The Age of Steel
Tyler Residence
February 1st, 2007
"But there's more of them." Mickey pointed out, returning their attention to the Cybermen, who were quickly encircling them, closing off any escape path from the metal horde. Rickey and Jake raised their guns, making Clara growl again.
"Put the guns down. Bullets won't stop them." Jake ignored her and started firing, making her rush over and shove the gun out of his grasp. "No! Stop shooting now!"
"But-"
Clara smacked Jake, making everyone blink in shock. "Shut up!" She turned back, standing in front of the group. "Put your hands up. We surrender!" She called to the Cybermen, who quickly moved up to stand around the group in a large circle. Everyone quickly put their hands up, even Clara. "There's no need to damage us. We're good stock." She said just as the Cybermen stopped moving. "We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed."
"What's she doing?" Rose whispered to the Doctor.
"Trying to give them a chance." He whispered back.
The Cyber Leader stepped forward, staring emotionlessly at Clara. It didn't say anything for a moment, and she guessed that they were scanning her silent brain. "You are the only non-rogue element."
"But my friends also surrendered." She protested.
"You are compatible. They are incompatible."
"But this is a surrender!"
"You will be spared from being deleted."
"But we're surrendering!" She exclaimed; her own voice high with fear. "Listen to me! We surrender!"
"You are Cyber Planner material, but your companions are inferior. Man will be reborn as Cyberman, but they will perish under maximum deletion." The Cybermen punched their hands to their chests before reaching their arms out, staring at the group behind Clara. "Delete! Delete! Delete!"
Clara clenched her jaw and clicked her neck, letting her fear melt away into cold rage. "I don't think so." She snarled before raising her hand out to the Leader, the crystal in her grasp shooting out a stream of golden energy that struck the Leader in the head, causing it to recoil in screaming agony. The energy then continued to stream, bouncing off the Leader and onto all the Cybermen that were surrounding the group, causing everyone to echo the Leader's actions and screams. Then, they all quickly disintegrated in a stream of golden dust, evaporating like steam and water until they were completely gone.
"What the hell was that?!" Rickey asked as everyone except the Doctor stared at what Clara did with wide eyes.
"Or how about instead, run!" She ordered, causing them all to spring into action again, as more Cybermen started to move from up the house and from the edge of the lot, slowly but surely moving to encircle them again. They didn't get a chance however, as Mrs. Moore, honking repeatedly on her horn, raced up to them in the blue van, rolling down her window.
"Everybody in!" Mrs. Moore ordered, making Rickey and Jake race up to scramble into the front seats of the van beside her.
Pete tried to run back to the house, but the Doctor got in his path, holding him back. "I've got to go back! My wife's in there!" Pete protested.
"Anyone inside that house is dead." The Doctor said. "If you want to help, then don't let her die for nothing, but you've got to come with us right now." Pete relented, allowing the Doctor to move him back in the direction of the van. Rose stopped moving when she overheard what the Doctor had said, standing still and staring at the house, making Clara tug her arm.
"Rose, she's not your mother." Clara said.
Rose glanced at her and quickly nodded, despite her distant stare. "I know." At that, Clara led Rose to follow the Doctor and Pete into the back of the van, where the doors were being held open by Mickey. They climbed inside, the Doctor and Clara sitting together with Mickey while Rose and Pete sat opposite them.
"Finished chatting?!" Mrs. Moore called sarcastically. "Never seen a slower getaway in my life!" She then drove them all away, getting out of the quickly surrounded Residence and heading straight for the highways, the group needing to turn on the lights inside the van to see themselves.
Clara took out the crystal in her possession, which had stopped glowing after she used it on the Cybermen, making her look worried. She was about to ask when the Doctor placed a hand on hers. "It's still recharging. One blast can't stop it." He reassured. Clara gave him a grateful smile before her gaze went distant again.
"What was that thing?" Rickey asked, pointing at the crystal.
"Little bit of technology from my home." The Doctor explained.
"It's stopped glowing." Mickey pointed out. "You said it was recharging. How'd you mean?"
"A revitalizing loop." The Doctor explained. "It'll charge back up in about four hours."
"Right. So we don't have a weapon anymore." Rickey said dryly.
"Yeah, we've got weapons." Jake inputted. "Might not work on those metal things, but they're good enough for men like him." Jake growled, staring straight at Pete.
"Leave him alone!" Rose defended. "What's he done wrong?!"
"Oh, you know, just laid a trap that's wiped out the government and left Lumic in charge." Jake retorted.
"If I was part of all that, do you think I'd leave my wife inside?" Pete interrupted.
"Maybe your plan went wrong." Rickey interrupted with a shrug. "Still gives us the right to execute you, though."
"Talk about executions and you'll make us your enemy. Take some really good advice, you don't want to do that." The Doctor warned.
Rickey sighed, giving a small shake of his head. "All the same, we have evidence that says Pete Tyler's been working for Lumic's since 20.5."
Everyone just stared at Pete, even Rose whose eyes were wide with disbelief. "Is that true?" Pete didn't answer.
"Tell them, Mrs. M." Rickey said.
"We've got a government mole who feeds us information." Mrs. Moore chimed in, glancing back every now and then while staring at the road ahead. "Lumic's private files, his South American operations, the lot. Secret broadcasts twice a week."
"Broadcasts from Gemini?" Pete asked.
His response perked up both Rickey and Jake's attention. "And how do you know that?"
"I'M Gemini. That's me."
"Yeah, well, you would say that." Rickey reasoned.
"Encrypted wavelength 657 using binary 9." Pete said, making the pair blink, sharing a quick look that radiated realization. "That's the only reason I was working for Lumic, to get information." He sighed. "I thought I was broadcasting to the security services. What do I get? Scooby-Doo and his gang. They even got the van!" He remarked.
The Doctor gave a "Mmm, okay" look while Clara cocked an eyebrow. "No, no, no, but the Preachers know what they're doing." Mickey protested. "Rickey said he's London's most wanted."
Rickey now looked incredibly sheepish. "Yeah, that's not exactly…"
"Not exactly what?"
"I'm London's most wanted for…parking tickets." Mickey stared at him incredulously, the Doctor and Clara shared an amused look, Rose tried to not look amused while Pete sighed.
"Great." He muttered under his breath, but Rickey heard.
"Yeah, they were deliberate. I was fighting the system. Park anywhere, that's me."
"Good policy." The Doctor commented. "I do much the same. I'm the Doctor, by the way, if anyone's interested and this is Clara." Clara waved.
"And I'm Rose." Rose greeted. "Hello."
"Even better. That's the name of my dog." Pete remarked. "Still, at least I've got the catering staff on my side."
"I knew you weren't a traitor." Rose reassured.
"Why's that, then?" He asked.
The Doctor and Clara had to restrain from rolling their eyes dramatically as Rose caught herself. "I…just did."
"They took my wife." Pete said sadly.
"She might still be alive." Rose reassured.
"That's even worse. Cause that's what Lumic does. He takes the living, and he turns them into those machines."
"Cybermen." Clara muttered grimly, making everyone blink. "They're called Cybermen."
"Why do you hate them so much?" Pete asked. "How could you have seen them before-"
"Don't you dare, Peter Tyler!" Clara snarled, making him flinch. "Take those ear pods off." She ordered, taking out her sonic. "Lumic could be listening in with those." Pete quickly did as he was ordered, and Clara used the sonic to cause a small spark within the ear pods, rendering them useless before she tossed them aside, the pods violently shattering to pieces in the van, making everyone flinch again.
"Clara." The Doctor said softly, taking her shoulder.
"What?!" Clara snapped. He just raised his eyebrows at her, making her blink, taking a shaky breath to calm herself as the Doctor took her hand, which was trembling with her anger. "I'm sorry." She muttered, glancing up at Pete in guilt. Pete just gave a small nod in forgiveness, and she sighed.
"The problem with Lumic isn't just what he's done to those people," The Doctor said, quickly taking control, "it's what he has done with them. He's overreached himself, for he's still just a businessman and he's assassinated the President. All we need to do is get to the city and inform the authorities, because I promise you, for all our sakes, this ends tonight." He said with finality.
Cyberman Factory, Battersea
Lumic sat in his wheelchair within the control room, staring at the group of Cyber Leaders before him with a blend of joy and pride. "My everlasting children, tell me, how does it feel?"
"We feel nothing." One of the leaders said.
"But in your mind, what do you think?"
"We think the same. We are uniform."
"But you think of…what?"
"We think of the Humans. We think of their difference and their pain. They suffer in the skin. They must be upgraded."
Lumic smiled. "Excellent. Then let's begin." He pressed a few keys on his computer. "Computer. Identify: John Lumic."
The computer waited a few moments before beeping in success. "Voice print acknowledged." An automated male voice said.
"Activate ear pod primary sequence."
"Please state area of activation."
He smirked. "The city of London. I've just declared independence. Begin transmission!" The computer beeped, signalling its admission of the order and Lumic sighed. Everyone in London wearing the earpieces would all walk towards the Factory, no matter who they are, where they are or what they were doing. "You will come to me, my dear children, the immortal ones."
JESUS! The pain! What the hell?! Crane immediately placed both of his hands on his earpieces and wrenched them out, the source of the immense pain leaving at once. He stared down at those blasted things, his own rage starting to build within. "Oh, no you don't." He snarled, moving to the back of the disguised truck, seeing the two truck drivers standing there, staring out blankly with their ear pods beeping at a fast rate. "You two, what's happening? What's he done?" They didn't answer. "What has Lumic done?" He tried again but they still didn't respond. "Answer me!" He snapped. No answer yet again. So, with a sharp breath, he turned around and clicked his neck. "Right. Time I went freelance."
"Whoa, watch out!" Jake and Rickey called in unison as Mrs. Moore screeched the van to a halt, everyone climbing out of the vehicle to see a mass horde of people walking down the dark street like brainless sheep.
"What the hell?" Jake muttered.
"What's going on?" Rose asked as Rickey, Jake and Mrs. Moore walked up to a few people to inspect them closer.
"It's the ear pods." The Doctor answered. "Lumic's taken control."
"Can't we just take them off-"
"Don't!" Clara snapped at Rose, pulling her back from one of the people. "You'll cause a brainstorm and they will die."
"Can't you use your-"
"No!" Clara snapped again. "Same thing will happen!" Rose flinched again while the Doctor just took Clara's hand to calm her.
"The Human race." The Doctor said. "For such an intelligent lot, you aren't half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit." He quipped dryly to improve Clara's mood. "Sometimes I think you like it, easy life."
"Oi." Clara said in a smaller voice with a ghost of a smile. "Not all of us."
"Hey." Jake called from the sidewalk, where him and Rickey were crouched up against a brick wall. He motioned them over to join, everyone seeing the aimless, emotionless Humans following a legion of Cybermen out of the street.
"Where are they all going?" Rose asked.
"I don't know." The Doctor shrugged. "Lumic must have a base of operations."
"Battersea." Pete interjected. "That's where he was building his prototypes."
"Why's he doing it?" Rose asked Pete.
"He's dying." Pete informed. "He never shared what exactly was killing him, but everyone already knew the inevitable. Lumic started all this as a way of prolonging life, keeping the brain alive at any cost."
"But these Cybermen are…I don't know…different from the ones before." Rose muttered.
"The Cybermen we saw were a fully-fledged empire, but everything starts somewhere." Clara said grimly. "One tiny world starts it all from scratch, then they swarm to every system they can reach. This lot may be a parallel version, but they still need to start from scratch, and this Earth is the place."
"What the hell are you three on about?" Pete asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"Long story." The Doctor quickly inputted.
"Never mind that." Rickey interrupted. "Come on, we need to get out of the city." The group turned around to get moving but found that several groups of Cybermen had stopped their movements, turning to look at the group and began to advance on them. "Okay, split up. Mrs. Moore, you look after that lot. Jake, distract them. Go right, I'll go left. We'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move!" Rickey ordered, and he and Jake sprinted away.
"I'm going with him." Mickey quickly said, and he hurried away.
"Be careful." Rose called, and Mickey shot them a thumbs up before moving out of sight.
"Come on, let's go!" Mrs. Moore ushered, and they started running down the road, seeing the Cybermen behind them splitting up to follow the three different paths. One large group still followed them, so they quickly spotted an open alleyway just as more Cybermen started coming around the corner at the end of the road.
"Come on!" Clara said, ushering them to run down the alleyway, the thundering march of the Cybermen still hot on their trail.
Mickey and Rickey both ran into an empty street, taking a moment to catch their breath but not realising their own company.
"Which way?" Mickey asked. "I don't know where we are."
"Did they see us?" Rickey asked.
"Do they know where we are?"
"I bet they saw us. I bet they see in the dark."
"I bet they got satellites."
"I think they saw us in the dark."
"They know where we are." They said in unison, making them blink and turn to each other.
"I don't get it." Rickey muttered, still staring with suspicious scrutiny at Mickey. "What is it with you? You are exactly like me."
"I don't know. I reckon you're braver."
Mickey huffed. "Oh yeah. Ten times." Mickey nodded at that, the pair not noticing the sound of the Cybermen getting closer to their street. "Still, your friends aren't bad, I'll give you that."
"Oh, that's the Doctor and Clara. Rose is their main friend. I just tag along behind."
"Well…then you're not that bad." Rickey complimented.
Mickey blinked. "Do you think?"
Rickey shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose."
At that, the Cybermen's march entered the street, making them turn to see the horde advancing on them. "Cybermen." Mickey pointed out.
"Split up!" They said in unison, running into two alleyways opposite each other.
The group flinched at the thundering sound of the Cybermen's march as they hid behind a group of trash bins, Mrs. Moore holding a device in her hand, ready to throw. Rose and Pete unconsciously held each other's hands while the Doctor held Clara in a close hug. The Cybermen got closer and closer until they stopped, and the group knew that they were staring at the bins they were behind. The Doctor quickly took out his sonic, aimed it upwards and pressed the button. The Cybermen then turned around and started to march away without any protest.
"My own Jedi mind trick." He quipped to himself. "Everyone okay?" The Doctor whispered, and they nodded to him. "Clara?" Clara, though staring at him with wide eyes of fear, nodded and he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Come on." He ushered everyone to follow them out of their hiding spot, Rose and Pete letting go of their hands with blinking eyes before they all started to rush up the street again.
Mickey gave a small sigh of relief as he rushed into a back alleyway, having managed to avoid the Cybermen, giving him some time. In front of him was a steel grated fence with a door. The door had a chain wrapped through its handles and a padlock within. Then, the Cybermen's march started to advance on Mickey, except the sound came from the other side of the fence, where from around an alley corner, Rickey came rushing up, Cybermen following quickly behind. "Come on!" Mickey yelled, and Rickey immediately grasped the fence, starting to scale upwards. "Come on!" Mickey repeated as the Cybermen drew closer. Rickey managed to get both of his hands on the top of the fence and lifted one of his legs up.
"Delete!" A Cyberman yelled, reaching out and grasping onto Rickey's other leg, just as he went to lift it, sending thousands of volts into the man as he clung onto the fence for his dear life.
"No!" Mickey yelled as Rickey screamed in agony before he collapsed off the fence and to the ground, smoking and lifeless. Mickey clenched his jaw, staring back up at the Cybermen, who just stood there, without emotion and completely motionless, starting to unnerve Mickey. Mickey gave a small growl in his throat before he turned to rush out of the alleyway. He had to tell Jake. Even though it will hurt him, he had to tell him.
Lumic frowned, turning his wheelchair around as a pair of Cybermen came into the control room with…Crane?
"This one is unprogrammed." One of the Cybermen informed, making him blink.
"Mr. Crane?" Lumic muttered. "I thought you were one of the faithful."
"Oh, that I am, sir." Crane quickly said. "My ear pods must've malfunctioned, for which I apologise." Lumic blinked in puzzlement. "If I, uh, might?" Crane asked, motioning to stand in front of him, which Lumic nodded to. Crane went to stand in front of him, just as Lumic felt his lungs begin to burn.
Not yet! Let me hear out what my friend has to say!
"I'd like to request an upgrade, sir." Crane informed, making Lumic stare at him in surprise. "I've been getting rather slow in my old age, and I want to be better. I've seen the future, and its copyright Cybus Industries. Sign me up."
"A willing volunteer." Lumic remarked with a bit of pride.
"You've known me a long-time sir." Lumic nodded to that. "Quite a team, you and me. I've been with you all the way."
"And I thank you for that." Lumic quickly commented.
Crane smiled. "But believe me, sir. Knowing you so well, I know exactly what to do."
Lumic coughed, already feeling his head starting to pound in immense pain and he moved to grasp the gas mask. Before he could, Crane, out of nowhere, grasped the mask and ripped it out of the wheelchair, tossing it across the room. "Crane!" Lumic gasped. Crane ignored his plea, moving behind the chair and began ripping out every wire and tube in his life support, causing it all to spark and flare with smoke. "No! Help me!" One of the Cybermen marched up, grasped Crane by the shoulder and flung him across the room, allowing the other to march up to the stunned Crane.
"Die you-" The Cybermen placed a hard grasp on Crane's shoulder, allowing thousands of volts to torment the man's body, right until his last screaming breath.
"Help me." Lumic gasped, his head pounding with a loud thumping noise, making him more exhausted by the second.
"You are in pain." The Cyber Leader standing in front of him informed. "We can remove pain forever."
"No! Not yet! I'm not ready!" He pleaded.
"We will give you immortality."
"I've told you…I will upgrade…only with my last breath."
The Cyber Leader moved to stand behind his wheelchair and pressed its fist to its chest. "Then breathe no more."
The chair had its control revoked by the Cyber Leader and it moved on its own. "No, no! I command you: No!" Lumic pleaded to no avail.
The group waited patiently on the sidewalk underneath one of London's overhead highways. While Rose, Pete and Mrs. Moore stood by each other in silence, the Doctor held a scared Clara close, absentmindedly stroking her hair. They could hear rushing footsteps heading towards them, spotting a silhouette of spiked hair in the darkness. "That would be Jake." The Doctor informed as the man got closer, holding back his obvious panting as he slowed his pace down.
"I ran past the river; you should've seen it. The whole city is on the march. Hundreds of Cybermen, all down the Thames." Another pair of footsteps came towards them, making them turn back to see a silhouette of a man with incredibly short hair rushing towards them. Jake guessed and beamed. "Here he is." The man in question came out, but Jake blinked, as he was only one and the duplicates looked unnervingly alike. "Which one are you?"
Rickey…yet it might be Mickey, gulped. "I'm sorry. The Cybermen, he couldn't-"
"Are you Rickey?" Jake interrupted. His gaze danced off to the TARDIS trio behind them. "Are you Rickey?" Jake repeated.
His sad, scared eyes gave him away. "Mickey, that's you, right?" Rose asked.
He nodded. "Yeah." Jake's breath hitched as he blinked, while Mrs. Moore looked down in silent sadness. "He tried." Mickey tried to reassure. "He was running. There was too many of them."
"Shut it." Jake muttered under his breath, turning around to gaze at anything BUT Mickey.
"There was nothing I could do."
"I said just shut it!" Jake growled, snapping Mickey into silence. "Don't even talk about him! You're nothing, you are!" Mickey remained silent and Jake nodded to himself. "Nothing."
"We can mourn him when London is safe." The Doctor interjected, halting anything else. "For now, we move on." Everyone silently agreed to that and moved to leave their hiding place.
The Edge of the Thames, opposite Battersea
The group stood on the edge of the riverbank, staring at the steaming factory on the other side, with Lumic's zeppelin flaring red lights parked right on top of the factory.
"The whole of London's been sealed off, and the entire population's been taken inside that place. To be "Converted"." The Doctor informed.
"We've got to get in there and shut it down." Rose pointed out.
"How do we do that?" Mickey asked.
The Doctor shrugged. "Oh, me and Clara will think of something." Clara sniggered at that, while he shot her a smirk.
"You both just make this up as you go along." Mickey accused.
"Yup." Clara answered. "But we do it brilliantly." Rose smirked while Mickey just shrugged as Mrs. Moore got out her laptop to bring out her findings. "Bri-lli-ant." Clara tried. "You ever noticed? It's got a weird ring to it. Br-iii-lli-ant."
"You're making it sound like Brian-liant." The Doctor retorted.
"Stop it." Clara warned playfully.
"Stop what?" He asked innocently.
"No!" Rose interrupted, glaring accusingly at the pair, while they just blinked.
"But-"
"No!" Rose repeated. "No." The two just glanced down sheepishly before bursting into giggles, having to lean on each other for support. "Whatever, you do you." Rose rolled her eyes, muttering to herself.
"Oi." Jake motioned them over to a nearby bench where Mrs. Moore placed the laptop on, allowing everyone to look at it, with the Doctor placing on his "Brainy Specs".
The computer pulled up a schematic of Battersea, an earlier form. "That's a schematic of the old factory." Mrs. Moore informed. Panning it up, it showed silhouettes of tunnels underneath the ground around it. "Look, cooling tunnels underneath the plant, big enough to walk through."
"We can go under then up into the control centre." Clara agreed, getting a nod from Mrs. Moore. "You coming?" She asked the Doctor. He just smirked, and she beamed. "Of course you are."
"There's another way in." Pete interrupted, everyone turning to look at him. "Through the front door. If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'll get in."
"We can't just go strolling up." Jake pointed out.
"Or…" Mrs. Moore interrupted, opening her small black bag, "we could…with these." She pulled out two pairs of dead Cybus ear pods. "Fake ear pods. Dead, no signal. But put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you as part of the crowd."
"Then that's my job." Pete said, taking a pair of ear pods.
"Pete." Clara interrupted, earning his attention. "You'd have to show no emotion, none. Any sign of emotion would give you away."
He nodded. "How do you know so much about the Cybermen?" He asked.
Clara just stared in bleakness. "Long story." She muttered.
"How many of those you got?" Rose asked, allowing Clara to move on.
"Just two pairs." Mrs. Moore informed.
"Okay." Rose said, taking the remaining pair and looking at Pete. "If that's the best way of finding Jackie, then I'm coming with you."
Pete blinked as she stood up to stand beside him. "Why does she matter to you?"
"We haven't got time." Rose reprimanded. "Doctor, Clara, I'm going with him and that's that."
"No stopping you, is there?" The Doctor asked.
"Nope."
He nodded, before turning around to stare at the factory, specifically at the zeppelin. "Tell you what…we can take the ear pods at the same time. Give people their minds back, so they don't walk into that place like sheep. Jakey boy!" He motioned for said man to follow him closer to the bank. "Lumic's transmitting the control signal, it must be from over there." He took out his sonic and scanned in the direction of the factory, the sonic pulsing rapidly before it beeped as he hovered it in the direction of the zeppelin. On the front was a large transmitter, the source of the flaring red lights that flickered repeatedly. "There it is, on the zeppelin, you see?" Jake nodded, piecing it together in his head. "Great big transmitter. Good thing Lumic likes showing off. Reckon you can take it out?"
Jake smiled. "Consider it done."
The Doctor clapped him on the shoulder as they moved back to the group. "Mrs. Moore. Would you care to accompany me and Clara into the cooling tunnels?"
Mrs. Moore cocked an eyebrow. "How could I refuse an offer of cooling tunnels?"
The Doctor pocketed his "Brainy Specs" before grasping Clara's hand. "We attack on three sides: Above, between and below. We get to the control centre; we stop the conversion machines."
"What about me?" Mickey interrupted.
The TARDIS duo blinked, already starting to feel guilt again. "Mickey." The Doctor muttered as he cleared his throat. "You can…um…"
"What, stay out of trouble? Be the tin dog?" Mickey retorted, causing the pair to blink again. "No, those days are over. I'm going with Jake."
"I don't need you, idiot." Jake growled.
"I'm not an idiot!" Mickey retorted. "You got that?! I'm offering to help!"
Jake shook his head. "Whatever." Jake started to move away, and Mickey was about to follow.
"Mickey!" Clara called, making him turn back. "Good luck."
He blinked. "Yeah, you too. Both of you. Rose, I'll see you later."
Rose nodded. "Yeah, you better."
"If we survive this," The Doctor inputted, "we'll see you back at the TARDIS."
Mickey felt himself returning a small smirk to the Doctor and Clara. "That's a promise." He reassured before moving away to follow Jake.
The Doctor and Clara moved up and wrapped Rose in a hug. "Good luck." Clara said.
"And keep safe." The Doctor echoed.
"You too." Rose said back, earning a couple of reassuring winks from the pair before they moved into action.
Opening the latch and entering a dark cooling tunnel, Mrs. Moore went down the ladder first, followed by Clara and then the Doctor.
"Brrr, it's freezing." Clara muttered, rubbing her hands together.
"You can endure it, Clara." The Doctor said, grasping her upper arms and rubbing them to help warm her up, which just made her shiver to his inner delight. "Any sign of a light switch?"
Mrs. Moore scoffed. "Can't see a thing." She quickly opened her black bag. "But I've got these…a device for every occasion." She pulled out two head lights and gave them to the pair.
"Thank you." Clara said as she and the Doctor helped put them on each other while Mrs. Moore took out one for herself.
"You haven't got a hot dog in there, have you?" The Doctor asked. "I'm starving."
Mrs. Moore chuckled. "Of all the things to wish for. That's mechanically recovered meat."
"I know. It's the Cyberman of food, but its tasty."
Clara's stomach gave a low rumble. "Dammit, I want a hot dog now." She grumbled, making the trio snigger.
"Here." Mrs. Moore pulled out two black torches. "Proper torches as well."
"Let's see where we are." The Doctor said, holding the torch up and flicking the switch. Immediately, they flinched at the site of a long row of Cybermen, standing dormant against the left wall of the tunnel. The Doctor moved up to the closest one and tapped his knuckle against it, but it didn't do anything. "Already converted, just put on ice." The Doctor informed, turning back to see Clara shaking. "Clara?" He asked as she gazed at them in fear. He quickly took her hand to avert her gaze from them. "It's going to be okay. You hear me?"
She nodded despite the fear still in her eyes. "Yeah, I hear you."
He smiled reassuringly, placing a kiss on her hand. "Come on." He motioned for her and Mrs. Moore to follow. "Let's go slowly. Keep an eye out for trip systems."
"Chamber Six now open for Human upgrading. Chamber Seven now open for Human upgrading. Chamber Eight now open for Human upgrading."
Rose and Pete ducked to hide behind a group of large debris, keeping out of sight but retaining their own upon the Cybermen as they led the swarm of brainless Humans into the factory. Rose and Pete quickly turned on a dummy button to activate the blinking light and inputted the earpieces.
"Just put them on. Don't show any emotion." Pete reminded. "No signs, nothing, okay?"
"Don't worry." Rose reassured. "We can do it."
"We could die in here. Why are you doing this?"
Rose sighed. "Let's just say I'm doing it for my mum and dad." Glancing up to confirm that no Cybermen could see their spot, they squeezed each other's hand for luck. "Right. Let's go." With that, they stood up and moved to join the long line of emotionless Humans, their own faces turning completely blank.
"Chamber Nine now open for Human upgrading. Chamber Ten now open for Human upgrading. Chamber Eleven now open for Human upgrading."
Jake and Mickey, through their own methods, had found a silent pathway to reach the top of the factory, seeing a large steel staircase leading up and into the zeppelin above. In front of the staircase was two workers, both staring ahead unmoving with their earpieces flickering and pulsing rapidly. Jake got up from the side ladder and crouched down until Mickey got up as well before they moved to hide behind a large crate, still staring at the workers.
"Two guards. We can take them." Jake said.
"Don't kill them." Mickey protested.
Jake rolled his eyes. "Who put you in charge?"
"If you kill them, what's the difference between you and a Cyberman?"
Jake seriously thought about that for a moment before he reached into his pocket. "Well, I suppose we could use these." He pulled out two small brown bottles and handed one to Mickey.
"Smelling salts?" Mickey asked in puzzlement.
Jake gave a light chuckle. "Bit stronger than that. One of Mrs. Moore's little tricks. Should knock them out." Then, he turned to look straight at Mickey. "Three…two…one." At that, they both rushed up from their hiding spot and towards the backs of the workers, uncorking the bottles as they went. Without warning, they wrapped a strong arm around the workers necks to hold them, using the other to place the open bottle right by their noses. The workers struggled and gasped for breath, but their bodies quickly slackened until they collapsed onto the ground, completely knocked out.
"There's got to be more guards on board." Mickey pointed out.
Jake grinned. "Then let's go get them."
"How did you get into this, then?" The Doctor asked as he, Clara and Mrs. Moore continued walking down the tunnel. "Rattling along with the Preachers?"
Mrs. Moore shrugged. "Oh, I used to be ordinary. Worked at Cybus Industries, 9 to 5. Until one day, I find something I'm not supposed to." They both shot her furrowed looks of intrigue and she gave a small smirk. "A file on the mainframe. All I did was read it. Then suddenly, I've got men with guns knocking in the middle of the night. A life on the run and then I found the Preachers. They needed a techie, so…I just sat down and taught myself everything."
"What about Mr. Moore?" Clara interjected.
She huffed. "Well, he's not called "Moore"." They both blinked at her. "I got that from a book, "Mrs. Moore". It's safer not to use real names." She clarified, making them nod. "But he thinks I'm dead. It was the only way to keep him safe. Him and the kids." Clara's face grew sad at that comment, but she chose not to say anything. "What about you two? Got any family or…"
The Doctor had noticed Clara's expression, so he chose to input. "Oh, who needs family when I have Clara?" He asked rhetorically, earning a small chuckle from Mrs. Moore while he sent a wink to a blushing Clara.
"Thank you." Clara mouthed to him and he smiled warmly at her.
"Go on then." The Doctor said, turning his attention back to Mrs. Moore. "What's your real name?"
"Angela Price." The Doctor and Clara gave small smiles of approval at that name. "Don't tell a soul." She said, half in plea, the other in warning.
"Not a word." Clara said, winking to Mrs. Moore. They kept walking, missing a small alarm flickering with a red light as they walked past. For a second, Clara's heart rocketed up as one of the Cybermen in front twitched its hand. "Doctor did that one just move?" She asked, fear properly in her voice.
"It's just the torchlight." The Doctor reassured, grasping her hand. "Keep going. Come on."
"So, what's that light?" Mrs. Moore asked, pointing to a flickering red alarm beside one of the Cybermen. When they noticed, that same Cybermen gave a small hiss of steam, before it started to slowly turn its head towards them.
"They're waking up. Run!" The Doctor yelled. The three began to sprint down the tunnel, the Cybermen behind them starting a domino effect of hissing into life and stepping away from the wall to face the backs of the trio. Once they got past all the Cybermen, they found themselves at a dead end, with only a ladder leading up to a closed hatch. The Doctor quickly climbed up the ladder and took out his sonic to unlock the hatch.
"Get up." Mrs. Moore said hurriedly as the Cybermen started to advance closer. "They're coming."
"Open it!" Clara shrieked. "Quick!"
The hatch shuddered and clanged as it was unlocked, and the Doctor quickly grasped it to slide it away. "Up!" He yelled, jumping off the ladder and up through the hatch. "Come on!" He yelled, holding out a hand as Mrs. Moore scaled up the ladder, followed by Clara.
"Close it!" Clara yelled as she got off the ladder, the Doctor and Mrs. Moore placing the hatch back into place and locked it shut.
"Oh, good team, Mrs. Moore." The Doctor complimented, earning a thankful nod from her. He then got up and moved over to Clara, whose breath was shaking nervously, so he helped her up into a hug. "You okay?"
"Yeah." She muttered. "That was close."
"I know." He kissed her head and took her hand in his. "Come on. Let's keep moving."
"Units upgraded now 6,500. Repeat: 6,500 and rising."
Rose and Pete had now entered the conversion chambers, the whole area filled with ceiling high capsules, all guarded by a single Cyberman at its entrance. It was all filled with steam created by the working machines, but due to the earpieces, no screams could be heard. It was just the echoing sound of machinery working in unison upon all the unfortunate souls.
Rose and Pete's march was halted by a Cyberman who held out its arm in front of them. "You will wait." It ordered simply before moving away.
"You okay?" Pete asked, his voice laced with nervousness.
"No." Rose breathed shakily. They were both starting to see why Clara feared and hated them so much. They were just so unnerving, standing there, completely silent with blank, black eyes. Their monotone, robotic voices and their heavy stomping didn't help either.
"Chamber Six now open for Human upgrading." On that report, the capsules before them opened, letting a new set of people enter as freshly created Cybermen emerged out the other side. "All reject stock will be incinerated."
"Any sign of Jackie?" Pete asked. Before Rose could answer, a Cyberman standing guard by a nearby capsule sharply turned its head towards them. Then, it marched up, making them flinch, inwardly cursing at themselves.
"You are Peter Tyler. Confirm, you are Peter Tyler."
Pete inwardly gulped, but he had no choice now. "Confirm."
"I recognize you. I went first. My name was Jacqueline Tyler."
"No." Rose muttered.
"What?!" Pete demanded. The two of them thought the same thing. Not her! It can't be her!
"They are unprogrammed. Restrain."
"You're lying." Pete denied, just as two Cybermen marched up behind and grasped their arms tight. "You're not her! You're not my Jackie!"
"No, I am Cyberform. Once I was Jacqueline Tyler."
"But you can't be." Rose said, her own voice shaking. "Not her. You can't be her."
"Her brain is inside this body."
"Jacks, I came to save you!" Pete exclaimed but Cyber Jackie ignored him.
"This man worked with Cybus Industries to create our species. He will be rewarded by force. Take them to Cyber Control." Cyber Jackie then marched away while the two restraining them hauled them out of the line and in a different direction through the factory.
"They killed her." Rose blinked as she felt her own throat choke. "They just took her and killed her." Rose had to close her eyes to stop any tears from prickling them. Please be alive, Mum. Please.
"Maybe there's a chance, I don't know. Maybe we can reverse it." Pete tried but Rose shook her head.
"Nothing we can do."
"But if-if she remembers…" The Cybermen stopped their march as a line of brainless Humans moved in front of them, allowing Rose and Pete the chance to glance behind them and over the Cybermen's shoulders. "Where is she?" Pete asked, staring at the sea of endless, unnervingly similar Cybermen. "Which one was it? Which one was her?"
Rose shuddered. "They all look the same." The line in front of them finished moving past, making the Cybermen shove the two back into march again.
Jake and Mickey shoved open the doors to the central room of the ship, tossing two more unconscious guards onto the floor before them.
"Nice one." Jake commented as they moved inside. The room it seemed was completely empty, aside from unused glasses on a table by them with a large pillar in the centre of the room and the main controls at the front. "Nobody's home. Find the transmitter controls."
"What do they look like?" Mickey asked.
Jake scoffed. "Well, I don't know. They might have "Transmitter Controls" written in big red letters. Just look." The pair moved around the pillar, seeing the main controls of the ship along with a monitor, a keyboard and a steering wheel for the helm. Mickey turned around and immediately jumped with a gasp of shock at the sight of a Cybermen within the pillar cupboard. "Cyberman!" Jake gasped, pulling out a pistol to aim it at the Cyberman's head. Nothing. They blinked. It didn't move. It didn't acknowledge them. Nothing. It just stood there, completely motionless, but no less intimidating.
Mickey walked up slowly to get a closer look at the Cyberman before tapping a knuckle on its head. Still nothing, so he sighed. "It's dead. I don't think it was ever alive."
"You don't think?" Jake retorted. They had to be truly sure at that.
Mickey closed his fist and tapped said hand three times against the Cyberman's head, creating a hollow ringing sound within the metal armour, but still nothing. "It's empty, no brain. It's just a robot suit for display."
Jake gave a small sigh of relief, but they both still stared at it with nervous scepticism. "Okay. Transmitter." He reminded, so he and Mickey moved back to work.
The new tunnel the trio had entered had far stronger light than the one before, allowing them to stop for a moment to switch off their torches and head lights. The Doctor took Clara's headlight and gave it back to Mrs. Moore along with his own head light and torch. Mrs. Moore then took off her own and placed it in the bag with her torch. Clara had just put her torch in the bag before a Cyberman stepped suddenly from around a corner into their view, making them, especially Clara, jump in shock. "You are not upgraded."
To their surprise, it wasn't Clara that responded, it was Mrs. Moore. "Yeah?" She asked dryly, pulling a small handmade device out of her bag. "Well, upgrade this." She tossed the device at the Cyberman which immediately stuck onto its chest, then flared into life. It sent hundreds upon hundreds of volts through the Cyberman's system, shocking and stuttering it, causing it to shake violently before it fell backwards, collapsing onto the floor without any more motion.
Clara sent Mrs. Moore a thankful look, while the Doctor shot her an impressed expression. "What the hell was that thing?" He asked.
Mrs. Moore grinned cheekily. "Electromagnetic bomb. Takes out computers, I figured it might stop a Cybersuit."
"Well, you figured right." Clara complimented. "Now, let's have a look." She walked up to kneel beside the Cyberman while the Doctor and Mrs. Moore slowly joined her with puzzled expressions.
"Clara, I thought you already knew everything about Cybermen." The Doctor noted.
Clara just shot him a blank look. "Not everything. I may be an immortal Human, but I'm still Human. Besides, these Cybermen are very young compared to the ones we met. Also, it's a good thing to know your enemy well and dear to your heart." Those words made her sigh, slowly shaking her head. "Never mind that bit." She said dejectedly.
"Clara." The Doctor interrupted. "No more brooding. Agreed?"
She smiled. "Yes boss." She took out her sonic and pressed the tip to the centre of the Cyberman's chest. "Big logo on the front." She commented as the Doctor held his hand on said chest piece. "Lumic's turned them into a brand. Odd choice." She muttered, allowing the Doctor to wrench the chest piece out. He turned the chest piece over, revealing a small wiring system with a steel protector the size of a pocket watch over the top. "Heart of steel." Clara deducted as the Doctor placed it down beside them while she pocketed her sonic.
"What's that?" Mrs. Moore asked. Within its chest was another small wiring system within a computer board, surrounded by silky white material that almost looked like oily fat. The Doctor gently grasped a piece of the material and lifted it up. "Is that flesh?"
The Doctor nodded, the three shivering a bit in disgust. "I'm afraid so." He muttered as he placed it back inside the suit.
"A central nervous system." Clara informed. "Artificially grown, then threaded throughout the suit so it responds like a living thing."
"It IS a living thing." The Doctor argued.
Clara sighed. "I know. I'm just…biased against them."
The Doctor knew that feeling too well, being biased against one race for everything they've ever done. Just for him, it wasn't the Cybermen, but he saw Clara's point. To help take her mind off it, he gently placed a finger on the wiring system within the chest. "Oh but look." Clara and Mrs. Moore leaned in closer to gaze at it. Even the wiring system had a small Cybus logo on it, just to further hammer home who created this new species.
"Emotional inhibitor." Clara muttered. Mrs. Moore blinked at that. "It stops them from feeling anything." She explained.
Mrs. Moore blinked again, now in confusion. "But…why?"
"They still have Human brains. Imagine their reactions if they could see themselves, realise where they are, inside these things." Clara said.
"They'd go insane." Mrs. Moore concluded, getting a nod from Clara and the Doctor. "So, they have to cut out the one thing that makes them Human."
Clara sighed. "It's because they have to."
"Why am I cold?"
The three jumped at that, needing a moment to calm down before they realised exactly what it had said. "It can feel." Clara muttered.
"We broke the inhibitor." The Doctor quickly explained. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Why so cold?"
"Can…" Clara gulped to help her voice be more than a squeaking whisper. "Can you remember your name?"
"Sally. Sally Phelan."
"You're a woman." She muttered.
"Where's Gareth?"
"Who's Gareth?" The Doctor inputted.
"He can't see me. It's…unlucky the night before."
"You were getting married." Clara muttered, burying her face in her hands.
"I'm cold. I'm so cold."
The Doctor shot Clara a sad look, so he took out his own sonic and switched the settings over. "It's all right. You sleep now, Sally. Just go to sleep." He put the sonic within its chest and pressed the button, quickly switching off the Cyberman peacefully. "Sally Phelan didn't die for nothing. Cause that's the key, the emotional inhibitor. If we could find the code behind it, the cancelation code, then feed it throughout the system into every Cyberman's head, they'd realise what they are."
"And what happens then?" Mrs. Moore asked.
"I think it would kill them. Can we do that?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes." Clara inputted, bringing up her face to show her grim expression. "We've got to, before they kill everyone else." The Doctor sent her a hurt look at her words.
"She's right." Mrs. Moore inputted. "There's no choice, Doctor. It's got to be done." Mrs. Moore went to stand up behind them before they heard electricity and a gasp of pain. Looking up, they saw a Cyberman standing behind Mrs. Moore, grasping her shoulder. There was a hidden door behind them, and they inwardly cursed themselves for not noticing it earlier as Mrs. Moore dropped to the ground, lifeless.
"No! No, you didn't have to kill her!" Clara exclaimed.
"Sensors detect a binary vascular system, creating an unknown upgrade." The Cyberman reported, staring at the Doctor before it turned to Clara as two more Cyberman came to corner them both. "Sensors detect potential Cyber Planner host. You both will be taken for analysis."
The Doctor and Clara shot Mrs. Moore's body one last apologetic look before they turned to follow the first Cyberman. "One chance, Doctor." Clara whispered with a hint of anger as a promise. "They get one chance."
"The transmitter controls are sealed behind here." Mickey reported, showing Jake a large black computer cube. "We need, like, an oxyacetylene or something."
"Oh, and I forgot to bring it with me." Jake quipped dryly.
"Well, then, what do we do?"
"We'll crash the zeppelin."
"With us inside it?"
"We could set it to automatic and then just leg it." Jake turned and moved over to the monitor with the keyboard. "Let's have a look." Jake pressed a command key, but all it did was bring up an error sound, making him sigh. "It's locked. There's got to be an override."
"Let me have a go." Mickey said, earning a blink from Jake. "I'm good with computers, trust me." Mickey immediately went to work on the keyboard, not noticing that as soon as Jake had touched it first, a small light was beeping beside the Cyberman.
The Doctor and Clara, flanked by the two Cybermen, were led into the control room, seeing the other entrance blocked by two more Cybermen, while Pete sat dejectedly in a chair with Rose standing beside him with a sad expression.
"We've been captured, but don't worry. Rose and Pete are still out there. They can rescue us. Oh well, never mind." The Doctor quipped, earning smirks from Clara and Rose and a small smile from Pete. "You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah." Rose nodded. "But they got Jackie." The Doctor just shot them a sad look while Clara clenched her jaw.
"We were too late. Lumic killed her." Pete interjected with a sad voice.
"So, where is he?" Clara demanded, turning to the Cybermen. "The "Famous" Mr. Lumic?" She spat with obvious venom in her voice. "Don't we get a chance to meet our lord and master?"
"He has been upgraded." One of the present Cyber Leaders said.
"So, he's just like you. Good job." She growled.
"He is superior. The Lumic unit has been designated Cyber Controller." The Cybermen turned their heads to the far wall, which slid open, revealing an emerging throne of metal that rolled out towards them. Sitting on the throne was a Cyberman, the Lumic Cyberman, but it had one difference. Its eyes glowed white and its forehead was a clear glass, showing the top of his brain.
"This is the age of steel and I am its creator." Cyber Lumic said proudly.
Pete stood up beside the trio, while Clara glared fires at Lumic, quickly crossing her arms.
"Almost there." Mickey reported as he continued his mission.
"Not bad work." Jake complimented. As Mickey kept working, they both heard hissing steam from behind, turning to see the Cyberman starting its slow march towards them. Jake immediately grasped Mickey's shoulder as Mickey chucked the keyboard aside. "It's moving!" Jake split from Mickey to go around the Cyberman, briefly distracting it. "You said it was dead!"
"A robot suits still a good robot." They both moved to the far side by the transmitter, and Jake drew his gun, but Mickey held him back. "Wait." He pushed Jake aside and glanced back at the Cyberman. "Hey, Cyberman, over here." The Cyberman slowly turned around to glance at Mickey, who gave him a large smug grin. "Come on, you big brainless lump of metal. Come and have a go." He taunted and the Cyberman marched up to Mickey with its first raised. "Come on!" The Cyberman struck just as Mickey darted out of the way, its own fist immediately hitting the controls, shattering it to pieces and violently shocking the Cyberman dead with electricity. At that, Jake and Mickey rushed to the windows to look down at the factory, hearing the distant screams of people as they sprinted out with terrified faces, quickly overwhelming the Cybermen. "Transmitter's down!" Mickey and Jake grinned in unison, sharing a quick friendly hug.
Clara sent the Doctor a beaming grin as they heard all the people in the factory rushing out, and he sent her a playful wink.
"That's our friends at work. Good boys!" The Doctor complimented.
"Mr. Lumic…" Clara turned back to Cyber Lumic, "that must be a vote for free will." She retorted.
If it could, it would've scoffed. "I have factories waiting on seven continents. If the ear pods have failed, then the Cybermen will take humanity by force. London has fallen. So shall the world." Clara clicked her neck. She feared and hated them so much that a part of her felt it wasn't worth it to offer them a chance. But she had to. It was in the rules after all.
"Hold on, I've logged onto Cyber Control." Mickey informed as he pulled up a live feed from a security camera in Cyber Control. It showed the Doctor, Rose and Pete standing together, while Clara, in obvious dark intent, had taken one step closer to the centre of the room, to stand opposite Cyber Lumic. "They're alive!" Mickey beamed. "The Doctor, Clara and Rose, there they are."
Jake's gaze immediately went to Cyber Lumic and he scrunched his face in bewilderment and fear. "Never mind them, what the hell is that thing?"
"Shh!" Mickey hushed. "Has this thing got sound?" He muttered to himself as he tapped a few more keys. The screen gave a screech of static before the sound came through for them to hear.
"I will bring peace to the world, everlasting peace…"
"…and unity and uniformity." Cyber Lumic said with clear arrogance, not knowing who was also watching them.
"And imagination? What about that?" Clara growled. "The only path that led you here, imagination. Now you're killing it dead!"
No response for a moment, almost as if Cyber Lumic would've blinked. "What is your name?"
"Clara Oswald. Used to be part time primary school teacher, now full-time career."
It was obvious Cyber Lumic would've scoffed or laughed at her comment. "Redundant titles." It mocked. "Teachers or carers need not exist. Cybermen already have full knowledge and have no need of emotional support."
"Ugh, for fucks sake, that's the point!" Clara snarled. "Come on, Lumic!" She mocked. "I would call you a genius, but I have my own bias against you." She muttered to herself. "Seriously, everything you did here was to fight your sickness. But now what?" Cyber Lumic didn't respond to that. "The Cybermen may evolve into an empire, but you won't advance. You'll just stop. You'll be stuck like this forever. A metal Earth, with metal men, metal thoughts, metal looks, metal everything. What are you even going to do with yourselves? The answer is nothing, because you can't! You'll be lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive: People! Ordinary, stupid, beautiful, brilliant people! Without them, you can't create music, or films, booming businesses, or failing businesses, or inventions or anything! You will be doing nothing!" Clara spat.
Cyber Lumic cocked its head at her. "You are proud of your emotions?"
Clara scoffed. "I thought it would've been obvious by now."
"Then tell me, Clara, you have already expressed rage, but have you known grief and pain and sorrow?"
"Yes. Yes, I have."
"And they hurt?"
"Yes."
"Then do you know what being a Cyberman feels like? Nothing. There is nothing to feel, because you do not need to feel." Clara gulped and buried her face in her hands. Its words were hitting a little too close to home, and she could feel its arrogant stare upon her, almost as if it knew the truth. "We can set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain, sadness or guilt?"
With those words, Clara decided, that they lost their one chance. "You might as well kill me." Clara retorted.
"Is that answer in weakness or strength?" Cyber Lumic retorted. "Either way, I will take that option."
Clara had to bury her face in her hands to muffle her agonized scream of frustration. "It's not yours to take! You're a Cyber Controller! You don't control me or anything with blood in its heart!"
"You have no means of stopping me!" It retorted. "I have an army, a species of my own!"
Clara rolled her eyes. "You don't understand anything about proper logic, do you?! An army's nothing! All those ordinary people out there, they're the key! Anybody, even the most unknown person can change the world!" Clara sighed, letting herself calm down for just a moment. She had already guessed that Mickey and Jake were watching, and if she was to address them, she didn't want to do it in pure rage. Save that for the end. "Some ordinary man or woman. Some idiot, even." She shrugged. "All it takes is for him to find, say the right numbers…the right codes. Here's an example, he could find the code behind a linked device that represses emotions, sitting right there in front of him." She turned around to see the Doctor and Rose struggling like mad to hold back a grin…or was it a roll of the eyes? She didn't really care, it made the rage calm just a bit, if only for a bit. "Cause even some random idiot knows his computers these days. Knows how to get past firewalls and passwords, unlike me of course." She quickly added with a smirk. "He'll know how to find something encrypted in the Lumic family database under…" She sighed, turning to Pete. "What was it again, Pete? Binary what?"
"Binary 9." He quickly said, already picking up on her mad idea.
"An idiot could find that code, the cancelation code. All he has to do is keep on typing, just keep on fighting."
"Your words are irrelevant." Cyber Lumic spat.
Instead of shooting Cyber Lumic a dark smile, she chose to chuckle to herself. Only the Humans present, plus one Time Lord, noticed that it was fake. "Talking too much. Blame matchstick man over there, he's rubbed off on me a bit."
"Oi!" The Doctor whined but she just cocked an eyebrow at him.
"Lucky we have that cheap tariff, Rose, for all our long chats on your phone."
"Far too much talking. You must be deleted." Cyber Lumic snarled.
"Yes!" Clara said in fake proudness. ""Delete", "Control", "Hash", all those buttons the kids use nowadays. But I have one favourite: Send." Clara moved to stand at the end of the monitor row, where a small pod stand, obviously compatible with Rose's phone, lay at the end closest to her. "And don't forget how you seduced all those ordinary idiots in the first place, by making every bit of technology compatible with everything else."
Rose's phone went off, and she pulled it out, glanced at the text before looking at Clara. "It's for you." She tossed it over and Clara quickly caught it.
As she did, she melted away any fun pretense she was having, sending Cyber Lumic a dark look of satisfaction. "Like this." She jammed Rose's phone into the pod and at once all the Cybermen started screaming in agony, making the group flinch while Cyber Lumic stared around in obvious shock. Clara saw at the side of the room, one Cyberman that was staring at its reflection, wailing to itself in sorrow. Clara went to stand by it and just for one moment, she let all her guilt at her actions express into one sorrowful look. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She said sadly.
"What have you done?!" Cyber Lumic demanded.
"I gave them back their souls." Clara said, glowering at Cyber Lumic as she took Rose's phone out of the pod and tossed it back to its owner. "They can see what you've done, Lumic, and its killing them!" The group then quickly rushed out of the room.
"Delete! Delete! Delete!" Cyber Lumic called from behind them as they raced through the factory. Rushing towards a back exit, they found it blocked by a large group of screaming Cybermen, forcing them back inside. They could feel the factory around them starting to shake violently as the Cybermen all exploded and died, causing sparks and flames to erupt within the facility's walls. Despite the mass commotion, they could hear the distant screams of Cyber Lumic, and they knew, they had to find a way out. Lumic would get to them first before the fires of the factory would.
"There's no way out!" Pete exclaimed.
"Keep searching!" The Doctor ordered.
"What're you doing?!" Mickey demanded as Jake took the helm.
"We've got to get away. If that factory blows up, this balloon's gonna ignite." Jake explained.
"Take it back!" Mickey ordered.
"Mickey, they've had it!"
"I said: Take it back!" Jake ignored him, so Mickey moved over and shoved him away from the wheel. "We're not leaving them behind!" Jake moved back to grasp the wheel, but Mickey shoved him aside again. "There's no way we're leaving them behind!" He quickly spun the wheel to keep the zeppelin steady over the factory roof, but they had already moved too high away from the staircase ladder. Mickey took out his phone and dialled Rose's number before handing it to a puzzled Jake. "Hold it!" Jake held it to his ear just as Rose answered. "Rose! Rose, can you hear me?! Head for the roof!"
"Gotcha!" He could hear her put the phone aside. "It's Mickey!" Rose called in the background. "He says head for the roof!"
"How are you going to get them?!" Jake demanded.
"I don't know, figure it out!" Mickey retorted.
"Mickey, where did you learn to fly that thing?!" Rose demanded. She and the group must've quickly sprinted to the roof, but he couldn't feel relieved at that just yet.
"PlayStation." He said simply. "Just hold on, Rose, I'm coming to get you." He moved away from the helm towards the ship controls. "Take the helm!" He ordered, and Jake immediately did so.
"You can't go any lower!" Jake said.
"I've got to!"
"You're going to crush them!"
Mickey glanced at all the controls with furrowed eyebrows. "There's got to be something. There's got to be." He muttered. Then, his gaze landed on a lever next to an emergency message. Rope ladder! "Oh yes!"
"Oh, you've got to be kidding!" Pete exclaimed as a long rope ladder descended from the zeppelin above their heads.
"Come on, get up!" The Doctor demanded, Rose getting on first followed by Clara, then the Doctor, then Pete.
"All right, we're all on!" Rose said as soon as Pete got a good grip.
"Hold on tight! We're going up!" The rope started ascending towards the zeppelin, albeit slower than they expected, while the zeppelin in turn started to move high away from the factory. "Welcome to Mickey Smith Airlines. Please enjoy your flight. Wooh!" Mickey quipped with a laugh before they hung up, allowing Rose to pocket her phone.
Rose looked down to see the Doctor and Clara holding onto the rope, while Pete moved up just behind them. "We did it! Mickey did it!"
"Go Mickey!" The Doctor called, the three sharing a laugh, but it was cut off as the ladder shook violently. They had to be carrying something heavy, so they all looked down. There it was, Cyber Lumic, climbing slowly up the ladder towards Pete, practically glaring fires as bright as the factory at them.
Clara growled low in her throat, reaching to pull out her sonic and switched the settings. "Pete!" She called, earning said man's attention. "Take this!" She dropped the sonic, which Pete caught in his outstretched hand. "Hold the button down! Press it against the rope! Just do it!"
Pete, with a firm grip on the ladder, pressed her sonic against the ladder beneath his feet. "Jackie Tyler! This is for her!" The sonic made quick work of the rope, burning and tearing it instantly, letting a screaming Cyber Lumic fall to its death, consumed within the flames of the burning factory. Now, they could all relax. The threat was dead, and Mickey was piloting them safely away. They just had one last stop now. They needed the old girl alive again.
The Doctor and Clara raced into the TARDIS and he immediately hooked the glowing crystal into the console.
"You all right now?" He asked Clara as they waited for the TARDIS to return to life.
Clara breathed, moving in to hug him. "Not really, no." She muttered.
"Clara, it'll be fine. They're gone now." She just gave a small smile as he planted a kiss on her lips. At that, they heard the TARDIS hum around them, the lights returning and an instant, welcoming warmth letting them chuckle to themselves.
"Okay, I think we BOTH feel much better now." She mused, the Doctor sharing her grin as they looked at the console. "Missed you, old girl."
*Beeps* (Missed you too. Both of you)
The Doctor and Clara chuckled. It felt good to be back home.
"So, what happens inside that thing, eh?" Pete asked Rose as they stood outside the TARDIS, while Mickey and Jake conversed to themselves away from the pair.
"Do you want to see?" Rose offered.
Pete shook his head. "No, I don't think so." He sighed, turning to look at Rose. "But you three, you know, all that stuff you said about different worlds…who are you?"
Rose felt her own heart race at that. She'd been dreading this conversation, even if he was so much like the Dad she only briefly knew. "It's like you said." She took a breath to calm herself. "Imagine there are…different worlds…parallel worlds, worlds with another Pete Tyler and…Jackie Tyler's still alive and their…daughter."
The inquisitive curiosity on Pete's face melted into recognition. She could almost hear the gears turning in his head as he pieced it all together, and he realised exactly who she was. Why he felt she was so right. "No." He muttered in disbelief and shock. "I've got to go."
"But if you just look inside-"
"No, I can't." Pete interrupted her pleading. "There's all those Lumic factories out there. All those Cybermen still in storage. Someone's got to tell the authorities what happened, carry on the fight."
The TARDIS doors opened, the Doctor and Clara stepping out and walking towards them. "Rose. We've only got five minutes of power. We've got to go." The Doctor explained.
"They could show you." Rose pleaded again, turning back to Pete.
"Thank you…for everything." Pete said, with clear denial at her offer.
"Dad."
Pete's face morphed into sadness. "Don't. Please, just don't." At that, he walked away, only glancing back once before he disappeared. Rose felt sad at that, but now she knew. She really needed to see her mum again.
"Here they are." Mickey said, joining the group, him and Jake carrying two bundles of clothes. "Found them. Yours hasn't got a crease, Doctor."
"My suit! Good man!" The Doctor complimented, taking his clothes from Mickey.
"That's my sweater!" Clara beamed, taking her own from Jake. "Thank you!"
"Not at all." Jake returned.
"Now then, Jake, we've got to run. But one more thing." The Doctor inputted. "Mrs. Moore, her real name was Angela Price. She's got a husband out there and children. Find them. Tell them how she died saving the world."
Jake nodded immediately with a wink. "Yeah, of course I will."
"Right. Off we go then." The Doctor said.
"Uh…thing is, I'm staying." Mickey said.
The trio looked at him with wide eyes. "You're doing what?" Clara asked.
"You can't." Rose muttered.
Mickey shrugged softly, but his own voice was holding back from breaking. "It sort of balances out, cause this world lost its Rickey, but there's me. And there's work to be done with all those Cybermen still out there."
"But you can't stay." Rose said, tears prickling her eyes.
"Rose, my gran's here. She's still alive, my old gran, remember her?"
Rose nodded. "Yeah."
"She needs me." He said simply.
"What about me? You're my friend. What if I need you?"
He shook his head sadly. "Yeah, but Rose, you don't. You have them." He nodded to the pair beside them. "And you have Jackie. You've got it pretty good." He said with a small smile that faded quickly.
"Well, we'll come back. We can travel anywhere, come and see you, yeah?" Rose looked to the pair for help.
"We can't." The Doctor denied sadly. "We've told you, travel between parallel worlds is impossible. We only got here by accident. We-we fell through a crack in the skin of our universe. When we leave, me and Clara must close it. We can't ever return."
Mickey sighed and held out his hand to the pair. "Doctor. Clara." They just glanced at his hand and rolled their eyes, grabbing his wrist to pull him into a double hug. "Oof." He muttered.
"Watch it." Clara warned playfully before they parted. "Now, take Rose's phone, it's got the code. Get it out there. Stop those factories." She ordered.
"And good luck, Mickey the idiot." The Doctor inputted, playfully smacking Mickey on the cheek.
"Watch it." Mickey retorted. They sent him one last smile before turning away and entering the TARDIS. Mickey turned to Rose, who gave him her phone and he put it into his pocket. "Thanks. We've had a laugh though, haven't we? Seen it all, been there and back. Who would've thought, eh? Me, you, off the old estate, flying through the stars with those toddlers?" He remarked.
Rose smiled briefly before bringing back her sad expression. "All those years, just sitting there…imagining what we'd do one day. We never saw this, did we?" She choked, and he brought her into one final hug.
"Go on." He ushered, parting from the hug. "Don't miss your flight."
She nodded. "Good luck out there, yeah?"
He smiled. "You too." Rose then without any further words, moved into the TARDIS and closed the doors behind her. "Jake, you want to watch this." Mickey said after clearing his throat.
Jake looked at the TARDIS with puzzlement that quickly turned into disbelief as the lamp flared above, slowly dematerialising away. "What the hell?" Jake muttered.
"That's the Doctor and Clara, in the TARDIS, with Rose Tyler." He said proudly.
Tyler Flat
Jackie just finished filling the jug as she heard the TARDIS materialising inside the flat, so she immediately put it down on the counter and exited the kitchen into the living room, beaming as Rose came out of the TARDIS. She briefly gave a confused look at Rose's server attire before shrugging it off.
"You're alive." Rose said in relief. Jackie blinked as Rose bounded up to her. "Oh Mum, you're alive!"
Jackie blinked a bit in surprise as Rose dove in for a tight hug. "Well, I was the last time I looked." She quipped. The Doctor and Clara exited the TARDIS, both bearing sad expressions which made Jackie frown.
"I'm sorry, Mum. I'm so sorry." Rose choked.
"What is it? What's happened, sweetheart?" Jackie asked as Rose held her tight. "What's wrong? Where did you go?"
"Far away." It was Clara that answered. "That was…far away."
"Where's Mickey?" Jackie asked.
It was the Doctor that answered now. "He's gone home."
Rose sniffed, making Jackie rub her back in comfort. "Hey, it's all right. What's wrong?"
"I love you Mum. I'm so sorry."
"Hey, it's okay." Jackie cooed. "It's all right. What happened out there?"
"We'll tell you." Clara said, making Jackie blink. "We'll be staying for a bit, if that's okay."
Jackie smiled, just continuing to rub Rose's back. "Yeah, it's okay. You can stay." The Doctor and Clara shot her small smiles while Rose started to relax, letting Jackie smile to herself. It was good to have her back.
Mickey and Jake climbed into the front seats of the Preacher's van, deciding to sit in silence for a moment.
"Jake…" Mickey started, earning said man's attention, "I know it's not easy with my face looking exactly like Rickey, but I'm a different man. I'm not replacing him."
Jake nodded. "You never could. I'll never have another boyfriend like him."
Mickey blinked, and quickly cleared his throat. "Okay, definitely not replacing him." Jake chuckled at that. "But we can remember him, by fighting in his name."
Jake nodded. "Yeah. Him, Mrs. Moore…definitely."
Mickey turned to stare out the windscreen of the van with furrowed eyebrows. "With all those Cyber Factories out there, do you think there'll be one in Paris?"
Jake cocked an eyebrow before nodding. "Yeah."
"Then let's go liberate Paris." Mickey said.
"What, you and me? In a van?" Jake quipped dryly.
Mickey smiled. "There's nothing wrong with a van. I once saved the universe with a BIG yellow truck." Jake laughed with Mickey as he turned the van on and drove away, now on their new mission. They didn't know it, but they would meet the TARDIS trio again. One day.
AN: Ahh, I miss Mickey. I mean…you know…he'll be back, but still, I already miss him. I hope now you see why I didn't have someone go with Mickey in the first place, as I needed him to find his own place in the world, or in this case another world, on his own. Also, do tell me if you think I should do anything better in this story. Since it will be a VERY long story, any criticism is appreciated. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading and leave a review if you wish, and I shall see you in another two weeks. :)