--

Rose collided with something solid behind her. A calloused hand came over her mouth, stifling her shriek.

"Don't scream," A rough voice whispered in her ear.

Rose bit her tongue hard to comply, but the hand was covering her mouth anyways. And her nose as well. She fought to breathe, her lungs screaming for oxygen. She shook her head vigorously, indicating that she wasn't planning on screaming, and then hand released. She sucked in a huge lung full of air.

"Sorry," the voice whispered, a little ruefully. "Didn't mean to suffocate you."

There was something familiar in the lilt of the voice. Rose turned as best she could in the tight space to see who her strange attacker was.

"Jake?" she whispered in utter shock.

"Nice to see you too, Rose," the blond whispered back.

"What's going on over there?" Marks hissed, as he and Lily slid in beside Andy. Lily drew out her gun when she saw Jake, half hidden in the shadows behind Rose. Rose waved her hands frantically, indicating not to shoot. Lily withdrew her gun, looking puzzled. Before anyone could say anything more, a grating, computer-generated voice split the air.

"We must find shelter from this damp. It is clogging our systems," the first cyberman said.

"I told you these bodies were not the perfect vessels you thought they were," said the second one, sounding (if it were possible for a cyberman) annoyed.

"Do not presume to lecture me just because we are the only ones left. We will carry on with the mission as planned."

"How are we going to do that?" the second one asked. "The others are gone. Floated away."

"We will use the drones," replied the first. In his hand he clutched a small leather satchel, which he held up now.

"The drones are not functioning properly. They are melting," pointed out the second cyberman.

"Then we must fashion other bodies for them out of more reliable material," said the first one. "The dirt here is susceptible to precipitation. We should have brought more of these metal bodies with us. They would have made excellent drones."

"At least when we had our bodies this did not happen in precipitation," said the second, rather snidely.

"Those bodies were weak and frail. They needed nourishment and rest. These need neither. We are unbeatable now!" proclaimed the first.

"Except when it rains," said the second.

"I will not tolerate insubordination!" thundered the first cyberman.

The second didn't seem phased by this outburst.

"You cannot release me. You cannot do the job on your own, even with the help of drones. You need me."

"I will release you from this metal body! I will crack your exterior, and you will float away and shatter if you do not obey me!!" cried the first.

"You lie," replied the second, nonchalantly.

Rose tapped Marks on the shoulder, and jerked her head behind her to a place where they could safely talk. There was something strange about those cybermen, and Rose had just had a very strange idea.

"I'll keep watch," Andy whispered.

The rest carefully got up and slunk around the other side of the warehouse, where they could see the road stretching out in front of it.

"Did anything seem off about those two?" Lily asked, as soon as they were clear.

Rose nodded.

"My thoughts exactly. Have you ever known cybermen to argue with one another?"

"No, never," Jake said.

Marks rounded on Jake.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"This is Jake," Rose said. "He's a friend of mine. It's a good thing he's here, because he's somewhat of an expert on the cybermen."

Jake shrugged.

"I've been tracking these two for a couple of weeks now. All the way from France."

"How did they make it across the English Channel, if they get stuck in damp weather?" Lily asked.

"Zeppelin," Jake explained. "I followed them in a by-plane, and I've been tracking them across England. You guys Torchwood?" he asked, taking in their black clothing and weapons.

Rose nodded, then smiled.

"It's good to see you again."

"You too. How's Mickey? Last I heard, he was determined to go after you."

Rose smiled rather sadly.

"He stayed in the other universe."

"I knew he would."

"Can we dispense with the pleasantries, please?" Marks snapped. "We have to rogue cybermen out there."

Jake shook his head.

"I think you were on the right track right then. I've been watching them for a while, and they don't act like cybermen at all. In fact, I'm convinced they're not."

"What do you mean they're not cybermen?" Marks asked. "They're right there, plain as day."

"The cybermen bodies are, yes. But cybermen are essentially human consciences in metal bodies, right? I don't think that's what these two are."

"Did they kill the people in the village?" Rose asked.

Jake winced.

"Yes. I lost them a few days ago. By the time I caught up, they had already done that."

"But that's what cybermen do, isn't it?" Lily asked. "Kill people and use their consciousnesses to make more cybermen."

"Yes, but not like that," Jake explained. "They use the brain; place it into the metal body. These two, they killed the people and left them intact. There was no attempt to create more suits to put the people into."

"How did you find these two?" Rose asked.

"I was in Germany. Me and a couple of others have been finding caches of cyberman suits all over Europe, mostly in rural places now. Beside one, there was a… a crash site."

"Like, a spaceship?" Lily asked, looking interested. Ships were a bit of a specialty for her.

"Yeah. Wreckage and alien bodies and stuff. Two of the bodies were inside the warehouse, and two cyber suits were missing."

"Do you think," said Rose thoughtfully, "That they could have transferred their consciousnesses from the bodies to the suits?"

Jake grinned.

"You catch on quick. I missed that about you, Rosie. Yes, I think that's exactly what happened. These two aren't cybermen, they're aliens inside cyber suits."

"But they're still a threat," Marks interrupted. "They still killed those villagers."

"What were they talking about with 'drones'?" Rose asked.

Jake shrugged.

"No idea. I only got here a few minutes before you did."

Rose looked thoughtful.

"What did they mean when the one in charge said that he would 'crack the other's exterior'?" she asked.

Lily frowned.

"Yeah, that bothered me too. He said that the other would 'float away'. What does that mean?"

"My team and I tried to clear up the crash site," Jake said. "We had a heck of a time. Everything was so much heavier than it should have been."

"They came from a planet with higher gravity than Earth?" Marks asked.

Sudden comprehension came on Rose.

"Oh, that's brilliant!" she exclaimed.

"Now she sounds like John," Lily said ruefully.

"Care to share, Tyler?" Marks asked, his impatience evident.

Rose turned to them.

"They are used to heavier gravity. They need something to keep them down. They had heavy bodies, but those died, so they used the cyber suits. It's the suits that are keeping them in. The one threatened to crack the other one's suit. If he did that, the other would float away into the atmosphere, and presumably pop, like a balloon."

"Then it's simple," Jake said. "All we have to do is make a hole in the suits."

"We could always run a zeppelin into them," Rose murmured.

Jake made a face at her.

"Ha ha," he said.

"What are we waiting for, then? I'll radio DiMatto and tell him to shoot them," Marks was already reaching for his radio.

"Wait!" Rose cried.

"What is it now?" Marks asked, with a longsuffering sigh.

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you should always offer them a chance. Besides, I have an idea."

"What?" Marks demanded, but Rose was already gone.

"Rose! Don't do anything stupid!" Lily called after her.

"Little late for that," Jake replied, with some chagrin.

Rose walked past a stunned Andy, and right up to the cybermen.

"Hello there!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Rose Smith."

The two cybermen – or rather, whatever was in the cyber suits – wheeled around.

"Human? What are you doing here, human?"

"You've caused rather a lot of trouble, actually," Rose said, smiling. "We don't enjoy having villagers killed."

"A necessary part of our plan," the second cyberman said.

"We do not need to explain ourselves to this human!" the first cyberman shrieked, waving the leather satchel in the air.

"Look, I'm offering you one chance," Rose said, suddenly turning serious. "Leave this planet, and no harm will come to you. It won't be offered again."

A strange rasping sound came over the voice processers of the cyber suit. It was laughter.

"Leave? We are just beginning," the first one barked.

"Is that a no, then?" Rose asked.

In response, the second cyberman pointed his weapon at her, and fired. He was clumsy at it, and Rose dodged. An object had caught her eye. She ducked behind a shed, and pulled an axe out of a chopping block. It was heavier than she had expected. Beginning to run, she heaved it up as high as she could, and brought it down with all her strength onto the head of the first cyberman. It lodged there, embedded deep in his helmet. She gave it a yank, but it was stuck fast.

"Uh oh," Rose muttered. This was not part of her plan.

"Drones!" shrieked the first cyberman.

From around one of the many surrounding sheds, lollopped strange, half melting mud creatures.

"What are those?" Rose heard Andy demand behind her.

Rose dodged another poorly-aimed shot of the cyber suit's weapons. But it was a better shot than last time. They were learning how to use them.

There were maybe ten of the drones, and they were attacking. The dripping creatures were surprisingly fast, and they were hurling stones and small darts.

A drone came up from behind Rose, and used its dripping arm to cover her face. Her mouth and nose became clogged with mud, and for the second time that day, she couldn't breathe. It had her arms pinned behind her, and she was helpless. There was a loud thunk, and Rose felt herself released. Her arms flew to her face, and quickly wiped the mud away, taking huge gulps of air.

Behind her, Marks stood over the mud creature. Under the dripping mud, they seemed to have a heard shell made of baked clay.

"Thanks," Rose said.

Marks gave her the ghost of a smile.

"Anytime, Tyler," he said.

Rose quickly surveyed the scene in front of her. The drones were not very effective, and there were now only four of them left. Lily dodged a large boulder flung by one, while Jake was involved in a game of hide-and-seek with the second cyberman, who was much more adept at using the suit's weapons system than the other. Andy was dancing around the cyberman with the axe embedded in the back of his helmet. He was trying to get around to pulling it out.

"Hey, over here!" Rose yelled, waving her arms. The cyberman turned to face her. "I'm over here, stupid!"

Andy slipped behind him, and with a mighty wrench, pulled the axe free of the helmet. A high pitched whine filled the air, and a pearly peach substance escaped the hole made by the axe. The suit crumpled to the ground. The remaining cyberman took another shot at Jake, missing him by inches.

"Jake, down!" Lily yelled, snatching Andy's gun from the holster at his side, and aiming it.

Jake dropped to the ground, and Lily fired three rounds into the cyberman's abdomen. The special metal-piercing bullets hit their mark, and punched through. The same whine was heard as the second gaseous alien floated out of the suit. The suit toppled over.

With little trouble, the team dispatched with the three remaining drones. They were all soaked, and covered in mud by the time it was over.

Rose reached down, and picked up the leather bag that the first cyberman had been so carefully hanging on to. With distaste, she untangled it from the fingers of the cyber suit, and peered inside.

"What is it?" Jake asked.

Rose held up the bag's contents- a green bottle.

"What's that all about?" Lily asked, taking it from Rose and examining it.

"No idea," Rose replied.

Expertly, Lily unscrewed the lid of the bottle. Out of it soared three wisps of smoke. Lily looked puzzled, but shrugged.

"Let's head back, team," Marks said. "We'll send the clean up crew to get rid of these suits." His instructions were as clear and conscise as ever, but a dab of mud on his nose made it hard to take him seriously.

Rose reached up, and wiped it off.

"Nobody can follow your orders with that there," she said, walking off too suddenly to see the peculiar expression on Marks' face.

They trudged through the town, weary and filthy, but triumphant. The fog was even beginning to lift a little.

"Is there any other way to get back to the truck?" Lily asked.

Rose understood. She didn't want to walk past the bodies lying on the street again.

"No," said Marks regretfully.

They trudged past, trying to keep their eyes straight ahead, and not lingering on any of the bodies. Rose tried to avoid looking at them, but her eyes automatically went to the crumpled piles. She passed the woman she had almost tripped over, and bit back a scream. The body twitched.

"Oooooooh!" it groaned.

Andy rushed to her immediately, helping her sit up.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. I think so. I have such a headache, though," the woman said. Two other bodies were also stirring.

"I think," said Lily, looking rather shocked, "That those three wisps of smoke weren't smoke."

"At least we saved a few," said Rose with a crooked smile.

--

"Blimey! What happened to you lot?" the Doctor surveyed the team as they came dripping into the Torchwood lobby, headed for the showers.

"Not a word," Rose said, scowling.

"But you…"

"Mmmmh!" Rose held up her hand to stop him.

The Doctor surveyed the group, and then caught sight of the extra member.

"Who's that under the mud?" he asked.

"Don't recognize me, Doctor?" Jake asked, cheerfully.

"Hard to see anyone under that skin treatment," the Doctor replied.

"That's nice. I come to see old friends, and they don't even recognize me," Jake grumbled.

The Doctor paused.

"Jake?" he asked tentatively.

Jake grinned.

"Hello Doctor!"

"Good to see you again, mate! I mean, if that really is you, under all that."

Jake scowled.

"Hey, I saved the world from cybermen today. You should be grateful."

"Were there any Zeppelins involved?" the Doctor asked.

"You and Rose think you're really funny, don't you?" Jake said, rolling his eyes. "Actually, you would have been proud of her. She acted just like you."

"Nah," said Rose, ducking her head in embarrassment.

"Listen, after I get cleaned up, why don't you and I head down to the pub and do some catching up?" Jake suggested to the Doctor.

The Doctor glanced at Rose, seeking her permission. She shrugged.

"Don't come home too late," she advised. "And remember, your alcohol tolerance isn't what it used to be."

"Under her thumb, are you?" Jake asked the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned.

"Ain't married life grand?"

--

Rose leaned back on the couch and succumbed to another fit of giggles. She was finally clean and dry, and dressed in comfortable pajamas.

"I don't see what's so funny," the Doctor grumbled.

"Have you seen yourself?" Rose asked, struggling to catch her breath as she sagged against the cushions.

The Doctor brushed an invisible wrinkle off the light blue shirt.

"I kind of like it," he said.

Rose began to laugh again.

"You would. You're that vain. What ever possessed you to give you that?"

"Early Christmas present to myself," the Doctor said smugly. "Besides, Jake said he thought it was a good idea." He looked down at himself, and smiled.

"Since when have you taken other people's advice on wardrobe choice?" Rose asked.

"Well I thought it was pretty funny," the Doctor grumbled.
Rose's eyes sparkled with mirth.

"You think?"
The Doctor pulled off the blue t-shirt, leaving the brown long sleeved shirt he had on underneath. He laid the blue garment across his lap, and contemplated it.

"I think it suits me," he said reflectively.

Rose tried, and failed, to suppress another bout of laughter.

"I love you," she giggled.

The Doctor chuckled to himself.

"I know, I know, because nobody else will," he concluded, smiling.

He glanced down at the shirt again. In large block writing over the pale blue of this shirt was printed:

Trust me, I'm a Doctor

Author's Note: I hope that fulfilled everyone's expectations as to how the cliffhanger would end. It certainly went in a different direction then I thought it was going to go. But it worked out in the end pretty nicely, I think. The cybermen conversation was HARD. It went through at least three drafts before I finally settled on a sequence.

Jake is in this chapter at the request of a friend. She suggested that he come back, which lead to the whole cyberman two-parter. The idea for them being aliens in cyber suits came (bizarrely enough) from a fantasy series called "Protector of the Small" by Tamara Pierce. I've been reading kid's books again, what can I say?

The ending scene is one that has been in my head almost from the beginning, and I've really had nowhere to put it till now. There is actually a picture of DT in such a shirt. Google it. It's awesome :-)