Chapter Thirty Seven

"So now we wait, I s'pose," Rose said as she sat in the car and stared at the woods across the field. "Wait and see if a huge swarm of those wasps come after us."

"Hopefully they won't if Jack's done his job," Gwen said as she relaxed in the driver's seat. "We don't have that many gas bombs and we can't fight off a million wasps."

"I'm on the edge of glory and I'm hanging on a moment of truth. I'm on the edge of glory and I'm hanging on a moment with you."

Rose turned her head when she heard the Doctor singing softly to himself. She listened but she couldn't identify the song.

"Hey, what is that you're singing?" she finally asked.

"Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga," the Doctor said. "I'm bored so I'm entertaining myself."

"Lady Gaga?" Gwen said, looking at Ianto who shrugged. "Who's that?"

"A singer who'll be famous in a few years," the Doctor said. "Edge of Glory is one of my favorite songs."

"Sing a bit more of it," Rose said.

"The Doctor resumed his singing while they listened.

"Not bad, it's catchy," Ianto said. "When does that song come out?"

"2011," the Doctor said.

"Really?" Rose said. "Got any more songs from the future?"

"Don't stop, make it pop, DJ blow my speakers up, tonight I'ma fight till we see the sunlight, tick tock on the clock but the party don't stop, no. Whoa-a-a-oh, whoa-a-a-oh."

"And who's that?" Gwen said.

"Tik Tok by Keisha, 2010," the Doctor said.

"Okay…" Rose said. "Sing a song from the year…4346."

The Doctor thought for a moment before he let out a shriek like a banshee that startled everyone. Then he quickly sung…

"Bamba bamba bamba-oh. Nonga natra dotra do. Bamba bamba bamba oh, wonk, wonk, wonk, wonk, wonk!"

"What are you doing?" Ianto said.

"I'm singing a song from 4346 as requested. That's Bamba-oh from the Venusian band Datra Datura. It reached the top of the charts that year."

"Ugh, sounds like the human race's musical tastes take a severe nosedive then," Rose said, making a face. "Sorry I asked."

"So, fancy hearing a song from another year? How about the year 10,125? There was Snarkity Snark by the Zebos from Astrodad Seventeen" the Doctor said.

"No, that's okay," Rose said. "You go back to entertaining yourself and sing whatever you want.

"Suit yourself. Judas, Juda-a-as, Judas, Gaga!"

He sang to himself while Rose, Gwen and Ianto listened and continued keeping an eye on the forest.

Meanwhile, Jack had managed to slip inside the cave and was crouching down beside the entrance while he zipped open the rucksack. He winced at the pain from his mutating body and cursed softly as the pain intensified for a few minutes before it subsided back to a dull throbbing.

"I'll be so glad when I get out and get back to that antidote," Jack muttered while he pulled out one of the canisters. "So…I guess I'll throw this near the entrance and take down anyone patrolling there and work my way inside to the Queen."

Welcome.

Jack froze when he heard a soft voice echoing in his mind. For a moment, he thought he was imagining it and he slowly made his way towards the center of the cave.

What are you doing?

Jack froze again when he heard the voice. This time it was more distinct and he couldn't write it off as just one of his thoughts. It was also female. He thought for a moment and then tried to telepathically contact the person.

Who is this? He thought back.

I am the queen of the wasps and you will soon be my slave.

Jack snorted.

"Guess again, bitch," he muttered to himself as he resumed his slow walk towards the Queen's throne room.

Meanwhile, the occupants in the car were still keeping watch. The Doctor had stopped singing and was slumped down in his seat, his eyes closed while he meditated.

"Think Jack made it inside?" Ianto said to Gwen.

"Hope so," Gwen said. "Blast, I wish there was a way we could contact him and make sure he's safe."

"Well," the Doctor said, opening his eyes a crack, "you could always try bee-mail."

Rose chuckled when Gwen and Ianto shifted in their seats and gave him a long, hard stare.

"That was a terrible joke, mate," Gwen finally said.

"Well, you wanted to know how to contact them and wasps are similar to bees so maybe they use bee-mail," the Doctor said, staring at them though half closed eyes. "Just using logic."

"Yeah, maybe you should go back to singing," Gwen said while Rose giggled.

The Doctor looked at Rose.

"Just saying, bees might use bee-mail instead of e-mail," he said.

"Yeah, Doctor, I get the joke," Rose said. "You don't need to explain it."

"Just saying, they probably use bee-mail, is all," the Doctor said, turning his head back and closing his eyes. "Or…they could use bee-pers."

Rose laughed when Gwen and Ianto groaned at that.

"You're right, the singing was far more tolerable," Ianto said to Gwen while the Doctor sniggered.

Owen breathed a sigh of relief as he left the cells. They had given the antidote to the wasps they had captured and all of them were returning to normal. He reached the main room and saw Tosh sitting on the sofa while she chatted with Julian. She looked at Owen when he walked up to them.

"How are they?" she asked.

"They're returning to normal and from what I've seen of the antidote's effects, there will be no side effects."

"Good," Tosh said. "I'm glad we got this mess sorted out. Wouldn't fancy living on a planet of wasps."

"Or becoming one," Julian added.

Suddenly the klaxon went off and Owen threw his hands up in the hair.

"I'm about to tear that bleedin' thing out of the wall," he said. "Now what?"

"Dunno," Tosh said. "But I'm betting our friends are back from the hive for another go at the door."

"I swear to God, if they bust that door down, I'm gonna take the money for repairs out of their black and yellow hides," Owen said as he and Tosh ran to get more of the gas canisters.