That was three weeks ago.
Things had been tense.
He tried talking to me again and again. The TARDIS kept moving my room whenever he got close. I avoided talking to him again. Or at least talking to him in a therapeutic sense. Whenever he tried to talk, I would walk away.
Okay. Maybe I was a little harsh with him. That's a fair assessment. Instead of having a conversation, I yelled in his face while having a mental breakdown. I shared things I would rather have kept private until I died. Not even regenerate, I wanted them to stay there until I died.
How the embarrassment hadn't yet, I'll never know.
The TARDIS whirred above me. A calming melody hummed in my mind. The sound reminded me of where I was, of what I should be focusing on.
I twisted a knob.
The Doctor made a noise.
"What." I snapped.
The Doctor held up his hands. "Nothing. Nothing it's just-" He stepped over. He pulled down on a switch. I glared. The Doctor fell back in line beside Donna. "Careful."
"Careful?!" I pulled another switch. The TARDIS hummed in thanks. "How am I not being-"
"Watch out!" The Doctor pulled out a hammer. Reaching across the console where I couldn't, the Doctor slammed a hammer down. "Left hand down. Left hand down! Getting a bit too close to the 1980s."
The TARDIS gave me a different instruction. I followed her.
"What is she going to do, put a dent in them?" Donna asked.
"Well, someone did." The Doctor remarked. "See, Terra, look." He pushed the computer monitor towards me.
I glared at the screen. I'd still yet to learn the language. Not from lack of trying, mind you. Even after months surrounded by the Master and working in his Archangel tech, the language confused me. He'd written the coding in English. The letters always swirled around in my head. Any time I learned it, they flushed themselves out before long. It annoyed me to no end.
Picking up new languages was fun. I could speak and write the language of Lilo & Stitch's world, Japanese, some Arabic dialects, a lot of Latin, Afrikaans (a dare from Darcy), and I'd even made up my own language so Darcy and I could communicate. Progress was slow, but I made progress with Spanish. Granted, I was a month behind on that, it's fine. The damn owl works on my time.
All of this is just another reason to hate the Time Lords. I could learn every language except my own. Well...except Terra Johnson's.
The Doctor knew that. Of course he did. He wanted to humiliate me. He wanted me to die by embarrassment.
Not this time
I slammed the lever back up. "Fine!"
The TARDIS whined. Worse, the ship tilted to the side. I grabbed the console. Donna fell back against the handrail, gripping it tight. The Doctor barely managed to catch the console. He grabbed a knob, twisting it.
"You said it was fine!" The Doctor shouted. The TARDIS noise settled down.
"I can't read!" I yelled at him. "Remember?!"
The Doctor blinked. "...right." He made a face. "Already?"
The TARDIS whirred. I stormed away, up onto my usual spot among the coral. Once there, I pulled out the phone. Maybe I could see if the owl wanted attention.
Donna walked up to the Doctor. Even from this far and with the TARDIS still in flight, I could hear them. This spot had great acoustics. "Are you two still fighting? Children. The both of you."
"It's not fighting." The Doctor replied. "It's just- constantly disagreeing."
I rolled my eyes.
My phone started to ring. I answered. "Yes, Carl, the only person that calls me on this phone?"
No response. The phone was still ringing.
Right.
I have two phones.
"Hold on. That's a phone." Donna turned towards me.
The iPhone stayed tucked away in the Bag. The other smaller phone came out. The phone the Doctor used his sonic on. Only one person would call me on this phone.
Martha.
"You've got a mobile? Since when?" Donna asked.
"Since forever." I stared at the phone ID. Was I ready to talk to her, even? Would this be okay?
"I could've used that!" Donna scolded.
"You were rude that day!" I accused. Forget being ready, anything was better than being here. "Sorry, hello?"
"Terra? It's Martha, and I'm bringing you and the Doctor back to Earth."
I can't believe how much I missed your voice.
"Where do you need us?" I asked.
"Can you land the TARDIS from where I'm talking?"
"For sure." Mentally, I asked the TARDIS to please please please please do this for me. "Doctor! We're going to Earth. Martha needs us!"
The Doctor straightened up. He pulled the computer to him.
Donna looked between us. "Martha? Like, Martha Jones? The one you-"
"The TARDIS already has her location." The Doctor told me.
I nodded. "Martha? We'll be there soon."
"Good." She hung up.
"Bye-" Ah. Right. She hung up on me. That's fine, it's okay. She didn't need to talk to me any longer than she wanted.
"Isn't Martha Jones the one you fancied?" Donna asked.
"No. Shut up. It's nothing." I hopped down from the coral. My boots hit the metal grating with a loud thud. "It ended up being nothing, it's fine."
Donna looked back at the Doctor. He stayed silent. Instead, he pulled down on the lever.
==MGCB==
The TARDIS landed quickly. I stood in front of the door, definitely not fidgeting. Donna stayed back with the Doctor.
Even though I hated being one of those people, I couldn't help it. "Are we there yet?"
"Nearly." The Doctor replied.
"Can she go faster? We might miss her!" I asked.
The Doctor shook his head. "I'm going as fast as I can."
"Fine!" I turned back, focusing on the door.
Standing this close to the door freaked me out. I stood here once and listened to Jack scream my name until the end of time. I stood here and heard the Doctor screaming my name, and the Master laughing behind my back.
The TARDIS hummed.
I took a deep breath. Ah. I'd forgotten to breathe. That's important.
"Terra?" Donna asked.
I snapped around. "Huh? What? What's up?"
"Nervous?" Donna asked.
"Nope." I leaned back, trying and failing to make it casual. "Never nervous, me. Top of my game. I'm ready to see Martha again...should I be wearing the sweater? Or does the dress look better?"
Donna looked my outfit over. "Well-"
"You're right. The dress is perfect." Scoffing, I wondered why I ever doubted it. "...what about my hair?"
Donna put her hand on my shoulder. I inhaled again. "Wow. You really have it bad for her."
Yeah and look where it got me.
The TARDIS noise finally stopped. Rather than stand around here fretting, I opened the door. The alleyway she landed in was small, us tucked safely near the back.
I knew where Martha Jones stood. She was always easy to find.
Her back was to me. All I could see was her professional black suit, which did her hips all the favors but that's objectifying her so I won't ogle it. Her black hair brushed back, she grew it out in these months away.
The diamond sparked in this light
I ignored that.
"Martha." I called out.
She turned around. Author I fell in love all over again. She smiled her giddy smile. She rushed towards us.
Us?
Right. The Doctor stood behind me.
Bitch back off.
"Martha Jones." The Doctor said with delight.
"Doctor. Terra." She greeted, just as delighted.
Wow
Why was her voice so different than over the phone? Which did I like more? Was it wrong to like one more over the other? Both were her voice. Did a difference really matter-
Martha hugged me. My brain may have blanked out. Yeah she brought the Doctor into it, it didn't matter.
"You haven't changed a bit." The Doctor cheered.
"Neither have the two of you." Martha replied. She pulled away from the hug.
I stepped back, just to stare. Yeah this wasn't a good look. I needed to do something else. Stare up at the sky? Actually try talking?
"How's the family?" The Doctor asked.
"You know. Not so bad. Recovering." Martha replied.
"Hi." I greeted. Right. Bad choice. That just- that was late. What was I, the Doctor? "Umm...how are...things?"
Don't talk about the diamond. Please.
My hearts can't take it.
Martha looked behind us. "Right. Should have known. Didn't take you long to replace me, then." She teased.
I could never replace you.
Not even if I tried.
You're stuck in here forever.
"Did you think we ever could?" I asked out loud.
"Now, don't start fighting." The Doctor warned as Donna walked up to us. "Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha. Please don't fight. Can't bear fighting."
"You wish." Donna joked.
Don't fight. I'll have to pick a side.
I honestly can't pick Donna's. I'd pick Martha's even if I disagreed.
Donna shook Martha's hand. "I've heard all about you. She talks about you all the time."
I gawked at the betrayal of trust. "No I don't!" Not all the time, surely. Maybe. Did it matter?
Martha giggled. Bad feelings? Instantly gone. "I dread to think."
"No, no, no. No, she says nice things. Good things. Nice things. Really good things." Donna explained. With a while suggestive eyebrow- Author's fucking plotline, stop.
Martha grimaced, face falling. "Oh my God. They've told you everything." She sighed. She sent a frown my way.
Bad feelings, it's been so long? Where've you been?
"Didn't take long to get over it though. Who's the lucky man?" Donna asked.
"The who with the what now?" I gaped, my voice coming out as a squeak rather than an actual voice.
"What man? Lucky what?" The Doctor asked.
"She's engaged, you prawn." Donna snarked at him. "I mean, I get him not knowing, but Terra didn't you notice?"
Oh, I noticed, Donna. I noticed the two-carat diamond encased in gold on her finger. The one that her apparent future husband bought for her. Seeing it was like a sliver of ice in my hearts, making them burn in agony. Why was this so painful? She was never with me, never mine, never even noticed me. I never saw much of our relationship, just missed our friendship. Yeah. That was it. That was how she felt about it too, I could see it in her eyes.
I was just Terra, the Doctor's friend. She loved the Doctor, not me. I wasn't that special to her. That was what happened with every love of mine, they never felt the same. Of course, it didn't help that I never told them how I felt. Every person I ever loved thought I was just a really good friend.
Plus, she would get Mickey soon. She would end up with a really good guy. It was selfish of me to put my happiness above theirs. Their happiness meant everything to me, it is everything to me. I lived and breathed to make them happy, my entire purpose with the Doctor was to make these people, my friends, smile. My happiness always came second.
So, I ignored the diamond ring. I ignored the light in Martha's eyes when she looked down at it, holding it up for the Doctor and me to see. I ignored the feeling of someone reaching into my chest and ripping my heart out. I put on a smile, pretending I was fine with this. I am fine with it.
'Terra?' The Doctor's voice came into my head.
'I'm fine.' I half whimpered. 'Really. It's fine. I'm fine.' Even in my mind, the voice choked at the end.
"Really? Who to?" The Doctor asked.
She held up her hand, showing off the glittering diamond. "Tom. That Tom Milligan." Martha answered.
It's like I'm living in slow motion in a nightmare that never ends
"He's in pediatrics. Working out in Africa right now." Martha explained. If I frowned as she spoke, nobody brought it up. "And yes, I know, I've got a doctor who disappears off to distant places. Tell me about it."
"Tom? Really?" I asked. "Tom?"
Martha looked at me, then frowned. She knew I disliked Milligan the moment I met him. It wasn't just that he could take Martha away with their engagement, no. She liked him, she made it obvious with her flirty smiles. "Yes, Terra, yes. Tom Milligan."
That...it broke me again. Why do I keep doing this to myself?
I knew she would be engaged. What kind of person thinks romantically about someone so obviously taken? That's wrong. Author I am fucked up. It's not right anyway.
"Is he skinny?" Donna asked.
Martha smiled, fond and sweet and in love. "No, he's sort of strong."
Is- is that what you want? Somebody strong? Tom was strong, Mickey is too. That's just all it would take? Being stronger? I can do that. I can-
Oh, wait.
I still have no chance with Martha
She didn't like me
'Terra, are you alright?' The Doctor asked again.
'I said I was FINE!' I snapped.
"He is too skinny for words. You give him a hug, you get a paper cut." Donna joked.
I forced a laugh.
"Oh, I'd rather you were fighting." The Doctor complained.
I forced another laugh. Eventually, they would feel natural.
"Speaking of which." Martha pulled out a walkie-talkie. She pressed a button on the side.
"Doctor Jones, report to base, please. Over." A woman spoke.
"This is Doctor Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go." Martha replied. "I repeat, this is a go."
As soon as she finished speaking, the trucks arrived. Massive military trucks and jeeps peeled into the ATMOS factory parking lot. Red-capped soldiers hopped out from those trucks, guns at the ready. In formations, they ran into the building. Still, I knew they kept safeties on, and that there was no chance of them firing into this crowd. The workers here were so far under mind control they saw no reason to protest or kick up a fuss.
"Greyhound Six to Trap One. B Section, go, go, go." Martha ordered. "Search the ground floor. Grid pattern delta."
"What are you searching for?" The Doctor asked.
"Illegal aliens." Martha replied.
"This is a UNIT operation. All workers lay down your tools and surrender immediately."
"B section mobilized. E section, F section, on my command." Martha ordered. She rushed ahead to join her team.
Quit selling yourself, I am already in love with you
Nevermind keep going
"All these said, this mission is going really well." I praised as Martha ran ahead. "No shows of resistance, no gunfire going off, everyone is going along with it. That's nice."
"Is that what you did to her? Turned her into a soldier?" Donna asked.
"I made her like me." I replied. My hands fidgeted with my Bag strap again. "Was...was that bad? It's the only thing I knew how to do- to keep her safe."
"No. No, it's- it's alright." Donna assured.
I looked around the UNIT investigation again. Sure, from an outside look, this was violent. Couldn't they see no gunshots were going off? Nobody was dying here. Everything was going so smoothly. Martha was in charge of it. How could anything run by Martha Jones end in bloodshed?
I am deliberately ignoring the Osterhagen key.
Martha came back a moment later. A pep in her step, a smile on her face, love in my hearts.
"Doctor Martha Jones, this is stupendous!" I cheered for her.
"You're a proper doctor now." The Doctor praised.
"UNIT rushed it through, given my experience in the field." Martha explained. She started walking. I followed, like a sailor after a siren. Hey, the Doctor's nickname finally applied to me. "Here we go. We're establishing a field base on site. They're dying to meet you."
"Wish I could say the same." The Doctor grumbled.
"Come on, it'll be fun! Oh it's been so long since I took place in one of these." I cheered, happily skipping behind Martha.
Martha led us into a large black trailer. Inside, large TV screens showed documents and bits of footage from inside the factory. The UNIT symbol floated above them. The rest of the trailer was full of desks and military officials.
"Operation Blue Sky complete, sir." Martha walked up to the most official looking man in the room. Colonel Mace nodded at Martha. "Thanks for letting me take the lead. And, this is the Doctor and Terra Johnson. Doctor, Terra, Colonel Mace."
"Hi!" I greeted, waving in delight.
The Doctor eyed the equipment. His expression wasn't very friendly, or welcoming.
Mace saluted us. "Sir. Ma'am."
"Oh, don't salute." The Doctor complained with a disgusted grimace.
"Oh I liked that." I nodded at Colonel Mace. The salute made me feel better as a person. Salutes should be a normal form of greeting among people.
"But it's an honor, sir. I've read all the files on you- even the ones on you, ma'am." Mace explained. "Technically speaking, you're still on staff. You never resigned."
"He has a job?!" I asked, gawking.
"What, you used to work for them?" Donna asked, gawking just as much.
"Yeah, long time ago. Back in the 70's. Or was it the 80's?" The Doctor walked around the equipment. He checked all the screens for relevant information. "But it was all a bit more homespun back then."
"I wanna job! I wanna get paid!" I decided.
"No you don't." The Doctor replied. Maybe he meant it in the sense of not wanting me to work for the military. That's a fair enough decision.
"I wanna get paid for keeping you alive." I replied. Turning to Colonel Mace, I asked. "Can I get paid for keeping him alive?"
Colonel Mace frowned in a thin line. "I can check for you, Ma'am."
"Do that." I instructed.
Mace nodded. "Right away, ma'am."
"Terra, you really don't want to do that." The Doctor replied.
"Times have changed, sir." Mace assured him.
"Yeah, that's enough of the sir." The Doctor warned him.
"Come on, though, Doctor. Terra's got the right idea. You've seen it. You've been on board the Valiant." Martha reminded him. "We've got massive funding from the United Nations, all in the name of Home World Security."
"A modern UNIT for the modern world." Colonel Mace explained.
"What, and that means arresting ordinary factory workers, in the streets, in broad daylight?" Donna asked. I winced. "It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there. Donna, by the way. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute."
Mace glanced back at the Doctor. The Doctor nodded. Mace turned back to Donna, giving her a salute. "Ma'am."
"Thank you." Donna nodded.
At her side, I raised my hand. Donna nodded with a confident smile before clapping it.
"It looks bad, I'll agree." I told Donna. "But just think about it! I didn't hear a single gunshot go off. The people all submitted easily and without protest. Nobody even started yelling- well except the soldiers- the workers all stayed quiet and docile. That's the best sort of mission I've ever seen with the military."
Donna hummed. "Still, it's not right."
"Yeah alright." I took a step back. While I agreed with her that this seemed harsh, I was the only one in the know about the workers. Hopefully something I said would stick so Donna could show the Doctor and Martha faster.
"Tell me, what's going on in that factory?" The Doctor asked.
"Yesterday, fifty two people died in identical circumstances, right across the world, in eleven different time zones. Five a.m. in the UK, six a.m. in France, eight a.m. in Moscow, one p.m. in China." Colonel Mace explained.
"You mean they died simultaneously." The Doctor asked.
I sat upright, walking towards a screen. A map appeared on it showing all the locations and times of the deaths. Yeah...the episode itself started with a car driving itself into a lake. That reporter died.
"Exactly. Fifty two deaths at the exact same moment, worldwide." Mace confirmed.
"How did they die?" The Doctor asked.
"They were all inside their cars." Mace answered.
"They were poisoned. I checked the biopsies. No toxins. Whatever it is, left the system immediately." Martha explained.
"What have the cars got in common?" The Doctor asked.
"What do the people have in common?" I asked.
"Completely different makes, and no person had the same job." Martha answered. "We already checked the people. The only thing they had in common were those cars. They're all fitted with ATMOS, and that is the ATMOS factory." Martha explained.
It's a shame that made sense. To cover up the reporter's death, they made 51 other random deaths. Now everything just looks like a random happenstance. That's nearly clever.
"What's ATMOS?" The Doctor asked.
"Oh, come on. Even I know that. Everyone's got ATMOS." Donna replied.
==MGCB==
Martha brought us into the factory. "Stands for Atmospheric Omission System. Fit ATMOS in your car, it reduces CO2 emissions to zero."
"Zero? No carbon, none at all?" The Doctor asked.
"But that's- the science behind that-" I began.
"And you get sat-nav and twenty quid in shopping vouchers if you introduce a friend. Bargain." Donna informed us.
"And this is where they make it, Doctor. Shipping worldwide. Seventeen factories across the globe, but this is the central depot, sending ATMOS to every country on Earth." Martha explained.
"And you think ATMOS is alien." The Doctor stated.
"It's our job to investigate that possibility." Mace stated. "Doctor? Terra?"
Mace guided us deeper into the factory. I looked out onto the factory floor. The people were easy to spot, their blue jumpsuits standing out against the UNIT red-caps. All of them stayed in place, all with the blankest looks on their face. Lucy Saxon's face flashed in my mind- familiar and disturbing.
I turned away. Everything was fine- it's all fine.
Mace showed us into a room. Inside was a clear plastic model of a car engine, on top sat a curved metal plate.
"And here it is, laid bare." Mace explained. I walked up to it, lifting the device up. The thing was lightweight. Luke Rattigan should be proud of that much, at least. "ATMOS can be threaded through any and every make of car."
"You must've checked it, before it went on sale." The Doctor stated.
I pulled out my sonic, giving the device a basic scan. Nothing on the device went off. That's good- don't wanna accidentally set off defense measures, do I?
"We did. We found nothing. That's why I thought we needed an expert." Martha stated.
The Doctor put on his glasses. He eyed the ATMOS equipment around the room. "Really. who'd you get?"
All four of us blinked at him.
The Doctor turned to us all staring at him. He blinked. "...oh! Right. Us, yes. Good"
I sighed, dramatically throwing my hands in the air. Let the Sontarans take us. Staal can stay undefeated. This planet was doomed.
Martha walked away, Mace trailing behind her. I watched her go, forlorn.
"Okay. So why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?" Donna asked us.
"A very good question." The Doctor mused.
"Maybe they want to help. Get rid of pollution and stuff." Donna suggested.
"Clear the planet for an invasion, I like that." I cheered, still looking out the way Martha left. "Well I don't like being invaded, but I like the idea. It'll make stopping the invasion that much cooler."
"Do you know how many cars there are on planet Earth?" The Doctor asked to counter. "Eight hundred million. Imagine that. If you could control them, you'd have eight hundred million weapons."
Donna frowned. The Doctor took the ATMOS device from my hand, bringing it over to the other bits of equipment in here.
"This is actually kinda sad." I spoke up.
"I know what you mean. It's scary, that our cars could be weapons." Donna replied.
"I mean they always have been but that's not what I mean. When I was in the FBI, we always looked at the people first. Cause a machine is sometimes just that, but there has to be a mind behind it." I tossed the ATMOS device in the air, catching it. "Even the people putting it together...probably. But I don't know where they keep that sort of stuff."
Donna hummed. She frowned, confused. "...wait have they not checked that at all?"
I shook my head. "They would've told us already if anything popped up. I don't even know who invented ATMOS- or if this factory made it up after a drunken night of engineering. Maybe they haven't found anything yet?"
Donna snorted. "Don't know what Martha was thinking- you're clearly the expert of the two of you."
I snorted too.
Martha wouldn't ever think something as nice as that about me.
==MGCB==
Donna walked out not long before Martha returned with Mace. It's a good thing she left before, otherwise I wouldn't have noticed. That's not an insult on Donna, more like it's an insult to my awareness whenever Martha was around.
The Doctor dealt with this all the time when Rose was around. Now I feel bad for mocking him all the time. All those occasions of making fun of him for where his attention went, and now I am here suffering the karma of it.
Worse yet...did the Master have any of these feelings about me? Definitely not love, not even I'm stupid enough to miss those signs. It's more that...did any of his behavior for me fit this kind of obsession? Did he listen to my every word, seeking some kind of praise of acknowledgement? Did he like it when I played along with his games, or was he enraged that I never called him out on it?
I hate that I don't know...also I like not knowing. Sometimes it's better not knowing the truth.
(Besides the Master would tell me himself when he came back...maybe...or maybe I would just get to grip and bitch and moan him to death. Either option works.)
The Doctor scanned the ATMOS device with his sonic. "Ionising nano-membrane carbon dioxide converter. Which means that ATMOS works. Filters the CO2 at a molecular level." He moved the device to sit on the engine.
Mace "We know all that, but what's its origin? Is it alien?" Mace asked.
"So far, nothing's gone off when I scan it." I added, leaning against the table. Martha stood beside me, watching us all talk. Did she like this, was I impressing her yet? "Interference from outside forces doesn't change anything. It could be that we're just not using the right settings. But I bet you're asking if a human coulda made this."
"No. Decades ahead of its time." The Doctor leaned down to look at the device. Mace followed him, leaning down. "Look, do you mind? Could you stand back a bit?"
Mace stood upright. "Sorry, have I done something wrong?" Mace asked.
"You're carrying a gun. I don't like people with guns hanging around me, all right?" The Doctor scolded.
…
I'm fine.
Why are you looking at me like that, I'm fine.
The Doctor doesn't even want me around anymore, it's fine.
I get it.
I was leaving anyway.
Everything fell into place.
Mace nodded. "If you insist." He walked out.
Once he was gone, Martha got started. "Tetchy."
"Well, it's true." The Doctor dismissed.
I have never been more fine.
"I think it's a bit unfair." Martha argued.
"Doc Brown, leave her alone." I chided him. "Martha it's fine. We can just put our past behind us."
The Doctor ignored me. He kept on glaring at Martha. "People with guns are usually the enemy in my books."
Quit looking at me like that, omnipresent Author
I'm fine
"You seem quite at home." The Doctor scolded.
"Seriously?" Martha scoffed. She glared her big brown eyes right back at the Doctor. "If anyone got me used to fighting, it's her. And you."
The sound of breaking glass was probably nothing. It could've been a bird hinting a window. Or maybe a test with the ATMOS cars. That sound could be coming from anywhere. Who said it had to be from my own head?
"Oh right, so it's our fault." The Doctor stood up right to glare harder.
"Well, you got me the job." Martha reminded him. "Besides, Terra has a gun. You haven't kicked her out yet."
The Doctor turned to me. My attention wasn't on the room, or anyone inside. Nah I was trying to remember the words to Hakuna Matata. The lyrics occasionally escaped my brain.
Something knocked in my brain. Probably just another bird hitting the window. I thought harder about the lyrics, playing them louder and louder.
"This has nothing to do with her." The Doctor scolded- voice harder and harsher than before. "This is about you."
"But Terra always carries a gun. Since we first met!" Martha reminded him. "She's got even more in her bag! How is it not about her? Why is it fine when she carries a gun, but not anyone else?"
Hakuna matata
What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna matata
Ain't no passing craze
"Leave her out of this." The Doctor warned.
Tensions were getting too high for my taste. The song cut off with a record scratch effect. I stepped forward, forcing myself to keep my head held high. They couldn't keep that up.
"Doctor, it's alright." I leaned on the table. "Look at her. Really look. Haven't you noticed?"
"I already saw the ring-" The Doctor reminded me. Just to be cruel, probably. I couldn't possibly fall any lower in their eyes. What more humiliation could I take?
"Did you see the gun?" I asked him.
The Doctor scrunched up his nose, eyebrows bunching up too. "No."
"Exactly. No gun. We taught her that too." I explained to him. "She's fine. We're all fine. It's fine. She's doing what she always did, what we were bad at. She got close to people- really close- worked from the inside to make them better."
She's so good at it.
That I am still as worse as when we met is a reflection of my character, not of Martha's.
The Doctor hummed. He looked at Martha, appraising. "Yeah? That's more like Martha Jones." He smiled more happily at her.
"I learned from the best." Martha replied.
The Doctor grinned, smug. "Well."
"Thank you, Terra." Martha joked.
Oh, I soaked up the adoration like a sponge. "T-Thanks." She definitely didn't mean it. That didn't mean I was gonna ignore this joy inside me. For a moment, I could pretend. She praised me, she thought I was the best, she thought I made her better.
It made it easier to forget.
"Is that what you are now? Another American with guns?"
I wanted to be better for her. Making her proud of me, that mattered a lot. If using guns less made her happy, then it would be done. If supporting her engagement to a man I had saved did it, then okay she can be Martha Milligan.
(Fuck that actually hurt)
Neither of them liked me. It's fine. I'm fine.
I'm not a child about to break down crying because my friend and crush hate me. I'm a grown person. Crying was for babies who didn't have work. I'm older, and should be more mature about this.
I'm fine.
"He takes a while noticing things." I reminded them. "He still hasn't noticed Donna left."
"She did?" The Doctor asked.
"He didn't?" Donna asked, walking back in.
"No, and it is starting to get on my nerves." I replied.
Donna huffed. "Typical."
"Did you find anything?" I asked her.
She held up the empty binder. I grinned. "This lot, all their storm troopers and their sonics." She sneered at Martha and the Doctor, smiling wide and proud. "You're rubbish. Terra was the only one thinking straight. Should've come with me."
"You handled it fine, by the looks of you." I told her. "Had to keep these two in line."
"Why, where have you been?" The Doctor asked.
"Personnel." Donna answered. As she did, Mace walked back in. He stayed in the back of the room to keep from disturbing the Doctor. "That's where the weird stuff's happening, in the paperwork. Because I spent years working as a temp, I can find my way round an office blindfold, and the first thing I noticed is an empty file."
"Why, what's inside it?" The Doctor asked. I cheered my throat. "Or what's not inside it?"
"Sick days. There aren't any." Donna explained. Martha and the Doctor sat up. I smiled, proud. She opened up the folder to show off the lack of paperwork. "Hundreds of people working here and no one's sick. Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip, nothing. Not ever. They don't get ill."
Mace stepped closer. "That can't be right."
Donna handed over the folder. Mace looked it over. "You've been checking out the building. Should've been checking out the workforce."
'Terra did you really tell her to check?' The Doctor asked.
'I said it was stupid nobody told us about the people yet. Including about whoever built this thing. Why are they checking the factory instead of talking to that guy?'
The Doctor smiled at me. 'Ah, so you're both geniuses.'
"I can see why they like you." Martha praised.
Donna nodded. "Mmm hmm."
"You are good." Martha added.
"Super temp." Donna boasted.
"Doctor Jones, set up a medical post." Mace instructed. He closed the folder, walking towards the exit. "Start examining the workers. I'll get them sent through."
Martha nodded her head. "Come on, Donna. Give me a hand."
I stood up, wanting to follow her. The Doctor looped our arms together, dragging me alongside him. "But Martha-"
"Donna can handle her." The Doctor told me. "I know it's hard, but you've got to trust me."
No
No I can't
Because we won't see Martha again until she's cloned.
I can't do that.
"But Martha-"
"Terra, please come help me from being stupid." The Doctor asked.
...that is playing dirty.
"Okie dokie." I let him drag me along. He would get himself killed by Staal if I didn't stop him. He tended to do even dumber stuff than from the show when I wasn't watching him.
Besides
I would get my chance to save Martha
The Doctor brought us in step with Mace.
"So this, this ATMOS thing. Where'd it come from?" The Doctor asked him.
"Luke Rattigan himself." Mace answered.
"Okay. Say that again, and pretend we don't know who that is." I asked.
==MGCB==
The trailer's computer pulled up an image of a teenage boy. I tilted my head at it. The Doctor copied me.
"Child genius." Menace explained. "Invented the Fountain Six search engine when he was twelve years old. Millionaire overnight. Now runs the Rattigan Academy. A private school, educating students handpicked from all over the world."
"A hothouse for geniuses. Wouldn't mind going there." The Doctor admitted. Mace gave him a sharp look. "I get lonely."
"Making a genuine effort not to be insulted." I commented.
The Doctor turned to me, scoffing. He shoved me lightly, making me giggle. "Oh hush."
"Really, I'm genuinely hurt by this." I replied. As the Doctor and Mace watched, I walked to the trailer exit. "Being round a jeep- I'll check out the home for smarties alone."
The Doctor laughed as he followed after me.
"Why are you following me? Go be lonely somewhere else." I asked.
The Doctor caught up to me. He bumped his shoulder on mine. "How can I be lonely? I've got you."
==MGCB==
"You are not coming with me. I want to talk to this Luke Rattigan, not point a gun at him." The Doctor insisted.
"It's ten miles outside London. How are you going to get there?" Mace asked.
"Well then, get us a jeep." The Doctor decided. "And you aren't driving."
I pouted. "Why not? I will not crash the car."
"That. That right there." The Doctor pointed at me. "You would break laws. We'll be fine."
"You would break the jeep!" I argued.
"According to the records you travel by TARDIS." Mace reminded us.
"Yeah, but if there is a danger of hostile aliens, I think it's best to keep a super-duper time machine away from the front lines." The Doctor stated.
"He's scared he'll miss it by a few miles. Or a decade. Or both." I explained.
"I see." Mace replied. "Then you do have weapons, but you choose to keep them hidden." The Doctor frowned. "Jenkins?"
'You took his side.'
'You know I'm right. You would miss.'
'Maybe! But we don't know for sure.'
I gave him a knowing smile.
The Doctor clicked his tongue.
A soldier walked up to us. "Sir."
"You will accompany the Doctor and Miss Johnson, and take orders from them." Mace ordered.
"I'll take good care of him." I told Mace.
The Doctor shook his head. "Yeah, I don't do orders." The Doctor replied.
"Any sign of trouble, get Jenkins to declare a Code Red." Mace instructed. "And good luck, sir."
"I said no salutes." The Doctor reminded him.
Mace hummed. He started walking away. "Now you're giving orders."
Only once he left our range did I lean in towards the Doctor, giggling.
The Doctor watched the colonel with something like a smile. "Oh, you're getting a bit cheeky, you are."
I giggled, bumping his arm. "He's right. You know he's right." The Doctor glared, ruining it with a smirk. "You wanna order me to stop laughing, don't you?"
The Doctor shook his head.
"Let me drive and I will."
The Doctor snorted. "Like that'll happen."
"Terra! Doctor!" Donna called out.
"Donna! What's Martha up to?" I asked.
Donna grinned in a way I didn't like. "Wow. You've got it bad."
I pulled back, ignoring how pink my cheeks felt.
"You're just in time!" The Doctor cheered. He nodded his head towards a jeep and the matching soldier. "Come on, come on, we're going to the country. Fresh air and geniuses, what more could you ask?"
"I'm not coming with you." Donna stated. "I've been thinking. I'm sorry. I'm going home."
"Really?" The Doctor asked, eyebrow raised.
Donna shrugged, looking forlorn. "I've got to."
I nodded.
"Oh, if that's what you want." The Doctor replied. "I mean, it's a bit soon. I had so many places I had wanted to take you."
I looked at Donna. She looked at me. We had the exact same thought. In agreement, we turned to the Doctor to wait.
"The Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade, the Lightning Skies of Cotter Palluni's World, Diamond Coral Reefs of Kataa Flo Ko." The Doctor sighed, wistful. "Thank you."
Donna and I exchanged another smile.
"Thank you, Donna Noble, it's been brilliant." The Doctor told her, waxing on poetically about it. He smiled so brightly, and with fondness. "You've, you've saved our lives in so many ways. You're-"
I snorted. Donna's smile was becoming less fond, more teasing.
The Doctor's smile fell. He winced. "You're just popping home for a visit, that's what you mean."
I giggled. "Wow. Martha was right, he's such an expert!"
"You dumbo." Donna teased.
"And then you're coming back." The Doctor realized, nodding as we giggled at him.
"He- he really thought you would just leave." I laughed, holding my stomach. "That whole speech, I'm regenerating, I'm pretty sure I'm regenerating-"
"Know what you are? A great big outer space dunce." Donna teased.
"Yeah." The Doctor nodded. He reached in his hair, ruffling it.
Our assigned soldier came to our side. "Ready when you are, sir, ma'am."
"That's great! We have a stop to make, Jenkins!" I skipped over to the car. "Come on, Donna! We can ride in a jeep!"
"Oh that's lovely." Donna followed me.
The Doctor frowned. He walked up after us.
"Broken moon of what?" Donna asked.
"I know, I know." The Doctor sighed.
We climbed into the jeep. There was barely room for us all. I sat next to Jenkins and Donna.
"Jenkins- what's your first name?" I asked.
"Ross." He answered.
"Ross. Nice to meet you, Ross." I cheered. "The Doctor won't let me drive cause I might crash."
"Seriously? Weren't you just teaching her to drive the TARDIS this morning?" Donna asked. "Oh she can handle all those knobs and things, but not a car?"
"Thank you!" I replied. "See? Donna's on my side."
"I'm on your side. There's a difference between being against you and not letting you drive a car." The Doctor explained.
"It's a stupid difference." I pulled out my phone, texting Martha. Be careful? I texted.
She didn't send a reply.
That's not upsetting. Maybe...maybe she was just busy scanning workers still. Yeah.
As I frowned at my phone, worrying my thumb along the buttons, I missed the Doctor and Donna staring at me.
==MGCB==
We'd dropped off Donna with little fanfare. I stayed in the middle, eyeing the ATMOS with curiosity.
'Terra?' The Doctor asked.
'Yeah Doc Brown?'
'Martha's alright.'
'What? What makes you think I'm worrying?'
'You're still holding your phone.' The Doctor replied.
Looking down, I saw the small phone still in my hand. 'Why would I be worried? Obviously, she's okay.'
If I implied anything else, he would write me off as paranoid. Even with the fact that I already knew what would happen to Martha, what was happening to Martha, it still unsettled me. The Doctor never trusted Three's judgment...especially when it came to Martha.
I didn't trust my judgment around her either.
For one shining moment...she thought I was the best.
I need to make it look like I am not thinking about Martha every single second. The less time spent outwardly focusing on her, the better. "Ross- my main man Ross- got anything else about Rattigan Academy?" I asked him.
"UNIT's been watching Rattigan Academy for ages." Ross explained. "It's all a bit Hitler Youth. Exercise at dawn and classes and special diets."
"Turn left." The ATMOS device instructed.
"Ross, one question." The Doctor began. "If UNIT think that ATMOS is dodgy-"
"Go straight on."
"How come we've got it in the jeeps?" Ross finished. "Yeah, tell me about it. They're fitted as standard on all government vehicles. We can't get rid of them till we can prove there's something wrong."
"Turn right."
"Drives me around the bend." Ross joked. He made the turn.
I chuckled. "Dude."
The Doctor laughed too. "Oh, nice one."
"Timed that perfectly." Ross pointed out.
"You did, that was awesome." I giggled.
"This is your final destination."
Now that would be a fun movie to visit with Darcy!
We already constantly escape death on a normal basis. Why not do it on Hard Mode?
The Doctor and Ross climbed out of the jeep. I jumped out after them. From the get-go, I didn't like this whole damn building. Who forces children to engage in physical activity, like running, in prison orange jumpsuits? It's not right.
Rattigan also stood at attention in front of the building. The Doctor and Ross walked up, I skipped. This was in protest of seeing the running. It also came with the benefit of not looking like I was depressed over a certain someone who shall remain nameless. Yeah, nah, I'm totally not worried about it.
Not at all.
Nope.
Nada.
Zilch.
"Is it PE? I wouldn't mind a kick around, I've got me daps on." The Doctor joked.
"I don't wanna!" Came a low whine from me. "PE sucks."
Rattigan didn't as much as grin. Or give a half quirk of his lips to show like he wanted to smile. It was all business for this guy. "I suppose you're the Doctor and you are Terra Johnson?" He asked in an American accent.
'He's an American? Why didn't anybody tell us?' I asked.
The Doctor mentally shrugged. 'They must not have thought that important.'
'Why wouldn't it have been important? Any information is important! First day working at UNIT, I'm fixing all this tomfoolery!'
'Tomfoolery?' The Doctor asked, mentally snickering.
'What, scared I'll actually make UNIT cooler than when you were there?'
'I think anything would be better if you got your hands on it. The Haven proved that.' The Doctor replied.
"That's me!" I waved at him.
"Hello." The Doctor waved his fingers.
"Your commanding officer phoned ahead." Rattigan informed us.
The Doctor scrunched up his face. He turned to me. "Did you phone ahead?"
"Why would I?" Calling ahead to tell Rattigan we were coming seemed like a mistake. On one hand, he could hide everything suspicious in that time and make everything seem squeaky clean. On the other hand, he thinks himself so clever that nobody would notice weird alien shit next to all his super big genius stuff. "I was texting Martha."
"So not my commanding officer." The Doctor stated. "Have you got a commanding officer?"
Rattigan glared.
"This is our friend, Ross!" I joked. "Say hello, Ross."
Ross nodded his head. "Good afternoon, sir."
"Let's have a look, then." The Doctor started rushing for the door. "I can smell genius! In a good way."
"Like with smoke? I always think genius things are happening when I smell smoke." I rushed after the Doctor, running to the doors.
==MGCB==
In some amusement parks, they had massive buildings full of gimmicky science projects. Big displays talking about the power of wind in a hurricane, just what electricity feels like on your hand, how cold the Titanic water actually was, what to do in a fire, and could you stay upright in an earthquake? Those kinds of fun little science games a mini-nerd would enjoy, and a kid could mindlessly play.
This entire school was that but their science projects were smaller, and better.
I squealed, rushing about between the various projects worked on by the students.
"Oh, now, that's clever. Look. Single-molecule fabric, how thin is that?!" The Doctor praised. "You could pack a tent in a thimble. Ooo! Gravity simulators." The Doctor rushed around, like a kid in one of those science museums. I was just as ecstatic as I tried to look at everything. "Terraforming, biospheres, nano-tech steel construction. This is brilliant."
One device sat idle. The nanobot machine, in fact. I tilted my head at it, quickly seeing problems. Or at least, seeing things I would never do to nanobots. I wore them for two years, I know nanobots. Curious, I flipped a switch. The little bots started to form together. I beamed.
"Do you know, with equipment like this you could, oh, I don't know, move to another planet or something?" The Doctor asked Rattigan.
Rattigan shrugged. "If only that was possible." He sighed.
"Were." I flipped another few sets of switches. They were definitely meant to do more, but something wasn't right...hmmm. Even more curi
"What?" Rattigan asked.
"Were possible, not was." I explained. "Conditional causes are fun!"
"What are you doing?!" Rattigan snapped, storming towards me.
"Oh it was broken. This thing couldn't build a dam for a beaver." I told him. He blinked at me. "The power was good, you just had some wires crossed. Besides, I think you can get over the materials hump if you give the nanobots the ability to self-repair and self-replicate. It'll definitely save you time on management. Are they self-monitoring for construction, or is there a remote to control them?"
Rattigan blinked at me. The Doctor grinned at me. Ross watched it all, like he couldn't understand the words out of my mouth. "It's- There's a remote."
"Yeah I guess that's easier." I shrugged, looking over the device.
"Easier? Does any of this look easy?"
"Well you could make them self-monitored if you worked out the issues with inter-connectivity of their AI." I explained. Reaching into my Bag, I pulled out an old nanobot remote. The bots were moved from the old purple hoodie to my new pink sweater. "I can explain it- AI's are a hobby! And nanobots."
Rattigan eyed the Doctor and I. His face fell into a firm frown. "I think you'd better come with me." He walked off, deeper into the building.
I frowned. "But I wanna see the rest!"
The Doctor patted my back. "We'll come back round for it."
I frowned even harder at him. He didn't need to patronize me- I knew that after we entered Rattigan's room, there wouldn't be any time for anything but stopping Sontarans.
Martha
They have Martha.
Okay- yep. I am already walking after Rattigan in a way that's not at all friendly.
"Didn't think UNIT had an American on hand- you're much cleverer than their usual grunts, I'll give you that." Rattigan mused.
"I'm on loan." I replied, looking around his office.
"I thought my people would've found you first." Rattigan replied.
That made me snort. "You couldn't afford me."
Anyone looking around would think he decorated it like an eighteen year old given thousands of dollars. Everything was a bit too colorful, a bit too properly placed. Rattigan was a control freak too, so the tidiness of everything would be a part of it. Everything projected the exact image Rattigan wanted to present.
"He called you a grunt." The Doctor remarked. "Don't call Ross a grunt. He's nice. We like Ross. Look at this place."
"I am." I replied, paying closer attention to a poster behind us.
'Terra what do you think of that?' The Doctor asked.
'I think those are puppies wearing funny hats. Or they are ghosts- contemporary art is always up for debate.'
'No, no. I meant that thing.'
I followed his line of sight. 'The teleport pod? I thought it was so obvious we didn't need to bring it up.'
The Doctor grinned.
"Are you just going to stand there in silence?" Rattigan snapped. "What exactly do you want?"
"I was just thinking. What a responsible eighteen year old." The Doctor praised him. He walked around the office. I walked over to an oddly shaped red statue. "Inventing zero carbon cars? Saving the world."
"Takes a man with vision." Rattigan stated.
"Mmm, blinkered vision." The Doctor mused.
"Right! Because promising that cars are more environmentally sound could mean that more people use cars, and then it becomes a problem with fuel shortage!" I cheered.
"Exactly that." The Doctor praised me.
I turned to Rattigan. "What are you gonna invent next when everyone starts accusing the ATMOS system of being a problem?"
Rattigan narrowed his eyes. "Yeah. Well, you see, that's a tautology. You can't say 'ATMOS system' because it stands for 'Atmospheric Emissions System'. So you're just saying 'Atmospheric Emissions System system'. Do you see, Miss Conditional Clause?"
My head tilted as I watched Rattigan rant. Instead of replying, I hummed.
"It's been a long time since anyone said no to you, isn't it?" The Doctor asked.
Rattigan seemed to realize we caught him in something. Instead of arguing more, he straightened his back. "I'm still right, though."
'Doctor, can I talk to him?'
'I was just about to suggest the very same.' The Doctor replied. 'He seems to like you a lot more than me.'
'American solidarity.'
"You poor thing." I stepped closer to him. "Nobody else sees it, do they?"
Rattigan eyed me again, only more confused and even a bit annoyed at me. Or, perhaps, he thought he found more humans as clever as him.
"Every time you look out at the world, you see things and figure out things they don't- random, crazy ideas that nobody gets." I stepped closer again. Rattigan let me do so. "It's just so obvious to you but they just keep on ignoring it. How can they just- just gloss over these things? The rest of the world is just...slow."
Rattigan blinked, slower and with less rage. Instead, these feelings were something like respect. "Yeah."
"Even with all those people out there, this whole school that was made to bring like minded people to you, you're still lonely, aren't you?" I asked.
Rattigan swallowed. "Yeah."
"You are a poor, lonely thing." I repeated, slowly nodding my head.
"He's not lonely, he's got this!" The Doctor pulled out an ATMOS device from his coat pocket. "Because there's no way you invented this thing single handed. I mean, it might be Earth technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the Middle Ages."
I hummed. "Is it?"
"Right, right, Terra's right, good catch, Terra." The Doctor walked over to the large teleportation device. A large square with a tunnel wide enough for a man to fit. I skipped over to his side. "No, no, I'll tell you what it's like. It's like finding this in the middle of someone's front room. Albeit it's a very big front room."
"I still really like the painting of ghosts riding outer-space scooters." I replied. "Can I get one for my room?"
"Course!" The Doctor cheered. "Wait, the painting or the space scooter?"
"Why, what is it?" Ross asked.
"Yeah, just looks like a thing, doesn't it? People don't question things. They just say, 'oh, it's a thing'." The Doctor explained.
"It kinda is a thing, but it's the specific kind of thing it is that's the problem." I added.
Rattigan marched towards us. "Leave it alone."
The Doctor and I hopped inside. "Me and her, we make these connections. And this, to us, looks like a teleport pod." He brought out his sonic. He aimed it at the control panel.
I waved Rattigan goodbye. As we phased onto the Sontaran ship, I waved the murderous potatoes hello.
"Orbit now holding at five five six point three, sector two seven zero." A soldier reported.
"Oh." The Doctor breathed. 'Do you know them?'
'No but you're about to tell me.'
The Sontarans finally noticed us. One pointed at us. A familiar voice I recognized as Staal shouted. "We have intruders!"
"How did they get in, in tru da window?" The Doctor joked.
My sonic came out. It buzzed on the control panel, bringing us away. "Oh you beat me by two seconds!"
We appeared back in Rattigan's office. The Doctor and I started running.
"Ross, get out! Luke, you've got to come with us." The Doctor ordered.
"I can get police issued cuffs!" I pulled them out from my Bag.
"Why would we need those?" The Doctor asked, confused.
I shrugged. "He's clever."
The teleporter activated again. General Staal marched out. I aimed my sonic at it, locking the controls so it couldn't be used for another quick escape.
"Sontaran! That's your name, isn't it?" The Doctor yelled. "You're a Sontaran. How did I know that, hey? Fascinating isn't it? Isn't that worth keeping us alive?"
Ross stepped ahead. He aimed his gun at the Sontaran. "I order you to surrender in the name of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce."
I pushed the gun barrel down to the ground. "That's not going to work." I glanced back at the Sontaran. "Is it? Because you didn't even flinch. You've got something to keep bullets from being fired. What could even do that...it's a signal, isn't it?"
"Cordolaine." The Doctor supplied.
"Cordolaine! The copper excitation one." I nodded. "That makes sense."
"How do you know so much?" Staal asked.
"Well." The Doctor clicked his tongue.
Staal turned to Rattigan. "Who are they?"
"He didn't give his name. She's Terra Johnson." Rattian answered obediently.
"Hi that's me!" I cheered, waving. "Nice to meet you. Mind introducing yourself?"
"I am General Staal,
"General Staal, of the Tenth Sontaran Fleet. Staal the Undefeated." Staal announced.
"Oh, that's not a very good nickname. What if you do get defeated?" The Doctor asked. "Staal the Not Quite So Undefeated Anymore But Never Mind?"
"I get the feeling Sontarans aren't typically cowards." I stated.
Staal bristled.
"Right on the money." The Doctor praised. "I mean really? Hiding? Using teenagers, stopping bullets? A Sontaran should face bullets with dignity. Shame on you."
"You dishonor me, sir." Staal snapped.
"Yeah? Then show yourself." The Doctor challenged.
"I will look into my enemy's eyes!" Staal lifted off his helmet, revealing the potato man beneath. Beady eyes surrounded by thick aged lines glared at the Doctor and I.
"Oh, my God." Ross gawked. "He's like a potato. A baked potato. A talking baked potato."
"Yeah I was just thinking that, but see, I didn't say it." I told Ross.
"Now, Ross, don't be rude." The Doctor chided. He walked over to a wall. He picked up a tennis racket and a ball. "You look like a pink weasel to him." He started casually tossing the ball in the air.
"Hey Doc Brown. History lesson time. What exactly are Sontarans?" I asked him.
"The Sontarans are the finest soldiers in the galaxy, dedicated to a life of warfare." The Doctor answered. "A clone race, grown in batches of millions with only one weakness."
Stupidity.
Because only people that were stupid would harm Martha Jones while I walked this Earth.
"Sontarans have no weakness." Staal snapped.
"No, it's a good weakness." The Doctor replied.
"Aren't you meant to be clever? Only an idiot would provoke him." Rattigan scolded.
"No, but the Sontarans are fed by a probic vent in the back of their neck. That's their weak spot." The Doctor explained. "Which means, they always have to face their enemies in battle. Isn't that brilliant? They can never turn their backs."
"We stare into the face of death." Staal yelled.
"Yeah? Well, stare at this." The Doctor challenged.
The Doctor tossed the ball into the air. He whacked it with the racket. The ball bounced against the teleport pod before hitting Staal in the back. He cried out in pain.
"Running!" I started running out the way we came. I didn't even wait to see if the Doctor or Ross were behind me.
There wasn't time.
Martha was in danger.
Martha was in danger.
Martha was scared and in danger.
==MGCB==
I tried to drive the car. The Doctor pulled me aside, letting Ross take the wheel. That nearly got him a black eye.
'Let me drive!'
'He knows the controls, you don't.'
'I can drive a fucking car cause there isn't any weird language for me to translate!'
'It's still not safe. I need you here with me, thinking!'
'I would rather drive!'
'What about Martha, huh? You have the mobile. Call her and see what's going on.'
'Driving does that faster!'
'Terra, just please?'
'No!' I snapped. "Quit telling me what to do!"
"Look, you can't drive it. We're already going!" The Doctor waved his arm at the road. Ross sped down it, going faster than the speed limit I added. "So just call Martha."
"She won't answer!" I scoffed.
"Yes she will. Now call." The Doctor instructed.
"She hasn't answered my texts or my calls all day. She's not going to answer for me." I argued.
The Doctor shook his head. "That's not- that can't be right. Just do it!"
Huffing, I fell back in my seat. I pulled out my phone to call Martha. As I suspected, no answer. I tried again and again. Still, no answer.
She's not answering because she's being turned into a clone.
She's already gone.
I was too late
Frustrated, I kicked a seat.
"Oi!" The Doctor whined as I kicked his seat.
"See? Nothing." I showed him the missed calls.
"You didn't have to kick me." The Doctor grabbed a Comm From the car. "Greyhound Forty to Trap One. Repeat, can you hear me? Over."
No reply.
"Ah, that's the best." I stared down at my phone screen, trying to think. It's hard to do that when my brain keeps popping up images of Martha's terrified face when she saw her clone. It made me listen to her screams.
M "Why's it not working?" Ross asked.
"It must be the Sontarans." The Doctor reasoned. "If they can trace that, they can isolate the ATMOS."
"Turn left."
"Try going right." The Doctor ordered.
"It said left." Ross pointed out.
"I know. So go right." The Doctor repeated.
Ross tried. The wheel locked up. "I've got no control. It's driving itself. It won't stop."
I leaned forward. "Why would it?" The Doctor pulled out his sonic. "They have complete control over the devices they built. They turned these things into killing machines!"
"The doors are locked." Ross added.
"Even better!"
"Ah, it's deadlocked. I can't stop it." The Doctor snapped.
"Let me." Ross punched at the GPS.
"Turn left."
"You wired them into the truck. Punching does nothing." I told him.
The truck steered itself off-road. I held tighter to my seat as the car shook. It's no worse than the TARDIS in one of her moods.
"We're headed for the river." Ross warned.
"Try backwards!" I told them. Holding my phone, I stared at the screen.
How do I save you, Martha Jones?
How fast can I do without being suspicious?
"Backwards?" The Doctor asked. "Oh! Backwards! ATMOS, are you programmed to contradict my orders?"
Give me back Martha Jones
"Confirmed."
"Anything I say, you'll ignore it?" The Doctor asked.
"Confirmed."
"Then drive into the river." The Doctor ordered. Ross stared at him. I stared at my phone. "I order you to drive into the river. Do it. Drive into the river."
The truck kept speeding ahead. The system was probably trying to figure out how best to ignore his order.
I wanted Martha Jones back.
How dare you potatoes try taking her away?
You bastards!
You are all so lucky that Martha doesn't like me using guns (I mean also that guns don't work around you)
The car came to a stop. The Doctor and Ross out.
(I can actually probably make a gun that would work.
Or not. Maybe I just use acid? Acid could work. There's definitely an acid gun in my Bag.)
"Turn right. Left."
"Get down!" The Doctor yelled.
I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my seat. I opened my Bag to search.
"TERRA!" The Doctor screamed.
"Left, right, left, right, left, left, right, left, right"
The gun must be buried deep inside. There would be time to find it later.
The ATMOS sparked. I ignored it.
The Doctor appeared in the door. He spotted me, eyes wide.
I threw up my arms in defeat. "She's still not answering. Can I be upset?"
"I'm upset. What were you still doing in here?" The Doctor asked.
I shrugged. "Why did you leave?"
The Doctor frowned. "It- it was going to explode."
"If the ATMOS could do that, why did the 52 people die of poisoning? Why was it driving us to a river, instead of keeping us locked inside and blowing up in the road?" I pointed out.
The Doctor blinked. "...right."
==MGCB==
The Doctor, Ross, and myself ended up walking back to Donna's house. The car was too risky to use again- especially because, well, it was dead. Not even I could bring that car back.
Yes I tried. For like a second. Martha was in danger, so I quickly wrote the car off as a loss.
I rang the doorbell twice.
The Doctor made a noise. "She'll come answer it."
"I know. This is just so she knows it's us." I replied. My finger pressed the button a third time.
From inside, I heard Donna yelling. "I'm coming! I'm coming. You better not be one of those salesmen, or I'm-" Donna threw open the door. She stared at us, unamused.
"You would not believe the day we're having." The Doctor stated.
"Can we see your car?" I asked.
Donna pointed at her doorbell. "Was that you ringing it?"
"If I say yes, do I get yelled at?" I asked.
"Yeah." Donna replied.
"Then no, I was not ringing it." I answered.
Donna stared at me, clearly not believing me. She nodded her head. "Alright. Doctor, you can get the car." The Doctor and I started walking. "Oi. I said he could, not you."
"Not you too!" I whined.
Donna wrapped her arm around mine. The Doctor ducked to the ground, looking below the car to find the ATMOS. Ross stayed behind the car.
"What happened to your truck?" Donna asked.
"The ATMOS. It's aliens- they're called Sontarans." I told her. "It tried to drown us."
Donna gasped. "Oh my god- is my car going to do that?"
"No." I answered. Your car will try to poison Wilf. Though Donna wouldn't care much for that distinction...so I should be honest here. A little. "Well...probably."
"I'll requisition us a vehicle." Ross stated.
"Anything without ATMOS. And don't point your gun at people." The Doctor instructed. Ross went off with a nod.
"Is it them?" Wilf called from the house. I turned towards it, beaming wide already. "Is it them? Is it the Doctor and Terra Johnson?" The elderly man ran out from his home. He stopped at the sight of us. "Ah, it's you!"
"You again!" I pointed back at him.
The Doctor hopped up from the ground. "Who?" He gawked at the sight of Wilf. "Oh, it's you."
"What, have you met before?" Donna asked.
"Yeah, Christmas Eve. They disappeared right in front of me." Wilf explained.
"You liked my dress!" I recalled, smiling giddily. "Sorry we teleported away. The Titanic wanted us back."
Wilf nodded, still looking completely astounded. "You were on the ship?"
"We stopped it from hitting the Queen." I explained.
"Oh good on you then!" Wilf praised.
I beamed. Being complimented always felt nice. It would feel even better if Martha complimented me. A pity then that she was being replaced with a clone. I reached into my dress pocket for my phone. The switch should've happened by now. Would the clone answer this time?
"And you never said?" Donna asked her granddad.
"Well, you never said." Wilf replied. He stepped closer to us. "Wilf, sir, ma'am. Wilfred Mott. You must be two of them aliens."
The Doctor reached forward. "Yeah, but don't shout it out. Nice to meet you properly, Wilf." The Doctor shook his hand.
I shook his next, not looking away from the phone. "Nice to meet you. I'm waiting on a call."
"Oh, alien hands." Wilf murmured.
"Terra, anything?" The Doctor asked.
"S-She's not answering." I replied, panic fully setting in. Why was the clone not even answering me? Did her memories tell her not to answer my calls? Just let me hear her voice, even for a moment. Please, I just want to hear it. "Why is she still not answering? I've been trying for ages."
"What is it, Sontorans?" Donna asked.
"Sontarans. But there's got to be more to it. They can't be just remote controlling cars. That's not enough." The Doctor turned to me. "Is anyone answering?"
"I'm trying!" I snapped at him. "Shut up!"
"Sorry." The Doctor replied. "Just- keep calling."
I tried again.
She answered the phone.
That's the first sign for me that Martha was suspicious.
"Hello again, Terra Johnson."
You aren't Martha Jones
Give me back Martha Jones and I'll leave some of your friends alive.
"Sontarans." I hissed.
"Sorry?" The fake Martha replied.
My fingers curled around the phone. "It's the Sontarans. They did this. They're doing this." The Doctor walked towards me. "And if they aren't stopped-"
The Doctor snatched away my phone. "Martha!"
"Hey!"
The Doctor moved back, keeping me from my phone. Why can't I threaten a Sontaran clone in peace? "-tell Colonel Mace it's the Sontarans. They're in the file."
I tried again for the phone. The Doctor kept me distant. "Gimme it!"
"Code Red, Sontarans." The Doctor started swatting at me. I swatted right back. "But if they're inside the factory tell them not to start shooting. UNIT will get massacred."
"Gimme!" I snatched the phone back at last.
"Oi!"
"We're coming!" I warned the fake Martha. "Okie dokie? We're coming back for you."
"Got it. Code Red Sontaran."
She hung up. I glared at my phone.
"I think you left a bruise." The Doctor rubbed his arm.
"You took my phone." I excused.
"You take my sonic!"
"I was on my phone! Do I take the sonic when your using it?!"
"Sometimes!"
"Well- well- shut up!"
The Doctor brought out his sonic. He scanned it along the car.
"But you lot tried sonicing it before. You didn't find anything." Donna asked.
"Yeah, but now I know it's Sontaran, I know what I'm looking for." The Doctor explained.
"Which is?" I pulled out my sonic, pointing it at the car.
The Doctor shook his head. "Your sonic wouldn't have that setting yet."
"Then add it." I ordered. Martha has been replaced. Martha has been replaced. That clone thing is a mockery of Martha Jones. I couldn't ever hurt Martha Jones but this clone is testing my patience.
The Doctor sighed. He held up his hand. I slapped my sonic into it. He buzzed his sonic on mine.
"The thing is, Doctor, Terra, that Donna is my only grandchild." Wilf reminded us. "You got to promise me you're going to take care of her."
"She takes care of us." The Doctor explained. He buzzed the ATMOS again. "There, you try."
Leaning forward, I did so.
"Oh yeah, that's my Donna." Wilf remarked with a proud smile. "Yeah, she was always bossing us round when she was tiny. The Little General we used to call her."
Donna shook her head. "Yeah, don't start."
I buzzed my sonic on the device. 'Are you feeling what I'm feeling?'
'The sonic can't isolate it.' The Doctor replied. 'It knows it's there. It's just-'
'Out of sync?' I offered.
The Doctor blinked.
"And some of the boys she used to turn up with. Different one every week." Wilf recalled. "Here, who was that one with the nail varnish?"
"Matthew Richards. He lives in Kilburn now. With a man." Donna answered.
Spikes shot up from the ATMOS device. We all jumped back.
The Doctor leaned closer. "It's a temporal pocket. I knew there was something else in there. It's hidden just a second out of sync with real time." He patted my back. "Thanks for the tip."
"Thanks for the upgrade." I replied.
"But what's it hiding?" Donna asked.
Sylvia "I don't know, men and their cars. Sometimes I think if I was a car-" She spotted us, frowning in rage. "Oh, it's you. Doctor what was it? And who is she?"
"Yeah, that's us." The Doctor replied.
"I have a new face!"
"What, have you met them as well?" Wilf asked his daughter.
"Dad, it's the man from the wedding. When you were laid up with Spanish flu." Sylvia explained. "He had this girl with him last time, younger than her. I'm warning you, last time that man turned up it was a disaster."
"No, that girl was me." I waved. "Our species can put on new faces. You started the reception without Donna. It was very rude of you lot."
Sylvia gawked at me. "What?"
The ATMOS started spewing out the gas. The clonefeed. The feed that Clone Martha was made from- helping to produce for her 'masters'. They stole Martha Jones to help them succeed.
This isn't what she meant by getting inside things to make them better
Damn you, Moffat, I wanna blame you for this!
"Get back!" The Doctor warned.
I aimed my sonic at it. The device eased off.
"That'll stop it." The Doctor told me.
"I told you. He's blown up the car!" Sylvia complained. "Who is he, anyway? What sort of doctor blows up cars?"
Donna rolled her eyes. "Oh, not now, Mum."
"Oh, should I make an appointment?" Sylvia walked off towards the house.
The Doctor sniffed. I did too, instantly disliking the gas in my nose. "That wasn't just exhaust fumes, Some sort of gas. Artificial gas."
I nodded, looking towards the Noble family.
"And it's aliens, is it? Aliens?" Wilf asked.
"Is it poisonous?" Donna asked. Her granddad walked towards the car. I followed him. The Doctor stayed focused on the car. "But if it's poisonous, then they've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth."
"It's not safe. I'm going to get it off the street." Wilf started to climb in his car.
I pushed him out of the way, falling inside the car. No sooner had I sat down did the car lock up.
"Hold on! Turn it off." Donna yelled. "Terra, get out of there!"
"I can't! It's not locked!" wilf made a point of it by pressing the buttons on his keychain. The car stayed locked. "It's them aliens again!"
I reached into my Bag. There was something in here to break the glass, I knew there was.
"What's he doing? What's he done?" Sylvia shouted.
"They've activated it!" The Doctor yelled in frustration. The Doctor popped around. I gave him a quick glance before getting back to my search. "Terra! What are you doing?!"
"Wilf was gonna climb inside. I took a chance!" I replied. The Doctor yelled again in annoyance. "Try sonicking it!"
The Doctor glared at me. "When you get out, we are having a chat about this!"
"Looking forward to it!" I replied, reaching deeper into my Bag.
I coughed. Gas started flowing out from the vents. I ignored it, focusing on my stuff.
"There's gas inside the car!" Donna warned. Wilf started hitting the window, trying to break it. "She's going to choke! Doctor!"
The gas wasn't even that bad. The Doctor was right, in saying Time Lords stood a better chance against it. That gave me a head start.
The Doctor pointed his sonic towards the car. "It won't open!" He ran from the car, checking out the street. The street was a lot more fogged up than it had been five minutes ago. "It's the whole world."
"We'll help you, ma'am!" Wilf shouted.
"Okie dokie!" I replied. My hand grabbed the item that would surely get the window open.
"Doctor!" Donna yelled.
I pulled out the weapon, and fired.
==MGCB==
AN: Apparently doing this thing called "taking a vacation" increases my writing skill. Who could've fucking guessed?
Also...I really like how this chapter came out. Like, just look at it. Overall. This was a great way of showing how Terra has grown without Martha Jones around, and a sneak preview of what hilarity will ensue during Poison Sky and that episode right after where Martha is- you know- blocked by a wall for so much of the episode. It's gonna be great!
Thanks to MissLynn11, TheImpossibleGirl22, tommy01kanobi, and HBR the dark princess for favoriting
Thanks to AlmostAlice for following