The TARDIS screeched to a halt. Lady lifted the huge black handle and pulled out the brake.
"Noisy, aren't you?" She smiled and stared at the glowing centre tube. "Now!" She clapped and addressed her beautiful ancient machine. "Where did you take me this time?"
She skipped down the steps, her incredibly wild white hair bouncing on her shoulders and slowly opened the door.
It was present day London. The buildings were 21st century, the cars fairly modern. Lady pouted. But something was wrong. Lady stepped outside cautiously. It was empty. Not a soul in sight. It was night-time, she admitted, but it wasn't usually this deserted.
The TARDIS had landed in a park surrounded by tall buildings, which were fairly spaced apart. No one walked or drove in the area.
"Hello?" She called, a hand raised to her mouth. "Hey! Where did all you humans go? Come on, you never disappear this quickly!" She smiled and curled her lip. She folded her hands behind her back and walked around. "My goodness this is boring. You-who! Anybody?"
She snooped around the streets until she heard a loud screeching noise. "Huh?" Before she could blink she was suddenly knocked to the ground. The screech turned explosive and she felt a sudden gust of heat against her skin. Flustered, she scrambled to her feet.
A pair of hands firmly held her down. Lady had been thrown into an alleyway behind a couple of dustbins. She peeked over and saw a scorch mark of the spot where she had just stood. She swallowed and addressed the person who had saved her.
It was a young boy, of 21 years, with messy brown hair. His face was dirty and had bags under his emerald eyes. He wore two sweaters and a long battered coat. Tied around his waist was another jumper and a long striped scarf was around his neck. Weathered boots tied to his feet and torn trousers covered his legs. Lady blinked and opened her mouth, but the boy lifted a finger to his lips.
"Quiet", he whispered. He pointed up and Lady followed. Above between the buildings was a large faint airship. It made a low grumbling sound and reflected the street lights, making it glow. Lady stared in awe.
"Sweet." The boy's jaw dropped and stared, harshly whispering.
"Sweet? Are you kidding! That thing has been taking people for the past two months now! How is that sweet?" His eyes narrowed. "You're not one of them, are you?" Lady held up her hands and shook her head. He wasn't convinced. "Tell me something that they wouldn't."
Lady scratched her chin. "David Cameron is a massive clot."
The boy narrowed his eyes, but nodded and stood. "It's safe, the Cloud doesn't come back until the next night."
"Cloud?" The boy nodded.
"We call it that because whenever someone sees it, it's always said to be a cloud and ignored. Nothing more. Annoys the crap out of me." Lady laughed.
"Well, the good this is I know."
"What good is that?"
Lady smiled. "Because I know what it is." The boy lightened up.
"Really?" he said hopefully. But he then stopped and his face darkened. "How can I trust you?"
"I'm trusting you. And that is a good enough excuse." She nodded and walked over the dustbins and examined the scorch marks. She crouched down and pulled out a large long army knife. She flicked out a little glowing device and scanned the marks. "Hmm…." She titled her head and curled her lip. "These marks, do you ever see how they're made?"
"Unfortunately, no. There's a intense heat wave, you felt it, and burst of light, so if I tried to look I'd probably lose my sight." Lady sighed.
"Damn. Oh well, you knowing would only confirm suspicions."
"Of who?" The boy asked. Lady swung her device and poked the boy in the chest with it. He gave a tiny welp.
"Ceros. Bad news. They tend to like using a certain type of fuel for their energy source."
"What?"
"Lifeforms." Lady wrinkled her nose and said grimly.
"But, energy cannot be made like that." The boy objected. Lady objected right back.
"Oh, yes it can! They are a young race, younger planet, so things like coal and oil are not discovered yet. So, they have developed a different way of harvesting energy. Very interesting looking, these guys." Lady skipped and started walking away. The boy followed. Her hand made movements as she explained. "Tall, skinny, dark-skin toned. Big thick hands. Even bigger heads. Empty though." She grinned. "About three thousands light years…" Lady pointed south east into the night sky, "That way?" The boy swallowed.
"The way you talk about them… sounds like they're… aliens." Lady nodded.
"Not that hard to figure out, Einstein." The boy pouted in annoyance. Anyway, they are obviously running low on planet Ettrick so that's probably why they're re-fuelling here." She stopped. " Did you say a month? And a person per night?" The boy nodded. Lady scratched her chin. "Two humans would easily power one ship. Why stay for a month?" Again she scratched. "Kid, how many ships?"
"Oh, just the one." He was annoyed at being called 'kid', but he didn't want to tell her his name just yet.
"Are you sure? Could be more."
"Well, to be honest they kind of look the same. Sometimes even I think it could be a cloud."
"There has to be more. Only reason to stay this long. Actually", she grabbed his shoulders and grinned, "the humans are still alive. They are collecting, not using! Well, not just yet anyway. We can still save them!" Her eyes sparkled. The boy's didn't.
"What can we do? How can we even get on their ship?"
"I told you before. You have me!" Lady grinned smugly.
"Yeah, and who are you?"
"Oh, Lady." The boy raised his eyebrow.
"Yes, I can see that. But what's your name."
"No, Lady. That's my name."
He frowned. "Bit unimaginative." She shrugged.
"It's the name I remember. I had several once. But only this own remains." Lady stared off somewhere and the boy was polite enough not to ask.
"Well, mine's Axe. Hey." He smiled and reached out shaking her hand.
"Wonderful name and it's a pleasure, Axe. Now follow me, do as I say and hopefully we will live." Axe's eyes went wide while Lady laughed. "Don't worry, I have a brilliant track record. And now, we plan!"
To his suggestion, Axe led Lady into a basement of an old bar. It was small and cramped, filled with boxes, bags and sheets. It led Lady to believe he lived here.
"Once you get past the smell, it's still bad." Lady blankly stated. She wrinkled her nose. Axe weakly defended it.
"It's home." He shrugged. "Yeah, and the smell won't go away."
"It's cat? I smell cat." Lady bended over and sniffed around. "And sausages. And…" She licked her finger and held it up "Moths?" Axe nodded.
"We have to have so much fabric. It keeps us safe." Lady frowned as she sat on a wooden crate.
"I've never known Ceros to be allergic to fabric." He shook his head.
"No, somehow wrapping ourselves thick keeps us undetected." She smiled.
"Of course! Hide the energy being emitted. The clothing smothers it. But won't being covered in clothing make you sweat? Hence energy being used?"
"It's London. If you shiver, it gives off more, because you're moving more. Plus, we don't go out at night when it's colder."
"Of course." Lady smiled, looking around the room and scanning different areas. "Sometimes I forget about the basic human anatomy."
Axe pointed at her. "Hey, you're one too. How could you forget?" Lady grinned sheepishly.
"Quite easily actually." She fist pumped her chest."Not a trace of human blood. Sorry to drop a bomb shell, but I'm alien too." Axe stepped away and picked up a pole that laid next a box.
"But you said you weren't one of them!" He yelled. Lady stood up and reassured him.
"That is true. I'm alien, but not Ceros." He still held out his weapon. "Rather die than be one of them."
Axe's pole was still there, Lady looked at it in amusement. "How do I know you're still not dangerous?"
"You're still here, aren't you?" Lady shrugged; as if that was the best answer she could offer. She sat back down and continued talking, while Axe still held defence, her words ringing in his mind. Lady brushed her fingers through her hair. "Now, in order to lure the ships, we would need to release a huge load of energy. The only source of that amount would be the TARDIS and no way I am giving them that."
"TARDIS?"
"Spaceship." Lady waved her hand, Axe however still confused. "I know for a fact that while the ships detect energy, the Ceros themselves have a great sense of smell. Which covering with clothing that smells of cat also helps. Smart cookies." She raised an eyebrow and stopped. "Hey, the cat! Where is it?" She grinned and begged Axe. "I want to play with it."
"Oh", he said, taken aback, pole lowering. "I'm sure she's around somewhere." He shrugged while Lady squealed.
"Oh, a girl! How cute. I have a thing for Earth cats." As if on queue, a faint 'meow' was heard and a ball of orange tattered fur was seen rubbing against Axe's legs. "Aw! It's so adorable!"
"Isn't there more important things?" Lady held up a hand.
"Quiet! I want a cuddle." She smiled and beckoned it over. "Name?"
"Scraps." Lady wrinkled her nose. He shrugged. "I found her eating my scraps, and it stuck. Hello, Scraps." He looked down lovingly to the cat, which purred. He picked her up and placed her in Lady's arms. At first the cat disapproved but soon was snug. Lady was ecstatic.
"This is awesome!" She whispered, as if not to wake her up. Axe stared at her. "Fine. Serious time. I want to lore them over, hijack a ship and question the captain into leaving."
"And them kill them?"
Lady blinked. "Why would I kill them?" Axe blinked back, surprised.
"Because they have been kidnapping humans!"
"If they attack me and refuse a brilliant offer, I will retaliate. But I always present myself as defensive. Things tend to go better in your favour that way."
"So, if they refuse, you will kill them?"
"Well, I try not too. Spilling blood human or alien is a terrible thing. Why are you so eager?" Axe looked down.
"My brother. He's up there. I told him not to get food! You see, if we go out in the day, the police try and catch us and take us to the army or jail if we are caught stealing food. If we go at night it's the Cloud. It's a slimmer chance getter caught regardless, but we try and risk it at day. He didn't listen."
"The army sounds bad."
"They'll separate us too." He sighed. "And no one would look after Scraps. I have a list of reasons." He shrugged. "But if my brother is alive, fine, don't kill them. But if they have recycled him, let me kill the one who did it."
"And then where would you be? An eye for an eye?" Lady raised an eyebrow. "'An eye for an eye will make the world blind.' Love Gandhi, met him once. Skinny chap." She suddenly remembered the conversation. "Nope, I will deal with it. Not another word." She stared him down then continued planning. Axe sat down on a stool, pole in hand and watched her. After an hour of scribbling on a rough piece of paper she sighed. "Bah! I cannot work here. These are hardly proper conditions. Back to the TARDIS!" She leapt up and raced up the basement steps. She stopped, turned around and poked her head back down. "Coming Axe?" He hesitated but quickly followed her, dropping the pole.
They walked out into the street and it was morning. The roads were busy again with the morning rush. People walked past shops and hurried into the underground or raced in taxis and buses. Axe stayed close to Lady, hiding and ducking whenever an officer came into view.
He seemed relaxed until an old woman with unusually big hands walked past carrying a metal detector. Lady didn't seem to notice her but Axe became stiff and kept his vision fixed. He stared until she turned the corner.
They reached the park and there stood a telephone booth. The windows weren't see-through and caution tape
was wrapped around it. However, Lady was able to open it, as the tape only looked like it looped around. Axe stood back and laughed, hands on hips.
"This is your grand and mighty spaceship? It's a telephone booth." Lady shrugged.
"Suit yourself." She unlocked it with a key around her neck and strolled in, closing the door behind her. After a few seconds, Axe decided to open it and tell her off for being a liar. He grabbed the handle, pushed it in, (strange as these doors would usually pull out) and gasped in awe.
A room ten times the size of the original booth filled Axe's vision. In the centre on a grand platform was a glowing tube from the roof to the floor and a dashboard around it. There were walkways leading to other rooms and some of the walls were filled with books. Lady leaned against the controls arms folded and a smug smile. "Oh, look at that. Gotcha, didn't I? I usually do."
"Wow." Axe breathed as he slowly twirled around, taking in the room. Lady smiled at his dumbfounded face. "This is impossible."
She held up a finger. "Wrong. Nothing's impossible to a Gallifreyian! Please, not even in our vocabulary." She frowned. "Actually, I'm not sure if it even is. Oh well." Axe walked up to the platform with the console. He stared at the buttons and levers and handles. There even was an old typewriter. However instead of letters was strange circular symbols. He reached out and gently touched it, smiling.
"I cannot even begin to describe it."
"Don't. The best things are always gone unsaid." Lady said absently as she stared lovingly at the glowing column.
"Where did you get this? How did you even build it?" Axe gave her a side smile in amazement. "I mean, it's bigger on the outside." Lady curled her lip.
"Not built, grown. We grow TARDIS's."
Axe scoffed and laughed. "You can't grow pure metal." Lady shrugged.
"Fine, whatever. Now, what is the time?"
He shrugged. Lady sighed but remembered and pulled out a long pocket watch that sat around her neck. She clicked her tongue. "Only 7 in the morning. No matter to a Time Lady!" She smiled, and focused on the console. "Just skip a few hours, that's all..."
Axe jumped down the platform and poked his head out the door. He then walked out, circled the booth a few more times just to be saw and came back it, head shaking and mouth in a wide smile. "We definitely have a while, the Cloud doesn't come until midnight."
"Ah, midnight. How poetic." Lady smiled. "My favourite time. We need to find something that bursts out tons of energy." She frowned and closed her eyes, sitting on a bench near the console. "Cardiff!" She cried and jumped up, scaring Axe.
"Cardiff? In Wales?"
"Oh, yes! There's a rip in space there that releases a TON of energy!" She squealed with glee. "There's enough to power them for decades!" She flew to the controls and staring pressing buttons and flipping switches Lady started typing things into the typewriter.
"Hang on, if these things sense energy small enough in humans, how on earth did they miss a rip in Cardiff?" Axe asked, stopping Lady. She frowned and let go of the controls.
"That is an excellent question." She sat back down. "My TARDIS uses that energy easily, a Ceros spaceship would have no trouble."
"Maybe they only use a certain type? Like you using gas, but they use oil. So they would only seek their 'type.'" Axe offered as he sat crossed legged on the floor.
"That's… true." Lady widened her eyes. "Yes! That's it! I can convert the energy into something a bit more usable! My TARDIS uses the energy at its most complicated, the Ceros, smart as they are, the spaceships aren't nearly as complex as mine! Oh Axe I love you!" She raced over and kissed Axe on the top of his head. "You should wash more." She added before she threw herself back on the console and flicked and pushed levers. "Axe, grab onto that rail there! Going to be a bumpy ride!" she called out and Axe instantly obeyed. "Hold on!" She laughed as the whole TARDIS creaked and groaned before tilting to the left sharply. A couple of sparks flew from the dashboard and Lady grinned in glee, the light reflecting in her mad eyes. Axe glanced at her and felt he was in the presence of a lunatic After a few more seconds, the TARDIS moaned and thudded, while sounds of mechanical whistles filled the air.
"Cardiff! Right on target!" Lady threw down the throttle and pulled out the brake. She walked over and knelt next to Axe, who had closed his eyes and was glued to the rail. "Axe? Ride's over, you can open your eyes now." He opened them slowly and sighed.
"How do you not get sick every time?"
"Born with it." She winked and strolled down to the door. "Hurry up, got only to midnight to power up a Ceros ship." She walked out with Axe following quickly behind.
He stumbled out and gasped. Cardiff. There it was. The booth had done it. "Now, where's that old rip?" Lady walked around and pulled out the pocketknife. She changed it into a sensor and started scanning random spots in the air and ground. The TARDIS had taken them to Cardiff Bay, with the Roald Dahl Plass just a few feet away. Several people glanced over at the strange young woman, scanning random spots and muttering. Axe walked around the ship and was surprised to see that the telephone booth had changed slightly. The spelling of 'Telephone' was changed to 'Dros y ffôn'. The caution tape was also changed the spelling 'rhybuddiad'.
"What happened to the ship?" Axe shouted twice as Lady was quite a distance away, still scanning the skies.
"Huh?"
"The ship!" Axe pointed as Lady looked in his direction. She walked back to him and was told again.
"Oh, Chameleon Circuit." She said as if that was all she had to say. She sighed. "It's a disguise mechanism. Allows me to blend in. See? Changed to Welsh becomes we're in Wales. If we were in China I would have become something more common there. A phone booth from Britain would stand out. Okay?" She looked slightly rushed and was angered that after a few more minutes she couldn't find it. "Oh, dammit! What happened to it? It's not like it sealed."
"Could it?" Asked Axe. Lady shook her head.
"No way. A rip that old and big? No chance." She walked around again and Axe tried to help too, even if he didn't have a little device. Finally, Lady found it. "About time!" She cried from the middle of a fountain. "Those stupid humans build a fountain right on top of it!" She shouted, soaking wet. Axe stood at the edge and stared in wonder how she was not embarrassed to be standing in the middle of a fountain banging on about space rips and stupid humans. On queue, people started staring. He held out a hand.
"Come on, get out of it." Lady ignored the hand.
"No, still need to harness it." The tone she said it in was almost childish. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a metal cylinder the size of a 30cm ruler that was covered in circuits and wires Lady pressed a small red button on the lid. A whirring noise was heard as Axe felt a strange sensation in his fingers. "Tingling? Yeah, it does that." She smiled as Axe kept wiggling his fingers. She waited five minutes and pushed the button again, sealing the lid. "There we go!" she laughed and jumped out of the fountain. "Filled to the brim."
"Will it be enough?" Axe asked as they ran back to the ship.
"Defiantly. This is in a complex form. Wait until I break it down! There will be more then the Ceros knows what to do with!"
They arrived back in London in a slightly less shaky departure. Axe held his own a little better this time. "Oh, I'm never going to get used to that." He murmured under his breath. Lady caught his words and gave a funny look. It was almost like he was expecting to go again. She shook it from her head.
"Anyway, the plan is we stand in the middle of the street, release a tiny bit from the can and wait." Lady lifted the cylinder from a small platform in the console that was converting the energy.
"That's it?" Axe objected. "We'd be sitting ducks." They walked out of the TARDIS and headed back to the basement.
"It's the only one." She shrugged and half-smiled. "Get equipment." She said as she tied up her long white hair. She tied up her boots tighter and brushed dust of her shirt. Lady placed the container back into her jacket and checked her army knife was in her pocket. Axe had ditched a sweater and placed a small blade into his belt. After giving a small bowl of food to Scraps he was ready. Lady was waiting on the stairs. She fiddled with the settings on the cylinder and clicked her tongue. "Finished. Ready?"
Axe replied a little nervously. "As ready as I'll ever be to fight aliens that are turning humans into energy."
"That's the spirit!" Lady laughed and punched the air, racing up the stairs.