"You know," I said as we walked through the hallways of the school, "you remind me a lot of the Professor."
"Really? How so?" The Doctor walked next to me, his hands now in the pockets of his blue suit pants.
"You're personalities are a lot alike. Both of you seem very fascinated by new things."
"That I am."
I smiled. "So where are you really from?"
He took a deep breath. "Another planet."
"England," chimed in Micaela. "Walton to be more specific."
"So I think I can infer that you're not human."
"Time Lord."
"Why are you telling her all this?" whispered Micaela. "You never tell anybody just like that."
"Well, she's a smart girl; I can tell. She would've figured it out sooner or later."
I could tell my cheeks went red. "I'm going to take a wild guess here, but I'm assuming Time Lord is alien?"
The Doctor chuckled, but Micaela continued to study me.
"Yeah, I am."
The conversation ended as we reached the Professor's office. I creaked the door open slightly and peeked my head in.
"Hi Professor," I said.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" He smiled at me as he finished reading the last sentence of an article.
"I have a couple people who would like to meet you."
"Then bring them in."
I opened the door all the way and stepped inside his office, giving the Doctor and Micaela an open walkway. When I looked to my right, I saw Alex standing there, his arms across his chest. Micaela walked in slowly behind the Doctor, who walked in like he had been in there a thousand times.
I watched the Professor's face as they walked in and I saw his eyes lock onto the Doctor. He stared at him intently- I could tell he was reading his mind. By the look of the Doctor's eyes, I could tell he knew it was happening too. The Professor's face became very dreadful.
"You are very far away from home," he said. His voice was almost at a whisper.
"Yes, I am." The Doctor's voice remained strong.
"You're a Time Lord; I've heard of your kind before, but only in myths. There used to be a whole planet of your people." He paused. "But now there's only you."
"How did he know all of that?" asked Micaela. Her face was contorted with confusion.
"Professor Xavier is a telepath," I explained. "He's one of the most powerful mutants alive."
"Is he Class Five too?"
"I'm not really sure; he's never said."
The Professor moved around his desk and waved over to the chairs, his metal wheelchair glimmering in the sunlight.
"Please, take a seat," he said.
Micaela nodded a thank you and sat down.
"Thanks, but I'd rather stand," said the Doctor.
The Professor nodded and stopped himself in front of his desk and faced us. I walked over to the edge of the Professor's desk and took a seat on the corner.
"Something terrible is happening," read the Professor. His eyes were locked back on the Doctor.
"The Daleks have returned." The Doctor's voice was cold and sharp. I could almost taste the bitterness that flowed from his tongue. "I can't defeat them alone."
"You need us."
"If you'd allow it, yes."
"Wait a minute, what's a Dalek?" interrupted Alex.
"Hold on a minute."
The Doctor's eyes shifted toward the window and his hands had risen to tell us to be quiet.
"Doctor," said Micaela, "what is it?"
"Shhh!" He stood up and waved his hands up and down. "Listen."
We all quieted and looked around the room as we listened for this mysterious noise the Doctor was hearing. Then, I heard a muffled noise from outside. It vaguely reminded me of a bubble machine.
"I hear something," I whispered. "It sounds like something flying with a silencer on the engine."
The Doctor moved slowly toward the window.
"If Daleks find anything out of the ordinary," said a high pitched, robotic voice, "exterminate!"
I looked over at the Doctor and his eyes grew wide. He reached the window in two steps and slowly moved the curtain back. My curiosity overshadowing my fear, I slowly took a place next to him.
Flying above the ground, were several oversized pepper shaker-resembling things heading straight for the school. They had three silver rods extending from their metal shells. One had a blue camera and was positioned toward the top of the thing as if it was an eye.
Then in the middle of its body were a laser on one side and a small suction-cuppy looking device on the other.
"They're here," said the Doctor. He bent his neck to get a better view. "But there are only a few of them. Scouts."
"What are they?" Alex stood behind me, staring out the window from over my shoulder.
"THAT is a Dalek. They're aliens that know nothing but hate. They are the ones who killed my people."
The Doctor spoke quickly as his brain worked faster than his mouth. Suddenly, he flipped his body around and faced the Professor.
"Get the students to a safe place. Now."
The Professor looked at for him for a moment, then, without question, wheeled himself to the other side of his desk and pushed a button on the underside. An alarm rang throughout the school and I heard the wood paneled walls move as they revealed several emergency escape passages.
"The teachers are wondering what's going on," said the Professor. "What do I tell them?"
"Tell them nothing," spat the Doctor. His panic was rising. "Just tell them to let me take care of it."
Then, a large bang echoed through the room as the front door to the school was blasted off its hinges. The Doctor and Micaela walked to the door. He reached for the knob, but paused and looked at her.
"What?" she said. "I've been against them before, I can do it again. Besides, I'm not going to abandon you."
He sighed, knowing he wasn't going to persuade her otherwise. I took a few steps forward and nodded to Alex to do the same. He nodded back and moved next to me. The Doctor opened the door and carefully ventured out into the hallway. Micaela, Alex and I followed after him.
"Professor, go with the kids," I said as I left. "They need you."
I banged the wall and another passage opened. He nodded and began to go through. Once the wall closed, I went into the hallway. The Doctor and Micaela stood side by side and Alex flanked them. I took my stance next to Alex and looked down the hall.
One of the Daleks came through the foyer and stopped. He was facing straight ahead, unaware of us. Slowly, it turned and faced us. It's blue eye scanned us from head to toe. Then it looked at the center of our pack and stared at the Doctor.
"The Doctor!" shouted the alien. "Our greatest enemy!
Exterminate!"
Alex stepped forward and aimed. He took a deep breath.
"No, no, no! Wait!" The Doctor stepped in front of Alex, sprawling himself out to stop him from firing.
"Try to give them a chance."
The Doctor straightened himself out and stepped toward the Dalek.
"Why are you here?" he asked. "What do you want?"
"We do not answer to the Doctor."
"Then answer me," I blurted out. "Why are you here?"
The Dalek's camera turned to me. "We do not tolerate outbursts. Exterminate!"
Out of the thin cage on one of the metal rods shot out a blue laser beam. I raised my hands and moved them in a circular shape, creating an air field around us. Then, as the laser hit the barrier, I shot my hand out and up, redirecting the beam toward the ceiling. It hit the wood and splinters fell down around us.
"Something never seen?" The Dalek stared at me.
Alex stepped forward again and this time took no hesitation in shooting a large, red energy beam at the Dalek. The shot shattered the tank-like shell and smoke filled the air. As the fog cleared, we saw a gaping hole in the center of the shell and a large splat of goop was flattened around the inside.
"Is the goop the actual Dalek?" I asked.
"Yeah," answered Micaela. "The shell is just protection."
"Wow," said the Doctor. "I forgot how amazing mutants are."
He took off down the hallway and stopped at the corner.
"Well, come on then! There's more."
Alex and I looked at each other before running after him. We went floor by floor around the mansion, taking out any Daleks we found. I continued to defend us with an air shield while Alex took out the Daleks. Once we did one extra check of the campus, we deemed the campus clear.
"Alright," said Alex. He was breathing heavily from running around the entire campus and he rested his hands on his knees. "What the fuck," he pointed toward the mansion, "are they?"