"The line feeds are ready." A Dalek informed them, and the Doctor said anxiously as he raced about the lab: "Then it's all systems go."
Sec was standing, watching the time as he declared: "The solar flare is imminent. The radiation will reach Earth in a matter of minutes." "We'll be ready for it." The Doctor answered as he filled a syringe with the blue chemical he'd been working on and injected it into a brass still.
He continued as he worked: "That compound will allow the gene bonds to reconfigure in a brand new pattern." He finished and raced to the center next to Sec. "Power up!" The Doctor yelled and two pig-men pulled on the levers, and Lily noticed that one of them was the one the Doctor had spoken to.
"Start the line feeds." Sec ordered and the Daleks obeyed. The blue liquid began to go up the many plastic tubes leading into the bodies that hung in the ceiling. "There goes the gene solution." The Doctor commented as he looked at the liquid while drawing Lily in closer to his side.
"The life blood." Sec murmured. The rest all watched in silence as the liquids went up through the many pillars of tubes, feeding into the smaller tubes into the bodies. Suddenly, alarms blared.
"What's that?" The Doctor asked in alarm, and Sec demanded: "What's happening? Is there a malfunction? Answer me!" But none of the Daleks replied.
"No, no, no." The Doctor mumbled before he cried as he ran to the controls: "The gene feed! They're overriding the gene feed!" Lily watched in horror as the Daleks began to turn to the Doctor.
"Impossible. They cannot disobey orders." Sec argued.
"Doctor!" Lily cried, frightened, and he turned, stepping away immediately from the Daleks as they aimed their guns at him. The Dalek decalred as it rolled after the Doctor: "The Doctor will step away from the controls."
Sec ordered: "Stop! You will not fire."
But another Dalek rolled forward as it said: "He is an enemy of the Daleks." It pointed its gun at the Doctor while he drew Lily close behind him. The first Dalek added: "And so are you." It turned… and pointed its gun at Sec.
"I am your commander. I am Dalek Sec!" Sec said angrily, and the Doctor lifted a hand to stop the enraged Sec, knowing it was now futile. Lily clung to the Doctor tightly as the Dalek replied: "You have lost your authority."
"You are no longer a Dalek." Another Dalek added. The Doctor interjected sharply: "What have you done with the gene feed?" The Dalek replied: "The new bodies will be one hundred percent Dalek."
Lily stared at the solution rising above them to see it had turned a darker blue. "No. You can't do this!" Sec ordered. The Dalek simply turned its eyestalkd and ordered: "Pig slaves, restrain Dalek Sec and the Doctor and his companion."
The pig-men ran forward, grabbing them. Laszlo was the one to grab the Doctor, while the Doctor fought to keep Lily at his side, trying to keep her beside him while shielding her away from the Daleks, but it wasn't working very well.
"Release me. I created you. I am your master." Sec ordered but no-one responded to him. Another alarm blared and the Dalek announced: "Solar flare approaching." The other Dalek replied: "Prepare to intercept." They began to turn away, just as the elevator dinged.
"There's the lift." Laszlo informed the Doctor, and the Doctor murmured: "After you, but grab Lily for me." Laszlo nodded and Lily looked over to see the Doctor's grim face. She braced herself for his signal.
The Daleks had completely gone behind the controls, and it was their chance. The Doctor and Laszlo spun, and Lily kicked down her captor's foot, hard. It squealed as it let her go, and Laszlo grabbed her as the Doctor reached inside his jacket. They pushed through the other pig-men, running for the elevator.
"The Doctor is escaping." The Daleks cried as the Doctor soniced the door open. "Stop him! Stop him!" The pig-men charged but the Doctor was already sonicing the doors shut and the elevator doors slammed shut in the pig-men's faces.
The Doctor quickly hugged Lily, saying urgently as he latched her to his side once more: "We've only got minutes before the gamma radiation reaches the Earth." Lily looked over to see the pig-man panting heavily. "We need to get to the top of the building."
Lily nudged the Doctor and he looked over. He frowned and asked worriedly, walking over: "Laszlo, what's wrong?" Lily's eyes widened.
"You're Laszlo?" She asked as he replied: "Out of breath. It's nothing." He glanced at Lily and nodded.
"Nice to meet you." He said between pants. The Doctor was looking at him with concern and Laszlo just shrugged it off as he said bravely: "We've escaped them, Doctor. That's all that matters."
The Doctor placed a hand on the brave man's shoulder, unable to think of anything to say. Lily remembered what had been said about the pig-men, and she bowed her head sadly as she realized what was wrong. The elevator dinged as they arrived at the top floor, level 100.
"Doctor! Lily!" Martha cried in delight and Lily beamed. She wasn't sure why Martha was here, with Tallulah and Frank no less, but she was happy to see them. "First floor, perfumery." The Doctor grinned as Laszlo smiled at Tallulah.
"I never thought I'd see you again." Tallulah cried delightedly as she came over and he rushed to meet her. "No stopping me." He said and the two hugged tightly, while the Doctor and Lily rushed over to Martha.
"We've worked it out." Martha told them, and both of them peered at the building plans Martha was showing them. "We know what they've done. There's Dalekanium on the mast. And it's good to see you too, by thy way." She grinned at the two.
"Oh, come here." The Doctor grinned as he swept Martha up in a hug. Lily's smile slid off her face as she spotted something over his shoulder.
"Doctor!" She cried as the elevator doors dinged and began to close. "No, no, no." The Doctor cried, running to it but it was too late. The doors slide shut and he muttered to the girls as they ran up and he tried to sonic the elevator controls: "See, never waste time with a hug."
He turned away from the elevator as he mumbled: "Deadlock seal. I can't stop it." "Where's it going?" Martha asked and Lily sighed: "To the Daleks."
The Doctor nodded as he said: "Right down to the Daleks. And they're not going to leave us alone up here. What's the time?" He asked suddenly and Frank answered: "Er, eleven fifteen."
"Six minutes to go." He murmured before he turned to Lily and muttered anxiously: "I've got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits."
Tallulah stared at him, asking: "Gammon radiation? What the heck is that?" "Come on." Martha grabbed the Doctor and Lily, running into an open area where they could look out. Tallulah ran after them, dragging Laszlo behind her.
"Oh, that's high." The Doctor murmured as they stared out. "That's very. Blimey, that's high."
Martha groaned as she said: "And we've got to go even higher. That's the mast up there, look." She pointed up a wooden ladder that lead up to a higher bit of building and the mast above it. "There's three pieces of Dalekanium on the base. We've got to get them off."
The Doctor moved to the bottom of the ladder as he said firmly: "That's not 'we', that's just me." Lily's face set grimly while Martha protested: "I won't just stand here and watch you."
"We won't be." Lily said and Martha glanced at her but the Doctor nodded. "No, you're going to have your hands full. I'm sorry, Lily, Martha," he looked at each girl very seriously, "but you've got to fight."
Martha's face set grimly and she nodded. They all headed back inside except Lily who looked straight at the Doctor. "You come back safe, you hear me?" She threatened and he smiled grimly at her.
"Aye, aye, ma'am." He replied and Lily bit her lip. She leaned in and kissed his cheek impulsively. The Doctor stood, blinking in shock but Lily stared him straight in the eye as she said: "Good luck."
Then she turned, and ran back in. The Doctor blinked slowly, touching his cheek before he shook himself out of his trance. He quickly climbed the ladder and then the building to the mast, determined to get the job done. The Doctor reached into his jacket, fighting the freezing wind as he pulled out his sonic and began to work the panels off the base of the mast.
Lily P.O.V.
In the workroom, each of them ran around, searching desperately for some form weapon. Martha gasped: "The lift's coming up." She was holding a lead pipe and they all drew in, forming a line by the lift entrance.
"I should have brought that gun." Frank moaned as he held a large wooden mallet with a long handle. Lily stood firmly in the middle, holding a baseball bat she'd scrounged up, while Laszlo stood on her other side, carrying a heavy hammer. Tallulah stood beside Laszlo, clutching a spanner tightly.
"Tallulah, stay back." Laszlo warned. "You too, Lily, Martha. If they send pig slaves, they're trained to kill." He stepped in front of Lily and reached out an arm to pull Martha back. Martha protested: "The Doctor needs me to fight. I'm not going anywhere!"
Laszlo shoved her back again saying: "They're savages. I should know. They're trained to slit your throat with their bare teeth. And what would the Doctor say if you got hurt?" He asked, turning to Lily.
Lily frowned and as he faced the elevator again, she opened her mouth to argue when Laszlo suddenly collapsed. "Laszlo? What is it? Tallulah shrieked, immediately bending to help him as he used the hammer to stay upright on his knees.
"No, it's nothing. I'm fine. Just leave me." Laszlo panted but his legs gave out and he leaned against a pillar. Martha and Frank shared looks of alarm, but Lily's stomach dropped. Oh, no.
Tallulah fretted over her love as she placed a hand on his forehead: "Oh, honey, you're burning up." Lily bowed her head as Tallulah pleaded: "What's wrong with you? Tell me."
"Great. One man down, we ain't even started yet." Frank muttered through his gritted teeth and they turned to watch the elevator was already climbing past level 40. Lily glanced back at Laszlo- they couldn't fight and protect him. They needed another plan.
Martha was saying: "It's not looking good, Frank." Frank agreed: "Nope." And Martha cried: "We're going to get slaughtered." Suddenly there a bolt of lighting behind them, and Lily's eyes widened.
"Lightning!" She cried, and the others turned to her. "I have a plan." She said urgently as she dashed out towards the open space.
The Doctor was working off the panels on the mast while below, Lily, Martha, and Frank hauled sections of anything metal they could find, mostly pipes and scaffolding bringing it into the room.
They quickly began laying a trail, starting at the railing and using chairs to keep the metal beams off the floor and connected to the railing on the balcony outside. Tallulah was cooing to her Laszlo: "Aw, you'll be all right, sweetheart. Don't you worry." when they crashed into the room, about halfway done with their line.
"What the hell are you three clowns doing?" Tallulah snapped and Martha urgently explained Lily's idea: "Even if the Doctor stops the Dalekanium, this place is still going to get hit. Great big bolt of lightening, electricity all down this building."
Tallulah still looked confused so Lily yelled: "Connect this to the lift and those things in the elevator get zapped." Tallulah understood now, and she said excitedly: "Oh my God, that could work."
"Then give us a hand!" Frank snapped as the three ran back outside for more pipes, Tallulah joined them after giving a kiss to Laszlo's head.
Doctor P.O.V.
The Doctor was working to pull the last panel off, when he dropped his screwdriver.
"No!" He cried, and he looked back at the panel in despair.
Lily P.O.V.
Martha lined up the last of the metal while Frank and Lily connected the line to the rails. "Is that going to work?" Tallulah asked as Martha grabbed her and Laszlo, dragging them to the concrete pillar and as far from the metal as possible.
"It's got to." Martha replied as Lily arrived. Frank came right behind her and announced while Lily crouched behind Martha: "We've got it all piped up to the scaffolding outside."
Martha urged him: "Come here, Frank. Just sit in the middle and don't touch anything metal." "Okay." Frank replied, reaching in to hug around the group. Lily was pressed against the young man and Martha, and she closed her eyes, hoping the Doctor would make it to safety in time as well.
3rd Person P.O.V.
The Doctor was fighting with the last panel, when he realized he wasn't going to get it off in time. He looked up at the mast and began to climb it. The Doctor climbed up the mast and covered the whole top with his body firmly.
The elevator doors dinged open, and Martha gasped while Lily's grip tightened on Frank and Martha.
Suddenly, there was bolt of lightning. It hit the mast, but it flowed into the Doctor before it could reach the panels. He screamed in pain as the lightning lit up his body with electric currents, his body jerking violently.
The rest of the energy went down the conductor, hitting the scaffolding and running down the pipes and into the elevator. The group in the workroom watched as the pigs squealed, jerking as the currents ran through them in legal bouts.
Things went silent, and the group in the work office looked up slowly, breathing heavily. Martha ran to check, Frank and Tallulah running after her. The pig-men all lay dead in the elevator and on the ground at the doors. Lily meanwhile turned to the ladder leading to the mast worriedly.
"You did it, Lily!" Tallulah said happily as she, Frank and Martha looked down at the pig-men. Martha replied quietly: "They used to be like Laszlo. They were people, and we killed them."
Laszlo had watched Lily run outside, but he turned at Martha's words. "No," he said firmly, "the Daleks killed them. Long ago. " "What about the Doctor?" Martha realized, and turned to run to the mast, Frank right behind her while Tallulah and Laszlo hugged inside.
The Doctor was lying very still at the base of the mast while Lily was already halfway up. She spotted the sonic midway up and her heart almost stopped. She pulled herself up the last bit, and her face drained of what little color it had left when she saw the Doctor.
"Doctor? Doctor?" She crawled over to him, bending over to listen to his chest. She breathed when she heard his twin hearts. She stayed there for a moment, listening to the twin beats before she lifted her head again.
"Doctor?" She whispered, brushing a hand through his hair gently. Martha and Frank joined her just as the Doctor groaned. Lily sighed, sagging with relief, as the Doctor murmured: "Oh my head."
Martha laughed slightly as she moved over to the Doctor as well. "Look what we found halfway down." She said as she held up the sonic. The Doctor squinted at it. "You're getting careless." Martha said with a watery laugh and the Doctor glanced at her and Lily.
"You survived, then" He said groggily, and Lily laughed, her voice cracking a bit from her strained nerves. "So did you, just about." Martha said between gasps as she sobbed dryly.
"Mmm, I promised Lily." The Doctor murmured still dazed, and Lily leant in. "And you almost didn't keep it. Again." She smiled and he grinned tiredly but Lily added: "And I can't help noticing…" her voice became urgent as she said: "there's Dalekanium still attached to the mast."
The Doctor shot up with a groan. He stared at the last panel as Frank gripped the mast, remembering. "Brilliant." The Doctor said, and then the motioned for them to all go down.
Lily helped the Doctor down while Frank went to call the lovebirds inside, and they all stepped onto the balcony where the Doctor said urgently, but still leaning on Lily for support: "The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing. They'll be using the sewers, spreading the soldiers out underneath Manhattan."
Laszlo turned to ask: "How do we stop them?" The Doctor turned to him as he said: "There's only one chance. I got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping though me first."
He moved off towards the lift, still using Lily as a human crutch and Martha called as she followed them: "Yeah, but what does that mean?" The Doctor ignored her as he muttered: "We need to draw fire. Before they can attack New York, I need to face them. Where can I draw them out?"
He stopped walking and pushed off Lily, muttering: "Think, think, think, think, think. We need some sort of space." He began to run his hand through his hair, making it stand on end. "Somewhere safe. Somewhere out of the way." He spun around and cried: "Tallulah!"
Tallulah replied: "That's me. Three Ls and an H." Lily sighed while the Doctor said excitedly: "The theatre! It's right above them, and, what, it's gone midnight? Can you get us inside?"
"Don't see why not." Tallulah said sassily while Lily reached up and patted the Doctor's hair down. The Doctor turned to Martha. "Is there another lift?" He demanded, but letting Lily fix his hair.
"We came up in the service elevator." Martha replied, promptly running off to lead the way. "That'll do." The Doctor said with satisfaction. He grabbed Lily's hand as he called: "Allons-y!"
The Doctor raced into the audience seats, saying happily: "This should do it. Here we go." He jumped onto some seats and began to point his sonic.
The others filed in after him, Tallulah coming in last with Laszlo as she complained: "There ain't nothing more creepy than a theatre in the dark. Listen, Doctor, I know you got a thing for show tunes, but there's a time and place, huh?"
Laszlo sat down tiredly, and Tallulah frowned as she looked at him. "Laszlo, what's wrong?" She asked as she went up to him, caressing him. "Nothing. It's just so hot." Laszlo panted and Tallulah frowned deeper.
"But it's freezing in here. Doctor, what's happening to him?" She asked, and the Doctor replied shortly as he pressed the sonic against his ear: "Not now, Tallulah. Sorry."
"What are you doing?" Martha asked, while Lily frowned up at the Doctor.
"If the Daleks are going to war, they'll want to find their number one enemy." The Doctor explained. "I'm just telling them where I am." He pointed the sonic in the air, beeping it, while Lily asked: "Will it work? They might still not be able to hear the sonic."
He nodded firmly. "They'll find it. After all, I am their prime target."
The Doctor climbed down from his seat, still pointing his sonic in the air, as they entered the age-old argument. "I'm telling you to go. Frank can take you back to Hooverville."
Martha snapped: "And I'm telling you I'm not going." "Martha, that's an order." The Doctor said angrily, and Martha retorted: "Who are you, then? Some sort of Dalek?"
"Lily, help me out!" The Doctor said, turning to Lily but the brunette girl also had her arms folded across her chest determinedly. The Doctor groaned.
"Why do none of you ever listen?" He asked in exasperation, and Lily answered: "We'd be boring if we did." The doors to the theatre suddenly crashed and people armed with guns marched in from both sides.
"Doctor!" Tallulah gasped. "Oh, my God!" She grabbed Laszlo, helping him up and letting him lean on her for support. "Well, I guess that's them then, huh?"
"Humans, with Dalek DNA?" Martha asked in terror, and Frank jumped alarmed as the people came closer but the Doctor pulled the young man down, saying: "It's alright, it's alright. Just stay calm. Don't antagonize them."
"But what of the Dalek masters? Where are they?" Laszlo asked, and at that moment there was an explosion on the stage. They all screamed, ducking into the seats to avoid the flying debris.
"You had to ask!" Lily cried. When things quieted down, they all peeked over the seats to see two Daleks rolling forward on the still smoking stage, Sec chained and crawling between them, as though he were a dog.
The group all stood, slowly, staring up at the stage as one of the Daleks ordered: "The Doctor will stand before the Daleks."
Lily clutched the Doctor's hand, and he squeezed it reassuringly before he let go and climbed over the seats. When he reached the front row, he stepped onto the seats, standing tall and proud while the Dalek said: "You will die, Doctor. It is the beginning of a new age."
The second Dalek added: "Planet Earth will become New Skaro." "Oh, and what a world." The Doctor scorned. "With anything just the slightest bit different ground into the dirt. That's Dalek Sec."
He pointed at Sec in the center as he mocked: "Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever and look what you've done to him. Is that your new Empire, hmm?" He asked, before his voice darkened as he asked: "Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?"
Sec spoke up: "My Daleks, just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you." "Incorrect." The Dalek replied. "We will always survive."
The second Dalek chimed in: "Now we will destroy our greatest enemy, the Doctor." The Doctor swallowed while Sec protested: "But he can help you." The Dalek replied: "The Doctor must die."
"No, I beg you, don't." Sec cried as he crawled over to the Dalek's side. "Exterminate!" The Dalek shouted, and Lily screamed: "Doctor!"
She moved forward automatically, knowing it was too late but her body would try. But she froze as Sec stood at that moment, taking the blast as the Dalek fired. He screamed in agony and Martha and Tallulah gasped in horror while Lily's eyes filled with tears.
Sec may have been a Dalek, but he had been the only hope that there was some good in the vial creatures. The Doctor also watched in anger as Sec fell dead onto the stage.
"Your own leader." He said, his voice dark with fury. "The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness and you destroyed him." The Doctor turned to the human Daleks. "Do you see what they did? Huh?" He asked them. "You see what a Dalek really is?"
Lily watched anxiously, but her attention was diverted to the Doctor as he addressed the Daleks.
"If I'm going to die, let's give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh?" He asked them, gesturing at the Dalek humans. "The Dalek humans. Their first blood." He spat. "Go on, baptise them." He spread his arms wide as he taunted the Daleks.
"Doctor." Lily whimpered.
"Dalek humans, take aim." The Dalek ordered, and they did, pointing it at the Doctor. Laszlo shielded Tallulah and Frank shielded Martha but Lily pulled away, determined to watch.
The Doctor taunted the Daleks angrily. "What are you waiting for? Give the command!" "Exterminate!" The Dalek ordered and the Doctor tensed. Everyone else ducked their heads, unable to watch but Lily stared ahead, her eyes narrowed.
Nothing happened. The other Dalek also cried: "Exterminate!" Nothing. "Obey. Dalek humans will obey." The Dalek ordered, while everyone slowly raised their heads. Lily stared at the Doctor, hope beginning to warm her heart.
"They're not firing. What have you done?" Martha asked the Doctor, and the Dalek shouted: "You will obey. Exterminate."
"Why?" A man asked and the Doctor and Lily turned to him with hope, while the Dalek shouted: "Daleks do not question orders." "But why?" The man asked, and the Dalek ordered: "You will stop this."
"But why?" The man asked and Lily could swear the Dalek shrieked as it said: "You must not question." The man had looked at the Doctor who nodded once and the man answered to the Dalek: "But you are not our master. And we, we are not Daleks."
"No, you're not." The Doctor murmured, and Lily smiled sadly while everyone else looked confused. "And you never will be." The Doctor turned back to the Daleks as he explained: "Sorry, I got in the way of the lightning strike. Time Lord DNA got all mixed up. Just that little bit of freedom."
"If they will not obey, then they must die." The Dalek shouted and it shot the man who screamed before he died.
"Get down!" The Doctor yelled and they all dropped immediately as the Daleks and the Dalek humans began to fire at each other. The air was filled with screams as some Dalek humans fell, the sounds of gunfire, and the Dalek shouts of "Exterminate! Exterminate!"
Soon, one of the Daleks blew up, and the other shrieked: "Extermin-" before it, too, was blasted. The group all stood up slowly looking around.
"It's alright, it's alright" The Doctor ran to the Dalek humans, soothing them as he said: "You did it. You're free." Suddenly there was a high-pitched sound and the Dalek humans all clutched their heads, screaming in pain.
Lily and the Doctor stepped forward in alarm, but they all began to drop down, one by one. Dead. Lily screamed in horror while the Doctor yelled: "No! They can't! They can't! They can't! They can't!"
Martha yelled: "What happened? What was that?" She ran to check on one of the bodies while Lily also bent over one in sorrow.
"They killed them, rather than let them live." The Doctor said numbly. "An entire species. Genocide!" He spat, and Lily crawled over to him. She buried her head in his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her protectively.
"Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed." Laszlo said quietly. "One of the Daleks must still be alive." The Doctor said darkly as he tightened his grip on Lily: "Oh, yes. In the whole universe, just one."
The Doctor entered the lab alone to see the last Dalek strapped into the machine that controlled the Dalek humans. "Now what?" The Doctor asked coldly as the two faced off.
"You will be exterminated." The Dalek replied and the Doctor said in exasperation: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just think about it, Dalek- what was your name?" He asked.
"Dalek Caan." The Dalek replied and the Doctor continued coldly as he approached the Dalek slowly: "Dalek Caan. Your entire species has been wiped out. And now the Cult of Skaro has been eradicated, leaving only you. Right now you're facing the only man in the universe who might show you some compassion."
The Doctor stopped and the Dalek looked at him. "Because I've just seen one genocide. I won't cause another. Caan…" he said in a low voice, "let me help you. What do you say?"
"Emergency temporal shift!" The Dalek cried, and it disappeared, the cables falling off.
"Agh!" The Doctor yelled in frustration and anger. Lily stepped inside, and walked to the Doctor slowly. She paused behind him, then gently raised a hand to his arm. He turned abruptly and pulled her into a tight hug, burying his head into her hair. Lily wrapped her arms around him comfortingly.
"Doctor! Doctor!" Martha's voice suddenly cried. Tallulah and Martha brought in a wheezing Laszlo.
"He's sick." Martha continued, and Lily's face fell when she and the Doctor pulled apart and Lily could see the dying man. Lily stepped forward as Tallulah and Martha half-dragged the man into the room, Martha saying soothingly: "It's okay. You're alright."
They lay him on the ground when his legs gave out, and Lily bent down beside him, the Doctor walking up slowly, his face grave. Martha felt his pulse and told the Doctor as he knelt beside them as well: "It's his heart. It's racing like mad. I've never seen anything like it."
Tallulah begged as she cradled her love: "What is it, Doctor? What's the matter with him? He says he can't breathe? What is it?" "It's time, sweetheart." Laszlo said between gasps and Lily bit her lip.
"What do you mean, time? What are you talking about?" Tallulah asked, her voice breaking a little as she tried not to face the truth. Laszlo explained: "None of the slaves survive for long. Most of them only live for a few weeks."
The Doctor bent his head in thought while Laszlo continued: "I was lucky. I held on because I had you. But now, I'm dying, Tallulah." "No, you're not. Not now, after all this. Doctor, can't you do something?" She begged with tears in her eyes and Lily gazed sorrowfully at him.
She was surprised when the Doctor said: "Oh, Tallulah with three Ls and an H… just you watch me."
He stood up abruptly as he said: "What do I need?" He tossed off his coat to the side as he pretended to think: "Oh, I don't know. How about a great big genetic laboratory?" He turned to them as he said lightly: "Oh look, I've got one."
He began to work, running about the lab as he yelled: "Laszlo, just you hold on. There's been too many deaths today. Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and wise old men and age old enemies. And I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now, I am not having one more death!"
Lily beamed with tears in her eyes as the Doctor yelled: "You got that? Not one. Tallulah," he called as he pulled out a stethoscope, "out of the way. The Doctor is in." And Lily laughed a little as the Doctor began to work.
They all stood as the new day dawned in Central Park, waiting. Tallulah and a covered Laszlo stood snuggling while the other three leaned on a bench as they watched Frank return.
"Well, I talked to them," he announced as he approached them, "and I told them what Solomon would've said, and I reckon I shamed one or two of them." "What did they say?" The Doctor asked, and Frank smiled at Laszlo. "They said yes."
Tallulah gasped in joy, and hugged her stunned lover as Frank continued: "They'll give you a home, Laszlo. I mean, er, don't imagine people ain't going to stare. I can't promise you'll be at peace but, in the end, that is what Hooverville is for. People who ain't got nowhere else."
"Thank you." Laszlo whispered. "I…I can't thank you enough." He said sincerely, and Tallulah hugged him delightedly while the others watched, Lily leaning her head contently on the Doctor's shoulder.
"Do you reckon it's going to work, those two?" Martha asked as they headed back to the Tardis. Lily smiled and nodded, while the Doctor replied: "I don't know."
They all turned back to look at the New York skyline. "Anywhere else in the universe, I might worry about them, but New York?" The Doctor chuckled and shook his head. "That's what this city's good at. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and maybe the odd pig slave Dalek mutant hybrid too."
Lily and Martha had to laugh at that. "The pig and the showgirl." Martha mused and Lily smiled, shaking her head. "The pig and his showgirl." She murmured, and Martha glanced at her while the Doctor agreed: "The pig and his showgirl."
Martha mused: "It just proves it, I suppose, that 'there's someone for everyone'." The Doctor glanced at Lily before turning back to look at New York as he muttered: "Maybe."
"Well, I'm starting to believe it." Lily declared as she gazed out at New York, remembering all Tallulah and Laszlo went through. "Mmm." Martha hummed. And they just stood for a moment, the three time travellers staring over the bay at New York and watching the sun shine down where a small miracle had happened that day.
