The Doctor (after letting us change back to our previous clothes) took us back to our original time.
It felt nice to have my hoodie back, as well as my bag. They felt like a part of me, a part of who I was, my identity just like the Doctor has his screwdriver and leather jacket.
Rose walked out of the TARDIS, happily looking around at the sunshine. When I walked out into the world, I felt that time sense ticking at the back of my mind. The Doctor had to have sensed it to, so why didn't he say anything before Rose to see her mother?
"How long have we been gone?" Rose asked. Aw, that's why.
The Doctor was leaning against the door, arms crossed. He was ever so smug, proud of himself for the past day. "About twelve hours." He answered Rose.
Twelve hours, and three hundred sixty five days. I thought, dryly. "You sure about that?" I asked.
His smug grin became wider. "Absolutely positive."
"That's what you said about Naples, 1860." I reminded him.
The Doctor sat up against the TARDIS. "That's why I double checked when we landed. Earth, Powell Estates, twelve hours after we left."
"Forgive me if I'm not convinced." I remarked, stuffing my hands in my hoodie. My hand grabbed my Dad's old phone, my mind going back to my conversation with Darcy while I changed.
The Doctor grinned, waiting for the moment to prove me wrong. He obviously didn't know the storm that was about to fall over his head, all of the jokes I will tell. I stuck my tongue out at him.
Rose laughed at our exchange. She sobered up, walking to the apartment building. "Oh. Right, I won't be long. I just want to see my mum."
"What're you going to tell her?" The Doctor asked.
I snorted. My mom never knew what I was doing, ever. She never knew if I was getting abducted by a serial killer, or a monster or if I went out to bars or got caught up in the Civil War. She never knew I time traveled to the future or to the past. She didn't even know about Darcy, and I hoped she never did. Mom was better off out of my life, let her worry about my brothers and her job and Dad. It wasn't like I wanted her attention, or approval, or to tell me she was proud of me. Nope, wasn't one of my goals.
Rose turned to him, curious herself. "I don't know. I've been to the year 5 billion and only been gone, what, twelve hours?" The Doctor and I grinned. Rose shook her head, continuing on her walk. "No, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Shareen's. See you later."
I turned to the Doctor, finding myself smiling at Rose's supposedly perfect excuse. It made me almost want to meet Shareen. She sounded like a fun girl, to be honest.
"Oh." I turned back to Rose, seeing her giving us both a firm look. "Don't you lot disappear."
I held my hands up defensively. Though, my smirk made no promises. Rose gave me a look, going up to see her mum. My hands went back to the hoodie pocket, a natural position like the Doctor crossing his arms.
"What do you tell your friend that isn't a friend?" The Doctor asked, once Rose was back in her building.
I shrugged, as if the answer was obvious. "The truth." The Doctor seemed on edge by that statement. "I don't lie to her."
"It's dangerous. Remember, I told you. People would be killed." The Doctor reminded me, walking closer to me. "She could be in trouble."
That made me snort, too quick for me to cover it up. "Sorry, but." It changed from snorts to chuckles. I started walking around a bit, hoping to stifle my laughter before it went full blown. I kicked a lone water jug, happily. "My friend who isn't a friend gets in more trouble than I do. She can handle it."
The Doctor walked with me, a serious look on his face. "Terra, I wasn't kidding."
"Neither was-" My eyes caught the 'CAN YOU HELP?' poster for Rose. "Biscuits."
The Doctor followed my line of sight, seeing the poster of Rose's face in the breeze. The two of us walked up to it, concerned. He slammed his hand on it, stopping it from blowing away. A smiling picture of Rose was on the side, as well as a date of when she was last seen-
"Twelve months?" I growled, snapping my head around to glare at him.
The Doctor just ran off to tell Rose.
"Damn it." I grumbled, running off down an alleyway. I had to work fast.
==CON==
With the help of an old friend (not Darcy, she's better with chemicals than tech), I had a program that connected to the phone lines to hack phone calls. Just a few clicks was all it took to direct Jackie's home line to the phone Doc enhanced. Her number was plastered on Rose's poster, so all I had to do was wait for her to use the phone.
It made the most sense, simply hacking into the phone network rather than listen in on a police radio. It was slim, but Logan might have a radio of his own. If he knew my real name, then he would have access to time travel (from an enemy or Time Agency), and Logan know have followed me to London 2005.
Once in town, he would have stolen a police radio to keep track of me. All he would have to wait for was the biggest event (plastic dummies to life/ship crashing into Big Ben). After the crash, Logan would have figured out where I was and seen Rose. My new friend would have led him to Jackie, and maybe Mickey.
I could only assume all of this. Maybe I'm giving Logan too much credit. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, and need to take it slow.
'But what if I'm right? What if he heard Jackie call 999, and he's the cop that comes to check on her? Oh Story, he'll find me. What he did to those women, to my future self. Those wounds couldn't have been self inflicted. And look how angry he had made Eleven! No person who does that is looking for giggles!'
'I couldn't let Logan find me.' It was the thing Four was risking her life for. She had her mind assaulted, as well as her body, and in the end probably gave her life so I would be afraid. "You remember how scared Two was? She needs to be that."
I shook the paranoia away (for now), getting back to hacking into Jackie's phone line. While I waited for her call, I went to my Infinity Bag to search for my a British officer uniform. 'Worked as a beat cop for two years, and I keep the uniform for Halloween. Now, I'm using it to sorta kinda break the law. Lassiter is so proud of me.'
When I found it, I made sure no one was coming into the alleyway so I could change.
"Damn idiot driver." I grumbled, holding the silent phone up to my ear to keep it from dropping. How did these pants still fit? "Missed twelve months, then twelve years. Should've retaken that stupid driver's test."
*ring* *ring*
I answered the call. "999." I said in a Welsh accent, I sounded like Gwen Cooper to be honest. The thought almost made me smirk. "What's your emergency?" I hopped into my other pant leg, pulling it up around my waist. The belt would have to be tighten a few notches...
"Yes. Hello. I'm...I'm Jackie Tyler, and my daughter, Rose, she's come home." Jackie's voice came over the line. I buttoned up the pants, getting out the bright yellow police jacket. "There's this man. The one that took her away. He's here too. What do I do?"
"Ma'am." Story, it sounded like 'Mum' in this accent. "I need you to keep calm. Where's your house?"
"Powell Estates. We're in apartment 160." Jackie said. She was sounding panicked, worried. I pulled out my white button up shirt, quickly throwing it on over my black tank top. The jacket came on next. "Oh God, she's been gone a whole year and she's home."
From behind her, I could barely hear the Doctor and Rose muttering to each other. Time Lady hearing, gold star. I couldn't hear their words, but Rose was a bit agitated and the Doctor was apologetic. I smirked at the mental image. Rose, hands crossed over her chest, staring down at the Doctor. The almighty last of the Time Lords, hands clasped begging for forgiveness from the scary blonde teenager.
I remembered Jackie was panicking, that I had a job to do. That made me pull out the hat, pressing the phone to my ear with a free hand. "Miss Tyler-"
"Missus." Jackie corrected, absentmindedly.
I winced. That would be fun with the accent. "Missus Tyler-" No. That sounded Scottish. Damn it! "I need you to stay calm." That sounded like clam. Why didn't I just stick with an American accent? "I can have a copper there in five minutes. Is that alright?"
"Yes. Yes, that's fine. Oh, please hurry." Jackie said. "I just don't want her leaving again."
"I understand, Missus Tyler." The hat meant having to take off my headband. Dangnabbit. My amber eyes rolled, hesitantly pulling it off and fitting my hat over my choppy brown hair. "They'll just be a tick."
"Thank you." Jackie hung up the phone.
My phone went into my pocket. Giving my outfit a once over, I was actually really proud of it. I could make it by using my normal voice in her apartment, maybe dropping a few octaves.
==CON==
The walk up to her apartment was easy enough, giving me a chance to think out my plan for up there. It should be easy enough fooling Jackie, although there was no chance of hiding it from Rose and the Doctor.
What would I tell them on the roof about this? I was extremely paranoid about being abducted by a guy who amy or may not be in this time period? I didn't want an innocent cop telling people about me, and then have Logan come to his house and kill him?
'Woah. Slow down, Terra.' I thought to myself. 'You can't just assume he's gonna kill every person you meet.'
'He killed the first people I met.' I argued. 'Then killed my family. That's all I need.'
'They weren't your family. They were your first self's family. Your's is in another reality.'
'Yeah, but he killed them anyway. He knew my name! He might hurt them. He might hurt the Doctor and Rose, or Mickey and Jackie. He might hurt Darcy. I'm not about to let that happen. That was what I told Four. I will always do I can to protect my friends.'
'So you're fighting him by running away from him?'
'I'm not fighting a man I haven't met. That's plain stupid.'
I stopped, two floors below Jackie's. It occurred to me that I was once again having an argument with myself, and I think I was losing. That was a bit pathetic, even for me.
When I made it to her apartment, I checked it to make sure I hadn't been too fast. I had another minute before I was expected. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out a small red notepad and a black pen. What? My journal would look out of place with this outfit. When I go, I go all out.
I counted down, bobbing my head with the imaginary tick-tocks, waiting for the exact moment it would be safe to knock. When the countdown ended, I knocked politely.
Jackie had answered almost immediately. I guess she had been waiting by the door. Behind her, deeper in the apartment, I could see the Doctor facing away. He must've been talking to Rose.
"Hello Ma'am. I'm Officer Johnson." I nodded, keeping my voice even and low. My voice caught the Doctor's attention. The Doctor looked surprised to see me there, dressed as I was. "You reported your missing daughter had come home?"
Jackie gave me a curious look, keeping her apartment blocked. "What are you, a little kid?"
I sighed, lifting the pen to my notepad. "Ma'am, please. I'm here to help with the 999 call. You said your daughter had abducted, and was recently returned?"
Jackie still seemed confused over my youth. She backed away from the door, guiding me in. "Yes. Oh, come in." I smiled politely, following her in the apartment. She looked over to Rose. I did as well. Rose looked at me in shock.
I turned to Jackie, pointing my pen at the young blonde sitting a nearby chair. "Is this your daughter, ma'am?"
Jackie hesitated, and then nodded. She turned to her daughter, who was looking at me confusedly. I shrugged, giving her a look that said I would explain, passing that look to the Doctor. He seemed a bit embarrassed with the whole situation.
"The hours I've sat here, days and weeks and months, all on my own. I thought you were dead, and where were you? Travelling." She marched to Rose's face, enraged.
Obviously she had enough time to recuperate herself after calling 911. I started making random scribbles on my notepad, mostly playing a game of dots with myself. "What the hell does that mean, travelling? That's no sort of answer." She turned to me, standing beside me while glaring at Rose. "You ask her. She won't tell me. That's all she says. Travelling."
"That's what I was doing." Rose said, softly.
"When your passport's still in the drawer?" Jackie shouted, pointing over in the direction of Rose's room. "It's just one lie after another."
Hence another reason I would never tell my family about my day job. This was the last thing I wanted for them. Darcy had taken it really well, granted she had been six. My parents flipped out when a new show about Pokemon came on.
Rose frowned, upset at how her mother had felt. "I meant to phone. I really did. I just I forgot."
"What, for a year? You forgot for a year?" Jackie ranted. "And I am left sitting here. I just don't believe you." The mother walked over to her couch, shaking her head. "Why won't you tell me where you've been?"
"Actually, it's my fault." The three women all turned to him, making him shuffle on his feet awkwardly. "I sort of er, employed Rose as my companion."
I gave him a mischievous look. Oh, I was sure he could see the glint in my eyes. "When you say companion, is this a sexual relationship?" My pen gestured between them.
Rose and the Doctor crinkled their faces in disgust. The Doctor also threw in a 'oh, you are so going to get it later' glare. "No." They both argued. I tsked, but wrote that down.
'Denial.' I scribbled, fighting a smirk.
Jackie marched up to his face. It was funny, because she was a good half foot shorter than him and he looked just the tiniest bit embarrassed. "Then what is it?" I will admit, I had to work really hard to hide my smile at the scene. I felt like Slapsgiving had come back again. 'Slapsgiving 3: Tyler of Terror.' "Because you, you waltz in here all charm and smiles, and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the Earth!"
The Doctor looked to Rose and I for help, but I gave him no quarter. 'Should've been more careful when double checking.'
"How old are you then?" Jackie interrogated him. "Forty? Forty-five? What, did you find her on the Internet? Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?"
"I am a Doctor."
Jackie scoffed. "Prove it. Stitch this, mate!" She whacked the Doctor across the face, making him groan in pain.
My jaw dropped. 'Tyler's can bitch slap.' I scribbled, fighting laughter.
==CON==
The Doctor and I took to hiding on the roof while the Tyler women argued. I excused Officer Johnson by saying the matter was sorted in the eyes of the law, and they could have a nice day. The two woman had barely noticed, choosing instead to stay in a tense silence.
I had taken off the uniform before the Doctor made it to the roof. My trusty purple hoodie was back on, as well as my armbands, and my jeans. The rest had been stored in my bag until they were needed.
To re-complete my look, I was putting my hair behind the headband. My hair was surprisingly thick, add in the hoodie and I was constantly wondering why I wasn't sweating.
The Doctor was looking at the skyline, though I braced myself for either a scolding or intense questioning. "As soon as you knew we were late, you ran off." The Doctor asked. I didn't speak. "You come back dressed as an officer." He gave me a side glance. "Why?"
It wasn't safe to tell him, not Nine. Nine would probably throw some kind of angry fit, that I had to be lying. I stayed quiet on that matter. "Did you see your face after Jackie slapped you?" I changed topics, chuckling. "That's not gonna go away for a long time."
The Doctor didn't take my bait. Okay, maybe using an embarassing moment would be the least likely to get him to talk. "Who are you, Terra Johnson?"
I smirked, leaning back against the roof. My hands stuffed themselves into my hoodie pocket, if for anything than so they would have something to do. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Answering his questions with questions was a poor deflection, but on the same side it was the only one I had. Sharing Terra's past should be easy, but I felt a faint connection to it. Why should I share this story, my story, with a man I met two days ago?
This story had been my fault, their deaths had been on me. Of course the person who killed them targeted me, I was an alien. If I hadn't been with them, or if they hadn't taken me in, or if I hadn't caused any trouble, the Johnson's might still be alive.
"Yeah, since you're riding around in my TARDIS-"
"My TARDIS." I jokingly corrected, smirking. This was a fun argument, who really had some control over the TARDIS. Personally, I think she has us wrapped around her multi-dimensional form and she knew it.
The Doctor huffed. "I have a right to know who you are."
I looked up at him, giving him a hard look. My real age wouldn't show in my gaze, just basic teenager annoyance. The Doctor stared back, and I suddenly had the idea of the two of us being Alpha wolves fighting for dominance. From experience, I knew not to look one in the eye longer than five seconds or else they saw it as an invitation to fight.
'When Rose asked him this, he lashed out at her. Is he expecting the same from me?'
No. He wanted answers. The Doctor had to know this all connected back to my letter, and to Logan. He wanted to know what Logan did that had me scared. Me, the girl who blew up a building full of aliens and laughed, and the girl who stared down the Gelth. What could scare me?
Logan, spiders, my old bullies, SuperBike, and vampires. Not necessarily in that order.
I'm also scared that someone (Fourth Terra, Eleventh Doctor, Oswin) cared about me enough to basically give up their lives for me. Cause when someone cares about you that much, they leave you.
"I have just as much right to know who you are." I countered, shuffling on my two feet. My two hearts thumped in my chest, getting on edge. "But you don't trust me enough yet, so I won't ask."
The Doctor seemed a bit surprised. "You won't ask?"
"Not until you're ready to answer." I said, easily. "And I only ask you owe me the same curtesy."
There was a tense silence after, with the Doctor giving me the most perplexed look he had since we met.
It wasn't a matter of it all essentially being a lie. It wasn't a matter that I already knew the Doctor's past. It was that neither of us really trusted the other. He may have been the Doctor, the nine hundred year old Last of the Time Lords, traveling about space and time in the TARDIS and using a sonic screwdriver, oh and he had two hearts. But, those are just facts. I hadn't gotten to know the real Doctor.
It was similar on my side. I was an alien with two hearts, who thought herself the only one of her kind. I lost the only people I thought of as family, with only Darcy as a confidant. I was a hundred and seventy-nine years old, I have felt my heart stop beating in my chest, and I have seen many different kinds of evil in the world. To the Doctor, I was a teenage girl alone on the streets, with some experience in aliens and violence. Not to mention what he overheard from Gwyneth's psychic rant, and the scene down stairs in Jackie's apartment.
We didn't know each other. The two of us were strangers, with Rose included. I wanted to tell him who I was, I really did, but I still didn't completely trust him.
The awkward silence was broken by Rose, who had finally finished talking to her mother. She walked up, her jacket left behind in the apartment. She sat up on one of the ledges, the Doctor leaning next to her. I walked over, climbing up beside Rose.
"Where did you get that outfit?" Rose asked.
"Halloween." I answered, honestly. "Never thought I'd use it again, to be honest."
She nodded, accepting the answer. "Your family must be worried too." She commented. "Have you called them?"
I gulped, nervous. My eyes turned downcast, avoiding both Rose and the Doctor. "I'm guessing your Shareen story didn't cover it."
She sighed. "No. I can't tell her. I can't even begin. She's never going to forgive me." Rose said, turning to the Doctor. "And we missed a year. Was it good?"
I had forgotten that Rose thought this was my time. 'It's gonna come as a huge shock when she finds out this isn't even my planet.' The Doctor shrugged. "Middling."
"You're so useless." Rose turned her head from him, not making eye contact with me either.
The Time Lord turned to her. "Well, if it's this much trouble, are you going to stay here now?" He asked, then looked at me. "Are you?"
"I'm debating." I leaned on my knees, looking out at the city of London. "Can't see a reason to stay."
"But, your family." Rose started up again. I shut my eyes, trying to tune her out. 'Oh, thanks. Give me guilt.' "They have to be worried about you too." 'Also guilt.' "Don't you at least want them to know you're alive?" 'More guilt.'
"Can we shut up about my family?" I had hoped it came out a bit firmer, but instead my voice was wobbly with emotion. 'Thelma Luna, Leanna Johnson, and Chloe Johnson. They died because I made them my family, and Logan killed them. Eleven and Oswin. He killed them because they were trying to save me. My family is dead because of me.'
A sniffle followed the depressing thoughts, so I lifted my hand up to my nose to ward off tears. I forced my emotions away, getting back on track. My eyes were clenched shut, my fist tightening on my knee. It only made the emotions worse. "I already said I'm staying. Why don't you answer the question?"
There was a pause from Rose, followed by a sigh.
"I don't know." She finally answered. "I can't do that to her again, though." She told the Doctor.
"Well, she's not coming with us." The Doctor agreed.
Rose and I started laughing. "No chance." Rose said.
"I don't do families."
I laughed, leaning off my knees and instead wrapping my arms around myself. "Jackie slapped you." My voice was more laugh than actual words.
"Nine hundred years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother." The Doctor shook his head.
"Your face."
"It hurt!" He started rubbing his cheek.
"You're so gay." Rose teased him, suddenly going serious. "When you say nine hundred years?"
The Doctor nodded. "That's my age."
Rose sat higher up, crossing her legs. "My mum was right. That is one hell of an age gap."
I whistled. He was older than me, and so far that was only a handful of other people. Rose blinked. "You're nine hundred years old."
The Doctor nodded. "Yeah." He looked back out at London, a bored look on his face.
My brow quirked, while I started shaking my head at him. "That explains so much about you. Only old men could be as bad at driving as you."
"Oi!" The Doctor said, defensively.
"Naples, 1860. London, 2005." I listed. "And I have a feeling there were a lot more before Rose and I came along."
The Doctor didn't dignify that with a response, choosing instead to turn away.
The young blonde hopped off our seat, walking closer to the ledge. "Every conversation with you two just goes mental." Rose commented, making me snicker. "There's no one else I can talk to. I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, and I can't say a word."
I heard a faint whooshing sound, but ignored it. It was a bit too early for the ship to crash.
"Aliens and spaceships and things." Rose went on. "And I'm the only person on planet Earth who knows they exist."
No. That whooshing noise was the spaceship. Turning back, I was able to see it just as it passed over the Powell Estates. There was a loud horn, causing the three of us to duck down to avoid being hit. The large ship flew on by, flying across major other landmarks in London before finally tearing down Big Ben.
"Oh, that's just not fair."
"But it is pretty funny."
==CON==
The three of us ran to the street, taking only minutes to reach a military block. It was no doubt UNIT, maybe even Torchwood. No, they were wearing the Red Hats. That was UNIT.
"It's blocked off." I said, grinning. That meant it was serious, and not some kind of prank.
"We're miles from the centre. The city must be gridlocked." Rose explained, sounding a bit more worried than the Doctor and I. "The whole of London must be closing down."
"I know." The Doctor was beaming. "I can't believe I'm here to see this." I started laughing, him joining in. "This is fantastic!"
Rose looked at us, warily. "Did you know this was going to happen?"
"Nope."
"Nu-uh."
"Do you recognise the ship?"
"Nope."
"Nu-uh."
"Do you know why it crashed?"
"Nope."
"Nu-uh."
Rose shook her head at us. "Oh, I'm so glad I've got you two."
The Doctor grinned at her. "I bet you are."
I flipped my hair back. "Who wouldn't be?"
"This is what I travel for, Rose, Terra." The Doctor explained, still excited. "To see history happening right in front of us."
"Okay. Idea." I turned to him. "We use the TARDIS to go see it. Park it inside a closet, or an old room, and see the ship."
The Doctor shook his head. "Better not. They've already got one spaceship in the middle of London. I don't want to shove another one on top."
"Yeah, but yours looks like a big blue box. No one's going to notice." Rose remarked.
The Time Lord shook his head. "You'd be surprised. Emergency like this, there'll be all kinds of people watching. Trust me. The TARDIS stays where it is."
"So history's happening right in front of us, and we're stuck in traffic?" I asked. "Like normal people?" I shuddered, horrified at the idea.
"Yes, we are." The Doctor said, not noticing my tone.
My voice scrunched up like I smelled something bad. "Disgusting." I curled my arms deeper in my pockets, looking around at all of the Londoners wandering around.
"We could always do what everybody else does." Rose offered.
The Doctor and I turned to her, though mine was of shock. "Stop saying stuff like that." I scolded, teasingly. "We stopped being like everyone else when we got inside the TARDIS." This made the Doctor grin, almost in agreement.
Rose sneered back, teasing. She was looking at me with mischief. "We could watch it on TV."
The Doctor blinked. He hadn't thought of that. I shuddered, hating the idea of doing something so normal.
Couldn't we sneak past the guards in disguise? Or maybe Doc could use his UNIT connection to get us inside?
My job required I watch a lot of TV, but watching the news? When it wasn't about something I did? Of my own free will? That's...dull.
==CON==
The Doctor was flipping through the news channels, all of them saying the same amount of nothing. The only useful thing they did was show a clip of the ship.
At one point, word had gotten out that Rose had come back. People started coming in, from all over the Estates.
Jackie had barely blinked when she saw me on her couch. She must have assumed I was another kid from around the Estates, or something. She and the woman Ru were muttering about Rose leaving.
Honestly, it was like Sunday Night watching OUAT. Just thinking about my family back Home made me think about the one I had here. I rolled my eyes, deciding that Doc could handle the news on his own. These emotions needed a talking to.
"...they found a body."
The pig.
The point my body stopped could have been a cartoon gag. I tilted my head in curiosity, spinning on the balls of my feet to the TV.
"It's unconfirmed, but I'm being told a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins. It's being brought ashore."
Twenty minutes later, more people had entered the Tyler apartment, but the Doctor and I were seated in front of the TV.
"A body of some sort has been found inside the wreckage of the spacecraft."
"Oh, guess who asked me out. Billy Crewe." Jackie told the people in the room who cared.
"Brought to the nearest shore. Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extraterrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live here in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure unit mortuary, the whereabouts is yet unknown. The roads in Central London are being-"
It suddenly changed to a cooking show. I looked up at the Doctor, seeing him fighting with a young toddler.
I rolled my eyes, sitting up on my knees. My arms reached up for the boy, the Doctor happily tossing him over to me. The child hadn't like it, but decade of babysitting and nannying helped me learn how to control rowdy kids.
The Doctor changed it back to the news in time for us to hear where the pig was.
"-Albion Hospital. We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything." The newsman explained. "But the body has been brought here, Albion Hospital. The road's closed off. It's the closest to the river."
I put the little boy on his feet, smiling politely. Kids had always been an easy thing for me, Dad even took to calling me The Baby Whisperer.
"Go get your mummy, dearie." I instructed, pointing at all the adults. The boy was delighted at seeing Mummy, so he ran off quick as a bullet.
"I'm being told that General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's been evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body contained inside those walls."
The Doctor and I exchanged a look. We had to see it.
==CON==
Night had fallen some hours ago. The Doctor and I slipped out of the apartment in silence, hoping not to get caught by Rose.
"Why're you following me?" The Doctor asked.
"They found a body." I whispered, grinning. "Things always get interesting when they find a body."
The Doctor was shocked by my answer. I blinked, realizing that sounded really bad. "Uh. I mean. We need to see what kind of alien it was, see if it's actually dead."
"You think whatever it is, that it's still alive?" The Doctor asked. I nodded. "Why?"
"I don't like believing something is dead unless I see it with my own eyes." 'That was why the journal had photos of the Luna-Johnsons.' I thought. "And even then, I'm a hopeful skeptic." 'Emily Prentiss, still don't know how she did that.'
The Doctor grinned. "There's a story behind that."
I grinned back. "Yeah, and you're not hearing it."
"And where do you think you're going?" Rose asked from behind us.
"Nowhere." The Doctor and I said, a bit too quickly. Rose gave us a quirked brow.
"It's just a bit human in there for me." He made a noise of disgust. "History just happened and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top-up cards for half price."
"It's too much like home." I ended up saying, keeping my hands in the pocket. That was when I realized Rose was standing next to one of her posters. '5'4? I'm 5'7! Officially taller than her!' Rose stared at me after my excuse, and I noticed Doc's eyes too. "Thought I'd keep him out of trouble." I said while slowly nodding my head.
"We're off on a wander, that's all." The Doctor
"Right." The young blonde said, disbelieving. "There's a spaceship on the Thames and you're both just wandering."
"Nothing to do with us." The Doctor explained. "It's not an invasion. That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, color of smoke, everything. It's perfect."
"It's perfect." I realized, looking to the Doctor to see if he noticed it too. Just like the Eye, he was a bit slow.
Rose shrugged. "So?"
The Time Lord was trying incredibly hard not to get in trouble. "So maybe this is it. First contact. The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race. I'm not interfering because you've got to handle this on your own. That's when the human race finally grows up." He smiled, all giddy. "Just this morning you were all tiny and small and made of clay. Now you can expand." The Doctor laughed, proud.
I put on a smile. Oh, if only that were the case. Off in the apartment, I could hear a David Bowie song playing. (David Bowie is singing Starman in the background.)
The Doctor "You don't need us. Go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum."
"Promise you won't disappear?" Rose asked, a heavy frown on her face.
The Doctor turned back to her, looking thoughtful. He reached into his pocket. "Tell you what. TARDIS key." He walked over, handing it to her. "It's about time you had one. See you later."
While Rose looked down at her new key, the Doctor and I ran off.
"Oh. Here." The Doctor said, tossing a key at me.
I grabbed it, smiling as the cool metal hit my hand. As we ran down the stairs, I worked to getting it on the necklace with Darcy's charm.
He gave me a key. Did this mean he actually trusted me? What had brought that on? I had been dishonest with him from the get go, had argued with him every other minute, hadn't told him a thing about my past. He still trusted me, why?
Was is because I showed him my letter? Was it because of my response to the questions about my family? Was it because we were both running from the past? Could...could he sense I was a Time Lady?
He said he would be able to feel it in his head, if there were any Time Lords out there. He couldn't feel the Master because he was a human right now, but I was a full Time Lady. Were my walls around my head keeping him out? Was the TARDIS protecting me? It might have something to do with why I had an family on Earth, even though I had been born on Gallifrey.
Story bless me, please tell I wasn't actually the Doctor's kid hidden on Earth to protect me from the Time War. That's just...that's just horrible. I don't think I could take it if that was my past.
Whichever answer it was, I just knew I had a new charm around my neck. It was also time to save a pig.
==CON==
The Doctor landed us in the Albion Hospital closet. He squeezed his way out, making room for me to crawl beside him.
I worked my way up beside him. "Does she like being hit with a hammer?" I asked in a whisper, eyeing the console warily.
"Not usually." The Doctor admitted, closing the TARDIS doors behind me. They locked automatically. "But she will work better when I do."
I snorted. "It's like in the South. Can't fix it with duct tape or WD-40, use a hammer."
The Doctor and I both grinned at the analogy. He walked up to a nearby door, bringing out his screwdriver. It buzzed a little too loudly.
"Shush!" He scolded it.
"Okay. You just did that." I pointed out to him.
The Doctor gave me a look. "You too!" He buzzed the lock.
He opened the door wide, revealing a bunch of red beret wearing soldiers.
The Doctor and I blinked.
The soldiers blinked.
The two of us blinked again.
The soldiers went for their weapons-Hold on. We all should have blinked three more times. Then it would be funnier!
I just smiled innocently at them. It wouldn't be long before Toshiko screamed.
"Ah!" Right on cue.
"Defence plan delta!" The Doctor ordered immediately, working his way through the the soldiers. I simply ran around them. "Come on. Move! Move!"
We ran to the medical room, searching for either the 'alien' or Toshiko. I scanned it, hoping to find some sort of trail. If it ran out of the freezer, it would have scurried out when Tosh opened the door.
The Doctor knelt down by a medical tray, and I saw Tosh huddled in a corner. 'And to think, this could have been Owen...also, where are my memories of Tosh from Torchwood? This needs investigating.'
"It's alive!" She warned us.
The Doctor turned to the soldiers, I walked up to Tosh. "Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lockdown."
Tosh reached out for me, grabbing my arms. "My god. It's still alive."
"It's fine." I assured her. "They'll find him."
The Doctor stood behind me, barking at the soldiers. "Do it!"
The soldiers all ran out. Tosh gripped my arms, bringing my attention back to her. "I swear it was dead." She tried explaining.
"I'm sure you did." I assured.
"Coma, shock, hibernation, anything." The Doctor brushed off. "What does it look like?"
Metal clattered behind us. I snapped my head towards it, seeing the file cabinet shimmy. "It's still here." The Doctor said.
He got up to get the soldier, I pulled him down. "Unknown alien. You really wanna bring a gun?" I questioned.
"Could be hostile." The Doctor said. "I'm not taking chances."
"It's hiding behind a file cabinet." I argued. "Sound deadly to you?"
The Doctor paused. Story, I hoped he realized I had a point. Before waiting on his input, I let go of Tosh's hands. She immediately curled in on herself, fearful liking the direction of the pig.
I calmly made me way to it, hearing the Doctor fervently whisper for me to get back. More metal clattered, so I got on my hands and knees to crawl towards him.
The Doctor was soon in a similar position, though he was just behind me. I crawled around the medical table, feeling Doc crawl up beside me.
The pig poked his head out the other side. It was taller than a normal pig at this angle, dressed up in a human spacesuit.
"Hey there little guy." I greeted, smiling warmly.
"Hello." The Doctor said, sounding excited.
The pig had been startled. He got up on his hind legs, begging to run off. I hopped up on my legs, running to the door. The soldier was there, weapon poised to fire.
"Hold your fire!" I ordered, running around him.
The Doctor came up behind me. "Don't shoot!"
I was able to stop it at the doors. My hands were held out in front of me in a show of peace. The pig was squealing. "Hey. Easy, buddy."
The pig squealed, almost sounding like a horrified scream. Now, what did you do when a toddler was screaming over a nightmare?
"You're really scared, aren't you?" I said, kneeling down on my knees. The pig snorted. "Hey, hey. It's alright. I'm not gonna hurt ya."
He only squealed again. I took a breath. "Alouette, gentille alouette." I sang, in a calm voice. If it worked on toddlers, surely it would work on a pig. "Alouette, je te plumerai."
His squeal quited, though it was still no it's hind legs. Carefully, I made my way towards him. I saw the Doctor standing at the door, and I gave him a look to back off. This was a delicate art, and if he interrupted now I would lose all progress!
"Alouette, gentille alouette." I sang, looking a back to the pig. "Alouette, je te plumerai."
The pig's squeal were quieter now. I was practically crawling like a chimp towards it, keeping my stance non aggressive. I held my arms out to him, smiling warmly. "Alouette, gentille alouette. Alouette, je te plumerai."
The pig stumbled into my arms, making my smile genuine. I pet the pig, smiling as he rubbed his head against my hand. I glanced up at the Doctor, giving a small nod that it was okay.
"Hey little guy." I said, brushing on his ears. It snorted. My eyes kinda widened as I checked it's... ahem... orientation. "Oh. Hey little gal."
She purred again, rubbing against my hand. I lifted her partial mutilated body into my lap. The Doctor came up, putting the pig on edge.
"Hey, he's okay." I assured the pig. "Even if he can't drive worth a dime."
The Doctor rolled his. "I'm not living that down, am I?"
"Only until something more embarrassing happens to you." I admitted, rocking the pig. "And Jackie slapping you doesn't count."
The other soldiers came running in. They must have heard the squealing. The Doctor looked up at them. "Don't shoot."
"She was only scared." I said, turning my head back a bit. The pig snorted, gaining my attention again. "Alouette, gentille alouette. Alouette je te plumerai."
The Doctor looked at me curiously at me. "How did you know that?"
"Babysat." I shrugged. "A scream is a scream, not matter the shape."
The Doctor apparently agreed with this statement.
==CON==
I rubbed on the pig's head, gently cooing. She had been uncomfortable being guided back into Tosh's medical room. I had to hold her hoof the whole walk up.
The Doctor helped me get her onto the table. I kept whispering that lullabye to her, waiting for her to be calm before I dared loosen my grip. The soldiers were eyeing the pig warily, expecting her to get up and run at any second.
Toshiko came up to my side, holding a clipboard tightly to her chest. She was staring at the pig, shocked. "I just assumed that's what aliens look like, but you're saying it's-"
"She." I corrected. "She's a girl."
Toshiko nodded, slightly embarrassed at being scolded by a teenager. "Uhh. She's an ordinary pig from Earth."
"More like a mermaid." The Doctor explained. I kept singing to the pig, my voice a low whisper so as not to overshadow Doc's. He talked with disgust, directed at the Slitheen family. "Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat, gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid."
He looked down at the pig and I, watching as I gently scratched behind one of her ear's. She snorted happily, cuddling closer to me. 'Two apparently likes animals. Good to know.'
"Now someone's taken a pig, opened up it's brain, stuck bits on, then they've strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb." The Doctor went on. The speech had made the pig curl closer to me, so I hummed more of the lullaby to calm her down. "It must've been terrified."
I glared up, yet I'm sure my eyes had a faded look to them. I was glaring at the Slitheen, way off in Downing Street. "They took her and turned her into a joke." I said in a calm voice, with a bit of bite at the end.
Tosh lowered her clipboard, looking over it. "So she's a fake, a pretend, like the mermaid." She walked away, her back to us. The Doctor started making his way out, so I picked up the unnamed pig so I could follow him. "But the technology augmenting its brain, it's like nothing on Earth. It's alien. Aliens are faking aliens."
The rest of her words were lost of us, as the Doctor and I were making our way back to the TARDIS. The Doctor saw the pig, shaking his head.
"Terra, we're not taking the pig." The Time Lord said.
"I am keeping, the pig." I decided, hugging her tightly. "I'm attached."
The Doctor guided me back into the little store room, but blocked access to the TARDIS. "No pigs. I'm sorry, Terra, but she needs to stay here."
I pouted. "But I named her!" The Doctor quirked a brow, disbelieving. I held her up, so she was looking at his face. "Meet Penelope the pig." She oinked, liking the name apparently. "She likes warm London days, daisies, and time travel."
The Time Lord and I stared at each other, another battle of wills. I was keeping Penelope, and nothing Doc said was gonna stop me. Penelope snorted, and the Doctor's face softened. I wondered if he could understand her, cause the TARDIS wasn't translating which must mean animal understanding is a thing he just knows how to do. I could only assume she was asking Doc if she could stay.
He started shaking his head, and I smiled. "Alright." He gave me a look before I got too excited. "But don't let her mess anything up."
"Says the guy who hits the TARDIS with a hammer." I argued, worming our way to the blue box. "Come no, Penelope, let me introduce you to a good friend of mine. Her name's TARDIS." I got my key out, using it to unlock the door. For a second, I had a giddy smile at having unlocked her.
The door opened, and I lowered Penelope to her feet. 'But she likes it when I call her Idris.'
The blue box hummed in my mind.
==CON==
The Doctor had guided me to the medbay, under myh demand that he see if Penelope was in any pain or could have this undone. My real reason was that I needed a moment of peace to sort my mind out. I stood outside the door to the medbay, face contorted in concentration.
'Just show me something.' I instructed. 'Anything about First Terra. She had a family, a life. There has to be something about it in this mind!'
Again, nothing but my own memories in my head. I huffed, but focused. 'Gwyneth. Toshiko. Torchwood Three. That's just stuff I heard today! One of those things had to spark a memory!'
Just more of nothing. I sighed, wondering what that could mean. My first month here, i could understand the memories not showing up. The photos of her family I had mostly tried disconnecting from, like I would do when working murder cases. But, when I met the face of Boe or Gwyneth? Tosh Sato herself yet still nothing?
Either First Terra suppressed her memories, or I have amnesia. That's worse than meeting someone out of order. At least with that, you can remember the first on the second visit. I sighed, sorting through all of the things that wiped memories in Doctor Who.
'Cracks in time. No, too much left behind of Luna-Johnsons to be wiped out. The Silence. No marks or tallies on the journal or my body. Chameleon Circuits? Already a Time Lady, memories would have come back. The mind meld the Doctor did on Donna?'
Okay. That theory had a bit of traction. It also added to the one of First Terra suppressing her own memories. Kinda like how on TV people could have their mind willingly erased, but left behind a tape explaining why it's better forgotten. That could be what the journal was, except there was nothing about Torchwood in there except it was where Chloe worked.
Well, the journal was only to help me with what I needed. Maybe I only needed to know about the Luna-Johnsons, to keep me from talking about Torchwood too early in the Doctor's timeline.
So that's what I need to start thinking on, Time Lord memory removal. How exactly do I do that when I'm not even supposed to know about it?
I let my shoulders go lax, resting my head against he metal wall of the TARDIS. 'Idris? You got any ideas?'
The blue box only hummed, it what I could asume was a 'have fun with that'.
I huffed, lowering my head. The door to the medbay slid open, revealing the Doctor. I got up to my feet, worried about Penelope. "Is she gonna be alright?"
The Doctor's lips were a thin line, and his blue eyes sympathetic. A feeling of dread starting growing around my two hearts.
Penelope loudly snorted, running past him into my legs. I fell to the ground, happily letting her snort and lick. She was out of the spacesuit, and looked more like a regular pig.
"Hello you beauty!" I cheered, gently scratching behind her ears. She snorted. I wished I could understand what she was saying. "How did you do it?"
The Doctor was grinning, that smug grin. "It was all mostly in the suit." He crossed his arms over his chest. Penelope licked my cheek, making me laugh. The Time Lord shrugged. "Nothing to a Time Lord."
I kept laughing, letting Penelope show her affection. Maybe I didn't need my memories of the past... not while I had to worry about the future. Best leave my past behind me, where it should stay.
==CON==
The Doctor landed us back at the Powell Estates. We would have been here sooner, but I had the TARDIS guide me to the kitchens to get Penelope something to eat. I have everything in my bag, except pig feed apparently.
I was sitting in the pilot seat, Penelope beside me eating the food out of my hand. She would occasionally let out happy snorts, and oinks.
The Doctor glanced at us. "What're you going to do with her?"
I shrugged, scratching her behind the ears. She seemed to like it. "Well, I'm not gonna risk her getting hurt. I'll call my friend. She can come pick up Penelope." This made me laugh. "Wait no, bad idea. Don't let her near a pet." My pig snorted for more food. I reached for a small bag of pig feed I took from the kitchen. "I can come up with something." I turned to the Doctor. "Anyway, did you notice it?"
"Notice what?" The Doctor asked, more for clarification.
"The crash. It was perfect." I reminded.
My fellow Time Lord nodded. "I'm waiting for Rose to get back before explaining it."
The doors swung open. Rose marched up to the console, a worried look on her face.
The Doctor went to the monitor, showing the crash. "Alright, so I lied. We went and had a look." He excused as Rose came up to his side. I rubbed on Penelope's neck, continuing to let her eat. Rose glanced over at me, hearing Penelope's snorts, making her do a double take.
I smiled innocently, half hugging Penelope.
"But the whole crash landing's a fake." The Doctor nodded over at me. Rose blinked, turning between the pig and the door. "We thought so. Just too perfect. I mean, hitting Big Ben?" The Doctor scoffed. "Come on, so I thought let's go and have a look-"
"My mum's here." She interrupted him, turning to look at me. "And why's Terra holding a pig?"
"Her name is Penelope!" I defended. Penelope snorted, loudly. "She was the body they found." The young blonde girl gaped.
Of course, Mickey and Jackie had walked in. They were on the walkway, gaping at the TARDIS interior.
"Oh, that's just what I need." He pointed a warning finger at Rose. "Don't you dare make this place domestic."
"Seriously. It gives Penelope indigestion." I joked, rubbing carefully on the pig's back. She snorted, as if agreeing.
Mickey chose to ignore the warning. "You ruined my life, Doctor, Terra." The Time Lord rolled his eyes, giving Mickey a bored look. I merely huffed in annoyance, looking back to Penelope. "They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you two."
I glared at him. I already felt bad enough for the murders I had inadvertently caused, and now he was blaming me for something the Doctor did? I liked Mickey on the show, he was a nice enough guy. Ya know, after this episode. Before, I thought he would end up being the boyfriend that ended up dead because he went to the basement alone.
Funny enough, that was what everyone thought almost happened to Rose.
But, no. Mickey just was just pushing his problems onto us. That's childish, and just waste of time. So, it was domestic.
"You see what I mean?" The Doctor said to Rose. "Domestic."
"I bet you don't even remember my name." Mickey challenged.
"Ricky." The Doctor said, easily. He stood up straighter, walking up to Mickey confrontationally.
"It's Mickey."
"No, it's Ricky."
"I think I know my own name."
I winced, rolling my eyes. "Oh, he said it."
"You think you know your own name? How stupid are you?" The Doctor asked.
This was the point where it had become too much for Jackie. She ran out the door, Rose following after her. "Mum, don't!" She turned to the boys. "Don't go anywhere." She turned to me. "Don't let them start a fight!"
"I make no promises!" I called out after her.
She ran back in almost immediately, going up the Doctor. "That was a real spaceship, with a pig inside it."
The Doctor nodded, typing on the monitor. "Yep."
"I named her Penelope." I reminded her, hugging my pig.
Rose nodded, easily accepting the information. "So it's all a pack of lies? What is it, then? Are they invading?"
"Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert." Mickey commented.
The Doctor and I blinked at him. "Good point! So, what're they up to?" He asked, rhetorically.
I got up from the pilot seat, giving Penelope another handful of pig feed. Rose walked up to me, while Doctor went beneath the console. "So...a pig." She said, looking at the pilot seat.
"Yep." I leaned against the railings, grinning. "Whatever aliens we're dealing with, they rigged Penelope up to be a decoy." I explained to Rose. "She was scared, so I got her out of the hospital, and the Doctor fixed her up into a normal pig."
"How'd he do that?" Rose asked, though she wasn't as excited as before.
I ignored the question, eyeing Rose. The Doctor and Mickey were arguing over his name again, and it clicked. "They accused him of your murder?"
The young girl winced, brushing some of her blonde hair back. "Yeah. He said they brought him in five times." I whistled. "I just feel so bad about it."
I winced, my hands holding my phone in my hoodie pocket. Kids and animals were just so much easier than grown-ups. "Well." I said, awkwardly. My hand let go of the phone, reaching up to scratch behind my neck. Times like these made me miss my long hair, instead of this thing barely reaching my shoulders. "Least now your not dead."
This didn't seem to make Rose any brighter. She walked to the console, picking at on of the knobs.
The Doctor's voice grabbed out attention. "Ricky. If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"
Mickey shrugged. "I suppose not-" He said.
"Well, shut it, then." The Doctor scolded.
I shook my head, glancing over at Penelope. Rose kept her eyes down. Mickey walked up to us, giving us both a look. "Some friend you've got."
Our companion looked up at Mickey, shaking her head. "He's winding you up." She assured. Mickey looked away, making me glare at him. "I am sorry."
"Okay." Mickey shrugged it off.
"I am, though." Rose insisted.
"Hey. Ricky." I called out to him, angry. The two humans turned to me, concerned at my tone. "The lady said sorry. It wasn't her fault. Don't you dare make her feel bad about that."
Mickey tried defending himself. "I'm not trying to."
I glared harder. He shut his mouth, eyes wide. "Don't matter to me. She said sorry. Be a grown up, and accept the apology. Got that?"
He gaped. Rose was shaking her head, taking a step back so she wasn't between Mickey and I. "A grown up? I'm older than you!"
"Yeah, and I know more about manners than you do. What does that say?" I challenged, putting my hands on my hips.
"It's just...every day, I looked." Mickey went on explaining, nervously glancing at Rose periodically. I kept glaring, not caring about his excuses. He blamed the Doctor and I for this, blamed us for a murder that hadn't occurred. I don't appreciate being falsely accused of murder. "On every street corner, wherever I went, looking for aI blue box for a whole year."
"Well this wasn't planned." I said, walking closer to up. "It's been a few days for us. Time travel is a complicated thing to some people." Soon, I was almost at confrontation level with him. I thought I was almost amusing, because Mickey and I were close to the same height right now. "We didn't just decide to skip over the year, it was an accident."
Rose nodded, coming up behind me. She reached out a hand to put on Mickey's arm, but pulled it back with a remorseful look on her face. "I swear it's just a few days since I left you." She emphasized.
"Not enough time to miss me, then?" Mickey asked, disheartened.
Our companion started smiling. "I did miss you." She said in the 'my boyfriend is an idiot for not figuring this out' voice.
Mickey paused, glancing at me. I backed away, though kept my eyes on them warily. "I missed you." Mickey eventually said.
I glanced up at the TARDIS. 'Idris, please tell me that Mr. Leather over there almost has the radar fixed.'
The TARDIS hummed. I guessed that was a yes.
I sat down on the pilot seat, wrapping an arm over Penelope. 'Any chance you could tell me what she's saying while I wait?'
There wasn't any hum. I sighed, pulling up more pig feed. Penelope happily feasted. It warmed my heart to see her happy, much better than before when she had been afraid.
"Thank you, Purple Lady!" A high pitched, squeal echoed in my mind.
I blinked, glancing up at the TARDIS. 'Thank you.'
She hummed. I turned to Penelope. She was talking between mouth fulls. How much food did pigs eat? "Thank you for the food! It's way better than the food I used to have back at the farm!"
'You lived on a farm?' I thought.
She snorted. "Yeah-huh. I've been there since I was a piglet. Then the big humans came, and took me away." She stopped chewing, laying her head dejectedly on my lap. I scratched behind her ears, gently. "It hurt really bad."
I brushed down on her back, gently cooing. 'Don't worry, Penelope. You won't have to see them ever again.' She oinked. 'I have this friend, see. She'll come pick you up, and take you someplace safe. My future self will be there.'
"What are you talking about, Purple Lady?" Penelope asked.
"Time travel is complicated, Penelope. Oh, and you can call me Terra."
"Got it! Ha, ha!" The Doctor informed us, climbing out of his little hole.
"You fixed it?" I said, grinning.
"Yep!" The Doctor walked up to the monitor.
I hopped off the pilot seat, standing beside him. It had a schematic of the flight path for the ship Penelope was on. I was gonna make those Slitheen pay for what they did to hear. She had been living on a farm, happy. They ruined her life, but at the same time they could have done it to any other random pig. I hated when people were hurt randomly.
"Patched in the radar, looped it back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of that spaceship." The Time Lord explained as Rose joined us. "Here we go. Hold on. Come on."
He whacked the monitor, making me snicker. "I'm guessing she likes that too." I joked
The Doctor ignored me, instead watching the flight path. Once it finished it's slingshot, he pointed it out to Rose and I. "That's the spaceship on its way to Earth, see? Except. Hold on. See? The spaceship did a sling shot round the Earth before it landed."
"What does that mean?" Rose asked the Doctor and I.
"It means it came from Earth in the first place." I realized. The Doctor glanced at me, watching me piece it together. "See? It went up and came back down."
"Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived, they've been here for a while." The Doctor added. "The question is, what have they been doing?"
The three of us looked down at the monitor, wondering. I suddenly remembered Harriet Jones was trapped in a closet with three Slitheen outside.
==CON==
So, to answer his question, he Doctor resorted to the human method of channel surfing. Penelope was allowed to waddle around the console, although I don't think Doc entirely approved. He said as long as she didn't chew on anything it was fine. He can hit things with a hammer, and Penelope can't chew on stuff? Seriously?
"How many channels do you get?" Mickey asked, watching as the monitor based another three stations.
He found a news channel, showing clips of Downing Street. "All the basic packages." The Doctor said, crossing his arms
Mickey looked at him wide eyes. "You get sports channels?"
"Yes, I get the football." The Doctor rolled his eyes, stopping at seeing more military dressed people walking down a hallway. "Hold on, I know that lot."
A woman "It is looking likely that the Government's bringing in alien specialists- those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space."
"UNIT." The Doctor said, almost surprised. "United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Good people."
Rose kept her eyes on the screens, but I glanced at him, eyebrows quirked. "How do you know them?" I asked.
"'Cos he's worked for them." Mickey said.
I looked up at him, curious. The Doctor did too, though more out of annoyance.
"Oh yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you." He leaned in closer to Rose, glaring at the Doctor and I. "You look deep enough on the Internet or in the history books, and there's his name, with her's right beside it, followed by a list of the dead." The idiot said, making me pause. I looked down to my shoes out of shame, hands holding onto the TARDIS console.
"That's nice." The Doctor said dryly. "Good boy, Ricky." The Doctor's eyes moved to me, I could feel them make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I forced the pain away, choosing instead to be cold on the subject.
It was true though...ever since I came here people have died for me. I hated that. It wasn't gonna be long until hundreds of other people died in my name or because of my actions. This wasn't the time for that, though. I had to focus on stopping World War Three.
Rose glanced at me, turning to the Doctor. "If you know them, why don't you go and help?"
The Time Lord kept his gaze on me for a beat, then turned off the TV. I looked over to Penelope, wondering how long it would be until I hurt her too. "Terra?" Penelope oinked.
I looked back down at my shoes. She would have to stay in here when we went to Downing Street. I wasn't about to let her get in the claws of the Slitheen again. She might not like it, but I wasn't going to risk her.
"They wouldn't recognise me. I've changed a lot since the old days." He walked around me, moving to startup the console. "Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens." He motioned over at Penelope. The pig tilted her head, the jab completely flying over her head. "We want to keep this alien out of the mix."
'And this alien needs to stay out of public ear.' I thought dryly.
Penelope oinked again. "I knew you were an alien. Humans don't have two hearts."
I glanced at the Doctor, hoping he didn't understand pig.
"I'm going undercover." The Doctor went on. "And er, I'd better keep the TARDIS out of sight." He clapped his hands, catching Mickey's attention. "Ricky, you've got a car. You can do some driving."
I grabbed my bag strap, making my way to the doors with the Doctor. 'Penelope, I need you to stay in here.'
"No!" Penelope squealed. "Don't leave me, Terra, please!"
I winced, almost giving in. 'I'll be back before you know it.' I assured. 'Plus, I'm sure Idris can take perfectly-'
The pig dashed across the console, nearly crashing into my legs. I huffed. Couldn't she see I was trying to help her? She looked at me with those big eyes, and I caved. I let her walk by my side. 'I can't promise you'll be safe with me.'
Penelope oinked. "Of course I'm safe with you. You're not like the big humans. They were mean. You're nice."
'You heard what Mickey said.' I tried, fruitlessly. 'People around me get hurt.'
She tilted her head. "I'm not a people."
I smirked, impressed at the argument. Rose hopped along after us, while Doc got the door open. "Where to?" Mickey asked.
"The roads are clearing." The Doctor explained. "Let's go and have a look at that spaceship." He looked down at Penelope. "You sure you want to take her?" The Doctor asked m.
The pig squealed at him. I shrugged, putting a hand on my hip. "She's stubborn." The Time Lord shrugged, going with it. With the confidence only a 900 year old alien could have, he walked out the door.
Barely five feet away, the Doctor, Rose, and I were put under a spotlight. This was the exact opposite of what either of us wanted. I raised my hand over my eyes,
"Do not move!" A voice ordered from the helicopter. "Step away from the box and raise your hands above your heads."
Soon, military and officers filled the alleyway. Penelope squealed at my feet, frightened. I kneeled down, gently brushing on her back. Mickey ran off, a few officers chasing after him. Jackie ran out of her building, shouting for her daughter.
"Raise your hands above your head." The helicopter voice shouted. "You are under arrest."
The three of us did so, Penelope choosing instead to curl up by my feet.
"Take me to your leader." The Doctor beamed.
==CON==
The UNIT soldiers guided us in a fancy car. The Doctor climbed in first, and I moved to follow after him. A soldier held his arm out. "Miss, we can't let you take the pig."
I glared. Penelope squealed. Apparently, the translation only worked inside the TARDIS. "The pig stays with me."
"Miss-"
"It's alright." The Doctor said. "She's with me. Let her keep the pig."
I smiled proudly at the UNIT soldier, letting Penelope climb into the car. "Thank ya kindly." I said, climbing in after her. The pig made herself comfortable on the car rug.
Rose came in last, meaning I was squished between her and the Doctor. "This is a bit posh. If I knew it was going to be like this, being arrested, I would have done it years ago." The young girl said as the car started up.
"We're not being arrested." The Doctor explained. "We're being escorted."
I gaped at him, jaw dropping. "You're kidding." The Doctor shook his head, laughing. My dropped jaw was slowly changing to a smile. "Downing Street?"
"You're kidding." Rose agreed with me, laughing herself.
The Doctor smiled at us. "I'm not."
"10 Downing Street?" I said. "With the other alien officials?"
The Doctor nodded. "That's the one."
"Terrific." I leaned against my seat. Penelope looked at us, confused. "It's the British White House." I tried explaining to her.
"Oh, my God." Wasn't phased by Charles Dickens, or Doc being an alien, or him being nine hundred years old. Rose couldn't wrap her head around this. "I'm going to 10 Downing Street? How come?"
"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right." The Doctor admitted, with much difficulty. "Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, er, noticed."
"Now they need you?" I asked. I slumped against my seat. "Oh, we're doomed."
The Doctor rolled his eyes, though smiling at the joke. "Like it said on the news. They're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot?"
"Patrick Moore?" Rose tried.
The Doctor was appalled. "Apart from him."
"Me?" I tried, shrugging my shoulders. The Doctor gave me an equally appalled face. "I know everything. Did you miss the meeting?"
Rose laughed at our exchange. "Oh, don't you just love it."
"I'm telling you." He said fondly. "Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table."
'Albert Einstein once beat me at cards.' I recalled, smiling at the memory. 'And there was this one guy, Spencer Reid from 'Criminal Minds', taught me how to play chess. The little boy from 'Meet The Robinsons' let me help him with his science fair project.'
Another memory made my smile bittersweet. 'In 'My Life As A Teenage Robot' I built a humanoid robot, named her SASHA. She turned out to be a Jumper named Me-'
I shook the memory away. She died. Sasha Lee is dead. There was no bringing her back. She never existed. I had to have made her up. I put all thoughts about Sasha, this was not the time or place.
"Who's the Prime Minister now?" The Doctor asked Rose.
"How should I know? I missed a year." She excused.
I motioned my head to Rose. "What she said."
==CON==
The Doctor walked out of the car, smiling and waving at all of the photographers. I went out Rose's side, guiding Penelope away from the flashing lights. I didn't want to startle her.
I kept my head down, wishing for longer hair right now. It would have covered my face, hiding me from view. This was a big risk, my face on camera. I walked straight up to the door. Penelope followed after me, oinking and squealing along the way.
"Oh, my God." Rose said in anticipation.
==CON==
They guided us in a large, filled with the other experts. My nerves went on alert, uneasy around so many people. With my memories as shot as they were, anyone of the could be Logan or work for Logan, and I wouldn't know until it was too late.
I moved myself to a corner of the room, sitting down in one of the padded chairs. I could spot the Slitheen, easily chatting with the others.
Penelope curled herself up in my lap, sniffling. She must have noticed I was agitated. I brushed on her back soothingly. "Sorry."
"Beg pardon?"
I glanced up, seeing Harriet eye me and my pig warily. "I was talking to Penelope." I nervously hugged said pig closer. "She's the pig."
Harriet looked at my pig, nervously shuffling on her feet. "Forgive me for asking, but, why are you apologizing to...um...Penelope?"
The question made me even more agitated. "And who are you to ask me that?"
She held up her key card. "Harriet Jones. MP for Flydale North."
Well, she did answer my question. "She knows I'm scared, and it's making her agitated. Animals can sense danger better than humans can."
Harriet gave me more of her attention. "And why are you scared, my dear?"
The way she asked it told me she had been scared as well. I mean, I knew she had been traumatized by the Slitheen changing, but when she spoke it was obvious. Anyone could see it if they looked her in the eyes long enough, actually gave her attention.
I could only hope she would never have to find out why I was scared. Why I was scared of getting overly attached to the Doctor and Rose, of telling them anything about myself, of my past coming back to haunt me.
The man, Indra Ganesh, walked out. "Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene?" I got up from my seat, guiding Penelope back to Rose and the Doctor. Harriet didn't even notice. "Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right, and can I remind you ID cards are to be worn at all times."
Rose smiled at me, excited. I put on a smile, it dropping the second she looked away.
"Here's your ID card." Indra gave the Doctor a remorseful wince. "I'm sorry, your companions don't have clearance."
"I don't go anywhere without them." The Doctor said, putting on the ID card.
I almost wanted to rip it off his neck. Indra shook his head. "You're the code nine, not them." He said. I saw Harriet walking over to us, either following me or following the plot. "I'm sorry, Doctor. It is the Doctor, isn't it?" The Time Lord nodded. "They'll have to stay outside."
"They're staying with me." The Doctor stressed.
"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there." Indra sighed. "I can't let them in and that's a fact."
"It's alright. You go." Rose offered the Doctor.
I snorted, Penelope did too. "Yeah, better idea anyway." 'Leave me with the jeopardy friendly human and a victimized pig. Nothing to go wrong there.'
Harriet came up behind the man, staring directly at the Doctor. "Excuse me. Are you the Doctor?" Ganesh rolled his eyes.
"Sure." The Doctor focused his attention on her. He probably thought she could get Rose and I in.
Rose turned back to the Doctor. "See you in a minute?" She said.
"I'll keep my eyes on her." I assured.
The Doctor reluctantly agreed. "I suppose so. Don't get in any trouble."
"No promises." I said with a flat tone. He walked into the boardroom, leaving us with Harriet and Indra.
"You haven't got clearance. Now leave it." Indra finished his argument with a dejected Harriet. He turned to Rose and I, guiding us both away. "I'm going to have to leave you with security." He said.
Penelope oinked. She didn't like this idea, and neither did I. "It's alright. I'll look after them." Harriet offered, smiling politely. "Let me be of some use." Indra released us into her care. I gave him a look, not wanting to be left with a woman that I had slipped personal information to. "Walk with me. Just keep walking. That's right."
The three of us walked out the door. Penelope and Rose tried looking back for the Doctor.
"Don't look round." The politician warned. Rose turned her head front wards, though Penelope just needed a quick shrug to fix that. She oinked at me, getting attention from the soldiers posted around the room. "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North." She said, holding up her card.
"I know who you are." I said, unable to resist the joke.
The woman ignored my statement, just moving Rose and I along to the stairs. She kept silent, eyes forward. She had seen a horrible thing, like I had. She had seen more of it, to be fair, and hadn't had to carry it around for a month. I shouldn't be too harsh on her. Harriet wasn't even prime minister yet. There was still time to stop her.
She stopped us as soon as the soldiers were out of hearing range.
"This friend of yours, he's an expert, is that right?" Harriet asked us. "He knows about aliens?" Her shoulders started shaking, her tears already about to explode.
"Why do you want to know?" I asked, my voice low. "Did you see them?"
She burst into tears, Rose going up to her for comfort. I hugged Penelope, feeling awkward in this situation.
==CON==
Harriet brought us to the cabinet room once she had composed herself. She pulled the flesh suit of Oliver from the closet, laying him out on the table. I put Penelope down, giving her space to run, so I could examine the suit.
The body had been hollowed out perfectly, nearly as flat as the cartoons. The zipper hadn't been crudely snapped on, closer to fused with the human skin. I wonder if this was the same technology they used to get Penelope into her alien suit. It wouldn't be too far of a stretch.
"They turned the body into a suit." Harriet explained, hysterical. "A disguise for the thing inside!"
"It's alright." Rose assured. Now I felt the need to eat an apple pie to get the British off me. "I believe you. It's, it's alien. They must have some serious technology behind this." She started looking around the room. "If we could find it, we could use it."
"They used it on Penelope too." I commented, lifting up the human head to get a better look at the zipper. "Made her wear a spacesuit to make everyone think she was an alien."
"Excuse me, what?" Harriet asked.
"She was inside the spaceship." I said. "Mr. Leather back there said she was like a mermaid, to trick us. By the time we would have figured it out, the real culprits would have gotten away with it. I've seen it before."
Harriet eyed me curiously. "The aliens who did this? They're behind that spaceship." I nodded. She looked at Penelope, who was sniffing the cabinet with the dead man inside. "And they used that poor creature?" I nodded again.
Penelope squealing and Rose yelping caught our attention. A body had collapsed to the floor, making Penelope run back to me excitedly. "Oh, my God! Is that the-"
Harriet ran up behind her, while I knelt down to check for a pulse. None, and judging by the decomp I'd say dead since this morning. Shortly after the crash, too.
"Harriet, for God's sake." Indra shouted. Penelope squealed again, ramming herself into my side She was using her nose, trying to push me away from the body. Could she smell the Slitheen's claws on him? "This has gone beyond a joke. You cannot just wander- Oh, my God."
"Do you know how this is?" I asked him.
He gaped at the body. "That's the Prime Minister!"
"Oh!"
The four of us turned to it. Margaret was coming in from the shadows, a malicious tone in her voice. "Has someone been naughty?" She closed the door behind her, blocking our only exit.
Penelope squealed in terror. She pressed her nose against my side again, so I lifted myself off the ground to glare at Margaret.
"That's impossible. He left this afternoon." Indra said, confused. "The Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away!"
Margaret walked up to him, a predatory gaze in her cold eyes. "And who told you that, hmm?"
"Oh do not say it." I mumbled, moving to stand in front of Rose and Harriet.
She grinned deviously at me. "Me."
"Oh she said it." I grunted. "Hey, buddy, what's your name?"
The man turned to me. "Uh, Indra Ganesh."
"Indra Ganesh, get over here!" I advised, as Margaret starting unzipping. Indra was frozen in fear. The room filled with a blue light. Penelope squealed again, running around to the other side of the desk. She ended up hiding under the table.
Margaret pulled off her skin suit, revealing the Slitheen underneath. The humans flinched back, and I took a step forward. She flexed her body in relief, blinking her eyes sideways. She reached for Indra.
"No!" I barked at her.
It was too late. She grabbed him, slamming him against the wall. The Slitheen laughed, causing the humans to scream. Penelope was still squealing in fear. Why hadn't she stayed where it was safe?
"Put him down!" I snarled at Margaret.
The Slitheen ignored me. Oh, now she was in for it.
==CON==
Meanwhile, across town, Jackie Tyler walked out of her kitchen to see a Slitheen in the doorway.
She screamed, loud enough to catch the attention of a certain neighbor who will swear that it wasn't intentional.
He was stopped at the door by the officers waiting there. Garfield Logan sighed, shaking his head.
"They always make it difficult for me." He commented. His black eyes glowed, covering the whites so he looked almost demonic.
The officers reached for their weapons. "Yes. Please. Bring more of you interfering humans up here." Logan taunted.
Logan jerked his hand to the side, causing both of the innocent officers necks to snap. They collapsed to the ground in heaps, making Logan smirk.
"Changed my mind." He said. "I like a challenge."
He looked into the Tyler residence, the door clicking unlocked. The Slitheen was inside, still walking towards Jackie.
"And he's watching us all with the eye." Logan hummed, calmly walking into the apartment. "Of the tiger."