The Poison Sky
"He's gonna choke!" Donna screeched.
"It won't open!" the Doctor shook his head.
"Wilf," the Professor shouted till the old man weakly looked at her, "Duck!" he quickly dropped down and she shot a blast at the side of the front window, shattering it. The Doctor and Donna looked at her in shock, "Don't just stand there! Get him out!"
They quickly got to work hauling the old man out of the car, "Thanks!" Wilf gasped.
"Get inside the house," the Doctor ordered, helping Wilf over to Mrs. Noble, "Just try and close off the doors and windows."
"Doctor!" Ross shouted, pulling up in an old black cab, "Professor! This is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS."
The duo ran over to the cab, "Donna, you coming?" the Doctor called.
"Yeah!" she turned to go when her mother grabbed her arm.
"Donna! Don't go! Look what happens every time he appears! Stay with us, please."
"You go my darling!" Wilf pulled his daughter's arm back.
"Dad!"
"Don't listen to her! You go with the Doctor and Professor! That's my girl..." Donna ran to the cab, looking guiltily back at her family as they left, "Bye!"
~8~
The cab pulled up outside the ATMOS factory, letting the trio out, "Ross, look after yourself, get inside the building," the Doctor ordered him lightly.
"Will do," Ross nodded, pulling out a radio, "Greyhound 40 to Trap 1, I have just returned the Doctor and Professor to base, safe and sound, over."
The Doctor rolled his eyes at that as Ross took off.
"The air is disgusting!" Donna gagged.
"It's not so bad for us," the Doctor remarked, seeing that the Professor looked not at all affected by it either, "Go on, get inside the TARDIS. Oh, never given you a key!" he pulled one out, "Keep that! Go on, that's yours! Quite a big moment really!"
"Yeah, maybe we can get sentimental after the world's finished choking to death!"
"Good idea!"
"Where are you going?" she called as they ran back toward the base.
"Stop a war!" they ran into UNIT, "Right then, here we are, good. Whatever you do, Colonel Mace, do not engage the Sontarans in battle, there is nothing they like better than a war. Just leave this to us."
"And what are you going to do?" Mace asked them.
"We've got the TARDIS, we're gonna get on board their ship."
The Professor, who had not taken her eyes off Martha since they entered, watched as she leaned over and pressed a button on her PDA.
"Come on!" the Doctor called to Martha, turning and running out of the base with the Professor and Martha, straight back to the alleyway, only to see the TARDIS was gone.
"But...where's the TARDIS?" Martha asked.
"Taste that, in the air. Yech. That sort of metal tang."
"Teleport exchange," the Professor remarked, her nose twitching as she turned to Martha, "The Sontarans have taken it."
The Doctor's eyes widened, "We're stuck, on Earth like...like ordinary people. Like humans! How rubbish is that!" he glanced at Martha, "Sorry, no offence, but come on!"
"So what do we do?" Martha asked.
"Well...I mean it's shielded, they could never detect it…" he stared at her.
"What?"
"I'm just wondering, have you phoned your family and Tom?"
"No, what for?"
"The gas. Tell them to stay inside."
"Course I will, yeah, but what about Donna? I mean, where's she?"
"Oh, she's gone home. She's not like you, she's not a soldier. Right. So, Avanti!" they turned and ran back into the UNIT base once more, "Change of plan!"
"Good to have you fighting alongside us, Doctor, Professor," Mace smiled.
"We're not fighting, we're not-fighting, as in not hyphen fighting, got it? Now, does anyone know what this gas is yet?"
"We're working on it."
"It's harmful, but not lethal until it reaches 80 percent density," the Professor stated as a blond woman stood up to give her report.
The woman nodded, "We're having the first reports of deaths from the center of Tokyo City."
"And who are you?" the Doctor eyed her.
"Captain Marion Price, sir," she saluted.
"Oh, put your hand down. Don't salute."
"Jodrell Bank's traced a signal, coming from 5,000 miles above the Earth," Mace added, "We're guessing that's what triggered the cars."
"The Sontaran ship," the Doctor nodded.
"NATO has gone to Defcon One, we're preparing a strike."
"Nuclear missiles won't even scratch the surface," the Professor countered.
"Let us talk to the Sontarans," the Doctor agreed.
"You're not authorized to speak on behalf of the Earth," Mace shook his head.
"I've got that authority, I earned that a long time ago, and so has the Professor by association," he replied seriously.
The Professor took the sonic from his pocket and pressed it to the UNIT systems, "Calling the Sontaran Command Ship under Jurisdiction Two of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement. This is the Professor and the Doctor."
"The Professor!" Staal gasped, as the screen flickered on and the Sontarans were revealed.
"And the Doctor," the Doctor called.
"We do you honor," Staal continued, "Sontar-ha!" he pounded his fist to his hand, "We have entered into the most magnificent war because of you, most famous of Time Lords."
"Still here," the Doctor tried again.
"The Doctor wishes to speak with you," the Professor replied.
"Hello!" he waved a bit.
Staal's countenance shifted to a glare, "Doctor, breathing your last?"
"My God, they're like trolls," Mace finally managed to speak.
"Yeah, loving the diplomacy, thanks," the Doctor rolled his eyes and turned to the Sontarans, "So, tell me, General Staal, since when did you lot become cowards?" he plopped down in a chair and put his feet up.
"How dare you!" Staal snapped.
"Oh, that's diplomacy?" Mace scoffed.
"Doctor, you impugn my honor!"
"Yeah, I'm really glad you didn't say 'belittle' 'cos then I'd have a field day," he remarked, "But poison gas? That's the weapon of a coward and you know it. Staal, you could blast this planet out of the sky, and yet you're sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? Where's the honor?"
"You're planning something else," the Professor determined, "This is not normal Sontaran warfare."
The Doctor nodded, it made sense, "What are you lot up to?"
"A general would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing forces," Staal remarked.
"Ah, the war's not going so well, then? Losing, are we?"
"Such a suggestion is impossible."
"What war?" Mace frowned.
"The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans," the Professor stated, "It's been raging, far out in the stars for 50,000 years. Which…" she turned to Staal, "I would like ended. I have no love of being under Judoon probation until the war has been settled."
"50,000 years of bloodshed, and for what?" the Doctor shook his head.
"For victory!" Staal cried, "Sontar-ha!"
"Sontar-ha!" the Sontarans chanted behind him, "Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!"
"Give me a break," the Doctor rolled his eyes, turning to nod at the Professor. She flashed the sonic and the channel changed to Tommy Zoom.
"I would seriously recommend that this dialogue is handled by official Earth representation," Mace glared.
"When the Earth officials are able to handle themselves intelligently without need of our assistance, I shall seriously consider your recommendation," the Professor's eyes narrowed at Mace, "Until then..." she soniced the channel back.
"Finished?" the Doctor asked, a grin growing on his face at how the Professor's words had left Mace gaping, despite the fact that Staal was glaring at them.
"You will not be so quick to ridicule when you'll see our prize," Staal remarked, "Behold!" the camera shifted to reveal the TARDIS behind him, "We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a TARDIS."
"Well, as prizes go, that's...noble. As they say in Latin, donna nobis pacem. Did you never wonder about its design? It's phone box. It contains a phone. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic. Like if only we could communicate. You and I."
"All you have communicated is your distress, Doctor."
"Big mistake though. Showing it to me," he held up a device, "'Cos I've got remote control."
"Cease transmission!"
The screen went black.
"Oh, well," the Doctor sighed, getting up.
"That's achieved nothing," Mace glared.
"Oh, you'd be surprised," he grinned.
~8~
The Doctor snatched a clipboard from Martha's hands as she stood before a small container of the gas, the Professor standing in the doorway, watching carefully, she had yet to truly let Martha out of her sight, "There's carbon mon…"
"Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and 10 percent unidentified," the Doctor cut in, nodding, the Professor had already gone through it.
"It's some sort of artificial heavy element we can't trace. You ever seen anything like it?"
"Must be something the Sontarans invented. This isn't just poison, they need this gas for something else. What could that be?"
"Launch grid online and active," Price called from the control room.
"Positions ladies and gentlemen, Defcon One initiatives in progress," Mace ordered.
The Doctor ran out of the room, "What? I told you not to launch!"
"The gas is at 60 percent density, 80 percent and people start dying, Doctor. We've got no choice."
"Launching in 60, 59, 58, 57, 56…" Price counted down, "Worldwide nuclear grid now coordinating. 54, 53..."
"You're making a mistake, Colonel!" the Doctor glared, "For once, I hope the Sontarans are ahead of you."
"North America, online," Price continued, "United Kingdom, online. France, online. India, online. Pakistan, online. China, online. North Korea, online. All systems locked and coordinated. Launching in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5..."
"God save us," Mace breathed.
"...4, 3, 2, 1..."
The Professor watched carefully as Martha pushed something on her PDA.
"0."
And the screen shut off.
"What is it?" Mace looked around, "What happened? Did we launch? Well, did we?"
"Negative, sir," Price replied, "The launch codes have been wiped, sir. It must be the Sontarans."
"Can we override it?"
"Trying it now, sir."
The Professor and Doctor exchanged a look, the Professor nodding slightly back at Martha.
"Missiles wouldn't even dent that ship," the Doctor muttered, "So why are the Sontarans so keen to stop you?"
'The gas is volatile,' she told him, 'One firm spark would burn it all up. They need it for something.'
He nodded and glanced at Martha, "Any ideas?"
"How should I know?" Martha shook her head.
"Enemy within!" Ross suddenly called over the comms., "At arms! Greyhound 40 declaring absolute emergency. Sontarans within factory grounds, east corridor grid six."
"Absolute emergency, declaring Code Red," Mace ran to the comm., the launch forgotten for now, "All troops, Code Red!"
"Get them out of there!" the Doctor argued.
"All troops, open fire!" Mace ordered. There was the sound of guns clicking but not firing.
"The guns aren't working!" Ross shouted, "Inform all troops, standard weapons do not work," there were more shots fired, men screaming, "Tell the Professor and the Doctor it's that cordolaine signal. They're the only ones who can stop them…" and then the line went to static with a grunt, and they knew, Ross was dead.
"Greyhound 40, report! Over. Greyhound 40, report. Greyhound 40, report!"
"He wasn't Greyhound 40," the Doctor glared, "His name was Ross. Now listen to me, and GET THEM OUT OF THERE!"
"Trap 1 to all stations," he ordered, "Retreat. Order imperative, immediate retreat!"
"Retreat!" they heard soldiers ordering, "Retreat!"
But there were too many screams and shots. Mace looked at the incoming reports, "They've taken the factory."
"Why?" the Doctor shook his head, "They don't need it. Why attack now? What are they up to? Times like this, I could do with the Brigadier. No offence."
"None taken. Sir Alistair's a fine man, if not the best. Unfortunately he's stranded in Peru."
'It's a defensive strategy, they're protecting something,' the Professor told him quietly, he looked at her with wide eyes, 'I go by Stewart don't I?' she reasoned at his stunned expression.
"Launch grid back online," Price called, the computer just turned on to show the map of the world when Martha pushed a button and the screen went black again, "They're inside the system, sir. It's coming from within UNIT itself."
"Trace it," Mace ordered, "Find out where it's coming from, and quickly. Gas levels?"
"66 percent in major population areas and rising."
"Why are they defending the factory only after we were inside?"
"Because they wanted UNIT here," the Doctor finally managed to snap himself out of his thoughts. The Professor certainly was living up to her pseudonym, "You gave them something they needed. Something now hidden inside the factory. Something precious."
"Then we've got to recover it. This cordolaine signal thing, how does it work?"
"It causes expansion of the copper shell of the bullets," the Professor replied.
"Excellent. I'm on it," he ran out.
"For the billionth time, you can't fight Sontarans!" the Doctor shouted, before sighing. He turned to a nearby officer as the Professor kept an eye on Martha, "Phone. Have you got a phone? We need your mobile, quickly, hurry up!"
The man handed him a mobile and he headed back to Mace's office, the Professor shutting the door behind them though keeping a watchful eye on Martha.
"What's happened, where are you?" Donna demanded over the speaker as the Doctor called her.
"Still on Earth. But don't worry, we've got our secret weapon."
"What's that?"
"You."
"Oh. Somehow that's not making me happy. Can't you just zap us down to Earth with that remote thing?"
"Yeah, I haven't got a remote, though I really should. But we need you on that ship. That's why we made them move the TARDIS. I'm sorry, but you've got to go outside."
"But there's Sonterruns out there."
"Sontarans," the Professor corrected, "They'll all be on battle stations right now."
"They don't walk around having coffee," the Doctor agreed, "We can talk you through it."
"But what if they find me?"
"We know, and we wouldn't ask, but there's nothing else we can do. The whole planet is choking, Donna."
"…what d'you need me to do?"
"The Sontarans are inside the factory which means they've got a teleport link with the ship," the Professor called, her back to the Doctor as she continued to watch Martha through the glass, "But they'll have deadlocked it. We need you to reopen the link."
"But, I can't even mend a fuse."
"Donna!" the Doctor cut in, "Stop talking about yourself like that. You can do this. We promise."
A few moments later Donna gasped, "There's a Sonterrun...Sontaran."
"Did he see you?"
"No, he's got his back to me."
"On the back of his neck on his collar there's a Probic Vent," the Professor told her, "Like a hole. One blow to the Probic Vent incapacitates them."
"But he's gonna kill me."
"I'm sorry," the Doctor said, "I swear, I'm so sorry. But you've got to try."
A moment later there was a thud, "Back of the neck!"
"Find the external junction feed to the teleport," the Professor instructed.
"What...what's it look like?"
"A circular panel on the wall with a symbol on the front, a letter T with a horizontal line through it. Or two Fs back to back."
"Well, there's a door."
"There should be a switch by the side."
"Yeah there is. But it's Sontaran shaped, you need three fingers."
"You've got three fingers," the Doctor reminded her as he watched the Professor closely, this was the most she had spoken in a long while.
"Oh, yeah!" there was whoosh, "I am through!"
The Doctor kissed the phone, "Oh, you are brilliant, you are!" and then grabbed the Professor's arm, turning her to face him a moment as he kissed her hard in his excitement, she had been the one to talk Donna through most of it, "You both are! Absolutely brilliant!"
"Shut up," Donna cut in, drawing his attention back to the phone so that he didn't even notice the Professor's slightly stunned expression taking place of her normal expressionless one, "Right. T with a line through it…"
He looked through the glass to see Mace had returned, "Got to go. Keep the line open!"
"Counter attack!" Mace called.
"I said you don't stand a chance!" the Doctor ran back into the room.
"Positions. That means everyone!" he tossed a gasmask to the Doctor and Professor, who shook her head, her neutral expression returning. Now was not the time to be distracted.
"You're not going without me!" Martha called as they moved to put on their gasmasks.
"Wouldn't dream of it," the Doctor pulled his on.
~8~
The group stood outside the ATMOS factory, UNIT gathered around them, all wearing gasmasks.
Mace held up a gun and showed it to the Doctor and Professor, "Latest firing stock, what do you think, Doctor?"
"Are you my mummy?" the Doctor asked as the Professor took the gun, disassembling it slightly as she scanned it, pulling out a bullet before reassembling the weapon.
"If you could concentrate?"
"Bullets with a rad-steel coating," she examined the bullet, "No copper surface," she tossed Mace back the gun, "It should overcome the cordolaine signal."
"But the Sontarans have got lasers!" the Doctor reminded them both, "You can't even see in this fog, the night vision doesn't work."
"Thank you Doctor, thank you for your lack of faith," Mace rolled his eyes, "But this time, I'm not listening," he pulled off his mask and turned to his soldiers, "Attention, all troops! Sontarans might think of us as primitive. As does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more! From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back and we show them! We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do! Trap 1 to Hawk Major! Go, go, go!" they all looked up at a loud sound coming from above. The fog started to clear to reveal the Valiant flying above them, "It's working! The area's clearing. Engines to maximum!"
"It's the Valiant!" the Doctor cheered as the Professor tensed beside him, a hard look in her eyes as she eyed the craft.
"UNIT Carrier Ship Valiant reporting for duty, Doctor! With engines strong enough to clear away the fog," they pulled off their masks.
"Whoa, that's brilliant!"
"Getting a taste for it?"
"No," the Professor said tensely, "Not at all."
The Doctor looked at her in concern before glancing back at the Valiant, the place where she'd been chained to a wall, beaten, shot…he swallowed hard, hoping the sight of the ship wouldn't create a setback for the little progress she had made.
"Valiant, fire at will!" Mace ordered.
Green beams shot out from the corners of the Valiant, joining together before firing at the ATMOS factory at the same time as UNIT soldiers set in, attacking the Sontarans on the ground, the aliens quickly overcome.
~8~
Mace ran to the Doctor and Professor as they stood in a hallway of the factory, "East and north secure. Doctor?" he rushed off.
"Donna, hold on," he called into the phone, "We're coming."
"Shouldn't we follow the Colonel?" Martha asked as the Doctor took off down a different hallway.
"Nah, you and me and the Professor, Martha Jones. Just like old times!" he pulled out the sonic and held it in his hand, looking for signals, "Alien technology, this way!" he turned and led them down the hall, down a flight of stairs, to the deserted basement, "No Sontarans down here. They can't resist a battle. Here we go," they headed down the corridor and into a door at the end of it, stepping into a clone lab. The Doctor and Professor ran to a basket where Martha was lying in a white hospital-like gown, unconscious, "Oh, Martha, I'm so sorry."
The Professor put a hand on hers, "Still alive."
The clone behind them pointed a gun at the Doctor but he hardly looked up as the Professor stood and aimed her blaster at the clone in return.
"Are we supposed to be impressed?" she asked the clone, moving around the basket, holding her blaster firm, forcing the clone back, forcing the gun to be turned on her and not the Doctor.
The clone glared, "I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time."
"Doing exactly what we wanted," the Doctor nodded, looking at the mechanism around Martha's head that was trapping her, "We needed to stop the missiles just as much as the Sontarans. We're not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent!"
"When did you know?"
"The moment you answered the phone," the Professor said, "Your voice pattern was off. Confirmed upon sight, reduced iris contraction, thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple...and you smell."
"You might as well have worn a t-shirt saying 'clone,'" the Doctor remarked, "Although, maybe not in front of Captain Jack. You remember him, don't you? 'Cos you've got all her memories. That's why the Sontarans had to protect her, to keep you inside UNIT. Martha Jones is keeping you alive," he yanked off the device from the real Martha's head and she jolted up with a scream just as the clone fell to the ground, clutching her chest, in pain, "It's alright," he hugged her, "It's alright, I'm here, I'm here. I've got you, got you."
"There was this thing, Doctor, this alien, with this head..." Martha spoke frantically.
A mobile rang.
"Oh, blimey I'm busy," he muttered, answering, "Got it?"
"Yes!" Donna shouted, "Now hurry up!"
"Take off the covering," the Professor called, her blaster still trained on the clone should she try anything, "Flick all the blue switches inside up. It'll get the teleport working."
Martha looked over to see the clone sitting on the ground, panting, "Oh, my God. That's me."
~8~
The Doctor was standing by the teleport with the Professor, both working on getting it rigged to teleport to a different location while Martha, wearing the Doctor's coat, sat by her clone. The Professor's gaze kept flicking over to the two of them, watching to make sure Martha was safe.
"Don't touch me!" the clone snapped as Martha reached out to her.
"It's not my fault. The Sontarans created you. But...you had all my memories."
"You've got a brother, sister, mother, and father."
"If you don't help me, they're gonna die."
"You love them."
"Yes. Remember that?"
"The gas!" the Doctor called, "Tell us about the gas."
"They're the enemy!" the clone snapped, glaring at them.
"Then tell me," Martha tried, "It's not just poison, what's it for? Martha, please!"
"Caesofine concentrate. It's one part of Bosteen, two parts Probic 5."
"Clonefeed," the Professor nodded, having guessed that might be the substance, "It's clonefeed."
"What's clonefeed?" Martha frowned.
"Amniotic fluid for Sontarans. They're not invading, they're converting the atmosphere."
"Changing the planet into a clone world," the Doctor agreed, "Earth becomes a great big hatchery. 'Cos the Sontarans are clones, that's how they reproduce. Give 'em a planet this big, they'll create billions of new soldiers. That gas isn't poison, it's food!"
"My heart...it's getting slower," the clone gasped.
"There's nothing I can do," Martha told her sadly.
"In your mind, you've got so many plans. There's so much that you wanna do."
"And I will. Never do tomorrow what you can do today, my mum says. 'Cos..."
"'Cos you never know how long you've got. Martha Jones...all that life…" and with one final breath, she died.
Martha looked at her sadly before pulling her engagement ring off of her clone's finger and slipping it back on.
"Doctor…" Donna called, "Professor! Blue switches done," there was a whoosh and Donna was back, scared, "But they've found me!"
"Now!" the Professor called.
The Doctor aimed the sonic and activated the pod, Donna appearing within it, still clutching her phone. She laughed, running out and pulling them both into a hug, noting that the Professor didn't tense as much as she normally did.
"Have I ever told you how much I hate you?" she glared at them.
"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor pushed her away, "Get off me, get off me! Gotta bring the TARDIS down," he soniced the teleport, "Right, now. Martha, you coming?"
"What about this nuclear launch thing?" Martha frowned as she stepped towards them by the pod.
"Just keep pressing N," he tossed her the PDA, "We want to keep those missiles on the ground."
"But there's...two of them!" Donna gasped, spotting the clone.
"Yeah, long story," he ushered them all into the pod, "Here we go. The old team, back together! Well, the new team."
"We're not going back on that ship!"
"No, no, no. No. We needed to get the teleport working so that we could get to..." they teleported out and into Luke's pod in his quarters, "...here! The Rattigan Academy, owned by..."
Luke stalked towards them, holding a gun, "Don't tell anyone what I did! It wasn't my fault, the Sontarans lied to me, they..."
The Professor stormed forward and grabbed the gun from his hands, quickly disassembling it and tossing the pieces to the side.
"If I see one more gun..." the Doctor shook his head as they both rushed out of the room.
"You know, that coat, sort of works," Donna commented, eyeing Martha as they followed the two of them through the halls.
"Feel like a kid in my dad's clothes," Martha muttered.
Donna laughed.
~8~
The Doctor and Professor ran around the lab, gathering a number of devices and equipment and putting bits of it together, "That's why the Sontarans had to stop the missiles," the Doctor explained as they worked, "They were holding back. Because, caesofine gas is volatile, that's why they had to use you to stop the nuclear attack. Ground-to-air engagement could've sparked off the whole thing."
"What, like set fire to the atmosphere?" Martha frowned.
"Yeah. They need all the gas intact to breed their clone army. And all the time we had Luke here in his dream factory. Planning a little trip, were we?"
"They promised me a new world…" he said quietly.
"You were building equipment, ready to terra-form El Mondo Luko so that humans could live there and breathe the air with this! An atmospheric converter."
The Doctor gathered the device and ran out of the room, out of the building entirely, and onto the front path, setting it down.
"That's London," Donna gasped, looking out at the fog covered city, "You can't even see it. My family's in there."
"If I can get this on the right setting..." he mumbled, trying to fix it. The Professor crouched beside him, moving him over to tweak a few more wires.
"Wait, hold on, you said the atmosphere would ignite," Martha replied.
"Yeah, I did, didn't I?"
He looked at the Professor who nodded and they stepped back. He pressed a button and a flame shot out into the sky, igniting it.
He reached out and grabbed the Professor's hand, squeezing it as he watched, "Please, please, please, please, please, please, please..."
And the fire cleared to reveal a blue sky.
"They're geniuses!" Luke gasped.
"Just brilliant," Martha smiled.
"Now we're in trouble!" the Doctor grabbed the device and ran back inside, the others following. He ran straight back to Luke's quarters and stopped before the teleport pod, "Right, so...Donna, thank you. For everything. Martha, you too. Oh...so many times. Luke, do something clever with your life. Professor…I love you."
"You're saying goodbye," Donna realized.
"Sontarans are never defeated. They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know, I've recalibrated this for Sontaran air, so..."
"You're gonna ignite them," Martha breathed.
"You'll kill yourself," Donna shouted.
"Just send that thing up, on its own. I don't know...put it on a delay."
"I can't," he shook his head.
"Why not?" Donna frowned.
"I've got to give them a choice."
"Doctor," the Professor spoke up quietly, more quietly than any of them had heard from her new body, "I apologize."
He frowned, "What for?"
And in one swift movement, she chopped him in the junction where his neck met his shoulder, knocking him out, and grabbing the converter before it fell with her other hand.
"That," she replied, stepping over him and into the pod herself, disappearing, leaving Donna and Martha stunned.
She appeared on the Sontaran ship, "Oh, excellent!" Staal grinned, seeing her.
"General Staal, you know what this is," she replied, setting the device down, "And you know I have no qualms with using it. So I offer you this one chance, go, leave. Sontaran High Command need never know what happened here."
"Your stratagem would be wise if Sontarans feared death. But we do not. At arms!"
"If it saves the Earth, if it saves the Doctor, I'll do it."
"A warrior doesn't talk, he acts!"
"All weapons targeting Earth, sir," another Sontaran reported, "Firing in 20."
"For the glory of Sontar!" he cried, before they all started chanting, "Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!"
"So be it," she grabbed the ignition button...
~8~
Donna sat by the Doctor's side, just managing to rouse him, when Martha looked up to see Luke fiddling with the teleport.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Something clever," he replied, pushing a key and teleporting out onto the ship, sending the Professor back.
"Sontar-ha!" the aliens were changing, "Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!"
"Sontar?" Luke glared, "Ha!"
He pushed the converter and the ship exploded.
~8~
The Professor appeared in the teleport pod, a brief expression of confusion on her face, before she was pulled into the Doctor's arms and found herself being kissed rather deeply by him before he pulled back and held her tightly to him. He couldn't even be angry at her for the pain in his neck and shoulder, she had only done it because she cared about him.
'I always care about you,' she told him quietly in his mind, 'I…I only really feel things...when it's about you.'
He smiled as he buried his face into her hair, tightening his grip on her. She may not have been able to openly speak of her feelings for him, being far too closed off to do so, nor was she as openly touchy with him as she had been, barely even holding his hand, but she proved that she cared, that she loved him, in other ways, by protecting him, to him her actions spoke volumes. And he realized...she hadn't pushed him away when he'd kissed her. Granted, he'd probably taken her by surprise both times, but...she could have easily pushed him back yet she hadn't.
His grin widened even more.
~8~
Donna stepped into the TARDIS after officially saying goodbye to her family, well, to her grandfather at least, to see Martha there, waiting to say goodbye before she headed out herself.
"How were they?" Martha asked.
"Oh, same old stuff," she wiped away a tear, trying to sound casual, "They're fine. So! You gonna come with us? We're not exactly short of space."
"Oh, I have missed all this, but, you know. I'm good here. Back at home. And I'm better for having been away. Besides," she showed her engagement ring, "Someone needs me. Never mind the Universe, I've got a great big world of my own now!"
She turned and walked towards the door when it suddenly slammed shut and the TARDIS shook wildly, heading off into flight. Everyone clung to whatever they could to keep their balance.
"What?" the Doctor looked around, "What!"
"Doctor, don't you dare!" Martha shouted.
"No, no, no! We didn't touch anything! We're in flight, it's not us!"
"Where are we going?" Donna asked.
"Don't know, it's out of control!"
"Doctor, just listen to me!" Martha yelled, "You take me home, take me home right now!"
But the TARDIS was beyond their control, flying erratically through the Vortex…
To be continued…
A/N: I felt a little guilty leaving off with just that hint about a possible Keta kiss...so I gave you two! ^-^
I LOVED writing The Doctor's Daughter and I hope you enjoy it too. It will be a massive turning point for the Professor, in a good or bad direction, I'm not saying...but I will say this, you're very perceptive pointing out how alike Jenny and the Professor are, both in looks and in being soldiers, it'll be an important part of next chapter :)