Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who and never will. But I do own Sophie McQueen and any other characters I make up!

A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and put this story on their alerts!

THANKS TO YUGIOH13 FOR BEING MY 300TH REVIEWER! IT MEANS A LOT TO REACH THIS MILE STONE! I really don't have anything to say at all, just enjoy the chapter! :D

The Doctor followed Pete's voice, catching a glimpse of Rose in the crowd that was heading in the direction of Pete's voice, and he went over to her. She didn't notice him beside her. Too focused on the voice of her father to even spare him a glance. They followed his voice to the bottom of a large staircase and Pete was standing half-way up them, smiling.

"Um, I'd like to say, er, thank you to you all, for coming on this special occasion," he said and Rose gazed at him, looking as if she couldn't believe she was looking at her father. "My wife's … thirty-ninth." The crowd chortled and he gave them a thumbs up with a grin, "Trust me on this…" The entire crowd besides the Doctor and Rose laughed appreciatively, "So, without further ado – here she is. The birthday girl … my lovely wife … Jackie Tyler."

Rose strained for a look and the Doctor glanced at her as a fancy, rich dressed Jackie Tyler descended the staircase, smiling at the crowd who applaud and cheer and snap pictures at her. She was enjoying every ounce of attention being given to her. Though they looked alike, it would be easy to tell which one was the alternate Jackie and the Jackie that the Doctor and Rose knew if they were standing right next to each other. She went to stand next to Pete.

"Now," Jackie started off with a big smile, "I'm not giving a speech – that's what my parties are famous for, no work, no politics, just a few good mates and plenty of black market whiskey." She joked.

The joke wasn't all that funny to the Doctor, but the crowd seemed to think it was as they all laughed again. Though, it was little hard to tell if they were real or not.

"Pardon me, Mr. President." Jackie laughed, looking at the man that Lucy had pointed out, and he smiled at her and she smiled back quickly before continuing, "So, yeah! Get on with it – enjoy, enjoy."

Pete took Jackie's hand and they descended the rest of the stairs to mingle with the rest of the crowd. Glancing at Rose to see that she was staring after, he told her in a quiet voice,

"You can't stay. Even if there was some way of telling them."

"Course I can't. I still got my mum at home, my real mum. I couldn't just leave her, could I. it's just …" Rose sighed sadly, "They've got each other. Mum's got no one."

"She's got you! Those two haven't." It was the Doctor's turn to sigh, "All these different worlds, none of them gets it right."

"Rose!" Jackie Tyler called out and this was followed by a series of barking. "There's my little girl!" A dog pottered over to Jackie, who emerged from the crowd and picked her up. The Doctor was trying so hard not to laugh. Well, that was unexpected. Rose being named after a dog. "Come to mummy, come to mummy! Yes, good girl! Good girl, aren't you?"

The Doctor made the mistake of looking over at Rose, who had a priceless look on her face, because he ended up laughing. But at the look on her face, he stopped and cleared his throat.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly.

"What's that?" she suddenly asked and the Doctor looked at her, startled by the question.

"What?" Then he followed her gaze to the phone number that the alternate Sophie gave him and he blurted out, "A phone number."

"I know that," she snapped, rolling her eyes and the Doctor winced internally at her tone. "But who's phone number?"

"Uh…" he sputtered before clearing his throat and answering calmly and quietly, "The alternate Sophie."

"She's here." Rose sounded surprised.

"Yes."

"Oh…" she said softly. "Okay." She went off to offer food drinks to the guests, muttering darkly under her breath, "Even in an alternate world, Sophie's still trying to steal the Doctor from me."

The Doctor heard her and frowned, but didn't comment. He decided to follow Rose's example. He did it for a while before he managed to get away from the crowd, placing his tray with another waiter. He walked down a corridor and he almost walked past a dark, empty room with the door slightly ajar, but he backtracked as he noticed a laptop open. Feeling as if someone was watching him, he looked behind him wearily but he didn't see anyone. He frowned a bit before he snuck quietly into the room and shut the door but unknown to him a certain blonde in a black dress slipped into the room before he closed the doors.

The Doctor put on his glasses and looked at the screen only to smile. Here we are…

He was just about to click on a presentation on the Cybus network, but froze at the sound of a hard voice.

"Now, what are you doing in here?"

The Doctor jumped up from the seat he was in and whirled around. The light in the room flickered on, and Sophie was standing there with her arms crossed.

"I was just…"

"Sneaking around?" Sophie supplied.

"Yes… no!" The Doctor began to shake his head, but he stopped, eyes narrowing at alternate Sophie, "Why did you follow me?"

"Because for one, you look suspicious, second you're not like the snotty people here, third, I was curious about what you were doing." Sophie stepped closer and closer to him with every word until he was up against the wall. Her body was pressed against his and he couldn't help but shiver at the feel of it. Something she clearly felt and smirked at before quickly getting serious again, "And last but not least, you're not wearing those Cybus earpieces. So you must be one of those freedom fighters."

"And what if I am?" he asked, trying to ignore the fact that her body was still pressed against his and the feelings he was getting from it. And in his mind, he had to remind himself that this wasn't his Sophie. This was another version of the one he loved.

"Then you're in luck," she whispered as she leaned up close to his face that her lips were brushing his. If he wasn't keeping himself in control and telling himself that this wasn' his Sophie, he would have already slammed his lips to hers. "Because I'm one too." She was the one to kiss him. Oh Rassilon…

The Doctor made a noise of surprise against her lips, something she used to her advantage by slipping her tongue into his mouth. He let his hands fall to her hips so he could push her away but she didn't let him as she used her hips to pin him down. He managed to pull his lips from hers, but she only leaned down and began kissing his neck. His fingers dug into her hips at this hard and she moaned against his neck and nipped his skin gently. Now it was his turn to moan and his hips jerked into hers before he could stop it. Once he realized what he was doing, he shoved her away, breathing hard. Sophie licked her lips before they turned into a pout.

"Aw, why did you push me away? It was just starting to get good."

The Doctor glared at her.

"Oh don't be like that, you were enjoying it too, obviously." Her eyes glanced down, smirking.

He looked down, saw his obvious problem, and he flushed, eyes flashing up to Sophie's twinkling eyes. "Well, I, er, uh, er…" he sputtered.

"Oh, it's alright, sweetie," Sophie told him, still smirking. "I can't blame you." She changed the subject, "But we should find out what's going on at Cybus since we're here… or I could take care of your problem for you." Since she wasn't that far from him, she reached to touch him and he smacked her hand away causing her to laugh and smirk, "Alright then, find out what's going on." She sat at the computer and the Doctor went over to watch her which turned out to be a mistake because she moved her hand and she brushed it against his erection and he jumped at the suddenness of it. As he glared at her, she took on an innocent look as she looked over at him, "Sorry, my hand slipped." Smirking again, she turned towards the computer again.

"If your one of those freedom fighters, why do you have those earpieces?" The Doctor asked her before she pressed play on the presentation.

"These are fake," Sophie said, pulling them off of her ears and she showed it to him. He took the earpieces and examined them as she continued, "I came to this party because I knew that Pete Tyler was working for Lumic. Has been for years so my group sent me here to spy on him. So here I am." She smiled at him and turned back to the computer, pressing play on the presentation.

Lumic's voice narrated the presentation, "The most precious thing on this Earth is the human brain…"

The Doctor watched the presentation intently.

"This is the ultimate upgrade," Lumic's voice continued as the image of familiar metal head appeared on the screen spinning around, "Our greatest step into cyberspace."

His face took on a horrified look as he realized what this meant. One that Sophie noticed and she looked concerned.

"What's it?"

"Cybus." Without a moment's hesitation, the Doctor dashed from the room, ignoring Sophie calling out for him.

Getting back to where the guests were, he moved through the crowd to find Rose. He had just spotted her when he felt someone grab his arm.

"What's going on?" Sophie demanded.

"Don't have time to explain," he said quickly, grabbing her hand and tugging over to Rose, who blinked at the sight of her but didn't ask about it as all three of them went over to the window. Figures were out there. "It's happening again," he breathed out in hushed tone.

"What do you mean? What's going on?" Sophie sounded exasperated.

"I've seen them before…" he said quietly.

The figures got closer.

"What are they?"

"Cybermen," The Doctor muttered darkly.

At that word, several of them smashed steel fists through the windows to get into the house and the Doctor instinctually pushed Sophie to the ground, covering his body with hers protectively while Rose ducked to the ground.

But he helped both of them up. Though this Sophie wasn't his, he wanted to get her out of here now, and out of harms ways. Cybermen were ruthless and he didn't want her to get hurt by them. It was too late though as the Cybermen had everyone in the room cornered with no way out.

"Stay right where I can see you, okay?" The Doctor whispered in Sophie's ear, wrapping an arm around her waist.

She nodded just as the President's communication device beeped.

"Mr. Lumic," The President said distastefully.

Mr. Lumic's voice came out through the comm, "Mr. President. I suppose a remark about crashing the party would be appropriate at this point." He laughed evilly.

"I forbade this."

"These are my children, sir. Would you deny my family?"

"What are they? Robots?" Rose asked the Doctor under her breath.

"Worse than that," he answered quietly, arm tightening around Sophie's waist.

"Who were these people?" The President demanded.

"Doesn't matter."

"They're people?" Rose sounded horrified.

"They're people alright," Sophie said darkly. "Or well, they were." The Doctor and Rose looked at her and she continued on quietly, "I've seen people get taken to be turned into those things. I saw my parents being taken. Didn't even give them a choice, just took them. It's why I decided to join the Preachers to avenge their deaths. To bring down Cybus so no one else would have to be turned into them." Her blue eyes were clouded with emotions.

"I'm sorry," The Doctor told her quietly and she glanced at him.

"Yeah," she said tightly with a sniff.

"Like she said, they were humans," The Doctor said to Rose, still in a quiet voice. "Until they had all their humanity taken away. It's like a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body. With a heart of steel. All emotions removed."

"Why no emotions?"

"Because it hurts."

"I demand to know, Lumic – these people – who were they?" The President said, voice rising.

"They were homeless, wrenched, and useless." The Doctor felt Sophie stiffen against him at Lumic's words and he unconsciously pulled her close, "Until I saved them. And evaluated them. And gave them life-eternal. And now, I leave you in their capable hands. Goodnight, Mr. President." He 'hung' up and one of the Cybermen squared itself in front of the crowd.

"We have been upgraded," it said.

"To what?" The Doctor finally spoke, not quietly this time.

"The next level of mankind. We are Human Point Two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us."

"I'm sorry." The President approached the Cybermen, "I'm so sorry for what's been done to you." He turned, walking around, "But listen to me – this experiment ends. Tonight."

"Upgrading is compulsory."

"And if I refuse."

"Don't," The Doctor said quickly.

Rose glanced at him.

"What if I refuse?" The President repeated.

"I'm telling you, don't," The Doctor warned, stepping forward and putting a arm in front of Sophie to keep her behind him.

But the President ignored him and he groaned internally. Why did he always have to have a face that everyone loved to ignore?

"What happens if I refuse?" The President asked again.

This time he got an answer, "Then you are not compatible."

"What happens then?" he challenged and the Doctor knew that he had did it now. It was too late to do anything…

"You will be deleted." The Cybermen grasped the President, whose eyes widen in shock, by the neck. He was engulfed by an electric blue light as he was killed. The President was dropped to the ground and that was when everyone started screaming and running.

It wasn't long until the entire room was filled with chaos. Everyone was desperately trying to find a way out. Though most were able to get free, there was some people who were attacked by Cybermen. The Doctor grabbed Sophie and Rose's hand and pulled them outside through one of the windows.

"We can't just leave them in there!" Sophie shouted, pulling away from him but she didn't try to make a run for it.

"There's nothing we can do!" he argued.

"I'm not going to leave those people in there!"

"Doctor, my mum's in there!" Rose was the one who tried to run back inside, but the Doctor grasped her shoulders and pulled her away.

"She's not your mother!" he exclaimed to her and she looked at him, hurt. He ignored it. He didn't like that he had to leave all those people there to die, but there was nothing he could do. If there was, he would do anything in his power to get it to stop. The Doctor snapped out his thoughts, "Come on!"

For a moment, it looked like Sophie wasn't going to not follow but with a defeated sigh, she did.

They ran up a slope but they were greeted by another row of Cybermen. They quickly changed directions and ran around the other side of the house. Pete Tyler leaped out the window and Rose spotted him.

"Quick! Quick!" she called after him.

This made Sophie notice him too. "What the hell is she doing?!" she hissed to the Doctor. "Does she know who he is?!"

The Doctor couldn't answer her because Pete had come running after them. Sophie was glaring at him the entire time as they made it to the front of the house.

"Pete, there's no way out!" The Doctor told him loudly.

"You think!" Sophie exclaimed sarcastically.

"The side gates!" And they ran in the direction that Pete indicated.

"Who are you?" Pete asked the Doctor. "How do you know so much?"

"You wouldn't believe me in a million years –" The Doctor and the rest of them skidded to a halt as they were met by more Cybermen. Again, they were forced to change directions. Two figures ran towards the house, holding guns.

"Who's that?!" Rose exclaimed.

"Get behind me!"

"Ricky! Jake!" Sophie cried relived, recognizing the voice and the other figure. The Doctor did too, but at the different name being called, he looked at Sophie curiously.

He didn't think of it much as he, Rose, Pete, and Sophie stood and crouched down behind Mickey and Jake as they fired their guns at the Cybermen, who stopped marching and Rose fussed with Mickey's coat.

"Oh my God, look at you…" She sounded relived and she pulled him into a tight hug. Mickey looked bewildered, much to the Doctor's surprise. "I'd thought I'd never see you again!"

Mickey pulled away from her, "Yeah, no offence sweetheart, but who the hell are you?"

Rose blinked at him but he ignored, turning towards Sophie. She grinned at him but the grin fell and a confused look appeared on her face at Mickey's question,

"Are you our Sophie?"

The Doctor realized then that this was the alternate Mickey and it was only confirmed when another Mickey came running down the lawn.

"Rose!" He stopped once he reached them, "That's not me. That's like … the other me."

Both Rose and Sophie looked at him then at the other one.

"Oh, as if things aren't bad enough – there's two Mickey's!" The Doctor said.

"It's Ricky," Ricky corrected him.

The Doctor glanced over at the alternate Sophie before his eyes quickly snapped back to Mickey. "Where's Sophie?!" he demanded. Before he could think the worst, his Sophie came running.

As soon as she stopped where they were, the Doctor hugged her and she hugged him back. He buried his face into her hair, holding her close and breathing in her scent. She smelt different from the alternate Sophie. It was nice to be able to smell it again. He broke the hug as the alternate Sophie exclaimed,

"There's a double of me, too!"

His Sophie looked at the other one. The Doctor looked between the two, gulping. If they weren't different outfits, you couldn't be able to tell them apart.

"But there's more of them…" Mickey spoke up, going back to the situation at hand.

And everyone turned around to look around them in fear as they were surrounded by Cybermen.

"We're surrounded," Rose said, stating the obvious.

The alternate Sophie rolled her eyes. "Thanks for pointing out the obvious," she muttered and the Doctor's Sophie looked at her. Something the alternate noticed and she glared at her, "What?"

But there was no need to break up a fight, not that there was time to, as Ricky raised his gun.

"Put the guns down," The Doctor said. "Bullets won't stop them."

Ricky listened, but Jake didn't and he fired a rally. The Doctor growled as he pushed the gun away angrily, missing the shivers both Sophies gave.

"No! Stop shooting, now!" he yelled. Jake glared at him, but he ignored him to address the surrounding Cybermen, "We surrender! Hands up…" He put his hands up and everyone followed, "…There's no need to damage us, we're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade problem. Take us to be processed."

"You are rogue elements."

"But we surrender."

"You are incredible."

"But this is a surrender!" The Doctor exclaimed, eyes wide.

"This plan turned out perfect!" The alternate Sophie grumbled under her breath.

"You will be deleted."

"But we're surrendering! Listen to me, we surrender!" The Doctor yelled, trying to get them to understand.

But they weren't listening, "You are inferior. Man will be reborn as Cybermen, but you will perish under maximum deletion." The Cyberman raised its arm and reached towards the Doctor.

The company looked terrified.

"Delete! Delete! Delete!"

TBC...

In...

Age of Steel, Part 1...

This was much longer than I thought it was going to be lol, but that's a good thing. We'll be back with Sophie's POV in the next chapter. So to make things less confusing, I'll be calling alternate Sophie, Soph, to make things less confusing. Alternate Sophie sure is something, isn't she? But at least the Doctor pushed her away when she kissed him which was definitely hard considering the fact that she looks exactly like his Sophie and the dream is still there in his mind. But yeah, anyway, until next time on WITS! :D