The doors to the TARDIS opened, and the Doctor peeked his head out, being greeted by a squadron of soldiers with their automatic rifles raised directly at his face.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. Winston did always have a funny sense of humor like that, he reflected, stepping out. He'd switched the red bow tie and braces out for a blue set, replacing the shirt with a plain white button-up. Important detail? Probably not.
The Doctor watched as an overweight man in a suit with a hat pushed through the soldiers, cigar clenched in his teeth, as he glared at the Doctor.
The Doctor chuckled, "El…" He gently pulled the girl out, holding up a hand in the man's direction. "Winston Churchill!"
Churchill looked at the Time Lord, and his jaw dropped. "Doctor? Is that you?"
The Doctor grinned. "Winston, my old friend!" He greeted, hand shooting out.
Churchill made like he was about to return the gesture, before his look grew stern, and he pointed, making a gesture for the Doctor to present something.
"Ha!" The Doctor laughed. "Every time!"
El glanced at the overweight man, and then back to the Doctor. "What does he want?"
The Doctor continued smiling. "The TARDIS key, of course."
"Think of what I could achieve with your remarkable machine, Doctor!" Churchill replied. "All the lives that could be saved!"
The Doctor tsked. "Doesn't work like that." He shut the door.
"Must I take it by force?" Churchill asked.
The Doctor shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. "I'd like to see you try…"
Churchill stood silently, staring at the Doctor, before rolling his eyes. "At ease…" He directed to the soldiers, sounding reluctant, the men lowering their weapons.
The Doctor turned his nose up. "You rang?"
"You've changed your face again." Churchill remarked, as he led the Doctor and El along down one of the hallways.
Churchill glanced at El. "And had a child."
The Doctor looked at El. "She's not technically mine. Well, she is… on a sort of finders keepers' basis, I suppose."
Churchill looked at the Doctor. "You didn't."
"I didn't kidnap her!" The Doctor insisted, voice raising by six octaves. "It's not kidnapping if the kid isn't asleep! Get it? Kid... napping? Tough crowd."
"What is this place?" El asked, looking around curiously.
"Cabinet war rooms." The Doctor answered. "Heart of the British government during the Second World War. Top-Secret heart of the war effort, hidden right under London."
Churchill focused on the end of the hall. "You're late, by the way."
"Requisitions, sir." A woman sped over to Churchill, offering him a clipboard and pen.
"Excellent." The prime minister responded, signing off on it.
The Doctor scowled, checking his watch. "Late?"
"I rang you a month ago." Churchill stated, still marching down the hallway.
El looked at the Doctor. "'We have time machine?'" She quoted.
The Doctor groaned. "Sorry, sorry." He apologized. "She's a Type 40 TARDIS, still running in the new engines."
Churchill stopped, as he looked over the woman's face as she took back the clipboard. "Something the matter, Breen?" He asked. "You look a little down in the dumps!"
"No, sir." Breen shook her head self-consciously. "Fine, sir."
"Action this day, Breen!" Winston pumped a fist. "Action this day!"
Breen smiled, nodding. "Yes, sir."
"Excuse me, sir," A man came running up out of breath, as Breen left. "We've got another formation coming in, Prime Minister. Stukas, by the look of them."
"We shall go up top then, Group Captain." Churchill ordered. "We shall give them what for!" He bellowed inspiringly, as he turned to the Doctor. "Coming, Doctor?"
"Why?" The Time Lord asked.
Churchill snatched his cane away. "I have something to show you." He said, motioning for the two to follow.
The British Prime Minister led El and the Doctor into a lift, hitting the switch to send them up. Churchill puffed on his cigar, the Doctor waving away smoke, and grimacing as the unpleasant scent hit her nose.
"We stand at a crossroads, Doctor," Churchill began, "Quite alone, with our backs against the wall. Invasion is expected daily. So I will grasp with both hands, anything that will give us an advantage, over the Nazi menace."
El frowned. "What is… nah-zee?"
"Nazi." The Doctor inhaled. "The most evil, most repugnant group of human beings I've ever laid eyes on." He looked to El. "Worse than the people who kept you locked up." He then turned to Churchill. "What sort of advantage?"
Churchill stopped the lift, the doors opening. "Follow me."
"Wow…" El looked down on the city of London, as Churchill led them onto the roof of the building.
"Doctor," Churchill strode up to a man in a lab coat, wearing a helmet, and holding a pair of binoculars. "This is Professor Edwin Bracewell, head of our Ironside Project."
The Doctor raised a hand, waving.
Bracewell returned it kindly. "How do you do?" Before he went back to looking through the binoculars, at the approaching formation of German bombers.
El looked out onto London, a bomb going off in the far distance. The girl jumped in fear, and looked to the Doctor. "What's happening?"
The Doctor looked down at her. "…history." He answered. "Your history, human history." He looked out onto the city as well, barrage balloons floating tethered to buildings. "The Second World War… One of the largest, most devastating conflicts in all human history. Millions dead, countless cities reduced to rubble for decades to come… out of this, a new world is born." He looked back at El. "The world you came from. America as a global superpower, decolonization, the USSR…"
"Can we help?" El asked.
The Doctor shook his head. "Not this time."
"Ready, Bracewell?" Churchill called up.
"Aye-aye, sir!" Bracewell gave the thumbs-up. "On my order… fire!" He ordered.
An aqua bolt of energy shot out from the other side, and the Doctor froze.
'No… Please, God, no.'
"What's that?" El asked, as more bolts took down the incoming bombers.
"That's not human." The Doctor breathed, looking up. "That was never human technology. That looked like…" He looked down, staring in the direction of where the shots had originated. "Can't be… Show me." He muttered. "Show me!" He ordered, running up the stairs to Bracewell. "Show me what that was!"
Bracewell stood proudly and turned. "Advance!"
Churchill smiled. "Our secret weapon, Doctor!"
The Doctor stood, looking on in horror, as metal robot came sliding in from the other side of the roof. It was shaped like a pepper-shaker, half-spheres running down its 'skirt.' Electrical emitters covered by blackout cloth were fixed to the dome, along with an eyestalk, with a plunger-like arm on one side, and a whisk-shaped weapon on the other side
"What do you think?" Churchill asked, as the Doctor peered closer, horrified. "Quite something, eh?"
"What are you doing here?" The Doctor demanded of the robot.
"I AM YOUR SOL-DIER." The automaton responded.
The Doctor frowned. "What?"
"I AM YOUR SOL-DIER." It repeated.
"Stop this." The Doctor hissed. "You stop now! …Oh, you know who I am. You always know."
"YOUR IDENTITY IS UN-KNOWN." The robot replied.
"Perhaps I can clarify here," Bracewell pushed in, gesturing to it, "This is one of my Ironsides."
The Doctor turned to the professor. "Your what?"
Bracewell turned to the Ironside. "You will help the Allied cause in any way you can?"
"YES."
"Until the Germans have been utterly smashed?" Bracewell prompted.
"YES."
"And what is your ultimate aim?" Bracewell inquired.
"TO WIN THE WAR!" The Ironside proclaimed, scratchy voice echoing into the distance.
"They're Daleks!" The Doctor insisted, furiously flipping through sheets of schematics provided by Bracewell. "They're called Daleks!"
"They are Bracewell's Ironsides, Doctor, look!" Churchill responded, gesturing at the table. "Blueprints, statistics, field tests, he invented them!"
"Invented them?" The Doctor incredulously repeated. "No, no, no, no!"
"Yes!" Churchill retorted. "He approached one of our brass hats a few months ago. Fellow's a genius."
The Doctor leaned forward seriously. "He didn't invent them… they're alien."
"Alien?" Churchill repeated.
"…spacemen." El repeated, looking out into the hall as an Ironside passed, looking in, before going on its way.
"And totally hostile." The Doctor finished.
"Precisely!" Churchill replied. "They will win me the war!"
He turned the page over, revealing a propaganda poster of the Ironside with the words "TO VICTORY!" above it.
"Why won't you listen to me?" The Doctor frustratedly demanded, walking behind Churchill. "Why did you call me in, if you won't listen!?"
Churchill sighed. "When I rang you a month ago, I must admit, I had my doubts. The Ironsides seemed too good to be true.
"Yes! Right!" The Doctor agreed. "So destroy them! Exterminate them!"
El tilted her head. "What is exterminate?"
"But imagine what I could do with a hundred!" Churchill continued. "A thousand!"
The Doctor glared at the passing Ironside. "I am imagining." He sighed. "El, tell him?"
El recoiled. "Tell… what?"
"About the Daleks." The Doctor prompted.
"I… don't know Daleks."
The Doctor stopped and groaned. "Oh, the Earth was stolen in 2008, that's twenty-five years after I picked you up." He followed Winston into the war room, watching as an 'Ironside' went about its business. "They're up to something… but what?"
"…ask it." El suggested, walking over to the machine.
The Doctor stiffened. "El. Eleven!"
El tapped the Dalek, the dome rotating around, the eyestalk looking down at her. "CAN I BE OF AS-SIS-TANCE?"
El stood there, frozen, as she felt the most intense, violent hatred radiating out from it. Then again, Churchill said they hated the… 'Nazis,' so that didn't seem too out of left field. "My…" She glanced over at the Doctor. "Wants to know. Thinks you're from space like him."
"I AM YOUR SOL-DIER." The Ironside replied.
The Doctor stood there, leaning against the pillar, just visibly shaking with barely contained rage.
"PLEASE EXCUSE ME." The Ironside stated, turning to resume its duties.
El turned back to the Doctor. "See?"
The Doctor shook his head, running over to Churchill. "Winston, Winston please."
Churchill sighed frustratedly. "We are waging total war, Doctor. Day after day, the Luftwaffe pound this great city like an iron fist."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Just wait until the Daleks get started."
"Men, women, and children slaughtered." Churchill continued. "Families torn apart. Wren's churches in flames!"
"Yeah, try the Earth in flames!" The Doctor retorted.
"I weep for my country; I weep for my empire." Churchill said, looking at the Ironside across the way, and the Union Flag under its optic. "It is breaking my heart." He stated, moving over to the side of the war map.
"Yes, but you're resisting, Winston." The Doctor focused on that much. "The whole world knows you're resisting! You're a beacon of hope."
"But for how long?" Churchill asked, continuing forth. "Millions will be saved if I used these Ironsides now!"
"CAN I BE OF AS-SIS-TANCE?" The Ironside asked, lamps on the dome flashing in synchronization with its speech.
"Shut it!" The Doctor furiously pointed at it, before turning his attention back to Churchill. If he didn't get this situation under control, now… everyone on earth was as good as dead. "Listen to me." He begged Winston. "Just listen. The Daleks have no conscience. No mercy. No pity. They are my oldest… and deadliest enemy. You cannot trust them."
Churchill drew a breath. "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would give a favorable reference to the Devil. These machines," He pointed vehemently, "Are our salvation!" A siren began to blare, and Churchill gasped, clutching his chest. "Ah, the all-clear. We are safe… for now." Winston turned away from the Doctor, walking away, leaving the Doctor alone with the Ironside.
The Doctor stared at the splitting image of his foe, before it turned, sliding away.
"You okay?" El asked, appearing at the Time Lord's side.
The Doctor looked down to her. "…what does hate look like, El?"
The girl cocked her head. "Hate?"
"It looks like a Dalek." The Doctor stated. "And I'm going to prove it."