☆
BRIGHT PINK HEELS clicked on the pavement as rose stepped out of the t.a.r.d.i.s in a pink dress with a blue jacket over her shoulders. her hair was in an up-do to fit the time they'd landed in, a pink headband on her blonde hair to match her dress.
callisto followed her out, also dressed for the era but much more comfortably because she felt that dresses sometimes made her uncomfortable. she also wasn't guaranteed to not be running as she was travelling with the docotor. she had on brown checkered trousers that were baggy on her legs and gathered at her waist with a belt made of the same material. she had a white button up shirt tucked into it, two pieces of hair pulled back to rest on her long hair.
"i thought we'd be going for the vegas era. y'know, the- the white flares and the chest hair." rose scrunched her nose up, apparently finding elvis attractive.
the doctor poked his head around the door of the ship, his hair slicked back at the sides, high on the top to copy elvis' hair, which was incredibly liked and trendy for the era, "you are kidding, aren't you? if you wanna see elvis, you go in the late '50s. the time before burgers, when they called him the pelvis, when he still had a waist. what's more, you see him in style."
both women stared at the doors of the ship as the doctor rode out on a moped, sunglasses and a helmet on. rose laughed at him while callisto chuckled as he drove to a stop, grinning at the pair.
"you goin' my way, doll?" the doctor asked, impersonating elvis.
"is there any other way to go, daddy-o." rose joked, putting some sunglasses on herself. "straight from the fridge, man!"
"ah, you speak the lingo!" the doctor beamed at rose.
"yeah, well... me mum, cliff richard movies every bank holiday monday." rose shrugged with a smile as she caught the pink helmet the doctor threw her way.
"oh, cliff. i knew your mother'd be a cliff fan." the doctor mused.
"absolutely terrible." callisto chuckled as she sat down on the moped behind the doctor.
"fun sponge." the doctor muttered playfully, making a small sound of surprise when she squeezed his waist to make him jump.
"hang on, where am i going?" rose asked as the doctor handed callisto a black helmet, which she strapped onto her head.
"don't be mad." the doctor said, but the grin on his face said he didn't really mind what rose thought. he'd probably enjoy her irritation.
"what?" rose asked as she walked around the moped to see a side car. "you've got to be joking! callisto, you saw that, didn't you?"
"yeah, that's why i got on sharpish. go on, get in." callisto smirked.
"you want me to go in a side car?" rose asked, looking at the pair over her sunglasses as they smirked.
"yes, exactly. unless you'd like to walk." the doctor hummed.
"i hate you both." rose grumbled as she reluctantly got into the side car. "you call this turning up in style?"
"yeah. well, for me and callisto, at least." the doctor grinned as rose shook her head, fighting back a grin.
"c'mon," callisto sighed, wrapping her arms around the doctor's waist, "let's... burn rubber."
the doctor laughed happily, "i knew you were gonna join in!"
"how cheesy." rose laughed at callisto.
"at least i'm not in a side car." the zen-whobian replied, enjoying rose's joking scowl as the doctor drove off.
"where we off to?" rose asked in a yell over the sound of the loud moped.
"ed sullivan tv studios! elvis did hound dog on one of the shows, and got loads of complaints! with any luck, we'll just catch it!" the doctor replied.
"and that studio's in new york, right?" callisto asked, leaning her chin on the doctor's shoulder.
"that's the one!" the doctor beamed, callisto and rose sharing a look.
a bright red double decker bus then drove down the street, cutting them off. the doctor stopped the moped, his grin falling. he glanced around and saw that bunting of the unified kingdom's flag was hanging all over the street, connecting on the houses and lampposts opposite. there was also a bright red letterbox on the corner of the street. callisto chuckled, leaning her head on the doctor's back as he continued to look around in disbelief.
"digging that new york vibe!" rose laughed.
"well, this could still be new york." the doctor mumbled. "i mean, this looks very new york to me. london in new york, mind, but..."
"what're all the flags for?" rose asked.
the trio parked the moped and got out, rose stumbling out of her side car, glaring at callisto and the doctor when the pair snickered. ahead, a man was opening the back of his works van to reveal old, box televisions. people were taking them from him with large, beaming grins on their faces after they'd payed the man.
"there you go, sir! all wired up for the great occasion!" the man smiled as two boys carried the television out of the back towards their home.
"the great occasion?" the doctor questioned smoothly as they walked around the van to him. "what d'you mean?"
"where you been livin', out in the colonies?" the man shot back, shutting the doors of his van. "the coronation, o' course."
"what coronation's that, then?" the doctor continued.
the man stared at him, "what d'you mean? the coronation."
"the queen's. queen elizabeth!" rose told the doctor as if it were obvious, which i kind of was.
"o- oh! is this 1953?" the doctor asked excitedly.
"last time i looked. time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance, what we do best!" the man smiled.
"look at all the tv ariels." rose mumbled as she looked up at the tops of the houses, the doctor and callisto following her gaze. "looks like everyone's got one. that's weird, my nan said tellies were so rare, they had to pile into one house."
"not around here, love." the man replied, pointing to the writing on his van. "magpie's marvellous tellies, only five quid a pop."
"oh, but this is a brilliant year! classic! technicolour, everest climbed, everything off the ration!" the doctor beamed, walking from down the street back to them. "the nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future!"
rose laughed at the slight accent he put on with his last exclamation before they heard someone yelling from down the street, "someone help me, please! ted! leave him alone, that's my husband! please!"
"what's going on?" the doctor demanded as the three time travellers rushed over quickly to see two men shove a person covered in a grey blanket into their car.
"oi, what're you doing?" a boy asked from across the road, running out of his front door.
"police business, now get out the way, sir." the one wearing a hat ordered firmly.
"who did they take? d'you know him?" rose asked the boy who'd ran over to them.
"must be mr. gallagher." the boy answered as mr. gallagher's wife sobbed into her hands on the side of the road while the policemen drove away. "it's happening all over the place. they're turning into monsters."
"tommy!" a man yelled from the front garden of the house tommy had just left. he looked furious and horrible. "not one word! get inside, now!"
"sorry, i better do as he says." tommy told the three nervously as he walked away, back to his house, going inside with his mum and dad.
the doctor pulled his sunglasses on and then his helmet, walking towards the moped. he got on, callisto behind him and rose back in the sidecar. the doctor ordered for them to hold on, feeling callisto's hand slip around his waist again as he drove off behind the police car as quickly as he could.
they turned down a street, just after the police had driven through an open large, red metal gate. at the front of the metal gate was a man standing with a fruit stand as another man brushed the road with a broom. the doctor stopped before the gate as the three looked ahead of them where the policemen had gone, unseen.
"lost 'em. how did they get away from us?" the doctor asked rhetorically.
"i'm surprised they didn't turn back and arrest you for reckless driving. have you actually passed your test?" rose asked the doctor.
the doctor didn't answer her question, "hm, men in black, vanishing police cars? this is churchill's england, not starlin's russia."
"that boy said 'monsters'." callisto spoke up and the doctor looked over his shoulder to her.
"maybe we should go and ask the neighbours?" rose suggested.
"that's what i like about you. the domestic approach." the doctor smiled.
"thank you." rose smiled cockily before it dropped. "hold on, was that an insult?"
the doctor skidded off again before he could answer but the smile on his face gave rose the answer she needed. they drove back down the street as day turned into early evening and the sky went dark. they got off the moped, and out of the sidecar, leaving their helmets on the vehicle. they decided to go to the house where tommy had come out of since it sounded as though he was more likely to give them answers.
the doctor rang the bell and tommy's father pulled open the door as they put false smiles on, "hi!"
"who are you, then?" he demanded, tommy standing behind him further down the hallway.
"let's see them, judging by the looka you, found a man, nice house, decent wage, fought in the war, therefore i represent queen a country!" the doctor said, his voice going from a mumble to a normal volume as he held up his psychic paper to the man, who was clearly surprised. "just doing a little check of the forthcoming majesty's subjects before the great day! don't mind if we come in? nah, didn't think you did, thank you!"
the trio pushed past him into the house as the man's tumbled out of the front doorway, staring at their backs in shock as they strolled into the living room casually.
"very nice!" the doctor complimented the house as the man's wife looked at the group who had stormed into her home in shock. "very well kept, i'd like to congratulate you, mrs...?"
"connolly." she answered timidly, still surprised at the doctor's sudden appearance.
"now then, rita, i can handle this. this gentleman's a proper representative. don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit." mr. connolly chuckled as though he made a funny joke. rose sat down on the arm of a chair as callisto glared towards the ignorant man.
"maybe she should rattle on a bit more. i'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty." the doctor replied, holding a similar distaste for the man. he eyed the flags not hung up, "those flags, why're they not flying?"
"there we are, rita, i told you. get them up, queen and country." mr. connolly ordered his wife.
"i'm sorry." rita apologised but the doctor held up his hand, a silent way of saying that she need not apologise for nothing.
"get it done, do it now." mr. connolly continued.
"hold on a minute." the doctor interrupted.
he went ignored, "like the gentleman says."
"hold on a minute." the doctor repeated and mr. connolly finally shut up. "you've got hands mr. connolly. two big hands. so why is that your wife's job?"
"well, it's house work, innit?" mr. connolly replied as though doing that was a woman's purpose.
"and that's a woman's job?" the doctor asked.
"course it is." mr. connolly scoffed.
"mr. connolly, what gender is the queen?" the doctor inquired.
"she's a female." mr. connolly answered.
"and are you suggesting the queen does the housework?" the doctor raised his eyebrows.
it was silent for a moment as the words sunk in, "no. not at all."
the doctor handed me. connolly the bunting, "then get busy."
"right, yes, sir." mr. connolly nodded and moved to start tying the bunting up. "you'll be proud of us, sir. we'll have union jack's left, right and centre."
rose stood up, "excuse me, mr. connolly, hang on a minute. union jacks?"
"yes, that's right, isn't it?" mr. connolly asked.
"that's a union flag. it's the union jack only when it's flown at sea." rose explained.
"oh. oh, i'm sorry. i- i do apologise." mr. connolly replied.
"yeah, just don't get it wrong again." callisto spoke up, moving to stand beside the doctor as she gave him a sarcastic smile, "now, hurry up and hang the bunting. there's a good chap."
"right then," the doctor began as the three sat down on the sofa, "nice and comfy. at her majesty's leisure." he looked towards rose, lowering his voice through his teeth, "union flag?"
"mum went out with a sailor." rose replied with a grin.
"ooh-hoo-hoo, i bet she did." the doctor mused. "anyway, i'm the doctor, this is callisto and this is rose. and, you are?"
"tommy." the boy shrugged.
"well, sir yourself down, tommy." the doctor said, moving up on the sofa, pulling callisto with him to make room for tommy. he sat down on the sofa and rita sat in the armchair. they looked to the telly, "have a look at this. i love telly, don't you?"
"yeah, i think it's brilliant." tommy grinned.
"good man." the doctor smiled over at him. "keep working, mr. c!"
"now, why don't you tell us what's wrong?" callisto asked, looking towards rita.
rita glanced at the doctor, "did you say you were a doctor?"
"yes, i am." he replied.
"can you help her?" rita asked, eyes pleading and desperate. "please, can you help her, doctor?"
"now, then, rita, i don't think the gentleman needs to know." mr. connolly tried to stop her.
"oh, the gentleman does." the doctor disagreed immediately.
rose sat forwards, looking at rita, "tell us what's wrong and we can help." the woman then began to cry, placing a hand to her mouth so rose went to sit with her and ease her crying, "it's alright. it's alright, c'mere. oh, it's okay. it's alright."
"hold on a minute." mr. connolly interrupted and callisto rolled her eyes, sighing in irritation. "queen and country's one thing, but this is my house! what the... what the hell am i doin'? now, you listen here, doctor, you may have fancy qualifications, but what goes on under my roof is my business!"
"not if people are being—"
"i am talking!" mr. connolly interrupted the doctor, eyes bulging.
"and i'm not listening!" the doctor shouted as he stood up in anger. "now you, mr. connolly, you are staring into a deep, dark pit of trouble if you don't let me help. so, i'm ordering you, sir, tell me what's going on?"
a knock sounded from upstairs and they looked up at the ceiling. rita rubbed her face, clearly saddened at hearing the noise.
"she won't stop. she never stops." mr. connolly began.
"we started hearing stories, all 'round the place." tommy spoke up and the doctor turned to him. "people who've changed. families keeping it secret 'cause they were scared. then police started finding out. we don't know how, no one does. they just turn up. come to the door and take 'em. anytime of the day or night."
"show me." the doctor said.
tommy lead them upstairs, cracking open the door to his grandmother's room, "gran, it's tommy. it's alright, gran, i've bought help."
the room was dark, only illuminated by the moonlight seeping through the lace drapes and they didn't even do much to light up the place. they couldn't see tommy's gran's face as the floorboards creaked underneath her footsteps. callisto reached up inside the room, forcing the light switch on the wall to light the room up.
she had no face.
where the old woman's face was supposed to be was instead just blank, smooth skin on her head. she had absolutely no features on her face and she stood stiffly. callisto still felt as though she was being stared at, even though the woman had no eyes. outside, a car pulled up but they didn't notice.
"her face is completely gone." the doctor mused as the three approached tommy's gran. he held his sonic screwdriver over her face, pressing the button down to scan her. "scarcely an electric impulse left. almost complete neural shut-down, it's just ticking over. it's like her brain's been... wiped clean."
"what're we gonna do, doctor?" tommy inquired, he and his mum standing closer to the bedroom door while mr. connolly was stood outside the room. "we can't even feed her!"
the front door was suddenly snapped open downstairs and they all turned to the sound.
"we've got company." rose mumbled.
"they've come for her!" rita gasped, scared for her mother.
"quickly, what was she doing before this happened? where was she? tell me! quickly, think!" the doctor demanded as footsteps thundered up the stairs.
"i can't think, she doesn't leave the house! she was just—" tommy was cut off as the policemen strode into the bedroom.
"hold on a minute, there's three important, brilliant and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. one—" the doctor was cut off as the policeman with no hate punched him across the face, knocking him unconscious and sending him to the floor.
"shit!" callisto hissed, crouching beside the doctor worriedly.
"leave her alone!" rita yelled as the men threw a blanket over her mother's head and pulled her from the room, shouldering rita out of the way on their way out.
"doctor! c'mon, love." callisto mumbled, slapping the doctor's cheek until he suddenly sprang up.
"oh! hell of a right hook!" he exclaimed, standing up quickly. "have to watch out for that."
the doctor slid down the stairs, running after the people with rose and callisto following quickly. mr. connolly was holding tommy back, the young man clearly wanting to stop the policemen taking his gran.
"rose, callisto, c'mon!" the doctor yelled as he ran out of the house, pushing mr. connolly out of the way to go to his moped and drive after them.
however, the two women looked into the living room after hearing an odd crackling of electricity. they walked inside, seeing that red bolts of electricity were crawling across the wooden television box.
"callisto, rose, we're gonna lose them again!" the doctor yelled from outside.
the pie didn't reply as the red electricity disappeared as if it was sucked up behind the television box. they walked inside, hearing the doctor driving off. callisto crouched in front of the television, pulling it to its side so they could see the back of it. the red bolts were there, fizzing away by the label of magpie's electrical's.
"how did they find her? who told 'em?" tommy asked as he and his mother and father came back inside from the front garden.
"you two!" mr. connolly yelled at the women who rolled their eyes, sharing an irritated glance. "get the hell outta my house!"
"we're going! we're done!" rose sighed, standing as callisto did the same, pushing the television back into place. "nice to meet you, tommy, mrs. connolly. and as for you, mr. connolly, only an idiot hangs a union flag upside down."
"shame on you." callisto finished dramatically as rose gave mr. connolly a large grin and the pair fled the house quickly. "c'mon, let's go to magpie's."
"d'you think he's done something to the tellies?" rose asked as they strolled down the street, heading for magpie's shop.
"i don't know. maybe he bought faulty stock, or maybe he did do something. no wonder so many people have them. they're cheap 'cause they're probably the cause of what's happening." callisto thought aloud.
once they got to the shop, rose opened the door, callisto closing it after she'd walked in. magpie looked up at them from his work on the front desk, "oh, i'm- i'm sorry. you're too late, i was just about to lock the door."
"yeah, well, we wanna buy a telly." callisto replied.
"come back tomorrow." magpie ordered. "please."
"you'll be closed, won't ya?" rose asked.
"what?" magpie questioned, confused.
"for the big day? the coronation." rose continued.
"uh, yes, yes, of course." magpie fumbled nervously. "the big day. i'm sure you'll find somewhere to watch it. please go."
"seems to me half of london's got a television, since you're practically giving 'em away." rose mused as she and callisto stood at the front desk.
"i have my reasons." magpie muttered.
"and what are they?" callisto demanded as a television to their side tuned on, a woman appearing in black and white making them look over.
"hungry! hungry!" the woman in the television yelled.
"what's that?" rose asked, she and callisto turning back to magpie.
"it's just the television. one of these modern programmes." magpie lied, walking around the till to the front door. "now, i really do think you two should leave. now."
"not until you've answer our questions." callisto stated firmly. "why're the televisions so cheap?"
"it's my patriotic duty." magpie lied. "seems only right that as many folk as possible get to watch the coronation. we may be losing the empire, but we can still be proud. 20 million people, they reckon'll be watching. imagine that. and 20 million people can't be wrong, eh? so why don't you get yourselves back home, and get up, bright and early, for the big day."
"nah, we're not not leaving until we've seen everything." rose denied, the two women staying exactly where they were.
"i need to close." magpie stated.
"magpie, something's happening out there. ordinary people are being struck down and changed and the only new thing in the house is a television. your television. what's going on?" callisto asked.
"i knew this would happen. i knew i'd he found out." magpie muttered, locking the door.
"alright, then, just us. you gonna come clean, then?" rose questioned. "what's really in it for you?"
"for me? perhaps some peace." magpie answered.
"from what?" rose inquired.
"from her." magpie replied, looking past rose and towards the woman in the television.
"that's just a woman in the telly. that's just a programme." rose shook her head.
"what a pair of pretty little girls." the woman spoke up and the women looked at the televisions in shock.
"oh, my god, are you talking to us?" rose asked, eyes wide.
"yes, i'm talking to you, littles ones. unseasonably chilly for the time of year, don't you think?" the woman asked casually.
"what are you?" rose asked curiously.
"i'm the wire and i'm hungry!" the wire yelled, drawing out the word 'hungry'.
red and blue lines of electricity sprang out of the television screen and latched onto rose's face. callisto shoved rose out of the way, causing the human to fall to the floor, getting knocked out as her head collided with the floor. the red and blue bolts latched onto callisto's face and began to pull her in.
"just think, with that audience tomorrow, my dear. all settling down to watch the coronation. 20 million people. things'll never be the same again." magpie mumbled as he watched the woman's face get sucked into the television. "i'm sorry. i'm so sorry."
callisto groaned, trying to somehow pull back, but she were still unsuccessful.
"goodnight, children. everywhere."
☆
the doctor sat in a hide out with detective inspector bishop and his employee. he'd managed to follow them in past the metal gate and they ordered him to sit down after he'd seen the many, many people who no longer had faces.
"start from the beginning, tell me everything you know." bishop ordered.
"well, for starters, i know you can't wrap your hand 'round your elbow and make your fingers meet." the doctor mumbled.
bishop pointed at him, "don't get clever with me! you were there today at florizel street, and now, breaking into this establishment. now, you're connected with this. make no mistake."
"well, the thing is, detective inspector bishop—"
"how d'you know my name?" bishop demanded.
"it's... written inside your collar." the doctor answered and bishop pushed himself off the desk. "bless your mum. but i can't help thinking, detective inspector, you're not exactly doing much detective inspecting, are you?"
"i'm doing everything in my power." bishop replied firmly.
"all you're doing is grabbing those faceless people and hiding them as fast as you can. don't tell me, orders from above. hm, coronation day, the eyes of the world on london town, so any sort of problem gets swept outta sight." the doctor mused.
"the nation has an image to maintain!" bishop retorted.
"but doesn't it drive you mad? doing nothing? don't you wanna get out there and investigate?" the doctor questioned.
"course i do. but," bishop paused, sitting down, "with all the crowds expected, we haven't got the man power! even if we did, this is beyond anything we've ever seen. i just don't know anymore. 20 years on the force, i don't even know where to start. we haven't the faintest clue what's going on."
"well, that could change." the doctor said, leaning his arms on the desk.
"how?" bishop inquired.
the doctor stood up, "start from the beginning. tell me everything you know."
bishop grabbed his pinned map and began an explanation as a car pulled up outside. a figure was pulled out of the car and the man grabbed them and began to walk to the hide out to bishop.
"we started finding them about a month ago. persons left sans visage. heads just... blank." bishop explained.
"any sort of pattern?" the doctor asked.
"it's spreading out from north london. all over the city. men, women, kids, grannies. only real lead there's been quite a large number in—"
"florizel street." the doctor finished.
a knock sounded at the door and a man pushed it open, "found another one, sir."
"good man, crabtree. here we are, doctor. take a good luck. see what you can deduce." bishop hummed.
the doctor had already see the bottom half of her outfit and could only hope it wasn't who it was bound to be. crabtree pulled the blanket their head to reveal callisto's faceless head. the doctor stared at her blank face, his hearts plummeting in his chest.
"callisto." the doctor whispered, approaching her.
"y'know her?" bishop asked.
"know her, she's my..." the doctor trailed off, standing in front of her, sadness filling his eyes at the sight of her so endangered and unresponsive. what was worse, he didn't know what caused this or how to fix it yet. he didn't know how long she would be like this or if it was reversible. for all he knew, he'd never see or talk to her again.
"they found her in the street, apparently..." bishop said but his voice dwindled out in the doctor's ears as he looked over callisto.
"they did what?" the doctor asked, rage joining the sadness in his eyes.
"i'm sorry?"
"they left her where?" the doctor demanded.
"just in the street. a woman was with her, we're not sure if she's the same." bishop explained.
"in the street." the doctor repeated quietly, never once taking his eyes off of callisto. "they left her in the street. they took her face and just chucked her out and left her there. they left her in the street and as a result, that makes things... simple. very, very simple. d'you know why?"
"no." bishop replied.
"because now, detective inspector bishop, there is no power on this earth that can stop me! c'mon!"
{4653}
i have an odd love for this episode ngl