Thirteen, Yaz and Ryan were in the McDonalds near Trafalgar Square, having been doing a bit of sightseeing.
"I know it's weird. We've been in London for almost a year now." Yaz said. "We've never actually thought to come out and see Trafalgar Square in person."
"Would you like to join in with the anti-Brexit protests?" Thirteen asked.
"Er, no thanks." Yaz said.
Thirteen shrugged slightly. "Well, I don't blame you, they can get pretty rowdy at times." She picked up her burger, but a muscle spasm caused her to drop it and it flopped onto the table. "Crap." She whined.
"Just eat it anyway." Ryan said, lowering his own burger back in the box. "Like, it's okay. It just went on the table." He spread out the paper wrapping of Thirteen's Big Mac and started to reassemble the burger. "It's not like it went on the floor."
"I just hate that it happens so often." Thirteen admitted.
"I-I've never seen this happen." Yaz said.
"Yeah, nor me." Ryan put the top bun on the burger and pushed it back towards Thirteen.
"I have... poor muscle control." Thirteen said. "Why'd you think I have a wheelchair?"
"I dunno, mate." Ryan said. "I always thought you had some accident or something and you were paralysed."
"Me too." Yaz said.
"I was starved of oxygen at birth. It's brain damage." Thirteen explained. "Not the same kind as Twelve, mind-"
"Twelve's got brain damage?" Yaz's eyebrows knitted together as she considered that statement. "No. That can't be right. He's just blind."
"Because of brain damage." Thirteen said. "Honestly, what do you think brain damage even is? It's just the destruction of brain cells. In Twelve's case, the ones that make you see. In my case, the ones that control my arms and legs. Mostly my legs. Sometimes my arms. It's different for each person really."
"I didn't know that." Yaz said. "I always thought of like... people in comas on life support."
"Yeah, that was Twelve at one point. But that was because he was sick. Anyway, his sickness was cured, he woke up and he's had a good life ever since." Thirteen said. "Me? Well, I've never been on life support-except when I've had general anaesthetics-and I've never been in a coma. I'd very much like not to be, thanks."
"I don't know what I thought." Ryan admitted. "I s'pose I thought of like, people who were fully paralysed and needed full time care and were fed through a tube."
Yaz nodded in agreement.
"It's just society's perception of disability, isn't it?" Thirteen shrugged. She picked up her burger again, this time holding it tighter in her hands, and took a bite.
"Have you told Eleven, Ten and Twelve that you're moving out yet?" Yaz asked.
Thirteen chewed and swallowed, wondering whether to give the honest answer. "Well, no." She said. "I haven't. I'm a bit worried how they'll take it, to be honest. And it's not like we've even found a place to rent."
"But when we do." Ryan said.
Thirteen sighed softly. "I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Ten doesn't deal easily with change. He's the kind of person who'd be like 'oh it's all my fault' when it's not. He carries a lot of guilt."
"Yeah, I kinda get that feeling from him." Yaz said.
"I wouldn't want to freak him out." Thirteen said. "And I know Eleven's having some kind of nervous breakdown over something right now that he refuses to tell us about. And Twelve's busy with the government collapsing."
"Eleven?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah. I don't know. But he's... nervous. And... kinda jumpy." Thirteen said. "I don't know what's going on, but it's got to be something big."
Eleven was walking on Oxford Street with Amy. They'd got off the Tube at Marble Arch and were planning to walk the whole length to Tottenham Court Road. After all, they did need to get some things.
"Alright, Primark first." Amy said. "It's just here and I need some new tops."
"Remind me why I went shopping with you." Eleven said with a slight groan. It's not that he didn't like Primark, but he... didn't like Primark. It was always noisy, crowded with people not looking where they were going and the lights were so fluorescent.
"Because you need my help." Amy said. "And today's my day off."
"Yes, that's right." Eleven said.
Amy walked into Primark first and Eleven followed her. And it all hit him. He lowered his head to shield his eyes from the bright lights.
"I think it's nice that you want to ask my sister to marry you." Amy said.
"It's just... what if she says 'no', Amy?" Eleven said.
"Ah. You're having second thoughts." Amy said. A cute Harry Potter t-shirt caught her eye, so she turned to look at it, holding it in her hands. "It's perfectly fine to have second thoughts about engagement. I'm sure Rory had a few nervy thoughts when he asked me. His palms were wet. It was cute."
"Yes well, I'm not Rory." Eleven rubbed his hands.
"No, you're not. You're not better than him. You're not worse than him. You're just different. In the same way I'm different." Amy picked the t-shirt off the rail and draped it over her arm. "River didn't fall in love with Rory Williams. I did. And Rory fell in love with me. River fell in love with Matthew Doctor."
Eleven opened his mouth to say something.
"Yes, you." Amy chuckled lightly. "Just be him and..." she shrugged, "it'll all be fine."
"You can't tell River about this-this shopping trip."
"I think she's going to notice me coming home with some new clothes, Eleven."
"But you can't tell her that I want to get her a ring."
"No, I wouldn't." Amy said. "I promise I won't tell her until you've proposed and she's said 'yes' and shown me the ring."
"Not even then." Eleven said.
"Oh Eleven. Relax. I'm sure she'll love whatever ring you get her." Amy said.
"What if she doesn't want to marry me?" Eleven asked, wringing his hands.
"Oh is that what you're worried about?" Amy chuckled. "River is crazy about you, you know. You think I don't know my own sister?"
"Yes well, you didn't grow up together." Eleven pointed out.
"Hardly our faults." Amy said. "Our parents died and we were split up. But we're twins. We have a connection."
"But-"
"But nothing." Amy said, turning to Eleven. She put her hand on his shoulder. "After she sees you, River is always so happy. Smiling. Happy. Humming happy songs. Practically dancing about the flat. She loves you, Eleven."
"And I-well, I love her too." Eleven said.
"And you're much better than that other guy she used to date." Amy said. "Bloody arsehole."
"Oh nice. I'm just the improvement." Eleven said.
"But she's happy with you." Amy said.
"That makes me sound like a broadband provider." Eleven said nervously.
"Relax." Amy chuckled. "You'll be fine. She'll say yes. Don't worry."
"I don't know, Amy." Eleven said. "I can't help worrying-"
Just as Eleven was halfway through his sentence, the lights went out and the music stopped.
"I don't think that was supposed to happen." Amy said.
Eleven took his phone from his pocket and unlocked it. "Amy." He pointed at the 'no service' sign at the top left of the screen.
Amy glanced at it and took out her own phone. "No service for me too."
Around the shop, people were talking amongst each other and angrily complaining to members of staff.
"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to ask you to leave." A staff member said to Eleven and Amy.
Ten was on the Tube, the Hammersmith and City Line, on his way to King's Cross St Pancras to meet up with Rose, Mickey and Martha for a double date to see the Harry Potter Platform Nine and Three Quarters (and an evening at Nando's) when everything suddenly stopped and everything was plunged into sudden darkness. The only light came from peoples' electronic devices.
Ten sat upright and looked around. Lights were shining up and down the carriage from peoples' phones, iPads, tablets, e-readers, laptops and games consoles.
There was no way he or anyone else was getting a signal this far below London. He only had to ask himself the question, what had happened up there? Had America declared nuclear war and they'd been hit? Had there been a terrorist attack elsewhere on the line? Had there been a suicide or a murder or an accidental death?
The worst part was not knowing.
Malcolm was lying down on his sofa watching a mind numbing teen comedy with his niece, Elspeth, when the telly went off.
"Uncle Malc, what's going on?" Ellie asked. "Did you turn the telly off?"
"No, I didn't." Malcolm said. He peeled himself up from the sofa one handed and plodded across to the light switch. After flicking the lights on and off with nothing happening, he came to a conclusion. "It's a power cut."
"Uncle Malcolm!" A voice shouted from upstairs. Malcolm's nephew, Keir. "My game's gone off!"
"Aye!" Malcolm shouted back. "There's a power cut!"
"You're a politics guy! Get the power back on!" Keir shouted. "I need to play! I was talking with my mates!"
"I'm not the National Grid!" Malcolm shouted. "And my Party isn't even in power!"
"Always excuses!" Keir shouted.
"Keir Iain McLeod, if you want to talk, come down here and do it properly!" Malcolm shouted.
Four was outside in the garden with Sarah and K9. He and Sarah were sitting in cheap camping chairs from the nearby Lidl listening to music, albeit not particularly loudly as in to disturb the neighbours.
It was hardly sunny outside either, it had been raining and it looked like it would rain again, but it was summer (damn it) so they, like all Brits, would wait for breaks in the weather and go outside.
Four stood up. "I'll go and get some more drinks, shall I?" He said.
"Yeah, can you get me a lemonade?" Sarah asked.
Water, Master. K9 said.
"You're not getting water, you're not a real dog. You're a robot." Four said.
K9 bowed his head almost sadly.
Four walked inside and into the kitchen. He failed to notice that the fridge wasn't humming as it usually was. He opened the fridge and the light was off so he reached for the switch and pressed it a few times, just to be sure, before heading back outdoors.
"Sarah Jane, I think we need a new fridge freezer."
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.
"I mean our fridge is broken."
"It was fine ten minutes ago."
"Well, now it's not."
Sarah sighed as she stood up. "Are you sure it's broken?"
"Very sure." Four said. "The little light is off."
"Well, that could be a blown fuse or something." Sarah reasoned. "You can replace that.
They walked inside with K9 following up to the door. He couldn't get over the weather seal. Master.
"Sorry, K9." Four said. He picked the robotic dog up and set him down in the kitchen.
Thank you, Master. K9 said.
"See, it's broken." Four said.
Sarah had her head in the fridge examining the light. "I'd say it was the light needed replacing, but don't feel any cool air."
Outside, the rain had started again.
Master, it is raining again. K9 said.
"Ah shit." Four ran outside to get his phone and the wireless speakers.
Sarah walked over to the light switch and tried to turn it on. She flicked it twice before realising what had happened and went into the living room.
Four walked back in and slid the door shut after him. He looked around and noticed Sarah wasn't in the room.
"K9, where did Sarah go?" He asked.
Mistress went to the living room. K9 said.
"Thanks. Good dog." Four hurried into the living room, where he found Sarah trying to turn the telly on. "What's going on?" He asked.
"Well, I'm ninety-nine percent sure there's a power cut." Sarah said.
"Oh no."
"Oh yes."
Five was out in the Czech Republic with his friends, Tegan, Nyssa, Peri and Adric. Prague was very nice and they enjoyed it, but they weren't in Prague. They were on a bus on their way from Prague to Brno, where they would stay overnight. Tegan and Nyssa were sat next to each other behind Five and Adric and Peri was happily sitting in front of them listening to music on her own.
Five was looking on his phone through his contacts list when Nyssa stood up and tapped him on the shoulder.
"What're you doing?" She asked.
"None of my brothers are answering their phones." Five said.
"Try your sister." Adric suggested unhelpfully.
"If they won't answer, then she wouldn't either." Five said.
"Doesn't Nine live outside of London?" Tegan asked, getting in on the conversation.
"Yes, he lives up north." Five replied.
"So try him." Tegan said with a slight shrug. "I mean, it can't hurt, right?"
"I suppose not." Five opened the contact for Nine (in brackets, Chris) and selected 'call', holding the phone up to his ear.
After a few long seconds, a familiar Northern accent came through. "Hello? Five?"
"Ah, Nine." Five said. "Erm... I can't get through to anyone."
"I'm not surprised." Nine said.
"Why? What's happened?" Five asked, sounding slightly panicked.
Tegan, Nyssa and Adric leaned towards him slightly, mainly in curiosity. What was Nine going to say?
"Do I need to come home?"
"Nah. It's all fine over here, as far as I'm aware." Nine said. "There's a massive power cut affecting some parts of the UK. You can't get through to the ones living in London because they're affected."
"You're joking, surely?"
Nine chuckled. "Nope. Huge power cut. It's on the news and all."
"How come you're okay and nobody else is?" Five asked.
"Salford's not affected." Nine replied.
Twelve first noticed something was wrong when his refreshable Braille display didn't refresh.
The second hint that something was wrong was this;
"Alright everyone!" Jones shouted out across the office. "Can I have your attention please?! There has been a power cut-"
"Yeah, no shit!" A civil servant shouted from the back of the room.
"Fuck you, Jenkins!" Jones shouted.
"With what? There's been a fucking power cut! My vibrator won't fucking work!" Another civil servant shouted.
"Stop being so fucking crass!" Clark shouted.
Twelve lowered his head and groaned. He hated the way these people talked. Westminster was a fucking sewer. No wonder everyone hated politics.
Yaz and Ryan were walking around Leicester Square with Thirteen following. It was raining and horrible and of course, very puddle-y. And there were a lot more people than usual with huge crowds coming out of the Tube Station.
"What's going on?" Yaz asked.
"I don't know." Ryan said. "Maybe there's been a suicide."
Thirteen scrunched her face up. "It's horrible when that happens. Think of the poor person, what they were going through to turn them to that."
Yaz turned to someone who'd just come from the Tube station. "Excuse me, what's happened down there?"
"Power's out." She said. "Mobile service is out too." She walked away with the rest of the crowd.
"What?" Ryan whipped his phone from his jeans to look. "Mate, it's true. There's no service."
"No service?" Thirteen asked.
"And a power outage." Yaz said.
"So we just go to another Tube Station." Thirteen said. "This one isn't even accessible anyway."
"I don't think we can." Ryan said. "Look around. Everywhere's shut."
"Wait, you mean to say that we're stranded in Leicester Square?" Yaz asked.
Ryan nodded. "Er, yeah."
"I am not walking all the way back to Acton." Yaz said. "It'll take hours."
"Spare a thought for me." Thirteen said. "I'll have no cartilage left in my shoulders by the time I get home. Maybe I should get a scooter. Do they come in orange-y yellow?"
"This is why we need to rent with each other." Ryan said.
"Do you know how much it'll cost to rent in the City?" Yaz asked.
"A lot more than we can afford." Ryan said.
"Alright. Let's not lose our heads." Thirteen said. "So all the shops and the restaurants are shut, it's throwing it down and we can't get the Tube back home."
"You make it sound so nice." Yaz said.
"That is the situation though." Ryan said.
"Yes, yes it is, Ryan." Thirteen said. "So now what?"
A/N: Yes, there really was a huge power cut on August 9th. It primarily affected those in the South East and South West. Us in the North West weren't affected at all and very few in the North East were.
Hospitals lost power and lost power from their emergency generators. Trains were evacuated with customers having to walk along the train tracks. And those on the Underground were trapped with nowhere to go to the toilet.
Power came back on after an hour, but not to trains or the Underground for hours afterwards.
And all of this because of a lightning strike. You can google it if you want.
I'll just let you imagine what happened to Ten Underground or how Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Amy, Ryan and Yaz got home.
Oh and yes, it really was pouring with rain that day. Very stormy weather.
Now to the rest of the little context explanations.
There is a McDonald's near Trafalgar Square. I've been to it a few times. Technically, it's McDonalds Whitehall. Yep, even politicians like their McDonalds. And their Yo! Sushi, but that's a story for another day.
Oxford Street does start at Marble Arch and go down to Tottenham Court Road, which is on the West End.
Right by the Marble Arch stop is a Primark, which is a discount clothes shop that's notorious for selling cheap clothes in weird and inconsistent sizes made by child slaves.
It's also pronounced 'Pr-eye-mark' not 'Pr-ee-mark'.
Yes, Amy and Rory are engaged here! Congrats to them!
And Amy and River are... sisters? Well, with no time travel, it has to work out somehow.
Kings Cross St Pancras is the Tube station serving Kings Cross station and St Pancras station. They're close enough to be served by the same Tube stop, but the Tube stop is actually under Kings Cross.
Yes, Platform 9 3/4s is there. I've been there three times.
Yes, there is a Nando's between Kings Cross station and Euston station (about a five minutes walk away) and I've been there too.
Checking in on Malcolm since he broke his collarbone and concussed himself. And he's at home on his sick leave, spending time with his niblings.
Lidl do sell cheap camping chairs. And us Brits, we do love our breaks in the weather. The kinds of stuff we'll do in the weather is unbelievable and if you're not British, you'll be like 'dear god and all that is holy, why, why, why?'
Lemonade is like 7Up and Sprite and stuff, not that squeezed lemon and sugar stuff. That's lemon juice.
Well, this is our first time checking in on Five and his friends! And they're backpacking across Europe.
And our first time checking in on Nine too! Nine is living in Salford for university. Coincidentally the birthplace of Christopher Eccleston, but I didn't know that before I picked Nine to study at the University of Salford.
Politicians have mouths like sewers. The stuff that comes out of them, you wouldn't believe.
Between one and two dozen people commit suicide on the Tube every year. TFL even have euphemisms for passenger suicides. I'll never forget the day after my 20th birthday when someone committed suicide on the Victoria Line. How dark a place must someone be in for them to want to do that?
Thirteen would empathise with suicidal people and those with mental health issues.
Leicester Square Tube station does not have step free access.
Yaz and Ryan live in Acton, which is about 25 miles away from Thirteen and an hour drive (a little bit more by Tube).
