The Doctor, Freya, Oswin, Alexia and John all managed to squeeze out of the TARDIS, and now they all stared at it. It was a lot smaller than it should be and Freya could feel worry, disbelief and confusion coming from her family members.
"What could have caused this, Doctor?" Alexia was the first to speak up. "Yeah, sure. Something like this has happened before when you went to Logopolis. But this is obviously different isn't it?" Silence followed afterwards and she looked around to find she was being stared at. It made her feel embarrassed and her face blushed.
"Yes, it is definitely different." The Doctor eventually replied. "Like Jaime said, something is causing this and we need to figure out who or what." He furrowed his brows. "Where are we anyway?" He wondered.
"Bristol." Came the reply from Oswin.
"Really? How did you know that?" J.D asked the young woman.
"Because there is a sign over there." She stated, pointing towards a railway line that said 'Bristol Sidings'. "Though it's not Stratford is it?" She gave the Doctor a pointed look and Freya chuckled.
The Time Lord rolled his eyes. "We were pulled off course for a reason and we need to find that reason and put a stop to it." He turned his attention to all three females. "This type of thing normally never happens. Energy is being siphoned from Jaime, Rose and The TARDIS. I need you three ladies to go and do some recceing, be on the lookout for an energy stealing being."
Extremely worried, Alexia spoke up. "But what about Jaime, Rose, yourself and John?" She asked.
"Och, we'll be fine," The Doctor told her. "So will Rose and Jaime once they're comfortable in the Medbay."
The woman nodded with reluctance and the three females went off exploring while The Doctor and John squeezed back into the TARDIS.
As they left the waste ground and walked towards what appeared to be an estate, a worried Alexia took a quick glance at Freya and Oswin. They were holding hands, yet they remained silent with Freya also looking rather worried. Well of course she would be, after all, Rose was in danger, just like Jaime was.
"So what do you do?" Alexia questioned Oswin in order to take her Mind off what was happening. "Do you teach?"
Oswin rolled her eyes at this. "No," she replied with a scowl. "It's my sister Clara who's the teacher. I'm currently at Drama School in Stratford learning to act. But I also dabble in writing and computers."
Nodding her head, Alexia found this interesting. Clara was still the teacher. "Twins are you?" She asked next.
This time Oswin literally glared at her. "I would have thought that was bloody obvious!" She snapped and Alexia blushed, feeling embarrassed again. It seemed Oswin had a very short temper.
"Sorry!" She apologised as Freya spoke to her girlfriend in soothing tones.
They made it to a shopping precinct and had a good look around the place until something at the underpass caught their attention. Oswin and Freya walked down the steps to get a better look, not noticing that Alexia had been distracted by something else. While Oswin crouched to get a proper look at all the flowers laid against the wall, Freya's wide blue eyes stared at the underpass. On both walls were murals of people, but they were turned away so that they only showed their backs.
"Something doesn't feel right here." She uttered, getting a really bad feeling.
Hearing her, Oswin stood up straight and joined her, also looking at the murals. "Found the cause of the trouble then?" She asked.
But Freya shook her head. "I'm not sure yet, could be nothing." She replied even though her eyes remained on the murals for several seconds before looking away. Then she noticed someone was missing. "Hold on, where's Alexia?" She asked.
Oswin didn't know so they hurried back up the steps only to find she was watching several community service criminals cleaning up the precinct. Freya breathed a sigh of relief. "Aunt Lexy!" She called out, catching Alexia's attention. "Come along, we need to get back home."
But Alexia shook her head and beckoned them over. "I think you should see this," she called back. "It's important."
Wondering what could be so important, Freya groaned and she and Oswin approached the woman. "What's so important about a group of delinquents and a graffiti'd up wall?" Oswin questioned.
"That!" Alexia pointed towards the wall.
Furrowing her brow, Freya looked over at the wall and let out a shocked gasp. "No!" She uttered, eyes widening.
On the wall, daubed in multi-colour, was a very large graffiti tag that said 'Bad Wolf'.
Even Oswin was stunned when she saw it. "Isn't that what your mum is known as?" She questioned and Freya nodded silently.
"I did enquire about it," Alexia explained. "And Rigsy…that boy over there," she pointed towards a dark skinned boy with short dark hair. "He's a graffiti artist and he knows other graffiti artists, but he knows nobody who uses 'Bad Wolf' as a moniker. He said it just appeared there one day."
Freya stared at the boy who was smiling at them. She could see that sometime in his future he was going to turn his life around once he became a father. "Are you free to talk?" She requested, beckoning him over.
Rigsy dropped his brush and joined the three females. "For the moment, yes," Rigsy replied. "Fenton hasn't got his eyes on me." He nodded towards the man in charge of community service.
Looking over at Fenton, Freya noticed he had a well worn craggy face. Not to mention he was a stickler for the rules. She turned back to Rigsy. "What can you tell me about that tag?" Freya asked about the huge 'Bad Wolf' graffiti on the wall.
Rigsy gave it a passing glance before replying. "It's been there for a couple of days now. Just appeared out of nowhere overnight. I asked about but none of the other taggers know anything about it." He told the three females.
A serious Oswin spoke up next. "What's with the mural of different people in the underpass?" She questioned. Freya smiled at Oswin's investigative nature.
"I guess it's a memorial to the lost. My Aunt Karina is one of them. Deaf as a Doorpost. Didn't really know her well enough, but she's still gone." He explained and looked thoughtfully towards the underpass.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Alexia spoke up. "When did she die?"
A puzzled expression appeared on Rigsy's face as he looked at the woman, while Freya registered his confusion. "Oh no, she ain't dead. She's just missing." He corrected.
"Oh!" Alexia blushed at her mistake.
"Missing?" Freya wanted to clarify. "Those people aren't dead? Just missing?" That bad feeling continued to grate at her senses and she felt there was something obviously afoot in Bristol. That, and she could sense her dad was extremely worried about something.
"No. The first mural appeared around the time the first person went missing." Rigsy glanced towards the 'Bad Wolf' tag. "It's kinda odd because they both appeared at the same time."
Gasping, Freya's eyes widened. "Rassilon!" She uttered. "Thanks for your help." She said to the boy, grabbed Oswin's hand and they ran off the way they came with Alexia following, also running.
"What's going on?" Oswin asked, breathless as they ran back onto the wasteland.
"It's connected," Freya replied, hearts pumping away. "The Bad Wolf tag and the murals. They're connected, and that usually means there's danger nearby." She became silent as she mentally spoke to her father, telling him what they'd found so far.
When Freya became this quiet, with the look of determination, Oswin knew not to disturb her. Suddenly she abruptly came to a halt, allowing Alexia to catch up with them. But now she looked confused as she continued to talk to her father. Looking around at her surroundings.
Alexia recognised it was where the TARDIS was parked, yet she couldn't see the TARDIS anywhere. "Where's the TARDIS?" She asked.
Oswin looked at Alexia before looking around in realisation. She had a point! Just where indeed was the TARDIS? It couldn't possibly be that wheelbarrow…could it?
Freya groaned and shook her head before letting go of her girlfriend and moving past the wheelbarrow. "Oh no!" She uttered, looking down at the ground.
The two humans watched as Freya bent down to pick something up. When she stood up they saw why they couldn't see the TARDIS. It had shrunk even more to the size of a toy.
Oswin couldn't help but snort with laughter. "That's adorable!" She stated, joining Freya and the small blue box.
Alexia couldn't agree with the sentiment as she stared at the small box, her eyes wide. Her daughter was in there and she was extremely worried about Jaime's safety.
"Oswin!" Freya groaned. "This is not adorable. This is dangerous. Whatever this thing is it's taking massive amounts of energy." It wasn't just the TARDIS either. It was happening to her mother and sister as well.
"Are they still in there?" Alexia asked. In answer to her question, the TARDIS door opened up with a tiny squeak. The Doctor, who was not small, was peering out of the door the best he could.
"That is weird!" Oswin exclaimed. "How come you're not tiny?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Because it wouldn't work that way," he told her. "It's just the exterior dimensions that have changed."
"How are you gonna get out?" Oswin asked next.
"We can't, obviously!" The Time Lord answered her. He turned his attention to Freya before he could get interrupted again. "What you told me about your find has been very helpful and I just about managed to get a rough fix of the dimensional leeching," he explained. "It's back where you came from and very likely to be centred around the area you were in. The three of you will have to go back and find this alien and stop it."
"Okay." Freya said rather grimly. It was very likely she was going to have to be in her dad's shoes. "Will I need anything?" She inquired.
"Ah, good thinking!" The Doctor disappeared from the door to run over to the console.
"Doctor, John, how's Jaime and Rose doing?" Alexia called out, her voice raised.
"No need to shout," John answered, appearing in the doorway. "We can still hear you just fine." Alexia blushed. "As for Jaime and Rose, the TARDIS is doing her best to keep them stable, despite the circumstances."
The update on her daughter clearly didn't make her feel any better about the situation, while Oswin was thinking over what the Doctor said. "If it's the TARDIS that's being leeched of its power, then why did Rose and Jaime collapse?"
Freya answered this question. "Because mum is connected to the TARDIS via the Bad Wolf. I did explain this to you once!"
Oswin nodded. "Yeah, the Heart of the TARDIS," she said. "But what about Jaime?"
John was about to answer this one until he was pushed to the side by The Doctor. "Jaime has the ability to connect to the TARDIS throughout Time and Space. Not to mention she shares a TARDIS-like connection with John. And then there's the energy she uses to heal people."
Alexia gasped, worrying even more.
"We're doing our best to keep them stable." The Doctor added and reached out to give his daughter a small black wallet. "I know you've never needed it, but use the Psychic Paper in case." Freya took it and put it in her pocket. "Will you be needing the Sonic?" The Doctor checked, though Freya shook her head.
"I'll be fine with my Sonic Pen." She answered.
The next thing The Doctor handed his daughter were three small earpieces. "Stick those in your ears." He told them once Freya had distributed them to Alexia and Oswin.
"What do they do?" Oswin asked, only to yelp and wince when a bout of interference screeched in her ear.
"Ow!" Alexia cried out and put her hand over her ear. "What was that?"
"Nanotechnology," The Doctor explained as Freya put the small TARDIS in her pouch-bag. "I just hacked into your optic nerves."
Confusion came from Oswin. "What does that mean?" She asked.
"We see what you three see." The Doctor told her.
"Wow that's handy!" An amazed Oswin appreciated.
Back at the estate with the shopping precinct, Alexia watched as Freya scanned the area with her Sonic pen. It didn't look like a modern day ballpoint like Miss Foster's Sonic Pen. This one was a very stylish looking fountain pen that gave off a very discreet buzzing noise. It had maroon casing but no light. "So how come you use a Sonic Pen instead of a Sonic Screwdriver?" She asked the young looking Time Lady who was probably older than herself and Oswin.
Freya gave her a quick glance, a smile on her face. "It was a Graduation present from mum and dad," she replied. "When I became a doctor."
A wide surprised smile appeared on Alexia's face when she heard this. One of the daughters of the Doctor had become an actual doctor. "Wow, that's brilliant!" She congratulated. "So what kind of doctor are you? Medical?" It was the first thought that came to the woman's Mind.
"Yes," Freya replied with a chuckle. "Technically it's a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology." She added. "I'm a Psychologist. It's also how I met Oswin." She looked at Oswin with a big smile and Oswin grinned back, happy she didn't elaborate further on how they met.
"If you're quite finished!" An annoyed Doctor spoke up in their ears. "We have a serious issue to deal with."
"Sorry!" Both Freya and Oswin said, their faces blushing. Even Alexia looked sheepish. "Anyway, are you getting anything?" Freya asked as she turned towards a wall.
"Yes, I'm getting dizzy," The Doctor complained and Oswin rolled her eyes. "But nothing useful."
Meanwhile, Alexia's glance towards the community service boys had caught John's attention as he was peering at the other monitor. "Hold on, Alexia, can you look over towards that wall." He requested and Alexia did. The wall in question was the 'Bad Wolf' wall that was slowly being painted over. Freya and Oswin had also turned to it. In the TARDIS both Doctors stared in disbelief at the wall.
"Oh, yeah. That's the one I mentioned." Freya told her father and uncle.
"Hey!" Rigsy called out and approached the three females. "You came back."
The Doctor scowled in disapproval. "No time to fraternise. Come on, get rid of him." He said.
"But that's just Rigsy," Alexia answered him. "He's not bad. And he might prove useful."
John nodded thoughtfully. "She's got a point." He said to the Doctor.
Back in the precinct, Rigsy finally joined the three females and Alexia noticed the community service boys were on a lunch break. "You never did tell me your names." He asked out of curiosity.
Freya smiled at him, fully taking charge. "Yeah, sorry about that. We were busy earlier," she replied. "Anyway, I'm Doctor Gallifreya Sareya Tyler…" She introduced, ignoring twin cries of surprise from Alexia and John. "This is my girlfriend, Oswin Oswald," she nodded at the brown haired female and put her arm around her shoulders. "And this is my Aunt Alexia." She finished her introductions. Now Freya watched as she and her fellow Time Travellers were sized up by the boy, feeling his surprise and disappointment.
"Gallifreya? That's a pretty unique name. I've never heard of it before. Is it Irish?" Rigsy asked.
"Yes,' Freya answered him. In actual fact she was named after her dad's home planet. "But friends and family members call me Freya." She looked Rigsy straight in the eyes. "I think you and I are going to get along swimmingly."
He looked and felt nervous. "What kind of doctor are you anyway?" He then asked with a hint of suspicion.
"Psychologist. Why do you ask?" Was Freya's reply.
"Oh, cool," Rigsy muttered. "I just thought, with all the questions, you were cops or something." Humoured, Oswin grinned at him while Rigsy looked at Alexia. "Not you though. I thought I recognised the name, I just couldn't place where I'd seen you before. You're the Author of the Black Bullett series."
Alexia smiled grimly, once again being reminded of something she had yet to do.
"If you're going to require his help, ask already!" An impatient Doctor spoke in their ears.
"Understood." Freya said before turning her attention back to Rigsy. "Can you show us where one of the missing disappeared from?" She requested.
Rigsy nodded his head. "Sure, it's this way." The boy took off without informing the community service officer and the three females followed him.
Back in the TARDIS, John looked over at his brother. "You actually named Freya after our home planet?" He asked, sounding awed.
The Doctor nodded his head. "Yes, we felt it was the right idea. To name her after a planet long thought lost to the Time War. A heritage every one of our children know about." He said and didn't elaborate further.
The three Time Travelling females continued to follow Rigsy as he led them towards a flat on the housing estate. This was the scene of one of the latest disappearances, according to the boy. And it showed because there was police tape tied across the door. They watched as Rigsy cut the tape, then they stepped into the flat.
"When he disappeared all of the doors and windows were locked from the inside." Rigsy explained to the females.
"Och, now you're talking. I love a good locked room mystery." The Doctor said, keeping his eyes glued to the monitor in case he missed a clue. John was doing the same, except he wore his glasses and he was seeing the flat from Alexia's point of view.
"Yeah, doesn't everyone?" Oswin replied rather dryly.
"What?" A confused Rigsy uttered as he looked over at Oswin.
"Oh, yeah," Oswin rolled her eyes. "Should've said earlier, but we've got somebody else listening in." She looked over at Freya who was currently scanning an area of the flat.
"It's my father and uncle," Freya explained. "They're helping out."
Alexia was looking at what appeared to be a mural of a sandy desert. It was an interesting pattern on the wallpaper, but for some odd reason it didn't appear elsewhere. "Rigsy, meet The Doctor and Doctor Smith," she introduced, listening as The Doctor called the boy a 'barely sentient local'. It was a tad harsh considering Rigsy was helping them. Then she smiled when she heard J.D admonish the Doctor for being rude.
"More Doctors?" Rigsy asked, looking around at all three females, a bewildered expression on his face.
"How do you sleep at night?" The Doctor muttered sarcastically. He really wanted to get back on track. "Missing people, tiny TARDIS. What's the link?" He prompted.
Freya started scanning again, passing her Sonic Pen across the sandy mural, stopped and shuddered. "I'm getting that same feeling I got at the underpass." She uttered. "It doesn't feel right."
"Can you narrow it down?" The Doctor asked his daughter.
She glanced over at the sandy mural before looking over at the floor to ceiling beam that had a phone on it, aware that Alexia and Oswin were watching her.
"I think this is great that someone is finally looking into this," Rigsy broke the silence. "The police weren't doing anything. They never do on this estate. People were thinking that no-one were listening. That no-one cared. So yeah, I think it's great what you're doing."
With a smile on her face, Alexia looked over at the boy and walked towards him. "Well it's a good thing we turned up then, isn't it." She said, patting his upper arm in comfort. "Because we won't be leaving here until we find out what's causing the trouble."
Rigsy smiled, comforted by her words.
"Nice, but I would have told him to leave." The Doctor said in their ears causing Alexia to sigh. It seemed the Twelfth Doctor was a rather grumpy fellow.
"Yeah, except we actually need him. He's local and he knows his way around the place." J.D once again admonished his brother.
Meanwhile, Freya was scanning the beam and the phone with her Sonic, ignoring the chatter going on in her ear. Seconds later she shook her head and sighed. She was getting too many mixed signals, so instead she placed her hand on the phone and closed her eyes. "Hmmm…" Freya mumbled before gasping and taking a hurried step backwards while staring at the phone. "Oh, that is odd, very odd." She stated.
"Why? What happened?" Oswin asked.
"It's weird. He was just standing there, panicked about something and he just…disappeared…in a matter of seconds." Freya rubbed the back of her neck, a puzzled look on her face. She could feel that Rigsy was feeling very confused by her words, so she turned to him. "All these other people that went missing, I suppose you know where they all live?" She asked him.
But instead of answering her question, the boy came up with his own question. "He could still be in the room." He said.
"Sorry, what?" Oswin stared at him. "What makes you think that?"
Rigsy blushed, feeling sheepish. "Sorry, nothing. I was just thinking out loud." He muttered. "It's like one of those locked room things you get in books. It's always something weird, like he's still in the room." He smiled anxiously when all three females stared at him. "Do you want to check out another flat?" Rigsy enquired.
"You know what, Rigsy, I think you have a very good point." Freya told the boy. "It's a feeling, that something just doesn't feel right. This flat…" She looked around at it. "Feels very off."
Rigsy looked scared as he moved towards the side cabinet and looked at the sandy mural.
"Freya, be careful what you say. You might scare off Local Knowledge." The Doctor admonished his daughter.
"Oh, really?" Freya rolled her eyes. "I thought you didn't want him around?"
"I changed my mind," the Doctor answered her. "He's useful."
Rigsy was still looking at the sandy mural. "Maybe he's lost in the desert, or something." He said rather thoughtfully.
"He's a rather expressive young man, isn't he!" J.D spoke up.
Only half listening as she leaned against a table, Alexia barely nodded her head. She'd been listening to the chatter and was getting frustrated by the minute. They needed to find out what was stealing energy from her daughter, but they were getting nowhere fast. If Jaime was here she would know what's going on and stop it. "Can we get back to the point," she interrupted everyone. "What are we not seeing here? People gong missing. In this very room, a man suddenly disappears while he's on the phone?" The way Freya had touched the phone was pretty much obvious. "What's the connection?"
Silence followed afterwards, apart from the sound of a ticking clock in the room.
"Shrink ray!" Oswin suggested and everyone in the room looked at her.
"Sorry, did you just say shrink ray?" Rigsy asked and Freya could feel that he was disturbed. "Yeah, what if he was still in the room like you said, only tiny. You know, like under the sofa or something." Oswin explained entirely too seriously while Alexia watched as a spooked Rigsy jumped and scanned the floor with a very nervous expression.
"Oswin, what did I say about scaring the local knowledge!" The Doctor admonished her.
Freya could tell that Rigsy was about to run. His emotions were all over the place.
"Okay, well, my lunch break is nearly over," Rigsy uttered, backing away towards the door. "This has been…er…kinda interesting."
"Oh, brilliant!" J.D sarcastically muttered. "Scared him so much he's leaving."
Thinking quickly, Freya came up with an idea. "Oswin, don't let him leave!" She told her girlfriend and Oswin managed to keep Rigsy away from the door.
"That's hardly diplomatic!" The Doctor said.
"I know what I'm doing," Freya replied before turning her attention to an even more freaked out Rigsy. "Look, don't go. We just need your help." She explained to the boy as she began to search her bag. "And you deserve an explanation." She managed to get her hands on the TARDIS. "Can you open the doors?" Freya requested.
"Why? What are you planning on doing?" The Doctor asked suspiciously.
"Just do it, dad!" Freya snapped at him as she pulled the TARDIS out and placed it on the mantle. She then coaxed Rigsy over once the doors of the small TARDIS opened.
Curious, he stared at the blue police box and moved around to where the doors were open. What he saw made him gasp out in surprise. The interior of the police box was bigger on the inside with some sort of engine room. He even uttered it like so many others did. And what surprised him even more was that there were two little men in that room aswell.
"Rigsy, meet the Doctor, my dad." Freya introduced.
"Pleased to meet you!" The Doctor spoke with barely a wave.
"And my uncle, Doctor Smith."
"Hello!" J.D uttered with a grin, waving.
"He's your uncle?" An amazed Rigsy questioned, looking at Freya. "Because he kinda looks like that dude that ran with the Torch at the Olympic Opening Ceremony a couple of years ago." He looked over at Alexia when she laughed, the woman realising it was yet to happen in her future if she was to remain relative to Earth's Timeline.
J.D snorted in humour. "Oh no, that wasn't me. Thst was my brother when he used to look like me." He said.
A puzzled Rigsy narrowed his eyes at the Half-Time Lord's words, his thoughts going a hundred miles an hour. "Are you all aliens?" Was his question to them.
"No. I'm human." Alexia replied.
"I'm not," Oswin answered his question. "But they are." She nodded at her girlfriend who was grinning.
Still amazed that he had met actual aliens Rigsy was about to ask more questions until there was a fizzling sound, followed by some sort of weird alarm. Alexia and Oswin saw Freya react oddly to whatever had just happened. She was bent over with her hands on her head.
"Freya!" Oswin cried, coming to the aid of her girlfriend." "Doctor, what was that?" She asked. "What's happening?"
The Doctor was hurrying around the console trying to keep things stable, while J.D shut the doors of the TARDIS. "Whatever this thing is, it just took a massive amount of energy." The Time Lord panicked. "From inside the TARDIS."
"I felt that one!" Freya croaked and stood up straight with a shudder once she'd put up her mental shield at maximum. And once she'd said that she could now feel Alexia's worry skyrocket.
"Doctor, what about Rose and Jaime? Are they okay?" She stressed as Freya put the TARDIS back into her bag.
"Yes, the TARDIS is keeping them stable." The Doctor told her.
"You're not just saying that to keep me calm are you?" Alexia then asked.
"Yes." Was The Doctor's reply.
Freya eyed her aunt for a reaction and she could feel her anxiety.
Alexia shrugged. "Okay, but it doesn't make me feel any better."
Satisfied by Alexia's answer, Freya asked her father what they should be doing next. His reply was to question where the other missing people lived. She relayed that to Rigsy and the boy told them he knew of another recent missing case. Only this one wasn't on the estate. Freya told him to show them and the troupe quickly exited the flat.
Out on the street the three females followed Rigsy to their next destination. It appeared they were going to an ordinary house on an ordinary street. When they got to the house they saw there was a police officer standing outside the house.
"Time to use the Psychic Paper." The Doctor prompted his daughter.
With a nod, Freya pulled out the Psychic Paper and approached the police officer, showing her what she wanted to see.
"Torchwood?" The police officer read. "You're a long way from home!" The police officer obviously knew where Torchwood was situated.
"People mysteriously going missing. It caught our attention." Freya replied to the police officer.
A worried expression appeared on the woman's face. "If Torchwood are involved then it must be serious." She said.
"Yes, very…" Freya muttered as they were led into the house by the officer.
"What can you tell us about the incident?" Freya requested.
"Well you've come to the right place, ma'ams, sir," Police Officer Forrest began. "First reported disappearance, a Mr Heath. It's not on the estate but it's the exact same M.O as the others."
Freya nodded keenly, looking grim as they searched the house for clues. She was once again getting that 'not right' feeling she had felt back at the flat and the underpass. Whatever was going on, whatever this creature was, it seemed to be present at all locations.
"Are you okay?" Oswin asked her girlfriend when she noticed how uncomfortable Freya looked.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just be on your toes and watch out for anything not human." Freya replied and caught Oswin smirking at her. "You know what I mean!" She added, smiling when the younger female giggled.
Meanwhile, Alexia and Rigsy were checking out the kitchen, the woman listening to The Doctor and John suggesting various theories about locked rooms. At one point suggesting that something was in the walls. That only made her feel creeped out over something watching her, then she and Rigsy jumped in surprise when Freya started hammering at the wall with a sledgehammer.
"So those blokes in the box, do you do this stuff all the time?" Rigsy struck up a conversation with Alexia.
She shook her head. "No, not all the time. The Doctor's the one that's usually in charge," she answered the boy. "We're just along for the ride."
Rigsy fully turned his attention to her. "So how did you get this gig?" The boy then asked her. "Are you researching to write a story in the next adventure of the Black Bullett series? And how'd you end up having aliens for relatives anyway?" He asked.
Alexia stared at Rigsy, wondering what she should say and do. "John, a little help here." She insisted.
"Tell him the truth." Was John's reply and Alexia nodded grimly.
"Funny thing about that," she answered Rigsy. "We're time travellers, so we tend to do a lot of things out of order. That includes me writing books about…a superhero called The Black Bullett. I've yet to write them because I'm from the past."
The look on Rigsy's face said it all. "No way, you're having me on!" He said.
"I'm entirely serious," Alexia told him. "I don't even know what year we landed in."
"It's 2014," the boy narrowed his eyes. "You really didn't know the year?"
Alexia shook her head. "As for how I have alien relatives. My daughter was adopted by The Doctor. She's currently on the TARDIS.
"Wow!" Rigsy breathed out, amazed. They both jumped in shock when there was a sudden scream from the front room. "What was that?" Rigsy asked.
In a panic, everyone ran into the front room to find it was empty. Apart from the turned on torch laying abandoned on the colourful rug.
"Where'd she go?" Oswin asked about the police officer who had gone into the front room to take a call.
Freya was scanning the torch and rug where she was getting a high signal of whatever just happened. Rigsy was still panicking and Alexia was looking at something on the wall, listening to what The Doctor was saying. He was trying to figure out what the TARDIS was missing.
"What's with the strange patterns on the walls?" Alexia wondered out aloud as she eyed the strange looking red patterned mural on the wall. "First it was the sandy desert, now it's this weird thing." She pointed out. "Everyone around here has a serious bad taste in art!" She turned to Rigsy when he let out an exclamation. "Graffiti is not proper art, young man!" She scolded the boy.
Alexia's rant had caught Freya's attention and she looked at the mural on the wall. Properly looked at it. Then her eyes widened when she saw it. "Dad? Are you seeing this?" She asked her father, that feeling that something wasn't right upped a notch.
"Yes, I can," the Doctor replied. "That is not a mural."
Frowning, Alexia looked back at the pattern on the wall.
"What is it?" Oswin asked.
"That is a nerve system of a human." J.D stated and Alexia gasped, her eyes wide.
"It's been scaled up and flattened," the Doctor picked up. "I think we've found PC Forrest. What's left of her at least."
Alexia continued to stare dumbfounded at the wall. "That's her nerve system?" She croaked out.
Freya could feel the woman was terrified.
In the TARDIS the Doctor had called up footage of the mural from the flat and was now explaining to the three females that the sandy desert was actually a stretched out piece of skin. Alexia shook her head as if she couldn't listen anymore.
"Why are they doing this?" Oswin asked.
"Whatever they are, they're experimenting," The Doctor answered. "They're testing and dissecting. Trying to understand. Trying to understand three dimensions."
There was an odd fizzling sound which caught Freya's attention, then the front room door slammed shut. Panicked, Rigsy tried to open it but he cried out in surprise when he saw that the doorknob had been flattened.
"Doctor, they've taken the handle!" Oswin cried out.
"Fascinating," Alexia heard the Doctor say and he sounded amazed. "Freya, Oswin, Alexia, they're in the walls!"
Freya moved towards Alexia when her fear skyrocketed.
"Stay away from the walls," J.D warned them. "If they touch you, you're finished."
The sofa suddenly flattened right in front of Alexia. "Oh, fuck!" She cried out, jumping back from what used to be a sofa.
"What happens if they touch us?" Rigsy worried.
"I really don't want to find out." Freya replied and looked over at a hanging seat, an idea coming to mind. "Pile on!" She said, pushing everyone over to the hanging seat and getting them to climb in. She was the last one to climb on it, but because there was so many people on it she had a feeling it wouldn't last long.
"They can't jump, can they?" Rigsy worried.
Freya rolled her eyes. "Swing," she ordered the three of them. "I need you to swing."
Oswin and Rigsy began to swing on the seat while Alexia could see wobbly things moving towards them. "For the love of Sanity! They're climbing the walls!"
"Never mind them," Freya admonished her aunt. "Just swing, yeah?" Alexia did what she was told to do.
Meanwhile, Freya concentrated on her abilities she rarely used. As they continued to swing on the seat she looked up at the chain holding the seat up and waited for the right moment. When the seat neared the window it seemed to hover for a second or two, and when Alexia glanced at Freya she thought she saw the girl's eyes glowing gold. Suddenly the chain snapped on the seat and it went zooming off towards the window. The window shattered even before the seat could reach it and they landed to safety in the front garden of Mr Heath's home.
"What the he'll just happened?" Rigsy cried out as he struggled out of the seat.
"We got out and that's all you need to know." Freya told the boy, ignoring the surprise coming from her aunt as she helped everyone back to their feet. "Come on, let's go!" She said.
As the group headed back towards the estate, the Doctor spoke up. "This explains everything. They're from a Universe with only two dimensions," he said. "And yes, that is a thing. It's long been theorised, of course, but no-one could go there and prove its existence without a heck of a diet."
The Doctor looked over at his brother when he grunted thoughtfully. "It reminds me of the time when Jaime and I went jumping through the universe's in order to find Alexia," John spoke up. "We came across several universes that were animated and at least one Comic Book universe. It was the strangest feeling ever."
The Doctor scowled at the Half-Time Lord. "And I still stand by my opinion that it was the most reckless thing you two have ever done." He said.
John sighed, annoyed. "Be fair, Spaceman. If we hadn't done so, Alexia would still be stuck in her old universe and we would never have known that Jenny was still alive." He reminded his brother.
The Doctor nodded slightly, realising J.D had a point.
"Dad? Dad!" Can you hear me?" Freya called, sounding somewhat panicked. "You're breaking up, I can barely hear you." Alexia and Oswin were saying the same thing.
The Doctors looked at their monitors to see that the group had returned to the underpass. Only Rigsy's community service colleagues were now about to begin on the murals.
The Time Lord furrowed his brows. He'd seen some interference on Freya's half of the screen and knew what she had done to safely get them out of the house. "Looks like you're experiencing some sort of interference…" He ignored the snort from John. "Try taking the earpiece out and Sonicing it."
In the underpass, Freya did what her father suggested, noticing that Rigsy was having a go about something. "Aunt Lexie, can you go and see what's gotten the boy wonder het up?"
Alexia raised her brows at her niece before going off to see what the trouble was. "What's the problem, Rigsy?" She asked the boy, puzzled by his reaction.
"They want to paint over the murals," Rigsy answered her. "But they can't, it's a memorial."
Eyes narrowed, Alexia scrutinised both walls of the underpass, feeling rightly suspicious after what just happened back at the house. Why were they only shown from the back? And who would paint them that way?
"Council didn't approve it, it's graffiti." Fenton the community service officer replied. "Stan." He handed the brush to Stan.
The murals were giving Alexia the creeps so she turned away from them, just in time to see Rigsy snatch the brush off Stan. He was really het up now. "Rigsy, calm down." She attempted to calm him but he just wouldn't cool it. Around the same time the audio in the earpieces returned and she could hear the panicked voices of J.D and The Doctor. "Doctor, John. I can hear you. What is it?" What had gotten them so panicked?
"The walls, look at the walls." J.D told her.
"I already did," Alexia replied. "They're a bit weird." She was joined by Freya and Oswin.
"No, you're not looking properly," The Doctor spoke up. "We've found the missing people. They're in the walls."
The three females looked around at the mural covered walls in uncertainty.
"Are you sure? What if they're just ordinary murals?" Oswin asked.
But Freya shook her head. "No. If they were normal I wouldn't be getting an off feeling about them."
"You need to get everyone out, but act normal." The Time Lord told her.
"Right." Freya nodded and they turned to the community service group. "They look very life-like," Freya spoke to Rigsy. "Who painted them?"
Rigsy shook his head. "I don't know. I told you they were appearing overnight. But maybe it was a grieving relative or something.
"So you've never met anyone who could have done this?" Freya continued to question.
Before Rigsy had a chance to reply he was interrupted by Fenton. "And who are you three when you're at home, loves?" He asked them and Alexia grimaced at his use of the term of endearment.
Freya turned her attention to Fenton and pulled out the Psychic Paper. "Torchwood," she explained, showing it to Fenton. "This subway is unsafe. Everyone needs to leave right now."
Fenton was scowling at the Psychic Paper. "It's blank, try again, sweetheart." He said and Alexia grimaced again.
"What?" A surprised Freya uttered. Somebody not seeing anything on the Psychic Paper was a very rare event.
"How is that possible?" Oswin asked.
"Lack of imagination most likely!" J.D answered. He really didn't like the way Fenton spoke to the women.
"Stan, do your job." Fenton ordered, giving the brush back to Stan.
"Stop him," the Doctor cried out. "Don't let him get anywhere near that wall."
But it was too late for Stan. When his brush touched the wall the poor fella was sucked right in.
"Stan!" Rigsy shouted.
"SHIT!" Alexia exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the spot where Stan used to be.
And then things became a lot more worse when the murals became alive and turned to face them. "What is this? What are they?" One of the men asked.
Frightened at the events, Alexia couldn't believe what she was seeing as she did her best to stay away from the walls. And when the Doctor explained that, whatever these creatures were, was actually wearing the dead like camouflage she felt disgusted. This was brutal!
"Freya, get them out of there." The Doctor ordered.
Freya nodded. "Your friend is gone," she spoke to the group. "We need to leave." She felt fear and hesitation from everyone. "NOW!" She shouted.
That finally got the group moving and they all ran away from the underpass.
When Alexia looked back she saw that the mural creatures were following them. "Don't look back!" The Doctor admonished her, then Freya grabbed her hand and they carried on running.