AN: Hello, my dears! I do apologise for being away so long, but my mental health was completely in the bin - and I had tons of stuff to work on for uni. I'm still super busy, but had a burst of inspiration this afternoon and got this finished! I think it'll probably be a little while before the next chapter too, I've got exams coming up so my attention is all focused on that for the moment. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 7: The Lazarus Experiment
If there was one place in that wonderful, bizarre ship that Martha adored more than any other, it was the kitchen. It was large, but felt cosy all the same. There was a window over the sink where sunlight constantly poured into the room - she didn't even want to try and get her head around how that worked. The counters were dark and sleek, and the appliances were as modern as they could be. It could almost have been a professional kitchen, except for a few quirks that made it feel so much more homely. Every cupboard door had a different handle - all sorts of shapes, colours and materials had been used. There was a vase of fresh, multicoloured roses on the windowsill that never seemed to wilt. And a recipe book the size of a paving slab that seemed to get thicker every time she set eyes on it sat next to the fridge. Something about the room just felt so safe.
"In here again?"
Eris' voice made her jump, and she turned to see her friend standing in the doorway, a mug in her hands.
"Can't help it, it's just so nice! It reminds me of home."
She laughed. "Yeah, I love it in here too. It's so peaceful." Walking over to the sink, she rinsed her mug out, and offered her arm to Martha. "Come on, I think we'll be landing soon."
"Any idea where we're landing?"
"Not a clue! Let's go and find out."
They got into the console room as the Doctor put on the hand brake, landing them safely. He grinned up at them.
"There we go. Perfect landing. Which isn't easy in such a tight spot."
Martha raised an eyebrow.
"You should be used to tight spots by now. Where are we?"
"The end of the line. No place like it."
He gestured towards the doors and, buzzing with excitement, she practically skipped towards them. In her haste, she didn't notice the odd look that Eris shot at the Doctor.
Her surroundings were achingly familiar. The teal walls, the flimsy orange curtains, the pale grey carpet. The Tardis had landed directly opposite the television, next to a clothes airer that was covered in damp items.
"Home. You took me home?"
The Doctor grinned, rather impressed with himself.
"In fact, the morning after we left, so you've only been gone about twelve hours. No time at all, really. "
"But all the stuff we've done. Shakespeare, New New York, old New York?"
"Yep, all in one night, relatively speaking. Everything should be just as it was. Books, CDs, laundry." He snagged a pair of purple lacy underwear from the top of the airer on one finger and she snatched it back, mortified.
"This is it?"
She looked between him and Eris - her friend didn't seem able to look her in the eye, instead focusing on her shoelaces. Still, the Doctor didn't seem too bothered.
"Yeah, we should probably er-"
He was interrupted by the sound of Martha's phone ringing, and the answering machine picked up.
"Hi, I'm out. Leave a message."
Martha rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry."
Then, a woman's voice came through. "Martha, are you there? Pick it up, will you?"
"It's Mum. It'll wait."
"All right then, pretend that you're out if you like." That got a snort from all three of them, and for the briefest of moments, the tension dissipated. "I was only calling to say that your sister's on TV. On the news of all things. Just thought you might be interested."
Pulling a face, Martha switched on the television. It blinked into life, showing a very pretty young woman that could only have been related to Martha standing next to an incredibly frail looking elderly man. He was the person talking.
"...the details are top secret…"
"How could Tish end up on the news?"
"Tonight, I will demonstrate a device which will redefine our world."
She remembered something from a phone call they'd had a few days ago.
"She's got a new job. PR for some research lab."
As they watched, the old man spread his arms wide.
"With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human."
There was a clamouring of voices from the crowd of reporters.
"Professor! Professor Lazarus!"
Martha switched it off again, vaguely spotting the thoughtful look on Eris' face but not really registering it.
"Sorry. You were saying we should?"
The Doctor nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Yes, yes, we should. One trip is what we said."
"Yeah. I suppose things just kind of escalated."
"Mmm. Seems to happen to us a lot."
Determined to hold back the tears until she was alone, she managed a smile.
"Thank you. For everything."
He gave her a genuine, soft smile, and pushed the Tardis door open.
"It was my pleasure."
Following Eris inside, he closed the doors.
Martha turned her back, expecting any moment to hear that wonderful sound of the engines as the ship dematerialised. However, what she heard instead was rather unexpected. Slightly raised voices, and a thud. As she turned again, the doors reopened. The Doctor was rubbing the back of his head - now, the noise made sense - and there was a glint in Eris' eyes.
"No, I'm sorry. Did he say he was going to change what it means to be human?"
Evening had fallen by the time the trio were ready to gatecrash the event. Well, it wasn't technically gatecrashing - Martha had found her invitation from Tish, and it had said she could bring a plus one. So they had collectively agreed that Eris would invent a name to get her in the building, as she was far more likely to create a convincing alias than the Doctor was. There was a slight breeze as they walked to the venue, and Martha almost wished she'd picked up a jacket in the Tardis. Still, she adored her dress. It came to just below her knee, had a gorgeous V-neck, and was the prettiest shade of purple she had ever seen. She didn't get to dress up often, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. Both Eris and the Doctor were wearing suits, although they carried the looks off entirely differently. Eris' suit was a deep blue, paired with a lilac-grey waistcoat and matching bow tie, and a white shirt. Her hair was twisted neatly into a bun, and there was a beautiful air of professionalism about her. From the silver and sapphire earrings to the silver pocket watch, right down to the shine of her black shoes, the outfit looked like it had been created just for her. In contrast, the Doctor was in a rather average black suit with a bow tie, and he couldn't have looked more uncomfortable in it if he had tried. Even as they approached the venue, he was fiddling with the cuffs, an odd look on his face.
"Oh, black tie. Whenever I wear this, something bad always happens."
Eris raised her eyebrows. "Don't blame the suit for your problems!"
Martha laughed, agreeing. "It's not the outfit, that's just you. Anyway, I think it suits you. In a James Bond kind of way."
He stared at her for a moment. "James Bond?" And then, seemed to take it as a compliment. "Really?"
They reached the building branded 'Lazarus Laboratories', and linking arms, entered.
The reception room was packed with other people in formal wear, and a soft babble of polite conversation rose into the air. In the very centre of the room was a raised circular dais, which held a tall chamber made of frosted glass. It was surrounded by four upright posts which curved at the top. Naturally, this was the thing that captured the Doctor's attention - until a waiter walked by.
"Oh, look, they've got nibbles! I love nibbles."
As Eris sighed and jabbed him in the ribs, "Behave! This is a smart event." Tish joined them, grinning at her sister.
"Hello."
"Tish!"
"You look great. So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?"
"Very."
"And two nights out in a row for you. That's dangerously close to a social life."
Martha rolled her eyes jokingly.
"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns."
"You might, actually. You should keep an eye out for photographers. And Mum, she's coming too. Even dragging Leo along with her."
This got a mocking gasp from Martha.
"Leo in black tie? That I must see." Then, she remembered that she had guests with her. "Oh, this is, er, the Doctor. And this is Eris."
"Hello." He waved, grinning inanely.
Tish looked at him oddly. "Are they with you?"
"Yeah." Martha tried to put on her best innocent look.
"But they're not on the list. How did they get in?"
"Well, he's my plus one."
"And what about her?"
At this, Eris stopped staring at the people walking past them and smiled widely at Tish, offering her a hand.
"Hi, Eris Stewart. My name isn't on the list, but I'm here as a representative of UNIT - one of their scientific team got held up and couldn't make it, so they've asked me to attend instead. There's probably an email about it somewhere."
This seemed to satisfy Tish, and the Doctor - unable to hold his tongue any longer - jumped in.
"So, this Lazarus, he's your boss?"
"Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff."
Martha scoffed. "She's in the PR department."
Tish pulled a face at her sister. "I'm head of the PR department, actually."
"You're joking."
"I put this whole thing together."
Putting his glasses on, the Doctor peered a little closer at the capsule.
"So do you know what the professor's going to be doing tonight? That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator."
Tish shot a knowing look at Martha. "He's a science geek. I should have known. Got to get back to work now. I'll catch up with you later."
As she walked away, Eris snorted, and the Doctor's face dropped slightly.
"Science geek? What does that mean?"
Martha tried to phrase it in a nice way.
"That you're obsessively enthusiastic about it."
"Oh, nice." He grinned.
A voice from across the room caught their attention.
"Martha."
The speaker was a petite black woman in a stunning golden dress, and the resemblance was unmissable.
"Mum!"
Martha squeezed her mum tightly, and she laughed.
"Alright, what's the occasion?"
"What do you mean? I'm just pleased to see you, that's all."
"You saw me last night."
"I know. I just miss you." Changing the subject, she punched her brother in the arm. "You're looking good, Leo."
Leo huffed. "Yeah. If anyone asks me to fetch them a drink, I'll swing for him."
By now, Martha's mother had noticed the duo standing behind her, and she started to pry.
"You disappeared last night."
"I just went home."
"On your own?"
Getting the hint, Martha made the introductions.
"These are some friends of mine. Eris, and the Doctor."
Eris put on a winning smile and took Mrs Jones' hand.
"It's lovely to finally meet you Mrs Jones. And I must say, that dress is absolutely beautiful."
Cheeks darkening a little, the woman smiled back. "Please, call me Francine. Eris? That's such a pretty name. And it was, Doctor what? Sorry, I didn't quite catch it."
Martha jumped in. "No, it's just the Doctor. We've been doing some work together."
Leo offered the man a fist bump. "You all right, mate?"
The Doctor returned it, before turning to Francine.
"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Jones. Heard a lot about you."
Deciding that she wasn't quite as keen on this man as she was on the young woman, Mrs Jones raised an eyebrow.
"Have you? What have you heard, then?"
He faltered a little. Oh, you know, that you're Martha's mother and…. Er, no, actually, that's about it. We haven't had much time to chat. You know, been busy."
"Busy? Doing what, exactly?"
"Oh you know. Stuff."
As Eris smothered a laugh at his visible discomfort, Professor Lazarus stepped up onto the dais and tapped on his wine glass, capturing everyone's attention.
The scientist looked even more frail and delicate in real life.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I am going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you will wake to a world which will be changed forever."
He raised a hand to the scientists manning a control desk a few metres away before stepping into the large capsule and closing the door behind him. The team manning the desk started up the machine, and a soft whirring sound started to grow. The columns surrounding the capsule started to oscillate and rotate, and the crowd stepped backwards, gasping in awe. Crackles of hot blue energy passed between the structures, and as the speed picked up smoke started to filter out from the gaps. Then, an alarm started to blare. The Doctor frowned.
"Something's wrong. It's overloading."
Sparks shot up from the console, and the Doctor ran over to it, whipping the screwdriver from his pocket.
Lady Thaw, Lazarus' business associate, cried out.
"Somebody stop him. Get him away from those controls!"
Having joined her father, Eris snapped.
"If this thing goes up, it'll take the whole building with it. Is that what you want?"
The two worked together, trying to stabilise the technology, before the Doctor ripped out a large power cable. The contraption slowed, and then stopped entirely. As the concerned crowd watched, Martha ran up to the doors of the chamber and tried to pull them open.
"Get it open!" The Doctor shouted, rushing to join her.
With an almighty heave, she managed to get the doors to budge, and she stepped back as an impossibly young blonde man stepped out. He looked a little dazed, rubbing at his face as he stood up straight and addressed the gathered onlookers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am seventy six years old and I am reborn!"
This statement was met with wild applause, and Lady Thaw gasped in delight.
"He did it. He actually did it."
Photographers swarmed, and the trio got themselves out of the way so they could observe from a slight distance. Martha scoffed.
"It can't be the same guy. It's impossible. It must be a trick."
The Doctor shook his head grimly. "Oh, it's not a trick. I wish it were."
"What just happened then?"
"He just changed what it means to be human."
Mid conversation with Lady Thaw, Lazarus stiffened, grimacing slightly. As he relaxed, he grabbed a tray from a passing waiter and flicked the tiny canapes into his mouth eagerly, barely swallowing one before biting down on another. Lady Thaw gave him a look.
"Richard."
He spoke around a mouthful. "I'm famished."
"Energy deficit. Always happens with this kind of process."
They turned to see the Doctor, standing with his hands in his pockets and a slight glint in his eyes. Lazarus raised an eyebrow.
"You speak as if you see this every day, Mr...?"
"Doctor. And well, no, not every day, but I have some experience of this kind of transformation."
"That's not possible."
"Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance. That's inspired."
There was a momentary pause as he eyed the strange man.
"You understand the theory, then."
The Doctor nodded. "Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables."
"No experiment is entirely without risk."
Eris raised her eyebrows.
"That thing nearly exploded. You might as well have stepped into a blender."
Lady Thaw sneered. "You're not qualified to comment."
"If we hadn't stopped it, it would have exploded."
Lazarus put a hand up to appease his associate.
"Then I thank you, Doctor, miss. But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less."
Martha frowned. "You've no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests."
"Look at me. You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need."
Looking even more snooty than she had done when Lazarus had stepped out of his impossible machine, Lady Thaw grinned.
"This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially."
Martha's jaw dropped. "Commercially? You are joking. That'll cause chaos."
Lazarus was calm. "Not chaos, change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve."
The Doctor let a hint of ice creep into his voice.
"This isn't about improving. This is about you and your customers living a little longer."
"Not a little longer, Doctor. A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely."
"Richard, we have things to discuss, upstairs."
As Lady Thaw shot a disdainful look at the guests, Lazarus nodded.
"Goodbye, Doctor. In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were." He made a movement towards Eris as though he wanted to take her hand, but changed his mind at the look in her eyes, and instead turned his attention on Martha. He kissed her hand gently, before walking away.
The Doctor ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh, he's out of his depth. No idea of the damage he might have done."
"So what do we do now?"
"Now? Well, this building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests."
Martha held her hand up. "Lucky I've just collected a DNA sample then, isn't it?"
Eris' face broke into a wide grin.
"Oh, Martha Jones, you're an absolute star."
It didn't take them long to find a laboratory that would suit their needs, and Eris got to work swabbing the sample from Martha and applying it to a slide. She was impressed by her friend's confidence in the set up.
"You're pretty good at that. I always mix up the order of staining."
Eris grinned. "Ah, well I've had plenty of practice. The procedure has changed a fair bit since I started working with microscopes, but it's all the same principle really. Here we go."
She docked the slide, and stepped to the side so the Doctor could take control. He fiddled about with the program, and the image of a single strand of DNA was projected onto the screen. They all stared at it for a few moments, before the Doctor grinned.
"Amazing."
Martha frowned. "What?"
"Lazarus's DNA."
Squinting, Eris shook her head. "I can't see anything different."
"Look at it."
As they watched, a section of the double helix bulged out and spiked, before settling back into it's normal place. Martha gasped.
"Oh, my God. Did that just change? But it can't have."
"But it did."
"It's impossible."
"And that's two impossible things we've seen so far tonight. Don't you love it when that happens?"
Eris nudged him. "The only things that happen to you are impossible things."
Martha was still marvelling over the science.
"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns."
The Doctor nodded. "Hypersonic sound waves to destabilise the cell structure, then a metagenic programme to manipulate the coding in the protein strands. Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate."
"But they're still mutating now."
"Because he missed something. Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilise. Something that's trying to change him."
"Change him into what?"
"I don't know, but I think we need to find out."
"That woman said they were going upstairs."
"Let's go then."
In the hall, a string quartet had started playing, and a light babble of conversation filled the air. Francine was a little uneasy, and felt herself relax at the sight of her older daughter.
"Tish! Have you seen Martha and that Doctor anywhere?"
She shrugged. "Not since the demonstration."
"Do you know anything about either of those new friends of hers? Has she ever mentioned him before?"
"Not to me."
"The way she followed him…"
Tish sighed. "She's a doctor. She was just doing her job."
"She's not a doctor yet. Never will be, if she doesn't stay focused."
Leo rolled his eyes. "Oh give it a rest mum, she's made some friends, that's all. And so what if she's found a bloke?"
"There's something going on, Leo, I can feel it."
Sensing an argument brewing, Tish made up an excuse about having to check on the party's progress and left. As she walked past a small group of people, a hand settled on her elbow.
"Leticia Jones. I'd recognize the smell of that soap anywhere."
Looking up at Lazarus' face, she really hoped she wasn't blushing. While he was old, a comment like that would have been horribly creepy. But as a younger man…
"Professor."
"I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, you'll have to excuse me while I take care of Leticia here. I've been neglecting her."
And with his hand still on her elbow, he led her away from the party.
Having finished with the equipment in the labs, Eris suggested checking out Lazarus' office, so the three of them headed across the building to get there. It was obvious once they reached the right room. One wall was made entirely out of glass, giving a wonderful view of London, and in front of it was a wide desk, set up with two monitors. Martha shivered - it was surprisingly cold.
"This is his office, all right."
The Doctor nodded. "So where is he?"
"Don't know. Let's try back at the re...ception."
Her voice wavered at the sight of a skeletal leg sticking out from behind the desk, and she grabbed Eris' hand. Registering her friend's distress, the brunette walked tentatively forwards until she could see the entire figure. It was, as they had feared, a whole dead body. It was wearing a glitzy dress that looked worryingly familiar.
"Is that Lady Thaw?"
The Doctor scanned the corpse. "Used to be. Now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out, like squeezing the juice out of an orange."
Eris chewed at the inside of her cheek. "Lazarus?"
"Could be."
Martha frowned. "So he's changed already?"
"Not necessarily. You saw the DNA. It was fluctuating. The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough."
"So he might do this again?"
"Mmm."
The three of them looked back down at the remains of Lady Thaw. The idea of the same thing happening to someone else didn't bear thinking about.
Finding Lazarus in the packed atrium was proving to be almost impossible.
"I can't see him."
Eris hopped up on a spare chair.
"He can't be far. Keep looking."
Martha held back a groan as Leo approached - now really wasn't the time.
"Hey, you all right, Marth? I think Mum wants to talk to you."
She ignored his statement. "Have you seen Lazarus anywhere?"
"Yeah, well, he was getting cosy with Tish a couple of minutes ago."
"With Tish?"
She grabbed the Doctor's arm, suddenly terrified for her sister's safety, and he nodded. Unfortunately, as they were about to get Eris' attention and leave, Francine appeared out of the crowd.
"Ah, Doctor."
Turning to Leo, the Doctor asked. "Where did they go?"
The man shrugged. "Upstairs, I think. Why?"
"Doctor-"
He rushed past her, splashing her drink down her dress as he did so, and Eris followed him. Martha shot an apologetic look at her family before weaving her way through the people blocking her path.
"I'm speaking to you!"
"Not now, Mum!"
Grumbling, Francine picked up a napkin and started dabbing the fizzy liquid off her arm. As Leo turned to try and watch where they were headed, a waiter handed her another glass of champagne.
"I think you need one of these."
"Thank you. That's very kind of you."
"Do you know that man?"
She frowned. "No. He's a friend of my daughter's."
He nodded. "Perhaps she should choose her friends more carefully."
And before she could ask him what he meant, he had vanished into the crowd.
Following the signal from the sonic, they ended up in the office again, and Martha was getting more worried by the second.
"Where are they?"
The Doctor tapped the screwdriver against his palm.
"The DNA's fluctuating, so the signal keeps dropping. It's hard to get a proper fix on it- aha! Got him."
"Where?"
He pointed upwards, and she frowned.
"But this is the top floor."
Eris' eyes widened.
"They're on the roof!"
"That clock tower's beautiful all lit up like that."
Tish smiled as she gazed out at the London skyline, acutely aware of the handsome man standing beside her. She hadn't felt butterflies in her stomach like this since Dan Phillips had asked her to be his girlfriend around the back of a kebab shop when they were thirteen. Lazarus seemed perfectly at ease.
"It's Southwark Cathedral. One of the oldest churches in London. Been around even longer than I have."
She raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're looking pretty good for your age."
"Thank you."
"Can I?"
He nodded. "Of course."
And she reached up, stroking his smooth cheek with her fingertips. "Still can't take it in."
"I'm still adjusting myself. I've been working toward it for so many years, it's hard to believe the moment's finally arrived."
"And is it like you expected?"
The smile on his face made her knees shake a little.
"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect. There's always something to surprise you. Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act-"
A voice from behind them finished the sentence.
"-falls the Shadow."
They turned to see the Doctor, flanked by Eris and Martha.
"So the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot. I'm impressed."
Tish stared at her sister. "Martha, what are you doing here?"
Not taking her eyes off the scientist, Martha held out a hand.
"Tish, get away from him."
"What? Don't tell me what to do."
The Doctor's eyes narrowed.
"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all."
Lazarus smiled coldly. "You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four."
Stepping forwards, Eris crossed her arms and glared up at the tall man.
"If you know your Eliot as well as we do, then I'm sure this is a quote you'll recognise as well - 'Do I dare disturb the universe?' Because it seems you've decided that you do."
He laughed. "Oh, my dear. What is the universe, if not a playground for those who have the minds to master it?"
The Doctor shook his head. "Doesn't work like that. Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person."
"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be."
"Somehow, I don't think it's you." There was a smooth iciness in her tone, and the Doctor stepped in before she could anger the man too much. They didn't know what he was capable of yet.
"Or what a curse. Look at what you've done to yourself."
"Who are you to judge me?"
Having watched the whole interaction - and decided that she was incredibly uncomfortable with it - Tish stomped over to join Martha, hissing at her sister through her teeth.
"You have to spoil everything, don't you? Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault."
Behind Tish, Lazarus spasmed, and dropped to the ground. He was breathing heavily, clutching at his sides in pain.
"Tish, he's a monster!"
"I know the age thing's a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones."
Noticing that the others had backed towards the fire doors, Tish turned - and wished she hadn't. Where Lazarus had been standing was a colossal scorpion-like creature with glistening pink skin and an emaciated, skeletal form. The thing had a tail with a bulbous tip, and it leered down at the little group.
"What the hell is that?"
The Doctor grabbed her hand as Martha darted towards the doors.
"Run!"
Eris slammed the doors shut behind them, undoing her bow tie and tying it around the door handles for good measure. She doubted it would do anything more than keep Lazarus out for a few extra seconds, but it was better than nothing. The Doctor led the other girls down the stairs, Martha holding Tish's hand tightly in hers.
"Are you okay?"
She managed a slight laugh. "I was going to snog him."
As Eris caught up with them, the lights above flickered, and dimmed. The tannoy system squeaked into life.
"Security one. Security one. Security one."
They could hear the sounds of various locking mechanisms throughout the building, and Martha frowned.
"What's happening?"
Tish groaned. "An intrusion. It triggers a security lockdown. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts, seals the exits."
The four of them got back into Lazarus' office and took a brief pause for breath. The banging above got louder, and the Doctor pulled them towards the next set of stairs.
"He must be breaking through that door. The stairs, come on!"
One flight above the reception, there was an almighty crash from above, and Eris swore.
"He's got into the building!"
And they kept running.
They burst back into the reception room, all very breathless. The Doctor was worried - there were so many people here. So many people that Lazarus could target.
"Tish, is there another way out of here?"
She nodded. "There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now."
"Martha, setting fifty four. Hurry."
He tossed the sonic to Martha before raising his voice to address the guests.
"Listen to me! You people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!"
A woman in a slinky gold dress scoffed.
"Don't be ridiculous. The biggest danger here is choking on an olive."
There was a snarl from above, and the hideous creature that had once been Lazarus appeared up on the mezzanine. It jumped down to the main floor, smashing one of the tables as it landed, and that's when people started to panic. The thing swung about, sending another table flying - unfortunately, Leo was in it's path, and it collided solidly with his head.
Martha managed to get the door open, and started ushering people outside.
"Over here! This way! Everyone downstairs now! Hurry!"
In the time it had taken to break the locks, Lazarus had attacked three people and was targeting a fourth. The Doctor tried to get his attention.
"No! Get away from her!"
But it was too late. Another dried husk of a body dropped to the floor. Then, Lazarus turned his attention onto Leo as Francine tried to help him stand. Spotting this, Eris grabbed a leg from the broken table and threw it with all her strength. It hit the creature in the back of the head and it turned, giving Martha the chance to get to her family and get them out.
"Lazarus! Leave them alone."
Lazarus growled, and she raised an eyebrow.
"Is that supposed to scare me? Come on, I'm sure you can do better than that."
Slightly concerned by his daughter's recklessness, the Doctor moved to stand next to her.
"What's the point? You can't control it. The mutation's too strong. Killing those people won't help you. You're a fool. A vain old man who thought he could defy nature. Only Nature got her own back, didn't she? You're a joke, Lazarus! A footnote in the history of failure!"
This really angered the mutant and he lunged towards the Doctor - who darted down a side corridor in response. As the two of them disappeared, Eris ran towards the control desk for Lazarus' machine.
Martha was helping a very dazed Leo to stand up straight, looking into his eyes. Tish, noticing the Doctor leave, grabbed her shoulder.
"What's the Doctor doing?"
"He's trying to buy us some time. Let's not waste it. Leo, look at me. Focus on me. Let's see your eyes. He's got a concussion. Mum, you'll need to help him downstairs."
She turned to a nearby ice bucket and tucked a handful of it into a thick white napkin. "This'll keep the swelling down. Go! I'll be right behind you. Tish, move! We need to get out of here."
They moved to leave, but there was another problem - the glass doors at the front of the building were firmly closed, and the guests were piled up against them, trying fruitlessly to get them to give way. Tish groaned.
"We can't get out. We're trapped!"
"There must be an override switch. Where's the security desk? Tish!"
"There."
Vaulting the desk, Martha ran the sonic screwdriver over the control panel, grinning when the lights came on and the doors clicked open. The panicked crowd streamed out onto the street, and she faltered in the doorway as her family stepped out into the night.
"I've got to go back."
Her mum turned round with a horrified expression.
"You can't! You saw what that thing did. It'll kill you."
"I don't care. I have to go."
"It's that Doctor, isn't it? That's what's happened to you. That's why you've changed."
Tish looked at her, begging.
"He was buying us time, Martha. Time for you to get out, too."
"I'm not leaving either of them in there."
And she ran back in, ignoring her mum shouting back at her.
"Martha!"
Hearing footsteps in the atrium, Eris popped up from behind the desk, relaxing a little when she saw that it was Martha.
"What the hell are you doing back in here?"
"Well I wasn't going to leave you in here, obviously. What are you doing?"
The brunette gestured down at a thick tangle of wires that had been obviously ripped from the back of the control units.
"Trying to stop Lazarus from using the machine again."
"You think he'll go in it a second time?"
"Who knows? But he's out of his mind, and I'd rather not take the risk."
There were little red marks across her cheeks where the wires had sparked, and the sleeves of her jacket - which she'd rolled up to her elbows - looked a little singed, but she seemed completely unbothered. Martha offered her the sonic.
"Do you want this? It might help."
Eris glanced up briefly. "No, I'll manage. I think the Doctor was headed for the west lab, he'll probably need it more than I do."
"Gotcha."
Eris had been, in fact, entirely right about where he had headed. The Doctor had led Lazarus to one of his own labs and switched on all the gas taps, hoping that the creature would lash out and create some kind of spark, blowing himself up in the process. It had sort of worked - there had been an explosion - but he had no idea if it had had the desired effect or not. He ran down the corridors, hurtling around corners - two rights and a left - and very nearly knocked Martha to the floor.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm returning this. I thought you might need it." She passed him the sonic.
"How did you-?"
She shrugged. "Eris said she thought she'd seen you head this way. And I heard the explosion. I guessed it was you."
"She's still in the building?"
"Yep, said she was trying to deactivate the machine. What did you do?"
"I blasted Lazarus."
"Did you kill him?"
A furious snarl from an uncomfortably close distance gave them the answer, and the Doctor grabbed Martha's hand.
"More sort of annoyed him, I'd say. Run!"
They made it back into reception, well aware that they were still being followed. Martha groaned.
"What now? We've just gone round in a circle."
Hopping over the desk, Eris joined them.
"Where is he?"
"Not that far behind us."
The Doctor grabbed both their hands.
"We can't lead him outside. Come on, get in."
And he pulled htem towards the capsule. The three of them had just about managed to cram themselves inside it when Lazarus squeezed himself through the little doorway into the foyer.
Martha felt fairly claustrophobic, but tried to keep as calm as possible. Panicking in such a little space would do them no good at all.
"Are we hiding?"
The Doctor shook his head.
"No, he knows we're here. But this is his masterpiece. I'm betting he won't destroy it, not even to get at us."
"But we're trapped."
"Well, yeah, that's a slight problem."
"You mean you don't have a plan?"
"Yes, the plan was to get inside here."
"Then what?"
"Well, then I'd come up with another plan."
"In your own time, then."
Rolling her eyes, Eris managed to jab both of them in the ribs with the slightest of elbow movements.
"Oh quit it, you two. Dad, I started messing with the wires in here as well as at the desk panel. But I stopped, I didn't want to set it off by accident while I was still inside. Can you do anything with what's left?"
He peered down at the panel she'd pulled up, and nodded.
"Let me give it a go."
And he shimmied down to the floor, ignoring Martha's protests as she got squashed up against the wall.
"Hey!"
He dug the sonic from his pocket. "Here we are."
"What're you going to do with that?"
"Improvise."
As he pulled up one of the main circuit boards and started fiddling, Martha sighed.
"I still don't understand where that thing came from. Is it alien?"
"No, for once it's strictly human in origin."
"Human? How can it be human?"
Eris shrugged. "A recessive characteristic, maybe?"
He nodded in agreement. "Probably from dormant genes in Lazarus's DNA. The energy field in this thing must have reactivated them. And it looks like they're becoming dominant."
"So it's a throwback."
"Some option that evolution rejected for you millions of years ago, but the potential is still there. Locked away in your genes, forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake."
Martha nodded. "It's like Pandora's box."
"Exactly. Nice shoes, by the way."
There was a loud popping sound from outside, and a roar of pain from Lazarus. Both girls jumped, then Eris realised exactly what it was.
"Lazarus must have touched the console! I'm not sure how many volts are running through it right now but I bet it's enough to give him a good shock."
Unfortunately her glee was short lived as the capsule around them started to hum, the noise growing in frequency. The lights inside got brighter, and Martha squinted.
"Doctor, what's happening?"
"Sounds like he's switched the machine on."
"And that's not good, is it?"
"Well, I was hoping it was going to take him a little bit longer to work that out!"
Everything around them started to shake, and a note of panic crept into her voice.
"I don't want to hurry you, but-"
"I know, I know. Nearly done."
He was still sonicking one of the circuits, teeth gritted as he tried to pull some of the fixings away.
"Well, what're you doing?"
"I'm trying to set the capsule to reflect energy rather than receive it."
"Will that kill it?" Eris asked, trying desperately to ignore the high ringing in her ears.
"When he transforms, he's three times his size. Cellular triplication. So he's spreading himself thin."
The shaking was getting worse by the second, and Martha couldn't see this ending well.
"We're going to end up like him!"
Ignoring his burning fingertips, the Doctor kept working.
"Just one more!"
And then came a tremendous cracking sound, accompanied by a roar of fear and pain. The capsule around them settled, and everything was silent. Nothing seemed to be moving outside. Moving cautiously, just in case, Eris led the others out of the capsule. Martha rolled her shoulders slightly.
"I thought we were going to go through the blender then."
The Doctor wrinkled his nose.
"Really shouldn't take that long just to reverse the polarity. I must be a bit out of practice."
The sight of a naked man lying face down on the floor made them stop. Unable to look, Martha kept her eyes on the floor.
"Oh, God. He seems so human again. It's kind of pitiful."
Noticing her distress, the Doctor took her hand.
"Eliot saw that, too. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper."
The three of them walked out onto the street, watching as a blanket-covered stretcher was moved into the back of the ambulance. Martha spotted her family again and moved to check on them. Her sister looked delighted to see her.
"She's here. Oh, she's all right."
The Doctor grinned at Martha's mother.
"Ah, Mrs Jones. We still haven't finished our chat."
There was a loud crack as Francine Jones slapped him, hard. He stumbled back a little, stunned, and Martha gasped.
"Mum, what are you doing?"
"Keep away from my daughter." She spat.
Eris rolled her eyes at the look on her dad's face.
"Oh grow up, you've had worse."
He was still rubbing at his cheek forlornly. "All of the mothers, every time."
Francine was still arguing with Martha.
"He is dangerous. I've been told things."
"What are you talking about?"
"Look around you. Nothing but death and destruction."
"This isn't his fault. He saved us, all of us!"
Still holding the napkin full of ice up to his head, Leo piped up.
"And it was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place. I'd say technically, it's her fault."
As Tish elbowed Leo in the ribs, there was a giant crash around the corner. They couldn't see anything from where they were standing. Exchanging worried glances, the Doctor and Eris ran to see what was happening. Martha moved to follow them, but her mum grabbed her arm.
"Leave him."
She shook her head and broke free. Tish called after her.
"Martha?"
When she didn't get a response, she took a few tentative steps. Her mum shook her head.
"Not you, too?"
"Sorry."
And she started to run after her sister.
As soon as they made it around the corner, they could see the source of the noise. The ambulance had crashed; the front had crumpled and there was smoke coming from the engine. The back doors were open, and inside they could see the desiccated remains of two people in green uniforms. It was obvious what had happened, and the Doctor groaned.
"Lazarus, back from the dead. Should have known, really." He pulled the sonic from his pocket and started scanning, following the slight changes in pitch as he turned in a slow circle.
"Where is he?" Eris asked.
A soft ping from the sonic gave them the answer. "That way. The church."
"Cathedral." Tish corrected him, then looked a little embarrassed when the others looked at her. "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me."
Martha shuddered as they walked into the cathedral. Such a large, empty space - and so late at night - it felt so strange.
"Do you think he's in here?"
Eris kept her voice low.
"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?"
As they approached the altar, the Doctor held out a hand; he could see the man they were looking for. All four of them got closer, and could see Lazarus huddled on the floor in his red blanket. He didn't turn around, but he knew he had company.
"I came here before, a lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here, just a child, the sound of planes and bombs outside."
"The Blitz." The Doctor murmured.
"You've read about it."
Eris looked down at him. "We were there."
"You're too young."
"So are you."
Lazarus laughed, and it turned to grunts of agony as painful cracking sounds came from his joints. It took a couple of moments before he could talk again.
"In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again. So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "That's what you were trying to do today?"
"That's what I did today."
"What about the other people who died?"
"They were nothing. I changed the course of history."
"Any of them might have done too. You think history's only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that."
A sheen of sweat had appeared on Lazarus' head.
"No, Doctor. Avoiding death, that's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fibre of being. I'm only doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more successful."
Eris scoffed, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"Look at yourself. You're mutating! You've no control over it. You call that a success?"
"I call it progress. I'm more now that I was. More than just an ordinary human."
"There's no such thing as an ordinary human."
Lazarus convulsed again, and Martha grabbed the Doctor's hand in panic.
"He's going to change again any minute."
He whispered back. "I know. If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, I've got an idea that might work."
She followed his gaze. "Up there?"
The 'young' man on the floor in front of them sneered.
"You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look."
"I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything turn to dust. If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone."
"That's a price worth paying."
"Is it?"
He grimaced. "I will feed soon."
"I'm not going to let that happen."
"You've not been able to stop me so far."
Martha had stepped away from the group a little, towards the nearest staircase.
"Leave him, Lazarus! He's old and bitter. I thought you had a taste for fresher meat."
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Martha, no."
Lazarus lunged, and Eris got between him and his target.
"Come on old man. Surely two is better than one, right?"
And with a quick shove, she followed Martha up the stairs.
"What are you doing?" She hissed.
Eris managed a shrug. "Keeping you out of trouble! And running in flatter shoes than you are."
As they got halfway up the narrow stairs, they heard an echoing groan behind them, and some rather unpleasant crunching noises
"Did you hear that?" Martha's eyes widened.
The brunette nodded. "He's changed again. Keep moving. We've got to lead him up."
Tish and the Doctor looked up, trying to spot the girls as they fled. There was a horrible moment of silence where neither of them had a clue what was going on, and then Tish grabbed the Doctor's hand and pointed up into the clerestory. Martha was waving down at them.
"Doctor!"
"Take him to the top. The very top of the bell tower, do you hear me?!"
They watched as Eris came into view, urging Martha to move along.
"Martha, we need to move."
She wasn't really listening. "Up to the top! Then what?"
"Martha, come on!"
A growl signalled the appearance of Lazarus at the other end of the corridor, and the girls disappeared from view again,
Coming up with a plan on the spot, the Doctor grabbed Tish by the hand and led her up to the organ loft, directing her to the volume controls.
"Get them as loud as possible." And then he shoved the sonic screwdriver into a power port.
"Hypersonic sound waves. Inspired."
For Eris and Martha, things were going from bad to worse. They had reached a dead end in the bell tower, at a circular balcony with waist height rails. Martha groaned.
"There's nowhere to go. We're trapped!"
"Trust me, we're going to be fine."
"All right, so then we're not trapped. We're bait."
"Martha, I've got a plan. Relax."
Lazarus' low, scratchy voice sounded from the doorway.
"Ladies."
Eris stepped in front of Martha, pressing the other girl back against the wall.
"Listen to me. I'm going to get his attention, and keep it on me. The second that doorway gets clear, you make a run for it. Understood?"
"But-"
"No, Martha, listen! There's every chance I'll survive if he targets me, and it should buy you enough time to go."
And before she could argue, Eris moved to stand right against the railings.
"Come on, then! Come and have a taste."
Lazarus started to climb across the gap under the bell, and she got a foothold on the first horizontal plank of the frame. The monstrous thing's tail swung forwards, breaking the rails and sending Eris falling through the air with it.
"No!" Martha threw herself down so she was leaning over the edge, reaching a hand down and grabbing Eris' shoulder. She was still hanging on!
Below them, the sounds of the church organ swelled, filling the space around them.
"I hope it's a good acoustic in here." The Doctor muttered, slamming his feet down on the pedals. The sound of a second set of notes made him glance over at Tish, and she raised an eyebrow.
"I did piano lessons when I was ten. Hated every second, but I think I remember what to do."
He nodded, then frowned again.
"We need to turn this up to eleven."
The notes started to reverberate more fiercely, and they were both incredibly glad that the organ loft was relatively quiet in comparison to what it must be like in the rest of the cathedral.
Up in the bell tower, Eris had wrapped her arms around a piece of rather unstable ironwork, and was squeezing so tightly on Martha's hand that her fingers were going numb.
"If he gets any closer," Eris hissed, "I'm going to kick him in the chin."
The organ notes grew once again, to the point of being painful, and Martha instinctively moved to cover her ears. Unable to do the same, Eris hung there with her face screwed up in pain, well aware that her grip was slipping. There was a colossal crash above, and a vast downward movement as Lazarus, writhing in agony, fell the great distance to the floor below. Another dreadful thump as he hit the floor, and then there was silence. Martha moved tentatively, lowering her hands when she was sure the assault had stopped. Then, remembering her friend's predicament, she looked down again. But the bar she had been holding onto was empty. Her heart stopped.
"Eris!"
"I'm here, it's okay!" And a hand waved out from just behind the bars. Leaning forwards a little, Martha could see Eris hanging from a outcrop of rock by her jacket, one shoulder very clearly dislocated.
"Your shoulder…"
"Help me up and we can sort it out."
With a lot of pulling and one handed manouvres, she managed to get Eris back up onto the walkway. "I've got you. Hold on." The second she was back on solid ground, Martha started feeling over Eris' shoulder. "I can put it back for you, but it's not going to be comfortable."
Her friend smirked, set her palm so her fingers could wrap around her arm, and pushed hard. There was a slight crunch, and she tested her arm, grinning.
"All fixed."
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yep, all sorted. I've had worse."
Down in the organ loft and painfully aware of the silence, the Doctor shouted as loud as he could.
"Eris? Martha?"
The response was immediate, and he sighed in relief.
"I'm okay! We're both okay!"
Now on the ground floor, the Doctor knelt by Lazarus' side, feeling mixed emotions at the sight of the old man lying there. The others were safe, and he was glad about that. But he hated knowing that once again, he was responsible for the death of someone else. Behind him, Tish stared resolutely at the stony floor, unable to set eyes on the wrinkled figure. Footsteps made them both look up, and the sight of Martha and Eris brought smiles to their faces. A dark scrape on his daughter's cheek made the Doctor worry a little, but even as he reached her it was healing over. He hugged her tightly, vaguely aware of Tish and Martha doing the same. Then, Martha hugged him too.
"I didn't know you could play?"
"Oh, well, you know, if you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm. Especially about playing loud."
He cupped his hand around his ear, feigning deafness.
"Sorry?"
That got a laugh from all of them.
Still in their evening clothes, they returned to Martha's flat. The Doctor paused at the door.
"Something else that just kind of escalated, then."
Martha smiled. "I can see a pattern developing. You should take more care in the future. And the past. And whatever other time period you find yourself in."
"It's good fun, though, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"So, what do you say, one more trip?"
Her response didn't surprise Eris at all.
"No. Sorry."
Clearly the Doctor hadn't been expecting it.
"What do you mean? I thought you liked it."
"I do, but I can't go on like this. One more trip. It's not fair."
"What're you talking about?"
Eris rolled her eyes. How was he this dense?
Martha crossed her arms. "I don't want to be just a passenger anymore. Someone you take along for a treat. If that's how you still see me, I'd rather stay here."
A little surprised, the Doctor glanced down at his daughter. But the look on her face said everything, and he tried to make a smooth recovery.
"Okay, then. If that's what you want."
Looking slightly hurt, Martha turned her back on them.
"Right. But we've already said goodbye once today. It's probably best if you just go."
She didn't realise that her friends were still standing there, leaning against the box. Until, of course, she didn't hear the engines.
"What is it?"
Eris had a rather innocent look on her face.
"He said okay, didn't he?"
"Sorry?"
The Doctor nodded towards the doors.
"Okay."
And she understood.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!"
She pulled the two of them into a tight hug, all three of them in fits of giggles. Unlocking the doors, the Doctor looked down at her fondly.
"Well, you were never really just a passenger, were you?"
So they stepped inside, ignoring the fact that Martha's phone was ringing as they closed the doors behind them.
Whatever it was, it could wait.
See you soon, and happy reading!
Much love,
Azzie xx