"You look really pretty Ali", Sarah said when the young woman came downstairs wearing a deep blue knee length dress.
"Thanks"
"So where are you heading again?"
"Lazarus Laboratories", Alyssa replied pulling on her small heeled shoes. The bell rang and Sarah answered the door.
"Steve you're looking very smart"
"Thank you Mrs Palmer"
"He's my plus one", Alyssa explained "I'll be back later".
"Have fun you two"
"Your carriage awaits my lady", Steve said walking down the path and opened the passenger door of his car.
"Why thank you kind sir", Alyssa said getting in.
~Lazarus Laboratories~
"Oh nibbles! I love nibbles!" the Doctor said happily eating one of them the ones he took from a tray of a passing waiter.
"Hello", Tish said smiling as she approached Martha and her friend.
"Tish", Martha greeted hugging her little sister.
"You look great. So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?"
"Very"
"And two nights out in a row for you. That's dangerously close to a social life"
"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns", Martha joked.
"You might, actually. You should keep an eye out for photographers. And Mum, she's coming too. Even dragging Leo along with her"
"Leo in black tie?" Martha said incredulously "That I must see" When Tish glanced at the Doctor, Martha introduced him "This is, uh, the Doctor"
"Hello", the Doctor said shaking her hand.
"Is he with you?" Tish asked.
"Yeah"
"But he's not on the list. How did he get in?"
"He's my plus one"
"Miss Palmer?" Tish asked noticing a red haired woman coming up with a brown haired man.
"Yes but you can call me Ali. I've got an invitation", Alysa said showing her the invite.
"I know and this is…"
"Steve my plus one"
"Pleased to meet you both. I'm Tish"
"She's my sister", Martha explained.
"If you don't mind me asking Tish how come I got an invite?"
"Mr Saxon requested that you be invited", Tish replied.
"Mr Saxon? The guy who's running for Prime Minster? Why would he want you to be invited here?" Steve asked confused.
"I have no idea Steve"
"So, this Lazarus, he's your boss?" the Doctor asked.
"Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff"
"She's in the PR department", Martha added.
"I'm head of the PR department, actually", Tish corrected.
"You're joking"
"I put this whole thing together", Tish said proudly.
"So do you know what the professor's going to be doing tonight?" the Doctor asked looking at the large white container surrounded by four pillars "That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator"
"He's a science geek. I should have known. Got to get back to work now. I'll catch up with you later"
"Science geek? What does that mean?" the Doctor asked slightly confused by the term.
"That you're obsessively enthusiastic about it", Alyssa replied.
"Oh, nice", the Doctor said sounding happy about that.
"Shall we grab a drink?" Steven suggested.
"Yeah why not", Alyssa said. They headed over to the table holding the drinks, the Doctor watching them go. "You wanna get out of here?"
"Why? This could be interesting Ali. The Doctor sounded interested"
Alyssa glanced over at the Time Lord "he did. Ok here's the deal. If this doesn't get interesting in the next hour, I'm leaving"
"Deal", Steve agreed and they shook on it. Professor Lazarus taps on his glass for attention.
"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"
Lazarus goes inside the chamber. A pair of lady scientists start up the machine and press a big red button. The four columns start to oscillate and rotate around the chamber as they pour energy into it. Everyone watched in anticipation when suddenly an alarm started sounded. "Ali you need to stay put", Steve said stopping her from joining the Doctor. Martha pulled the door open and a young Lazarus stepped out.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am seventy six years old and I am reborn!" he declared. All the guests applauded.
"I'd say that this had just gotten interesting"
"Are you going to stay a bit longer then?"
"Yep", Alyssa said looking at the now much younger Lazarus getting a very bad feeling. Something was going to happen, something bad.
Alyssa watched the Doctor and Martha go over to where Lazarus was talking with an older woman. She relaxed and reached out to see if she could sense anything different about the man. She gasped when she felt like she'd been hit by a train. "Ali are you ok?" Steve asked noticing that she'd gone pale.
"I'm fine", she said shakily. What she'd sensed from Lazarus wasn't human. Far from it.
"No you're not. You've gone a white as a sheet"
"I'm fine", Alyssa insisted after taking several breaths to calm herself down. "Lazarus on the other hand isn't"
"What do you mean? He looks fine"
"He's not. Trust me"
She waited for Lazarus to walk off before going over to the Doctor and Martha. Steve followed her still worried for his friend. "Oh, he's out of his depth. No idea of the damage he might have done", they heard the Doctor say.
"I do", Alyssa said making the Time Lord and trainee doctor turn around "I sensed it"
What do you mean you sensed it?" Steve asked confused.
"I'll tell you later"
"I think we should do our own tests. Find out what he's done to himself", the Doctor suggested.
"Well it's a good thing I've just collected a DNA sample, isn't it?" Martha said holding up the hand Lazarus had kissed.
"Oh, Martha Jones, you're a star"
~Laboratory~
"Amazing", the Doctor said looking at the strand of DNA on the screen.
"What?" Martha asked.
"Lazarus's DNA"
"I can't see anything different", Martha said
"Me neither", Alyssa said although she knew he wasn't just human anymore. Then the image shifted on the screen.
"Oh, my God. Did that just change? But it can't have", Martha said gaping at the screen.
"Yet it did"
"It's impossible. Ali that's complelety impossible", Steve said.
"And that's two impossible things we've seen so far tonight. Don't you love it when that happens?"
"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns"
"Hypersonic sound waves to destabilise 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 explained.
"But they're still mutating now", Alyssa said getting worried. His DNA had confirmed what she'd already knew.
"Because he missed something. Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilise. Something that's trying to change him"
"Change him into what?" Steve asked.
"A monster", Alyssa said quietly thinking about what she'd sensed. The Doctor, Steve and Martha looked at her "he's going to change into a monster"
"We better find him before that happens", the Doctor said "can you sense him?" he asked Alyssa. She closed her eyes and focused. The red head flinched when she sensed him. She hated what she sensed.
"He's on the roof", Alyssa said opening her eyes.
"Ok. Steve take Ali back to reception", the Doctor instructed. Steve nodded and led Alyssa away. Neither males wanted her to be anywhere near Lazarus after what Alyssa said he was going to become.
"I think we should leave right now", Steve said when they reached reception.
"I can't"
"Why not? You said it yourself, Lazarus is going to become a monster. I don't think the Doctor would want you around when that happens"
"I'm still not going", Alyssa said firmly "if you want to go then fine but I'm staying. Besides if the Doctor needs help I'm here to give it"
"No offense Ali but what could you possibly do to help against what Lazarus might become?"
"It's complicated"
"Can you uncomplicate it for me?"
Alyssa opened her mouth to reply when the lights started to flicker. "That's not good", she said.