Nina's heels clicked down the street, away from her parent's house. She couldn't believe they would use her like this. Her parents, the time lords, the doctor. They were all doomed to die, why couldn't they let her live?

Dr. Malice Denim taught her that a true assassin keeps their emotions in check. Eliminating them entirely was an amateur mistake; fear and determination were key elements to the hunt. But these conflicted feelings, they had to go.

Summer was mild in the London of this century; global warming was just a rookie. So that heat was either the physical embodiment of her fury or-

"Fire!"

"The tenants are on fire!"

Nina dashed toward the cries of panic. She rounded a corner and was faced with a horrible sight. One of the developments was in flames and threatening to catch on to its neighbor. People rushed out of the building in distress and into it with even great panic. Women tore off smoldering skirts to shield themselves from the heat and returned for their children. Men carried huge containers with as much water as they could to the adjoining building. Children shouted in fear, alerting those nearby of the danger.

Where the hell was the fire department?

A tall man brushed past Nina, who was still gawking. "Excuse me, coming through, people to save, very sorry, you'll be fine, gotta run...!" The tall man sputtered nonsense as he made his way through the crowd that had accumulated near Nina. His overcoat swept out behind him and danced around his shoes, which were bright red with white laces. As he approached the building, he inspected it first with a pair of thick prescription flames, then 3D glasses, then the perceptions again before stashing them both in his coat and casting the whole thing aside. He looked ready to run into the inferno, the crazy prick.

A girl about half Nina's height ran up to him. She was crying and doing her best to speak clearly. The man knelt to her height and waited for her to say what she needed to.

"My mum and dad! My brother! There're in the flat on the top floor!" the girl swatted strands of sandy blonde hair away from her face and rubbed her eyes.

The man stood up. With a determined smile, he took off into the building.

Nina knew who the man was. He was the doctor.

The girl collapsed to her knees, staring bleary-eyed up at the flames. Nina rushed to her side.

"Don't look at it, everything will be fine," she assured her. "What's your name? Look at me."

The girl turned her head slowly, tears still fresh on her face. "Sam," she said with a sniff.

"Sam," Nina said. "Concentrate on me. That man will be out with your family before you know it."

Nina kept Sam talking, distracting her from the deteriorating building before her.

A roar erupted from the building and one of the levels collapsed. Sam whimpered and hid her face in Nina's dress.

A muffled yell of "it doesn't work on wood" came from the first floor. Sam looked up. She started to run to the sound, but Nina held her back. There was a smash and clatter of boards falling, kicked down by a pair of red Converse. The doctor emerged, soot-faced and coughing. In his arms was a boy with hair like Sam's, not more than a year old.

"Graham!" Sam shouted. Nina let her run to her brother.

"He's not breathing," said the doctor. He trotted to a spot away from the smoke and laid the child down on the ground.

Nina ran to them. "I know CPR, I can help!" she pushed the doctor out of the way. Sam looked on anxiously as Nina tilted Graham's head to open the airway and gave him a breath. She checked for a heartbeat, which he had, and gave another breath. Graham coughed and began to cry, signaling that he could breath once again.

Sam picked up baby Graham and hugged him close. "Thank you so much!" she told Nina and the doctor. Her look of relief and gratitude quickly faded. "Where are Mum and Dad?"

The doctor's face was grim. "I'm so sorry."

"No," Sam whispered.

"I'm sorry," said the doctor again. "I couldn't- I'm sorry."

Sam didn't move. Her eyes were dead. Nina reached out a hand to reassure her, but Sam shook it off. The subsiding flames crackled with less gusto in the background.

Sam stood, Graham hiding his face in her shoulder. "It's fine," she said. For a moment it looked like she was going to say something else, but she didn't. She nodded her thanks to the both of them once more a broke into a run. Away from the doctor and assassin, away from the remains of their home.

Nina watched them go. "Should we follow them, Doctor?"

He shook his head. "Sam's a strong girl. She'll find a way. Humans always do."

Nina looked back at the tenant house. It was smoldering itself out. Only the charcoal skeleton and soot stains were left above the rubble. It was hard to think of recovery in the presence of destruction.

"And that's just one building," the doctor echoed Nina's thoughts. "It won't be the last, unless- would you help me with something?"

"Sure, but I'm just a bystander," said Nina. "I'm not running into any burning buildings."

The doctor had the expression of someone who'd been told a really bad joke. "You're not from around here, are you," he said. It was a statement, not a question.

"I was born in London," Nina said truthfully.

"I wasn't talking about where," the doctor clarified.

"I suppose you would know, wouldn't you, Doctor?" Nina smiled innocently.

The doctor shrugged. "Yeah. I would. Now, if you wouldn't mind, this is a time sensitive issue, so we should get going." He retrieved his coat and beckoned for her to follow.

"Oh my, running off with strange men," Nina said, a little cheerfulness returned to her demeanor. "Wouldn't my par-"

Nina discontinued her train of thought, thinking of them wouldn't do her any good. And neither would getting to know the man she was determined not to save.

The doctor stopped and waited for her. "What are we dealing with?" she asked him.

"Intergalactic pyromaniacs," the doctor answered.

"Sounds like a garage band," Nina commented.

"I wish," said the doctor. "Then we could just troll them on a message board and be done with it. We're doing this instead."

He stopped abruptly and in front of a blue police box. He ducked behind it and retrieved a jar of what looked like jelly beans. Nina quirked an eyebrow.

"These," explained the doctor, "are not candy. I'm not really sure what they are, but when burned, they expel a chemical that puts out the pyros."

"You mean the fires?"

"No, the pyros," the doctor said. "Didn't I say? The fires are an extension of themselves. They're like human torches. Putting them out won't kill them, but it'll make it easier to transport them back to their home planet. The three of them are wanted for theft and public indecency. Oh, and murder."

Nina crossed her arms over her simple dress. "What do you need me for?"

"You'll figure it out, Ms. Assassin," he replied. After a second of thought, he fixed her with a stare. "No killing. These are the only weapons you need." He scooped a handful of the multicolored beans out of the jar and handed her the rest. Without dropping a single one, he stowed equal portions in several pockets of his coat and vest. Nina unwound a cord that was attached to the jar and slung it over her shoulder.

Out of the inside of the doctor's coat came the sonic screwdriver. He pointed it in a circle, muttering about how they couldn't have gotten far. To Nina's bewilderment, he suddenly shouted and tilted the screwdriver's light to the ground. A change in pitch only he could make sense of determined where they were headed. Underground.