A Strange Little Man (OPEN)

It was a bleak day in a bleak city. Jenkins adjusted his Stetson and moved through the crowd towards VERTIGO Corp. It seemed every time he was here, the weather was obliged to offer its worst.

Bump

Jenkins almost lost his balance when some guy practically ran into him. He moved around to get a better view of who it was, and was prepared to help them up. However, the man who had run into him had already gotten up. "Oh sorry about that!" the stranger said with a bashful smile as he dusted himself off "I seemed to have tripped!" Jenkins took one look at the man, and couldn't help but laugh at what he saw.

The guy was some kinda hobo, and not one from this era. He looked like he'd just jumped out of a Chaplin flick, with his baggy trousers and frock coat. He was even wearing a bowtie! Yet the strangest thing about him was his hair. He could have been one of the Beatles, only far scruffier.

"Uh sorry about that" Jenkins said, once the laughter subsided. "You some kinda' performer?" The man gave him a perplexed look then said "Oh...no...this is my everyday wear." He began wringing his hands "Um excuse me..." "Jenkins" Jenkins replied "Uh, Mr. Jenkins, d'you mind telling me where VERTIGO is located? I heard it was located around here..."

Jenkins couldn't believe it. "I was heading there just now! It's down the street and around a corner. We can go together." But the stranger seemed dismissive of the offer "I'm rather afraid I'm in a hurry Mr. Jenkins, but thanks for the advice." With that he was gone. It was strange, considering how odd the man looked, that Jenkins couldn't find him anywhere in the crowd. But they might meet down at VERTIGO. But when he searched around in his pocket for his ID card, to open the doors, he couldn't find it anywhere. He supposed he must've left it at the hotel?

Inside VERTIGO, the doctor made his way to the reception area. He felt guilty about taking the man's ID card, but he'd leave it at the desk once his business was concluded. "Excuse me...I had an appointment here at two." He said to the person behind the desk.

(So glad I have a vortex manipulator. Makes for interesting entries )

Blinking her eyes rapedly, Sonya stared at the darkness in front of her in absolute confusion. She had been aiming for Vergon, the planet of enternal daytime, and yet. It was dark as sin, she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face as she reached out to explore the area she was in. Tippng her head to the side, she listened to the sounds around her and finally came to the conclusion: She was inside a rather small space. Maybe four by four feet in total from the sound of her breathing bouncing back at her.

Feeling a smile spread across her face at finally figuring it out, Sonya stepped forward, hand outstreached until it came into contact with a surface and slid it along to find a handle of some sort. Gripping it tightly, she twisted the metal slowly and pushed the door open an inch to peer outside her little landing space.

Looking around the area, she surmrised it must be an office building of some sort, people bustling around in suits and nice clothing anyway, a lobby perhaps considering the doors across from her seemed to lead outside from the small flashes she got to see whenever someone walked through. Oh yes there was a tree, definatly the entrance of the building. Pushing the door open farther, she leaned her head out to peer around to the other side, her gaze landing on a reception desk with an odd-looking man standing there.

A faint prickle at the back of her mind told Sonya all she needed to know to realize who exactly it was. Of course, the Doctor would be here, a face she hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet, but it was the Doctor. She really didn't have to have a psychic sense to know him considering the clothing the man was wearing. Really, what was with that coat of his?

Before she could plan a sneaky way to slip out unnoticed, something tumbled down from a stack behind her, pushing the Time Lady out the door in an undignified heap on the floor, surrounded with janatorial equipment, including a bucket on top of her head. "Well crap, there goes that idea."

The secretary checked his monitot. "He'll be ready in a moment Mr..." "Smith, Doctor John Smith." the doctor replied.
crash!
He whipped round to face the source of the noise. Years of running from things and getting into all kinds of scrapes made him wary of any sudden noises. There thankfully wasn't anything to run from this time.
The inauspicious metal door to the janitorial closet had opened, and the yellow bucket with the mop had rolled out. On the floor near the closet there was someone with a bucket on their head. Apparently one of the janitorial crew must've tripped.

The doctor was always willing to help anyone in need. Today at least, it wouldn't involve anything dangerous. He moved over to help them up, two others also had the same idea.

The doctor reached her, for it was a woman, and prepared to take the bucket off her head. Then he saw the vortex manipulator fastened around her wrist. Apparently he was dealing with a time agent rather than a janitor. Perhaps she knew about his mission? She could even help. He'd almost removed the bucket when he came to a shocking conclusion...
She was a time lady.
It didn't take much for a time lord to tell it was one of their own kind amidst a mass of similar looking humans. "Oh dear..." he said. Already the time lords wanted him for meddling with time, despite the positive outcomes. But since she was traveling by vortex manipulator, it meant she was a renegade. A fellow Gallifreyan who left home to explore the cosmos. Though not all renegades had positive intentions. Some had even tried to eliminate him, in case he interfered with their schemes. She might be here to do just that, or to prevent him from fufilling his own mission. Though she might might not. Still he didn't want to wait to find out.Thinking quickly, he slipped the bucket back on her head. "On second thought, I think the bucket suits you" he said. He hastened back to the reception area, where he was told he could go up. Then he moved to the elevator bank. Hopefully he could leave before the renegade could get the bucket off and (possibly) stop him.

Sonya huffed in irritation, 'Same old Doctor alright.' reaching up, she went to take it off then grinned to herself and propped it on top of her head instead then turned to follow the Familiar/Unfamiliar man towards the elevators idly, hands tucked away in her pockets. "You know, I've heard of people wearing fezzes, but a bucket? Now that is a fashion statement if anything." She quipped lightly, bouncing on the heels of her feet as she stood next to him awkwardly, trying to decide the best way to go about explaining exactly who she was to him.

"I'm sure you know what I am." She finally began softly, out of hearing of the curious onlookers that gathered to study the strange woman that tumbled from the closet. "Who I am, however is different. You probably wouldn't remember me anyway, it was ages ago since we met... Well to you that is, you're so young you know that? It's so strange!" Leaning forward, she tipped the bucket up slightly to better study his face with sudden interest, open delight shining in her eyes. "To you it's been at least 200 years since we last met, before everything..." Trailing off, she sucked on her lower lip thoughtfully then turned away, hands clasped behind her back.

"My name is Sonya. The Master's sister if you bother to remember seeing me when you would visit our house."

The doctor rushed to the elevator banks, chose one that was fortunately going up, pressed "6", and waited for the doors to close. He was quite sure he'd left rhe time lady back on ground floor.

someone in the elevator mentioned fezzes and buckets and he turned in horror to see that she was standing right next to him, her hands in her pockets, the bucket now propped up on her head, and acting as if they were old friends.  

At least he was reassured that fhe renegade in question didn't have some nefarious purpose in following him. She seemed far too outgoing. "I agree. I should like a hat like that." He looked around the elevator "though the locals don't seem as appreciative." He said it in a hushed tone, so the others wouldn't hear. He noticed the vortex manipulator again. "Why are you using a vortex manipulator? What happened to your Tardis?" Again he whispered the questions.

She obviously met him in the future, because she knew who she was, but he was sure he'd never met her. Though she did seem familiar... He glanced at her face but still couldn't pick up a hint of recognition. Even when she introduced herself as Sonya, he still had no recollection of who she was.

Then she mentioned being "the Master's sister". His eyebrows shot up. Before he'd gone mad with ideas of universal domination, the Master had been his friend. "I see...so you know what he's become..."

The doors opened and the doctor stepped out onto the sixth floor.

"He's changed quite a bit from my timeline compared to the master you know." Sonya said brightly, continuing to stroll alongside the Doctor as he went about his buisness. A small frown ghosted her face at the mention of her not using a TARDIS, but chose not to answer that question as of yet. She was confusing the poor man enough as it was just with her presence.

When he pointed out the fact that several people were giving her odd looks for her choice in hatwear, she sighed dramatically and removed it with reluctance. "Shame, it was really starting to grow on me. I might have added it to my wardrobe permantly." Placing the bucket aside on a desk they passed, Sonya tucked her hands into her pockets, casting a sidewase glance over at the younger man curiously. "So... Care to explain why you're here? Maybe even tell me where 'here' is for that matter. I haven't a clue."

The doctor's attention was now fixed on the office signs, scanning each as he proceeded down the corridor. He was still listening to Sonya though.

"Well he might've changed for the better" he judged from her tone of voice "but your timeline isn't mine. The next time I see him, he'll be trying to take over the world with store mannequins! Hah! Imagine that!" Though he had to admit to himself, he didn't want to face the Master again. To have an old friend try and kill him. He held no love for the daleks, those could be easily disposed of.
There was no response to his second question, and he briefly took his eyes off the plaques to sneak a glance at Sonya. Her reaction this time wasn't so cheerful. Her Tardis had died. At least that's what he thought had happened. He decided no to pursue the topic.

He heard the loud clunk of metal against wood. Sonya had disposed of the bucket. It was a shame really. Sonya could've taken up after her brother, at least in choosing a new name for herself. She could've renamed herself the bucket-lady, and traveled around the universe with it on her head, spread her new "fashion statement". "You know" he said without turning, "you can always wear it in your next incarnation."

They reached the office where the appointment was to take place. The door was closed so the doctor pounded on the wood. A faint "enter" beckoned from inside the room. Sonya was still at his side and wanting answers.

Why was she here? He was on an important mission for the time lords. And yet on the same day and in the same place, she just appears? It seemed far too coincidental what with all of time and space at her disposal. And she was related to the master. He didn't know how close she was to her brother, but it only made this time lady all the more suspicious.

He turned to her and tried not to let any of his suspicion show. "Well, we are in the 21st century and this is VERTIGO, a corporation that specializes in goats, or something like that. What they sell isn't important. It's what they do behind the scenes. Right now I'm here to collect someone, bring them to safety." He opened the door, and stepped inside.

"Eh, my next incarnation might not be so... Random I think that's the word, isn't it? I'm random. Anyway, I never know what I'm gonna be, so it's best to be safe and just stick with the bucket in this body. At least I know it's funny, not so sure about the next one." Sonya flashed a wide smile at the Doctor beside her, a hand idly reaching up to run through her hair in a nervous habit before dropping back down to her side once more. "Besides, the Doctor I'm better acquainted with might just take my bucket and hurl it into a black hole if I stepped in his Lady wearing it. I swear, he just loves to squish my fun. He's a fun squisher I say! Squishes it with his trainers and then demands I laugh at his idle comments because he's sooo clever." Huffing softly, Sonya mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Egotistical Time Lord. I'll show him Egotistical with my foot up his...'

Trailing off, she cast a sideways look over at the man beside her, sizing him up with quiet contemplation. While she wasn't very tall herself, he wasn't much taller than her. Perhaps an inch or so. That alone was enough to make her like him, easier to talk to someones face when you didn't have to break your neck in order to see it. Shaking her head, a slow smile spread her lips wide. It didn't really matter what Doctor it was, any of them she's run into has had an issue with being a bit of a big head. Say one thing to make him feel important and the man puffed his chest out enough to resemble a bullfrog.

"Collecting someone? Well doesn't that sound a bit mob-escue? Couldn't you say something like... I dunno, 'picking them up' or whatnot? I mean, it just sounds menacing when someone says they're going to collect someone." Sonya commented idly, hands tucking themselves securely in her pockets while she followed him into the room, curious eyes roaming around to study whatever was in there with avid interest.

"A fun squisher!" the doctor turned to her in shock. "Trainers!" His hands began wringing together nervously. "I-I try never to ruin anyone's fun! And as for the trainers...Well I must say I'm not looking forward to any of that!" Perhaps one of the worst fears of a time lord was meeting their future selves, or seeing their own headstone. The doctors from the future always wore clothing less pleasing to the eye, and the redecorations on the Tardis...He preferred not to think about that right now. He could worry about that later when actually regenerated. He turned back to Sonya. "And I doubt that any of my comments are idle. Everything I have to say has relevance."

Sonya might be from his future, but at least he felt he could trust her now. And he hoped her sudden appearance was more a blessing than a curse. He might even tell her the truth. Of course he wasn't actually here to collect someone...something would be a more appropriate term. But he had to know he could trust her first.

"I'm a doctor, not a gangster!" he said, slightly irritated that she'd focused less on the details of his mission, more on how it was said. He reached into his pocket and fastened his hand around the plastic arch of some headphones. He pulled it out and fastened it on his head. Then the doctor returned his gaze to Sonya, an apologetic look on his face. "I didn't expect you to pop up, so you can't blame me for not bringing an extra set. You're going to have to block your ears when I give the sign."

Then he entered the room, and closed the door behind her. The room itself wasn't very impressive. A fluorescent bulb was all that illuminated its small size. It had drab blue walls and a small rectangular table set in the center. Swivel chairs surrounded the table and one of them was occupied by a balding, middle-aged man in a white button down shirt, sleeves rolled up, a Christmas themed tie, and beige slacks. Once the time lord pair had entered, the man stood up and faced them.
"You must be Mr. Whittaker." the doctor said, with a confident grin. "I'm the doctor and this is Sonya my assistant". He slipped his hands into his pockets. "I hope we're not too late?" Whittaker gestured to two of the chairs. "No...you're right on time." The doctor moved forward. A deafening noise suddenly erupted inside the compact space. Whittaker instinctively moved cover his ears.

A few seconds later, it was suddenly gone. The doctor was still smiling, a little mischievously now. "Mr. Whittaker..." He said as the now terrified Whittaker's hands slowly dropped to his sides. "I think you'd better remove your mask don't you think?"

The doctor had noticed that when he went to block the noise, he'd opted for the space between his ears and his cheeks. A little odd, if he'd been human. Whittaker, his truth revealed, complied with the doctor's request. His shaking hands returned to his head. They moved to the top of his scalp, near his receding hairline. Then his fingers burrowed furiously into the skin. finally, slowly, he began to remove his human face.

(It's a bit short but I'm partially asleep at the moment.)

"You could have fooled me." Sonya muttered at the Doctor's exclimation at her suggestion that he acted like a ganster more than anything and cast another sideways look at the man with a wry smile tugging at her lips. "And no one expects me to pop up exactly, they just assume I will every single second of the day until I actually do." She added with a slight laugh, hand reaching up to run through her hair then falling to her side once again.

While he spoke to the odd man, Sonya frowned slightly, watching the Doctor, waiting for this so-called sign from him only to be deafened by a loud noise, her hands clapping forcefully over her ears while sending the Doctor a look that very clearly said she was frustrated. "So much for that sign, huh?" She managed to hiss before he began speaking once again. Of course, how could I think this was anything remotely normal when the Doctor is involved? The Time Lady sighed slightly, watching as the man began fiddling with his forehead then pull the skin of his face away.

"Ohh, now that makes for a strange feeling." Sonya murmured, a hand reaching up to rub at her own face, grimacing at the tingles that began to appear while watching the man literally remove his own face." Turning to the Doctor, she raised an eyebrow up at him in honest curiosity. "What exactly is that? Can't say I've met too many things that go around removing their faces."

"Go take him to a safe place, he says, make sure to use your manipulator, he says." Sonya grumbled five minutes later, zapping back into exhistence in the same room they had occupied just minutes before. The Doctor failed to mention his little attack on the security on the floor would mess with her Manipulator and she ended up tinkering with it for a good four minutes after he left the room, trying to fix it. No matter the face, the man was just as forgetful about... Everything.

Shaking her head, Sonya strode out of the room, eyes scanning the hallway before choosing a direction at random and beginning to walk down it, her gaze trying to catch sight of him before she grew any more frustrated than she already was. "Doctor!" She finally hissed, not trying to attract any unwanted attention, but all the same, wanting to find the blasted Time Lord and figure out exactly what it was he was up to.

'You'll have to be careful. Not a lot of people there care about aliens. It took a lot of convincing to let me work there you know.' The man finally said after they appeared in the storeroom of a nearby cafe, a hand reaching up to adjust his face mask while he spoke, eyes never leaving her face. 'And your kind... I'll leave it to your imagination.'

"Just great. Here I am in a building I have no clue about, no idea where I am, looking for an arrogant Time Lord. It's like a damn needle in a haystack."

“Here, have a look at this.” The doctor was suddenly beside her. He tossed her a small transparent cube and took no notice of her current irritation. In the center was a swirling ball of light. To any human this object would seem like a mere decoration, but to a time lord it was so much more.

“A hypercube…” the doctor whispered, deep in concentration. Before Sonya had enough time to look at the cube, he already had a hand around her arm, and was dragging her to the room that had so interested him. “You should take a look at this!” He said excitedly.

The doctor had found the switch, and bathed the room in light. Set on the wall close to the entrance was a small shelf with more hypercubes. Farther into the room was a bank of computer monitors set against the same wall. Clustered in the room’s right was a collection of equipment. Wires snaked across the floor like technological vines. There were Reds, blues, greens, of all different sizes and shapes.

But it was the machine set against the back wall of the room that had most interested the doctor. Carefully he tiptoed into the room and approached it.