What If...the Empire of the Wolf began in Tooth and Claw? (Part 2)

Last time...
Captain Jack Harkness woke up in a Torchwood he did not remember, in a timeline he did not remember, to find everything a little bit more werewolf-ish. After some investigation, Jack found himself on the run from Yvonne Hartman and the mysterious Emperor, alongside his old friends Gwen and Ianto. Jack had just managed to discover the location of the TARDIS when Ianto revealed himself to be a traitor, shooting Gwen and demanding Jack's surrender.

Needless to say, things weren't going very well for the poor fella.


Jack fights Ianto after disarming him, finding him to be a difficult opponent. In the end, Jack does prevail with a little help from Gwen. Taking Ianto's fallen gun, she manages to shoot him in the back. Jack rushes to her side, determined to get her out, but Gwen soon dies from the gunshot wound after encouraging Jack to leave her and set things right. Jack escapes as a Torchwood strike force, send by Yvonne, reduces Canary Wharf to rubble.

Jack, meanwhile, escapes into the sewers and out into the countryside. Here, he has a moment where he starts to have memories from this timeline - things that he knows did not happen to him - as though they were reality. However, he shakes this off and heads off with the knowledge of the last known location of the TARDIS in hand. The Torchwood House does apparently still stand, though as a ruin rather than the stately manor that it was when the Doctor and Rose came there in 1879.

On the way, however, Jack is victim to a sudden attack by...Autons?! He fights them off, but almost as soon as they appear, they vanish again. Jack finds this strange, not just due to the limited amount of appearances that the Nestene Consciousness has made on Earth. He proceeds onward, but soon finds another foe in his path - Carrionites! Just like the Nestene, however, they vanish just as quickly as they appeared. Something very wrong is happening and he is determined to figure out what.

More of these attacks occur, Jack facing a variety of creatures on his own. Yvonne is sending out her squads of Torchwood goons and even a few werewolves, but they suffer the wrath of them as well. Finally, Yvonne decides to go after Jack personally. Jack arrives at the ruins of the Torchwood House with Yvonne not far behind him.


Meanwhile, the Emperor is being informed by one of his underlings about the strange creature appearances. Once again, we do not see the Emperor in full - merely hear his voice. It seems he isn't worried about the creatures appearing and claims it will be settled once "he" is dealt with, presumably Jack. He orders teams be sent to any areas where creatures are appearing and to exterminate them with extreme prejudice.

Back in the Torchwood House, hidden in the ruins, is a familiar blue box. The door, at first, resists being opened. On a second attempt, however, it opens. Jack is horrified at seeing the console room broken down, many of the metal bits having started to rust over or collapse entirely. Even the rhythmic humming of the TARDIS engines is gone, replaced by utter silence. This makes it all the more noticeable when Jack suddenly hears fooststeps coming from down the corridor. Ducking behind one of the arches, Jack draws his pistol and prepares for a fight. What he finds, however, is a not at all familiar man with raggedy clothing and an unkempt beard. A man who greets Jack...and who calls himself "the Doctor" and tells Jack that, if he's here, that there isn't a lot of time left.

...and that's where we're going to leave off! It's the Doctor, but definitely not the kind you were expecting. What's the story behind the non-David Tennant face? Will Jack and the Doctor be able to set right what once went wrong, if Jack can even trust this new man? Just who is the Emperor of the Wolf? What is his plan? And where the hell is Rose?

Let me know what you think in the comments and feel free to pose your own theories as to where this What If could go. See you next time!