Wally was waiting for the TARDIS to finish it's scanning of Earth's orbit. Something was up there. He knew it. A holo projection appeared in front of them, displaying a massive alien ship above the earth. Hal couldn't believe it.
"Oh my God." Hal said quietly.
"Sontarans." Wally told him. "No doubt about it, Hal. They took Eva and the Doctor, but..."
He paused, gathering his thoughts. His mind raced faster than light as he went through all the possible scenarios he could in the blink of an eye.
"Why didn't they take you?" Asked Hal.
"Or the TARDIS?" Wally added.
"They had us right where they wanted us. All of us. Why just Eva and the Doctor?"
"Maybe they don't know about you." Said Hal.
Wally turned to Hal with a confident grin. "Or you."
Hal scoffed. "Me? What would a bunch of aliens want with an air pilot? I fly jets, not spaceships!"
"You're a lot more than you give yourself credit for. In fact, I think overlooking you might be their biggest mistake."
Hal looked confused. He was nothing compared to the superheroes that he saw on the news. He couldn't fly. He had no super strength or speed. He was just human.
Wally had the TARDIS analyze the ship, discovering what appeared to be a strong signal coming from the storage area. It must be the Doctor, he thought. Wally wasted no time in throwing the lever. With a grinding whirling noise, the TARDIS slowly faded away.
The Doctor was still standing in his cell, bored, but he could do nothing to get past the two Sontarans that barred his only exit route. They had still kept their aim fixed on him. It appeared waiting for them to doze off wasn't going to work, but he could wait for them to show just enough laxity to catch them off guard. Perhaps, he thought, they were too focused on him, and he could use that to his advantage.
He began by directing his attention to the door behind them.
"Eugh."
The Sontarans still didn't move.
The Doctor tried again, this time pretending to look away from the door in disgust.
"What are you moaning about, prisoner?" One of the Sontarans spat out, annoyed.
"Eugh it's that nasty spot on that door!" The Doctor replied. "It's disgusting! Seriously who runs this vessel?"
"What?"
The two Sontarans turned around to find the imperfection on their honored vessel of war, and the Doctor wasted no time in leaping at the chance to escape. He sprung toward them, while their backs were turned, leaping like a frog through the air. His hands slapped the one weak spot for all Sontarans: the air hole on the back of their neck armor. The Sontarans yelped in surprise and quickly fell to their knees, then landed unconscious on the floor. At last, the Doctor was free!
He wasted no time in opening the door and running down the corridor. He knew he had no idea where he was going, but anywhere was better that where he just was. First, he needed to find Eva, then discover what Kor was up to and put an end to it. Up ahead, he found a series of doors to his left and right. Surely one of them would lead to Eva. He decided to unlock the first door on his left using his sonic screwdriver. As he aimed it at the door and activated it, he heard Eva's voice screaming. It was echoing throughout the entire vessel, shaking the walls.
"Sorry, Eva." he said quietly as he entered the room.
The room was smothered with a foul odor. That was the first thing the Doctor noticed. The floor had a large metal slab, with straps, and beside it was a pool of pink ooze.
"Cloning." The Doctor quietly said to himself.
Nobody was in the room, but the Doctor couldn't help but notice a long black strand of hair stuck in one of the straps, the one that would be placed over someone's head.
"Oh no..."
Suddenly the door behind him slip open, and there in the entrance stood Kor the Annihilator, smiling at his escaped prisoner.
"You really didn't think I'd let you escape so easily, Doctor. Now did you?"
The Doctor turned around, furious.
"What have you done to her?!"
Kor was rather surprised. He hadn't expected the Doctor to lose his calm so quickly. Perhaps this mere woman was more than just a companion to him. This was excellent. He could use the Doctor's weakness against him, and win a most decisive victory for the glory of Sontar.
"Temper, Doctor." Said Kor. "I had expected more self composure from a renowned enemy such as yourself."
"What did you do to Eva?" The Doctor's voice was definitely calmer, but it was filled with wrath. "I want to know, and I want to know now."
Kor chuckled. He was quite pleased with disturbing his enemy this much already.
"Certainly." He said. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"
Fear suddenly gripped the Doctor's heart, as he imagined what Kor had meant. He felt his stomach drop, and his breath suddenly leave him. They couldn't have. Certainly not.
Kor stepped aside, and waved his hand for someone beyond the Doctor's sight to enter the room. He couldn't believe it. Standing in the doorway was Eva, glaring menacingly at the Doctor. She walked right up to him, and smiled as she easily grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.
"Eva?!"
She tightened her grip.
"S-stop." The Doctor struggled to break free, but in vain.
Kor laughed in triumph. "What could be more perfect, Doctor, than to have you die at the hands of your own ally?"
This was not good. There was no breaking her grip, and he was running out of air.
"Coward." He managed to croak out.
Instantly, Kor's smile turned to a bitter frown. "What did you say?" He growled.
"Using -ack!- a woman because you can't kill...me...yourself..." His vision was starting to fade.
Kor huffed in anger. He clenched his fists and stomped his foot in protest. "How dare you insult my honor thus! Clone! Release him at once!"
The cloned Eva did as she was told. The Doctor fell to the ground, gasping desperately for much needed oxygen. As he was still on the ground, defenseless, Kor angrily delivered a kick to his ribs. He smiled as the Doctor yelped in pain. It pleased him so much, that he kicked him again, and then another time in the stomach. With each cry of pain, Kor's grin spread wider on his face and he began to laugh.
"You are not wise to provoke your enemy!" He shouted before using his foot to position the Doctor on his back. He then stomped on his stomach. "Perhaps my brethren have underestimated your prowess. Then again, I AM the most promising one of my batch. Perhaps I am just more clever than they are."
The Doctor curled up, clenching his stomach in pain before rolling to one side. Did he really just hear what he thought?
"What...what was that?" He squeaked out in between breaths.
Kor chuckled. "I said, Doctor-"
Another swift kick, this time to the Doctor's jaw. The Doctor's head collided with the ground with a loud SMACK!
Satisfied with another blow to his enemy, Kor continued his speech. "-that I am the most promising clone of my batch."
The cloned Eva stood motionless, her expression blank. She was simply watching the Doctor lie on floor with his mouth bleeding. The Doctor was quite perplexed. The first thing he noticed was that Kor's behavior differed from that of the typical Sontarans he had encountered. He seemed to have no problem cloning a woman and having her do his dirty work, that is until he was called out on it. But there was one very crucial thing that stood out the most: Kor saw himself as genetically superior to his own brothers in arms. He was arrogant, self-centered.
"Right then." The Doctor said weakly. "Just checking."
Kor turned his attention to the cloned female beside him.
"Clone, escort this meat sack back to his proper cell. Then carry out the rest of your orders."
"Yes, sir." she replied.
Without another word, the cloned Eva grabbed the Doctor by the feet and began to drag his body back into the hallway. Now this is just embarrassing, he thought to himself. As she kept dragging him down the hallway, the Doctor reached into one of his coat pockets, and managed to gently form a grip around his sonic screwdriver.
"Oi, is that really necessary now?" He protested. "You've already humiliated me enough! Now you're dragging me around like I'm a bag of garbage? Come on! Show some respect to a formidable enemy!"
She ignored him, and continued on her way.
"Right, well I suppose you can't say you didn't deserve this then."
With the press of his index finger, the Doctor activated his sonic screwdriver, its whirling noise causing the clone to immediately scream and collapse to the ground. The clone clasped her hands against her ears, shrieking in pain. The Doctor hopped to his feet, and pointed his device at the frightened clone.
"Now where's Eva?!" He demanded.
"I'm Eva!" she yelled at him.
The Doctor felt his blood begin to boil.
"Wrong answer!"
He activated the sonic screwdriver again, and watched without pity as the clone of his companion cried in anguish, trying in vain to drown out the horrid noise. She writhed on the ground, cupping her ears as best as she could. After a couple of seconds, he released the button and the noise stopped.
"Now let's try this again." He said coldly. "Where. Is. Eva?"
"I can't tell you. You'll kill me if you find her!" she answered sobbingly.
The Doctor felt a twinge of pity and self shame watching her tears stream down her face. He knew she was right. As soon as he found the real Eva and freed her, the connection between herself and the clone would be severed. This "Eva" in front of him would be left to die. He would have killed her. The clone unclasped her hands from her ears, relieved that the noise was gone. She grasped the Doctor's hands, and clung to him. Instinctively, he tightened his grip on the sonic screwdriver and had his finger ready to activate it yet again.
"Please don't use that thing on me again!" She begged. "I'll tell!"
The Doctor's heart sank down to his stomach as he watched her begin to regain composure. This wasn't really Eva, and yet he still felt guilty for causing her pain.
"I'll tell." she said again.
The clone took a moment to catch her breath, before answering the question.
"She's in the supply room, which they filled with clone feed. She was moved there because the gas cripples her."
So Eva does have a weakness, he thought. He'd have to remember that in case of any emergency.
Skipping over that newly acquired information, he continued his interrogation.
"So they can move her without disrupting the connection between you two, then? I saw her hair in the cloning room. I know she was there."
"No, Doctor." she replied. "She was never in that room to begin with. The hair strand you saw was mine. Kor knew you'd check the cloning room first. That's why he had a special cloning unit built in the supply area. You wouldn't think of looking there."
"Well, he's clever I'll give him that." said the Doctor.
Now that he knew where to go, there was the problem of escaping a superpowered clone.
"Eva."
"What?"
"I'm sorry I have to do this. I'm so sorry."
He then activated his sonic screwdriver again, and ran away in search of the supply room. He tried his best to block out the clone's agonizing screams as he followed Eva's voice.
The TARDIS materialized in the supply room, the floor of which was completely covered with some sort of strange fog. Wally opened the doors first, and gagged at the smell.
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Sontaran ship, Kor was watching.
"Now!" he ordered his men. "Spring the trap!"
Suddenly the supply room was flooded with the gas coming from vents in walls. Wally could see nothing, and his reflexes were stunned by the toxins that were quickly filling his lungs. He tried to use his arms as fans to blow the gas away, but it was no use. The gas was completely flooding the room, and there was no air left to breathe. Whoever sprung this trap knew to cut the oxygen supply first. Unable to move or breathe, Wally fell to the ground. Hal tried to run and pull him to safety inside the TARDIS, but as soon as he left the box he heard the sound of multiple footsteps rushing their way. He quickly took a breath of air from the TARDIS and slammed the door shut, just as a small party of Sontarans entered the supply room and cuffed him. Hal couldn't focus on much not long after that. He held his breath as long as he could, until his vision began to fade to black.
Kor was among them.
"I have a pod prepared with instructions to crash into the ocean." He said to his soldiers. "Place them in there and then eject it. They will no longer be an obstacle."
As Kor watched his men dragged the two unconscious bodies away, he smiled.
"This is all too easy." He chuckled.
