Thank you to everyone that has Followed/Favourited/Reviewed this story!
Apologies for taking so long to update. The Long Game isn't my favourite episode so I lost a lot of motivation to write this, but I finally finished it!
HannahHPandDWfanJones - Glad you liked the bonding between them. I'm still giving some thought on the whole 'Rose/10' situation, but whatever happens Charlie/Doctor is endgame :)
NicoleR85 - Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for your review :)
Faery66 - Thanks for your review, hope you enjoy this chapter :)
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Disclaimer: I own Charlie, any other OC characters, and the book covers. I do not own Doctor Who.
Previously
"Adam was saying that all his life he wanted to see the stars," Rose hinted.
"Tell him to go and stand outside, then." The Doctor scoffed.
"He's all on his own, Doctor, and he did help," Rose pouted.
"Come on," Charlie nudged him, "One won't hurt,"
"He left you down there," The Doctor said through gritted teeth.
"He had no choice," Charlie stared him down until he groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Fine, but you're looking after him," he pointed at Rose and he entered the TARDIS with Charlie.
"What're you talking about? We've got to leave," Adam said confused as they entered the blue phone box, "What're you doing? She said cement. She wasn't joking. We're going to get sealed in," he watched as Rose followed them in, "Doctor? What're you doing standing inside a box? Rose?" he slowly creeped into the ship just before it disappeared.
Wolf Whispers
"What'd you think?" Charlie voice came from the alcove in her bedroom where her wardrobes were. Rose looked up from the magazine she was reading on Charlie's bed to see the redhead stepping out from the alcove to show the blonde her chosen outfit. Charlie chose light blue fitted jeans with a large hole in the right knee and laddered tears on her right thigh and left leg, she wore a white frill bardot crop top that stopped just above her bellybutton and she paired the outfit with stone grey block heeled lace-up ankle boots. Her hair was up in a large messy yet elegant bun with some loose hair around her face.
"I like it," Rose grinned, "You know who else will like it?" she smirked and raised a brow at the now blushing redhead.
"Shut up," Charlie glared as she sprayed some perfume, "There's nothing going on,"
"Yet," Rose giggled and stood, "You ready?"
"How's Adam?" Charlie asked as they left her bedroom, "Still getting lost?" Since being onboard, Adam had gotten lost every time he stepped out a room. Charlie and Doctor found it hilarious. Rose and Adam, not so much.
"It's a large ship," Rose defended.
"She," Charlie corrected as the two made their way to the console room.
"Whatever," Rose scoffed rolling her eyes.
"The Doctor and I have a bet to see how long it takes for him to have a breakdown," Charlie stroked a pillar getting a pleased hum from the TARDIS as she did so.
"You're so mean," Rose laughed a bit. She would never admit it, but she did find it a little funny when Adam would appear red faced and out of breath after the TARDIS kept moving hallways and doors; sometimes trapping him.
"Only a little," Charlie winked, and the two girls laughed as they entered the console room only to find the Doctor there.
"Where's Adam?" Rose asked, searching the room with her eyes.
"I'm not his keeper," The Doctor shrugged, he couldn't care less about the new addition on the TARDIS. He just wanted to get this over with so he could take the little English boy home as planned.
"Someone's going to have to get him," Charlie leaned on the railing, "Probably got lost again," she and the Doctor shared an amused glance.
"Go on then," Rose cocked her hip and smirked at the redhead.
"What? Me?" Charlie asked, her eyebrows almost disappearing into her hair, "Why do I have to get him, he's your tag along,"
"Come on, please!" the Doctor watched in amusement as Rose clasped her hands together and pouted at Charlie until she groaned in annoyance.
"Urgh! Fine!" Charlie huffed and stood straight; she left the room muttering obscenities as she went.
"Now," Rose spun to face to the Doctor, "I need a favour," she grinned hopefully at his cautious expression.
Wolf Whispers
The Tardis wheezed at it materialised at its destination and not a moment later the Doctor stepped out, followed by Charlie, and Rose. Charlie gazed around her with curiosity, taking in the architecture. Rose turned to the Doctor and looked at him pointedly causing him to sigh,
"Fine," he rolled his eyes before quieting his tone to speak to the blonde, "So, it's two hundred thousand, and it's a spaceship," he stopped before correcting himself, "No, wait a minute, space station, and er, go and try that gate over there," he nodded to a metal gate across the room, "Off you go," he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the TARDIS with Charlie standing beside him looking amused.
"Two hundred thousand?" Rose whispered, checking to make sure she didn't get it wrong. She wanted to impress Adam, and it would be very impressive if she got it wrong.
"Two hundred thousand," the Doctor grinned, he could wait to see Adam's face.
"Right," Rose said to herself before pushing the door to the TARDIS open and calling into it, "Adam? Out you come,"
The young brunette exited the time machine, his jaw dropped as he took in his surroundings, "Oh, my God," he breathed.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Rose said, her voice filled with confidence.
"Where are we?" Adam breathed, his eyes darting about unable to focus on one thing.
Charlie snorted as his eyes seemed to get wider with each passing second,
"He looks like a praying-mantis," Charlie muttered into the Doctor's ear. The Time Lord brought a hand up to conceal his grin at her comment.
"A Tarsier is more suitable don't you think?" the Doctor murmured back. The two sniggered, struggling to contain their mirth. Rose shot the two of them a look that had them straightening and wiping the laughter from their faces as the blonde walked over to a closed gate and opened it.
The four ascended a ladder and stood in front of a large view window that showed an amazing view of Earth.
"Here we go! And this is..." Rose's voice failed her as she took in the view, "I'll let the Doctor describe it,"
The Doctor put his hands behind his back and straightened his back, all too happy to take over, "The Fourth great and bountiful Human Empire. And there it is, planet Earth at its height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons, population ninety-six billion. The hub of a galactic domain stretching across a million planets, a million species, with mankind right in the middle," he finished cheerfully. The group gazed at the Earth in silence before it was ruined by Adam thudding to the ground having fainted and Charlie's loud laughter.
"He's your boyfriend," the Doctor smirked at Rose whilst glancing at Charlie who seemed to have trouble stopping her laughter.
"Not anymore," Rose muttered with disappointment as he glanced at the unconscious male behind her.
The Doctor helped Charlie control her laughter as Rose slapped Adam's cheeks trying to wake him up.
Wolf Whispers
"Come on, Adam. Open your mind," the Doctor said cheerily a bit later, an arm draped over the boy's shoulders, "You're going to like this. Fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners..."
"Out of the way!" A man rudely shouted as he pushed passed the four of them.
The four glanced around as the floor suddenly burst full of life as people all but fought to get to food stalls that had just opened. Charlie snorted, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Good manners?" she laughed, "Looks the same to me. Reminds me of a McDonalds on a Friday night," the Doctor and Rose shot her amused looks as Adam stood sill slack-jaw at everything he was seeing.
"Thank you very much indeed," the Chef nodded to one of the people in front of his crowded stall, "Somebody there? That's great. What do you want, love? All right, keep moving," he spoke in quickly as he worked behind the counter, "I'll be with you lot in a minute. Here you are. One at a time," he scolded someone, "What now, what was it? Kronkburger with cheese, Kronkburger with pajatos. Do you want a drink? Oi, you mate, Stop pushing. Get back. I said, back."
"Fine cuisine?" Rose wondered, glancing at the Doctor who was staring at the chaos in front with them with a frown as he checked his watch.
"My watch must be wrong," he tapped the face, "No, it's fine. It's weird," he commented.
"That's what comes of showing off. Your history's not as good as you thought it was," Rose smirked smugly as Charlie stared at the food stalls.
"My history's perfect," the Doctor protested.
"Do the words Naples 1860 and Cardiff 1869 mean anything to you?" Charlie raised an eyebrow at the Doctor who narrowed his eyes at her.
"I apologised for that," he protested, "I took you to Virmire! White sandy beaches, beautiful lagoon blue water…" he reminded her, grinning.
"The pirates that kidnapped me and Rose," Charlie smiled sarcastically making the grin fall off his face as he flushed remembering.
"Oh yeah," he looked away sheepishly, "Forgot about that bit,"
"That's nice," Rose narrowed her eyes, "'cause we didn't," Rose crossed her arms feeling phantom hands groping her chest as they bound her arms.
The Doctor looked at the two annoyed woman and lowered her eyes for a moment before opening his mouth to speak again, but he was cut off by Adam who had been quietly taking in everything around him.
"They're all human," Adam spoke faintly, "What about the millions of planets, the millions of species? Where are they?"
"Good question," the Doctor nodded, not really listening until he noticed what the young man did, "Actually, that is a good question,"
"Adam, me old mate, you must be starving," he spun to face the male human.
"No, I'm just a bit time sick," Adam muttered, his skin pale.
"No, you just need a bit of grub," the Doctor pushed before he ran over to the chef. "Oi, mate - how much is a Kronkburger?"
"Two credits twenty, sweetheart. Now, join the queue." The Chef yelled back over the loud crowd.
"Money. We need money." The Doctor muttered running off. The others followed the man as he led them to a futuristic ATM machine "Have to use a cash point." he told them. He held his Sonic up to the machine and zapped it making a metal strip fall out the opening.
"There you go," the Doctor held it up triumphantly before spinning to face Adam and passing it over, "Pocket money. Don't spend it all on sweets." he said watching as the boy gazed at the object in his hand like it would bite him.
"H-how does it work?" Adam stuttered.
"Go and find out! Stop nagging me!" The Doctor said loudly trying to get rid of him. Charlie nudged his hip giving him a pointed look. The Doctor rolled his eyes and sighed "The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers." Charlie giggled as Rose and Adam just stared at the Time Lord like he was crazy "...or is that just me?" he shrugged, "Stop asking questions, go on, do it!" The Doctor said shooing him away.
"Have fun on your date." Charlie smirked at the blonde girl and got a smirk in return
"Right back at ya." She said under her breath as she passed the redhead. She laughed and dodged the hand that swiped at her before running off after Adam.
"What was that about?" the Doctor questioned as Charlie turned to face him, her face pink.
"Nothing," she dismissed and grabbed his hand, "Now that we're alone…" Charlie smirked and leaned in close to the doctor's face, "…lets play deductions!" she squealed quietly.
The duo had been watching Sherlock (BBC) in between adventures and they both loved it. Well Charlie more than the Doctor. If he were honest, he felt more than a little put out when he noticed Charlie stare with what could only be described as 'heart-eyes', when Holmes did his thing. Or whenever he was on the screen really. Of course, the two couldn't really deduct things, but they made their own game up.
"Really?" he sighed, he looked at her pleading expression and huffed giving in, "Fine,"
"Yes!" Charlie grinned happily and spun in a circle trying to find a 'victim', "What about her?" she jerked her head discretely at a tall slim woman with pixie cut blonde hair.
"Okay. So, she's a secret agent," the Doctor started ignoring the disgusted groan coming from his friend, "She's deep undercover trying to infiltrate a group of cyber terrorists- "
"You can't play the undercover secret agent card every time we play you know," Charlie whined folding her arms over.
"Says who?" the Doctor smirked.
"Me!" Charlie threw her hands up and stormed away.
The Doctor ran to catch up and began to apologise.
"I'm sorry, I'll play properly this time," he promised, holding on to her arms to stop her moving.
"Really?" Charlie narrowed her eyes, scanning his face to check for lies.
"Really," The Time Lord smiled as the glare left Charlie's face and they continued with the game.
Wolf Whispers
After a few minutes of walking and playing 'Deductions' they came across two woman that were dressed smartly and chatting to each other. The Doctor halted their game and dragged Charlie over to them,
"Erm... this is gonna sound daft, but can you tell me where we are?" The Doctor interrupted their conversation.
"Floor 139... could they write it any bigger?" One of them snorted indicating to large letters and numbers saying FLOOR 139.
"The 139th floor of what?" Charlie asked drawing their attention.
"Must've been a hell of a party." The first woman's brows raised.
"Oh, you're on Satellite Five." the second woman told us smiling.
"What's Satellite Five?" the Doctor asked them.
"Come on, how could you get on board without knowing where you are?" the first woman asked him after shooting him a look that said, 'How stupid are you?'.
"Look at me, I'm stupid." he said smiling at her.
Charlie bit her lip to stifle her giggles as he grinned stupidly at the women.
"Hang on, wait a minute - are you a test? Some sort of management test kind of thing?" the second woman asked suddenly. Charlie's brows raised and she shared a look with the Doctor.
"Yep, that's us." Charlie nodded smiling.
"You've got us. Well done. You're too clever for me." he said showing them the psychic paper.
"We were warned about this in basic training. 'All workers have to be versed in company promotion'." the second woman quoted.
"Right. Fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to Floor 500, I'll do anything." the first woman told us fixing herself up.
"What's so special about Floor 500?" Charlie questioned.
"The walls are made of gold. And you should know... Mr. and Mrs. Management. So... this is what we do." she said leading the two towards multiple screens. "Latest news... sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago. Two hundred dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day... space lane 37 closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf channel, the Face of Bo has just announced he's pregnant."
"Pregnant?" Charlie scoffed gaining a dirty look from one of the women.
"Oh, I get it. You broadcast the news." The Doctor said looking at the small screens.
"We ARE the news." the first woman "We're the journalists. We write it, package it, and sell it. 600 channels all coming out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere. Nothing happens in the whole human empire without it going though us."
Suddenly an alarm began to blare, and all the vendors immediately closed up.
"Oi! Mutt and Jeff! Over here!" The Doctor called to Rose and Adam who walked quickly over to them.
The two women led the group to another room where were several people seated at an octagonal desk around a central chair with wires coming out of it.
The four stood to the side and watched as the first woman walked into the centre getting all eyes on her,
"Now, everybody behave. We have a management inspection," she gestured to Charlie and the Doctor who both waved grinning, "How do you want it, by the book?"
"Right from scratch, thanks," the Doctor nodded, and she turned back to the room.
"Okay. So, ladies, gentlemen, multi-sex, undecided or robot, - my name is Cathica Santini Khadeni. That's Cathica with a C in case you want to write to Floor five hundred praising me, and please do," Cathica smirked, "Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and beyond bias. That's company policy,"
"Actually, it's the law," the other woman butt gaining a vicious glare from Cathica.
"Yes, thank you, Suki," she said through gritted teeth, "Okay, keep it calm. Don't show off for the guests. Here we go." She got herself settled into the central chair, "And engage safety."
Charlie watched intensely as the people sat around desk held their hands over the palm prints in front of them. She frowned and folded her arms as lights started to beam around the room gradually getting brighter. Cathica clicked her fingers and what happened next made Charlie's stomach turn; a portal appeared on her forehead revealing her brain to the room. Charlie didn't need to look behind her to know that Rose would have turned a shade of green, even the Doctor's expression had tightened.
"And three, two, and spike." Cathica called making the staff place the palms on the prints causing a beam of light to shoot through the portal in her head.
"Well that's different," Charlie muttered. She had seen many things since travelling with the Doctor, but this was something else.
"Compressed information, streaming into her," the Doctor said thoughtfully, "Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer,"
"If it all goes through her, she must be a genius." Rose commented.
"Nah, she wouldn't remember any of it. There's too much. Her head'd blow up. The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets,"
"So, what about all these people round the edge?" Rose questioned looking at the other people.
"They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit six hundred channels. Every single fact in the Empire beams out of this place. Now that's what I call power," The Doctor grinned amazed.
"You alright?" Rose asked, seeing Adam staring, gaping.
"I can see her brain," he breathed.
"Do you want to get out?"
"No... no. This is technology, it's...it's amazing."
"This technology's wrong," the Doctor frowned.
"Trouble? What a surprise," Charlie grinned. They never could go anywhere without something being wrong.
"Oh yeah," the Doctor agreed, reaching down to grab Charlie's hand, the two of them watching as there was a slight shuddering sound. Suki twitched a moment before she gasped and pulled her hands away, having been shocked. The other staff members lifted their hands as well, the lights turning off as the compressed information stopped streaming into Cathica, the door in her head closing.
"Come off it, Suki," Cathica glared at her, "I wasn't even halfway, what was that for?"
"Sorry, must've been a glitch..." Suki mumbled as she rubbed her hand.
Cathica stood up, about to lay into her again, when a trumpet blared and a projection sprang to life on the wall, "Promotion!"
Cathica gasped and began to pray, "This is it. Come on. God, make it me. Come on, say my name," the Doctor looked at the woman a bit concerned at her desperation while Charlie frowned, watching, "Say my name, say my name..."
"Promotion for...Suki Macrae Cantrell."
Suki's eyes widened as her mouth dropped open, Cathica looked gutted. Charlie's frown deepened as she watched them.
"Please proceed to Floor 500."
Suki stood up, staring, "I don't believe it...Floor 500..."
"How the hell did you manage that?" Cathica snapped, "I'm above you!"
"I don't know, I just applied on the off-chance...and they've said yes!"
"That's so not fair, I've been applying to Floor 500 for three years!"
"What's Floor 500?" Rose looked at the Doctor confused.
"The walls are made of gold," the Doctor hummed.
"Something doesn't feel right," Charlie muttered as she watched Suki. The woman did indeed look stunned that she had been promoted, but there was something else in her eyes that made Charlie second guess her.
The Doctor turned to her, having been the only one to hear her mumblings "What's wrong?"
She nodded at Suki, still rubbing her hand, "Suki gets shocked or whatever, and then she's being 'promoted' to a place where the 'walls are made of gold'" she shook her head, "That doesn't sit right with me."
A bit later, The Doctor, Charlie, and Cathica stood before the lift, saying goodbye to Suki while Rose spoke with Adam a few feet away,
"Cathica, I'm gonna miss you!" Suki gushed, "Floor 500..." she turned to the Doctor and Charlie, "Thank you!"
"We didn't do anything," the Doctor smiled at her.
"Well, you're my lucky charms!"
"Alright!" the Doctor laughed, "I'll hug anyone!" he moved to hug her as Charlie laughed at him, Cathica looking away.
"I've never been called someone's lucky charm before," Charlie mumbled
"You're my lucky charm," The Doctor muttered in her ear, enjoying the pink bush on her cheeks from his comment.
"Oh, my God," Suki gasped, pulling away, "I've got to go, I can't keep them waiting…" she grabbed her bag and rushed to the lift, "I'm sorry!" the lift pinged and she stepped in, "Say goodbye to Steve for me," she waved as the doors closed, "Bye!"
"Good riddance," Cathica muttered as the lift began to rise.
"You're talking like you'll never see her again," the Doctor looked at her, "She's only going upstairs."
"We won't. Once you go to Floor 500 you never come back."
"'Curiouser and curiouser'" Charlie muttered to the Doctor nodded, his brows furrowed as Cathica stormed off.
"Have you ever been up there?" Charlie called, following her, the others behind her.
"No," she sighed, "You need a key for the lift and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to 500 except for the chosen few," she entered the projection room, followed by the Doctor, Charlie, and Rose, Adam having gone off on his own, everything being slightly too much to take, "Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance, can't you give it a rest?" Cathica remarked.
"But you've never been to another floor?" Charlie frowned, moving to stand behind the Doctor, resting a manicured hand on his shoulder as he sat down on the chair on the platform, "Not even one floor down?"
"I went to Floor 16 when I first arrived, that's medical, that's when I got my head done, and then I came straight here. Satellite Five, you work, eat, and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all," she eyed them, "You're not management, are you."
"At last!" the Doctor smiled, lifting a hand to stroke Charlie's "She's clever!"
Cathica glared, "Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything."
"Don't you even ask?" Rose turned to her.
"Well, why would I?"
"You're a journalist!" the Doctor said, as though it should be obvious, "Why's all the crew human?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"There's no aliens on board. Why?"
"I don't know, no real reason, they're not banned or anything."
The Doctor looked around the room theatrically, "Then, where are they?"
"I…suppose immigration's tightened up. It's had to, what, with all the threats."
"What threats?" Charlie cocked her head.
"I don't know...all of them. Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled so that kept the visitors away..." she frowned, seeing them eyeing her, Rose leaning against the back railing, watching her as well, "Oh, and the government on Traffic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see...just...lots of little reasons, that's all."
"Adding up to one great big fact, and you didn't even notice," the Doctor sighed.
"Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything."
"I can see better. This society's the wrong shape, even the technology." The Time Lord told her.
"It's cutting edge!" Cathica argued.
"It's backward!" the Doctor looked at her, "There's a great big door in your head! You should've chucked this out years ago."
"So, what do you think is going on?" Rose asked, walking over to them.
"It's not just this space station," The Doctor looked over at her, "It's the whole attitude. It's the way people think. The Great and Bountiful Human Empire's stunted. Something's holding it back."
"And how would you know?" Cathica glared.
The Doctor glared right back, "Trust me. Humanity's been set back about 90 years, when did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"
Cathica blinked, "91 years ago..."
He nodded and Cathica looked away thoughtfully.
Wolf Whispers
"We're SO gonna get in trouble," Cathica muttered, watching as the Doctor scanned the side of a panel by the lift with the sonic, Charlie keeping a lookout beside him while Rose watched him, "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe, you're gonna get told off."
"Rose, tell her to button it," he ordered her lightly.
"You can't just vandalize the place, someone's gonna notice!" Cathica hissed as he wrenched the door-like panel open, messing around with the wires "This is nothing to do with me, I'm going back to work."
"Go on then!" he called as she walked off, "See ya!"
"I can't just leave you, can I?" Cathica stopped and turned around.
"If you wanna be useful, get 'em to turn the heating down," Rose told her, watching the Time Lord work, "It's boiling. What's wrong with this place, can't they do something about it?"
"You're not kidding," Charlie muttered, wiping away the sweat dripping from her temple. She was glad she wore her hair up off her neck giving her some relief.
"I don't know, we keep asking, something to do with the turbine." Cathica said.
"Seriously?" Charlie looked over her shoulder at the woman, "'Something to do with the turbine'" she mocked gaining a glare from Cathica and sniggers from Rose and the Doctor.
"Well, I don't know!"
"Exactly!" the Doctor looked over his shoulder at the woman, "I give up on you, Cathica. Now, Rose. Look at Rose. Rose is asking the right kind of question,"
"Oh, thank you." Rose thanked happily.
"Why is it so hot?" the Doctor continued.
"One minute you're worried about the Empire and the next it's the central heating!" Cathica muttered.
"Well, never underestimate plumbing," the Doctor shrugged, "Plumbing's very important…" and then he snapped a bunch of wires out, making Cathica look away, exasperated.
"Here we go," he brought up a monitor, "Satellite Five. Pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout…"
He stepped back, allowing Cathica to see the screen, "This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange...and you're looking at pipes?"
"Because there's something wrong," Charlie said slowly like she was talking to a child.
She frowned, eyeing the screen, "I suppose..."
"Why, what is it?" Rose asked.
"The ventilation system. Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out...channelling massive amounts of heat DOWN," she looked up.
"All the way from the top," the Doctor nodded, "Floor 500."
"Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat," Charlie added.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm missing out on a party," Rose smiled, "It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?"
"You can't, you need a key," Cathica turned to them.
"Keys are just codes, and we've got the codes right here," the Doctor grinned, tapping the screen, "Here we go, override 215.9."
"How come it's giving you the code?"
The Doctor glanced at a security camera nearby, "Someone up there likes us."
The lift doors suddenly opened beside them. Charlie exchanged a look with the Doctor before heading over and getting in with Rose.
"Come on, come with us!" Rose called, seeing Cathica hesitate.
"No way!" she shook her head.
The Doctor just waved, "Bye!"
"Well, don't mention my name. When you get in trouble, just don't involve me!" she stalked off.
"That's her gone," the Doctor looked at the girls, "Just us now,"
"Better that way," Charlie grinned and linked their hands together.
He grinned back, turning to slot a card with the code into the controls, the doors shutting. They stood in silence, waiting till the lift reached Floor 500, the doors opening to reveal a snowy room beyond.
"The walls are not made of gold," the Doctor remarked, "You should go back downstairs," he told the girls even though he knew it was useless to even try
"Tough," Rose walked past them, far too excited and curious about what was going on to be scared.
They walked through the icy room till they reached a sort of control room where a man with white hair was standing, watching a series of screens, a line of people sitting rigidly along the control panels, their hands on pads.
Charlie frowned as she glanced at the people. They were too stiff for her liking. Not blinking either. She nudged the Doctor and jerked her head towards them and mouthed 'Dead?'
He nodded with narrowed eyes and the white-haired man turned to them, noticing them, "I started without you," he called, "This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but YOU three...you don't exist!" the Doctor frowned, eyeing the man as he laughed, "Not a trace! No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?"
Rose gasped, spotting Suki sitting at one of the screens and rushed over to her, "Suki! Suki!" she knelt down but Suki didn't respond, "Hello? Can you hear me? Suki?" she turned to the man, "What've you done to her?"
"She's dead Rose," Charlie called over to the blonde, not taking her eyes off the man in front of her
"She's working..."
"They've all got chips in their head, and the chips keep going." Charlie's eyes narrowed into a glare
"Like puppets," the Doctor also glared at the man.
He just laughed, "Oh! You two are full of information! But it's only fair we get information back, because apparently, you're no one. It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter, 'cos we're off. Nice to meet you," the Doctor took Charlie's hand again, calling to Rose, "Come on."
Suddenly they were grabbed by four of the workers, Rose trying to get up to help them when Suki grabbed her arm.
"Tell me who you are!" the man shouted as the workers held them back.
"Since that information's keeping us alive, we're hardly gonna say, are we?"
He smiled, "Well, perhaps my Editor-in-Chief can convince you otherwise."
"And who's that?"
"It may interest you to know that this is NOT the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live…" something roared above him, "Yeah, sorry. It's a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client," he snapped his fingers and pointed up.
They looked up to see a large, slobbering, lump of alien with a mouth full of sharp, snapping teeth sticking out of the ceiling.
"What is that?" Rose asked nervously.
The Doctor struggled against the workers, "You mean, that thing's in charge of Satellite Five?"
"That 'thing,' as you put it, is in charge of the human race," the man informed them, making them look at him, alarmed, "For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by its broadcast news. Edited by my superior, your master, and humanity's guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe!" it roared, "I call him Max."
The Doctor just smiled sarcastically.
Wolf Whispers
Rose, Charlie, and the Doctor had been restrained, manacles on their wrists attached to a harness-like device behind them as the man, the Editor, smiled at them, "If we create a climate of fear...then it's easy to keep the borders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilize an economy...invent an enemy...change a vote…"
"So, all the people on Earth are like…slaves?" Rose asked.
"Well, now. There's an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?"
"Yes," the Doctor and Charlie said.
"Oh. I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm going to get? 'Yes?'"
"Yes."
The Editor laughed, "You two are no fun."
"Let me out of these and ill show you how fun I am," Charlie growled as she fought against the manacles. Not that she would admit to it to anyone, but she felt rather frightened with her hands cuffed. It reminded her too much of her past with the Academy. Whenever she was 'uncooperative' she would get sent to the 'behavioural Unit' where they would cuff her hands and feet to a hospital bed and shock her.
"Oh, she's tough, isn't he? But, come on. Isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit."
"You can't hide something on this scale," Rose shook her head, "Somebody must've noticed."
"They did," Charlie told the blonde, "They're the one who shackled us."
"Other times the computer system allows me to see inside their brain..." the Editor nodded, "I can see the smallest doubt, and crush it," he grinned, "And then they just carry on, living their life. Strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're SO individual!"
The Doctor looked over and spotted Cathica out of the corner of his eye, just on the other end of the room, behind the Editor, looking around, but hidden.
"When of course, they're not," the Editor continued, oblivious, "They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing."
"What about you?" Rose eyed him, "You're not a Jagra...uh...a…"
"Jagrafess," the Time Lord repeated.
"Jagrafess. You're not a Jagrafess. You're human."
"Yeah, well simply being human doesn't pay very well," the Editor replied.
"But you couldn't have done this all on your own." Charlie stated
"No! I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to um...install himself."
"No wonder, a creature that size," the Doctor looked up, "What's his lifespan?"
"Three thousand years," the Editor smirked
"That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat," The Doctor said knowingly, "That's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs. Jagrafess stays cool, it stays alive. Satellite Five is one great big life support system,"
"But THAT'S why you're so dangerous," the Editor pointed, "Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown," he gave a small laugh and clicked his fingers, the manacles sending an electric shock through them, "Who are you?"
Charlie clenched her eyes shut as the shocks coursed through her body. She grit her teeth firmly refusing to make a sound as she shook in her restraints. It always bothered the correctional officers that she wouldn't make a sound during her 'treatment', to the point that they would sometimes turn the machine up higher to see if they could force sounds from her mouth - sometimes it would work and Charlie would scream the place down as the officers laughed at her, other times she would refuse to utter a sound but would instead pass out from the pain she was in.
"Leave her alone!" the Doctor grounded out. He had read Charlie's file and along with her abilities the file had also listed how many 'visits' to the 'Unit' she had and the treatment written out in sickening detail. He couldn't see her eyes from where he was shackled so he was unable to check on her mental state from the shocks. He had to find a way to get them out before she started to relapse, "I'm the Doctor, she's Charlie and that's Rose Tyler, we're nothing, we're just wandering."
"Tell me who you are!"
"I just said!"
"Yeah, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly…" he stopped short before smiling, the electricity halting, "Time Lord."?
"What?"
"Oh, yes! The last of the Time Lords in his travelling machine. Oh, with his little human girls from long ago..." he reached out a stroked Charlie cheek before she flinched away.
"You don't know what you're talking about," The Doctor said gritted teeth. He longed to yank Charlie away from the man, hating that he was touching her when she couldn't fight back.
"Time travel."
"Someone's been telling you lies," the Doctor glared.
"Young master Adam Mitchell?" he snapped his fingers and a projection of Adam, writhing in pain and screaming, information flowing into him through a door in his head, appeared before them.
"Oh, my God, his head!" Rose gasped.
Charlie watched disgusted by what the human boy's done. How could someone look at something like this and think it's a good idea?
"What the hell's he done?" the Doctor's eyes widened, "What the hell's he gone and done? They're reading his mind; He's telling them everything!"
"And through him, I know everything about you," the Editor beamed, "Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The human empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S, TARDIS."
"You'll never get your hands on it," he threatened, "I'll die first."
"Die all you like. I don't need you. I've got the key," he gestured to the projection where the key to the box began to float from Adam's pocket, it was one he'd given to Rose right when they started travelling, in case she ever needed to get into the TARDIS for safety.
"Rose!" "You and your boyfriends!"
"Today, WE are the headlines. We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing."
"And no one's gonna stop you," he glared at the man, Charlie wasn't speaking very much which was not normal at all. Any other time the redhead would without a doubt have something to say which made him very worried, "Because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold."
Cathica swallowed hard and rushed off.
"Like good little puppets," the Editor nodded, laughing…until an alarm went off moments later, "What's happening?" he looked over to see the information releasing Adam, the key falling to the floor, "Someone's disengaged the safety," he clicked his fingers and the projection shifted to Cathica, streaming the information in a darkened, room, "Who's that?"
"It's Cathica!" Rose gasped.
"And she's thinking," Charlie gave a little smile.
"She's using what she knows!" the Doctor cheered.
"Terminate her access!" the Editor ordered Suki.
"Everything we told her about Satellite Five, the pipes, the filters, she's reversing it! Look at that..." he grinned as the icicles around them began to melt, "It's getting hot!"
"I said, terminate!" he frantically put his hands over Suki's, "Burn her mind."
"Oh no you don't!" Cathica pointed at the projection, "You should've promoted me YEARS back."
Suddenly all the screens exploded with sparks, the workers falling lifeless to the floor, the entire station shuddering as alarms went off. Rose's manacles came undone along with Charlie's right hand, her left and the Doctor still trapped.
"It's getting hotter," Charlie muttered turning to pull the sonic out of the Doctor's coat,
"The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano…" The Doctor laughed as the Jagrafess roared violently, making the Editor wince,
"Yes! Uh...I'm trying, sir but…I don't know how she did it, it's impossible. A member of staff with an idea…"
Charlie flipped the switch and undid her manacle and his, the Jagrafess roaring and snapping above them.
"Oi, mate!" the Doctor called to the Editor as he took the redhead's hand and pulled her towards the back door where Cathica had been standing, "Wanna bank on a certainty? Massive heat in a massive body. Massive bang!" he looked up as bits of flesh started to drop off the alien, "See you in the headlines!" he turned to run for it as the Jagrafess began to pulsate.
They ran down a corridor, avoiding lumps of snow falling from the ceiling, till they reached a streaming room where Cathica was lying on the chair, her eyes closed. The Doctor snapped his fingers and the information stopped, her head closing as she looked up at them.
A moment later there was a screech as something exploded in the control room.
Wolf Whispers
Charlie leaned against a wall beside the table where the Doctor sat with Cathica. She kept one eye on them and the other on Adam who looked caught between smug and guilty with Rose stood next to him with narrowed eyes. Charlie could still feel tingles from phantom shocks making her skin itch. She bit her lip as the Doctor finished up with Cathica and walked towards her, concern obvious in his eyes.
"How you feeling?" he asked stroking her cheek softly.
"Angry." Charlie sighed, "Tired. Weak…" the last word whispered as she looked down unable to meet his eyes.
"Oi," he scolded quietly and tilted her chin back up, "Whatever you're feeling, it's not weakness. You went through something horrible and it brought back memories that you wanted to keep buried – you're not weak for feeling vulnerable." he finished firmly gazing into her eyes until she looked away; her eyes glassy.
"Come on," Charlie coughed trying to change the subject, "Let's deal with him." She spat the word out with irritation and slight hatred at the boy that caused a load of trouble.
The Doctor grabbed her hand and the two of them began to march menacingly towards Adam ignoring Rose's attempts to stop them. She wasn't very happy with Adam either, but she didn't want him to deal with both the Doctor and Charlie – Charlie alone would be too much. The redhead had some temper when angry.
"Now, don't…" Rose tried to stop them.
"Either the Doctor deals with him or I will," Charlie threatened, "And trust me you don't want to see what I'd do to him,"
"I'd imagine there wouldn't be much left of him," The Doctor bared his teeth at the cowering boy.
"I'm alright now," Adam said, backing up as the Doctor advanced, "Much better. I've got the key," he held it up, "Well, it's...I know..." he laughed nervously, "It all worked out for the best, didn't it?" the Doctor just took the key and grabbed him, unlocking the door, "You know, it's not actually my fault, because YOU were in charge…" and shoved him in.
Wolf Whispers
The Doctor shoved Adam out of the TARDIS door just after the setting it down in Adam's sitting room, "It's my house!" Adam gasped as Rose and Charlie stepped out after them, "I'm home! Oh, my God, I'm home!" the Doctor glared at him as he swallowed nervously, "Blimey. I thought you were going to chuck me out of an airlock…"
"It's kinder than what I would've done," Charlie said distastefully
"Is there something else you want to tell me?" the Doctor asked him.
"No?" Adam shifted, his gaze flickering to the phone a moment, "Um...what do you mean?"
The Doctor just walked over to the telephone and picked it up, "The archive of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world…" he soniced it and made it explode, "That's it, then. See ya," he walked back to the TARDIS. Adam had used his first pass when he'd led the girls into the Dalek's cage in Van Statten's museum, and he'd just used his last chance.
"How do you mean, 'see ya?'" Adam frowned.
"As in 'goodbye.'"
"But...what about me? You can't just go, I've got my head…I've got a chip type two, my head opens."
"What, like this?" he snapped his fingers and Adam's head opened.
"Don't," Adam glared, clicking his fingers to close it.
"Don't do what?" he clicked his fingers again.
"Stop it!" Adam closed it but then Charlie clicked her fingers, opening it, "Stop!" he closed it.
"The whole of history could've changed because of you," the redhead glared at him.
"I just wanted to help."
"You were helping yourself," the Doctor spat, disgusted.
"And I'm sorry. I've said I'm sorry, and I am, I really am…but you can't just leave me like this…"
"Yes, we can. 'Cos if you show your head to anyone, they'll dissect you in seconds. You'll have to live a very quiet life. Keep out of trouble. Be average. Unseen. Good luck," he opened the TARDIS door.
"But I wanna come with you!"
"I only take the best." The Doctor said firmly with a hint of fondness towards the girls.
"Can we go now?" Charlie rolled her eyes, stepping into the TARDIS as they heard the front door open.
"Oh my God," Adam breathed, hearing his mother.
"Who's that? Jeff? Is that you?"
"It's me mum, don't come in, wait there a minute…"
"Oh, my Lord! You never told me you were coming home!"
The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS, followed quickly by Rose, the box disappearing, leaving Adam to face his mother.
Wolf Whispers
That night Charlie was curled up in her bed watching reruns of Taggart, a Scottish crime drama, something she used to do with her dad before she left for the academy. The redhead felt a bit better of taking a long shower in which she may or may not have had a good cry. Charlie would be the first to admit she didn't cry very often – a side effect from her past treatments. She had gotten so used to being beaten, shocked and poisoned that she no longer gave them the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
Since she was rescued by the Doctor, Charlie only cried in the safety of her own bedroom or the shower. It was usually after a nightmare or if something happened during an outing. Little did she know that the Doctor had been alerted to her nightmares and made it his job to help her through them so he would sit beside her bed and stroke her hair until she calmed down and would sometimes stay with her through the night, but would always be gone in the morning.
Charlie looked up from her bowl of pasta when there was a knock at the door.
"Yeah?" she called quietly, the door opened slightly, and the Doctor's head popped through the gap.
"Alright?" he asked as he entered the room, his leather jacket and jumper gone leaving him in a t-shirt and jeans. He crossed the room and sat beside her on the bed.
"I'm okay," Charlie smiled tensely, taking a bite of cheesy pasta, "Well, I'm better." She corrected at knowing look he gave her.
"I'm always here you know," the Time Lord said softly.
"I know," Charlie smiled and finished off her pasta. She placed the bowl on her bedside table before snuggling down into her covers. She shifted over to the man and wiggled under his arm.
The Doctor grinned down at the redhead who was making herself comfy on his chest. He loved their nights in front of the telly, of course it was usually in the lounge and not her bedroom. Being in her bedroom and laying next to her on her bed, gave him unclean thoughts. He knew he most definitely shouldn't not be thinking about her undressed and under him whilst she was laying beside him. His senses filled with the mango hair products she uses. He wrapped an arm around her as they watched the cast of Taggart run around Glasgow chasing murderers. Charlie, not removing her eyes from the tv, lifted her hand and rested on his chest above his heart. She bit her lip to hide a smile as he placed his own hand above hers.