A/N: Slightly longer chapter this week! Hope you all enjoy!
They ran to a set of stairs, only managing to go down one flight before meeting Judoon making their way up. They dived through a set of double doors down another corridor, which was thankfully empty, making it easier for them to run without barging into people.
The Doctor was directing them as they weaved through the hospital, and then into a radiographic imaging room. He slammed the door behind them, locking it with his sonic. The biker figure was right behind them, and Ryan figured that the door wouldn't hold for long.
The Doctor pushed them towards the controls for the x-ray machine.
"When I say now, press the button," he instructed Martha.
"But I don't know which one!" Martha cried.
"Then find out!"
Ryan watched helplessly as the Doctor used his sonic on the generator part of the x-ray machine, while Martha flipped through an instruction manual. He hated having to stand around being unable to contribute, but this was the sort of thing best left to people who knew exactly what they were doing.
Suddenly, the door fell off its hinges and the biker figure marched in.
"Now!" the Doctor commanded, and Martha slammed down a big yellow button in the centre of the control panel.
A powerful beam of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation was fired at their assailant, causing it to jerk back and forth; the intense blast even highlighting the Doctor's skeleton. After a couple of seconds, the x-ray was shut off and the biker figure toppled to the ground, dead.
"What the hell was that?" Ryan asked through heavy breaths, adrenaline wearing off.
"X-ray beam, a really powerful x-ray beam," the Doctor explained, panting. "Basically, I sort of overclocked the x-ray tube so it would produce x-ray photons at a much higher rate, effectively increasing the radiation by five thousand percent. Killed him dead."
Ryan nodded. He appreciated it when the Doctor would go out of his way to explain a concept in a lot more detail than he would normally – didn't mean he always understood it, though. Although, 'photons' did ring a bell, something to do with light and the electromagnetic spectrum, whatever that was. He could always ask the Doctor to give him a brief run-down on the basics of physics later, but knowing the Doctor, he'd probably get distracted and complain about how everything Ryan had been taught at school was wrong, or about the time he'd once helped out with Rutherford's experiments.
"But isn't that going to kill you?" Martha asked, concerned.
"Nah, it's only roentgen radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe for you to come out, I've absorbed it all."
Ryan and Martha moved from behind the protective screen as the Doctor grunted. "All I need to do is expel it. If I concentrate…" He started bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet, breathing heavily. "Shift the radiation… out of my body… and into… one… spot… say, my left shoe." He switched to hopping on his right foot. "Here we go, here we go… easy does it… out! Out! Out, out, out!" He hopped towards a yellow medical waste bin, kicking the air. "Ow! Ah! Itches, itches, itches, itches!"
The Doctor reached down and pulled off his shoe and sock, throwing them in the bin. "Done."
Martha and Ryan stared at him, incredulously. Even by the Doctor's standards, that was weird.
"You're completely mad," Martha bluntly stated.
"That's one way of putting it," Ryan muttered.
"You're right," the Doctor said seriously. "I look daft with one shoe."
He reached down and pulled off his other shoe and sock and slammed them in the bin. "Barefoot on the moon!" he said, audibly snapping his jaw.
"So, what's that?" Ryan asked, nodding towards the dead leather-clad biker figure.
"And where's it from, the Planet Zovirax?" Martha joked, as they crouched around the body.
"It's just a Slab. They're called Slabs," explained the Doctor. "Basic slave drones, you see. Solid leather, all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish."
Ryan exhaled sharply through his nose. It sounded weird, the Doctor saying fetish so casually.
"There was this woman," he began.
"Miss Finnegan," Martha supplied. "It was working for her, just like a servant."
The Doctor pulled his sonic out of the x-ray machine, or rather, what remained of it. "My sonic screwdriver!" he quietly moaned.
"She was one of the patients, but…"
"Burnt out my sonic screwdriver!"
"And she was drinking blood with a straw," Ryan added.
"I love my sonic screwdriver!"
"Doctor!" Ryan and Martha both half-shouted.
The Doctor turned his attention back to them. "Sorry," he said, flinging his sonic screwdriver behind him. So much for all that fuss, Ryan thought.
The Doctor looked at Martha and grinned. "You called me Doctor!"
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Right, we've found our alien, she's calling herself Miss Finnegan, and she was drinking blood."
"Mr Stoker's blood," Martha appended.
"Funny time to take a snack, you'd think she'd be hiding. Unless…" The Doctor looked up to the ceiling, and Ryan could practically see the cogs turning. "No? Yes! That's it! Wait a minute… yes!" he shouted. "Shape-changer! Internal shape-changer! She wasn't drinking blood; she was assimilating it. If she can assimilate Mr Stoker's blood, mimic the biology, she'll register as human. We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!"
Martha lead them back towards Mr Stoker's office, but before they could round the first corner, the Doctor held out his arm to stop them. Ducked behind a water cooler, they watched as the other Slab marched past.
"That's the thing about Slabs, they always travel in pairs," the Doctor said, lowly.
"What, like you two?"
Ryan swallowed sharply; he knew Martha hadn't believed him when he told her earlier.
The Doctor made a pained sound in his throat. "Humans!" he scoffed. "We're stuck on the Moon, running out of air, with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, and you're asking personal questions? Come on." He started to walk away, ducking low.
"I like that – 'humans'" Martha mocked. "I'm still not convinced you're an alien."
"Better than being called a stupid ape," Ryan shrugged.
Around the corner, they were immediately met by a Judoon, who shone a blue light in the Doctor's face as it scanned him.
"Non-human," the Judoon confirmed, in a deep, grunting voice.
"Oh my god, you really are!" Martha exclaimed.
"And again!"
They took off running, narrowing avoiding shots from the Judoon's laser weaponry. They ran up a set of stairs, and through a door, the Doctor locking it behind them. They determinedly walked down another corridor, where there were people slumped against the walls. The lack of oxygen was getting to them, and Ryan could feel it too. Whenever he took a breath, it never felt like he was getting quite enough air – and wearing a binder wasn't making things any easier for him. Beside him, Martha was also having to take deep breaths.
"They've done this floor, come on" the Doctor said, teeth gritted. "The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick; they won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky."
Martha stopped, and kneeled down next to a woman in a white doctor's coat, who was holding an oxygen mask to a patient's face; Ryan recognised her as one of the students from earlier.
"How much oxygen is there?" Martha asked.
"Not enough for all these people," the student replied between heavy breaths. "We're gonna run out."
Anxiety shot through Ryan. The Doctor had come to the same conclusion a while ago, but knowing it and seeing it were two completely different things.
"How are you feeling? You alright?" the Doctor asked, his gaze flicking between Ryan and Martha.
"I'll manage for now," Ryan said, truthfully. The Doctor gave him a half-smile.
"Running on adrenaline," Martha replied.
"Welcome to our world."
"I'm guessing the Judoon are doing fine," Ryan said.
"Yeah, great big lung reserves. Lack of oxygen won't slow them down," the Doctor confirmed. "Where's Mr Stoker's office?"
"It's this way."
Martha showed them the office at the end of the corridor, and the Doctor took the lead, silently indicating with his hand that they get behind him, as he entered first. Once the Doctor saw that the coast was clear, he jogged over to Mr Stoker's body, and pressed a couple of fingers to his neck, feeling for a pulse. He was a deathly, pale shade of grey, and glassy, lifeless eyes looked back at them.
"She's gone, she was here," Martha explained.
"Drained him dry. Every last drop, I was right, she's a Plasmavore," the Doctor contemplated.
"Then what's she doing on Earth?"
"Hiding from the coppers, probably," Ryan guessed.
"Yep, like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro," the Doctor replied. "But what's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on!"
The Doctor made a move to leave, and Ryan was about to follow him, but Martha stopped them.
"Wait a minute."
Martha bent down and shut Mr Stoker's eyes, and Ryan had more respect for her than he had before. Not that he didn't respect her before – far from it, in fact – but taking a moment to do something small said a lot.
The Doctor ran his hand through his hair in frustration as they stepped back into the main corridor. "Think, think, think. If I was a wanted Plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?"
"Hostage situation?"
"Nah, the Judoon are a bit too one-track minded for that… oh." Ryan saw where the Doctor's gaze fell. A red sign with MRI emblazoned in white letters. "She's as clever as me… almost."
Suddenly, a bang came from further down the corridor, followed by the screams of people and the grunting orders of Judoon.
The Doctor turned to them, looking deadly serious. "Ryan, Martha stay here. I need time." His eyes briefly flicked over to Martha, before settling on Ryan. "You've got to hold them up."
"How do you want me to do that?"
The Doctor took both of Ryan's hands in his. He swallowed, looking down at their joined hands, before making eye contact again. The Doctor's eyes shone a deep brown, but his expression was unreadable. "I'm going to have to… it's a, um…"
"What, Doctor?"
"You trust me, Ryan?" he asked quietly and sincerely.
Jesus, how bad was this going to be?
"Yeah, 'course I do."
The Doctor took a deep breath. "Okay. 'Cos this is… this means… oh, you know."
And before Ryan could even consider what the Doctor was about to do, the Doctor had dropped one of his hands to slide his around to the back of Ryan's head, slipping his fingers into his hair, pulling him closer. And then the Doctor's lips were on his.
Ryan's mouth dumbly dropped in shock, and the Doctor took that opportunity to dart his tongue in and methodically map out the inside of Ryan's mouth, while moving his lips against Ryan's still motionless ones. But as Ryan's brain started working again and he was about to reciprocate, the Doctor pulled away and ran off.
Ryan stumbled back against the wall and took deep, heavy breaths. Definitely not bad. Not bad at all.
Beside him, Martha whistled lowly. "Wow… that was quite the kiss."
"Um, yeah. Suppose it was." Ryan pressed the heels of his palms into his face. "Fuckin' hell," he mumbled.
"You know what? I believe you now."
Ryan dropped his hands. "Believe me? About what?"
"You and him, not being together. Especially after that reaction." Martha grinned conspiratorially. "You'd make a cute couple, though. He's a bit of a looker, and to be fair, so are you."
Well. That was a first.
"Not saying I'm interested though," Martha quickly backpedalled. "In either of you, that is."
Ryan smiled. "I get you, don't worry, it's fine."
They were interrupted by a squad of Judoon who were marching down their section of the corridor.
"Find the non-human. Execute," ordered the presumed leader.
Ryan steeled himself and stepped out, facing the Judoon, holding his head high. With a quick glance to the side, he saw that Martha had done the same.
"We know who you're looking for," Ryan said evenly. "She's called um, Miss Finnegan."
"Florence Finnegan," Martha confirmed.
The Judoon leader ignored them, focussing on scanning Ryan. Even though the Doctor had said he would be fine, he was still worried, and tried not to let his nervousness show.
"Human," the Judoon grunted. "Wait! Non-human trace suspected." The other Judoon pulled out their guns from their holsters and cocked them. "Non-human element confirmed. Authorise full scan." The Judoon forced him up against the wall. "What are you? What are you?"
Bloody hell, their breath doesn't half stink, Ryan thought, emulating the Doctor's tendency to crack a joke when panicked. But he couldn't help but worry – what if the genetic modification did mean that the Judoon would classify him as non-human? He looked over to Martha; thankfully, she was okay and had been marked as human.
"Confirm, genetically modified human," the Judoon confirmed, as it drew a black cross on his hand with a marker pen. "Traces of facial contact with non-human. Continue the search!"
Ryan relaxed and sighed in relief. And came to the realisation as to what the kiss was. It was to give him some of the Doctor's genetic material; much better than being licked, he supposed.
The Judoon handed him an envelope. "You will need this."
"What is it?"
"Compensation," the Judoon told him, before marching off.
Well, that was considerate of them.
He nodded to Martha. "We'd better follow after them."
"Confirmation, deceased," declared a Judoon as they ran into the MRI room.
Please, please don't let it be the Doctor. Ryan's heart dropped when he saw who was collapsed on the ground, still. Far, far too still.
No. It couldn't end like this. It wasn't supposed to. They hadn't had enough time.
Ryan shot forwards, avoiding the Judoon's grasp and dropped to his knees.
"You – you can't be dead." His voice cracked. "Please, Doctor, please wake up. It's not supposed to be like this."
He reached out to comb his fingers through the Doctor's hair. "Please wake up. I need you." He repeated the whispered mantra, ignoring the argument between Martha and the Judoon, not sure if he could find it in him to care about what they were saying.
"…You drank his blood? The Doctor's blood!" he heard Martha say. He then heard the beeping of a Judoon scanner, and looked at Miss Finnegan, whose face was illuminated blue.
"Oh, I don't mind, scan all you like." Ryan just about managed to stop himself from punching the smugness out of her.
"Non-human," grunted a Judoon.
"What?"
"Confirm analysis."
"Oh, but that's a mistake, surely," Miss Finnegan insisted as all the Judoon scanned her. "I'm human, I'm as human as they come."
"He gave his life so they'd find you…" Martha said. Ryan looked back down at the Doctor. Of course he had, that selfless, stupid idiot. Why couldn't he just properly think of a plan, one that worked in the long term as well as the short term?
"Confirm, Plasmavore," the Judoon barked. "Charged with the crime of murdering the Child Princess of Padrivole Regency Nine."
"Well, she deserved it," the Plasmavore hissed. "Those pink cheeks and those blonde curls, and that simpering voice; she was begging for the bite of a Plasmavore."
"Then you confess?"
"Confess? I'm proud of it! Slab, stop them!" she ordered, barging the Slab in front of her as she went over to the control panel for the MRI scanner. But before the Slab could get anywhere, it was obliterated by a laser beam from a Judoon blaster.
"Verdict: guilty. Sentence: execution!" The Plasmavore ignored them, connecting two cables together, sending the MRI scanner into overload.
"Enjoy your victory, Judoon. 'Cause you're gonna burn with me! Burn in hell!" the Plasmavore screamed her final words as the entire squad of Judoon executed her.
"Case closed."
"But what did she mean, burn with me?" Martha asked.
"Gotta be the scanner…" Ryan breathed out.
The Judoon leader marched over to the MRI scanner, which had bolts of electricity circulating around it. "Scans detect lethal acceleration of mono-magnetic pulse."
"Well, do something, stop it!" Martha pleaded.
"Don't think they will," Ryan mumbled. From what he could tell, the Judoon only cared about catching their criminal and had no sense of responsibility for any collateral damage.
"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate. All units withdraw!" The Judoon marched out, leaving Ryan and Martha alone with a dead Doctor and an overloading MRI scanner.
"Ryan, what the hell do we do?" Martha cried.
Ryan rubbed his temples in frustration. The lack of oxygen was getting to him and thinking was getting more and more difficult by the second. "The scanner. We need to stop it. Do you know how to use it?"
Martha shook her head solemnly.
"Shit, we need the Doctor." He placed his hands on Martha's shoulders. "You can do CPR, right? Please, please save him. He can't die like this," he begged.
"I'll do my best," Martha told him. "You try stopping the scanner."
Ryan smiled weakly. "Thank you. I mean it. You didn't have to do any of this, but you did."
Martha chuckled quietly. "Is it weird that I sort of enjoyed this? Sorry, you go fix the scanner, I'll save the Doctor."
Ryan slowly got to his feet and staggered over to the controls. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Martha had started administering CPR. "He's got two hearts," he reminded her.
He turned back to the console. He had seen the Plasmavore join two cables together, except there were two sets of cables in front of him; red and blue. He almost wanted to laugh – why was he faced with an action movie trope? They always went with the red wire in the films, and he was tempted to do that, but what had the Plasmavore done? He tried desperately to remember, but nearly no air was making that extremely gruelling.
Red. He was certain it was red. "Fuck it," he mumbled, and pulled the red cable apart. The MRI scanner stopped buzzing with electricity, and if there had been a warning alarm, it had stopped. He slumped to the floor, feeling incredibly tired. He tried to stay awake, and rolled onto his back, to get a better view of Martha and the Doctor. It was in vain; his eyes fell shut. Choking coughs were the last thing he heard before he lost consciousness.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
