There wasn't a door to the black metal pillar jutting out from the parking lot. However, its reflective surface concealed hundreds of microscopic mechanical eyes that were designed to pick up objects of interest. It barely registered the blue box, because ships were not candidates. They did focus on a single Sponsor marching towards the base, whistling a tune, the remaining human candidate slumped over its shoulder.
H-Hello, got a fresh one here, ready to finish off the set
The cameras relayed this information with indifferent data crunching, scanning the Sponsor for any form of complication, a fail-safe that never really mattered. It took a second to confirm that the Sponsor was free of all tampering, It functioned perfectly and followed the core programming. The machines within complied, opening their plating to let their operative inside.
Several Sponsors, designed for the surgical adjustments, waited a few feet inside. A railing similar to a double helix featured nearby candidates waiting to improved, all hanging limply by tight straps that supported their weight. No hooks or other support were necessary and risked damaging property. Their value could only be measured in the 'athletes' ability to be as physically whole as possible. They would be lifted up when all the players were scavenged and at the top of the tower the surgery would occur and they would then be delivered down an adjacent chute to a teleporter. The machines had no need to know their destination after that, only to prep the 'athletes' for the journey.
We shall fasten human female to the railing, proceed with procuring the remaining sets
Prepare to recruit double for next shipment
The Sponsor gave a quick salute and lowered the remaining human's body to the operators.
It paused before the transfer was complete. A small object was in the product's hand.
Say there, M-Missy, whatcha got t-there
Max's eyes snapped open as she pressed a button on the device. A blue flash and all four Sponsor's heads blew up. She landed with a thud but shook off the pain as the Doctor charged in right behind her. Max tossed the screwdriver back to the Doctor while the Time Lord did a quick spin around the inside of the tower, catching it after a single rotation.
"Standard package and delivery facility. Typical." The Doctor said with a grimace.
"So, how'd they not read me?" Max said.
"The Sonic scrambled your bio, mistook it for 'unconscious'. And it's about to do a whole lot more." The Doctor said with a grin.
"You going to make a sonic boom or something?"
The Doctor scoffed.
"This is a scientific instrument, it does not make something go 'boom'."
"I've seen you use that thing to blow up the heads of Sponsors for the last five hours." Max pointed out dryly.
"Yes, with SCIENCE!"
The alarms inside the facility started to blare.
"They're going to speed up production, they've confirmed I'm an immediate threat."
"What's the play, Doc?" Max turned to see Sponsors charging down to them from a floor above.
The Doctor shoved her hand into Max's. The former athlete eyed what she gave her, a small gold key. It looked like something fit for a locker room.
"Run downstairs, trash the teleporter, and don't lose that key. It will save your life."
Or open a friendship locket, Max thought, but the clunk of metal footsteps was too close for comfort. She turned around and rushed downstairs while the Doctor rushed up, just ducking under the Sponsors who ignored her and focused on tearing apart their rebellious property. Lucky me, Max thought as she ran like Hell down the stairs. She wondered why Sponsors would even need stairs a split second too late and nearly fell to her death when flipping over a ledge. A fall that broke bones must be a gentle hop with mechanical legs.
Training kicked in and Max caught herself. It was still at least 10 feet from a hard metal floor promising only pain. A bright circle of blue light blazed below, an adjacent rail ran down to it and some unknown fate. No bodies were dropped onto transporter yet but she could guess it wouldn't be much longer. What's one athletic prisoner armed with a locker key to do against such evil?
A mechanical hand almost fried her skull, she dropped with a yelp and managed to slid down a metal beam used to support the upper floors. She got to the floor without too much drag on her skin thanks to the reinforced suit. There still needed to be a plan to cause some interference. Opportunity knocked against her leg when a machinal hand, dropped from above and almost broke her foot. The thing was still twitching, a slight cackle of electricity in its palm. A gift from the Doctor, she figured, and Max had an idea of how to use it.
Two Sponsors dropped down and spun to face her.
Now, Max, you know there's nothing done that we can't fix. Can't have our star athlete out of the games to come
Max had no idea what the Sponsor was talking about, but nothing good could come from it. Then again, this might be last time she faced the mechanical horrors and something made her wish to speak words for all those who had no chance before.
"Okay be honest," Max said with a grin. "You all were parking meters that unionized."
Max, don't be rude
"Fine, how about retired vending machines, stuck up traffic lights? Tell me if I'm close."
She ducked a swing that put a dent into the nearby wall, Max jammed the metal hand into the face of the Sponsor. It twitched violently and fell to the floor, Its companion charged forward over the fallen one without remorse, all that matter was the product.
"Final guess then," Max was cornered, the metal arm wrenched away and all light blocked about by the Sponsor's colossal form. "Parking garage gates, the kind with the long arms but you didn't like the heavy lifting."
MY OH MY, WHAT PETTY WORDS TO USE BEFORE LOSING YOUR FRONTAL LOBE
Huh, Max thought, so they can get ticked off, should have led with can openers.
With the metal hand raised up in defense, Max prepped to face the worst with open eyes.
This helped her see a cable wrap around the Sponsor's neck.
The Doctor slid down and the Sponsor turned around to eye the new intruder. Its gaze turned up to the cable and noticed where it was connected. The Sponsor then stared at the screwdriver in the Doctor's hands.
AS REPRESENTATIVE OF RAMIFICATION NIGHTMARES, I AM CAPABLE OF OFFERING COMPRO—
The Doctor pressed the button on the Sonic Screwdriver and something jolted to life above. Electricity sparked off the Sponsor's body as all the energy from Its body shot up towards the ceiling. Twitching, grinding, and finally exploding, the Sponsor's power killed energy in the tower. Max only saw darkness, and then heard a roar unlike any other. The Tardis formed around her and suddenly she was inside with the Doctor beside her.
"W-What just happened?" Max muttered, afraid to reach out and possibly vanish instead.
"We won," the Doctor said with a grin. "Well, we win by helping everyone but the Sponsors win, so yeah, collectively, this is going to be a good one." She walked over to the door and opened the Tardis. Outside the facility was still dark, Max felt a chill remembering all the unfortunate souls still hanging from the rail.
"They're alright, Max, in fact I'm about to try something no Time Lord has dared consider before."
She waved the Sonic Screwdriver outside and the railing just entered inside. The Doctor walked outside, motioning for Max to follow. When they left the Tardis, the Doctor waved the Screwdriver inside the box and the interior changed. The athlete watched this and actually smiled, for the first time in a long time she found something funny.
"Everyone in the pool." The Doctor winked in the hue of her Sonic as she aimed it up and all the bodies flew down the rails inside the Tardis with a thunderous splash. There were shouts, cries of confusion, and splashing from within confirmed everyone was okay and not drowning.
The Doctor watched, having made sure the Tardis's other rooms were closed off from inspection. Max joined the Time Lord and the Tardis closed.
"You know that door says 'pull' but you 'push' to open it, right?"
"Who am I to judge what my vehicle prefers, she has every right to do as she likes. Besides, if we argued with her there's a chance she'll dump us in a black hole."
Max shivered, eyeing the walls with uncertainty.
"Stick with your friends, Max, I'll finish up the rest."
The Doctor left her, security doors lifted up as she walked past and instantly closed again. Max rushed over to her comrades, they were struggling to process that this was indeed real and not the afterlife. Once that was settled by all, a small celebration occurred, claiming the Doctor had saved them all. They spoke about her as some mythical force, their grand savior. But Max couldn't feel the same.
She just saw a woman in a blue box who could be clever and also forget to consider rope. That image made her leave the party, everyone too preoccupied with celebrating to stop her. The security doors opened and closed behind her the instant she came close.
The Tardis was definitely a living being of some kind, Max managed to find her way to the main console with surreal ease as if guided there. She saw the Doctor tinkering away, pausing to look at her.
"You're missing the party." The Doctor said.
"Yeah," Max agreed. "But after three years of Hell, I guess I can't really celebrate until I see this done."
The Doctor, flipping a switch, grinned as the Tardis's inner gears started twisting. Max handled the lurch with much more grace. They stopped after a second, the two women walked towards the door that opened inside with a snap of the Doctor's fingers. Leaning out they saw the same scene as before, with the inclusion of a the parking lot littered with large holes and a massive meteor imbedded in the top of the stadium.
"You are an insurance agent's worst nightmare." Max muttered, amazing a few flicks of switched caused so much damage.
"Yeah, and they have tried billing me, but I am phenomenally hard to find and subpoena."
"They'd find a way." Max said pointedly.
"Perhaps," the Doctor said. "How about you flick that switch over there and finish this up?" The Doctor pointed to the red lever near the left of the console. Max walked over, ten steps and she was in front of freedom. The absence of this madness had become such an impossible thing that Max didn't know what else she had in her life. The world she called home had most likely moved on, her friends had lives but she was just drifting through life mostly. She could see the hint of stars in the sky and a woman who knew them quite well. With a small smile, she pulled the lever. Max ran back, happy she didn't get confused with the switches and blow them all up.
"So… what did I do?"
The Doctor pointed at the tower.
"Remember how I said that it absorbed light and sound, well I added another feature. That switch activated any nearby magnetrons, which is what I converted the Sponsor's tower."
"And that'll do what exactly?"
"Draw in metal," the Doctor said as she knelt down. "Do you know how many metals are inside a meteor?"
Max heard a massive groan, louder than the Tardis and watched with wide eyes as the meteor dislodged from the roof and crunched into the parking lot. It tumbled, pulverizing everything in its path, in a powerful rolling path of destruction straight to the tower.
"Isn't bowling fun when you're on the last pin?" The Doctor said.
The magnetron drew in its own doom and without a whimper of mercy crashed through the ominous tower and left nothing but scrap metal in its wake. And just like that, the nightmare was done. The uniform was just a petty costume, nothing special or powerful, and that made Max shout out with joy. Her voice carried through the cosmos, oblivious to the Doctor who went back to the console.
"We better get out of here," the Doctor said. "Lots of people who need to get home, but we also have a ton of people below who might want to try finding a lawyer. That's a force I am not interested in facing, ever."
Max stepped back and the universe was closed off from her sight. As the whirling prowess of the Tardis entered her ears, she wondered if it was okay to get used to that sound. Another voice in Max's mind chimed in.
Why not?
