Chapter 7: The Bride and the Spider
Pockets! Donna thought. If only she had pockets. Of course being in a wedding dress, she had no pockets. It was something that had come up constantly the first time she had lived through this day.
As she ran, Donna's mind whizzed through ideas at a million miles an hour. She was grateful for the Time Lord knowledge in her mind, but it still didn't change the fact that she was going to have to stop the Racnoss and save the world without so much as a sonic screwdriver! The Doctor had at least had that!
She caught something out of the corner of her eyes. She smiled grimly when she realized that it was a pair of the robot-Santas. They were coming for her...and that gave her an idea. She stopped in her tracks and spun around to face the Santas as they approached her. "Take me to your leader!"
The Santas froze, suddenly still and it was clear to Donna that the Empress of the Racnoss was surprised by her command. She obviously hadn't expected Donna to have any clue as to what was going on and was probably trying to make up her mind as to whether or not this was a trap.
"Well?" Donna demanded, impatiently tapping her foot on the ground. "I haven't got all day...and neither do you!"
The Empress must have decided it was worth the risk cause the Santans sprang back to life and they caught Donna's upper arms in a death like grip. "Ow!" she winced in pain. "Take it easy! I'm coming of my own free will, so you don't have to hurt me."
The Santas relaxed their grip and began to pull Donna along, neither noticed the smug smile she wore on her face. She may not have pockets and she may not have a sonic screwdriver for that matter, but she had something else, something that might just save the world.
Donna casually tossed her head back, just enough for her wedding veil to fall off and she caught it with her hands behind her back. Keeping her eyes forward so that the robot-Santas wouldn't suspect anything, she torn the veil of the metal tiara like wiring it had been attached to. Now, she just needed some time...
The secret basement of H.C. Clemens was just as Donna remembered it. Cold, dark, and musty. She shivered slightly and not for the first time since she had gotten her memory back did she wish that the Doctor was there with her.
Even though she was sure she knew how to beat the Racnoss, it still would have been nice to have him beside her in this awful place. His boyish grin and constant cheerfulness would have made her feel more at ease here. She hadn't fully appreciated his presence the first time, but now she did. If he only were there.
But he wasn't, so she would have to do this on her own. It's all up to you, Donna Noble. Donna took a deep breath as she allowed the robot-Santas to lead her into the big room that she could never forget. There she was. The Empress of the Racnoss herself. More like the Empress of giant the red spiders. Donna thought, dryly. Donna noted the huge hole in the ground that led down to the center of the Earth. That's where the rest of the Racnoss where.
"Ah!" said the Empress, grinning maliciously at her. "If it isn't the little bride. I have waited long for this day and it is here at last."
"I bet you have." Donna retorted. "Waited long enough to poison me...with Hueon particles...your Spideryness!"
The look on the Empress's face was priceless and Donna suddenly wished that she had a camera handy. The Empress clearly couldn't make up her mind as to what surprised her more, the fact that Donna knew about the Hueon particles or that she had actually dared to call her a spider. She was so shocked that she couldn't even speak for a few minutes.
"You..." she finally managed to choke out the word, "you know about..." she was cut off by the sudden entrance of Lance. He didn't noticed Donna or the robots at first. His focus was completely on the Empress and he looked pale and he seemed to be shaking with terror.
Donna instantly knew that he had come to report his "failure" to the Empress of the Racnoss. Donna had guessed that would be the case, in fact, she had counted on it. It was vital to her plan. He no doubt believed that the Empress would have him killed.
"I..." he trembled and Donna almost felt sorry for him. "I have...failed you...she...got away." He stood looking at the ground and from the way he was wincing, Donna guessed he expected to feel claws swipe down at him at any moment.
The Empress blinked. She looked over at Donna and then back at Lance. "Oh, really?" Lance looked up in surprise, for her tone had not been one of rage at being disappointed, but instead it had been one of interest. The Empress nodded in Donna's direction and Lance turned and let out a yelp of surprise.
"Hello, Lance." Donna gave him her best you are in so much trouble grin. "Didn't expect to see me here, did you?"
Lance just started at her open mouthed. "How...?"
"She told the robots to bring her here." said the Empress, her tone dripping with barely constrained rage. "And she knows about the Hueon particles."
Lance just shook his head, keeping his eyes on Donna. "That's impossible. There's no way she could have found out."
"Unless, you told her." said the Empress with deadly calm and Lance spun to face her, his eyes wide with terror.
"No! I didn't. I never breathed a word."
"Then how could she know?" the Empress demanded.
"I...I don't know." said Lance. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"
The Empress snorted in derision. "Like she'd tell the truth."
"She's a horrible liar." Lance insisted. "Just ask her."
"It doesn't really matter." snapped the Empress. "She will still suffer and my children will still rise. Her knowing doesn't really effect our plans!"
While this exchange had been going on, neither the Empress nor Lance had been paying any attention to Donna, which is just what she had hoped would happen. It gave her just enough time, to complete another stage of her plan. With some help from the tiara, which she had managed to bend it a straight wire on her way here, the robots were now under her control and not the Empress's.
It didn't take long for her to twist her way out of their grasp and since neither had moved since their arrival, it didn't come as any surprise to her that they didn't move now. After removing their hoods, she used the make shift wire to reprogram them, once she found the correct electrical circuits. She had just put the hoods back on and slipped her arms back it their hands, when the Empress and Lance turned back to face her.
"So, little bride," sneered the Empress, "it is time!" More hooded robots advanced, but that did not faze Donna one bit. Instead she just smiled broadly.
"You bet it is, spider queen!" Then both either the Empress or Lance knew what was happening, the robots by Donna let go of her and turned their guns on the other robots and they shot. Before the other robots even hit the ground, Donna's had their guns aimed at Lance and the Empress.
"No!" the Empress shrieked in rage.
"I'm out of here." said Lance, making a dash for the door. The Empress lunged for him.
"Lance, watch out!" Donna shouted, but it was too late. The Empress turned back to face her and Lance's body fell to the ground, covered in blood and Donna knew he was dead.
"You next!" the Empress charged towards her. Blam! Both of the robot-Santas shot at once and the Empress fell, but not the ground. She had been so full of anger and rage that she hadn't noticed where she was walking. The blasts knocked her side ways, down it the hole and Donna could hear her shrieking as she fell.
Donna quickly ran over to a set of controls that were in the far corner of the room and pressed a button and giant plates covered the hole.
Donna wandered the now dark streets. She had been afraid that she would also have to take out the Empress's ship, but it had been spotted over the Earth and the government had taken care of that.
She sighed. What a day! She had been able to cure herself of the Hueon particles, but that still left one thing she had to do: she had to find the Doctor. He was out their somewhere.
Author's Note: Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed last time! Please, keep them coming!