Age of Steel
"Now!" the Professor shouted.
The Doctor quickly pointed his arm at the Cybers, a string of golden energy shooting out of his hand and striking one in the head, bouncing off of them and targeting the other metal men, causing them to disintegrate before their very eyes.
"What the hell was that?!" Ricky turned to them, his eyes wide.
The Doctor just tossed the small power cell he'd taken off of the Professor and stuck it in his pocket.
"No time!" the Professor grabbed the Doctor's hand, "The attack will trigger a response to close in to the other Cybers. We need to run!"
They did just that, turning and bolting back towards the house, to the main gates just as Mrs. Moore pulled up in her van, honking the horn to get their attention, "Everybody in!"
"No!" the Professor reached out and grabbed Pete's arm as he turned to try and get back into the house, "You can't."
"I've gotta go back, my wife's in there!" Pete tried to pull away but she had a rather tight grip for such a small girl.
"Anyone left inside that house is dead," she told him bluntly, "I'm sorry but you go in there all you're doing is killing yourself too and then who will be around to avenge her?"
Pete still hesitated, "Listen, we don't have time," the Doctor grabbed his shoulder and yanked him forward, pushing him to the van, "We need to go!"
"Come on, get a move on!" Mrs. Moore shouted.
"Rose!" the Doctor snapped, seeing the blonde just staring at the house in shock, "Move. Now!"
Rose jumped at his shout but ran after them.
"She's not your mother, Rose," the Professor reminded her as they clambered into the van.
"I know," Rose nodded.
"Finished chatting?!" Mrs. Moore huffed, putting the car in gear, "Never seen a slower getaway in my life!" before jamming on the gas and taking off as the Cybermen did just as the Professor had predicted and converged at the area the last attack had happened.
"What was that thing?" Ricky demanded from the front, crammed in there with Jake and Mrs. Moore, looking back at the small group of travelers and Pete sitting there, catching their breath.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," the Doctor replied, giving him a firm look, his hand gripping the Professor's hand as she sat rigidly beside him, her eyes closed, breathing deeply and trying to calm down, not from the run but from the confrontation with the Cybers.
It was bringing up bad memories for the both of them. While she had never traveled with him, never encountered the Cybers off Gallifrey, she HAD had experience with them before, on her own. She'd destroyed the lot of them at one point, and then refused to share her method with the High Council when they demanded it to weaponize other Time Lords against the Cybers. It had been a very difficult time for all of them.
"It'll need a recharge now," the Professor gasped, her eyes still closed, "Used up the power it saved for the trip back…"
"How long do you figure?" the Doctor squeezed her hand.
"Four more hours?" she guessed, finally opening her eyes and looking at him to see him staring at her in concern. She smiled slightly at him, a tense smile but a smile at least.
"Right," Ricky muttered, "So, we don't have a weapon anymore."
"Yeah, we've got weapons," Jake countered, "Might not be one of those metal things, but they're good enough for men like him…" he nearly sneered at Pete who looked alarmed by the reaction.
"Leave him alone!" Rose instantly defended, "What's he done wrong?"
"Oh, you know," Jake rolled his eyes, "Just laid a trap that's wiped out the Government. And left Lumic in charge."
Pete gave him an exasperated look, "If I was part of all that, do you think I'd leave my wife inside?"
"Maybe your plan went wrong," Ricky defended his friend's accusations, "Still gives us the right to execute you, though."
"Any more talk about executions," the Professor gave them a firm, slightly frightening look, "And you'll make ME your enemy, and, by extension, him," she nodded at the Doctor, "And there aren't any worse people you want against you than us."
"All the same..." Ricky shook his head, "We have evidence that says Pete Tyler's been working for Lumic since 20.5."
"Is that true?" Rose breathed, staring at her 'father' in horror that he could be a traitor to the country as the men were implying.
"Parallel, not exact," the Doctor remarked to Rose unflinchingly, reminding her that just because it was similar didn't mean it was exactly the same, for all they knew THIS Pete COULD be a traitor.
"Tell 'em, Mrs. M!" Ricky called.
Mrs. Moore began to speak without looking back, "We've got a government mole who feeds us information. Lumic's private files, his South American operations, the lot. Secret broadcasts twice a week…"
"Broadcast from Gemini?" Pete cut in.
Ricky's eyes narrowed at that, "And how do you know that?"
Pete huffed, "I'm Gemini. That's ME."
"Yeah, well you would say that."
"Encrypted wavelength 657 using binary nine," the man stated, proving to even those there who didn't know what was going on that the man was their secret contact just by how Ricky and Jake looked at each other at that, "That's the only reason I was working for Lumic. To get information. I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services, and what do I get?" he scoffed, gesturing around, "Scooby Doo and his gang. They've even got the van!"
Mickey's face scrunched in confusion, "No, no, no! But the Preachers know what they're doing. Ricky said he's London's Most Wanted!"
"Yeah…" Ricky began slowly, "That's not exactly..."
"Not exactly what?"
"I'm London's Most Wanted for...parking tickets," Ricky admitted quietly.
"Great," Pete muttered.
Ricky was instantly on the defense, "They were deliberate! I was fighting the system! Park anywhere, that's me."
"I subscribe to that policy as well," the Doctor remarked, shifting closer to the Professor as he wound his arm around her waist, letting her lean on him, able to feel her shaking against him at how close they'd come to the Cybers before, "I am the Doctor, and this is the Professor…"
"Pleasure," the Professor murmured, closing her eyes as she rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder, whacking him lightly when she saw his thoughts turning to another meaning of the word that had her fighting a blush.
"And I'm Rose," Rose added, "Hello!"
"Even better," Pete rubbed his face at how ridiculous this was all getting, "That's the name of my dog. Still at least I've got the catering staff on my side."
"I knew you weren't a traitor," Rose told him, offering a smile.
"Why's that, then?" Pete asked, though he didn't sound particularly interested in the answer.
"I just…did?" she offered, not knowing what to say, she had done as the Professor asked, not talked to Pete even when he'd tried to start a conversation, had kept away from her mother as hard as it had been, so she couldn't really give him a logical answer for why she 'knew.'
"They took my wife," Pete closed his eyes at that fact.
"She might still be alive," Rose tried to give him some hope.
"Don't hope for that," the Professor shook her head, "Really, don't," her face scrunched, "It's worse for the live ones."
"That's what Lumic does," Pete agreed, not even bothering to ask how she knew that anymore, assuming she was another spy on Lumic, "He takes the living...and he turns them into those machines."
"Cybermen," the Time Lords corrected, earning the attention of everyone else, "They're called Cybermen. And if I were you and if I were wise, I would take those earpods off, quickly."
The Professor nodded, forcing herself to open her eyes and confront this reality as Pete took his pods out, "Lumic could be listening," she agreed.
The Doctor reached out to take them from Pete, about to flash them with his sonic when he realized that it was now missing…and in the Professor's hand as she pickpocketed him to use the sonic herself. He smiled, pressing a kiss to her temple before murmuring, "He's clearly overreached himself. A businessman who assassinates the President?" he shook his head, "If we can get to the city and inform the proper authorities it'll all be taken care of."
"I hope it is that easy," the Professor breathed, though by the tone of her voice she didn't think it would be at all.
"Whatever happens," the Doctor lifted her chin to look at her, "I promise you, the Cybers will not survive tonight."
~8~
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy," the Professor mumbled as the small group walked along the streets, having had to pull over when they came to a mass of people marching down the road, blocking the way. They weren't quite marching really, but they were all heading in the same direction, all moving at the same pace, all with the exact same vacant look in their eyes, their earpods blinking rapidly as they went.
"What the hell..." Jake shook his head at them, waving his hand in front of one face only to get no reaction.
"What's going on?" Rose looked at the Time Lords.
"It appears Lumic's taken control of them by their earpods," the Doctor remarked, about to scan one with the sonic when the Professor reached out and stopped him.
"I told you Rose, it's leaving their minds wide open, and Lumic's got in," she sighed.
"Well…isn't there some way to take them off?" Rose turned to one.
"Go ahead and try," the Doctor shrugged when Rose reached for a pod, "If you want to kill them, that is."
"What?!" Rose spun to him.
"You pull something out that's affecting the brain, broadcasting into it, and it'll cause a brainstorm," he huffed, looking around, his hands behind his back, "Human Race, you're far too susceptible for such an intelligent race. Makes sense how you've fallen for such abysmal tactics of submission in the past…"
"We're not in Germany, Doctor," the Professor reminded him gently, "And there are some, to this day, that will defend Hitler to their dying breath…"
He let out a breath through his nose, almost a snort but not quite, "Hitler, Voldemort…"
"That last one isn't real."
"Still, same generic strategy, same genocidal aims…" he shook his head, "And the humans just go along with it, like sheep."
"Not always," the Professor countered, "They won't always, you know that, eventually they'll reach a point of evolution to not do that, to be more independent, we just have to give it time."
The Doctor looked at her with a gentle emotion in his eyes, "Look at you, ever the optimist."
She smiled sadly, "Not anymore," she took a deep breath, "But I hope for the humans."
"Hey!" Jake called, pulling their attention over, having moved ahead of them to a corner, gesturing them closer, "Come and see."
They carefully made their way around the people, to the corner and glanced around to see a row of Cybermen were marching down the street, the people still just wandering beside them, unnoticing.
"Where are they all going?" Rose frowned, squinting as though trying to find some direction they were headed.
"Don't know," the Doctor answered.
"I would guess Lumic's base of operation," the Professor supplied.
"Battersea," Pete stated, "That's where he was building his prototypes."
"Why's he doing it?" Rose inquired, turning to her 'father.'
"He's dying," Pete shrugged, "This all started out as a way of life by keeping the brain alive. At any cost."
Rose hesitated a moment, glancing back at the Time Lords before stepping closer to them, trying to speak quieter, "The thing is, I've seen Cybermen before, haven't I? That head, those handle shapes in Van Statten's museum…"
"Yes," the Professor nodded, "There ARE Cybers in your universe."
"They started out just like this, an ordinary planet," the Doctor sighed, "And then they swarmed, across the galaxy."
"But…if this world is parallel, not exact, maybe they'll be good here?" Rose looked hopeful.
"They're already taking control of people to convert to metal men without their consent," the Doctor shook his head, "Perhaps THIS is this universes' way of paralleling, that they're starting right here on earth."
"Whatever the case is, we have to stop them," the Professor agreed.
"What the hell are you lot on about?" Pete shook his head at them, having heard them speaking.
"Never mind that," Ricky hissed, "Come on, we need to get out of the City," he turned to lead them back towards the van, ready to take the back roads out, to regroup, but there was a line of Cybers marching towards them up the street, "Ok," he determined, "Split up, Mrs. Moore, you look after that bloke," he shot at glare at Pete, "Jake, distract them, go right, I'll go left, we'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move!"
He ran off before the Time Lords could even offer advice for a better strategy, Jake with him.
"I'm going with him," Mickey told them, giving Rose a quick kiss before bolting after Ricky, leaving them unable to call after him without alerting the Cybers to their location.
"Come on, let's go," Mrs. Moore whispered, glancing around before leading them to an alleyway that seemed empty, the group coming out the other side, just to see more Cybers.
"Back!" the Professor tugged the woman back, "Hide, over here!" she led them towards a small line of rubbish bins and piles of garbage around them.
They ducked down behind it, the Doctor and Professor huddled together, the Doctor with his arms around her as she closed her eyes, trying to will the fear that was rising at the Cybers getting closer down, murmuring soothing things in her mind as he rubbed her arm. Rose clutched Pete's hand as Mrs. Moore hugging a small bag with her laptop in it to her chest as they waited.
The Doctor glanced up, able to see the shadows of the Cybers on the wall, hesitating by the bins, and pulled his sonic out of his pocket, flicking it on, causing the Cybers to jolt into attention and turn, walking off. It was a onetime use though, the next time he used the sonic like that it would just alert the Cybers to it as they'd be familiar with the frequency then, but it had done its job.
"They're leaving," he murmured in the Professor's ear, resting his forehead to her temple as she gathered herself, "Come on," he slowly stood, watching the Cybers go, waiting till they were far enough away to turn to the others, "Go," he urged them on.
They cautiously crept out from behind the rubbish bins, walking along the wall and out to the street, heading down the direction the Cybers had come from, hoping they'd passed and wouldn't backtrack. They'd only just reached it when Jake ran up to them.
"I ran past the river," he called quietly, joining them, "You should've seen it, the whole City's on the watch. Hundreds of Cybermen all down the Thames," he turned to gesture to it and spotted one of the Mickeys dashing for them, alone, "Here he is…hold on…" he frowned, eyeing the man, "Which one are you?"
The Professor shook her head at that, for Ricky being his best friend, he truly couldn't tell the man from Mickey when it was clearly Mickey before them? She could always tell when it was the Doctor and he changed his entire face and age and personality with regeneration.
'That's because you love me,' he whispered in her mind, 'You recognize my soul, Kata.'
'Because it's tethered to mine,' she agreed, thinking of their Bonding. It wasn't a literal binding of souls, they could still live on if the other died, but…their lives would be empty, cold, without the other there.
"I'm sorry," Mickey spoke, nearly choking on his words, "The Cybermen. He couldn't..."
"Are you Ricky?" Jake shouted, "ARE YOU RICKY?"
"He's Mickey," the Professor sighed, "It's Mickey."
"Yeah," Mickey swallowed hard, Rose rushing over to hug him tightly as Jake stared, Mickey holding his gaze, "He tried. He was running..." till Jake turned away, so Mickey stepped after him, "There was too many of them…"
"Shut it," Jake hissed, his face scrunched, trying not to cry for the loss of his best mate.
"There was nothing I could do…"
"I said just SHUT IT!" Jake raged as he spun to face Mickey, nearly spitting in his face, "Don't even TALK about him. You're NOTHING,you…"
He was cut off suddenly by hands curling into the front of his shirt and being shoved against the wall behind him by the Professor, "You calm down, Jake," she warned him, her expression hard, "You calm down, and you stop shouting at Mickey. You and Ricky wanted to be heroes? BE one. Stop this, so that his death isn't worthless. But don't you DARE call Mickey worthless while the Doctor or I are around, do you understand me?"
Jake glared at her, but said nothing, so she released him.
The Doctor reached out to tug her back, looping his arm around her waist to press her back to his front, swaying her gently, knowing that she had very bad reactions to others being put down, and in a situation like this, with the tension higher, her reactions were more extreme, "We will mourn him when London is safe," he stated, "And that is not right now. We need to stop the Cybers, we need to keep the others safe, so no one else is lost," he looked at Jake, "Right now, we move on."
Jake gave a miserable nod, but turned to walk on, leading the group away.
~8~
Lumic's headquarters at Battersea was far too easy to find, even if Pete hadn't been there to guide them, it wouldn't have been that hard to discover it, not with the large zeppelin with a giant transmitter attached to it. It was like holding a large sign over the factory that said 'LOOK HERE!' at least to the Time Lords. They stood on a small hill overlooking the river, eyeing the factory while Mrs. Moore set up on a bench behind them.
"The whole of London's been sealed off," the Doctor frowned, "And the entire population's been taken inside that place to be 'converted.'"
"We've gotta get in there and shut it down!" Rose declared.
"How do we do that?" Mickey shook his head.
"We can't go in without a plan," the Professor agreed, observing the building with sharp eyes, taking in everything she could see and hear, "We need a proper strategy," she reached out and nudged the Doctor, "Unlike your 'things,'" she teased even as he captured her hand, "We are not making this one up as we go."
"I agree," the Doctor sighed, "Though I do do it brilliantly," he winked at the Professor.
"Mrs. Moore?" the Professor turned to her, "Do you have the blueprints ready?"
Mrs. Moore nodded and gestured them over, putting the laptop on the tips of her knees so they could gather around and see the files she had on Lumic and Battersea, "That's a schematic of the old factory. Look, cooling tunnels underneath the plant…"
"Which are big enough to walk through?" the Professor considered it as Mrs. Moore nodded.
"Shall we go under there and up into the control center?" the Doctor glanced at her, letting her have more of a say between them, after all, among the two of them she had always been the one that came up with actual working plans.
"It would be best to attack on all sides," the Professor shook her head, "Too many people in the cooling tunnels will raise the temperature, send out an alert. We couldn't risk more than…2, maybe 3 people down there. And there's still the matter of the zeppelin's transmitter and trying to see what they're doing inside the factory…"
"So let me go in," Pete offered, "Through the front door. If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'll get in."
"We can't just go strolling up," Jake scoffed, coming to join them from where he'd been standing off on his own.
"The earpods we disabled, Doctor," the Professor turned to him, "May I have them?" he pulled them out of his pocket, "These would be dead, you could wear them and, so long as you act like the others, the Cybers won't notice."
"I have a pair of fake earpods too," Mrs. Moore offered, "For whoever goes with him."
"I can go alone," Pete shook his head.
"This is too important to not take a partner," the Doctor countered.
"I'll go," Rose volunteered, taking the pods, "If that's the best way of finding Jackie...I'm going."
"Why does she matter to YOU?" Pete eyed her.
"We haven't got time," Rose waved it off, "What do we need to do?" she turned to the Professor, ready to listen and do as instructed.
"Be stoic," the Professor warned as she and Pete put the pods in, "Be rigid, expressionless, and move as slowly as the others. Don't talk if you can help it."
"Be sure to show NO emotion," the Doctor agreed, "None at all. ANY sign of emotion would give you away."
"Now, second part of the plane, the transmitter," the Professor stood from where she was sitting beside Mrs. Moore, moving towards the small hill again, "Jake, Mickey, with me," she called them over, "You see that transmitter on the front of the zeppelin?" they nodded, squinting where she was merely looking, "THAT is what's transmitting the control signal. You two need to take it down. We'll be able to go in on all sides, above, within, and below, and in small enough groups to not be noticed," the Doctor smirked as he watched her drawing up strategy like a proper general, "Pete and Rose will find Jackie, the Doctor, Mrs. Moore, and I will make our way to the control center to disable the conversion booths, and you two," she looked at Mickey and Jake, "Will stop the signal to the earpods so the people can flee."
"No," Jake shook his head, "No, I'm not doing this with him," he pointed at Mickey, "I don't need the idiot."
"He's not an idiot," came the very firm response from the Doctor, something that shocked Mickey so much that his own defense died on his lips, "He's actually quite brilliant and resolute. He's a survivor," he looked at Mickey, "And I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner."
Mickey blinked at that, "Um…thanks?"
The Doctor smirked and nodded, "Good luck."
"Yeah," Mickey shook his head, "You too. Rose," he glanced at her, seeing Jake already walking off in a huff, "I'll see you later."
"Yeah, you better," Rose called, trying to smile.
"Mickey," the Professor called as he turned to go, "Meet at the TARDIS when this is over."
He nodded, "You got it boss," before he ran after Jake.
"Rose," the Professor looked at her, "Good luck to you as well."
Rose gave a firm nod and turned to go with Pete towards the entrance.
"Seems it's just us," the Doctor smiled at the Professor getting up and walking over to her, taking her hand, pressing a kiss to it, "As it should be."
"Et hem?" Mrs. Moore cleared her throat though she looked more amused than offended, standing, "As sweet as you both are…do try not to raise the temperature down there TOO much, yeah?"
The Professor blushed furiously at that as the Doctor just grinned smugly, wrapping his arm around her waist.
~8~
The Professor turned as she made it down the last step of the ladder to the cooling tunnels, the Doctor's hands lightly on her waist to help steady her, not that she needed a steadying hand, but she was not about to tell him to pull away. Though she did laugh and shake her head when he tugged her towards him, wrapping his arms around her as she turned for a moment, squeezing her sides to make her squirm away, ticklish, making Mrs. Moore laugh.
"It's freezing here," the woman commented, "Maybe you should heat things up a bit," she teased.
"Is there a light switch in the schematics?" the Professor blushed, looking around, not quite wanting the lights on given that everyone would see how red she was.
Mrs. Moore seemed to sense that and chuckled, "Can't see a thing. But I've got these..." she sifted through her bag, pulling out a hand torch and two sets of miner's lights for their heads, "A device for every occasion."
The Doctor reached out and took the headlight, turning to the Professor to put it on her head for her, answering her questioning look with a, "I know you like having your hands free," before he took the hand torch for himself, Mrs. Moore fixing the other light onto her head.
"Let's see where we are exactly," Mrs. Moore turned on her torch, nearly jumping back when they spotted a Cyberman standing there against the wall.
The Professor would not admit the Doctor was right when she reached out to grab his hand tightly at the sight, stepping back when her own light picked up the fact that there wasn't just one Cyber there…but hundreds, standing in a row straight down the tunnel.
"Lifeless," the Doctor reassured them, reaching out to rap on one, "Already converted, just paralyzed," he looked back at the Professor, "They're deactivated," he reassured her, lifting her hand to kiss, "They're no threat."
"They're always a threat," the Professor murmured.
"You can go back," he offered, "You can go with Mickey, I know you could catch up to them easily enough. There's not likely to be any Cybers on the zeppelin and…"
"No," she swallowed hard, shaking her head, squeezing his hand again, "No, I'd…I'd rather be with you," she told him, "You…you keep me calm, make me feel safe."
He smiled at that, "The feeling is mutual," he murmured, glancing at Mrs. Moore who seemed to understand the Professor's unease about the metal men and gave them a moment of privacy, closely inspecting the first Cyber instead, "Come on," he called to her, turning to lead the way down the tunnel, "Let's go slowly…"
"Keep an eye out for trip systems," the Professor murmured, looking around but also trying not to look at the Cybers as well, there were so many of them, all just stacked there one after the other in an endless line.
"Brilliant," the Doctor nodded, squeezing her hand.
She shook her head, trying to focus on something else, needing a distraction, and glanced at Mrs. Moore, "How did you get involved in all this, Mrs. Moore?" she inquired, "How did you end up with the Preachers?"
"Oh, I used to be ordinary," Mrs. Moore smiled, actually thankful to be talking instead of just looking at the Cybers as they went, "Worked at Cybus Industries. '95. 'Til one day, I find something I'm not supposed to. A file on the mainframe. All I did was read it. Then suddenly, I've got men with guns knocking in the middle of the night. Life on the run. Then I found the Preachers. They needed a techy, so I…I just sat down and taught myself everything."
"That sounds familiar," the Doctor smiled at that, nudging the Professor, but she gave him an odd look for that, "I taught myself piano just so I could play a duet with you," he admitted, "Never quite got around to telling you that though."
She smiled, "After this we'll sit down and find a nice one," and that thought, the duets, made her think of another question, "What about ?"
"Well, he's not called 'Moore,'" she chuckled, "I got that from a book, 'Mrs. Moore.'"
"'Mrs. Moore in Space?'" the Professor guessed, it was a rather apt code name given that her companions were aliens.
"Yes," Mrs. Moore breathed, startled, "You've read it?"
"We've lived it," she joked, thinking on the premise of exploring the universe and other planets of the book.
"It was safer not to use real names," Mrs. Moore sighed, shrugging, "But my husband thinks I'm dead. It was the only way to keep him safe. Him and the kids. What about you?" she glanced at them, "Got any family, or..."
"Not anymore," the Professor sighed.
"Just each other," the Doctor squeezed her hand, making her smile.
"So go on then," she looked at Mrs. Moore, "What's your real name?"
Mrs. Moore hesitated, but took a breath, "Angela Price. Don't tell a soul."
"On our honor," the Doctor crossed his hearts, "Not a word from us."
The Professor's small smile started to fall as she slowed down.
"What is it?" the Doctor turned to her, instantly aware.
"Do you hear that?" she breathed, "It's…a beeping noise…" she lowly turned to look at the Cybers, jumping when Mrs. Moore gasped.
"Did that one just move?!" the woman cried, pointing her head light to the metal man's hand.
"No," the Doctor shook his head, tugging the Professor closer, not wanting to alarm either of them, "It's just the torchlight."
"No," the Professor tensed, "It's not!" she cried seeing one turning its head, "They're waking up! Go!" she turned and pushed Mrs. Moore on, rushing her down the hall, the Doctor behind her, the Cybers starting to turn, stepping into the tunnel just after they'd past, the three of them barely managing to keep ahead of them.
"There!" the Doctor shouted, pointing ahead to a later, the Cybers now starting to march after them, "Up! Up! Get up!" he pushed the Professor to climb up first, Mrs. Moore after her.
"Doctor, sonic!" the Professor called down, and he tossed her the sonic up to flash against the lock of the hatch keeping them trapped. She let out a frustrated groan when it didn't open, balling her hand into a fist and slamming it against the hatch, but it wouldn't budge. Thinking quickly, she twisted, maneuvering herself so that her arms were braced against the length of the ladder, her legs above her, bent at the knees before slamming up, kicking the stuck hatch open. She locked her leg through one of the rungs to prop herself back up and started to climb out, reaching down to help Mrs. Moore up, the two leaning down as the Doctor burst out to slam the hatch back down, the Doctor sonicing it just in time to keep the Cybers away.
The Doctor looked at the two women with him, all of them panting, and moved to the Professor, hugging her tightly, "Good show," he murmured in her ear.
"Thank you," she whispered, clinging to him.
"Both the kick and the…other show," he waggled his eyebrows.
The Professor blushed and groaned, burying her face in his chest as she realized, in turning herself upside down to kick the hatch open she may or may not have accidently flashed her knickers a bit.
The Doctor just laughed, pressing a kiss to her hair as she shook her head in denial.
~8~
The small trio walked cautiously along the upper level of the cooling tunnels, on edge and more aware of their surroundings as they went, not wanting to risk the Cybers spotting them, though it seemed their luck was holding for the moment as the lower level appeared to have been the holding quarters for the metal men.
Though, as the Doctor was among their group, it did make sense that their luck wouldn't hold forever for, the moment they turned a corner, there was a Cyberman before them.
"You are not upgraded," it stated, starting to reach for them.
"Yeah?" Mrs. Moore stepped up, pulling a small cylinder from her bag, "Well, upgrade THIS!" she threw it at the Cyber, the device sticking to its chest instantly, sprouting small spurts of electricity that made the Cyber jerk and twitch before it collapsed backwards with a bang.
"What was that?" the Professor blinked, looking at the woman.
Mrs. Moore grinned, pleased it worked, "Electromagnetic bomb. Takes out computers, I figured it might stop the cyber-suit."
"Very clever," the Doctor nodded in praise, glancing at the Professor in silent question with a small nod to the Cyber.
The Professor took a deep breath but nodded, slowly approaching it, the Doctor just behind her, not about to force her to get closer than she was comfortable.
"Well it seems like it worked," the Professor murmured as she knelt down, not wanting to touch the Cyber so the Doctor did it instead, reaching out with his sonic to press to the small logo on the center of the Cyber's chest plate, "Know thine enemy," she sighed.
"Logo on the front," the Doctor began to list, examining the robot closely, "They're a brand now," he mused, pulling it away to look inside, "Heart of steel," he pointed out, "Typical," he pulled out what looked like a web made of flesh, "Central nervous system."
"Artificially grown," the Professor seemed about to touch it before she withdrew her hand, shaking her head, "Then threaded throughout the suit so it responds like the living thing it used to be."
"And there it is," the Doctor moved the sonic towards a small chip just inside the opening, "Emotional inhibitor, what makes it respond like a robot."
"Inhibitor," Mrs. Moore repeated, frowning, "It stops them feeling? Why would…"
"It still has a human brain within," the Doctor answered, "Imagine the implications of what would come of it seeing itself for what it is, what it used to be…"
"They would go mad," the Professor said quietly.
"They probably would," the Doctor agreed.
"No," the Professor shook her head, looking at him, "They WOULD."
He eyed her a moment, before slowly nodding, understanding what she meant, she KNEW they would go insane, somehow, she knew the answer, whether she'd read it or seen it happen, but she knew with absolute certainty what would happen.
"So they cut out the one thing that makes them human," Mrs. Moore breathed.
"Because they must," the Doctor replied solemnly.
"Why am I cold?" the Cyberman suddenly spoke, its voice somewhat halting.
"Oh, my God," Mrs. Moore gasped as the Professor nearly jumped away from it, the Time Lady standing and taking a step back, "It's alive. It can FEEL."
"We broke the inhibitor," the Doctor inspected, leaning over to glance at the chip a moment, before speaking to the Cyber, to the human inside it, "I am so sorry."
"Why so cold?" it repeated.
"Can you remember your name?"
"Sally. Sally Phelan."
"You're a woman," Mrs. Moore's eyes widened at that.
"Where's Gareth?"
She frowned, "Who's Gareth?"
"He can't see me. It's unlucky the night before."
The Professor inhaled deeply but slowly at the implication, "You were getting married."
"I'm cold," the woman, Sally, sounded like she was either shivering or on the verge of crying but unable to physically do either, "I'm so cold."
"Turn it off," the Professor murmured, reaching out to put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, "Turn her off."
He nodded, pressing his sonic to the metal heart, "Rest well, Sally," he told her, sonicing the device so that the faint blue light illuminating the chest cavity flickered off, "We shall not allow Sally Phelan to die in vain," he decided, blinking as he realized something, "And that's the key, isn't it?" he turned to the Professor for confirmation that his theory would be correct, "The emotional inhibitor, if we could find the code behind it, the cancellation code, then feed it throughout the system into every Cyberman's head. They'd realize what they are."
"They would," the Professor nodded.
"And what happens then?" Mrs. Moore frowned, looking between them.
The Professor looked down at Sally with sadness in her eyes, "It will kill them," she admitted, looking at the Doctor, "I don't want to be that again," she admitted to him quietly.
He stood slowly, staring her in the eyes, "You won't be," he tugged her closer, "I promise you, you won't ever have to become that again."
She nodded against his shoulder at that, breathing in his scent.
Mrs. Moore had only just stood to agree with them when she screamed, making the Time Lords gasp and turn to see a Cyberman had grabbed her by the back of the neck, having approached 'on silent,' and was sending electricity coursing through her till she fell to the ground.
"No!" the Professor cried.
"You didn't have to kill her!" the Doctor shouted, moving the Professor behind him to defend her, but there was no safe place as more Cybers approached, surrounding them.
"Sensors detect binary vascular systems," the Cyber that had killed Mrs. Moore stated, "You are unknown upgrades. You will be taken for analysis."
~8~
The Doctor and Professor glanced over, both of them nearly rolling their eyes, when they saw an angry Pete and a sad but apologetic Rose standing in the control room of the factory they had been escorted into by the Cybers.
"So now it's up to Mickey then," the Doctor eyed them, shaking his head at how they'd clearly gotten caught out.
"Sorry," Rose winced.
"Are you both alright?" the Professor frowned at their expressions.
"Yeah," Rose shifted, glancing at Pete, "But they got Jackie."
"We were too late," Pete sighed, "Lumic killed her."
The Doctor nodded at that, glancing at the Professor with a small nod. She returned it, moving to stand nearer to the computers while he moved to the center of the room, standing straight, his hands behind his back, "May we beg an audience with our Lord and Master?" he called out, ready for the confrontation to begin.
"He has been upgraded," said a Cyberman that was standing on the side of a small platform.
"You mean he's now Cyber-kind then," the Doctor remarked.
"He is superior," the Cyber continued, "The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller," the Doctor watched, feeling the Professor's gaze behind him as she too watched the wall open and an advanced, highly technical yet elaborate chair slid out from the room behind it, setting into the platform, another Cyberman sitting on it, though this one was covered in wires and tubes and other bits of life-supportive tech.
"This is The Age of Steel and I am its Creator!" the new Cyberman stated.
The Doctor nodded, "So this is the infamous Mr. Lumic," he eyed the metal man, "I thought you'd be a bit more intimidating," he mused, "Though," he shrugged, "You've never seen my Bonded when she's furious," he looked back at the Professor, "Never was there ever, nor shall there ever be, a more striking and dangerous woman to be found in the throes of anger."
"Stop it," the Professor blushed, looking away, absently fiddling with the keyboard though he knew she wasn't just 'fiddling' with anything nor doing it absently…
For a moment later the monitors all flickered on, revealing the people who had been dazedly marching to their doom now fleeing the factory screaming, freed of the earpods control…which could only mean one thing.
"Well done Mickey," the Professor smiled, glancing at the Doctor, "He's one-upped us," she remarked.
"Well we can't have that," he winked, turning to face Lumic, "I do believe that's a vote for freewill."
Lumic merely tilted his head, "I have factories waiting on seven continents. If the earpods have failed, then Cybermen will take humanity by force. London has fallen. So shall the world. I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace and unity and uniformity."
"Yet nothing about imagination," he remarked, "That IS what drove you to even engineer this," he gestured around, "Isn't it? Where would you be without it?"
"Dead?" the Professor supplied and he snapped his finger and pointed at her.
"What is your name?" Lumic asked.
The Doctor lifted his chin, "I'm the Doctor, and that," he nodded over his shoulder, is the Professor, my Bonded."
"Both are redundant titles," Lumic stated, "Doctors and Professors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken and may download information."
"And that is precisely the point," the Doctor carried on calmly, stepping up towards Lumic to stare the bot down, "But you don't see it anymore, do you?" he shook his head, "You're a very clever man, Lumic, I'll give you that, I might have even called you a genius except the Professor's standing just behind me and she currently holds that title the moment she sets foot on Earth…"
"The Cybers, Doctor," the Professor reminded him to keep him on track, though she had a small smile on her face at how he'd called HER the genius. He always liked to tease (as much as she liked to tease as well) that she could think faster than he could. But it was largely book smarts as well, she excelled at school, pushed herself, studied and worked hard to do well, she got better grades than him on exams, so, in a way she was smarter than him, but he was so much wiser in other areas, had seen so much more of the Universe than she had.
"Yes," the Doctor nodded, focusing on Lumic, "Everything you've invented, you did to fight your sickness. And that's is rather ingenuitive. But it's also HUMAN. Unfortunately, once you rid yourself of the sickness, the humanity followed. And what else is there left to reach for? You can't advance from where you are right now," he pointed at the ground with a finger, "You'll stay static. Forever, in your metal suits. And you're going to try to convert everyone around you, and all it will do is kill your empire and your planet. Because that's what a planet needs, people. Ordinary people. People that can FEEL."
"You are proud of your emotions?" Lumic inquired.
"Yes, very much so."
"Then tell me, Doctor, have you known grief, and rage, and pain?"
"Yes, I have."
"And they hurt?"
"They did once," he agreed, "But not anymore," he smiled a bit, "But that's the Professor for you, her kiss is truly the best anesthetic and balm in the universe."
"Stop it," the Professor muttered behind him.
"Not a chance," he glanced back at her, seeing her typing something into the computer behind her back, not even needing to look at the keyboard.
"I could improve this," Lumic called, drawing the Doctor's gaze back, "Would you not want that? A life lived without any level of pain?"
"I'd rather die," the Doctor shook his head, "To take away the pain means to take away what soothes it as well. And I'd die before I let anyone take my Bonded from me."
"Then I take that option," Lumic lifted his arm, preparing to attack him.
"YOU don't get a say in that," the Professor strode to the Doctor's side, linking her arm with his though he could feel how tense she was, to have to face down even Lumic, but she was doing it, for him, to stand beside him, "And you wouldn't be able to even if you tried. I may look small, Lumic, but don't you dare underestimate me."
"You're a CYBER controller," the Doctor agreed, "For all your intelligence, it's still artificial, you can't compete against anyone with blood in its heart or hearts," he squeezed her hand, "And I know from experience you won't be able to outwit her," he nodded at the Professor.
It was true, he considered it, it took him…great lengths to distract her enough to get one up on her. Though he rather did enjoy his methods of distraction recently…
'Stop it,' the Professor whispered in his head, though he could see her starting to blush at his thoughts.
"You have no means of stopping me," Lumic intoned, "I have an army. A species of my own."
"And it's been my experience that even the greatest armies in the universe can STILL be taken down by a single person," the Professor spoke, making Rose look at her at that, knowing the Professor was actually speaking from experience. The Doctor knew as well where her thoughts had gone, to how she'd handle the Dalek armies, how single Academics, not just herself, had been able to take out scores of them in the war, "Just a single, ordinary person, can affect the course of history," she glanced up at a security camera in the wall just above Lumic's head.
The Doctor followed her gaze and smiled, understanding that her efforts at the computer just before had worked. She'd been trying to trigger the security camera in the room to the control center, where Mickey was, where he'd be able to control more than just the earpods.
"I agree entirely," he nodded, "Some ordinary man or woman...even someone who thinks themselves an idiot at times," he stared at the camera a moment, "All it would take is to find a certain sequence of numbers, the right codes, something so simple as the code for the emotional inhibitors," he suggested, looking to Lumic once more.
"Even a child these days knows how to use a computer," the Professor went along with it, "So imagine what a grown man could do? How many firewalls and passwords he could bypass, how easily he could break an encryption from the Lumic Family Database under Binary 9."
"And imagine what they'd be able to do if they could," the Doctor mused, "Imagine what they'd do with the cancellation code to your Cybermen. Just the right amount of courage and drive to see those he cares about safe can make a man stronger and faster than he ever imagined, braver and cleverer…"
"Your words are irrelevant," Lumic cut in.
"Yes," he sighed, "I do talk too much, don't I? But, given your distaste of all things remotely emotional, I doubt you'd be pleased with the one public display of affection that could silence this gob," he pointed at his mouth, the Professor shaking her head at him, a faint blush on her cheeks, she would really have to speak to him about not managing to flirt with her while in the middle of standing up to the enemy, "Imagine the bill I'd rack up if this were on a phone though. A mobile telephone."
"You will be deleted!" Lumic cried, lifting his arm once more.
"Yes, why not press the end key," the Doctor baited, "End the chat, delete the error, send a message…" he glanced at the camera once more, "And the best part," he smiled, "Is that what you do here, affects all your Cybermen throughout the factory, throughout the world," he felt the Professor tense beside him as Rose's phone beeped behind them, "Because that's how you got control of the human race, you connected them all together through your tech, making everything easy and compatible…"
"It's for you!" Rose shouted, tossing him her phone.
"Exactly like this!" he turned and shoved Rose's phone down onto an upright port in the control bank behind him.
The reaction was instant as chaos erupted around them, all the Cybers in the room starting to cry out in agony, their hands flying to their heads and gripping them. All around the room the code that Mickey had found flashed across the screens, some flickering to other areas of the factory where those Cybers were collapsing as well before they were covered by the code.
The Time Lords looked over, seeing one Cyber had caught sight of their reflection and was touching it in what they would guess was horror at the sight.
"What have you done?!" Lumic roared as he stood.
"We gave them back their souls," the Doctor turned to him, his back straight, hands clenched into fists, chin up in defiance, "They can see what you've done, Lumic! And it's killing them," he finished quietly, turning and grabbing the Professor's hand to pull her out of the room, Rose and Pete following behind, ignoring Lumic's cries and orders of 'Delete!' behind them.
The Professor winced as she pulled ahead of the Doctor, taking the lead instead, knowing her reactions were sharper than the others around her, knowing she'd act quicker to threats popping up and, with all the explosions now going on through the halls as the Cybermen seemed to nearly self-destruct, they would need every advantage they had to get out alive.
Which was made all the more difficult by Cybers seeming to block every entrance.
They had just paused at an intersection, trying to determine the best route to go when Rose's phone rang again and she answered it. Her eyes widened as she got a message, "It's Mickey!" she shouted, "He says 'head for the roof.'"
"This way!" the Professor ran for the nearest staircase, having both a vague recollection of the layout of the factory in her head from Mrs. Moore's schematics, but also knowing that, logically, to get up to the roof, you just had to keep going up and up and up as far as you could. So they dashed up flight after flight of stairs, ducking under flames, leaping to the side of explosions, not stopping till they burst out of a small door to a lower section of the room.
They ran across it, to a small ladder that led up even higher, scrambling up it, the Professor, then Rose, then Pete, and the Doctor last, racing across that level and stopping short when they saw the zeppelin starting to bear down on them.
"Mickey?" Rose called into the phone, "Where'd you learn to fly that thing?!"
"We'll have to have a zeppelin race one day," the Professor remarked as she stared at the rope ladder being thrown out of the craft.
"What?" the Doctor glanced at her.
"The High Council trained us in 2,700 forms of transport," she told him as they ran for the ladder.
"And zeppelins were one?"
"You'd be surprised at what was included," she muttered, hesitating to climb up after sending Rose up first.
"Go," he whispered in her ear, knowing her reluctance to climb, knowing her fear of heights, "I'll be right behind you, and you know I'd never let you fall…"
"Or else you'd just jump after me," she nodded, swallowing hard, before taking a breath and starting to climb, looking up, forcing herself not to look down, "No peeking," she muttered to him under her breath, realizing she was still wearing a dress and he was right under her skirt.
"This time, I promise I won't," he reassured her, wanting her to be comfortable and not have to look down at him, climbing up after her as Pete followed soon after, the zeppelin starting to rise.
"Welcome to Mickey's Airlines!" Mickey's voice called over a speaker, "Please enjoy your flight. Woo!"
The Professor couldn't help but laugh a bit as Mickey cheered and whooped, flying the zeppelin off, the four of them clinging to the ladder and slowly trying to climb as well.
"We did it," she could hear Rose breathe above her, not sounding quite as excited and exuberant as she expected the girl would have.
But she had little time to think of that as the ladder suddenly jerked, "Doctor?!"
"It's Lumic!" he called up to her, knowing she really very much did NOT want to have to look down, "He's gotten the bottom of the ladder…" he shuffled, pulling the sonic out of his pocket, "Pete!" he looked down at the man, dropping the sonic to him, "Hold the button down against the rope!"
Pete nodded, leaning over as far as he could to press the sonic to the rope, "Jackie Tyler," he declared, glaring at Lumic as the bot tried to climb up, "This is for her!"
And, with that, he pressed the button, causing the sonic to cut through the ropes, weakening them enough for Lumic's new, metal weight to pull him down, causing the rope to snap, the man falling towards the factory with a cry just as flames erupted beneath them, the zeppelin flying them away to safety.
~8~
The Professor finally released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as she watched the lights and power of the console room restore, the Doctor slipping the power cell into the console itself, beaming at the gentle hum of their box coming back to life.
The Doctor moved over to her, winding his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek at the happiness on her face, leaning in more to trail his kiss to her neck, managing to place one more before she turned in his arms.
"As much as I would love to continue," she told him, patting his chest, "We'll have barely 5 minutes of power to work with, we have to go, now."
He nodded, letting out a playful huff of air that had her laughing, before they headed to the doors, hand in hand. They stepped out and looked around for Mickey and Rose, hoping the two hadn't wandered again, after all this they did not want to have to leave just because the humans hadn't been there when they told them it wouldn't be long before they left. If it came down to it, they both knew they WOULD leave without Rose or Mickey, for the sake of the TARDIS, the power cell was the last one left, they'd checked, and it wouldn't power up again after this. THIS was their last chance to leave.
"Oh no," the Professor breathed as she saw Rose speaking to Pete, Rose looking tearful while Pete looked startled as well as flummoxed, "Rose?" she called as they walked over.
"We need to go," the Doctor told her, "There's only 5 minutes of power left, it has to be now."
Rose glanced at Pete pleadingly, "The Doctor and Professor could show ya…"
The Doctor's lips pursed at that, at how it seemed Rose was inviting someone along in a TARDIS that SHE did not own or pilot or control, inviting someone to join them when she had no right to ask it as it wasn't her that was responsible for the box or those that came along in it.
But Pete didn't seem interested anyway, "Thank you. For everything," was all he said as he turned her down.
"Dad…"
"Rose," the Professor gave her a sharp look that had her looking down.
"Don't," Pete agreed, backing away, "Just…just don't," before he turned and left.
"I warned you Rose," the Professor sighed, letting her know without saying it that Pete's reaction was her own fault.
Luckily Rose was spared what the Doctor would have said as he opened his mouth to add something by Mickey calling out, "Here it is!" before he jogged over with Jake a few feet behind, keeping his distance for the moment, "I found it. Not a crease."
The Professor beamed as she saw him holding her dress folded neatly in his arms, "Thank you Mickey!" she took it, "I can't wait to get out of this getup," she looked down at her serving attire that she'd been wearing the entire time.
"Jake," the Doctor looked over at Jake, gesturing him closer, "We're leaving now, but there is one thing we would appreciate you do."
"Anything," Jake nodded, after all this…he owed it to them.
"Mrs. Moore," he began, "Her real name is Angela Price. She's got a husband out there. And children. Find them. Tell them how she died saving the world."
Jake sobered at that, growing serious, intent, "Yeah, course I will," if there was anyone he owed more than the two of them, it was Mrs. Moore and Ricky.
"Then it's time we leave," he looked at Mickey and Rose.
"Uh..." Mickey shifted in place, "Thing is, I'm staying."
"What?" the Professor frowned.
"You can't!" Rose cried, tears in her eyes even more pronounced from the heartbreak of dealing with her 'father.'
"It sort of balances out though," Mickey tried to argue, tried to keep the tears out of his voice but couldn't quite manage, "Cos this world lost its Ricky. But there's me. And there's work to be done with all those Cybermen still out there."
"But you can't stay!"
"Rose," Mickey sighed, "My gran's here. She's still alive. My old gran, remember her?"
Rose sniffled, but nodded, "Yeah."
"She NEEDSme."
"What about me? What if I need you?"
Mickey gave her an understanding look, glancing at the Time Lords and back with a small smile, "You don't," he murmured, "You know you don't. And you know why. You've got other people that'll look out for you when I can't."
"Then…we'll come back," she looked at the Time Lords pleadingly, "We can travel anywhere, come and see him, yeah?"
The Professor shook her head, "We can't Rose."
"We told you," the Doctor agreed, "Travel between parallel worlds is impossible. The only reason we're even HERE is an accident, one that will close the moment the TARDIS goes back through it."
"And with it closed, we won't be able to return."
Mickey took a deep breath at that confirmation and turned to the Doctor, holding out a hand to him, "Doctor."
The Doctor nodded, shaking his hand firmly, "Keep Rose's phone," he told him, "It'll have the cancellation code on it. And after we leave…get it out there. Stop those factories," he nodded as he appraised Mickey one more time, "I was wrong about you, Mickey Smith," Mickey seemed shocked at that, "You're hardly an idiot, not at all even."
Mickey smiled, "Thanks boss," he looked at the Professor, holding his arms open for her to hug him, rolling his eyes as he saw the Doctor playfully (or perhaps actually very seriously, he couldn't tell) narrow his eyes at him for it, "I'll miss you Professor," he told her, pulling back.
"I'll miss you too," she smiled sadly at him, "Take care of yourself Mickey, and be smart, be careful. Promise me?"
He nodded, "Yeah."
The Professor gave him one more smile and nod before she turned, taking the Doctor's hand and moving back to the TARDIS with him, leaving Rose to have a few moments of privacy to say goodbye to Mickey.
They moved to the console, silent, waiting, quietly counting down the time Rose had left before they would have to tell her to get in the TARDIS. Thankfully it hadn't come down to them interrupting her goodbye as the girl entered the box, tears falling from her eyes, with a mere 10 seconds to spare, the two of them needing to get the box up and going, back to their world, sealing the tear behind them as they went.
~8~
The Time Lords stood before the TARDIS, Rose across from them as it sat in Jackie Tyler's sitting room, the woman putting tea on for her daughter who had arrived quite shaken only a short while ago. Rose had begged them to see her mother, needing to be reassured that the Jackie in the parallel world wasn't her mother, wasn't dead, and so they'd taken her home.
Jackie had been thrilled to see Rose, though it quickly faded to concern when Rose hugged her and started to cry, so relieved her mother was alive. Jackie hadn't been pleased that something had shaken her daughter so badly while in the Time Lords' care, but Rose had just sat her down and explained the last adventure they'd had, how she'd met her father in a parallel world, how they didn't have a daughter, how Mickey had stayed there, how she'd died…before starting to choke on her tears again, prompting Jackie to get up and make her a nice cuppa to calm down.
The Time Lords had observed it with a quiet, though keen eye, watched how Rose interacted with her mother, heard how she sounded as she retold the tale, and they noticed, before Rose even turned to face them, the look in her eyes as she watched her mother putter about the kitchen.
"This is it, isn't it?" the Professor guessed as Rose stood before them.
"You're staying here then?" the Doctor nodded slowly.
Rose gave them a small nod, "I…I can't," she breathed, tears in her eyes again, "I...my mum died," her voice cracked, "My mum died, she was turned into a robot and…and her head exploded, somewhere in that factory, she died, alone, because I wasn't there…"
"You never would have been there, Rose," the Doctor reminded her, not…wanting her to blame herself for it, "You didn't exist there."
"But I do HERE," she stressed, "I'm here, and that," she looked at the kitchen, "That is my REAL mum, and I left her, I left her as alone as the other Jackie was. And…if the Cybermen could start there, then…they could have just as easily started here and Mum would have had no idea, because I wasn't there to take care of her," she turned back to them, "I won't let that happen, I won't lose her again. So…I can't travel with you, I'm sorry, but…I just can't. I can't lose her."
The Professor stepped forward and gave her a reassuring hug, "We understand Rose," she told the girl, "She's your mother, and you want her safe. And right now, that means YOU keeping her safe," she pulled away, "All the things you've seen, you'll recognize alien tech more than she would. She couldn't be in safer hands."
"Thank you," Rose whispered.
"Do one better though," the Doctor added, not quite stepping forward to hug her as well, but wanting to let her know that he understood as well, "If you see anything strange happening on Earth, give us a ring."
"You got it," Rose nodded, giving them one last smile, "Goodbye," she breathed as they turned and stepped into the TARDIS, leaving her to watch as the box faded away without her in it.
A/N: I mentioned somewhere, I can't remember if it was here or in a note of another story or on tumblr, but there would be a little twist for Series 2 involving Rose, and this was it. I couldn't see her staying on in the TARDIS after this, not when she wasn't there for so much of Series 1. I felt like, in the show, in Series 1, that was what really got her the taste of travelling and made her want to see more, and the 10th Doctor (not the AU one), her feelings for him, was another big factor in her not wanting to stop or stay with her mother despite knowing that she was leaving her alone for months or even years at a time. But here, she missed out on a majority of Series 1, her last real experience with 9 wasn't favorable, this is a 10 that's solely focused on the Professor and not Rose, so she has no real loyalty or fancy for him, not enough to stay when she was faced with her mother dying such a brutal death even if it wasn't her real mother. Here it made her realize that not being around her mother (similar to how she wasn't there in the parallel world) puts her mother in danger, because she's not there to notice things (like the Christmas tree) or other events that a normal human with no experience with aliens would miss that could be a threat to her. She wants her mother safe, she doesn't want to lose her like she did in the parallel world, and that means being there to be able to do that ;)
Rose WILL feature into a few future chapters, she's not gone entirely, but she won't be travelling to other times and planets in the rest of this story ;) Just imagine what the AU10 will be like when it's just him and Proffy together though ;) ;)
Also, I just wanted to say that it looks like I will be updating this story every other Saturday for this year at least. My 'surprise' I mentioned in the last chapter was to try and start another AU series for Doctor Who with my OC Angel and, depending on the response, I was going to either continue it or delete the first chapter and focus just on this story. There was a very big, mostly positive response so I'm going to continue both AUs, updating every other Saturday for each. I plan to do this at least for this year. I hope that, next year, I'll be able to do something like updating this story every Saturday and Angel every Sunday, but so far, for this year, it's every other Saturday from here on out ;)
Some notes on reviews...
That's understandable :) That was just my interpretation of what Rose was laughing at ;)
It'll depend who is around Amy in that episode for who may or may not get taken with her if someone does get taken too ;) As for River, she may still be their goddaughter in this story, so she might not fancy the Doctor or be jealous, we'll have to wait and see if she'll still be considered that to them or not ;)