Chapter Twelve
The Doctor and the Titans spent almost an hour considering their options. They discussed plans of attack, and various strategies, but none seems viable.
"I'm at a loss." the Doctor finally said. "Usually, I'm brilliant at stuff like this, but with our lack of resources and my unfamiliarity with the area, I can't really give a sufficient assessment of things."
"Well, I could familiarize you with the area if you'd like." offered Cyborg.
"Not if it's nothing special." he replied.
Cyborg nodded. "Yeah, I suppose nothing trivial might help."
"Oh to hell with it, try me." he said, lying down. "Something scientific, like the geology."
"Well, the area is known for deposits of lodestone."
The Doctor sat up. "Say that again?"
Cyborg was perplexed. "I said this area has a lot of lodestone."
"What is that?" asked Starfire.
"Rock with magnetic properties." the Doctor answered. He was on his feet, muttering to himself.
"It just might work!" he finally said. He then went to the console, and consulted the computer. As he did so, the Titans all stood up, wondering what scheme the Doctor had in mind.
Finally, the Doctor jumped up, clapping his hands together.
"Fantastic!"
"What is it?" Nightwing asked.
"This is just perfect! Oh, I'm such a fool for not seeing it before! Must be my age! Oh, fantastic!"
"Would you mind letting us in on your little idea?" Raven demanded.
The Doctor talked excitedly.
"You see, the Daleks are susceptible to high magnetic variances. Their machinery goes haywire! And since Cybermen are of a similar technology, they're likely to be effected as well. Now, the Dalek energy field that is causing all the quantum interference is also causing an area of magnetic instability in the local fields."
He paused to catch his breathe. "So, if I can amplify that field, then trigger a powerful enough EMP, then we can fry both the Daleks and the Cybermen! Fantastic!"
The Titans took a moment to take in what the Doctor said.
"Brilliant!" Nightwing said. "So, all we have to do is figure out how to amplify the field and then generate an EMP!"
"Yeah," Raven said, "But how?"
The Doctor considered the answer.
"The TARDIS!" he exclaimed. Returning to the console, he made his inquiries.
"Oh this is so fantastic! I can use the TARDIS to generate a field of reverse polarity that will cause a powerful feedback that will bring the magnetic instability to a critical level. So, that solves that problem. All we need is a way of generating an EMP."
"What might work?" asked Cyborg.
"A small nuclear device."
Starfire brightened. "Would the detonation of a small, fusion reactor work too?"
The Doctor stared at her. "Yes it would! Do you have one?"
She smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do! My ship!"
"What ship?"
"The ship I came to Earth in! I left it on the beach before me and my friends left to confront the Daleks when they first arrived! By using remote control, it can be detonated!"
"Starfire, you're beautiful!" the Doctor exclaimed, rushing to hug the Tamaranian.
"I have a question, though." asked Raven.
"What?" the Doctor said.
"You said you didn't have enough power in the TARDIS because of it being in a different universe. So, where are you going to get power for making that field?"
The Doctor pondered the question. Then, he smiled.
"From the Daleks, of course!"
"How?" asked Cyborg.
"All I have to do is do a bit of jiggery-pokery to allow the TARDIS to accept the energy field from the Daleks as a power source. When that's done, the power will build up."
"But what about after it's destroyed? Won't that leave you stranded?"
"When the power is supplied, the TARDIS will begin a regenerative cycle. It should be enough to get me out of here."
He removed a deck plate and crawled into the hole. He then began to manipulate the intricate mechanisms of his machine.
"Sit back and stay awhile, Titans. This could take some time!"
The Titans took the time to rest their minds and bodies, hoping the plan would work.