Chapter 7 – Under Repairs

It wasn't long after Clark had finished giving the Doctor the details of Lois' alleged abduction when the door to the holding cell opened. Both the Doctor and Clark leapt from their respective cots to face the doorway. The gruff and rotund Captain Eli entered the room closely followed by Thevia, and Simmons.

"It has come to our direct and immediate attention that there has been some kind of malfunction in our network of Neutronic-transmitters." Captain Eli said almost immediately. "Do either of you have any information that can shed some light onto this? Hmmm?" he said, his gaze transfixed heavily on Clark.

"Did you say a malfunction in the Neutronic-transmitters?" repeated the Doctor with a slight air of enthusiasm to his voice and a quirky grin plastered upon his face.

"That's what I said. What do you know about it?" Eli inquired.

"Why absolutely nothing at all. But I feel that this malfunction poses a serious threat to you and the station. Everyone's buzzing around like little bees. It's really quite exciting."

"Do you know anything about it?" Eli said with a slight roll of his eyes before looking back to Clark.

"I'm afraid that I don't Captain, but if there is anything I can do to help I would be happy to lend a hand."

"I'm going to hold you to that. Trust assured. What about you? I hear you were screwing with one of the viewports over in the cargo wing. Fancy yourself something of a technological person do you?"

"Well I wouldn't say fancy, more modern. Really quite plain actually, but I do know my way around a circuit or two. Why there was this one time where I had to…"

"That's enough! We don't have time for this. Either you'll help us or you won't. In either case I need an answer." Eli interrupted. The Doctor smiled again and crossed his arms.

"But of course good Captain. If it's a danger to you and this station than really it's a danger to us all. So I would really be quite remiss if I didn't lend a hand and get this whole thing sorted out for you now wouldn't I?"

"Fine. You'll go with Simmons…" Eli nodded toward the man in the blue hat.

"Ah yes Simmons. Quite right. I believe we've met, though I don't believe I caught your name last time. So nice to put the name with the face and all. I'm the Doctor by the way."

"Fine, fine Doctor. You'll go with Simmons as I don't fully trust you. The two of you will go and take care of the transmitter in the cargo wing. "

"Oh Captain?" The Doctor replied briefly. "I think I might be a tad bit more affective if I had my affects back." He offered Eli a slight smile. Begrudgingly and with a huff Eli handed back the Doctor his sonic screwdriver and his slip of psychic paper.

"Thanks Captain, I shall see that they get put to good use saving the station and what not." He said as he slipped both items into an interior pocket within his jacket.

"You… Kal was it? You and Thevia will head down to the main engineering and take care of the problem from there."

"Wherever you need me sir, but I'm afraid that I don't have a real grasp on what I'm supposed to be doing." Clark replied curiously. Just then the head of engineering Travis burst through the door.

"Well, here's the guy that can explain just that." Captain Eli huffed.

"Why are we standing around here?" Travis began. "We have so much work to do and not very much time to do it. Captain I trust you have brought our shanghaied stowaways up to speed, right?"

"I told them they were going to be working for us… now you need to tell them what exactly that work consists of." Travis rolled his eyes. He was small in stature, but he was very hyperactive when it came to his body movements; almost a little over expressive.

"OK. This is what we're going to be doing," and without further prompting, Travis went over the instructions for the roles that both Clark and The Doctor had to play. Both Clark and the Doctor were able to follow along with the rudimentary instructions. The Doctor had a full understanding of the process as well as the current technology involved, but for Clark it was a little more difficult. He understood the concept of what he was doing, however the technology of this time they were in was a bit too alien. His mind was sharp though, and he would be able to learn on the fly. He just hoped they had enough time.

"At that point I'll begin reparations to the transmitter here in the security wing. I've got the other engineers already heading toward the medical wing, science wing, and living quarters respectively to reactivate those transmitters. Doctor, you and Simmons will make your way to the transmitter at the end of the cargo wing and handle the transmitter there. Now let me remind you once again that you need to reactivate the transmitter moments after I've reactivated mine or else it won't be work. Kal-El and Thevia will head to the main engineering underneath central command. Kal, everything's going to be rerouted to you so don't mess it up, understand?" Clark nodded.

"Come on everyone, we're only going to get one shot at this so we need to make it count. Better bring you're 'A game' or else we'll be nothing but cosmic particles drifting through space." Captain Eli spat out.

"Thanks for the pep talk Captain." Travis sighed. Without further delay they split into the groups that Captain Eli had assigned and got underway.

xXxXx

Lex barged through the double doors into his office with an angry flair. With grit teeth he glanced around the room. He didn't know what to expect. One never could when it came to corporate espionage. He almost half expected someone to be sitting in his chair with a gun pointed directly at him. It wouldn't be the first time that that had ever happened; and knowing how Lex liked to operate on the shadier side of the rules, it probably wouldn't be the last time either.

Lex walked around the room, his eyes scrutinizing the sheer metallic walls and pieces of art hanging from them. Anything that he thought might be able to conceal a listening device or some kind of transmitter. However his efforts came up empty. He in a fit of self-preservation some would say bordered on paranoia Lex had his office swept on a weekly basis for eavesdropping devices. He looked over his computer for any external attachments but again found nothing out of the ordinary.

He was certainly perplexed. With the amount of security that he had on his computer nobody should have been able to hack it. But this certainly posed one serious question to Lex. Whoever could do something like this, were they a threat, or a possible ally? He sat down in his chair and fired up his computer. Clacking away madly he pulled up the security video footage from within his office. There was nothing unusual on the footage. Not from the last time he left until he walked in moments ago. Absolutely nothing.

He leaned back in his chair and ran his hand over his smooth bald pate. His mind churned and much unlike his usual calm self he was slowly becoming frustrated. Did this have anything to do with Superman's disappearance? He couldn't be too sure, but he ruled nothing out. But if it did have something to do with it, what was the agenda here? What was the end game supposed to be? Why would anyone else even be interested in manufacturing these robot replicas? Why would they use his own plant to do it? There were too many questions here, and if it was one thing Lex hated it were questions without answers. In a normal case of corporate espionage, schematics would get stolen and manufacturing would commence in the thieves facility, or they would get sold back to him at a hefty price. This was not the case.

He leaned back in and tapped a few more keys. This time he opted to pull up the security footage of the private laboratory. Aside from the jump drive that was still in his pocket, it was the only place where the thieves could have gained access to the schematics for the machine to even send to the factory. It would make sense that this would be where the thieves would obtain the information. How they got into his personal email would have to wait for now.

He watched the screen fervently. He watched as the two scientists toiled away, neither of them ever having time to make a personal copy of the data. He watched callously as he marched into the lab and disposed of the two without so much as a twinge of hesitation. He continued to watch as he left the lab and was soon replaced by his specialized cleaning team. They worked quickly and efficiently making sure that any trace of evidence the two scientists had ever existed was completely eradicated. He was actually quite pleased with their level of efficiency, their eye for detail, their utter cold hearted brutality of it all. He seldom got to watch them work. It was pleasing to him.

It was about an hour after the cleanup team had left when it happened. In the dimly lit lab he watched as the computer monitors turned on. He arched a brow and began watching intently. They would flicker and words would troll across the screen, but there was nobody present within the room. This meant there was some type of remote access taking place here. Again, this did not make sense, for the lab was completely secure and had no access to the outside world. The only external feed to the lab went directly through Luthor's office. There was something definitely amiss here. His heart skipped a beat as a stray random thought ran through his head.

He could absolutely account for every piece of hardware in that room, save for one, the cybernetic construct. Now it all began to make sense. The construct was the only foreign and truly alien piece of hardware in that room. And while he fully wasn't aware of the limitations and capabilities of the machine yet, it could be theoretically possible that there was some semblance of sentience still left in the empty husk of a machine. Lex's eyes widened. If that sentience could gain access to his own personal files within Luthorcorp, then it had access to Luthorcorp its self.

He rose from his chair and shot out of his office hastening to the elevator. He pressed the button and the elevator scanned him quickly allowing him access to the level the lab was on. He felt an urgency to get down to the lab. It must have been the cerebral scan those two dolts were working on. Perhaps it awakened something that was lying dormant within the shell of a machine. Perhaps it just provided the temporary jump start of energy that the broken down pile of junk needed to activate itself. Whatever the situation he couldn't risk it compromising Luthorcorp in anyway.

The elevator doors slid open with the hushed whisper that he was accustomed to. They weren't even completely open before he pushed his way past them and charged down the hallway to the lab. He reached up gripping the thick cable that was attached to base of the Cyberman's helmet and went to rip it out but was met with a quick jolt of electricity. He staggered back clutching his wounded hand to his chest.

"What are you? I am Lex Luthor! I demand to know who you are and what your purpose is!" He cried out, a fierce sneer upon his lips. His outburst was met with the sound of all the computers and lab equipment turning on simultaneously. An ominous hum loomed around him and the strange robot that was lifeless moments before straightened itself and turned to face him.

"You are the one designated as Lex Luthor?" the machine man inquired. Lex stood in awe looking up at the alien machine as it stood on the dais in the center of the lab. Words were failing him; a true first by many standards.

"I am." He said loudly once he overcame the initial shock of being addressed by what he previously thought was a defunct android shell.

"I am the Cyber-Leader."

xXxXx

Superman and Thevia rushed down the hallway. In a way it was kind of exhilarating. At least it would have been if there wasn't the looming threat of impending doom. It wasn't the first time he had lost his powers. He actually even enjoyed the loss of them to a point. To feel the burning sensation in his lungs as he tore down the hallway, to feel the slight burn in his legs that came with pushing himself without super speed. Even without his abilities he was a healthy athletic man by human standards. He was in no way a stranger to physical activity with or without the use of his abilities. But it was the lack of them that made him feel alive!

He and Thevia rounded the corridor as it slowly spiraled down beneath the main control center. At the end of the sloping tunnel they came to the door to the main engineering lab. Thevia punched in a code at the security terminal and the door came grinding open. The two went inside and were met with a flicker of lights as the lab came alive in their presence. Clark glanced around gazing from schematic to schematic that seemed strewn about the room haphazardly. Several tables were set up around the room with projects upon them in various stages of construction. A bank of computer terminals rested against the far wall and a rather large glass table stood in the center of the room. He couldn't help but think of how Bruce would have a field day in here.

Thevia ran over to the glass table and waved her hand over it. It began to hum and a pale blue light infused the top of the table.

"This is what we're here for. This will give us the schematics for the entire station. We can view anything as large as the floor plan for the station or we can zoom in to the schematics of a particular piece of circuitry." To demonstrate, she simply pointed at a section of the station and it would zoom in until she removed her finger. Clark nodded as he watched her. He was fascinated with the technology. The tabletop was almost liquid to the touch. He was able to move and manipulate the images with a touch and a thought. "But we don't have time to fool around. Now I know where the systems are that we need to sync with in order to reset the system. But unfortunately… that's about all I know. You need to be able to coordinate, adjust, and mitigate the incoming signals to a differentiating buffer. I hope to the gods you know how to do that."

"I think I can figure it out." He said with a slight grin on his face. He scrunched his fingers and the image of the space station leapt from the table and became a rotating three dimensional image hovering just above the table. Thevia gasped astonished at what he had done.

"I didn't even know it could do that." She gasped.

"The technology you have here is very advanced. Beyond some things I've ever seen." He said. He rotated the image of the space station and zoomed in to one of the Neutronic transmitters. "But I can learn pretty quickly. I have an excellent eye for detail and a rather sharp mind, even if I do say so myself. I just have to get acclimated to things but let me just look over these transmitters real quick."

"Engineering," came Travis' voice over the intercom. "I've reached the first transmitter. I'm ready to begin sequencing. Have the other transmitters checked in yet?"

"No. You're the first." Thevia replied.

"You guys better get on the ball and start getting them together. We don't have long before the next solar flare. I'll be very upset if I get fried because those other wing nuts weren't ready." Thevia nodded at Travis' command and turned to Clark.

"You keep working on that. I'll start wrangling up the lost sheep and getting them ready. You need to be ready to go when they are." She said. He simply nodded in response. He was too engrossed in the heart of the transmitters. He was pretty amazed and fascinated by the technology they represented here. He could totally appreciate the effort and resources it went into creating this type of station. The amount of effort and resources let alone the research needed to create one of the Neutronic transmitters was incalculable. His eyes moved fast, his hands faster, his mind quickly absorbing it all.

There were subtle differences in this type of engineering and earth engineering that he was accustomed too. This made him believe that these people were not that different from earth humans. Perhaps they were an offshoot of humans, perhaps descendants. Perhaps they came from some Earth space explorers that found and colonized new worlds. It wasn't that far-fetched to believe. Of course it would really depend on how far in the future they were. It could simply be earth technology that was pirated and rationed out amongst the stars. Either way it was simple to be able to recognize the similarities in the familiar and unfamiliar. It certainly did stand to make his job go a little smoother.

"I've almost got this sorted out Thevia. Are the others ready?" He asked.

"I haven't heard from Simmons and the Doctor yet. No responses at all." She replied. Clark ran over to the intercom and pressed the button.

"Doctor, the others are at their transmitters and have checked in. Where are you? We need to start the sequence soon if we are going to be able to reset the system in time." He shouted into the intercom. The sound of silence was his only response. He shook his head slightly. Perhaps he should have been the one to go to the transmitter. He looked at Thevia shaking his head in the negative. It really was all up to the Doctor at the moment. He was the last piece of the puzzle. All the others were in place and ready to go.

"Kal, we only have minutes before the next solar event hits. What are we going to do? We don't have time to get anyone else down there…" A tear formed in the corner of her eye as she sensed the impending doom that was encroaching ever closer.

"I…" And just liked that he wished he wasn't powerless. He would be able to do something. He could rescue them. He always did. Having to rely on others was nothing new to him. He relied on family, Lois, the Justice League for many things. But having to rely on a complete stranger? That was something a bit alien to him. "I believe in the Doctor. He'll do it." He said softly. It almost sounded as if he was reassuring himself just as much as he was reassuring her. He pressed the intercom button again.

"Doctor, we have five minutes before the next solar event. We need to get these transmitters on line now!" he shouted.

xXxXx

The Doctor and Simmons ran down the hall with little time to spare. After Travis had explained the situation the best he could the crew moved into action. The Doctor indeed had his game face on as he ran down the hall. He was already going over the system overlays in his mind and plotting not only how he could make the repairs on the transmitters, but also make it so that such repairs never be necessary again. Simmons was a seasoned veteran. The Doctor guessed he had been military most of, if not all his life. Perhaps even seen some combat once or twice. He could completely understand why he was paired with him. The poor guy probably knew less than nothing about what they were doing other than their lives depended on it. No doubt, he would not hesitate to shoot the Doctor if necessary. That thought did not settle the Doctor in the slightest.

The two charged down the corridor, the area becoming all too familiar. He recognized where the window was where he first observed the Neutronic transaction take place within the sun's core. The blast shield was still lowered, offering support and reinforcement to the damaged window on the other side.

"Who designs a space station to exist in the center of solar entity with view ports? I mean really? I know I wouldn't have done that." The Doctor shouted to Simmons as they continued down the hallway. They were getting pretty close to the location to where the Doctor had left the Tardis. If he were any lesser of a Time Lord he could just as easily elude his shadow, hop on the Tardis, make his way back to the Ponds and forget he ever came to this poorly designed death trap. If he were any less of a Time Lord, but he was the Doctor, last of the Time Lords.

The two rounded the final corner and came to a screeching halt in front of a large pile of crates and boxes. The pair looked to the boxes and then back to each other. Simmons sighed and shook his head.

"The entrance to the access shaft is on the other side of this catastrophe he said. We'll never be able to clear them out in time to make it to the transmitter." Simmons said as he kicked the nearest box. The Doctor did not hesitate for a second. He removed his sonic screwdriver and flicked it open taking a quick scan of the area. He went over and jostled a couple of the boxes and peered behind them. The good news was that he could actually see the hatch for the access shaft that led to the transmitter. The bad news was that what Simmons said was right, they would never be able to clear all the boxes in time. He leaned up against the wall, his head pressed against the metallic crate, his eyes transfixed on the access hatch.

"Doctor." Came Clark's voice over the intercom. "The others are at their transmitters and have checked in. Where are you? We need to start the sequence soon if we are going to be able to reset the system in time." The Doctor arched a brow and tilted his head.

"We can do it!" He shouted after a slight pause. He turned to Simmons. "All you have to do is lift up this crate over here just enough, then I can wind my way through to the hatch and get to the transmitter. We still have plenty of time. We can do this if we work together."

"You expect me to just stand here and hold a box while you go off on your own unsupervised?"

"I did mention the working together part, didn't I? Anyways you wouldn't have to hold it long, just a moment or two. Just long enough for me to get to the hatch. Than you can go shoot whatever you want while I fix the transmitter. How's that sound?"

"It sounds like you're trying to escape."

"Simmons, truth is mate, we're in dire straits. You really don't have much of a choice if you want us all to live. Are there any other exits other than that one?" Simmons thought about it for a moment or two before shaking his head in the negative. "Well see, there you go. Where am I going to escape to? You lift the box, I go in, you lower the box, and I'm trapped inside until I fix the transmitter. We all live, and its drinks and shooting all around. I know you really want to shoot something, so the faster we do this, the faster you get at it, eh?"

Simmons sneered. He hated being told what to do. But when it came down to it what the Doctor said was true. He didn't respond. He just moved along and hoisted the box up as instructed. The Doctor began circumventing the crates and other debris toward the hatch.

"Doctor, we have five minutes before the next solar event. We need to get these transmitters on line now!" Clark shouted over the intercom.

"I'm working on it." The Doctor mumbled as he reached the hatch. He pulled a lever on the hatch and it slid open with a soft his of escaping air. He scrambled up the narrow crawlway looking for something that looked like the device that Travis had described. Sure enough, at the end of the crawlway he found it. It was then he had the strangest of thoughts occur to him. He was alone, in a metal shaft, in a wing, on a space station in the middle of an erupting sun. He sighed heavily wondering how he continued to get himself into these situations.

Mindlessly the Doctor had begun working on the transmitter. However, he failed to follow the exact instructions Travis had given him. Instead he opted to make the transmitter better. With the plans he had devised on the mad dash over to the hatch. Unfortunately that found him rewiring and reprogramming the whole thing.

"Doctor, we're out of time. The others are starting their sequences! Doctor you need to restart your sequence immediately!" Clark said excitedly. The Doctor paused for a moment and looked about. He had a fistful of wires in his left hand, his right tapping furiously on a nearby display screen, and his sonic screwdriver clutched firmly in his teeth. He shook his head slightly and continued to work furiously by the dim light of the auxiliary lighting.

"Doctor?!"