Sutton frowned, squinted suspiciously at the Doctor and felt her stomach fall stories as she tried to interpret his expression. The words she spoke fumbled from her lips.
"Well, dimensional travel is always a problem, I guess. But Tony and Bruce figured it out and you're practically the expert on space and alternate universes and timelines. I mean, it shouldn't be too hard for you, right?"
The laugh she forced out was nervous in nature and she looked to Rose as if to gain her agreement. The Doctor's expression did not lighten. Sutton had seen that solemn face before. She especially hated it now.
"I'm afraid it's not that easy," he said slowly.
"It has to be. I need to... I need to go home."
The conversation was only made worse by how still the Doctor was. Generally he was constantly moving, pacing, gesturing. But right now, now he was frozen and it only made Sutton feel more ill.
"If it was just a simple particle transfer that would be different, but there are other variables at play here. Like your instability, for one."
"Excuse me?"
Rose hopped up from her seat and held out her hands to pause both Sutton and the Doctor.
"How 'bout we pick this up another time, yeah? After all's finished here?"
The Doctor raised both eyebrows and looked to Sutton as if the decision lied with her, and Sutton bit down on her tongue briefly in response.
"Right," she finally agreed, "of course."
She reprimanded herself for the selfish part of her that wanted to say 'no', that they should make time because she wanted answers. But that wasn't what heroes did. Heroes sacrificed what they wanted for the good of others, right? The last thing she wanted was to have gotten back to the Avengers crew and be forced to say:
You know what really helped get me back? Me, throwing a fit in the face of greater good.
Yeah. Really super.
There was a certain disjointedness present though as Sutton tried to shake off the conversation. Her efforts were partially in vain, as she couldn't ignore the uneasiness that told her she wouldn't like whatever the Doctor had to say.
Universe traveling, she decided, was getting a bit old and not everything it was cracked up to be.
Curse fanfiction and it's unrealistic expectations.
They left the safety of the TARDIS a bit later with the Doctor carrying an armful of bottles of vinegar. The dark sky was once again disorienting and it felt more ominous than foreign after Sutton's chat with the Doctor. She and Rose followed as he led them to the location Nihir had sent to him through some communication device in the TARDIS. It was a larger hidden base and where they were going to pretend the cache of eggs was located.
It was another underground space and even less well lit than the one they'd visited before. The walls and the floor smelt of damp earth and old stone. Perhaps because there were trying to draw the Slitheen in, this room was larger than the last. Or, at least, the ceilings were higher. If the Slitheen chose to shed their disguise, they'd probably be brushing even with the room's ceiling. If Sutton remembered correctly, they were quite tall.
The basic Scooby-Doo type plan they had going and the Doctor's words on her situation had her stomach still flipping and her legs weak with adrenaline.
What had he been building up to before Rose interrupted him? Did she want to know?
Sutton ran both hands through her frayed curls and tugged when she met knots. The pressure felt good and she sighed lightly as she refocused on the room and its occupants. When her eyes found the center of the room they landed on the incubator and her insides froze solid.
"Those aren't real, are they?"
Inside the incubator sat twelve eggs. Each one shone and shimmered in various colors. Where they should have conveyed beauty, they now only created a sickly tension.
"What's this?" The Doctor's voice was higher than normal and a bit snappish. He put the bottles away in a corner and hurried over to study the contents of the incubator. Nihir stood meekly to the side of the incubator and rang her clawed fingers while refusing to open her third eye.
"To lie is to tarnish one's soul," she said. "I could not say we had eggs if we had none. Forgive me, but there was no other way!"
"Not even for the greater good? Now you've endangered twelve lives!"
The Doctor began pacing once more and mussed his hair as he walked. Sutton knew better than to ask him to let her fix this just this once, so she was reduced to standing next to Nihir uselessly. And to top it off, standing next to Nihir made her feel like an ant. Rose moved forwards towards the incubator, placing a hand on the glass casing and examining the eggs inside.
"Well, we can move 'em, can't we? That way Nihir isn't the one lying."
The Doctor shook his head negatively.
"It's too late now. They're already on their way with a bounty this big."
Sutton groaned in exasperation and pulled at a few curls.
"Is there no such thing as intergalactic police, or something? Why is nothing ever easy with you people?"
"They've tried intergalactic police," the Doctor said with a wave of his hand. "It didn't go well, as you can imagine. Or rather, it won't go- hey!"
He pointed a finger at her warningly and Sutton threw her hands down at her sides in fists.
"I didn't do anything! Sheesh!"
There was suddenly a loud crack and a new, faint light could be seen filtering in from down the hall.
"They have found us," Nihir said. There was a wobble in her voice and she covered her third eye with her hand and began muttering more prayers.
Sutton felt another spike of adrenaline rush through her limbs and her jaw tightened in reflex. Her left leg twitched as if it were ready to run with or without her. She had to think! Because no one else was moving, the Doctor probably wanted to try and talk sense to evil, dangerous smugglers, and she wasn't allowed to use the one advantage she had without repercussions.
What would Natasha do?
As the sound of footsteps neared the room, Sutton skittered towards the door and pressed herself against the wall near the opening. Rose had moved to stand adjacent with the Doctor and gave Sutton a look that implied she thought Sutton was soft in the head while silently mouthing,
'what are you doin'?'
The footsteps were heavy and bold. Whatever the creature, it stood taller than Sutton and weighed at least twice as much. Sutton swallowed nervously then took another glance at the eggs and her eyes darkened.
A large, green, clawed, foot made its appearance past the door's threshold. Sutton took the opportunity. Swiftly, she lifted her right leg and brought it crashing down on the back of the creature's knee with all her might and a loud, 'heeyahhh!'
The alien shrieked, most likely more in indignant shock, and stumbled its next few steps. Luckily her effort was enough of a distraction to slow the creature and give the others time to react. She could hear the Doctor's voice through the shock she was experiencing over her own actions.
"Vinegar! Get the vinegar! Wait, no! Not yet!"
A splash of vinegar hit the alien and Rose stood with the bottle, biting her lip in a sheepish grimace as the Doctor stared exasperated at her. The alien, who looked like a Cheerok, laughed as the liquid ran down its face.
"Fools," it said. "Acid does nothing to this skin!"
Sutton thought that the alien might be showing its hand a little too early. But, then again, it probably wasn't any of her business.
The practically confirmed Raxicor-whatever, Sutton was just going to think of it as Raxi, was balanced on its borrowed legs again and Sutton was out of clever defense moves.
"That was sort of my only idea," she said from behind the hostile alien. "Your turn!"
"Yeah, well, the vinegar was mine."
Rose shot the Doctor a look and picked up a second bottle of vinegar pointedly. The Raxi suddenly caught sight of the incubator and its eyes went wide in obvious greed. Sutton panicked and reacted on impulse when she saw its attention focus on the eggs inside. She stomped on the creature's borrowed tail and hoped it still had pain receptors somehow functioning in it. The creature screeched again unpleasantly and turned on her with bared teeth. Sutton gulped and dodged as the alien took a swipe at her. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the Raxi.
"Hey! None of that! Now I'm going to assume you're some part of the Slitheen family, eh? Your planet has got quite the bounty out for you lot. Why don't you just bow out while you're ahead and leave this planet before everything catches up with you."
The thing bared its teeth in a false smile at the Doctor's non-threat.
"Or, we can just get rid of you!"
More false Cheeroks burst into the room, and Sutton felt her skin grow cold as they found themselves surrounded by four seven foot tall aliens who had no qualms with murder.
" 's all right," the Doctor consoled, "we've been in worse situations."
Rose glared at him.
"You say that every time!"
Sutton didn't see how this could end well. They were in a cramped, underground space and overpowered through sheer muscle. And she knew that the creatures would do whatever it took to not be brought to justice for their crimes. She remembered how that one had tried to shoot a poison dart at the Doctor; her reflexes weren't nearly as good as his were!
Nihir was behind her and although Sutton didn't understand her words, she understood the sentiment behind them. Although the Slitheen weren't quite as terrifying as Cybermen or Weeping Angels, at the moment they were every bit just as life threatening. The Doctor looked stern as he stood with his screwdriver out, and was obviously looking for a way out of the situation, but Sutton's heart was beating fast and she needed those monsters away from her. He needed to get those zippers open so that they could douse them with vinegar and get out of here. Sutton could feel the muscles in her shoulders tightening to an absurd degree as she waited for the Doctor to save them.
"Use your screwdriver to open their zippers," she said. "Hurry up!"
The Doctor glanced at her with a confused expression and frowned.
"They're 'zippers' function using a-"
"Ugh!"
The Slitheen family members were moving in for the kill. Sutton glanced around the room again and as she saw the incubator an idea struck her. The glass dome had to be held down by some means, Rose had touched it and it hadn't shifted. There were no claps around the base, so it had to be a magnetic rim. If it had to be strong, maybe it was an electric magnet that could be used. Sutton spotted a box protruding at the rim of the incubator that she hadn't noticed before and reached for it. With two violent pulls she broke it off of the base and whipped it around to the Slitheen closing in. She saw their foreheads tremble and threw her hand with the box out to the side. A brilliant bright light erupted from their foreheads and the Slitheen stopped, groping at their foreheads while crying out in shock.
"Aim for their foreheads!"
Rose moved into action again and sprayed vinegar high and in their direction. Sutton could tell that at least two hit their mark by the shrieking and convulsing that occurred with the two nearest Rose. The two further away rushed forward and Sutton and Nihir dove out of the way. Without the magnet holding it down, the glass dome was easily knocked off and to the side, only cracking slightly due to its thickness, and the Slitheen grabbed an egg apiece before running for the exit. The Doctor was hot on their heels.
"No you don't!"
Sutton stumbled a bit when she attempted to move forward, and frowned while flexing her legs. Rose and Nihir rushed to the incubator.
"Hurry; le 's get the lid back on!"
The two lifted the glass lid and sat it back in its place, and Sutton sheepishly sat the magnetic piece she'd ripped off back in its original position. It wobbled, almost falling out, and Sutton nudged it back nervously when the other two weren't looking. The Doctor came running back in looking frazzled, and Sutton still felt the urgency of the situation. Two eggs had been taken, and even that was unacceptable.
"I told you not to use your ability."
Sutton stammered and then glared in frustration.
"What are you talking about? I didn't! I just used my head! I thought-thought...Oh. Crap."
"Right."
Sutton pulled down the corners of her lips and revealed her teeth in an awkward "oops" face. She chanced glances at Rose and Nihir, and snapped out of her guilty stupor when she saw Nihir's horrified expression.
"But I think we really need to focus on getting those eggs back, like, right now. The Slitheen need to be stopped, remember?"
Rose stepped over to the Doctor and put a hand on his arm.
"She's right. We hav' ta get those eggs back."
Nihir collapsed onto the ground in hysterics, tears pouring from all three eyes, and Sutton rushed over to try and console her. She reached up to pat Nihir on the shoulder and cooed gently.
"Hey, hey, it's ok! We'll get them back! But we have to leave now, so you can't just cry."
She helped Nihir up to her feet, or at least went through the motions of it, and gave her scaly hand an encouraging squeeze. When Nihir had sufficiently wiped most of the tears from her eyes they all took down the hall towards the exit, the Doctor leading the way. The secret hatch opening up to the world above had been left out of place and Sutton could see the stone laying hazardously off the the side. Nihir helped them climb up out and followed after them easily; there was almost no pause after that. They were off running and Sutton was pushing herself to keep up with the group as she panted and wondered how they were even going to find the Slitheen in the first place.
The streets were fairly empty of most pedestrians; Sutton assumed it was late now? The dark sky was starting to become depressing, but it didn't matter much with what was going on.
"How are we going to find them," she asked between breaths. "They could be anywhere."
"They're going to want to leave the planet quickly now that they know we're onto them. Where's the closest transport station?"
Nihir pointed off to the right, Sutton had no idea what direction on a compass it was.
"There is a seventy-two hour station three kelnis away."
They all began making their way in that direction and Sutton shot a look up to Nihir as she struggled to keep pace.
"Is a, uh, kelnis a walkable distance away?"
"It is very close."
Sutton nodded and continued on. The glassy buildings around them reflected their own running forms and a rainbow of minimal light. A few street corners later and Sutton saw building larger than the others emerge across the street. It had a large platform at the entrance and she could see a few shapes that looked like they could be space ships peeking over the roof of the building.
It was mostly abandoned, lending more weight to the 'it's late' theory Sutton had going on. They raced up the steps and were only just through the doors when Rose pointed towards the back of the building.
"Look! There they are!"
They were easy to spot with the large eggs in their grasps and were waiting by a arch with symbols above it that were constantly changing. Sutton blinked and the TARDIS translator kicked in changing the odd symbols to earth numbers. If the ticking down was any hint, the transport was going to be leaving soon.
"Don't your people have any police force," Sutton asked. "Isn't there a number to call, or can't we tell the employees here to not let them on?"
"I do not understand," Nihir said. "What are this police? We do not have this word."
"Right, of course," Sutton said. "That would be ridiculous, what was I thinking? Is everyone here really that nice?"
The Slitheen were still in their disguises, as disgusting as that was, but Sutton wasn't sure how they could have gotten tickets when the Cheeroks could see the intent of one's soul. Surely they should have noticed something not quite right. A searching look over to what appeared to be a ticket booth answered her question fairly well. There were two tellers at the desk, but they were both keeping their third eye shut. Sutton wondered why, if maybe it had something to do with not just Cheerok people using the transportation service. It would make some sense. You never knew what other species would come through and the state of their "souls" would probably vary widely.
"Alright, we have two minutes to stop them," the Doctor said. Sutton realized with a panicked looked at their group that no one had thought to bring even one bottle of vinegar. "This is what we're going to do," he continued. "Nihir, you are going to stay back here and block this exit, do you think you can do that?"
She nodded nervously and shuffled back to be more near the doors. Sutton noticed that the tellers were blinking at them in confusion; one looked to Nihir and opened their third eye. They seemed surprised by whatever they saw and got up to approach her. Sutton refocused on the Doctor and his plan.
"I'm going to get the TARDIS, you and Sutton will distract the two and when I get back here-"
But he didn't get to finish because at that moment one of the Slitheen turned and finally noticed them. Its face went from shocked to enraged in a split second and its companion quickly joined it in flashing teeth at them.
"You don't know when to admit defeat," one called across the lobby. "If you try to stop us, we will kill you."
"Not happening," the Doctor said. Sutton saw him subtly press a button on his sonic screwdriver as he spoke to them, moving slowly forwards. "And there's no way you're leaving with those eggs. No more innocent Cheeroks are going to die for your greed."
He threw up his hand when he was near enough to them and the light at the end of the screwdriver lit up blue. A second later the door that would lead to the transport made a loud groaning noise and something along the seal spat out hot, bright sparks. Finding that the Doctor had sealed their exit shut did not please the two criminally inclined aliens. One of them handed off their egg to the other and postured up as if it were gearing for a fight. It aimed a finger at the Doctor and he did what Sutton saw as a Matrix style move as he dodged the projectile that was shot at him.
"Alright," he said, "so you're a female then. That's something."
Sutton glanced around the room again trying to see if there was anything that could be of use in subduing large, physically stronger, aliens with no moral consciousness. It was a pretty open space, with a few rows of seating and the ticket booth tucked into the front corner. There wasn't much available to use in the way of improvised weaponry.
The Slitheen was only getting closer and Sutton was beginning to cringe and squint when a shadow rushed passed her. And then another and another! Sutton threw open her eyes in time to see the two ticket-teller Cheerok workers and Nihir dashing into action. She could hardly believe what she was seeing as two of them jumped onto the nearest Slitheen while the other headed for the one cradling both eggs. Rose and the Doctor were in similar positions of shock as a new side of the Cheeroks disposition made itself known. Where before they had reflected only peace, there was a new fierceness; Sutton would almost call it savagery, in their determination.
They laid into the two cruel imposters with all that they had. The Slitheen fighting two against one seemed to be at a great disadvantage. It screeched in pain and anger as it was battered around and torn into. The lizard-like claws on their hands were not kind to any sort of skin when used with force and Sutton forced her eyes away before it got too graphic.
The other Slitheen wasn't fairing much better. It couldn't allow damage to come to the eggs, but it wouldn't be able to keep the eggs if it was not able to fend off its attacker. Sutton caught the motion of the eggs wobbling in its hold as it tried to evade the clutches of the Cheerok chasing it. Sutton pointed with a panicked shout and she saw Rose snap her head in the direction she had pointed. They both took off at once towards the eggs in preparation of catching them should they be dropped. Sutton thought she heard the Doctor say something, but she was too focused on her self-appointed task to process what it was or if was even important.
The Cheerok chasing after the eggs had the Slitheen finally cornered, and Sutton noticed in horror that it was tightening its hold on the shells.
"Come any closer and I crush them!"
The Cherrok stopped, its face looking stricken and unsure as the imposter smiled maliciously back. Sutton and Rose shifted uneasily on their feet a bit behind the Cheerok. Sutton made eye contact with Rose and tensed as Rose nodded her head as if in signal. She darted forward after nodding so Sutton shot off the balls of her feet to join her in running towards the imminent danger. Being that they were much shorter than the alien creatures and since the Slitheen's focus was on the Cheerok, it didn't seem to notice them until they were right up on it.
"Get back!"
But both of them had arms wrapped around eggs and the Cheerok behind them lunged at the opening provided. It tried to keep hold of the eggs, but the Cheerok had a grip on its head and was pulling steadily backwards. It had no choice but to release the eggs to try and release the pressure on its neck before it went too far. Once they had full possession of the eggs, Rose and Sutton ran back to the other side of the terminal, both panting under the weight of the creatures under the shells.
"Come on! This way!"
The Doctor was waving them over, looking jumpy and excited, and both girls ran over to him without protest.
"We have to get those eggs back in the incubator. They won't last much longer without it!"
Sutton tried to eye the continuing fight over the egg.
"But what about them?"
"They're holding their own; I daresay they have them subdued. Now come on!"
They all ran out of the transport station, back down the steps and out into the streets. Sutton thought that the egg must have grown heavier the longer she held it. Her muscles were screaming by the time they reached the hole that lead back into the secret bunker that held the incubator. The Doctor jumped down first and then called for Rose to drop her egg down to him. She bit her lip briefly, eyed the egg and the drop, and then trusted him.
"Got it! Let's move, then!"
Rose lowered herself down over the edge of the opening and Sutton knew she had landed when she heard an "oof".
She stepped up to the opening next and held the egg with trembling arms.
"Are you ready for it?"
"Go ahead!"
"Ok. I'm, like, right by the edge and I'm just going to let go and drop it from here, so you need to be-"
"Sutton we can see you; drop the egg!"
She sighed nervously and drummed her fingers over the egg's shell, took a breath, and then let go.
"Oi, these things are heavy."
"Come on, Sutton," Rose called up. "I'll try and help catch ya if I can!"
Sutton lowered herself as far as she could and then let go yet again.
When they set the eggs back in the incubator, Sutton felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. She shared a triumphant smile with Rose and the Doctor as they stopped to catch their breath. They waited in the bunker until there was a soft scraping and padding sound, and Nihir ducked into the room. When she saw the eggs back safe and sound, Nihir's eyes began watering again. She moved her hands around in a particular motion and Sutton was only able to catch the word "bless".
"What of the Slitheen," the Doctor asked.
Nihir bowed her head and closed her third eye solemnly.
"We were able to prevent their escape. For the darkness in their souls, they have been taken to The Cleansing. We can only hope that they are able to find peace."
Sutton was not exactly certain what "The Cleansing" was, but she made the conscious decision not to ask about it. Rose smiled and patted Nihir on the forearm.
"You and the others did well. You saved those eggs."
"We decided that to enact force on the behalf of love would not tarnish one's soul. Still, I will pray for cleansing of the violence we were forced to commit."
Sutton was about to tell her not to worry and that she was pretty awesome kicking Slitheen butt, and then thought that perhaps Nihir might not take it as a compliment. Instead she gestured to the full incubator.
"Everyone is safe and sound; I'd call that a success! Go us!"
She high-fived Rose and then stared at her own hand in awe a moment before returning to reality.
"My people truly thank you," Nihir said. "I offer shallis to you any time you have need."
Rose and Sutton looked to the Doctor for explanation.
"It's like hospitality, but of the highest order. A great honor, really."
They ended up accepting the offer for that evening because to never allow her to pay respects was apparently awfully rude. Sutton was thrilled because now that all the running was over with, she was exhausted and aware enough to feel it sinking in.
Nihir's home was small and warm and decorated in the same washed out pastels that this planet seemed to favor. They ate what she offered, and Sutton didn't find it any worse than the Tatooine food. It was at least an obviously vegetarian dish, and Sutton could handle alien plants much more readily than alien meats.
When Nihir rolled out padded mats for them to sleep on, beaming as she did so, Sutton fell onto one with a thump and sighed in contentment as her face sank into the soft cushioning.
When Sutton woke, the window to her left let in only darkness and her groggy mind joyously proclaimed that she still had time to sleep. But then the sounds of clinking glass and ceramics and soft conversation caught her ear and she pushed herself upright on her mat.
"Oh, right, no sun."
She wobbled to her feet and shuffled in the direction the noises were coming from while yawning widely.
Rose and the Doctor sat at a low table and were sipping at what smelled similar to the tea-like drink Sutton had ordered the previous day.
"Ah, you are awake." Nihir's cheery voice spoke up behind her and Sutton swiveled slightly to look back. Nihir was holding a silver tray with a small teapot on it, some cups, and what might have been bread. Sutton sat with the others when Nihir prompted her and she accepted a cup of the drink herself.
"You sleep quite soundly," the Doctor quipped. "We were trying not to wake you at first, but it seems we didn't have too much to worry about."
Rose smiled behind her cup of tea.
"Nihir dropped tha' metal tray and you didn't flinch."
Sutton paused in the middle of inhaling the sweet aroma of her hot tea to cross her eyes drolly and shoot a glare at the Doctor.
"You know what; I don't need to hear it from you too."