Kiwi was starting to feel crestfallen. She had a good apartment in the Upper East side. She had money enough to live to her old age with nary a worry, even if she lost a limb or two. She was the best thief she knew, and she knew everyone. But when it came to friends, she didn't have any, and she didn't reckon she ever had. Not to mention lovers – she did what they did, but she had none, not unless being a regular at a parlor counted.

Even the chase had become boring. There was no building she couldn't get into, no treasure she couldn't steal, if she fancied it. Half the time, she didn't even need a sonic screwdriver, although she always kept one with her. She wasn't so arrogant as to think she could get by without the things that made her. As a matter of fact, they seemed to be the only thing that kept her going. Holding out for another alert on her scanner...hoping that, one day, The Doctor would show up and she'd get another piece of fancy tech.

If it weren't for that, maybe she'd have tried to join the police. They'd just let in some female patrolwomen, she'd read as much. It'd be good for a laugh, something to give her something to do. But would it have suited her? She rather doubted that.

When the scanner did finally beep, Kiwi decided to make the most of it. The Doctor didn't come around often, and she'd always gotten through those times in under an hour. Besides, she'd never learned where that Cyberman had came from. She could spend some time with this one. She went about disguised in her usual fashion, hiding in plain sight rather than skulking in the shadows.

He was an old man, this time, older than she'd ever seen him. He had a coat with some kind of hood, puffy gray hair, and eyebrows angry enough to boil an egg. And the woman with him, another young one, all proper and pretty, and Kiwi quickly realized she had an independent streak. They went this way and that, but one place they kept returning to, just a little spot by the river where a big blue box sat. They'd go in there for hours at a time, which caught Kiwi's interest. Something dodgy was going on there, or else they were both accomplished at sleeping on their feet.

Kiwi waited until they'd left before going up to the box herself. Nobody else took much notice of it, which suited her fine. She'd seen them use a key, but what did she need with one, when she had a sonic screwdriver? She pointed it at the lock and focused on the idea of it opening.

Nothing happened.

Kiwi frowned. It had never not worked before. She did it again, with her other screwdriver.

Nothing happened.

Kiwi took them both out at the same time and focused. On how much she wanted to see what was in there, what secrets the Doctor might be keeping, about how she needed to get in or all the chasing she'd been doing over her life would have been meaningless. She prayed, and she wasn't a praying woman, to whatever force there was to let it work.

And then the door swung open.

Kiwi's jaw dropped. There was some kind of glass pillar at the center, surrounded by silvery panels with gadgets she couldn't recognize, and a metal floor to stand on. There were stairs leading up to a second level, with shelf upon shelf of books and a blackboard to boot. It was lit up by blue circles that lined the walls, all the way up to a vaulted ceiling, with a little orange glow coming from the center and from a door to the side. But none of that amazed her more than one thing:

It was bigger on the inside.

Kiwi crept into the box, and the pillar let out a little hum. She could have sworn it was an invite, but architecture generally didn't greet folks. The door closed behind her and she ran her fingers along the railing, all the way up to the console. What was it? Who made it? What could it do? What was she going to do? For the moment, she contented herself with just feeling it against the pads of her fingers. To explore.

She spent some time doing just that. She tried to fiddle with the devices on the console, but they were all stuck fast, so she took to the books. There were a hundred titles and words she didn't recognize, even though she could read them. Her scanner took her to a pair of black glasses beside a stack of books, which she put on and, sure enough, they felt like a sonic screwdriver to her head. It made everything dark, so she shifted them to balance on her forehead as she explored.

There was a swimming pool, all clean and pristine and just begging to be swam in, though she forced herself to resist. There was a whole hall of bedrooms, all either empty or locked to even her sonic sunglasses. There was a giant library, bigger than the one in the...she realized she didn't know what to think of it as, so she settled on living room. There was a wardrobe where she found all kinds of clothes, including the colorful coat that rude Doctor had worn.

And there was more beyond even that. There was a room with nothing but white walls, a room with some kind of pictures of people she didn't recognize, save for Rose and the Ace girl she'd seen when she was little. A laundry room, a kitchen, some gardens and a room filled with butterflies. A beautician's office, a doctor's office, more bathrooms than she could count, a room stuffed wall-to-wall with snowglobes.

By the time Kiwi remember to check her stopwatch, two hours had passed, and she realized, with a heavy heart, that she had to get out before The Doctor came back. She rushed as fast as her feet could carry her, and found her way back to the living room quicker than she'd have thought possible. She opened the doors, stepped outside, and came face-to-face with the last two faces she wanted to see.

"...Clara," The Doctor said. "Is it just me, or did somebody just come out of the TARDIS?"

"Hmm, I don't see any others around." Clara peered this way and that, with a little glimmer of delight in her eyes. "Nope, I think this one's yours."

"And this young woman, who I'm guessing is named Orange or Pear, no wait, Kiwi, just stepped out of it?" The Doctor asked.

"Bang on." Clara grinned.

"Well, that can't be right." The Doctor tapped his chin. "Because I could have sworn there were rules about that. Laws, even, that you don't break into somebody else's property and steal their sunglasses." He looked down at Kiwi, positively looming despite her being a grown woman. "Does that ring a bell, Kiwi? I can call you Kiwi, can't I? Or would that be rude?"

Kiwi kicked him where she sun doesn't shine.

Or, she would have, if The Doctor hadn't swayed out of the way and tugged on her ankle, sending her stumbling forwards.

Kiwi quickly caught her balance and spun round to face him again. She wasn't about to leave her back exposed, and if he wanted a fight, he'd get it. "...when'd you learn to fight?" She asked. None of the others had.

"Since always. Venusian Aikido." The Doctor made some motion with his hands, like she'd sometimes seen in some of the photos other immigrants brought with them. "And even if you get passed me, this one's vicious. She'll tear the head right off of a jelly baby without a second thought."

"Grr." Clara added, with an amused smirk.

"I was just lookin'." Kiwi decided to try to talk it out. She could take down the woman in the heels and dress, no problem, but this Doctor was tall and apparently willing to fight her, if it came down to it.

"Clearly not, and you don't have a good track record, do you?" The Doctor said. "I'll just take those back, thank y-Ow!" He snapped his hand back when Kiwi bit his finger, then dashed to the nearby railing. She leaped over it, tumbling to the round but quickly pulling herself back to her feet. She shoved the glasses into her pocket as she slipped out of her shoes and her coat, then took a running leap.

The river was chilly, as expected, but Kiwi was a strong swimmer and a little cold never bothered her. She grew up in England. She could hear the two people far behind her.

"Clara, quick! After her!" The Doctor yelled.

"Uh, dream on." Clara said. "You go after her, if you're so eager."

By the time she clambered onto the nearest boat, Kiwi knew she was free, and made a gesture proclaiming such back at the shore.