The 'Freak Squad' (fanart by Marcus S Lazarus
The Doctor in the Underworld series by E.A. Week
is a crossover between Doctor Who and the first two Underworld films, in which the Tenth Doctor arrives in Budapest just in time to witness the lycans’ attempts to capture Michael Corvin on the underground station. As he investigates the events surrounding the shoot-out, the Doctor learns that he has a more personal stake in the conflict than he expected, giving him an unexpected chance to renew an old relationship…
This series consists of two fics; Eyes on a Moon of Blindness and The Ground Beneath My Feet, incorporating the Doctor into the events of Underworld and Underworld: Evolution respectively. These fics can also be read on AO3 here and here respectively.
Doctor in the Underworld provides examples of:
- Abnormal Ammo: The UV and silver nitrate bullets are used as in canon.
- Action Girl: Naturally applies to Selene; Erika tries to assist, but concludes that she isn’t a natural fighter.
- Actor Allusion: Erika turning out to be Reinette is a reference to the fact that both characters were portrayed by Sophia Myles.
- Amnesia Missed a Spot: Even without her memories, Erika immediately recognises the Doctor’s scent (even though she last smelled him before she acquired vampire-enhanced senses), and also finds herself attracted to him.
- Amnesiac Lover: Erika is naturally initially confused when the Doctor recognises her by a different name, but soon comes to appreciate his genuine devotion to her.
- Artistic Licence – Biology:
- The Doctor’s research into the history of the vampires and lycans leads to him concluding that the virus that transformed the Corvinus siblings was a form of rabies before it was mutated by their unique biology.
- A minor example; Selene notes that the process of turning a human into a vampire has a rejuvenating effect, to justify how Erika can be Reinette when she doesn’t look forty-three.
- Ascended Extra: From the perspective of Underworld fans, Erika goes from being the servant trying to win Kraven’s affection to an ally in Selene’s efforts and a love interest for the Doctor, to the extent that once the crisis is over, Selene makes Reinette a shareholder in Ziodex so that she has access to money for later even as Reinette starts travelling with the Doctor.
- Berserk Button: The Doctor shoots Kraven in the heart with an ultraviolet bullet for shooting Erika and later hits Tanis when he refers to Erika as a whore.
- Big Damn Heroes: The Doctor and Erika pull one off when they assist Selene and Michael in escaping Marcus, the Doctor driving up behind their stolen van so that Erika can shoot Marcus’s wings.
- Book Ends: Invoked by Selene when she witnesses Erika sobbing over the apparently dead Doctor and finds herself sympathising with the other woman, realising that the last time she mourned a death like this was the deaths of her parents before she became a vampire.
- Broken Pedestal: Selene initially speculated that Viktor would appreciate the chance to meet a being from another world, but after she awakens him she acknowledges that Viktor’s blind prejudice against lycans will limit his views, even before she learns of Viktor’s role in her family’s deaths.
- Contrived Coincidence: A minor example; Erika jumps out of a window into what was an empty alley when she first looked, and by the time she reaches the ground, the TARDIS has materialised in such a position that she manages to land on top of it.
- Continuity Snarl: A minor example; as this was written before the release of Rise of the Lycans, reference is made to the events of the novel Blood Enemy when discussing Lucian and Sonja’s relationship, including how Sonja was arranged to marry Marcus’s son only for her to fall in love with Lucian instead (although none of the information disclosed in the films rules out the idea that Viktor was making such arrangements).
- Daywalking Vampire: Selene and Erika/Reinette both become these at the end.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: More explicitly than in canon for Selene, as she shows genuine concern for the Doctor and Erika/Reinette even when she knows they won’t be assets in a fight, and later shows signs that she will take over as the head of the vampires’ operations in a manner that will require more regular interaction with humans.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation:
- Amelia lives for a few more hours when Selene is able to warn Kahn about Soren’s planned treachery, but she is still killed during the raid on the lycan base when Lucian shoots her with ultraviolet bullets.
- Instead of being killed by Marcus, Kraven is shot by the Doctor.
- Distinguishing Mark: The Doctor confirms that Erika is Reinette rather than just a surprising doppelganger because she has a distinctive birthmark under her arm.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: The Doctor is prevented from trying to help Michael understand what’s happening to him when Michael freaks out upon first seeing the TARDIS and knocks the Doctor out in a panic.
- Everyone Has Standards: The Doctor still disapproves of killing as a first option, but doesn’t voice any objections when Selene confirms that she’ll kill Singe after he’s been interrogated, likely due to the Doctor having seen the results of the experiments Singe conducted on other Corvinus descendants. When preparing for the final confrontation with Marcus, the Doctor explicitly acknowledges that Marcus’s ambitions are too dangerous and the man himself is too powerful for them to try and simply talk him down.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Invoked when Marcus feeds on the Doctor, as he suffers a psychological breakdown because he can’t emotionally cope with the scale of loss that the Doctor has experienced during his lives and the emotions that accompanied it.
- Faking the Dead: In the final confrontation with Marcus, the Doctor stops his hearts while Marcus is feeding on him so that Marcus won’t drain him to the point of death, anticipating that his allies will be able to stop Marcus and get him to the TARDIS for treatment.
- Famed In-Story: While he only learns of the Corvinus vampires and lycans during this encounter, the Doctor learns that Tanis and Alexander Corvinus have already read about his appearances across history, to the extent that Alexander has hacked UNIT files to learn more about the Doctor’s true nature. Tanis observes that the Doctor has such a lethal reputation that Selene should be grateful the Doctor doesn’t consider her an enemy while Alexander notes that it’s an honour to meet the Doctor after reading about him for so long.
- Fantastic Racism: Viktor demonstrates this towards lycans as in canon.
- Good Samaritan: Michael demonstrates this as in canon, although the Doctor ends up taking over some of his later moments.
- Heel Realization: Selene has a minor one when she realises that in all her years of fighting lycans, she never considered the risks of humans getting their hands on an immortal’s body.
- Heroic BSoD: In an interesting variation, Marcus is forced to experience one after he drinks from the Doctor, as he can’t cope with the losses that the Doctor has suffered over the centuries and briefly shows signs that he is reliving the end of the Time War from the Doctor’s perspective.
- I Hate Past Me: Invoked when Reinette looks back on her time as Erika, embarrassed at the lengths she would have gone to for Kraven’s attention when he would have just used and discarded her.
- Identity Amnesia: A key subplot is the Doctor’s efforts to find a way to restore Erika’s memories of her life as Reinette, which he eventually learns have been suppressed by Marcus; Erika has spent the last few decades believing that she was just a cabaret singer in Berlin who was dying of consumption before Soren turned her, when in reality she was turned by Marcus in Versailles over two centuries ago.
- Internal Reveal: Selene learns of Lucian’s plan earlier than she did in canon when the Doctor infiltrates the lycan lab and shares his discoveries with her.
- Internalized Racism: The Doctor speculates that Viktor was subject to this, as a being of Viktor’s prejudices wouldn’t have liked to be reminded that he wasn’t a pure-born vampire like Marcus even if he made every effort to hide this fact from the general populace.
- It's Personal: The Doctor initially regards the discovery of the war as just another crisis for him to resolve, but acknowledges that it’s become personal when he recognises Erika as Reinette.
- Killed Offscreen: Unlike in canon, where he survived until the final attack on the lycan base, Soren is killed by Amelia when his treachery is exposed and this fact is only disclosed after she returns to the mansion.
- Manipulative Bastard: Viktor shows this as in canon, with Tanis disclosing the extent of his schemes to the Doctor, Selene, Erika and Michael.
- The Masquerade: Tanis observes the value of humanity not learning about the existence of immortals, and the series ends with the implication that Selene and Michael will be able to maintain the secret now that the war is over and Selene has returned to take command of the coven’s resources.
- Meaningful Name:
- After Selene introduces herself, the Doctor muses that it’s fitting for a vampire to be named after a moon goddess.
- When Selene first mentions Kraven, the Doctor reflects on the implications of the name, listing terms such as ‘craven thief, craven liar, craven conformist’, and concludes that he doesn’t like Kraven even without meeting him.
- Mr. Exposition: Tanis provides the backstory for the conflict to the Doctor and his new allies, while the Doctor fills in his own observations.
- My Skull Runneth Over: Marcus and Erika/Reinette both have to deal with this after Marcus feeds on the Doctor, but where Marcus was driven insane due to his inability to cope with the Doctor’s grief, Reinette is better able to process it.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When the Doctor sees Kraven after the vampire has shot Erika, the normally anti-violence Doctor just pulls out a gun and shoots Kraven in the head.
- Oh, Crap!: The idea of Marcus getting his hands on a time machine even prompts a moment of explicit shock from the normally controlled Selene.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: The Doctor fills this role as always, quickly determining how humans can become vampires and lycans and later analysing the history of the coven from various perspectives.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: When the Doctor infiltrates the manor, Selene gives him a coat belonging to one of her deceased Death Dealer allies so that he can accompany her to the library, but acknowledges that he will only pass for a Death Dealer under casual inspection.
- Plausible Deniability: While Selene gives the Doctor a possible route into the mansion, she makes it clear to him that she won’t vouch for him if he’s caught.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Tanis observes that Selene’s new ‘team’ of herself, Erika, Michael and the Doctor is basically this, explicitly asking when Selene started to work with a ‘freak squad’; Michael responds with the observation that all they need is a theme song.
- Really Royalty Reveal: Selene is stunned to learn that she’s spent decades dismissing Erika as just a servant whore when in reality she was not only a lady before she became a vampire, but the official mistress of the King of France.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: The Doctor doesn’t deliver one to Alexander Corvinus directly, but as he and Erika travel to retrieve the TARDIS, he denounces the idea that Alexander can be excused for not wanting to kill his children to stop the war when the Doctor had to destroy his entire planet to stop a greater war for the sake of the universe.
- Related in the Adaptation: A minor example; the Doctor muses (and Tanis confirms) that Viktor’s wife was a distant relative of the Corvinus family, specifically ‘chosen’ by Viktor so that he could link his own bloodline to the Corvinus family, making Sonja another relative of Alexander Corvinus.
- Remember the New Guy?: As it turns out, Marcus was present at the party where Reinette met the king while dancing with the Doctor, but never took action because the Doctor disappeared too quickly and taking Reinette after she attracted the king’s interest would have drawn too much attention.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Erika does this more explicitly after Viktor is awakened, as she recognises that she is going to be in trouble for helping Selene and the Doctor once Viktor’s sorted through Selene’s memories and chooses to flee the manor with Selene.
- Secret Test of Character: Not exactly a ‘secret’, but Selene muses that part of the reason she makes the Doctor get into the mansion by himself is to test his abilities, and hence his worth as an ally.
- Sequel Episode: From the Doctor’s perspective, this encounter is a follow-up to “The Girl in the Fireplace” as he is reunited with Reinette.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: While the Doctor expresses concern about doing anything with Erika before she regains her memories of life as Reinette and their last time together, Erika quickly silences his attempted arguments by kissing him, and the Doctor is convinced to abandon such restraint after she takes her top off in front of him
- Small Role, Big Impact:
- From a certain perspective, this applies to the Doctor; he doesn’t have much impact on the overall plot, as Selene and Michael would have defeated Viktor and Marcus even without him, but thanks to his presence, Erika survives to learn her true identity of Reinette.
- On a wider note, it is tempting to consider that the Doctor’s aid in getting the group back to Budapest after Marcus’s death allows Selene to more effectively re-establish the coven’s human contacts in order to maintain the masquerade and prevent humanity learning about the immortals as they did between Evolution and Awakening.
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- A minor example; the Doctor manages to save Lucian and Singe’s unnamed, pre-Michael test subject, and gets the man to a hospital, rather than leaving him to bleed to death in the lab.
- While she died ‘offscreen’ in canon as part of Marcus's destruction of the mansion, here Erika survives and goes on to regain her old identity of Reinette.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Selene and Michael (an augmented vampire and a vampire/werewolf hybrid) and the Doctor and Erika/Reinette (an alien and an augmented vampire)
- The Starscream: Kraven is still a traitor, but he proves to be even less effective than he was in canon, as the Doctor tips Selene off to Kraven's plans in advance and helps her expose Soren’s assassination attempt on Amelia in time for Death Dealers to intercept it.
- Take a Third Option: Defied; while the Doctor expresses a wish that they could find a peaceful solution to Marcus’s plans to release William, faced with Marcus’s ambitions for world domination with William as his enforcer, he recognises that they don’t have the time to do anything other than kill Marcus.
- Token Good Teammate: Tanis’s words suggest that this was the case for Amelia in the Elders, as she was basically turned to act as a buffer between Viktor and Marcus’s conflicting desires for William’s fate, Tanis noting that Amelia and Marcus were actually lovers for a time.
- Token Non-Human: Arguably applies to the Doctor, as Selene, Erika/Reinette and Michael were all human at one point whereas the Doctor was always an alien.
- Unknown Rival: While the Doctor expresses his disapproval of Viktor after learning about his role in starting the war, it is unclear if Viktor was ever even aware of the Doctor’s existence, as he never mentions him when talking with Selene about her ‘crimes’, Selene speculating that her memories may have been so jumbled that Viktor didn’t ‘remember’ the Doctor.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Michael has no combat training, but he still manages to tear through most standard enemies even when protecting the Doctor and Erika/Reinette.
- Villain Ball: Assuming that the lycans can be considered the ‘villains’ when following Kraven’s plan for a coup, this applies to their use of the ultraviolet ammunition, as it tipped Selene off to the idea that the lycans were planning something big and had more resources than the coven officially expected.
- Weak, but Skilled: The Doctor might be the physically weakest member of the group, but Selene recognises that he has ulterior talents that could make him just as formidable as the others in a fight.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: As in canon, Lucian’s actions amount to trying to save his species, while Viktor tries to present himself as such even if the idea doesn’t hold up once the Doctor and Selene learn the truth.
- Woman Scorned: After realising how much she has been manipulated, Erika vows to assist the Doctor and Selene in their investigations even before she fully regains her memories of Reinette.
