The Trip of a Lifetime V2

by The Time Lord Oracle

(Rewrite of my first story) Rose Tyler was just an ordinary shop girl until one day she meets a strange man and woman. After helping them to save the world, she joins them in traveling though time and space on the trip of a lifetime, but two words keep following the trio on their travels, and something is stirring in the darkness.

4. Aliens of London

The Trip of a Lifetime

Aliens of London

Thanks to Dageviren, SpringSummerWinter97, wolfgirl232323 & Astral321 for following & favouriting this story

After they'd left Cardiff, Rose began to feel tired, so the TARDIS obliged by providing her with a suitable bedroom. Eight hours later, a fully refreshed Rose returned to the console room to find Gazelle lounging on the jump seat and watching a 1980's music video on the monitor "Ah, morning, Rose." the Time Lady greeted "Ya sleep alright?"

"Yeah, fine." Rose replied "Wos' that ya watchin'?"

"Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel." Gazelle answered "I love this song. Ya just in time actually, Rose, the best bit's coming up now. Look."

Rose joined her by the monitor and watched a pair of plasticine plucked chickens dancing to the beat of the song "Is it me or does that look a bit Wallace an' Gromit-ish?" Rose observed

"Yeah, it does." Gazelle agreed "That's cos' that bit was animated by Nick Park. The Doctor and I have met Nick a couple of times. We helped out on The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave. Preston was the Doctor's idea."

"What was my idea?" a familiar, Northern-accented voice asked, and both woman turned to see the Doctor enter the room

"Preston the cyber-dog." Gazelle told him

"Ah, yeah, I remember that." the Doctor nodded, then turned to Rose "Right then, Rose Tyler. Where d'yer wanna go today? Past, present, future or alien planet?"

Rose thought for a moment "Um, actually, I was wanderin' if ya could take me 'ome." she told the Time Lords

"Oh, right." Gazelle said slowly, trying to hide her disappointment at Rose wanting to leave, but she supposed she couldn't blame the Human after what happened on Platform One and in Cardiff.

Rose realised what the Time Lady was thinking "No, no, no, not like that." she explained "I just wanna pop in, see mum, grab some stuff, and we can be off again."

"Why d'yer need to get stuff for?" the Doctor questioned "The wardrobe's got all the clothes you could want."

"Yeah, but those clothes ain't mine." Rose clarified "An' I wanna see mum."

"Fair enough." the Doctor conceded "London, 2005 it is." and he and Gazelle got to work piloting the TARDIS.

One quick flight later, the TARDIS materialised on the Powell Estate. Rose stepped out first, followed by the two Time Lords. It was surreal for Rose to be back home after visiting a space station five billion years in the future and 19th century Cardiff "How long 'ave I been gone?" she asked

"About 12 hours." the Doctor replied, leaning against the TARDIS with his arms crossed

"Ooh, right. I won't be long. I'm just gonna see my mum."

"What're ya gonna tell her?" Gazelle asked out of curiosity

"I dunno. That I met two aliens an' they took me to the year five billion an' then we met Charles Dickens an' only been gone, what, 12 hours?" Rose joked, and the trio shared a laugh "Nah, I'll just tell 'er I spent the night at Shareen's. See ya later." she turned and began to walk towards Bucknall House, then paused and turned back to the Time Lords "Oi, don't you two disappear!" she warned

"We won't, we're in no hurry." Gazelle assured her, and so Rose ran off in the direction of her flat, leaving the Time Lords by themselves "Right, while we're waiting, I'm just gonna get something from that shop I went to last time we were here." Gazelle said to the Doctor "You want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good thanks." the Doctor replied

And so Gazelle began to walk towards the shops on the estate. Halfway there, something taped to a lamppost caught her attention, so she went over to look closer and her eyes widened.

Meanwhile, Rose happily made her way to the Tyler flat "I'm back!" she called as she entered "It was Shareen. She was all upset again. Are ya in?" Jackie walked in from the kitchen, carrying a cup of tea "So, what's been goin' on?" Rose continued "How've ya been?" Jackie looked at her as if she'd just seen a ghost "What? What's that face for?" Rose frowned "It's not the first time I've stayed out all night." Jackie just dropped her tea in shock.

"Doctor, you need to see this." Gazelle called worriedly. The Doctor came over and saw what had caught Gazelle's attention. It was a missing person's poster with a picture of Rose on it. According to the poster, she'd been missing since 6th of March 2005. The Doctor quickly checked the newspapers in the window of the post office. Today's date was 6th of March 2006. The Time Lords shared identical looks of horror, then bolted towards Bucknall House, hoping to stop Rose before it was too late.

But, of course, it already was too late. "It's you." Jackie breathed

"Of course it's me." Rose frowned, wandering what was wrong with her mother

"Oh, my God. It's you." Jackie said wearily "Oh my God." she promptly threw her arms around her surprised daughter. Rose looked over her sobbing mother's shoulder and saw missing posters with herself on it scattered over the table.

At that moment, the Doctor and Gazelle came crashing in "It's not 12 hours, it's er... 12 months." the Doctor said sheepishly "You've been gone a whole year. Sorry." he chuckled apologetically while the Tylers looked at him stunned, while Gazelle just slumped her shoulders worriedly.

Half an hour later, the time travellers were stuck in the flat listening to a furious Jackie rant and rave. She'd called the police, but the poor officer that had been sent couldn't get a word in edgeways. "The hours I've sat here." Jackie burst out "Days an' weeks an' months on my own. I fought you were dead. An' where were you? Travellin'! What the 'ell does that mean? Travellin'? That's no sort of answer." she turned to the policeman "You ask 'er. She won't tell me! That's all she sez. Travellin'."

"That's what I was doin'." Rose said, trying to keep the situation under control

"Wiv ya passport still in the drawer?!" Jackie challenged "It's just one lie after another!"

"I meant to phone." Rose said "I really did, I just... forgot."

"What, for a year?!" Jackie retorted "You forgot for a year? An' I am left sitting here! I don't believe you. Why won't ya tell me where you've been?"

"Actually, it's my fault." the Doctor spoke up "I sort of, er, employed Rose as our companion."

"When you say 'Companion', is this a sexual relationship?" the policeman questioned, finally able to get a word in

"No!" the three time travellers said hastily in unison

"Then what is it?" Jackie demanded, advancing dangerously on the Doctor "Cos' you, you waltz in 'ere all charm an' smiles, an' the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the Earth! How old are ya then? 40, 45? I see ya like 'em young!" she sneered, casting a look at Gazelle, who wisely stayed silent "What, ya find 'em on the internet?" Jackie continued to accuse the Doctor "Did ya go online an' pretend you're a doctor?"

"I am a doctor!" the Time Lord protested

"Prove it!" Jackie spat "Stitch this, mate!" and she promptly slapped the Doctor hard across the face. The Doctor groaned loudly, while Gazelle grimaced and Rose cringed. Jackie then stormed off to the kitchen to cool off. With her gone, Gazelle was able to assure the policeman that nothing untoward had happened to Rose. He seemed to accept it and left. The Time Lords left too, both agreeing that it would be best to let the Tylers sort things out for themselves.

Jackie and Rose were soon the kitchen hugging "Did ya fink about me at all?" Jackie asked tearfully

"I did!" Rose sniffled, feeling awful for what she'd put her mother through "All the time, but..."

"One phone call. Just to know that you're alive."

"I'm sorry. I really am."

"D'ya know what terrifies me, is that ya still can't say. What 'appened to you, Rose? What could be so bad that you can't tell me, sweetheart? Where were you?"

Rose could not answer. After Jackie had calmed down, Rose had a shower and changed clothes then went off to find the Time Lords. She found them on the roof of Bucknall House. "I can't tell 'er." Rose sighed as she plopped down on the water tank "I can't even begin. She's never gonna forgive me. An' I missed a year! Was it good?"

"Middling." the Doctor shrugged

"You're so useless." Rose rolled her eyes

"Well, after all the trouble we've caused. are ya gonna stay here now?" Gazelle asked her tactfully

"Dunno." Rose sighed. She really didn't want to abandon her mother again, but she didn't want to give up the travelling just yet either. "Can't do that to 'er again, though."

"Well she's not coming with us." the Doctor said firmly, that slap still resonating with him

"No chance!" Rose laughed

"I don't do families."

"She slapped you!" Rose sniggered, seeing the funny side of it now

"900 years of time an' space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother." the Doctor grumbled

"Your face." Rose taunted

"It hurt!" the Doctor whined, rubbing his sore cheek

"Could be worse." Gazelle said "She could've punched you. That would've hurt even more!"

The Doctor saw her point and shut up about the slap. Then, what the Doctor had said about years registered with Rose "When ya say 900 years..." she began

"That's my age." the Doctor confirmed

"You're 900 years old?" Rose asked incredulously

"Yeah."

"900 years." Rose mused "My mum's right. That's one hell of an age gap." she turned to Gazelle "An' 'ow old are you?"

"I'm 724." the Time Lady answered

"Right." Rose said slowly and hopped off the tank "Every conversation wiv you two just goes mental." she walked over to the railings and looked out at the city centre skyline in the distance.

Gazelle's attention was suddenly caught by a strange noise coming from the sky. At first she thought it was just a plane, but then she realised that it didn't quite sound like any 21st century aircraft, so she looked around to try and find the source.

"There's no one else I can talk to." Rose continued "I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, an' I can't say a word. Aliens, an' spaceships an' things, an' I'm the only person on planet Earth who knows they exist."

"Not for much longer." Gazelle said suddenly "Look!"

The Doctor and Rose turned to see her pointing at the sky. They looked up just in time to see a spaceship roar by overheard, belching black smoke from it's tail. The Time Lords swiftly raced over to the edge of the roof and pulled out two pairs of binoculars from their jacket pockets to watch the ship descend towards Central London.

The ship nearly crashed into the Thames near Tower Bridge, but pulled up just in time. It careened wildly over the city before turning near St Paul's Cathedral and dived towards the river again. The ship sliced open the Westminster clock tower with it's starboard wing before finally landing in the river with an almighty splash.

The Time Lords lowered their binoculars, the Doctor grinning manically, Gazelle looking puzzled. Rose just stared open-mouthed. "Oh, that's just not fair." she blurted out

The Doctor just laughed gleefully, grabbed both women's hands and they raced off towards the scene.

They didn't get very far, for they soon saw that the military were cordoning off the streets and stopping traffic "It's blocked off." the Doctor grumbled

"We're miles from the centre." Rose added "The city must be gridlocked. Whole of London must be closin' off."

"I'm not surprised." Gazelle said "That would be the sensible thing to do in this situation."

"I know. I can't believe we're 'ere to see this!" the Doctor grinned "This is fantastic!"

"Did either of ya know this was gonna 'appen?" Rose asked

"Nope." the Doctor replied cheerfully while Gazelle shook her head

"D'ya recognise the ship?" Rose tried

"Nope." the Doctor repeated

"Fraid not." Gazelle added

"D'ya know why it crashed?" Rose continued

"Haven't a clue." Gazelle replied, while the Doctor just shrugged

"Oh, I'm so glad I've got you two(!)" Rose huffed sarcastically

"I bet you are." the Doctor said, oblivious to the sarcasm "This is what we travel for, Rose! To see history happening right in front of us."

"Well, let's go an' see it!" Rose said "Never mind the traffic, we've got the TARDIS!"

"We'd better not." Gazelle told her "We've just had one spaceship turn up in the middle of London. Last thing we wanna do is add another one."

"Yeah, but yours is like a big blue box. No one's gonna notice." Rose argued

"You'd be surprised, an emergency like this, there'll be all kinds of people watching." the Doctor told her "Trust me, the TARDIS stays where she is."

"So 'istory's 'appening an' we're stuck 'ere." Rose said disgruntled

"Yes, we are."

"We could do what everybody else does." Rose suggested, causing the Doctor to look at her questioningly "We could watch it on TV."

The Doctor looked at her confused. "Looks like we've got no choice." Gazelle said to him "We can't get there on foot, we can't use the TARDIS, so telly it is."

And that was preciously what they did. The trio returned to the Tyler flat and turned on the news channels. The Doctor was sat on the armchair in front the telly, in charge of the remote, while Gazelle crouched on the floor next to him and Rose was sat on the settee.

The first channel they tried was BBC News "Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in Central London." the newsreader announced "Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control wide-spread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchinson is at the scene."

The screen changed to show a reporter at Westminster Bridge "The police urge the public not to panic. There's a helpline number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family."

The Doctor flipped over to an American news channel, where Trinity Wells was doing a report "The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American airspace have been grounded."

The Doctor flipped back to BBC News "The army are sending divers into the wreck of the spaceship." Tom Hitchinson reported as the screen showed a dinghy heading for the crashed ship "No one knows what they're going to find."

Back to the American channel "The President will address the nation live from the White House." Trinity announced "But the Secretary General has asked that people keep watching the skies."

Jackie entered the living room with a cup of tea for Rose "I've got no choice." she complained to her friend Ru "Either I make them welcome or I run the risk of never seeing 'er again!" she and Ru then proceeded to babble on angrily to Rose

"Excuse me, don't wanna be rude, but we're trying to listen to this." Gazelle told them. Jackie just scowled at her and went to answer the front door.

Gazelle turned her focus back to the telly, which was back on BBC News, which was showing a report from outside 10 Downing Street "... his current whereabouts." the newsreader said "News is just coming in. We can go to Tom at the embankments."

The shot changed to show Tom Hitchinson "They've found a body." he announced, causing both Time Lords to share a look "It's unconfirmed but I'm being told that a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins."

The Doctor's attention was then caught by Jackie loudly announcing to the people that were now filling the flat that someone called Billy Crewe had asked her out. The Doctor shook his head and turned back to the news. "Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of non-terrestrial origin." the BBC newsreader said "An extraordinary event is unfolding here live in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure U.N.I.T mortuary. The whereabouts is yet unknown."

The telly suddenly jumped through several channels before landing on Blue Peter, where Matt Baker was showing viewers how to make a spaceship cake. Gazelle looked round to see that a toddler had jumped on the Doctor's lap and snatched the remote from him. She gave a small laugh at that and helped the Doctor retrieve the remote. "Come on, sunshine." she said to the little boy "He needs to watch the boring adult stuff. I'll play with you if you like." she led the boy away to keep him occupied.

The Doctor watched her with a sad smile. Gazelle had a wonderful way with children. She'd told the Doctor that she'd had a son back in the old days. Sadly, her son had been a victim of the Time War, and if that wasn't bad enough, the war had left her unable to conceive children anymore. So she couldn't have a child of her own ever again. He could never forget the day long ago when he'd done a scan on her in the TARDIS' med-bay and he'd had to break the terrible news to her. It had broken her. Although she had accepted this and put on a brave face these days, he knew that deep down, her condition upset her greatly.

Shaking those sad thoughts from his head, Doctor changed channel back to BBC News, where Tom Hitchinson had moved to outside a hospital "We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything. But the body is being brought here, Albion Hospital. The roads are closed off. It's the closest to the river."

The boy finished playing with Gazelle and ran back to his parents. The Time Lady watched him go with a wistful smile then went back to join the Doctor by the telly, which was now showing a stern, rotund man in military uniform getting out of a police car. "I'm being told that General Asquith is now entering the hospital." Tom Hitchinson reported "The building's evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body contained inside these walls."

At Albion Hospital, General Asquith entered the mortuary accompanied by armed soldiers. The body that had been recovered from the crashed ship was lying on the table and covered by a sheet. "Let's have a look, then." he said to the medical examiner, a Dr Toshiko Sato from the Torchwood Institute. Tosh pulled the sheet back and Asquith's eyes widened at what he saw "Good God. That's real? It's not a hoax or a dummy, or a...?"

Tosh shook her head "I've x-rayed the skull. It's wired up like nothing I've ever seen before." she told Asquith "No one could make this up."

"We've got experts being flown in." Asquith said "Until they arrive... keep that out of sight."

Tosh nodded and covered the body again. The body was placed into a morgue storage unit and Asquith turned to leave. "Excuse me, sir." Tosh called after him "I know it's a state of emergency and there's a lot of rumour flying around, but is it true, what they're saying? About the Prime Minister?"

Asquith didn't answer. He just turned on his heel and left without a word.

At the Tyler flat, the Time Lords were still watching the news, which had shifted to outside 10 Downing Street "Mystery still surrounds the whereabouts of the Prime Minister." Andrew Marr reported "He's not been seen since the emergency began. The opposition are criticising his leadership. Hold on..." the camera turned to show a car pull up and a portly man in a suit got out and walked towards No 10 "Oh, that's Joseph Green, MP for Hartley Dale." Marr explained "He's chairman of the parliamentary commission on the monitoring of sugar standards in exported confectionary. With respect, hardly the most important person right now."

At Downing Street, Joseph Green entered No 10 and was met by the Junior Secretary "Indra Ganesh, Junior Secretary." he introduced "I'll be your liaison."

"Where the hell is he?" Green questioned

"If we could talk in private, sir." Indra said "Follow me upstairs."

Both men moved towards the stairs when they were approached by a woman "Excuse me!" she called "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."

"I'm sorry, can it wait?" Indra tried to wave her off

"But I did have an appointment at 3:15." Harried reminded

"Yes. And a spaceship crashed in the middle of London." Indra retorted "I think the schedule might have changed." and with that, he and Green made their way upstairs "You've heard about the alien body, sir?"

"Never mind that." Green waved him off "Where is he? Where's the Prime Minister?"

"No one knows, sir." Indra replied "He's disappeared. I have to inform you, with the city gridlocked and the Cabinet stranded, that makes you acting Prime Minister. With immediate effect."

"Oh, Lord." Green muttered "Oh, hold on..." he broke wind rather loudly "Pardon me, nervous stomach. Anyway..."

Indra and Green continued upstairs and entered the Cabinet room, where a plump blonde woman and a portly man were waiting for them "Margaret Blaine." Indra introduced "She's with MI.5."

"There's no more information, sir." Margaret informed Green "I personally escorted the Prime Minister to his car." she gestured to the other man "This is Oliver Charles, transport liaison."

"The car's disappeared." Oliver reported "There's no record of it, sir. It literally vanished."

"Right, er, inside." Green said "Tell me everything." he ushered them inside the Cabinet room

"Er, sir?" Indra called and Green turned to him "The emergency protocols." Indra said, handing Green a red case "Detailing the actions to be taken by the government of Great Britain in the event of an alien incursion."

"Right, good." Green nodded then broke wind again "Blimey! Pardon me." he took the red case "Get to work, eh?" he entered the Cabinet room with Margaret and Oliver and shut the door behind him. Green placed the case on the table and looked at the other two, then they all began to chuckle malevolently.

The Doctor and Gazelle decided that they'd done enough sitting around and slipped out of the Tyler flat. They'd just stepped out of the front door when Rose emerged behind them "An' where d'you two fink you're goin'? she called

"Nowhere." the Doctor replied innocently "It's just a bit Human in there for me. History just happened and they're talkin' about where they can buy dodgy top-up cards for 'alf price. I'm off on a wander, that's all."

"And I'm gonna go with him and keep him out of trouble." Gazelle added

"Right, there's a spaceship on the Thames an' you two are just wanderin'." Rose raised a brow

"Nothing to do with us." the Doctor assured her "It's not an invasion. That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, colour of smoke, everything! It's perfect!"

"So..."

"So maybe this it!" the Doctor grinned "First contact. The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race. We're not interferrin' cos' yer've gotta handle this on yer own. That's when the Human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny an' made of clay! Now you can expand!"

"You don't us for this, Rose." Gazelle said "Spend some time with ya mother. She's missed you for an entire year." she and the Doctor turned and began to walk away

"Promise ya won't disappear." Rose called after them

The Time Lords stopped and turned around then the Doctor fished through his jacket pockets "Tell yer what..." he produced a key on a chain "TARDIS key." he handed Rose the key "It's about time you 'ad one. See yer later."

He and Gazelle turned and walked away. Rose looked down at the key in her hand, closed her fist around it and walked back inside the flat, feeling distinctly chuffed.

"You realise she's gonna kill us if she finds out where we're really going." Gazelle commented as she and the Doctor walked downstairs

"Nah, we'll be back before she even realises we're gone." the Doctor shrugged as they reached the ground floor and walked out onto the plaza.

As they walked across the estate towards the TARDIS, they could see that a raucous party was in full swing in a third-floor flat, with a banner hanging over the balcony saying 'The aliens have landed.' while another banner in one of the windows read 'Welcome to our world.'

A male partygoer spotted the two Time Lords and called down to Gazelle "Oi, gorgeous, come an' join the party!"

The Time Lady ignored the call and continued to follow the Doctor.

In another flat, Mickey Smith walked out onto his balcony to retrieve a pair of trainers that he'd been airing out. He suddenly saw a familiar blue police box standing on the plaza, and two people in leather jackets walking towards the box "Oh, my God!" he breathed. He promptly slipped the trainers on and hurried out.

The Time Lords entered the TARDIS and prepared for departure "Right then, Albion Hospital." the Doctor announced, setting co-ordinates "Off we go."

The TARDIS began to dematerialise just as Mickey raced out of his block of flats "Oi, Doctor!" he yelled "DOCTOR!" he sprinted towards the TARDIS and threw himself at it but just ended up slamming into the corrugated iron shutters of the shop that the box had been parked in front of. He fell flat on his back from the impact, picked himself and dusted himself down, looked around to make sure that no one had seen and walked away with as much dignity as he could muster.

Inside the TARDIS, the console began to smoke, so the Doctor whacked it several times with a mallet and the smoke stopped. The Doctor promptly kissed the mallet, much to Gazelle's amusement.

Inside 10 Downing Street, Indra Ganesh was working at his desk when Harriet Jones placed a coffee cup down on the desk "I bet no one's brought you a coffee." she said

"Thank you." Indra nodded and picked up the cup. Harriet didn't leave, she just looked at him expectantly "You still can't go in." he told her

"Damn, you've seen through my cunning plan!" Harriet chuckled

"Look, I'm sorry. It's just impossible." Indra said reasonably, standing up

"Not even for two minutes?" Harriet tried. Indra shook his head. "I don't get many chances to walk these corridors." Harriet commented "I'm hardly one of the babes, just a faithful backbencher. And I know we've had a brave new world land right on our doorstep, and that's wonderful. I think that's probably wonderful. Nevertheless, ordinary life keep ticking away." she rifled through her back and produced a folder "I need to enter this paper."

Just then, the door to the Cabinet room opened and Green, Margaret and Oliver stepped out. "Mr Green, sir." Harriet rushed over to him "I know you're busy, but could you put this on the next Cabinet agenda?"

"What is it?" Green questioned

"Cottage hospitals." Harriet answered, causing Green to look at Indra, who just gave an apologetic and resigned wave of his hand "I've worked out a system whereby cottage hospitals do not have to be excluded from centres of excellence." Harriet began to ramble "You see, my mother's in the Flydale infirmary. That's my constituency, tiny little place, you wouldn't know it, but it's given me a chance to..."

"By all the saints, get some perspective woman!" Green interrupted rudely "I'm busy." and with that, he and and the others left, all giving Harriet funny looks as they passed her.

Harriet was left alone holding her papers. She looked to make sure that they were all gone then slipped into the Cabinet room. She placed her papers down on the table and was about to walk away when she noticed the open emergency protocols case. Curiosity getting the better of her, she sat down and began to read the documents inside the case.

The Doctor and Gazelle stepped out of the TARDIS to find themselves inside a hospital storeroom. They made their way to the door and the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. When he turned it on, it buzzed loudly. "Shh!" the Doctor scolded the device, causing Gazelle to raise a brow in amusement. The Doctor turned the sonic down to a lower setting, and switched it on again, it buzzing much quieter now, and unlocked the door. He opened it and the Time Lords stepped through to find themselves in a locker room full of off-duty soldiers. Everyone just stood there in surprise for a moment, then the soldiers all leapt to their feet, grabbed their rifles and aimed them at the two intruders. The Doctor just smiled cheekily, while Gazelle facepalmed. It was just their luck to run right into a group of armed soldiers.

Suddenly, a woman's scream sounded from nearby and the Doctor leapt into action "Defence plan Delta! Move! Move!" he ordered and ran off towards the source of the scream, Gazelle hot on his heels. The soldiers swiftly followed.

The Time Lords and soldiers ran down the corridors to the morgue where they found Tosh cowering on the floor in shock "It's alive!" she cried

The Doctor turned to the soldier behind him "Spread out." he ordered "Tell the perimeter it's a lockdown."

Gazelle went over to Tosh "Are you alright?" she asked

"My God, it's still alive!" Tosh breathed in shock

The Doctor noticed that the soldiers were just standing there watching them "Do it!" he snapped, and the soldiers ran off to start searching the building

Gazelle noticed that Tosh had a cut on her forehead so she tended to it "I swear it was dead." the Human blustered

"Coma, shock, hibernation, anything." the Doctor fired off "What did it look like?"

Before Tosh could answer, a slight sound came from nearby "It's still here." the Doctor realised. He beckoned another soldier into the room and began to search for the source of the sound. When he heard it again, he dropped to his knees and crawled to peer behind the desk. He saw the face of a pig peering back at him. "Hello!" he smiled

The pig squealed in terror and ran across the room. The soldier readied his gun "Don't shoot!" the Doctor urged him and hurried after the pig. The pig ran along the corridor and one of the soldiers aimed his rifle at it. Before the Doctor could stop him, he fired. The Doctor was horrified "What did yer do that for?!" he glared "It was scared!" he knelt down to comfort the dying pig "It was scared." he repeated, much softer time.

In 10 Downing Street, Harriet was still nosing through the emergency protocols when she suddenly heard General Asquith giving Green a piece of his mind "I've got the White House phoning me direct because Downing Street won't answer their calls!" Asquith fumed "This is outrageous! We haven't even started the vaccination program. This is appalling. The nations of the world are watching the United Kingdom!"

"Well, it has all been a bit of a shock." Green answered nonchalantly

"This is the greatest crisis in modern history and you've done nothing!" Asquith accused "Your behaviour has been shameful, sir. You're supposed to be in charge and we need positive leadership. The capital's ground to a halt."

Harriet managed to hide in a cupboard just before Asquith, Green, Margaret and Oliver entered the room. "Furthermore, we can only assume that the Prime Minister's disappearance is the direct result of hostile alien action." Asquith continued "And what have you been doing? Nothing!"

"Sorry! Sorry, uh, I thought I was Prime Minister now." Green retorted

"Only be default."

"Aw, that's not fair!" Green said, sounding like a whiny child "I've been having such fun!"

Asquith looked outraged "You think this is fun?!"

"It's a hoot, this job." Green sniggered

"Honestly, it's super!" Margaret grinned

Oliver suddenly broke wind loudly "Oh, s'cuse me." he tittered then broke wind again, causing himself, Margaret and Green to snigger like immature children

"What's going on here?" Asquith glared "Where's the rest of the Cabinet? Why haven't they been airlifted in?"

"Cancelled it." Green waved him off "They'd only get in the way." he broke wind "Oh, there I go!" he chortled, then broke wind two times before Margaret did too

"Oh, and me!" she guffawed "I'm shaking my booty!"

Asquith decided he'd had enough of these three gigging idiots "Sir! Under section 5 of the emergency protocols, it is my duty to relieve you of command." Green stopped laughing and looked at Asquith darkly "And by God, I'll put this country under martial law if I have to." the General finished

"Oh, I'm scared." Green retorted sarcastically "I mean, that's hair-raising. I mean literally. Look!" he pulled aside his fringe to reveal a zip on his forehead. He unzipped it and a blue light shone from within.

Bewildered, Asquith looked at Margaret and Oliver, who were also unzipping their foreheads. Harriet was watching all this through a crack in the door. Her eyes widened in shock at what was happening before her. Then came some disgusting and horrifying noises from the other room and Harriet leaned back against the cupboard wall in shock and horror.

At Albion Hospital, the pig's body had been brought back to the morgue so that the Time Lords and Tosh could examine it. Tosh's superior at Torchwood had told her that two people calling themselves 'The Doctor and Gazelle' were likely to turn up, and he'd instructed her to give them full co-operation. "I just assumed that's what aliens look like." she admitted "But you're saying it's an ordinary pig? From Earth?"

"More like a mermaid." the Doctor replied grimly "Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat an' gluing it to a fish an' calling it a mermaid. Now, someone's taken a pig, opened up it's brain, stuck bits on... then they strapped it into that ship and made it dive-bomb."

"It must have terrified out of it's wits, the poor creature." Gazelle sighed. She wished she could've done something to save the pig but she'd been busy tending to Tosh when it had ran out. "Someone took the poor animal and turned it into a joke."

"So it's fake. A pretend. Like the mermaid." Tosh surmised "But the technology augmenting it's brain... It's like nothing on Earth. It's alien. Aliens are faking aliens. But why would they do that?" she turned round to see that both the Doctor and Gazelle had disappeared. She ran out into the corridor to try and find them, but they'd both vanished. Then she heard a strange wheezing and groaning noise and remembered that her superior had warned that they were both likely to disappear with a noise like that, so she gave up trying to find them and went back to write her report on all this.

At the Powell Estate, the living room of the Tyler flat was absolutely rammed. "Here's to the Martians!" Jackie cheered, raising her wine glass

"The Martians!" everyone except Rose cheered. Rose couldn't share their levity. After the events of the past few days, she couldn't help but worry about what the two Time Lords were up to. They'd been gone for two hours now.

Silence suddenly fell in the flat when Mickey walked in and stared at Rose. The blonde promptly sat bolt upright at the sight of her boyfriend. "I was gonna come an' see ya." she said quickly. She had planned to pop in on Mickey after seeing her mum, but it had slipped her mind after seeing the spaceship crash.

"Someone owes Mickey an apology." Ru commented

"I'm sorry." Rose told Mickey sincerely

"Not you." Ru told her and looked to Jackie

"It's not my fault!" Jackie huffed "Be fair, what was I supposed to fink?" she gave Mickey a look and went into the kitchen. Rose and Mickey followed her and Mickey was soon giving his girlfriend a piece of his mind

"You disappear, who do they turn to? Your boyfriend. Five times I was taken in for question', five times!" he fumed "No evidence, course there couldn't be, could there? An' then I get 'er." he pointed an accusing finger at Jackie who just rolled her eyes "Whisperin' round the estate, pointin' the finger, stuff through my letter box, an' all cos' of you."

"I didn't fink I'd be gone for so long." Rose sighed, feeling awful at this news

"An' I waited for you, Rose." Mickey continued "12 months. Waitin' for you, the Doctor an' that girl to come back."

"Hold on, you knew about that Doctor an' that girl 'e was wiv?" Jackie spoke up "Why didn't ya tell me?"

Mickey noticed Ru's husband Bau trying to eavesdrop through the serving hatch so he promptly slammed both it and the kitchen door shut "Yeah, yeah." he sneered "Why not, Rose, huh? How could I tell 'er where ya went?"

"Tell me now." Jackie crossed her arms

"I might as well cos' you're stuck 'ere." Mickey told Rose spitefully "They've gone. Just now, that blue box thing just faded away."

"What d'ya mean?" Rose questioned

"They've left you." Mickey sneered "Some friends they turned out to be."

Rose just grabbed a jacket and ran from the kitchen, Mickey following smugly. Jackie stayed sitting down, looking frustrated.

Rose and Mickey were soon standing at the empty spot where the TARDIS had been. "They wouldn't just go, they promised me." Rose frowned

"Oh, the Doctor's dumped you, Rose." Mickey scowled "Sailed off into space wiv that girl of 'is. How does it feel, huh? Now you are left behind wiv the rest of us Earthlings. Get used to it."

"But they would've said." Rose countered

Just then, Jackie joined them "What're you two chimps goin' on about?" she questioned "What's goin' on? What's this Doctor done now?"

"Oh, he's vamoosed!" Mickey answered gleefully

"He's not!" Rose snapped "Cos' 'e gave me this!" she showed him the TARDIS key the Doctor had given her "They're my friends, Mickey. They wouldn't just swan off like that." suddenly, the key started to glow and the sound of the TARDIS' engines reached her ears "I said so." she told Mickey triumphantly and turned to her mother "Mum! Mum, go inside. Mum, don't just stand there, just go inside. Just, mum, go..."

But Jackie wasn't listening. She stared transfixed over her daughter's shoulder as the TARDIS appeared out of thin air. The engines grinded down and Mickey gestured to the TARDIS with a meaningful grunt. "How d'you do that then?" Jackie gaped in amazement

Rose looked at her wearily. She knew now that she would have to bit the bullet and tell the truth about her travelling.

The Time Lords had been quiet during the flight back from Albion Hospital. They had hoped that going there would give them some answers, but it had just left them with more questions. There was something very wrong going on.

They were both looking thoughtfully at the monitor when the door opened and a worried-looking Rose entered the box "Alright, so I lied." the Doctor said, not looking away from the monitor "We went and 'ad a look, but the whole crash landing's a fake. We thought so, it's too perfect. I mean, hitting Big Ben, come on! So I thought let's go an' 'ave a look..."

"My mum's 'ere." Rose said, and both Time Lords turned to see a shell-shocked Jackie enter the TARDIS, accompanied by an irate Mickey

"Oh, that's just what I need." the Doctor huffed "Don't you dare make this place domestic!" he pointed a warning finger at Rose

"You both ruined my life!" Mickey accused "They fought she was dead. I was a murder suspect cos' of you two!"

Gazelle hung her head at this news, feeling extremely guilty. The Doctor on the other hand didn't care a bit "See what I mean?" he said smoothly to Rose "Domestic."

"I bet you don't even remember my name!" Mickey fumed, taking a few steps closer to the uncaring Time Lord

"Ricky."

"It's Mickey."

"No, it's Ricky."

"I fink I know my own name!"

"You think you know yer own name?" the Doctor snarked "How stupid are yer?"

"Enough!" Gazelle cut in "Doctor, leave him alone." she turned to Mickey "I'm sorry, Mickey. Truly I am, but we didn't mean to ruin ya life. We tried to get Rose back in 12 hours, really, we did, but we made a mistake somewhere and overshot. We're sorry."

Jackie at this point ran out of the TARDIS, overwhelmed by the dimensionally transcendental box "Mum, don't!" Rose called after her "Don't go anywhere!" she told the Time Lords "Don't start a fight!" she pointed a warning finger at Mickey and ran out after her mother. "Mum, it's not like that." she called to Jackie, who was running back towards Bucknall House "I'll up in a minute. Hold on." she went back inside the TARDIS and joined the Doctor and Gazelle at the monitor "That was a real spaceship?" she questioned

"Yep." the Doctor nodded

"So, it's all a pack of lies? What is it, then? Are they invadin'?"

"Funny way to invade, puttin' the world on red alert." Mickey commented from behind them

"That's a good point, Mickey." Gazelle nodded "What are they up to?" she wandered

Jackie sat on her bed feeling helpless and frustrated. Her whole world was crashing down around her. Her own daughter vanished for an entire year, only to turn up again and reveal that she'd been travelling with a pair of aliens who looked like Humans but had a box that was bigger on the outside and could travel through time, and it had only been a couple of days since the Henriks explosion for her.

Her anxiety wasn't helped by the latest news report on the telly "As the crisis continues and the government shows remarkable lack of leadership, paranoia sweeps the country. There have been at least three reports of public assaults on people publicly identified as aliens." a newsreader announced "And now back to Tom Hitchinson."

The screen changed to show Tom Hitchinson "Are there more ships to come? What are their intentions?" he asked rhetorically "The authorities are now asking if anyone knows anything. If any previous sighting has been made, then call this number." a phone number flashed up on screen and Jackie grabbed the phone "We need your help."

Jackie dialled the number on screen. The first two times were engaged but she got through on the third attempt. "Yes! I've seen two!" she said breathlessly "I really 'ave, two aliens. An' she's wiv 'em! Mu daughter, she's wiv 'em. An' she's not safe. Oh, my God... she's not safe." she took a breath "I've seen two aliens. An' I know their names. One's called 'The Doctor' an' the other calls 'erself 'Gazelle' or somefink like that. They've got a box. A blue box. My daughter called it a 'TARDIS.'"

Inside the TARDIS, Mickey peered down curiously at Gazelle, who was lying underneath the console working on some wiring, her sonic clamped between her teeth. "So, what's she doin' down there?" he asked the Doctor, who was fiddling with the monitor

"Ricky." the Doctor grunted

"Mickey."

"Ricky." the Doctor ignored him "If I was tell you what she was doing to the controls of our frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"

Mickey was about to answer when Gazelle removed the sonic from her mouth and spoke up "Don't answer that, Mickey." she advised "He'll only use it as an excuse to be rude to ya again. Now, in answer to your question, I'm trying to patch the TARDIS into Earth's Radar so that we can find out where that ship came from."

Mickey seemed satisfied with that explanation and crossed over to Rose "Interesting friends you've got." he commented. He disliked the Doctor intensely, but hadn't formed an opinion on Gazelle yet. She at least seemed more amicable.

"Sorry about 'im, Mickey." Rose replied "He's just windin' you up." she took a breath "I am sorry."

"It's ok." Mickey waved her off

"I am, though." Rose told him earnestly

"Every day, I looked. On every street corner, wherever I went, lookin' for a blue box for a whole year."

"It's only been a few days for me. I don't know, it's... hard to tell inside this thing, but I swear it's just a few days since I left ya."

"Not enough time to miss me, then?"

"I did miss you." Rose smiled

"I missed you." Mickey said sincerely

"So, erm, in 12 months, 'ave ya been seein' anyone else?"

"No."

"'kay..."

"Mainly cos' everyone finks I murdered you."

"Right..."

"So... now that you've come back... are ya gonna stay?" Mickey asked

Rose didn't answer. She leaned in to kiss him when they were interrupted by the Doctor's voice "Got it! Haha!" Gazelle climbed out of her workspace to join him by the monitor and the two Humans came over too "Patched in the radar, looped it back 12 hours so we can follow the flight of the ship, here we go.. hold on!" he whacked the screen

The monitor showed a graphic of Earth, with a line moving towards it "That's the spaceship on it's way to Earth, see?" the Doctor explained to Rose "Except... hold on." the line moved in a half-circle "See, the spaceship did a sling-shot round the Earth before it landed."

"Wos' that mean?" Rose questioned

"It means it came here from Earth in the first place." Gazelle explained "It was launched from somewhere on Earth, went up, did a sling-shot, then came back down again. So, whoever these aliens are, they haven't just arrived, they've already been here for a while."

"The question is, what 'ave they been up to?" the Doctor said rhetorically, certain that the answer couldn't be good news.

In the Cabinet room of 10 Downing Street, the alien that was previously inside Oliver Charles was finishing putting on the skin-suit of General Asquith "What do you think?" he asked the others "How's the compression? I think I've got a bit too much ballast in the middle." he broke wind "Ah, that's better."

Inside the cupboard, Harriet's eyes widened in shock and confusion

"We've really got to fix the gas exchange." Margaret said "It's getting ridiculous."

"I don't know, it seems very Human to me." Green shrugged "Better get rid of this skin."

"Shame." Asquith commented, picking up the empty skin-suit of Oliver "I quite enjoyed being Oliver. He had a wife, a mistress and a young farmer." he tossed the skin-suit into the cupboard where Harriet was hiding in. He didn't see her as she'd retreated further back inside "God, I was busy!" Asquith sniggered as he shut the cupboard door

"Back to work." Green said as they made for the door

"I have an army to command." Asquith chimed in

"Careful now, we're not there yet." Margaret said as they left the room.

Inside the cupboard, Harriet picked up the discarded skin-suit and examined it.

Green, Asquith and Margaret made their way down the corridor outside the Cabinet room when Indra came rushing up to them "General Asquith! Sir, we've had a priority alarm. It's a code nine. Confirmed code nine."

Harriet snuck out of the Cabinet Room and overheard Indra

"Code nine, huh?" Asquith questioned "Which would mean...?"

Indra was a bit confused as to why the General wouldn't know this, but explained nevertheless "Well, in the event of the emergency protocols being activated, we've got software that automatically searches all communications for keywords. One of them is 'Doctor'. I think we've found him, sir."

"What sort of doctor?" Margaret questioned "Who is he?"

"Well, evidently he's some sort of expert in extra-terrestrial affairs, the ultimate expert! And there's a woman who's with him sometimes, calls herself Gazelle. She's a code nine too. We need them, sir. We need them here right now!"

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was flipping through news channels on the monitor, hoping to get some more information about what was going on. "How many channels d'ya get?" Mickey asked out of curiosity

"All the basic packages." the Doctor replied

"You get the sports channels?"

"Yes, we get the football." the Doctor rolled his eyes

"I like watching the F1." Gazelle told Mickey "And yes, we get the movie channels too, before ya ask."

"Hold on, I know that lot." the Doctor said, gesturing to the screen, which was showing a group of people in black uniforms with red berets entering 10 Downing Street

"It is looking likely that the government is bringing in alien specialists, those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space." the news reporter explained

"U.N.I.T. United Nations Intelligence Taskforce." the Doctor observed "Good people."

"How d'you know 'em?" Rose asked

Mickey answered for him "Cos' 'e's worked for 'em. Yeah, don't fink I sat on my backside for 12 months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the internet an' in the 'istory books, an' there's 'is name. Followed by a list of the dead." he finished bitterly

The Doctor seemed unfazed by the accusation "That's nice. Good boy, Ricky." he said patronisingly

"Couldn't find anyfink on you." Mickey told Gazelle

"That's cos' I like to keep a low profile." she replied "And for your information, it's not the Doctor's fault that people die. He's good man who tries his best to save lives, but we can't always save everyone." she finished glumly, the deaths of Mr Sneed and Gwyneth still resonating with her.

"If ya know 'em, why don't ya go an' 'elp 'em?" Rose asked the Doctor, wisely changing the subject from the touchy topic of death

"They wouldn't recognise me." the Doctor told her "I've changed a lot since the old days. Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there, an' fake aliens. We wanna keep these aliens." he gestured between himself and Gazelle "Out of the mix. We're goin' undercover. Better keep the TARDIS out of sight. Ricky, you've got a car, you can do some driving." he walked towards the doors

"Where to?" Mickey scowled

"The crash site." Gazelle told him, following the Doctor "The roads should've cleared by now. We can get a better look at that ship."

The quartet stepped out of the TARDIS to find themselves surrounded by armed police and a helicopter hovering overhead. Mickey promptly made a run for it and hid behind some bins. Jackie ran out of the flats and tried to get to Rose but the police restrained her "Raise your hands above your heads." an officer on the helicopter ordered "You are under arrest."

Rose and the Time Lords complied "Take us to yer leader." the Doctor grinned. Rose looked at him as if he'd gone made while Gazelle just rolled her eyes.

The trio were escorted to an unmarked black car and ordered to sit on the back seat. "This is a bit posh." Rose commented as the car drove off "If I knew it was gonna be like this, being arrested, I'd 'ave done it years ago."

"I don't think we're being arrested, Rose." Gazelle replied "I think we're being escorted."

"Where to?" Rose asked

"Where'd yer think? Downing Street." the Doctor replied

"You're kiddin'." Rose stared

"I'm not!"

"10 Downing Street?"

"The one and only." Gazelle confirmed

Rose laughed with glee "Oh, my God! I'm goin' to 10 Downin' Street?" the Time Lords nodded "How come?"

"I 'ate to say it, but Mickey was right." the Doctor said "Over the years, I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, er, noticed."

"Now they need ya?"

"Like it said on the news, they're gatherin' experts in alien knowledge. An' who's the biggest expert of the lot?" the Doctor asked, puffing his chest out arrogantly

"Patrick Moore?" Rose teased

The Doctor pouted at that while Gazelle burst out laughing "Apart from 'im!" the Doctor grumbled

"Ah, don't ya just love it?" Rose giggled

"I'm telling yer, Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table." the Doctor reminisced "Who's Prime Minister now?"

"How should I now? I missed a year." Rose replied

Presently, the car arrived at Downing Street. The paparazzi and hundreds of police officers were there. The Doctor got out of the car and waved at them all, grinning manically and clearly relishing the attention. Gazelle hurried inside No 10, keen to avoid attention while Rose looked around, smiling nervously.

Back at the Powell Estate, Jackie was in her living room talking to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Strickland "So, she's alright, then?" Jackie asked "She's not in any trouble?"

"Well, all I can say is, your daughter and her 'companions' might be in a position to help the country." Strickland told her "We'll need to know how she met this man and woman, if they are a man and woman." he sat down with a loud grumble from his large belly "Oh! Right, off you go then." he told the two officers who had accompanied him "I need to talk to Mrs Tyler on my own, thank you." the two junior officers left the flat.

Inside 10 Downing Street, Harriet Jones slipped inconspicuously down the stairs and approached the room where the experts were gathered "Harriet Jones, MP, Flydale North." she said as she flashed her ID card at the policeman standing guard, who let her pass and she mingled amongst the people.

Indra Ganesh entered "Ladies and gentlemen, could we convene?" he announced "Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right and can I remind you, ID cards are to be worn at all times." he approached the Time Lords and handed them two ID cards "Here're your ID cards. I'm sorry, your companion doesn't have clearance."

"We don't go anywhere without her." the Doctor countered as he and Gazelle looped the ID cards around their necks

"You're the code nines, not her." Indra said firmly

"Why have I got clearance?" Gazelle questioned "The Doctor's the expert, not me." she could understand the Doctor being called in, he'd been a frequent visitor to Earth during his many centuries of time travel, but she'd only started visiting Earth 50 years ago, and thought that she'd kept a low enough profile to avoid attention.

"Is your name Gazelle?" Indra asked her

"Yes."

"You have glowing references from Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill themselves." Indra told her, causing the Time Lady to raise a brow in surprise. She'd met Churchill once and they'd gotten on well enough, but she didn't think he thought that highly of her, and she hadn't met Queen Victoria yet, so she knew that that must be in her personal future, so she'd just have to wait and see what would happen to cause the queen to give her glowing references

"But she'll have to wait outside." Indra continued, gesturing to Rose

"She's staying with us." Gazelle told him firmly. Under the present circumstances, she felt it was better for them all to stick together

"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there." Indra said "I can't let her in there and that's a fact."

"It's alright, you two go." Rose told the Time Lords, not wanting to cause any trouble

"Are yer sure?" the Doctor asked her in concern

"Yeah, they're experts." the blonde said "You two should 'ear what they've gotta say."

Just then, Harriet appeared at Indra's shoulder "Excuse me, are you the Doctor?" she asked the Time Lord

Before the Doctor could answer her, a positively exasperated Indra spoke to her rudely "Not now, we're busy. Can't you go home?"

"I just need a word in private." Harriet said reasonably but Indra was having none of it

"You haven't got clearance, now leave it!" he snapped

"And you say I'm rude." the Doctor commented telepathically to Gazelle, who just shook her head at Indra

Indra took Rose's arm and began to lead her away "I'm going to have to leave you with security."

Harriet then stepped in "It's alright, I'll look after her." she offered "Let me be of some use." she turned to Rose "Walk with me. Just keep walking..." she led Rose past the guards and into the hallway, while the Time Lords headed off into the meeting

"That's right, don't look round." Harriet said as they slipped out into the hall "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North." she showed the blonde her ID card

Inside the conference room, the experts were sitting down in their seats. Green and Asquith made their way to the front. The Doctor and Gazelle entered last and took seats at the back of the room, both reading the booklets they found on the chairs very quickly. The booklets told them pretty much everything that they already knew, but there was one detail that caught their attention.

Outside in the corridor, Harriet was talking to Rose "These friends of yours, they're experts, is that right? They know about aliens?"

"Why d'ya wanna know?" Rose asked, a little suspicious

Harriet suddenly broke down in tears. Rose took her arms awkwardly in an attempt to comfort her.

In the conference room, Asquith began the meeting "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to have your attention, please. As you can see from the summaries in front of you, the ship had one porcine occupant..."

"Now, the really interesting bit 'appened three days ago, see, filed away under 'any other business.'" the Doctor interrupted, deciding not to waste time and get to the point "The North Sea, a satellite detected a signal, a little blip of radiation at 100 fathoms like there's something down there." he stood up and walked down the centre aisle to address everyone "You were about to investigate an' the next thing yer know, this 'appens. Spaceships, pigs, massive diversion. From what?"

Green and Asquith shared a look, which went unnoticed by the Doctor as he had his back to them, unnoticed by Gazelle as she was looking through her booklet again and unnoticed by the Human experts as they were all looking at the Doctor.

Harriet had taken Rose to the Cabinet room and was showing her the skin-suit of Oliver Charles "They turned the body into a suit!" the older woman cried "A disguise for the thing inside!" she burst into tears again

"It's alright!" Rose soothed "I believe ya. It's alien. They must 'ave serious technology behind this. If we could find it, we could use it." she began rummaging around the room. She opened another cupboard and another body fell out, this one wasn't a skin-suit, but a body that still had all it's internal organs. "Oh, my God!" Rose gasped as she and Harriet examined it "Is that...?"

Just then, Indra entered the room "Harriet for God's sake!" he grumbled "This has gone beyond a joke, you cannot just wander..." he saw the body on the floor "Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister!"

In the conference room, the Doctor was still lecturing the experts, Green and Asquith "If aliens fake aliens an' an alien plot what do they get?" he pondered

Gazelle suddenly looked up from her booklet, her eyes widened as she worked it out "You." she breathed, standing up to join the Doctor "They get all of you." she gestured at the experts "This isn't a diversion, it's a trap!"

In the Cabinet room, Rose, Harriet and Indra were staring in shock at the Prime Minster's body when Margaret entered the room "Oh, has someone been naughty?" she smirked deviously

In the Tyler flat, Jackie went into the kitchen, still talking to Strickland "It was bigger on the inside. I dunno, what do I know about spaceships?"

"That's what worries me." Strickland answered from the living room "You see, this man is classified as 'trouble.' Which means that anyone associated with him is trouble. And that's my job." he removed his hat to reveal a zip on his forehead "Eliminating trouble." he began to undo the zip, filling the room with a blue light.

"That's impossible." Indra blustered "He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street, he was driven away!"

"And who told that, hmm?" Margaret crowed, walking over to the baffle Indra "Me!" she pulled her fringe aside to reveal her zip

"This is all about us." the Doctor murmured, agreeing with Gazelle's realisation that it was a trap "Alien experts, the only people with knowledge how to fight them gathered together in one room." Green suddenly broke wind loudly. The Doctor raised a brow, turned round and fixed Green with a pointed look "Excuse me, d'yer mind not farting while we're savin' the world?"

"Would you rather silent but deadly?" Green smirked and he and Asquith sniggered. Both Time Lords could only stare at them in bafflement. Considering what they'd just worked out, both Green and Asquith seemed far too laid back.

Asquith stood up, removed his hat and undid the zip on his forehead, while Green laughed manically. Once the zip was opened, Asquith pulled his skin-suit down to reveal an enormous, hulking green-skinned alien with sharp claws and black eyes that blinked sideways. The Time Lords and aliens could only stare transfixed.

In the Cabinet room, Margaret removed her skin-suit, to the disgust and shock of Rose, Harriet and Indra.

In the Tyler flat, Jackie paused halfway through making the tea when she saw the blue light coming from the living room. She tentatively walked to the kitchen door.

Asquith finished shrugging off his skin-suit while Green continued to cackle like a mad man

Jackie stopped in her tracks in the kitchen doorway and her eyes widened in shock at the alien standing in the living room

Margaret was now fully out of her skin-suit and stood before the astounded Humans.

Now fully unmasked, the alien that had been inside Asquith straightened up and addressed his audience "We are the Slitheen." he rasped

The alien that had been inside Margaret roared with delight and grabbed Indra between her claws, pining him against the wall. He cried out as she throttled him. Rose and Harriet were too shell-shocked to intervene.

The Slitheen that had been inside Strickland advanced on Jackie. The terrified Human screamed and backed against the counter, sinking against it as the Slitheen raised his claw ready to strike.

Green got to his feet "Thank you all for wearing your ID cards." he said as he pulled out a device from his pocket "They'll help to identify the bodies." he pressed the button and everyone in the room was bathed in electrical energy. The Doctor and Gazelle both fell to their knees in pain

Margaret finished off Indra by snapping his neck like a toothpick. Rose and Harriet winced.

Jackie screamed as Strickland prepared to strike

The Doctor grimaced and Gazelle screamed as their whole bodies convulsed from the electricity. Green looked on with a savage pleasure in his eyes while Asquith laughed.

To be continued...

Author's notes: With progress on series 5 going well, I'd thought I'd take a break and give this rewrite some attention. Hope it doesn't come across as inappropriate in the wake of the revelations about Noel Clarke. I was shocked to hear that news. On more positive notes, I hope you all like this new and improved version of Aliens of London. I decided to include the Downing Street scenes this time as it was much easier to show those moments happening rather then having great big exposition dumps. One of the most important rules of storytelling is show not tell, a concept that Chibnall seems incapable of grasping! Anyway, couldn't resist those Torchwood nods. In Exit Wounds, it was revealed that Tosh was filling in for a hungover Owen. I'd like to think that Jack would know that the Doctor was likely to show up so he'd more than likely have told Tosh to co-operate with him if he did so. I don't wanna sound sexist, but one of my favourite moments from all of Doctor Who was Joseph Green telling Harriet Jones to get some perspective. It cracks me up how his voice goes all squeaky as he says that line! And let's not forget the Doctor telling Green to stop farting while he's saving the world! Ah, crude humour, but funny! Anyway, hope you all like this addition and I hope to see ya all next time!