Disclaimer: Anything recognisable is owned by the BBC and I make no money from this. (I did make up the aliens in this chapter.)
AN: This story is canon compliant (unless if I get some detail wrong). This is set before Nine meets Rose and will continue like that for the first few chapters.
Chapter 1
Lisa was born to save the world. She had known that since she could remember knowing anything. When she was a kid she had dreams of running around, defeating evil and slaying dragons. As she grew older, these were replaced with ambitions of ending poverty, solving world hunger and uncovering corruption. After finishing uni, graduating in Economical Development, she had found a job that put her in the position to do that. Except, she thought as she swung the fire extinguisher, she could not do her job if these overgrown lizards were tearing up the place. The extinguisher connected with a satisfying thud and the lizard person dropped. Lisa looked down regretfully. Why did they have to be hostile? That bone structure was to die for. A noise made her swing around, brandishing the fire extinguisher. Two more lizard people were in the doorway, their weapons pointed at her. Lisa paused.
"Well, then, what now?" she asked. One of them hissed at her. It might have said something, but frankly, it was hard to tell.
"Sorry, did not get that," she said, putting her weight behind the fire extinguisher. She thanked her stars that she was a borderline fanatic when it came to exercising. All those hours in the gym was paying off now. The fire extinguisher carried to the two, knocking against one's shoulder and distracting both. Lisa was able to grab a heavy bookend from her desk and run at them, delivering a swinging blow to the closest one's head. It fell over, unbalancing the other. Lisa grabbed the extinguisher from the ground and knocked out the remaining one.
She paused for a moment, catching her breath, before peeking out of the half-open door. Lizard people were pouring out of her co-workers' offices, some dragging subdued humans along, some marching forward.
Lisa ducked back in. Think, think, think. She darted to her desk and took out a thick roll of sellotape. No idea how long these ones would be out. She tied them up thoroughly, hands behind backs tied to each, ankles crossed, backs facing each other. After gagging them she stuck the roll in her pocket. The din outside had died down and it sounded like time to investigate.
First, she crossed the hallway to check in on Anne. There were no lizard people and no Anne. The next few offices were also empty, until she reached one that held Jim, the computer guy. His glassed were cracked and skew, there were lacerations on his face and arms and several broken objects around him. Lisa rushed over and touched his forehead. "Jim? Jim!" She lightly slapped his cheeks, but they were pale, so pale. She stilled, and, dreading it, reached for his neck, searching for movement. She found none. Lisa took a quick step back, gulping in air. No, no, no, no. This was not happening. It was all fine punching lizard people, but this... This was wrong. They had... She bit her fist to keep the nausea in check, breathing hard through her nose. How could this be happening? This was not okay. She came upright dizzily and shook her head. This was not okay. She grabbed the telephone off his desk and dialed 999.
Lisa had managed to track the action to the main conference room, taking out six more lizards in the process. A group of lizard people were hissing at each other in the middle. She almost dropped the extinguisher from her hiding place in the tech platform when she looked across. The humans had been rounded up against the far wall, with a line of guards walking up and down, weapons ready. She thought she recognised Anne to the right, rocking herself.
Lisa set her jaw, forcing her eyes back to the group of lizards hissing beneath her perch. She was trying to identify the leader, having a half formed idea of knocking it out and creating a distraction, which she hoped the others could use to escape or something. It still needed work, admittedly. But she spied the fire escape about a metre away from where the line started. Now, that had potential.
She was just deciding that yes, that one is definitely in charge, when a whooshing noise filled the room. A wind started blowing, and Lisa grabbed hold of the banister for in case.
When she looked back down, she was glad for that hold, because she almost fell over. A blue box had appeared in the middle of the room. What next? she wondered. A lizard band popping up to play dramatic music? And also, what was that? It took her a moment to realize the lizard people had not been expecting it. To the contrary, they seemed angry, hissing at it. Some looked outright terrified. She must have hit her head at some point, because she thought she heard one hiss, "Impossssible..."
The box swung open and Lisa was equal parts shocked and relieved to see a human walking out. Wearing a leather jacket. He seemed like a normal guy. She was sure he was going to go screaming back into his... box. Instead, he gave a large grin. "Oh, hello there! And what's all this about?"
For the second time Lisa was glad she had grabbed the banister. The lizard she had identified as the leader hissed. "Doctorrr."
The man smiled. "Yup, that's me. Now, who are you and what do you want?"
"Leave, Doctor. Thissss isss not your conccccern."
"Oh, and what is 'this'?"
"A simple in-and-out retrieval mission."
"Oh? And what's the prisoners for, then?"
"Sssimple insssuranccccce. Now, you will leave, ssso that we can finissshhh thissss."
The smile dropped. "See, that's where you're wrong. You are attacking a planet I happen to be quite fond of. So do yourselves a favour and get lost."
"We will have what we came forrr. You cannot ssstop usss, Doctcorr."
That manic grin returned. "Watch me." He whipped a silver tube from his pocket and pointed it at a weapon pointed at him. There was a whirring noise and the weapon started glowing. The lizard dropped it, shaking its fingers. The weapon was slowly running together in an undefinable blob on the ground. Lisa blinked. Well. That was a nice trick. After a moment she realised the man was nowhere to be seen. The lizards realised a moment later and panic ensued. Ha, this was a distraction in she had ever seen one! Lisa crept from the platform and hurried down the stairs. At the bottom she ran into a surprised lizard. Her fire extinguisher came down on its head before if could lift its weapon. She yanked the sellotape from her pocket and swiftly bound and gagged it, dragging it out of sight. Ha, one more down. Alright, that fire escape. Lisa ran a level down, encountering two more lizards that she put out of action before reaching the door. She careful to remain out of sight from the other side. "What?" she heard. A few footsteps and she knocked out another lizard, trussing him up and shoving him into a janitor's closet. She was getting good at this. Peeking around the door it seemed clear. She ran, taking care to not make a noise on the steel steps, and slowed down around the last corner. There were two guards stationed here. They were looking bored, facing the door, more concerned with people getting out than coming in. Lisa planned her attack, then ran, swinging the trusty fire extinguisher. They sung around at the same time, but the force of her blow sent the unconscious one into its partner and Lisa could recover and deliver another blow before it could lift its weapon. She taped their ankles and wrists together and gagged them, them pushed them down a few steps. She could not have a bottle neck, now, could she?
Peeping through the key hole, she could see there still reigned panic inside. She spotted a number more globs on the ground, and was pleased to see the Doctor guy had taken out a number of ones that had been guarding the humans. The humans themselves had moved around, and a few were virtually in front of the door. Slowly, Lisa turned the handle and pulled the door open. Nobody seemed to notice her in the panic.
Lisa reached out and softly touched the woman in front of her on the shoulder The woman patted her hand without looking back. Lisa gave a small smile. Comforting each other in these circumstances. People were amazing. She lightly pulled the woman, who now did turn to look. And her eyes widened in surprise. Lisa recognised her. Bessie from admin. "Bess, get out," she whispered, lightly pushing the woman forward, simultaneously grabbing the hand of the next person she could reach. It did cause a bit of a commotion. About a quarter of the people had gotten out before the lizards noticed, and in the confusion people started openly running. Weaponless lizards started physically restraining them, and a fight broke out. Up to a third of the people had escaped before a lizard with a weapon could get through the throng to the prisoners and the fight broke up. The people at the door froze when it fired a shot in their direction. And then the most beautiful thing: its weapon started glowing. "Run!" Lisa yelled and the mob started moving again. A weaponless lizard came close to the door and Lisa swung the extinguisher, knocking it out. Half the people were out before another lizard with a weapon could get close. Lisa had last seen weapons glowing on the other side of the room, so she could not bank on the Doctor guy with the melting stick again. She pushed through the crowd with a yell. It succeeded in attracting the lizard's attention. It seemed puzzled for a moment. Lisa took advantage of that moment to swing up the fire extinguisher and hit it under the chin. As it fell over, she scanned the area for her next target. Except it, seemed she had become the target. Three lizards were aiming at her. She dropped the fire extinguisher, keeping hold of the pin that closed it. It fell to the floor with a clatter, and started spewing foam. "Bomb!" One of the lizards yelled, and Lisa took advantage of the chaos to duck and run back to the door. The last few guys were fighting off lizards, knocking them out before slipping out. She had just about made it to the door when her arms were seized and cold metal pushed against her back. Lisa froze. Run, she mouthed at the last guy, looking at her in horror. He dropped his eyes and did that, shutting the door with a clang. A moment later she heard it jammed from the other side.
Lisa closed her eyes. Well, there went that escape. Hopefully the police were on almost there. They had been taking their sweet time. She was hauled backwards and pushed to the cluster of important lizards, several guns pointed at her. Lisa swallowed. She had been so caught up in getting away, getting her coworkers out, but now that the adrenaline and anger were washing away, she was scared. Proper scared, and shaking, she could hardly walk.
"Not ssso brave now," one sneered.
Lisa gulped in air. She had to get out, get away, get a plan. Had to think, to buy time, to understand. "Wha..." She swallowed. She had to at least give the impression that she was functioning. "What are you doing here anyways?"
The guard sneered at her and pushed her. Lisa caught herself and bristled. "Watch it, you prick."
It scowled and lifted a fist.
"Hold, sssoldier," the leader said. "Do not damage the hostage. Yet."
Lisa blew out a breath.
"Now, Earthling, what is your purpose?"
Lisa swallowed. "In life?"
It sighed. "In this organisation. What do you do?"
"Oh, my job? Well, I, er, negotiate transactions between different... entities. Usually trade, sometimes more abstract things. Make sure everyone is... satisfied with the deal reached."
The leader stepped forward, into her personal space. Oh, hello, Lisa thought. The bone structure was even more exquisite up close. Objectively speaking, of course. Because she did not find this... lizard person attractive at all. No, they were evil, the enemies. They had hurt people!
She drew in a breath. "Er, sorry, could you repeat that?"
"I asssked, Earthling, if you will make sssure we leave here ssatisfied." Lisa had the distinct impression it was amused.
"Firstly, my name is Lisa," she said, noting absently her voice dropped an octave. "And secondly, a trade implies both parties gain something."
"How about thisss then, Lisssa. We allow you to live, and you ensure our sssatisssfaction."
"How generous. Before I can promise anything, I will need to know what will satisfy you?"
"Your people of knowledge have developed a way to force their enemies to speak the truth. We would have it."
Lisa blinked. "A lie detector?" And then she realised. "Oh! Oh, no! You have it wrong. There is no surefire truth serum. We use this is meeting with delicate politics, to ensure neither party tries to deceive the other. Both consent and both is hooked up. It looks at physiological things such as blood heart beat and temperature..." Lisa trailed off as its eyes seemed to sharpen. "And it is very specific to humans... so I do not think this would be useful to you."
"To the contrary, please continue."
Lisa frowned. "Well, it is not really my department. I only know the gist of it. But in any case, this cannot be useful to you, since it only pertains to human lying. Except, of course, you plan to run into some humans that might have a reason for lying to you."
"Of course," it took her hand, thumb resting on her wrist. "But humour me anyway."
Lisa swallowed. "I think I have said all I can on the topic."
"Hm. Your heart beat increased."
She let out a surprised laugh. "Of course it did."
Its eyes turned cold. "So you admit to lying to me?"
Lisa frowned. "What? No, the heartbeat slows when you..." she closed her mouth abruptly and hoped it would work.
"Then pray tell, what makes a human heartbeat increase?"
"I should really not be sharing the secrets of my species with a race that means us harm."
"Quite right," a cheerful voice said from behind her. Lisa whipped around. Leather jacket stood there with a strange whirring thing in his hands. The leader's face contorted. "Planned to infiltrate Earth and use humans as your guinea pigs for scientific progress?" Doctor guy shook his head, ignoring the weapons trained on him. "Shame on you. Under the shadow proclamation that is illegal for a sentient species. And guess what? This planet is protected. So, no. Bye, bye, pluzar!" He pressed a button on his whirring device. There was a flash of light and then the lizard people were gone.
Lisa stumbled back. "What?"
He approached her. "You alright, there?"
"Fine. What just happened?"
"Oh, I recharged the teleport on their ship remotely and reversed it. So they were all transported back."
"They are back in their ship? What is stopping them from just coming back!"
He gave that infuriating grin. "I also remotely set their coordinates, zooming them right back home."
"And then, how long until they get back again?"
"Oh, they won't. The pluzars are mostly a peace loving race. This is a heretic faction of one of their science organisations. They'll be punished once they return."
Lisa let out a breath and felt her legs wobble. She sat down on the floor. He rushed over, touching her shoulder, taking out the melting stick. She tried to get away. "Don't melt me!"
He looked at her, puzzled, then realisation dawned and he barked a laugh. "Don't worry, it only does that to guns. I'm just checking your vitals."
"Oh," Lisa said, not even having enough energy to be embarrassed. "Who are you anyway?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"What Doctor?"
"The Doctor."
"Oh," something did not make sense, but, she was too tired to figure it out now. A yawn overcame her.
"Yup," he said. "Just exhausted. A cup of tea and a nap and you will be right as rain."
"Oh good." That did sound lovely. But her bed was so far now... "Can I take a nap here?"
"Not right here," he said. "But see there?"
He pointed to the blue box. "You can sleep there."
"Oh good," Lisa said as he helped her up. "I don't mind sleeping standing upright. I'm really tired."
He grinned at her and lead her over, pulling the door open. Lisa stepped in and stopped. The Doctor stopped next to her, looking at her expectantly. "Doctor."
"Yes," he grinned. Lisa looked at around at the pretty coral room. Something tickled at the back of her mind. She was going to say something.
"It's very pretty," she said.
The Doctor blinked. "What?"
Lisa took a step forward and reached out to touch a column. "Yes, all coral and wavy and ooh..." she felt a warm tingle run up her arm.
"And alive..." She leaned her cheek against the column. "Warm and fuzzy, and Doctor?"
"Yes?"
"You said I can sleep."
"Err, yes, through that door, two left, three right, one left and the fourth on the left."
"Two, three, one, four, left, right, left, left. Got it."
She pushed the door open to a room with a cream carpet and light furniture. She got the feeling it did not fit very well, but the bed called her and she shoved all thought away as she sunk into the soft mattress.