Angels and Darkness

Ok, first things first.

Blanket disclaimer – I own nothing except for my original characters. All rights go to their respective owners. This story is written for fun and not for profit. Alright, now that's been taken care of.

It should be noted that although this labeled as a Doctor Who/ROTG story, it's more of a Doctor Who/ROTG/Marvel crossover. Also, I don't intend for the Doctor to make more than one appearance, so don't get your hopes up.

Also, this is not a romance story, so don't get your hopes up for that either.

Finally, this is my first story, so please go easy on me.

So, are we ready? Then ALLONS-Y!

"If a Doctor could save only just one life from pain and from misery, that's what I want to be.

I would sail all around the world, a life of discovery that is the life for me.

If I could write every single day I would write all my cares away.

I'd be leading a different life, a wonderful life, a magical life."

- The Llewelyn Davis children; Finding Neverland

Jackson Overland sat up in bed at the sound of a distant explosion. The air smelled crisp and burnt as he got up on his knees to look out the window. The landscape of the woods around the family cabin looked the same as always, but he could just make out strange lights and dark shapes moving between the distant trees. If he listened closely, he could hear sounds of distant thumping and grumbling. He stood up and crossed the room. Emma, his little sister, was nervously huddled against the wall by the door.

"Jack" she whimpered "what's happening?" Their parents were away for the night, so Jack was currently the ultimate authority of the house.

"I'm going to find out." He offered a cheering smile, then cautiously stepped out the door. Every sound and smell that he'd experienced inside the cabin was amplified by 300 percent, and the very breeze that passed across his face was charged with energy - something big was about to go down. Emma apprehensively crept out the door and stood just behind him. Jack slowly took several steps forward, and Emma stayed close. Suddenly, a shrill screech spilt the blackness with a single word.

"INCOMING!"

A nanosecond later something the size of a cannonball thudded six inches away from Jack's feet and shattered with an ear-splitting crack, sending both him and Emma flying backwards. For a few moments both siblings were blinded by thick smoke. Jack coughed and called for Emma as he tried to stand. She might have called back, but with the ringing in his ears, it was hard to be sure. Without notice a pair of legs appeared in front of him, and a hand gripped his arm and helped to his feet. A pulse of energy filled him at the same moment and his head cleared.

"Civilians" a voice sighed, then "Y'all right, Stranger?"

"Yes. I'm all right" panted Jack. It was too dark to properly see the other person, but the voice told him it was a girl about his age. Even after she released his arm he could still feel that invigorating energy radiating, practically rolling, off her.

"Who are you?" He asked. "Where's Em-" Emma voice sounded from the darkness calling his name, Jack followed the noise and scooped her up in his arms. There was an unearthly shriek from the woods and the strange girl tilted her head towards it briefly before shoving Jack back towards the cabin while speaking very quickly.

"Okay, just stay in there and you'll be alright. Don't leave unless something really ugly breaks in because it'll probably want to kill you and at that point you'll definitely need to run." Jack half turned around.

"Wait, what?" The girl shoved him one last time.

"Relax, you guys'll be fine. Ciao!" And with that she turned and ran back to the trees. Jack watched her go, then retreated into the house slamming the door behind him.

Hours later, Jack was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall. Emma had fallen asleep leaning against him. Whatever had been going on earlier had stopped before anything truly dangerous had resulted and Jack had been dozing in and out of consciousness ever since. Abruptly, he snapped awake at a noise from outside. He eased Emma to the side and turned around to peer out the window.

A small brush fire was burning on the other side of the pond that sat less than ten feet from the cabin. From its light, he could see two silhouettes: The girl from earlier, and a man. The girl was dancing around and patting at her head which seemed ready to burst into flame. At the last second, she stripped a smoldering piece of cloth from her head, dropped on the ground and stamped on it. Then she picked it up again.

"Aww! That headband was a Christmas present from Grandma."

Now than he could see her better, Jack realized she was almost as skinny as he was. The man wasn't much fatter.

"Well," the man said in crisp, accented tones. "That did not go as well as I was hoping."

"You think?" Huffed the girl, and something small and furry perched on her shoulder squeaked in agreement. She continued "If you'd just let me take 'em out earlier, this mess would never have happened."

"Oh, typical human, answers every problem with violence."

"I'm right and you know it. Keep in mind that not everyone has nine lives before you try to negotiate with a species that's about to launch an invasion."

"Thirteen lives actually."

"Whatever."

"Anyway, don't try to pretend you're easy to kill as most of the members of your race. I've seen how fast you can heal. Now stop arguing, and let's go take care of that fire before it spreads."

"Pfffft. There's a pond right here. I'll have it out in a flash."

The two sauntered off and disappeared into the darkness.

The next day found Jack hanging upside down from a tree branch, much to the entertainment of Matthew and Elizabeth, who were the children of a family that lived nearby. Emma also found him entertaining, but was primarily concerned for his safety.

"Jack!" She giggled. "Jack, come down from there!"

Right then, the man and the girl from the night before burst out of the surrounding trees. Jack reached up and grabbed a hold of the branch he was hanging from so that he was dangling sideways and not upside-down. This allowed him a better view of the unusual twosome. The man was good-looking with soft brown hair and eyes. He wore a brown suit and a long brown overcoat that trailed to his ankles. The girl was shorter than him, but still tall for her age. She wore a plain, sleeveless, dark blue dress that fell to just above her knees, brightly colored pants that hugged her legs closely, and purple shoes. The furry thing on her shoulder now turned out to be an intelligent looking white rat. Strangest of all, however, was the girl's thick hair; clipped just below her ears, it was a bright red color. Not strawberry blonde, or bright orange, or even orangish red, but pure red – and almost a neon red at that. The word neon had yet to be invented, so Jack had yet to hear of it, but even so he found himself wondering how it hadn't been glowing in the dark last night. The two were running full speed as though something amazing was awaiting them and they were eager to get to it. As they passed the group beneath the tree, the girl slowed momentarily to observe the group.

"Hey, wait!" Called Jack, and the man and the girl stopped and turned around. Jack adjusted himself so that he was half-hanging, half-sitting in the tree and went on, "I've seen you before." The man smiled cheerfully.

"Oh, quite likely. There was a bit of a ruckus last night what with Turtle-People trying to invade and establish a colony."

"Turtle-People?" asked Emma.

"Don't worry," said the red-haired girl, her chocolaty eyes sparkling. "We got rid of them." Her friend nodded.

"Right. Anyway – ah, what was your name?"

"Jack" said Jack.

"Jack" repeated the man. "Good name . . ." Then a look of realization dawned over his face. "No. Not Jackson Overland! Soon to become . . ." he cut himself off and grinned even wider than before. "Oh, that's brilliant!"

Right then, Matthew and Elizabeth heard their mother calling and ran off.

"Become what?" Asked Emma. The man looked at her and his grin faded somewhat.

"I'm sorry?"

"What does Jack become?" The man's face grew serious and he looked back to Jack.

"You'll find out." Jack felt an icy chill run up his spine. The man had responded to Jack, but it had been Emma who'd asked the question. It was almost as though Emma would never get to see whatever it was he was destined to become. Jack looked at the red-haired girl. Her face was blank and even slightly confused – clearly, she didn't share in whatever knowledge her friend had concerning Jack's future. The white rat on her shoulder briefly climbed onto the man and nipped impatiently at his ear.

"Well, anyway" he continued, "better be moving on. Lots of places to see." The girl's expression lit up. Was it Jack's imagination, or did part of her iris's shift from brown to purple?

"He's taking me to, um, Fellspoon to see these mountains that sway in the breeze." She said eagerly.

"Anyway, Jack, Emma, lovely talking with you." The man grasped the girl's hand, and started to turn away but stopped. "I will give you one last piece of advice, though." He looked from Emma to Jack and back again. "Make the most of your Summer - it can't last forever." Abruptly his mood switched from serious to light-hearted as he turned and ran away pulling his companion with him.

"Cheerio!" He shouted back.

"See ya!" The girl yelled over her shoulder.

Jack watched them leave, then attempted to climb down but slipped and fell instead. Providentially, the soft grass cushioned his fall. Emma helped him up, but her face was unusually serious.

"Jack, how did he know my name?" Jack thought for a moment.

"I-I don't know."

"Was he from the future? Is something bad going to happen to me?" Jack knelt and looked her in the eye.

"No, Emma, I won't ever let that happen." He pushed her hair behind her ear. "I promise." Emma's face brightened visibly; if Jack promised something, then that something was guaranteed.

As they were walking away, a strange noise came from the direction the man and the girl had disappeared in, a wheezing, rasping, groaning noise. The man and the girl were never seen again – at least in that particular time period. As it turned out, Jack and Emma weren't the only ones to have met the pair or the only witnesses to the events of the night before. Almost every one of the other settlers had a story to tell, and while all of them had a certain degree of outlandishness, at least half of them were at least partially exaggerated. As a result, the entire event was quickly dismissed as a hoax.

This all took place in the early Spring of 1712. That next Summer, Jack and Emma were each gifted with a pair of ice skates by a traveling merchant who had been unsuccessful in selling them and wanted to be rid of them. And the following Winter, Jack took his little sister on an excursion to their pond to try them out.

And that's a wrap! Sorry if this seemed a little long. I'll try to make my future chapters a bit shorter.

Please review and tell me what you think!

*Also, for those who don't speak Italian (you're not alone, I don't speak it either) "Ciao" it the Italian word for "Hello" and "Goodbye."