"A Whole New World"
Chapter 11
"A Whole New World"
The party was being held in a large space normally used for conferences or lectures. Tonight, it had been converted into a suspiciously human-looking club, complete with dance floor. Tables and chairs had been set up off to one side where a fully stocked bar awaited the guests' pleasure. Up on an elevated platform, a human DJ stood behind his equipment, arranging CDs for later play.
"I see your friend's fingerprints all over the place," the Doctor told Angelina. "Metaphorically speaking, of course."
"Yeah, and I think she had some help from that publicist of hers," Angelina mused. "That lady's a scheming manipulator to make you Prydonians proud!"
"Yes, she'd fit right in," the Doctor agreed.
"Why does this scene make me think of my eighth grade Homecoming Dance?" Briscoe asked.
"Yeah, but instead of boys on one side of the room and girls on the other, you've got Time Lords on one side and humans on the other!" Tegan pointed out, laughing.
"I see they don't know what casual dress means," Munch added, indicating the Time Lords and Ladies in their stately robes.
"That is casual dress," the Doctor told the detective with a shrug. "You've seen what we look like when we get dressed to the nines."
"I'm going to get a drink," Green told them. They watched him cross the dance floor and saunter casually into the group of Time Lords.
"What's he doing?" the Doctor asked. Briscoe shrugged. Green stopped to exchange a few quick words with several Time Lords he'd met back in the Panopticon. Finally, he reached what had obviously been his goal all along: the startlingly pretty young Time Lady in the green Arcalian robes whom they'd seen Andred interviewing in front of the Panopticon earlier that day.
"He doesn't stand a chance," Briscoe scoffed.
"You never know," Tegan told him with a shrug. Suddenly, there was a loud burst of music.
"I'm coming up," Pink sang at full volume. "So you'd better get this party started!" Nikki and Zeta walked out onto the DJ's elevated platform arm-in-arm. Nikki still wore her fur and was back in her big hat and dark glasses, while Zeta wore black jeans, a gray knit top, and a black jacket. His messy black hair looked to have been professionally tamed (probably with a whip and a chair, Tegan mused) and parted down the middle to hang in straight shiny perfection around his face.
"They look like a magazine cover," Tegan said.
"They could be," Angelina agreed. "He's quite good-looking when he's cleaned up like that."
"I'm coming up," Pink repeated loudly through the speaker system. "So you'd better get this party started!"
Get this party started on a Saturday night
Everybody's waiting for me to arrive
Sending out the message to all of my friends
We'll be looking flashy in my Mercedes Benz
Nikki pulled off her black hat and tossed it into the crowd below, shaking her head so that her dark hair settled in neat waves over her shoulders. She took off her sunglasses and shoved them in her coat pocket, and beamed brilliantly at the crowd. She unbuttoned her long coat and let it slip from her shoulders and fall to the floor behind her, revealing a long-sleeved mod-ish sweater dress with thick horizontal scarlet and orange stripes. She'd completed the outfit with large orange plastic hoop earrings, bright scarlet tights and a little pair of shiny orange plastic go-go boots.
I got lots of style, check my gold diamond rings
I can go for miles, if you know what I mean!
Nikki smiled suggestively at that last line and took Zeta's arm, and together they descended down the steps and into the crowd.
"Speaking of scheming manipulators, your friend's not a bad one herself!" the Doctor told Angelina, who grinned.
"She looks like That Girl," Munch observed.
"What girl?" Angelina asked, puzzled.
"Marlo Thomas," Briscoe replied.
"Who?"
"Never mind, it was before your time," Munch told her. Meanwhile, Zeta and Nikki had made it to the dance floor.
I'm coming up, so you'd better get this party started!
Tegan saw exactly how it began: Isaac grabbed a random Time Lady and dragged her out onto the dance floor. Suddenly, reluctant Time Lords and Ladies were being pulled onto the dance floor by supermodels, hairdressers, fashion designers, and even one or two rock stars.
"Come on!" Tegan said, grabbing her own Time Lord and dragging him onto the dance floor, followed by Angelina and Munch. From across the room, Chancellor Flavia caught Briscoe's eye.
"Why the hell not?" he asked himself rhetorically, crossing the room to where she stood. She wasn't the type to be grabbed and dragged away, so Briscoe gallantly offered her his arm.
Green was showing the pretty young Time Lady in the green robes how to move her body to the music when he happened to glance over and see Briscoe and Flavia dancing together. "Well I'll be damned!" he exclaimed with a grin. Briscoe spotted Romana dressed in a flowing red blouse and black pants, dancing with a young man whom the detective recognized from a Calvin Klein underwear ad on a billboard in Times Square. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson, Briscoe thought wryly, completely forgetting that his own dance partner was hundreds of years his senior.
After a couple of dances, the Doctor and Tegan retreated to a table on the sidelines for drinks and conversation.
"I didn't know the Time Lords partied like this!" Tegan shouted to be heard over the music.
"It's all right, Tegan!" The Doctor yelled in reply, leaning forward in his seat to press a small red button in the center of the table. The music was immediately reduced to background noise. "You don't have to shout," he finished in a completely normal tone of voice. "Personal sound barriers," he explained, smiling like the cat with the cream. "Each table has one. It makes conversation a bit easier, don't you think?"
"Yeah," she replied, suddenly distracted. He followed her gaze to the dance floor, where Munch and Angelina were dancing to a recent remake of an old Patti LaBelle song. As they watched, she reached up and ran her hands through Munch's hair, saucily mouthing the lyrics. "Hello, hey Joe – " She grabbed his tie and pulled him close. " – you wanna give it a go?" She closed her eyes and threw her head back like a woman in the throes of passion. "Ohhhhhh! Gitchee gitchee ya ya da da, gitchee gitchee ya ya here!"
"You know," the Doctor said with a frown, "I'm not sure I like this song!"
"Now there's a surprise," Tegan said dryly.
"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?" The Doctor looked on the verge of getting up to put a stop to Angelina's little performance, and Tegan touched his arm to get his attention.
"Like I said before, I didn't know Time Lords partied like this!" she repeated, trying to distract him.
"Neither did I!" he told her. He gazed around incredulously, unable to believe that his fellow Time Lords had surrendered themselves to the celebratory mood with such carefree abandon. "I wonder if they've drugged the drinks," he mused, picking up his own drink and sniffing it cautiously.
"Who?" she asked.
"Nikki and her publicist, of course. I wouldn't put anything past those two!" He sipped his drink, adding as an afterthought, "They would make excellent Prydonians!" Suddenly, he peered into the crowd, frowing. "Is that Mick Jagger?" Meanwhile, Angelina and Munch had finished their dance and were approaching the table.
"We're a bad influence on your lot," Angelina said, plopping down into the chair next to the Doctor. "Time Lords and fashionistas: Never should the twain have met!" The Time Lord laughed.
"I dunno, think it's doing them some good!" Tegan said.
"I have to agree," the Doctor said, gesturing at the dance floor. "Look at Flavia… who would have guessed she had it in her?"
"Your planet's not going to know what hit it," Munch said from his seat at Angelina's side. "I have a feeling that Nikki is going to shake up everyone around here pretty good!"
"She could only improve things!" the Doctor said with feeling.
"Gallifrey's not exactly the most exciting planet out there, right?" Angelina asked.
"Hardly," the Doctor agreed.
"Look at them together," Tegan said in a musing tone, her eyes on Zeta and Nikki. "They'd have beautiful children."
"And they just might if they're not careful!" Angelina said, grinning wickedly. "I overheard someone saying that the only calculation Zeta's interested in doing nowadays is seeing how many times 1457 can go into 23!" It took the others a moment to get it.
"That's disgusting!" Munch said without much conviction.
"Actually, it's rather funny," Tegan said, laughing. From across the dance floor, Nikki waved at them enthusiastically, then grabbed Zeta's arm and began to steer him towards their table.
"If that's the worst thing they're saying, Zeta's very lucky," the Doctor said in the tone of a man who spoke from bitter experience.
"Yeah, they don't really go for that kind of stuff around here, do they?" Munch asked. The Doctor shook his head.
"Not at all."
"No wonder they're all so uptight!" Angelina said.
"Who's uptight?" Nikki asked as Zeta went to look for more chairs.
"Oh no one here, certainly!" her friend replied sarcastically. Nikki laughed. Zeta arrived with two more chairs, and the others scooted over to make room.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to introduce them to the concept of 'fun', Zeta?" the Doctor asked once the couple had been seated. "They're really not built to handle it, you know. Their heads might explode."
"Good!" Zeta replied, laughing. "That would weed out the worst of the bunch, anyway!" The DJ began playing an Aerosmith song. Suddenly, Romana appeared at their table, standing over the Doctor.
"Dance, Doctor?" His eyebrows went up.
"Madame President," he said gravely. "Is that a statement, an offer, or a Presidential Command?"
"Hmm." At last she thought of a suitable reply. "Yes!" she finally told him brightly. He laughed.
"All right," he agreed, rising to his feet and offering her his arm.
"Interesting," Zeta mused.
"What is?" Tegan asked. The Doctor and Romana had reached the dance floor. Zeta shrugged.
"There are rumors that they were lovers," he replied distantly, watching them dance.
Young lust, sometimes you need it so bad
It's enough to drive a young girl mad
So whatcha gonna do about it?
A little bit of nasty, you look a little sleazy
Now don't get any on ya!
"Obviously there's no truth to those rumors," Munch said dryly.
"Obviously," Nikki agreed in an equally dry tone, watching as the Doctor put Zeta's scandalous performance on the dance floor at Angelina's party to shame.
"Oh my God, is there a woman in the Universe that he hasn't shagged?" Angelina asked with dismay.
"Doubtful," Zeta replied, glancing at Tegan, whose expression was very carefully neutral.
Young lust, you better keep your daughter inside
Or she's gonna get a dose of my pride
Yeah, everybody talks about it!
Tegan choked on her drink. Laughing, Nikki cheerfully pounded her on her back.
"Look at all the Time Lords!" Angelina exclaimed, suddenly breaking into laughter. Nikki did so, and laughed even harder. Most of the Time Lords had stopped whatever they had been doing to watch the two dancers with expressions ranging from furious outrage to slack-jawed, open-mouthed astonishment.
"This alone was worth the price of admission!" Zeta said, laughing. He picked up his drink and made a toasting gesture towards the dance floor. "It's moments like this that make it all worthwhile!"
"You love to rattle their cages, don't you?" Munch asked, grinning.
"Everyone needs a hobby," Zeta replied seriously.
Young lust, c'mon now I just can't wait
Aw, your fishy's gonna gonna get bait!
Everybody-body's doin' it!
Young lust, Honey I don't mean to bitch
Sometimes you gotta scratch that itch!
So whatcha gonna do about it?
When the song ended, there was an astonished silence. Zeta stood up and began applauding. Grinning, the Doctor and Romana joined hands and gave him a bow and a curtsey, respectively. The DJ decided that it might be a good idea to get the party going again, and immediately began playing another song. Romana let go of the Doctor's hand, waved at Zeta and disappeared into the crowd. Zeta sat down, shaking his head and grinning in admiration. The Doctor reached the table and dropped into his chair.
"You're incorrigible!" Tegan scolded him, but she was smiling.
"He's brilliant!" Zeta corrected. The Doctor shrugged.
"I try," he said modestly.
"Yeah, just don't pull stunts like that on Earth, all right?" Angelina pleaded, mortified. "The tabloids have enough fun at my expense as it is!"
"I think he has more sense than that," Nikki assured her friend.
"Don't count on it," Tegan said bitingly. "Sense and the Doctor don't belong together in the same sentence!"
"Oh!" the Doctor said, sounding hurt. He pulled a wounded face.
"No one has any sympathy, I promise you!" Angelina told him.
"Really, he's slowed down quite a bit," Zeta assured her seriously. "In his younger days, he was quite uncontrollable. Why, there was one time he – "
"No one cares about my youthful indiscretions, Zeta," the Doctor said hastily.
"It doesn't sound like your indiscretions were confined to your youth!" Nikki put in.
"Has Zeta ever told you about his own version of Scavenger Hunt?" the Doctor asked innocently.
"No," Nikki said, sounding interested. She gave Zeta a look. "He hasn't."
"Really, it was a long time ago – " Zeta began.
"This was during his Academy days, of course," the Doctor said, talking over him. "He and Epsilon made a list – "
"Don't pay any attention to him, he's just – " The Doctor raised his voice further to be heard over Zeta.
" – of female students and passed it around to a few others. The first one to... get all of them was the winner," the Doctor concluded. Tegan opened her mouth to say something. "And before you ask," he continued, glancing at her, "I was not a participant in that particular escapade."
"Too busy swinging from chandeliers at fancy parties?" she asked innocently.
"Something like that," he agreed.
"My Scavenger Hunting days were a very long time ago," Zeta assured Nikki. She shrugged.
"Hey, take a look at the guys I usually hang around with," she said, gesturing at the fashion designers and hairdressers. "I'm just glad you're straight!" The current song ended and they saw Nikki's publicist wade into the crowd on the dance floor, shooing everyone away.
"Now what?" the Doctor wondered.
"I think that's our cue," Zeta said, rising to his feet and offering Nikki his hand.
"I think you're right," she agreed, standing and allowing him to lead her to the dance floor. A much slower, quieter song began, a song that Tegan recognized from Disney's Aladdin. She glanced over at Angelina.
"Your suggestion?" she asked. Her daughter, well known to be mad for everything Disney, smiled. "It's very appropriate," Tegan said.
"Isn't it?" Angelina agreed. Everyone in the room was watching the couple on the dance floor as Nikki wrapped her arms around Zeta's neck and they began to dance slowly together as Luther Vandross sang:
I could show you the world, shining shimmering splendid
Tell me Princess, when did you last let your heart decide?
I can open your eyes, take you wonder by wonder
Over sideways and under, on a magic carpet ride.
A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no or where to go or say we're only dreaming.
Vanessa Williams added her voice to the song:
A whole new world, a dazzling place I never knew
But now from way up here, it's crystal clear
That now I'm in a whole new world with you.
"You know, this is like being at a wedding reception," Munch said suddenly.
"I think that's rather the idea," the Doctor said dryly.
"She's pretty smart for a model, huh?" Angelina asked with a grin.
"Very." the Doctor agreed.
"And Zeta's no idiot either," Tegan put in. "Why try to cram her down the Time Lords' throats when he can bring her in the back door instead? Thanks to that publicist of hers, they're dying to know more about her… they're all absolutely fascinated!"
"And I'm sure Joanie is already coming up with more schemes to keep them that way," Angelina said knowingly.
"Of course it helps that Zeta really doesn't care at all what anyone else thinks of him," the Doctor added. Tegan glanced at him.
"And you do." It wasn't a question. He sighed.
"Not as much as I once did," he finally replied, taking her hand. She leaned close to him.
"Wanna dance?" she asked in a low voice, for his ears alone.
"Don't you think it would be a bit rude to intrude on the happy couple's big moment?" he asked with a frown. She gave him a look.
"I didn't mean here, Doctor!" she told him with a grin.
They bid Angelina and Munch goodnight and went to find the TARDIS.
In the console room, Tegan watched the Doctor look through a stack of records next to an ancient-looking Victrola.
"Now, if I could only find…" he muttered to himself with a frown, flipping through a stack of albums. Tegan came up behind him and put her arms around his waist, laying her cheek against his velveted back.
"That's the same thing you wore when we went out in Paris," she reminded him.
"Is it?" he asked in an unconvincing show of surprise, his tone reminding her of his fifth incarnation. She laughed.
"You know it is," she told him. He put down the stack of records and turned to face her, putting his arms around her.
"Paris," he murmured, and bent his head to kiss her. "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" He kissed her again.
"Yeah," she agreed breathlessly. "Ce soir and all the other soirs after this one!" She pulled him down to kiss him some more.
"That's an awful lot of soirs," he said seriously when she finally broke for air. "We'd better get started right away if we hope to cover them all."
"What a marvelous idea, Doctor!"
"I thought you'd like it," he agreed. "Come on, then," he said, releasing her and taking her hand. "Time for bed. Doctor's orders!"
"Ooo, that sounds like it could be fun!" she said wickedly.
"You surprise me, Tegan."
"How so?"
"I don't think you've ever done anything I've asked without arguing about it!"
"I doubt I'll find much to disagree with tonight," she told him. "Besides, we can always play Airhostess And The Naughty Passenger later!" With a laugh, he took her hand and led her to bed.
Item from a New York Post gossip column:
HERE COMES THE BRIDE!
SUPERMODEL ANGELINA and her Munch-alicious man have made it official. The precious pair tied the knot earlier this week at a Manhattan synagogue in a small ceremony that mixed New York's Finest with New York's Fabulous.
The blushing bride and her hunky hubby also announced their plans to leave New York. The coy couple would only say that he has a job waiting for him and she plans to return to college to do some postgraduate work. This columnist says that it all sounds as mysterious as Nikki Benson's recent move to parts unknown.
Speaking of Nikki, the bodacious beauty was spotted leaving the wedding in the company of her dark-haired mystery man. When this columnist asked her for an introduction, the lofty lovely simply smiled and blew a kiss before departing in a waiting limo.
CONTINUED IN "Epilogue"
