Child of Earth

By Lumendea

Chapter Twenty-Three: Dark Minds: Ella Tyler

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.

…

As Alistair got another escort to return them to Kollwitzplatz, Rose knelt down next to Adam and smiled at him. The boy gave her a sly little smile, clearly aware that she now knew who he was and very pleased with the situation.

"Hi, Gran," Adam whispered to her and wow wasn't that a strange thing to hear.

"I'm very happy to meet you, Adam," Rose returned with a widening grin that she just couldn't help taking over her face.

Adam shifted over and hugged her just as one of the Captains nodded to Alistair and gestured down the hallway. A few moments later they were walking down to the garage again with her holding Adam's hand and staying a step behind Alistair. She was a bit at a loss for how to even interact with her son. She'd known Astra as a friend first before finding out she was her daughter and met Athena in a crisis that had them working together right from the start in a high-stress situation. Alistair was worried, she could tell by the tension in his shoulders as they climbed back into the UNIT SUV, Adam between them in the back seat.

"Have you found anything?" Adam asked carefully, eyeing their two UNIT escorts in the front seat.

"Not much yet," Alistair answered with a fond smile for the boy that made him look a bit more relaxed. "But we know that we're dealing with telepaths. They must have a ship or at least an energy hub in the area to be affecting the population."

"What about the children?" Rose questioned with a frown. "Any ideas on how they are affecting them and why?"

"Well the children are being affected by a telepathic field, different from whatever is surrounding Kollwitzplatz," Alistair told her as he looked out at the streets of Berlin. "Course the problem is that most humans aren't telepathic. Some are born with it, but it's so rare that it's impossible all those children are natural telepaths."

"So they're making them telepaths," Adam interjected with a frown. "That works because their brains are still growing right?"

"Exactly, exposure to telepathy by an immature brain can cause slight changes in a brain, but it is a slow process. This is extreme."

"Is it permanent, Doctor?" one of the men up front asked, looking a bit alarmed. "Will they be telepaths forever?"

"Doubtful, fully changing the structure of the brain to allow for telepathy is a slow process. It would take years of gradual exposure and even then it would emerge slowly. This isn't delicate, this is hooking into a brain and pulling. The brain structure will shift back to normal within a few years. The kids might be more sensitive for a while, but it won't last. But why bother in the first place is the real question."

Alistair glanced at her and Rose got the distinct impression that she was supposed to be taking something from that conversation. However, as they got closer and closer to Kollwitzplatz her headache was getting worse and making it hard to think clearly. Closing her eyes, Rose breathed slowly and tried to let her eyes rest. A small hand squeezed hers and a rush of giddiness blazed through Rose. Somehow the idea of a grandchild was actually easier than a child. After all, at the end of a visit, they could always give Adam back. A mental image of the Eleventh Doctor playing with their grandson popped into her head and it was almost unbearable cute.

Alistair and Adam seemed content to let the scenery roll past them, though Rose was certain her son was running down everything he knew. She hoped Ella was alright and wondered what she looked like. Time Agent father so probably half-human, but did she look half-human or more like Eve? Did she have powers like Eve's? Of course Rose hadn't actually seen Eve in years so she couldn't even be certain how Eve's powers had grown or changed. The headache was getting worse.

"Rose," Alistair called softly as the SUV began to slow down. "We're here."

"Thanks," Rose answered quickly, forcing a smile and avoiding referring to him by name or by his father's name. It was just a bit too weird still.

Kollwitzplatz was not nearly as friendly in the dark. Despite the street being well lit and several restaurants in the area being open it was like a fog had settled over the intersection of residential and shopping. As the SUV stopped and Alistair leapt out of the backseat, a strange feeling washed over her. Shuddering, Rose bit her lip and kept quiet even as Adam looked up at her with a soft smile. She was vaguely aware of their UNIT driver looking at them in confusion.

Rose almost laughed. They certainly weren't acting like people probably expected. The Eleventh Doctor flirted with her all the time, but Alistair. Well, obviously he didn't. Rose pushed that creepy odd thought away. This was weird enough. Again this was probably why you weren't supposed to cross your own timeline and yet…. It happened to her way too often.

"Is it weird pretending to be Grandad?" Adam asked his father as they strolled further away from the UNIT men.

"Very," Alistair admitted with a chuckle and a fond ruffle of his son's ginger hair. "But I didn't want to cause a panic and lot of questions. We need to find your mum."

"I still can only just feel her," Adam told his father with a darkening look. "There's something around here. Something pushing back against my telepathy and keeping me blind."

"Me too," Alistair agreed. "But don't worry, Adam, we'll find your mum. She'll be fine."

Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, Alistair held it up and Rose noted that while it had a blue diode the design was longer and larger more like the Eleventh Doctor's screwdriver. Small silver claws held the blue diode, but thankfully it still sounded the same when he turned it on. Alistair hummed softly himself as he held it with both hands and walked forward slowly.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked before she could stop herself.

"I've set the sonic to interact with telepathic fields. I'm using my own telepathy to… well feel around," he offered vaguely, looking a touch embarrassed.

"What do you need from us, Doctor?" One of the UNIT soldiers asked, making Rose jump a little at the reminder of who they thought Alistair was.

"Just stay back for the moment," Alistair answered shortly. "No one has been harmed yet and the kids aren't due to start arriving for a few more hours. This may be something completely peaceful."

Rose doubted that, but she couldn't help but smile at Alistair's attempt to reassure her and Adam. However, Adam raised a doubtful eyebrow and looked over at her. Holding back a smile, Rose caught the silent 'when have they ever been peaceful' look and moved over to the boy. She placed her hands on his shoulders as Alistair moved around with slow deliberate steps.

Alistair suddenly stopped in place and the pitch of the sonic screwdriver changed. Rose's eyes twinged again as she surveyed the area. They'd moved into the large playground area and Rose looked around with mild alarm. Was there something here affected the kids? No that couldn't be all there was since they were a vast range of ages and lived all over.

A triumphant shout that had Rose looking around the Doctor's tenth incarnation for a moment escaped Alistair and as he grinned, she felt like she'd been punched in the chest. Next to her Adam chuckled lightly and she was sure that the boy was plucking her shocked thoughts from her head. It was a bit surprising how much that didn't bother her, but then again, he was her grandson even if telepathy made her a bit uncomfortable. Bloody Silver Lord.

"It'll get easier, Gran," Adam reassured her, reaching over to squeeze her hand before turning his attention back to his father.

Alistair was moving around the large playground equipment, his sonic screwdriver beeping faster and faster. He suddenly adjusted his fingers on the device and muttered something under his breath. Rose thought she caught 'reverse the polarity' but couldn't be sure. A moment later the dark air above the equipment began t shimmer. Alistair kept the screwdriver fixed on a point above the jungle gym and waited.

The ship shimmered in view in front of them as Adam held tight to her hand. Her headache began to ease just enough that Rose could really focus on what she was seeing. Distantly she heard Alistair tell her to keep focusing on the ship. Inch by inch Rose could take in the small smooth looking saucer-like shape that was shining above the play area. Rose's eyes widened as she examined the slightly red tinted metal. Behind them, there were cries of alarm from UNIT.

Jumping forward, Alistair pulled himself up onto the top of the playground slide platform which let him just reach up and the touch the bottom of the ship. Rose's stomach turned even as she followed her future son up, gesturing for Adam to wait behind them. With a far too calm expression, Alistair reached up to the sonic screwdriver once again. Despite her efforts, Adam climbed up next to her.

"Adam-"

"You might need me for finding Mum," he pointed out completely calmly and rationally, taking her hand again.

"He's right," Alistair murmured as he moved the sonic screwdriver around for another moment and it whirled loudly in the quiet square. "Got it!"

With a hiss, a panel of the ship opened, swinging down with a faint blue glow radiating out of the ship. Alistair hummed for a moment as he studied it before looking back at Rose.

"Tractor beam," he told her simply before stepping forward. He vanished as his body was pulled up into the ship.

Rose hesitated for a moment, torn between staying outside with Adam to keep him safe and going with Alistair. Adam took it out of her hands when the boy tugged her sharply into the beam and the air was forced out of her lungs. For a moment she couldn't move, suspended in a field of energy which pulled her up into the ship. A few seconds later her surroundings changed and she was in a metallic red corridor with curved round walls.

"This way," Alistair whispered urgently. "We need to find Ella before anything else."

He didn't seem distressed about his young son being here and Rose had to sadly acknowledge that Alistair's upbringing probably hadn't been peaceful. Hopefully, his birth hadn't been a family crisis like Astra's, but there'd probably been someone who tried to find a way to use the Doctor's son against him. The thought was sobering and Rose nodded to Alistair, following him down the hall with a firm grasp of Adam's hand.

Alistair seemed to know exactly where he was going as if an internal compass was guiding him. Rose wasn't sure about this telepathy with Ella that he'd referenced, but wasn't going to ask. She kept Adam's hand in her left hand and had already summoned her sword in her right. The corridors were strangely empty and the ship was humming around them almost menacingly. Rose wondered just how long they'd be allowed to simply wander. Then Alistair stopped and pressed a series of buttons by a door that was sunk into the wall. It opened with a hiss and he entered the room beyond slowly.

It was a simple room, made of the same reddish metal as all the rest, but in the middle was a female laying on a long metal table. Machines built into the wall were beeping steadily and small lights were flashing, but Rose turned her attention back to the woman as Alistair swept over to her. Rose hadn't been sure what she'd been expecting honestly. The knowledge that Ella was Eve's daughter had made her expect someone who looked like a Verlan, but this woman looked very human. Must have taken after her father physically, or maybe some sort of perception filter while they were on Earth?

Ella reminded Rose a bit of Amy. She was tall and slim, very pretty with shocking red hair, but her hair was redder than anything natural Rose had ever seen before. It was closer to phone booth red than ginger. Between her, Amy, and Adam, the Doctor was probably sick with jealousy. As she studied her facial features, Rose smiled as she noted Eve's nose and cheekbones even with the soft rosy skin that appeared much more human than her mother's. She was dressed in very normal clothing including jeans and a long black shirt under a red leather jacket with boots.

"Sweetheart," Alistair called, leaning over the woman, and patting her cheek gently before his fingers slid up to her temple. "Can you hear me?"

Rose released Adam's hand and the boy rushed over to stand on the other side of his mother. For a moment she marvelled at the combination of features her grandson had. He had Alistair's nose which had come from the Doctor, but his mother's eyes. It was crazy and a wave of giggles threatened to escape her. Rose was only saved by watching Alistair put his fingers against Ella's temples for a moment with closed eyes. A moment later, Ella groaned softly and shifted on top of the table.

"Alistair?" her smooth voice questioned, just a hint of an accent. "Why? Uh Adam-"

"I'm right here Mum," Adam assured her quickly with a growing smile.

"Come on, sweetheart," Alistair said urgently. "We need to leave."

Nodding, Ella sat up a little and Alistair easily slid his arms around her, lifting her off the table. It was obvious that they'd had to do that in the past. Alistair caught her eye and Rose nodded, stepping back out into the corridor, and looking around. They still seemed to be alone, but Rose thought she heard something. Alistair stepped out behind her, carrying Ella carefully and started them back the way they'd come.

Then the sound behind them became louder and louder. They sped up, but Rose looked back as they reached the entrance once again. Adam moved to the controls on the wall as his father stepped over onto the strange circle of light. Something was moving up the corridor behind them and the humming around them was louder than before.

"Halt!"

The alien was large and heavy set with a strange slug-like body, but four bright glowing white eyes peering out at them. Its flesh was maroon and long horn-like structures grew out of its forehead and twisted back over its hairless head. There was no clothing, but rather bits of the small reddish metal decorating its form like gauntlets and collars. A soft hum at the back of her mind made her headache return and her eyes watered a tiny bit at the pain. It felt too similar to the migraines she'd had during her engagement to the Silver Lord. The knowledge that she was being telepathically probed made her stomach turn over.

"Ah, so you've chosen humans as your next targets," Alistair observed casually, as he gently set Ella down and she leaned against the wall. He stepped ahead of them and shielding Rose, Ella and Adam from view. "Going after Earth's children then?"

"Human brains develop slowly," the alien observed in a thick voice. "They can be shaped and altered for so long."

"You've harvested some energy, enough to leave," Alistair remarked in a darkening voice. "Leave this planet."

"We do not fear you, little Time Lord," the alien chuckled in a moist echoing voice that made Rose want to shift away. "You are not your father."

"No, I'm not," Alistair replied evenly. "But you know him enough to know how protective he is of this world. I was born here. Earth is my home planet. It is my mother's home world. Imagine if you can how fiercely I will fight for it." Alistair let the words sink in and stared down the alien. "Think about it and leave. This is your only warning."

Without another word, Alistair turned and moved back to them. He scooped Ella up bridal style again and nodded to Rose who grabbed Adam's hand tightly. Adam pressed a couple of the buttons and Rose shifted back onto the circle of light. They were surrounded in the glow again and she felt as if she were falling once more. A moment later Kollwitzplatz faded into place around them and Rose found herself looking at several worried UNIT officers who were crowded around the playground with weapons at the ready.

"How bad is this?" Rose questioned seriously as she risked a glance up at the vanishing ship. Her head ached a little as the telepathic field once again overtook her. "Do you think they'll leave?"

"No," Alistair all but growled as he shifted Ella's weight in his arms. "This is bad. They're further along with their plans than I was counting on." He paused and looked over at her to explain, "They're Bardonians. Powerful telepaths, but also a scavenger society."

"What are they doing here?" Rose pressed, hoping to get more information out of him. "Is this an invasion?"

"No- well sort of I suppose," Alistair grumbled. "They must have seeded technology in Berlin to make the children a bit telepathic. Despite being telepaths themselves they also feed on telepathic energy. Rather than feed on each other, they go from planet to planet to gorge themselves before moving on. They can leave a lot of destruction in their wake. You make nontelepathic species telepathic and things go insane. We're lucky this hasn't escalated too far yet."

"What now Da-Doctor?" Adam questioned.

"We need to find the seed and pull it out by the root."