A/N: Sorry, sorry. I know i should have posted this 7 hours ago, but I've been vomiting for the past 10. Today is not a good day for me. Anyway, here's the next chapter.
It didn't take them long to find an empty lab and get to work on inspecting the DNA of Richard Lazarus. "Amazing." The Doctor commented, looking intensely at the computer screen.
"What?" Martha asked, looking from the screen and to the Doctor and Kari.
"His DNA, watch it closely, Martha, very closely." Kari said, not taking her eyes from the screen.
"Oh, my God." Martha cried, finally seeing what had interested Kari and the Doctor so much. "Did that just change?" Kari simply nodded. "But it can't have."
"But it did." The Doctor told her, a frown on his face. He wasn't pleased with how this was turning out, and especially the way that Lazarus seemed to have heard about Kari.
"It's impossible." Martha was still in shock at what she had just seen.
The Doctor nodded at her. "And that's two impossible things we've seen so far tonight. Don't you live it when that happens?"
"Uh, no, not really." Kari said, making sure he understood that she was not happy. "One impossible thing with you around is enough, two is just going to give me a headache."
"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns." Martha finally realised.
"Hypersonic sound waves to destabilise the cell structure, then a metagenic programme to manipulate the coding in the protein strands." The Doctor explained.
Martha just looked at him as if he had drool coming from his mouth. Kari rolled her eyes. "Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate." She explained. "But they are still mutating, because that idiot missed something."
The Doctor nodded in agreement with her. "Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilise. Something that's trying to change him." He said, sounding more than just a little worried.
"Changing him?" Martha asked, her voice filled with curiosity. "Into what?"
"I don't know, but I think we need to find out." The Doctor replied, looking over at Kari. She was avoiding his gaze, she knew what was going to happen.
"Come on, Lady Thaw and the mutant are upstairs. And actually, we really need to hurry." Kari said, suddenly remembering what was going to happen to the poor woman. Okay, so she didn't really like her that much, but she didn't wish for her to die.
It didn't take them long to make it to the office of Professor Lazarus. Kari had to close her eyes and take a deep breath when she saw the skeletal legs of Lady Thaw by the desk. "We're too late." She whispered.
"Kari? What is it?" The Doctor asked her, looking on at her with worry.
"The desk. Go and look behind it." She whispered, still not able to look.
Martha gasped at what she saw. "Is that Lady Thaw?" She asked, looking down at the skeleton on the ground.
"Used to be." The Doctor told her, glancing over at Kari who was still standing there, refusing to look. He realised that she must have known what was going to happen and hoped to get there before Lazarus got to her. "Now it's just shell. Had all the life energy drained out, like squeezing the juice out of an orange."
"Lazarus?"
The Doctor nodded. "Could be."
"It was. His DNA is fluctuating. The process demands energy, and there is no way this this was enough." Kari told the pair that was watching her. "He will do this again, no doubt about it. And we really need to find him."
"Kari, do you know where he is?" The Doctor asked, walking back over to her.
Kari nodded. "The roof. With Tish. And we really need to move." She grabbed hold of the Doctor's hand and charged towards the stairs with him in tow. She knew how this was all going to pan out, even though some details were starting to become a little blurred.
It seemed to take them forever to reach the roof, but they eventually made it there and saw the professor standing there with Tish at his side.
"And is it like you expected?" Tish asked him, as the trio walked out onto the roof.
"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect. There's always something to surprise you. Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act…"
"Falls the Shadow." The Doctor and Kari both said. The Doctor was keeping a tight hold of her hand, he knew she was worried, that the whole day had turned into upside down. What he also knew was that it wasn't only because of the man that they were standing before.
"So, the mysterious Doctor and Miss Conner know their Eliot. I'm impressed." Lazarus said, a twinkle in his eyes as he let his gaze fall upon Kari.
"Martha, what are you doing here?" Tish asked, sounding less than impressed that her sister had showed up.
"Tish, get away from him." Martha ordered to her sister.
Tish just glared at her. "What? Don't tell me what to do?"
The Doctor ignored what was going on with Martha and Tish, keeping his attention on the man before him. "I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus. What with you being so busy defying the laws of nature and everything."
"You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four." Lazarus replied, still looking at Kari, still looking smug.
"Doesn't work like that." The Doctor told him, shaking his head a little and tightening his grip on Kari's hand. "Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person." He went on to say.
"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be." Professor Lazarus told him, finally breaking his gaze from Kari.
"Or what a curse." Kari finally said. "Look at what you've done to yourself." There was sadness in her eyes and voice as she spoke, because she knew how his life was going to end.
"Who are the pair of you to judge me?"
Martha was still trying to get through to her sister, and she was losing her patience. "Over here, Tish."
Her sister let out a sigh. "You have to spoil everything, don't you?" She said, before slowly making her way over to Martha. "Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault."
"Tish, he's a monster." Martha shouted at her, as the man in question began to have spasms behind her.
"I know the age thing's a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones." Tish couldn't help but look back at the man, and her face filled with horror. "What's that?"
The Doctor was quick to think. "Run." He called, grabbing Martha as he pasted her, in turn pulling Tish back into the building as well.
The four of them ran back into the building, the door to the roof slamming shut behind them. Kari was quick, with her sonic screwdriver already out and in her hand, making sure that the door was securely locked. She really didn't want Lazarus to get in, but she knew that he would break through in the end.
"Are you okay?" Martha asked her sister, while Kari and the Doctor charged down the stairs and met them at the lifts.
"I was going to snog him." Tish said, making Kari laugh.
The trio looked at her. "Would you have kissed him before he manipulated his DNA, when he was an old man?" Kari asked, as they heard a banging on the door.
"Well, no." Tish said, apparently severely shocked by the question.
Kari couldn't help but smirk. "So, all because he made himself look younger, you wanted to snog him? Forget that he was seventy six?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes at her. "Kari, not the time." He called to her, before the lights started flickering as the door was bashed in some more.
"Security one. Security one." A voice called throughout the building. "Security one."
Everything was dark, the power just having cut everywhere. "What's happening?" Martha asked, sounding a little worried.
"An intrusion. It triggers a security lockdown. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts, seals the exits." Tish said, her own voice full of panic.
"And that means that Lazarus is breaking through the door, which means we get to take the stairs." Kari told them, not even waiting before heading for them herself. "Hurry up you three!" She called, making the rest of them move and run down the stairs with her.
They hadn't gotten very far when they heard a loud crashing noise, followed by an animal growling. "He's got inside!" Martha cried, looking up the stairwell.
"Yeah, we don't have much time." Kari called from the front of the group. "Now come on and move."
They carried on running, going down further and further. Kari could see Tish having a little trouble running in her shoes, Martha not doing too bad. She was having no trouble at all, thanks to having a special friend of hers send her a nice and comfy pair of small heels to wear.
It really didn't take them that long to make it to the main room where the reception was being held. The Doctor was straight into looking around the room and trying to plan an escape for everyone in the room. "Tish, is there another way out of here?" He asked, turning and looking at the woman.
"There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now." Tish replied.
Kari just looked up and smiled. "Allow me, Doctor." She said, before running over to where the doors were and getting to work with her screwdriver. She knew that they didn't have much time, and that it was down to her to get the doors open for everyone.
When she looked over, she saw that Lazarus had jumped down and was scaring everyone. They were rushing towards her, and she managed to get the doors open just before she was crushed. "Got it, now everyone get out." She shouted. "Go!"
Over the screaming, a voice managed to reach through to her. "Lazarus! Leave them alone!" The Doctor called.
"Oh, not your greatest plan, Doctor." Kari mumbled, as she pushed her way through the hoard of people and back into the room.
"What's the point? You can't control it. The mutation's too strong. Kill those people won't help you. You're a fool. A vain old man who thought he could defy nature." The Doctor shouted to him, keeping his attention. "Only nature got her own back, didn't she? You're a joke, Lazarus. A footnote in the history of failure." That really seemed to tick Lazarus off, and he went for the Doctor.
"What's the Doctor doing?" Tish asked, looking from her sister and to Kari who was now standing with them.
"Buying you all some time. Now get the hell out of here." Kari told them, ready to run after the Doctor. Only she hadn't expected Martha to latch onto her arm. "Martha, you need to help Leo and get your family out of here."
"You're going after the Doctor?" Martha asked her, making Kari nod in response. "Just… wait a few minutes, yeah? I'll come with you."
That was when Kari remembered, the Doctor hadn't given Martha his screwdriver, and they would need it at the security desk to open the main doors and get the power back up and running. "Okay, there's something I still need to do anyway. Get moving." Kari said, making her way down the stairs.
"We can't get out. We're trapped." Tish called, as everyone hammered on the large glass doors when they made it downstairs.
"Not trapped, we can get out. Just give me… 15 seconds?" Kari said, before running across the room, hopping up onto the security desk and swinging around to the other side. Once there, she went straight for the power board on the wall and turned on her screwdriver. She smiled as it hummed and the lights came on, as well as the doors unlocking.
Kari quickly made her way back over to Martha, where she was standing with her mother and the rest of her family. Kari just smiled at her, before Martha's family started walking away.
"We've got to go back." Martha said, making her family stop in their tracks.
"You can't." Her mother cried in protest. "You saw what that thing did. It'll kill you."
"I don't care. I have to go." Martha said, her voice full of determination.
"Martha, stay here, with your family." Kari said, knowing that she would be better off staying with her family. She knew what was going to happen after all, she would be able to find the Doctor quick enough.
"What? You can't be serious, Kari." Clearly Martha was not happy with her suggestion.
"Martha Jones, I'm telling you to go, don't make me loose my temper." Kari threatened. She didn't know if it was going to work or not, but she let out a sigh of relief when Martha nodded at her.
"Be careful, Kari. I want you both to come out of here alive. You hear me?" The woman said, wagging a finger at Kari.
Kari simply saluted at her. "Yes ma'am." She said, before turning on her heel and running back up the stairs and beginning her search to find the Doctor. "Hmm, I wonder where the Doctor could be." She said, ducking down just as there was a huge explosion. "Yes, follow the trail of destruction. That usually works."
A moment later, as she charged around a corner, she ran straight into the Doctor. "What are you doing here?" He asked her, stunned and worried at the same time.
Kari shrugged at him. "Following the trail of destruction. I'm guessing you gave him a good blast? Which I'm guessing didn't kill him."
The Doctor nodded, only for them to suddenly be faced with the mutating monster. "More sort of annoyed him, I'd say." The Doctor told her, before gripping her hand tightly and pulling her along the corridor with him.
They ended up back in the main room where the reception had been once again. While the Doctor frantically looked around the room, trying to formulate a plan, Kari just stood by the machine that professor Lazarus had used to turn himself into a monster. "We can't lead him outside. Come on, get in." The Doctor said, pushing her inside.
"Now, I know for a fact that we're not hiding in here." Kari said, her screwdriver still in her hand. She had been ready, she knew how this was going to go.
"No, he knows we're in here." He said, listening to the movements outside. "But this is his masterpiece. I'm betting he won't destroy it, not even to get at us."
"Yeah, that may be, but there is something else he can do to us in here." Kari said, getting the Doctor's attention. "You really don't have a plan do you?"
He rolled his eyes at her. "The plan was to get inside here."
"Lovely, brilliant plan. And now, for you next trick…?" The Doctor just looked at her, clearly trying to figure it all out. "Oh, come on, my dear Doctor. Do I have to do everything?" She said, making sure to poke him with the screwdriver. It wasn't really that hard, considering how close they were.
"Hey, what was that for?" He asked her, plucking the screwdriver out of her hand.
"To get you to pay attention. Now come on, do what you do best and improvise. It really isn't going to take him long to work out to turn this thing on." Kari told him. "Now, are you going to reverse the polarity to deflect the energy so that we don't get through the blender? Or am I going to have to do it?"
Suddenly his eyes widened and lit up. "Oh, Kari, you're brilliant." He said, before giving her a quick peck on the lips. "Now why didn't I think of that?"
Kari just shrugged at him. "Why do you need to use your enormous brain when you have me?" She asked him, sarcastically. "I have no idea."
He grinned at her as he slid down the side of the capsule to reach the floor, Kari moving her feet so that he could get to the access panel where she had been standing. "So, Lazarus has activated a dormant gene in his DNA, something that is pure human but was rejected as humans evolved." Kari said, watching as the Doctor pulled the panel off. "And this lovely machine that we are currently stuck inside is what reactivated it."
"That pretty much sums it up, yeah. Nice shoes, by the way. Love the colour, very you." He said, looking at the TARDIS blue shoes on her feet.
"Why thank you. I have some very stylish friends out there." Kari told him, shifting her feet out of the way a little more. "Uh oh." She said, remembering what was going to happen next. "He's worked it out, he's turned the machine on." She said, the Doctor glancing up at her in panic.
"Well, I was hoping it was going to take him a little bit longer to work that out." The Doctor told her, frantically working away.
"Hate to say it Doctor, but you were wrong." Kari said to him, trying her best to stay calm. She knew that he would do it in time, that they would get out of the capsule all in one piece. She had to close her eyes as a bright light flashed in the capsule.
"Just one more." The Doctor said, before there was a loud bang and everything went silent and still.
Kari watched as the Doctor opened the door and stepped out. She was right out behind him, but her small heel caught on the panel that the Doctor had left on the flood of the capsule and she ended up falling into his arms. "You all right there?" He asked her, holding her tightly and keeping her steady.
She looked up at him. "Yeah, but next time, clear up you mess so I don't fall over it." Kari said, making him glance behind her and into the capsule.
"Sorry." He whispered, before reaching down and quickly kissing her.
"You better be. And you need to work on your screwdriver skills. That took way too long." Kari told him, pulling her screwdriver out of his hand.
"Really shouldn't take that long to just reverse the polarity. Either I'm a bit out of practice, or your screwdriver is rubbish." He told her, looking at the thing in her hand with a glare.
"Oi! Rude and not ginger!" Kari yelled at him, slapping him on the arm. "I worked extremely hard on this screwdriver, and it was my first one. You can't even be bothered to make your own, you get Sexy to make them for you." She told him. "That's just lazy."
"Are you calling me lazy now?" The Doctor asked her, pulling her just a little bit closer.
"Yes, yes I am. Now come on, we need to get this sorted and find Martha." Kari told him, forcing him to let go of her.
A short while later, the made their way outside as the body of Richard Lazarus was taken away in the back of an ambulance.
"There they are." Tish called, making Martha run over to the pair, her family close behind.
"Ah, Mrs Jones. We still haven't finished our chat." The Doctor said, as the woman came over.
Only he didn't exactly get the response e was expecting, as the woman's hand slapped him hard across the face. "Keep away from my daughter." She spat at him before looking at Kari. "Miss Conner, I have no problem with you. I know you mean well, but you need to stay away from that man as well."
"Always the mothers." The Doctor grumbled. "Every time." He said, rubbing his sore cheek with his free hand.
Kari just looked at her in confusion. "Uh, I think that would be difficult. I mean, he is my fiancé after all." Martha's mother just looked at her in shock.
"He's dangerous. I've been told things." The woman said, looking from Kari and then to Martha.
Now Martha was confused as well. "What are you talking about?"
"Look around you. Nothing but death and destruction." Francine said as Kari watched the ambulance drive away.
"This isn't his fault." Martha protested before Kari could even get her mouth open. "He saved us, all of us."
"And it was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place." Leo chipped in. "I'd say, technically, it's her fault."
"Doctor, time to go. Martha stay here." Kari said, just as they heard a rather loud crash. She dragged him down the street and around the corner, following the way the ambulance had gone.
When they reached it, it was empty, all for the corpses of those who used to be paramedics. "Lazarus, back from the dead. Should have known, really." The Doctor said, running a hand through his messy hair before pulling out his screwdriver and starting to scan the area.
"Where's he gone?" A voice called, making both of them turn around.
Kari frowned when she saw Martha and Tish standing there. "I told you to stay with your family, Martha." She groaned. "Now I know how the Doctor feels when no one listens to him and decide to wander off."
"Where's he gone?" The Doctor wondered, looking directly at Kari.
"Southwark Cathedral." She told him, keeping eye contact. He nodded at her, before dragging her along towards the cathedral.
As the walked in, they saw the man, wrapped up in the red blanket from the ambulance. It seemed he had noticed them all rather easily. "I came here before, a lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here, just a child, the sound of planes and bombs outside."
"The Blitz." The Doctor said, knowing exactly what he was talking about.
"You're read about it."
"We were there." He said, squeezing Kari's hand.
The man looked over at the couple, clearly unable to believe what the Doctor had said to him. "You're too young."
"So are you." The Doctor retorted quickly while Kari stuck close to him, her eyes not leaving the man crouched on the floor.
"In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again. So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it." Lazarus said, after having a slight spasm.
"That's what you were trying to do today?" The Doctor asked him, making sure that Kari was still there.
"That's what I did today." The man corrected.
Kari just wanted it all to be over now. She was stressed and had a lot on her mind now. There had been too many things that had happened that night that were bothering her, such as how people knew who she was, and why a certain Mr Saxon had been praising her. It didn't sit right with her, because she knew who he really was. Deep down, she was absolutely petrified, but she wouldn't be able to tell the Doctor why until it had all happened. And who knew when that was going to be?
She hadn't realised she had been blocking everything out until she heard the Doctor speaking again. "There's no such thing as an ordinary human." He said to the man.
That was when Kari remember where they were up to, and what was going to happen next. "Uh, since he's about to change again, you need to get him up to the bell tower." She whispered to the man beside her. He simply shook his head at her.
"You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look." Lazarus said, as Kari slipped her hand away from the Doctor and carefully made her way over to Martha.
"I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything turn to dust." The Doctor said, giving Kari a concerned look. "If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone."
"That's a price worth paying." The man replied, having yet another spasm. It was clear that the monster was ready to make yet another appearance.
"Is it?" The Doctor asked, feeling a little uncomfortable now that Kari was so far away from him. He was sure she was up to something, she had that look on her face that told him so.
"I will feed soon."
The Doctor slowly shook his head at Lazarus. "I'm not going to let that happen."
There was a smirk on the face of the man in the red blanket now. "You've not been able to stop me so far."
"Leave him alone, Lazarus. The Doctor is old and bitter, I should know. I thought you had a taste for fresher meat. Well, here I am." Kari said, holding her arms out and taunting the man.
The Doctor felt his chest pounding. "Kari, no!" He shouted, but it was too late, she was running and Lazarus was right behind her.
"Kari, what are you doing?" Martha called, picking up the pace and running with her.
Kari turned around and saw the Jones sisters running with her. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Me? What are the pair of you doing? I know the Doctor is going to want to kill me, but you two, oh you're mother will want to kill me if something happens."
"Just keep going." Martha said, giving Kari a shove and forcing her to run faster up the stairs to the tower.
As they ran, they heard a horrid cracking sound. "Oh dear, he's changed. Now we're in trouble." Kari muttered, not bothering to stop as she carried on running.
"Kari? Where are you?" She heard the Doctor shout.
She poked her head out and saw him down below. "Over here, hello!" She called back to him. "Can't stop and chat, got to get to the very top of the bell tower." She shouted, before starting her run again with Martha and Tish right behind her.
It didn't take them long to reach the top, the three of them ran into the bell tower and ran around the small platform. "Martha, Tish, no matter what, you do not move. Is that understood?" Kari told them firmly. "I mean it, you do not move."
The girls both just nodded at her, just as the monster that used to be Lazarus burst through the door. There were screams as his long tail thrashed around, trying to hit them, to kill them. Except his missed the women, and hit the side, causing Kari to trip and fall over the edge.
"Kari!" Martha cried, reaching forward, wanting to go and help her.
"Get back Martha, and cover your ears!" She shouted, as the music the Doctor had been playing became louder and louder. Kari gritted her teeth together, unable to do anything else but hold onto the side for dear life.
A moment later, and the man fell over the edge as well, almost taking Kari with him as he went. She couldn't help but let out a breath of relief, knowing that it was all over now.
"Kari, it's okay, we've got you." Martha said, as she and Tish both took a hand and pulled the woman up. "We've got you, hold on." As soon as Kari was up, the three of them all collapsed on the wooden walkway.
"Kari?" The Doctor shouted. "Kari, Martha?"
"We're okay. We're all okay." Martha shouted back to him, holding onto her sister tightly.
"Right, better get back down there then." Kari said, pushing herself up. "And you two," Kari said, spinning to face them and making them jump a little, "thanks."
Martha and Tish laughed a little as they stood up, and the trio hugged. "Come on, the Doctor is waiting. I am so going to have a go at him about his playing. Him and Beethoven, let me tell you something, never leave him alone with Beethoven."
It didn't take them long to get back to Martha's flat, where Kari was relieved to see the TARDIS. It really had been a long evening, and all she wanted was a bath and to forget about everything that had just happened.
"Something else that just like of escalated, then." The Doctor said to Martha, unlocking the TARDIS and holding onto Kari's waist tightly. He had not been impressed when she had taken it upon herself to lure Lazarus to the bell tower.
"I can see a pattern developing. You two should take more care in the future. And the past. And whatever other time period you find yourself in." Martha said, trying to keep her spirits up even though she knew the end was coming.
"It's good fun, though, isn't it." The Doctor said, kissing the top of Kari's head. He had noticed she had started to drift off into her own little world, and that worried him.
"So, can we just cut to it please?" Kari said, not as much in her own world as the Doctor thought. "Martha, get your backside in the TARDIS now. I want a nice hot bath and I don't trust the Doctor to leave him on his own, I could be a few hours."
"Sorry?" Martha asked, completely lost.
Kari rolled her eyes before pulling away from the TARDIS. "Martha Jones, you have just become part of my very big and very dysfunctional time travelling family." She said, pushing the woman onto the blue box.
A/N: Let me just apologise now for any spelling and grammar errors that you may have picked up. As I mentioned before, not too great today, head pounding has stopped me from proof reading properly. Sorry.
Thank you to everyone who has favourtied/followed, because you guys rock. And everyone who has reviewed, well an even bigger thank you because you guys are just so awesome.
Let me know what you all thought, while I try to pull myself back together.
Pippa.