Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.
A/N Thanks for the wonderful response on the last chapter. The Doctor and Rose deal with Morbius, and the question of renegades raises a few important points.
Mind-bending was part of 'The Brain of Morbius' and the Eighth Man Bound thing was in the New Adventure novel 'The Dying Days'.
Happy Reading!
Chapter Five
Previously
The Doctor's blood went cold when he saw the Rani carrying an unconscious Rose in her arms. Morbius smirked at him in amusement as Rose was laid down on the desk. "The Artron energy in her is powerful than any Time Lord that Gallifrey could produce, and the Huon particles in her bloodstream are stronger than many of the TARDISes we produced for this war."
"Don't even try," said the Rani, pointing a blaster at the Doctor when he tried to move towards Rose.
Morbius was too lost in his imminent victory to pay any attention to them. He smirked triumphantly at the Doctor and raised his hand to touch Rose's temple. "It is her life force that I seek, Doctor, for it is her life that shall bring back Morbius! And with me, shall come the end of this war and victory for ME!"
"Brain of a scientist, really?" came Rose's voice as her eyes snapped open. "I didn't even pass my A-levels."
"Down, girl!" shouted the Rani as she turned around and shot Morbius straight in the chest.
The Doctor stared in shock as the Rani lowered her gun and then helped Rose get to her feet. "What?" was all he could manage.
The Rani and Rose exchanged a look. "Who the hell are you?" asked Rose.
The woman gave a sinister smile. "I am the Rani. Welcome to the domain of Morbius."
Rose looked at her warily. "You're a Time Lord?" she asked.
"Yes," said the Rani. "As is Morbius. I am, well, his keeper you could say."
"Is this Morbius the one who needs to feed on Time Lords?" asked Rose, crossing her arms.
The Rani raised her eyebrows. "Yes," she said. "The Time Lords emptied this outpost so that they could safely house Morbius until he was stable enough. I was put in charge of bringing him the supplies for the life force and...persuade him to impart his knowledge of temporal weaponry."
It was Rose's turn to raise her eyebrows. "And you're telling me all of this because?" she asked.
The Rani smirked. "My orders have recently changed. Morbius is more of a liability than an asset and I have been asked to...dispose of him. You wouldn't even have to do much. Just play dead for a while."
Rose still looked wary, but gave a small nod.
"Come, we have to take him to the basement," said the Rani now as she holstered her weapon.
"Isn't he dead?" asked Rose as the Doctor tossed Morbius' unconscious form over his shoulder and they headed back to the lift.
"Not as easy to kill him, I'm afraid," said the Rani. "He got the Council to enact several failsafes to make sure that they didn't betray him."
"What I want to know is why they resurrected him in the first place," said the Doctor, still looking furious.
The Rani looked at him with an almost pitying look. "You really have no inkling of how bad things really are, do you?" she asked, and then continued without waiting for him to answer. "Temporal engineers are being taken by Dalek scout ships at an alarming rate, and there are rumours of an advanced Dalek Time Controller surfacing again. Morbius could have proven useful, especially with a military brain like his, had he not lost his grip on sanity."
The Doctor's jaw clenched tightly. "The Dalek Time Controller?" he asked. "Where?"
"Intelligence is still being gathered. I dare say we shall know more in the coming days," said the Rani as they arrived back in the lobby.
"And where do you fit into all of this, Rani? Since when do you care?" asked the Doctor harshly.
She turned and glared coldly at him. "Like it or not, Doctor, this affects us all and I am no exception to it. The sooner this mess gets sorted out, the better for me. I cannot continue in my research if my menagerie is constantly under threat by Dalek invading forces," she said, and opened the stairway door that led to the basement.
"Compassionate as ever, Rani," snorted the Doctor bitterly.
The Rani smiled sweetly at him, her eyes glinting. "Which of the two of us has been running from the war like a coward again?" she asked.
The Doctor scowled at her, but Rose interrupted before he could snap back. "Right, enough you two," she said sharply. "How are we dealing with the unconscious maniac of a Time Lord we are carting around?"
The Rani shot the Doctor a glare before turning to Rose. "He is not stable enough for a full regeneration yet, but he can heal himself with a device he created to harness the regenerative energy from the radiation in the Time Lock."
"So, as long as the Time Lock exists, he can just heal himself and not die?" asked Rose in disbelief. "And your lot agreed to that?"
"We didn't even know he was capable of making something of the sort," snapped the Rani. "As soon as the Council found out, they asked me to get rid of him. Except, it's not exactly easy to do."
"Where's this device?" asked the Doctor.
"In the basement over here," said the Rani, as she scanned her Time Ring over the lock to the vault-like door in the basement which hissed open. "There is a way to break the connection that Morbius has with the radiation in the Time Lock."
The Doctor had set Morbius down into one of the two chairs inside the small, dark room. With a quick glance at the equipment around him, he turned around and glared fiercely at the Rani. "Is this a joke, Rani?" he demanded. "This isn't really the time for mind-bending competitions, you know."
"Morbius modified it so that he could be the only one to harness that regenerative energy, Doctor," said the Rani coolly. "We need another mental signature to overwhelm his so that the connection may be severed."
"Absolutely not. I refuse," said the Doctor furiously.
"I wasn't going to ask you," said the Rani as she drew her weapon out again and pointed it at Rose.
"Don't get her involved in this mess, Rani. You and the Time Lords did this," snapped the Doctor angrily.
"It is either you or her. Don't you dare tell me you would rather it was you," countered the Rani.
"Can you two not talk about me like I'm not here," Rose interrupted loudly. She crossed her arms. "What exactly is mind-bending?" she asked.
"Time Lord wrestling," said the Doctor shortly. "Two Time Lords pitting their telepathic strengths against each other."
"And how am I supposed to do it if it's Time Lord wrestling?" asked Rose, turning to the Rani.
"Do not play coy with me, girl," said the Rani coldly. "The Time Lords tend to take notice when an anomaly breaches a Time Lock to land right in the middle of the warzone. Especially an anomaly such as you."
"Yeah, yeah, bursting with artron radiation, ample amounts of Huon particles in the bloodstream, negligible cellular decay, all with a 100% human DNA," Rose rattled off to the astonished look on the two Time Lords' faces. "Prolonged exposure to the vortex will do that to you."
"You knew?" asked the Doctor.
"Yes, as did you, I suppose," she said, a bit coolly when she noticed his lack of surprise. "Did your lot tell you or did you scan me when I wasn't looking?"
The Doctor had the grace to look ashamed. Rose chuckled humourlessly. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You could have just asked, you know. Not like I was keeping it a secret or anything."
"Informative as this no doubt is, our pressing problem is Morbius," interrupted the Rani. "He knows the Time Lords have betrayed him and he will seek vengeance unless he is stopped. You girl, get into the chair," she added, jabbing her gun at Rose.
"No," said the Doctor. "If it's another Time Lord you need, then I'll happily volunteer. Morbius is my problem, not Rose's."
The Rani glared at him. "You foolish idiot, his brain is still a lot superior to yours. He will kill you," she said. "If we use the girl, then we kill two birds with one stone. Morbius will be defeated and we might learn more about what this creature really is," she added with a sneer.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to be such a bigot?" she asked.
"Quiet, girl!" snapped the Rani and turned to the Doctor, who was looking slightly thoughtful. "You know I am right, Doctor."
His gaze snapped to the Rani and he smiled a little. "Oh, how little you really know me, Rani," he said as he got in the chair himself. "Wake Morbius. I think it is time I put an end to your mess."
"Hang about, I should do it if you are going to die," said Rose while the Rani fumed.
The Doctor smiled at Rose. "Oh, don't worry, Rose," he said as he strapped the contraption to his forehead. "I have done this before, you know. I defeated him then, and I will do so again. Not to mention, I was the Eighth Man Bound."
The Rani lowered her gun and glared at him fiercely. "Fine!" she snapped and reversed the quantum bullets that she had shot Morbius with.
The Time Lord awoke with a gasp and looked around frantically. Upon seeing himself sitting opposite the Doctor with his beloved device between them, he raised his eyebrows. "Mind-bending? You dare challenge me again, Doctor?" he demanded.
"Less talking, more thinking, Morbius," said the Doctor, closing his eyes. Are you ready?
Morbius' voice was gloating as their minds began to battle. My mind is far superior to yours, Doctor. Defeating you shall be a pleasure. And then I shall take the girl. Her life force shall be mine, Doctor, and the Time Lords shall suffer for this betrayal.
The Doctor, on the other hand, stayed far calmer. You really ought to focus, you know. I have already driven back to, let's see...oh, look, this is the body you attempted to gain with Zarodnix's help.
And I have taken you back to your seventh regeneration, Doctor. Was it he who created the girl? Hmm, it would certainly be his style.
What are you on about? The Doctor was confused by the turn of the conversation, though he did have a nasty idea of what it was about.
Oh, don't pretend you do not understand, Doctor. Morbius sounded smug now. The girl, Rose, she was exposed to the time vortex consistent with the heart of a TARDIS. That she sought you out when she breached the Time Lock tells me that it was your TARDIS's heart that she looked into. Question is, did you do it deliberately? Pick up a silly human from a backwater planet and create a perfect temporal warrior?
Don't be ridiculous, Morbius. That is far-fetched even for you. You are just hoping to distract me since I am close to defeating you. The Doctor could sense his own lack of conviction.
Think whatever you want, Doctor, but don't deny the obvious explanation. I can see that you have thought of it yourself too. Was she a weapon your future self created and sent back to you? Can you really be sure that she was sent back by you, and not by someone else who seeks to gain from this war? How much do you really know about this Rose Tyler, Doctor?
"Is this supposed to take so long?" asked Rose, clenching her fists anxiously as she saw the Doctor and Morbius stay perfectly still with their eyes closed.
"Could take seconds, minutes, hours, days, even months," said the Rani in a bored voice. "You heard the Doctor, he was the Eighth Man Bound."
"Yeah, what is that anyway?" asked Rose.
"A game," said the Rani with a scowl. "To see how far you could push your telepathic capabilities and glance at your future regenerations. Some catch one or two if they are lucky, most of the others just regenerate or die doing it."
"But the Doctor saw more?" asked Rose.
"Eighth Man Bound," said the Rani, looking rather put out. "He saw eight of his future selves. A record in itself, not to mention incredibly telling that it should be this face he saw last all those years ago as an Initiate."
"This is the Eighth Doctor?" asked Rose in surprise.
The Rani raised her eyebrows. "You didn't know? Curious," she murmured. "So, while he is otherwise unoccupied, why don't you tell me the truth?"
"About what exactly? You think I am an anomalous creature, remember?" asked Rose, her tone slightly mocking.
"Perhaps that was a bit harsh," conceded the Rani. "But you cannot fault me for being cautious. These are dangerous times and I am not as foolishly trusting as the Doctor."
Rose shrugged lightly. "I guess so," she said. "Talk about foolishly trusting though. I let you take me to Morbius without a second thought."
The Rani smirked. "You will learn," she said. "You are from his future, that much is obvious. But how did you come here? Did he send you? Did he construct you and send you here?"
Rose stared at her like she was mad. "Construct me? I'm a person, not a robot!" she snapped angrily. "And no one sent me. I didn't even know that I would land here of all places. Since I can't leave, I thought I would help where I can. Honestly though, I am having second thoughts about that too, if everyone's been scanning me behind my back and wondering if I am some sort of a super weapon."
The Rani raised her eyebrows at the outburst. She was about to say something when Morbius gave a cry of pain. They snapped around to look at him, and saw a smile starting to blossom on the Doctor's face while Morbius seemed to be getting weaker. They both still had their eyes closed but it was clear that the Doctor was winning.
Despite her frustration with him, Rose was worried about the Doctor, and when he opened his eyes slowly, she rushed to his side at once. Morbius was motionless, but the Doctor was taking the contraption off his head. Rose batted his hands away and helped take it off.
"Did it work?" asked the Rani, leaning forward eagerly.
The Doctor glared at her but nodded. "He will be in a coma for a while now. If you want to kill him, now would be a good time," he said, his tone slightly mocking as he stood up with Rose's help.
The Rani shot him a cold look, and fired two bullets into each of Morbius' hearts. "That ought to keep him subdued until I get him to Gallifrey," she said.
"If you know what's right, Rani, you will ask the Council to dispose of him," said the Doctor, starting to get his colour back. "He had no intention of helping them win this war. He only wanted victory for himself."
"It will be up to the Council, Doctor," said the Rani as she readied the Time Ring. "Whatever his intentions, he still possesses incredible knowledge that we may be able to use."
The Doctor glared at her furiously. "Has everyone utterly lost their minds? Bringing renegades back into this war is doing no one any favours," he said.
"You are a renegade, as am I. Or have you forgotten that?" asked the Rani coldly. "Face it, Doctor, we are desperate and it has been necessary to bring some of us back."
The Doctor was about to retort angrily, but then he looked at the Rani curiously. "Who else did they bring back?" he asked.
The Rani suddenly looked uncomfortable. "It is the Council's business, Doctor," she said half-heartedly.
"You don't give a toss about what the Council thinks, Rani," snapped the Doctor. "Tell me the truth. Who else did the Time Lords bring back?"
"The Master," she answered reluctantly. "But he disappeared almost immediately. Efforts to trace him have turned up empty."
The Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Who else?" he asked.
The Rani's hesitance was even more obvious now. "Now, Doctor, do understand that this was the Council's decision, not mine. And they didn't bring him back to life, so much as award him a legitimate status in this war rather than calling him a renegade."
"Rani," said the Doctor in a low, dangerous voice. "Who?"
"The Monk," she said. "The Monk is now a part of this war."
A/N End of Chapter 5. Let me know what you thought.
This story will be full of spoilers for the Big Finish audios since we now have confirmation that they are canon. The Monk is a renegade Time Lord and more about him to come in the next chapter for those of you unfamiliar with the audios.
The new chapter will be up soon. See you then!