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Children…their children…
The Doctor couldn't quite believe it and yet part of him had accepted Missy's statement without question, which was strange considering her track record for deceit. Yet the now constant throbbing in his head probably had something to do with it.
He needed time to think, to meditate, The Doctor knew he was closer now than ever to breaking through the memory block and he needed to…to understand how they could be his children…to understand why Missy seemed to want him nowhere near them?
Just what had he done to make her look at him like that? It would be comforting to try and convince himself it was all a ruse that The Mistress was taking advantage of his memory wipe to try and transfer blame. Yet there was something very real about her rage, that wasn't faked; so whether he was genuinely complicit or not Missy genuinely thought he was and she was as defensive as a lioness guarding her cubs.
He needed to know…he needed to talk to think…to talk to her properly…he needed these damn droids to stop dragging him along like a rag doll.
"You know I am capable of walking." The Doctor growled, surprised when the droids actually paused long enough for him to get his feet under him.
Stretching towards his pocket The Doctor managed to get his fingertips inside, faking a stumble was enough to get them locked around the tip and he flipped it up into his palm, flicking through the settings by memory alone.
There setting 43…the droid to his right suddenly froze, sparks shooting out of its chest, enough for The Doctor to wrench his arm free and turn to face the other…which already had its stun gun raised its tip glowing…
"Oh s…"
"Command Override Alpha-511794." A familiar voice called out and the droid shut down, the gun dropping but the shot still fired off, The Doctor braced himself before jumping as the blast burned as it otherwise passed harmlessly between his legs.
Closing his eyes as a wave of nausea passed over him The Doctor had to resist the very male urge to check…Yet there was no time as Osgood and Kate were bounding over to him relief apparent on both their faces.
"How did you do that?" The Doctor demanded unable to completely hide his professional pique at being outdone…his ego had already taken more than enough of a battering today.
"Missy gave us the password." Osgood answered a little too smugly for The Doctor's liking, perhaps it was Missy's taunt that was really to blame, but The Doctor found himself glaring at the young human female a little too harshly…was that a trace of lipstick on her…
"Doctor The Mistress she's not…" Kate began her blonde eyebrows knotted in frustration. "She let us go that is not normal. She barely even gloated."
Swallowing hard The Doctor couldn't meet Kate's gaze, his own stomach knotting in sympathy as he was forced to face the butchery Missy had done to herself. "She's human." He spat gesturing for Kate and Osgood to follow him.
They needed to get back to those Looms before Missy released them, once they were out it would far too easy for Strax to steal them away.
"There is no need to say that like it's something to be ashamed of." Kate spat back only partially mollified as The Doctor at least looked back over his shoulder a little abashed.
"But how is that even possible?" Osgood asked glancing between her boss and The Doctor, neither of whom looked as stunned by this as she was.
"It's this Chameleon device, turns a Time Lord into a human." Kate explained.
"How do you know about that?" The Doctor asked his thick eyebrows drawn low in suspicion, ducking into an alcove when he heard the sound of marching feet.
"We do debrief all UNIT personnel when they join us Doctor, and there is a whole assessment built around those staff who have had contact with you." Kate hissed.
"I don't know whether to be threatened or flattered." The Doctor snorted yet Kate Stewart carried on as if he hadn't interrupted.
"Dr Jones informed us about your residence on earth during 1913."
"Human's no concept of privacy." The Doctor huffed glancing around the corner waving Kate and Osgood to follow when the danger had passed.
"So Missy is really human?" Osgood questioned. "But she seemed so…so well her…"
"Yes physically, her Time Lord essence is secured inside a fob watch, she is able to access whatever skills and knowledge she has programmed herself to access, however the full knowledge of a Time Lord would currently cause her human brain to burn itself out."
"But she remembered me?" Osgood insisted unable to hide the blush that flamed her cheeks at the memory of just how Missy had remembered her.
Avoiding Osgood's gaze The Doctor pushed down the sudden flash of something dark and twisting that made him want to snap at Osgood, pushing it down to his stomach that was already churning.
"The human mind is highly suggestable. It will adapt to fit the requirements of the time, in this instance The Mistress probably left herself some sort of instructions around retrieving the looms and her human mind filled in the blanks in the story from whatever snippets of memory leaked through."
Sensing the tension coiling between The Doctor and Osgood Kate did her best to diffuse the tense situation. "Hmm I suppose that would fit she mentioned something about being on a mission, perhaps she has concocted a story about working for UNIT or something similar." Kate scoffed shaking her head in disbelief. "But why go to such extremes?"
"The scanners." Osgood supplied, her quick mind racing ahead. "She sent me in to check out their security arrangements, I mean look how quickly they picked up The Doctor being a Time Lord. She must have used her Tardis to go back in time, made herself human and then infiltrated the base before they even found the pods."
"Sensible." Kate nodded glancing across at The Doctor who seemed to be only seconds away from exploding.
"It's not sensible its fool hardy, she could die like this, and what if she lost the fob watch? She'd be stuck being human, no chance for regeneration." The Doctor's tone was harsh, too harsh, but they didn't…they couldn't understand. For a Time Lord to make themselves human, it made them vulnerable.
"You did it?"
"Yes once because there was no other choice at the time, I didn't want to be responsible for more deaths but don't you see when you are human anything can go wrong. I almost stayed human; I didn't want to change back into a Time Lord…"
"Is that what really frightens you that she won't want to change back?" Osgood asked not surprised that The Doctor chose not to answer, instead shooting her a look that practically screamed at her to shut up.
And so for once she did just that.
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Missy hadn't needed The Doctor to work out how to release them. True her memory was a little fuzzy and staring at the strange circular symbols for too long caused her head to ache but Missy could still read them. It felt right to read them in a way other languages felt a little gritty, almost dirty.
Missy had just been waiting for the right time, the children had to mature until it was safe for them to survive and they had been in stasis during their sojourn in deep space. And whilst looming could be sped up, the resulting off spring could be well…less than stable…
Or so she had heard…or perhaps she had read…
Shaking her head Missy tried not to chase the memory. She often got these sudden flashes of insight, she didn't know where the knowledge came from and when she had tried to strain her memory in the past she only ended up with a migraine and terrible dreams.
"Just how long is this going to take?" The impatient voice of Lord Strax demanded from somewhere over her shoulder, the man was an odious pompous bore who relished enjoying the rewards rather than putting in the hard work.
"We're on the final sequence." Missy assured him, trying to control the way her skin literally crawled as the alien pirate breathed on her neck.
He had been drinking again, and Missy's sensitive nose prickled at the sour flavour. Still this should be the last night she was forced to endure his breath on her in any situation. It was just a damn shame her plan involved slipping away with her children whilst the idiot drunk himself stupid celebrating the imminence of his supposed victory; she would have enjoyed slitting his throat and watching those bulbous eyes widen with realisation.
"Good…."
Oh he was speaking again. Missy tuned it out her eyes locked on the looms that had begun to equalise with the surrounding environment, the complex locks finally unlocking and then…The reassuring sound of crying…
Stepping forward medical scanner in her shaking hands Missy made it to the first loom, her hand reaching out before she could stop herself and for a moment the crying paused as a scrunched up face used its eyes for the first time.
Blue…light blue eyes just like hers Missy couldn't help but touch the little face. Her touch conveying all of the relief she felt as her…her daughter returned her Mother's gaze and somehow seemed to stare through her.
The bing of the medical scanner disturbed the moment and Missy glanced down. Healthy…only not human…well she had expected that, their father wasn't human after all but she had hoped that they might take after her. After all Time Lord infants were rare and highly sought after but humans…well there were trillions of those lurking around the galaxy.
"One of each." Strax's gloating voice soured her mood further and if sensing her mother's change her little girl began to wail.
Unable to comfort her the way she wanted Missy had no choice but to leave her and move on to check on her brother…yes it was a boy…with darker blue eyes that might be grey in the right light.
Dark haired like his sister but already his showed the hint of a curl…his father's son. Unlike his screaming sister her boy stared up at her all wide eyes so trusting and Missy felt a part of her unravel.
Mine…A fierce protectiveness, so strong it was almost overwhelming and when Strax dared to lean forward and lay his disgusting hand on her child it took all of Missy's restraint not to murder him right then and there. She would have had they been alone but Missy would take no risks with her children's safety.
"They need to be properly checked out, fed and dressed." Missy cut in before Strax could go so far as to actually pick her boy up. "We wouldn't want any accidents…" She left the implication to sink in smirking as Strax pulled away as quickly as possible.
"Fine just take the droids with you. As you say we don't want any accidents." Strax ordered her, pausing for a moment to press a kiss to her cheek and Missy feigned a smile at his unwanted sign of affection.
Droids perfect…Missy reached in and picked up her son, surprised at how heavy he actual was, far larger than a normal new-born. Balancing him in one arm she returned for her squalling daughter, shushing her gently and succeeding in quietening her. Now she just had to wait for Strax and his pirate guard to leave before she could make good her own plan to escape.
It had taken her weeks of slow careful work but she had managed to create a small enough gap in the heavily shielding covering the medical bay to allow her to activate a teleporter. Just a few more minutes and she could be halfway across the quadrant leaving Strax to interrogate and antagonise the galaxies worst races in an attempt to uncover who had stolen his prize. They'd finish him off for her whilst Missy and her children were safely hidden and The Doctor would drive himself insane worrying just who had them.
Come to think of it things had turned out even better than she had planned.
Well apart from Osgood's involvement in bringing The Doctor here she should have foreseen it. She would have to give her up; she couldn't trust Osgood wouldn't betray her out of a sense of doing the right thing. Her Pet still had a stubborn insistence that The Doctor was someone to be admired even after seeing with her own eyes how much of a…of a…
The sound of a claxon jarred Missy from her fuming and it stopped Strax just as he was almost out the door.
"Report." Strax demanded causing the simpering official that followed him to rush over to the wall terminal.
"A patrol has found the droids assigned to escort The Doctor, one was fused the other deactivated and they checked his two female companions never arrived at skills processing."
"Curses." Lord Strax hissed his face turning an even more unattractive shade as he turned back to Missy.
"It is too dangerous my dear, you will have to stay here with the children it is the most secure room on the base, I cannot risk my prizes with The Doctor on the loose. I will have someone bring you everything you need and since it appears The Doctor has compromised your droids will leave you some of my guards."
Forcing a smile whilst inwardly she was screaming Missy nodded her compliance, watching as the door shut trapping her inside. Holding her children tighter Missy cursed the damn Doctor with every foul thing she could think of, he always ruins everything and now they are trapped.
Right it was time for Plan B.
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