The Tardis landed, and the Doctor put on the hand brake. Martha and the Doctor were in the control room, and Shadow was still unconcious in her room.
"There we go. Perfect landing. Which isn't easy in such a tight spot," the Doctor said.
"You should be used to tight spots by now. Where are we?" Martha asked.
"The end of the line. No place like it," the Doctor replied. Martha went outside.
"Home. You took me home?" she asked.
"In fact, the morning after we left, so you've only been gone about twelve hours. No time at all, really," the Doctor said.
"But all the stuff we've done. Shakespeare, New New York, old New York?" Martha asekd.
"Yep, all in one night, relatively speaking. Everything should be just as it was. Books, CDs, laundry. So, back were you were, as promised," the Doctor said.
"This is it?" Martha asked.
"Yeah, I should probably er-" Martha's phone rung and the answering machine started up.
"Hi, I'm out. Leave a message," it said.
"I'm sorry," Martha said to the Doctor.
"Martha, are you there? Pick it up, will you?" a woman's voice came from the machine.
"It's Mum. It'll wait," Martha said.
"All right then, pretend that you're out if you like. I was only calling to say that your sister's on TV. On the news of all things. Just thought you might be interested," Martha'a mother said. Martha went over and turned on the television, which was on stand by.
"The details are top secret," said an elderly man on the TV. Tish was standing next to him.
"How could Tish end up on the news?" Martha asked.
"Tonight, I will demonstrate a device which will redefine our world," the man on TV said.
"She's got a new job. PR for some research lab," Martha said.
"With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human," the man said.
Martha put the TV back on standby.
"You were saying we should?" Martha asked.
"Yes, yes, we should. One trip is what we said," the Doctor said.
"Yeah. I suppose things just kind of escalated," Martha said.
"Mmm. Seems to happen to me a lot," the Doctor said.
"Thank you. For everything," Martha said.
"It was my pleasure," the Doctor said. He turned to get back in the Tardis, when Martha remembered something.
"Oh, tall Martha how to spell Russian when she wakes up, right?" she asked.
"Will do," he said. He Doctor disappeared into the Tardis, and it dematerialised. Then it rematerialised. The Doctor poked his head out.
"No, I'm sorry. Did he say he was going to change what it means to be human?" he asked.
Shadow opened her eyes, and jumped up out of bed in alarm, remembering what had happened the last time she'd over slept.
{Doctor?} she sent.
{Oh, you're up,} the Doctor sent.
{Where are you?} she asked, no longer panicking, but still slightly concerned.
{I'm at a place called Lazarus Laboratories,} he sent, along with how he'd gotten there.
{I'm coming,} I sent.
"Shadow's awake, she'll be coming soon," he said to Martha. She looked at him.
"So what is it with her, sometimes you call her Tei, sometimes you don't?" she asked.
"When she breifly remembers who she is, I call her Tei. If I call her Tei any other time, she remembers, and goes to sleep, and wakes up with a clean slate," he explained.
"So how does that memory chip work?" Martha asked, curious.
"It removes all memories relating to her identity," he said. "Anything that makes her Tei is erased. Emotions like love, and hate, and annoyance all go out the window." He fiddled with his tie as they got closer to the building.
"Oh, black tie. Whenever I wear this, something bad always happens," he said.
"It's not the outfit, that's just you. Anyway, I think it suits you. In a James Bond kind of way," Martha said.
"James Bond? Really?" he asked. They walked into Lazarus Laboratories.
I was't too worried, because I had no reason to believe that the Doctor was causing, or looking for trouble by attending this party-thing at Lazarus Laboratories. So, I took my time, not dawdling, but not running either.
Martha and the Doctor were in the recpetion room. In the middle of the room was a circular dais. On it was a man-sized frosted glass chamber and four upright posts, slightly curved at the top to aim at the chamber. A waiter walked past Martha and the Doctor with a tray of food.
"Oh, look, they've got nibbles! I love nibbles," he said, taking a few.
"Hello," Tish said, walking up to them.
"Tish," Martha said.
"You look great. So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?" Tish asked.
"Very," Martha said.
"And two nights out in a row for you. That's dangerously close to a social life," Tish said a bit teasingly.
"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns," Martha laughed.
"You might, actually. You should keep an eye out for photographers. And Mum, she's coming too. Even dragging Leo along with her," Tish said.
"Leo in black tie? That I must see. This is, er, the Doctor," she said, pointing to him.
"Hello," the Doctor said.
"Is he with you?" Tish askeed.
"Yeah," Martha said.
"But he's not on the list. How did he get in?" Tish asked.
"He's my plus one," Martha said.
"So, this Lazarus, he's your boss?" the Doctor asked.
"Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff," Tish said.
"She's in the PR department," Martha put in.
"I'm head of the PR department, actually," Tish said proudly.
"You're joking," Martha said.
"I put this whole thing together," Tish said.
"So do you know what the professor's going to be doing tonight? That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator," the Doctor said, pointing the thing on the dais.
"He's a science geek. I should have known. Got to get back to work now. I'll catch up with you later," Tish said, walking away.
"Science geek? What does that mean?" the Doctor asked.
"That your obsessively enthusiastic about it," Martha said.
"Oh, nice," the Doctor said. He tapped his link with Shadow.
{Shadow, when you get here, I want you to run some scans for me on a device,} he sent, looking over at the thing on the dais.
{Got it,} Shadow said, and he noted interestedly that she seemed to be taking her time. As far as he was concerned, that was a good thing. She was becoming increasingly emotional, also a good sign. There might be hope of recovering Tei for good after all.
He looked over as he heard a familiar voice.
"Your father's caused me enough heartache already with his menopause and his trophy girlfriend," Martha's mother had come in with Leo, and was talking.
"Yeah, Mum, I know. It's just something he said last night," Leo said.
"Martha," Francine said.
"Mum!" Martha said. She gave her mother a big hug.
"All right, what's the occasion?" Francine asked.
"What do you mean? I'm just pleased to see you, that's all," Martha said.
"You saw me last night," Francine said.
"I know. I just miss you. You're looking good, Leo," she complimented.
"Yeah. If anyone asks me to fetch them a drink, I'll swing for him," Leo said.
"You disappeared last night," Francine said.
"I just went home," Martha said.
"On your own?" Francine asked, looking at the Doctor.
"This is a friend of mine," Martha said. "The Doctor."
"Doctor who?" Franicine asked.
"No, it's just the Doctor. We've been doing some work together," Martha said.
"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Jones. Heard a lot about you," the Doctor said.
"Have you? What have you heard, then?" Francine said. The Doctor didn't notice Shadow walking over to him: probably because she had her Shadow Device activated.
"Oh, you know, that you're Martha's mother and. Er, no, actually, that's about it. We haven't had much time to chat. You know, been busy," the Doctor said. I looked from him to the woman in front of him. She did not look happy. Angry human women were number two on my list. I wondered how to spell women?
"Busy? Doing what, exactly?" the woman asked.
{Doctor, who is this?" I asked.
{Francine Jones. Martha's mother,} the Doctor explained.
{Is she angry that Martha was away for so long?} I asked.
{No, she's only been gone 12 hours,} he sent.
{Good thinking,} I sent. {So why is she angry?} I asked.
{Not angry, she's just a bit- well, she's a mother,} he sent.
"Oh you know. Stuff," the Doctor said aloud. I heard a loud clinking sound, and turned to the source of it. An old man was standing near a dais, tapping in a glass. The Doctor eagerly took the excuse to turn away from Francine.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I am going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you will wake to a world which will be changed forever," he said. Lazarus went inside a cylindrical chamber on top of the dais.
{Oh yes, that's the thing I wanted you to scan,} the Doctor sent.
{I already scanned it,} I sent.
{Really? What is it?} the Doctor asked.
{Basically, a sonic microfield amplifier,} I sent. {Couldn't you have guessed that?} I asked.
{I did, but I wanted confirmation,} he sent.
A pair of lady scientists started up the machine and pressed a big red button. The four columns started to oscillate and rotate around the chamber as they poured energy into it. I watched, mesmerized, until an alarm sounded.
"Something's wrong. It's overloading," the Doctor said aloud.
Apparently, the computer agreed with him. There were sparks shooting from the controls, and smoke. The Doctor rushed over and got out his sonic screwdriver. I went over and joined him, looking at the wires.
"Somebody stop him. Get him away from those controls!" a woman yelled.
"If this thing goes up, it'll take the whole building with it. Is that what you want?" the Doctor asked. I unplugged a big power cable and the contraption slowed down, then stopped. The Doctor looked at me oddly. I shrugged.
{If you want to turn something off quickly, and you can't find the right button, unplug it,} I sent. He was too busy to reply.
Martha rushed to the chamber.
"Get it open!" the Doctor yelled. Martha opened the door, and a young man staggered out. My jaw dropped in disbelief.
{Doctor, that-}
{Not now Shadow,} he sent distractedly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am seventy six years old and I am reborn!" the young man said, confirming what scans had already told me. There was wild applause.
It was a little bit later, and Lazarus was posing for the photographers.
"It can't be the same guy. It's impossible. It must be a trick," Martha said.
"Oh, it's not a trick. I wish it were, but Shadow's scans confirmed that this is indeed professor Richard Lazarus," the Doctor said.
"What just happened then?" Martha asked.
"He just changed what it means to be human," the Doctor said.
"Excuse me. That was the most astonishing thing I've ever seen. Look at you," the woman who had tried to stop the Doctor said to Lazarus.
"This is only the beginning. We're not just making history, we're shaping the future, too," Lazarus said.
"Think of the money we'll make. People will sell their souls to be transformed like that. And I'll be first in line," the woman(Who I had identified as Lady Thaw) said. Lazarus stiffened and gasped suddenly, then grabbed a tray from a passing waiter and proceeded to eat all the food on it.
"Richard," Lady Thaw said, sounding appalled.
"I'm famished," Lazarus said.
The Doctor walked up to him, and Martha and I followed.
"Energy deficit. Always happens with this kind of process," the Doctor said.
"You speak as if you see this every day, Mister...?" Lazarus asked.
"Doctor. And well, no, not every day, but I have some experience of this kind of transformation," the Doctor said.
"That's not possible," Lazarus said.
"Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance. That's inspired," the Doctor said.
"You understand the theory, then," Lazarus said.
"Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables," the Doctor said.
"No experiment is entirely without risk," Lazarus said.
"That thing nearly exploded. You might as well have stepped into a blender," the Doctor said.
"You're not qualified to comment," Lady Thaw said.
"If I hadn't stopped it, it would have exploded," the Doctor said.
"Then I thank you, Doctor. But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less," Lazarus said.
"You've no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests," Martha said.
"Look at me. You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need," Lazarus said.
"This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially," Lady Thaw said.
"Commercially? You are joking. That'll cause chaos," Martha said. I scanned Lazarus again. Something was not right. My scanners weren't fine-tuned enough to pick it up though.
{Doctor, there is something very wrong with Mr. Lazarus,} I sent.
{What is it?} the Doctor asked.
{I can't tell, my scanners can't detect exactly what it is, which means it's probably something on a molecular level,} I sent.
"Not chaos, change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve," Lazarus said.
"This isn't about improving. This is about you and your customers living a little longer," the Doctor said.
"Not a little longer, Doctor. A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely," Lazarus said.
"Richard, we have things to discuss, upstairs," Lady Thaw said.
"Goodbye, Doctor. In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were," Lazarus said. He kisseed Martha's hand, and left with Lady Thaw.
"Oh, he's out of his depth. No idea of the damage he might have done," the Doctor said.
"So what do we do now?" Martha asked.
"Now? Well, Shadow's scans detected something wrong, but she can't determine what it is exactly because it's on a molecular level. This building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests," the Doctor said.
"Lucky I've just collected a DNA sample then, isn't it?" Martha said, holding out her hand.
"Oh, Martha Jones, you're a star," the Doctor said.
We were in a laboratory, and there was an image of a strand of Lazarus' DNA on the computer screen. My Shadow Device was deactivated.
"Amazing," the Doctor said.
"That is simply wrong," I said aloud, deeply disturbed by what I was seeing.
"What?" Martha asked.
"Lazarus's DNA," the Doctor said, still staring at the screen.
"I can't see anything different," Martha said.
"Look at it," I said.
"Oh, my God. Did that just change? But it can't have," Martha said.
"But it did," the Doctor said.
"It's impossible," Martha said.
"And that's two impossible things we've seen so far tonight. Don't you love it when that happens?" the Doctor asked.
"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns," Martha said.
"Hypersonic sound waves to destabilize the cell structure, then a metagenic programme to manipulate the coding in the protein strands. Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate," the Doctor said.
"And they're still mutating now," I added.
"Because he missed something. Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilize. Something that's trying to change him," the Doctor said.
"Change him into what?" Martha asked.
"Trouble," I said.
The Doctor ignored my comment. "I don't know, but I think we need to find out," the Doctor said.
"That woman said they were going upstairs," Martha said.
"Let's go," the Doctor said, heading for the door. Martha and I walked out after him, my Shadow Device still deactivated.
{Doctor, we are leaving now,} I sent in a casual tone.
{No Shadow, sorry, but we're going to stick around a while longer,} he sent.
{Doctor, Professor Lazarus is mutating into a something, and it cannot be good,} I sent.
{Exactly, so I've got to stick around to make sure no one gets hurt,} he sent, turning a corner.
I decided to switch strategies.
{It's probably nothing. And we're wasting our time here. If we stay much longer in this unimportant time and place, we will miss other important events,} I sent.
{Nice try Shadow, but we're still staying,} he sent, getting into a lift. Martha and I walked in with him, Martha looking at us a bit oddly.
{I will not let you stay. You can come with me back to the Tardis willingly, or I will teleport with you, lock the door, and get us so far away from here-}
{I'll just come right come right back,} he sent.
{I won't let you,} I sent.
"Guys, I know you're talking through that link, what's going on?" Martha asked.
"Shadow is of the opinion that we should leave," the Doctor said.
"It is not an opinion Doctor, it is a fact. Lazarus is trouble, and we need to get away from him," I said.
The elevator stopped, and we stepped out.
"Look, how about this," Martha said. "If it looks like the our lives are in imminent danger, you can teleport us away. Sound good?" she asked. I thought about it.
"Alright," I agreed. Martha opened a door.
"This is his office, all right," she said.
"So where is he?" the Doctor asked,
"Don't know. Let's try back at the reception," Martha said.
I spotted a skeletal leg with a ladies shoe on it sticking out behind the desk.
"What is that?" Martha asked, seeing it as well. I scanned.
"It's Lady Thaw?" I asked, puzzled.
"Used to be. Now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out, like squeezing the juice out of an orange," the Doctor said.
"Lazarus?" Martha asked.
"Could be," the Doctor said.
"So he's changed already?" Martha asked.
"Not necessarily. You saw the DNA. It was fluctuating. The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough," the Doctor said.
"So he might do this again?" Martha asked.
"Mmm," the Doctor replied.
"I consider you to be in danger," I said, making a grab for his hand. He dodged away.
"No, Martha said imminent danger," he pointed out quickly. I sighed, and shrugged.
"Alright, you are not in imminent danger," I admitted.
Martha moved to walk out, but I stopped her.
"Lazarus is on the roof with another life form," I said.
"How do you-"
"I scanned the building searching for him. His DNA is fluctuating, and it is giving off a unique energy signature, that is very easy to detect," I said.
"Great, so who's the other life form?" Martha asked.
"I recognize this one from the party, and it is quite similar to you," I said.
"So, who is it?" Martha asked.
"Leticia Jones," I said. Martha froze for a minute, and then turned and started running. The Doctor followed.
We ran up the stairs, not bothering to take the lift. We were already close to the roof. We reached the door, and opened it, bursting out into cold night air. Lazarus and Tish were standing close to the edge of the roof.
"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect," Lazarus was saying. "There's always something to surprise you. Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act-"
"Falls the Shadow," the Doctor finished.
Lazarus turned. "So the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot. I'm impressed," he said.
"Martha, what are you doing here?" Tish asked.
"Tish, get away from him," Martha said.
"What? Don't tell me what to do," Tish said.
"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all," the Doctor said.
"You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four," Lazarus said.
"Doesn't work like that. Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person," the Doctor said.
"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be," Lazarus said. I turned on my Shadow Device.
"Or what a curse. Look at what you've done to yourself," the Doctor said.
"Who are you to judge me?" Lazarus asked.
"Over here, Tish," Martha said.
"You have to spoil everything, don't you? Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault," Tish said. Behind her back, Lazarus spasmed and fell.
"Tish, he's a monster!" Martha yelled.
"I know the age thing's a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones," Tish said.
{Who?} I asked.
Tish turned and saw the transformation in progress. Lazarus was now a massive bony scorpion with a human face.
"What's that?" Tish asked.
"Run!" the Doctor yelled.
I grabbed his hand.
{Now you are in imminent danger,} I sent. Marth saw what I was doing, and grabbed a handful of my shirt, clutching Tish's arm with her other hand.
I teleported, but I didn't end up where I wanted to. We were back in the stairwell.
{Doctor, what did you do?} I asked.
{I used our link to redirect the teleport,} he sent.
"Are you okay?" Martha asked her sister.
"I was going to snog him," Tish said.
The lights flickered as the creature tried to break in.
"Security one. Security one. Security one," a voice on a loudspeaker said.
The lights went out.
"What's happening?" Martha asked.
"An intrusion. It triggers a security lockdown. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts, seals the exits," Tish explained.
"He must be breaking through that door. The stairs, come on!" the Doctor yelled. He ran off down the stairs, and since it was apparent that I could not teleport him out, I would try to buy him some time. I did not follow him down the stairs. Instead, I turned off my Shadow Device, and stood a little bit away from the door.
{Shadow, where are you?} the Doctor asked. The door broke open, and I turned and ran, the thing chasing me.
{Come up with a plan to get this thing, because I'm dead otherwise,} I sent. The thing was almost on me, so I cheated a bit. I teleported a ways ahead. The thing stopped, looking at me in confusion. I didn't waste time. I kept running. I stopped, noticing that it was not chasing me. I looked back, to see it barreling clumsily down the stairs. I chased after it, regretting this reversal of roles.
Back In The Reception Room...
"Tish, is there another way out of here?" the Doctor asked Tish.
"There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now," Tish replied.
"Martha, setting fifty four. Hurry," the Doctor said, throwing her the sonic screwdriver.
"Listen to me! You people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!" the Doctor said, addressing the crowd.
"Don't be ridiculous. The biggest danger here is choking on an olive," the woman said.
{Doctor, he's coming your way, fast,} Shadow sent.
Just then the mutant Lazarus appeared from around a corner, causing panic when people saw him. It's tail sent a table flying. The mutant stood over a woman frozen in fear, and opened its jaws sideways. Then it broughts its tail over, and the other mouth appears.
"No! Get away from her!" the Doctor yelled. He was too late. A desiccated corpse fell to the floor. The mutant turned to look at the rest of the crowd, who were running for the door Martha had opened.
"Lazarus! Leave them alone," the Doctor yelled. It turns towards the Doctor
.
{Doctor, get out of there,} I said.
{Let me try, just let me try,} he said.
I teleported to just behind him. {I will teleport with you,} I threatened.
{I'll make sure we stay in the building,} he sent.
"What's the point? You can't control it. The mutation's too strong. Killing those people won't help you. You're a fool. A vain old man who thought he could defy nature. Only Nature got her own back, didn't she? You're a joke, Lazarus! A footnote in the history of failure!" the Doctor yelled. I grabbed for his hand, but he ran off down a corridor, and the mutant chased after him. I ran after them both. I turned a corner, and they were gone.
{Doctor, where are you?} I demaded.
{Not now Shadow,} he sent.
{Tell me where you are,} I insisted. He sent me an image of the place, just as
I turned a corner, into the same place. I heard a clatter, and saw the Doctor, clambering amongst the pipes and control panels.
{Shadow, do not try to teleprt in here,} he sent.
{Why?} I asked.
{Just don't,} he sent back.
{I am taking you back to the Tardis, now,} I sent.
{Alright, but do you see that closet right there?} he asked.
{Yep,} I sent.
{There should be a panel in there, with a big switch on it. Could you go and switch it to 'on'?} he asked.
{Alright,} I sent. I walked into the closet and closed the door behind me. {I don't see and pan-} I cut off as it hit me what he was doing. He sent a thought at me, a suggestion. I swayed, trying to hang onto conciousness.
{Go to sleep,} he sent.
{Na...} I sent back.
{Tei, go to sleep,} he sent again, more strongly this time.
{Who?} I asked, before I blacked out.