Still tied up, Kayla felt the van jerk to a stop, "Up." Lucy's voice came from somewhere above her.
How had this happened? She was supposed to be the best Time Agent out there. The best fighter and killer. Somehow she had been taken down by her own daughter. Then again, her father was just as good as her.
Kayla glanced up at her daughter and struggled with her bound hands to get to her feet. She saw Lucy roll her eyes and then she saw arms pick her up.
"Lu, I don't think you should do this." Mrs. Moore warned, placing a hand on Lucy's shoulder to stop her.
Kayla saw rather than felt Lucy shake her head, "She and dad can stop this madness. Now go back for the others." Kayla watched as Lucy left a worried Mrs. Moore behind as she was carried bridal style to Lucy's car.
Not very carefully, she was placed in the back seat before Lucy got in and drove off.
The Doctor was worried. Very worried. He had taken down the Cybermen and after about ten minutes of running from the mansion a slightly older woman had gotten them into the van she was driving. But now in the peace and quiet, he could clearly tell that Kayla wasn't there even though all he sense told him that she was in a car. And that car was driving fast.
"Hang on, where's Kayla?" Mickey asked, looking around the darkish van.
The twin of Mickey, Ricky he was called, also glanced around the van, "She and Lu are gone."
The blond man named Jake who had not taken his hand off of Ricky's leg since they had gotten into the car, looked towards the front, "Mrs. Moore," he started, "Where's the girl we hit and Lu?"
The Doctor watched in interest as Mrs. Moore's fists tightened on the wheel of the car she was driving, "We're going to her now."
The car Lucy had been driving for twenty minutes stopped much more smoothly than the other van. Kayla heard the front seat door slam shut before the door right by Kayla's head opened and Lucy stared down at her. With careful hands, she took Kayla's gag off, but before Kayla could say anything, a gun was clocked at her head, leaving the brunet little choice but to follow her daughter.
"Out." Lucy ordered, causing Kayla to obediently get out of the car.
"Where are we?" Kayla muttered.
Her daughter smiled, "Dad's house. But I believe you know him better as Captain John Hart."
The brunet closed her eyes at the name, an eerie calmness settling in her stomach, "You believe I will work with him."
Lucy shrugged, "You love each other." She stated, sounding quite sure about it.
Kayla chuckled darkly, "Your Kayla might have, but belive me, I don't."
She saw the slap coming from the corner of her eye, but that didn't make her move her head. Instead, she held still as Lucy's open palm collided painfully with her cheek.
"Never say that again!" She yelled.
Kayla swallowed roughly as the door to the house they had been slowly walking to swung open and a man with blond hair stood in the doorway.
The Doctor rubbed his cheek absently, listening to the humans squabble about what to do with Pete Tyler, "Yeah, we've got weapons. Might not be one of those metal things, but they're good enough for men like him." Jake had said not two minutes ago, his gaze solely on Pete.
Rose, who had wisely sat in between Mickey and her father, had protested, "Leave him alone! What's he done wrong?"
Jake had shrugged at the question, "Oh, you know - just laid a trap that's wiped out the Government. And left Lumic in charge." He had pointed out as if he was reading from a list.
And now, while Kayla was getting hurt, he was being forced to listen to Pete explain not only how he wasn't bad but also how he was Gemini, the group of rag-tag protestor's mole, "That's the only reason I was working for Lumic. To get information. I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services, and what do I get? Scooby Doo and his gang. They've even got the van!"
The Time Lord suddenly felt uncomfortable as an odd tingling sensation enveloped his lips.
Kayla was in deed uncomfortable because Captain John Hart was kissing her.
"Stop!" She protested once he had pulled away, "John, please!" she begged.
John looked confused, "Kayla…you're not from here, are you?"
The brunet breathed a sigh of relief, "No. And in my universe, you wiped my brain. Now I have someone I love."
The blond man closed his eyes, "Lu." He muttered, his eyes opening and resting on his daughter, "Take Kayla back. If Lumic is finally making his final move, then I will need to prepare. But leave this woman in peace. She is not my Kayla." Slamming the door behind him, Captain John Hart left his shell-shocked Lucy and a slightly wounded Kayla.
The Doctor jumped out of the van and ran towards the two figures walking down a circle driveway. Ignoring the slightly shorter one, he stared at Kayla and gather her in his arms before kissing her deeply, one hand cupping her cheek while the other wrapped around her waist.
"Oh Kayla." He breathed when he pulled back before kissing her again.
Behind him, Rose's jaw tensed, "You two!" She called to them harshly, causing them to jump apart, "We have work to do!"
The Doctor walked hand in hand with Kayla. In front of them, the Preachers, Mickey, and Rose also walked. Their goal was to get to London where they could hopefully warn the government of the President's death.
Sadly, that was not how it went.
"What the hell...?" Jake gasped. Startled, the others followed his gaze to see people walking slowly in a line, their earpods flashing. As far as they could tell, they were all headed in the same direction.
"What's going on?" Rose asked.
The Doctor tightened his hold on Kayla's hand, "It's the earpods. Lumic's taking control." He answered.
Lucy's brow furrowed, "Why don't we take them off?" she wondered, her hand reaching out to take one of the earpods out of the man next to her.
Kayla grabbed her wrist, "You'll kill him." She warned.
The Doctor nodded, "Human Race - for such an intelligent lot, you aren't half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit. Sometimes I think you like it. Easy life."
The brunet next to him gently slapped his wrist, "Be nice honey." She chastised.
The Doctor smiled, "Yes ma'am."
Leaning up on her toes, Kayla kissed him softly, her arms wrapped around his neck.
"You disgust me." Lucy snapped, stomping towards Ricky and Jake. Kayla and the Doctor quickly pulled away, a slightly injured look on the brunet's face as she watched her daughter walk away from her in anger.
Kayla made to follow her but the Doctor grabbed her hand, keeping her in place…until Jake suddenly called out, "Hey." And suddenly, the Doctor was the one who was dragging Kayla to a nearby wall where the blond man and Ricky had been crouching. Behind them, Rose, Mickey, and Pete also hurried over.
"Where are they all going?" Lucy asked softly.
Kayla shrugged, "Lumic's base." She answered.
Lucy frowned, "I wasn't talking to you." She spat, turning away to look at the Cybermen and the people walking.
"Battersea. That's where he was building his prototypes." Pete supplied, but all he got was a cold look from Lucy and two nods from Jake and Ricky.
"Why's he doing it?" Rose asked suddenly.
Pete shrugged, "He's dying. This all started out as a way of life by keeping the brain alive. At any cost." He answered.
Rose turned to the Doctor, somehow, despite being nearer to Kayla than the Doctor, she maneuvered her body so that her back was to Kayla, cutting her out of the conversation, "The thing is, I've seen Cybermen before, haven't I? That head - those handle shapes in Van Statten's museum."
The Doctor frowned deeply and, since he was still holding Kayla's hand, drew her over so that she was right next to him, "Ah, there are Cybermen in our universe. They started on an ordinary world just like this, then swarmed across the galaxy. This lot are a parallel version, and they're starting from scratch right here on earth."
Pete shook her head, "What the hell are you two on about?" he snapped.
Lucy sighed, "Don't ask questions. I still haven't forgotten how you helped Lumic."
Ricky and Jake exchanged a look, "Lucy calm down. The rest of you, come on, we need to get out of the City."
The group looked down the street to see the Cybermen quickly approaching.
"Okay, split up - Mrs. Moore, you look after that bloke. Jake, we're going to distract them, gonna go right, Lu and the brunet go left, we'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move." Ricky said quickly, and soon, they were gone.
Mickey watched the two head off, "I'm going with him." He said suddenly. Giving Rose a quick peck, he headed off after them.
Kayla and Lucy exchanged a look, and they too went off in the opposite direction of Mickey, Jake, and Ricky.
Lucy and Kayla hit a fork in the road, both breathing hard, "Can they see in the dark?" Lucy asked hoarsely.
Kayla shrugged, "Don't know."
"Great parenting mum." Lucy said sarcastically, a glimmer of something akin to humor in her eyes.
They both gave each other a look, and they might have been able to calm down a bit more but the sound of Cybermen stomping behind them caused them to tense.
"Split up!" Kayla yelled, starting to run down one fork of the road.
Lucy, with a roll of her eyes, ran down the other.
Crouching behind a pile of rubbish and dustbins, the Doctor, Rose, Pete, and Mrs. Moore watched Cybermen walk closer…and closer to their hiding spot. As one, they both tensed when they stopped rather close to them, but with some work via sonic from the Doctor, they headed on their way.
"Go." The Doctor whispered, and the group quickly headed off.
Jackie Tyler, under complete control of Lumic, filed out of a lorry along with hundreds of others, "Chamber twelve now closed for sterlisation. All reject stock will be incinerated."
Lucy was running as fast as she could. Years of scavenging on the street and running with her father had kept her thin and agile. But the Cybermen were hot on her trail. Heading down a side alley, she ran until she found herself blocked by a metal fence, "No." She whispered out, rattling the fence for good measure.
Kayla came running down the other side and stared, wide eyed, at her daughter, "Climb the damn fence!" she ordered.
Looking like she wanted to spit out some sort of retort, Lucy started to climb the fence, "Come on! Come on!" Kayla urged, hoping that the Cybermen right next to her foot wouldn't get her….
But it did. The metal robot reached out, and with a tight grip on her ankle, electrocuted Lucy to death, causing the dirty blond to fall completely dead, onto the ground.
Kayla completely broke down. With a cry of, "Lucy," she fell onto her knees and sobbed. And sobbed, and then sobbed some more. Once again, her daughter, her Lucy, was dead.
Somehow, though, she got up. Somehow, she ran off. And somehow, she left the broken body of her daughter behind.
At Lumic's headquarters, the man himself sat in his wheelchair and watched two Cybermen drag Mr. Crane into the room, "This one is unprogrammed." One of them reported to Lumic.
Lumic's smug grin faded just a bit, "Mr. Crane. I thought you were one of the faithful."
"Oh, that I am, sir. My earpod must've malfunctioned. For which I apologize." Mr. Crane replied, sounding completely honest, though Lumic squinted at him suspiciously, "If I er...might...?" At Lumic's nod of agreement, Mr. Crane stepped forwards a few feet, "I'd like to request an upgrade, sir. I've seen the future, and it's copyright Cybus Industries. Sign me up." He requested.
Lumic started to grin, "A willing volunteer." He stated, still sounding suspicious.
Mr. Crane nodded in agreement, "You've known me a long time, sir. Quite a team, you and me." Lumic gave a grin, though it was more of a grimace than anything, "I've been with you all the way. But believe me, sir, knowing you so well...I know exactly what to do." Mr. Crane grinned.
And then, with a sudden lunge, Mr. Crane ripped the thing that was helping Lumic breathe from his face. With a well-placed fist, he destroyed the life support that was built into the wheelchair, causing it to explode, all the while ignoring Lumic's protests.
"Help me!" Lumic wheezed out desperately. Instantly coming to his aid, one of the Cybermen used its arm to send Mr. Crane flying.
"Die, you!" Mr. Crane yelled, a crazed gleam in his eye, but he never got to, because the same Cyberman that had sent him backwards grabbed his neck and electrocuted him, killing him instantly.
Lumic, however, was still struggling to breathe, "Help me!" he begged.
Both Cybermen looked at their slightly crazed inventor, "You are in pain. We can remove pain forever." One of them stated.
With effort, Lumic shook his head, "No! Not yet! I'm not ready." He struggled to say.
"We will give you immortality."
"I've told you. I will upgrade. Only with my last breath!"
Stomping to the back of Lumic's chair, the Cyberman gave its sinister reply, "Then breathe no more." After a hit to his chest, the Cyberman wheeled the crazed man out, the other Cyberman stomping next to him.
"No! No! I command you, no!" Lumic protested.
Jake and Ricky ran to where the Doctor, Rose, and Pete where waiting for them, "We ran past the river. You should've seen it, the whole City's on the watch. Hundreds of Cybermen all down the Thames." Jake reported, more than a little breathless.
Ricky managed a nod, "Are Lu and Kayla back yet?" he wondered.
The Doctor gave a tense shake of his head in answer; still facing the opposite direction where he knew in his hearts Kayla and Lucy would be arriving. If only he could feel the link…
The Time Lord gasped in pain and fell to his knees, the grief of a mother mourning her child hitting him. Unaware of the others watching him worriedly, the Doctor struggled to his feet and started to run to his Kayla.
They met halfway, Kayla barely able to run or see because she was sobbing. Falling into the Doctor's arms, she just hugged him, sobbing brokenly of the child she had lost once again.
"I'm sorry." The Doctor whispered into her ear, "I am so, so sorry."
The Doctor held Kayla's hand as the group walked up the hill, "The whole of London's been sealed off, and the entire population's been taken inside that place. To be 'converted.' The Time Lord muttered, trying to make the news a gently as possible for Kayla's sake.
"We're going to kill all of them." Kayla said suddenly, the first words she had uttered since she had shown up.
The Doctor nodded, "Of course we are.
Mrs. Moore sat a bench, her laptop out and displaying a 3D model on the screen, "That's a schematic of the old factory. Look, cooling tunnels...underneath the plant...big enough to walk through." She explained.
The Doctor frowned, his brow furrowing a bit as he leaned forwards, "We go under there and up into the control center?" He wondered.
"Hmm." Mrs. Moore agreed.
"There's another way in." Pete said suddenly, causing everyone to look at the man, everyone except Kayla, who was sitting away on a bench, lost in her own world of grief, "Through the front door. If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'll get in..."
Kayla suddenly got up, a determined, cold expression on her face, "If you think that you can just stroll into the building and not die than you are sorely mistaken." She nearly spat.
Mrs. Moore nodded, "Or, we could...with these..." Rummaging through her bag, she took out two sets of fake earpods, the Doctor taking one to examine, "Fake earpods. Dead. No signal. But put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for one of the crowd." The older woman explained.
Pete nodded, "Then that's my job." He said matter-of-factly.
"You'd have to show NO emotion. None at all. ANY sign of emotion would give you away." The Doctor warned.
Kayla turned to Mrs. Moore, "Anymore?" She asked. Surprisingly, the woman nodded and took out another set.
The Time Lord held his hand out, "Kayla…please…" he begged softly.
"I'm going Doctor. I need to." At the plea in the brunet's voice, the Time Lord sighed and kissed her rather deeply.
Rose suddenly stepped over and took the fallen earpieces from the ground, "If that's the best way of finding Jackie...I'm coming with you." The blond stated, going to stand next to her father.
The Doctor, his arm wrapped around Kayla, turned to look at the others, "Tell you what...we can take the earpods at the same time. Give people their minds back. So they don't walk into that place like sheep. Jakey-boy?" Jake glanced at Ricky, who, with a grin, started after the Doctor and Kayla, leaving Jake with little choice but to follow and see Battersea and the zeppelin stationed above it, "Lumic's transmitting the control signal, and it must be from over there..."
Kayla pointed the sonic screwdriver towards the zeppelin. Instantly, the screwdriver beeped, "Can you take it out?" She asked Jake and Ricky.
The two men exchanged a look, "Consider it done."
With a grin at the two, Kayla and the Doctor headed back down the hill where the brunet and the Time Lord parted ways.
"You ready for this?" Kayla asked Pete conversationally, doing her best to give Rose the cold shoulder.
Do be honest, the fact that the blond seemed so okay with nearly killing Kayla just because she was scared terrified her. A lot. So much so, that she had told the Doctor all about it. Needless to say, the Doctor had not been pleased.
Ohhh, looks like Rose is in for some Oncoming Storm from the Doctor. I can't wait for the next chapter!
Oh, btw, I GOT A PUPPY AND SHE DOESN'T SHUT UP!
And review time:
dream lighting: Wait and see.
NicoleR85: I sort of miss Lucy and her knocking out badass-ness.
Lizzybug2000: Thanks!
hillybutt: I hope you liked who her father is!