Episode 11 "Boom Town"


Chapter 11: Mickey and Margaret Come to Visit

The Doctor and I landed the TARDIS in Cardiff and got ready to refuel the TARDIS. Some energy from the rift in 1869 was still hanging around and it was perfect for the TARDIS. But, I knew there was another reason we were there. The Doctor started doing maintenance on the TARDIS and a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Jack opened it immediately and popped his head out.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked without hesitation.

"What do you mean, who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?" I heard Mickey reply rather rudely.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack introduced. "Whatever you're selling, we're not buying."

"Get out of my way!" Mickey forced his way into the TARDIS and I smiled.

"Don't tell me, this must be Mickey," I heard Jack say.

"Here comes trouble," the Doctor teased. "How you doing, Ricky boy?"

"It's Mickey!"

"Don't listen to him, he's winding you up," Rose said. Mickey walked up to her. She was standing in front of the console whereas I was standing behind it.

"You look fantastic," Mickey complimented her. Rose smiled and they hugged each other.

"Ah, sweet. Look at these two," Jack commented from the side. He turned to the Doctor. "How come I never get any of that?"

"Buy me a drink first," the Doctor replied. I shook my head at the two of them, but couldn't help but smile.

"You're such hard work," Jack complained.

"But worth it," the Doctor said with a satisfied grin.

"Oh, don't mind me," I spoke up. "Just enjoying life as a fifth wheel." Jack grinned, but it wasn't a normal grin. Mickey handed Rose her passport as I ran from Jack.

"Jack! Stop it!" I screamed slightly as he caught me from behind and lifted me in the air.

"Got you, Ana!" he said laughing, using his nickname for me. He threw me in the air; much like the Doctor had done when he was taking me to the wardrobe before our adventure with the Gelth. However, before I fell back through the air, I twisted and managed to grab onto the gantry. I hauled myself up quickly and smirked at Jack. Jack was about to walk up to me when Mickey spoke.

"So, what are you doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash?" Jack looked over at him, offended. I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with big ears up there."

"Oi!" the Doctor cried, indignant.

"Look in the mirror!" Mickey shot back.

"But this guy," Mickey said referring to Jack, "I don't know, he's kind of…"

"Handsome?" Jack offered.

"More like cheesy."

"Early 21st century slang? Is cheesy good or bad?" Jack asked.

"It's bad," Mickey said. I frowned. Cheesy wasn't always a bad thing. I sometimes liked cheesy.

"But bad means good, isn't that right?" Jack said. The Doctor climbed down the ladder he was on.

"Are you saying I'm not handsome?" he asked us. Everyone ignored him and I giggled. The Doctor looked at me with a scolding look. I shrugged, but had a smile on my face. In all honesty, I found the Doctor to be very handsome. It just was a different kind of handsome from Jack. The Doctor sighed and helped me down from the gantry. I ignored my butterflies as he held my waist and fought a blush. I didn't get it! I didn't feel that way about the Doctor! But… the butterflies and blushes had been more frequent since the Doctor and I danced in the TARDIS… but there was nothing to it. I was just being silly. I quickly kissed the Doctor on the cheek. Ever since I had done that when we were trapped in the hospital, it became my thing to do to cheer him up. The Doctor gave me a smile and I returned it. I looked at Rose and Mickey as she explained the rift to Mickey, but he wasn't quite getting it.

"Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!" Rose said describing how the TARDIS soaked up the rift energy.

"Into time!" Jack said hi-fiving Rose.

"And space!" The Doctor, Jack, Rose, and I said enthusiastically. Hi-fives were exchanged and the four of us laughed and smiled in unison. Mickey was standing off to the side, watching us.

"My God, have you seen yourselves?" Mickey said looking at us in disbelief. "You all think you're so clever, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Yep."

"Yes," The Doctor, Rose, Jack, and I said. The four of us had identical grins on our faces. Jack gave Mickey a friendly slap on the cheek and we all exited the TARDIS.

"Should take another 24 hours which means we've got time to kill," the Doctor said.

"That old lady's staring," Mickey said uncomfortably.

"Probably wondering what five people can do inside a small wooden box," Jack joked.

"What are you captain of? The Innuendo Squad?" Mickey asked as the rest of us snickered. Jack made a "whatever" sign and began to walk off. I gave Mickey a friendly pat on the shoulder and followed Jack.

"Wait, the TARDIS, you can't just leave it," Mickey protested as we walked off. We all turned back. "Doesn't it get noticed?"

"Yeah, what's with the police box? Why does it look like that?" Jack asked.

"It's a cloaking device," Rose said.

"It's called a chameleon circuit," the Doctor said. "The TARDIS is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands. Like, if this was Ancient Rome, it'd be a statue on a plinth or something like that. But I landed in the 1960's, it disguised itself as a police box and the circuit got stuck." I rolled my eyes. The Doctor had broken the circuit, it didn't get stuck.

"So, it copied a real thing? There actually was police boxes?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah, on street corners. You could phone for help before there were radios and mobiles. If they arrested somebody, they could shove them inside till help came," the Doctor explained. "Like a little prison cell."

"Why don't you just fix the circuit?" Jack asked.

"Well, he could," I said, "but I personally love the police box look."

"Me too," the Doctor and Rose agreed.

"But that's what I meant, there's no police boxes anymore," Mickey pointed out, "so doesn't it get noticed?"

"Ricky, let me tell you something about the human race," the Doctor said to Mickey. "You put a mysterious blue box slap-bang in the middle of town, what do they do?" Mickey was about to reply but the Doctor cut him off. "Walk past it. Now, stop your nagging, let's go and explore." The Doctor grabbed my hand as he began to walk away.

"What's the plan?" Rose asked.

"No idea," the Doctor replied. "Cardiff, early 21st century, and the wind's coming from the… east. Trust me. Safest place in the universe."

"Oh, don't say that!" I complained. "You'll jinx it!" The Doctor merely grinned and the five of us walked around Cardiff. We eventually found a little restaurant on the water. We all sat down and Jack began to tell us a story.

"I swear, six feet tall and with tusks-"

"You're lying through your teeth!" the Doctor protested. Rose and Jack sat on one end of the table while I sat between Mickey and the Doctor on the other side of the table.

"It turns out the white things are tusks, and I mean, tusks!" Jack continued. "And it's woken and it's not happy."

"How could you not know it was there?" the Doctor asked him.

"We're standing there, 15 of us, naked," Jack described. It was hard for me to not bust out laughing at this story.

"Naked?" Rose cried.

"And I'm like, 'No, no, no, it's got nothing to do with me.' And then it roars, and we're running. Oh, my God, we are running! And Brakovitch falls so I turn to him and I say-"

"I knew we should've turned left!" Mickey finished. The five of us roared with laughter.

"That's my line!"

"I don't believe you, I don't believe a word you say, ever. That is so brilliant!" Rose said through her laughter. "Did you ever get your clothes back?" I turned as I saw the Doctor get up out of the corner of my eye. I watched curiously as he took a newspaper from a man's hands and looked at the front page.

"Doctor, what is it?" I asked getting up. He didn't answer and I looked at the front page. My entire face and mood fell in a second.

"And I was having such a nice day," the Doctor said. The Doctor showed the other three of the front page. The headline was "New Mayor, new Cardiff" and it was paired with a picture of Margaret Blaine, the female Slitheen from Downing Street. Rose and Mickey's faces fell and we all explained the situation to Jack. Before too long, the five of us were walking into the town hall, the mayor's headquarters.

"According to intelligence," Jack started, "the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit. Okay, plan of attack. We assume a basic 57-56 strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face to face, that'll designate Exit 1. I'll cover Exit 2. Rose, Ana, you Exit 3, Mickey Smith, you take Exit 4. Have you got that?"

"Excuse me, who's in charge?" the Doctor asked sternly. I rolled my eyes at him. I doubted he could come up with a better plan than that.

"Sorry, awaiting your orders, sir," Jack said slightly annoyed.

"Right, here's the plan." There was a pause and the Doctor grinned. "Like he said. Nice plan. Anything else?"

"Present arms," Jack said. All of us held up cell phones and got ready. "See you in hell." Jack went right and I followed Rose a little to the right of where the Doctor was going. In a minute, Rose and I put our phones to our ears.

"Slitheen heading north," the Doctor said.

"On our way," Rose replied.

"Over and out," Jack said. Rose and I ran off, passing a few employees and knocking papers out of their arms. Rose and I soon found the exit and ran outside. Rose and I sprinted around a corner to see Margaret standing there. I heard her growl and hiss at us before taking off one of her earrings. Margaret looked behind her and saw Jack racing towards us. I saw her run back the way she came and Rose and I followed her. Rose and I rounded the corner at the same time as Jack and the Doctor got down from the scaffolding. Jack and I raced towards her, Rose and the Doctor not far behind us.

"Who's on Exit 4?" Jack yelled.

"That was Mickey!" Rose realized.

"Here I am!" I heard Mickey yell as he caught up to us.

"Mickey the Idiot," the Doctor mocked.

"Not the time, Doctor," I scolded lightly.

"Oh, be fair," Rose agreed, "she's not exactly going to outrun us, is she?" Right as Rose said that, Margaret disappeared.

"She's got a teleport! That's cheating! Now we're never going to get her!" Jack cried.

"I wouldn't be so sure," I said as the Doctor pulled out the sonic. He and I smiled at each other before he flashed it. Margaret reappeared, running towards us. She saw us before stopping and turning around, teleporting away again. The Doctor merely flashed the sonic again and Margaret appeared, this time closer to us. Again, she turned and ran the other direction before teleporting away a third time. The Doctor flashed the sonic once more and Margaret, once again, appeared. She was right in front of us when she stopped running and kneeled over, breathing very heavily.

"I could do this all day," the Doctor said with a cheery smile.

"This is persecution," Margaret panted. "Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?" I glared at her.

"You infiltrated the British government, killed several innocent people, attempted to kill the Doctor, Harriet, and I, and tried to destroy planet Earth," I listed off.

"Apart from that," Margaret said dismissing all I had said as if it were nothing. My glare deepened. The Doctor led all of us back into the town hall, trying to figure out what Margaret was planning.

"So, you're a Slitheen, you're on planet Earth, you're trapped," he said as we entered the exhibition room. "Your family get killed, but you teleport out, just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape, what do you do? You build a nuclear power station. But what for?" The Doctor went to go look at the model of the nuclear power station in the middle of the room.

"A philanthropic gesture. I've learnt the error of my ways," Margaret said. I rolled my eyes, not believing that for a second. I went to look at the model.

"And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift," the Doctor added.

"What rift would that be?"

"A rift in space and time," Jack answered. "If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go schwwwupboom. " I raised my eyebrows as Jack made an interesting sound while modeling the planet imploding with his hands.

"This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity," the Doctor said looking at the model.

"Didn't anyone notice?" Rose asked. "Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?"

"We're in Cardiff. London doesn't care," Margaret said. "The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice. Oh! I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native."

"But why would she do that?" Mickey asked. "A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself." Mickey had a point and I studied the model even harder, maybe for something I missed. I blocked out the others and studied the board some more. I slowly walked forward and ran my hand along some of it. Suddenly, I saw it.

"I'm sorry, what is this?" I asked as I reached forward. I pulled up part of the model and flipped it over. I saw a circuit board type thing and looked at the Doctor for help.

"Fantastic," he said taking it from me.

"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?" Jack asked excitedly. I rolled my eyes. Boys and their toys.

"Couldn't have put it better myself," the Doctor replied. Jack reached forward and pulled the board from the Doctor.

"Genius!" he cried. "You didn't build this." Margaret continued on with Jack, but something on the wall caught my eye.

"Doctor…" I breathed. I looked at the name of the power station. Bleiddiaid Drwg. He and I both walked forward, looking at the banner for the project.

"How did you think of the name?" the Doctor asked after Jack finished explaining how Margaret was going to use the explosion to destroy planet Earth, open the rift, and ride the extrapolator back to civilization.

"What? Bleiddiaid Drwg? It's Welsh," Margaret answered.

"We know, but how did you come up with it?" I asked.

"I chose it at random, that's all, I don't know. Just sounded good. Does it matter?" The Doctor and I exchanged a look before turning around to face Margaret, Jack, Rose, and Mickey.

"Bleiddiaid Drwg," the Doctor repeated.

"What's it mean?" Rose asked.

"Bad Wolves," the Doctor and I said at the same time. Rose's face took on a haunted expression.

"But I've heard that before. Bad Wolves. I've heard that lots of times," Rose said.

"We both have," I added. I was beginning to think these words weren't a coincidence. They meant something.

"Everywhere we go. Two words. Following us. Bad Wolves," the Doctor said.

"How can they be following us?" Rose breathed. The Doctor paused before blowing it off.

"Nah, just a coincidence," he said. I looked at him surprised about to protest.

'Not here, not now.' I closed my mouth, seeing what he was doing. He didn't want to scare Rose.

"Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Nevermind. Things to do. Margaret, we're going to take you home."

"Hold on, isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?" Jack protested.

"I don't believe it, we actually get to go to Raxa…" Rose trailed off, not quite sure how to say it. I elbowed the Doctor when he dramatically rolled his eyes. "Wait a minute, Raxacor…"

"Raxacoricofallapatorious," the Doctor said quickly, not at all helping her.

"Raxacorico…" Rose said getting the first half right. I nodded and smiled at her.

"Fallapatorious," the Doctor finished.

"Raxacoricofallapatorious!" Rose said getting it right. She squealed in delight.

"That's it!" the Doctor said. They hugged quickly before Rose threw her arms around me.

"I did it!" she cheered.

"You did it!" I replied. She and I laughed together. Rose put her arm around my shoulder and I put mine around her waist, both of us still smiling.

"They have the death penalty," Margaret murmured on the other side of the room. Everyone stopped and looked at her. "The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty. With no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I'm to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death." The Doctor remained indifferent.

"Not my problem." The Doctor, Jack, Rose, Mickey, and I took Margaret back to the TARDIS. By this time, night had fallen.

"This ship is impossible!" Margaret said in wonder. "It's superb! How do you get the outside around the inside?"

"Like I'd give you the secret, yeah," the Doctor replied.

"I almost feel better about being defeated," Margaret said. I looked up from the console. "I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods."

"Don't worship me, I'd make a very bad god," the Doctor said. "You wouldn't get a day off, for starters. Jack, how we doing, big fella?" Jack was sitting on the floor next to the console, wiring the extrapolator into the TARDIS.

"This extrapolator's top of the range. Where did you get it?" Jack asked Margaret.

"I don't know, some airlock sale," Margaret replied.

"Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power," Jack said.

"But we can use it for fuel?" the Doctor asked.

"It's not compatible," Jack replied.

"It'll shave off 12 hours of refueling time but that's it," I continued. "We can leave in the morning."

"Then, we're stuck here overnight," the Doctor realized.

"I'm in no hurry," Margaret said. I rolled my eyes. Well, no, she wouldn't be.

"We've got a prisoner," Rose said. "The police box is really a police box." I smiled, realizing she was right.

"You're not just police, though," Margaret spoke up. "Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you."

"Well, you deserve it," Mickey told her coldly.

"You're very quick to say so. And you're very quick to soak your hands in my blood. Which makes you better than me how, exactly?" Mickey didn't answer. None of us did. "Long night ahead." Margaret made herself comfortable in the captain's chair. "Let's see who can look me in the eye." She looked at Mickey first. He looked at her for a few seconds before turning away. Rose very quickly averted her gaze from the woman when she looked at her. Jack, like Mickey, was able to hold her gaze for a few seconds before going back to the extrapolator. I felt her gaze on me and looked up at her. I was shocked at how beady her eyes were, but managed to hold her gaze. I raised an eyebrow at her before going back to working on the console. Soon, Mickey exited the TARDIS, Rose following close behind. I watched on the monitor as the pair of them walked away hand in hand.

"So, what's on?" Jack asked.

"Rose and Mickey are going out, I can't say blame them," I said. Jack and the Doctor nodded.

"I gather it's not always like this," I heard Margaret say. "Having to wait." The three of us ignored her. "I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. Nevermind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. And you, Evelyn Viviana Davis, you just go with him, wherever he goes. But not this time. At last, you have consequences. How does it feel?"

"I didn't butcher them," the Doctor spoke.

"Don't answer back. That's what she wants," Jack warned.

"I didn't!" the Doctor said, needing Jack to understand. I put my hand on the Doctor's arm and he immediately relaxed before turning to Margaret. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Margaret asked.

"You had an emergency teleport," I explained, catching onto the Doctor's thoughts. "You escaped to safety, leaving your family behind to die."

"It only carries one," Margaret argued. "I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up in a skip on the Isle of Dogs." The Doctor laughed and I covered my mouth to stifle mine. "It wasn't funny."

"Sorry." Margaret turned around and looked at us seriously. "It is a bit funny." The Doctor cracked up again. Jack and I soon followed, unable to contain our laughs. Margaret even joined in a few seconds later.

"Do I get a last request?" she asked.

"Depends what it is," the Doctor replied growing serious again.

"I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth and the complicated way they cook things. There's a little restaurant, just around the Bay. It became quite a favorite of mine." The Doctor and I exchanged looks before he walked up to her.

"Is that what you want? A last meal?" he asked her.

"Don't I have rights?"

"Oh, like she's not going to try and escape," Jack called.

"Except I can never escape the Doctor so where's the danger?" Margaret argued. "But I wonder if you could do it. To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough," the Doctor said.

"I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies… now dine with them."

"You won't change my mind."

"Prove it."

"There are people out there. If you slip away just for one second they'll be in danger."

"Except I've got these," Jack cut in. He held up two silver bracelets. "You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away…" Jack made a buzzing noise and mimicked electrocution. "She gets zapped by 10,000 volts."

"Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat," the Doctor offered.

"Dinner in bondage… works for me," Margaret replied with a sick smile. Jack gave each of them a bracelet and they put them on.

"Viviana?" the Doctor asked. I looked up from what I was doing at the console. "Would you like to join us?"

"Um, no. Sorry, Doctor. I'm going to stay here and help Jack prepare the TARDIS," I replied. It was nothing against the Doctor, but I was not comfortable going anywhere with that woman, let alone sitting down and having a meal with her. The Doctor's face fell but he nodded.

'I'm sorry.'

'It's okay, Viviana. I understand.'

'I just don't want to be anywhere near that woman. And… this "Bad Wolves" thing is really getting me thinking. I'll tell you about it later.' The Doctor nodded and he left the TARDIS with Margaret.

"I'm going to the kitchen," I told Jack. "Want anything?"

"Just coffee. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night. One sugar, please." I nodded and walked towards the kitchen. I went to the kitchen and quickly made a pot of coffee. I put in one sugar for Jack and two for me before carrying the mugs to the console room.

"I bring coffee!" I called coming into the console room. Jack popped up from under the console grinning.

"Perfect. You're the best, Ana." I smiled and handed him his mug.

"Don't you forget it," I joked. Jack smiled and we sat down on the captain's chair.

"So, Rose has Mickey. What about you? Is there anyone special just waiting for you to come back?" Jack asked. I shook my head.

"No. I've never had anyone special," I told him. Jack looked genuinely surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I've never really been truly interested in someone. But that could just be me."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Well, you know I'm not human right?" Jack nodded. "Basically, my species only fall in love once in their life."

"Once?"

"Once," I said with a nod.

"Talk about dedication," Jack said. I gave a small laugh.

"You need to finish wiring up the extrapolator. The sooner we get rid of Margaret the better," I said.

"Can't argue there," Jack agreed. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Want another cup?" I asked.

"Nah." I grabbed our two empty mugs and took them back to the kitchen. From there, I went to my room and began thinking about "Bad Wolves". I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but I got nothing done when the TARDIS suddenly rumbled and shook. I looked up in shock and raced towards the console room to find Jack ripping wires out of the extrapolator.

"What happened?" he didn't answer as the Doctor raced into the TARDIS with Margaret.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked angrily.

"It just went crazy!" Jack exclaimed.

"It's the rift. Time and space are ripping apart," the Doctor explained coming to the console. The lights in the room flashed on and off as the Doctor, Jack, and I worked. I flinched back as the console sparked. "The whole city's going to disappear." I helped Jack unwire the extrapolator, ignoring the small explosions on the console and the flickering lights.

"It's the extrapolator!" Jack cried.

"Doctor, it's disconnected but it's still feeding off the engine!" I yelled to him.

"It's using the TARDIS, we can't stop it," Jack finished.

"Nevermind Cardiff, it's going to rip open the planet!" the Doctor said. My eyes widened as he said this.

"What is it? What's happening?" Rose cried coming into the TARDIS.

"Oh, just little me," I heard Margaret say gleefully. Margaret's real arm came out of the suit and she trapped Rose's neck in her claws.

"Rose!" I cried. The Doctor ran forward but stopped when Margaret spoke.

"One wrong move and she snaps like a promise."

"I might've known," the Doctor said.

"I've had you bleating all night, poor baby. Now, shut it," Margaret said. She turned to Jack. "You, fly boy. Put the extrapolator at my feet." Jack didn't move and Margaret tightened her hold on Rose. I winced when I heard Rose choke. Jack looked at the Doctor and he nodded. Jack did as he was told.

"Thank you," Margaret said sickly sweet. Jack and I glared at her. "Just as I planned."

"I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station," Rose managed to get out.

"Failing that, if I were to be arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to Plan B!" Margaret pulled on one of Rose's braids and the blonde girl whimpered. "To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found." The TARDIS rumbled even harder. "I'm back on schedule. Thanks to you."

"You're really willing to open a rift and destroy a whole planet to escape?" I spat at her. I was absolutely disgusted. After all that talk to try and make us feel guilty about taking her to her death and now look what she was doing. She hadn't changed at all from the last time I met her. She still made me sick. Margaret flashed me a twisted smile. She wrenched Rose to the side, but kept a grip on her neck.

"While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno, all the way to freedom, you will die. Stand back boys and girls. Surf's up." The console flashed and suddenly, one of the panels opened. A bright, white light came out and Margaret looked straight into the light while Rose flinched and looked away.

"Of course, opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart," the Doctor said.

"So sue me," Margaret replied bitterly.

"It's not just any old power source. It's the TARDIS. My TARDIS. The best ship in the universe."

"It'll make wonderful scrap."

"What's that light?" Rose cried, struggling to see.

"The heart of the TARDIS. You've opened its soul."

"You see, Margaret, this ship is alive. And you've just threatened her life. Do you really think she's going to give in without a fight?" I asked her. Margaret nervously looked down into the heart of the TARDIS.

"It's… so bright," she breathed.

"Look at it, Margaret," the Doctor said.

"Beautiful."

"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch." I assumed this was Margaret's real name. "Look at the light." A look of wonder came across Margaret's face as she looked at the light. Rose stumbled out of her grip and went over to Jack's side. A genuine, blissful smile came across Margaret's face as she looked up at the Doctor.

"Thank you," she said softly. The light brightened and consumed Margaret.

"Don't look. Stay there. Close your eyes." Jack, Rose and I did as the Doctor instructed and I heard him close the panel, extinguishing the light. "Shut it down. Shut it all down. Shut down!" The Doctor, Jack, Rose, and I sprang into action. Between the four of us, we were able to shut down everything fairly quickly. The TARDIS sparked throughout the whole process, all of us getting slightly burnt. Then, the TARDIS stilled and everything quieted. The friendly glow came back and it looked like everything was back to normal.

"Nicely done. Thank you, all," the Doctor said.

"What happened to Margaret?" Rose asked. I turned around, she was gone.

"Must've got burned up. Carried out her own death sentence," Jack said.

"No, I don't think she's dead," the Doctor disagreed. I followed his gaze and saw Margaret's skin suit lying on top of the extrapolator. But something else was there too. It looked like… an egg.

"Then, where'd she go?" Rose asked.

"She looked into the heart of the TARDIS. Even I don't know how strong that is. And the ship's telepathic, like I told you, Rose. Gets inside your head, translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts." The four of us gathered around the Doctor and he held up the egg. "Here she is."

"She's an egg?" Rose asked.

"Regressed to her childhood," the Doctor explained.

"She's an egg?" Jack repeated Rose's question. Both of them had a tone of disbelief. I couldn't quite believe it either but she was right there in front of our eyes.

"She can start again. Live her life from scratch," the Doctor said. "If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right."

"Or she might be worse," Jack pointed out.

"In the end, it's her life," I said. "She makes her own choices."

"She's an egg," Rose repeated.

"She's an egg," the Doctor confirmed.

"Oh, my God, Mickey!" Rose suddenly cried. She jumped up and raced outside the TARDIS. My eyes widened. I had forgotten all about Mickey in the midst of everything. Where was he? He was out with Rose, shouldn't have he come back? I felt guilty about forgetting him, but didn't follow after Rose. The Doctor, Jack, and I cleaned up the TARDIS and by the time we were ready to go, Rose was back.

"We're all powered up, we can leave. Opening the rift filled us up with energy," the Doctor told her. "We can go if that's all right."

"Yeah, fine," Rose said like nothing was wrong. I looked at her and frowned. Something was definitely wrong. I walked up to her and squeezed her in a hug which she returned.

"Mickey's gone, isn't he?" I asked. Rose nodded, her eyes becoming sadder.

"Do you want to go and find him? We'll wait," the Doctor said. Rose shook her head.

"No need. He deserves better." It was then I saw the slight wetness of her cheeks. Rose had been crying.

"Off we go, then. Always moving on," the Doctor said.

"Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorious," Jack said. "Now you don't often get to say that."

"We'll stop by and pop her in the hatchery. Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again! A second chance," the Doctor said.

"That'd be nice," Rose murmured. Only I heard her.

"Get some sleep, Rose," I whispered. She nodded and walked off, towards her bedroom. Jack and the Doctor flew the TARDIS and I walked to my own bedroom.

'When you get a chance, we need to talk about this "Bad Wolves" thing,' I said to the Doctor. He didn't reply, but I knew he agreed and understood. I began mapping out all I knew about Bad Wolves, which wasn't much. It was more me writing down the incidents.

"What do you think it is?" I heard behind me some time later. I recognized the Doctor's voice and turned around.

"I have no idea," I sighed. "But this can't be a coincidence. We've run into these words too many times." I began reading off my list. "First, there was Gwyneth. She looked into our minds, Rose and me, and started talking about the craziness and darkness of our world. At the very end, she said, 'The big bad wolves.' Then, after you and I got back from Downing Street, the TARDIS was tagged with 'bad wolves.' We assumed it was a gang, but then it cropped up again at Van Statten's museum. Bad Wolves One and Two were his helicopters. Then, the same words were spray painted over a poster in London. I saw it when we went to go see Rose's dad. And just now, Margaret named her nuclear power station the same thing, only in Welsh." I left out how my dad had also mentioned "Bad Wolves".

"There was also at Satellite 5."

"You mean the place you took Adam? It was there too?" I asked.

"I saw the Face of Boe on a screen. It said Bad Wolves TV," the Doctor said. I frowned.

"What could this mean?" I cried exasperated and tired with the whole thing. I flopped down on the couch and the Doctor sat next to me. "Something tells me this isn't a reference to Little Red Riding Hood."

"Are we sure this isn't all a big coincidence?" the Doctor asked. He didn't exactly look convinced of that himself.

"Well, normally I would trust your judgment and would agree with you if you truly believed it was a coincidence. But Doctor, all of the occurrences have been on Earth, or very near it." The Doctor looked thoughtful. "Think about it. Before we met Jack, you had two companions who considered Earth their home. We were bound to return to it at some point. Besides that, there was telling where we would be. If someone sent this as a message, they wanted to be sure we saw it."

"But what does it mean? If it's a message, aren't we supposed to know what it means?" the Doctor asked. "What's this all about?"

"I don't know, but one thing's for sure. Someone wanted our attention badly."

"Well, now they've got it." The Doctor and I sat there in silence, pondering what the words could mean. Something about those words gave me one of my feelings. Something was off about them. I just didn't know what.