The Doctor turned slowly, raising his hands. Harry followed suit.
Standing before them, guns drawn, were a man and a woman. Both wore navy blue tailored suits. The man was about Harry's height with dark hair, the woman about half a head shorter with red hair. Neither looked pleased to see the time travellers.
"Hello," said the Doctor, grinning like a buffoon. "What big guns you have. Now my friend and I were just passing and we noticed how loose this padlock was. We were going to report it, but you've saved us the trouble. Catch." So saying he lobbed the padlock at the man.
Caught flat footed, he attempted to catch the padlock. His partner followed it's flight. While this was happening the Doctor swung his scarf, looping it around the woman's gun arm. He reeled it in quickly, dragging her towards him. Her baffled partner caught the padlock and turned, to find the strangely dressed man holding his partner by the arm, while his friend held her gun.
"Now, I think we can talk in a civilized manner. I'm the Doctor and this is my friend Harry. Would anyone like a jelly baby?" He produced a paper bag from his pocket and offered it to Scully.
"The Doctor?" Mulder echoed.
"Yes. Have you heard of me?"
"If you're the same Doctor that met Bill Filer twenty years ago in England while working for U.N.I.T."
The Doctor thought for a moment. "Yes, I remember him now. Nice chap, for an American. No offence."
"None taken, I'm sure," said Scully, her arm still caught in The Doctor's vice like grip.
"Terribly sorry, my dear," he said, releasing her, "but guns tend to make me nervous."
"Then why doesn't your friend, Harry, put Scully's down?" asked Mulder, his still trained on the Doctor.
"You first," Harry replied.
"Do as he asks, Harry, there's a good chap."
"But, Doctor..."
"Harry!"
Reluctantly, Harry lowered the gun. At a gesture from Scully, Mulder did the same.
"That's better," the Doctor beamed. "Now, I don't think I caught your names."
Scully produced her badge. "I'm special agent Dana Scully, this is special agent Fox Mulder." Mulder approached, also showing his I.D.
"So, what's Bill Filer been saying about me?"
"He told us how you and he tried to apprehend a criminal calling himself The Master." The Doctor's face went ashen.
"I say, are you alright, Doctor?" asked Harry.
"Did you say, The Master?" the Doctor asked Mulder, ignoring Harry's question.
"That's right." He and Scully went on to detail the evidence that had brought them here. For some reason, despite the fact that seconds before they had been at gunpoint, they both felt they could trust this strange Doctor.
"So who is this Master bloke anyway?"
"Only the most evil genius ever let loose in this galaxy."
"Why, Doctor, you flatter me," said a voice from behind them. Turning, the time travellers and F.B.I. agents found that the warehouse doors were now fully open. Standing before them was a tall, thin man dressed in a black suit, with a satanic beard, greying at the temples and corners of his mouth. Behind him stood three hairy, ape like creatures dressed in leather. All were armed.
"Congratulations, Doctor. You're just in time to witness my final triumph." He chuckled evilly.
"I see you've changed, my dear Doctor," The Master said as he ushered his guests inside the warehouse.
"I see you haven't," the Doctor retorted. "Still using lesser races to do your bidding." He indicated The Master's servants.
Scully nodded. "What are those things?" she asked.
"They're Ogrons," the Doctor told her. "Not one of the brightest races in the universe, or they wouldn't be working for him."
"So they're extra-terestrial?" Mulder enquired.
"Oh, yes," the Doctor replied. "They do his dirty work."
"Come now, Doctor, is that any way to treat an old friend?" The Master did his best to look and sound hurt, but didn't quite succeed at either.
"I do not make friends with murdering meglomaniacs bent on universal domination."
The Master clutched the right side of his chest in mock pain. "You wound me with your scorn." Then he smiled. "But you won't live long enough to make a habit of it."
"Why?" Scully asked. "Why kill those men and threaten to kill us?"
The Master chuckled. "I'm afraid the Ogrons are a little over zealous. When I told them to keep people away from here, they were a little too literal. So, I hired Mister Cromwell. Unfortunately, he became curious. As for you, my dear, you and your friends are expendable to me."
The Doctor sighed. "Isn't it about time you revealed your dastardly plot?" he asked, yawning.
The Master nodded to one of the Ogrons, who activated a light switch. The far end of the warehouse was bathed in light and there, sat in the middle, was a battered spaceship.
This time the Doctor smiled, one of his wider smiles. "You're stuck here!" he exclaimed. The Master just nodded. "No dastardly plots, no schemes to take over the cosmos and abolish chocolate eclairs, you're just stranded!"
"As you so eloquently put it, Doctor, no plots or schemes. After our last encounter on the Ogrons homeworld, I had to leave in rather a hurry."
"With a couple of Dalek saucers on your tail fins, no doubt."
"No doubt," The Master echoed. "I tried to escape in my TARDIS but it was still linked to the navigation computer."
"I bet that made a mess of your dimensional stabalisers."
"It did. To cut a long story short, I was lucky to land here."
"Sounds like you were lucky to land at all."
"Enough!" shouted The Master. He continued a little more calmly. "I think I prefered your previous incarnation. Your new persona seems rather irritating."
The Doctor grinned hugely. "We aim to please." The Master sighed.
"So, Doctor, are you going to help me repair the damage."
"What if I say no?"
"Then my friends," he indicated the Ogrons, "will kill your friends." The ape like creatures advanced on Harry, Scully and Mulder.
"All right," the Doctor said, "I'll do it. Just call off your hounds." The Master smiled and ordered the Ogrons back.
"Don't do it, Doctor," Harry protested.
"Yes, listen to your friend," Scully added. "Don't worry about us."
The Doctor ignored them and joined The Master. Together they disappeared into the spaceship.
Over two hours later the Doctor emerged, held at gunpoint by The Master. He looked downcast.
"Thank you, Doctor. I couldn't have done it without you."
"Naturally," the Doctor replied.
The Master stood on the boarding ramp and called the Ogrons into the ship. Once they were aboard, he turned back to his prisoners.
"So this is farewell, Doctor."
"You're not going to kill us, then?"
"Quiet," hissed Mulder. "Don't give the guy ideas."
"There is no need, Doctor. The exhaust from the rocket motors in this confined space will do it for me. Oh, and the doors are locked. You can't get out in time to save yourselves. Goodbye, Doctor."
As he disappeared up the ramp the Doctor started to smile. Harry noticed it first.
"What have you done, Doctor?" he asked.
"Wait and see, Harry," he replied, tapping the side of his nose.
The spaceship came to life. A low hum filled the warehouse. Thrusters fired, lifting it slightly. Then the note of the hum changed. It became harsher, more grating. The spaceship seemed to buckle. Suddenly a vortex appeared in the centre of the warehouse and with a squeal of protest, the spaceship vanished into it.
All was still for a few moments afterwards. Then Mulder let out a breath.
"Well, Scully, I don't know how you're going to right up this report."
"I'll just report what I saw."
"Which, despite the fact that we have been in each others company the whole time, will be completely different to what I saw."
"You know, Mulder, you're paranoid."
"A wise man once said 'even the paranoid have enemies.' But this time I have witnesses." He turned to the Doctor and Harry. "Hey, where did they go?"
***
The Doctor and Harry were three streets away, heading back to the TARDIS.
"So, what happened, Doctor?" Harry asked, playing the role of dutiful companion.
"I simply reversed the polarity of the neutron feedback, causing a short circuit in the main space/time element. It opened up a rift in the vortex before The Master was ready and sucked the ship and all aboard through it."
"As simple as that, eh, Doctor."
"Well, I didn't really have time for anything complicated."
"What became of The Master and his Ogron chums?"
"Oh, they will have been spat out of the vortex on the other side of the rift." The Doctor consulted his hand held device. "About one hundred and ninety years from now."
"And what's to stop them creating havoc there?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Me, presumably. I really must find some way of reminding myself of things that need my future attention. Ah, here we are, home sweet home."
They had arrived back at the TARDIS. "But what about Sarah's rest?" asked Harry.
"It's alright, Harry, I'll dematerialise and put the TARDIS into a temporal orbit for a while."
"Temporal orbit?"
"Yes, it's sort of like parallel parking, only more complicated." With one last huge grin the Doctor unlocked the door and ushered Harry inside. Moments later the TARDIS left Earth.
***
The Master smoothed down his jacket. The Doctor might think he had got the better of his old enemy, but instead he had unwittingly helped his foe. There was enough alien technology in this age to repair his TARDIS and have some spares. All he needed was to ingratiate himself with the local clan chief.
The secretary returned from her bosses office. "Lord Haldoran will see you now, sir."
