Rose was aware of several things. For one, she was lying on a cold metal floor. Secondly, she was no longer in handcuffs. Her eyes flew open and she dug into her pocket for her sonic screwdriver only to realize that it had been destroyed by a Cyberman. Scoping out her surroundings Rose noticed that she wasn't in the same room as the Doctor. She felt nerves and anxiety in the pit of her stomach. The room was white and empty except for a single sleek monitor on the wall adjacent to where she was.
Beep. Rose turned to look for the source of the noise. Beep. There it was again. Suddenly, a previously unseen panel in the wall slid open. A middle aged woman stepped through the door and it shut behind her. She had stern grey eyes, black hair that went to her chin, and thin lips that Rose assumed were always turned down in a frown.
"Hello," Rose ventured. She kept her distance from the stranger, wary of the newcomer. Rose's senses were still re-calibrating and she felt a little off. If the woman made any move at Rose, she felt that she would be unprepared and too weak to fight back.
"Rose," the other woman regarded her. "They told me that you had woken up. I'm not usually one for introductions, but we're ever so delighted to have...made your acquaintance."
"We?"
"Ah yes, myself and my clients."
"What the hell are there Cyberman for then? You don't look metallic," Rose observed. She pretended to be watching the woman intently, however she was actually mentally calculating if there was a chance for her to escape through the door that had disappeared.
"Even creatures without emotion are willing to work for a certain incentive," the woman replied nonchalantly. She waved her hand as if to dismiss the idea. "We needed labor and lacked the personnel to do it. The Cybermen are merely low level employees."
Rose let the answer sink in before responding. "Alright. Well, whatever big plan you lot have cooking up, I don't see the point of keeping me here. I'm an ordinary human. Nothing special."
The woman laughed as if Rose had just made a joke. "Nothing special? The Doctor never takes anyone along who isn't special. Besides, you're lying. You aren't ordinary or human, am I right, Bad Wolf?"
Rose's breath hitched and she narrowed her eyes at the stranger. "Who are you?"
The other woman sighed. "No time for formalities I'm afraid. I believe the show is about to start," she hinted at the screen on the wall.
The monitor flickered to life and Rose watched in horror as the Doctor was strapped into a chair by two Cybermen. The room the Doctor was in looked different from hers. It was still white in color, however the door was visible and there were several computers lining the walls. The chair which held the Doctor was placed in the center of the room. Beep beep. Rose turned around and the woman was gone. Once she had turned her attention back on the screen, Rose noticed that the Doctor was now being confronted by a dark skinned man in an expensive looking suit. There was no sound but Rose could imagine that the conversation wasn't pleasant.
That was the moment when the Doctor seemed to notice that there was a camera in the room with him. His eyes grew wide and he seemed to be screaming a thousand words at her through those green orbs. The man interrogating him noticed this and simply hit him hard across the face. Rose sunk to the ground, covering her eyes. She hadn't come back here to see this. She hadn't traveled all this way to watch him be beaten. Old feelings Rose up into the pit of her stomach and Rose tried to keep herself from seeing anything else. That was when they turned the sound on in her room.
"Tell me Doctor, your blonde friend, how did you meet her?" A rough voice asked. The Doctor said nothing. The man sighed and put his hands on either side of the Doctor's head, once again turning it forcefully towards the camera. "She's listening right now you know. Wave hello to your special little companion. Oh silly me, you can't can you?" The man laughed, eyeing the Doctor's restraints. "I asked you a very simple question. How did you meet her?"
"I blew up the shop she worked in." The Doctor finally admitted somewhat reluctantly. This made Rose smile slightly as she remembered a leather clad him and living plastic. "Why do you lot care?"
"All in good time, Doctor."
"Never liked waiting. Tell me, how did you manage to get her here?" His voice sounded on edge. The Doctor glanced sideways at the computers, searching for any telling information.
"The Cybermen captured her ship as it neared Satellite Five. A second TARDIS, now I thought they were all gone except for yours. The rumors are that you stole yours and ran away. Tell me Doctor, are you a coward who always runs?"
"That's me," the Doctor said bitterly.
"What else should I have expected? The Oncoming Storm is nothing more than a lonely mad man who stole a box and a few people along the way to see the universe. Only thing is, those people never leave whole, do they?" The man was staring at the camera and straight through Rose.
"Stop it," the Doctor growled.
"Why should I? This is such fun," the man laughed. The Doctor's facial expression was strange. For a second time that day, Rose saw him as she'd never seen the Doctor ever before. There was rage seething from every pore of his body but his mouth was drawn into a tight, false- sense-of-calm expression.
"You know who I am. D'you really want to make me angry?"
"Oh, the ice man really is raging. Dear me, have I gone too far and upset you? Shame. I know what will calm you down. Enjoy your rest, Doctor." The man grinned reassuringly at the Time Lord, pulling out a needle from the inside of his coat. The Doctor struggled to get away but was unable to avoid it as the syringe was plunged into his neck. Reality seeped away as the Doctor fell unconscious.
Hello everyone. I hope that chapter came out as fast paced as I intended it to be.
So several things revealed, two evil conspirators, but an even worse mystery client. I was re-reading this and I realized that the man sort of sounds psychotic...but I like it.
I sincerely hope you liked this chapter. Please review!
~Em