Chapter 12

Whilst Rose slept on - cocooned snuggly within her soft duvet – activity was commencing in a nearby, abandoned factory. A factory formerly belonging to Cybus Industries but still very much inhabited by an army of Cybermen who had up till now been left to their own devices.

When Mickey and Jake had embarked on their round-the-world trip to liberate every country of the Cybermens presence, they had met with strong resistance from the authorities. They had argued that it was wrong for the Cybermen to be destroyed when they too had once been human. A compromise was eventually reached and it was agreed that the Cybermen would instead be confined within the Cybus factories and allowed to live, or at least exist.

At the time Mickey and Jake knew that the authorities were making a colossal mistake in denying the destruction of the Cybermen, but they were just two men with little say in the matter. The decisions were left to those in charge and Mickey and Jake just carried out their bidding.

A few months down the line and their worst fears were being confirmed. The uprising of terror was beginning again. Hundreds of the steel men had broken free from captivity and were now roaming the streets of Belgium on a continuous mission to upgrade and improve the human race.

The question though was how had they managed to break free? Mickey and Jake had made certain that the Cybermen were securely contained within each factory. There was absolutely no way that they could have escaped without assistance. Who or what was responsible for releasing the horror? What possible reason could there be behind an act of such malicious intent?

Upon arriving in Brussels earlier that same day, Mickey and Jake were completely unprepared for the situation that they had soon found themselves in. The reported sightings they had heard about led them to the very factory where the trouble was starting again. Laughing and joking, completely unconvinced that there was any truth to these rumours they arrived at the designated spot and were shaken to the core by what they found there.

In their state of shock they had been no match for the handful of Cybermen standing guard. By some stroke of luck their lives were both spared and they found themselves being marched in through the front doors of the factory and taken straight to their leader. Surrounded they were forced to believe that all hope of survival was lost. Reluctantly, Mickey and Jake accepted their fate.

It came as some relief to them both then, when who should show up on the scene but none other than the Doctor. Not a parallel Doctor, The Doctor. Grinning from ear to ear as he greeted them in his usual highly energised manner. His amiable behaviour evaporated as he turned his attention on the Cybermen and in that instant Mickey and Jake could both understand why so many creatures feared this one man.

Fast forward to the present hour and we join the battle. Three against hundreds, odds that seem impossible but for one reason, the Doctor is amongst the three. Though he is by no means immortal he is not frightened by death and he doesn't think twice about putting himself in immediate danger to save his friends.

He had half hoped that Rose would be there, but he realised that he much preferred her being safe at home and out of harms way. Of course it would also have been very nice to have her there, the old team reunited to take down evil. Still there would be plenty of time afterwards to spend time with her, providing he got out of this current predicament in one piece.

The three of them were in possession of some highly powerful guns, advanced technology of alien origin. These offensive weapons had the ability to blast apart a Cyberman with a single, well-aimed shot. Fortunately each of them was fairly well practiced at wielding guns.

From behind a stack of empty wooden crates Mickey daringly fired a shot and watched as a Cyberman fell forward defeated. Jake, encouraged by his friend's success also fired a shot but his aim was not so true and he missed by inches. The Doctor however was darting about wildly equipped with two guns and firing randomly in the direction of the Cybermen. Most of his shots hit their target and more Cybermen clattered noisily to the floor. This was however only a temporary solution to the problem. When the guns ran out of ammunition the three men would be left defenseless and at the mercy of the Cybermen.

Realising they had little time before the inevitable happened, the Doctor took out the Cybermen nearest to the exit and summoned Mickey and Jake to follow him. They fled down a long corridor, hoping they wouldn't run headlong into another force of Cybermen.

They reached a stairwell and pounded down the stairs and into another long corridor. A door close at hand stood ajar and risking a peek inside they were astonished to discover shelves of unguarded weaponry and ammunition.

"Stay frosty, this could be a trap", the Doctor ordered his comrades.

"Yeah", Mickey agreed, "who knows where those Cyber scum are lurking."

Cautiously they pushed the door so that it opened further allowing room for them all to enter. Furtively the Doctor looked about the room for signs of ambush but after a while he concluded that they were alone. Wasting no more time he began collecting ammunition and started reloading his guns then he set about retrieving more guns and loaded them with ammunition. He commanded Mickey and Jake to do the same.

"They don't stand a chance now do they Doctor?" Jake observed.

"Any chance they had was forfeited when I showed up."

"Ego", Mickey laughed, "but yeah you're right.

"Shhh d'ya hear that?" Jake interrupted. "Footsteps getting closer."

They stopped to listen and sure enough they heard footsteps. Then with a grim expression the Doctor turned to the other two. "Get ready, because round two is about to begin."