Chapter 3
"You. Are. Incompatible. You. Will. Be. Deleted." The Cyberman's metal arm raised up, and The Doctor grabbed Alex and shoved her out of the way before she could come to any harm. Alex scrambled up from where she fell to the floor and sprinted down another hallway, The Doctor following her. They heard metal footsteps clamping after them and ducked quickly into another room. This one was an office with a shiny gold nameplate on the desk, labeling the room as Andrew Dirk's. Alex sat on the desk as The Doctor leaned against a wall.
"So that's a Cyberman?" Alex asked, looking at The Doctor.
"Yeah," he replied, glancing nervously at the door. He looked over at Alex, but then was distracted by something behind her. She turned and saw there was a mirror mounted on the wall. The Doctor rubbed his chin, then muttered, "Young-looking again. Wonderful." The clamping footsteps continued down the hallway, and The Doctor looked away from his reflection and towards the door. He took a step over, then opened it a crack and peered into the hallway, then he looked back at Alexandria, opened the door, and said, "Ladies first." She hurried into the hallway and The Doctor followed close behind, silently closing the door behind himself.
"What do we do now?" Alex muttered.
"We follow that Cyberman, because hopefully they're going to their leader, and we can then negotiate to get them off Earth and to a new planet."
"Okay," Alex whispered, then hurried down the hallway, following the sound of the metal footfalls. The Doctor followed her, determined to keep Earth safe from the Cybermen. They turned a few corners and then the Cyberman walked into a room.
"That must be the place," The Doctor murmured. Alex snuck over to the door and saw it was open a crack. She looked in and saw a huge amount of Cybermen surrounding one lead Cyberman. They appeared to be listening to what the lead Cyberman was saying, but she couldn't make it out. The Doctor dragged her away from the door and whispered, "What were they doing in there?"
"It seemed like they were having a meeting, maybe forming a plan, but I don't know for sure," Alex replied.
"Well we need our own plan, because we probably can't just barge in and expect them to hear us out. We have to carefully plot this, otherwise we're screwed. Now then, Alexandria, what should we do?"
"Why are you asking me?" she hissed. "You have more experience with them!"
"Exactly. I know what to do, and I'm biased. I want to know what you think."
"I think that we should probably just walk in and say that we don't want to fight, then talk to their leader and try to figure something out."
"Okay then, let's try your idea."
"Seriously? I'm an amateur at this!"
"You'll get better," The Doctor muttered as he guided her to the door. "Are you ready?" he asked, placing his hand on the doorknob to yank it open.
"As I'll ever be," Alex replied uncertainly.
"Okay… one… two… THREE!" he yelled as he pulled the door open. Every Cyberman's head turned toward the door as The Doctor and Alex scrambled in. Alex felt her heart rate skyrocket as she looked into the army of blank-faced robots.
"Who. Are. You. And. Why. Are. You. Here?" the lead Cyberman asked.
"I'm The Doctor, new regeneration, hello, and this is Alexandria… last name please?"
"Est- Estelle," she stammered.
"Estelle," he repeated. "As for why I'm here, I'd like to make a proposal to you if you're okay with that. Could you perhaps take this army of Cybermen you have here to a different planet and stop making more of yourselves out of other living beings?"
"No."
"And why not?" Alexandria asked, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at the Cybermen.
"We. Must. Have. More. In. Our. Army."
"What is the point of your army?" Alex continued to inquire.
"To. Defeat. The. Universe."
"Why would you want to do that?" she interrogated.
"The. Cybermen. Should. Be. The. Only. Race."
"Well you see sir, that's a bad decision, as I am The Doctor, and it's my job to protect all races of the universe, so you'll just have to be stopped."
"You. Will. Have. To. Be. Deleted," the Cyberman vocalized. The Doctor and Alex exchanged looks.
"RUN!" The Doctor yelled. They sprinted down the hallway, and ran towards the elevators with the clanking of cyber feet behind them. The Doctor punched the elevator button rapidly as the Cybermen closed in on them.
"Delete. Delete. Delete." It was an apocalyptic chorus of robotic voices, each one entering its monotonous voice to the commotion. At this time, Alex realized three things. One, that there were Cybermen closing in on her and if she didn't act fast, she'd die. Two, Cybermen are robots, and robots are short circuited by water. Three, pulling a fire alarm causes the sprinklers to go off, and fire alarms are always located next to elevators. She glanced over and yanked the fire alarm. The sprinklers came on and the Cybermen sparked to their deaths.
"That was easier than expected," Alex said, ignoring the fact that she was getting soaked.
"But… but how?" The Doctor stammered.
"What do you mean? Water kills robots. It's a known fact."
"Yes, but the Cybermen used to be able to upgrade themselves into indestructible beings."
"I don't know, what if they're upgrading?!" Alex asked, a note of hysteria creeping into her voice.
"Maybe that's in their future," The Doctor wondered. "Either way, they're dead now. And we should probably take the stairs." As The Doctor and Alex walked to the stairs, a sparking Cyberman head in the back of the room flared to life for a split second.
"Up… grade… soft… ware…"
^.~.~.~.^
They sprinted down the stairs, Alex's barefoot feet slapping the cold metal.
"It's going to be a fun time explaining what happened to my parents," Alex said sarcastically.
"Yeah… I'll go with you," The Doctor offered.
"It might be best if you don't, actually. My parents will already be upset that I ruined this dress and lost my shoes, walking in with a strange man might make it a little worse."
"At least let me take you back to your house with my TARDIS," The Doctor said, feeling bad that he'd caused the girl's night to be ruined.
"Oh, alright," Alex replied. "One last time going back in that box. I suppose. But what do you mean take me back to my house? A telephone box is stationary."
"You'll see," The Doctor smirked. They walked back to his TARDIS, shivering all the way. He opened the door for her then walked in behind her. She walked around the TARDIS, looking at all the buttons and levers on the console, and brushing her hands on the railings. The Doctor heard a faint hum come from the TARDIS, as if the Old Girl was telling him she liked the young girl.
"Now, where do you live, Alexandria Estelle?" The Doctor asked. Alex told him her address, and he pressed a few levers and off they flew. After a bit of a rough landing, he opened the doors of the TARDIS to the outside of Alex's parent's apartment complex.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Alex said, almost sounding like she was holding back tears.
"Yeah…" The Doctor responded.
"Well it was nice meeting you, and I enjoyed having a near-death experience in your company. Now have fun saving the universe!" Alex laughed, but The Doctor could tell she wanted to cry. She turned away from him and began to walk towards her apartments when the TARDIS made a violent humming sound, almost protesting Alex's departure. The Doctor realized he felt the same way, and he knew that Alex could handle the aliens of the universe after she'd killed off every Cyberman and saved their lives.
"Alex! Wait!" The Doctor called after her, running to catch up.
"Yeah?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"I was wondering… well… would you like to come with me in my TARDIS as my companion?" The Doctor asked, looking down to his feet.
"You mean… live in that box? With you? And travel the universe?" She asked, a faint smile on her face.
"Uh… yeah."
"Well, it certainly beats another semester of college, but I probably need to at least tell my parents some kind of lie, and pack my things," Alex replied.
"How about you just tell them the truth?"
"Did you miss the fact that they're Harvard graduates? They'll take you to their scientist friends and prove that aliens exist!" She protested.
"Then how about you're going traveling?"
"Alright. Stay right here, don't run off in your little box or anything," Alex called as she ran to her apartment.
"I won't," The Doctor replied as he entered his TARDIS, smiling to himself as he imagined the adventures to come.
Author's Note: That was the first episode and the fourth chapter should be posted within the next week. Thank you for reading!