Everything hurt. He didn't know how it was possible, but every single inch of his body seemed to be sore, like he had fallen from a great height. Which he had done before, actually, and this felt so much worse. His head was heavy as he tried to force his groggy mind to remember what had happened.
The Doctor managed to overcome the strange weight on his eyelids, forcing his eyes open. His vision was blurry for a few moments, before the details of the room started to come into focus. The hazy, distorted scene around him started to become the clear.
He was seated in a metal chair, which was surprisingly still cold against his skin, even though he'd probably been here awhile judging by the state his body was in. It had four large metal cuffs attached to it, which held his arms and legs to the chair, restraining him. It was a wonder he hadn't felt them before, the tight grasp they had on his wrists and ankles, but his body was strangely numb, though extremely tender and sore at the same time. He didn't bother to struggle against the restraints, deciding to take a look round the room.
That's when he saw the guard.
He didn't know how he hadn't seen him as soon as he opened his eyes, but there he was. He stood right in front of him, only a mere few feet separating them as he stared down at him once again. It was the tall one, with his cleanly shaven head, his thick muscles, and the complete lack of any sort of emotion on his ape-like face. As the Doctor glared into his empty, black eyes, his last moments before blacking out came back to him.
"You shot me!" he accused, though it was slightly slurred after being out cold for, how long had he been out? Minutes, hours, all night long? "You, you shot me! I'm not even a prisoner, nor guilty of anything, and you shot me!" The guard gave an amused smile as the Doctor squirmed in his chair, checking himself for damage. He even worried if he'd regenerated, for he didn't know how long he'd been out for. Long enough to completely repair himself, grow a whole new face? He sincerely hoped not, he was starting to like his eleventh incarnation, large chin, childish features, and all.
"You're also supposed to be dead, and I didn't shoot you! Well, not really," answered the guard with a laugh, though sounding genuinely saddened by the fact "Just shocked the hell outta ya." He pulled his gun out from his belt with a grin "See? S'only a Taser gun." The Doctor gave an audible sigh of relief, actually giving the guard a smile.
"Good, my wife will recognize me when I get myself out of this," he said happily, grinning with a hint of a clever plan behind his eye "Not sure about your loved ones though, once I've finished with you. Oooh, that sounded very threatening, for a change. I usually ruin it by laughing idiotically or something. I'm pretty proud of myself right now. Did it sound scary to you, too?" The guard pointed his already drawn gun at the Doctor chest, just under his bow tie, which was still magically straight.
"You still talk too much," he muttered, peering at the Doctor's face over the barrel "I'd be quiet if I were you, or I might just shock ya ta death this time." The Doctor slipped his right hand out of its cuff, then mimed the act of zipping his lips shut. Then he pretended to lock them, and threw the fictional, invisible key over his shoulder dramatically before sliding his wrist back into its restraint.
The guard's eyes narrowed, keeping the gun pointed at him with a determined look on his face. The Doctor smiled, honestly having the time of his life taunting the man. Gun pointed at him or not, it was still funny. The stupid expression on his face as he tried to work out a plan himself.
"Oh, sorry," said the Doctor, feigning regret, "Did I just accidentally tip you off that these cuffs, while extremely tight, really don't really have a good hold on these manly hands of mine?" He pulled out his right hands once again, wiggling his strangely dainty fingers, nearly as slight as a woman's. "Guess I'll have to think of another plan, won't I?" He slipped his hand back into the metal cuff as he eyed the gun worriedly, as it was still pointed directly at him, the guard's hand holding it steady.
The Doctor surveyed the room, which he had pretty much ignored since he had woken up. It was the same plain metal as the rest of the prison, with what seemed like steel making up the floor, walls and ceiling. It was built to outlast anything, it seemed to him. Well, except a gas leak.
The room wasn't very big, maybe about the same area as the circular walkway around the TARDIS console. Just enough room for him to sit, trapped in his metal chair, while the guard moved comfortably and easily around without really coming close enough for the Doctor to really do anything. The guard was standing in front of the only door in the room, which he had left ajar. The Doctor tried to catch a glimpse outside, but all he could see were the metal walls of that same hallway.
"Don't I have any rights?" The Doctor asked, utterly lost as to what he should do "I mean, can I have one phone call, get three questions or anything? Will anything I say be used against me?" The guard gave him a glare, not wanting to have to hear his voice anymore.
"No, no phone calls, no questions, no nothin'!" he answered gruffly, swinging his gun as he moved his hands animatedly as he spoke "You just wait here until we get this sorted out!" The Doctor thought about that for a moment.
"If it's about the smoke, I can help!" he insisted, though he didn't remove his hands again, not wanting to get shocked to death "I'm the Doctor, I can help with the poisonous gas let loose in your prison! I thought I made a request to be sent to your boss, so where is he? Let me speak to whoever runs this damned place!" He had nearly lost his temper completely, his face growing red and hot as he sat there impatiently, a Taser gun still aimed in his direction.
"Calm down, before you explode out of that little shirt and bow tie of yours, Doctor." he replied mockingly as the Doctor stewed in his frustration. "We don't need any help with the gas, it should be all cleared out in fifteen minutes or so. It'll be safe to go back down there in 'bout half an hour, at the very latest. We got the air ducts pulling it out, now that it's safe."
"Safe?" The Doctor asked, confusion clear on his face, the folds on his forehead deepening "What do you mean, safe?" The guard shook his head, as if appalled and somewhat entertained by the Doctor's stupidity. Distracted by the Doctor's bafflement, the guard didn't notice the shadow that had appeared in the hallway behind him, sneaking up behind him. The Doctor took no notice either, desperate to understand what was going on.
"Well, everyone down there must be dead by now, right?" answered the guard, the figure behind him creeping closer "So, we're suckin' out the smoke before we go down to make sure." The Doctor's jaw nearly dropped.
"Make sure?" He asked, utterly bewildered "You're not telling me you gassed - and killed - all those people? Why would you…" he broke off as River's face appeared over the guard's shoulder, holding the ceiling panel they'd come through over the guard's head. The Doctor's eyes went wide.
"People?" the guard laughed, oblivious to River behind him "You call them people? They're just a bunch a…" River gave the Doctor a wink before she swung, the panel hitting home on top of the guard's skull with a loud crack, cutting him off mid-sentence. His look of surprise lasted only a second, for he blacked out almost instantly. He swayed a bit, before collapsing on the metal floor with a tremendous thud. His Taser gun fell out of his hand, landing at the Doctor's feet.
"River!" the Doctor shouted, pulling his arms out of their restraints, only to put his face in his hands "Couldn't you see I was in the middle of an interrogation? You probably just killed that man, smashed his skull to pieces!" River smiled, bending over to remove the guard's gun belt, before fastening around her own waist.
"Yes, it seemed like you had the situation completely under control," she teased, retrieving the gun at the Doctor's feet, which he hadn't managed to wriggle free of their cuffs just yet. "I just saved your life, a thank you would be nice, and appropriate."
"Thank you, River." He uttered ungratefully under his breath, reaching into his pocket for his screwdriver as River laughed. He bent over, pointing his sonic screwdriver at his shackles, which sprang open immediately.
"That's more like it." She smiled, adjusting her new belt, sticking her new weapon in its holster "Manners suit you." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "So, what helpful information did you manage to coerce out of this gorilla?" she asked, nudging the guard's still body with the toe of her high heeled shoes. The Doctor frowned.
"Well," he started, getting up to stretch out his body, which ached from being confined to the stiff, metal chair for so long "It would seem that the gas had been triggered by the guard, with the intent to poison everybody in the prison, from the way this gorilla," his made quotation marks in the air with his long fingers "as you so cheerfully nicknamed him, was talking." River looked incredulous.
"What for?" River asked, to which the Doctor only shrugged "What happened, for them to do such a thing...?"
"Well, maybe we'd know if you'd let him finish." replied the Doctor, gesturing to the guard, who was most likely dead by now. Though the Doctor showed none of his usual concern for every form of life, even the cruel ones that chose to tie him up, ignoring the guard's unconscious body. "But he didn't seem to think it was a bad thing, he seemed very cheery about the whole situation, in fact." River peered down at the man in disgust, before turning back to the Doctor.
"What do we do now, then?" River inquired, looking around "I mean, I've got all this new weaponry to try out!" The Doctor shook his head, letting out a sigh.
"Try not to, though I do know how you love your weaponry." he replied, making his way towards the door, River following close behind with a grin "I think we'd better have a word with whoever's in charge though, don't you agree?" River smiled.
"Can we give him Hell?" she asked, her manicured nails itching towards her new stun gun. She managed to force a smile out of the Doctor as he emerged from the room, back into the hallway.
"We'll see." was all he said, earning him a wicked smile from his favourite psychopath.