Disclaimer: I Don't own Doctor Who that goes to the BBC
A few weeks later, Muse's 'Supermassive Black Hole' was playing over the speakers as Amy, Jack and Rory were playing darts as the Doctor and Rose were at the console as Rory threw and his dart came in under the wire.
"46," Amy noted, "Rubbishy rubbishy rubbish."
"Yeah, that was bad," Jack said, agreeing with Amy.
"Hello, it's a double top," Rory told them.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Jack told him.
"Wrong side of the wire, mister," Amy told him.
"You're red," Rory told his wife.
"No, I'm not. Stop trying to put me off," Amy laughed.
"Doc, Rose, are either of you planning on joining us?" Jack asked as Amy took her turn as they watched.
"Not right now, Jack, thanks anyway," Rose answered as she and the Doctor looked at the scanner with Amy's pregnancy scan which was still switching between positive and negative as the Doctor switched off the music, "Theta, do you suspect that Amy's a Ganger?"
"I do, Arkytior," he answered.
"That has to be the only explanation for the scanner's confusion."
"Who wants fish 'n' chips?" The Doctor asked as Rory raised his hand, "I'll drop you both off. Don't forget to get some for Rose, she loves fish 'n' chips. Take your time. Don't rush. Jack, Rose and I need to check something out."
Jack then looked at him with a confused look, "We do?"
"Uh, and you, Rose and Jack?" Rory asked.
"We have things to do, things involving... other things," the Doctor explained.
"Well, we'll stay with you , Rose and Jack," Amy told him, "We'll do the other things."
"Nope," the Doctor said as Jack, Amy and Rory joined both Gallifreyans at the console.
"Whatever you're up to, I, personally, would like to be a part of it," Amy said before scoffing, "What?"
A klaxon blared as the TARDIS began to buck as Jack and Rory held onto two parts of the railing as Amy clung to the console as the Doctor and Rose tried to get them out of it.
"Solar Tsunami. Came directly from your sun. A tidal wave of radiation," the Doctor explained, "Big, big, big!"
The TARDIS was soon thrown about in the tsunami.
"Ohh, Doctor, my tummy's going funny," Rory reported.
"Well, the gyros are dissipated," the Doctor explained, "Target-tracking is out."
With a grunt, Rose threw a lever that did nothing as the TARDIS hurtled back down to Earth.
"Assume the position," the Doctor said.
With a scream, Amy sat in one of the chairs, hands over her head. Jack was sitting in one of the chairs nearby as Rory kneeled on the floor, covering his head as they stopped suddenly as Amy and Rory looked up, panting and saw the Doctor and Rose standing there before Jack stood up with them.
"In your terms that would be a textbook landing," Rose told them.
The TARDIS materialized on an island as the Doctor stepped out followed by Rose, Jack, Amy and Rory and looked up at a weathervane at the top of a spire, "Behold! A cockerel. Love a cockerel. And, underneath, a monastery, 13th-century."
"Oh, we've gone all medieval," Amy observed.
"I'm not sure about that," Rory told her.
"Really? Medieval expert, are you?" Amy asked him.
"No, it's just that I can hear Dusty Springfield," Rory explained as he heard the 'You Don't Have to Say You Love Me' playing in the background.
"This is actually the 22nd century," Jack told them, "There was a medieval resurgence in that period."
"How do you know?" Rory asked him.
"I'm from the 51st century, remember?" Jack reminded him as they walked towards a stairway and saw a hole in the ground with an exposed pipe.
"These fissures are new," the Doctor said as he examined the exposed pipe, "The solar Tsunami sent out a huge wave of gamma particles. This was caused by a magnetic quake that occurred just before the wave hit."
"Well, the monastery's standing," Amy told them as the Doctor took a snow globe from his pocket and shook it.
"Yeah, for now," the Doctor said as he studied the snowglobe before putting it away.
"We're not sure how long," Rose added.
"Doctor, Rose, look," Jack said as he saw the words 'DANGER Corrosive' on the exposed pipe.
"Ah, it's a supply pipe," the Doctor said as he scanned the pipe with his sonic screwdriver after he extended it as he flicked it, "Ceramic inner lining. Something corrosive," He then closed his sonic screwdriver and placed it back in his tweed jacket, "They're pumping something nasty off this island, to the mainland."
"My mum's a massive fan of Dusty Springfield," Rory added.
"Is she really?" Rose asked.
"Yeah she is," Rory answered.
"Who isn't? Right, let's go. Satisfy our rabid curiosity," the Doctor said as he climbed the wooden stairs followed by Rose, Jack, Amy and Rory.
Some of the buildings in the monastery's courtyard were in ruins but a large portion were also inhabitable.
"So, where are these Dusty Springfield-loving monks, then?" Amy asked.
"I think we're here," the Doctor said as he scanned the area with his sonic screwdriver, "This is it."
"Doctor, what are you talking about?" Rory asked, "We've never been here before."
"We came here by accident," Rose explained as the Doctor climbed another set of steps.
"What do you mean accident?" Jack asked.
"We'll explain later," Rose answered as Rory touched one of the pipes running alongside the stairs and pulled his hand away.
"Ah!" Rory groaned with pain, "Ow!"
"Acid," the Doctor explained, "They're pumping acid off this island. That's old stuff. Fresh acid? You wouldn't have a finger."
The Doctor continued as Amy looked at Rory's hand as an alarm blared.
"Intruder alert. Intruder alert."
"There are people coming. Well, almost," the Doctor said as he came back
"Almost coming?" Amy asked.
"Almost people," the Doctor said before heading off with Rose, Jack and Amy following.
"I think we should probably go," Rory told them
"Come on!" Amy urged him.
"I'm telling you, when something runs towards you, it's never for a nice reason," Rory protested as Amy came back and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him along.
The Doctor, Rose, Jack, Amy and Rose rushed into a room where there were window alcoves with human-shaped harnesses, three of which are occupied by people in orange jumpsuits.
"What are all these harnesses for?" Amy asked.
"Uh, the almost people?" Jack surmised.
"What are they, prisoners? Or are they meditating, or what?" Amy asked.
"Well, at the moment, they fall into the 'or what' category," the Doctor said.
"Definitely the or what category," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Halt and remain calm."
"Well, we've halted. How are we all doing on the 'calm' front?" The Doctor asked as two men, one with white hair and was around 43 years old named Jimmy with the other man having brown hair and was around 37 years old named Buzzer and a woman with black hair and was around 34 years old entered the room with both men aiming lances at them.
"Don't...Move!" The man with Jimmy ordered.
"Stay back, Jen. We don't know who they are," the man with black hair told Cleaves.
"So let's ask them," she suggested, "Who the hell are you?"
"Well, I'm the Doctor, this is my wife, Rose and these are our friends, Captain Jack Harkness, Amy and Rory and it's all very nice, isn't it?" The Doctor said, introducing himself, his wife and their friends to them.
"Hold up. You're all — what are you all, like, identical twins?" Amy asked as she realized that the people talking with them were duplicates of the ones in the harnesses.
Another man with brown hair and a woman with black hair and was around 43 years old named Cleaves in acid suits entered from behind them.
"This is an Alpha-grade industrial facility. Unless you work for the military or for Morpeth Jetson, you are in big trouble," the woman told them.
"Actually, you're in big trouble," the Doctor said as he took out and showed her his Psychic Paper.
"Meteorological department, since when?" Cleaves asked as she took the Psychic Paper.
"Since you were hit by a solar wave," the Doctor answered.
"Which we survived," the woman told him.
"Just, by the look of it," the Doctor told her, "And there's a bigger one on the way."
"Which we'll also survive," Cleaves insisted, "Dicken, scan for bugs."
"Backs against the wall. Now," Dicken said as he held up a scanner as the Doctor, Rose, Jack, Amy and Rory backed up to the wall.
"You're not a monastery," the Doctor realized, "You're a factory. 22nd-century, army-owned factory."
"You're army?" Amy said with disbelief.
"No, love, we're contractors and you're trespassers," Cleaves told her.
"It's okay, boss," Dicken said as he finished scanning both Gallifreyans and the three humans
"All right, weatherman, your I.D. checks out," Cleaves told the Doctor, "If there's another solar storm, what are you going to do about it, hand out sunblock?"
"Ha ha ha ha. I need to see your critical systems," the Doctor said after faking a laugh.
"Which one?" She asked.
"You know which one," he answered.
Near one end of a room was a vat on a raised platform. In front of it on the floor was an open tub the size of a person. There was liquid bubbling in the vat as the Doctor walked around to the opposite side of the vat and looked at the white liquid inside as he and Rose knew what it was and suspected that Jack knew as well, considering he was from the 51st century.
"And there you are," the Doctor muttered.
"Meet the government's worst-kept secret — the flesh," Cleaves said, "It's fully programmable matter. In fact, it's even learning to replicate itself at the cellular level."
"I already know what it is," Rose told her.
"Right. Brilliant. Lost," Amy told them.
"Okay. Once a reading's been taken, we can manipulate its molecular structure into anything, replicate a living organism, down to the hairs on its chinny-chin-chin. Even clothes, and everything's identical — eyes, voice," Cleaves explained.
"Mind, soul," the Doctor added.
"Don't be fooled, Doctor. It acts like life, but it still needs to be controlled by us from those harnesses you saw," Cleaves told them.
"Wait, whoa-oa-oa, hold it. So... You're flesh now?" Rory asked.
"I'm lying in a harness back in that chamber," Cleaves told him, "We all are, except Jennifer, here. Don't be scared. This thing? Just like operating a forklift truck."
"You said it could grow. Only living things grow," the Doctor told her.
"It is life!" Rose argued.
"No it's not. It's like moss as that grows as well," Cleaves told the Time Lady, "It's no more than that. This acid is so dangerous, we were losing a worker every week. So now, we mine the acid, using these doppelgangers, or 'gangers.' If these bodies get burnt or fall in the acid…"
"Then who the hell cares? Right, Jen?" The ganger version of the man with Buzzer asked.
"Well, the nerve endings automatically cut off, like airbags being discharged, except we wake up and get a new ganger," Jennifer added.
"It's weird. But you get used to it," the ganger version of the man with Jimmy told them.
"Jennifer, I want you in your ganger," Cleaves told Jennifer, "Get back to the harness."
"Hang on. What's he up to? What are you up to, pal?" The ganger version of the man with Buzzer asked as the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to scan the Flesh but he seemed to struggle to move his arm.
"Stop it. Ahh!" The Doctor cried as he pulled his arm back, "Strange. It was like, for a moment there, it was scanning me." He then puts his sonic screwdriver back in his tweed jacket's pocket before he took his hand out to reach the top of the liquid as he touched it with the palm of his hand.
"Doctor," Cleaves warned him.
"Ahh," the Doctor groaned as his hand shook as he couldn't pull it away from the Flesh.
"Get back, Doctor. Leave it alone!" Cleaves ordered.
"Ahh! Ah! Ah! Gah!" The Doctor cried out in pain as he pulled his hand away, "I understand."
"Doctor, are you all right?" Rose asked as she went up to her husband.
"Incredible, Rose," he answered, "You have no idea. No idea. I mean, I felt it in my mind. I reached out to it and it, to me."
"Don't fiddle with the money, Doctor," Cleaves said.
"How can you be so blinkered?" The Doctor said, "It's alive, so alive. You're piling your lives, your personalities, directly into it." They suddenly heard lightning crashing sounds as the Doctor took out the snow globe again as the ground shook, "It's the solar storm. The first waves come in pairs — pre-shock and full shock — it's close."
"Buzz, have we got anything from the mainland yet?" Cleaves asked the ganger version of the man with Buzzer as the Doctor walked away from the vat filled with the Flesh.
"No, the comms are still too jammed with radiation," the ganger version of Buzzer answered.
"Okay, then we'll keep pumping acid until the mainland says stop," Cleaves told him, "Now, why don't you stand back and let us impress you."
They watched the tub as soon a face began to form as the mouth first and then the eyes. The Flesh then formed itself into Jennifer except the face wasn't fully defined. She then sat up with a gasp, now fully formed.
"Well, I can see why you keep it in a church," the Doctor said, "The miracle of life."
"No need to get poncey," the ganger of Buzzer told him, "It's just gunge."
"Guys, we need to get to work," Cleaves told them.
"Okay, everybody," the ganger version of Jimmy said as he helped the ganger version of Jennifer out, "Let's crack on."
"Did I mention the solar storm?" The Doctor reminded them, "You need to get out of here."
"Well, where do you want us to go?" The ganger version of Jimmy asked him, "We're on a tiny island."
"Well, me and my husband can get you all off it," Rose explained.
"Don't be ridiculous," Cleaves scoffed, "We've got a job to do."
"It's coming," the Doctor said as he took the snowglobe back out.
"That's the alarm," the Ganger version of Jennifer said as an alarm started blaring
"How do you get power?" The Doctor asked.
"We're solar," the ganger version of Cleaves answered, "We use a solar router. The weather vane."
"Big problem," the Doctor told them.
'Boss, maybe if the storm comes back, we should get underground," the ganger version of Jimmy said, "The factory's seen better days. The acid pipes might not withstand another hit."
"We have 200 tons of acid to pump out. We fall behind, we stay another rotation. Anyone want that?" The ganger version of Cleaves asked.
"Please," the Doctor said as he grabbed the ganger version of Cleaves by the arm and pulled her aside, "You are making a massive mistake here. You're right at the crossroads of it. Don't turn the wrong way. If you don't — if you don't — prepare for this storm, you are all in terrible danger, understand?"
"My factory, my rules," the ganger version of Cleaves said as she walked away.
"I need to check the progress of the storm," the Doctor told the ganger version of Jennifer as he snapped his fingers, "Monitoring station." She hesitated to answer, causing him to snap his fingers again, "Monitoring station!"
"Three lefts, a right, and a left. Third door on your left," the ganger version of Jennifer answered.
"Thank you," the Doctor said before he left the room with Rose followed by Jack, Amy and Rory.
The Doctor, Rose, Jack, Amy and Rory entered the monitoring station as the building shook from the storm. In the center is a circular bank of instruments.
"The wave's disturbing the earth's magnetic field. There is going to be the mother and father of all power surges. You see this weather vane, the cock-a-doodle-doo? It's a solar router, feeding the whole factory with solar power. When that wave hits, kaboom," the Doctor explained before running towards the doorway with Rose, "Me and Rose got to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose." He then stopped in the doorway, "I never thought I'd have to say that again. Ah. Amy, breathe."
"Yeah! I mean, thanks, I'll try," Amy said as he left the room before she, Jack and Rory left the room as well
The Doctor and Rose ran across to the tower upon which the solar router rests.
"How are we going to open the power box?" Rose asked, "I doubt our screwdrivers will work on it."
"A lock pick," he answered as he took a lock pick out of his tweed jacket's pocket before they ran towards a ladder, "Ladies first."
"Oh, brother," Rose muttered as she climbed up the ladder followed by the Doctor and stopped beside the power box as the Doctor handed her the lock pick and placed it in the power box's lock and soon it fell out of her hands and fell to the ground below, "Now how are we going to open it?"
"With our hands," the Doctor suggested and she pulled it open with a grunt just as the lightning struck the tower and both Rose and the Doctor fell off of the ladder to the battlement below.
About an hour later, the Doctor woke up with a gasp and sat up and the top of the vane was gone before turning to Rose, who was still unconscious.
"Wake up, Arkytior," the Doctor said before she opened her eyes.
"Hi, Theta," she greeted him before trying to stand up but had trouble, "Can you help me up?"
"Ok," he said before he helped her up.
"Thanks, Theta," she told him.
"No problem, Arkytior," he said before she kissed him for a second before they ran down the stairs and saw Cleaves standing there. bewildered.
"Cleaves, you're not in your harness!" The Doctor said, bewildered to see her there.
"I'm sorry, Doctor. You were right," Cleaves told him.
"It seems you've lost all power to the factory," Rose told her.
"Doctor, Rose, I abandoned my team," Cleaves told them.
"Then let's go get them," the Doctor said as they went inside.
Both Gallifreyans soon walked down a tunnel through the factory with Cleaves.
"How long would you say we were unconscious for, Cleaves?" The Doctor asked Cleaves.
"Not long. A minute, two minutes," Cleaves answered.
"I'd hazard we've been out a teensy bit longer," the Doctor told her.
"Me too," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Well, how long?" Cleaves asked them.
"An hour. We've seen whole worlds turned inside-out in an hour. A lot can go wrong in an hour," the Doctor answered before he and Rose continued on with Cleaves sighing before she followed them.
Jack, Amy and Rory entered the harness room as the humans got out of the harnesses.
"I feel like I've been toasted," Buzzer complained.
"What the hell happened?" Jimmy asked.
"The Tsunami happened," Jack answered.
"You're hurt," Amy noted.
"Well, it feels like the national grid's running through my bones, but, apart from that…" Jimmy began to say.
"I hope the meter's not bust," Buzzer said, "I still want to get paid."
"Why-y-y?" They heard Jennifer's voice whimpering.
"Jennifer! Jennifer? Hey, all right," Rory said as he saw Jennifer by herself and went over to comfort her.
"It hurt so much," Jennifer complained.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, it's over," Rory said as he hugged her.
"I couldn't get out of my harness," she told him
"Shh-shh-shh," Rory said, trying to shush her.
"I thought I was going to die," Jennifer told him.
"Welcome to my world," he told her as he looked at Amy over Jennifer's head as the Doctor, Rose and Cleaves entered the room.
"Doctor, Rose, look, these are all real people," Amy told both Gallifreyans, "So where are their gangers?"
"Don't worry, when the link shuts down, the gangers return to pure flesh," Cleaves answered, "Now, the storm's left us with acid leaks all over, so we need to contact the mainland. They can have a rescue shuttle out here in no time."
They then Dusty Springfield playing.
"That's my record," Jimmy said, "Who's playing my record?"
"Your gangers," the Doctor answered.
"It seems they've gone walkabout," Rose added.
"No, it's impossible," Cleaves said with disbelief, "They're not active. Cars don't fly themselves, cranes don't lift themselves, and gangers don't…" They then turned to the sound of the music.
A record was playing on the turntable as they entered the dining room through the thick plastic strips.
"No way," Buzzer said with disbelief.
"I don't...I don't believe this," Cleaves said as she was confused as well.
"They could've escaped through the service door in the back," Jimmy suggested.
"This is just like the Isle of Sheppey," Buzzer added as the Doctor sat at the table and looked at a house of cards.
"It would seem the storm has animated your gangers," the Doctor said.
"The Doctor's right," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"They've ransacked everything," Cleaves said.
"Not ransacked, searched," Jack said as he knew what both Gallifreyans were getting at.
"Through our stuff?" Cleaves added.
"Their stuff," the Doctor said, correcting her.
"Searching for what?" Jimmy asked.
"Confirmation. They need to know their memories are real," the Doctor answered.
"Oh, so they've got flaming memories now?" Buzzer asked.
"They feel compelled to connect to their lives, yeah," the Doctor answered.
"Their stolen lives," Cleaves told him.
"No, bequeathed. You gave them this. You poured in your personalities, emotions, traits, memories, secrets, everything. You gave them your lives," the Doctor told her, "Human lives are amazing. Are you surprised they walked off with them?"
"I'll say it again, Isle of Sheppey," Buzzer said, "Ganger got an electric shock, toddled off, killed his operator, right there in his harness. I've seen the photos. This bloke's ear was hanging…"
"Even if this has actually happened, they can't remain stable without us plumbed into them," Jimmy said, "Can they, boss?"
"I guess we'll find out," Cleaves answered.
"Are you okay? Do you need some water?" Rory asked Jennifer as she gasped as he was at her side.
"I feel funny. I need the washroom," Jennifer said before leaving the room.
"I'll come with you," Rory said as he followed her.
"Sorry," Dickens said as he sneezed.
"That's me. It's good to have a hobby," Buzzer said as The Doctor leaned forward as he studied the cards, "So, what, my ganger did that, all on its own?"
"Who taught you to do this?" Rose asked him.
"Me granddad," Buzzer answered.
"Well, your ganger's granddad taught him to do it, too," the Doctor told him, "You both have the same childhood memories, just as clear, just as real."
"No," Buzzer said with disbelief as he knocked down the cards.
"They're scared, disorientated, struggling to come to terms with an entire life in their heads," the Doctor explained to them.
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