. "Quite so."

The Apocalypse let her jaw fall open. "No!"

"Oh, yes," she nodded.

"You're joshing me!"

"I am not."

"I'm talking to an alien? In hospital?" She looked around. "What, has the place got an ET department?"

"It's the perfect hiding place," Florence smiled. "Blood banks downstairs for a midnight feast, and all this equipment ready to arm myself with should the police come looking."

"So, those rhinos, they're looking for you?"

"Yes. But I'm hidden."

"Right," the Apocalypse nodded. "Maybe that's why they're increasing their scans."

Florence looked up, startled. "They're doing what?" she asked.

"Big chief rhino boy, he said, no sign of a nonhuman, we must increase our scans up to setting two?"

Florence looked at her. "Then I must assimilate again."

"What does that mean?"

"I must appear to be human."

The Apocalypse forced a smile. "Well, you're welcome to come home and meet my sister. She'd be honored. We can have cake!"

"Why should I have cake?" Florence grinned. "I've got my little straw."

The Apocalypse nodded as she held up the said straw. "Oh, that's nice. Milkshake? I like banana."

"You're quite the funny woman," Florence remarked. "And yet, I think, laughing on purpose at the darkness. I think it's time you found some peace. Steady her."

The Apocalypse gulped as she was forced onto her knees, her head tilted so her neck was exposed. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm afraid this is going to hurt. But if it's any consolation, the dead don't tend to remember."

The Apocalypse didn't even flinch in pain when the straw was dug into her neck.

***

"Confirm human," the Judoon said as a cross was drawn on Martha's hand. "Traces of facial contact with nonhuman. Continue the search. You will need this."

Martha frowned at the booklet in her hands with gibberish on it. "What's that for?"

"Compensation."

Martha followed the Judoon when they headed into MRI, and her eyes bugged when she saw Florence over the Apocalypse, the younger woman's eyes closed. "Now, see what you've done!" Florence accused, the Apocalypse lying limp on the floor. "This poor girl just died of fright!"

"Scan her," the Judoon ordered. "Confirmation: deceased."

"No, she can't be!" Martha gasped, trying to push through. "Let me through! Let me see her!"

"Stop," the Judoon ordered. "Case closed."

"But it was her!" Martha sputtered, pointing at Florence. "She killed her! She did it! She murdered her!"

"Judoon have no authority over human crime."

"But she's not human!"

"Oh, but I am," Florence smirked, holding up her hand. "I've been catalogued."

"But she's not! She assimi - " Martha broke off, realizing what happened. "Wait a minute. You drank her blood? The Apocalypse's blood?" She snatched a scanner away and pointed it at Florence.

"Oh, I don't mind," Florence smirked. "Scan all you like."

The Judoon looked at the results. "Nonhuman," it reported.

Florence blinked. "But . . . what?" she asked, obviously shocked.

"Confirm analysis."

"Oh, but it's a mistake, surely," Florence sputtered as all of the Judoon scanned her. "I'm human. I'm as human as they come!"

"She gave her life so they'd find you," Martha whispered.

"Confirm," the Judoon said. "Plasmavore, charged with the crime of murdering the child princess of Patrival Regency Nine."

Florence scoffed. "Well, she deserved it! Those pink cheeks and those blonde curls and that simpering voice! She was begging for the bite of a Plasmavore!"

"Then you confess?"

"Confess? I'm proud of it! Slab, stop them!"

Martha stepped back as the Slab stepped forward, only the Judoon fired at the Slab simultaneously, stopping it. "Verdict, guilty," the Judoon stated. "Sentence, execution."

Florence ran behind the MRI screen and plugged in the scanner, and the Magnetic Overload sign flashed. "Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me," she grinned. "Burn in hell!"

Martha flinched as Florence screamed when the Judoon all incinerated her. "Case closed," the Judoon said.

"But what did she mean, burn with me?" Martha asked, looking at the scanner. "The scanner shouldn't be doing that. She's done something!"

"Scans detect lethal acceleration of monomagnetic pulse," the Judoon reported after scanning.

"Well, do something! Stop it!"

"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate."

"What?" Martha yelped. "You can't just leave it! What's it going to do?"

"All units withdraw," the Judoon ordered.

"You can't go!" Martha shouted, running after them. "That thing's going to explode and it's your f - "

There was a gasp from inside the room, and Martha ran back, shocked, as the Apocalypse sat bolt upright, coughing and hacking. "What?" she gasped, running to her side. "But you were dead!"

"Slowed down my hearts," she choked out, retching. "Not the first time this much blood's been taken."

And the sad part was . . . it really hadn't been.

+++

"Significantly low blood levels," the Healer - literally her name, the Healer - reported as the Apocalypse sat in her office, wincing a little bit as the Healer confirmed exactly what she knew was wrong. "What happened?"

"Nothing," the Apocalypse lied, looking down at her hands.

The Healer's gaze softened as she stepped in front of her. "Apocalypse . . . " The Apocalypse raised her head bashfully. "Were you accepted into the schooling program?"

The Apocalypse nodded numbly, and the Healer mumbled something in Gallifreyan. "What they do to you," she muttered. "Keep it easy, Apocalypse," the Healer recommended. "It's only going to get harder."

"I know," she mumbled, slipping off of the table and heading out of the nurse's office.

She was so focused on going to her next class that she didn't see the Master and the Doctor around the corner, by the doorway, watching her go.

She certainly didn't see the suspicious looks they gave each other.

+++

The Apocalypse scrambled to her feet. "The scanner," Martha gasped as she began to run out of air. "She did something."

The Apocalypse looked over the controls before sighing. "Soddit," she grumbled before she yanked the power cables apart.

The scanner shut off, and the Apocalypse ran to Martha's side. "Come on," she told her, taking her arm and pulling her down the corridor. When Martha finally fell unconscious, the Apocalypse carried her bridal style down the corridors, everyone now unconscious. "Come on," she whispered when she made it to a window. "Come on, come on, come on. Please. Come on, Judoon, reverse it!" She grinned when rain began to fall. "It's raining, Martha," she beamed. "It's raining on the moon!"

***

Martha sat in the back of an ambulance, wincing a bit as she wrung her neck out. "Martha!" Tish's voice shouted, and Martha perked up as her sister ran up to her. "Oh, God! I thought you were dead! What happened?" Martha smiled and hugged her, but she perked up more when she saw the Apocalypse look around, knitting her eyebrows, before she started walking down the sidewalk. Oddly enough, no one else seemed to notice her. "It was so weird, because the police wouldn't say. They didn't have a clue! And I tried phoning, Mum's on her way, but she can't get through. They've closed off all the roads." The Apocalypse disappeared, and Martha tried craning her head, but she couldn't find the woman again. "There's thousands of people trying to get in. The whole city's come to a halt. And Dad phoned, because it's on the news and everything. He was crying." Martha frowned as a wheezing noise echoed through the noise everywhere else. "Oh, what a mess," Tish sighed, looking at the hospital. "What happened? I mean, what really happened? Where were you?"

***

"Hey, Jack!"

Jack looked up when Owen leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowed as he turned up the radio. "Think you'll want to hear this!"

"What is it?" Jack asked, standing up and moving over, Toshiko Sato and Gwen Cooper coming as well, Ianto Jones leaning on the railing above them.

"Just listen," Owen told him.

"Eyewitness reports from the Royal Hope Hospital continue to pour in, and it all seems to be remarkably consistent. This from medical student Oliver Morgenstern."

"I was there," Morgenstern's voice said, and Jack folded his arms, listening attentively. "I saw it happen. And I feel uniquely privileged. I looked out at the surface of the moon. I saw the Earth, suspended in space, and it all just proves Mr. Saxon right. We're not alone in the universe. There's life out there. Wild and extraordinary life."

"Well, there you have it," Tosh shook her head. "Aliens took a hospital to the moon. Mr. Saxon was definitely right."

"Is this what we're here for?" Gwen asked. "To help defend Earth?"

"Oh, yes," Jack nodded. "This is Torchwood. Outside the government, beyond the police. Tracking down alien life on Earth, arming the human race against the future. The 21st century is when everything changes."

He turned and looked at the alien necklace he had on his desk, made of shimmering and changing jewels, two always remaining the same: rubies and dark pink rose-colored diamonds.

"And we've got to be ready."

***

The Apocalypse cringed as she overheard the argument going on around the corner. "I am not staying in there to be insulted!" the blonde woman, Annalise, was shouting.

"She didn't mean it, sweetheart," Martha's dad, Clive, told her. "She was just saying you look healthy!"

"No, I did not," Francine, Martha's mum, huffed. "I said orange."

"Clive, that woman is disrespecting me," Annalise accused. "She's never liked me!"

"Oh, I can't think why," Francine drawled sarcastically. "After you stole my husband!"

"I was seduced!" Annalise shrilled, making the Apocalypse close her eyes and bang her head against the brick wall, before she winced and rubbed her head. She was not doing that again, but really, could the woman just shut up? "I'm entirely innocent! Tell her, babe."

"And then she has a go at Martha - " The Apocalypse perked up, looking around to see Martha run out of the bar, her siblings behind her. " - practically accusing her of making the whole thing up!"

"Mum, I don't mind," Martha tried to say. "Just leave it!"

"Oh, I've been to the moon!" Annalise mocked. "As if! They were drugged. It said so on the news!"

"Drugged, my arse," the Apocalypse muttered, folding her arms.

"Since when did you watch the news?" Francine seemed to agree. "You can't handle Quiz Mania!"

"Annalise started it," Tish, Martha's sister, put in. "She did. I heard her."

"Tish, don't make it worse," Leo, their brother, sighed.

"Oh, come off it, Leo!" Tish huffed. "What did she buy you? Soap! A seventy-five pence soap!"

"Oh, I'm never talking to your family again!" Annalise turned on her heel and stormed off.

"Oh, stay," Francine called after her sarcastically. "Have a night out with Clive!"

"Don't you dare," Clive warned. "I'm putting my foot down."

"You coming?" Annalise called.

Clive nodded. "This is me, putting my foot down."

The Apocalypse watched him go after Annalise. "Doing it for the last twenty five years!" Francine hollered.

"Please," Clive tried to tell Annalise.

"Clive, stop, now!" Francine ordered, going after him.

"Mum, don't!" Tish called, running after her. "I - "

Martha was the only one left in front of the bar, as the rest of the family went after Clive and Annalise. The Apocalypse finally stepped out a bit, and Martha's eyes widened when she saw her. The Apocalypse smiled sympathetically and disappeared around the corner, walking up to the TARDIS. She smiled when Martha came around the corner. "I went to the moon today," she said.

"A bit more peaceful than down here," the Apocalypse nodded.

"You never even told me who you are."

"The Apocalypse," she shrugged.

"What sort of species? It's not every day I get to ask that."

"I'm a Time Lady."

Martha grinned. "Right. Not pompous at all, then."

The Apocalypse shrugged. "I just thought since you helped save the world, and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver which needs road testing - " She held up her new one, gold with a red diode. " - you might fancy a trip."

Martha's eyes widened. "What, into space?"

The Apocalypse smiled. "Well . . . "

"But I can't," Martha shook her head. "I've got exams. I've got things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent. I've got my family going mad - "

"If it helps, I can travel in time as well," the Apocalypse smirked.

If possible, Martha's eyes widened even further. "Get out of here!"

"I can!"

"Come on, now, that's going too far!"

"I'll prove it."

Martha watched the Apocalypse go inside the police box, and the box disappeared with that same wheezing she'd heard earlier. Shocked, Martha reached out to the space the box had been. She quickly pulled back when the box reappeared, and the Apocalypse leaned in the doorway, swinging her scarf around. "Told you," she grinned smugly.

Martha's eyes widened. "No, but . . . that was this morning. Did you - ?" The Apocalypse just smirked and wound her scarf back around her neck. "Oh, my God, you can travel in time! But, hold on, if you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go in to work?"

"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden." The Apocalypse shrugged, finishing with her scarf. "Well, except for cheap tricks."

"And that's your spaceship?"

"She's called the TARDIS," the Apocalypse told her, closing the door as Martha stepped up. "Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"Your spaceship's made of wood," Martha observed, putting a hand on the TARDIS. "There's not much room. We'd be a bit intimate."

The Apocalypse smirked, pushing the door open. "Take a look."

Martha took one look, and her eyes widened even more. "No, no, no," she protested, doing a circle around the TARDIS as the Apocalypse grinned, looking at her fingernails. "But it's just a box! But it's huge!" She ran back into the TARDIS, and the Apocalypse smiled smugly. "How does it do that? It's wood! It's like a box with that room just rammed in!" And the Apocalypse mouthed with her: "It's bigger on the inside!"

"Is it?" she asked sarcastically, shutting the door. "I hadn't noticed. Right, then! Let's get going!"

"But is there a crew, like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?"

The Apocalypse slowed a bit, working at the console. "Just me," she said.

"All on your own?"

+++

"Still got the TARDIS," the Apocalypse answered weakly. "Same old life . . . last of the Time Lords."

"On your own?" Rose asked timidly, and nearly fell to her knees when the Apocalypse nodded.

+++

"Well, sometimes I have guests," the Apocalypse said slowly. "I mean, some friends, traveling alongside. There was recently, a friend of mine . . . Rose, her name was. Rose." She smiled. "We're sisters." She shook her head, avoiding crying. "Anyway - "

"Where is she now?" Martha asked, following her around the console.

"With her family," the Apocalypse answered shortly, making it clear she didn't want to talk about it. "Happy. She's fine. She's - " Not, she wanted to say, but she shook her head and pointed at Martha. "Not that you're replacing her!"

Martha jerked back with the ferocity of the statement. "Never said I was," she told her.

"Just one trip to say thanks," the Apocalypse continued, partly to Martha, partly to reassure the TARDIS, who had begun to hum a bit angrily at the thought of a human other than Rose traveling with her Pilot. "You get one trip, then back home. I'd rather be on my own."

"You're the one that kissed me," Martha reminded her.

The Apocalypse huffed. "That was a genetic transfer."

Martha looked her over. "And if you will wear tight clothes - "

The Apocalypse rolled her eyes. "I am married, you know!"

Martha figured she shouldn't ask about the husband. "And then travel all the way across the universe just to ask me on a date - "

"Stop it," the Apocalypse growled warningly.

Martha did, eyeing her warily. "For the record? I'm not remotely interested. I only go for humans."

"Good," the Apocalypse nodded. "Well, then. Close down the gravitic anomalizer, fire up the helmic regulator, and finally . . . the handbrake." She put her hand on it and grinned at Martha. "Ready?"

"No," Martha answered bluntly.

"Off we go!"

Martha yelped when the TARDIS jolted, and she grabbed onto the TARDIS console tightly. "Blimey! It's a bit bumpy!"

The Apocalypse smiled and held out a hand. "Welcome aboard, Miss Jones!"

Martha smiled back, shaking. "It's my pleasure, Miss Tyler!"

***

Not just Jack, but the Torchwood team will be very important to the Apocalypse in this series. We'll even have at least one crossover episode. I bet a few of you could even guess which one it's going to be, if you know your episodes and see how many agents I have named here and compare them to "Journey's End." }:)

And now we've got Martha! :D Oh, this is going to be an interesting book, won't it? Book 3, officially starring Leven Rambin, Freema Agyeman, John Barrowman, and John Simm. :)

Comment away!