Chapter 2

Alex rushed after The Doctor, trying to keep up in her ridiculously tall red heels.

"You know, it would've been smart of you to wear sneakers… and a coat," The Doctor called over his shoulder, laughing at the ridiculous sight of the girl teetering across the street. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. When she did, she raised a shaky finger and glared for a moment before beginning.

"Not many females wear sneakers to a party, and I had a coat, however I left quickly," she lectured through chattering teeth. The Doctor shrugged off his navy blue overcoat with the red inside and handed it to Alex, as he'd finally felt some guilt for her cold. "Thanks", she replied as he ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"Why did you leave your coat, though?" He asked, for he still didn't understand why she couldn't have grabbed her coat and left.

"The topic of discussion was a bad one for me, and let's leave it at that."

"Okay then, Alexandria."

"I told you not to call me that," Alex grumbled, trudging along. They walked a few more blocks before The Doctor perked up and glanced at Alex, his eyes shining with the thought of an adventure.

"I think I've found the source of our alien," he said, then took out a small pole shaped object and pressed a button. It made a few sputtering noises then stopped. "No! NO!" He yelled, tossing the object to the ground.

"What happened?" Alex asked, feeling slightly worried about the reaction to a small metallic pole's death.

"My sonic screwdriver broke!" He said, seemingly close to tears.

"Um… not to sound like I don't care, but what the hell is a sonic screwdriver and why the hell does it matter?" Alex inquired.

"It scans things, and can do many other cool things… well it could."

"Oh. Well I'm sorry that it's broken," Alex said, still a little concerned about the man's attachment to it.

"Anyways, what are your thoughts on just barging into this building? I mean, it's just your possible death in there, but there are also some possible answers to questions."

"My thoughts? Why the hell not?" Alex answered.

"Well, Alexandria, there may be a space in the TARDIS for you yet," The Doctor said with a laugh.

^.~.~.~.^

After they'd gotten into the building, using an open door as there was a New Year's Eve party, they stood in the lobby to discuss their plan of attack.

"So take the elevator up to the top floor then completely wing it?" The Doctor asked, staring at Alex with a studying eye.

"Do you know what kind of alien we're dealing with?"

"Uh… nope," The Doctor replied, but was soon distracted by the earpiece sparking in a doorman's ear, and how the doorman wasn't reacting. "Scratch that, yes. Let's go meet some Cybermen!" He called over his shoulder as he ran to the elevator. They entered the elevator after it had arrived (and it arrived after The Doctor obsessively pushed the button). With elevator music in the background, they stood for a bit, each thinking of what they were getting into.

"Doctor?" Alex asked.

"Yeah?"

"Um… not to sound stupid, but what exactly is a Cyberman?"

"A Cyberman is a metal creature made out of humans. They are virtually indestructible, and have no emotions. It is very painful to become one, and very tragic to be one," The Doctor answered, tones of remorse in his voice.

"Did… did someone close to you become one?" Alex inquired, feeling slightly guilty for asking about them in the first place.

"No, but my first companion after a huge war on my planet and I went to a parallel universe, and her mother in the parallel universe died becoming a Cyberman, and then she was trapped in the parallel universe after a battle between the Cybermen and the Daleks… it was the Battle of Canary Wharf, you might remember it, and then there were countless other times, including the one where the leader of the Cybermen got into my head and was controlling me… that sucked."

"Wow… sounds like you definitely have experience with them," Alex replied.

"Oh! And then there was the time when my good friend, Craig, almost became one but was saved by his child's crying."

"Uh-" Alex was about to respond when the elevator dinged and The Doctor covered her mouth.

"We have to be silent," he whispered. "If the Cybermen hear us, they'll turn you into one of them or kill you, and they'll definitely kill me."

"Why? Because of all the times you've attacked them?"

"Well, they would probably feel some amount of hate if they could feel, but actually it's because of the fact that I am a Time Lord and have slightly different anatomy than humans, for example, two hearts."

"Two?"

"Yes, now move! And take off your heels. They'll make too much noise and you can't run in them."

"Fine," Alex hissed, stepping out of them and racing down the hall after The Doctor, the only sign of their presence at the elevator being a pair of red pumps. When she caught up with him, he stopped her in front of a door and leaned his ear against it, while Alex copied him. On the other side of the door they could hear the whirring screeches of machinery and screams of agony from what seemed to be people. Alex stumbled back with a horrified expression on her face.

"Is that…?" she asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I'm afraid so," The Doctor murmured, watching the girl's reactions intently with piercing gray eyes. "You're empathetic, aren't you? That's a good trait, you know."

"Um… thanks. Now we should probably find whoever is causing this to happen, and put an end to it before more people get hurt." They turned around to explore the different rooms, only to come face to face with a silver robotic head.

"You. Are. Incompatible. You. Will. Be. Deleted."

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! The third chapter will probably be up within the next week or so.