Shareen vs the Universe
World War Three
Thanks to Bunny's daughter, Charmed2100, TimeTraveller-1900 and Emerald Monkey for favouriting and following this story
With a huge effort, the Doctor managed to yank his lanyard off and staggered to his feet, causing Green and the Slitheen to stop laughing. "Deadly to Humans, maybe." the Doctor ground out, and plunged the lanyard into the Slitheen's chest, electrocuting both it and Green. Taking advantage of this, the Doctor dashed to the door.
~8~
The Slitheen in the Cabinet Room was affected by the electricity too, causing her to drop the liaison's body and convulse in pain. Seizing the opportunity to escape, Rose took Harriet's hand and led her to the door, where Shareen was standing, and all three women made a break for it.
~8~
The Doctor raced into reception, where armed police were on duty. "Oi! Yer want aliens, you've got 'em." the Doctor called to them, "They're inside Downing Street Come on!" He clapped his hands and led the way back to the conference room, the police hot on his heels.
~8~
Rose, Shareen and Harriet ran along an upstairs corridor when Harriet suddenly screeched to a halt as she remembered something. "No, wait! They're still in there!" she said, "The emergency protocols, we need them!" She then began to run back towards the Cabinet room.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding." Shareen groaned as she and Rose ran after Harriet, but they were soon forced to reconsider when the Margaret Slitheen came bursting out of the room.
The three Humans raced down the hallway, the Slitheen in close pursuit. Rose closed a door behind them in an attempt to slow down their pursuer, but the Slitheen simply demolished it as if it was made of paper and charged after the three women.
~8~
The Doctor and armed police reached the conference room to find that Green and the Slitheen were no longer being electrocuted and the Slitheen was back in it's Asquith skinsuit. "Where've you been?" Green demanded to the officers as they started checking the experts' bodies for life signs, "I called for help, I sounded the alarm. There was this... lightening. This kind of er... um... electricity, and they all collapsed!"
The officers found no signs of life from the experts. "I think they're all dead." the commanding officer, Sergeant Price, informed everyone sadly.
"That's what I'm saying. He did it!" Green said, pointing an accusing finger at the Doctor, "That man there!"
"I think yer'll find the Prime Minister's an alien in disguise." the Doctor began, only to realise just how absurd that sounded. "That's never gonna work, is it?" he asked the policeman next to him
"Nope." the policeman answered dryly
"Fair enough." the Doctor said, and promptly legged it out of the room. He didn't get very far, for he ran into another group of officers right outside the room, who promptly backed him against the wall at gunpoint. The first group of officers came bursting out of the conference room and aimed their weapons at the Time Lord too. The Doctor simply raised his hands with a cheeky grin on his face.
Green and Asquith pushed their way to the front of the crowd. "Under the jurisdiction of the emergency protocols, I authorise you to execute this man!" Asquith ordered, and the officers readied their weapons.
The Doctor was completely unfazed at his imminent execution. "Uh, well, now, yes. You see, eh... the thing is..." he chuckled, "If I was you, if I was gonna execute someone by backing 'em against the wall, between you an' me, little word of advice..." The lift door dinged open behind him. "Don't stand 'em against the lift!" the Doctor finished, and swiftly backed into the lift and used his sonic screwdriver on the control panel to close the doors before anyone could stop him.
~8~
The Margaret Slitheen was still chasing Rose, Shareen and Harriet. Rose kneed a door in a desperate attempt to escape. Suddenly, the lift dinged open and the Slitheen turned to see the Doctor inside. "Hello!" he waved cheerfully, then soniced the doors shut and the lift went up to the floor above.
Rose managed to get the door open and she, Shareen and Harriet hurried through it to find themselves in a lounge. There was another door, so Shareen tried to get it open but was unsuccessful. "Gah! It's locked!" she groaned
"Hide!" Rose urged everyone, so Harriet took refuge behind a screen, Rose hid behind a cabinet and Shareen hid behind the curtains.
~8~
The lift arrived on the second floor and the Doctor stepped out, then made his way to the stairs to help his companion.
~8~
The Margaret Slitheen entered the room where Rose, Shareen and Harriet were hiding. "Oh, such fun!" she gurgled playfully, "Little Human children, where are you? Sweet little honeykins... come to me... let me kiss you better."
Rose bolted from behind the screen and joined Shareen behind the curtains, both women doing their absolute best to keep quiet.
"Kiss you with my big, green lips." Margaret finished.
~8~
The Doctor ran down the stairs and reached the first floor. He heard the lift ding, so he hastily hid behind a doorframe and watched as two Slitheen exited the lift. "It does us good to hunt. Purifies the blood." one said in Green's voice
"We'll keep this floor quarantined as our last hunting ground before the final phase." the other said in Asquith's voice
The two Slitheen joined Margaret in the lounge. "My brothers." she greeted
"Happy hunting?" Green asked
"It's wonderful." Margaret replied, "The more you prolong it, the more they stink."
"Sweat and fear." Asquith observed
"I can smell an old girl." Green sneered, "Stale perfume and brittle bones."
Behind the screen, an offended Harriet glared.
"And two ripe youngsters." Margaret said, moving towards the curtains, "All hormones and adrenaline. Fresh enough to bend before they snap." She swept the curtains aside to reveal Rose and Shareen, who both screamed in terror.
Harriet promptly jumped out of her hiding place. "No! Take me first! Take me!" she shouted
Just then, the Doctor came crashing in with a fire extinguisher, which he used to blast the two male Slitheen, stunning them. "Out! With me!" the Doctor urged the Humans. Rose and Shareen pulled the curtains off the rail and threw them over Margaret, then they and Harriet hurried over to the Doctor. "Who the hell are you?" he asked the MP.
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North." Harriet replied
"Nice to meet yer." the Doctor nodded
"Likewise." Harriet nodded back
"Can we get outta here now?" Shareen interrupted, so the Doctor gave the Slitheen one last blast with the fire extinguisher and he and the Humans ran for it.
"Now what?" Rose asked as they hurried through the corridors
"We need to get to the Cabinet room." the Doctor answered
"The emergency protocols are in there." Harriet said, "They give instructions on aliens."
"Harriet Jones, I like you." the Doctor commented
"And I like you too." Harriet replied
They reached the Cabinet room and the Doctor swiftly bypassed a locked door with his sonic screwdriver. The quartet hurried inside the room, then Shareen shut the door and barricaded it with a chair. They all rushed to the other door to find the three Slitheen charging towards them. Thinking quickly, the Doctor grabbed a decanter of port off the sideboard and held his sonic screwdriver to it. "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability this alcohol." he warned the Slitheen, "Whoof! We all go up. So back off!"
The Slitheen took the hint and halted their advance.
"Right then, question time." the Doctor continued, "Who exactly are the Slitheen?"
"They're aliens." Harriet said rather obviously
"Yes. I got that, thanks." the Doctor said flatly
"Who are you, if not Human?" Green questioned the Doctor
"Who's not Human?" Harriet asked Rose and Shareen
"He's not human." Rose answered, pointing to the Doctor
"He's not Human?" Harriet blinked in surprise
"Apparently." Shareen shrugged
"Can I have a bit of hush?" the Doctor asked sternly
"Sorry." Harriet said quietly
The Doctor turned back to the Slitheen. "So, what's the plan?" he demanded
"But he's got a Northern accent." Harriet said to Rose
"Lots of planet have a north." the blonde shrugged
"I said hush!" the Doctor scolded them
"Tetchy." Shareen muttered
The Doctor turned back to the Slitheen and brandished the port threateningly. "Come one! You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered yer way to the top of government, what for? Invasion?"
"Why would we invade this God-forsaken rock?" Asquith scoffed
"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here, so what is it?" the Doctor demanded
"The Slitheen race?" Asquith snorted
"Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname." Green elaborated, "Jocrassa Fel-Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen at your service."
"So, you're family." the Doctor surmised
"It's a family business." Jocrassa Fel-Fotch confirmed
"Then yer out to make a profit." the Doctor worked out, "How can yer do that on a 'God-forsaken rock'?"
The Slitheen hesitated for a moment, then Asquith spoke, "Uh, excuse me? Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"
"Is that what I said?" the Doctor asked innocently
"You're making it up!" Asquith accused
"Ah, well. Nice try." the Doctor shrugged, "Harriet, have a drink." He offered Harriet the decanter. "I think yer gonna need it."
"You pass it to the left first." Harriet told him, as her hands were full with a red case containing the emergency protocols.
"Sorry." the Doctor mumbled, passing the decanter to Rose
"Thanks." Rose said dryly, handing the decanter off to Shareen.
"Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter!" Asquith crowed, flexing his claws menacingly
The Doctor just folded his arms nonchalantly, standing his ground. "Don't ya think we should run?" Rose urged him
"Where to?" Shareen asked gloomily, knowing that there was nowhere to run.
"Fascinating history, Downing Street." the Doctor calmly told the Slitheen, "Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied a Mr Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the Cabinet room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain." He lifted up a light switch to reveal a hidden button underneath. "End of lesson." he finished as he pressed the button. Steel shutters slammed down and barricaded all the doors and windows of the room. "Installed in 1991." the Doctor told the Humans, "Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."
"An' how do we get out?" Rose asked
"Ah." was all the Doctor could say. He hadn't thought of that part yet.
"Great, so we're trapped in here." Shareen huffed, "Cosmic. Still, at least we're doin' a bit better then they are." She nodded to where the bodies of the liaison and the Prime Minister were still lying on the floor, then sat down at the table and began to pour herself a glass of port.
"Is now the time for a drink?" Rose asked her
"Yes." Shareen grunted, smacking down the glass.
"How's ya back?" Rose asked
"Hurtin' like hell." Shareen answered, "God, this is all just a nightmare, isn't it?"
"I wish." Rose sighed.
~8~
Rose and the Doctor had soon debriefed each other on what had happened to each other and the Doctor was now moving the bodies into the cupboard. "What was his name?" he asked as he moved the liaison's body.
"Which one?" Harriet asked, reading through the emergency protocols.
"This one, the secretary or whatever he was called."
"I don't know." Harriet admitted regretfully, "I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name."
The Doctor closed the liaison's eyes. "Sorry." he said softly in respect for the deceased man.
"I tried to save him." Shareen sighed, leaning on the table miserably, "I should've tried harder. That... thing killed him for fun!"
"You did all ya could, 'Reen." Rose consoled her, "A lot more than I did."
The Doctor then strode back into the room and started scanning with his sonic screwdriver to try and find anything useful. "Right, what've we got? Anything useful?"
"Nope, this place is antique." Rose told him, "What I don't get is, when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?"
"He's too slim." the Doctor replied, "They're big ol' beasts, they need to fit inside large Humans."
"But those things are massive." Shareen pointed out, "How do they fit inside?"
"That's the device around their necks, compression field, literally shrinks 'em down a bit." the Doctor explained, "That's why there's all that gas, it's a big exchange."
"Wish I had a compression field, I could fit a size smaller." Rose joked
Shareen could only stare at her friend as if she'd gone mad.
Harriet wasn't amused either. "Excuse me, people are dead. This is no time for making jokes." she scolded
"Sorry." Rose shrugged, "Ya get used to this stuff when ya friends with him." She gestured to the Doctor
"Well, that's a strange friendship." Harriet remarked, turning back to the protocols.
"Tell me about it." Shareen agreed
The Doctor stopped his sonicing, something occurring to him. "Harriet Jones, I've heard that name before, Harriet Jones. Yer not famous for anything are you?" he asked Harriet
"Huh! Hardly!" Harriet scoffed
"Rings a bell, Harriet Jones..." the Doctor frowned, looking as if he was struggling to remember something.
"Lifelong back bencher I'm afraid." Harriet said, "And a fat lot of use I'm being now, the protocols are redundant. They list the people who can help and they're all dead downstairs."
"Hasn't it got, like, defence codes an' things?" Rose asked, "Can we just launch a nuclear bomb at 'em?"
That earned her more pointed looks from the other two women in the room. "You're a very violent young woman." Harriet commented
"I'm serious! We could!" Rose persisted
"Well, there's nothing like that in here." Harriet told her, "Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations."
That caught the Doctor's attention. "Say that again."
"What, about the codes?"
"Anything. All of it."
"Um... well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a special resolution from the UN." Harriet explained
"Like that's ever stopped 'em." Shareen said darkly
"Exactly, given our past record." Harriet agreed, "And I voted against that, thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the government's hands and given to the UN. " She noticed the Doctor deep in thought. "Is it important?"
"Right now, everything's important." the Doctor replied
"If only we knew what the Slitheen wanted." Harriet mused "Listen to me, I'm saying 'Slitheen' as if it's normal."
"What do they want, though?" Rose wandered
"Well, it's just one family so it's not an invasion." the Doctor pondered, "They don't want Slitheen world... They're out to make money, which means they want to use something, something 'ere on Earth... some kind of asset."
"Like what? Gold? Oil? Water?" Harriet suggested
"Yer very good at this." the Doctor commented
"Thank you." a pleased Harriet smiled
"Harriet Jones, why do I know that name?" the Doctor wandered aloud
Suddenly, the sound of a mobile phone going off filled the room. "Oh, that's me." Rose said, pulling her mobile out of her pocket.
"But we're cut off. Why's your phone working?" Shareen asked. She'd tried her phone earlier and found out that she had no signal.
"He zapped it, super-phone." Rose replied, checking her phone.
"Then we can phone for help." Harriet suggested to the Doctor, "You must have contacts."
"Dead downstairs, yeah." the Doctor said gloomily
Rose looked at the message she'd just received. "It's Mickey." she said
"Oh, tell yer stupid boyfriend we're busy." the Doctor huffed, earning himself a death glare from Shareen.
"Yeah, he's not so stupid after all." Rose said, showing everyone a photo Mickey had sent her. It was a photo of a Slitheen standing in Jackie's kitchen being electrocuted.
"My God, one of 'em tried to kill Jackie and Mickey!" Shareen gasped in horror.
~8~
Rose was soon on the phone to Mickey who told her what had happened. A Slitheen disguised as a police officer had visited Jackie and attacked her before being affected by the Doctor's electrocution trick, thus allowing Mickey to rescue Jackie and now they were hiding in Mickey's flat. "No, no, no, no, no, not just alien, but like, proper alien." Mickey said, "All stinking an' wet and disgusting. And more to the point, it wanted to KILL us!"
"Is she alright, though?" Rose asked, "Don't put her on, just tell me."
But before Mickey could answer, the Doctor snatched the phone from Rose. "Is that Ricky? Don't talk, just shut up an' go to yer computer."
"It's MICKEY." the person in question huffed, "And why should I?"
"Mickey the Idiot, I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but, er, I need you." the Doctor admitted
That did the trick and Mickey was soon on his PC looking at the U.N.I.T website. "It says 'Password'." he said over the phone
"Say again." the Doctor said, putting Rose's phone on speakerphone.
"It's asking for the password."
"Buffalo, two I's, one F." the Doctor instructed
"So, what's that website?" Jackie's voice asked from Mickey's flat.
"All the secret information known to mankind." Mickey answered, "See, they've known about aliens for years, they've just kept us in the dark."
"Mickey, you were born in the dark." the Doctor snorted, earning himself whacks on the shoulders from Rose and Shareen
"Leave him alone." both women scolded
"Thank you." Mickey said, "Password again."
"Just repeat it, every time." the Doctor told him, then he stood up to think. "Big Ben, why did the Slitheen hit Big Ben?" he wandered aloud
"You said to gather the experts, to kill them." Harriet reminded
"That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon, yer don't need to crash in the middle of London." the Doctor remarked
"The Slitheen were hiding, an' then they put the entire planet on red alert, what would they do that for?" Rose wandered
"Oh, listen to HER!" Jackie scoffed
"At least I'm trying!" Rose retorted
"Well, I've got a question if ya don't mind." Jackie said sharply, "Because ever since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, an' my own daughter disappears off the face of the Earth!"
"I told you what happened." Rose tried to pacify her mother, but Jackie was having none of it
"I'm talking to him! Cos' I've seen this life of yours, Doctor. An' maybe you get off on it. And maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me. Just answer me this; is my daughter safe?"
"I'm fine." Rose insisted
"Is she safe?" Jackie persisted, "Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that?"
The Doctor didn't answer and just stared intently at the phone. "Well, answer the woman, Doctor." Shareen said
"Well, what's the answer?" Jackie grumbled
At that moment, Mickey interupted the awkward moment, "We're in."
Let off the hook, the Doctor snapped back into action. "Right then, on the left, there's a tab, an icon, little concentric circles. Click on that."
Mickey did so and a strange noise sounded over the phone. "What is that?" Shareen wandered
"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea an' it's transmitting that signal." the Doctor answered, "Now hush. Let me work out what it's saying."
"Alright, keep ya hair on." Shareen grumbled, annoyed at the Doctor's prickly demeanour.
The Doctor leaned in closer to the phone to listen to the signal. "It's some sorta message." he observed after a moment.
"What's it say?" Rose asked
"Dunno, it's on a loop, keeps repeating." the Doctor replied. Suddenly, a shrill buzzing noise sounded over the phone. "Hush!" the Doctor scolded
"That's not me." Mickey said, "Go an' see who that is." he told Jackie
"It's three in the morning." Jackie pointed out
"Well, go an' tell THEM that." Mickey huffed
The Doctor turned his attention back to the signal. "It's beaming into space." he observed, "Who's it for?"
"I just hope it's not calling for reinforcements." Shareen muttered. Three Slitheen were bad enough, yet alone more of them.
Suddenly, a panicked Jackie's voice came over the phone, "It's him! It's the thing, it's the Slickeen!"
"They've found us!" Mickey hollered
"Mickey, I need that signal." the Doctor said
"Sod the stupid signal!" Shareen countered, "Jackie, Mickey, get outta there!"
"Mum, just get out!" Rose urged, "Get out! Get out!"
"We can't, it's by the front door." Mickey said, "Oh, my God. It's unmasking. It's gonna kill us!"
"There's gotta be some way of stopping those things!" Shareen hollered, "You're the supposed 'expert', Doctor, think of something!"
"I'm trying!" the Doctor replied, trying to rack his brains to think of something.
The sound of splintering wood came over the phone, clearly the Slitheen trying to break down Mickey's door. "That's my mother." Rose said worriedly
"Right!" the Doctor announced, "If we're gonna find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from, which planet, So, judging by their face and shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance."
"Oh, yeah, that really narrows it down." Shareen muttered
"What else do we know?" the Doctor continued, "Information!"
"They're green." Rose responded immediately
"Yep, narrows it down." the Doctor nodded
"Uh, good sense of smell."
"Narrows it down."
"They can smell adrenaline?" Shareen tried
"Narrows it down."
"The compression technology." Harried piped in
"Narrows it down."
"The spaceship in the Thames, you said slipstream engine?" Rose reminded
"Narrows it down." the Doctor nodded just as a crash sounded over the phone
"It's getting in!" Mickey hollered
"Oh! They hunt like it's a ritual." Rose ventured
"Narrows it down." the Doctor nodded
"Wait a minute!" Harriet realised, "Did you noticed, when they fart, if you'll pardon the word, it doesn't just smell like a fart, if you'll pardon the word, it's something else. What is it? It's more like, uh..."
"Bad breath!" Rose agreed
"Yeah, like someone who ain't brushed their teeth for weeks." Shareen concurred
"Calcium decay!" the Doctor grinned, "Now that narrows it down!"
"We're getting there, mum." Rose said into the phone
"Too late!" Mickey replied frantically
"Calcium phosphate, organic calcium, living calcium, creatures made of living calcium. What else?" the Doctor said as he paced around the room, "What else? Hyphenated surname, yes! Now that narrows it down to one planet! Raxicoricofallapatorious!" he exclaimed happily
"Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter!" Mickey said sarcastically
"Get in the kitchen!" the Doctor urged, and Jackie and Mickey did so.
"My God, it's gonna rip us apart!" Jackie shrieked as the sound of the kitchen door being battered sounded over the phone.
The Doctor racked his brains to think of a Raxicoricofallapatorian's weakness. "Calcium, weakened by the compression field, acetic acid. Vinegar!"
"Just like Hannibal!" Harriet cheered
"Just like Hannibal." the Doctor confirmed, "Mickey, have yer got any vinegar?"
"How should I know?" Mickey grunted
"It's your flat, Mickey." Shareen reminded
"Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf." Rose called
"Oh, give it here." Jackie said, "What d'ya need?"
"Anything with vinegar." the Doctor answered
Jackie then began raiding Mickey's cupboards and listed what she found, "Gherkins. Yeah, pickled eggs. Pickled onions."
"And you kiss a man who eats all that?" Shareen commented to Rose
Then came an enormous crash as the Slitheen menacing Jackie and Mickey demolished the kitchen door. There was then a splash followed by a tremendous squelching sound. "It worked. We're ok." Mickey said over the phone.
The quartet in the Cabinet room all collectively let out the breaths they'd been holding. "Hannibal?" Rose asked Harriet
"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar." Harriet explained
"Well, there ya are then, cheers." Rose said, raising a glass of port in a toast.
"Good for Hannibal." Shareen concurred as they all raised their glasses in a toast and drank up.
The Doctor promptly spat his glass out, finding port not to his liking.
~8~
A few minutes later, Mickey came back on the phone, "Listen to this."
Jocrassa Fel-Fotch's voice then came over the phone, clearly making a speech on telly, "Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction, capable of being deployed within 45 seconds."
"What?!" the Doctor snorted in disbelief
"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long." Jocrassa Fel-Fotch continued, "We are facing extinction... Unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mothership. I beg the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes! A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only hope of survival. Because... from this moment on... it is my solemn duty to inform you... Planet Earth is at war."
The Doctor wasn't convinced in the slightest. "He's making it up. There's no weapons up there, there's not threat. He just invented it." he said as he paced around the table.
"Do you think they'll believe him?" Harriet asked
"They did last time." Shareen said darkly
"That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle." the Doctor realised, the Slitheen's plan coming together now, "They want the whole panicking, cos' you lot, yer get scared, you lash out."
"They release the defence codes..." Rose added
"And the Slitheen go nuclear." the Doctor finished grimly
"But why?" Harriet wandered
The Doctor released the shutters to see Margaret and two unmasked Slitheen standing by the door. "You get the codes, release the missiles." he said, "But not into space cos' there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth, they retaliate, fight back. World War Three, whole planet gets nuked."
"And we can sit through it in our ship on the Thames." Margaret said smugly, "Not crashed, just parked. Two minutes away."
"But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place." Harriet stared, "What for?"
"Profit." the Doctor answered darkly, "That's what the signal's beaming out into space, an advert."
"The sale of the century." Margaret said smugly, "We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it. Piece by piece. Radioactive chunks, capable of powering every cut-price starliner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."
"At the cost of five billion lives." the Doctor glared
"Bargain." Margaret jeered
"You alien bas..." Shareen began angrily
"Then I give you the choice: leave this planet or I'll stop you." the Doctor told the Slitheen in a low and dangerous voice.
The Slitheen all tittered at this. "What? You?" Margaret scoffed, "Trapped in your box."
The Doctor did not looked even remotely abashed and stared Margaret out. "Yes. Me." he said darkly, and closed the shutters.
~8~
As a new day dawned over London, the whole world was waiting on tenterhooks. The streets were deserted as everyone stayed in their homes, gathered around their tellies as the future was decided in New York by the UN.
The Doctor, Rose, Shareen and Harriet were still trapped in the Cabinet room of 10 Downing Street, trying to find a way out of their predicament. "Alright, Doctor. I'm not sayin' I trust you, but there must be SOMETHING you can do." Jackie said over the phone
"If we ferment the port, we could make acetic acid." Harriet suggested
"Mickey, any luck?" Rose asked. She'd asked Mickey to try and contact the authorities to warn them of Jocrassa Fel-Fotch's deception.
"There's loads of emergency numbers, they're all on voicemail." Mickey replied gloomily
"Well, that's just great." Shareen grumbled, "World War Three about to start, and no one can be bothered to answer their phones!"
"If we could just get out of here." Rose sighed, slumping down in a chair.
The Doctor, who had been silent for a while, spoke up at last, "There's a way out. There's always been a way out."
"Then why don't we use it?" Rose asked eagerly
The Doctor strode over to the table and leaned over to speak into the phone. "Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe." he told Jackie
"Don't you dare!" Jackie said immediately, "Whatever it is, don't you dare!"
"That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies." the Doctor said earnestly
"Do it." Rose said determinedly
The Doctor looked up at her. "You don't even know what it is, you'd just let me?"
"Yeah." the blonde said firmly
"Please, Doctor, please!" Jackie pleaded, "She's my daughter, she's just a kid!"
"D'yer think I don't know that?" the Doctor replied, sounding sombre, "Cos' this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standin' up and making a decision cos' no one else will."
"Tough life." Shareen said to herself
"Then what're you waitin' for?" Rose asked the Doctor
"I could save the world but loose you." the Doctor told her gently
"Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine." Harriet spoke up
"And who the hell are you?" Jackie asked condescendingly
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen for the people, by the people." Harriet answered defiantly, "And on behalf of the people, I command you... Do it."
The Doctor grinned and got to work.
~8~
The Doctor was soon busy rifling through the emergency protocols case to find the paperwork he needed. "So how'd we get outta here?" Shareen questioned
"We don't. We stay here." the Doctor answered, finding the paper he needed, "Use the buffalo password. It overrides everything." he instructed Mickey
"What ya doing?" Jackie asked Mickey
"Hacking into the Royal Navy." Mickey answered, "We're in. Here it is, uh, HMS Taureen, Trafalgar-class submarine, 10 miles off the coast of Plymouth."
"Right, we need to select a missile." the Doctor told him
"We can't go nuclear, we don't have the defence codes." Mickey pointed out
"We don't need it, all we need's an ordinary missile." the Doctor answered, "What's the first category?"
"Sub-harpoon UGM-84A." Mickey replied
"That's the one. Select." the Doctor directed
"We're really doin' this, aren't we?" Shareen said to Rose, "We're really gonna blow up Downing Street."
"Yes, we are." Rose shrugged
"You ready for this?" the Doctor asked Mickey
There was a tense silence then Mickey answered, "Yeah."
"Mickey the Idiot, the world is in your hands." the Doctor told him, "Fire."
~8~
10 miles off the coast of Plymouth, a missile launched from the sea, destination: 10 Downing Street.
~8~
"How solid are these?" Harriet asked, tapping the armoured shutters.
"Not solid enough." the Doctor replied gravely, "Built for short-range attacks, nothing this big."
"Well, at least we go out with a bang." Shareen said bravely, through she was bricking it inside.
"Alright. Now I'm making the decision." Rose said, "We're not gonna die, we're gonna ride this one out." She went to the cupboard and opened the door. "It's like what they say about earthquakes, you can survive 'em by standin' under a doorframe. Now this cupboard's small so it's strong."
Shareen stared at her friend, then she laughed. "Oh, that's brilliant, Rose!"
"Come an' help me. Come me!" Rose urged, so Shareen and Harriet hurried over and helped Rose to move the bodies of the liaison and the Prime Minister out of the way.
"It's on radar." Mickey reported over the phone, "Counter defence 556."
"Stop them intercepting it." the Doctor told him
"I'm doin' it now."
"Good boy." the Doctor conceded, taking the phone off speaker and joining the women in the cupboard.
The quarter all crouched in a corner, with Rose and Harriet either side of the Doctor and Shareen next to Rose. "Nice knowing you all." Harriet said as they all gripped hands, "Hannibal!" And they all braced themselves for impact as they heard the tell-tale screech of a missile on final approach to it's target.
~8~
The missile struck home and 10 Downing Street was engulfed in a huge fireball, completely obliterating the building. When the dust settled, all that was left of No 10 was a smoking pile of rubble with a metal box sitting atop of it. The door was pushed open to reveal the Doctor, Rose, Shareen and Harriet, all a bit bruised but very much alive and well. "Made in Britain." Harriet commented, proudly patting the wall of the cupboard that had saved their lives.
"They are never gonna believe this down the Spinning Wheel." Shareen commented, looking at the mess around them.
Just then, Sergeant Price came hurrying over to them. "Oh, my God! Are you all alright?" he asked
Harriet flashed her ID card at him. "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North. I want you to contact the UN immediately, tell the ambassadors the crisis is over and they can step down." she ordered, "Go on, tell the news!"
"Yes, ma'am." Price nodded, and hurried off to see to it."
Harriet took a moment to survey the devastation. "Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out." she commented, "Oh, Lord! We haven't even got a Prime Minister!"
"Well, maybe you should have a go." the Doctor suggested
"Me?!" Harriet laughed, "I'm only a back-bencher."
"I'd vote for ya." Rose encouraged
"Me too." Shareen agreed
"Now, don't be silly." Harriet chided, "Look, I'd better go and see if I can help." She climbed down from the rubble and headed over to where the emergency services and the press were arriving. "The Earth is safe!" she shouted to them
The Doctor, Rose and Shareen followed Shareen towards the main road. "I thought I knew the name." the Doctor said to Rose, "Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms, the architect of Britain's golden age."
"Well, I know who I'm votin' for then." Shareen remarked
"The crisis has passed!" Harriet called to the press, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have something to say to you all." The press all turned their cameras to her. "Mankind stands tall, proud and undefeated. God bless the Human race."
The Doctor, Rose and Shareen watched her give her speech, then they began the long walk back to Southwark.
~8~
Shareen was soon back at her flat on the first floor of Eichen House, one of several tower blocks on the Powell Estate. She'd just had a shower and had changed her clothes and was just walking into the living room where the telly was on, with the news showing Harriet's speech. "You said it, Harriet." Shareen smiled, sipping a can of 7up. She then settled down on the settee to take it easy for a bit.
~8~
With the emergency over, the shops opened up again and that evening, Shareen popped down to the local McDonalds to get dinner for herself. When she returned to the Powell Estate, she found Mickey sitting on a bin reading the evening paper, while a boy was cleaning some graffiti off the TARDIS. When they'd returned to the estate, the Doctor had been livid to find that the words 'Bad Wolf' had been spray-painted onto the side of the box. As the boy finished cleaning off his handiwork, the Doctor poked his head out of the door. "Good lad." he said, "Graffiti that again and I'll 'ave ya. Now, beat it." And the kid scurried away.
"Well, that's one way to deal with 'em." Shareen commented, sitting on a bollard to eat her food.
"I just went down the shop." Mickey spoke up, "And I was thinking, ya know, like the whole world's changed. Aliens and spaceships all in public. And here it is." He showed the others the paper. The headline was 'Alien hoax?' "How can they do that?" Mickey questioned, "They saw it!"
"Ah, probably tryin' to cover it all up." Shareen grunted, munching away on a burger.
"They're just not ready." the Doctor said, "Yer happy to believe in something that's invisible, but if it's staring yer in the face, nope! Can't see it. There's a scientific explanation for that. Yer thick."
Shareen promptly threw her burger wrapper at him indignantly, but Mickey took it in good stride. "We're just idiots." he said
"Well, not all of you." the Doctor conceded
Mickey was surprised. "Yeah?"
"Present for yer, Mickey." the Doctor said, taking a CD out of his pocket and handing it to Mickey, "That's a virus. Put it online, it'll destroy every mention of me. I'll cease to exist."
"Why would ya wanna do that for?" Mickey questioned
"Cos' yer right. I am dangerous." the Doctor replied, "I don't want anyone following me."
Just then, Shareen noticed Rose and Jackie coming out of Bucknall House. Rose had a rucksack on, so Shareen realised that she was planning to go away with the Doctor again. "You say that, and yet you're takin' Rose with ya." she challenged the Doctor.
"You could look after her." the Doctor offered, "Both of yer. Come with us."
"I can't." Mickey told him, "This life of yours... it's just too much, I... I couldn't do it. Don't tell her I said that." he added quietly as Rose and Jackie reached them.
"I'll get a proper job." Jackie pleaded to Rose, "I'll work weekends. I'll pass my test an' if Jim comes round again, I'll say no. I really will."
"I'm not leaving cos' of you." Rose reassured her, "I'm travellin', that's all. An' then I'll come back."
"But it's not safe." Jackie protested
"Mum.. if ya saw it out there, you'd never stay home." Rose said, slipping off her travel bag.
"Got enough stuff?" the Doctor said sarcastically
"Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment." Rose replied, tossing the bag to him, "Now I'm signin' up. You're stuck with me! Haha!" She turned to Mickey. "Come with us, there's plenty of room."
"No chance, he's a liability." the Doctor told her
"We'd be dead without him." Rose protested
"My decision is final." the Doctor told her
Rose turned back to Mickey. "Sorry." she said, and hugged him while he secretly mouthed his thanks to the Doctor.
Rose and Mickey kissed briefly then pulled apart. "Good luck, then." Mickey said
Rose then turned to Shareen. "What about you, 'Reen? Fancy comin' with us?"
"'Friad not, Rose." Shareen replied, "I've got stuff goin' on and I can't just bugger off an' leave just like that. Another time maybe."
"You still can't promise me." Jackie rounded on the Doctor, "What if she gets lost? What if something happens to ya, Doctor, an' she's left all alone standin' on some moon a million light years away? How long do I wait, then?"
The Doctor didn't have an answer for those questions, so Rose came to his rescue. "Mum, ya forgetting, it's a time machine. I could go travelling around suns an' planets and all the way out to the edge of the universe and by the time I get back, yeah, 10 seconds would've passed. Just 10 seconds." She put her hands on her mother's shoulders and smiled kindly. "So stop worrying. See ya in 10 seconds, yeah?" She hugged her mother and followed the Doctor into the TARDIS.
Jackie, Mickey and Shareen watched as the box dematerialised before their eyes, then Jackie looked at her watch. "10 seconds." she sighed and walked back towards Bucknall House.
Shareen finished the last of her meal and put the rubbish in the bin Mickey had been sitting on. "Well, I'm goin' home. We still on for the game next Saturday?" she asked Mickey
"Yeah, I'll be there." Mickey confirmed, "See ya, 'Reen."
"Night, Mickey." Shareen replied and they went their separate ways.
Author's notes: And here's chapter 2 finished. Work commitments mean that I don't get as much time for writing as I used to do, but I try to get it done during my days off. So, the cliff-hanger's been resolved and the Slitheen have been dealt with. Note that Shareen hasn't joined the TARDIS crew yet. She'd gonna stay Earthbound for series 1 and 2, then become a full-time TARDIS companion from series 3 onwards. She will have some adventures before then of course, being present for several of series 1 and 2's present day Earthbound stories and I'm thinking I might give her a trip in the TARDIS just to get an introduction to travelling. So, hope you like this chapter and hope to see ya next time.