Child of Earth
By Lumendea
Chapter Fifteen: Reason to Celebrate: The Nortivil
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.
….
She felt and heard the others move away from her. The Nortivil snarled at her in a blend of a roar and a laugh. On instinct, Rose brought her arm forward and slashed through the air at the alien, but her sword passed right through the Nortivil. It was like it wasn't even there and a small shock travelled through the sword and into Rose's arm. Thankfully for Rose, the Nortivil looked surprised at the attempt at attacking it giving Rose time to spin her heel and rush after the others.
Rose loved running. She really did, tried to get out and do it every morning just as a way of staying in shape and preparing for life on the TARDIS. However, she was keenly aware as she and her friends rushed down the stairs that something very dangerous was behind her and she was in heels. With one hand she clutched at the rail as the lights around them flickered dangerously while she blindly texted Spock with her free hand. They needed a plan and very quickly and sadly she was not nearly as good as the Doctor at coming up with crazy schemes.
Rory was leading the way as the only one in sensible shoes with his torch helping to light the way now that Ceaflae had fled. Rose had rather mixed feelings on the Arcateenian just fleeing after leading something that Rose's gut told her was very nasty to her planet, but she'd have to look at those later. When you were in the middle of the storm you didn't stop to consider your feelings, not until the storm was past.
They burst out into the alley only to find that the small scattered lights were flickering. There was an unfamiliar hum in the air and a charge of energy hanging in the alley that made Rose's arm hair stand on end. Turning to look back, she noted that the Nortivil didn't seem to be following them for now and wondered why it wasn't. Rose stopped moving and looked up the building critically.
Energy vampire. The term echoed in her head, but she was unsure of just what that meant. Was it all forms of energy from kinetic to potential or just electrical? Caeflae had been terrified and she was a being giving off all sorts of energy so that probably meant it could drain energy from a person too. It was an unpleasant thought and Rose's mind spun as she tried to understand how bad this was. Overhead the lights in the building on every floor were flashing on and off and flickering. Flashes of lightning were briefly seen in one of the larger windows and Rose felt her stomach sink. That wasn't a good sign.
"Hands up!" a voice barked and Rose turned to see the group of Torchwood agents rushing down the alley towards them. They were all dressed in their black gear with the small shining Ts on their shoulder and looking none the worse for wear. Except they were now all carrying small handguns and Rose silently wondered why she hadn't checked for secondary firearms. "Hands up!"
Quickly Rose raised her hands and waited for half a heartbeat to see what the agent would do. The Torchwood agents moved in closer to them with several of them looking around into the buildings.
"I'm Rose Tyler," Rose finally announced, hoping they knew the name and based on how two of them stumbled just a little some of them did. "I'm afraid that the Arcateenian you were in pursuit of has fled Earth," Rose paused for a moment before she added, "What you need to worry about is the Nortivil that made it end up here and is behind us."
"Send a message to HQ," a female agent murmured in a low voice making Rose wish that she could at least see their faces.
A sound from the building they'd all poured out of made Rose jump and looked towards the back door with a bit of dread. The humming in the air was becoming stronger and Rose had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, the same one that had urged her to run only moments before. In the corner of her eye, she saw her friends shift away from the door a little more.
"Look this Nortivil is some sort of energy vampire," Rose offered even as a couple of the Torchwood agents moved towards the door. "We need to be-"
"Quiet Tyler," a male voice snapped this time. "You aren't keeping us from getting this alien. Not after we lost the …."
"Arcateenian," Rose provided uneasily. "Look you were knocked out by the Arcateenian own defence mechanism and this made her outright run in fear."
"And what happened to our weapons?" another agent demanded. "You took them."
"I did not," Rose huffed. "The Arcateenian took the energy packs for food and I wasn't going to stop her after that little show she put on."
It was a lie of course, but it was Torchwood and Rose didn't feel guilty at all. The building next to them suddenly shook and the whole alleyway seemed to tremble. Looking up in alarm, Rose noted that the whole building was dark, completely pitch black. She turned her attention back to the Torchwood agents who were turning on small lights on their headsets and belts. The beams of light seemed bright but only became brighter as all the lamps in the alleyway suddenly went out.
"Where's the Doctor's flashlight when you need it?" Rory muttered in a low voice as he shined his torch around the alley. "Lamps aren't broken."
Rose waited, unsure of what she was waiting for, but a moment later everything became darker as the street beyond them went dark. There were a few shouts, probably from outside the club they'd been in, but she could still hear cars. That was a good sign at least.
"Power outage," one of the Torchwood agents muttered. "Where is the alien!?"
Rose debated for only a moment before she gestured towards the building they'd just come out of. The Torchwood agents marched forward and Rose grabbed Sharon's hand, tugging her friend away from the building and giving Torchwood room to manoeuvre. They moved across the alley, almost switching positions with Torchwood as Rose pulled out her phone.
Her earlier message had been near gibberish, but Spock had responded with a message that he had her location and would monitor the area. She almost smiled at that, good old Spock. Quickly she texted back the words: Nortivil energy vampire to him. Nothing came back right away and Rose was about to text again when a sound from the building they'd left made her freeze. It was an odd crackling sound, like the noise that one of those electric balls made when no one had a hand on it.
A sudden breathy cry made Rose look up and she tensed as the doorway into the building somehow darkened in front of the Torchwood team. Their beams of light vanished as the Nortivil slipped out into the alleyway with a loud laugh. Scattering back the agents all raised their weapons, but the Nortivil didn't react at all.
Reaching out to the closest Torchwood agent, the Nortivil gripped his head. A strange smell filled the air and Rose watched in horror as the agent's flesh began to decay right in front of them. Around them, the other agents began to open fire, but the bullets passed right through the shadowy form. As the Torchwood agents began to fall back and the firing of their secondary weapons increased, Rose moved back herself and motioned to the others to keep moving.
The Nortivil grabbed another of the agents and laughed as they clawed at him with their hands. Their weapon dropped to the ground and Rose watched in horrified fascination as the alien's jaw suddenly unhinged. There was the strange smell again, but this time she could see small traces of light flowing from the agent and into the Nortivil's mouth. Trembling the agent couldn't even scream as his body began to decay. Sharon suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled Rose, forcing her to start running down the alley.
Behind them, she heard Torchwood yell a retreat and there were suddenly more footfalls behind them. The alley was open to the street only a few places and those were blocked by fences. Amelia shouted to Sharon and Rose was pulled over to the back door of another building. She didn't bother with cameras this time as she pulled out the sonic pen and used it to unlock the back door. They poured into the back storage area of some sort of shop with the surviving four Torchwood agents right behind them. Rory slammed the door shut and Rose used the sonic pen to relock it as she tried to catch her breath.
"This is your fault," the female agent snapped as she pulled off her goggles to reveal pale hazel eyes. "If you hadn't taken our energy weapons-"
"Then it would have just eaten the energy," Rose snapped in irritation. "It is an energy vampire, that's what was doing to the wires. It's why there isn't any light for blocks."
"And it can drain the energy out of people," Sharon added in a low frightened voice.
"Plus side," Shareen offered weakly. "It seems to need physical contact of some sort."
"But it made the lights flicker earlier," Rory pointed out as they all ignored the Torchwood agents.
"Radiate energy," Amelia offered. "And it was in the light itself, maybe that is enough contact. It was in the stream of energy, the same as it would have been with the energy weapons."
"I've got to call headquarters," the agent muttered. "This is bad."
"Yeah," Rose agreed with a nod before she eyed the agent squarely. "Look Central London is under attack from something very hostile and powerful. We all need to work together." They said nothing and Rose risked a glance at the door. "Keep an eye on that," she ordered, ignoring the way they all puffed up with indignation. "I don't think a lock is going to stop it."
Pulling out her phone again, Rose allowed herself a quick breath before she hit the speed dial for Spock. The Xylok answered immediately with a professional greeting.
"Spock," Rose greeted with a soft sigh of relief even as she kept her eyes on the Torchwood agents glaring at her. "Look we've got an alien in Central London that said it was the Nortivil. Mean anything to you or K-9?"
"Nortivil?" Spock repeated. "It is not familiar to me…." Spock trailed off for a moment and Rose nervously nibbled at her lip. "But the dog is familiar with it."
"Nortivils of the planet Geonot," K-9's robotic voice declared through the phone. "Highly rare lifeforms who are noted for their appearance as a living shadow. Known as energy vampires they consume several forms of energy-"
"That's it," Rose interrupted. "It's draining the energy of London. We've got several blocks down and it has already killed several people. How do we stop it K-9?"
"Nortivils have a notable weakness to Tungsten," K-9 replied quickly in his robotic voice. "However surface contact is not sufficient, penetration of metal into the inner flesh of Nortivil is required. During the colonization attempt of Geonot in the 34th-century humans used Tungsten bullets."
"Tungsten bullets?" the taller agent muttered as he eyed the phone with a distasteful grimace.
"Affirmative," K-9 responded calmly. "Molecular structure of Tungsten-"
"I don't need the science of it K-9," Rose cut in quickly. "Does it have to be pure Tungsten or will an alloy work?"
"Alloy coating of weapons possible," K-9 responded. "Less effective, but will disrupt the molecular bonds which keep the Nortivil stable. Alien is then torn apart by the escaping energy it has consumed and not yet assimilated into its being. The process of assimilation requires at least four hours."
"Where are we going to get Tungsten?" Sharon asked in concern as she glanced around before her eyes settled on the agents.
"Never mind finding it," the agent snapped. "Making weapons takes time!"
"Electroplating possible for modification of bullets," K-9 offered through the phone. "Or penetrating metal weapons."
"That takes too long," Rose answered with a slight huff. "It isn't a fast process."
"Sonic modulation accelerates the process," K-9 added and Rose smiled.
"That I can do, good dog K-9," she laughed before she paused. "Uh makes sure that you warn Sarah Jane. I know they aren't in Central London, but just to be on the safe side. Let my Mum know too, just downplay the danger please."
"Affirmative Mistress Rose."
"I'll call headquarters," the agent muttered as she reached for her radio. "We should be able to get some Tungsten."
"In what time," Rose hissed to them as the faint light outside suddenly darkened.
They moved to the front of the shop in time to see the distance glow of light far beyond the area suddenly dim and then vanish. Rose estimated the lights had been at least a mile away. The Nortivil was sucking up power far too fast, the connected power lines of the city were making it just too easy.
"Shit!" Rose swore as they rushed out of the building and into the dark street. Locals had their cell phones out and were using the lights to navigate the dark streets as still running cars rushed by. "Okay, we need a new plan. No not a plan, but our own source of Tungsten!"
"Well…." Rory offered slowly as he glanced towards Amelia. "I know that some jewellery stores carry Tungsten rings nowadays. They are becoming more popular."
"Jewellery stores?" Amelia repeated in surprise. "Since when do you go into jewellery stores?"
Rory shifted a bit uncomfortably as Amelia held his arm and smiled at him. Then she saw the look of realisation appear on Amelia's face as her eyes widened and her lips parted a little. Turning to look at Amelia, Rory was blushing a little but had a hopeful smile on his face as Amelia stared at him. Then the ginger girl made a happy sound, leaned forward and kissed him quickly.
"Well whenever you find the right now and ask me just know that the answer will be yes," Amelia told Rory happily. She cleared her throat and looked back to Rose, still holding Rory's arm. "Okay, I thought I saw a jewellery store a couple blocks that way."
"What about the electroplating?" Shareen questioned quickly. "What do we need for that?"
"A tank with water, some electricity and some luck in disintegrating Tungsten," Rose replied with a hint of uncertainty. "This is not going to be easy."
"Is it ever?" Sharon countered with a weak laugh.
Two of the agents had their firearms trained on the back door as the other two spoke in low voices, seemingly to each other, but Rose could tell they were in contact with Hartman through their earpieces. Looking back down at her phone, Rose sent a text to Spock to alert UNIT. If she had to deal with a militant organisation tonight she wanted it to be the one she was allied with.
Then the shop suddenly got colder. Looking towards the back, Rose saw the Torchwood agents drawing back. She frowned and nibbled at her bottom lip and motioned for the others to head for the front door. In the distance, she could hear sirens and wondered what was happening out there in the dark. Her breath danced on the air in front of her and a smash from the back made them all jump.
"It's coming after us?" Shareen gasped. "Why? It has the whole of London to drain."
"Tactical," Rory pointed out as he pulled Amelia towards the front door. "We know what it is and will try to stop it. Take out the threat first."
Nodding, Rose pointed towards the front door and rushed towards it. The Torchwood agents remained in place all raising their weapons towards the back. As Rory pushed open the door and shined his torch into the street Rose turned back to the agents.
"What are you doing? Come on!" Rose called.
"You have a plan Tyler," one of the agents replied sharply. "Get to it."
"But-" Rose gasped in shock as Sharon grabbed her and started pulling her out into the street.
"More agents will be here soon," another agent informed her. "Move!"
The soft hissing of the Nortivil filled the shop and Sharon pulled her harder.
"Move Tyler!" One of the agents snapped just before they all started opening fire. "Kill this thing!"
Shareen joined Sharon in pulling and they pulled her out of the shop as the firing of a gun and the laughs of the Nortivil echoed behind her. Ahead of them, Rory was pointing down the street. He and Amelia waited only a moment for them to catch up before they all started rushing down the dark street. A scream poured out of the shop behind them and into the street, followed by another and then another and another before everything went silent.