"Ooh, hang on," the Rogue said. "We've got an emergency."
"Emergency?" Charlotte asked. The Rogue pointed at the screen, taking off to follow the emergency.
"Mauve."
"Mauve?"
"Universally recognized color for danger," the Rogue explained.
"What happened to red?"
"That's just humans. By everyone else's standards, red's camp. Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing," the Rogue said with a laugh. "It's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS. Where it goes, we go."
"And that's safe, is it?" Charlotte wondered.
"Totally." Once she spoke, a loud bang went off. "Okay, reasonably," the Time Lord amended. "Should have said reasonably there. Or probably. Most likely. Any other word than 'totally.'" She glanced at the green and gritted her teeth. "No, no, no, no! It's jumping time tracks, getting away from us."
"What exactly is this thing?"
"No idea," the Rogue said happily.
"Then why are we chasing it?" Charlotte asked.
"It's mauve and dangerous, and about thirty seconds from the center of London."
...
The TARDIS materialized in a back alley between two terraces. The sort of crowded housing that no longer exists. The Rogue and Charlotte stepped out, the Rogue complaining about being on Earth.
"Do you know how long you can knock around space without happening to bump into Earth?" she complained.
"I think it's been five? Or is that just when we're out of milk?" Charlotte said.
"Of all the species in all the Universe and it has to come out of a cow," the Rogue muttered. "The Mauve thing must have come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."
"A month? We were right behind it."
"It was jumping time tracks all over the place. We're bound to be a little bit out."
"Yeah. How much is a little?"
"A bit," the Rogue said.
"Is that exactly a bit?"
"Ish?" she amended.
"What's the plan, then? Are you going to do a scan for alien tech or something?"
"Charlotte, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang. I'm going to ask someone." She pulled out the psychic paper she had acquired on a distant planet.
"'Olivia Smith, Ministry of Asteroids,'" Charlotte read aloud.
"It's psychic paper. It tells you whatever I want it to tell you," the Rogue explained.
They came to a door marked 'Deliveries Only.' The Rogue pushed it open.
"Gonna go ask. Sorry," the Rogue said, not remotely sorry.
"Not very Spock, is it, just asking."
"Door, music, people. What do you think?"
"I think you should do a scan for alien tech. Give me something Spock. Would it kill you?"
YOU ARE READING
Hellfire
FanfictionRumplestiltskin: Maniac. Deal maker. Trickster. Cursed. The Dark One. He's the insane magician that stalks the Dark Castle, hiding his past from them all. The Rogue: Time Lady. Mad. Demonic. Closed off. She's been running since the War. Since the de...
