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Chapter 9 - Justice

Rose opened the door to their suite. Genie saw her and went immediately in her arms.

"Mummy." She cried.

"What happened?" Rose asked.

Tony sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, "They were attacked. Those guys they had in the brig. ….got them in the hallway."

Rose kissed Genie who was still crying and sighed, "You poor thing. Are you alright?"

Tony rubbed Genie's back. "She's alright. She was amazing."

Rose closed her eyes tightly and went to sit on the sofa with Genie. "Thank you for whatever you did, Tony."

Tony shook his head. "Hell, it wasn't much."

He was already walking over to the food replicator. "Tea? That's what you British people always do when you have a near death experience, right?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yes. Tea. Genie, do you want a cup of tea?"

Genie shook her head. Rose continued to hold her tighly. Tony returned with three cups. He sat them all down on the coffee table in front of the sofa, then handed one to Rose.

"Who's the third one for?"

"John. I imagine he'll be back in here in just a bit." He said as he sat on the sofa with them.

Rose sipped her tea as he held Genie. "Genie. You're alright."

Tony rubbed Genie's leg and smiled at her. "Gene. Let me see your arm."

Genie held her arm out to Tony. He tapped her bracelet and said, "Override. Maria 5.29. Anthony Stark. Remove."

The bracelet lit up and loosened. Tony slipped it off of Genie's wrist and smiled at her. "Gene. This works so great that I'm going to look it over and make some more. Alright? I'll give it back to you when I'm finished."

Genie wiped her eyes. "Who's Anthony Stark?"

He sipped his tea, "That's me. No one calls me that, so it's a great password."

"You don't look like an Anthony."

He smiled, "See. That's why we're friends, Gene. I completely agree. Thank you."

Genie didn't say anything and leaned into Rose's chest.

The door opened and the Doctor walked in. "Genie. Are you alright?"

Genie jumped out of Rose's lap and met him as he scooped her up in his arms and held her. She began to cry again as he held her tightly. "Sweetheart. I've got you. I won't let you go until you tell me it's alright. Okay?"

Tony sipped his tea as he relaxed and propped his arm up on the back of the sofa. "I think Gene is going to need her Daddy for a while on this one."

Rose sighed, "She had just calmed down, too."

The Doctor looked back at Rose, "Sorry."

The Doctor kissed Genie's cheek as he held her. "Thank you, Tony. That was a delicate situation. Handled perfect."

Tony shook his head and pointed at Genie. "No one this short should see that. I've got the bracelet. I have no idea why it channeled so much juice. We'll talk about it later."

The Doctor sat down in the chair next to the sofa and put his forehead to Genie's. "My Sara Gene. Listen to Daddy in your mind."

Genie continued to cry quietly as Rose and Tony watched the Doctor put his hands on Genie's cheeks and telepathically calm her down. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and looked at him. He kissed her forehead and wiped her tears. "Better?"

She nodded.

He looked up. "Rose. I need to go to the Control Room. We're going to be a bit late getting to Plentitude."

Tony looked confused. "Late? Why?"

"The electronic pulse damaged the engines a bit."

Tony looked proud. "Well, that's something I've never broke before. Need some help putting it back together? Where is Timon?"

"Engine room. It's close to the football field. Do you want me to take you down there?"

He waved his hand, "Nah. I can find it. I'll have my tea for the road." He stood up and stopped as he walked past the Doctor holding Genie. He leaned down and kissed her head, "Gene. You are a very brave, young lady. You surprise me every time we meet."

Rose said, "Tony. Thank you."

He didn't look back. "Ah. What else was I doing today? Who wants to sit in space like a damn rock? We've got shit to do." Tony complained as he walked out of the room.

Rose spoke to the Doctor in his head. 'Is she alright?'

'No. She is still frightened. The electronic pulse, taser thing in her bracelet killed two of the men that attacked them. I'm glad Tony took it from her.'

Rose covered her mouth. 'Does she know?'

'I don't think she does. Tony told her not to look and then brought her to you. She never saw what happened after it went off.'

Rose shook her head in disbelief. 'How did they even get out?'

'I don't know. Legate and Lance have a watch on them now. I'll sort out how it happened later. Genie needs my attention now.'

The Doctor spoke gently to Genie. "My Sara Gene. Can you come with me to the Control Room? I need to watch that mad movie where that ice princess sings so much."

Rose stood up and asked her daughter, "Do you want your Goofy?"

Genie nodded her head. Rose went into Genie's bedroom and brought it to her. The Doctor was already standing up with Genie in his arms. She took the Goofy doll and held the Doctor's neck tightly.

"Thank you, Rose." He told her.

Rose kissed his lips quickly. "I'll go get Sam. He's finally awake. If you need me to come get her-"

"I'll let you know. She's fine. She just needs her Daddy for a while." He insisted as they walked out of the door.

"Not her Mum?" Rose asked.

He stopped and closed his eyes, 'I can't tell her this, but it's not over completely yet. Trust me. Let me handle this.'

Rose looked confused. "Alright."

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The Doctor sat on the sofa in his office onboard the ship. The door was open so he could hear all of the activity of the control room. His office was a small room, and had white, futuristic desk sitting in the middle. The walls had grey, large blocks behind the desk, and the sofa that sat on the other side of the desk. The windows showed the blackness of space and tiny dots of white stars in the distance. They had stopped completely while Tony and Timon repaired the damage to the engines.

The Doctor was wearing his glasses and making circular notes on a legal pad of paper as he read over a file. He was wearing his jeans and a t-shirt of a concert he had attended with Tony months ago. He had his feet, with only grey socks on, propped on the table in front of them.

Genie sat beside of him eating chocolate ice cream straight out of the carton. She wore his grey jumper, which was way too large for her, over her jeans and shirt. He had rolled the sleeves up so she could use her hands. Genie leaned against him while she watched Disney's Frozen on the screen in the wall. After each bite she took, she would feed her Daddy a spoonful.

Poltious walked through the open door of the office. "Hey. This is looking good out here. Timon says he thinks it's just a few circuits that overloaded. The rest of it has already been repaired."

The Doctor groaned. "Damn. That's going to mean a spacewalk then, and that's not an easy place to get into."

Poltious nodded his head and then realized. "Well, hang on. Is Tony's suit air tight? He can just fly out there and trigger it. He would be small enough to get in there."

"I don't know if it's onboard."

Poltious waved his hand. "I'll ask. Don't worry about it." He walked back into the control room.

He returned to his notes. Genie fed him another spoonful of ice cream. "Daddy. Is the Frozen princesses real?"

"'Are the Princesses real' is what I think you meant to ask."

She rolled her eyes and ate some more ice cream. "Yeah, that. Are they?"

He closed his file he had been working on and sat the pad of paper on top of it. He rubbed her shoulder as she fed him another spoonful of ice cream. He watched the movie with her for a few minutes.

"No. Well, not really. The people who made this movie were from Earth. They probably didn't know of that story."

Genie looked up at him. "What story?"

He opened one of the squares in the wall behind him and put the file and pad of paper in the cupboard behind it. He said, "Friday. Lock the cupboards in this office. My voice only."

Friday replied. "Of course."

Genie handed him the carton of ice cream and sat up to look at him. "Daddy. What story?"

"I shouldn't tell you that story. It's probably rather frightening to a young lady such as yourself."

"Daddy, it's just a story. Right?"

He ate some of the ice cream and shook his head. "Genie. Daddy would never lie to you. This story is the happy version of a world over in….ummm…. Maia system. It's very, very far from here. It's a very dark place. The people of Earth would say it was full of monsters and demons. The Queen of this place is their mother. She's always been extremely brave, but frightened of what she had created. She wouldn't even utter the names of her children. This world is so dark that even the snow is black."

Genie's face looked horrified. "That's terrible."

"And Daddy will never take you there. Daddy won't even go there….again." He told her as he offered her a spoonful of ice cream. She politely refused.

"Do those monsters ever leave?"

"Some do. Most are killed by monster hunters, like myself. Or they die of old age before they get out this far. It's very far away. It's not something you should ever worry about."

He sat down the empty carton on the table and gathered Genie up in his arms. He pulled her into his lap. "Brrr….now I'm cold that we've ate all of that ice cream." He told her as he kissed her cheek with his cold lips.

Genie giggled as they watched the movie together.

Poltious popped his head back inside of the door. "Tony's suit is in the hanger. He's going to take it out in just a bit. Timon is going to put an air pocket field on it."

He nodded his head. "That should work. Have Timon double the power that would normally go to that. That suit can run it without a problem and I'd rather not have one. Keep a close eye on his oxygen level. He should stay at 21%."

Poltious chuckled, "21. Or a bit higher?"

He smiled, "Not too much. I don't want him flying into the side of the ship."

Poltious laughed as he walked back into the control room.

After a few moments, he rested his head on his fist. "I don't understand this movie."

Genie shook her head. "It's simple, Daddy."

"Nah, it's weird. It's a terrible strategy. I mean, Genie. Imagine you are a King. You have a daughter who can turn the season to winter, and shoot ice from her fingertips. Freeze everything in sight. Wouldn't you want everyone in the world to know that? Why did she have to keep this such a secret?"

Genie looked back at the movie and shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe she's afraid someone will hurt her. Or think she's an alien. Like back at home."

He rubbed his beard. "If he told his enemies his daughter could do this, they would be frightened she would do it to them. So, they would never attack his kingdom and they would live in peace. For all of time."

"No, they wouldn't, Daddy. They would always be afraid. Even the people who live there." Genie told him.

He smiled proudly at her. "You're absolutely right. Well done, my Sara Gene."

Rose walked in. She had been listening to their conversation at the door. "Sweetheart, it's just a Disney movie. Do you have to question everything?"

"There are opportunities I take when I see them." He insisted.

Rose sat down next to them on the sofa and kissed him quickly. Genie climbed into her lap and continued to watch the movie.

"Now, I've lost my warm Genie blanket." He complained as he put his arm around Rose and shivered.

Rose looked over at him. "Are you alright?"

"Just cold." He told her.

Rose spotted the empty carton. "More ice cream?"

He was engrossed in the movie again. "Yeah. Genie helped me with this one, though. It calms the nerves."

Rose teased him. "You should have the coolest nerves in the Universe with as much ice cream as you have been eating."

He chuckled. "True. Maybe that's why I keep craving it. I'm afraid we might have spoiled our dinner."

Rose rubbed his thigh and smiled. "I believe the day called for it."

Friday spoke, "There is a call from Tony Tyler for you, Doctor Smith."

"Ugh. Pause the movie. Put it on the screen here." He instructed.

Tony Tyler appeared on the screen. As soon as he saw Rose, the Doctor and Genie he beamed. "Good! All of you! Jacob and I have a joke!"

Jacob came on the screen and shook his head. "This is really not my idea, John. I think he's pushing it."

Tony pushed him away. "Yeah, whatever. Okay. I don't think this is a swear, but Jacob says it is. I need your opinion on it before I go tell Dad and get into trouble."

The Doctor glanced back at Rose and smiled. "Alright. I'm ready."

Tony held out his hand, "Alright. Now, don't interrupt, you have to listen to the entire thing."

Rose laughed under her breath.

The Doctor rubbed his beard and chuckled. "Alright, Comrade. Let's hear it."

"There was a young lady named Glass.
Who had the most beautiful ass,
Not rounded and pink,
As you probably think,
But was grey, and had ears and ate grass."

Rose covered her mouth and laughed quietly. She looked at the Doctor who was smiling.

Tony held his hands out. "Well?! What do you think?"

"Oh, so you're done?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah. What did you think? Isn't it clever?" Tony insisted.

"It's in a book. I didn't realize Howie had a copy of Ashley Montagu's, The Anatomy of Swearing."

Tony's shoulders dropped in defeat.

Jacob's voice could be heard. "I told you he would know."

Rose covered her face with both of her hands and continued to laugh quietly.

The Doctor fussed at them. "Put the book up, boys. And don't look for another one on that subject."

"Fine." Tony said. "I'll call you later."

The screen cut off and Frozen began to play again. The Doctor looked at Rose, smiled and rolled his eyes. "Young men and swearing. They always want to do what they aren't allowed. We will have to keep this in mind in a few years. Where is Sam, anyway?"

"Learning to swear somewhere I'm sure." She teased. "No, Arla has him up on the Observation Desk. Lewis was talking to Logan up there. Ashena said holding Sam calmed her nerves."

"Oh, I'm sure it does. Probably just what she needs right now."

Rose leaned down and kissed Genie's head as she continued to watch the movie. She turned and spoke in his head. 'Genie seems to be better.'

'She's alright. Just needed some ice cream and a weird movie. These Disney movies are just strange. Are there any of them where the parents aren't dead?'

Rose thought and bit her lip. 'I don't think so. That's sort of their thing.'

He shook his head. 'I don't know if I like her watching this or not.'

Rose rubbed his thigh. 'Why didn't you send yourself a reminder with what happened today? You could have stopped it.'

He shook his head as he watched the movie and rubbed his chin. 'Nah. I couldn't. It was a fixed point in time. That had to happen.'

'So, you knew it would happen before?'

He shook his head, 'No. But, now that it has happened, I know that it has to.'

Rose sighed and shook her head. 'I don't understand that.'

'Rose, some things have to happen in order for other things to happen. It's like…steps. You can't jump over something. It has to happen in stages.'

Rose waved her hand. 'That's the reason you handle that stuff. I want you to make a note to tell yourself it's going to happen and stop it later.'

He shook his head. 'I will make a note, but I won't be able to stop it.'

Rose sighed. 'Logan is really beating himself up over this.'

'What? Has he said something?'

'No. I could just feel it. His self esteem is really suffering with this.'

'Logan will be fine. He just needs confidence. I know he can do this. I've seen it.'

'Do you still think him and Genie end up together?'

He rubbed his face and groaned. 'Life is very strange, Rose. I don't know if that was a vision, or a dream. Me bringing him closer into the family might have pulled him further from Genie. And that would be just fine with me.'

'Tell me exactly what you saw.'

'We were at a wedding. Genie was in white, and I was shaking Logan's hand. He was wearing a nice suit.'

'Was he the groom?'

'I have no idea. He was someone important.'

'Baby! He could have been a member of the wedding party or something else. I'm not going to worry about this. That is years away.'

'You're right. Besides…. Do you think him and Ashena have something going on?'

Rose laughed and bit her lip.

Poltious leaned in the doorway. "And we have them on radar. Clagl just hailed us."

Rose looked surprised, "Ashena's father is out here?"

The Doctor stood up. "Yeah. I just called him. Genie. Can you stay here with Mum for just a bit? I'm just going in the Control Room. But, I'll need you to join me in a few minutes."

"Alright, Daddy."

He shivered and walked through the door. "Ugh. I need a jumper. It's cold in here."

He walked in the room and pressed a button on the control board. "Tony. How are you doing with that overloaded circuit?"

Tony's voice came on the speaker. "We're still in the hanger. Timon is nearly finished putting some force field on the suit. Why? Do you have a hot date on Plentitude you're going to be late for?"

"No. We have two ships that will be here in a few minutes. I'd rather you stay in the dock a bit longer. These people have had experiences with Cybermen, and I don't want you mistaken for one."

"Noted. Timon says this will take about 20 minutes to configure. So, start your freaky head watch."

The Doctor chuckled. "Started. Tell Timon he's on the clock."

The Doctor released the button and looked at the screen. A large, silver cruiser appeared in front of him. He pressed a few buttons and King Clagl, Ashena's father, appeared on the screen.

"Doctor Johnathan Smith!" He greeted the Doctor in his deep, booming voice. "Thank you for your message. Ashena is truly alright?"

Just as he said that, Legate walked in with Logan and Ashena. Ashena looked at the screen and gasped, "Father! I had no idea you were here!"

He smiled, "My daughter. I've heard of your recent attack. Are you well?"

Ashena rolled her eyes, "Father, I am fine."

The Doctor pointed at Logan. "It's all because of this young man, too. Clagl, Logan fought off the attackers and was injured in the struggle. I believe he saved your and my daughter's lives."

Logan looked confused at the Doctor. Clagl smiled proudly. "I knew I had made the right choice sending her to Earth with you."

Logan looked back at Legate who just mouthed, "Just go with it."

As they spoke, another ship appeared off the bow. The Doctor nodded his head, "Rose. Could you bring Genie in here?"

Rose carried Genie in the room and looked at the screen. "Hello there, King Clagl." She smiled as she handed Genie to the Doctor.

King Clagl shook his head. "Greetings to you. Please. I am Clagl. No need to be so formal. Are we ready?"

The Doctor turned and looked at the door as it slid open. Lewis and Lance brought the remaining two men who had attacked Legate, Ashena and Logan into the room. Genie's eyes got huge and she held her Daddy's neck tightly.

"Sweetheart. No one is going to hurt you. I'm going to hold you the entire time. There is going to be an alien appear on this screen and she might look scary. I'm sorry, but you have to do this and Daddy won't let you go. Alright?"

Genie nodded her head and hid her face in his shoulder. Rose rubbed her back.

The Doctor nodded at Poltious who pressed a button where he sat and the screen divided to show a very pale, female creature dressed completely in black. Rose thought she looked as if she was a ghost. As soon as she appeared on the screen, she bowed her head.

"King Clagl. It is my extreme honor to be summoned." She said.

Clagl waved his hand. "This is Doctor Johnathon Smith. My Princess Ashena is traveling with him and has been attacked by these two men."

The woman looked on the screen at the two men. The Doctor looked back at them. Rose could sense the complete confusion coming from them.

The pale woman spoke. "This is a human matter."

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry, it was. It no longer remains so. These two men have attacked the crowned Princess of Andromeda, and my daughter."

The woman nodded her head. "According to Article 58 of the Shadow Proclamation, we can only prosecute if the attack was witnessed by another non-human."

King Clagl shook his head. "Oh, that's never been enforced."

The Doctor turned his head, "Poltious, turn off the Universal Translator."

Poltious pressed a few buttons and gave him a thumbs up.

The Doctor turned back to the screen and spoke to the pale woman in a language Rose couldn't understand. In the middle of his explanation, he rubbed Genie's back and kissed her head. She was certain she heard the word, "Jalikapo" and "Rixalarian."

King Clagl spoke to the woman. He pointed at the Doctor and said a few things in a matter of fact tone. After Rose heard Clagl say, "Primus", the pale woman's expression completely changed towards the Doctor.

The woman sat up straighter and asked something. The Doctor kissed Genie's frightened face and spoke to her. "Sweetheart. This is a police lady. She is going to take these men that attacked you away. But she has to ask you a question and you are going to have to look at her. Alright?"

Rose could feel Genie's fear. She rubbed her back. "Mum and Dad are right here. You're safe."

The Doctor looked back at Poltious and nodded his head. Poltious pressed a few buttons and Rose heard English again from everyone.

The pale woman asked, "Young lady. What is her name?"

"Genie." The Doctor told her.

"Genie. Such a lovely name. You are quite safe young lady. Tell me, are those the men that attacked you and the Princess?"

Genie looked over at the men and nodded her head that it was.

The Doctor rubbed her back. "You have to say it."

Genie turned and looked at the pale woman. "Those men, and the other two that fell in the floor, attacked us."

The pale woman nodded her head and smiled. "You are a very brave young lady. Would you like me to take them away where they can't hurt anyone else?"

Genie hid her face in the Doctor's shoulder and held him tightly. "Yes." Her muffled voice said.

The two men seemed to finally understand what was going on and started to protest. Poltious pressed a few buttons and they disappeared off of the ship.

The pale woman pressed a button on her control panel and nodded her head. "We have them. The punishment to any attack against a Royal family member is to be determined by the King of that family. Please contact us when you have decided what you would like us to do."

The woman ended the transmission.

King Clagl clapped his hands. "Well, and that is done! Shall we dine?!"

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