Chapter XXVIII: Infiltration
Saltrall sighed softly and rubbed his face after he closed the TARDIS door. He sat down on at the console and thought about what he was going to do next. He had come to grips with the fact that he he had feelings for Korra, but now it was just a matter of figuring out what to do about it.
He decided that the best way to take his mind off of it was to be productive so he twirled some dials and pulled the lever and his TARDIS took off quietly.
He went back to his bedroom and waited for it to land by getting a rubber undershirt and grabbing his staser just as the TARDIS settled down and landed.
Pulling the monitor around and checking his surroundings he smiled and hopped the railing, grabbing his Sonic off of the couch and opening the door and emerging into the hallway of the Equalist base.
Looking around carefully he slipped out and closed the door. He started creeping down the hallway and pressing his back against the wall and looking around the corner.
"Oh, hello," He said awkwardly as he turned into the main corridor where five Equalists were staring at him. "This is the Equalist HQ isn't it? See I was looking for the, um, Multiplicationists HQ, I'll just be on my way now."
He turned to run back to the TARDIS as they started charging him only to find three more blocking his path back.
"Ah, bloody hell" He muttered under his breath before he yelled and charged the three, with the five close behind.
He speared the one in the middle, knocking him to the floor before reaching into his pocket for his Sonic. He gulped when it wasn't there and he saw it on the floor just in front of the other five Equalists. With a groan he punched the grunt to his right and kicked the one behind him.
Looking at his handiwork, three grunts groaning in pain on the ground he turned towards the five, only to find the middle one holding his Sonic in his electric glove.
"Please don't," He said, with a tinge of whining in his voice, "That thing is really important."
He couldn't see the face of the man who was holding the Sonic, but he was sure he was smirking as he charged his glove and sent a large amount of electricity through the Sonic, making it smoke.
"Dammit," Saltrall muttered before glaring at them. The leader pointed at him and the other four charged him. Saltrall drew his staser and stunned all five of them. He walked over them and grabbed his ruined Sonic. He tried to activate it but all it did was whir weakly and flicker green.
He sighed and kicked the leader in the chest.
"You're an asshole," He said, annoyed and he turned and saw the other three standing back up.
He ran at them and they ran at him. He punched through the middle one but was tripped by one of the other two. He tumbled to the ground and slid across the floor. He got up quickly and dodged a punch but was hit in the gut by the other arm.
He groaned and stumbled backwards but dodged the next punch and swept his leg and grabbed the head of the Equalist, bringing it down onto his knee and knocking him out cold. The other Equalist tried to electrocute him, but his rubber undershirt kept him safe. He quickly knocked out the final attacker by squeezing both sides of his neck, cutting off his carotid arteries and letting him collapse to the ground.
Saltrall walked back into his TARDIS and threw his destroyed Sonic onto the couch.
"Well that was the stupidest thing I've done in 500 years," He mumbled under his breath. He grabbed his sonic and unscrewed the glowing power core from the back. "Let's see what we can salvage, shall we?"
He went over to the console and plugged the power core into it's spot. He sighed a little in relief as the monitor flashed to life and started showing readings and information from his various adventures. He tapped the option that said "transfer data" and waited for it to transfer everything to the console. When it was done he took the now dark core and threw it away.
"Well, I guess I'm useless now," He muttered and turned away from the console. He went over to the couch and grabbed the rest of it as he heard the console hum. He turned around, confused and looked at it.
His eyes widened when he saw a brand new screwdriver emerge from the console. His surprised expression turned into a grin and he hopped the railing and grabbed it.
"Even after 500 years you still surprise me, old girl!" He said rubbing the console and taking the Sonic out of the slot it emerged from. He had never used a Sonic tool before the Doctor gave him an old version of his, the one that was just destroyed.
He looked over his new Sonic, it was blue and silver and had four tubes running up to the tip. It's handle was some struts jutting out a little and it fit perfectly in his hand.
"Made just for me," He whispered with a smile. It had a switch instead of a button and he pushed it up and then down.
"Oooooh, blue AND green," He said, "I approve." He pushed it up twice and then down twice, making it do other functions. He reasoned he'd have to test it later but for the time being he placed it on the console and flew back to where his friends were. He traveled forward to the morning so they would be getting up and he grabbed his new tool and walked out of the TARDIS back to where his friends were.
He arrived just as Korra was starting to stir. He smiled and sat on a box and admired his new Sonic. Korra sat up and stretched and looked around.
"Oh, hey Saltrall," she said, smiling softly before rubbing the sleep from her eyes and standing. Saltrall smiled back and put his Sonic in his pocket.
"Good morning, you sleep good?" He asked, leaning against the box behind him.
She shrugged and stretched, "As good as I can, I guess."
"Sometimes that's all you can hope for right?" Saltrall asked as he yawned.
Korra looked at him questionably. "Didn't you get any sleep last night?" She asked after he yawned.
Saltrall blushed lightly, "No," He replied, "it's actually only been about 15 minutes since you went to bed for me."
She looked confused before it registered in her brain, "Right, time traveler," She said with a knowing nod, "I forgot you could do that."
Saltrall laughed, "Yeah, I had a long night, lost my Sonic, got a new one, you know, average night."
Korra raised an eyebrow, obviously implying Saltrall continue.
"Well, funny story, I decided to infiltrate the Equalist HQ, alone, stupid, I'm aware, but it sounded easy 'hey, I have magical box that can go almost anywhere, what could go wrong?' I thought, well, a lot as it turns out." He explained, "A lot can go wrong."
Korra just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.
"I really can't leave you alone can I?" She asked him.
He shrugged, "Guess not," was his simple reply.
She chuckled and turned, "come on, let's go wake the others, they'll want to hear your story."
Saltrall nodded and they woke up the others. Once everyone was awake they sat down and listened to Saltrall's encounter.