Title: Settling In
Author: Shen
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Torchwood
Setting/Spoilers: Sequel to Looking Within, in my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at http/shengirl dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html
Teaser: Rose has landed back in her universe in truly dramatic fashion, and it's quite a lot to deal with when it comes to settling back in! Post-reunion fic.
Author's Note: How's that for faster?
Chapter 10: A Guinea Pig with Fangs
Rose lay on the bed of her padded cell, contemplating the ceiling while a snifglidian worm crawled around in her abdomen. Shortly after the nurse and orderly had left her there, she realized why they were letting her have food, rest, and some comfort.
A weapons test is hardly useful if the subject is tired and weak.
Though she didn't want to go along with any plans or desires of this sick program, it seemed even more foolish to go into danger and suffering at lowered strength. So, she ate and laid down, waiting and thinking. How to get out of this mess? Hopefully, the Doctor had an idea, because she hadn't an inkling.
Eventually, the door slid open, and two aliens walked in. Rather than medical staff, these men were clearly military, blank looks on their faces and stun guns at their hips. To Rose's dismay, one held a three foot pole with another, shorter pole attached perpendicularly to its end by three links of chain. Each end of the shorter pole had a thick handcuff.
"Put your wrists in, and he will lock them," ordered the one holding the device. Painfully aware of her odds against two alert, armed soldiers, Rose complied with a glare.
"You lot sure are impressive. Afraid of human cooties?" The pair ignored her and began pulling her out the door and down the hall. A few moments later, as another door became visible on the right, a faint jumble of feelings not her own tugged at Rose's consciousness. Discomfort tinged with fear. Just after the door began a large, glass section of wall starting at hip level, and then Rose understood the sensation she was getting. Beyond the glass was a slew of rarjrogs, huddled in too-small pens with dirty water troughs. Rose had time for a short whimper of sympathy before a rough tug on her cuffs reminded her that she was in need of more help than the giant hedgehogs at the moment.
After an elevator trip, she was drawn into a laboratory. The government dog who had "greeted" her and the Doctor upon arrival was waiting for them, and now Rose could see his nametag: Bletz. He smiled creepily at her as she was forced onto a reclined chair and her cuff bar attached to a hook above her head. A soldier secured her feet as well, and several dishes were turned to face her.
"Welcome! Did you enjoy our hospitality?"
"The food was a little dry, and the help is denser than your ego," Rose replied flatly. This just caused Bletz's almond-shaped eyes to twinkle.
"Spirit! Good; maybe you'll last a little longer than our last few test subjects. Trapping psychic tourists really is quite dull." He turned and began flipping switches and checking monitors, but he continued to speak over his shoulder. "You may be happy to know your friend hasn't been tested yet. You get to go first! Or maybe that's a bad thing? No matter; he came up non-human on the blood test, so we have to carefully consider what tests to give him. It'll be easier once we figure out what he is, though. Fantastic opportunity – all the more data for our experiments!" Oh god. Despite Rose's very immediate concern for herself, the idea of these people realizing the Doctor was a Time Lord brought a fresh surge of panic. She didn't know what they would do with the information, but it could never be good. Meanwhile, Bletz glanced at a particular monitor and smiled.
"Don't like that idea, do you? Your heart rate just jumped." Rose remained silent and concentrated on calming down. In her search for mundane thoughts, she realized that Bletz was the only blue, antlered alien to speak in contractions. Why was that? Did he come from a different part of the planet? Different caste? Or did he just watch too many alien movies in his youth?
"Ready?" Bletz asked brightly. He abruptly flipped a switch, and Rose's world narrowed to the barriers in her head. Something was pressing in on them, something frenetic and shifting, and it was frankly terrifying. She closed her eyes and focused. Breathing even, muscles unclenched to keep physical tiredness from distracting her, panic controlled. However, she dimly heard the man continue to speak to her.
"I call this the Madness Machine. It should leave the victim in a state of confusion and panic. If it works, we can make our more... 'gifted' enemies hallucinate whatever we want! Because any images we send them will just be a spot of clarity in the storm. Won't even have to kill them ourselves!" He would have to pardon Rose if she was less than impressed with the sinister genius of the concept; she could barely imagine the chaos and horror it could cause. Of course, that she could imagine anything at all beyond maintaining the barriers in her head was a testament to the weakness of the machine. The earlier knockout wave had been administered when she and the Doctor were not just unawares but deliberately psychically open, trying to calm the injured rarjrog. These scientists severely underestimated her skills while prepared.
"She is showing impressive resistance, sir," came a new voice. "Her heart rate has actually slowed."
Bletz responded, "Turn it to four." Suddenly, the slithering presence redoubled its assault on Rose's mind. Her fear rose, and with it her walls cracked. Madness slipped in, aided by her natural dismay at the situation, and a surge of wild, animal terror shot through her. Eyes now clenched shut, she let out a whimper she was too distracted to feel ashamed of. The force slid around every push back she gave it, pulsed and writhed, un-containable and unrelenting. She was forced to fall back and back until coming up against a hard barrier in her mind that had yet to be breached. Bad Wolf. Usually, it sat in a corner of her unconscious, in a well surrounded by a clear, circular wall. Now the golden power boiled in its container, agitated.
It was not something she liked to rely on, especially since its effects on her body were far from certain, but madness was swiftly claiming her. Images of old foes dredged themselves up and flashed before her. Slitheen and cybermen called for her destruction, and then a cyberman began to speak with her mother's voice, yelling at her for missing curfew. Next, Rose poured a blue bucket of liquid onto the Slitheen, only to have it grow into a raging Jagrafess, and a Dalek marched the Doctor into her sight at the point of its laser, and – the Doctor! The Doctor was at stake here, and so was her sanity. There was no choice!
Rose let herself fall through the last wall in her mind and tap the golden power within. Immediately, its cleansing fire threw the wave from her awareness. Mind clear again, she opened her eyes. Judging by the looks she was getting, they were glowing again. However, this situation wasn't as simple as the one on the Krey ship; reversing the wave and blowing it outwards would only harm the Doctor and any other innocent psychics on board. The blue aliens wouldn't feel a thing. So, she redirected all the power into the machine. With monumental concentration and effort, the feedback loop held and began to overload it. When it began sparking, the scientists panicked, but it was too late. It shorted with a burst of blue light and went dead. Immediately, Bad Wolf flew back to its pen, no longer needed.
Rose fell backwards in exhaustion. She wasn't free yet, but the pain was over, and for that she was grateful.
"What are you?" Bletz whispered with something like reverence. Panting, head lolling back, all Rose could do was glare down at him as his awe was slowly replaced by glee. "Oh, this is most exciting! Your tests came back human, but you're something else, aren't you? We may even have use for you outside of being a test subject. Because with power like that, you're a living weapon." He waited for some kind of response, but Rose's wit was drained. So, he ordered the soldiers to return her to her room while he thought of what to do next. She managed to stumble along behind them, the pole a harsh motivation not to fall behind, and upon arriving in her cell, she did what she always did after unleashing her inner wolf: slept.
Donna's eyes narrowed at Jack as she trouped along behind him. She wasn't as oblivious as she used to be, but even a monkey that watched as many chick flicks as she had could tell that he was flirting with Gwen. That was an engaged woman! Honestly, there should be some kind of propriety, and was a kidnapping investigation any kind of time for this?
She watched as Gwen turned to him and said something. He responded with a smile and nod, touching her on the arm for just a moment too long before jerking his head towards some vendors. And, heaven help her, did Gwen's return smile feature eyes that were just a little gooey? As soon as she walked away, Donna grabbed Jack's elbow and jerked him around, tearing his gaze away from the other woman's exterior.
Looking charmingly injured, he asked, "What?" Donna leaned in close to him.
"You know what! Did you see the ring on her finger, or does that not matter to you?" she chastised in a whisper. All innocence left the man's expression, and he stood taller.
"Leave it. She's a big girl; she can handle herself." His stern tone nearly goaded Donna into a very impolite response, but it was interrupted by Gwen.
"Come here! I've got something! If you're done trading fashion tips," she called back to them. Jack took a step back from Donna and acquired the disgruntled look of a man experiencing nagging in stereo.
Turning towards his employee, he smiled and called out patronizingly, "Yes, honey!" He started to walk towards Gwen, but she glared at him so hard he stopped in his tracks. At that, Donna had to laugh, earning her a very unamused glance from Jack. Maybe Gwen could handle herself somewhat – not that she was letting Mr. Fancyshirts and Braces off the hook.
Gwen explained that the effort of showing the Doctor's and Rose's pictures to various people had paid off; this food vendor had seen the two head around a particular corner. The trio were so pleased, they bought lunch from the man, something like a sauerkraut sandwich with some kind of delicious meat. Much better than the cold "treat" Donna had bought for breakfast, which tasted like chives and had the consistency of porridge.
Munching their food, they turned the corner and surveyed the task ahead. The good news was that the street ended where the forest began, a dead end. The bad news was the numerous other dead end roads and alleys leading off of the present one. Searching this whole area...
"Shit," Gwen stated. Donna supposed that was a good a way to state the case as any.
Rose came to with a comforting sense of clarity. That was Bad Wolf for you: Hell of a kick, but no hangover. As she sat up and began to contemplate her situation, one fact made itself very clear. She and the Doctor could not remain here. Every moment brought their captors closer to realizing what they had, and every test would bring the couple farther away from being able to help themselves. And if they couldn't jail her and the Doctor together, she would just have to circumvent them.
Rose left the bed and sat cross-legged on the floor, just as she had been taught at the monastery. It wouldn't do to be too comfortable. Closing her eyes, she receded within herself and gathered her psychic faculties. Things were clear; she was in control. After taking stock of herself and marshaling her concentration, she extended her awareness outward, using the the thread of her bond to the Doctor as her guide.
She was in luck; he wasn't far. If she had to guess, they were on the same floor. That made sense; the elevators on this ship were only barely large enough for the wheeled beds they had arrived in, so why waste effort taking him elsewhere? However, upon her first gentle nudge, she almost whimpered for him. It was the Doctor's presence, but it was so trembling and small that it was to her relief that he did not recoil from her. She began to prod and embrace him, trying to wake him up and pull him back together. He was tired and worn by what seemed to be physical pain, but they hadn't time for him to rest.
Rose had a plan, but she needed his help.