Chapter Two: Living Plastic
The Doctor sat in the jump seat, contemplating recent events. The Autons had been pretty easy to blow up; that was taken care of. Rose, the blond girl, was probably safe at home and more worried about finding a new job than about the man who'd destroyed her old one.
And then there was Chloe Amanda Donnell. The little girl with light brown hair and hazel eyes who came across his TARDIS by mistake and waltzed right on in.
"Good morning!" a small voice called out. Little footsteps filled the console room. "Sleep well?"
"Good morning, Chloe," the Doctor smiled. "I don't usually sleep. What about you?"
"You really should sleep," she half-chastised. "Anyway, I slept great. Best sleep in ages."
"Fantastic!" The Doctor nearly jumped up into the air. "Now. Time for your first trip. Where to, Chloe Amanda Donnell? Backwards in time? Forwards? Another planet?" A monitor bleeped on the TARDIS. "Oh, you're kidding me."
"What is it?" Chloe asked, running to the Doctor's side.
"See that?" The Doctor pointed to a building that was lighting up with a red light. "There's Auton material in one of those flats."
"Auton? What's that?"
"Plastic," the Doctor explained. "Living plastic creatures."
"Living plastic?" Chloe raised an eyebrow. "How can plastic be alive?"
"Never mind that," the Doctor said. "We've got to go catch that Auton before it makes trouble."
"Are you sure peeking through a cat flap is the best idea?" Chloe asked as the Doctor pointed a small metal something-or-other at the cat flap and it popped open.
"No, but I'm doing it."
"I mean, what if there's someone inside? They might find it-" the door opened to reveal a blond girl, around nineteen or twenty years old "-creepy."
Apparently, the Doctor recognized the girl, because he asked "What're you doing here?"
"I live here," she replied.
"Well, what do you do that for?" the Doctor said.
"What, live there?" Chloe asked. "Because she does… not that I'm an expert on such things," she muttered.
"I'm only at home because someone blew up my job," the blond girl said pointedly, narrowing her eyes at the Doctor.
"You blew up her job?!" Chloe exclaimed.
"I must have got the wrong signal," the Doctor said, ignoring Chloe. "You're not plastic, are you?" He knocked on her forehead. "No, bonehead. Bye, then."
"Both of you, inside. Now." The blond girl pulled the two of them into the flat.
"Who is it?" a woman's voice called out from inside.
"It's about last night," the girl explained. "They're part of the inquiry. Give us ten minutes."
"She deserves compensation," the woman called.
The Doctor and Chloe walked into the doorway of the woman's bedroom. "Oh, we're talking millions," the Doctor grinned.
The woman gave a slight smile. "I'm in my dressing gown."
"Yes, you are," the Doctor nodded.
"There's a strange man in my bedroom," she continued.
"Yes, there is."
"Well, anything could happen," the woman said, waggling her eyebrows slightly. Chloe had to stifle the urge to fake-puke.
"No," the Doctor said, shaking his head, and he went to follow the girl, taking Chloe with him.
"You blew up her job," Chloe sighed. "Do you even know her name?"
"Rose," the Doctor replied. "Asked her before I blew the place up."
"Polite of you," Chloe muttered.
"Don't mind the mess," Rose called as they walked in. "Do either of you want a coffee?"
"Might as well, thanks," said the Doctor. "Just milk."
"Cup of water'd be great, thanks," Chloe grinned, sinking onto the couch.
"We should go to the police," said Rose as she left the room to go into the kitchen. "Seriously. Both of us. All three of us," she corrected herself when Chloe coughed pointedly.
"That won't last, he's gay and she's an alien," said the Doctor, holding up some sort of celebrity gossip magazine.
Rose continued over him, "I'm not blaming you, even if it was just some sort of joke that went wrong."
The Doctor flipped through a paperback, not really listening. "Hmm. Sad ending," he said.
"They said on the news they'd found a body," said Rose.
Chloe, in an attempt not to laugh at how neither of them cared about what the other was saying, picked up a piece of mail to see what Rose's last name was. "Tyler," she said softly. "Rose Tyler."
Meanwhile, the Doctor was looking at himself in a mirror. "Ah, could've been worse. Look at the ears." He pulled on the aforementioned objects.
"Hard not to," Chloe called.
"Oi!"
"All the same, he was nice," Rose said. "Nice bloke."
Still not listening, the Doctor picked up a pack of cards and tried to shuffle it, singing "Luck be a lady," and, while Rose said something about going to the police and wanting the Doctor to explain everything, the cards flew all over the place. "Maybe not." Just then, they heard rattling. "What's that, then? You got a cat?"
"No," Rose replied. "We did have, but now they're just strays. They come in off of the estate."
Just then, a plastic arm came flying out of nowhere and grabbed the Doctor, trying to strangle him. "Doctor!" Chloe screamed.
Rose came in from the kitchen with two mugs of coffee. "I'll get your water next." She turned to see the arm still strangling the Doctor. "I told Mickey to chuck that out. You're all the same. Give a man a plastic hand. Anyway, I don't even know your name. Doctor, what was it?"
"He's not faking it!" Chloe shouted as the Doctor pulled the arm off. It stopped in midair and then went for Rose's face. "Rose!" The Doctor and Chloe ran to pull the arm off of her face, but instead they all fell onto the glass coffee table, smashing it. It took a few moments, but finally the Doctor managed to get it off with his silver thing, and then jammed it into the hand's palm, causing the fingers to stop moving.
"It's all right, I've stopped it," the Doctor said, tossing the plastic hand to Chloe, whose face was pale with nervousness. "There you go, you see? 'Armless."
"Do you think?" She hit the Doctor with the arm.
"Ow!" the Doctor shouted. "Come on, let's go." And he grabbed Chloe's hand and led her out the door.
"Hold on a minute," Rose said, running after them. "You can't just go swanning off."
"Yes we can. Here we are. This is us, swanning off. See ya!" The Doctor and Chloe kept running down the stairs.
"But that arm was moving," Rose argued. "It tried to kill me."
"Ten out of ten for observation," said the Doctor.
"You're nice," Chloe muttered.
"You can't just walk away!" Rose exclaimed. "That's not fair. You've got to tell me what's going on!"
"No, I don't," the Doctor replied snarkily.
"All right, then," said Rose. "I'll go to the police. I'll tell everyone. You said, if I did that, I'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell me, or I'll start talking."
"Is that supposed to sound tough?" the Doctor asked.
"Sort of," Rose said.
"Doesn't work."
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Told you," said the Doctor, "The Doctor."
"Yeah, but Doctor what?"
"Just the Doctor." He turned to look at Chloe, rolling his eyes slightly.
"The Doctor," Rose said disbelievingly.
"Hello!" The Doctor grinned and waved.
"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" she asked.
"Sort of," he shrugged.
"Right, and who's the kid?" She pointed at Chloe.
"Chloe Amanda Donnell," Chloe replied, scowling slightly.
"Come on, then. You can tell me. I've seen enough. Are you the police?"
"Funny you should ask," Chloe chuckled.
"No, I was just passing through," said the Doctor. "I'm a long way from home."
"But what have I done wrong?" Rose asked. "How comes those plastic things keep coming after me?"
"Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around you," the Doctor said with more of that snark. "You were just an accident. You got in the way, that's all."
"It tried to kill me," she argued.
"It was after me, not you," he explained. "Last night, in the shop, I was there, you blundered in, almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down. The only reason it fixed on you is 'cos you've met me."
Rose pondered this, and then said, "So what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you."
"Sort of, yeah," said the Doctor.
"You're full of it," Chloe laughed.
"Sort of, yeah." He gave Chloe's hand a squeeze and pulled her closer. He really did like this little girl.
"But, all this plastic stuff… who else knows about it?"
"No one," said the Doctor.
"What, you're on your own?" Rose asked.
"Well, I've got Chloe," the Doctor said, "and she's fantastic. But otherwise, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly, while all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on."
Rose grabbed the Doctor's other hand. "Okay. Start from the beginning. I mean, if we're going to go with the living plastic, and I don't even believe that, but if we do, how did you kill it?"
The Doctor sighed, and then gave in. "The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal, dead."
"So that's… radio control?" Chloe asked.
"Thought control," the Doctor corrected. Rose looked surprised. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "So, who's controlling it, then?"
"Long story," the Doctor said quickly.
"But what's it all for?" she asked. "I mean, shop window dummies, what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?"
"No," said the Doctor. "It's not a price war." Chloe laughed. "They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me."
"No," Rose replied.
"But you're still listening," Chloe pointed out.
Rose stopped, and then called after them. "Really, though, Doctor. Tell me, who are you?"
The Doctor stopped, and then turned back, grabbing Rose's hand. "Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving? It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go-" he let go of Rose's hand "-that's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home." He turned and began walking away. "Come on, Chloe."
Hey everyone! Here's chapter two!
Remember to checkout What the Fluff!
And, as always, love and ducks to the Lone Shippers, hugs to supporters, thanks to Eleonora, Noe, Hanul, and Kizzie, shoutouts to my sisters, and cookies for all!
Love,
Ofelia xxxx
