Hello everyone!
Hope you're all doing well! Here's the next chapter - Boom Town. It's admittedly a bit short (especially compared to some chapters) but it is a fairly short episode (but personally I really like the episode). Hope it's still enjoyable.
Two things: One - have you seen the Season 13 yet? (or the episodes so far at least) And what do you think? (I'm up to date). Two (and more importantly), what episode do you want to see next? You have the choice of Midnight, Listen or the Wedding of River Song. So what's your vote?
Please keep suggesting the episodes you want (but do cast your vote for chapter 30 from above choices as well) and tell me what you thought of this chapter and story as a whole! I love your comments, seriously it makes my day.
Also, I'm not going to do any episodes from Season 13 yet, I want to get to the end of the season first at least, but you're welcome to put your vote in for that still (I keep track of all suggestions/requests).
Thank you again for reading and please let me know what you think!
Enjoy!
Robyn
The group watched impatiently as the familiar blank screen faded away to show the title of the next video they were going to watch. As usual they were left with more questions upon seeing the title.
"Boom Town? No ideas." Rory declared, with a raised eyebrow.
Amy snorted, "Well we can guess it involves explosions of some sort."
River barked out a short laugh, "That really doesn't narrow anything down."
"Oi! What does that mean?" The Doctor immediately protested, frowning.
River grinned fondly, "Nothing Sweetie." The Doctor pouted.
Rory sighed at his wife and daughter, "Guess we'll just have to watch and find out." With that the group turned to the screen and the video began.
Previously –
(The Slitheen spaceship crashes in the Thames.)
MARR: There's still no word from inside Downing Street, though we are getting even more new arrivals.
(Margaret unzips her body suit.)
SLITHEEN: We are the Slitheen.
"What are they!?" Bill's eyes widened dramatically.
"The Slitheen." Rose answered before the Doctor could, her own eyes wide in realisation. She glanced at Mickey, Jack and the Doctor who all had matching expressions, they thought they knew what this video was going to be about now.
MARGARET: Reduce the Earth to molten slag and then sell it.
DOCTOR: Leave this planet or I'll stop you.
"Look at you. It's Ears." Clara smiled, recognising the older (looking, but younger in actual age) Doctor. Rose and Jack both smiled fondly, glad to be seeing an adventure with their first Doctor for the first time in a while.
(Mickey hacks into UNIT.)
DOCTOR: The world is in your hands.
(10 Downing Street is destroyed by a missile.)
"Seems very dramatic. You'll have to share that mess with us if we don't see it later." Martha raised an eyebrow, gaining nodes form the four involved.
[Lord Mayor's office]
(Six months later, in a large executive office suite.)
CLEAVER: I've checked the figures. I've checked them again and again. Always the same result. The design is not safe. It could result in the death of millions. I beg of you, stop the project right now, before it's too late.
"Not a promising start." Graham declared. No one missed the exchange that Rose, Mickey, Jack and the Doctor had.
MARGARET: Well, goodness me. Obviously, Mister Cleaver, you're the expert.
CLEAVER: Then you'll stop it?
MARGARET: It seems I have no choice. (gurgle) Oh, do excuse me. Civic duties leave little time for a sandwich.
CLEAVER: But you promise you'll stop it, today?
MARGARET: Well, of course. Nothing is more important than human life. What do you take me for, some sort of maniac?
"From the way she's speaking, yes." Ryan said.
Yaz snorted, "I have this strange feeling she's got no plans to stop anything."
CLEAVER: Why, no.
MARGARET: Am I right in thinking you've shown your results only to me?
"That's absolutely not a suspicious question." Rory sighed, sometimes he wondered how people didn't get suspicious when this kind of thing happened (though he supposed that was easy to say knowing what he knew and watching it like this).
CLEAVER: Just to you. No one else.
MARGARET: Wise move.
(Cleaver turns away and wipes his brow.)
CLEAVER: I can't tell you, Mrs Blaine. This is such a weight off my mind. I've barely slept. I couldn't believe my own readings. The scale of it. Destruction like the British Isles has never seen before. If I didn't know better, I'd almost think that someone wanted this project to go wrong. As though they intended to wipe this city off the map. Thank goodness we've got you, our esteemed leader.
(He turns and screams. Margaret has got out of her body suit.)
The group all grimaced, very aware of poor Mr Cleaver's fate even without most of them knowing anything about the Slitheen.
"Things get less and less promising." Nardole muttered to himself.
[Roald Dahl Plass]
(Mickey arrives at Cardiff Central railway station and heads to the redeveloped Oval Basin. The Tardis is in front of the huge water tower, a very avante garde slab with water pouring down it. Mickey knocks on the door. Jack answers it.)
"And there you are." Martha smiled at her husband, "What are you doing in Cardiff?"
"And what's wrong with Cardiff, Dr Smith?" Jack protested, earning a raised eyebrow from Martha. Neither got answers to their questions.
JACK: Who the hell are you?
MICKEY: What do you mean, who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?
"Awkward first meetings." Amy smirked.
"Don't remind me." Rose sighed, very tempted to hide her head in her hands. She had a feeling she was going to be feling a bit embarrassed for some parts of this video, she'd been so caught up in the Doctor that she'd spent most of the time ignoring Mickey.
JACK: Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever your selling, we're not buying.
MICKEY: Get out of my way!
"Bets way to deal with him." Martha nodded approvingly at her husband, ignoring Jack's teasing pout.
[Tardis]
JACK: Don't tell me. This must be Mickey.
"So, you had mentioned me." Mickey said, then winced as it came out much sharper than he'd intended.
"Sorry Mickey." Rose said with her own wince, offering an apologetic look w=to which he smiled and waved off, he'd worked through his problems with what had happened. Though having it thrown back in his face like this may not be the best experience.
DOCTOR: Here comes trouble! How're you doing, Ricky boy?
MICKEY: It's Mickey!
ROSE: Don't listen to him, he's winding you up.
"He always was." Rose and Mickey said in sync before blinking at the other surprised, while Jack laughed n the background.
MICKEY: You look fantastic.
(Rose and Mickey hug. The Doctor is up a ladder mending something.)
JACK: Aw, sweet, look at these two. How come I never get any of that?
DOCTOR: Buy me a drink first.
"I'm pretty sure I've bought you that drink at some point." Jack winked teasingly and suggestively at the Doctor.
"Oi! back off lover boy." River shot Jack a look, earning a wide grin from her fellow time-traveller while the Doctor just sighed as the pair teased each other.
JACK: You're such hard work.
DOCTOR: But worth it.
The group all grinned at the exchange between the Doctor and Jack, though very few heard Jack's soft-spoken declaration of "Always."
ROSE: Did you manage to find it?
MICKEY: There you go.
(Mickey hands over Rose's passport.)
ROSE: I can go anywhere now.
"Why would you need your passport in space?" Bill blinked confused, turning to the Doctor. She may not have travelled with them for very long but she was pretty sure the Doctor would have mentioned needing a passport. And any place that may have needed one for, the Doctor would have just used the psychic paper.
"I didn't." Rose replied with a small smile at Mickey. Bill was still confused at that but it seemed like Martha and a few others had worked out Rose's reasonings.
DOCTOR: I told you, you don't need a passport.
ROSE: It's all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon, but what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it. You see, I'm prepared for anything.
MICKEY: Sounds like your staying, then. So, what're you doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash? I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with big-ears up there
"They were quite big sweetie." River smiled at her wife who just sighed.
"I know, I know. You could all stop bring it up."
DOCTOR: Oi!
MICKEY: Look in the mirror. But this guy, I don't know, he's kind of
JACK: Handsome?
MICKEY: More like cheesy.
JACK: Early twenty first Century slang. Is cheesy good or bad?
"Bad." Half the room answered in sync.
MICKEY: It's bad.
JACK: But bad means good, isn't that right?
"What kind of logic is that?" Clara asked earning a shrug and smirk from Jack.
DOCTOR: Are you saying I'm not handsome?
ROSE: We just stopped off. We need to refuel. The thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city. It's invisible, but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions.
"You learn something new every day."
"It has what?!"
Rory and Donna spoke up at the same time with very different opinions. At this point, Rory had just come to expect things like that but Donna was back to her normal elf after the last video and not afraid to let everyone know.
DOCTOR: The rift was healed back in 1869.
ROSE: Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth, because these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it.
Rose and the Doctor shared a sad look at the reminder of poor Gwyneth's fate.
"There's a story there." Amy raised an eyebrow.
"There's always a story with the Doctor." Martha snorted.
JACK: But closing a rift always leaves a scar, and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race
DOCTOR: But perfect for the Tardis, so just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and
JACK: Open up the engines, soak up the radiation.
ROSE: Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!
JACK: Into time!
DOCTOR + ROSE + JACK: And space!
The three were grinning widely while the rest of the group just shook their heads in fond exasperation at the trio, a few even letting lose chuckles. Despite the trouble Margaret the Slitheen seemed to be involved in, this seemed like the group may actually have some fun this video which was a nice change of pace from the last few videos.
MICKEY: My God, have you seen yourselves? You all think you're so clever, don't you?
DOCTOR: Yeah.
ROSE: Yeah.
JACK: Yep!
Mickey just rolled his eyes at the trio, looking back at it now made it easier to see the humour in it all. It did bring him back to the old days, and it was weird to think of times like that as the 'old days'.
[Roald Dahl Plass]
DOCTOR: Should take another twenty four hours, which means we've got time to kill.
MICKEY: That old lady's staring.
JACK: Probably wondering what four people could do inside a small wooden box.
MICKEY: What are you captain of, the Innuendo Squad?
"Amongst other things." Jack winked teasingly at Mickey who rolled his eyes.
(Jack makes a gesture and starts to walk away.)
MICKEY: Wait, the Tardis, we can't just leave it. Doesn't it get noticed?
JACK: Yeah, what's with the police box? Why does it look like that?
ROSE: It's a cloaking device.
DOCTOR: It's called a chameleon circuit. The Tardis is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands, like if this was Ancient Rome, it'd be a statue on a plinth or something. But I landed in the 1960s, it disguised itself as a police box, and the circuit got stuck.
"And she's too stubborn and sentimental to fix it." The Master sneered from his corner, speaking up for the first time this video and reminding the group of his presence.
The Doctor shot him a pointed look, "Like you can say anything Mr Australian outback house." The Master refused to meet her eyes.
MICKEY: So it copied a real thing? There actually was police boxes?
DOCTOR: Yeah, on street corners. Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested someone, they could shove them inside till help came, like a little prison cell.
JACK: Why don't you just fix the circuit?
DOCTOR: I like it, don't you?
ROSE: I love it.
"We all do." Clara grinned, not even needing to see the others all nodding along to be confident in her answer.
MICKEY: But that's what I meant. There's no police boxes anymore, so doesn't it get noticed?
DOCTOR: Ricky, let me tell you something about the human race. You put a mysterious blue box slap bang in the middle of town, what do they do? Walk past it. Now, stop your nagging. Let's go and explore.
"Doctor." Martha berated but didn't even try to hide her fond smile.
ROSE: What's the plan?
DOCTOR: I don't know. Cardiff, early twenty first century and the wind's coming from the east. Trust me. Safest place in the universe.
"You always say that and it is never true." Yaz shot the Doctor a pointed look, several other members of the group nodding in agreement around her. The Doctor just shrugged with a sheepish grin.
[City hall]
(Mayor Margaret Blaine is making an announcement, with the scale model of the power station centre stage. The banner above her reads - The Blaidd Drwg Project.)
Rose, Jack, Mickey and the Doctor all shared knowing looks at the sight of both the model power station and also the name of the project. In both cases there was more than there first appeared to be.
MARGARET: This nuclear power station right in the heart of Cardiff city will bring jobs for all. As you can see, as Lord Mayor, I've had to sanction some radical redevelopments. No photographs! What did I say? Take pictures of the project by all means, but not me, thank you. So, Cardiff Castle will be demolished allowing the Blaidd Drwg Project to rise up, tall and proud. A monument to Welsh industry. And yes, some of you might shiver. The words nuclear power station and major population centre aren't exactly the happiest of bedfellows. But I give you my personal guarantee that as long as I walk upon this Earth, no harm will come to any of my citizens. Now, drink up. A toast. To the future!
ALL: To the future!
MARGARET: And believe me it will glow.
"Very ominous speech." Ryan declared solemnly.
Amy narrowed her eyes at the screen, "I think she's telling the truth but her wording is interesting. She's planning something."
"We already knew that much." Rory muttered, not quietly enough to avoid Amy hearing an earning himself an elbow to the side from his wife.
CATHY: Excuse me, Mrs Blaine? My name's Cathy Salt, I represent the Cardiff Gazette.
MARGARET: I'm sorry, I'm not doing interviews. I can't bear self publicity.
"She doesn't want anyone to recognise her." Martha realised, connecting the few scenes they'd seen at the start to all her comments against publicity and photos. The Doctor's proud grin was all the confirmation she needed.
CATHY: But are you aware of the curse?
MARGARET: Whatever do you mean? Cathy, wasn't it?
CATHY: Cathy Salt. That's what some of your engineers are saying, that the Blaidd Drwg Project is cursed.
MARGARET: Sounds rather silly to me.
CATHY: That's what I thought. I was just chasing a bit of local colour. But the funny thing is, when you start piecing it all together, it does begin to look a bit odd.
"I bet it does." Donna muttered, if aliens were involved in a purposely disastrous project, then it was likely going to look very odd if you dug deep enough.
MARGARET: In what way?
CATHY: The deaths, The number of deaths associated with this project. First of all, there was the entire team of the European Safety Inspectors.
MARGARET: But they were French! Its not my fault if Danger Explosives was only written in Welsh.
"That's probably illegal, right? I mean, not many people speak Welsh even in Wales. At the very least it'd have to be in English." Bill pointed out.
"It's also just very suspicious." Yaz added with narrowed eyes. They'd already seen Margaret was very willing to kill people, so they wouldn't at all be surprised to find there had been no 'accidents', and they'd all been very purposeful cover-ups. But cover-ups of what was the question.
CATHY: And then there was that accident with the Cardiff Heritage Committee.
MARGARET: The electrocution of that swimming pool was put down to natural wear and tear.
CATHY: And then the architect?
MARGARET: It was raining, visibility was low. my car simply couldn't stop.
"Wait? She actually hit someone with her car and got away with it?!" Clara exclaimed in shock.
"Apparently?!" Rose blinked; she hadn't known that he first time (although she wasn't surprised). None of them knew how Margaret could have gotten away with that, clearly, they'd done something to avoid getting into serious trouble.
CATHY: And then just recently, Mister Cleaver, the government's nuclear adviser.
MARGARET: Slipped on an icy patch.
CATHY: He was decapitated.
MARGARET: It was a very icy patch. I'm afraid these stories are nothing more than typical small town thinking. I really haven't got time. If you'll excuse me.
"A very icy patch." Amy muttered sarcastically, "How is she getting away with this?" No one had any answers to that.
"Also, aren't they in Cardiff? Which is the capital city of Wales. That's hardly a small town." Rory added on. Maybe it was because they already knew Margaret was an alien trying to destroy everything, but it seemed so obvious that something was wrong.
CATHY: Except, before he died, Mister Cleaver posted some of his findings online.
MARGARET: Did he now?
"Now she's interested." Nardole declared.
CATHY: If you know where to look. He was concerned about the reactor.
MARGARET: Oh, all that technical stuff!
CATHY: Specifically, that the design of the suppression pool would cause the hydrogen recombiners to fail, precipitating in the collapse in the containment isolation system and resulting in a meltdown.
MARGARET: Who's been doing her homework?
CATHY: That's my job.
MARGARET: I think, Cathy Salt, I think you and I should have a word in private.
The group all frowned, a terrible feeling stirring in their gut, all of them could guess what was coming, and poor Cathy wouldn't be leaving. She knew too much.
[Corridor]
MARGARET: Oh! My little tum is complaining. I think we might have to make a detour to the ladies.
CATHY: I'll wait here.
MARGARET: Oh, come on. All girls together.
[Ladies washroom]
MARGARET: So, you were saying. These outlandish theories of yours?
(Margaret dashes into a cubicle. There are squelchy sounds.)
"Oh, gross." Yaz grimaced alongside many others.
Those that knew the Slitheen though all shared a knowing look, that sound was a (horrible but) distinctive sound. Margaret was getting out of her disguise which wasn't good news for poor Cathy.
CATHY: Sounds like we got here just in time.
MARGARET: Continue.
CATHY: Well, I don't know much about nuclear physics, but from what I could make out, Cleaver was saying that the whole project could go up worse than Chernobyl.
(Margaret unzips her forehead. Cathy notices the light under the door.)
CATHY: Is there something wrong with the lights?
"Run." Ryan mumbled desperately, despite knowing she wouldn't hear and likely wouldn't do so.
MARGARET: Oh, they're always on the blink. I can't tell you how many memos I've sent. So, Chernobyl.
CATHY: Apparently, but a thousand times worse. I know it sounds absurd, there must be so many safety regulations. But Cleaver seemed to be talking about a nuclear holocaust. He almost made it sound deliberate. I mean, we're hardly the Sunday Times, we're only the Cardiff Gazette, but we still have a duty to report the facts.
MARGARET: And you're going to print this information?
CATHY: Are you all right? You sound a bit.
"She's a reported! How is she not at least a bit suspicious?" Martha asked surprised and annoyed at how oblivious everyone seemed, especially as it was costing people their lives.
MARGARET: Sore throat. Ahem, ahem. Just a little tickle. But tell me, do you intend to make this information public?
CATHY: I have to.
MARGARET: So be it.
CATHY: Mind you, my boyfriend thinks I'm mad. We're getting married next month, and he says if I cause a fuss, I could lose my job just when we need the money.
MARGARET: Boyfriend?
CATHY: Jeffery. Civil Servant. He's nothing exciting, but he's mine.
MARGARET: When's the wedding?
CATHY: The nineteenth. It's really just to stop my mother from nagging, but the baby sort of clinched it, I suppose.
MARGARET: You're with child?
"Oh god." Clara's does eyes widened, because things couldn't get any worse. Cathy was in danger, unknown to her, and she was pregnant and discussing her life troubles with her potential murderer.
(Margaret sits on the toilet.)
CATHY: Three months. It's not showing yet. Wasn't planned, it was an accident. Nice accident, though.
MARGARET: Congratulations.
CATHY: Thank you. How about you? You got any kids?
MARGARET: No.
CATHY: Is there a Mister Blaine?
MARGARET: Not anymore. I'm all on my own. I had quite a sizeable family, once upon a time. Wonderful brothers. Oh, they were bold. But all of them gone now. Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm cursed.
"She's hesitating." Amy realised, surprised but feeling new hope for Cathy's survival. Rose, Mickey and the Doctor who'd met the rest of Margaret's family, shared knowing looks.
CATHY: No, no, I don't think so. Not really.
MARGARET: You're very kind. If you don't mind, I might be a while. You run along. Perhaps we could do this another day.
CATHY: Are you all right?
MARGARET: Fine!
CATHY: Okay, I'll tell you what. I'll leave my details with your office. Thanks for talking.
MARGARET: Thank you.
(Cathy leaves the sad Slitheen still in the cubicle.)
"She let her go." Yaz grinned, happy to not have to witness another murder. The rest of the group sheared her sense of relief.
Jack, Rose and the Doctor all shared a glance, thinking back to Margaret's fate. Maybe it was even more appropriate than they'd thought at the time. She hadn't exactly been innocent by any degree, but maybe she really had deserved that second chance if she had hesitated in killing Cathy.
[Restaurant]
(On a small jetty.)
JACK: I swear, six feet tall and with big tusks
DOCTOR: You're lying through your teeth!
ROSE: I'd have gone bonkers! That's the word - bonkers!
JACK: I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean tusks! And it's woken, and it's not happy.
DOCTOR: How could you not know it was there?
JACK: And we're standing there, fifteen of us, naked
"Of course, you are Jack." Martha smiled, shaking her head fondly at the captain who grinned proudly. The whole group had cheered up upon seeing the four happily eating and chatting away, enjoying the lack of trouble and danger for the moment. They were always some of the best parts of an adventure.
ROSE: Naked?!
JACK: And I'm like, oh, no, no, it's got nothing to do with me. And then it roars, and we are running. Oh my God, we are running! And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and I say
MICKEY: I knew we should've turned left!
JACK: That's my line!
"The good old days." Rose smiled, happy to be reminiscing on old (and less emotionally fraught and dangerous) times.
"Wouldn't' have missed them for the world." Jack nodded in agreement.
ROSE: I don't believe you. I don't believe a word you say ever. That is so brilliant. Did you ever get your clothes back?
(The Doctor snatches a newspaper from the man at the next table and reads it.)
JACK: No, I just picked him up went right for the ship, full throttle. Didn't stop until I hit the spacelanes. I was shaking. It was unbelievable. It freaked me out, and by the time I got fifteen light years away I realised I'm like this.
DOCTOR: And I was having such a nice day.
(The Doctor holds up the front page of the Western Mail, with the picture the photographer took of Margaret.)
"You're just incapable of going anywhere without finding trouble." River sighed, but didn't even bother to try and hide her fond smile.
"You can hardly talk, River." The Doctor countered, earning a shrug from her wife.
[City hall foyer]
JACK: According to intelligence, the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit. Okay, plan of attack, we assume a basic fifty seven fifty six strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face to face. That'll designate Exit One, I'll cover Exit Two. Rose, you Exit Three. Mickey Smith, you take Exit Four. Have you got that?
"Gone straight into work mode." Mickey raised a teasing eyebrow at Jack. At the time he'd been more than a bit overwhelmed, annoyed (mostly at the Doctor and Rose constantly ignoring him) and confused, but despite that he was kind of enjoying watching this video for once.
"I was so young." Jack smiled sadly, in some ways he missed those days before his immortality, but in others he wouldn't change what he had for the world.
DOCTOR: Excuse me. Who's in charge?
JACK: Sorry. Awaiting orders, sir.
DOCTOR: Right, here's the plan. (pause) Like he said. Nice plan. Anything else?
"Typical Spaceman." Donna rolled her eyes fondly. The rest of the group snickered while the Doctor grumbled a bit, but everyone could see her smile.
JACK: Present arms.
(They each pull out a mobile phone)
"Ah, the deadliest of weapons." Ryan nodded with a grin.
"Those are old phones." Bill pointed out, looking at the flip phones.
"You're making me feel old." Rose groaned, while the younger members of the group nodded along with Bill's comment. Back in their day. Those phones had been great, now they were nothing compared to modern ones, how technology advanced.
DOCTOR: Ready.
ROSE: Ready.
MICKEY: Ready.
JACK: Ready. Speed dial?
DOCTOR: Yup.
ROSE: Ready.
MICKEY: Check.
JACK: See you in hell.
"Cheery." Amy chuckled. The group were all enjoying the video so far, despite the danger with Margaret, it seemed like a nice calmer video, with some nice fun moments for the four involved, which was a nice change from the usual videos.
[Outside the Mayor's office]
(The Doctor speaks to the young man sitting at a desk by the door.)
DOCTOR: Hello, I've come to see the Lord Mayor.
IDRIS: Have you got an appointment?
DOCTOR: No, just an old friend passing by. Bit of a surprise. Can't wait to see her face.
"I bet it would be quite a sight if she's already met you." Clara grinned.
"Oi! What are you suggesting?" The Doctor asked, mock offended.
"Nothing." Clara snickered with several others joining in. They were all maybe getting a bit hyper with the video being so calm so far.
IDRIS: Well, she's just having a cup of tea.
DOCTOR: Just go in there and tell her the Doctor would like to see her.
IDRIS: Doctor who?
DOCTOR: Just the Doctor. Tell her exactly that. The Doctor.
"You're far too smug and cheerful." River rolled her eyes fondly, the Doctor just grinned widely.
IDRIS: Hang on a tick.
(Idris goes into the Lord Mayor's office. A tea cup smashes on the floor. Idris comes out again.)
IDRIS: The Lord Mayor says thank you for popping by. She'd love to have a chat, but, er, she's up to her eyes in paperwork. Perhaps if you could make an appointment for next week?
DOCTOR: She's climbing out of the window, isn't she?
IDRIS: Yes, she is.
"At least he's honest." Rory chuckled. The rest of the group, the four who'd been there included, all broke out into joyful laughter. It seemed very comedic, and almost cartoon like, Margaret's reaction to the Doctor's arrival (who was probably exactly who she'd been trying to avoid, to no avail despite her troubles).
[Lord Mayor's office balcony]
DOCTOR: Slitheen heading north.
[City hall]
ROSE: On my way.
JACK: Over and out.
MICKEY: Oh my God.
"Look at the four of you." Martha smiled fondly, enjoying how Mickey had relaxed a bit as the video carried on. It was weird seeing him so young, as well as Jack and the Doctor, but it was insightful.
[Lord Mayor's office balcony]
(Idris wrestles with the Doctor as Margaret climbs down a ladder.)
IDRIS: Leave the Mayor alone!
"He's a loyal young lad." Graham commented, admiring that at least. He probably didn't know that his boss was an alien and was doing his job. No one really expected strangers to come into your office, demand to see your boss and then chase her when she ran, it was brave of him to try and help her (though surprising to see he hadn't called the police, maybe the people of Cardiff were just far too used to strange things?).
(Meanwhile, Rose runs into a clerk carrying a pile of papers, and Jack leaps over a tea trolley. Mickey crashes into a cleaning woman.)
"Oh Mickey." Martha snickered, but squeezed his hand to reassure him he was just teasing. The others were all giggling away too.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Mickey rolled his eyes, but he wasn't as embarrassed or bothered as he would have been back then. He'd grown a lot since then, mostly for the better.
[City hall car park]
(Margaret reaches the bottom of the ladder and takes off her brooch. She starts to run but sees Rose coming towards her, snarls and removes her right earring. Then Jack comes running from the opposite direction. The Doctor finishes with Idris and sees her running in the only available direction - across the front of the building.)
DOCTOR: Margaret!
(The Doctor gets down the ladder as Margaret removes her other earring and puts it with the first and the brooch. The chase is on.)
JACK: Who's on Exit Four?
ROSE: That was Mickey!
MICKEY: Here I am.
DOCTOR: Mickey the idiot.
"Doctor! Be nice." Clara berated shaking her head, "You really need those cue cards back."
"He knows I don't mean it like that." The Doctor protested, turning to Mickey (just to double check), to her relief Mickey nodded with a fond roll of his eyes. It seemed she would escape the cue cards for now.
ROSE: Oh, be fair. she's not exactly going to outrun us, is she?
(Margaret vanishes.)
"Maybe not outrun, but she can teleport apparently." Bill announced, eyes wide. "Can all Slitheen do that?"
Jack chuckled, "No, she just had a quick escape prepared."
JACK: She's got a teleport! That's cheating! Now we're never going to get her.
"Cheating? Honestly, when have they ever played fair?" Amy retorted teasingly, earning a shrug from Jack.
ROSE: Oh, the Doctor's very good at teleports.
"Thanks for the confidence, Rose." The Doctor grinned at her former companion who grinned back knowingly. This had certainly been an adventure, although a different one then they'd been used to at the time, but one they always thought back to fondly (barring the almost destruction of Erath and the bit of trouble with Rose and Mickey's relationship near the end).
(The Doctor holds up his sonic screwdriver and Margaret reappears, running towards them. Vanish, reappear. Vanish, reappear.)
DOCTOR: I could do this all day.
"You enjoyed that far too much." Mickey shook his head.
"And you didn't?" Mickey couldn't argue with that, it had been highly entertaining.
MARGARET: This is persecution. Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?
DOCTOR: You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet.
MARGARET: Apart from that.
The group laughed at that.
Yaz chuckled, "Apart from those small crimes."
Ryan laughed more at Yaz's comment, adding his own, "Just a normal day with the Doctor."
[City hall]
DOCTOR: So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped. Your family get killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do? You build a nuclear power station. But what for?
MARGARET: A philanthropic gesture. I've learnt the error of my ways.
"A bold and very clear lie." Donna snorted.
DOCTOR: And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift.
MARGARET: What rift would that be?
JACK: A rift in space and time. If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go (suck boom)!
"It would be quite nice to avoid that, please." Rory declared, looking at the four involved.
"Funnily enough, we thought that too." Mickey replied with a grin.
DOCTOR: This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity.
ROSE: Didn't anyone notice? Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?
"Apparently people did notice, she just didn't let them live to tell the news." Rose grimaced.
MARGARET: We're in Cardiff. London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice. Oh. I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native.
"She's not wrong." Jack shrugged, thinking back to his time with Torchwood Three.
MICKEY: But why would she do that? A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself.
MARGARET: She's got a name, you know.
MICKEY: She's not even a she, she's a thing.
DOCTOR: Oh, but she's clever.
(The Doctor pulls the middle section out of the model and turns it over to reveal electronics.)
"Hidden in plain sight." Martha raised an impressed eyebrow. "She is clever, if not a bit murderous."
DOCTOR: Fantastic.
JACK: Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?
River whistled lowly, recognising the machine.
"And for the rest of us?" Amy raised an eyebrow, turning to glance between the Doctor, Jack and River for an explanation.
The Doctor scrunched her face up in thought for a second before offering an answer, "It's probably better to just watch and see, it would make more sense than me trying to explain it now." Amy narrowed her eyes for a moment before nodding, she'd let that go for the moment, after all she didn't want to listen to the Doctor go on one of their techno-babble rants.
DOCTOR: Couldn't have put it better myself.
JACK: Oo, genius! You didn't build this?
MARGARET: I have my hobbies. A little tinkering.
JACK: No, no, no. I mean, you really didn't build this. Way beyond you.
"She's clever, but not that clever." Jack agreed with his past self.
"More shrewd, than anything." Rose nodded.
MICKEY: I bet she stole it.
MARGARET: It fell into my hands.
"She definitely stole it." Donna agreed with Mickey.
ROSE: Is it a weapon?
JACK: It's transport. You see, if the reactor blows, the rift opens. Phenomenal cosmic disaster. But this thing shrouds you in a forcefield. You have this energy bubble, so you're safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top, and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system.
"A surfboard?" Ryan raised his eyebrows, bewildered. The Doctor grinned but just nodded at the screen.
MICKEY: It's a surfboard.
JACK: A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah.
MARGARET: And it would've worked. Id have surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilisation.
"If it wasn't for you meddling kids!" Yaz grinned.
"And the Tardis too!" Bill snickered along. The two of them and Ryan broke out into loud laughter as the rest of the group smiled and laughed along too. They really were enjoying this calmer video, despite the threat of world destruction none of them were particularly worried. After all it clearly hadn't happened, and the four involved didn't seem particularly worried either.
MICKEY: You'd blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?
MARGARET: Like stepping on an anthill.
"A very big anthill, with billions of ants." Clara grimaced.
DOCTOR: How'd you think of the name?
MARGARET: What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh.
That confused the group. "Why are you so focused on the name of the project?" Rory asked, giving the Doctor a bewildered look. It seemed like such a small and insignificant detail.
The Doctor, Rose and Jack shared a look, with only Mickey seeming to have any idea what they were thinking. "It's … complicated. We'll probably see it at some point and it's a bit of a long story."
Her non-answer answer earned her some annoyed and frustrated looks from the group but they did eventually acquiesce, and allow the video to continue for now.
DOCTOR: I know, but how did you think of it?
MARGARET: I chose it at random, that's all. I don't know. It just sounded good. Does it matter?
DOCTOR: Blaidd Drwg.
ROSE: What's it mean?
DOCTOR: Bad Wolf.
ROSE: But I've heard that before. Bad Wolf. I've heard that lots of times.
"You've heard it before?" Amy asked confused, it seemed like such a random phrase.
"I think we have too, right? Wasn't that what the Moment called itself in the first video?" Clara's face was scrunched up as she tried to remember, she could have sworn she'd heard it a few times before too.
"Like the Doctor said, it's a long story." Rose nodded, frowning slightly. She did kind of want to see it herself as she couldn't exactly remember her time as Bad Wolf but it would be a fairly emotional video.
DOCTOR: Everywhere we go. Two words following us. Bad Wolf.
ROSE: How can they be following us?
DOCTOR: Nah, just a coincidence. Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind. Things to do. Margaret, we're going to take you home.
"You knew it wasn't a coincidence." Rose pointed out; it may have sounded like a statement but there was a clear question to the words.
The Doctor sighed, "I didn't know ... I just had my suspicions. It wasn't the moment to get distracted by it anyway." Rose pursed her lips for a moment but let it go, the Doctor was right about that as much as she didn't want to admit it.
JACK: Hold on, isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?
ROSE: I don't believe it! We actually get to go to Raxa. Wait a minute! Raxacor
DOCTOR: Raxacoricofallapatorius.
ROSE: Raxacorico
DOCTOR: fallapatorius.
ROSE: Raxacoricofallapatorius. That's it! I did it!
"Raxacoricofallapatorius." Rose mimicked her past self; still very proud she could say it. The Doctor grinned widely.
"That's a tongue twister and a half." Donna declared.
MARGARET: They have the death penalty. The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death.
DOCTOR: Not my problem.
[Tardis]
(Night has fallen.)
MARGARET: This ship is impossible. It's superb. How do you get the outside around the inside?
DOCTOR: Like I'd give you the secret, yeah.
MARGARET: I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods.
"She's trying to butter you up. She has a plan." Amy narrowed her eyes at Margaret on screen.
"She can try." The Doctor replied smugly.
DOCTOR: Don't worship me - I'd make a very bad god. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters. Jack, how we doing, big fella?
JACK: This extrapolator's top of the range. Where did you get it?
MARGARET: Oh, I don't know. Some airlock sale?
JACK: Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power.
DOCTOR: But we can use it for fuel?
JACK: It's not compatible, but it should knock off about twelve hours. We'll be ready to go by morning.
DOCTOR: Then we're stuck here overnight.
MARGARET: I'm in no hurry.
"I bet she's not." Nardole muttered.
ROSE: We've got a prisoner. The police box is really a police box.
MARGARET: You're not just police, though. Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you.
MICKEY: Well, you deserve it.
MARGARET: You're very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood, which makes you better than me, how, exactly ? Long night ahead Let's see who can look me in the eye.
(No one.)
"She's trying to guilt you." Martha realised, squeezing her husband's hand in comfort. It was a good tactic, but they didn't have much other choices as Margaret had been trying to destroy Earth just to leave (and get some revenge), but it wasn't a comfortable thing to think about.
[Roald Dahl Plass]
(Mickey looks at the water tower. Rose joins him.)
ROSE: It's freezing out here!
MICKEY: Better than in there. She does deserve it. She's a Slitheen. I don't care. It's just weird in that box.
"Oh Mickey." Rose sighed a bit sadly. She couldn't remember if she'd missed Mickey's confusion and unhappiness with the situation the first time or if she'd purposely ignored it (and she didn't know which one was worse) but it was making her feel a bit guilty. Mickey gave her a reassuring smile, which only worked to lessen her guilt slightly. She'd gotten so relaxed about the start of the video, that she'd forgotten how turbulent her relation with Mickey had gotten within it.
ROSE: I didn't really need my passport.
"You just wanted him to visit." Martha said knowingly. Rose juts nodded with a sigh; it hadn't worked out how she'd wanted it to in the end.
MICKEY: I've been thinking, you know, we could go have a drink. Have a pizza or something. Just you and me.
ROSE: That'd be nice.
MICKEY: And, I mean, if the Tardis can't leave until morning, we could go to a hotel, spend the night. I mean, if you want to. I've got some money.
ROSE: Okay, yeah.
MICKEY: Is that all right?
ROSE: Yeah.
MICKEY: Cool. There's a couple of bars around here. We should give them a go. Do you have to go and tell him?
ROSE: It's none of his business.
Rose winced at that, catching the Doctor's raised eyebrow ou of the corner of her eye.
"It was my business. I don't care if you two want to go off on a little date, but I would have liked to know that was what you were going to do, especially with the danger of Margaret." The Doctor commented, voice unusually stern in the way it was only when she needed them to really listen.
Rose and Mickey both nodded with a grimace, feeling like kids getting scolded for being out late. They'd both been so focused on trying to fix what was left of their relationship, and Rose had been trying to prove a point to Mickey but in the end it had backfired.
[Tardis]
(The Doctor watches Mickey and Rose on the scanner.)
JACK: So, what's on?
DOCTOR: Nothing, just.
"You saw us go?" Mickey asked.
The Doctor nodded with a sigh, "You both needed to talk and some time to yourselves, but I would have preferred that you telling me you were potentially going to be gone all night." She paused for a moment with a grimace, "Now I feel like a parent again."
MARGARET: I gather it's not always like this, having to wait. I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences. How does it feel?
DOCTOR: I didn't butcher them.
JACK: Don't answer back. That's what she wants.
"Technically Mickey blew them up." Rose countered Margaret on screen. "And she can't really talk about facing consequences."
DOCTOR: I didn't. What about you? You had an emergency teleport. You didn't zap them to safety, did you?
MARGARET: It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up on a skip in the Isle of Dogs. It wasn't funny.
DOCTOR: Sorry. It is a bit funny.
"It really is." The Doctor chuckled at the thought. The majority of the group had no idea what the Isle of Dogs was like but they could guess, and it was still an entertaining enough thought for them to join the Doctor in laughing. The video had taken a bit of a more sombre tone, but it still wasn't as intense as some of the videos had been recently.
MARGARET: Do I get a last request?
DOCTOR: Depends what it is.
MARGARET: I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth, and the complicated way they cook things. There's a little restaurant just round the Bay. It became quite a favourite of mine.
DOCTOR: Is that what you want, a last meal?
MARGARET: Don't I have rights?
"She has an escape plan." Graham declared.
"Don't worry, Graham. We already guessed that and had prepared accordingly." The Doctor smiled.
"You prepare? Sweetie, be honest you had a vague plan and then just winged it." River raised a knowing eyebrow; the Doctor shrugged a bit sheepish, she couldn't deny it as much as she wanted to.
JACK: Oh, like she's not going to try to escape.
MARGARET: Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger? I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?
DOCTOR: Strong enough.
MARGARET: I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies, now dine with them.
DOCTOR: You won't change my mind.
MARGARET: Prove it.
"She's trying to bait you Doctor." Amy warned lowly.
The Doctor smiled a bit, warmed by the concern her companions had for her, "I know, don't worry."
DOCTOR: There are people out there. If you slip away just for one second, they'll be in danger.
JACK: Except I've got these.
(Jack holds up two bangles.)
JACK: You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away, she gets zapped by ten thousand volts.
Martha whistled at that, "You really don't want to put on the wrong one."
DOCTOR: Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat.
MARGARET: Dinner in bondage. Works for me.
(And so Jack is left to carry on mending the Tardis whilst the two couples go out for their dinners.)
[Bistro 10]
MARGARET: Here we are, out on a date, and you haven't even asked my proper name.
DOCTOR: It's not a date. What's your name?
"Loving your priorities Doctor." Clara grinned teasingly, earning a roll of the Doctor's eyes and a grumble as a reply.
MARGARET: Blon. I am Blon Fel Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen. That's what it'll say on my death certificate.
DOCTOR: Nice to meet you, Blon.
"She's laying it on a bit heavy." Bill muttered. She wasn't sure about how she felt about them taking Margaret to her death but she couldn't exactly be let lose with her murderous tendencies. She was really hoping that the Doctor would find an alternative.
MARGARET: I'm sure. Look, that's where I was living as Margaret. Nice little flat, over there, on the top. Next to the one with the light on.
(The Doctor turns to look and she puts some powder from her ring into the his wine.)
The group immediately tensed as they saw Margaret slip an unknown powder (which couldn't be good at all) seemingly under the Doctor's nose. Jack shuffled a bit closer to the Doctor on their sofa and River squeezed her hand tightly to comfort herself. Jack was starting to feel worried about his descension to leave the Doctor along with her, he knew the Doctor could take care of themself and nothing had happened, but t wasn't fun to watch them be in danger knowing he could have been there to help prevent it.
MARGARET: Two bedrooms, bayside view. I was rather content. Don't suppose I'll see it again.
(The Doctor swaps the glasses over.)
"How did you know she'd done something?" Yaz asked curious but relieved.
"I had my suspicions about her motives and I know enough about the Slitheen to be prepared." The Doctor answered. She kept using the term Slitheen to refer to Margaret, who was technically a Raxacoricofallapatorian, but it was less confusing to just refer to her as a Slitheen.
DOCTOR: Suppose not.
MARGARET: Thank you.
DOCTOR: Pleasure.
MARGARET: Tell me then, Doctor. What do you know of our species?
DOCTOR: Only what I've seen.
MARGARET: Did you know, for example, in extreme cases, when her life is in danger, a female Raxacoricofallapatorian can manufacture a poison dart within her own finger.
(She points. The dart flies and the Doctor catches it.)
DOCTOR: Yes, I did.
The group had held their breath as Margaret casually mentioned the dart before shooting it, only letting it out when the Doctor calmy caught it.
MARGARET: Just checking. And one more thing. between you and me.
(They look around then lean forward so Margaret can whisper.)
MARGARET: As a final resort, the excess poison can be exhaled through the lungs.
(Margaret starts to exhale. The Doctor uses a breath freshener on her.)
DOCTOR: That's better. Now then, what do you think? Mmm, steak looks nice. Steak and chips.
The group was feeling a bit more fraught after that interaction, although also a bit entertained by the whole thing. It was rather cartoonish after all, and reassuring to see the Doctor so calm around their potential death.
[Mermaid Quayside]
ROSE: The Doctor took me to this planet a while back. It was much colder than this. They called it Woman Wept. The planet was actually called Woman Wept, because if you looked at it, right, from above, there's like this huge continent, like all curved round. It sort of looked like a woman, you know, lamenting. Oh my God, and we went to this beach, right. No people, no buildings, just this beach like a thousand miles across. And something had happened, something to do with the sun, I don't know, but the sea had just frozen. In a split second, in the middle of a storm, right, waves and foam, just frozen, all the way out to the horizon. Midnight, right, we walk underneath these waves a hundred feet tall, made of ice.
MICKEY: I'm going out with Trisha Delaney.
ROSE: Right. That's nice. Trisha from the shop?
MICKEY: Yeah, Rob Delany's sister.
ROSE: Well, she's nice. She's a bit big.
MICKEY: She lost weight. You've been away.
ROSE: Well, good for you. She's nice.
MICKEY: So, tell us more about this planet, then.
ROSE: That was it, really.
The rest of the group watched the interaction between the younger versions of Mickey and Rose with a wince. The pair in question shared a grimace and awkward eye contact.
"Awkward." Bill couldn't help but mutter quietly but everyone heard her.
[Bistro 10]
MARGARET: Public execution's a slow death. They prepare a thin acetic acid, lower me into the cauldron and boil me. The acidity is perfectly gauged to strip away the skin. Internal organs fall out into the liquid, and I become soup. And still alive, still screaming.
"That's … gruesome." Rory grimaced.
DOCTOR: I don't make the law.
MARGARET: But you deliver it. Will you stay to watch?
DOCTOR: What else can I do?
MARGARET: The Slitheen family's huge. There's a lot more of us, all scattered off-world. Take me to them. Take me somewhere safe.
A few people perked up at that. The description of Margaret's death ahd put the majority off, they'd all been hoping fro an alternative situation but knew that Margaret was far too dangerous to just be let lose; they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
DOCTOR: But then you'll just start again.
MARGARET: I promise I won't.
DOCTOR: You've been in that skin suit too long. You've forgotten. There used to be a real Margaret Blaine. You killed her and stripped her and used the skin. You're pleading for mercy out of a dead woman's lips.
MARGARET: Perhaps I have got used to it. A human life, an ordinary life. That's all I'm asking. Give me a chance, Doctor. I can change.
DOCTOR: I don't believe you.
The group was quiet at that. The Doctor's words had a significant weight to them as they were usually one for believing in people and giving out second chances, so their lack of belief in Margaret said a lot. To be fair, in some way this was already her second chance (as their plan at Downing Street had been the first).
[Mermaid Quayside]
MICKEY: So, what do you want to do now?
ROSE: Don't mind.
MICKEY: We could ask about hotels.
ROSE: What would Trisha Delaney say?
Rose winced at her obvious jealousy, "Sorry Mickey." It was a bit of a scathing remark which she certainly hadn't meant t be as bad as it sounded. Mickey just waved her off with a reassuring smile, they'd both said things they hadn't meant.
MICKEY: Suppose. There's a bar down there with a Spanish name or something
ROSE: You don't even like Trisha Delaney!
MICKEY: Oh, is that right? What the hell do you know?
ROSE: I know you, And I know her. And I know that's never going to happen. So who do you think you're kidding?
MICKEY: At least I know where she is!
ROSE: There we are, then. It's got nothing to do with Trisha. This is all about me, isn't it
MICKEY: You left me! We were nice, we were happy. And then what? You give me a kiss and you run off with him, and you make me feel like nothing, Rose. I was nothing. I can't even go out with a stupid girl from a shop because you pick up the phone and I comes running. I mean, is that what I am, Rose, standby? Am I just supposed to sit here for the rest of my life, waiting for you? Because I will.
ROSE: I'm sorry.
The pair shared a long look, expressions shifting every few seconds as they held a silent conversation. Everyone else was purposely looking anywhere else, feeling very awkward as they listened to a conversation that no one else had ever meant to have heard.
[Bistro 10]
MARGARET: I promise you I've changed since we last met, Doctor. There was this girl, just today. A young thing, something of a danger. She was getting too close. I felt the blood lust rising, just as the family taught me, I was going to kill her without a thought. And then I stopped. She's alive somewhere right now. She's walking around this city because I can change. I did change. I know I can't prove it
DOCTOR: I believe you.
"She told the truth." The Doctor muttered to herself; she hadn't exactly doubted it but she'd never really thought about it much, too much other things had happened.
MARGARET: Then you know I'm capable of better.
DOCTOR: It doesn't mean anything.
MARGARET: I spared her life.
DOCTOR: You let one of them go, but that's nothing new. Every now and then, a little victim's spared because she smiled, because he's got freckles, because they begged. And that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction, you happen to be kind.
MARGARET: Only a killer would know that. Is that right? From what I've seen, your funny little happy go lucky little life leaves devastation in its wake. Always moving on because you dare not look back. Playing with so many peoples lives, you might as well be a god. And you're right, Doctor. You're absolutely right. Sometimes you let one go. Let me go.
The group was silent, all suddenly realising that this was the Doctor fresh out of the Time War. That this Doctor thought they had destroyed their entire species to save the rest of the universe. It put a whole new weight to their words and not one they were comfortable commenting on at the moment. Somehow this video had gone from nice and cheery to some serious moments, they were all hoping it would end in a nicer manner.
[Mermaid Quayside]
MICKEY: I'm not asking you to leave him, because I know that's not fair. But I just need something, yeah? Some sort of promise that when you do come back, you're coming back for me.
(Deep rumble.)
ROSE: Is that thunder?
MICKEY: Does it matter?
ROSE: That's not thunder.
"I'm really sorry Mickey." Rose sighed, wincing at her complete denial of Mickey's comment.
"It's okay Rose, this was a long time ago and we're both past this." Mickey reassured her, then went to joke it off, "Besides there was kind of a situation going on." He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for the way he just left, he hadn't even bothered to try and help, he'd just left.
[Bistro 10]
MARGARET: In the family Slitheen, we had no choice. I was made to carry out my first kill at thirteen. If I'd refused, my father would have fed me to the Venom Grubs. If I'm a killer, it's because I was born to kill. It's all I know. Doctor, are you even listening to me?
DOCTOR: Can you hear that?
MARGARET: I'm begging for my life.
DOCTOR: No, listen, shush.
(The glasses begin to vibrate, then the plate glass window shatters. Customers scream.)
"Wait is isn't her?" Clara asked confused.
"Yes and no." The Doctor answered, sharing a glance with Jack.
Amy rolled her eyes, "Well that was a very clear answer, thanks."
[Mermaid Quayside]
(People flee the exploding street lights and windows. Rose runs.)
MICKEY: Oh, go on then, run! It's him again, isn't it? It's the Doctor! It's always the Doctor! It's always going to be the Doctor. It's never me!
"Mickey…" Martha muttered quietly to her husband, tuning to look at him better. He was hiding his head in his hands.
"I know, I know. Please don't." Mickey muttered back, this was really bring back up some things he didn't want to particularly deal with again. He thought he'd gotten over with and dealt with it all a long time ago, and here it was being thrown back in his face.
[Roald Dahl Plass]
(Margaret can't keep up with the Doctor.)
MARGARET: The handcuffs!
(He waits for her, then takes it off.)
DOCTOR: Don't think you're running away.
MARGARET: Oh, I'm sticking with you. Some date this turned out to be!
(Energy is streaming from the Tardis into the sky.)
DOCTOR: It's the rift. The rift's opening!
"She's still got a plan." Bill declared, "Be careful."
The Doctor smiled fondly at the concern despite it all being in the past and none of them being able to actually do anything.
[Tardis]
(Things are going sput! Cracks open up in the plaza.)
"What is going on?!" Donna exclaimed upon seeing the cracks and chaos unfolding. No one answered her.
DOCTOR: What the hell are you doing?
JACK: It just went crazy!
DOCTOR: It's the rift. Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to disappear!
"That's not good." Nardole said.
"You don't say." The Master drawled sarcastically, reminding the group of his presence and earning glares from the whole room. As soon as the video continued, they went back to ignoring him.
(Bang! Rose runs into the plaza and sees what is happening.)
JACK: It's the extrapolator. I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine! It's using the Tardis. I can't stop it!
DOCTOR: Never mind Cardiff, it's going to rip open the planet.
"That's even worse." Rory declared with a worried look. The only thing keeping the group mostly calm was the knowledge that the planet (and Cardiff) was in fact still intact and not destroyed.
(Rose enters.)
ROSE: What is it? What's happening?!
MARGARET: Oh, just little me.
"So, it is her!?" Yaz asked confused. The Doctor, Jack and Rose shared a look before nodding in sync.
(Margaret takes an arm out of her body suit and grabs Rose.)
MARGARET: One wrong move and she snaps like a promise.
"Rose!" Mickey's eyes widened in concern; he was feeling even more guilty about just leaving knowing how much trouble the three had gotten into now.
DOCTOR: I might've known.
MARGARET: I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it. You, fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet.
"I mean, I wouldn't go that far." Amy retorted, although she was a bit tense with the danger the three were suddenly in.
(Margaret tightens her grip on Rose's neck. The Doctor nods and Jack obeys.)
MARGARET: Thank you. Just as I planned.
ROSE: I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station.
MARGARET: Failing that, if I were to be arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found. I'm back on schedule, thanks to you.
"So, she's using the surfboard and the Tardis to open the rift and destroy everything." Graham summarised with a grimace. The Doctor nodded with her own grimace.
JACK: The rift's going to convulse. You'll destroy the whole planet.
MARGARET: And you with it!
(Margaret stands on the extrapolator.)
MARGARET: While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys. Surf's up.
"On the list of things I never thought I'd hear aliens say, 'surfs up' is one of them." Ryan declared mostly to himself, but the comment earned a snort from Yaz.
(The Tardis console cracks open and bright light hits Margaret.)
DOCTOR: Of course, opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart.
Amy and Rory's expressions immediately went straight to alarmed at the mention of tearing the Tardis apart, the last time that had happened had ended very badly before they'd fixed it to say the least.
MARGARET: So sue me.
DOCTOR: It's not just any old power source. It's the Tardis. My Tardis. The best ship in the universe.
MARGARET: It'll make wonderful scrap.
"Say that again. I dare you." The Doctor glared at the screen, she'd missed that remark the first time, or more accurately been more distracted by Rose's life being in danger and the imminent destruction of the planer/pulling off her plan to stop it.
ROSE: What's that light?
DOCTOR: The heart of the Tardis. This ship's alive. You've opened its soul.
Rose and the Doctor shared a knowing glance, this was where Rose had gotten the idea to do so to save the Doctor and Jack and become Bad Wolf after all, they just hadn't known it at the time.
MARGARET: It's so bright.
DOCTOR: Look at it, Margaret.
MARGARET: Beautiful.
DOCTOR: Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light.
"What's your plan Doctor?" Martha asked cautiously, things had taken an … odd turn and it had left the group mostly confused and a bit on edge.
"Just watch." The Doctor gestured to the screen, expression unreadable.
(Margaret relaxes and Rose gets free. Then she looks up at the Doctor, smiling.)
MARGARET: Thank you.
(Margaret disappears into the light. The empty bodysuit crumples onto the extrapolator.)
Several people's eyes widened drastically, confused by what had happened to Margaret but not sure what to say. Any time one of them opened their mouth to ask the Doctor shook their head and waved at the screen, a silent request to just watch.
DOCTOR: Don't look. Stay there. Close your eyes!
(The Doctor closes the console.)
DOCTOR: Now, Jack, come on, shut it all down. Shut down! Rose, that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right.
(Energy stops pouring into the sky.)
The group let out a breath at seeing the rumbling and destruction of Cardiff/the world stop. The danger was passed (they hoped), the only mystery left was what had happened to Margaret (and the whole Bad Wolf thing, but they'd all resigned themselves to not getting answers to that mystery just yet).
DOCTOR: Nicely done. Thank you, all.
ROSE: What happened to Margaret?
JACK: Must've got burnt up. Carried out her own death sentence.
DOCTOR: No, I don't think she's dead.
"You don't think?" Donna asked incredulous. The Doctor smiled softly and waved to the screen to Donna's obvious annoyance.
ROSE: Then where'd she go?
DOCTOR: She looked into the heart of the Tardis. Even I don't know how strong that is. And the ship's telepathic, like I told you, Rose. Gets inside your head. Translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts.
(The Doctor finds a large egg with dreadlocks on the top inside the bodysuit.)
DOCTOR: Here she is.
"An egg?!" Several people exclaimed in sync.
"An egg." The Doctor nodded seriously, offering no more of an explanation.
ROSE: She's an egg?
DOCTOR: Regressed to her childhood.
JACK: She's an egg?
DOCTOR: She can start again. Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right!
JACK: Or she might be worse.
DOCTOR: That's her choice.
"In the end she did get that second chance." River smiled softly at the Doctor, knowing her wife was much happier with this ending for Margaret. She knew the Doctor would have taken Margaret to her fate, but she wouldn't have been happier about it. This way, the Doctor wouldn't have another death on her conscious.
ROSE: She's an egg.
DOCTOR: She's an egg.
ROSE: Oh, my God. Mickey.
"And now you remember me." Mickey teased, giving Rose a small smile to tell her he wasn't angry about it, after all he had left of his own accord despite the obvious trouble, although he wouldn't deny it had helped clear his head and it meant that Rose wasn't forced to choose.
(Rose runs out and across the cracked plaza, back to Mermaid Quay where ambulances are taking away the injured. Mickey is watching from the shadows as she goes up to a paramedic and asks a question. Mickey walks away. She returns to the Tardis alone.)
"You were there?" Rose asked quietly, she'd never known that he'd been watching her. She'd asked around for a while, concerned he'd been hurt and only stopped when she couldn't find anything, eventually texting Mickey for a reassurance he was alive and unharmed.
Mickey nodded quietly, unsure what to say to that really.
DOCTOR: We're all powered up. We can leave. Opening the rift filled us up with energy. We can go, if that's all right.
ROSE: Yeah, fine.
DOCTOR: How's Mickey?
ROSE: He's okay. He's gone.
DOCTOR: Do you want to go and find him? We'll wait.
Mickey raised an eyebrow surprised at that. He thought they'd immediately would have left without a second thought towards him, but clearly his opinion of the Doctor back then wasn't completely correct.
ROSE: No need. He deserves better.
Mickey bit his lip at that comment. He couldn't deny that in the end it was better the two of them weren't together; they'd both grown up so much and sadly it had just been in a slightly different direction from each other. They were still friend they just weren't compatible romantically anymore, and both of them had ended up with others and were happy with where they were now. He smiled softly at his wife who smiled back warmly.
DOCTOR: Off we go, then. Always moving on
JACK: Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius. Now you don't often get to say that.
DOCTOR: We'll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery. Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again. A second chance.
ROSE: That'd be nice.
With that the screen turned blank signalling the end of the video. The Doctor stood up and stretched slightly (her legs had been starting to cramp up from not moving for a while). "Well, that was a short one, how about we all have a break." She looked around the group, suddenly noticing the tired expressions and mentally tried to figure out how long it had been since they'd all slept (she could go a lot longer without sleep then most of the room's occupants after all). "How about we all grab something to eat and then get some sleep. We can start the next videos tomorrow … whenever tomorrow is." The concept of time was weird in this room anyway (and that was saying something, considering she was a time traveller).
The people in the room all nodded at that, standing and stretching then slowly leaving the room in groups, happily chatting away as they headed for the kitchen. The Doctor stayed back as they all left, just watching them, happy to be surrounded by so many of her friends and family (and admittedly missing those that weren't and couldn't be here).
She was broken out of her thoughts by someone coughing slightly to alert the Doctor to their presence behind them. She spun around surprised, only to find Rose waiting behind her with a small smile.
"Can we talk?" Rose asked. The Doctor glances around to double check they were alone in the room, she had a feeling this conversation was one they wanted some privacy for, seeing they were alone she nodded. The pair moved to a random sofa and sat down facing each other.
For several moments silence reigned in the room, neither of the pair quite sure what to say. The Doctor started fidgeting as the silence carried on, unsure about how this conversation was going to go. Rose rolled her eyes, smiling fondly as she noticed the Doctor start fidgeting.
"Are you okay?" Rose asked quietly but sincere.
Her question made the Doctor freeze for a moment, hands stilling as she finally met Rose's eyes. "What do you mean?" She asked equally quietly, attempting to pull off a causal smile.
Rose gave her a pointed look, "Don't try that on me Doctor, I can see through it. I think anyone in this room can. You know exactly what I mean, are you okay?"
The Doctor dropped the smile, "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" The Doctor continued to try and distract her, from Rose's raised eyebrow, it didn't work at all.
"Me? I'm not the one having so much of my life on screen, nor the one whose been told that I'm missing memories and half my life might be a lie." Rose sighed.
"Maybe, but I'm not the one stuck on an alternative universe for the rest of my existence." The Doctor countered, "Just tell me Rose, please. Are you happy?"
Rose met the Doctor's eyes for a long moment before answering. "Yes, I'm happy. I'm with both my parents, I'm happily married, have my dream job and plenty of friends who understand what I've gone through. I'm happy. I can't say I don't miss you and Mickey and Jack sometimes, but I'm happy and I wouldn't change anything. Now, are you going to stop avoiding the question and actually answer me?"
The Doctor sighed, happy that Rose had answered honestly, and from the look in her eyes she had, but knew she couldn't keep avoiding the question. Any attempts to lie would also be rumbled by how well Rose knew her. She might get away with it if it was Yaz, Ryan and Graham, maybe even Bill, but the others had been around far too long for it to work on them.
"I don't know." She answered honestly for the first time. "I'm angry and scared and tired and confused and just done. I'm just fed up of having no answers and so many questions. I'm sick of everyone mocking me and rubbing it in my face. I left because I wanted to travel, to see the universe and along the way I found friends and family, and I wouldn't change that for the universe. But sometimes I don't know why I keep going. Why I keep dragging other innocents into it. Why I keep trying to justify everything, why I keep interfering. I just … I just don't know anymore." When she started speaking, she found everything just spilled out, everything had built up too high and the dam had finally burst.
Rose was quiet for a moment, but she shuffled forward slowly and took the Doctor's hand, squeezing it in comfort. "It's okay to not know, a lot has happened. You'd gone through a lot the first time I knew you and you've been through even more since then. As for why you should keep going … as much as I'd like to, I can't make that decision for you. You need to find a reason for yourself, it can be as little or as big as you want, but think of the Tardis. It's been you and her since the start and she'll always be with you, and we're always with you too. Maybe not in person, but we're always there, you have friends and family everywhere and you're always welcome, you just need to reach out."
She waited until the Doctor met her eyes again, before turning sterner and more serious. "And don't you dare say anything about dragging us along, we all chose to travel with you. You warned us, you said we wouldn't come back the same and we don't but that's not a bad thing. I don't want to think about where I'd be if I hadn't met you and I know the others feel the same. We chose to travel with you and we both do better with each other." She stared the Doctor down for several minutes until the Doctor reluctantly nodded, Rose smiled sadly, knowing that the Doctor would need some more time and reassurance before that message was ingrained in her head, but they had time. The Tardis had given them more time than they'd ever thought they'd have.
Clapping her hands together, Rose stood up, "Now come on, there's plenty of time for more serious conversations, but right now I want some food and sleep, and you need some too." She could see the Doctor about to protest, "And don't even try and deny it Mister, I know you too well for that."
Smiling fondly the Doctor allowed Rose to lead her back to the rest of the group who were lounging around the kitchen chatting and eating. They joined them, enjoying an hour or two of random conversations from both pre, post and during life with the Doctor as they grabbed random food and drinks that appeared n the cupboards and fridge the Tardis had provided (how that worked they didn't know, but they'd learnt it was better not to question it).
Slowly people started leaving in small groups and pairs, turning in for the 'night' (or at least what they were considering night, again time was weird in the room). The Doctor waited until everyone else had gone to bed before going to her room herself, she'd been basking in the presence of so many friends and family all evening. Maybe being quieter than usual, but the group was all used to her variable moods, and she'd just needed some time after her conversation with Rose to just be around the group. It wasn't often that she got to spend time with so many of her friends without there bing imminent danger.
She may not be enjoying having so many of her secrets spilled to the group but she was enjoying the time she had with them. And she could only thank the Tardis for this rare gift of time, although it did have the side affect of making her think about all her other friends she was missing. Several times during the videos she'd found herself thinking about what Sarah Jane would have thought about something, or Jamie, or Ace, or Peri, or Tegan, or anyone of her old friends.
For now, though, she would focus on the time she did have with the people present, smiling to herself she settled in to her room for the 'night'. She didn't know whether she'd actually get any sleep but she'd allow the others some quiet to catch up on some rest and it would give her some time to get her turbulent thoughts in order. It was time to focus on the present, not to linger on the past (despite having to view all these videos), or worry about the future.