In the swirling tunnel of the Space-Time Vortex, the TARDIS was gently drifting through the infinity of time and space. On-board the incredible time vessel, the Doctor, the ship's vagabond pilot, was sitting in an easy chair, reading a good book and enjoying a nice hot cup of tea. He very rarely got some nice quiet moments like this and he was taking the opportunity to catch up on the 'Artemis Fowl' book that had been given to him several months ago by Sam, Clover and Alex, agents of WOOHP (World Organisation Of Human Protection). It was a small token of gratitude for helping save their mothers and the whole world from one of the Master's diabolical schemes, and Alex in particular thought the works of Eoin Colfer would appeal to the wandering Time Lord.
"What's this? 'Nothing can escape a time-field'?" the Doctor quoted from the book. He raised an eyebrow and tutted to himself. "Doesn't that centaur know anything about temporal engineering? He might as well just hand over the keys to the entire LEP bank!"
The Doctor was just turning the next page, when there was a sudden and urgent bleeping sound coming from the TARDIS control console. Springing to his feet, he dashed over to the console and examined the instruments. There was an urgent message coming through from the space-time telegraph. Flicking a few switches, the Doctor got the message to appear on the display monitor hanging from the ceiling.
'DEAR DOCTOR, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, BUT THERE'S A BIT OF TROUBLE TAKING PLACE ON EARTH AND WE COULD USE YOUR HELP. WOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO COME TO WOOHP HEADQUARTERS STRAIGHT AWAY PLEASE? YOURS SINCERELY, JERRY LEWIS.'
The Doctor frowned. He had given Jerry his own version of the space-time telegraph on the express instruction that it was only to be used in an absolute emergency, so something fairly serious must be taking place on Earth. On the other hand, considering some of the things the girls had told him about the head of WOOHP, it could just as easily turn out to be an invitation to the annual WOOHP picnic or possibly the next spy gadget show.
"Ah well," sighed the Doctor, "a sandwich at a picnic would be rather nice." He set the controls and within seconds, the TARDIS was on its way to the World Organisation Of Human Protection.
"This is so weird!" said Clover as she looked through the Penthouse window at the view outside. "Since when does it snow in the middle of July?"
Alex nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we were just chilling out at the beach a couple of days ago. Then the clouds come in and it's chilly everywhere!"
'Chilly' was an understatement for the state of the weather, as the whole of Los Angeles was now a veritable winter wonderland! The dark clouds had come out of nowhere and covered everything on the ground in thick, white snow, bringing everything to a standstill. Fortunately for Sam, Clover and Alex, their penthouse was well insulated and had strong consistent heating. Plus, they had plenty of food and drink in the cupboard, so there was no immediate danger of starvation. But the snow was getting deeper and thicker, making it near impossible for them to go out and replenish supplies.
"It's getting worse by the minute, girls," said Sam gloomily as she got off her mobile. "I've just been talking to the rest of the dorm and it looks like we're going to get completely snowed in!"
"This is crazy!" said Clover. "There has to be some diabolical mastermind responsible for this nutso weather!"
"Yikes!" exclaimed Alex. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting a major déjà vu feeling here!"
"Totally!" said Sam. "I'll bet that Dr Gelee is behind all this, trying to freeze humanity off the face of the planet again!"
Clover shook her head. "No way. I think it's more likely that the evil mall Santa is causing this storm, just so we can't get to the latest sales at the Groove!"
"Uh-uh!" joined in Alex. "It's bound to be Ice Solina, the rubbish ice skater who tried to turn the world into her own giant ice rink!"
"Wow, some of the baddies we face sure are unoriginal at their schemes aren't they?" said Sam as she considered their list of suspects.
"Okay, hold on a minute girls," said Clover, backtracking a little. "Maybe we're overreacting a bit. Just because it starts snowing a little early, it doesn't mean that – Whoa!"
Suddenly, the wall next to them swung open and the girls were sucked inside and sent tumbling down the chute leading to Jerry's office. Seconds later, they landed with a thud on the red sofa facing Jerry's desk.
"Sorry about the abrupt Woohping, superspies," said Jerry, "but as you may have noticed, we have a major crisis on our hands!"
"If you mean the freak snowstorm in L.A., we have kinda noticed that for ourselves, Jerr," grumbled Clover as she and the others brushed themselves off.
"I'm afraid it's not just happening to Los Angeles, girls," said Jerry grimly. "This bizarre weather change is occurring all over the world!"
The girls exchanged grave looks with one another, their earlier suspicions no longer seeming quite so over the top.
"Could any of our previous villains be responsible for this?" asked Sam.
"Not very likely, Sam. Gelee, the mall Santa and Solina are still locked up in the WOOHP containment facility," answered Jerry. "We've also got some evidence to suggest that aliens may be involved in this, which is why I've called in an expert to give you girls a hand in this investigation."
"Really? Who would that be?" asked Alex, her curiosity piqued.
The answer came in the form of a very familiar wheezing, groaning sound and before the girls' astonished eyes, a blue Police Box materialised right next to Jerry's desk. A few seconds later, the door opened and a very familiar figure stepped out of the box.
"Ah, hello girls," said the Doctor with a cherry wave of his hand. "Nice to see the three of you again."
"Doctor!" the girls exclaimed, before dashing over and pulling the Time Lord into a group hug.
"This is so awesome!" said Clover.
"Yeah, what are you doing here?" asked an equally delighted Sam.
"Jerry gave me a call and said that there was an emergency he needed my help on," explained the Doctor, before turning to face Jerry. "I hope it's actually urgent as I was rather busy when you called."
"I assure you things are very serious here, Doctor," said Jerry. "A freak snow storm has engulfed the Earth and is threatening to send us all into a second ice age!"
"Oh dear, that does sound rather dire," said the Doctor, as he grasped just how bad the situation must be.
"Jerry, you just said that you think aliens are behind this. How so?" Sam asked.
"Well as far our scientists can tell, the source of this freak weather effect comes from the South Pole, near WOOHP tracking station 'BRAVO'," answered Jerry. "We tried to make contact with the team there, but with no success. We were able to connect with their database though and review their last log report, which was made shortly before the snow phenomenon began."
Jerry pressed a button on his desk and June Tarrant's voice came over the speaker.
"Log 5772. Am about to leave base to investigate Unidentified Flying Object, which appeared on our monitor screens and has apparently landed a few miles away. Although more data is required before definite conclusions can be made, our initial scans suggest that it could be an alien spaceship. We hope to return soon with definite answers."
"That's the end of the recording," said Jerry bleakly. "Based on the date given in the station's computer, it seems that this UFO is at the very centre of the worldwide snowstorm."
"So aliens are trying to turn the Earth into one giant snowball? That's so not cool!" said Alex.
"It might not be a deliberate attack," pointed out the Doctor, never one to leap to hasty conclusions. "We've no definite proof that anything untoward has happened to your colleagues. As for the alien spaceship, it could just as easily either be a coincidence or an accident that's causing the storm."
"The Doc's got a point," agreed Sam. "We don't actually know what's happening out there."
"Then we better go out there and find out for sure, before we all end up having to live in igloos!" said Clover.
"My thoughts exactly!" said Jerry. "Now you will need quite a few gadgets for this mission, so you'll be provided with the Double Density Denture Paste, which can trap a baddy in a sticky goo; the Metal Morphosis Magnet Faux Tooth; shield belts with new and improved power supplies; suction cup gloves; laser lipsticks; and the Head for Cover Hoverboards. You'll also have the Turbo Submarine to get you to your destination."
"Hang on, why would we need the submarine?" asked Alex. "Couldn't we just get a lift in the TARDIS?"
"I'm afraid the TARDIS is a bit temperamental when it comes to short hops, Alex," said the Doctor with a small look of embarrassment. "Besides, until we know if our unearthly visitors are friendly or not, I don't want to put my ship within their reach."
"Yeah, but it would have saved us another Woohping," objected Clover.
"Woohping?" asked the Doctor, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'Woohping'?"
"She means this," smirked Jerry as he pressed a switch on his desk, which sent the girls and the Doctor tumbling through a trapdoor and down to the Turbo Submarine, ready to take them to the dangers awaiting them in the South Pole.