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Episode 9
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Rose watched them with a seething glare, this woman who came out of no where seemed to be getting The Doctor's attention more than she was; and she was learning to fly the TARDIS!
Just when she had thought that her and the Doctor where getting somewhere, her subtle seducing and playing the victim was working but SHE had to ruin everything. When they came into the console room laughing and smiling; Rose immediately stepped up to the plate on asking who the hell this women was.
Apparently she was a Timelady that the TARDIS created to keep him company. Either way, Rose hated both now; although there was a nagging voice in the back of her mind. If the TARDIS could create a whole Timelady maybe she could become one as well to be with the Doctor forever.
—————
For two days they had been in the console room, Rose trying her hardest to get the Doctor's attention back on her; after changing into a more revealing shirt. Her eyes narrowed as she watched The Doctor and what the girl wanted to be called; Diana laugh with one another. There was a pause before the TARDIS shook, and they were off chasing something.
The Doctor piloting the TARDIS while Rose rushed around trying to keep close, "What's the emergency?!" Rose shouted as Diana pushed a lever down with a frown as her mother spoke to her. "A Mauve." She spoke causing The Doctor to look towards her and nod, he trusted her to know. "A mauve?" Rose snipped as she caught herself from falling over. "Universally recognized color for danger." The Doctor spoke as he moved around towards Diana at the same time Rose moved towards him.
"What happened to red?" Rose asked causing Diana to smile, "That's just humans" The Doctor smiled and winked nodding towards her causing Rose to roll her eyes. Diana had become a part of The Doctor's life. In the span of a week; although it seemed longer. He knew everything about, which wasn't much except her little ticks she had like when she was confused she would cock her head to the side. When she was angry, she kinda pouted. He was learning things about her that she didn't even know but at the same time she had learned a lot about him as well. Although most of it she had already known about thanks to her mother.
"By everyone else's standards, red's camp. Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing. It's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS." The Doctor explained causing Diana to interrupt, "Which she doesn't like!" The Doctor smirked, "Where ever it goes, we go." Rose moved closer to them looking at the screen in front before turning towards the Doctor, "and that's safe, is it."
The Doctor smirked as Diana rolled her eyes "Totally" "No" they both spoke at the same time as he pulled a lever causing it to spark. Rose shot him a look as Diana smacked his hand away from the console as she moved around to clean it up. "Okay, reasonably. Should have said 'Reasonably' there." Pulling down levers and twisting nobs, Diana tried to keep up but it started to pull away.
"No. No! It's jumping time tracks, getting away from us." Rose glared at Diana as she bumped into The Doctor, "What is this thing?" The Doctor pressed a button, "No Idea" He spoke as he and Diana moved in sink with one another. "And why are we chasing it?" Rose asked as she hung onto the console. "It's Mauve and dangerous and about 30 seconds from the center of London."
A few more buttons and levers pulled before finally they landed on a darkened alleyway. "Do you know how long you can knock around space without having to bump into earth?" The Doctor asked as the stepped out of the TARDIS causing Diana to chuckle at his question. "Five days. Or is that when we're out of milk?" Rose asked as they all looked around. "All the species in all the universe and it has to come out of a cow." Diana smiled up at the Doctor, "We should get a farm then." The Doctor laughed and grabbed her hand causing Rose to seethe in anger.
"Must've come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile away." Diana muttered as she glanced down at her watch on her wrist. It was gold and her mother seemed very keen on her wearing it, especially facing it backwards. "And it can't have been more than a few weeks. Maybe a month." The Doctor spoke causing Rose to gap in shock, "A month? We were right behind it."
"It was jumping time tracks all over the place. We're bound to be a little bit out" Diana spoke causing Rose to glare at her in return before she childishly grabbed The Doctor's other hand. "Do you want to drive?" The Doctor spoke sarcastically, causing Rose to roll her eyes. "Yeah. How much is a little?" The Doctor shrugged "A bit." Diana smirked which causing Rose to somewhat question The Doctor, "Is that exactly a bit?" Rose asked again as Diana laughed, "Ish" She interrupted, "What's the plan, then? Are you gonna do a scan for alien tech or something?" Rose asked a she pressed herself closer to The Doctor.
"Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang. I'm gonna ask." He held up his little black badge with a white piece of paper that only Rose could read. "Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Astroids." Rose frowned slightly at the name; didn't Diana want her last name to be Smith?
"Psychic Paper, tells you.." Diana started only to be interrupted by Rose who spoke smugly "Whatever you want it to tell me, I remember." Seeming so confident in herself, Diana let it slide seeing as she didn't know that only simple minded species could see it, "Sorry." She finished causing Rose to shoot her a smirk before looking towards The Doctor. "Not very Spock, is it? Just asking?" She asked as they watched the Doctor trying to get through a door. "Door, music, people. What d'you think?" He asked as Diana looked around, Rose sighed "I think you should do a scan for alien tech." The Doctor holds his sonic screwdriver to the door. "Gimme some Spock! For once, would it kill ya?" Diana couldn't help but feel slightly annoying with the stray, frowning when her thoughts drifted; now she sounded like her mother.
"Are you sure about that t-shirt?" She asked causing The Doctor to turn towards them to see Rose is wearing a garish Union Jack t-shirt. Rose looks down at it, before looking up and pushing her boobs out a little more under The Doctor's eyes. "Too early to say. I'm taking it out for a spin." The Doctor continues trying to open the lock with his sonic screwdriver. Rose turns around as she hears an eerie voice. "Muuuu-mmy?" Rose looks around for the source of the voice, "Muuuu-mmy?"
The Doctor cracks the lock, "Come on if you're coming. Won't take a minute." He let's Diana go through first before he goes through the door. Rose does not follow him, but continues looking around for the child. "Muuuuumy?" Rose finally spots the child standing on a roof-top. "Doctor? Doctor? There's a kid up there!" But the Doctor is already inside. Rose runs to try and find a way onto the roof, watched by the child.
The Doctor, and Diana follow the sound of the voices and music and a waiter, Not to long after they find themselves in a crowded drinking den, full of smoke and chatter and a singer. For nobody else gave me the thrill, when I have found I love you still, it had to be you, wonderful you... It had to be you. She finishes the song, the audience applaud. The Doctor joins the applause as he approaches the stage before Diana could stop him; having just seen the signs of the on going war.
"Excuse me! Excuse me! Could I have everybody's attention just for a mo? Be very quick, eh... hello! Eh... might seem like a stupid question, but has anything fallen from the sky recently?" Complete silence; Diana sighed and shook her hand as The Doctor looks around expectantly. Then, the audience starts to laugh. The Doctor stares around at them all, confusedly causing Diana to clear her throat. "There's a war on." She spoke to him telepathically as a siren sounds. Immediately, the people start to evacuate the room. Through the crowds of people all clamouring to leave the building, the Doctor notices a poster tacked to the wall, bearing the legend "Hitler will send no warning".
He closes his eyes in despair, "Ah" he muttered looking towards Diana who gave him a smile. Trying to cheer him up, he chuckled lightly and jumping off the stage following the crowd out.
They emerge from the drinking den. "Rose!" The Doctor frowns as he rounds a corner to where the TARDIS is parked, a cat is sitting on top a dustbin. The Doctor turns around and notices it when it meows. He picks it up. "You know... one day. Just one day, maybe... I'm gonna meet someone who gets the whole 'don't wander off' thing. Other than my beautiful here." He smirks an winks at Diana who blushed brightly and placed a kiss on his cheek.
Behind them, the TARDIS phone starts to ring. Brow furrowed, the Doctor puts the cat down, walks over to the TARDIS and opens the compartment behind which the phone is hidden. He stares at it. "How can you be ringing? What's that about? Ringing?" Diana asks as he shrugs and takes his sonic screwdriver out. "What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?"
A girl, has silently come up behind them. "Don't answer it. It's not for you." The Doctor turns towards her questioningly, "And how do you know that?" Diana asked as she watched the girl. "'Cos I do. And I'm tellin' ya, don't answer it." The girl insisted causing The Doctor to eye her for a second. "Well, if you know so much, tell me this, how can it be ringing?" Turns back to the phone, "It's not even a real phone. It's not connected, it's not..." He turns back and the girl had disappeared. The Doctor pauses, confused, then looks back at the phone. He hesitantly picks it up and holds it to his ear as Diana continued to look around.
"Hello?" Silence aside from crackling, "This is the Doctor speaking." More crackling; "How may I help you?" Suddenly a child came through the phone. "Mummy?" The Doctor's skeptical grin fades from his face as he looks towards Diana and handing her the phone causing her to shoot him a confused look. Holding it up to her ear, eyes staying on The Doctor's "Hello?" There was silence for a second before a voice cut in, "Mummy?" Diana's eyes widened as she leaned closer to the box "Who is this? Who's speaking?"
"Are you my mummy?" The child's voice sent chills down her spine as she spoke again "Who is this?" The Doctor frowned as he watched her reaction, it was strange; she looked torn between running away and helping the boy on the other end. "Mummy?" Silence as The Doctor grabbed the phone back. "How did you RING here? This isn't a real phone, it's not wired up to anything, it's..." he was interrupted by the child, "Mummy?" The line goes dead. The Doctor slowly replaces this phone in its cradle, glanced at Diana before he pokes his head inside the TARDIS. "Rose? Rose, are you in there?"
There is a crashing sound from behind them. Closing the phone compartment, the Doctor runs to follow the sound. He hurries out of the alleyway, and into a street as Diana; still slightly out of it follows him as he grabbed her hand to lead her along.
"The planes are coming. Can't you hear them? Into the shelter. None of your nonsense, now MOVE it!"
Following the sound of the voices, the Doctor stands on top of a dustbin to look over a garden wall. Diana keeps a look out on the ground until The Doctor gives the all clear. A fat woman is ushering a small boy into a shelter. "Come on, come on, get in there. Arthur! Arthur! Will you hurry up? Didn't you hear the sirens?" A fat man emerges from the house. "Middle of dinner, every night. Bloomin' Germans." He yells skywards, "Don't you eat?" The Doctor smiles and chuckled, looking down at Diana as she watched him with a small smile of her own.
"I can hear the planes!" The women tells her husband as he continues yelling into the sky. "Don't you eat?!" "Oh, keep your voice down, will ya? There's an air raid!" She pushes him into the shelter, and follows him down there. "Get in... there's a war on."
Once they are inside, door closed, The girl from earlier creeps out from behind the shelter and into the back door of the house, unaware that she is being watched by the Doctor who signals Diana the all clear.
The girl enters the kitchen where there is an unfinished meal on the table. Looking around, she puts her bag down and opens a cupboard. She begins to take some tins out, some more children run down the road into the house where Nancy is serving dinner. They are watched by the masked child. One boy kneels down to tie his shoelace. The child takes a few steps forward, just as the boy finishes tying his shoelace and runs inside the house. The masked child advances towards the door.
There are now several children gathered around the table, waiting for their meal. Nancy cuts the meat, "It's got to be black market. He couldn't get all this on coupons." One of the boys murmurs to another causing Nancy to glare. "Ernie, how many times? We are guests in this house. We will not make comments of that kind. Washing up." The other children laugh at Ernie, "Oh, Nancy!" Nancy looks at one of the boys sat around the table. "Haven't seen you at one of these before. He nods at another boy sitting next to him. "He told me about it." The new boy answered with a shy look, "Sleeping rough?"
"Yes, miss." He nods in respectfulness, "All right then." She passes the plate around, "One slice each, and I want to see everyone chewing properly."
"Thank ya, miss!"
"Thanks, miss!"
"Thank you miss."
"Thanks, miss!" Gasping in surprise, the children jump backwards at the sight of The Doctor and Diana sitting at the table too. "It's all right! Everybody stay where you are!" Jim stares at the Doctor in shock, a piece of meat hanging out of his mouth. Diana giggles lightly as the Doctor turns to him with a smile. "Good here, innit? Who's got the salt?" Nancy glared at them, "Back in your seats! He shouldn't be here either." The Doctor smiles and helps himself to some sauce. "So, you lot... what's the story?" He asked as he dished Diana up, who smiles gratefully back at him. "What d'you mean?" One of the boys asked, "You're homeless, right? Living rough?" Another scoffed with a glare, "Why d'you wanna know that? Are you a copper?" Diana snorted into her plate causing him to nudge her slightly. "Of course I'm not a copper. What's a copper gonna do with you lot anyway? Arrest you for starving?" The children laugh, and the ice is broken. "I make it 1941, you lot shouldn't be in London. You should've been evacuated to the country by now."
"I was evacuated. They sent me to a farm." One of the boys start, "So why'd you come back?" Diana asked, "There was a man there..." Her eyes darkened for the boy, "Yeah, same with Ernie. Two homes ago." Ernie scoffed with a eye roll, "Shut up. It's better on the streets anyway. Better food." Ernie insisted as he ate his food, "Yeah. Nancy always gets the best food for us." The Doctor smiles at Nancy, who stares right back at him. "So, that's what you do is it, Nancy?" She glared taking a bite of her own meal, "What is?" Diana watched her, "As soon as the sirens go, you find a big fat family meal, still warm on the table with everyone down in the air raid shelter and, bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London Town. Puddings for all! As long as the bombs don't get you." The Doctor explained with a smirk, "Something wrong with that?" She snipped with a annoyed look, "Wrong with it? It's BRILLIANT. I'm not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West End musical." The children look confused, "Why'd you follow me? What d'you want?" The Doctor shrugged as if it was no big deal. "I want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call. You seem to be the one to ask."
"I did you a favour. I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling ya."
"Great, thanks. And I wanna find a blonde in a Union Jack. I mean a specific one, I didn't just wake up this morning with a craving." He was joking of course, he made the children laugh. Nancy, however, does not look impressed. She stands up, making her way around the table. "Anybody seen a girl like that?" Nancy takes his plate away. "What've I done wrong?" He gapped at her offended as Diana continues to enjoy her one piece. "You took two slices." The children laugh at him. "No blondes, no flags. Anything else before you leave?" Nancy snipped in annoyance, "Yeah, there is actually. Thanks for asking. Something I've been looking for, would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb." He takes a notebook from his pocket, "Not the usual kind anyway. Wouldn't have exploded. Would've just buried itself in the ground somewhere, and it would've looked something like..." He quickly draws up a horrible sketch. "This. He shows them a scribbled drawing." Nancy looks at it intently but says nothing. There is a knock on the window, the children gasp.
"Mummy? Are you in there, mummy?"The Doctor goes to the window and pulls the curtain aside. The child with the gasmask on his face is standing there, knocking. "Mummy?" The voice came out in a taunt, "Who was the last one in?" Ernie gestures to the Doctor and Diana, "Them." She shakes her head in panic, "Nah, he came round the back. Who came in the front?" She asked quickly, "Me." Alf whispers as he looks down, "Did you close the door?" She asked, he stuttered out frightened. "Did you close the door?" She snapped angrily this time, "Mummy? Mummy?" His shadow looms outside the front door. "Muuuuum-my?" Nancy rushes down the hallway and shuts and bolts the door before the child can get in. She backs away, looking at the shadow of the child outside the door, terrified. The Doctor and Diana stand behind her. They are both watching the shadow concernedly, "What's this, then? It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know." He grumbled out, "I suppose you'd know." She snipped sarcastically at him with a glare, "I do actually, yes." He smiles pleasantly at her.
"It's not exactly a child."
"Muuum-my?"
Nancy pushes past them and goes back into the dining room. Nancy addresses the children still sitting around the table. "Right, everybody out, across the back garden and under the fence." They just look at her. "Now! Go! Move! They all jump out of their seats and run out of the door while Nancy puts her coat on, apart from one little girl. "Come on, baby. You've got to go. Okay? It's just like a game. Just like chasing." The little girl jumps out of her seat. "Take your coat, go on."The little girl runs after the other children. "Go!" The Doctor watches them pass, slightly confused. "Mummy?" The Doctor takes a few steps towards the door, Diana gripped his hand for a second before letting him go. "Please let me in, mummy." He sticks his hand through the letterbox. He has a scar on the back of his perfectly ordinary little hand. "Please let me in, mummy." He whispered, "Are you all right?" The Doctor asks leaning down to look, "Please let me in." Nancy suddenly throws something against the door, which smashes. The child withdraws his hand, "You mustn't let him touch ya!"
"What happens if he touches me?
"He'll make you like him."
"And what's he like?"
"I've gotta go."
"Nancy, what's he like?" They look at each other and after a pause, she finally answered. "He's empty." The phone rings, The Doctor and Diana slowly look at it. "It's him. He can make phones ring, he can. Just like with that police box you saw." The Doctor looks at the shadow of the child outside the door, then picks up the phone. On the phone, the child speaks. "Are you my mummy?"Nancy snatches the phone off the Doctor and slams it back down. The radio turns itself on. It plays music, but with the child's voice over it. "Mummy? Please let me in, mummy." The Doctor turns the tuner. He stops when a toy monkey suddenly springs to life. "Mummy? Muuum-my, muum-my..." Diana picks up the monkey and looks at it. "Stay if you want to." She leaves and doesn't look back, "Mummy, mummy, mummy..." The child sticks his hand through the letterbox again.
"Mummy? Let me in please, mummy..." The Doctor kneels in front of the door, looking at the scarred little hand with a look of concern on his face. "PLEASE let me in." He whimpered, "Your mummy isn't here." After a pause, "Are you my mummy?" The child repeated, "No mummies here. None be here but us chickens." He looks behind him at the deserted house, then back at the door, grinning. "Well, THIS chicken." He winked at Diana who smirked. "I'm scared." The child whimpered, "Why are those other child frightened of you?" Diana asked through the door, "Please let me in, mummy. I'm scared of the bombs." The Doctor thinks for a moment, he looks back at Diana who was waiting for his decision. "Okay. I'm opening the door now." The child withdraws his hand from the letterbox, The Doctor draws back the bolts and opens the door, but the child has disappeared. The Doctor and Diana walk down the path and looks up and down the street, but there is no sign of the child.
Nancy hurries across the train tracks. She hurries into an outer house and starts taking food out of her bag. She suddenly turns around, when she notices the Doctor and Diana standing in the doorway, watching her. "How'd you follow me here?" He shrugs, "I'm good at following, me. Got the nose for it." Diana smirked and looked away at Nancy's suspicious look. "People can't usually follow me if I don't want them to." She states with a raised eyebrow, "My nose has special powers." Diana giggles lowly, "Yeah? That's why it's uh..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"What?"
"Nothing! Do your ears have special powers too?" He looks slightly offended that Diana was practically on the floor laughing. "What're you trying to say?" Nancy chuckles at Diana before shaking her head. "Goodnight, Mister. Miss." She turns away, "Nancy. There's something chasing you and the other kids. Looks like a boy and it isn't a boy, and it started about a month ago, right?" Diana was now calm as Nancy turns back to him. "The thing I'm looking for. The thing that fell from the sky, that's when it landed. And you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"
"There was a bomb. A bomb that wasn't a bomb. Fell the other end of Limehouse Green Station." She nods, although her face seemed sad at the thought of the bomb causing Diana to frown. "Take me there." She shakes her head, "There's soldiers guarding it, barbed wire... you'll never get through."
"Try me!"
"You sure you wanna know what's going on in there?" She asked them with a frown of her own, "I really wanna know." He raised an eyebrow as if he was challenging her. "Then there's someone you need to talk to first." Nancy tell them, "And who might that be?" Diana asked confused, "The Doctor." The Doctor's brow furrows. Nancy turns away, and the Doctor gives a quiet, ironic laugh, clearly confused.
——
The Doctor and Diana stand on some steps a good distance away from the bomb site. He looks at it using his binoculars as Nancy stands behind them. "The bomb's under that tarpaulin. They put the fence up over night. See that building? The hospital." The Doctor looks over to where she indicates over the top of the binoculars. "What about it?" Diana asked with a frown as she slightly turned back to the girl, "That's where the doctor is." The Doctor zooms in on the hospital. "You should talk to him." Diana snorted at the irony but didn't say a word as The Doctor relaxes his arms. "For now, I'm more interested in getting in there." He points back at the bomb site, "Talk to the doctor first." Nancy insisted causing them both to shoot each other looks, "Why?" They asked together, "'Cos then maybe you won't wanna get inside." Nancy begins to go back up the steps without looking, he speaks up again. "Where're you going?" He asked causing her to shrug as she turned back to them. "There was a lot of food in that house. I've got mouths to feed. Should be safe enough now." She insisted with a small stiff smile, "Can I ask you a question? Who did you lose?" Diana asked as she cocked her head to the side, eyeing the girl as her eyes widened. "What?" The Doctor turned to face her as he listened to her reaction to Diana's question. "The way you look after all those kids. It's 'cos you lost somebody, isn't it? You're doing all this to make up for it."
"My little brother. Jamie. One night I went out looking for food. Same night that thing fell. I told him not to follow me, told him it was dangerous, but he just... he just didn't like being on his own."
"What happened?"
"In the middle of an air raid? What do you think happened?" The Doctor nods, then smiles.
"Amazing."
"What is?"
"1941." Diana mutters as planes drop bombs in the distance. A barrage balloon hovers above them. Small explosions in the air. "Right now, not very far from here, a German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes. Nothing can stop it. Nothing. Until one, tiny, damp little island says "no". 'No'. Not here. A mouse in front of a lion." He looks at Nancy, "You're amazing, the lot of you. Dunno what you do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell out of me. Off you go then... do what you've gotta do. Save the world." He goes down the rest of the steps with Diana next to him as he grabbed her hand to pull her along while Nancy leaves in the opposite direction.
The Doctor goes to the gate of the hospital, and upon finding it locked, uses his sonic screwdriver to destroy the padlock. Diana undoes the chain, and they enter the Albion Hospital. Making there way into a dark ward, where rows and rows of people are lying on beds, wearing gas masks, completely lifeless. The Doctor grips Diana's hand who smiles gently at the gesture, they weren't scared but it was still nice to have that comfort. He looks around at them all, brow furrowed, and leaves. They enter another ward, which is lighter but still has rows of the gas mask people lying on the beds. He turns quickly upon hearing a slight sound behind him, and an old man, Doctor Constantine enters. "You'll find them everywhere. Every bed in every ward. Hundreds of them." He explains slowly, barely making eye contact with them.
"Yes, we saw. Why are they still wearing gas masks?" Diana asks, looking towards the patients with a frown, "They're not. Who are you?" The man asked as he finally looked up at them. "I'm, uh... are you the doctor?" The Doctor looks towards Diana who shrugs back causing him to roll his eyes sarcastically. "Doctor Constantine. And you are?" He introduced himself, "Nancy sent us." Diana spoke up, "Nancy? That means you must've been asking about the bomb." He asked slowly making his way down the line of patients, "Yes." The Doctor and Diana spoke together, "What do you know about it?"
"Nothing. Why I was asking. What do you know?"
"Only what it's done."
"These people, were they all caught up in the blast?"
"None of them were." He laughs slightly, but it turns into a nasty cough. He sits down in a chair just behind him. The Doctor takes a few steps towards him as Diana cocks her head in observation. "You're very sick." She stated bluntly, "Dying, I should think, I just haven't been able to find the time. Are you a doctor?" Constantine asked The Doctor who snorted slightly, "I have my moments." He boasted lightly without effort, "Have you examined any of them, yet?" Constantine asked them, looking between the couple. "No." They spoke together again, "Don't touch the flesh." Constantine warned as Diana frowned looking back towards the patients. "Which one?" She asked, "Any one." The Doctor, raising his eyebrows, takes his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and approaches the nearest bed. He runs the screwdriver over the mask covered face of the body.
"Conclusions?"
"Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side..." Runs screwdriver over the chest, "Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There's some scarring on the back of the hand and the gas mask seems to be fused to the flesh but I can't see any burns." The Doctor muttered in confusion as he looked at them, "Examine another one." The Doctor goes over to another body and does the scan again. The gas mask is fused to the flesh and the body bears the same scar on the back of the hand. He turns off his sonic screwdriver and turns to Doctor Constantine. "This isn't possible." He gapped in shock, "Examine another." The Doctor hurries to another bed and does so. "This isn't possible! They've all got the same injuries!"
"Yes."
"Exactly the same."
"Yes."
"Identical, all of them. Right down to the scar on the back of the hand." Doctor Constantine looks at his own hand, it has the scar. Diana immediately takes notice of it and nudged The Doctor who spotted it as well. "How did this happen? How did it start?" Diana asked, once he nodded back to her. "When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim." Diana frowned, most likely the boy that's been following them around. "Dead?" The Doctor asked, "At first. His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him, who had touched him, had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward had the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries, as plague. Can you explain that? What would you say was the cause of death?"
"The head trauma."
"No."
"Asphyxiation."
"No."
"The collapse of the chest cavity..."
"No."
"All right. What was the cause of death?" Diana finally asked, stepping in between all of the back and forth. "There wasn't one." The Doctor looks at him, brow furrowed. "They're not dead." He raps his stick against a tin bin, and all the patients suddenly sit up. Both Diana and The Doctor look alarmed as he quickly backs away with her behind me. "It's all right. They're harmless. They just... sort of, sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just... don't die." Constantine explained to them, "And they've just been left here? Nobody's doing anything? The bodies lie down again." Diana asked watching as they all slowly laid back down. "I try and make them comfortable, what else is there?" Constantine shrugged, looking saddened that he can't do much else. "Just you? You're the only one here?"
"Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither. But I am still a doctor." Constantine explained sadly, "Yeah. Know the feeling." The Doctor nodded in agreement with the man, "I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb." The Doctor looks around, "Probably too late."
"No. They are isolated cases, but... isolated cases breaking out all over London..." He coughs again. His speech starts to break up, The Doctor starts towards him. "Stay back, stay back. Listen to me... top floor. Room 802, that's where they took the first victim - the one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again." Constantine insisted with urgency, "Nancy?" Diana questions with a frown, "It was her brother. She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she mi... mi..." He gags and clutches his neck, "M... mu... mee..." The Doctor watches him concernedly. Speech is a huge effort for Constantine. "Are... you... my... mum-my?"As they watch, a gas mask protrudes horribly out of Constantine's mouth. His eyes become the gas mask, and it fuses onto his face, and he goes limp. The Doctor and Diana hear voices in the distance. "Hello?" It was a man's voice, "Hello?" Diana's shoulders slightly sagged as she heard Rose speak as well, she couldn't help it. "Hello?" The Doctor leaves the ward with Diana close behind.
The Doctor and Diana emerge into the corridor. He meets Rose and Jack coming the other way. "Good evening. Hope I'm not interrupting, Jack Harkness." Shakes the Doctor's hand, then moves to kiss the back of Diana's. "I've been hearing all about you on the way over." Diana gives a stiff smile as the Doctor glares, "He knows. I had to tell him about us being Time Agents." Rose tell him lowly causing him to nod back in slight confusion. "And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mr Spock. Rose didn't mention a sweet thing like you." He smirks at her before patting the Doctor heartily on the shoulder, and walks off, leaving the Doctor looking rather bemused.
"Mr Spock?" Diana asked confused causing the Doctor to turn with a questioning look as well. "What was I supposed to say, you don't have a name! Don't you ever get tired of "Doctor"? Doctor who?" Rose snapped as they both shrugged seemingly having a secret the didn't want to share. "Nine centuries in, I'm coping. Where've you been? We're in the middle of a London Blitz, it's not a good time for a stroll."
"Who's strolling? I went by barrage balloon. Only way to see an air raid."
"What?!"
"Listen, what's a Chula warship?"
"Chula?"
Jack scans one of the bodies, "This just isn't possible. How could this happen?" Jack frown shaking his head looking at all the patients. "What kind of Chula ship landed here?" Diana asked gaining the attention of The Doctor and Rose. "What?" He asked back, "He said it was a warship. He stole it. Parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's gonna fall on it - unless WE make him an offer." Rose snapped towards Diana who raised an eyebrow. Rose really didn't seem to like her, not that Diana cared much. She was here for the Doctor not his companions. "What kind of warship?" The Doctor insisted causing Jack to become irritated, "Does it matter? It's got nothing to do with this!"
"This started at the bomb site. It's got everything to do with it. What kind of warship?"
"An ambulance!" Turns on his wrist device, "Look. A hologram of the warship appears above the device. That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle, love the retro look, by the way, nice panels, threw you the bait." He paused finally looking towards everyone, "Bait?" Rose snarled angrily, "I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk."
"You said it was a war ship."
"They have ambulances in wars." Walks away from them, annoyed. "It was a con. I was conning you, that's what I am, I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents but you're not, are you?" Jack asked with a glare towards Rose. "Just a couple more free-lancers." Diana told him, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. "Ahh... should've known. The way you guys are blending in with the local colour, I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but U-Boat Captain?" Both Rose and the Doctor look uncomfortably at their clothes. Diana chuckled lowly causing the Doctor to bump her lightly. "Anyway... Whatever's happening here has got nothing to do with that ship."
"What is happening here, Doctor?" Rose asked as she looked around, "Human DNA's being rewritten... by an idiot." The Doctor glared at the floor for a second. "What d'you mean?" Diana asked as she looked towards him with a frown. "I dunno, some kind of virus. It's converting human beings into these things." Nods at the bodies. "But why? What's the point?" Rose bends over one of the bodies, examining it, when suddenly, it sits up. All the others do the same, Rose jumps backwards. They all start saying 'mummy?' repeatedly. "What's happening?" Rose asked with wide eyes as Diana pulled her back, "I don't know." The gas-mask people all get out of bed.
The gas-mask people begin to enclose the Doctor, Diana, Rose and Jack. "Don't let them touch you." The Doctor snapped at Rose and Jack, "What happens if they touch us?" Rose asked as she reached for his hand only to be rejected as he had grabbed onto Diana's already. "You're looking at it." They still chant, 'mummy' as they back the three of them against a wall. The patients in the ward enclose the Doctor, Diana, Rose and Jack.
"Mummy."
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Finally!!
Jeez, I've been getting them out.
I'm sorry you guys. It's been a lot for me lately. Please be more patient.
I love you all and appreciate you.
Thank you all for reading.
Hope you enjoy.
6,548 Words