Despite the urge to spring immediately into the next trip - that meadow that had been promised, or another surprise location - Jay declared that if she didn't eat - and soon - she was likely to die of starvation. And she hadn't slept properly in who knew how long. So, playfully protesting and not meaning a word of it, the Doctor escorted she and Martha into the halls of the TARDIS, muttering under his breath.
"Martha, for you," he said pointing to one door after rounding a corner. "That's a guest bedroom. Nice to have one for situations like this. Jay, that one's your room," he continued, gesturing to one right across the hall. "Closets are fully stocked by the TARDIS, each have a bathroom, and the kitchen is just around the corner. Go get cleaned up. I'll whip up some quick snacks, and then we can all get a few hours' rest."
"I don't think," Martha admitted, "that I want to try your cooking."
He looked mildly offended. "Oi!" he cried, "I cook just fine, thank you!"
Jay giggled a little and then wandered over to her room, pushing the door open as the TARDIS crooned its song softly in her ears, not nearly as loud as it usually was. It was reassuring, comforting. She liked it and wondered if Martha just couldn't hear it at all.
The room was beautiful, with wooden floors in comparison to the usual grating within the rest of the ship and dove-gray walls. A wooden bedframe stood pressed to one wall with simple white covers and pillows thrown on top, and a matching wooden wardrobe stood off in a corner rather than a closet. Off to Jay's right stood a bookcase made of the same mahogany wood, and her eyes filled with excited delight when she saw endless books filling it, all interesting looking and none she'd ever read. A simple chair was beside it, a lamp placed directly behind the chair to provide light for whenever she wanted to read. Nearby was a desk, only lacking a computer but full of everything else.
Curious, Jay went to the wardrobe and pulled it open, not bothering to close the door to her room. She studied the clothes within, a little nervous about some of the simple dresses and other such clothes within. She knew not how to dress in most of these. She hoped Martha would be willing to help. The shoes, neatly lined up in the wardrobe, were just as concerning, but Jay was proud to say she knew how to put the jewelry within a stand in the bathroom on.
Humming, Jay grabbed clothes similar to the ones she wore and took a quick shower. She was out in no time, priding himself on how she was able to know to pull the shirt over her head. She ran her fingers through her damp blonde hair, not bothering to brush it. It was short enough to not need it, just barely brushing along her jaw. She'd style it properly later; that, at least, she could do.
Relieved to no longer smell like exhaust fumes, Jay made her way out of her room and to tracked the kitchen down with the help of the TARDIS, which grew louder when she moved away, and reduced the trip to a mere two seconds. She smiled and quietly thanked the TARDIS as she entered the kitchen.
It was much smaller than any kitchen she'd ever been in. But much nicer, too, as the Doctor was whirling around at work while he and Martha, who had beat Jay there, chatted about where they might go next. Martha had coaxed him out of the idea of the meadows he'd mentioned, for a reason Jay didn't know of. Why wouldn't they go to some meadows on another planet?
"How about…" The Doctor paused in what he was doing, thinking it over. "Ah, perfect, I know where we're going." His eyes glittered with excitement.
"Where?" Jay asked, dropping to sit beside Martha. Martha flashed her a quick smile in greeting, and Jay returned it warmly before looking back to the Doctor as he slapped plates of hot food in front of them. Jay was puzzled by how he'd made that so quickly, as she really hadn't been in the shower that long, but…
She wasn't complaining.
Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, even some kind of hash along with tea that Martha was in the middle of making at the table that was centered in the middle of the kitchen. All of this made Jay's mouth fill with saliva and she wanted to lunge for it. They didn't look as gorgeous as the food she remembered being back home, but they certainly smelled just as delightful. If there had been one thing she enjoyed from her life back home, it had been food - even when her mother had quipped about her weight and size when she tried to eat more, cutting her off before she was ready.
The Doctor laughed. "Dig in," he said invitingly and Jay didn't hesitate, nearly inhaling the eggs.
Grinning, Martha took a bite of her own food. "Breakfast for supper...not a bad idea. Don't eat too quickly," she warned Jay, noting how she, for whatever reason they knew nothing about, seemed to be struggling to keep a good grip on her fork. She elbowed the Doctor a little, jabbing his arm and nodding to indicate what she was looking at.
The Doctor, mid-sip of tea, glanced up. Following her gaze, he quickly put his teacup down and asked, "How are your arms?"
Jay hastily chewed and swallowed, then admitted, "Not too good." She shook the hand not holding the fork, and then said with squinted eyes, "I can feel them. Well, my fingertips are a little numb, but I can feel my arms. It just...hurts, like when your foot falls asleep, which is also feeling the same." She scowled and touched just beneath her shoulder joint. "It stops here. And at my hips, coming from the legs. It's...it's moving up."
"I hope it doesn't do anything too bad when it spreads completely," Martha murmured, setting her fork down with a worried face.
"We won't know until it has," Jay admitted, shrugging. She knew she should probably be more concerned about it. But...why bother when there was nothing she could do about it now? Why bother when they didn't know what would happen? Sure the black veins were ugly and horrible to look at, but…
She wasn't too entirely upset, if this was how life had turned out. If she had ended up with these two people, happier than she could ever remember being...that was okay.
Jay continued to shove food down her throat as quickly as she could despite Martha's protest, and by the time she was done with her meal, the Doctor and Martha had barely even finished one part of it. Content, Jay settled down in her seat, feeling drowsy as she sipped at the tea.
She quietly listened to the Doctor and Martha chatter about nothing in particular, exchanging stories. Jay listened when the Doctor launched into a tale about a previous trip he'd taken, in which a spaceship had failed and clockwork creatures had focused their attention into the life of a French mistress, even punching "holes" in the universe to get to her. He seemed to leave out a great deal of it, even Jay could tell, and there was sadness in his eyes just as there was excitement.
When the other two had finished their meal, Jay cracked a massive yawn, eyes drooping, and announced, "I'm...going to go and get some sleep. If that's alright?" She looked between them, as if seeking permission, and Martha blinked.
"Sure," she said after a moment. She paused, and then added almost gently, "You don't have to ask if you want to do something. Go ahead and do it. We won't yell at you."
"Unless it's dangerous," the Doctor said quite seriously, a twinkle in his gaze. "Don't do it if it's dangerous."
"Well, I don't think going to sleep is dangerous, so... okay." Jay hopped ot her feet, and then paused. "You'll wake me up before we leave for wherever we're going now?"
"Definitely," Martha vowed. "But if you wake up before me, you better do the same."
Jay beamed at her. She liked Martha; the other woman was friendly, with a bit of attitude that sometimes spiked up. It was a nice change of pace from people who looked at her as a pawn, as if she wasn't a real person. The Doctor was great, too, just as excited about everything as they were - perhaps even more as he whisked them around.
"Night!" she called, not knowing if that was truly the time of day, but not caring either way.
The other two watched her go with amused expressions, saying "good night" before she'd disappeared around the corner. The second she was gone, the Doctor lost his happy expression, replacing it with a grim scowl. Martha glanced at him, lifting her cup to her lips. "What?"
"Nothing," he muttered, grabbing his own cup of tea.
"Nothing at all."
After a good amount of rest, the trio of travelers regrouped in the control room and then stepped outside of the TARDIS. Jay, dressed in a fresh set of clothes and feeling much more human than she had previously, looked around in wonder, breathing in deeply. The air was chilly and the breeze tinted with salt, and she smiled broadly as she recognized the beautiful smell, blue eyes darting over her shoulder when Martha asked, "Where are we?"
"Ah," the Doctor said, flashing Jay a teasing grin as he inhaled deeply. "Smell that Atlantic breeze, nice and cold. Lovely." Without looking behind him, he gestured over his shoulder. "Martha, have you met my friend? Jay, I'm sure you have."
Jay didn't need to look to know that they were settled beneath the Statue of Liberty, which, even in her time, stood tall and proud. Jay laughed in delight, whirling around to look at the gorgeous statue. Martha was in shock, sputtering. Laughing, Jay gripped her arm lightly and said eagerly, "Gorgeous, right?"
"Gateway to the New World," the Doctor crowed as he sauntered away from the TARDIS and down the slight slope, looking. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
Martha was grinning madly, looking beyond delighted with the choice in location. "I've always wanted to go to New York!" She paused, then added, "I mean the real New York, not...whatever that other one was."
Jay looked out across the water that surrounded the small island and found herself stunned. "It's so small," she said, looking to the Doctor for an explanation. There was so much less, no skyscrapers that disappeared behind the clouds, no cars zipping through the air, and there was no spread into the ocean, shortening the distance between the city and the Lady Liberty so that she stood amongst the buildings.
"I wonder what year it is," Martha mused, cocking her head. She pointed to a certain section of city, indicating a half-built building as she added, "I mean, the Empire State Building's not even finished yet."
Jay squealed, clapping her hands like a child who'd been given a delightful Christmas gift. "I've never seen it before! It was torn down ages ago, mostly because it was starting to collapse."
Martha looked horrified by Jay's words, and the Doctor laughed as he watched her wander around, seeking something to tell them the date. "Work in progress," he told Martha, smiling brightly. "Still got a couple floors to go, and if I know my history, that makes the date somewhere around-"
"First of November, 1930," Martha declared, cutting him off. She'd found a newspaper that had been abandoned on a bench, and when she looked up from the paper, she looked quite smug. He pouted. He liked surprising his companions with the times and places. But she only continued. "Eighty years ago...it's funny, because you see all those old newsreels all in black and white like it's so far away, but here we are. It's real. It's...now."
Jay shifted back and forth almost impatiently, wanting to wander the streets. She liked the early 2000s, as they'd been fascinating in her history books, particularly New York, but the twentieth century was something else entirely.
The Doctor peered over Martha's shoulder at the newspaper as Martha turned her head to call over her shoulder to Jay, "Hey! Where do you want to go first? Empire State, even though it's not done?"
"I think," the Doctor said, tapping the newspaper, "we need to make a detour first."
Curious, Jay hurried over to look over Martha's shoulder and read aloud as Martha dropped her gaze to it, "'Hooverville Mystery Deepens,'" she recited, puzzled. She looked up at the Doctor, who was looking out at the city again with a thoughtful expression. "What's...What's a Hooverville?"
After moving the TARDIS quickly to the actual city, the trio made their way through the city. Martha and Jay more so followed the Doctor than wandered with him as he lead them to where he was determined to go. "Herbert Hoover," he was explaining as they walked, "thirty-first President of the United States of America. Came to power a year ago. Up til' then, New York was a boom town, the Roaring Twenties…"
Jay raked her mind for information, but was coming up blank. She'd really not cared for history before the 2000s, outside of a moment in which she dabbled in the history of World War II and III… Martha, on the other hand, said, "Then there was the Wall Street Crash, right? 1929?"
The Doctor grinned proudly at her and confirmed her suggestion with anod. "Whole economy was wiped out overnight. Thousands of people unemployed and all of a sudden, the huddled masses doubled in number with nowhere to go. So, they ended up in Central Park."
"Hooverville," Jay realized. Not a what, but a place. "They lived in the park, in the middle of the city."
The Doctor nodded, throwing her an approving nod because that's what he'd been about to say. "Ordinary people lost their jobs, couldn't pay the rent...they lost everything. There are places like this all over America. No one's helping them. You only come to Hooverville when there's nowhere else to go."
Jay thought about her time, scanning her brain, and admitted, "There's places like this back where I'm from." Martha turned a shocked look on her, but Jay had looked off, not pleased about it. "In the future, there's...class lines. You're either wealthy, or you're not. I was wealthy. Others weren't. And...they both have their ups and downs, I suppose, but if you helped those who needed it, you were cast out of society, claimed to be an outcast. It's not pleasant."
They stopped at the outskirts of the very place they were talking about. Jay looked saddened by the horrid place, and how children shuffled by with hungry expressions, their arms far bonier than they should have been. Nearby, a fight broke out over a stolen loaf of bread and Jay jumped when the voices were raised, startling her. The three time travelers watched curiously as a man, looking concerned, broke the fight up, cutting in with ease.
Studying him, Jay cocked her head. He was older, with salt and pepper hair and dark skin, his face creased with wrinkles. His clothing was raggedy, but still held together fairly well, and he held an air of authority that told her before he even spoke who he was.
"That's enough!" he shouted over the noise, and they broke apart, glaring at one another. "Now," he said when they were done, his eyes blazing, "think real careful before you decide to lie to me." He turned his gaze on the man to his right. "Did you take it?"
The man looked down at his feet, pressing his lips together. "I'm starving, Solomon."
The man, Solomon, held out a hand, softening his expression. "We all starving," he murmured sympathetically as the man handed over a loaf of bread. "We all got families somewhere." He broke the loaf in half and then gave one to each of the men. The original owner looked unhappy, but accepted it. "No stealing, no fighting. You know the rules. Thirteen years ago, a lot of us fought in the Great War, and the only reason we got through was because we stuck together. No matter how bad things get, we still need to act like human beings. It's all we got. Ya got me?"
They exchanged an unhappy look before leaving and Jay pressed her fingers over her lips in thought. "The Great War…" she murmured, and then glanced at Martha. "World War I, yes?"
Martha nodded slowly, and the Doctor glanced at them before urging for them to follow. Stepping up to Solomon, who watched after the two men with worried looks, he greeted cheerfully, "I suppose that makes you the boss around here?"
Solomon turned his face towards them and blinked before studying them warily. Sensing that he might not be so willing to respond to the Doctor, Martha piped up, smiling in a friendly manner. "He's the Doctor. She's Jay. I'm Martha."
"A doctor, huh?" Solomon murmured, focusing on that for a moment. "Well, we got stockbrokers, we got a lawyer, but you're the first doctor." He snorted softly, folding his arms. "Neighborhood gets classier by the day."
The Doctor furrowed his brow unhappily at that, and Jay knew that he didn't like how many people lived in this situation, homeless and hungry. "How many people live here?" she asked softly.
Solomon looked to her and smiled faintly, but warmly. He knew instinctively that this woman had not experienced much hardship in the world. "At any one time, hundreds." She looked shocked - horrified. "No place else to go, miss. But I will say this about Hooverville." Pride colored his tone now, and he grinned. "We are a truly equal society. Black, white, all the same. All starving. So you're welcome - all of you." Turning to the Doctor, he asked, "You're a man of learning right? Explain this to me." His expression darkened and he gestured to the half-built Empire State. "That there's going to be the tallest building in the world. How come they can do that, when we got people starving in the heart of Manhattan?"
The Doctor studied him for a few moments. "I don't know," he said quietly, and Martha and Jay exchanged anxious looks between one another. After an awkward few seconds, he suddenly demanded, "So, men are going missing. Is this true?"
Solomon took on a grim expression and nodded, muttering, "It's true alright." He looked around and then gestured. "This way."
They followed him through Hooverville, aware that some curious looks were sent their way. Jay wrapped her arms around herself at a few particularly interested looks that were thrown at her and Martha, who glared in response, as if not appreciating them. Jay was relieved when the glare turned the attention away.
Solomon didn't say anything about the matter of the missing men as they entered a tent - his, he explained briefly. He swept them all in and then dropped to sit on a crate, gesturing for them all to sit on something or the ground. The Doctor remained standing, but Jay perched on the edge of another crate, scooting so she could share it with Martha. It creaked beneath their shared weight, but held firm.
When they were all settled, the Doctor asked, "What does 'missing' mean? Men must come and go here all the time. It's not like anyone's keeping a register." His dark eyes were narrowed in thought, his hands shoved into his pockets as he shifted back onto his heels.
Solomon chuckled lowly. "Right into it, are you? This is different."
"In what way?" Martha questioned, leaning a little against Jay to alleviate some soreness that came from holding herself upright for so long. Jay didn't mind, even leaning back into her, too.
"Someone takes them, at night," Solomon explained, removing the hat he wore to run a hand over his head. "We hear something...someone calls out for help. By the time we get there, they're gone, like they vanished into thin air." He threw a hand up as if to explain in such a manner and Jay furrowed her brow.
"And you're sure someone's taking them?" she asked, trying to keep her tone polite and concerned instead of curious.
He glanced at she and Martha and said honestly, "When you got next to nothing, miss, you hold onto the little you got. Your knife...your blanket...you take it with you. You don't leave bread uneaten and a fire still burning."
Martha asked, "Have you been to the police?"
Solomon barked out a laugh, making them all jump. "Yeah, we tried that," he scoffed. "Another deadbeat goes missing. Big deal."
"So, the question is," the Doctor said, exchanging a look with his companions that spoke of his concern - and their's. "Who's taking them and what for?"
Solomon opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off when there was a cry of "Solomon!" They all looked over as someone popped their head in. The young man before them, perhaps not that much older than Jay, the blonde realized, smiled shyly at the young women before looking to his leader. "Solomon, Mr. Diagoras is here," he said in a deeply accented voice.
"Mr. Diagoras?" Martha muttered into Jay's ear. "Who's that?"
"I don't know," Jay breathed back, "but let's find out!" She hopped to her feet and darted out of the tent without waiting for anyone else, startling the man who stood there. He was forced to jump back, and Jay merely flashed him a smile before sauntering towards where she could hear a man calling out. The one she'd gone past - Frank, he supplied upon her asking - caught up and paced just a step ahead to lead the way.
"Jay!" the Doctor called in exasperation from behind her, bolting after them with Martha and Solomon not a step behind them. "Honestly!"
She merely threw a smirk over her shoulder and came to a stop when they reached a crowd of people, all listening to a man who Jay believed to be Diagoras claim, "I've got a little work for you, and you sure like like you can use the money."
Despite having only just arrived, Frank lifted his voice beside Jay, shouting, "Yeah. What's the money?"
"A dollar a day," Diagoras responded.
Solomon narrowed his eyes a little as he came to stand beside Frank. "What's the work?"
"Honestly," the Doctor repeated as he leaned in to hiss in Jay's ear, "don't just run off when we're talking about missing people! You could disappear, too!"
Jay stuck her tongue out at him, gesturing to herself. "What on earth do you think I'm gonna do? I can barely feel my body at this point. I just want to see what's going on, this is all so fascinating!"
Martha, overhearing, touched her arm and whispered, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, like I said, just...tingly." Jay turned her attention back onto the man at the head of the group. He'd said something, but Jay hadn't heard. Instead, she only heard Solomon snap aloud, "A dollar a day? That's slave wage! And men don't always come back up," he added, narrowing his eyes and challenging the man as he finished. "Do they."
"Accidents happen," Diagoras gritted out, scowling at Solomon. Turning his attention away, he demanded, "Anyone need the work?"
The Doctor debated for only a moment before shooting his hand into the air. "Oh, I'm volunteering," he offered. "I'll go."
Martha turned a dark look on him, and then Jay when she shot her own up, too. "I'm going to kill both for this," she grumbled before raising her own. Frank and Solomon weren't far behind, and Diagoras smirked at them, smug.
Jay had the feeling that he knew something they didn't, and she really didn't like it.
"Turn left," Diagoras instructed them a few hours later as he directed them through the sewers. They stood in an underground area, and Jay found herself standing close to Martha after being reminded of the corridors of the nightmare she'd dealt with for who knew how long. "Go about half a mile. Follow tunnel two-seven-three. Fall's right ahead of you, can't miss it."
Frank turned to look down the long tunnels before looking back at the man ordering them away. "And when do we get our dollar?"
"When you come back up."
"Well, isn't that just delightful," Jay muttered, then asked despite Martha hissing at her to shut up, "And if we don't come back?"
Diagoras swept his eyes up and down her small form with a snicker that she didn't appreciate. Her gaze darkened into one that promised wrath if he kept it up and he lost the smirk, muttering, "Then I got nobody to pay." Jay stared at him mistrustfully as he turned to look at each of them one by one.
Solomon reached out to pat Jay's shoulder affectionately, coaxing her forward. "Don't worry, little one, we'll be back." He began to lead them down the world of cement with only a flashlight in hand, and with hesitation, Martha followed alongside Frank. The Doctor stared Diagoras down before following the rest of them.
"We just got to stick together," Frank was reassuring Martha, smiling brightly at her. She found herself smiling back, liking his friendly behavior. "It's easy to get lost. Like a huge rabbit warren down here. I bet you could even hide an army!"
Solomon snorted at that, and Martha asked, "So what about you, Frank? You're not form around these parts, are you?"
Frank laughed. "Oh, you could talk. No, I'm Tennessee, born and bred." His expression softened a little as he turned his face away, looking lost in thought. Love filled his eyes as he admitted, "My daddy died, and Mama...she couldn't afford to feed us all. So...I'm the oldest. up to me to feed myself. Put on my coat, hitched up here on the railroads. There's a whole lot of runaways in the camp, younger than me, from all over. Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas. Solomon keeps a lookout for us." He threw the older man a warm affectionate look. Jay dropped back to join them and smiled brightly, a smile that Frank returned willingly. "So, what about you two? You're a long way from home."
"We're hitchers, too," Martha mused, and then jumped when something clattered beside her. She'd tripped on an abandoned chunk of cement.
Laughing, Frank chuckled, "You stick with me. You'll be alright."
The Doctor gently nudged past them to join Solomon at the front, and they watched him in silence as he strode beside him, lowering his voice. "So this Diagoras bloke, who is he then?"
"A couple of months ago," Solomon sighed, irritated by the mere mention of the name, "he was just another foreman. Now seems like he's running most of Manhattan." He shook his head, voice filling with agitation as he told the Doctor, "These are strange times, my friend. A man can go from being king to lowest of the low in moment. Just for some folks, guess it works the other way 'round."
"Lucky them," Jay mused, and then squealed in disgust and shock when she nearly stepped on something that, to her surprise, the Doctor and Solomon had missed. She took one look at it and seemed to practically climb up Martha in a panic, and Martha yelped, trying to keep her off while simultaneously looking over at the object of Jay's fear.
Solomon and the Doctor had whirled around at the first loud screech, and Frank was all ready bent over the luminous green blob that was lying on the ground before them. The Doctor bounded back to rejoin them, fascinated. "Ooh," he said cheerfully, "what do we have here?"
"I don't know," Jay squeaked, shaking out her arms to try and displace the violent pains that had suddenly spiked up them, "but ugh."
Smirking, Martha asked, "Is it radioactive or something?" She patted Jay's shoulder comfortingly, and Jay squirmed so that Martha stood between she and the blob. "It's gone off, whatever it is...and...you've got to pick it up," she added with a heavy sigh as the Doctor picked it up with his index finger and thumb, sniffing lightly as if that might help him determine what it was.
"Solomon," the Doctor requested, "some light?" Solomon shone the flashlight over it and the Doctor nodded to himself. "Composite organic matter...Martha? Medical opinion?"
She snorted. "Not human, I know that."
"No," he agreed. "It's not, and I'll tell you something else. We must be at least half a mile in and I don't see any sign of a collapse in here. Do you? So why did Mr. Diagoras send us down here?" He shoved the blob into his pocket, not looking bothered as he swiped his hands on his trench coat. His face was wary, gaze darting this way and that now as if it would tell him answers that way.
"Where are we now?" Jay asked weakly, still not pleased with the blob that lay splattered on the ground now like some kind of...thing. "What lies above us?"
"Manhattan," the Doctor answered and then whirled on his heel to look around them as Solomon noted, "We're way beyond half a mile. There's no collapse, nothin'. He lied. Why?"
"Solomon," the Doctor said, "I think it's time you took these three back. I'll be much quicker on my own."
Martha and Jay began to protest but they fell silent when there was a loud squeal. Martha looked to Jay, who looked somewhat insulted by the unsaid remark on her face. "Wasn't me," she muttered, then jumped when Frank called out, "Hello?"
"Sh!" Martha hushed, slapping a hand over his mouth without care for what he thought of the action.
"What if it's one of the folk gone missing?" he protested, pulling her hand away. "You'd be scared and half-mad down here on your own." When the Doctor asked if he thought they were alive, Frank shrugged. "We ain't seen no bodies down here. Maybe they just got lost."
The sound of more squeals filled their ears, and Solomon began to lok uneasy. "I know I never heard nobody make a sound like that, Frank."
"Where's it coming from?" Jay demanded, shifting away from Martha to step further into the tunnel curiously. Martha gave her a look of exasperation; hadn't she been terrified of the blob a moment before? Why was she trying to approach some strange sound? "It sounds like there's more than one…"
"This way," the Doctor said, looking in one direction, at the same time that Solomon shone his light on a figure that had been huddling in a corner and said, "That way."
"That way," the Doctor agreed after a long moment of staring. He looked delighted by the discovery, but Martha gave him a severe look that quieted down his excitement. This person was clearly terrified, and his overpowering cheer would scare them off.
"Are you lost?" Frank asked, carefully approaching the person in the darkness. "Can you understand me? I've been thinkin' that some folk might be lost down here…"
The Doctor was right behind him, softening his voice to help keep from scaring the person. He pushed his fingers into his pocket, and Jay noted the familiar glint of his sonic screwdriver as he pulled it out. She glared at him; he better not use it, the sound would scare anyone, not just someone who was frightened as it was. "It's alright, Frank, just stay back," he ordered. "Let me have a look. Doctor, remember?"
Martha and Jay exchanged a look and rolled their eyes. He was about as much an actual doctor as Jay.
"He's got a point though, my mate Frank," the Doctor continued, smiling brightly at the person, who'd fallen silent. "I'd hate to be stuck down here on my own, and we know the way out. Daylight. If you come with us." He paused, then added, "Solomon, bring that light over."
Solomon did as he said and they all blinked at the sight of a man who looked very much like a pig. Jay was distantly reminded of Hame and Brannigan, the cat-people she'd met, and stiffened a little. She didn't know much about the 1900s, but she was pretty damn sure that there were no pig-people running around.
"Is that...is that some kind of carnival mask?" Solomon demanded warily, not looking the least bit pleased by the sight of the pig-man.
"No," the Doctor answered, crouching a few feet away with wide, curious eyes. It reminded him, distantly, of the pig from the spaceship that had crashed into Big Ben when the Slitheen had nearly blown up the earth. He didn't look up as Jay suddenly made a nervous call of his title, having noticed that further into the tunnel, more pig-people were appearing. "I'm sorry. I promise we can help. Who did this to you?"
"Doctor!" This time it was Martha who spoke up, her face filled with fear. "I think you'd better get back here." He didn't look up, too tuned into the single pig-man before him.
"Doctor!" Jay shrieked, and his head snapped up at long last. His eyes locked on the several that were edging closer, and they froze.
"Right," he muttered, backing towards the group of humans after climbing to his feet. He nudged Jay back, for she'd been further ahead than the others with Frank. Frank kept pace with him as they backed up. The pig-men seemed to follow, and the Doctor pressed his lips together as he spun around and faced the four humans with him.
"They're following you," Martha said, not taking her eyes off of them. What had once been a sympathetic moment had become one of creeping fear, and Jay could feel Martha beginning to shake a little as she stepped up to her side.
The Doctor scowled a little, saying sarcastically, "I noticed that, thanks. Well then, Martha. Frank. Jay. Solomon." He smiled briefly, eyes glittering, and Martha gave him an exasperated "What?" Without looking back, he ordered, "Run!"
Martha and Jay jumped when he raced past them, practically diving for the spot in which he could see a ladder that would lead out of the tunnels and into the city. He called over his shoulder, "It's a ladder, this way!"
Frank pushed Solomon ahead of them, and Jay and Martha bolted after the Doctor behind the veteran, their eyes wide with fear. Jay heard the distant buzzing of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver after he'd scampered up the ladder, trying to open the top that protected the entrance into the tunnels. Solomon climbed up after him as the Doctor shoved the cover aside. "You next," Frank told Martha, grabbing a piece of iron that had broken off from the bottom of the ladder, whirling around to face the group of pig-men that had chased them.
Martha shot up the ladder hastily, and the Doctor grabbed the back of her jacket to haul her the rest of the way up. Jay waited a moment before gripping the ladder, beginning to ascend. The Doctor extended a hand and she grabbed it - just as pain snapped up her arm, spiraling through her chest. Her breath caught in her throat, and the pain only grew as she forced herself to scramble out of the way for Frank, collapsing onto the ground beside the panting Martha.
"Jay?" Martha asked faintly, shocked when the girl seemed to almost convulse before her.
Solomon and the Doctor reached down into the tunnel again, shouting for Frank. The Doctor snagged his hand, keeping a tight grip onto it and looking in horror as the pig-men latched onto his legs. "I've got you," he promised, "c'mon, Frank!"
But there was a cry and then Solomon shouted, "Frank!" He shoved the Doctor away from entrance with a despairing look, slamming the lid over the entrance and shoving it firmly into place. The Doctor looked stunned. "We can't go after him," he said evenly.
"We've got to go back down!" the Doctor cried, horrified. "We can just leave him!"
"No," Solomon snapped back. "I'm not losing anybody else. Those creatures were from...from Hell itself! If we go after them, they'll take us all. There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry."
"Doctor!"
Martha's voice dragged his attention over. He spun around in time to see Martha lean over Jay, hands on her shoulders. Jay was clawing at her chest, mouth opening and closing as if she was struggling to breathe. He swore under his breath and scrambled over. Solomon leaned over to look with concern.
"Jay?" he called, trying to get her to respond.
Jay heard them all through muffled ears, her attention entirely focused on the fact that her chest was on fire. It felt as if each of her bones were being snapped one by one while simultaneously being slicked with the worst of acids. As if someone was carving out her heart and shredding it bit by bit, and she couldn't stop it. She couldn't breathe, couldn't see-
It went on for what seemed like ages but was only a few seconds. And then, quite suddenly, her vision slowly began to clear. The tendrils of agony began to slowly but surely recede from her body, returning to where it had rested initially in her fingertips and toes. When it left her chest, she drew in a strangled breath, the rasp desperate and pleading. A choked shriek left her mouth, followed by a sob, and Martha gasped in relief when, beneath her palm, Jay's heart started to stutter back to life, pumping blood weakly.
"Jay?" the Doctor repeated, leaning over her with his hands on either cheek. He saw her bleary blue eyes slowly shift, trying to find his face and connect the sound to it. "Jay, can you hear us?"
Another choked sound left her, a barely intelligible, "Hurts."
"What's wrong with her?" Solomon demanded, eyes wide with shock.
"Don't know," Martha admitted, checking Jay's pulse. It was slowly but surely strengthening. "Doctor, do you know-"
"No," he admitted. "The poison, maybe." He patted Jay's cheek, coaxing her to breathe again in a low voice, and she sucked down another breath. Before long, she was shivering weakly, her face caked in drying tears and her lips parted as she shallowly gasped for breath. "Jay?"
Finally, she whispered, "I hear you."
"Are you alright?" Martha fretted, her eyes round with concern. "You were suddenly...you just-"
She was cut off by the click of a gun's safety, and the Doctor snapped his gaze up in time to see a young woman step from behind a clothing rack - were they in a closet? She narrowed her dark eyes, her blonde hair curled delicately around her cheeks. Her face held traces of make-up and her slim hands shook as she pointed the gun at them, saying in a heavily accented voice, "All right, then. Put them up. Hands in the air and no funny business."
Martha slowly moved, reluctant as Jay tried to sit up, heading struggling to turn to see what was going on. The woman furrowed her brow, but didn't lower the gun. "I said," she seethed, "put them up!"
The Doctor, sitting back, lifted his hands slowly, and Solomon did the same. Martha copied with reluctance. Jay, still struggling, gave up and just lay there, too exhausted. "Look," he began but was cut off when the woman snarled, "What have you done with Laszlo?" They gave her an incredulous look. Did she think they knew where this man was? "Laszlo's my boyfriend. Or, was my boyfriend until he disappeared two weeks ago. No letter, no goodbye, no nothing. And I'm not stupid. I know some guys are just pigs, but not my Laszlo. I mean, what kind of guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?"
"Yeah," the Doctor said slowly, eyes locked on the gun. He hated guns. Why did everyone in the universe seem to like to point them at him? "Er, it might just help if you put that down."
"Huh?" She looked confused, and then blinked. "Oh, sure. Come on, it's not real. Just a prop. It was either that or a spear." She tossed the gun over her shoulder without a care and everyone relaxed immensely. Martha glanced back at Jay, who had closed her eyes, deciding now was the best time for a nap.
The Doctor, too, turned his attention back onto their friend. "Jay, are you alright now?" he asked kindly.
Without opening her eyes, she rasped, "Sort of. Just...tired."
Martha patted her shoulder and then asked the woman, "What do you think happened to your boyfriend?"
She sighed heavily. "I wish I knew. One minute he's there, the next, zip! Vanished. The name's Tallulah, by the way. Three 'l's' and an 'h'."
"...right." The Doctor smiled briefly and then said, "We can try to find Laszlo, but he's not the only one. There are people disappearing every night." He glanced over his shoulder at the silent Solomon, pleading to them both, "Listen, just...trust me. Everyone is in danger. I need to find out exactly what this is." Out of nowhere, he snatched the blob from the tunnels out of his pocket and held it up. Martha wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Because then I'll know exactly what we're fighting."
"Well," Tallulah said uncertainty, eyeing him anxiously, "Do whatever you need to, I s'pose...is your friend okay?"
"Not really," Jay said weakly, prying her eyes open.
Sympathetic, Tallulah suggested, "I don't know what you're doing, but you can bring her into my dressing room. She can rest while I get ready for my show."
"That would be great," Martha said with relief. "Thank you."
"I'll get her," Solomon offered, crouching. He grimaced when his joints popped upon bending to scoop up the girl. He looked startled by her weightlessness, but said nothing about it as he turned his face to Tallulah. Jay was all ready half-unconscious by the time Tallulah had led Solomon and Martha to her dressing room, leaving the Doctor to do whatever he saw fit. After depositing Jay gently onto a cushioned seat, Solomon smiled briefly and then went to help the Doctor, thoughtful.
Tallulah dropped into a seat before a mirror and a counter littered with makeup and other such things. Her dark eyes curiously darted from Jay to Martha to the door to the prop room, where they could hear the Doctor messing around. She'd missed company backstage. Her heart twisting, she said sadly when Martha turned to her, "Laszlo would wait for me after the show. Walk me home like I was a lady. He'd leave a flower for me on my dressing table. Every day, just a single rosebud."
Martha gave her a deeply sympathetic look, rocking onto her heels and folding her arms tightly over her chest. "Haven't you reported him missing?"
"Sure," Tallulah said with a sigh, "but he's just a stagehand. Who cares? Management certainly don't."
From where she was blearily listening, Jay rasped, "Can't you make a fuss?"
"Then they fire me."
"But...they'd listen to you." Jay squirmed to sit up a little despite Martha ordering her to lay back down and get some rest, doctor's orders. She locked her tired blue eyes onto Tallulah. "You're one of the stars of the show if you have a place like this, aren't you?."
Tallulah sighed, "Oh, honey, I got one song in a back street revenue and that's only because Heidi Chicane broke her ankle." She paused, and then added hastily, throwing them a warning glare, "Which had nothing to do with me whatever anybody says. I can't afford to make a fuss. If I don't make this month's rent, I'm in Hooverville."
"Okay," Martha reassured, pressing her lips together. "We get it." She looked incredibly unhappy about it.
"It's the Depression, sweeties," Tallulah said honestly, smiling despairingly at them. "Your heart might break, but the show goes on, because if it stops, you starve. Every night, I have to go out there, sing, dance, keep going, and hope he's going to come back." Her eyes welled with tears that she hastily brushed away and Jay murmured a soft apology before resting her head back down, deciding to take Martha's advice.
Much too soon, Jay was gently shaken awake by Martha, who was giving her an amused look. Grumbling, Jay muttered, "What?"
Chuckling, Martha said, "Showtime. Tallulah wants to show us the stage. Want to come?"
"I guess." Jay slowly sat up, her body trembling simply from the soreness in its muscles. "I'll need some help though."
"Sure." Martha helped her to her feet and together, the two followed the waiting Tallulah, who looked entirely different from what Jay recalled her looking like now that she was dressed up for her performance. Jay peered curiously at the costume, but said nothing, merely trailed along with Martha wrapping an arm around her waist to help her along.
"Come on, honey," Tallulah cooed, smiling brightly at Jay. "Take a look. Either of you ever been on stage before?"
"No," Jay said, eyes wide at the sight of the massive stage with its brilliant lights.
Laughing, Martha said, "Oh, a little bit. You know, Shakespeare."
Jay turned a puzzled look on her; did she mean the actual Shakespeare or a presentation, because with the Doctor around...she was willing to bet it was more than likely the prior suggestion rather than the later.
"How dull is that?" Tallulah said, making a face. "Come and see a real show!"
With the curtains closed, the women - for there were others, all dressed in red - bustled onto the stage. Tallulah winked at Martha and Jay, and then hurried into place on stage, to. Jay and Martha watched from the curtains, exchanging curious looks. "Ladies and gentlemen," a voice cried from nowhere,and they heard the audience, chatting up until that moment, quiet, "The Laurenzi! Dancing devils, with Heaven and Hell!"
A moment later, the curtains slid open and all of the women put on their best smiles. Jay found herself watching in awe as they slid aside to reveal Tallulah, carefully moving in coordinated movements, and Tallulah's voice filled the air, singing loudly and clearly. "Oh, wow," Jay breathed, yawning. "She's good."
"Yes, she is," Martha agreed and then suddenly stiffened. "Jay!" she gasped, pointing at the wings on the opposite side of the stage. Jay followed her gaze and blinked; a pig-man was watching from the other side of the stage. "I'm going after it," Martha said, serious.
"That's not a good idea, not now," Jay protested, trying to grip Martha's arm as she tried to stop the other woman. But she couldn't keep a good grip on her, and she watched in distress as Martha began to sneak across stage. Jay watched, ready to spring across stage to help Martha if need be.
Before long, chaos began to occur. Martha did something that resulted in a woman falling, and the woman wailed in complaint as the audience began to laugh. Tallulah looked horrified. Jay could hear Tallulah pleading for Martha to get off the stage, but all it took was one jab of Martha's finger for Tallulah to scream. The chaos complete, Jay tore across the stage after Martha just as she ran after the pig-man, who fled.
"Wait!" Jay cried, catching up to her friend. She grabbed her arm, legs nearly buckling from exhaustion.
Martha ignored her, calling out to the pig-man, "But you're different, just wait!" But there was a clang, signaling it was gone, disappearing into the sewer entrance that both women found themselves before. Jay blinked. This was the prop room they'd come out of, she noticed, swallowing thickly. Distantly, she overheard people shouting as the women likely left the stage, furious.
"Martha," Jay started, gripping her arm a second time. "Let's go find-"
She cut off with a loud scream when something suddenly grabbed her around the waist, lifting her clear off the ground. Martha whipped around and then screamed herself when she, too, was snatched up by a second pig-man that had been hiding in the shadows. Both women fought furiously to free themselves but to no avail.
For a few moments before the Doctor shot into the room with Tallulah hot on his heels, they were dragged down into the sewers.
The Doctor took one look at the opened sewer entrance in the prop room and took on a grim expression. Frustrated, because both Martha and Jay had disappeared - likely dragged into the sewers, he was willing to bet, he grimly fixed his coat. Aware of Tallulah behind him, he said, "They've taken them."
"Who's taken them?" Tallulah demanded irritably, not liking the fact that he was being so confusing at the moment. "What're you doing?" He didn't respond, merely used his foot to nudge aside the lid and begin to descend into the sewers. She watched him go, shouting, "I said, what the hell are you doing?"
The Doctor was scanning the tunnels with his sonic screwdriver when, a moment later, Tallulah came skittering down the ladder behind him, a fur coat dragged onto her. She scowled at him when he said warningly, "No, no, no, no way. You're not coming."
"Tell me what's going on!" she snapped.
"There's nothing you can do, go back," the Doctor tried again, exasperated. He didn't have time for this! Martha and Jay were gone!
"Look," she said with exaggerated patience, "whoever's taken Martha and Jay, they could've taken my Laszlo, couldn't they?" When he didn't deny it, merely saying she wasn't safe, she snapped, "Then that's my problem. Come on. Which way?"
Sighing, the Doctor gave up. "This way," he muttered, and she willingly followed him.
They walked through the sewers for a while. As they stepped around a corner, Tallulah could no longer keep her silence and asked, "When you say 'they've taken her,' who's they exactly? And who are you anyway? I never asked." The Doctor shushed her. "Okay, okay," she grumbled. "I just mean, you're handsome and all, but-"
The Doctor cut her off by slapping a hand over her mouth and yanking her back into an alcove. His hearts skipped a beat in his chest, his face paling when he saw the shadow on the wall. That shadow moved and before long, became a metal creature that rolled past, not taking notice of them. The Doctor felt dread in his chest, horrified as he realized just who was behind everything.
"No," he groaned, voice croaking. "No, no, no...they survived. They always survive while I lose everything."
Lowering her voice, Tallulah murmured, "That metal thing? What was it?"
The Doctor clenched his teeth, running a hand through his hair and scowling. "It's called a Dalek. And it's not just metal, it's alive." He looked nearly feral as he bared his teeth in the direction it'd gone. "Inside that shell is a creature born to hate, whose only thought is to destroy everything and everyone that isn't also a Dalek. It won't stop until it's killed every human being alive."
Rather than questioning if he was serious as she'd almost done, Tallulah sputtered, "Well, if it's not human, that kind of implies it's from outer space. If it's from outer space, what's it doing here in New York?"
"Good question," he admitted. The Doctor spun on his heel suddenly giving Tallulah a severe look. "Every second you're down here, you're in danger. I'm taking you back right now-"
Tallulah screaming and pointing behind him cut him off and he spun around, ready to protect the innocent, well-intending human woman. He was relieved to discover a simple, single pig-man leaning to peer around a corner at them. It scurried back, trying to hide, but the Doctor went after it. He needed answers. Now, especially with the Daleks involved. Jay and Martha could be in serious danger, and he didn't have time to run around.
"Where's Martha? And Jay?" he demanded, following it. "What have you done with them? What have you done with Jay and Martha?"
He was a little surprised when the pig-man said faintly, "I didn't take them."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes and asked, "Can you remember your name?"
"Don't look at me," he pleaded, turning away so that he was facing the other direction, and the Doctor merely looked over when Tallulah pleaded for the pig-man to tell them where the girls were. "Stay back!" the pig-man cried. "Don't look at me."
"What did they do to you?" the Doctor asked, softening his tone. Clearly, this pig-man was different then the rest.
"They made me a monster." The Doctor peered at him, waiting for further explanation. "The masters."
"The Daleks," he muttered in recognition before asking, "Why?"
"They needed slaves," the pig-man managed to mumble, looking upset. "They needed slaves to steal more people, so they created us. Part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind, but it was still too late for my face."
"I'm sorry," the Doctor said sincerely. And he was. This man had not deserved anything that had happened to him. "Do you know what happened to my friends? Martha and Jay?"
"They took them," he admitted apologetically. "it's my fault. They were following me."
Tallulah blinked. Speaking up again at last, she said, "You were the one in the theater. The one in the wings." The pig-man nodded hesitantly. "Why? Why were you there?"
"I never wanted you to see me like this," the pig-man told her, voice breaking a little.
"Why me?" Tallulah demanded in shock, even as the Doctor's face filled with understanding and then sympathy for both of them. "What do I got to do with this? Were you following me? Is that why you were there?"
"Yes," the pig-man admitted, finally turning back around. He looked near tears as he looked to Tallulah. "I'm sorry. I was lonely...I needed to see you. I'm sorry."
Tallulah reached out, her voice rising in distress as she breathed, "No, wait, let me look...Laszlo?" He flinched when she said the name. "Oh, my Laszlo," she whispered, crooning his name with tears in her eyes as she reached out to touch his face, even as he pulled back. "Oh, what have they done to you?"
Cutting in because no matter how sympathetic he felt, he had no time for this, the Doctor asked, "Laszlo, can you show me where they are?" Laszlo shook his head, telling him that they'd kill him, but the Doctor insisted. "If I don't stop them, they'll kill everyone."
With a grim look and heavy sigh, Laszlo said, "Follow me."
From the moment they were in the tunnels, Martha was fighting like a wildcat. Jay just let them carry her after a few moments of struggling, too tired to put up a good fight. Before she knew it, she was pushed roughly into a wall. Martha hit the wall beside her, and then they were shoved into a line of people that was going past, silently told to follow.
Martha rubbed her arms, but did as she was told, even wrapping an arm around Jay's shoulder to help her along when she stumbled. "I've got you," she murmured, worried. She really wished Jay hadn't come running after her.
"Martha," a voice whispered from behind her, nearly scaring the daylights out of her.
"Frank!" She snapped her head around. "You're alive! I thought we'd lost you."
He flashed her a weak smile, and then winced as he was shoved. "We're going, we're going," he snapped, moving forward. The pig-men didn't seem to care if they spoke, a reassurance to Martha. So long as they were walking. "Where are they taking us?" Frank finally asked.
"I don't know," Martha admitted. "But we can finally find out what's going on down here, right, Jay?"
"Right," she rasped. "So long as I can say awake. I think I'm going to pass out."
"Don't do that," Frank muttered, shaking his head hastily. "Do you know what they're keeping us here for?"
"No," Jay rasped, taking a shaken breath. "But I've got the feeling that were going to find out," she added when the pig-men around them began to get incredibly anxious, shifting and making soft sounds. Her blue eyes scanned the dim caverns, seeking answers. "Martha, can you see?"
"No," Martha muttered, and then jolted in surprise when a voice unlike anything they'd ever had ordered, "Silence! Silence!"
"What the hell," Jay whispered, "is that?"
"You will form a line," it continued, and the people around them shivered, terrified as a metal creature rolled past. Jay took in its appearance, eyes wide. It was terrifying despite being almost comical in looks, with bronzed plating, an eye-stalk, and two little metal arms that each looked as if they did something different.
Martha lifted her voice when no one said or did anything, trembling a little. "Just do what it says, okay?" Surely the Doctor would appear soon. This was his kind of ordeal, after all. "Just obey!"
"The female is wise," the creature said blankly, voice somewhat screechy. "Obey."
"Report!" Martha stiffened when a second one appeared, ordering the first to speak.
"These are strong specimens. They will help the Dalek cause."
"Dalek?" Jay breathed, looking to Martha. Martha had helped her to stand between she and Frank, ordering her to keep a gentle grip on the back of Frank's shirt so that she'd be able to walk without falling. Frank didn't mind, even glancing back to check on her every now and then. "What's a Dalek?" It rang in her mind, that word. Familiar, yet not.
"I don't know, these things apparently," Martha muttered, clenching her jaw.
"What is the status of the Final Experiment?" one Dalek demanded.
"The Dalekanium is in place. "The energy conductor is now complete."
"Then I will extract prisoners for selection." Jay, Martha, and Frank stiffened as a pig-man hauled an older man forward. His face was full of confusion and fear. Jay felt horrible for him. She wanted to help him. But she doubted there was anything they could do for him with these Daleks around. "Intelligence scan," the Dalek declared. "Initiate!" It placed one of the metal arms, this one with a suction cup of sorts on the end, against the man's face. "Reading brain waves. Low intelligence."
The man sputtered furiously. "You calling me stupid?"
"Silence!" the Dalek screeched and Jay flinched at the loud sound in her ears. "This one will become a pig slave. Next." It turned and wheeled its way to the next person as the man was dragged away screaming. "Intelligence scan. Initiate."
This continued for a short while, each man - for Martha and Jay found themselves the only women in the group - being scanned. Some were dragged away like the first man. Others were left alone. Eventually the Dalek reached Frank, scanning him and declaring him to have superior intelligence.
Jay stiffened when it turned to scan her. "Intelligence scan," it screeched just as it did with every human. "Initiate." Jay shivered in fear when it suddenly screeched additionally, breaking the pattern it had formed, "Abnormal traces found!" It gave a high-pitched shriek that hurt Jay's ears and she pressed her back to the wall with a whimper. Martha's gaze darkened. "Superior intelligence!"
And then, it didn't move. Its eyestalk seemed to shift a little, and Jay decided it was likely taking note of which human she was before sending her off to whoever knows where. But then it moved on, performing an intelligence scan on Martha and marking her as superior. "This one will become part of the Final Experiment," it added.
"You can't just experiment on people," Martha protested against better judgement. "It's insane! Inhumane!"
The Dalek didn't seem the least bit concerned. "We are not human. Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory."
Shaking, Jay clutched Martha's hand. "Martha, the poison-"
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen," Martha said furiously, squeezing her hand. The Dalek ordered them forwards and Jay kept a tight grip on Martha's hand as they started forward. Jay caught sight of movement in the corner of her eye that was out of place, and a moment later, when she looked over her shoulder, she was separated from Martha by none other than the Doctor. He'd slid between them, and Jay looked beyond relieved at the sight of him. He chuckled softly and whispered to keep going. A pig-man who Jay could immediately tell was different from the others paced alongside them.
"I'm so glad to see you," she quietly called over her shoulder.
The Doctor chuckled as Martha agreed. "Yes, well, you can both kiss me later. Frank can, too, if he wants."
The Daleks didn't seem to realize that two newcomers had appeared. As they walked, Jay heard Martha murmuring explanations of what they'd seen so far to the Doctor in his ear, making sure to point out that they'd noticed the difference in Jay from the rest of them. Before long, they reached a massive space that looked very much like laboratories Jay had seen in story books. She swallowed thickly as they were lined up within the room, her eyes wide as she took notice of more Daleks.
The Doctor muttered a curse under his breath, clearly not liking this.
"Report!" the Dalek who'd scanned them screeched.
A Dalek who seemed to be somewhat different from the others said in a voice that was a little deeper, but just as odd, "Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution."
"Evolution?" the Doctor questioned, curious. Daleks didn't evolve. They remained as Daleks. Never changing, always determined that they were the superior race that didn't need evolution.
"What's wrong with old Charlie boy over there?" Martha asked, leaning in to mutter the words to the Doctor. She nodded towards a strange spot in the room that made them all uncomfortable. A Dalek with black casing was smoking, looking like it would spontaneously combust.
"Ask them," was his response. She looked horrified by the idea. "I don't exactly want to get noticed," the Doctor admitted. "Ask them what's going on."
When Martha still refused, Jay spoke up, voicing shaking but firm. "Daleks, we demand to be told. What is this...this Final Experiment? Report!"
The Doctor touched her arm in comfort, approval in his gaze as the Dalek who'd scanned them responded, "You will bear witness."
"To what?" Jay questioned.
"This is the dawn of a new age. We are the only four Daleks in existence," the Dalek said, shocking her with its willingness to do so, "so the species must evolve a life outside the shell. The Children of Skaro must walk again." Just as it finished speaking, the smoking Dalek changed. The smoke stopped coming and the casing opened as the eye-stalk went blank. They all watched in shock as something struggled to escape the casing, and when it did, Jay's breath hitched in her throat.
It looked like a cross between a human and some kind of octopus creature. It had one eye, and odd lumpy hands. Tentacles seemed to have sprouted from its head, a brain-like top of its head completing the appearance. Jay recognized the suit it wore, and her stomach twisted. No more Mr. Diagoras. She barely noticed when the Doctor slid away from the rest of them, hiding behind some equipment when he took notice of pig-men approaching.
Before she could ask what it was, the creature spoke, voice ringing out.
"I am a human Dalek. I am your future."
Daleks! Love the Daleks. They're lovely. And we finally see what that slime/poison does. ;) Hope you enjoyed!
Thanks to those who favorited and followed! No reviews, but I appreciate you lovelies just as much. ;)
