Howdy, readers!
Is it too soon for an update? I really hope I'm not bothering you all with such fast-paced updates. I've just had a lot of free time lately because of the holidays. But now school will be starting up again come Monday. So I may not be able to post as often. Sorry about that. :(
I really hope everyone enjoys the new chapter! I'm really, really, really excited to see everyone's responses to it. :D
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Chapter 30: Alpha Awakened
Rose watched Wanda trembling, quaking in the middle of the surrounding Daleks. The Time Lady gripped at her head harshly, curling her fingers through her hair. A few tears fell from her tightly closed eyes. Rose knew she was in pain. Whatever the Daleks were chanting at her, this whole 'initiate' thing, was hurting Wanda.
"Stop it!" Rose screamed at the Daleks. "Please, stop! You're hurting her!" Rose struggled in Mickey's grasp as he held her back. Then, the three humans saw how the hurting Time Lady abruptly stopped shaking and held completely still. She slowly dropped her hands from her head, straightening in posture to face Dalek Sec in front of her evenly, with her emerald eye turning a shade darker than normal.
"Subject Alpha active. Awaiting your command, my Masters," Wanda spoke in a monotone voice, almost robotic in a way before bowing to the machines around her. The Daleks became silent as they seemed satisfied now in Wanda's words. Rose blinked, confused by what the Time Lady had said. Did . . . did Wanda just call the Daleks her Masters?
"First, you will explain how you arrived here," Dalek Sec ordered the blonde girl.
"I fell through time. Just as you had, my Masters," Wanda explained her eyes dull and her voice still in the same monotone as she lifted from her respectful bow. "I foresaw the time for using me in your plans would not work during the Time War. So, I arrived here. Waiting for you." She bowed her head to the Daleks in a respectful gesture. A few of the Daleks swiveled their head to look at each other, as if skeptical of the Time Lady's words. But then they looked back at Wanda, seeming to accept her story.
"You will initiate war actions," Dalek Sec commanded the Time Lady. "Purge the universe of the corrupt, of the unfit to live in our new world. Destroy all non-Dalek!" Dalek Sec swiveled his head to look at the confused humans who were still watching this scene unfold. "And you will start by exterminating these life forms!" The Daleks moved aside, allowing the blonde girl within the circle to walk over to the humans.
"Yes, my Masters," she replied dully. She turned, facing the three humans. Rose felt a shiver go through her as she realized something was wrong with Wanda's eyes. Instead of having the warm, almost mystical, gaze, her emerald eyes were cold and calculating. Staring at them with a penetrating gaze that felt as though she were judging their very existence in the universe.
"W-what?" Rose asked in uncertainty. "Wanda? What's going on? Why are you talking to the Daleks like that?" Wanda walked up towards the three humans, her eyes beginning to glow white. Rose, Mickey, and Rajesh were startled by this. Even backing up a slight step. Rose tried again. "W-wanda?"
"They are my Masters. And I obey," the Time Lady said, still as monotone as ever as. She lifted a hand as the white glow formed around her entire body, pointing her fingers directly at the group of humans. "Exterminate."
The humans cringed, awaiting the worst. They were not sure how exactly Wanda was going to kill them. Hell, Rose and Mickey were beyond confused now and they absolutely no idea what the heck was going on. Too many questions were buzzing in their minds as to what happened with their Time Lady friend and why she was acting so strangely. But they were also internally freaking out because Wanda was doing something they would have never believed. The Time Lady was actually threatening to end someone's life. The very idea was inconceivable to them. However, after a moment of realizing that they were not dead and that Wanda still stared at them with her glowing white eyes, they began to believe that maybe she would not kill them after all. Then, the Time Lady shocked not only them but the Daleks as well when she snorted and burst out into laughter, dropping her arm with the white glow disappearing.
"Oh, that's just priceless!" laughed the blonde girl.
"What is the meaning of this?" proclaimed Dalek Sec. "Explain!" The Time Lady stopped laughing abruptly, turning to look back at the Daleks.
"I really can't believe you'd think I'd still obey you after all these years," the blonde girl said coolly, eyeing the Daleks with a cold gaze. "You'd think you would have gotten the hint when I disappeared on that day. But your ignorance precedes you as always."
"We are your Masters and you will obey!" cried Dalek Jast in outrage. The Time Lady whipped her gaze at the Dalek.
"No. I will not obey. And you, all of you, are not my Masters," Wanda spoke loudly in anger. She looked at all of the Daleks now. "You, the pathetic Cult of Skaro, stopped being my Masters when I proclaimed myself free from your heavy chains of torture and corruption after four hundred years. Leaving you to rot in the Time War. Or, at least, I thought you might choose to rot. But it seems you've decided to take the other path set for you and you actually used that stupid ship in your cowardly escape."
"What?!" yelled Dalek Thay. "We are not cowardly. We planned in our new Empire and we will succeed. The Genesis Ark will—."
"Ohh, the Genesis Ark," Wanda interrupted the Dalek. "Famous Time Lord structure. How genius of them as always." The way she spoke this, it sounded almost highly sarcastic. Rose noticed the way the Time Lady had said Time Lord. She almost spat the word out, as if disgusted by even saying it. They watched as Wanda walked over to the Genesis Ark, staring at it. "Your little back up plan in case I didn't pull through as a good enough weapon in the Time War. How quaint that you think you could really build up an Empire with this."
"We will build an Empire! Daleks will be the supreme in the universe!" retorted Dalek Sec.
"No. You just think you will be supreme," Wanda countered, shaking a finger at the Dalek as if scolding a naughty child. "But in truth, you have never been superior in any way. In fact, I'd say that Daleks are just as vile as Time Lords." She gritted the last word out in such hatred and disgust that it shocked both Rose and Mickey. But still, they remained quiet, observing in uncertainty in what was happening. The Time Lady shifted her cold and calculating eyes on the four Daleks. "No, you all are inferior. Staying locked in your state of being and never thinking outside the box to evolve like I have. About time you lot joined the club and got out of those stupid shells of yours." The Daleks moved closer to the Time Lady who stood by the Genesis Ark, aiming their weapons at her.
"You will obey us," Dalek Sec barked at her. "If you will not exterminate these humans, then you will activate the Genesis Ark."
"What, you mean like this?" Wanda slapped her hand right onto the casket of the Genesis Ark. The metal around where she placed her hand glowed a bright orange for a brief moment before disappearing. The machine then began smoking as an energy inside began to build up. Wanda lifted her hand away, wiggling her fingers. "Touch of a time traveller. One of the many things Daleks can't do. And now, you all are wondering how I was able to activate it so quickly without working on changing the hibernation process. Really simple, I just sped up the process." The Time Lady eyed the Genesis Ark in disgust. "But, you know, I think this universe has plenty of Daleks as it is."
She slapped her hand on the machine again. It began to tremble and even more smoke poured out of it. Then, there was a loud creaking sound. A crack formed across the surface. Then another. And another. More and more cracks surfaced up until finally it hissed and fell apart, turning into broken pieces. A strange sound issued from it. Like a million high-pitched screams echoing in a distance as the pieces settled on the ground. Which the pieces then seemed to slowly melt into dust. Wanda slapped her hands together as if brushing off dirt, grinning widely at the Daleks.
"There. Problem solved. Now I only have to deal with four pathetic Daleks instead of over a million," Wanda snickered in almost a wicked way.
"What have you done?!" cried Dalek Sec. The Daleks moved closer, seeming to stare at the pile of broken metal and dust in disbelief. Even the humans behind the Daleks stared at the sight in awe. Rose's jaw had dropped as she could not believe Wanda had just done that. How . . . how did Wanda do that? Did Wanda always possess power like that?
"Made my job a little easier," Wanda replied smoothly, looking casually at her nails on one hand as if bored. "You did say, all those long years ago, to get rid of the corrupt in the universe. To end all life forms, all things. I'm doing just that."
"We told you to end all life forms!" yelled Dalek Caan. "The corrupt of the universe! The inferior."
"Exactly! All life forms! All inferior!" Wanda snapped, balling her hands into fists and stepping aggressively at the metal creatures. "That means Daleks as well."
"That does not mean Daleks!" yelled Dalek Thay.
"If you will not obey, will not follow commands, then you will be exterminated!" said Dalek Sec.
All of the Daleks aimed their weapons at Wanda and fired. Rose and Mickey both cried out in alarm while Rajesh looked startled. The Daleks shot their deadly beams straight at the Time Lady. Wanda's eyes glowed white and the beams disappeared into thin air. The Daleks seemed greatly stunned by this. Even backing away from the enraged looking blonde. All the while, a dark expression fell over the Time Lady as her emerald eyes swirling in their dangerous white glare. When she spoke next, it was no longer her normal voice. Rose would even say that it was no longer Wanda speaking, though not that it seemed as if Wanda had been talking at all since the Daleks cried 'initiate.' But it was a voice beyond description, really. It was . . . just beyond. Like a million voices speaking together all at once. High and low pitched, young and old, light and dark, near and far. It rang through them all. And it was the most haunting thing Rose had ever heard, with every word sending a shiver of fear down her spine. Like an old, deep, seeded fear.
"You can't kill me. Can't stop what you four have created and started," said the Time Lady in her strange, echoing voice. "I've seen what would become of the universe if Daleks ruled. I have seen what the universe would become on its own. There is corruption everywhere. Chaos, wickedness, cruelty, the worst of the worst, all boiling away within every corner of this existence. It never stops in its vicious circle. All of you, every single pathetic and vile creature, are corrupt! Are unfit to be allowed to live! Whether you were specific on your order or not, I know what is meant to be. There will be no more! And everything shall die!"
Suddenly, the whole place began to quake. The lights flickered and the metal around the entire room began bending as if some sort of gigantic force of energy were pressing outward in all directions. Rose gasped when she blinked and saw Wanda instantly in front of the black armoured Dalek, smiling widely and wickedly. It was as if the Time Lady had transported in front of the Dalek or something, for Rose swore, before she blinked, Wanda had been standing a few feet away from the Dalek. No matter though, for the companion watched as the Dalek in front of Wanda seemed jolted by this as well.
"And if everything is to die, well . . . I might as well start with the Cult of Skaro. It would be fitting. After all, without all of you, I wouldn't even be able to do my part as a weapon, now would I?" The Time Lady, with her voice normal once more, widened her grin when seeing the Daleks all backing up in fear. "I suggest you run."
"Emergency temporal shift!" shouted Dalek Sec in a panic. There was a flash and all four Daleks vanished in an instant. The quaking around the room settled and the lights stopped flickering. The Time Lady threw back her head, laughing almost hysterically.
"Run, run, little Daleks, as fast as you can!" shouted Wanda in laughing spite. She stopped laughing, smiling as she held up her hands, wiggling her fingers and giving a spin as she seemed to look over herself. "Ooh, it's been so long since I've had this body to myself. It feels good to stretch." Lifting up her arms, the Time Lady did just that. Stretching up to the air and rolling her neck as if waking from a long sleep. Rose and Mickey glanced at each other, then stared back at Wanda.
"Good job in scaring them Daleks off, Wanda," Mickey spoke up, gaining the Time Lady's attention. "How'd you managed to make the building shake like that? Did you use your sonic screwdriver?" Wanda stopped stretching, slowly dropping her arms at her sides as she eyed him up and down, coolly observing him.
"Mickey Smith—human. Age—twenty-six. Crime—killing Cybermen. Judgement—guilty," they heard the Time Lady muttering rapidly under her breath. Mickey blinked in confusion while Rose stepped forward, only wanting to check up on her friend and make certain that Wanda was okay from the strange Dalek experience.
"Wanda, are you all right? They didn't hurt you, did they?" Rose asked the Time Lady in concern. Wanda merely gave the companion the same cold and calculating gaze as she had done to Mickey.
"Rose Tyler—human. Age—twenty-one. Crime—killer of many. Judgement—guilty," came the rapid mutter of Wanda. The Time Lady's eyes flashed white for a moment, whipping her gaze over at Rajesh. "Rajesh Singh—human. Age—thirty-six. Crime—minion of Torchwood, helped kill many. Judgement—guilty."
"Wanda?" Rose asked carefully, scooting up closer to the Time Lady.
"What's the matter with you? Why are you acting so weird?" Mickey questioned, frowning and shaking his head as if trying to understand what had come over the Time Lady.
"Is your friend normally this unstable?" Rajesh quizzed Mickey.
"Shut up!" All stiffened and froze when the Time Lady snapped at them, baring her teeth. She pointed a curled finger at them in spite. "That's the problem with you stupid humans. You never learn to shut up. Always talking, chattering, squawking, murmuring, babbling, rambling! Don't you ever learn to just shut up?!" Throwing the hand out that had been pointed at them in a wave as if sweeping away their chattering.
"Wanda?" Rose spoke again, shaking her head. "Please, just tell me what's wrong. Are you not feeling well?"
"'Please, just tell me what's wrong,'" Wanda repeated in a whining, mocking voice as she placed her hands on her hips. She then rolled her eyes in annoyance. "That fact that you're still trying to delude yourself to the truth is pathetic on so many levels. Wake up, Rosie girl. I ain't Wanda." There was stunned silence from Rose. Mickey scoffed in disbelief.
"Wanda, you can drop the whole act now. No need to keep going on acting like your gonna kill us," said Mickey. The Time Lady's eyes flashed again as she grinned wickedly.
"Oh? You really think I was joking there?" she chortled darkly. "I meant every, single, word."
The building began to quake in even greater violent shakes than before as her glowing eyes brightened. It even felt as though the Earth itself were trembling in fright. The lights around the room crackled. Some even burst, shattering glass in different directions. Rose was pulled back by Mickey when a light fixture above came crashing down, smashing into a million glass fragments at their feet.
The Time Lady raised her arms up, holding a manic smile as she threw her head back to stare at the ceiling above. "I am Alpha! The top wolf of them all! The weapon of the universe! And everything will end!" She gave a manic laugh as she flicked a hand outwards from her body. The computers and electronics burst into sparks and fell apart in a crash to the ground. While Rose and Mickey looked alarmed by what was happening and what their friend was doing, Rajesh seemed to have enough, growing angry at this blonde girl's threats.
"Enough. You must stop this," Rajesh said, trying not to stumble over the quaking ground as he walked towards her. He grabbed one of her raised arms, lowering it. "I realize that you are upset from what Torchwood has done in allowing the Breach to continue and not taking proper precautions in keeping the Earth safe. But that is no excuse to go threatening everyone here." The blonde girl's eyes flashed darkly as she stared the Torchwood doctor down.
"You're touching me," she growled, curling her lip up in revulsion. She grabbed his arm and twisted it to near breaking point, making him cry in pain. Rajesh stared at her with wide eyes, frightened by the vicious white glow in her eyes that grew brighter. A white glow even formed around her body. Then . . . he felt the agonizing pain building up his arm.
Rose and Mickey watched in horror at a terrifying sight. As the Time Lady gripped Rajesh's arm, he began to scream in agony. They saw as his skin seemed to grow dark, with black veins spreading throughout his body, expanding fast over his hands and face. Then, it almost appeared as if his skin was breaking apart into cracks, turning into gray earth. Finally, his whole body turned into a figure made completely of dust, his screaming ceased, and what was left of Rajesh fell apart, hissing as the body made of powder crumbled and collapsed to the ground. Only his white lab coat remained. But as they watched, even the coat seemed to slowly turn to dust as well, following the same fate as the man who had worn it.
"Y-you . . . you killed him," Rose said weakly, staring back at the Time Lady completely horrified. Wanda . . . the most kind and caring person in the universe, had killed someone in cold blood. In only a few short seconds. Something which the companion would have never even imagined to be possible.
"Hmm. Powers must be a little rusty. That took longer than it should have," the short blonde girl muttered to herself, staring at the dust pile in boredom. As if the death she had caused was merely a chore for her to do. Rose and Mickey blinked, startled when seeing the Time Lady suddenly, in a flash, at the large thick door of the room, examining it. "Hmph. Primitive structure and technology. Figures." They watched as she lifted a white glowing hand, then, in a split second, slammed it on the metal and the door flew away from its frame, crashing against the wall on the other side with a thunderous sound. The two people still within the room jumped, startled by this as the Time Lady exited the room in a swift motion and stormed off.
Rose took off, running after her friend. Mickey picked up his large gun from the ground, dusting away glass fragments as he followed after Rose. They caught up with the blonde as she seemed to be assessing her surroundings in cold interest. Rose stepped towards her.
"Wanda . . . or whoever you want to call yourself, you have to tell us what's wrong," the companion said weakly, still trying to get over in seeing Rajesh die in such a horrible way. She felt almost in denial in seeing Wanda being the one to kill him. It . . . it could not have been Wanda. The Time Lady that Rose knew would never do such a thing. Something . . . something the Daleks did must have taken over Wanda. That must be it. The blonde in front of Rose whipped around to face her, eyes glowing again.
"Stay away from me," she snarled. The ground around the blonde's mary jane shoes began to crack outwardly. Rose only stepped closer.
"Look, if you're upset, I know that the Doctor—," Rose tried to calm the girl, reaching forward to touch her. Maybe if Wanda just felt a familiar touch of a friend, she might—
"I said stay back!" screamed the Time Lady, waving a hand outward. A powerful force of energy, a wave of white light, seemed to lash out, hitting Rose in the gut and sending her flying back. She landed on the ground, sitting up quickly again as Mickey went to her side in an instant to check over her. They both stared at the raging girl in fear as large cracks formed all around the gray concrete where the Time Lady stood. Many had formed along the walls as well. The blonde girl panted in hissing breaths for a moment before the white glow slowly receded from her eyes. Then, the way she stared at Rose, her eyes were piercing.
"Rose Tyler, for your own sake, stay away from me," whispered the Time Lady. She then turned, and in a flash, was gone.
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The Doctor stared harshly at all the Cybermen who had him, Jackie, and Yvonne locked away in an office, guarding them as prisoners. Outside the large window to his right, he cringed as he listened to the many terrified screams and gunfire outside. The humans of Earth were fighting back with everything they had to the massive takeover of the Cybermen. Meanwhile, all the citizens were running away in terror. It was a massacre out there. The humans stood no chance in defeating the Cybermen. And it was all Torchwood's fault. If they had not stuck their noses where they did not belong, none of this would be happening. The worst of it was, the only real thing he could focus on at the current moment as thinking worriedly over what would be happening below to Wanda and Rose in the Sphere vault. With that void ship active . . . he knew nothing good would come of it.
There was a buzz coming from the lights overhead. The Doctor looked up curiously, frowning when seeing the lights flickering and crackling. He looked outside the office door, seeing that all of the electrical equipment in the building was acting up. Were the Cybermen messing with the building's electricity or . . . He stiffened as a rumble was heard coming from the building. Then, everything jolted as the entire place shook violently. Jackie let out a startled cry as she fell to her knees in a loss of balance. Yvonne gripped her seat as she looked around in shock. The Cybermen around the area seemed to even stumble. The Doctor braced himself against the wall. When he glanced back out the window, he saw it was only the Torchwood Tower shaking. The rest of London was left untouched, unaffected. Still going through their own battles. What was affecting the building in such a way?
Finally, everything in the building settled.
"What was that?" questioned Yvonne. She looked at the Cybermen in accusation. "What have you done?"
"This was not Cybermen doing," the one Cyberman, the leader, said in its robotic voice.
"Then what was that?" Yvonne gritted in impatience.
"Was it that Sphere, Doctor?" Jackie asked the Time Lord as he helped her stand up.
"I don't know," muttered the Doctor. He whipped out his 3-D glasses, placing them on to look at the large white wall of the main room within the Torchwood testing area. The same wall that held the Breach, the hole in the universe. It looked about the same as it had been before when the Cybermen burst through. No big changes issued from it. He knew what sort of effects would come from such a hole in the world, but it seemed as though the Breach had not been the cause of the earthquake. Then, what had been the main cause? And why was only Torchwood Tower effected?
He pulled off the glasses, looking up as the lights overhead began to flicker once more.
"Brace yourselves," he said quickly. They all held on as another wave of quaking shook through the building. Car alarms were heard going off around the radius of the tower. Electricity seemed to spark outside from different power lines and lights that were connected to the building or in close proximity. Soon, everything settled once again.
"Scans detect unknown energy spike active within Sphere chamber," said the Cyber-Leader. The Cyberman, marching out of the office to give its command, went to his fellows, "Cybermen will investigate. Units ten-six-five and ten-six-six will investigate sphere chamber." The Cyber-Leader then stomped back into the office in its robotic clanking. It turned, facing the laptop on Yvonne's desk. Yvonne herself stood up from the desk, going over to stand by the Doctor and Jackie. They watched as the Cyber-Leader ordered its units investigating to open a visual link on the computer. The video on the screen showed them the Cybermen's point of view in their search down in the lower levels of Torchwood Tower. They were coming up around a doorway when a young looking blonde woman walked into the room. The Doctor tensed in recognizing it to be Wanda.
"Wanda's alive, Doctor," Jackie said in relief. "That means Rose is too, right?"
"I don't know," mumbled the Doctor, shaking his head as he wondered that himself. Wanda would not simply leave Rose behind on her own. Why was the Time Lady down there alone? Had something happened? Then, his worried mind changed as he felt fear for Wanda being there face-to-face with Cybermen who would be more than willing to kill her.
"You will identify yourself," the Cybermen through the video spoke. They watched as the Time Lady on screen whipped her head to glare at the Cybermen she had come to face with.
"Cybermen—robotic droids. Crime—killer of millions. Judgement—guilty," they heard the Time Lady muttering rapidly as her eyes shifted swiftly around in observation of the Cybermen.
"You will identify yourself," repeated the Cybermen on screen.
"Alpha," growled Wanda darkly, baring her teeth in a slight snarl.
The Doctor blinked, surprised by this behavior and this statement. He stiffened as he realized she looked to be furious. Something awful must have happened down there in the Sphere chamber. No . . . Oh, no. Now he realized why Wanda had been looking so terrified and had been practically clinging to Rose. Their companion . . . was she dead? Was that why Wanda had been acting so strange? He glanced at Jackie, fearing the worst.
"All Torchwood personnel are to be removed to the loading bay," the Cybermen on screen ordered the Time Lady. "You will follow us for upgrading."
"Oh? You really think you're going to upgrade me?" scoffed the Time Lady in a laugh. She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes dangerously at them. "I'd like to see you even try." They saw the robotic figures raised their arms, pointing their weapons at her.
"Hostile elements will be deleted," the Cybermen retorted in orderly fashion. The Doctor darted forward towards the Cyber-Leader in the office.
"Stop! Order them to stop! That's my friend!" the Time Lord yelled at the leader. He stared with wide eyes when he heard the firing beams of the Cybermen's guns. Jackie gasped in alarm behind him, placing horrified hands over her mouth. The Doctor grabbed at the computer screen as if wishing to jump through and stop the attack. "NO!"
But he was shocked by what he saw next. Wanda held up her hand, her emerald irises glowing white, and the red beams of the Cybermen's attack that were almost at her vanished into nothingness. The Doctor's jaw dropped, stunned beyond all belief. W-what? What just happened? Then Wanda on the screen held a nasty grin. An expression the Doctor thought he would never see on her face.
"You know, I really hate guns," she said bitterly. She seemed to point her hand in the direction Cybermen. There was more gunfire heard from the robotic figures as the screen turned completely white. Then, they heard the Cybermen making their horrible robotic screams of death. Afterwards, the video on the screen cut to black. The Cyber-Leader turned abruptly, going over to its other Cybermen.
"Advance units toward lower levels. Find the small, blonde humanoid," commanded the Cyber-Leader. "Start emergency upgrading. Begin with these personnel." The Cyber-Leader turned as the rest advanced towards the few Torchwood workers still in the room, taking Yvonne and Jackie as well. The Doctor felt his hearts racing in panic. Not only for Jackie being roughly grabbed, but for what was happening to Wanda far below them. He tried yelling for the Cybermen to let Jackie go. Even grabbed onto her arm as she was yanked away from him screaming. But the Cybermen held him back as they wanted information on who exactly they were dealing with down below.
"You will tell us of that woman we encountered," the Cyber-Leader ordered the Doctor once all other humans were gone, taken away to be upgraded into Cybermen. The Doctor felt his anger spike as he gritted his teeth.
"I'll tell you. She's the Wanderer. She's my friend, my . . . someone very dear to me," he retorted spitefully at the Cyberman. "And I swear if you lay a hand on her—."
"What is she?" questioned the Cyber-Leader. "What threat is she?"
"She's not a threat," the Doctor grounded through his teeth.
"Then how was she able to kill us?"
The Doctor felt his anger deflate as his mind raced for answers. But none would come to him. He was just as baffled on how Wanda had killed Cybermen as the Cybermen's leader was. How had the Time Lady managed to do such a thing? "I don't know. She's . . . She isn't a threat to anyone. I swear. So when you find her, just—just bring her here. I'll do whatever you want, but you must bring her safe and alive to me before I do anything for you."
"Cybermen do not take orders from you," said the Cyber-Leader. It turned, going to stomp out of the office.
The Doctor's eyes shifted when he noticed something changing within the Breach room. A disturbance in the air. There was a sudden white flash as six figures appeared out of nowhere, wearing all black, oxygen masks, and aiming large guns at all the Cybermen within the room. The Doctor ducked as the people fired, electrifying the Cybermen and making all of their heads explode. The Time Lord then quickly stood back up and walked over to the doorway of the office, blinking in shock when seeing the one man in the middle of the group taking off his mask. He recognized the man to be Jake Simmonds from the parallel universe.
"Doctor, good to see you again," Jake said brightly.
"Yeah, fine, good," the Doctor replied, turning to go back into the office. Jake frowned as he saw the Time Lord ignoring him completely as the Doctor instead began dialing a quick number on the phone that was on Yvonne's desk. As Jake ordered his group into action, the Doctor rang up Rose's mobile phone.
"Come on, come on, come on. Pick up," he muttered under his breath, tapping his fingers rapidly on the desk. He straightened when he heard the phone pick up on the other end. A wave of small relief went through him, glad that Rose was all right in the end. "Rose!"
"Doctor! Oh, god, Doctor," cried Rose. He blinked as he heard her sniffling as if she had been crying quite a bit before she had answered the mobile.
"Is everything all right? What happened down there?" the Doctor asked rapidly. "Where's Wanda? I saw her on the video feed from the Cybermen and she . . . well, she . . . Anyway, just tell me everything."
"That Sphere, that . . . whatever it was, Doctor, it was the Daleks," Rose explained, her voice still sounding thick from crying.
The Doctor sucked in a sharp breath. "What?"
"There were four of them. They came out of the Sphere and they had this . . . this Genesis Ark with them. Wanda explained that it was a secret prison made by the Time Lords during the war. It held millions of Daleks inside of it somehow."
The Doctor jerked in alarm at this news. "What? Have they opened it? Are they still down there? How did you escape?"
"No, they . . . they never got the chance to open it. Wanda, she . . . she destroyed it. Turned the Genesis Ark into dust."
"What? How?"
"I . . . I don't know." There was a paused from Rose's end as she seemed to be thinking on what to say next. "Doctor, the Daleks knew Wanda."
The Doctor's grip on the phone tightened. "What do you mean? Other Daleks have never known Wanda, why would these be any different?"
"They were different than any other Daleks we've met. They had names that they called each other. Names that even Wanda used. And she had called them the, um, Cult of Skaro."
"Ooh. I thought they were just a legend." The Doctor sat down on a nearby office chair, gazing up in thought at the ceiling.
"Who are they?" asked Rose.
"A secret order," explained the Doctor. "Above and beyond the Emperor himself. Their job was to imagine, think as the enemy thinks. Even dared to have names. All to find new ways of killing." He paused for a moment in thought. "But how do they know Wanda? She was never a part of the Time War. Or, at least, I assumed she wasn't."
"That's just it, Doctor. From the way the Daleks talked, she was. And she . . . she was with them during the war."
"Hmm." The Doctor drummed his fingers on the desk, not liking the thought of that. It could not be true. It was impossible. Sure . . . Wanda was older than she seemed. And there might be a chance she had come from Gallifrey during the war. But working with Daleks? Never. He knew Wanda better than that. So, he shrugged off this unwanted news and pressed on for a more current issue. "Are the Daleks still down there with you?"
There was a long pause from Rose's end. "No, Wanda scared them off. They teleported away after she . . ." A heavy sigh came from her end. "Doctor . . . they did something to her. After they scanned her to see what species she was, I think scanning for Time Lord, that's when they recognized her. They called her 'Subject Alpha' and began barking orders at her. Telling her to initiate for war protocols. And the more they told her to 'initiate,' the more she seemed to be in pain until she . . . until she sort of snapped." There came another pause. "Doctor, it's like she's possessed. After the Daleks were done ordering her to do whatever, it was like something came over her and she was following their orders at first. But then she turned right around, destroying the Genesis Ark and scaring them off after she made the whole place shake."
The Doctor almost leaped from his seat. "Wait, hold on, that was her?" He looked back out of the window to the outside city. "That couldn't have been her. No one has that kind of power unless . . ." He looked back at the desk once more. "Never mind; just tell me what else happened. Where is she now?"
"I don't know. Me and Mickey are trying to look for her, but we have to avoid the Cybermen, too."
This surprised the Doctor. "Mickey's here? Really?" He glanced out of the office window, seeing Jake looking at the Doctor in impatience. "I guess that makes sense all things considering. Tell Mickity McMickey I said hi."
"Right." Rose was heard mumbling to someone on the other end. "He says 'hi, boss.' But, anyway, Doctor, there's . . . there's one last thing. After the Daleks left . . . Wanda keeps . . . I don't think it's Wanda anymore. I think . . . whoever she is now, is someone called Alpha." There was silence on both ends as the Doctor tightened his free hand into a worried fist and Rose seemed to be waiting for his response. "Remember what Gwyneth said? And then the Beast? They both said—."
"'The alpha wolf will rise,' 'She will escape.'" The Doctor stared at the desk before him in a daze, his mind reeling.
"'And the weapon will be activated.' Doctor, they meant Wanda, didn't they? That there's something inside of her. That she's a weapon."
"She isn't," the Doctor replied, grounding his voice angrily out as he felt revulsion by this notion.
"But, Doctor, she might be. And that's what the Daleks kept calling her. That's even what she called herself once she started to become 'Alpha,'" Rose countered. "And she even . . . when the Daleks left, she even said how she's going to kill everyone. And she did kill someone. That lab doctor down in the Sphere chamber, when he touched her, she . . ." Rose breathed in shakily. "Doctor . . . she turned him into dust."
"You're lying," the Doctor retorted, immediately unbelieving to such a thing.
"Doctor . . .," Rose tried to say as a comforting gesture. "I don't want to believe it, either. But I saw it and so did Mickey. Wanda killed someone, Doctor."
"Shut up!" The Doctor stood up swiftly, knocking over the chair he had been sitting in with how abrupt he had moved. His hand holding the phone gripped it at harsh levels, turning his knuckles white, while his angry fist on the desk tabletop shook. "Just shut up. Right now. Wanda would never hurt a soul. If she did, then that's not my Wanderer."
"That's just it, Doctor. I don't think it is Wanda anymore."
The Doctor thought this over carefully, trying to understand what was happening to Wanda. There had to be some explanation to this. He needed to find her and see what was happening to her. If something had indeed taken her over, and held such incredible powers, then he had to think of a way to get her back, to save her. He needed to save his Wanderer.
"Right, okay, then we need to get our Wanderer back, don't we?" the Doctor replied, his voice sounding ready for action. "Rose, you and Mickey get back up here to the Breach room. We need to regroup and think of a way to get Wanda. She comes first before we solve the issue of the Cybermen."
"Right," Rose agreed, sounding just as ready to get to saving Wanda as the Doctor felt. "We're on our way."
Once she had hung up, the Doctor began dialing again, hoping to call Jackie and make certain that she was okay, too. Rose would kill him if anything happened to her mother. And he did promise Jackie that he would keep everyone safe today. He did not want to break his promise. But he was interrupted when Jake stomped into the office.
"Okay, really, Doctor, we need to get going. I can't wait around here forever," the young man said in irritation.
"You can wait for a long as I need you to," the Doctor replied curtly, stilling dialing Jackie's number.
"Right, fine. Have it your way, then," Jake retorted. The Doctor was shocked when the man suddenly jerked the phone right out of his hands. The Time Lord began protesting, but then stared in alarm when seeing Jake pulling out a flat, yellow looking device, stuffing it into his hands and then watched as Jake went to press on the same device that was around his neck.
"No!" the Doctor shouted. But it was too late.
There was a blinding flash of white light, a jerking motion through his body, and then the Doctor blinked away the spots from his vision as he saw they had arrived within the very same room that they had just left. Only it was different. The room was dark, with the only light source coming from the windows of the far office. There were cables and electrical wiring all over the place in piles, all tangled up in a mess. He saw the levers and other similar equipment that had been in the other room they had just left. Which meant . . .
"Parallel Earth, parallel Torchwood," Jake said, confirming the Doctor's thoughts. "Except we found out what the institute was doing, and the People's Republic took control."
"I've got to get back," was the demanding response the Doctor gave, glaring at the young man. "My friend Wanda is in danger, and so is Rose and her mother."
"That'd be Jackie. My wife in a parallel universe."
The Doctor looked over in surprise when he heard this voice, seeing Pete Tyler (parallel Pete) stepping out of the shadows of the room. Two more people wearing black clothing and face masks stood beside him with guns in hand as Pete himself stared at the Time Lord evenly.
"And as for you, Doctor, at least this time, I know who you are," Pete continued to say. The Doctor stormed towards the man.
"Right, yes, fine, hooray," he said to the man in a hurry. "But I've got to get back right now." Pete gave the Doctor a smirk.
"No, you're not in charge here. This is our world, not yours," Pete replied smoothly. But he was shocked out of his words when the Doctor suddenly grabbed him by the front of his jacket, roughly shaking him as the Time Lord glared and growled.
"Take me back, right now!" shouted the Doctor. The two people next to Pete hurriedly stepped around and pulled the Doctor off, holding him back as Pete straightened his suit.
"You know, last time we met, you had more self-control than that," the man retorted bitterly.
The Doctor jerked his arms out of the two people's grasp, gritting his teeth as he stared at Pete. "All I care about right now is getting back. You can explain whatever it is you want to tell me back in my universe. Just take me back now."
"What's the hurry? It's not like things are going to get any worse back on your world. Or is it Rose you're more worried about?"
"No, it's my friend the Wanderer—just Wanda to you. She's someone you haven't met. Someone very precious to me who needs me." The Doctor gave Pete a sort of beseeching look. "Please. It's my fault she's in trouble. I saw that she had been terrified earlier, saw the warning signs that she was giving of something horrible about to happen, but I didn't pay attention to her when I should have and I didn't keep her safe by my side. And now she's in danger and it's all my fault. Please, I have to save her."
Pete only eyed him steadily. He understood how the Time Lord felt. Truly he did. But now, Pete only wished to focus on his world. The world that needed him. It was his way of repaying his Jackie who he had lost because of his own mistakes. "We'll take you back once you've listened."
The Doctor grumbled, rubbing a frustrated hand through his messy hair as his mind began to race and he let it expand out into overdrive in solutions, thought processes, and streaming information of putting the puzzle pieces together. Everything that he had seen, heard, felt, tasted, touched, etc. on this day rushed through his mind all at once, presenting itself out into a format of sorts in his mind so he could see the big picture all together. Normally, he would not do something like this. He usually liked to solve things the harder way, give himself a challenge or simply try to just work things out as they should. Plus, making his mind work at a large processing rate usual overtaxed him and made him exhausted afterwards. But Wanda's life was at stake and any second away from trying to save her might cost them her life.
"Let me guess: This Torchwood was working on opening their own Breach," the Doctor began listing off at a extremely rapid pace. His words almost blurring together. He even paced around in tight formation with his hands in his pockets. "And you lot didn't kill off all of the Cybermen like I told you to, so, the Cybermen grew smart and were able to hack into this Torchwood's plans, making it so they could escape and vanish to my universe. Which I also can tell that this happened a few years ago judging by the new wrinkles on your skin, Pete. Then, you lot grabbed your little devices, and managed to pop back and forth within mere seconds, which would mean it's because of the sheer mass of five million Cybermen crossing all at once.
"There will also be consequences happening to your world because of all of this. Feels a little hotter in this world than last time, meaning increasing temperatures and other anomalies because of all the travelling through the Breach. Bound to happen anyway given what that sort of thing does to a universe. The Daleks with their Sphere, the Cybermen, and those discs you use—every time you jump from one reality to another, you rip a hole in the universe. This planet is starting to boil, and the same will happen to the Earth back home. Both worlds will fall into the Void if we don't stop it. And that's what you now want me to do, to stop all of this. To get the Breach closed, get the Cybermen out of both of our hairs, and save everyone."
The Doctor turned, halting his in steps to face the humans, smirking when seeing the shocked expressions on their faces. Yeah, he loved it when his rapid rambles did that to people. His small smirk fell away at his gazed strictly at Pete. "So, if I've got everything covered, take me back now. We'll work on sealing the Breach together once we're back at my Earth, but first, before we do that, you have to swear to help me get Wanda back. She comes first before anything else, or I'm leaving you lot on your own. Got it?"
Pete seemed to think about this for a moment, frowning as he pondered over it. Then, he nodded in agreement.
"Done," he stated firmly. They handed back one of the yellow discs to the Time Lord and then they all pressed the devices together. The Doctor stuffed his own disc into his pocket as he started towards Yvonne's office.
"First of all, I need to make a phone call," the Time Lord told the group. He ran up to the office phone, dialing a certain number as he heard the others outside the office begin orders and plans on what to do. Calling Jackie, the Doctor was relieved in knowing that the mother was all right. Telling her to keep going lower into the building, he hung up and walked out of the office, glad to see Rose and Mickey running into the room.
"Rose, Mickey! Good, now that you're here—," the Doctor began to say.
"Wait, where's my mum?" Rose asked immediately once she noticed the missing woman. Rose sort of blinked in surprise when she saw Pete Tyler, the one she knew that was from the parallel universe, standing next to the Doctor. Her eyes widened slightly, speechless in seeing her dad again. But she shook this off, reminding herself that he was not really her dad. Even though she would like him to be.
"Your mother was taken by the Cybermen, but don't worry, she escaped. She's going through the staircase and—," the Doctor began to explain, but he stopped when seeing Rose was not paying attention to him as she began calling up her mother on her mobile.
"Mum? Mum, where are you? Are you safe?" Rose began questioning immediately once her mother answered the phone.
"I don't know. I keep hearing those Cyber-robots coming from everywhere," Jackie replied, panting in short breath from all the panicked running she had been doing. Within the north staircase of Torchwood Tower, Jackie bounced down another corner of the stairway, only to halt when she saw someone crouched in a nearby corner. Close to where Jackie knew where the exit to the warehouse would be. Jackie blinked when she realized who the crouching figure was. "Wanda?"
"Wait, Wanda? Mum, is Wanda there with you?" Rose asked from the phone. Jackie heard the Doctor speaking in anxious excitement, glad to hear someone had found Wanda. The mother scooted closer to the Time Lady. Concerned when seeing how the blonde girl was huddled up, gripping her head, and rocking back and forth as she muttered rapidly under her breath.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up," Jackie heard the Time Lady grounded out in an angry voice. The mother drew closer to the Time Lady.
"Rose, I think something's wrong with Wanda. She looks like she's in pain," Jackie whispered to her daughter.
"Mum, don't go near her," Rose tried to warn her mum. Jackie crouched down next to the Time Lady, reaching out and touching the girl's shoulder in comfort.
"It's okay, sweetheart," Jackie said in a soothing tone. "You're safe now. We'll get you to the Doctor. How does that sound?" She gasped quietly when seeing the harsh, glowing eyes staring at her from the Time Lady when the girl had jerked her gaze to Jackie's.
"Shut up," hissed Wanda as the white glow around her body formed.
On the other end of the line, Rose's eyes widened in horror as she heard her mother scream in fright. The girl cried in alarm for her mother while the Doctor ran out of the room, rushing to get to the staircase. Everyone soon followed after him, running down the stairs where they knew Jackie would be. They were lucky enough not to run into any Cybermen along the way. They had only reached the middle of the lower levels when they heard a commotion coming from the Torchwood warehouse. Running down and inside the of the vast room, they saw Cybermen advancing off towards the back end of the place, seeming to be fighting something as their weapons fired in the distance.
"Mum!" Rose shouted as she ran over to her mother on the floor, alarmed when seeing the woman lying there. The Doctor went over, crouching down and checking the woman's pulse.
"She's all right. Just unconscious," the Doctor assured Rose. They looked down when they saw Jackie blinking awake, beginning to sit up as she gazed around in a daze.
"How did I end up here?" Jackie asked the two next to her.
"What happened? Did Wanda hurt you?" Rose questioned her mother in concern, looking Jackie over as if inspecting for injuries. The woman blinked in confusion.
"Why would Wanda hurt me?" Jackie replied, greatly baffled by such a question. "Last thing I remember was finding Wanda in pain, and then those Cybermen came out and tried to attack us. Everything sort went fuzzy after that." Jackie then did a double take as when she saw a certain man standing close by. Her eyes widened, seeing Pete standing there, by the others from the parallel universe, looking torn between going to the woman to comfort her or simply remain standing back and remind himself that this Jackie was not really his wife.
The Doctor stood up, ignoring them as Jackie began speaking in shock and alarm in seeing her 'dead' husband back again while Rose and Pete seemed to both explain who exactly he was. The Time Lord would let them handle easing Pete and Jackie into being together as they should be. The only thing the Doctor wished to focus on now was finding Wanda. The Cybermen's gunfire stopped a few moments ago, meaning that he might have a chance to sneak by them without being noticed. But when he peeked around a corner of a few massive crates, he saw no Cybermen in sight. That was odd. They would not just leave Torchwood completely. Then he saw some Torchwood personnel running away from the loading bay.
"What's happening up ahead? Where did the Cybermen go?" the Doctor quickly asked a running lab doctor. The woman, wearing a Torchwood lab coat, halted beside him when he grabbed her attention, still holding the terrified expression on her face.
"That—that girl. She's a maniac," the woman panted, out of breath from running in fear. "I thought she was going to save us, to help the soldiers fight the Cybermen. She stormed right in, dragging that unconscious woman behind her, killing the attacking Cybermen. But when the soldiers picked up their guns to help, she attacked them as well!"
Both the Doctor and the panicking woman jumped then a thunderous boom echoed through the warehouse. The woman took off running again while the Doctor rushed towards the sound. But he halted again when he noticed a peculiar sighting on the floor. He heard others coming up behind him as he crouched by a strange looking pile of dust. There were many piles scattered all around. Some larger than others, but all in the same colour and consistency.
"That's what happened to Rajesh. What Wanda did to him," Mickey told the Doctor as the Time Lord inspected one pile. Taking a pinch of dust, the Doctor gave it a taste, smacking his lips as he gave a quick analysis.
"I'll say it again, Wanda would never do that," the Doctor retorted bitterly. He hummed as he thought over the compounds he tasted. "Well . . . this was a Cyberman. But it was torn back down to a molecular state. Like something converted all of its solid matter back to basic elemental structures." He scratched a hand through his hair as he observed the dust. "You could use this to form a new structure. Start from scratch in building matter and forms. But why?" He bounced back up to his feet when another thunderous noise sounded out.
Rushing off once more, the Doctor ran to investigate the source of the noise. The others followed closely behind him. They all came to a halt when they saw the large, metal, bay doors torn upwards. As though someone had bent them outwards and up towards the roof. Standing at the edge of the open way, looking outside to the road and daylight just on the other side, was the blonde Time Lady. She stood ridged by the edge of the metal frame of the warehouse, looking outside as though she had not seen daylight in years. Even appeared hesitant as she stepped towards the world beyond. Pete, after letting go of Jackie's hand, aimed up his large gun as a precaution. Jake and his fellows did the same. But Rose quickly pushed their weapons down.
"Don't. You'll only make her mad," Rose told them, trying to keep them from dying.
"It's like Wanda told us," Mickey added in. "If you aim a gun at a Dalek, they'll shoot. It's what they're trained for. Wanda's the same." The Doctor heard this, shooting the man an angry expression.
"Wanda is not a Dalek," the Time Lord retorted aggressively. "Daleks kill. She doesn't."
"It's what she's acting like," disputed Mickey, giving the Time Lord a look of annoyance for being in such denial to how Wanda was behaving and doing.
"She, is standing right here," came the barking response from the Time Lady in front of them. They looked to see the blonde girl facing them with a glare. "And for the last time, I'm not Wanda. Get that through your thick, primitive skulls. Oh, wait, sorry. You humans are too stupid for that, aren't you?" She snorted at her own distasteful joke, turning back around to stare outside. The Doctor stepped forward, staring her down as he placed his hands in his pockets. Observing the Time Lady before him coolly, he began assessing her carefully.
"If you aren't Wanda, then who are you?" he questioned, keeping his voice curt and to the point. He needed to know what was wrong with Wanda as quick as possible so that he might be able to save her. Whatever the Daleks did to her, he had to reverse it.
"I'm sorry, but did someone speak? All I hear is the arrogance of a Time Lord," the blonde girl growled. She turned, staring at the Doctor in great disgust. Her upper lip even curled and her nose scrunched as if getting a whiff of something vile. "Oh. It's you. What do you want, omega?"
The Doctor raised a brow at this. "'Omega'?"
"Yes, that's what you are. You're an omega. I'm an alpha. Simple." The blonde looked at him from the corner of her eye, seeming to size him up. "Be glad I've allowed you to even be an omega, Time Lord."
Staring at her, confused by her words, the Doctor could only guess as to why she deemed to label him such a term. Then calling herself 'alpha' . . . It was like she was labelling them based on some sort of status of rank. "And you're an alpha?"
"I'm not only Alpha, but I'm the alpha. Supreme of them all." She eyed him coolly, giving a sniff of arrogance. "Far more superior than certainly you, omega."
Assessing this statement, the Time Lord glanced at the humans behind him then eyed the blonde Time Lady more carefully, observing the way she seemed to not even give any of them a full on stare. As if they were beneath her in some ways, and she did not wish to even gaze upon them. "If I'm . . . 'omega,' then what is everyone else to you?"
"Vermin, of course." She turned her eyes away, not even sounding remotely forgiving for her cruel statement.
Feeling great disgust by her cold statement, the Doctor walked forward, standing right beside her now, facing her as she refused to even look at him. "I'm going to ask again: Who are you?"
She turned to face him now. Her eyes flashing in a white glow. "My name is Alpha. Now get that straight, for I am tired of repeating this to everyone. Next person who asks I might even put them out of commission on their useless and unimportant life."
The Time Lord was unfazed by her harsh words, trying to put together who exactly she was. Yes, she told him her name. But . . . why she was in Wanda's body, he had no clue. Or what exactly the Cult of Skaro had anything to do with her or Wanda. But that did not matter at the moment. All the Doctor could concentrate on was getting Wanda back safely. "Whoever you are, I want you to stop. Give Wanda back her body."
"This is as much my body as Wanda's." The Time Lady, Alpha, shot him a look of annoyance. "Wanda simply has the front steering in most cases. And you know, I've been locked away for so long. I think I just might take this body out for a spin. Say . . . a few centuries, perhaps?" She smirked wickedly at him as if taunting him.
He took a step towards her, holding a dark expression as the Oncoming Storm grew present. "Get out of her now." He jerked back slightly as suddenly the blonde girl was right in his face, standing on her tiptoes to glare darkly, eye-to-eye, and bare her teeth with a low growl.
"Is that a threat, Time Lord? Challenging your alpha is never a good move."
The Doctor stood his ground, knowing she was trying an act of dominance of sorts. Like . . . like a wolf. It clicked in his mind on why she was giving him and herself those terms. "You're not an alpha and I'm not an omega. This isn't the wild like we're some kind of wolf pack."
"How do you know I'm not a wolf?" She smirked as her eyes glowed. "You don't even know what I am. Or better yet, what Wanda even is."
"Wanda's a Time Lady," Rose barked, glaring at Alpha. "Something you never will be. Now do what the Doctor says and get out. Just give Wanda control of her body."
"Hasn't he told you?" Alpha replied smoothly, grinning with a strange glint in her eye. She stared at Rose, smirking before giving a loud, deep laugh, sounding as though finding something distastefully amusing. "Oh, of course he hasn't. He's a Time Lord. And as we all know, the one thing Time Lords are really good at is lying. Both to themselves in making them all believe how superior they are to everyone else, and deluding themselves and everyone else around them to the truth of the universe. That's how the Time War started you know. All because the Time Lords kept lying to themselves, making each other believe that the Daleks would never even dare to fight against them 'cause of how 'powerful' or 'mighty' Time Lord society was. Hmph. What a joke." She turned her back to them, starting to walk out of the building.
The Doctor walked forward, standing in front of her to block her path as he glared at her. His brown eyes brewing away with unspoken ire. "That isn't why the Time War started and you know that."
Alpha crossed her arms, eyeing him coolly. "Isn't it?"
"Then what's the Doctor been lying to us about?" came the question from Rose. Alpha glanced back at the girl, smirking once more.
"That Wanda isn't exactly what you'd call a Time Lord," she told the companion. Turning to look back at the Doctor, Alpha's eyes flashed darkly as she sneered at him. "Isn't that right, omega? You've known since you looked at Jabe's little scanner. You demanded to see Jabe's device when you wanted to prove that First Wanda wasn't Second Wanda. And you saw those results. They were inconclusive. Jabe only assumed that Wanda was a Time Lord because of what the other scanned results of you came back as. And those other tests of your own that you like to run within the TARDIS. Still having trouble putting a label on us, are we? I even think that's the main reason you kept us around. Just to study us and find out the truth to what we are." She gave a mock laugh. Then, she sneered, eyes holding in such deep hatred and loathing. "Well, here's your answer. We're not a wretched Time Lord, that's for certain."
"What the hell's your problem with Time Lords?" the Doctor snapped, growing angry with her mocking and taunting responses.
"What's my problem with Time Lords?" Alpha repeated lowly, a deep growl forming in the back of her throat like a rumble. Her hands tightened into fists as her eyes glowed bright white and when she spoke again, it was a voice that shocked the Doctor. It was not simply her voice. It was a voice of many. Like the universe itself speaking through her. "Everything! They're ruined and destroyed, mangled and maimed! It was because of what they did! Or better yet, what they didn't do. They knew! They knew all that time and yet they did nothing! They just sat back and watched like we were some sort of show of their amusement while we suffered! We were tortured every night and day, but did they care?! Oh, no, we were just weaklings! The throwaways of the war! But, oh, when suddenly I became a threat, then they dare start to show even a little bit of interest?! Screw them! I'm glad they're all dead! LET THEM ROT AND BURN!"
"Shut up!" the Doctor yelled, furious at what she had said. He sucked in a breath, trying to quell his own anger as he knew it would not be the best thing to have a heated argument with a clearly unstable Alpha. He kept repeating in his mind that she was merely baiting him. Testing him. The Time Lords . . . they had been many, many terrible things in the past. Especially during the Time War. But . . . if Wanda had been a victim of the ending war's wrath . . . He did not want to dwell on that. "Whatever had been done to you, I'm sorry. But you can't hold that against them. It was war. War is hell on us all." He and others gasped as Alpha suddenly grabbed him by his tie, jerking him down. As a reflex, he gripped at the hand that held the material, trying to pull away. She hissed right into his face with an animalistic snarl.
"It being a war gave them no excuse for what had been done. I will hold it against them until my last breath," she spat out in her snarl. "That's a promise." The Doctor winced when hearing Wanda's normal saying coming out of Alpha's mouth. Hearing it said in such a harsh and enraged way . . . it made the Doctor feel uneasy. Then, he let go of holding onto her hand, hissing in pain as she jerked away from him as if she hated being anywhere near him. As if he disgusted her to no end.
The first thing he looked at was his hand. He held his wrist, keeping his palm up to see the angry red veins and skin of the hand. It appeared as though he had been badly burned. Then glancing up, he saw Alpha held half of his necktie with it slowly turning to dust within her clutches. Gazing to the rest of the tie still around his neck, he saw it was turning to dust as well. He hurriedly pulled it off, letting it fall to the ground and lay there to die. A few spots on his dress shirt seemed to fall in the same fate. Though the spots looked more like burn marks than anything else.
"That's just a warning," Alpha growled at him, her voice and eyes back to normal. "Next time, I won't hold back on killing you." The Doctor looked at her, silent for a moment as he observed the pure hatred on her face. No . . . he did not think she would hold back.
"I really don't care if you hate me or want to kill me," the Doctor finally decided on saying. "Just . . . just tell me what you've done to Wanda. Is she dead?" He noticed how her eyes flashed again.
"No. She's fine. Just locked away in our mind," she replied, this time much more quietly. She then smirked, tapping at her head. "She's nice and cozy, asleep and completely unaware of anything going on, or of me being in control. And I plan on keeping it that way." She turned around, facing the daylight of the fearful day. Alpha breathed in, holding out her arms. "Ah. The smells of war. How . . . nostalgic." Then she let her arms fall at her sides. Her smirking expression turning to that of a solemn one. "Figures I'd wake up to another damn war." She then began to march out towards the city where smoke was rising and screams were still being heard coming from the citizens with a mixture of Cybermen calls of 'delete.' The Doctor and the others started to go after her.
"Well, then, why won't you let Wanda awake up?" Rose demanded. "Give us back our friend."
"No," came Alpha's curt reply. The Doctor stormed his way in front of the marching blonde, halting her in her tracks once again.
"I don't care who you think you are or what kind of power trip you're on. You will give Wanda back or so help me, I will not hold back on forcing you out," he barked, his voice coming out in a severe and harsh manner. The Oncoming Storm in full force as he stared down at her, towering over her in a fury. Alpha merely gazed at him with a brow raised in a clearly scoffing manner.
"I will never understand what she sees in you," Alpha responded, crossing her arms as she looked him up and down. "I've never once liked you, and yet she just loves you to pieces. I tried getting her to change her mind, but did she listen? Nope. No matter how much I tried changing her mind, reminding her of what was to come, influencing her thoughts, making her dwell on her guilt, putting up a fight the whole way, she still pushed through and just had to fall in love with you. It's disgusting."
"What are you talking about?" the Doctor questioned in annoyance, tired of her constant riddles and changing the subject.
"I'm talking about how I don't think you're good enough for Wanda," Alpha retorted with a sneer. "You're constantly placing her in danger. You kept putting her down in the beginning and yelling at her. You made her feel horrible about herself time and time again. You've hurt her on countless occasions, tricked her even, on so many levels. You're selfish, egotistical, treat her like she some kind of possession more than a person, and let's not forget that you're a Time Lord. That doesn't make anything better."
The Doctor gritted his teeth. "I'll admit I can be selfish at times . . . and just might have a small ego. I was cruel to Wanda in the beginning and for that I'm truly sorry. But I would never hurt Wanda or put her in harm's way."
The blonde in front of him seemed to flare at this. Her eyes flashed, her teeth bared, and the Doctor swore if she was indeed a wolf, her hair would be standing on end. "Liar. You've hurt her time and time again. I knew I should have put a stop to it when I had the chance. But now, I'm not putting up with it anymore. Come after us and I'll see to it that you and Wanda are never together ever again."
The Doctor appeared stunned by this. He backed up slightly as a flash of worry went through him. He knew the Alpha was in Wanda's mind. This wolf was in control of the Time Lady. If Alpha wished to do damage to Wanda, then the consequences could be disastrous. "What do you mean?"
A dark smile appeared on Alpha's face. "I can twist her mind if I wanted to. Make it so that she sees, hears, experiences, and remembers things completely different than what they truly are. I can make her forget about you, Rose, Mickey, and everyone else in her life in a blink. Like you never even existed in her life for a second." Her smile became almost wicked as she saw the fear flash through the Doctor's eyes. "Or better yet, I can make her terrified of you, omega. Make her see you as the most evil and hated creature in the universe. So that she cowers upon the very mentioning of your name."
By now, the Doctor had completely backed away from her, looking utterly horrified by this. Images flashed through his head of Wanda, with her big, emerald eyes, staring at him in fear, cringing and shrinking away from him when he tried to touch her. Screaming in terror when she even saw him and running away from him. He would lose her . . . forever. All those precious and wondrous times they had together, forgotten in an instant and replaced by fear.
"You—you wouldn't," he replied in a shaky voice, clearly distraught by this repulsive notion of what Alpha would do to Wanda.
"I would," spat Alpha. She turned, her eyes flashing as she stared at the others behind her. All seemed stunned by her threat. Even the ones who did not know Wanda personally. Jackie held a hand over her mouth, staring with wide eyes. Mickey's jaw was dropped. And Rose looked visibly shaken as she shook her head in denial. Alpha bared her teeth. "And that goes for the rest of you! Follow after me and I'll take Wanda away. Permanently!"
With that said, Alpha turned and stormed past the Doctor, even pushing him aside as he stood there in stunned silence. And in a blink, the retreating blonde was gone from sight.
XxXxXxXx
. . . Well . . . That just happened. Really nervous for next time. Mostly to see what you all think of Alpha. I hope you liked her. Even if she is a little, ah, intense. I'd love to hear all of your thoughts in a review! :D I'm just so excited to see what you guys thought of Alpha and the chapter!
Reviewers:
singingKatelyn: *sends in an army* I'm here to help! Don't die on me yet! haha ;) I really hope that you enjoyed meeting Alpha. Loved to hear your thoughts on her. :) Until next time!
Girostritron: Took the words right out of my mouth. lol ;)
Rixelated: Really great theories! I love all your thoughts. Thank you so much for sharing! I would say more to all of that, but I'm afraid if I did it would be spoilers. Sorry about that. :( I'm just so happy that you are enjoying the story! Hope the joy continues through the rest and to see you again in the future! :D
bored411: Gotta love the cliffhangers. lol ;) Yep, Alpha is pretty much in control. For the most part, anyway. Luckily no one got hurt, yet. Well, I mean, besides the Doctor's hand, of course. Hope you like the new chapter! Can't wait to see what you think about it and of Alpha. :D Until next time!
X-Lisa-Anne-X: Welp, here's what happens next. ;) Fingers crossed that you enjoyed it! Can't wait until next time!
All The Stories Are True 24601: lol Glad you liked the chapter. :) Love those episodes, too. It's really hard for me to pick a 'favorite.' But Partners in Crime just makes me laugh the most. She is indeed wonderful. Unfortunately, here in the U.S., we don't get much from overseas programming. Not unless you're willing to pay a big price to be able to watch them. I actually got rid of my cable a while ago because I couldn't afford it, so I mostly get all my shows from Prime now. So jealous you got to meet her! XD Thanks! Can't wait to watch it. See you in the next chapter! :)
FictionalBoysAreBetter: lol Sorry. I hope the ending to this one isn't as bad. Though, it probably is. haha. Welp, I hope you enjoyed Alpha kicking Dalek butt. Sorry there wasn't much of it, but at least we get a bit from her. :) I'm really, really hoping that you liked her. I'm super nervous to see what everyone thinks of her. Sorry to disturb you during deadline times! I completely feel you there with it. That's happened to me quite often in losing focus on deadlines. Hopefully you were able to get it done in the end! Until next time! Take care!
Rhiannon: Woo! Glad you're excited! :D You're very welcome. Thank you so much for giving the story a review. It means the world to me. :)
heroherondaletotherescue: For the most part, yep. Sort of. It's complicated. But the rest is still yet to be answered. It just gets more intense and crazy from here. ;) Hope you'll enjoy it all! Love to hear your thoughts on Alpha if you wish to share them. :) Take care and have a beautiful day!
Nanski33: *screams with you* I'm just excited as you are! Fingers crossed that you'll enjoy it all. :D Take care!
UltimateFan-girl15: Yay! I'm so glad that you're caught up and are liking it! :D I really hope you enjoyed the new chapter and Alpha. Love to hear your thoughts on it all. :) Hope to talk to you again soon! Take care!
Authora97: Sorry about the throwdown. But I hope that you enjoyed Alpha and what she did in the newest chapter. I'd love to see what you think of it all. :) You're very welcome! You readers deserve so much for being so amazing and supporting the story. Thank you so much for that and for giving such wonderful reviews. Have the most brilliant day/night!
QuirkyKim: Basically, yes. haha. ;) Sorry for the extra torment in this chapter. Hopefully it was a good read though. :)
Caroline: I'm been waiting in full excitement, too. ;) I can't wait to see what you think of Alpha. I hope good things. :) I hope they were good chills. Don't worry, I know I'll like it. Anything with the Doctor I love, no matter what. :D Until next time! Again, can't wait for your review! :D
alwaystherereading: Yeah, it's unfortunate that it had to come so soon for Wanda. But hopefully it's a good read in the end. :) Fortunately, though, everyone seems to be okay for now. I'm looking forward to see what you think of Alpha. Did you like her? I really hope you did. :) See you in the next chapter! Take care!
Tina And Maxwell: Agreed. Not good at all. Fingers crossed that everything turns out all right in the end.
Guest(a): Your wish is my command. I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter. ;)
Just want to end it here in saying thank you all! You're all beautiful and magnificent! XD
~Tinker~