Chapter 14:
The Doctor thrusts forward the charging battery cell opening it up unleashing a golden energy that zapped into the six cybermen stood before them in a triangular formation.
It dissolved the closest one and temporarily stunned the rest.
"What was that-"
"We will have that instead come on!" The Doctor shouted grabbing Rose's hand once more and running along the soggy lawn.
Beeping and revving could be heard as a blue van veered alongside them, honking at them hurriedly.
"Everybody In!" Shouted a shrill voice, urging everyone into the van.
The Doctor pushed Nova towards the Van, stopping Pete from running back into the house after Jackie.
"I've got to go back. My wife's in there." He protested as rose stopped alongside him.
"Anyone inside that house is dead. If you want to help, then don't let her die for nothing. You've got to come with us right now." The Doctor said pushing Pete towards the revving van.
"COME ON! COME ON!" Urged the shrill woman behind the wheel, she had short bleach blonde hair and was dressed in all black winter coats.
"Rose, she's not your mother." The Doctor said gently to rose as he hurried her into the van.
"I know" She replied solemnly
"Finished chatting? Never seen a slower getaway in my life!" The driver shouted as the sliding side door of the van slammed shut.
The van spluttered and zoomed off smacking into to some cybermen in the midst of their getaway.
Outside of the car window they could see people walking like zombies following the cybermen control, the ear pods flashing and beeping.
" What was that thing?" Rickey asked looking at the Doctor inspecting the charging battery.
"Little bit of technology from my home." The Doctor said as he waved his sonic screwdriver over it.
"It's stopped glowing. Has it run out?" Mickey asked looking at the dimming battery.
"It's on a revitalising loop. It'll charge back up in about four hours." The Doctor said putting it back in his inside pocket.
"Right. So, we don't have a weapon anymore." Mickeys doubled said exasperated.
"Yeah, we've got weapons. Might not be one of those metal things, but they're good enough for men like him." Jake retorted pointing a gun at Pete.
"Leave him alone. What's he done wrong?" Rose said rushing between the arguing pair, as the van hit a pothole she fell back down to her makeshift seat in the back of the dull lit van.
"Oh, you know, just laid a trap that's wiped out the Government and left Lumic in charge." Rickey shouted
"If I was part of all that, do you think I'd leave my wife inside?" Cried Pete holding his head in his hands hugging his knees.
"Maybe your plan went wrong. Still gives us the right to execute you, though." Rickey said as he reloaded his gun, making the Doctor uneasy.
"Talk about executions, you'll make me your enemy. And take some really good advice. You don't want to do that." The Doctor said coldly as he motioned Ricky to put the gun down/
"And not in front of children" The Doctor added looking down at Nova who seemed to be shivering still.
"All the same, we have evidence that says Pete Tyler's been working for Lumic since twenty point five."
"Is that true?" Asked Rose sadly
"Tell them, Mrs M." Rickey said motioning to the woman haphazardly driving the shabby blue van.
"We've got a government mole who feeds us information. Lumic's private files, his South American operations, the lot. Secret broadcasts twice a week." Rickey explained threateningly but keeping the gun down.
"Broadcast from Gemini?" Pete asked
"And how do you know that?"
"I'm Gemini. That's me." Pleaded Pete
"Yeah, well you would say that."
"Encrypted wavelength six five seven using binary nine. That's the only reason I was working for Lumic. To get information. I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services. What do I get? Scooby Doo and his gang. They've even got the van." Pete shouted to everyone
"No, no, no. But the Preachers know what they're doing. Ricky said he's London's Most Wanted." Mickey said trying to defend his parallel counterpart.
"Yeah, that's not exactly" Ricky said shamefully looking down at his feet.
"Not exactly what?" Mickey said confused looking at Ricky.
"I'm London's Most Wanted for parking tickets." He admitted
"Great." Pete sighed.
"Yeah, they were deliberate. I was fighting the system. Park anywhere, that's me." Ricky said trying to big up himself a little more in front of everyone.
"Good policy. I do much the same. I'm the Doctor, by the way, if anyone's interested." The Doctor said pouting from not getting any attention.
"And I'm Nova his daughter" Nova said shyly kicking at her feet.
"And I'm Rose. Hello."
"Even better. That's the name of my dog. Still, at least I've got the catering staff on my side." Pete sighed
"I knew you weren't a traitor." Rose whispered lowly
"Why is that, then?" Pete asked confused looking into her eyes.
"I just did."
"They took my wife." He cried looking down again as he reminded himself of the fact, his thoughts lingering on Jackie.
"She might still be alive." Rose said trying to reassure him, but he batted her away.
"That's even worse. Because that's what Lumic does. He takes the living and he turns them into those machines."
"Cybermen. They're called Cybermen. And I'd take those ear pods off, if I were you. You never know. Lumic could be listening." The Doctor said to Pete, taking the ear pods and zapping them with his sonic screwdriver causing them to break.
"But he's overreached himself. He's still just a businessman. He's assassinated the President. All we need to do is get to the city and inform the authorities. Because I promise you, this ends tonight." The Doctor said confidently with fire behind his eyes looking around at everyone, his final gaze lingering on Nova for a second.
A large beeping sound echoed throughout the streets, people stopped in place and begun to march. They got out the van and begun to look around the street as they followed the marching people.
"What the hell?"
"What's going on?"
"It's the ear-pods. Lumic's taken control." The Doctor said messing around with the charging battery in his hand.
"Can't we just, I don't know, take them off?" Rose asked.
"Don't! Cause a brainstorm. Human race. For such an intelligent lot, you aren't half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit. Sometimes I think you like it. Easy life." Snapped the Doctor loosing his patience slightly, he took a breath and smoothed over his unkempt hair but it bounced back into it's messy place.
"Hey come and see" One of Rickys friends crouching behind a wall peering down an alley.
"Where are they all going?" Rose said as they all peered down an alley looking at marching cybermen.
"I don't know. This Lumic must have a base of operations." The Doctor suggested
"Battersea. That's where he was building his prototypes" Pete said with a look of realisation on his face.
"Why's he doing it?" Rose asked
"He's dying. This all started out as a way of prolonging life, of keeping the brain alive at any cost."
"The thing is, we've seen Cybermen before, haven't I? The head. Those handle shapes in Van Statten's museum." Rose said with Nova nodding along side her.
"Ah, there are Cybermen in our universe. They started on an ordinary world just like this, then swarmed across the galaxy. This lot are a parallel version, and they're starting from scratch right here on Earth." The Doctor explained to them both, causing the rest of the group to look at them in confusion.
"What the hell are you two on about?"
"Never mind that. Come on, we need to get out of the city. Okay, split up. Mrs Moore, you look after that bloke. Jake, distract them. Go right, I'll go left. We'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move." Ricky said cocking a gun as everyone hid behind the wall still watching the cyberman.
Mickey leaned over and kisses Rose, she flinched slightly at this. "I'm going with him" He said following Ricky.
Noises of suspension from the Cybermen's metal body parts, whirring and beeping filled the air as all the cybermen begun to march down London streets. They had noticed the Doctor and his companions, he dragged both Nova and Rose by the hand as they ran down several streets and alleys.
They hid in an alley crouching behind large industrial rubbish bins, Rose grabs Pete's hands and reassures him. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to transmit some form of signal and the cybermen march onwards following the beeping noise the Doctor had made for a distraction.
"Go" The Doctor whispered, letting go of Nova's trembling hand and urging her and the humans to run.
Nova could feel the slightly wet asphalt slap against her tired old shoes, worn down from the months of running. Her double hearts beating like a marching band drumming faster and faster every step she took. The Doctor stopped then in the middle of a street as Mickey catches up to them.
"I ran past the river. You should have seen it. The whole city's on the march. Hundreds of Cybermen all down the Thames." Jake panted to the group before noticing mickey run towards them "Here he is! Which one are you?" He asked confused.
"I'm 'm sorry. The Cybermen. He couldn't." Breathed Mickey holding his chest as he struggled to catch his breath back.
"Are you Ricky? Are you Ricky?" shouted Jake as he shook Mickey by the shoulders.
"Mickey its you isn't it" Rose said embracing him softly.
"I tried, he tried, he was running, we… there were too many of them…" Mickey spluttered trying to reach out to Jake who slapped his hands away "SHUT IT" he said coldly glaring at the group.
Mickey continued trying to reassure Jake making Jake even more agitated than before.
"We can mourn him when London is safe. But now, we move on." The Doctor said looking down at Nova noticing her weary eyes.
"We just need to get to the power station"
Xox
The power station was dark, dimly lit by the yellow tinted street lights and occasional industrial flood light. Nova could just about make out four distinctive circular chimneys protrude from the giant brick factory, with a giant zeppelin parked ontop of the building in between the towers.. Smoke erupting from the chimneys smelling like charcoal and fat, making Nova uneasy.
"What is that smell" Rose said pinching her nose.
"It smells like… bacon in a way" Nova said crunching her nose as she felt the air around her "Coppery almost, hints of iron in the air…" Novas face paled as she met eyes with the Doctor. "Oh god its human isn't it"
He just slowly nodded, eyes downcast "They've already begun.. changing humans into cybermen, discarding unneeded parts.." He turned away from the factory looking at the group "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry"
"It seems the whole of London has been sealed off, like a farm, and the entire population is slowly being taken inside that place to.. be converted" He said turning back to look at the burning smoke spilling from the towering chimneys of the factory.
"We… we need to stop it, please stop it" Nova said tears brimming in her eyes as she tried to shut down the smell flooding her nose.
"How can we do that?" Mickey asked the Doctor
"Oh, I'll think of something" The Doctor said with a smile on his face
"You're just making it up!" Mickey protested
"Yeeeeup" The Doctor said looking back to him as he clapped his hands once "But I do it brilliantly" He added shaking his head, causing Nova and Rose to smirk at him. Mickey just pursed his lips slightly but agreed with a nod.
The woman who previously drove the van, Mrs Moore pulled out a large overheating laptop from her bag. It showed blue prints and schematics of the factory. The group sat on a picnic bench overlooking her laptop, the Doctor still wearing his tuxedo they had taken from the catering company, pulled out his glasses from the blazer pocket. Sitting on the top of the bench one leg resting on the chair he looked down in thought.
Nova nervously twiddled her fiery ginger locks as she kicked at the dried grass at her feet, she glanced behind to the Doctor who looked up at her with a cheeky little smile before glancing back down inspecting the schematics of the factory.
"That's a schematic of the old factory. Look. Cooling tunnels underneath the plant. Big enough to walk through" Nova heard Mrs Moore say, as she pointed with her fingerless gloved hand at the screen.
"We go under there and up into the control centre?" The Doctor said following along the map.
"Mmm." The brightly bleached blonde said as she hummed in thought.
"There's another way in. Through the front door. If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'll get in." Pete said standing up from the bench.
"We can't just go strolling up." Jake sniggered nervously
"Or we could, with these. Fake ear pods. Dead. No signal. But put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for one of the crowds." Mrs Moore added thoughtfully as she pulled out some fake ear pods from her jacket and placing them on the keyboard of the computer.
"Then that's my job." Pete said confidently as he fidgeted with his wedding band on his finger before picking up an ear pod.
"You'd have to show no emotion. None at all. Any sign of emotion would give you away." The Doctor said eyeing up the wedding band on the mans finger before looking at him in the eyes, as Pete put in the fake earpods.
"How many of those you got?" Rose asked pointing to the earpods.
"Just two sets." Moore said as she rummaged for more but found nothing.
"Okay. If that's the best way of finding Jackie, then I'm coming with you." Rose stated as she quickly grabbed the other set of ear pods and put them in before the Doctor could protest.
"Why does she matter to you?" Pete tried to say before Rose cut him off as she noticed the Doctor was trying to protest.
"We haven't got time. Doctor, I'm going with him, and that's that." Rose butted in "You need to take care of Nova, she cant exactly stay by herself or make her way back to the Tardis" She said giving Nova a quick hug.
"No stopping you, is there?" He said with a small hint of a smile as he raised his eyebrows at her.
"Nope" Rose said adjusting the earpods.
"Tell you what. We can take the ear pods at the same time. Give people their minds back so they don't walk into that place like sheep. Jakey-boy? Lumic's transmitting the control signal. It must be from over there." The Doctor said as Mickey and Rose nodded along, the Doctor ran slightly to the right as he pointed to the zeppelin on the factory.
He waves his sonic screwdriver in the direction of the power station. The Zeppelin is parked on top, with a circle of red lights blinking on its bow, or stern his sonic screwdriver lets out a beeping sound.
"There it is. On the zeppelin, you see? Great big transmitter. Good thing Lumic likes showing off. Reckon you could take it out?" He said patting Jake on the back before running back down to the picnic bench.
"Consider it done." Jake said with a smile
"Mrs Moore, would you care to accompany us into the cooling tunnels?" He said looking over his shoulder to Nova who was still staring at the large factory ahead.
"How could I refuse an offer of cooling tunnels?" she jokingly replied
"We attack on three sides. Above, between, below. We get to the control centre, we stop the conversion machines." Orchestrated the Doctor as he looked around at the group who were all stood in a circle by the picnic table now, the Doctor took off his glasses and folded them away into his suit jacket.
"What about me?" Said Mickey feeling a little left out as he was stood to the side of the group.
"Mickey. You can er.." Stuttered the Doctor, who had forgotten about Mickey.
"What, stay out of trouble? Be the tin dog? No, those days are over. I'm going with Jake." Shouted Mickey as he stood along side Jake who pushed him away.
"I don't need you, idiot."
"I'm not an idiot! You got that? I'm offering to help." Snapped Mickey crossing his
"Whatever." Jake huffed in acceptance.
"Mickey. Good luck." The Doctor patted Mickey on the back
"Yeah, you too. Rose, I'll see you later. He sighed nervously before following behind Jake.
"Yeah, you'd better." Rose nodded
"If we survive this, I'll see you back at the Tardis." The Doctor said with a stern look on his face, Nova could tell part of him didn't trust mickey to go by himself, he was worried, she took his hand and gave it a small squeeze.
"That's a promise." Mickey walks off, then turns to see the Doctor hug Rose a pang of jealously and anger hit his heart as he dragged his eyes off them and carried on following Jake.
"Good luck." The Doctor said to Rose looking deeply into her eyes.
"Right come on then" he said to Nova and Moore.
xox
The trio shivered as they climbed down the metal step ladders, only lit by the moon shining through the trap door above them. "It's freezing" Mrs Moore grumbled as they neared the bottom of the ladders. "Any sign of a light switch?" The Doctor asked looking around.
As they reached the bottom Mrs Moore produced three headlamps from her satchel, passing them to the Doctor. Who secured his own before helping Nova with hers.
"Can't see a thing. But I've got these. A device for every occasion." Mrs Moore said proudly as she flicked hers on.
"Haven't got a hot dog in there have you? I'm starving" Joked the Doctor as he flicked on both his and Nova's headlamps.
Nova let out a 'blegh' noise at the thought of hotdogs.
"See I agree with her" Laughed Moore "Of all the things to wish for right nor, its that mechanically recovered meat"
"I know.. it's the cyberman of food, but its tasty" Laughed the Doctor earning a smile from them both. He remembered when he took Nova to New York for a hotdog and she had the same reaction then, he smiled down at the girl who was still feigning sick over the thought of hotdogs.
Mrs Moore handed them both a torch "Proper torch as well" She said turning them on.
As they turned away from the ladder they shined their torches down the tunnel, cyberman were ranged along both sides.
Nova's hearts skipped a beat as she looked at them before realising they must be powered down right now.
"Already converted" The Doctor said sadly looking at one of them closely "Just put on ice, come on" He said in a higher pitched voice as he taps the cybermen face and go no reaction. "Lets go slowly, keep an eye out for trip systems.
"Like booby traps?" Asked Nova shining her torch along the floor, the light bouncing off the dirty puddles throughout the tunnel.
"Precisely"
They crept down the tunnel slowly shining their torches at the cybermen and the floor as one or two curious rats scattered around the floor. "It feels weird to see them so close, and so dormant" Mrs Moore said inspecting one with her torch.
"Don't linger too long we don't know when they'll wake up" He said pulling her along a little.
"How did you get into this, then, rattling along with the Preachers?" He added changing the subject as they carried on down the tunnel.
"Oh, I used to be ordinary. Worked at Cybus Industries, nine to five, till one day, I find something I'm not supposed to. A file on the mainframe. All I did was read it. Then suddenly I've got men with guns knocking in the middle of the night. Life on the run. Then I found the Preachers. They needed a techie, so I, I just sat down and taught myself everything." She recalled
"What about Mr Moore?" Asked Nova
"Well, he's not called Moore. I got that from a book, Mrs Moore. It's safer not to use real names. But he thinks I'm dead. It was the only way to keep him safe. Him and the kids. What about you? Where is the mother? You got a.. Mrs Doctor?" She said looking down at Nova who was holding onto the Doctors hands.
"Oh, who needs family? We've got each other at least, but I've got the whole world on my shoulders. Go on, then. What's your real name?" The Doctor said almost forgetting he had Nova, his Nova.. the last time tot and the last time lord, he felt a little strange about it. He looked down at her, her glimmering red hair shining in the torch light and eyes as green as regeneration energy.
'I've always wanted to be ginger you know' He joked telepathically to Nova.
"Angela Price. Don't tell a soul." Mrs Moore responded jokingly putting a finger to her lips
"Not a word." Smiled the Doctor pretending to zip his lips.
Suddenly behind them, a Cyberman is activated. It sends an alarm signal. Whirring to life and flashing red, but the trio didn't seem to notice as they were preoccupied with talking.
"Doctor! Did that one just move" Moore explained.
"It's just the torch light keep going" the Doctor said trying to convince himself more of that fact.
The distinctive booming and mechanically whirring of a cyberman marching echoed behind them, the cybermen start to whir to life.
"They're waking up! RUN!"