Terra Mortis

4 Nights Ago

"They call you the lady of the dead, do you live up to your reputation?" the man in the suit asked. The woman in red with the black veil over her face smirked, amused. She gestured with two fingers for the soldier who stood by the man to come towards her. The man in the suit nodded so the soldier stepped forwards. The woman pulled off a glove revealing deathly pale flesh and reached out, touching the side of the soldier's face.

There was a moment of silence as the soldier stood there completely still. Then he let out a scream: "I'm sorry!" and leaped forwards off the rooftop to the ground below. "Looks like Tony's going to cause a traffic accident," the man in the suit laughed. "It looks like Tony had a lot of issues," the lady responded.

"He was weak. Most last a little longer than that. My touch makes people confront what they really are, see all their deepest inner fears. Most choose to take their own lives. That is why they call me the Lady of the Dead." she hissed. The man in the suit simply chuckle. "Then I would like to hire you, on behalf of the Hive..."

The Master looked very out of place at the wedding. His hair was a messy mop of black unlike the neatly combed locks of every other man in the building. He wasn't wearing a proper suit, just a pale green stained shirt with a jacket thrown on. He hadn't shaved, and his breath smelt of alcohol. But then he wasn't in the main room of the wedding, he was in the bathroom, and the only other person in there with him, was the man he was strangling.

The man gasped and wheezed for breath but the Master's hands were locked around his throat. "I want my TARDIS..." the Master growled. he released his grip for just a moment to give him the chance to respond. The man coughed then spilled his guts. The Master, now armed with an address to retrieve his machine from, stepped out of the bathroom. The entire room turned to look at him. "My regards to the bride and groom," he forced a smile then made a quick exit.

Back on the streets the Master thought through the address in his head and realised it wasn't far more here. "I'm coming..." he whispered to himself.

When Ianto had plopped the cream and purple wedding invitation onto his desk, Jack knew it wasn’t something he could refuse. Tom Morrison had been one hell of an adventure in itself, but once that phase was over and done, he had become a close friend and trustworthy source when Torchwood needed some information. Hell, he had been the sole reason and a handful occasions why Jack was able to complete certain missions. So, Jack had taken the day off in order to attend.

He went with the standard getup: black everything except for a white dress shirt underneath the jacket, and purple tie. He had taken his place in the middle of the mass of family and friends attending the Morrisons’ special day. Though Jack had been invited as a groomsman, he figured it would be safer to sit in a group. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time his presence had caused more excitement than anticipated for- and no, it wasn’t because he seduced the bride’s younger sister. All watched with smiling faces as the new husband and wife were announced as such and went in for a sealing kiss. The guests rose to their feets, clapping enthusiastically, and Jack hopped up to do the same. He even went so far as to put his fingers in his mouth and give a howling whistle.

Suddenly, the doors in the back slammed open, the cheers and joy immediately lapsed into an eerie silence as heads turned to see who had interrupted such a wonderful event. There stood a disheveled man. The homeless, or even wounded, look was one he owned. Alarm bells and curiosity immediately rang through Jack, a ruckus he couldn’t ignore even if he tried.

“My regards to the bride and groom.”

And the man was off before anyone even made a squeak. But the problem was he walked out of the building and into the public eye. Jack couldn’t let such a man get away with a good conscious. What if he needed some help? Everyone needed assistance with something. The least Jack could do was make sure the man wasn’t going to hurt anyone, including himself. So he pardoned himself, all charm and bright eyes as he maneuvered his way out of the crowd and toward the doors. Hopefully the man wasn’t too dangerous. This was a rental suit after all.

Jack sped up to a light jog until he had caught up enough to the mysterious man to talk without drawing too much attention. “Excuse me, sir! Do you need any help with anything?”

Avril strolled quietly down the street, hands tucked in her pockets as she traversed the darkened path she knew so well. Just a left up ahead, past the fork and into the garden. Best place to get fresh vegetables that she knew of, and they weren't bad,either. Just run 'em under the garden hose. Got to be careful, though, not to show up when the family was home. Luckily for her, the wife was cheating on the farmer and the farmer was cheating on his wife. And his mistress. Whatever made their marriage work, she supposed.

As far as she was aware, it was the time of year for their annual vacation, so it was a good time to stock up. Before she'd reached the right intersection, though, she found herself unwittingly stumbling upon a pair of men. This was why she shouldn't day dream, but she wasn't very good at stopping herself. Catching herself before she ran right through them, she moved to skirt around. But then she noticed the young one. Hm... A good flirt never hurt anyone, did it? Redirecting her attention to the handsome guy, she tried to find a way to fit herself into the conversation. 'Why's everyone dressed up tonight? There a party I forgot not to be invited to?'

The Master spun around, glaring at Jack. The man looked familiar, but not a face he could place. "Unless you happen to be an expert in TARDIS technology with a working knowledge of the organisation calling itself the Hive, familiar with the concept of alien life and willing to ally yourself with supposedly the most dangerous terrorist in the galaxy, I doubt it," The Master snapped.

He gritted his teeth and ran a hand through his hair, clearly not in the best of moods. Then the girl arrived. He raised an eyebrow at the implication he was 'dressed up' but said nothing. He supposed that the other man was. "Wedding. Enjoy." he answered, then turned to leave, a scowl fixed on his face. "Where are you my TARDIS..." he muttered, starting to walk away.

Jack narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at the rugged man’s answer. There must have been something he missed. Who was the Hive? He noted to himself he’d have to get Ianto to look into it for him back at HQ. But if this man knew about things like this, there was no way Jack was letting him out of sight. He was talking about TARDISes and mysterious organizations and aliens along with terrorists. Well, actually, he coined himself as a terrorist. An alien terrorist at that.

“In a matter of fact, I do know a thing or two about it. The question is, what do you have planned? I’m not about to-” And he stopped talking when a girl’s voice spoke up. Jack turned his head to stare at the girl who appeared out of seemingly no where. Actually, maybe he was simply too transfixed on the dangerous man he accompanied to have noticed any other patrons on the street. That was a more likely explanation.

Jack subconsciously adjusted his jacket and tie, “I wouldn’t expect a stranger to be invited to a wedding.” He paused to reach out and snag the Master’s arm, stopping the man from walking away from him so fast. Jack was going to need answers- and perhaps some backup- about what the hell this guy was talking about. If Earth was in trouble.. well, that was the business Jack dealt with. “What if I told you I was more than willing to team up? Would you tell me what the hell you’re talking about then?”

((*CASUALLY DROPS OUT BECAUSE DROPPED THIS CHARACTER IM SORRY HERE HAVE SOME CUPCAKES* o-o))

The Master stopped. Clearly there was no getting rid of this man, and he didn't seem completely thrown off by what the Master had mentioned. "Alright," The Master said slowly. "I am the Master and I'm off to retrieve my TARDIS from a warehouse owned by the Hive, an organisation apparently devoted to my destruction. Still want to tag along?" There was a smirk forming at the corners of his mouth as he finished. He didn't wait for an answer and simply turned away, resuming his walk towards the warehouse. The man would follow if he still wanted to. The Master grinned.

The Master. The very name caused Jack to freeze though he hoped he had managed to keep a neutral expression on his face. Chills ran up his spine at the thought of the year that never was. But this one didn’t recognize him, did he? Was this an incarnation before that incident? Or maybe this regeneration simply didn’t remember. The Doctor had once explained to Jack that regenerating was a tricky process that can result in various side effects, one of them being amnesia.

The other’s introduction solidified in Jack the need to tag along. The Captain couldn’t let such a dangerous man out of his sight to cause havoc in the world. Plus, if the Hive was what the Master said it was, Jack wanted to learn more about the organization. Were they just a threat to this time lord, or to more than just him? What were their motives and what means did they take to achieve their goals? Looked like this wedding night was becoming an investigation.

Jack hurried to catch up, walking slightly behind the Master and contemplating what he should do. At least he had his gun holstered underneath the suit. That was one thing he could be relieved about. “Tell me what you know about the Hive- beside the fact that they want you dead.”

The Master kept walking at a fast pace, making it difficult for Jack to keep up. The look on his face seemed to show he had no intention on doing what Jack asked. But then he closed his eyes for a second, a scowl set on his face, and answered. "The Hive is a secret organisation that has agents everywhere. The highest concentration is this planet. Earth. Their only motivation as far as I can discern is my destruction. From what I gather they predicted some kind of end of days at my hand. They k..." he stopped himself there, biting down on his lip. "That's all," he stated. As he said that he stopped walking. He'd reached the address where his TARDIS was supposedly. He cocked his head to the side for a moment, weighing up his options. Then he pushed the door open.

Damn, this guy was really in a hurry. Jack was lucky his long legs were able to keep up. At least the Time Lord decided to answer his question. It would have been irritating to try and find that information out by himself while remaining the picture of a trail along who meant the Master no harm. Jack just wanted to gage the situation accurately enough so he could determine how to better protect humanity.

The Hive was highly concentrated on Earth. That meant there were more out in the universe somewhere. Did that mean its agents were more than just human- if they were human at all? That peaked Jack’s curiosity but he held his tongue. The Master was being careful with what he was telling Jack and so he would do the same. “You must have done something pretty spectacular to gain that much paparazzi.”

Jack stopped quickly as not to run into the other’s back. Leaning to the left, Jack looked at the door the Master was seemingly having a stare down with. Just before he got to say anything, the Time Lord walked inside so Jack was quick to follow behind. He wasn’t as nonchalant about entering an unknown place as the other seemed to be; he placed his hand near his concealed holster, ready to draw if anything sprang out at them. It was funny how quick he was to shoot things despite not being able to be killed. Well, it was more for the benefit of mankind than for himself. Sure, being killed sucked, but if a potential threat got away it could cause more permanent damage to Earth.

It was dark inside, and it look abandoned. The Master considered the possibility that the Hive Agent he'd interrogated in the bathroom had lied, but came to the conclusion it was more likely he was mistaken rather than intentionally wrong. He clicked his tongue against his cheek in frustration. Fumbling around the wall he found a switch and the lights flickered on. The large open warehouse wasn't as empty as it had first seen. There were bodies strewn across the floor. Their bronze armour kept their identities hidden but The Master recognized the uniforms. Hive Warriors.

The Master made a slight hand gesture telling Jack to hold back for a moment. Approaching one of the bodies. He knelt down by it and pressed his hand to the chest. There was no movement. "They haven't suffered any damage," The Master muttered, "Its like they've been deactivated." He kicked away the helmet to reveal the robotic wiring beneath.

"Top of the class," a man had stepped into the light, clapping. "We needed their power to amplify the abilities of our new friend." The man in the suit was grinning for ear to ear with delight. On his left, a woman in red and black stepped forwards. "We needed to make sure she could affect a time lord like yourself," the man continued. "Your TARDIS is here, but I doubt you're going to need it anymore..." A green gas started to flood into the warehouse and the Master clutched his throat, coughing and spluttering as he fell to his knees. The gas was too fast acting for him to react. He slumped unconscious onto the ground, the last thing he heard before his eyes clamped shut was the man's laughter.