AN: OMG I FORGOT TO POST YESTERDAY, I WAS AT A BAND THING AND IT WAS ALL DAY, AND I WAS WATCHING SUPERNATURAL AND I'M SORRRRRRRRY!
"Should we try these other doors, Doctor?" Dr. Rosen asked, now recognizing the Doctor as an authority figure.
"No. Clara can use the little computers by the doors to find out what's inside. Can't you, Clara?" The Doctor said, pleased that Dr. Rosen now respected him.
"Anything you like!" Clara said. She quickly tapped on one of the screens by the doors that had previously gone unnoticed. "This one is full of different weapons."
"Great, we'll need to arm ourselves," said Bill, reaching to put his hand on the glowing ball that opened the door.
The Doctor quickly stepped in front of him. "We most certainly will not!" He was frowning at Bill.
"How else are we supposed to defeat the Ardives, Doctor?" Kat asked.
"I don't know, with cleverness and teamwork and ingenuity and alien objects that happen to be lying around! Your Alpha abilities! But never weapons! We aren't trying to kill the Ardives, we just want to get our friends back. Besides, this is a fixed point! We can't change what happens. The Ardives must be defeated by the Codroccians and Lodnads, without any interference from us or the Alphas or the Cybermen. So I guess we do need to change a couple things, but we can't kill them!" The Doctor said vehemently.
"What do you mean 'our' friends? You don't even know Nina or Hicks or Gary! Why should we even listen to you? You're some alien that we don't know who has taken us off of Earth and gotten our teammates kidnapped by a different race of aliens that have just started a war." Kat argued.
"Listening to me so far has worked in your favor! Why stop now? Besides, if you really didn't want to come with me, you could have stayed behind and babysat the Cybermen!" The Doctor ranted.
"Doctor, Kat, stop arguing! We're never going to get to Hicks, Nina, and Gary if you act like children! We have to keep going! Clara, could you check the other doors, please?" Rachel begged. She hated it when people argued.
The Doctor stalked over to Clara. "Hello," He said bitterly.
"Hey. I have a couple questions. Are you calmed down enough to answer them?" She asked, looking deep into his green eyes. The Doctor looked into Clara's brown eyes as well. He sighed.
"I think so. God, these people annoy me so much sometimes! You always manage to calm me down though. How do you do that?" The Doctor asked.
"I feel like I can just...help you with these kind of things. You don't have anyone who can make you feel better or calm you down or just...help you with your emotions." Clara said quietly, embarrassed to be talking about feelings.
"And you're completely brilliant at it," the Doctor said sincerely. He leaned against the wall close to Clara, but not too close. That would get weird.
I wish he would move a little closer, Clara though wistfully. She stared at the Doctor for a moment, having forgotten that she wanted to ask him some questions. "Oh, yeah, right. Um, the Ardives can't change their shape, right? They stay in their alien form?"
"No, they can't shape shift. You're remembering how I said that Hector Dearborne could change his form? I was wrong, as much as it pains me to say it," Clara smiled at this. "He can't change his form. He was wearing a perception filter, which made him appear human. He looks like a big lizard, as Rachel said. Ardives, Codroccians, and Lodnads are distant cousins of Silurians. VERY distant cousins, mind you, but they do look like big lizards." The Doctor said.
"And...the Ardives don't have any kind of...super powers, do they?" Clara asked, remembering how Hector was able to shock Gary unconscious.
The Doctor coughed, trying to cover up his laughter. Clara glared at him, which made the Doctor laugh even harder. Her face looked so cute all scrunched up like that!
"Don't laugh at me!" Clara cried. She put her hands on her hips.
"Sorry, Clara. You look so funny when you're cross!" The Doctor said, smiling.
"I do not!" She said.
The Doctor nodded. "You do too! Your face looks like this," The Doctor scrunched up his face to mimic Clara's.
Clara laughed. "You look ridiculous!" She giggled. The Doctor grinned.
"No, the Ardives don't have 'super powers'. Why do you ask?" He asked.
"Because Hector Dearborne was able to produce electricity out of his hands! Is that not a normal Ardive occurrence?" Clara wanted to know. Now the stories weren't matching up.
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," the Doctor frowned. He suddenly snapped his fingers. "I've got it! Minuscule electrodes on his hands that could be controlled by his thoughts!" The Doctor was very excited now.
"Is that even a real thing?" Asked Clara, skeptical of this outlandish idea.
Rachel watched the two in amusement. How do they not see that they're perfect for each other? She thought. She's the only one who can put up with his antics!
"This room has multiple heat signatures," Clara called. She had been tapping away at another computer. Dr. Rosen and Rachel hurried over, but Kat and Bill took their time, still steaming from their argument with the Doctor.
"There's three non-Ardive beings in there," the Doctor announced. "As well as several other moving objects that don't give off heat. That's strange..." The Doctor mused.
"It has to be Nina, Hicks, and Gary!" Rachel cried. "We have to go get them!"
"Rachel, can you hear what's going on inside?" Dr. Rosen asked.
"Yeah, a bit. I think these walls are sound proof." Rachel closed her eyes and became totally relaxed. "There's thumping, metal thumping. It reminds me of how the Cybermen walk,"
"That would explain the moving objects that aren't giving off heat..." The Doctor muttered.
"I can also hear...screaming. People screaming," Rachel looked at Dr. Rosen, frightened.
"That has to be Nina, Hicks, and Gary!" Kat said. "How do we get them out?" She looked at the Doctor.
He scratched his head. "I'm not sure. Why are they screaming? This is a medical room, what are they doing to them? What if they're hooked up to something causing them pain, and it would kill them to be removed from it? We don't want to do that. We need a plan."
"You want a plan? Really? That's new!" Clara told the Doctor.
"Yeah, I know, it's freaking me out!" The Doctor said. The group sat there, pondering...
AN: Aw, whouffle! So adorable!