Inside, Submarine, Control room...
"He's arming the warheads!" Zhukov shouted as they all entered the control room to see the armor had plugged into the control panel.
"Where is the honor in condemning billions of innocents to death?" Lexi demanded. "Five thousand years ago Mars was the center of a vast empire. The jewel of this solar system. The people of Earth had only just begun to leave their caves. Five thousand years isn't such a long time. Hell, I knew a man who waited outside a box for two thousand years straight just so he could protect the woman that he loved." She said, thinking back on one of the most monumental adventures she had experienced. "Humans, they're still just frightened children. Still primitive. Who are you to judge them?"
"I am Skaldak!" The Ice Warrior roared, retracting the wires before turning to face Lexi, the Doctor and everyone else. "This planet is forfeit under Martian law!"
"Then teach them!" The Doctor urged. "Teach them, Grand Marshal. Show them another way. Show them there is honor in mercy. Is this how you want history to remember you? Grand Marshal Skaldak - Destroyer of Earth? Because that's what you'll be if you send those missiles. Not a soldier, a murderer. Five billion lives extinguished. No chance for goodbyes. A world snuffed out like a candle flame." He narrowed his eyes, watching as Skaldak's finger got closer to the detonator. "Alright, Skaldak, you leave us no choice. My wife, our son and myself are Time Lords. We know a bit about sonic technology ourselves."
The Doctor glanced over at Lexi and Sky, watching as they both pulled out their sonics. All three of them held their sonic screwdrivers out towards Skaldak.
"A threat?" Skaldak questioned, turning around to face them. "You threaten me?"
"You and all of us." Sky nodded. "We will blow this sub up before you can even reach that button, Grand Marshal. Blow us all to oblivion."
"You would sacrifice yourselves?"
"In a heartbeat." Lexi confirmed as she, her husband and their son held their sonics upwards, turning them on and making them glow red instead of their regular colors of pink, green and orange.
"Mutually assured destruction." He stated before turning to the button again.
"Look into our eyes, Skaldak." The Doctor told him. "Look into our eyes and tell us you're capable of doing this. Huh? Can you do that? Dare you do that? Look into our eyes, Skaldak, come on! Face-to-face."
"Well then," Skaldak chuckled darkly, turning back before his the helmet opened, letting you see his lizard-like face with lidless red eyes. "which of us shall blink first?"
"Why did you hesitate? Back there, in the dark, you were going to kill this man. Remember?" Clara questioned, gesturing to Professor Grisenko.
"My friend is right." Lucas agreed, taking a step forward. "She begged you not to kill him, and you listened. If you showed compassion then, why won't you show it now?"
"Remember what I said, Skaldak." Lexi spoke up. "Billions will die... Mothers, sons, fathers... daughters. Remember that last battle, Skaldak? Your daughter... You sang the songs..."
"Of the red snows." Skaldak nodded, hesitating.
"Exactly." Lexi stated, stepping forward a bit. "I answered you truthfully when you asked if I was a parent. It may not be obvious, but that is evidenced by this man right here." She pointed at Sky. "Would you take me from my children like you were snatched away from your own daughter?... Would you wish that on anybody else?"
The submarine then shifted suddenly, Lucas quickly grabbing Clara as the Doctor grabbed Sky, Lexi gripping onto one of the chairs.
"What's happening?" Clara asked nervously.
"My people live..." Skaldak said in wonder. "They have come for me!"
"We're rising." Zhukov stated as he watched the depth gauge. "We're rising!"
"600 meters." Professor Grisenko laughed in relief. "550!"
"We've surfaced." The Doctor sighed in relief. "Your people have saved us."
Skaldak chuckled darkly. "Saved me, not you."
"Just go, Skaldak, please." The Doctor sighed. "Please... go in peace."
Skaldak just offered a warrior's salute before then being teleported out of the submarine and onto his people's ship.
"We did it." Lucas laughed in relief himself.
"Not quite." Sky swallowed nervously as he went to the controls. "A single pulse from that ship... As much as I hate to say it," He began as turned back and looked at the Doctor and Lexi. "I will help you destroy this sub and all of us if we have to."
"Show mercy, Skaldak." The Doctor closed his eyes as he took Lexi's hand in his. "Come on, show mercy."
Clara breathed in, grabbing Lucas's hand before she began singing nervously. "Da-da-da-dah I'm lost and I'm found and I'm hungry like the wolf."
A klaxon then sounded as the key ports switched back, the lights turning green.
Lexi sighed in relief before she, The Doctor and Sky shut off their sonics.
Sky braced himself on a chair, bowing his head. "Now we're safe..."
Lexi hugged the Doctor in relief. "Saved the world yet again, dearie."
"Yeah." He smiled, hugging her back as Clara and Lucas walked over to them.
"So this is what we do?" Lucas asked, a small smile on his face.
"Pretty much." Lexi giggled, nodding.
Clara grinned. "I think we can get onboard with that."
Outside, North Pole, Day...
The hatch opened, Captain Zhukov stepping out onto the submarine's tower followed by the Doctor, Lexi, Sky, Lucas, Clara, Professor Grisenko and the rest of the remaining crew.
"So, where did the TARDIS go?" Lucas questioned as they all looked up at the Martian ship. "You never exactly explained that."
"Oh, well, don't worry about that." The Doctor waved him off.
"Stop saying that!" Clara laughed. "Where is it?"
The Doctor shuffled awkwardly. "Yeah, well, I wasn't to know, was I?"
Before the Doctor could answer, Sky's phone dinged in his pocket. He quickly took the phone out, reading what was on the screen.
Lexi raised an eyebrow at her son. "What is it?"
"A reminder." He smiled, looking up from his phone. "I need to go."
"Go where?" Clara tilted her head.
"A bit of a birthday present." Sky answered before looking down at his phone, typing out a message. "I need to message Jupiter. We're off to London in 1814 for the last of the great Frost Fairs. We need to pick up Stevie Wonder before we can go, though."
"Wait." Lucas glanced at him quickly. "Stevie Wonder?"
"Oh yeah." Sky grinned, pocketing his cellphone again before taking out his sonic and using it on his vortex manipulator. "Let's hope that this thing doesn't drop me off in the wrong place again."
"That was a telephone?" Captain Zhukov whispered, leaning over to Grisenko.
"I'm guessing that it will be, Captain." The professor replied, chuckling before looking back up at the Martian ship.
"Don't stay gone too long." The Doctor smiled, putting an arm around Lexi as they watched their son key in coordinates into his VM.
"I'll try not to." Sky nodded, smiling at his parents before looking to Clara and Lucas. "Till the next time."
"Bye." Clara smiled, her and Lucas waving at him once before everyone watched him zap out of sight. Clara then sighed before she and Lucas turned to look at the Doctor and Lexi. "What did you mean before when you said that you 'weren't to know'? Know what?"
"Oh, you know..." The Doctor trailed off, waving his hand around aimlessly. "I've been tinkering... breaking her in. I'm allowed."
Lucas looked to Lexi. "Glorious, what did he do?"
Lexi smiled wide. "He reset the HADS."
"Huh?" Clara tilted her head.
"The HADS. Otherwise known as the Hostile Action Displacement System." Lexi grinned, the Doctor hanging his head slightly at being ratted out by his own wife. "If the TARDIS comes under attack by gunfire, time-winds, the sea; it'll relocate."
Lucas groaned. "Oh, isn't that just wonderful(?!)"
"Haven't used it in donkey's years." The Doctor confessed. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, never mind. It's bound to turn up somewhere."
Lexi was then alerted to the sound of her sonic whirring.
She pulled it out of her coat pocket and grinned. "Right on cue."
"Brilliant." Clara smiled.
Lexi paused before then looking up and at the Doctor as she glared daggers at him. "I... am going kick you... All the way to the SOUTH Pole!"
"No." Lucas deadpanned, sighing before pinching the bridge of his nose.
The Doctor looked from Lucas and Clara to Lexi, seeing her still scowling at him with her arms crossed as her foot tapped against the floor. He cringed before looking to Captain Zhukov. "Could we have a lift?"
Zhukov just laughed with the rest of his crew joining in, Professor Grisenko smiling as they all went back inside the submarine. The Doctor mocked them, Lexi rolling her eyes at her husband before they then turned and looked up at the Martian ship and watched it, saluting it as it flew away.
A/N: Well, there ya have it!
I hope you enjoyed the episode as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)
Anyway, there's something I'd like to address. There's a question I've gotten a couple of times from a couple of different people. So, I thought I'd just answer it again right here for all of you to see.
Here it is: When it comes time for 12 to regenerate into 13 (A.k.a. become the first female Doctor), will Lexi 2.0/The 2nd Glorious become male when she turns into her third self?
The answer to that is: I don't believe she will. I kinda really like the idea of the Doctor and Lexi navigating their relationship with both of them being female. I mean, Lexi did make a promise to the Doctor that as long as he (eventual she) loved her, she would always be there for him/her. I don't think it's hard to tell that the Doctor would do the same for Lexi.
And besides, I can't really envision Lexi ever becoming male. After all, no matter their genders, they will always be the Couple of Time.
I hope most of you (if not all of you) can see it that way as well. ️
But hey, we have 12 and Lexi 2.0's era to get through before even need to think about that!
Anyway, enough of my little rant. Just thought I'd clear that up as best I could.
Now, I suppose I'll just say goodbye for now. There's a little filler chapter coming up next, so be on the look out for that.
Until then!
💋 Love always,
~Maddy