I caught sight of my reflection
I caught it in the window
I saw the darkness in my heart
I saw the signs of my undoing
They had been there from the start
And the darkness still has work to do...
	--Peter Gabriel



CHAPTER 9:  DARKNESS

	The Doctor stared up at her, his eyes wide.  Ace's eyes were fixed upon the image of 
Grant Jenkins on the screen.  He stood and grasped her arms.  "Are you sure?  How do you 
know that?"
	She pressed her fingers to her temples.  "I just know.  I can see it, I can *feel* it."  She 
looked past him, through him.  "Banner...she gave me some of her mental skills, so in case you 
had another seizure I could help you.  It...it's like I can see him with a third eye that can't see 
anything else, just him."   Her eyes came back into focus and she looked at him.  "I'm telling you
 he's Legion!"
	"I believe you, I believe you," he said, sitting her down on the bed and backing away, 
beginning to pace.  "Why didn't you tell me about this Banner business?"
	She shook her head, her breath still coming quickly.  "I don't know, she acted like it was a
 big secret or something, I didn't think...I just don't know why!"
	"Well, if he's Legion that changes a lot," he said.
	Her head jerked up.  "It also explains how they can travel in time.  Tegan will never find 
any technology, there isn't any!"
	"And it helps with motive.  Seth would like nothing better than to get the entire planet under
 his thumb, if for no other reason than to put the screws to Theo...and trite as it sounds, nothing 
paves the way for evil like chaos.  Nature abhors a vacuum, and usually the first thing to come 
along will fill it up."
	They fell silent for a moment, then Ace fetched a deep sigh.  "Doctor, can't we ever go 
*anywhere* without stumbling into a plot for world domination on a grand scale?"  
	He sat down next to her, smiling ruefully.  "And this was supposed to be relaxing."  They 
looked at each other for a moment and then he slung one arm around her shoulders.  "But if it 
were too relaxing we'd get suspicious, wouldn't we, old girl?"  
	She elbowed him.  "Who're you calling 'old girl?'"  She sighed again, not up to bantering 
with him.  "We're going to have a job explaining all this to Tegan."
	"The upside is that she'll believe us."
	He went over to the monitor to watch Tegan talk with Jenkins.  Ace flopped back onto the 
bed.  "These Legion blokes, it's like they're following us around," she muttered.
	Her words jarred in the Doctor's mind.  A thought like a moth fluttered in the back of his 
head, tickling his consciousness.  He turned towards her.  "What if *we're* following *them* 
around?"
	She lifted her head and looked at him, puzzled.  "What are you talking about?"
	He stood slowly.  "I've just had a rather disturbing thought."


	"I don't understand why this is an issue," Jenkins said.  "My men were defending themselves."
	Tegan's eyes bulged in disbelief.  "Grant, I can't believe that even you would try and pass
that off.  Number one, they somehow managed to get into the airport armed, no doubt by virtue 
of unique abilities of which we are both aware.  Number two, I didn't draw my weapon until they
 had already done so...I was the one acting in self-defense.  Number three, Graham shot an 
unarmed civilian, a very dear friend of mine, so you can just can the balloon juice!" she said.  
"Your men attacked me without provocation, and I have enough evidence of their past misdeeds 
to keep them locked away until the second coming."
	Grant pursed his lips, knowing full well she was correct.  "In that case I insist that they 
be allowed counsel and that their cases be turned over to the Los Angeles authorities."
	"Oh no you don't.  This matter is the strict province of UNIT, and the Americans have agreed
 to this fully."
	"Completely of their own free will and quite cheerfully, I'm sure," Grant sneered.
	"That's not the issue.  I have the authority and I intend to use it.  Your men are en route back 
to UNIT HQ as we speak."
	Grant jumped up angrily.  "You had no right to take those men out of the country without 
consulting me first!" he exclaimed. 
	Tegan stood and stared him down, just as angry.  "I have every *right,* Grant!"  She came
forward until they stood toe to toe.  "Can you feel me breathing down your neck?" she hissed 
menacingly.  "I get closer to you every day.  It won't be long before I shut you down permanently."  
	Grant looked at her through slitted eyes, then turned away and went to the door, turning 
back as he reached it.  "You think you have me figured out, don't you Tegan?  You don't know 
anything.  You can't shut me down, you have no idea what you're dealing with."  He left with a s
atisfying door slam.


	Ace sat up, alarmed at the Doctor's horrified expression.  "What?  What is it?"
	"Tegan asked me why I thought to come here, and why at this precise time.  It *was* 
rather fortuitious...getting here just at the same moment that she was about to catch those 
terrorists."
	"So?"
	"The point is that I had no good answer for her.  I've no idea why I thought to come here, 
and on this date.  It just came into my head, out of the blue.  What if...what if my mind 
unconsciously brought us here?"
	Ace's eyes widened.  "But Angel said that the Legion intrusion wasn't enough to cause 
behavioral effects!"
	"It hasn't!  I'm as normal as I've ever been...but I doubt even Angel could predict how 
that presence would affect my unconscious mind.  What if it's drawn to other Legion presences...
like iron filings to a magnet?"
	"And through the telepathic link with the TARDIS..."
	"Exactly.  The TARDIS brought us to exactly the right time and place to meet Jenkins' men."
	"But *they* weren't Legion.  I'd have known."
	"No they weren't, but they were working for Jenkins and they'd just been jumped through 
time by Legion.  That could have been enough."
	Ace stood up and grabbed his arm.  "If you're right about this..."
	"If I'm right about this I can't trust my own instincts."
	The door opened then and Tegan came in.  "Well, he's gone, and I think..."  She saw their 
expressions.  "What's going on?"
	The Doctor looked at her.  "Tegan, you'd better sit down.  We have a long story to tell you."


	Considering her yearlong search for Jenkins' nonexistent time travel technology, she took 
it rather well.  As Ace wrapped up the story with her certainty about Jenkins' nature and the 
Doctor's possible connection, Tegan's lips pressed together tightly and she nodded almost as if 
she'd been expecting something like this.  She stood and crossed her arms.  Ace and the Doctor,
 sitting side by side on the bed, looked up at her, waiting for her reaction.
	After a few moments of shifting her weight around and opening and closing her mouth, it
came.  "So...let me sum this up.  The man I've been chasing for over a year is not human, but is 
instead an agent of the Black Guardian working for a being bent on world conquest and revenge 
and drawing upon an infinite power reserve?"  The Doctor nodded.  "Well, that's certainly a relief.
  I guess I can call off the search.  As a human being Grant was a cunning and tricky adversary, 
but at least I had some prayer of catching him!  Now, I might as well hang up my jock and hit the
 showers!" she exclaimed, collapsing back into a chair and dropping her head into her hands.
	"Oh, nonsense, Tegan!  You can't give up now!" the Doctor said.
	"Give me a good reason to continue!"
	"Um...well, because...oh, damn."  Tegan looked at him expectantly.  "It was just a reflex,"
 he said sheepishly.
	Ace was thoughtful.  "Tegan, do you have any evidence that Grant's group is active in any 
time frames other than this one?"
	"How can I answer that question?  If they were, I wouldn't know the difference.  Unlike you 
two I don't exist outside of time."
	"Well, it seems strange to me that if they have unlimited time travel they'd be concentrating
 all their attention on events occuring in the space of a few short years.  They could have gone 
back and changed the outcome of WWII, or helped Charles Manson escape or something.  They must
 have some reason for staying in your temporal neighborhood."
	Tegan seemed pulled out of her despair by Ace's words and the chance to think about the 
problem at hand.  "Well...I suppose it suggests that something really catastrophic could be happening
 soon and they're just warming everyone up with this penny-ante stuff."  She looked to the Doctor.
  "Doctor, are we coming up on anything like that?"
	He thought for a moment.  "Not that I can recall."
	Ace held up her hands.  "No, no, no...that's not what I mean.  What if it's because of *you,* 
Tegan?"
	"Me?  What do you mean?"
	She turned to the Doctor.  "I'm right in thinking that the TARDIS keeps its affinity for your 
companions the same way you do, right?"
	He nodded.  "Yes.  Once the telepathic circuits become accustomed to their brainwaves it 
remembers them.  It enables me to find them more quickly than I'd find a stranger, but it's a 
relatively minor effect."
	"But it'd help, wouldn't it?"
	He was beginning to track her line of thought.  "Ace, it seems as though someone wants to 
get me here, and at this particular time."
	Tegan looked lost.  "Could you fill in us morons, please?"
	He turned to her.  "Suppose someone wanted to increase the chances that I'd show up 
somewhere, completely of my own free will and without direct interference, which would of 
course tip me off.  There's a presence in my head which I'm more and more convinced will seek 
out others like itself, Angel all but said that it would, it's one of the reasons he wouldn't allow me
 access to the TARDIS.  This is also my favorite planet, and I have certain ties to it.  The TARDIS
 is well aware of this, and it's brought me here a disproportionate number of times over the 
years.  You, Tegan, are also here.  It's another factor to boost the odds that I'd show up."  He 
was warming to his own arguments.  "Jehosephat, there could be other factors that...Seth was
even in the TARDIS!  He could have influenced it without my knowledge, he was disguised as a 
friend.  He knows his way inside, he could have snuck in a hundred times."
	"You think it's Seth?" Ace asked. 
	"Well, who else?  He knows he can get at me through his conversion process, he's got a 
head start on it.  I didn't think he'd give up trying to convert me but I was expecting a more 
direct approach."
	Ace stamped her foot.  "Damn Theo anyway, where is she?  She could have averted all this 
if she'd removed that Legion intrusion!  Seth would lose his back door."
	A look of pain crossed his face.  "Ace, I think that much as it might pain us, we have to 
consider that she might really be dead."


	Grant Jenkins retired to his rather spartan rooms.  He had no home, he just moved from 
place to place, wherever he was told to go.  After his conversation with Jovanka, he needed to
 contact his superior and get further instructions.  He sat in his favorite chair and closed his 
eyes, concentrating, knowing that contact would come quickly.
	"Grant!  How are things in the City of Angels, if you'll pardon the pun?"
	"I just spoke with Tegan.  Three of my human helpers have been taken to UNIT."
	"Where I'm sure they will be treated with every kindness.  What about the Doctor?"
	"I didn't see him but I'm sure he was in the next room.  The closed circuit camera moved 
while I was there, someone was controlling it."
	"What about your Legion associates?  Do they suspect you?"
	"Not at all.  Playing Legion isn't as hard as Constantine always made it sound."
	"Well, that's why you were chosen.  Your level of telepathic self-control is quite high, and 
the Legion that Seth has on this job aren't exactly the cream of the crop."
	"That much is certain.  But, I'm a little concerned about the Doctor.  He's quite clever, as is 
Ace, and I'm worried that they might start to put two and two together here."
	"'Quite' clever is a horrible understatement, and it's too late.  They already have suspicions. 
 Don't worry about it.  It doesn't matter if they start to suspect, because if they do they'll suspect
 Seth.  The important thing is to make sure Seth thinks he's winning, and that he does not know of
 my involvement, which shouldn't be a problem since he thinks I'm dead."
	"Right you are.  The last time I spoke with him he was very smug.  I'm sure he's already 
dreaming of what he can do with his brand-new TARDIS."
	"Let him dream.  I can't play games with him anymore.  I've been soft on him for too long."
	"It's only natural after what you've been through with him."
	Pause.  "Thanks, Grant.  I appreciate your diligence.  It was very hard for me to watch 
Constantine die on my office floor and not be able to be there.  Make sure that doesn't happen to you."
	"It won't, Theo."
	Another pause.  "You know the next step?"
	"Absolutely."
	"Good.  I'll talk to you later then."


	Ace stared at him, biting her lip.  "If she's dead, no one knows about it.  Angel would have 
taken over her duties, and he could cure you.  He would have notified us."
	"Agreed.  But we can't count on Theo to get us out of this."
	Tegan stood up, her attitude of affirmative action returning.  "Then we get ourselves out 
of it."
	The Doctor resumed his pacing.  "Posit:  Seth wants me here so he can take me over and 
get his grubby little hands on my knowledge and my lifetime of experiences."
	"Question:  Why here?" Ace asked.
	"Answer:  He must have a significant presence here, both to help to draw me here and to 
help him overpower me."
	"Question:  What action can we take to prevent this?"
	"Answer:  Get ourselves away, letting *you* pick the destination and the time, and lie low
 until either Angel or Theo can fix me up.  Not very heroic, but effective."
	"We'd be safe in the TARDIS, wouldn't we?  He doesn't need it, he's got his own far more 
reliable and powerful time travel through the Black Guardian."
	Tegan jumped into this exchange.  "You said that he could gain access to the TARDIS.  We'd 
be no safer there."
	"Ah, not necessarily," the Doctor said, picking up his hat and brolly.  "Come on, then."  He 
kept talking as they left the suite.  "He got his knowledge of TARDIS systems from Ace's mind.  
There are safety measures on that ship of which she is unaware."
	They hurried out of the hotel and hailed a cab for LAX.


	Grant, still sitting in his favorite chair, mentally prepared himself for contact with Seth.  He 
had to be sure and hide his true identity, as well as maintaining a Legion-like state of mind.  It 
wasn't hard once you got the hang of it.
	Soon enough the dark Guardian answered.  "What news, Jenkins?"
	"We are ready to begin the operation," he said.
	"Excellent.  I am sending ten Legion to assist you, as requested.  You're sure that will be 
enough?"
	"It should be more than enough, even for a Time Lord.  I assume you will be watching the 
proceedings?"
	"Of course.  Where is the Doctor now?"
	"He, the woman Ace, and the UNIT operative Jovanka are on their way back to the TARDIS.  
We'll be waiting for them."
	"Then don't waste time talking to me."  He was gone.  Grant sighed.  He always felt like he 
needed a shower after a conference with Seth.  He stretched his stiff neck, stood, and vanished.


	The Doctor, Ace, and Tegan hurried down the concourse towards the stairs that led down to
 where  the TARDIS stood silent.
	"I hope we're doing the right thing," Tegan mumbled.  "Running away doesn't feel right."
	"I'm with you there," Ace said, "but given the alternatives and the nature of the opposition 
there aren't a lot of other appealing options.  The main thing is to keep the Doctor away from Seth. 
 If we stay here, we might as well hang a neon sign over his head."
	"Unfortunately, the neon sign's inside my head," the Doctor added.  "The best we can do is 
try to stay out of his reach until we can pull the plug on it, so to speak."
	They snuck down the stairs into the baggage collection area, glancing around nervously.  
They appeared to be unobserved thus far, so they made their way to the remote corner where 
the blue police box waited patiently,  picking their way through trolleys and assorted airport 
detritus.  Tegan smiled as they came upon it.  "Oh, it's good to see this old thing," she said, patting
 its side.
	The Doctor fished out his key.  Ace glanced around, the hairs on the back of her neck standing
 up.  "Doctor, hurry.  I have a bad feeling," she whispered.
	"That's probably my fault," came a too-familiar voice.  They all froze, the Doctor in the act
 of unlocking the door, as Grant Jenkins came out from behind the TARDIS.  "Beating a hasty 
retreat, eh, Doctor?  So predictable.  Makes our job much easier," he oozed, as around him 
materialized nearly a dozen Legion soldiers in their red uniforms.
	Ace backed up against the TARDIS, trying to look everywhere at once.  She could see Tegan 
out of the corner of her eye, her body language ready for action, but there was no action to be 
taken.  They were surrounded.  After a moment she realized that the Legion were not paying 
either of the women any mind whatsoever.  They eyes were focused on the Doctor.  She turned 
and looked at him...his eyes were wide and his jaw clenched.  She could feel them concentrating 
on him, trying to bring him over to their side, their minds hanging like oily smoke in the air that
 she could almost feel on her skin.  She grabbed the Doctor's arm and turned him towards her, 
clasping his head between her hands.  He was barely aware of her, his body tense and his mind 
preoccupied.  She pressed her forehead to his and tried to enter his mind like Banner had told her 
to...there had to be some way she could help him resist.  It was no use...he was being assaulted 
from all sides and was trying to shut out the Legion battering at the hatches, but in the process 
he was also shutting her out.  She tried harder, finding every ounce of mental strength she could
 muster, but it was hopeless against the sheer number of the Legion soldiers drowning out her 
inexpert efforts to keep him with her.
	She drew back slightly as he let out a frustrated cry, his face screwed into a fearsome 
grimace with the effort.  He suddenly threw his head back and sucked in a huge breath, then 
raised his arms and shoved her away, sending her sprawling to the concrete.  Ace looked up at 
her husband's stony face, horrified, to see a stranger staring down at her from behind his eyes.