So if anyone has been keeping up with this story and came for the new chapter, what actually happened was I missed the end of The Doctor Dances, and I stuck it back in where it was supposed to be. So the chapter you wouldn't have seen is the one previous to this one. Sorry about that.
Alex sat on the platform of grating around the room, the Doctor standing beside her. She wore her normal jeans with a denim jacket over a dark grey top. She had even topped it off with a pair of purple fingerless gloves and a purple scarf to match Rose. He was working on something with that dorky headlight on that was flashing red. Jack and Alex had teased him relentlessly about it as soon as he got it out but he hadn't seemed bothered by Jack until the point when Alex joined in. He'd taken it off with a sad pout and left it on the console as he climbed the ladder. Alex had picked it up and climbed up to follow, placing back on him herself, telling him that it made him look like a dork, but that was because he was a dork. He smiled as she switched it on and went back to work happily.
Alex looked up at him now, grinning when he looked back down at her and he returned the grin quickly. Jack and Rose were down by the console talking, but Alex truthfully wasn't paying much attention to them.
"Alex?" The Doctor called. She looked up and stood as he searched around himself. "Have you seen my…" He trailed off when Alex held the sonic screwdriver up in front of him. He shook his head slightly as she grinned at him, taking the tool with a quick 'thanks'.
"So what're you fixing exactly?" She asked, leaning on the wall beside him with her arms crossed. He looked up at her and hesitated. Alex raised an eyebrow, knowing this was when he'd normally say she wasn't smart enough to understand. If she was any other person of course, he'd never said anything of the like to her, and she doubted he ever would. He glanced at the wires in his hand and back at her, looking like he'd finally thought of something to say when someone knocked on the door.
Alex frowned, pushing off the wall to stand on the edge of the platform, watching as Jack moved to answer the door.
"Careful" The Doctor warned, looking at her over his shoulder. She waved at him to be quiet as Jack opened the door and leaned in the doorframe, obstructing her view. She could barely make out Jack's voice and another from where she stood, but she already knew who they'd come to see.
"Get out of my way!" Mickey snapped, pushing past Jack into the Tardis. Alex beamed at the sight of him.
"Don't tell me, this must be Mickey" Jack noted, closing the door and walking back into the room.
"Ricky!" Alex cried excitedly.
"Here comes trouble!" The Doctor added cheerily. "How're you doing Ricky boy?"
"It's Mickey!" He shot back. He looked over at Alex and his expression softened slightly.
"Hey, Alex" He greeted, almost hesitantly. She grinned in a friendly way.
"Hey, Ricky" She teased lightly, but he merely rolled his eyes in return.
"Don't listen to them. They're just winding you up" Rose told him, leaning against the console.
"You look fantastic" He told her. They both grinned, pulling into a big hug.
"Aww, sweet" Jack commented. "Look at these two. How come I never get any of that?" He looked up, locking eyes with Alex and she grinned in return.
"Buy me a drink first" She shot back.
"You're such hard work"
"But worth it" She smiled. The Doctor frowned at the two of them but returned to his work without a word.
"Did you manage to find it?" Rose asked Mickey as they pulled apart.
"There you go" He told her, handing something over. Rose grinned, holding her passport up for Alex and the Doctor to see.
"I can go anywhere now!" She announced happily.
"I told you, you don't need a passport" The Doctor repeated to her. He had, in fact, told her this multiple times already.
"It's all very well going to platform one and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kloon. But what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it. You see, I'm prepared for anything" She told them, finishing with her signature Rose Tyler smile that Alex had found herself copying on more than one occasion when she was younger.
"Sounds like you're staying then" Mickey pointed out, making everyone fall silent. The Doctor looked between the two like he was waiting to see what happened next. Mickey smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
"So what're you doing in Cardiff?" he asked. "And who's Jumping Jack Flash? I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with big-ears up here"
"Oi!"
"Look in a mirror"
The Doctor shook his head and went back to work while Alex grinned at Mickey.
"But this guy, I dunno, he's kinda…"
"Handsome?" Jack suggested with a smirk.
"More like cheesy" Mickey corrected, all but glaring at him.
"Early 21st century slang, is cheesy good or bad?" Jack asked, looking around at the others.
"It's bad" Mickey assured him.
"But bad means good, isn't that right?"
"Are you saying I'm not handsome?" The Doctor asked, making his way down the ladder. Alex followed, grinning.
"I think you're all handsome" She declared boldly. She let the men all be flattered for a moment before moving to Rose's side. "But you're my favourite" She added, kissing her on the cheek. She stood beside her and the girls laughed at the shocked expression on everyone else's faces.
"We just stopped off" Rose told Mickey once they'd finished laughing. "We need to refuel. Thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city. It's invisible, but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions"
"The rift was healed back in 1969" The Doctor added.
"Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth" Rose inputted.
"'Cos these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it" Alex took over.
"But closing a rift always leaves a scar, and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race" Jack continued.
"But perfect for the Tardis" The Alex told Mickey, who was looking incredibly lost by this point. "So we just park her right on top of the scar and"
"Open up the engines, soak up the radiation" Jack continued for her.
"Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!" Rose finished happily.
"Into time!" Jack declared, high fiving Rose as Alex did with the Doctor.
"And space!" They all finished together, high fiving each other still. They finished and all grinned proudly, looking back at Mickey, who was staring at them in disbelief.
"My god, have you seen yourselves? You all think you're so clever don't you?"
"Yeah!" The Doctor nodded.
"Yeah!" Rose agreed.
"'Course" Alex grinned.
"Yep" Jack gave Mickey a light slap on the cheek, likely not making the other man feel any better about him. Alex laughed.
Alex was the first to the Tardis doors, excited to go outside even if it was just to 21st century Cardiff. She had gone to Cardiff first when she had gotten to England in her nineteenth year and she was rather fond of it. Growing up, she hadn't gone places much, spending most of her time since her teen years locking herself in her room with her laptop. Once she left home she had decided she wanted to go everywhere, and she had never stopped being excited to step outside.
She looked around with a grin, turning back to the Doctor as the rest stepped out.
"Feels like home!" She declared happily, spreading her arms.
"I thought you were from America?" Jack frowned at her. She shrugged in return.
"Lived a couple places in my life. Home one, in America, home two, in Australia, home three, America again, home four, Cardiff, Home five!" She gestured happily at the Tardis to finish.
"Well, should take another 24 hours, that means we've got time to kill" The Doctor told the group.
"That old lady's staring" Mickey told them slowly.
"Probably wondering what five people could do inside a small wooden box" Jack joked. He patted the Doctor on the shoulder and the two laughed along with Rose. Alex made an innocently disgusted face but was soon laughing along with them.
"What are you captain of? The innuendo squad?" Mickey asked him, making a face at his joke. Alex grinned, shaking her head at the two as Jack made a 'whatever' sign.
"Lighten up, Sparrow" Alex joked, nudging him with her shoulder. Jack frowned down at her and nudged her back although he couldn't help but smile. He turned to leave and Alex was about to follow when Mickey stopped them.
"Wait!" He called, pausing when the group all looked at him. "Er, the Tardis. We can't just leave it, doesn't it get noticed?"
"Yeah what's with the police box?" Jack asked, frowning at the ship in question. "Why does it look like that?"
"It's a cloaking device" Rose supplied.
"It's called a chameleon circuit" Alex added, grinning at the box.
"The Tardis is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands" The Doctor continued. "If it was ancient Rome it'd be a statue on a plinth or something. But I landed in the 1960s, it disguised itself as police box, and it got stuck"
"So it copied a real thing?" Mickey asked, looking back at the box. "There actually was police boxes?"
"Yeah, on street corners" The Doctor nodded. "Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested someone, they could shove them inside until help came, like a little prison cell"
"Why couldn't you just fix the circuit?" Jack asked, leaning forward slightly. Alex gasped like it was the most horrible crime in the universe.
"Don't you dare!" She insisted, grabbing the Doctor's sleeve as she looked up at him.
"I wouldn't!" He agreed, turning to Jack then. "I like it, don't you?"
"I love it!" Rose agreed, patting the box lovingly. Alex let go of the Doctor's arm to join her, stroking the blue wood with a grin.
"But that's what I meant" Mickey told him, grinning like he'd proven a point. "There's no police boxes anymore, so doesn't it get noticed?"
"Ricky, let me tell you something about the human race" The Doctor told him seriously. "You put a mysterious blue box slap bang in the middle of town and what do they do?" Mickey looked as if he was about to answer when the Doctor continued. "Walk past it. Now stop your nagging, let's go and explore" Alex cheered happily at that and the Doctor grinned as he took her hand and started off with her. Rose grabbed Mickey to drag him along and Jack followed, grinning fondly at the two couples.
"So, where're we going?" Alex asked excitedly, practically skipping along and swinging their linked hands.
"I don't know" The Doctor responded, just as excited. "Cardiff, early 21st century. And the wind's coming from the… East. Trust me" He looked down at her, his grin fading into a soft smile. "Safest place in the universe" Alex gave a little excited laugh when he spun her under his arm and they took off, leaving the others to hurry up to follow.
"I swear, six feet tall, with tusks" Jack insisted, laughing along with the rest. The five of them were sitting at a table in a restaurant on the boardwalk. Alex sat between Mickey and the Doctor with Jack and Rose on the other side. Alex couldn't remember the last time she had a group of friends she could have this much fun with, and she was loving every moment of it.
"You're lying through your teeth!" The Doctor accused.
"I'd've gone bonkers!" Rose told them, still laughing. "That's the word, bonkers!"
"I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks, and I mean tusks!" He continued. "And it's woken, and it's not happy"
"How could you possibly not know it was there?" Alex asked, leaning in to listen.
"And we're standing there, fifteen of us, naked"
"Naked?!" Rose repeated, laughing again.
"And I'm like, oh, no, no, its got nothing to do with me! And then it roars and we are running. Oh my god, we are running! And Brokovitch falls, so I turn to him and say-"
"I knew we should've turned left!" Mickey finished. Everyone laughed again. They were likely the loudest table around, but no one really cared.
"That's my line!" Jack complained, grinning still
Alex ran out of air and fell on the Doctor's shoulder, still laughing silently. He asked if she was okay, still laughing himself. She waved him off as she got her breath back, still grinning. She sat up and looked to Jack.
"You're such an idiot!" She told him, shaking her head.
"I don't believe you" Rose added. "I don't believe a word you say, ever, that is brilliant" The Doctor suddenly stood from his seat and Alex looked over at him with a frown.
"Did you ever get your clothes back?" Rose asked. Alex sent another glance towards the Doctor but she wanted to know as well. She leaned forward on the table to listen to Jack.
"No I just picked him up and went straight for the ship , full throttle, didn't stop until I hit the spacelanes, I was shaking! It was unbelievable, I was freaking out and by the time I got there…"
Jack kept on talking but Alex frowned at the Doctor again as he talked an old man out of his newspaper and read over the front cover.
"Doctor?" She called uncertainly, calling the group's attention to him. He looked up, seeming troubled now.
"And I was having such a nice day" He said almost sadly, holding up the newspaper. There, on the front page, was a color picture of one of the politicians who died during London's alien invasion. One of the Slitheen. Who was still alive in Cardiff. Alex sighed and glanced at Rose, who had the same look. It wasn't like they could just leave her, they had to do something or else no one would.
Resigned, Alex climbed out of her seat and moved to take the paper from the Doctor, reading it over to find out where they'd need to go.
It wasn't long until they were all ready to go find and fetch Margret the Slitheen, and they were walking up the steps of the town hall. They stopped inside and all took a glance around. Jack was the first to speak.
"According to intelligence, 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 fifty seven/ fifty six strategy, covering all exists on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face-to-face, that'll designate exit one, Alex and I'll cover exit two, Rose, you're exit three, Mickey Smith, you take exit four, have you got that?"
The Doctor was watching him in surprise about his takeover on orders, Rose looked as if she was trying hard to understand, Mickey looked plain confused and Alex, well Alex understood everything, she was grinning about the fact that Jack had tried to put her with him.
"Excuse me? Who's in charge?" The Doctor asked him, watching him expectantly.
"Sorry" Jack said, his whole demeanour changing as he look down at the floor a moment. "Awaiting orders, sir"
"Right, here's the plan" The Doctor said seriously, like he was trying to act authorial. He then grinned, looking at Jack once more. "Like he said, nice plan, but Alex comes with me. Anything else?" Alex rolled her eyes at the boys practically fighting over her now. Not that she didn't appreciate it a little…
"Present arms" Jack announced. They each pulled out their phones, Alex making sure she grabbed her older one. Her 2022 touch screen phone wouldn't exactly go unnoticed around Cardiff 2006. That was why she'd picked up one from that year. A nice simple black flip-phone. But she hadn't even seen one since she was a teenager, so she had to get Rose to show her how to use it in exchange for some game time on her other phone.
"Ready" They each said.
"Speed dial?" Jack asked then. They each pressed a button with a small beep as they went down the line.
"Yup" The Doctor confirmed.
"Ready" Rose told them.
"Check" Mickey announced.
"Got it" Alex nodded.
"See ya in hell" Jack grinned at them, heading off to the right.
"Et c'est parti" Alex muttered as the Doctor took her hand and led her off with a grin. Rose followed them for a bit before branching off to her assigned exit.
The Doctor held Alex's hand as they walked up to the door of the main office. He stopped in front of the secretary desk and smiled.
"Hello! I'm here the see the Lord Mayor" He announced happily.
"Have you got an appointment?" The secretary asked simply.
"Nope" The Doctor shook his head, but he kept on. "Just a couple old friends, stopping in for a visit, can't wait to see her face!" Alex nodded, making sure she had a convincing excited smile on her face.
"Well she's just having a cup of tea" The secretary told them.
"Just go in there, tell her the Doctor and Alex would like to see her" The Doctor told the young man, who frowned slightly.
"Doctor who?"
"Just the Doctor. Tell her exactly that. The Doctor. Alex."
"Hold on a tick" The secretary told them, standing to walk inside. The two listened a moment, not even surprised by the sound of a teacup smashing on the floor. Alex smiled in amusement and continued to wait patiently beside the Doctor. After a moment the young man returned, opening the door just enough to slip through and closing it quickly behind him.
"The Lord Mayor says thank you fo- for popping by…" The secretary stammered, looking extremely flustered. "She'd love to have a chat, but um… she's up to her eyes in paperwork. Perhaps if you could make an appointment for next week…?"
"She's climbing out the window isn't she?" The two asked in unison.
"Yes, she is" The man nodded quickly. The Doctor nodded with a smug look and Alex simply gave a smaller knowing nod. The Doctor pushed past the man into the office and Alex followed behind him, simply ignoring the secretary. They ran straight out onto the balcony just in time to see Margret running off on the ground.
"Slitheen heading North" The Doctor spoke into his mobile.
"On my way" Rose spoke back.
"Over and out" Jack replied. Mickey mumbled something on his end that no one heard. The Doctor was about to climb down the way Margret had gone when the secretary rushed out and starting trying to hold him back, shouting for them to leave her alone. Alex grabbed the man's arm and pulled him away from the Doctor with one hard tug, pushing him into the wall.
"Don't touch him" She growled, leaving the man trying to push himself into the wall, staring at her with wide eyes. Alex wouldn't know at the time, but the Doctor had been watching closely enough to see her eyes flash with gold. The Doctor placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she turned her head slightly but kept her eyes fixed on the young man before her.
"Alex, come on" He encouraged, making her finally turn away. The secretary didn't say another word as the two cleared the balcony and started running after Margret. Rose blocked her first exit, Jack the second and Alex and the Doctor were following from the direction she had come. She found the last clear exit and kept running. The four stopped at one end of the path, trying to figure out who wasn't there.
"Who was exit four?" Jack asked irritably.
"That was Mickey" Rose remembered. Mickey caught up behind them a moment later and, Alex was almost proud to note, he was panting harder than any of them.
"Here I am" He told them weakly.
"Mickey the idiot" The Doctor snapped.
"Oh, be fair, she's not exactly gonna outrun us is she?" Rose pointed out, watching Margaret as she continued running. She was playing with something in her hands and suddenly disappeared in a flash of blue light.
"Teleport" Alex noted with a sigh, crossing her arms and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Always the teleport"
"That's cheating" Jack complained.
"Oh, the Doctor's very good with teleports" Rose told them. The man himself had his sonic screwdriver in hand and smiled as he pressed the button a moment and Margret appeared again, running towards them now. Her smile disappeared as she turned and started running again, the teleport activating with another blue flash. The Doctor simply pressed the button on the screwdriver once more and she appeared even closer, running towards them. She turned and teleported away on the run another time, and when the Doctor brought her back she stopped right in front of them, panting for breath.
"I could do this all day" The Doctor told her happily, Alex smirking amusedly behind him with her arms still crossed.
"This is persecution" Margret told them, holding her hands up in a surrender. "Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"
"You tried to kill me and my friends and destroy this entire planet" He pointed out, tone becoming dark.
"Apart from that" Margret huffed, almost seeming annoyed.
Et c'est parti was supposed to be French for 'here we go again' but I looked it up just now and the result came up as just 'here we go' but the one that actually means here we go again was wwaaayyy longer. Honestly, I like Et c'est Parti better. So yeah, Alex speaks French. Bet you can work out why.