Chapter Seven: Evolutions of the Daleks
Disclaimer: I do not own Psych or Doctor Who.
Note: I know that I'm skipping the only-Doctor parts but I figure that those will play out pretty much exactly the way they do in canon. I'm sorry for any confusion this causes for those not as familiar with the episodes.
That horrific creature in front of them didn't seem to notice. "These…humans will become like me," it said slowly as if it still weren't quite used to itself just yet.
Shawn barely noticed the Doctor slip away (presumably to save them and not to leave them to their fate or he'd have to concede that perhaps this wasn't the best idea after all) because he was too busy being horrified and yet strangely transfixed by the moving tentacles on the creatures face.
"What are you?" he burst out.
"I am a human Dalek," the thing said again. "I just said that."
"I know but…I think I'd almost rather not have a future than have a future like that," Shawn informed them, nearly gagging.
"You will come around," the thing said dismissively. "Prepare them for hybridization."
The pig-creatures started to advance on the group but before they could reach them, music started to play.
"What is that sound?" the thing asked uncertainly.
"I hate 30s music," Shawn complained.
" 'Happy Days Are Here Again' came out in 1929, Shawn," Gus corrected.
"Oh, now you're awake?" Shawn asked, shaking his head. "Get up. We might be in trouble here."
"That would be me," the Doctor announced, stepping into the Daleks' line of view. "Hello. Surprise. Boo. Et cetera."
"Doctor," the thing hissed.
"The enemy of the Daleks!" one of the real Daleks said, almost coming off as alarmed.
"Exterminate!" another one said.
"Wait!" the thing, who appeared to be in charge, ordered, holding up his hands.
That was how Shawn found out that the Doctor and the Daleks were long-time enemies but the Doctor was strangely not very put-out to see them. Shawn would have been put-out in his position. For that matter, Shawn was already put-out and quite creeped-out as well. The Daleks were part of some evil cult of scarring or whatever and the Doctor had apparently slaughtered great numbers of them. Time travel was also involved somehow but now it seemed that the Daleks were trapped.
The Doctor was far too interested in that horrible thing and for one disturbing moment Shawn actually thought he was going to touch those tentacles (which were seriously reminding him of this one Japanese comic book he had stumbled across one time in an old girlfriend's apartment. Needless to say, that relationship didn't last long). He also made time to taunt the Daleks which, given his claim that just four of them could conquer the universe and there were four of them, didn't seem like the best idea.
Then the Doctor somehow managed to identify the creature that had previously presumably looked identical to the others (well, the other three were identical. It was possible that the fourth had always looked mutated like that) as 'Dalek Sec' so it seemed these creatures could really use some help in that department. Considering the Doctor acted like the fact that Sec had a name at all or even a mind of his own was something unusual, perhaps that was to be expected. Of course, what did he expect from a cult?
Finally, the Doctor engaged in a philosophical debate about whether humans were Dalek-like or not – Shawn found himself siding with the Doctor if only to not be compared to those freaks – and then used his sonic screwdriver to annoy the Daleks while they all escaped.
All in all, it was kind of a weird encounter.
"These Daleks, they sound like the stuff of nightmares," Solomon said once they'd finally gotten back to Hooverville that night.
"They look like the stuff of nightmares," Shawn piped up.
"And they want to breed?" Solomon continued, ignoring him.
"That is the stuff of nightmares," Gus declared.
"I agree," Solomon said. "We can't let that happen. That thing was…horrifying."
"Oh, I see how it is. Him you can talk to," Shawn complained. "I thought we'd been through so much together!"
"The Daleks are splicing themselves into human bodies. If I'm right, they've got a farm of breeding stock right here in Hooverville. We've got to get everyone out," the Doctor said urgently.
"Out where?" Solomon asked, frustrated. "Hooverville is the place a man goes when there is literally nowhere else to go! No one else will take us in."
"I know, Solomon, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry," the Doctor apologized. "But this is a matter of life and death here! You've got to scatter. Go anywhere, just get out of New York. The Daleks will find a new supply in time but by then hopefully I'll have managed to stop them."
"Maybe we can reason with these things," Solomon suggested hopefully.
Gus snorted. "I have had a lot of experience trying to reason with people who just won't be reasoned with," he nodded Shawn's way, "and it's my professional opinion that these Daleks cannot be reasoned with."
"Of course they can't," Shawn agreed. "I mean, what do they want? They want to create more of that Sec thing by using us and they seem to prize our worst traits so appealing to their compassion won't work."
"Not the three full Daleks but perhaps Sec could," the Doctor mused. "And if he can be convinced then the other Daleks might be persuaded that combining with humanity is not in their best interests as Daleks. Of course, then they might try to kill everybody in sight but they always do that anyway so…"
Gus elbowed him in the side. "Not helping. Besides, if we convince the other Daleks that Sec is weak then why would they keep listening to him? Surely the Daleks aren't big on personal loyalty?"
"The Doctor put forth a plan right there to reason with them," Solomon said stubbornly.
"No, he suggested going back to the plan where they kill us all," Shawn argued. "Look, the fact that the Daleks are likely all nuts aside, why would they listen to us? They want humans, we don't want them to take humans. How do we compromise? Let them take some of the humans? That's what they're doing here when they want the people of Hooverville."
"They could take other people," Solomon said. "I would feel terrible about that but those people aren't my responsibility and they have other people looking out for them. If I can't stop the Daleks then I at least don't want them going after the people under my protection."
A whistle cut through the night and one of the sentries ran through the camp alerting everyone to the fact that the pig-creatures were coming. Fortunately, Frank had somehow managed to convince everyone that they existed before they'd gotten back from meeting the Daleks.
Solomon called his men to take arms and to stand with them. Some of the residents did as he asked, others fled. The ones who fled ran straight into the pig-creatures.
"They can't take all of us!" Solomon shouted.
"They wouldn't have launched an attack if they didn't think they could," Shawn pointed out.
"Yeah, but these aren't exactly the geniuses of the galaxy," Gus countered. "If we can just hold out until morning…how far away is that?"
"Do I look like I carry a watch?" Shawn asked rhetorically. "And what good will morning bring? No one ever stops by Hooverville if they don't have to so they won't need to retreat."
"Look," the Doctor said grimly, pointing up at the sky. "The real threat."
It was one of the Daleks hovering right above them. It waited until the panicked people stopped shouting above the end of days and – strangely – witchcraft before it spoke. "The humans will surrender."
"Leave them alone! They've done nothing to you!" the Doctor shouted, mostly on principle since he had more than enough experience with the Daleks to know that that wasn't going to work.
To everyone's horror, Solomon stepped forward then.
"No, Solomon. Stay back," the Doctor ordered.
Solomon fixed him with a hard look. "Doctor, this is my township, you will respect my authority."
Shawn and Gus exchanged a look.
"What can I say?" Shawn said as he grabbed Solomon's arms and Gus put his handkerchief in Solomon's mouth. "I've always been a terrible guest."
"You really have," Gus agreed.
"I didn't need to hear that confirmed, buddy," Shawn said curtly. "Well, Doctor, how are you going to handle this?"
The Doctor nodded. "Right. Daleks, I know that you want these people. On the other hand, you can always get more people later and this is the best opportunity you might ever get to take me down. What do you say? Me in exchange for all these people?"
"What are you doing?" Shawn hissed. "What's to stop them from killing you and then taking everyone here?"
"Don't criticize the man when he's facing down psycho killer pepper-shaker aliens, Shawn," Gus rebuked.
"Extermin-" the Dalek started to say before stopping. "I do not understand. It is the Doctor. The urge to kill is too strong. I…obey."
"Are these Daleks schizophrenic or something?" Gus wondered aloud. "Because I'm honestly not sure if that would make them more terrifying or less so."
"You will follow," the Dalek ordered the Doctor.
Gus had seen that same look the Doctor was wearing on Shawn's face far too many times to leave any doubt as to its meaning. "You realize that they probably just want to torture you or dissect you before they kill you, right?"
"It doesn't matter, I'll be fine," the Doctor said dismissively. "I know you can't possibly realize what a big deal with is but…a Dalek changed his mind! Daleks never change their minds, it's quite annoying actually. This must be Dalek Sec's doing. Maybe I can get through to him after all."
"Remember what we talked about about how if you do get through to him the other Daleks won't be happy," Shawn cautioned.
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," the Doctor told them before turning back to the Dalek. "I'll follow you on one condition! Don't hurt any of the people here!"
"The humans will be spared," the Dalek said, sounding almost pained. "Doctor…follow."
The Doctor started to walk off but then stopped and turned back to Shawn and Gus. "What? No begging me not to go or offering to come with me? Not even any threats to steal my TARDIS if I take too long?"
Shawn shrugged. "It wouldn't do any good. You kind of have your heart set on going and if you don't then we'll all be killed. Besides, I have no idea how to work that thing."
"And we would go but, well, self-preservation instincts and whatnot," Gus said unapologetically.
The Doctor smiled and rolled his eyes before clasping Gus' free hand. "This has been one hell of an adventure."
"I can't believe you did that," Solomon said angrily.
"Did what?" Shawn asked, yawning. "Saved your life? Because I can totally believe that Gus and I did that. We're pretty awesome that way."
"You don't know that," Solomon argued. "I might have been able to work something out with them and now they have your Doctor."
"You didn't need to do anything," Gus pointed out. "The Doctor worked something out and he really didn't seem opposed to going with them. He probably would have tried anyway."
"I still don't like having my authority undermined and having a stranger solving our problems," Solomon told them.
"We'd apologize but we're still convinced that we saved your life and if Hooverville needs you as much as we've been led to believe that you actually owe us an apology for being so nasty about us saving you," Shawn declared.
Solomon snorted. "Don't hold your breath."
They could hear footsteps approaching.
"Oh, there you are!" Tallulah beamed.
Shawn groaned.
"I was wondering if you had any luck finding Lazlo and I thought I heard you say something about spending time in Hooverville so I thought I'd drop by and see what's going on," Tallulah told them.
"We have good news and bad news," Gus told her in his best comforting voice.
"Tell me the bad news first," Tallulah requested, nervously wringing her hands.
"He's been physically mostly turned into one of those pig creatures but at least he's kept his mind," Gus told her.
"And the good news?" Tallulah asked, horrified.
"We found Lazlo," Gus told her. "In retrospect, I probably should have told you the good news first because hearing the bad makes the good obvious but…at least he said he still loves you?"
"Where is he?" Tallulah demanded.
"I don't know," Gus admitted. "I think he stayed behind when we fled the Daleks."
"What's a Dalek?" Tallulah asked blankly.
"Solomon, if you will?" Shawn asked pointedly. "My partner and I have to plan our next move."
Solomon gave them a dirty look but he obligingly drew Tallulah off to the side to explain the situation.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Gus demanded. "He gave me his psychic paper so clearly he expects something but I just don't know what."
"I say we treasure this memento forever and put it to good use back home," Shawn replied. "I mean, I'm not entirely sure how to get home but I'm sure we'll figure out how to work the TARDIS eventually."
Gus rolled his eyes. "Give it up. You can't keep the psychic paper."
"That's not what this is about," Shawn lied unconvincingly. "It's just that the Doctor nobly sacrificed himself for us and I think we should respect his wishes. There's nothing more annoying than heroically going off to your death and then having other people ruin it by following you there and stealing your thunder."
"Only if those other people die, too," Gus argued. "And we're not going to die; we're going to save him. When that happens, it's kind of awesome."
"Do you think that in his gratitude he'll let us keep the psychic paper?" Shawn wondered.
"Not happening," Gus said flatly.
"What if we say that we lost it?" Shawn tried again.
"Shawn!"
Shawn sighed. "Fine, fine. But how are we supposed to rescue him? We don't even know where he is. Wait…when those Daleks were holding me prisoner they said something about Dalek-blah-blah-blah and energy conductors. The Daleks needed energy conductors for something they're creating and they were working with Diagoras to do it. Maybe Solomon will have some sort of an idea. Hey, Solomon!"
Solomon, who was awkwardly trying to console a distraught Tallulah, looked up at them. "Oh, now you want to hear what I have to say.."
"That we do," Shawn agreed, completely ignoring his somewhat hostile tone.
"Do you know what Diagoras was working on? We think we might be able to find the Doctor if we know," Gus explained.
Solomon gestured towards the Empire State Building. "Mostly he was building that monstrosity that New York really can't afford as long as Hooverville is as big as it is."
"Right then. We're heading off to the Empire State Building," Shawn announced. "We might come back if we survive. No promises, though, so no need to just assume we're dead if we don't remember."
"I'm coming with you," Tallulah said determinedly. "If you really think that Lazlo's mixed up in all of this and there's a chance that I'll see him if I come with you then I have to go. Besides, you're going to need all the help we can get."
"I'm coming, too," Solomon said just as firmly. "I may get myself killed but it doesn't matter. These Daleks are after every one of the people who rely on me and what kind of leader would I be if I just sit this one out?"
"As long as you two understand the risks then I suppose that's alright," Gus agreed. "Do you think we should go find Frank and see if he wants to come?"
Shawn made a face. "Let's not and say we did."
The quartet stepped out onto the top of the Empire State Building.
"Look at this pace. Top of the world," Tallulah said, sighing in awe.
Gus' eyes widened. "Shawn, don't!"
"I have no choice, buddy," Shawn said, sounding truly apologetic. He stepped closer to the edge and threw his arms out as he shouted, "I'm king of the world!"
"You two are really bizarre," Solomon said, shaking his head. "And given what we've been through in the last day or so, that's really saying something."
"Hey, how did we manage to get in here, anyway?" Tallulah wondered. "They just let us right in."
"So glad you asked that," Shawn said, pleased. He gestured to the psychic paper that Gus wouldn't let him touch for fear that he would never, ever give it back. "It's called psychic paper and it will let people see whatever you want them to see. For example, it showed some kind of credentials to let us in here."
"That sounds mighty useful," Solomon said thoughtfully.
"See? That's what I said!" Shawn exclaimed. "Gus doesn't think I should be trusted with it."
Gus snorted. "Please, Shawn. Anyone who has spent more than a few minutes with you knows what a bad idea that would be."
"I don't," Tallulah offered.
Shawn smiled at her, surprised. "Perhaps I misjudged you…"
"She has a boyfriend," Gus reminded Shawn before spotting the architectural plans for the building. "Oh, now this looks good. Come look at this."
"Look at the date," Solomon said, pointing to the bottom of the page. "These designs were issued today."
"The Daleks must have changed something at the last minute," Shawn realized. "This can't be good."
"You know, all this talk about the Daleks makes me kind of want to see what they look like," Tallulah told them.
Shawn shook his head. "No, trust me, you don't. It will make it impossible to really take them seriously ever again no matter how evil and genocidal the Doctor swears they are."
"You can't even describe them?" Tallulah inquired. "You can make them as threatening as you can."
"It's for your own good," Gus assured her. "If these plans were just changed then the previous design should be right underneath, assuming the Daleks didn't take them with them to prevent us from comparing the plans and seeing what's changed."
"Please, Gus. They look like…" Shawn trailed off as he glanced at the expectant Tallulah. "Well, suffice to say I really don't think they're bright enough to think of that or take us seriously enough to bother if they did."
Tallulah wondered over to the edge. "The height of this place! This is amazing!"
"It's going to be the tallest building in the world for forty-one years," Gus informed her.
"Good for us," Solomon said bitterly. "I'm sure it will fill us all with pride while we try not to freeze to death this winter."
"You know, you're a real downer," Shawn complained.
"New York City," Tallulah breathed. "If aliens had to come to Earth, no wonder they came here."
"Actually, I hear they usually attack London," Shawn corrected her.
"I found it!" Gus exclaimed a little while later.
"What?" Shawn asked. He wasn't actually helping but was playing 'I Spy' with Tallulah in order to distract her from reminiscing about Lazlo. He actually felt this was helping quite a bit though Gus thought Solomon who was keeping watch was doing a bit more to aid them.
"There, on the mast. Those little lines? They're new," Gus told them once the pair went back over by him.
"What is it?" Tallulah asked.
"Dalekanium," Gus told her dramatically.
"I'm sorry, I don't even know what that is but I just can't take it seriously with a name like that," Shawn said, sighing.
The lift doors opened then and the Doctor stepped out with Lazlo.
"First floor, perfumery," the Doctor quipped as he stepped out.
"I think you've got the wrong floor, actually," Shawn replied with perfect seriousness. "This is the top floor."
"Silly mistake to make," the Doctor agreed.
"Doctor!" Gus exclaimed. "We weren't sure if we'd see you again."
"Of course you would," the Doctor said breezily. "So, where's my psychic paper?"
"We lost it," Shawn claimed.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "We'll talk about it later."
"L-Lazlo?" Tallulah, who had been standing frozen, finally found her voice. "Is that really you?"
Lazlo winced. "I-I didn't want you to see me like this."
"I'd rather see you like this then never see you again!" Tallulah insisted. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" She ran over and wrapped her arms around him.
"Even though I look like this?" Lazlo asked tentatively as he returned the embrace.
"Even though you look like this," Tallulah confirmed. "I'm, uh, not really sure where we go from here but I think we'll have plenty of time to worry about that once we stop…whatever it is we need to stop."
"You got here just in time," Gus told the Doctor. "We figured out that there's Dalekanium on the mast."
Solomon came back in to see what the commotion was about. "So you're still alive, after all. That's good."
The lift door shut then and the Doctor ran to try to stop it. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver but nothing happened. "Damn. Deadlocked. I can't open it."
"Did the Daleks take it?" Shawn asked.
The Doctor nodded. "They must have. We can only hope that they send their pig-slaves instead of coming themselves. Look, I don't have much time. What time is it?"
"11:15," Solomon replied, glancing at his pocket-watch.
"Six minutes to go. I've got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits," the Doctor informed them.
"Gammon radiation? What the heck is that?" Tallulah wondered.
"You're happier not knowing," the Doctor told her. "And I don't have time to explain anyway."
"Think 'the Incredible Hulk,'" Shawn advised. "And don't tell me you don't know what that is or I won't be able to talk to you, either."
The five of them went outside to see the mast.
"Oh, that's high. That's very- Blimey, that's high," the Doctor said, sounding a bit faint.
"And you've got to go even higher," Gus said seriously. "See those three pieces of Dalekanium on the base? You need to get it off if you want to stop…whatever it is the Daleks are doing."
"I notice you said 'you' not 'we'," the Doctor noted.
"There are not enough Scooby Snacks in the world to get us up there," Shawn told him.
"It's just as well. The Daleks will be sending something back up the lift and I need you to fight them and stop them from sabotaging my sabotage," the Doctor told them seriously. "I'm so sorry that it's come to this but the situation is rather desperate."
"You expect us to fight either Daleks or pig-slaves – and possibly both – with no weapons?" Gus couldn't believe it. "Are you insane?"
"Well, I am going out to stand right next to a lightning rod when a storm's about to fight," the Doctor told them. "Drawn your own conclusions."
Everyone but the Doctor had grabbed whatever makeshift weapon they could find and were standing in front of the lift, waiting for it to open.
"So…anyone want to place bets on how long we'll survive?" Shawn asked, breaking the silence.
"What's the point?" Gus asked, shrugging. "No one will survive to gloat about it."
"How can you two make jokes at a time like this?" Tallulah demanded.
"We laugh to hide the pain," Shawn deadpanned.
"I should have brought a gun," Solomon said ruefully.
"I should own a gun," Shawn remarked. "I'm a great shot."
"Tallulah, stay back," Lazlo said seriously. "If they send pig slaves, they're trained to kill. If they send Daleks then we'll die even faster."
"What? You're not concerned about us?" Gus asked, almost insulted.
"I'm not in love with you," Lazlo said simply. "You should probably be aware that they're savages, though. I should know. They're trained to slit your throat with their bare teeth." Suddenly, Lazlo collapsed.
"Just as well we weren't counting on him to be our protection," Shawn muttered.
"Lazlo, what is it?" Tallulah asked frantically, kneeling at his side.
"I'm fine," Lazlo insisted, struggling to his feet.
"All evidence to the contrary," Gus pointed out.
"It's nothing we need to worry about now," Lazlo said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"You're burning up," Tallulah argued anyway. "What's wrong? And don't you dare lie to me!"
"One man down and we haven't even started yet," Solomon said ominously. "This will not go well."
"I say we ditch the whole 'attempting to club to death the much larger and more vicious pig-slaves' plan," Shawn told them.
"Do you have a better idea?" Solomon demanded.
"I do, at that," Shawn confirmed, nodding. "The Doctor's right. This is a lightning rod. Even if the Doctor manages to save the day, the building is still going to get hit. Follow me!"
He, Gus, and Solomon ran off to create a devise to channel the lightning they were about to get struck with into something that would hit the pig-slaves coming out of the elevator.
"Do you really think that will work?" Tallulah asked when they were done.
"If not, we're totally going to die so it had better," Gus said grimly.
"I've got it all piped up to the scaffolding outside," Solomon elaborated.
"Come here, everyone, and sit in the middle. Whatever you do, don't touch anything metal," Shawn instructed.
They waited in silent terror for a few long, terrible seconds before the lift door opened and the pig-slaves squealed in pain as they were electrocuted.
"What do you know? It worked," Shawn said, proudly. "Take that, Mrs. Zbornak."
"Shawn, that wasn't anything like that science fair project," Gus pointed out.
"Right, tell me that right after I just saved us all," Shawn said, rolling his eyes.
"So…should we feel guilty that we just killed all those pig-slaves that used to be human like Lazlo?" Tallulah wondered.
"Why should you?" Shawn asked. "You didn't do anything. Wait…that came out wrong…"
Solomon shook his head. "The Daleks killed them a long time ago. We just stopped them from killing us."
"They didn't look dead," Shawn muttered.
Gus elbowed him. "Not helping."
"Let's go find the Doctor," Lazlo suggested.
The group ran out to go see if he was okay and on the way found his screwdriver. The Doctor was lying immobile on his back near the conductor which still had the Dalekanium on it. It seemed that the Doctor hadn't succeeded.
"Do you think he's dead?" Shawn asked.
Gus shuddered. "I am not going over there to check it out so you can just forget about it."
"Well I'm not going over there, either," Shawn said stubbornly, crossing his arms. "Does anybody have anything we can throw to try to wake him up? Preferably something you wouldn't mind losing in case I miss."
Tallulah rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'll do it." She walked over to the Doctor and felt for a pulse. "He's still alive." She started to shake him. "Hey, Doctor, time to wake up. There's still those Daleks to defeat and whatnot."
"Oh my head," the Doctor moaned, not opening his eyes.
"He sounds hung-over," Shawn said knowingly. "Who'd have thought getting struck by lightning would make you hung-over?"
"It would probably just outright kill either of us," Gus pointed out.
"Hi. You survived then," the Doctor noted.
"You don't have to sound so disappointed," Gus said reprovingly.
"What now?" Lazlo asked.
"The Daleks have decided to go straight to war footing. They'll send out their new soldiers against New York using the sewers. The population won't stand a chance," the Doctor said worriedly.
"That sounds bad," Shawn noted. "Tell me you have a brilliant plan."
"I think I have one but I won't know until I'm done talking," the Doctor replied. "I got in the way of the gamma strike. The Daleks removed the humanity from their subjects but it went through me and that may do something. I just have to seethem and I'll need someplace I can do that. Somewhere safe, out of the way, large enough…Tallulah! Can you get us into the theatre?"
Tallulah nodded. "Sure. Just try not to destroy it too much because I have no idea of how I'm going to be able to explain any of this to my boss."
"Explain to me why, exactly, letting the Daleks know where to send all of their troops is a good idea?" Gus asked.
"So I can try to deal with them before they destroy the rest of the city," the Doctor said patiently.
"And your plan for this is…?" Gus prompted.
"Do I look like I'm finished talking?" the Doctor answered with a query of his own.
"Geez, Gus, you'd think you'd be used to this kind of thing by now," Shawn lamented, shaking his head.
"You two are supposed to head back with Solomon, anyway," the Doctor said pointedly.
The pair exchanged a look.
"Normally we'd have left already," Gus admitted. "But we've been through a lot with this and we'd kind of like to see it through."
"That's an order," the Doctor said tersely.
"Oh look! The Daleks are here," Shawn said, pointing to the door which just burst open. Blank-faced humans carrying guns filed through. "I guess we missed our chance."
Solomon stepped forward but the Doctor pulled him back.
"Out of the five of us, I'm the clear expert on Daleks," the Doctor explained. "Let me handle this."
"What is it with you people and your determination that I never get to talk to anybody dangerous?" Solomon demanded.
" 'You people'?" Shawn repeated with faux-indignation. "You people? I feel so stereotyped!"
Gus looked from Shawn to Solomon and then shook his head. "You are not going to win that argument Shawn."
There was an explosion on the stage and the group ducked behind the seats for cover.
"I am going to deny all knowledge of this," Tallulah vowed. "Future city-savior or not, a girl's got to eat."
Two Daleks rolled into the room with Dalek Sec chained and crawling on all fours.
"What, they're keeping him as a pet?" Gus asked, appalled. "Or a slave? That's all kinds of messed up."
"The Doctor will stand before the Daleks," one of the Daleks ordered.
Obligingly, the Doctor got up and walked towards them.
"And they didn't even ask nicely," Lazlo marveled, shaking his head.
"I wish he'd listen to me half as well as he's been listening to them," Solomon remarked.
"You will die, Doctor. It is the beginning of a new age," the same Dalek announced.
"Planet Earth will become New Skaro," the other Dalek declared.
"Ah, good," Shawn said, relieved.
"Good? Good? How is that good?" Gus demanded.
"Because it goes to show that humans aren't the only ones who can't name things," Shawn explained.
The Doctor started waxing poetic about how great Dalek Sec was, Dalek Sec said something wise about how if you choose death and destruction it will choose you, the other Daleks didn't care, then Dalek Sec got in the way of a shot aimed at the Doctor and died. The Doctor wasn't happy about this, told the human-Daleks that the Daleks were awful, and then the Doctor baited the Daleks into ordering the human-Daleks to fire on him. He really wasn't all that interested in self-preservation, was he? Fortunately, the human-Daleks didn't do as they were bidden. Instead, they proceeded to act like a particularly annoying toddler by asking 'why' every time the Daleks said anything. The Daleks didn't like that so they killed all of the human-Daleks. Fortunately, the human-Daleks managed to take the two Daleks out with them and the Doctor fled the room, presumably in search of the third one.
Solomon and Gus supported the still-ailing Lazlo as they all followed the Doctor just in time to hear the Doctor offer to help Dalek Caan – the one still around apparently – and Dalek Caan freaking out and fleeing that time. Daleks really weren't fond of compassion, it seemed.
"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked, turning his attention back to his temporary companion's problems.
Solomon and Gus gently lowered Lazlo to the floor.
"His heart's going far too fast," Tallulah said anxiously. "I've never seen anything like it. H-he says he can't breathe. You're a Doctor, aren't you? Fix him!"
"It's time, sweetheart," Lazlo gasped out.
"What do you mean 'time'? What are you talking about?" Tallulah demanded.
Shawn hid a wince. Tallulah may have grown on him after supporting his bid to keep the psychic paper but her voice got infinitely more annoying when she began panicking.
"None of the slaves …survive for long. Most of them only live a few weeks. I was lucky. I held on 'cause I had you. But now…I'm dyin', Tallulah," Lazlo managed to explain.
"No you're not. Not now, after all this. Not when I decided that I'm staying with you," Tallulah said desperately. "Doctor, can't you do somethin'?"
"That depends," the Doctor said, suddenly energized again. "Do I happen to have a great big genetic laboratory at my disposal?" He looked around. "Huh. Guess so. Lazlo, you just hold on. There's been too many deaths today. Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and wise old men and age-old enemies. And I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now, I am not having one more death! Got that? Not one! Tallulah, out of the way." He paused dramatically. "The Doctor is in."
Solomon walked towards an anxiously waiting Lazlo and Tallulah, smiling. "Well, I talked to them. They said they'd be willing to let you stay with us. Of course, they'll likely stare something fierce and some of them are bound to say something stupid but they won't attack you. Hooverville is for those with noplace else to go and right now I'd say you really fit that description."
"Thank you. I-I can't thank you enough," Lazlo said, overcome with gratitude.
"Well, we'd best be off," the Doctor told them. "Congratulations. I mean it. You deserve to be happy. And take heart, Solomon: the Depression won't last forever."
Solomon nodded to them and then led Lazlo and Tallulah to see where Lazlo would be staying.
"Of course, it will last another ten years or so," Shawn pointed out. "And after it's over, what will Lazlo do?"
"You can't just be happy, can you?" the Doctor asked, shaking his head incredulously.
Shawn groaned. "God, I'm turning into my father."
"So what happened to you after you followed that Dalek?" Gus asked curiously.
The Doctor's expression darkened. "Ah. That. Once he combined with a human, Dalek Sec had realized that attempting to wipe out every other species besides the Daleks is ultimately futile and self-destructive and that even if they succeeded it would never be enough for them. He wanted to recreate the Daleks by merging them with humans already captured and not to transfer over the Dalek supremacy mindset but to live peacefully."
"Wait, wait, wait," Gus said, holding up a hand. "You were willing to help the Daleks destroy those poor people just to recreate their certifiably insane species?"
The Doctor shook his head. "Of course not. Those humans had already been wiped blank. Their old selves were dead for all intents and purposes and fighting Dalek Sec wouldn't have changed that. Unfortunately, the other Daleks didn't like this idea and staged a mutiny. I ran and went to go find you."
"Fun," Shawn said sarcastically. "So now what?"
"Now you give me back my psychic paper," the Doctor said, holding out his hand expectantly.
Shawn made a face. "Do I have to?"
"Yes," the Doctor said seriously. "I don't even want to know what you'd use it for…"
"Neither do I," Gus agreed. "Although I might be able to find a few uses for it myself."
"No," the Doctor said firmly. "Now hand it over, Shawn."
Sighing deeply, Shawn did as was requested. "So where are we off to now?"
"Where I told you I would be taking you after this," the Doctor replied. "Home."
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