*Slight trauma and nudity, read with caution

The loud ringing of her phone startled Victoria awake.

She reached blindly for her phone and yanked it away from her charger to look at it.

She squinted slightly around the sleep stuck in her eyes to see Rose's name lighting up the screen.

"Up and at 'em, Vie!" the Doctor exclaimed, and she groaned, flopping backward to sink into her sheets.

"Do I have to?" she groaned, causing him to let out a laugh.

"If you want some of the freshly made pancakes Rose made, then yeah. Meet us in the console room when you're done."

She sighed as the line went dead, dreading the moment she'd have to leave the warmth and comfort of her bed.

A small hum echoed through her room, and Victoria sighed reluctantly. "Yeah, I know I should get up."

After dragging the covers off and rolling out of bed, she clumsily threw on the clothes the TARDIS had kindly hung up for her in her closet.

She grabbed her phone and slid it into her back pocket before pulling her jacket off the hook by her door.

The walk to the kitchen was short, and it didn't take long for the smell of chocolate chips to hit her nose. Sitting on the table was a small stake of pancakes, coated in butter and syrup, just as she always ate them. Oh, they were too good to her sometimes, but she wouldn't complain.

Page Break -

Victoria was walking through the hallway idly when she was abruptly thrown to the side, making her slam her left shoulder into the wall.

She let out a startled cry as pain engulfed her shoulder. She stumbled, trying to get her balance when the room tilted to the other side. She tripped over her foot and fell to the ground, biting back a cry as she landed on her shoulder again.

She stayed still as the room began to shake harshly, the lights lining the wall exploding with sparks. The hallway quickly grew smoky and somewhat hard to see. She raised her right arm to protect her head as she waited for debris to stop falling.

Once the room had settled, she slowly got to her feet. She clutched onto the wall, her legs stinging from the fallen debris. Victoria froze in horror as she realized that the hallway she had just walked through was filled with doors, glass, and junk that the Doctor was prone to leave lying around.

During the year she had been traveling, it was obvious to everyone that Victoria was the TARDIS's favorite. And she really shouldn't have been surprised that the TARDIS protected her until she physically couldn't.

Victoria rubbed the wall slightly, hoping to comfort the TARDIS, before stumbling to the control room. Luckily, she was only a corridor away and got to the console room quickly. She could barely hear voices, but at least she knew that no one else was injured.

"-ure she's fine. She would've called if something was wrong," she heard Mickey, most likely consoling the Doctor.

"I'm fine," she tried to smile as she limped into the room. Both men turned around to stare at her, their relieved smiles falling as they took in her appearance.

"The TARDIS protected-"

"That's protecting you?" Mickey cried indignantly. Victoria glared at him, both for interrupting her, and because he had no clue what she had narrowly avoided.

"I was tossed around in the hallway and the lights on the wall shattered. The only thing that's really injured is my left shoulder," she said, raising said shoulder with a wince.

"Unfortunately, with the TARDIS being dead," he said, sticking his hand in his pocket. "This will have to suffice until we can get to the medbay."

Victoria grabbed the tub of cream he pulled out but froze as his words hit her. "She's dead?"

Though his face stayed neutral, she could see the pain in his eyes as she said it. "What… What happened?"

"I think we fell through the time vortex into another reality where Pete Tyler is alive. Since the TARDIS runs on energy from our universe, she can't survive here."

"Where's Rose?" she asked, sitting down on the captain's chair so the Doctor could do his work.

"Outside," Mickey answered, almost bitterly.

"So what happens now?" Victoria asked, gnawing on her lips as she looked around.

"Like I said, we're not meant to be here. The TARDIS draws its power off the universe, but it's the wrong universe. It's like diesel in a petrol engine," the Doctor explained with a frown, looking uncomfortable.

"But..." Mickey began. "I've seen it in comics. People are hopping from one alternate world to another, it's easy." The Doctor sent Mickey a withering look.

"Not in the real world," the Doctor paused for a moment. "Used to be easy. When the Time Lords kept their eye on everything, you could hop between realities, home in time for tea. Then they died, took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed. Everything became that bit less kind."

From where she was sitting, Victoria couldn't help but notice a small green light coming from the grating beside her. She got up and knelt down to get a better look. "Doctor, come look at this."

"What's that?" he muttered as he leaned down beside her.

"What?" Mickey asked, coming to stand behind the two.

"A reflection?" the Doctor said, moving the grate to get a closer look.

"I think it's some sort of light," Victoria suggested.

"That's all we need!" he turned to her with a smile. "We've got power! Vie, Mickey, we've got power! Ha!" the Doctor called happily as he lowered himself under the console. "It's alive!" he called and Victoria felt a swell of hope enter her heart.

"What is it?" Mickey asked curiously.

"It's nothing. It's tiny. One of those insignificant little power cells that no one ever bothers about, and it's clinging on to life. But with one little ounce of reality tucked away inside," the Doctor answered, turning to Victoria with a bright smile.

"So the TARDIS is still alive?" she asked and the Doctor nodded.

"Is there enough power to get us home?" Mickey interjected.

"Not yet," the Doctor responded as he pulled the power cell out of the floor. He handed Victoria the cell and he pulled himself out of the floor. Once he stood up, he took the cell back and stared at it. "I need to charge it up," he explained, cupping the cell in both hands.

"We could go outside and latch it up to the national grid!" Mickey offered but the Doctor shook his head.

"Wrong sort of energy. It's gotta come from our universe."

"But we don't have anything," Mickey retorted.

"There's me," the Doctor said before blowing on the cell, causing it to glow brightly. "I just gave away ten years of my life. Worth every second!" the Doctor laughed a little. Victoria stood up and moved closer to stare at the cell with a smile alongside Mickey. The power cell continuously glowed brightly before dimming.

"Is it supposed to do that?" she asked and the Doctor nodded.

"It's on a recharging cycle," he stated "It'll loop 'round, power back up, and be ready to take us home in, oh, twenty-four hours?"

"So, that gives us twenty-four hours in a parallel world?" Mickey questioned.

"Sure! As long as we keep our heads down. Easy. No problem," the Doctor told us. As he stood up, the Doctor tossed the power cell in the air and caught it. "Let's go and tell Rose," he said before heading to the door.

Victoria walked side by side with the Doctor as they went to where he had left Rose. Rose was sitting quietly on a bench, staring at her phone in her hand.

She stood back by Mickey as the Doctor moved to talk to Rose. They watched as a pained look crossed over Rose's face, most likely talking about her father and the parallel universe.

Victoria gasped slightly as the Doctor reached forward, trying to grab Rose's phone.

"They're rich. They've got a house and cars, and everything they want," Rose stood up. "But they haven't got me. I've gotta see him," Rose told the Doctor but he shook his head.

"You can't."

"I just wanna see him," she told him.

"I can't let you!" he responded, causing Rose to glare at him, tears in her eyes.

"You just said twenty-four hours," she spoke, her arms crossed tightly and her lips pursed.

"You can't become their daughter, that's not the way it works! Mickey, Victoria, tell her," the Doctor said. Victoria felt conflict twist at her, seeing both of their sides.

Victoria opened her mouth to speak, but Mickey spoke before she could. "Twenty-four hours, yeah?"

"Where're you going?" the Doctor asked in surprise.

"Well, I can do what I want!" Mickey told the Doctor as Rose began walking in the opposite direction.

Victoria gaped at the pair, looking back and forth between their retreating figures. She couldn't believe they were making them choose sides, being so childish. But when she watched the Doctor begin towards Rose, she knew that the right thing to do was to go with Mickey. He wasn't going to let the guy wander around a parallel universe by himself, was he?

"Come on, Vie, we've got to go," the Doctor said, grabbing her hand. She pulled out of his grip and walked towards Mickey.

"I'm gonna stay with Mickey, I'll have my phone on if you need us," she told him, though tried to ignore the brief look of hurt that crossed his face.

"Be careful!" he stressed, watching as Victoria slid her arm around Mickey's.

"Come on, Micks," she said quietly, letting Mickey lead the way.

They walked in silence before Mickey spoke up. "My gran lives a few blocks away. She was blind, and the carpet on the stairs was coming up. She tripped on it, fell and died."

"I'm sorry," she told him, slowly beginning to feel guilty for how little she knew about him.

"What about you? Is there anything here?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"Remember what I told you and Sarah Jane about? You see… you've met actually met my dad. Long before he was my dad."

"Really?" Mickey hummed, looking over at her quizzingly.

"I'm sure Jack Harkness left a pretty big impact."

"Jack Harkness is your dad? The guy that flirts with anything that breathes?" he stared at her in shock. "I thought he died around the same time the Doctor regenerated?"

"What I'm going to tell you, you can't tell Rose. When you guys opened the console and Rose looked into the heart of the TARDIS, she brought him back to life. But she went too far, and made him "immortal". Now when he dies, he comes back to life."

"That's what happened?" he asked after a moment, and Victoria sent him a look.

"What do you mean?"

"I help Rose open the console, but neither of them told me or Jackie what happened. One minute he's from the North, the next he's got a London accent," he told her, shaking his head at the memory.

"I… I know you haven't been on the Tardis long, but I haven't made much of an attempt to get to know you or let you in on the time travel secrets. I'm really sorry," she stopped where she was and squeezed his arm.

"Not you're fault. I don't think anyone can really tell either of those two to do something," he grinned, silently accepting her apology.

"Don't I know it," she grinned back, beginning to laugh.

"So," Mickey said, changing back to their previous topic. "What was it like growing up with Jack?"

"Well, he was a doting father, made sure I knew how to take care of myself, especially against aliens. He spoiled me when I was younger, but as I got older he loosened up a bit. He was the best dad ever," she smiled, albeit a bit sad as she thought about her past

"Do you miss him? Have you asked the Doctor to take you to visit?"

"Yeah, I miss him, but I call him constantly. I don't think the Doctor is quite ready to meet him again yet."

As Mickey went to ask Victoria another question, a group of soldiers passed by with one of them approaching the pair. "Are we alright to pass?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah. No bother. Curfew doesn't start 'til ten."

"There's curfew?" Victoria asked and the soldier sent her an odd look.

"Course there is. Where've you been living, mate? Up there with the toffs?" he scoffed, pointing up at the zeppelins in the air.

"I wish," Mickey muttered as the soldier walked away.

They walked in silence for the rest of the way until they reached a run-down area. Mickey slowed down as they crossed the street and stopped in front of his gran's house.

Victoria silently reached down and grabbed his hand for support. With his other hand, Mickey knocked on the door three times. "Who's that there?" a voice called from the other side of the door.

The door opened to show an older woman who looked a lot like him, obviously Mickey's gran. "Who is it? I know you're there. Shame on you, tricking an old lady. I've got nothing worth stealing," she said, pulling out a stick. "And don't think I'm gonna disappear! You're NOT gonna take ME," she said, holding the stick tightly.

"Hi," Mickey spoke, causing her to stop in her tracks.

"Is that you?" she spoke in a hushed tone. Victoria squeezed his hand as tears welled in Mickey's eyes.

"It's me, I came home," he said, releasing her hand to move closer to his gran, allowing her to stroke his face.

"Ricky?"

"It's Mickey," he told her and she shook her head.

"I know my own grandson's name. It's Ricky. Now, come here." Mickey then pulled his gran into a hug.

"Okay, I'm Ricky. Of course, I am. Ricky, that's me," Mickey smiled before being smacked in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"You stupid boy. Where have you been?" she asked angrily.

"Stop hitting me!"

"It's been days and days! I keep hearing all these stories. People disappearing off the streets. There's nothing of it on the download," she said pointing to the earpiece in her ear. "But there are all these rumors, a-and whispers. I thought that God had disappeared you!"

"That carpet on the stairs, I told you to get it fixed, you're gonna fall and break your neck," his voice trembled as he looked over his gran's shoulder.

"Well, you get it fixed for me," she told him.

"I should'a done it way back. I guess I'm just kinda useless," he said, causing Victoria's heart to clench painfully. It hurt her to hear Mickey say that about himself, knowing the Doctor's words over time influenced his opinion.

"Now, I never said that," his gran said with a frown.

"I am, though. And I'm sorry, Gran. I'm so sorry," Mickey said, a tear rolling down his face.

"Don't talk like that. Do you know what you need? A nice sit-down and a cuppa tea. You got time?" she asked, causing Mickey to look at Victoria.

"Oh, I brought someone for you to meet as well," he told her, wincing as she smacked him again.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" she scolded.

"Gran, this is Victoria," he said.

"It's nice to meet you," Victoria told her, causing Mickey's gran to smile.

"Come in, let's all sit down and have some tea," she said.

"For you, I've got all the time in the world," Mickey told her, causing her to laugh.

"You say that, but it's all talk. It's those new friends of yours. I don't trust them," she told the two, causing them to frown.

"What friends are they?" he asked and his gran shook her head.

"Don't pretend you don't know. You've been seeing them. Mrs. Chan told me. Driving about all helter-skelter, in that van," she told him as the sound of tires filled the air.

"What van's that, then?" Victoria asked in confusion.

"You know full well! Don't play games with me," she said angrily as the van pulled up behind them.

"Get inside!" she said as someone grabbed the back of Victoria and Mickey's shirts and pulled us into the van.

"Mickey? Victoria?" They heard his gran calling for them as the van drove off.

"Ricky, you were the one who told us you don't contact your family 'cos it puts them in danger!" he said before turning towards us.

"And who is this?"

"Of course, I said that just testing," Mickey said, trying to play along with the man.

"I'm Victoria," she told him with a slight nod.

"I saw them. I taped them! They went round Black Friars gathering up the homeless like a child-catcher. They must've taken four dozen," the man said to the driver.

She replied, "The vans were hired out to a company called 'International Electromatics'. But I did a protocol search... turns out that's a dummy company established by guess who?"

"I dunno, who?"

"Cybus Industries," both the driver and the man said.

"And now we got evidence," the man explained.

"Bad news is, they've arrested Thin Jimmy. So that just leaves you." Victoria felt Mickey stiffen beside her in confusion.

"Leave me what?"

"The Number One. Top of the list. London's Most Wanted," he smirked.

"Oh, okay," Mickey nodded before realizing what he said. "Say that again?"

- Page Break -

When the van came to a stop, the conversations came to a halt. Jake, Victoria had learned quickly enough, pushed open the door and jumped out. "There's a light on. There's someone inside the base."

They stared at the blond for a moment before Mickey jumped out as well. He turned to Victoria and held out a hand to give her leverage on her way down.

"Mrs. Moore, we've got visitors," Jake said as he reached for guns, one for each of them. He gave one to Mrs. Moore first before turning back to Mickey and Victoria.

"Have either of you shot a gun before?" he asked, obviously hesitant to offer the weapon to them.

"No," Victoria shook her head while giving the gun a reproachful look.

"I've done it once or twice," Mickey said vaguely.

Jake seemed weary of Mickey's statement, but decided it was better for three people to have a gun over two. He placed the fourth gun back in the van before giving Victoria a heated glance.

"Try to stay out of trouble, would ya?"

She opened her mouth to snap back before Mrs. Moore gave them each a look. "Come on."

Victoria stayed behind Mickey as Jake led them around the side of the building they had parked in front of. Once they approached a doorway, Mrs. Moore and Jake gave each other a look before he began to count down from three.

As they rushed through the opening, Victoria had to hold in an anguished sigh at what was waiting inside.

There, standing towards the back of the room, was Mickey's counterpart. "What the hell are you doing?" he snapped.

Mrs. Moore and Jake quickly began looking between Mickey and his counterpart in confusion.

"What are you doing there?" Jake questioned.

The other Mickey began to stalk towards the four of them. "What am I doing here? What am I doing there?"

"Fuck," Victoria groaned as Mickey's counterpart pointed a finger at Mickey. There was a slight pause before Mrs. Moore and Jake turned their guns on them.

- Page Break -

Victoria was grateful for the fact that she was wearing a sports bra and boxer briefs today.

While they had surrendered to the three immediately, Mickey's counterpart Ricky and his friends still forced them down to their knickers before tying them to chairs.

If this were any other day, it would have been an absolute nightmare, not that it wasn't already. She knew she would feel the effects of this for days.

She had to bite back her want to kick Jake in the face as his scanner traveled downwards. She could tell that he had no intention of doing anything dirty or wrong, but the fact that she was almost naked and he was so close was making her uncomfortable.

"Both are clean, neither have any bugs on 'em," he said, placing the device on a nearby desk as he stood up.

"But this is off the scale. He's flesh and blood. How did that happen?" Ricky peered down at Mickey.

"Well, it could be that Cybus Industries have perfected the science of human cloning," Mrs. Moore briefly suggested as Ricky circled the two. "Or your father had a bike?"

"Your name is Mickey, not Ricky?"

"Mickey. Dad was Jackson Smith. Used to work at the key cutters in Cliffton's Parade. Went to Spain, never came back," Mickey explained.

""But that's MY dad. So, we're brothers?" Ricky asked, leaning closer to Mickey.

"Be fair, what else could it be?" Jake questioned.

"I don't know. But he doesn't just look like me, he is exactly the same. There's something else going on here, Jake."

"Who are you?" Victoria spoke up, drawing all their eyes to her.

"We," Ricky gestured between the three of them. "We are the Preachers. As in Gospel Truth. You see?" He pointed to his ear. "No earplugs. While the rest of the world downloads from Cybus Industries, we've got freedom. You're talking to London's Most Wanted. But target Number One is Lumic, and we ARE going to bring him down."

"From your kitchen?" Mickey asked, getting a glare from Ricky and a smirk from Jake. Victoria bit her lip in an attempt to not laugh.

"Do you have a problem with it?"

"No, it's a good kitchen."

A loud beep echoed from their laptop. "It's an upload from Gemini."

"Who's Gemini?" Mickey and Victoria asked at the same time.

"The vans are back. They're moving out of Battersea. Looks like Gemini was right. Lumic's finally making a move."

"And we are right behind him. Pack up, we're leaving," Ricky announced, reaching down to untie both of them. Jake handed the both of them their clothes back, which Victoria struggled to quickly put on. She wondering briefly if the TARDIS knew this was going to happen and made sure that she was properly dressed.

"Did the TARDIS pick out your clothes this morning at all?" she asked Mickey as they followed the others towards the van.

He thought about it for a moment before nodding. "I took a shower and went to get dressed and these were hanging from my door."

"Me too," she told him, watching the three quickly pack up their van. "I think the TARDIS may have seen this bit and wanted to help. She's amazing like that."

"Still find it weird that the TARDIS is alive, you know?" he asked and she laughed lightly.

"Yeah, I get it," she smiled before they were ushered into the van.

They sat in silence, unsure as to what to do at the moment. It seemed like the next five minutes were a blur, Jake and Ricky getting out stealthily, each holding a gun.

"I've identified the address," Mrs. Moore announced, looking back towards the two for a moment. "It belongs to Peter Tyler. The Vitex millionaire."

"Pete Tyler?" Mickey asked, the surprise in his voice not going unnoticed by Mrs. Moore. He shared a look with Victoria, who he was sure wore the same face he did at the news.

"He's listed as one of Lumic's henchmen. A traitor to the state," she continued, trying to gauge their reactions.

"Rose," Victoria whispered, and Mickey nodded, gripping her hand for support.

"But... but... we've gotta get in there!" Mickey exclaimed, grabbing a gun before pushing open the door.

"Mickey, Victoria!" Mrs. Moore snapped as they jumped down and ran in the direction Jake and Ricky ran only minutes prior.

- Page Break -

Mickey was surprised they hadn't had to stop for a breather yet, having been running for almost ten minutes straight it felt like.

He was almost to the end of his rope, tired and his sides were burning from running more than he had in months.

Just as Mickey was prepared to stop, he heard Rose's voice. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Yeah, no offence sweetheart, but who the hell are you?" they heard Ricky ask.

"Rose!" Mickey called out, running towards them. "Rose!"

He came to a stop in front of her, Victoria past him as he glanced back at Ricky. "That's not me. That's like the other one."

Rose glanced between Ricky and Mickey as her brain tried to process what was happening.

Behind her, Victoria threw her arms around the Doctor's neck and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh god, that was terrible."

He pulled back to check over her, making sure she wasn't harmed. He gripped her shoulders and stared straight at her. "What happened? Are you okay?"

She wasn't sure if telling the Doctor was the smartest thing to do at the moment, but she also wasn't sure if she'd be able to work alongside Ricky, Mrs. Moore, and Jake if she didn't tell someone now.

"I-" Victoria was cut off by Ricky.

"But, there's more of them," he looked over Rose's shoulder.

They all began to glance around, realizing what they had missed. Slowly closing in on them was a herd of Cybermen. While she had never seen one in person, the Doctor had told her plenty of stories to feel frightened just by the sight of them.

"We're surrounded," Rose whispered, reaching out and taking Victoria's hand in her's, grip strong.

As Ricky raised his gun to shoot them, the Doctor reached out to stop him. "Put the guns down. Bullets won't stop them"

Jake didn't spare the Doctor a single glance before shooting a round at the one directly in front of him.

"No! Stop shooting!" the Doctor snapped, pushing the gun down before holding his hands above his head.

"We surrender," the Doctor told the circle of Cybermen before directing his words at his companions and the survivors. "Hands up."

They all raised their hands up as the Doctor continued to speak. "There's no need to damage us, we're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed."'

"You are rogue elements," the Cyberman said.

"But we surrender."

"You are incompatible," the Cyberman replied.

"But this is a surrender!" the Doctor cried, looking between all the Cybermen, each with their hands raised towards him.

"You will be deleted."

"But we're surrendering! Listen to me, we surrender!"

"You are inferior. Man will be reborn as Cybermen but you will perish under maximum deletion," the Cyberman reached its hand towards the Doctor.

Victoria squeezed Rose's hand as she clenched her eyes shut in terror.

"Delete. Delete. Delete."