"Doctor? Doctor?"
Clara's voice hissed from the phone, but the Doctor didn't care. He'd even lost sight of the Cybermen who were flooding the streets. He clenched his hand around the phone, lowering it as his whole world shook.
"Where is my wife?" he demanded again. "What have you done with her?"
Missy rolled her eyes. "Dearie me, you do go on and on, don't you?" she retorted. "I told you. She's not your problem anymore. She's mine. So, don't worry your pretty little head about her."
She reached out to pat him on the head and his vision went red. There were gasped from around him that he completely ignored as he grabbed her hand and shoved backwards, walking her backwards until she slammed into a red telephone box.
"Where is she?" he shouted. "Tell me what you have done with her!"
"Why should I?" Missy snapped back. "You don't think you actually care about her, do you? You didn't even notice she was gone!"
The worst thing was that she was completely right. He had felt panic, he'd felt an urgent need to solve whatever mystery was going on, but he'd not associated it with her being missing from his side. He'd dismissed her quietness as sadness, and politeness, and whatever excuse would pop into his brain as he focused on getting them in and out as quick as possible to get her away from Clara.
He'd been so focused on Clara that he'd not seen a bigger, badder threat to her right in front of him.
"What did you do?" he asked, giving her a shake, despite the protest of the public around them.
"What are you going to do?" Missy countered before pouting. "Kill me?"
"Never," the Doctor swore. "You deserve so much worse. Where. Is. She?"
Missy met his gaze, not at all scared of the anger that was staring back at her. "She's safe," she replied. "That's all that matters."
The Doctor let her go, stepping back, eyes wide as the horror rushed through him. Missy wasn't trying to hurt Danielle. Quite the contrary. She was trying to save her. From the universe. From him.
A horrific thought hit him. The only way he was ever going to find her was if Missy told him where she was. She wasn't ever going to give her location up.
"No," he whispered out loud, to himself and to Missy. "I will find her."
"If you say so, sweetie," Missy replied, chucking the term of endearment in just to wind him up further. This was rather fun. "Perhaps we should focus on the matter at hand, though, now we know she's out of harm's way. Hmm?"
His gaze, despite his best judgement, glanced around at the scared civilians. Or, what should have been scared civilians. Instead some were staring at him like they were one step away from separating him from the woman he attacked. They were sympathising with her!
The others, though, were much more worrying. Instead of running from the Cybermen they were taking pictures, posing with the metal men like they were some sort of novelty. And the strangest thing was that they Cybermen were letting them.
He spun on the spot. No one seemed scared, or worried, or anything. They thought that it was just some act or show. Even the people who had been looking at him seemed to be backing off, believing it was all part of the show as well.
Missy sighed at him. "Oh, honey!" She walked over to him, pulling out her device and turning it over to show him the screen on the back. "New York. Paris. Rome. Marrakesh. Brisbane. Glasgow. Everywhere." She waved her hands out. "Anywhere. Me and my boys. We're going viral."
She lifted the device up, holding it like she was taking a picture of the pair and he could only stare at her in absolute horror. She was winning. She was actually winning. He had to stop her. How was he supposed to stop her when she had his wife and an army of Cybermen.
Maybe that was it. Maybe if he stopped the Cybermen then she would give up Danielle. It was a crackpot of a theory. But he'd always been a crackpot. A mad man in a box.
He barely noticed as one of the Osgoods walked over, hands in her pockets, seemingly without a care in the world. All he noticed was the blouse and black skirt she was wearing- just like his wife. His hearts ached.
"Would you like me to take a picture?" she asked the pair. "Sorry, selfies are never as good, are they? And you're having a lovely moment. Hang on!" She reached out and took Missy's device, who took objection with the surprise snatching. The Doctor grabbed her arm before she could get it back.
"If I fix this, will you tell me where she is?" he asked forcefully. Missy just seemed annoyed that she was being stolen from and ignored his question.
"No, just..."
"Big smiles," Osgood said with an airy voice. "And… now!"
From all around armed officers ran in, crying out their orders as people in civilian clothing also pulled out guns to surround both of them as well as the Cybermen who had appeared.
From their left Kate Stewart appeared, hands behind her back as she walked towards the Cybermen like she owned the place. Maybe she did. It could have been one of the perks for working at UNIT. There had to be one, right?
"Afternoon," she greeted the metal men as she strode towards them. "You've picked a lovely day for it. My, don't you look shiny." She turned to the Doctor as she walked past. "Danielle?"
She was asking where she was. The Doctor could only shake his head once. "I don't know."
He watched her face as she filed it away, obviously unable to address it while staring down an army of Cybermen. Instead she pointed at Missy. "The woman."
Missy rolled her eyes, like it was all very predictable as she was grabbed by two soldiers and pulled back and away from Kate and the Doctor. She didn't try and resist, in fact she seemed rather happy to be restrained. A third soldier held the Doctor by the arm, probably restraining him as well. He'd always had a strange relationship with UNIT.
Kate turned back to the Cybermen. "Kate Stewart. Divorcee, mother of two, keen gardener, outstanding bridge player," she listed off. "Also Chief Scientific Officer, Unified Intelligence Taskforce, who currently have you surrounded."
"Human weaponry is not effective against Cyber technology," the Cyberman closest to her replied.
"Sorry, you left this behind on one of your previous attempts," she told it, chucking down the battered head of a Mondas Cyberman. The Cyberman looked down, analysing it as the soldier almost marched the Doctor to her side. "So now that I have your attention, welcome to the only planet in the universe where we get to say this." She motioned to the Doctor. "Him and his wife are on the payroll."
The Doctor frowned. "I am?" he asked, knowing that Danielle had been working for them when she'd been living on Earth. Much like he had done once upon a regeneration.
"Well," Kate drawled in reply. "Technically."
"How much?" he couldn't help but ask.
"It all goes to Danni anyway," she told him and he realised that he'd done it again. She was in danger and waiting for him to save her, and he'd gotten distracted by something as trivial as a salary. He needed to work out what the Cybermen were doing working with Missy.
"Any questions?"
As a reply, every Cyberman brought their fist up to the middle of their chests, slamming on the blue buttons that sat there. In a unison that only the Cybermen could pull off, they stamped their feet to the side, then back into position before smoke began to billow from them. They all flew up into the air with the sound of miniature jet engines. They all moved back and out of the way as Missy watched on joyfully.
They could only watch on as the Cybermen split up, spreading across the sky in every direction. As the people on the ground turned to watch them fly away, they all saw the roof of Saint Paul's Cathedral peeling back in small strips.
"Oh, my God! Is it supposed to do that? Is that new?" Osgood asked.
"A sun roof on Saint Paul's? Yes, I'd say that was new," the Doctor retorted as more Cybermen started to fly out of the Cathedral, flying off like the ones on the ground had done. They seemed to have their orders and a destination in mind, and the Doctor's mind went over every single place they could all be heading.
Would Danielle be one of them?
No. That was stupid. There wasn't time for her to be a Cyberman yet, he was sure of it. And if they were working with the Master – Missy- then they weren't going to be able to convert Time Lord parts.
Plus, Missy had said that she was safe. Being a Cyberman was definitely not safe.
"There's going to be mass panic," Kate exclaimed. "Everyone in London can see that."
"Everyone in London just clapped and went whee," the Doctor snapped in reply. "Hush, I'm trying to count."
"Eighty seven, I think," Osgood offered and the pair turned to her. She shrugged. "OCD," she offered.
"Ninety one," Missy corrected and they all turned to her. She waved her arms out the best she could whilst being restrained. "Queen of evil," was her own excuse.
Kate turned back to the Doctor. "How could Saint Paul's be full of ninety one Cybermen and nobody noticed?"
"Dimensional engineering," the Doctor explained. "One space folded inside another." She looked vaguely confused. "Bigger on the inside." He turned to look at Missy, who seemed to be having quite a lot of fun. "Easy if you're a Time Lord."
Missy giggled to herself and he really felt like throttling her. The only thing stopping him was the fact that she was the only one who knew where his wife was. He couldn't let her down, not again. If keeping Missy alive would help him right this horrific wrong, then he would. He just was rather furious at the notion.
"Mostly deploying south," Osgood said, taking a look at Missy's device as the Doctor wondered just how scared Danielle was. "A smaller number east."
"Yeah, but one straight up," the Doctor pointed out, turning his attention back to the Cybermen. There was one hovering above the open roof on Saint Paul's. This had to be a test. Taking Danielle at the same time as launching a Cyberman army had to be a test. There was better ways of creating a division, ones that took a lot less effort than this. She could have taken his wife at any point.
"So ninety one isn't a coincidence?" Osgood asked him and he shook his head. He could pass it. He'd save his wife. He snatched Missy's device off the woman dressed just like Danielle and walked over to Missy.
"If I solve this, will you let her go?" he asked her lowly. "Tell me. Please." Missy just smiled up at him, a sickly smirk as she enjoyed his begging. He had to take it as an answer, because he didn't have time to wait. His hands shook slightly as he looked down at the map on the screen and all of the flashing lights that represented Cybermen across the British Isles. What if he couldn't save her?
"Ninety one areas of significant population density in the British Isles," Osgood explained to Kate, who had questioned the number.
"That's one Cyberman for every city and major town," the Doctor continued. "It's happening everywhere, all over the world, right now."
"Sweet planet, this," Missy declared. "I think I might keep it and give it to my new pet. She did always like it."
His blood boiled and he lunged for her again, unable to keep his fear and his rage at bay. The soldiers holding her back shouted at the surprise attack and pulled her back as another grabbed him to hold them apart.
Kate rushed over. "Doctor!" she exclaimed, shocked at the show of violence. He was panting but not resisting, instead he glared at the woman with a hatred that Kate had rarely seen. "Who is she?" she asked him.
He didn't reply straight away. He didn't know how much UNIT knew about most things, however Harold Saxon and the Master was something he was certain hadn't slipped under their radar. If he even gave a hint of who she really was then they'd shoot Missy down where she stood. As much as he would relish in the pain, considering what she had done and was doing to his wife, he needed her alive to be able to have a hope of finding her again. She wouldn't be keeping Danni near.
"She has my wife," he spat angrily and Kate looked sharply at Missy.
"Danielle?"
He nodded. "I don't know where," he continued and she nodded, pulling her walkie-talkie from her waistband.
"Danielle Fielding is missing," she told her staff. "Repeat, Danielle Fielding is missing. All units in Saint Paul's are to precede with caution but search every area for any signs of her or her whereabouts."
"Doctor!"
He looked up just in time to see the hovering Cyberman explode in the air, filling the space above the cathedral with dark black smoke that quickly started spreading.
"Has it exploded?" Kate asked, as confused as everyone else watching.
"More than that," Missy called over, sounding slightly annoyed at how stupid they were being. "Cybermen don't just blow themselves up for no good reason, dear. They're not human."
The Doctor walked back over to the Time Lady. "If it's not exploding, what's it doing?"
She smiled. "Pollinating." He quickly looked up and the black smoke really was spreading, more than the aftermath of an explosion should be. It was taking over the entire sky and the world below was slowly becoming darker. "Falling like rain into the cracks of the Earth."
The soldiers let Missy go, which seemed like a stupid thing to do in the Doctor's opinion and he was only proven right as she began to play with the lapel of his jacket. She straightened him out like a mother sorting out a messy child. "The dead are coming home, Doctor. All shiny and new. In twenty four hours the human race as you know it will cease to exist."
"If I sort this, if I fix it, will you let Danielle go?" he tried yet again. "Are you trying to get me to show I'm safe? Is that why you're doing this? What are you trying to prove?"
Missy didn't get to explain. One of the soldiers who had let her go quickly raised a dart gun to her neck and shot her. She fell backwards, passing out in their arms and the Doctor turned on the armed officers.
"No. No, no, no, no, I need to talk to her! I need her awake!" he exclaimed angrily. Instead, they also shot him with a dart and he reached up to his neck as his world began to blur and go dart.
"No, no, no," he slurred out as they caught him, helping him to his knees. He needed to save Danielle. He needed to save the world to save Danielle, why were they taking him out of the equation.
The floor was quite cold. He wasn't very fond of it. He mustn't sleep on it often.
"You just have to let it take you," Osgood whispered from somewhere above him. He found her in the blur of colours and pulled her close.
"Guard the graveyards," he whispered before finally losing the battle and falling unconscious.
~0~0~0~
A ginger woman danced in his dreams. She smiled. She laughed. She didn't wear glasses and she wasn't short or in blue. Her freckles dotted her skin. He'd never seen her before.
She changed to blonde, then back to ginger, then blonde again. A swirl of two faces and smiles.
That was his Danielle. He had to save her.
~0~0~0~
It was with a jolt that the Doctor awoke again. He was by a plane, with Kate and Osgood stood in front of him and that was what he focused on. He had no idea where he was, or why it was dark, but that didn't matter. He was being propped up on a trolley with his hands handcuffed behind it. He had to get free. Time was running out.
"Kate?" he called over, noticing the TARDIS in the back ground being moved with a crane. It gave him a slight jolt of hope. If Missy hadn't protected the TARDIS, then maybe Danielle was just as easily retrieved from her. "What's with the handcuffs?"
Kate and Osgood looked over from their conversation and he couldn't help but notice that she was still the one who dressed like his wife. Kate walked over.
"I'm sorry," she told him sincerely. "In the event of an alien incursion on this scale, protocols are in place. Your co-operation is to be ensured and your unreliability assumed. You have a history."
"You don't have a future without me," he retorted as someone undid his handcuffs. "Do you think your father would've done this?"
"We both know he absolutely would," Kate replied as he shook his hands, getting some of the feeling back from where the handcuffs had been digging into his wrists.
From the side a couple of soldiers wheeled Missy past, who was still unconscious and strapped to another trolley. He watched her go, wondering if it was better to keep her unconscious or wake her up. She was the only one who knew where Danielle was and, while he was confident that he'd find her eventually because he'd never stop looking, it would be a lot easier if she just told him.
"Who is she?" Kate asked him.
"If she's taken Danielle then you should be able to work that out," he replied as he jumped off his trolley. "Did you find her?"
They started to walk towards the stairs that lead up to the plane's entrance. "Danielle? No. The team's still on site but they've been unable to gain access to Saint Paul's," she explained. His steps became a little quicker and he overtook her as he rushed up the stairs.
"That means that Clara is stuck in there too," he reasoned which was both a blessing and an annoyance in equal measure. He didn't want her anywhere near him. He didn't have time to be angry and vengeful towards her just yet. Each second that Danielle was missing was another second that he would struggle to find her later.
However, that petty side of him couldn't help but think that while his Danni was missing, she was talking to hers. Danny Pink, who was probably going to become a Cyberman at some point, had actually been on the other side of the transmission. If she was with him then he could ensure that she wasn't getting any pleasure from his wife being missing. And he could make sure that this was just as much her fault as it was Missy's and his.
"Clara was with you?" Kate asked, trying to gain more information on the situation at hand.
"I want Danielle found," he demanded instead. He didn't want to talk about Clara to anyone. Not yet. "That's the priority. I need her with me."
"I've already given the order," Kate assured him. "Although, once you're on board Boat One your word is law. Quite literally."
"You got the TARDIS out, though?" he queried as they entered the plane.
"Yes, and Saint Paul's locked down," Kate replied. "We tried to check inside but we couldn't open the door. She's quite stubborn."
Her pronoun for the TARDIS made him pause. Kate had picked that up from Danni, who had always been so insistent that people recognise that the TARDIS was a living thing and not an 'it'.
"She's not in there," he said. "If she was she would have come out by now."
Kate held the curtains to a conference room open for him to walk through. The walls were all stylised as wood, with a long table in the middle with expensive office chairs around it. There were monitors suspended from the ceiling showing what information they currently had about the Cybermen.
"Where are we going?" he asked as he walked past all of the chairs, running his hands over them just to spin them. "Cloudbase?"
"You mean the Valiant?"
"Cloudbase was Thunderbirds," Osgood quickly spoke up and he just shot her a look. She smiled back and he couldn't help but be a little glad that she was there. Both of them were wonderful to be around, and always very helpful and eager despite their own fears.
"Too conspicuous," Kate explained as he caught sight of the portrait that was on the far wall, looking over the table as if the person was sat at the head of it. "We need your location concealed, not advertised. From now on you're a moving target."
He walked over to the painting, taking a moment to pay his respects to the Brigadier, who should have been nowhere else but at the head of the table.
"Danielle never met him," he told Kate. "She always complains about it, actually. I think she wanted to meet him more than most people I've met over the years."
"He would have liked her," Kate replied. "Anyone who could keep you in line would have been in his good books." A smile ghosted his lips, but the frown was quickly back in place. "Once Saint Paul's has been breached we will find her."
That was the issue. He knew that Missy would not have kept her in the building any longer than necessary. She would be long gone by now, which was why he needed her awake.
A man in an officer's uniform pulled him out of his thoughts by saluting him in such a fashion that it seemed louder than everything else on the plane. "Sir."
The Doctor looked at him like he was a nuisance. "Oh, don't do that. You look like you're self-concussing," he said before thinking on his words. "Which would explain all of military history, now I think about it."
The man swallowed, completely intimidated by the Time Lord. Good. He didn't have time for people who were too full of themselves. "Colonel Ahmed, sir. Privileged to meet you."
The Doctor looked him up and down once. "Love your outfit, Colonel Ahmed. Are you in the Scouts? Are you a Man Scout? I didn't know they had those," he teased, leaving the man looking rather upset that someone he looked up to was being a bit of an arse. In fact, the Doctor did feel a little bad about it. Only for a moment, because he didn't have time for officers when he was in a good mood and without Danielle there, his manners went out of the window.
He turned away from him as if he was giving Ahmed no more thought and caught sight of a refreshments table on the other side of the room. He used it as an excuse to walk away.
The inane chatter of the UNIT staff was already starting to grate – of course it was Captain Scarlett – as he picked two small cups to make his tea in. Kate was by him on an old black phone as he started to pour one, then stopped half way through the other. He'd been so aware of Danni's absence, and yet he still thought to make her tea.
"The President is on board."
He finished making the second cup of tea anyway, all but shoving it at Kate like it had been his attention all along, before walking over the long table with the sugar in his other hand.
"Hang on a second," he started as he finally took in Kate's words. "The President? We don't want Americans bobbing around the place. They'll only start praying."
He took the opportunity to load up his tea with sugar. It was rare he was allowed to have so much in it because, apparently, it made him hyper. He started counting the sugar cubes as Ahmed took a step closer to the table.
"Not the President of America, sir. The President of Earth," he explained with that confused look on his face that all members of the military tended to have.
"There isn't one," he replied factually, picking up his spoon and stirring his drink.
"There is now."
"The incursion protocols have been agreed internationally. In the event of full-scale invasion, an Earth President is inducted immediately, with complete authority over every nation state. There was only one practical candidate," Kate explained.
"That's your answer for everything, isn't it? Vote for an idiot," the Doctor taunted as he raised his drink to his lips.
"If you say so, Mister President," Kate replied with no hint of the amusement she was feeling on her face. It was a very serious time, after all. Still. How often did the Doctor give you an opportunity like that?
"So long as you're on this plane, you're the Commander in Chief of every army on Earth. Every world leader is currently awaiting your instructions. You are the Chief Executive Officer of the human race. Any questions?"
His hand had paused before he could take a sip. He couldn't quite believe what they'd just told him. He looked around as the captain warned them off the imminent take-off of the plane that, apparently, he was now in control of. He looked around the room and at the people waiting for his command.
He never wanted an army. In fact, as a whole, he was against armies because all it ever led to was death and destruction. No one ever won in wars, he knew that first hand. He didn't want to be in command but they were all looking at him like he didn't have a choice.
An army would be useful when it came to finding his wife, though. And even though this wasn't the army he'd had in mind, perhaps he could find some way of using them to his advantage. His word was law, apparently.
Danielle would have loved to see him be president, though. Would that make her the First Lady?
Nah. If she was here, she'd have the power. He didn't trust himself with it. He'd have transferred it over to her immediately. He'd be the First Gentleman.
He took a sip of the tea and almost grimaced at the sweetness. Maybe he'd put a little too much in it. That was something that, perhaps, it was best that Danielle didn't find out.
He jumped off his seat. "I'm going to talk to her," he told the little group of minions who were waiting for his command. "When you have everything in check, let me know." He headed towards the curtains.
"Doctor, we're about to take off!" Kate called after him but he ignored her. "Doctor!"
~0~0~0~
Seeing Missy strapped up was rather wonderful, he felt. Unconscious, restrained, with no power at all. That was exactly how she needed to be.
He remembered a time when all he had wanted was to show the Master, his oldest friend, the universe for what it was. Instead of blowing it up or conquering everything, just to see it. The violence and hatred was never necessary. But time and time again his friend had rejected his way, instead content to watch the world burn. He couldn't see anything but his end goal, and Missy was no different.
It wasn't until the Valiant that he'd realised that his efforts were always going to be in vain. When he'd seen the Master perhaps find a connection with someone, only to abuse it beyond the point of redemption. Once he'd hurt Danni, at that moment, the Doctor had known that it was never going to be the same for them again.
And it was the same for Clara. Whose name, even now, made his hands clench in his rage. It had continued to burn even through his panic and worry, through the pandemonium the Cybermen had created. It was a hatred that had him pace away from Missy and towards the TARDIS, backwards and forwards, because the energy from it felt like it would burst from him otherwise.
Osgood, the Danni Osgood, was sat at a little makeshift desk, trying to be polite and not watch the turmoil he was going through. She did jump, however, when he smacked his hand against the TARDIS hard in his frustration. The two armed guards did not even flinch. She had to admit that UNIT trained them well.
"Shouldn't she be awake by now?" he ranted. "How long does this stuff take to wear off?!"
"It won't be long," Osgood tried to reassure him. "We can give her the antidote, though..."
"No," he snapped back. "She should suffer through it." He pointed back at Missy as he took a few steps towards Osgood like he was storming over to her. "She deserves it."
He turned back, though, walking over and standing so close his gaze could have burrowed into her skull. He never thought that he'd be in a position where Clara trying to kill his wife would be at the bottom of his list, but there he was, waiting for Missy to wake up.
Sometimes he had to wonder if he should just take Danielle to some little backwater planet and stay there. It would be so much more peaceful.
Missy's gasp awake wasn't quite as dramatic as his, but she seemed to know straight away that he was by her. Her lips pulled into a smile as she slowly looked at him.
"Why are you still alive?" he snapped.
"You saved me," she replied softly.
He shook his head. "I saved Gallifrey," he corrected firmly.
"Yes, Gallifrey too, I suppose," she said with a heavy sigh. "There's always collateral damage with you and me. It's our Paris."
"Gallifrey's lost in another dimension," he pointed out. "Like you were supposed to be. To keep you away from my wife." He paced away from her again angrily.
She didn't seem to be too bothered about it, though. "Well, that didn't work very well, did it?" she retorted. "I'll look after her. We both know that she always preferred me taking care of her over you..."
He spun, eyes blazing. "No," he snarled. "We are not doing that. Gallifrey is lost, like you should be."
Missy didn't press it, but her smug little smirk really got under his skin. Especially since every rational part of himself knew that Danni wouldn't be anything but terrified.
"Yes, and no."
"Meaning?"
"Yes, it's in another dimension," she explained. "No, it's not lost."
He hated the hope that flared just momentarily at her words. He shouldn't have been hopeful, not with the danger the entire Earth and his wife was in. However, to be able to go home, to see the planet he grew up on again, the one that he'd spent so much time thinking he'd destroyed and then a lifetime protecting from the other side of a crack, was something he'd only ever wished for.
"You know where it is?" he asked her.
"Yep! You know the best part about knowing?" she leant forward, dropping her voice. "Not telling you."
She pulled her lip under her teeth and he glared at her for the hope she'd given him. "Where is Danielle?" he asked yet again.
She leant back against the trolley. "Not telling you," she repeated in a singsong voice.
"Mister President, sir, we're ready for you up here!" Ahmed called over the PA. The Doctor looked up at the ceiling, then back at Missy.
"If I stop them, you will give her back," he said, this time not asking, but giving her the conditions of his participation in her game. "Remember all those years when all you wanted to do was to rule the world?" he asked as he walked away from her. He looked up at the ceiling. "On my way."
"Thank you, Mister President."
He held his hands out at his sides like it was no big deal. "Piece of cake."
"I don't need to rule to world, do I?" Missy called after him as he headed for the ladders back up to the main floor. "I already have your universe."
He paused in his step, right next to Osgood, and closed his eyes. He took a deep, slow, breath to try and calm himself down. He didn't need to lose his head when he had a game to win. However, he took a moment before heading up, turning to watch Osgood working on Missy's device.
He leant on the makeshift workstation and she seemed a little surprised at the sudden attention. "Oh, er, it's her little device thingy," she explained. "I thought there might be useful information on it." She lowered the device, looking over at the restrained woman on the other side of the room. "Who is she?"
"You'd never believe me if I told you," the Doctor replied tiredly.
"'Cause I thought she might be the Master, regenerated into female form? Your childhood friend, responsible for a number of previous incursions," she replied and the Doctor stared in surprise at the way she rattled off the facts perfectly. He glanced back at Missy, then at her again.
"That was fairly quick," he admitted, impressed but a little put out that his plans on being secretive about Missy had proven to have already failed.
"We do have files on all our ex-prime ministers," she replied before her eyes dropped. "And what she did to Danni," she broke gently. "Does she really have her?"
"Not for long," he told her and she nodded. The Doctor would always do anything for Danni, everyone knew that. He'd find her again. She was just worried. They all were, including Kate even though she kept herself professional at all times.
"Doctor," she started just as he was about to walk off. "There's something nobody's talking about."
He turned back to her, hoping she wasn't about to bring up what happened during that year on the Valiant. "Which is?"
"The clouds caused by the exploding Cybermen, they haven't dispersed. They're still there," she pointed out. "In fact, they've expanded and are covering almost all the land masses. We're all looking at the graveyards. Maybe we should be looking up?"
She was right. He'd not really thought about it, with his mind focused on the most important task at hand, but if the clouds hadn't dispersed then their job was not done yet. If they were still there, what more was there to do?
Osgood felt her confidence waiver at the way he stared. "What do you think?"
He looked her up and down. No one else had noticed that, or thought that it was important enough to bring to his attention. She'd noticed something no one else had. He had always liked that in his friends, it was what brought them to his attention in the first place.
And now that he was in the market for a companion, why not have two of the same brilliant one? He could definitely guarantee Osgood would never harm either of them.
He headed over to the ladder. He couldn't waste time now he had something to investigate, but he could still give her the offer. "All of time and space?"
She turned in her seat, brows furrowed. "Sorry?"
"Just something for your bucket list," he shot back as a suggestion as he climbed the ladder. "Danielle would love to have you both on board."
Osgood turned slowly back to her task, almost dumbstruck at what he was suggesting. Was he really asking her to travel with them?
She pulled out her inhaler, taking a breath of it to calm her excited nerves. Wait until she told her sister about this. She'd never believe it. It was a dream come true.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor sat in the largest chair, because as Earth president it made the most sense. Around them the monitors were all displaying different images of the world below on various news channels and cameras, the voice-over of one of the newsreaders filling the room.
He placed his head in his hand, squeezing his eyes shut as Kate paced around the people sat at the table. What exactly did they think he was going to do? Cybermen were rising from the ground. Anyone who had died was now an enemy. Anyone who was going to die was going to become an enemy.
"These scenes are being repeated everywhere," Kate explained to make sure everyone was up to speed. "Every cemetery, every mortuary, every funeral home, every hospital, the dead are returning to life as Cybermen."
The Doctor's leg bounced with his anxious energy. He had to solve this, he had to win. That was what Missy had always been like. One of them always had to win, and she had always wanted it to be her. Not this time. He had to win. But how?
"We've done heat scans of some of the cemeteries," Kate continued as she sat down at his hide. The monitor directly in front of them showed the graphical representation of one of the many cemeteries all over the world. "And, in each case only a handful of Cybermen have so far emerged. But every individual burial site is active."
"Active?" Ahmed asked.
"Hatching," the Doctor corrected with a heavy sigh.
"More are coming. Potentially millions," Kate finished, so horrified that it came through in her demeanour and her tone.
"So the rain caused all that in just a few hours?"
"It wasn't rain, Man Scout," the Doctor replied, again snapping at a man who really didn't quite deserve it. "It was pollen. Cyber-pollen." He stood up. He needed to be moving, to be doing, and he was trapped on this blasted plane trying to think of a plan from up high. He was every bit of the officer than Danielle always tried to defend him against. He hated how easily he fell into the role. She'd be so disappointed.
"Every tiny particle of a Cyberman contains the plans to make another Cyberman. All it has to do is to make a contact with compatible living organic matter and bang! Full conversion. But if they have learned how to convert the dead..." he trailed off because the implication was just too horrifying to contemplate, and yet it was happening down below.
His eyes caught the monitor showing Missy strapped to her trolley and he stared as everything started to fall into place. "That's what she was doing," he whispered to himself before turning back to the table. "That's what 3W was for. She creates an all-new paranoia among the super-rich about dying. She exploits the wealth and the mortal remains of selected idiots so she can create a whole new race of Cybermen. Cybermen who can recruit corpses." He turned back to the screen. "But why? Why put so much effort in when she already got what she wanted?"
He turned back to look at Missy, who looked both annoyed and bored as she laid against the back of the trolley. He didn't understand why she was even here in the first place. Sure, she'd need to gloat about her victory with Danielle, but she could have done that from afar. He just knew there was another reason for the mass show other than her inherent want to be evil. If it had just been that, then she would have been satisfied with whatever she had planned for his wife.
He could only look at her for a short while before his anger threatened to take over him. Being emotional wasn't going to help. He turned back once again to the table. "Throw away your guns, Man Scout, it's all over. How can you win a war against an enemy that can weaponise the dead?"
~0~0~0~
As the Doctor tried to work out her plan upstairs, Missy bided her time down below. These silly little humans actually thought they had a chance against her. It was quite adorable, really. Even the little one in front of her was working away like she stood a chance of working out what was going on. When, really, everything was so above them that the extinction of the human race was actually just a perk rather than the goal.
She just had to wait until it was time for her plan to continue. Missy hated waiting, but she was rather good at it.
She started humming to herself, bobbing her head to her little tune. It sounded familiar. Where was that song from.
She grinned. "Hey, Missy, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Hey, Missy. Hey..." she couldn't help but giggle as the little girl in front of her tried desperately to ignore her singing. It was adorable. It had to go. "Excuse me," she called over and Osgood stopped her work on her laptop to look over. "Hi. Can I tell you something really important?"
"What?" Osgood asked with a bit of snap. Missy was already getting on her nerves. She must have been upset about that whole 'stealing Danielle' thing. Bless.
She looked to her left, then her right, like she checking if she was safe to tell her. It was more fun if you put a little effort in. "I have to whisper it," she explained, dropping her voice into a whisper for effect. "It's, like, so important to everyone on this plane. You'll get in trouble if you don't listen."
"Right. If it was that important, why would you tell us?" Osgood pointed out. Clever little thing. She really had to go.
"Well, look at me, I'm bananas," Missy replied factually before dropping her voice again. "Come on. Just a wee bit closer. Just a little closer." Osgood didn't seem like she was going to move. She needed to pull out the big guns. "You know, the Doctor will be really impressed if you learn my secret," she teased lightly and, just as she had expected, that made the little girl take note. Should she chuck in Danielle just to sweeten the deal? After all, it was obvious that she was dressed up to imitate her.
No. Danielle was between her and the Doctor.
Osgood walked closer, trying to act like she was in control, which just added to how pathetic all these humans were. "You can come a bit closer than that. Come on, stop mucking about. Don't be shy. You don't smell half as bad as you think you do."
Osgood, against her better judgement, took a couple of steps closer. "There are two armed men directly behind you." Missy nodded. "If you've got something to say, just say it."
Missy cleared her throat and Osgood leaned in closer. Oh, this was going to be fun. "I'm going to kill you in a minute," Missy told her in her best excited voice. Osgood slowly pulled back and Missy grinned at her, keeping her voice quiet. "I'm not even kidding. You're going to be as dead as a fish on a slab any second now, all floppy and making smells." She caught herself, looking to the side to see if either of the armed guards had heard. She then leant in a bit closer. "But don't tell the boys. This is our secret girl plan."
Osgood pulled away, looking back with that dopey confused face humans seemed to pull on a regular basis. How did the Doctor suffer them for so long?
"Why would you bother killing me?" she asked. "I'm not even important."
"Oh, silly. Why does one pop a balloon?" Missy asked in reply. "Because you're pretty. You should have a bit more confidence in yourself."
Osgood really didn't know what to do with that information. Okay. Sorry, I've got work to do."
She walked off and Missy watched with a vague interest. "All right, fine. You get on. You get that finished. Would a countdown help you focus at all?"
"No, that's okay."
"Ten. Don't be scared yet, cos I'm still in double figures," Missy continued as Osgood tried really hard to pretend she wasn't frightened. "Nine. Well, no, of course you're not, cos you know you're dying anyway. Eight. Human beings are born dying. Your life spans are hilarious. Seven. You know from the minute you slop out, you're rotting, decaying. The stench of you. Phew. I'm never going to get this place clean. Three."
Osgood looked over at her sharply. "Three?"
"I'm accelerating for dramatic effect," she explained before gasping and putting on her best school teacher voice. There had been one just like that on Gallifrey. Perhaps the Doctor remembered her. "Oh! What's that in your pocket?" she scolded.
"There's nothing in my..." Osgood reached into her pocket, trailing off as she pulled out a pair of handcuffs. The ones Missy had slipped into her pocket without her even realising. Really, it was all just so easy and boring. It was one of the reasons she loved Danielle as her pet so much. She never just went along with the plan. Always trying to be defiant and escape, always insisting the Doctor would save her. It made for a more entertaining experience.
"Oh my giddy aunt. The quiet ones are the worst," she called over as Osgood examined them, bewildered.
"Well, those aren't mine,"
"Well." Missy paused to put on her lipstick, taking her time to look her best for the next part of her plan. "Then they must be mine."
Osgood turned to face the woman in surprise, but she was too late. Missy had all the time she needed to grab her device off the desk and wrap an arm around Osgood to restrain her. She felt so much more like herself when she could go on the defensive, and she quickly vaporised the silly little soldiers who had thought they'd had her under control.
She held Osgood close, pressing her face against the girl's and closing her eyes. "Say something nice."
"Missy, the Master, whatever you call yourself, I promise, I'm much more useful to you alive," she rambled out. Missy could feel her heart racing in her terror. Poor thing was so frightened.
She opened her eyes. "Oh, yeah, that's true. That's definitely true. That is a good point well made. I'm proud of you, sister," she replied, sounding a little put out. "But, unfortunately, Danielle is rather fond of you and, well," she grimaced, "I can't leave a reason for her to escape, now can I?" She raised her device. "Pop."
Osgood disintegrated into dust and smoke on the floor, leaving less of a mess than Missy had told her she would. Well, she had only been trying to be nice, after all. In fact, all that she had left behind were those glasses of hers that had been modelled off her play thing's pair. She stood on them with one boot, crushing the glass and rubbing it into the metal ground. That was better.
She raised her arm, giving the engines a little boost while also calling all of her boys to their location. She needed everything in place for when the Doctor inevitably came looking for her.
She then took hold of two of the straps on the ceiling to keep herself stable as the plane swerved. There was no point falling all over the spot, after all.
~0~0~0~
The turbulence didn't worry him like Kate seemed to be. He wasn't even particularly concerned about the Cybermen that seemed to be attacking the plane from the outside – because there was bound to be more than one of them. No, the sight of the cargo hold void of anyone, including Missy, turned him instantly into a panicking mess because if she was free, then this was her doing. She was going to bring the plane down and escape. He couldn't let that happen.
He rushed down into the hold, sliding down the ladder because he couldn't waste time on the steps. He couldn't see anyone, and he slowly stepped into the room, his eyes darting around as he looked for where she could be…
Crack
He glanced down at his foot. He seemed to be standing on a pair of broken glasses. He crouched down and picked them up. Those were Osgood's. He turned them over in his hand. They were dusty. Dusty and broken. Oh, how was he going to break that to Danielle?
Missy slid out from behind the TARDIS, grinning gleefully at the devastated look on the Doctor's face. Soon. Everything was going to fall into place soon.
She leant against the TARDIS, flipping through her feeds of the woman he was desperate to get back, making sure she was exactly where she'd been left.
"Oh, she was really scared. It was classic," she told him and he looked absolutely fuming as he stood up off the floor. "Danielle is going to be so upset she missed it. I wonder if there's footage I can take her."
"Shut up!" he shouted back and she raised her hands to her hips.
"Now, really," she scolded. "Don't you know want to know what my plan is?"
"No, I don't," he snarled. "I just want to know what you've done with her.
Missy shook her head. "No, no, no," she dismissed. "That's not the fun part. Come on, you know you want to know," she wobbled slightly as the plane swerved under the attack outside. "You'll be surprised."
"Shut up!" he reiterated but she ignored him, moving closer to circle him.
"I've got a gift for you," she said in a singsong voice. His hands clenched by his side and, once again, he had to remind himself that until he could guarantee his wife's safety, he couldn't just chuck her out of the plane. "You know, I've been up and down your timeline, meeting all those silly people who died to keep you alive. And you know what I worked out? What you really need."
"For what?"
"Why, the same thing I have," she replied as the TARDIS phone began ringing. His hearts leapt, because he knew Danni knew the number. "Freedom."
He pushed past her, stumbling under the rocking of the plane, heading towards the TARDIS. Missy watched, smiling. "Oh, and now it begins. Doctor, I do believe you're on call," she continued, letting him reach the door before continuing. "Miss Oswald expects." The Doctor paused, turning to look at Missy, who wasn't even looking his way. What if it was Clara and not Danni?
"Who else but the girl who's got your number?" She grimaced. "Whoops!"
He stood up a little straighter. "It was you! You put us together!" he hissed. Missy had sent Clara to her. Clara had met her boyfriend, who had died, who had brought them to the 3W institute. It was all Clara's fault that Danni was now in terrible danger, and Missy had sent Clara to him.
"Ah, no," Missy corrected. "I did, however, send my Pet into that shop after her. You know," she giggled to herself, "Danielle didn't even mention her name. Just walked straight in, gave Miss Oswald the number, and straight back out again. She didn't even warn her what was going to happen. Of course," she looked thoughtful, "that might be to do with the bomb I'd strapped to her. But, I guess we'll never know."
The phone kept ringing behind him, but this new information was more than he could process. Not only had Missy taken his wife, but then she'd paraded her up and down his timeline. Where else could she have taken Danni? How long, exactly, did she have her for?
And Clara had known, all this time, who had given her their number. She'd kept it from them. She'd seen Danni in the past and hadn't said a word.
"Why are you doing this?" he exclaimed.
"Well, because you need to know, don't you?" Missy replied. "You need to see how bound you are before you can be set free. All of this," she waved her hands in the air, "running about, fighting, trying to work out my silly little plan for a girl. Even now, for example, you're ignoring Miss Oswald's call because getting to her is more important. Even if I told you that Clara might have found her already and you'd never know."
The Doctor's head snapped around and looked at the poster behind which the phone was located. He hadn't even considered that. Clara was supposedly locked down in Saint Paul's. If she was calling, she must have gotten out. Maybe she'd found Danni and they were waiting for him.
He scrambled over to the door and Missy rolled her eyes. "You see? Completely under her control."
He picked up the phone. "Danielle?" he answered, his voice desperate.
"Doctor," Clara's voice answered, sounding flat. His shoulders sagged. She wasn't with Danielle. "I'm with Danny."
"Danny's dead, Clara," he reminded sharply. "That's why we're in the mess in the first place."
"No, he's not," she snapped back. "I want to speak to Danni."
"Well she's not here," he snapped. "Your little stunt has taken her from me and she's in terrible danger. What do you want, Clara?"
"He's a Cyberman," she explained and the Doctor closed his eyes, feeling rather guilty at his words. But then again, she didn't seem upset at his Danni's fate. Her remorse had been very temporary, hadn't it?
"Doctor, Danny's a Cyberman. And he's crying. Doctor, he feels it. He's crying."
The plane took a dive to the side and the Doctor stumbled over as far as the cord on the phone would allow him.
A Cyberman who could cry? That wasn't right. That meant that he wasn't fully converted and that meant…
"Clara, don't do it. Just don't do it!" he exclaimed.
"It's in his chest. He says it's an inhibitor. It can delete emotion or something."
"Yes, I know what it does. Clara, don't do it. He'll become a Cyberman and..."
"He's already a Cyberman."
He growled in frustration. "Not what I meant!" he exclaimed. "Clara, Danielle is missing because of your mistake. Don't be stupid and make another one!"
"You know, I've had enough of you and your judgement!" she shouted down the phone at him. "If you're not going to help, then just leave us alone!"
"Clara!" he shouted back but she'd already hung up. He growled then stumbled back to the TARDIS, slamming the phone down heavily. Danni wasn't with her. Missy lied, of course she bloody did, and because of that he now knew the pain Clara was going through, and he hated the fact that he wanted to help her. He hated the fact that Clara was, somehow, making herself seem sympathetic and he had enough to worry about without worrying how she was manipulating him.
"Oh, don't tell me that wasn't a little fun," Missy teased him. "Come on. You could just run after Miss Oswald and her dead friend and forget all about Danielle. Your life would be so much better, wouldn't it?"
"No," he hissed, glowering at her. "Stop this. Stop it now. Where is she?"
"Doctor!" Kate came scrambling down the ladders. She stumbled as well. "The Cybermen are in. The plane's going down!"
Missy barely glanced at her. "Oh, great. It's the daughter one," she called to the Doctor, who suddenly felt rather scared for the woman's safety. "Does Danielle like her too? I bet she does like her too."
She pointed her wrist at cargo doors, pressing a button and the whole plane veered sharply, dipping downwards on one side. Both he and Kate grabbed onto the straps hanging from the ceiling for stability. The Doctor could only watch on in horror as Missy blew the door off and Kate lost her grip, falling out with a scream.
"Why did you do that? You didn't have to do that!" he shouted out over the loudness of the air and the failing engines.
"Oh, don't be so selfish. I'm going to miss her, too," Missy called back, also holding on for dear life. "In fact, you know what? Just for that, I'm leaving." She held her wrist up to her mouth so she could talk into the communications device built into it. "Boys, blow up this plane and, I don't know, Belgium, yeah? Kill some Belgians. Might as well. They're not even French. Byeeee!"
And just like that she was gone in a flash of blue light. Probably back to wherever she was holding his wife. Wherever Danni was trapped, scared and alone, waiting for him, to tell her how Kate and Osgood were dead, Danny was a Cyberman and her husband was going to be imminently blown up in a plane.
She'd be heartbroken, devastated and she'd know that she was doomed to be trapped with a monster for the rest of her lives. She'd know that he'd let her down. All those times he'd promised to protect her from the Master, and he'd failed before he'd even known what had happened.
He desperately tried to keep his footing, his self-preservation stopping him from just plummeting out of the plane. Unfortunately, it then blew up, sending him speeding down towards the earth.
If he hadn't seen the TARDIS underneath him, blown further down from the blast, then he really would have given up. However, he saw the blue box, and a new sense of determination came from her. If he could just get inside, then he could get to Clara, who was with a very much not-Cyberman Danny Pink. Who, in turn, would be able to find out exactly what Missy's plan was. He, then could stop it, and save his wife. He wouldn't let her down. He would win!
He pulled out his key, struggling to keep it out in front of him as he turned from a free fall into a controlled dive. He aimed as best as he could, and hoped the TARDIS would be able to do the rest. Every second seemed to drag out until he landed against the front door. He opened it and toppled inside, slamming into the console painfully.
He coughed, bowing his head as he tried to bring down his speeding hearts and, for a moment, relished in the fact that he had actually just managed to pull that off. Falling towards the Earth, about to splat against the surface like a water balloon, against all the forces crushing him, he'd actually managed to aim properly. No one could ever say anything about his driving again with an aim like that.
"Danielle?" he called loudly, his voice groaning with the pain of the impact, but he held out hope for a few beats that she might reply and the nightmare would be over.
But she didn't. And it didn't. He bowed his head and let the pain of her being gone take over him for just a moment. The tears felt heavy, he felt crushed, he felt useless and he felt so alone.
Then he set his features into something to be reckoned with. He put his attack eyebrows into full effect as he set the course for Clara Oswald.
~0~0~0~
Hello everyone!
Seems like everyone enjoyed the last chapter, which is good! Tell me what you like about this chapter as well, I love to read them all!
Speaking of which - Reviews!
I'm-a-Klaus-addict - Indeed! :P
Naventis - It is finally happening! Hope you like this one too :)
serenitysaiyan - I know, he's so blind sometimes, isn't he? Ah, you'll have to wait until the next chapter for that, I think. Hopefully. Depending on whether it gets cut off or not. Thanks sweetie! Hope you enjoyed this one too :)
mlr96 - I hope you're alive enough to read this one too :P
whitedwarf - Thank you very much sweetie! I spent a lot of time trying to work out why the Doctor would help Clara and the only thing I could get to work was 'because Danni would always help Clara'. But I love how much you always give with your reviews, because you always seem to pick out the bits that I hope people notice. I appreciate it, and I hope you like this chapter too :)
Guest - Thanks sweetie!
jojo - Well, I shall take that as you enjoying it :P
TheSlayerofGallifrey - Thanks sweetie!
Midnight Alley - Thanks sweetie! You'll just have to wait and see.
Iris-Reid92 - Yeah, they're brilliant but so annoying XD
Seconds and Stars - I hope this chapter wasn't so bad :P
KatMackenzie - Hope you like this one :D
Authora97 - Hehe I'm rather happy to know that you noticed then. I did wonder when it would start to become obvious. I'm glad you liked it :D
bored411 - Thanks sweetie! I hope you liked this one as well!