A/N: The last chapter was kinda short, but this one promises to be a bit longer in response to a few reviews from close friends. Sorry it took forever to get up!

Chapter Two: Still Running…

He saves planets, rescues civilizations, defeats terrible creatures... and runs a lot. Seriously, there is an outrageous amount of running involved. – Donna Noble

The Doctor and Alex ran for their lives down the narrow alleyway as the cloaked men chased them down.

"So, do you have a plan, Doctor?" Alex hissed. She was still miffed about the ruse he had been pulling about being 'John Smith.'

"Um, no, not yet, but I'm working on it," the Doctor replied. He glanced behind them to see if the men had fallen back, to no avail. In fact, they were gliding closer, if he wasn't mistaken. A quick head count revealed that there were four men in the group. "Four white suited, black cloaked men with gloves and masks chasing a young, American woman, probably mid-twenties, around London on Christmas Eve… Who, or should I say, what are you, and why are you so interested in Alex…" he mused under his breath.

"Sorry, did you say something?" Alex panted, not bothering to look back and be discouraged.

"Hmm? Nothing much. Just the mutterings of an old man talking to himself," he assured her, tearing his gaze away from their pursuers.

"'Old man'? You don't look much older than your mid-thirties!" she exclaimed back, looking at him, right eyebrow raised.

"Trust me, I'm much, much older than that. Most of the time it doesn't affect me, but every once in a while…" the Doctor trailed off, a deep sadness reflected in his brown eyes. Just as quickly as it had come, the sadness was gone in a flash. "Oh dear, looks like we're in even more trouble." Two more cloaked figures popped up out of nowhere several feet in front of them. Alex and the Doctor could now clearly see that they wore white, full-faced theater masks with almost grinning crescents for the eyes and mouth.

"What now?" Alex asked exasperatedly, throwing her hands up as she and the Doctor stopped in their tracks next to a door. She jiggled the doorknob, but it was locked tight. "I can't get it open. It's over, we're done for," she cried out with a sigh.

"It's not over yet! Let me have a looksee," the Doctor said, pushing her aside and moving up to the door. His hand reached into his coat lining and he pulled the 'penlight' out again. Within seconds, he was pointing it at the doorknob, flipping through different frequencies.

"Your 'penlight'? What on Earth do you think a penlight will do to help us with a locked-" Alex stopped ranting as she heard a click come from the door.

"That!" the Doctor replied triumphantly, opening the door and stepping in before Alex's astonished face. "Well, don't just stand there, get inside!" He motioned for her to enter quickly. Alex followed his instruction, slamming the door shut behind her. The Doctor pointed his light-thing at the door again, running it around the edges after it was locked. "That should hold them up a little longer!" he said, twirling his penlight between his fingers.

"Alright, that is definitely not a penlight. Penlights do not bleep doors open and close, or whatever it did. Tell me the truth, what is that?" Alex asked, pointing at the object in the Doctor's fingers.

The Doctor sighed. "You've got me. It's actually a screwdriver," he admitted.

"A screwdriver? Really? That's certainly an interesting screwdriver. What makes it so special, other than the fact that it looks nothing like a screwdriver?" Alex asked.

"Oh, well, it's sonic, see?" He pressed a button causing the screwdriver to emit a high pitched sound. "Makes a noise."

"So a sonic screwdriver… Never heard of those before. Where'd you get it, a hardware store?" she questioned sarcastically.

"Not exactly-" The Doctor was cut off by a loud bang on the door. "Let's get out of here," he said, stowing the sonic in his coat once more. Alex ran with him through what appeared to be an abandoned computer factory. Various pieces of equipment were scattered among and between the eerily silent assembly lines. "This way!" the Doctor said, pulling her through a door, down a few flights of stairs, and through a final door to the basement area. He sonic-ed the basement door and looked at Alex, who stared back at him, arms crossed. "What?" he said defensively.

"Nothing," she said, looking back at him. "Nothing's wrong, nothing at all. You know, I'm only being chased by strange men, I run into you, you lie to me about who you are, and I just… I don't even know what to think anymore," she said, sounding desperate and tired at the end of her rant. Slumping to the ground, Alex leaned dejectedly against a box filled with miscellaneous parts. "Now, we're trapped in the basement of some old factory and I just feel so helpless."

The Doctor looked at Alex for a second before squatting down in front of her. "No," he said, pointing at her, a determined glint in his eyes. "You are not helpless. We will get out of here, and we will find out who they are and why they're chasing you. Do not give up. Ever." He looked into her eyes again to drive his point home. "Now, if- no, when we get out of here to safety, I will try to answer your questions to the best of my ability, but for now, I need you to look behind you."

Confused, Alex turned her head around to see what he was trying to show her. "All I see are boxes of computer parts," she said slowly.

"Yes, boxes filled with computer parts. As in, bits and pieces of technology we can use," the Doctor said, helping the girl to her feet.

"What can you make out of scraps?" she asked, pulling several boxes to the center of the room.

"You'd be surprised," he replied cryptically as he started pulling bits and pieces out and scanning them with the sonic before placing them in seemingly random piles on the floor. "Alrighty then!" he said, clapping his hands together once the piles were to his liking. "Grab that and bring it over there," he said, running around and grabbing other items while pointing with the sonic.

Alex complied and they set to work putting different pieces together. Soon enough, the pair of them had the beginnings of something that Alex couldn't name, when a loud banging erupted from the door. They looked up, startled with wide eyes, before glancing at each other. "It's almost done," the Doctor assured her, running the diagnostics of the device through the sonic. "That door should hold them up for another ten minutes…" The banging stopped and a high pitched whine could be heard as sparks began to appear by the hinges. "Make that five."

They sped up the combination of items, the Doctor cutting wires and welding them back together with the sonic while Alex grabbed everything he needed, like a surgeon's assistant. Around five minutes later, the Doctor exclaimed, "AHA!" just as the whining stopped and the door fell inwards with a loud thud.

Standing in the frame of the released door were three of the cloaked men, seemingly grinning at the trapped state of the Doctor and Alex. The Doctor stuffed his sonic in his coat and grabbed the bulky device from the ground and backed up slowly, grabbing Alex's arm as he did so. He manipulated some buttons and switches with his thumb as the men advanced. "Sooo," he asked, stalling for time. "What exactly do you lot think you're doing, chasing this lovely American woman on her Christmas vacation in London, eh? It's not really polite to be doing that to a person, especially a foreigner, no offense," he said, looking at Alex.

"None taken," she replied softly, glancing nervously between the Doctor and the three men.

"Aaanyways, I just think it's a bit crude, ill-mannered, etcetera, etcetera," he finished, taking a deep breath between his teeth. "You probably have us trapped for good now, so I have just one question for you." The three men cocked their heads to the side, as if they were curious. The Doctor's face turned serious, his thumb hovering over a blue button on the device behind his back. "Did you know that a basic vortex manipulator can be made out of human-made computer scraps?" With that, he pushed the button, pulled a surprised Alex in close, and the two of them disappeared in a flash of light before the three cloaked men could even react.

A/N: No, no ninth Doctor just yet, but he's coming, don't worry. ;) Anyway, review please, and I'll try to get the next chapter going soon.