Agent Provocateur (comic story)

Agent Provocateur is the retroactive name applied to Doctor Who (2008), issues 1-6, after the publication of its collected edition. It was published in the first half of 2008 in the United States, and is significant for being the first original Doctor Who comic book published in that country. Originally meant to be one story in an ongoing monthly publication, it turned out to be the only story of that title, and, therefore, a mini-series. It should not be confused with IDW's later Doctor Who (2009), a true ongoing monthly comic book.

Summary
Over the course of seemingly unrelated adventures, the Doctor and Martha find that events are being manipulated by an alien Pantheon who need the Doctor to clean up their mess.

Chapter 1
On the planet Gallifrey lived the Time Lords, until the war came. All but one died.

The Doctor takes Martha to a space station where Martha can have the tastiest milkshake in the whole universe. Once they get there the Doctor notices a Gizou, a shapeshifting alien, currently in the form of a reptilian alien, and the Doctor decides to talk to it. Before they can catch up with the Gizou, a figure in the shadows gets an electronic whip and kills him. The Doctor and Martha find only the Gizou's remains--now ashes on the floor. The Doctor is knocked out by the same figure, who also grabs Martha with the whip. Their captor, a Sycorax, takes the unconscious Doctor and Martha to his ship and he tells Martha that he is a collector of alien races. Suddenly the Doctor wakes up and the Sycorax aims his whip at the Doctor, only for the Doctor to grab it. He then begins to sabotage the Sycorax's weapon, Martha helps by destroying its staff. He tells Martha that legends say the Sycorax will be one of the last three species remaining at the time the universe ends.

Chapter 2
On the planet Kas a race of lion-like aliens are busy working when all but one vanishes into thin air.

On the planet Nyrruh 4 a race of humanoids all vanish, leaving one survivor.

The Doctor and Martha are visiting London in 1974 when they find statues of rock and pop stars in a grassy area in front of Westminister. Invited to an art exhibition, they set off to attend and do not notice that they are being followed by a black cat, much less that it suddenly vanishes.

Once at the art exhibit, the travellers find figures from throughout British history, all made of sand. The Doctor detects that the statues are modified from living beings--someone turned them into sand statues. Martha asks who could have done it. They turn around to see the man who had invited them to the exhibition, accompanied by a bald woman. The bald woman strokes the black cat who'd been observing the Doctor and Martha; a green energy surrounds her, she points at Martha, and Martha is turned into a sand figure.

Horrified, the Doctor tries to find out what has happened. The man explains...

4000 years ago, an Egyptian princess, Hentopet, prayed to the cat goddess Bast. At around the same time, some enemies of the Pharaoh were killed by a giant cat with a strange green glow. Hentopet tells her father, the Pharaoh, of her visitation--then suddenly stabs him in the chest. She and the Pharaoh's scholar talk to Bast. Bast tells them that her true name is Bubastion and she was dispatched there by the Shadow Proclamation to oversee development of Earth. Enraged at the humans' behaviour, Bubastion curses them never to age.

The Doctor realises that the Pharaoh's scholar is the man who invited him to the art exhibit, and the bald woman is Hentopet. The man takes advantage of the moment to free himself and Hentopet of the Curse: he turns them both into sand statues. The cat frees Martha and the rest of the people in the building. The two new statues crumble, the cat escapes, and the Doctor and Martha make a break for it in the TARDIS for their next adventure.

Elsewhere in space and time, a human male followed by two red humanoids opens a door marked "Executives Only". Inside the room is full of beings known as the Pantheon, and Bubastion is among them.

Chapter 3
On the planet Mer, a race of amphibious aliens are about their day-to-day business when all but one vanishes instantly.

The Doctor and Martha land on New Savannah, where the Catkind are having a meeting with the same human seen entering the executives' room at the end of Chapter 2. They are talking about giving the planet to the Earth Empire as the sun has expanded destroying Earth and the remaining humans want to live on New Savannah.

Suddenly, the room blows up--rubble falls everywhere, injuring humans and aliens alike. In the middle of the devastation lands the TARDIS, and the Doctor and Martha run to help the wounded.

A green sphere appears out of no where behind an alley way. The Man and the Red humaniods appear he says he wants to get of the planet before midnight. The Doctor and Martha find they are on a planet near New Earth. A male Catkind goes up to him he goes of with him while Martha helps the wounded. Martha asks the Catkind his name. It is Garrard Townsend. All of a sudden Martha is arrested by the police force there. She tells Garrard to tell the doctor where she is. The Man and the Red humaniod Henchmen enter and door way and find themselves in a space environment. There is a man there called Silas Wain. Also Bubastion is there they have a quick conversation about private deals. Meanwhile on the planet Omphalos Suddenly all the citizens bar one man and its robots are there. He says this is all part of the plan. On New Savannah the doctor is investigating the rubble and he finds force fields. He says that it is interesting how the boardroom was not damaged. He finds out that there was a human in the room and made an Emergancy Spatial Shift. The Doctor walks down the stairs and finds Garrard saying he needs to have a little chat. Martha at New Savannah police station is being interigated. She is told the sotry about how the humans saved the Catkind from extiction. But the Catkind had to make an agreement New Savannah would become part of The New Earth Empire. The Doctor arrives and bails Martha out he tells her that Garrard was responicble. Garrard is part of an Anti-human cult who is planning to overthrough the empire. The Force fields that defend New Savannah city where programmed to go down by the man who blew the offices up. All of a sudden giant cat robots that look like Babastion in his true form attack. The Cat robots start killing everything they can find. Martha and the Doctor find Garrard the doctor and Garrard have a brawl but the doctor opens a door to Limbo Space. There he finds Silas Wain. She is killed by a robot but the door closes. There they see Bubastion he tells Martha this is Limbo Space his home. Bubastion reveals that he has tricked Garrard and the Anti-human cult. Garrard escapes but the doctor and Martha do not pursue him. Bubastion tells the doctor that he is tricking him. The door to Limbo Space begins to close the Doctor and Martha make it out alive. Garrard stops the giant Cat Robots. The doctor though says he is going of cats.

Chapter 4
The Doctor and Martha are in the Tardis. Martha is flying in the air because the doctor had said she could do that. They are on their way to a planet. Once the Tardis lands they walk out and find they are in a mechanical futuristic city with robots everywhere. Martha notices there are no movement apart from these robots. All of a sudden the robots smell out the Doctor and Martha and start chasing them looking for their flesh. They make it to an elevator or Lift as Martha argues due to her being English. As they get to the top of the lift they find a man called Professor otot he says he is the only survivor of Omphalos. The Doctor and the Professor go to the lab but Martha unknown to them is taken away by a robot. The Professor takes the doctor to a room with a screen with all the survivors of planets that have had there populations taken away. The Doctor discovers that Tharlot was researching the doctor. Tharlot and the Doctor start having a confrontation but Martha runs in she is being chased by the robots who are demanding flesh. The Doctor confrnts them as Tharlot runs away, the robots say they need a leader (I.E Flesh) The Robots then tell them Professor Tharlot is a criminal. The Doctor thinks Tharlot is behind the population taking's he finds that the whole planets have been made to alline with each other. The Doctor comes to the conclusion that one of the people who Tharlot has found is in league with him. Tharlot is watching him over a moniter he is in league with Silas Wain also. Wain discovers that Tharlot has grapped the doctors ship with a robotic device. The Robots tell the Doctor about Tharlot they tell him he was imprisoned Twelve cycles ago for murdering his own kind. When his kind vannished he got back to power. The Robots have come to a theory that he is a criminal and there for made everyone on the planet vanish. Tharlot is still watching them he presses the self destruct button on the robots they all begin to blow up. The Doctor and Martha run up to a room and fins that the Tardis has gone missing. Tharlot comes out and says he designed the room that the Tardis was in. He gives the doctor a device that will lead him to the "Leash". They walk up to a circle on the floor, the doctor and Martha and start to fall through the time vortex. Meanwhile there in a star system where all the planets are. The Gravatational Pull of them is affecting Space creating a rend. A ball of energy fires up and two red hands appear. On Omphalos Tharlot says he has the doctor and the Tardis safe. Silas Wain who is in Limbo spasce says he will send men to retrieve the doctor. The members of the Pantheon including Bubastion thanks silas. But the Doctor and Martha are still hurling down the time vortex.

Chapter 5
In Cumbria at Ainsworth point some seagulls are flying about. One of these seagulls is turned into crystall sorm and smashes on the sand. The Doctor and Martha crash land on a shed on the beach. They can't hear anything all of a sudden Martha is shot in the arm and is wounded. The Doctor takes her half a mile to Ainsworth House he finds out the place is run by the Ministry of Defence and the year is 1957. A nurse called Nancy sees to Martha and puts her on a stretcher. The Receptionist rings the commodore. The Doctor tells them the accident took place on the beach. The Doctor introduces himself as Harold Sullivan ministry of defence. Meanwhile at Limbo Space Silas is angry that someone has shot Martha. The Pantheon show up Bubastion is angry they had no idea they where in 1950's Earth. The Doctor and the receptionist wait outside Martha's ward. The receptionist takes the doctor away only a nurse with yellow eyes is spying on them. The same nurse is looking after Martha. Martha asks for tablets for her headache. The nurse says she will go and get them for her but Martha points out they where not avalable in 1957. Her eys light up and she turns into a member of the Catkind. One of the Same Catkind Martha tried to help in the rubble. Tharlot (The Receptionist) takes the doctor take the doctor to a room where there is a big Sonic Weapon from the 51st Century there. The Doctor meats Silas Wain who is given away by the synthetic cloths he is wearing. Mr Rawlings gets a fright and walks of scared. Silas's two red guards confront Rawlings his eyes turn red and he scares them away. The Nurse is an alien she says she was protecting Martha. They walk down the corridor and find a man lying dead a doctor.Martha enters the Mess Hall and finds every dead inside. The Doctor and Silas Wain find Martha and the nurse who reveals herself as Brel-Whispah. She wants to know why the Doctor and Martha are on Earth rather than Omphalos Where the Pantheon of Champion Beings was supposed to meet them. Elsewhere the ten planets begin to make an energy circle and a red beast walks out of the ball of light that was forming. Back in 1957 The Doctor finds out that the Pantheon and Silas tried to find the doctor to stop a creature from getting into the universe. Silas also ropped in Tharlot and he sent them there. Mr Rawlings comes in and is revield as Tharlot. He says he is in control of the conon. He fires it at Brel-Wispah shattering her into crystall. He then aims it at the Doctor and Martha.

Chapter 6
An alien named Tarq is in a battle with the rest of his kind. He is wounded. Martha Jones finds him and says to his friends there is nothing she can do for them. An army of Robots is advancing on them and millions of species are fighting. The Doctor is riding on Bubastions paw who is scared they wont survive. Martha has a flashback of how they got there. In Cumbria Tharlot's beam is defelcted due to the doctor saving Martha and Silas Wain. Tharlot teleports away and his machine blows to bits. Silas explains to the doctor what has been going on. He finds out that Silas is working for the Pantheon and stupidly enployed Tharlot. The Doctor, Martha and Silas go to Limbo space and discuss plans with the Pantheon. They prepare for a big battle Martha is told to stay in the Tardis but says no she is going to battle. Silas is told to go home his work is done he ask one of his workers to look for Martha Jones Ancestors. Back on the battlefield the doctor has a confrontation with Tharlot he uses Tharlots weapon against him he is turned in cyrtsall. The Demon that has been summoned tries to kill the doctor and Martha the doctor fires Tharlots weapon. The Demon is sent back to his dimension. The Battle is over and everyone begins to celebrate. The Doctor and Martha leave in the Tardis.

Characters

 * The Tenth Doctor
 * Martha Jones
 * Bubastion
 * Brel-Whispah
 * Silas Wain
 * Tharlot
 * A Sycorax
 * Some Red humanoids

Planets

 * Centauri VI
 * Ventrassian System
 * Kolpasha
 * Nyrruh 4
 * Mere

Continuity

 * Takes place at some point during Series 3, before DW: Utopia. Dialogue suggests time travel is still relatively new to Martha, suggesting placement early on in her travels and also mentions her mother slapping the Doctor meaning it takes place after DW: The Lazarus Experiment.
 * Possibly referring to DW: Utopia, the Doctor mentions that only three species will survive to the end of the universe: humans, Sycorax, and one unnamed race.
 * The Catkind return – much of their history is revealed. They previously appeared in two episodes DW: New Earth and Gridlock.
 * A Sycorax appears – the Sycorax last appeared on screen in The Christmas Invasion.
 * Two Red humanoids appear, they are the body guards of Silus Wain, Red humanoids appeared in New Earth, Gridlock and they later appeared in The End of Time.
 * When the Doctor enters the Hospital in Cumbria 1957 he uses the identity of Harold Sullivan. Harry Sullivan was companion to the Fourth Doctor, from Robot to Terror of the Zygons.