Redgrove
Episode Two: Grave Matters
Featuring the Redgrove Doctor, Tara Watson, Mr Thomas and Janet Redwood
Earth, 1971.
Paul Johnson stood by his mother's grave solemnly. It had been three years since she had died and he had missed her since then. He loved her when he had been younger and when she'd died, it felt as if his whole world had fallen away.
"I AM AWAKE." came a deep electronic voice from under the ground. A hand rose up from the soil and dug a hole. The hand retreated back into the ground and a cyborg appeared: it was a human in metal armour with an emotionless helmet which had handles on it and no sign of humanity showing.
"Mum, what's happened?" he asked in shock, edging away.
"YOU WILL BE UPGRADED." the Cyberman said, unleashing a swarm of Cyber-spores at Paul. Paul began to transform into a Cyberman, his body being covered by metal armour that was exactly like the armour covering his mother.
The two Cybermen then walked off, towards civilisation.
The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS carrying a small grey box which had the words "DO NOT OPEN" written on it in large black letters.
"What even is that?" Janet wondered, entering the large laboratory, "Some sort of alien weapon?"
"No, Janet. It's a device that I stole from my own people." the Doctor explained, "It's called a temporal magnifying glass."
"And what's one of those then?" Mr Thomas wondered, having shocked the Doctor and Janet.
"A temporal magnifying glass detects temporal signals that don't belong in this timezone. Naturally there'll always be one reading as I'm here, but I had a feeling that there's something going on."
"What sort of feeling? Like an itch?" Tara asked, having just been to the morgue.
"Something like that. An inkling. Ever since I was exiled I get that feeling more and more."
The phone rang. Mr Thomas answered it, occasionally saying 'Yes, I understand' and 'Okay then' before hanging up.
"Who was it?" Tara wondered.
"There's been reports of metal men at St Bernard's Graveyard."
The Doctor looked spooked.
Five minutes later, the team were inside the green Redgrove jeep and racing towards St Bernard's Graveyard. The Doctor had explained to them about the Cybermen and what he believed they were fighting against as they had driven away from Redgrove HQ, but one of the passengers still didn't understand.
"Tell me again." Janet said.
"The Cybermen originally came from the planet Mondas and are humans, albeit in metal armour and with no emotions at all. Bullets don't work on them, by the way." the Doctor replied, directing his last comment at Mr Thomas, who was already loading a machine gun.
"And you've faced them before?"
"Oh yes, many times. The last time I faced them, they were on the moon of Iskot looking for the Orb of Rassilon. I uncovered it first and kept it, deep within the bowels of my TARDIS."
"You mean the blue box in the lab?"
"Yes."
In St Bernard's Graveyard, the two Cybermen were stood directly in front of the entrance, looking back at the graves. They obstructed the Redgrove jeep, meaning that the Doctor reversed back a metre and then charged forwards, knocking the two metal soldiers over onto the bonnet. They clung on, desperate to convert the Doctor and his team but failed miserably, rolling onto the gravel below.
"I think I've got this." Mr Thomas announced, pulling out a very futuristic looking laser shotgun and stepping out of the jeep.
"He hasn't got this." Tara said, also stepping out the jeep.
The Doctor and Janet then stepped out of the jeep onto the gravel before running round the car to join the others, watching the two Cybermen on the floor.
"YOU ARE A TIME LORD. YOU HAVE KNOWLEDGE." one of them said, standing up to reveal how badly damaged it was: the gravel had scraped off parts of its armour, leaving it with a very grazed look.
"I am a Time Lord, yes. But you aren't getting my brain."
"YOU SHALL NOT STOP US. THE CYBER-SPORES SHALL SPREAD. WE SHALL COLONISE THIS WORLD IN DAYS. WE SHALL SURVIVE."
This was when Mr Thomas decided to fire his laser shotgun: a sharp bolt of blue energy hit the Cyberman in the head, blowing up the helmet and revealing the scarred human inside. He fired again, at the other Cyberman, also having the same effect. The two Cybermen raised their arms and the Cyber-spores were unleashed.
"Get into the jeep!" the Doctor ordered, getting into the driver's seat and locking the door. The others entered the jeep and locked their doors shortly afterwards. The scarred Cybermen marched up to the car and began to punch the windows hard.
"Doctor, what do we do?" Tara wondered, feeling very scared.
The Doctor thought for a moment and then pressed a large red button. Mr Thomas's seat rose up and a large laser turret pulled up in front of him. He grinned eagerly and began to fire at the Cybermen. The Doctor then reversed away and drove in circles around the Cybermen, until they had been destroyed.
The jeep returned to the lab half an hour later and the Doctor entered the lab, to find an tall bald man dressed in a smart black suit and a bowler hat.
"Who are you? And what are you doing in my lab?" the Doctor demanded.
"My name is Tyrex Marsham. And I have a job for you, Doctor."
TO BE CONTINUED...