Child of Earth
By Lumendea
Chapter Twenty-One: Dark Minds: Kollwitzplatz
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.
…
Rose Marion Tyler was breathing heavily as she kicked the hanging sand bag in front of her. Outside the gym there was a thin dusting of snow as the December weather settled in. Rose's long tank top was damp with sweat and beginning to cling to her as she lashed forward again to hit the hanging sand bag. There was a whoop behind her, but Rose ignored it. This gym was close and meant she could work out once or twice a week without having to go far from her flat. Downside was that the regulars enjoyed watching a bit too much. It was almost time to stop her body warned and Rose noted at her clothes were sweaty and her padded fingerless gloves were becoming uncomfortable. Twisting her body, Rose kicked the bag one last time on the mark and jumped back.
"Damn, Tyler," one of the guys yelled. "Why don't you come every day?"
Rose ignored him and grabbed her water bottle, taking a deep drink from it and rolling her shoulders. Setting the water bottle to the side, Rose started her cooldown and closed her eyes. Around her neck, her TARDIS key and ring were jangling softly and Rose could still feel a small sore patch from where they'd hit her during the routine. But she couldn't bear to totally take them off. The other chain was safe and sound in the pocket of her jeans, but her key and her ring were too important to be away from her person.
She could see a couple of the men moving a bit closer in the corner of her eye. At least they'd learned not to try and 'coach' her on her movements. The one she'd given a black eye to had made that lesson clear. The worst of them, though she got the impression he didn't think so, was a newer guy in the area who was doing a Masters at Cambridge. His name was Nathan Spiros and he was tall and muscular with dark hair and olive skin. He beamed at her and sauntered over.
"Hey, Tyler," Spiros greeted as he leaned against the bag with a wide grin.
"Hi, Spiros," Rose returned, stretching out her arms and ignoring him. "Sorry, I'm on my way out."
"Come on, Rose," he breathed as he moved in front of her with a grin. "Go on a date with me."
"I'm engaged," Rose answered quickly, smiling a little at just saying it.
"Never seen a boyfriend around," he pouted and Rose frowned a little.
"You wouldn't at the gym would you," she remarked trying to sound calm. "But I need to shower and get moving. Classes."
She dragged her bag and disappeared into the changing rooms. Rose preferred showering at home and thus quickly changed back into her jeans, shirt and hoodie. With a small smile, she slipped her heartstone ring back on, placing it on her left hand. That was new, but she liked the fact it discouraged some men from making passes. If the Doctor ever asked, she'd just tell him that it easier and kept it out of her way.
Thinking about him soured her mood a little and she hated that. Sure it was an instinct of his to run and she knew that he wasn't ready for 'them' just yet, but Rose couldn't pretend that it didn't sting more than a little. Heading out the door, she comforted herself with remembering how he'd looked at her and the sound of his voice when he'd learned she was alive despite being trapped with a Dalek. She hadn't been able to see him, but the sound of relief and that slightly pained note in his voice teamed with the look in his eyes when she'd told him that she'd leave with him told her a lot.
Then Rose became aware of a strange weight at the back of her mind like she was being watched. Rose stopped and glanced over her shoulder. There were people walking about quickly in the cold December air, but nothing stood out to her as weird. Shivering slightly, she quickened her pace and reentered her building. Heading upstairs, Rose kept her ears open for the sounds of anyone following her, but everything thankfully seemed calm and quiet.
Shaking her head, Rose dismissed her sense of alarm as simply too much adrenaline and headed to take a shower. She did lock the door, something she didn't usually bother with, but still couldn't quite shake the sense someone had been following her. As it was she barely made it out of the shower and dried off before she heard her mobile going off like crazy. Rushing into her bedroom, Rose grabbed the phone and answered it.
"This is Tyler."
"Rose, it's Kate," the familiar voice of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart greeted. "We have a job for you in Berlin. It's very urgent."
"So what's happening in Berlin?" Rose asked lightly as she slumped down on her bed, running a comb through her damp hair.
"Germany UNIT is reporting strange events around Berlin and they aren't sure what make of things," Kate explained sounding very frustrated. "It's all over the map, Rose, strange lights in the sky, teenagers acting strangely and odd interference being picked up all through the city."
"Okay," Rose replied as she reached under her bed to pull out her bag. "When will my transport be here?"
"That was easy," Kate observed with a chuckle.
"Let's be honest, I can turn you lot down, but I never have. Besides Berlin, haven't been there before. Could be fun."
….
The plane trip to Berlin wasn't fun, but at least it was a short flight however it gave Rose a little too much time just sitting on her own and thinking. Since the Dalek that had been dangerous. It made her worry about the Doctor, made her wonder what Eclipse had been trying to retrieve from Van Statten's vault and made her curious about if the disintegration of the artefacts in the Vault had derailed their plan. Probably not, she decided. That group hadn't cared much for Van Statten and wouldn't have left something they truly needed in his care.
Rose looked down at the file she'd been handed when she'd boarded the small private plane and opened it again. She'd already gone through it but started skipping through the scraps of information that UNIT currently had. There was a photograph of a group of teenagers and younger kids all standing in a large empty square in a circle, but they weren't doing anything according to the series of photos captured by the camera. This had been happening with different kids every night for a week. Add in the strange lights and odd interference happening around Berlin and UNIT thought they had an alien.
She was inclined to agree. Aliens liked messing around with kids, probably because they reacted so differently from adults. Rose glanced at the list of kids, reminding herself that there were other reasons aliens messed with kids: Horath Academy and the Krillitaines had made that clear. The jet gave a small jolt thanks to some turbulence and Rose looked out the window. Down below she could see the patchwork landscape of Germany below. Licking her lip, she felt the plane begin to descend and went back to the start of the file, looking for anything else that she may have missed.
"At least term is done," Rose muttered to herself before sighing loudly.
She flipped through the pages again and almost grumbled, from what she could see there weren't any connections between the children. Only a couple of them went to the same schools and she was chalk that up to coincidence as others in the circle went to different schools. Where they lived was scattered, their ages ranged from eight to sixteen and their schools were scattered. There didn't seem to be any connection amongst them.
The plane landed with a soft thump and Rose closed the file. Moving automatically, she unbuckled herself, stretched out and recovered her bag. She picked up the file as they taxied a short distance and then waited impatiently as the stairs were brought over.
There was a black SUV waiting and an officer next to it as Rose came down the stairs only a couple of minutes later. It was chilly, but the air tasted clean and fresh from what must have been recent snowfall.
"Welcome, Miss Tyler," the officer greeted with a salute. "I am Captain Fischer of UNIT Germany. I am to be your primary contact so if you require anything just say the word."
"Thank you," Rose answered with a nod and a smile. "Are you speaking English or German?"
"I was assured that you had a translator so I'm speaking German," he answered with a nod. "Less likely to cause confusion."
"Good idea," Rose agreed, adjusting the strap of her bag. "Where are we going to start?"
"Do you need to rest or would you like to begin now?"
"Now," Rose answered. It was late afternoon, but Rose was itching to get started. If nothing else this trip delayed her returning to London and her mother's uncomfortable questions. "Maybe start with a look at the plaza. I'm sure you've been over it, but knowing the lay of the land can be useful."
"Of course, Miss Tyler," Captain Fischer replied, gesturing her to the black SUV.
They climbed in without much fuss and their driver quickly got them onto one of the massive roads heading into Berlin proper. Rose watched out the window, taking in the rapidly passing buildings. In some ways, it resembled London and other European cities, but every so often she caught sight of something that looked like it came from Soviet Russia. For a moment she was confused, trying to remember why the Empire of Germany would have buildings like that. Then, thankfully, her knowledge clicked back into place.
"Bloody other memories," Rose grumbled, shaking her head. Honestly, how could a person forget World War II, even for a moment and the aftermath?
"I'm sorry?" Fischer questioned.
"Nothing," Rose forced out. There was no need to dig into the memories of that alternate timeline. "Anyway, tell me your impressions of the situation. I've read the official file, but what are you noticing?"
"Every night for the past week seemingly random children get out of bed, get dressed and walk across the city to Kollwitzplatz," Captain Fischer informed her with a shake of her head. "Then they just stand in a circle before heading for home. Since we know about it, we've been gathering them up and taking them in for medical care."
"Any injuries?" Rose questioned with a frown.
"No, just exhaustion like it says in the file," Fischer replied with a shake of his head. "After a day or so of rest, they seem completely normal. They have no idea what happened to them. Honestly, it's all we can do to keep it from getting out to the general public and causing a panic."
"Yeah," Rose muttered. "Kids are harder to deal with."
"Indeed, the area is very active. Yesterday was the organic market, but our plain clothes agents didn't find or see anything. Tomorrow is the larger Saturday market."
"So it'll be crazy busy," Rose muttered. "That's not good. Can't you close the market?"
"That market has been going on for fifty years," Fischer answered with a shake of his head. "It isn't an easy one just to cancel."
"Not without drawing, even more, attention to the situation," Rose noted with a sigh. "I get it."
"Well we'll be there soon and you can have a look around," Fischer offered, sounding a bit uncomfortable and apologetic.
"Yeah, we'll sort it out, Captain. Once I have a look I'd like to go to your HQ and check in with your science team."
"Oh, of course, Miss Tyler."
"Just Rose is fine."
….
Kollwitzplatz was an oddly shaped plaza area that was almost laid out like a triangle but didn't quite manage it. The area was good sized with a large fenced playground for children that still had a few brave souls enjoying it despite the cold. Rose had to admit that the area was lovely, even in the winter with tall trees surrounding the main area of the plaza.
The streets surrounding it were packed with people, cars and long rows of shops and restaurants as they stretched out of sight. There was an odd likely modern statue of an unfamiliar figure at one end of the plaza that Rose glanced over quickly. Rose's black boots crunched against the snow with a satisfying noise and she had to admit she was surprised at the couple of inches that were still lingering on the Berlin streets and sidewalks. Around her people were hurrying by in their day to day lives with only a few of them glancing curiously at the black SUVs parked along the street.
Sighing, Rose looked around at the buildings surrounding the plaza, wondering what this place's connection with the children was. Her gut said that somewhere in one of those buildings was alien technology, but where and what was it for. Pulling out the sonic pen, Rose adjusted her settings and slowly turned it. The sonic pen beeped slowly, but nothing registered on the sensor making Rose frown and look around again. It was possible that the source of the issue was shut off currently, but still…..
Something small knocked into her legs, almost pushing her over and Rose looked down in alarm. She dropped her arm and prepared to summon her sword only to find a small child, probably about six holding onto her right leg in a fierce hug. The boy had bright ginger hair that was just long enough to hang into his big brown eyes. The colour and soft curls would have made the Doctor very jealous, Rose realised with a spark of amusement. He was looking up at Rose expectantly with a wide relieved grin.
"Hello?" Rose tried gently, grateful once more for her translator. "Are you alone?" She questioned as she looked around for any sign of a parent. "Are you hurt?"
"No," the boy answered cheerfully. "But I lost Mummy."
"Oh, that's not good," Rose answered slowly as she relaxed a little. A lost child, bad, but a very human problem.
"This place isn't good," the boy told her. "Something isn't right. Feels wrong." He shuddered and only eased his grip a little bit. "Can't you feel it. Something pulling on your mind."
The words made Rose freeze and she slowly raised her eyes away from the boy to look around. Now that he mentioned it, there was something. It was difficult to pinpoint with the noise of the city around them, but as Rose pushed all that away she thought that maybe she could feel something. Like someone was just barely touching the back of her neck.
Shuddering, Rose looked back at the boy who was giving her a thoughtful, almost confused look. Then his brown eyes suddenly widened and he jumped back from her as his face turned almost as red as his hair. Kneeling down, Rose caught his arms and held him still.
"How did you know that?" Rose asked, keeping herself calm so she didn't scare him. "Do you live around here?"
"No," the boy answered with a shake of his head. "I lost Mummy."
"We'll take you to the police," Rose promised, relaxing little. "But is there anything else you can tell me."
"I don't know who is doing it," the boy told her with a sigh. "They're just… draining, but how I don't know. Sorry."
As he said the word sorry, his eyes flashed red and Rose gasped softly. He yawned and wrapped his coat a little tighter around him, reminding Rose that it was winter and getting dark. Looking over her shoulder, she noted that the captain was still by the SVUs that were stationed here. She turned her attention back to the boy who was staying close to her and seemed completely at ease, almost happy to see her.
"Who are you?" Rose asked gently.
"Adam," the boy told her with a small smile.
"And you aren't from Berlin are you Adam?"
"No," he laughed, looking more relaxed.
"Are you from Earth?" Rose asked him, voicing the suspicion.
"Sorta," the boy replied with a tilt of his head. "I was born here, but I'm only part human."
"Okay, that's fine," Rose assured him before looking around. "Your Mummy… is she causing the kids to come here at night?"
"No," Adam told her urgently with a shake of his head. "Mummy and I came here today to look around, but I lost her."
"Tyler!" Captain Fischer called from across the plaza. "Call from HQ. We need to be heading back."
Licking her lip, Rose looked down at the little apparently part alien boy trying to figure out what to do. She was inclined to believe him about him and his mother just coming to look at the area. He seemed a bit telepathic and his mother probably was too. They must have been drawn here and… Rose paused. He'd lost his mother. Maybe there was something hostile behind this and his mother had been captured.
"Adam," Rose started slowly. "I have to go, but maybe you should come with me. Just in case. Until we find your Mum."
"Okay," Adam agreed with a beaming smile. "She wouldn't want me to stay here alone. I was going to call my aunt if she didn't come back soon," he informed her as he patted the pocket of his coat.
"Alright then," Rose breathed as she stood up and extended her hand to him. "Come on. I'll keep you safe."
"I know," he replied sounding very certain of that as he took her hand with a smile.
As they approached Captain Fischer, she could see the officer looking at Adam in confusion. Holding up a hand, Rose gave a pointed glance around before saying, "I'll explain on the way. Just trust me."
Adam's hand squeezed hers before Rose helped him into the SUV's back seat. Captain Fischer gave him one more look before sighing in defeat and nodding.
….
UNIT's Berlin HQ was in the middle of the city and hidden in a small maze of backroads and dummy office buildings. Guards were positioned in small hiding holes that kept them out of the view of the public who seemed content just to keep walking by. It was a bit much, but Rose had to admit it was better than having your HQ beneath a major landmark full of tourists. She still occasionally wondered who's idea that had been.
As they drove in through a large door into a garage, Rose smiled at the more familiar sight of UNIT guards on rotation. She looked at Adam who was half curled up against her side and looking out the window. Rose noted that he didn't seem surprised or worried about all the soldiers. In fact, Rose noted with a slight frown that he seemed quite relaxed with everything that was happening.
They stopped moving before Rose could think too deeply on the subject and Captain Fischer gave the boy one more long look as Rose climbed out. She took Adam's hand again, aware of how the other staff members were looking at her.
"Miss Tyler," Captain Fischer said in a low voice. "I'm afraid that I must insist that the boy waits elsewhere."
"If by elsewhere you mean a holding cell-"
"No nothing like that," Captain Fischer assured her quickly, motioning towards a waiting private. "There is a very nice lounge on the third floor with a television, but we can't have an alien, even a hybrid child just running around an active investigation."
Rose paused and looked down at Adam who was watching the Captain. She was certain that he had understood everything and it occurred to her that she had no idea what language the boy was speaking to her. He gave her a reassuring smile and released her hand.
"No tests," Rose told the Captain sternly. "He'll stay here unless there is danger and no one is to question him without me present."
"Of course, Agent Thorn," the captain agreed with a nod and a tiny step back.
Rose noted that he'd switched from her name to her codename and wondered if she'd sounded that intimidating. Giving Adam another smile, she stayed still as the Private introduced himself as Private Mueller and escorted the boy off with a pleasant smile.
"He'll be alright," Captain Fischer assured her. "Private Mueller has a pair of twins about his age… if he ages like us."
"He might," Rose answered with a shrug, forcing herself to look away from Adam. "Okay, science department. If Adam's right and we're dealing with telepathy then we need to figure out our approach."
"Of course," Fischer said. "This way."
He led her down one of the rather bland corridors, past a row of offices where people in uniforms and lab coats leaned over to look at her. Small signs on the walls provided directions, which was good as everything looked the same. Soon enough they were in front of a large pair of double doors marked 'Science Division'.
Fischer opened the door for her and Rose stepped into a large lab area filled with long tables, instruments and cabinets. Around the outer edge were a series of offices with a few people working in them. A blue public police phone box stood in the corner of the room and Rose's eyes were instantly drawn to it. She began to smile before the door on the far side of the room opened and a UNIT Captain strolled in with a younger looking man. He was tall, just about six feet with handsome features and slightly messed short brown hair. He was dressed in dark blue jeans, a button down shirt with folded up sleeves and a waistcoat. When he spotted her, his brown eyes warmed and he smiled.
"Ah, Miss Tyler," the UNIT Captain greeted her with a salute. "As you can see the Doctor has joined us."
But the man that was looking at her was not the Doctor. Rose stared into his eyes, but they were all wrong. Far too young and lacking something. This man was not the Doctor.