(AN) Hello and welcome to the next chapter of my fan novelisation of WIDWWA: Season 27. This chapter will begin a new story that will see the return of the Ice Warriors and the departure of Ace.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who; all characters and locations are owned by the BBC; What If Doctor Who Wasn't Axed is owned by DaDoctorWhoFan.
Chapter Four
Ice Time, Part One
In a laboratory hidden within MI6 HQ, two scientests stood over a bed. Lying on the bed was a human figure wearing the helmet of an Ice Lord. The lower half of their body was covered by a sheet. Multiple wires snaked their way from his chest to a variety of machines that appeared to be showing vital signs. The first scientist was a young man with short, brown hair: this man was known as Eugene; his partner was slightly older and had long brown hair; his name was Jack. Jack walked over to the machines and checked the vitals.
"Heart and pulse rate is normal; blood preasure is also normal." informed Jack, sounding pleased with himself.
"Excellent." said Eugene proudly, "Now begin the test: activate the helmet!"
Jack nodded in understanding before walking over to a computer and typing in some type of code.
Before Jack could hit enter, the door to the laboratory opened with a click and a third man walked in. This man was middle-aged and had short, light-brown hair. He wore the uniform of an MI6 major.
"Major Felton, Sir," greeted Jack before saluting the man, "We were just about to begin the latest test."
"Proceed," said Felton bluntly, "I shall be observing you to ensure that there are no mistakes this time! Is that understood?"
"O-of course, Sir." replied Eugene nervously.
"Good." said Felton coldly.
Jack hit the enter key.
A soft, electronic hum started up; gradually increasing in volume and frequency. The three men came to stand in front of the bed. For a few moments, nothing happened until the figure suddenly started convulsing violently on the table; alarms were now ringing out in the room. Eugene ran to the computer in an attempt to terminate the test, but Felton grabbed his arm and held it firmly.
"No, the experiment must proceed!" snapped Felton firmly.
"But we're loosing him!" cried Eugene in horror.
"A sacrifice I'm willing to make." said Felton coldly.
After a few more moments, the figure stopped convulsing and lay unmoving on the table. All his vitals had flatlined; the machines wailing.
"Another failure." muttered Felton dryly as he let go of Eugene, "Get another test subject and try again!"
"No." said Eugene bluntly.
"What do you mean no?" asked Felton dangerously.
"I'm done taking orders from you!" spat Eugene as he shoved Felton away before pointing a firm finger at him, "These experiments are dangerous: we've no idea what we're dealing with here! These experiments need shutting down!"
"Absolutely not!" barked Felton angrily, "We've come too far to stop now! These experiments will help Britain win the Cold War!"
Eugene simply glowered at Felton before angrily storming out of the room.
"If he reports our research to anybody, I will order his execution!" hissed Felton furiously.
Due to the chilly November weather, the River Thames had frozen over. The Doctor was standing by the river's edge, wearing the same duffle coat he had worn during his and Ace's trip to Maiden's Point. The Doctor's eyes were closed as if deep in thought.
"Yes, we're in London," muttered the Doctor to himself, "But why have you brought us here … I understand."
"Doctor!" came Ace's voice.
"That's Ace coming now." muttered the Doctor.
The Doctor's eyes shot open, he then turned just as Ace walked up to him.
"Blimey, Professor, why did you bring us to London?" asked Ace, who was shivering slightly, "I'm freezing."
"It's the 7th November 1967: tomorrow will mark the Changing of the Guard ceremony; nice bit of History for you."
"No thanks." snorted Ace, walking alongside the Doctor.
"It's very fascinating," argued the Doctor, "I just think it's time for you to try and take more of an interest in the UK's cultural history."
"Are you sure that's why we're here?" asked Ace suspiciously, "This isn't you playing one of your games with me, is it?"
"No, I swear it's not," promised the Doctor, noting the dangerous edge to Ace's voice, "After what happened at Gabriel Chase, I decided that maybe I should stop playing games. I had no idea about what the Metatraxi were up to for example."
"Fair point," said Ace, smiling, "Come on, let's go find a café to warm up in."
The duo headed towards a nearby café.
A train pulled into King's Cross Station. Several people departed, followed by another man. The man was young and had short, light-brown hair. He was wearing a purple, buttoned up jacket over a shirt with a purple tie. The man was carrying a large suitcase. The man began wandering around as if looking for somebody.
"Sam Tollinger." called a female voice.
The man named Sam turned and saw a woman approaching him. She had short, blonde, curly hair and was wearing the uniform of a female MI6 agent: this was Anna Carlton.
"Anna!" cried Sam in surprise as he walked over to the blonde, "2hen they said an MI6 agent would be meeting me, I wasn't expecting you."
"Well, as soon as I learned of your involvement, I had to come," remarked Anna before smiling, "I'm to escort you to the Ritz Hotel."
"Is that where we'll be meeting this Doctor bloke?" asked Sam.
"Yes," replied Anna, "But there is so much I have to tell you."
"Yeah, sure, you can tell me later." remarked Sam as he headed for the exit.
Anna let out a small sigh before following.
Eugene was standing against the far wall of the café and watched as the Doctor put his coat on the back of the chair before sitting opposite Ace. The man slowly walked towards the table.
"H-hello, y-you must be the Doctor and Ace." greeted Eugene nervously, causing the duo to look up at him in surprise.
"How do you know who we are?" asked the Doctor curiously.
"Probably spying on us." suggested Ace suspiciously.
"Now, now, Ace, no need to jump to conclusions," said the Doctor before turning his attention back to Eugene, "I apologise for my young friend, but I am curious to know how you know who we are? Judging from your clothes, you're obviously a scientist for MI6 if I'm not mistaken."
"Y-yes, that's correct," replied Eugene nervously, "I don't know much about you or Ace, but I was told by Mr Felton that you have been hired to steal something from the Tower of London alongside Sam Tollinger and Anna Carlton."
"Have we really?" asked the surprised Time Lord, who had no idea who this man was referring to, "How fascinating. Do you know what it is that we're meant to steal?"
"I-I don't want t-to discuss it." answered the scientist nervously.
"Hey, it's alright, we're here to help." assured Ace gently as she got up and patted the man on the shoulder, not noticing him slipping something into her pocket.
"I-I'm sorry," stuttered Eugene, "M-MI6 recently acquired a large number of extraterrestrial objects a-and have been conducting experiments, h-horrible experiments. I fled with one of the objects."
Eugene then reached into his bag and pulled out a golden, jewelled egg before placing it on the table.
"Oh no." muttered the Doctor gravely, a look of recognition crossing his face.
"You recognise it?" asked the brunet curiously.
"That is a sonic grenade," informed the Doctor in a worried tone of voice."
"A grenade," said Ace worriedly, "Shouldn't we run."
"Don't worry, Ace, it'll only go off if one of the jewels is touched." said the Doctor before noticing Eugene tapping one of the jewels.
All the jewels suddenly began flashing with a blinking red light. A beeping noise started up; coming from the egg itself. Eugene's eyes widened in horror before quickly grabbing the egg and clutching it in his arms. "If this is a bomb then I must get it away from here!" he cried in horror.
"No, wait!" cried the Doctor as the man fled from the café, "Come on, Ace, we have to get after him."
The duo ran out of the café and in the direction they'd seen Eugene running in. They suddenly stopped as they heard what sounded like a sonic boom, followed by Eugene screaming in agony. The Doctor and Ace ran in the direction that the noise had come from and soon arrived at an alleyway, where they could see Eugene's dead body lying in the middle of the alleyway; the egg nowhere in sight.
"What happened to him?" asked a horrified Ace.
"The grenade rrrreleased a sonic impulse that fried his brain cells," muttered the Doctor darkly, "He was killed almost instantly.
"That's horrible." commented Ace, still sounding horrified.
"Yes, and now I know where the technology is from," stated the Doctor, "Mars."
"Mars?" cried Ace in astonishment, "So, MI6 have gotten their hands on Martian tech? Wicked."
"Not just any old Martian tech," said the Doctor gravely, "Ice Warrior tech."
"Ice Warriors? Who are they?" asked a curious Ace.
"A reptilian warrior race who typically want to freeze other planets in order to colonise them," informed the Doctor, "Now what I would like to know is how MI6 got their hands on Ice Warrior technology and what they plan on doing with it."
The Doctor and Ace suddenly looked up at the sound of revving engines. Quite suddenly, the duo found themselves surrounded by several figures on motorbikes. Their helmets were shaped like the helmet of an Ice Warrior.
"Good day to you, I'm the Doctor and this is my friend Ace." greeted the Doctor, tipping his hat.
The figures didn't answer. A black SUV suddenly pulled up behind the motorbikers and two figures wearing MI6 uniforms hopped out. One of them was Felton.
"Ahhh, you must be the Doctor and Ace," greeted Felton as he shook the Doctor and Ace's hands, "I'm Major Felton with MI6: I'm to escort you to the Ritz Hotel."
"First I'd like some answers from you, Major," demanded the Doctor angrily, "One of your scientists has just been killed by a piece of Martian technology that you certainly shouldn't have."
"Eugene's death was an unfortunate accident," claimed Felton, though he didn't sound that upset, "Everything will be explained when you get to the hotel: I promise."
"It better be!" snarled Ace in a threatening manner.
The bikers parted and allowed the Doctor and Ace to enter the car.
After a short drive, the group arrived at the Ritz Hotel. The Doctor and Ace followed Felton into the large and busy reception area. Felton turned to face the two time travellers. "The auction is about to begin: there you will meet Sam Tollinger and Agent Carlton."
Felton walked away, leaving the Doctor and Ace alone.
"Doctor, there's something I need to show you." whispered the teen before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a £10 note with random numbers scrawled on to it.
"Did Eugene give you that?" asked the Doctor curiously.
"He must've slipped it into my pocket before he ran," said Ace, "But it just seems to be a bunch of random numbers: what does it mean?"
"I'm not sure," answered the Doctor, "But I believe that this code is meant for this mysterious Sam Tollinger."
The two then headed for the dining area, where the auction was being held.
In the dining area, Sam was looking at all the different items on sale. Anna came running over to him, looking rather panicked and gently rubbing her belly.
"We've got a problem." whispered Anna in a panicky voice.
"Hey, what's the matter, love?" asked Sam in concern.
"Eugene got cold feet about these experiments MI6 are running, and so he stole one of the objects from the vault in the Tower of London and decided to try and show it to somebody." informed Anna.
"Oh bloody Hell!" cursed Sam angrily, "And I suppose it didn't end well for him?"
"He's dead, Sam," said Anna, "The device killed him."
"Well that's gone and complicated things!" seethed Sam in frustration, "What are we going to do now?"
"Don't worry, I've got it all sorted," assured Anna, "Jack is going to help us get in."
"Well, let's just hope he doesn't get cold feet and all!" snarked Sam.
"Excuse me: Mr Tollinger; Agent Carlton," said a voice from behind, causing the pair to turn and see that it was Felton standing behind them.
"Yes, Major Felton?" asked Anna.
"The Doctor and Ace have arrived," informed Felton before pointing towards the Doctor and Ace, who were standing just a short distance from them, "but I can't find their names on the guest list."
"They must've been overlooked," suggested Sam nervously, "The Doctor and Ace come highly reccomended from my boss, though I thought Ace would have been older."
"I thought so too," agreed Felton, "I'll introduce you to them."
The Doctor and Ace were sitting at a table. Ace was currently gloweing at two people wearing fur coats. "Animals!" she muttered in disgust.
"Ace." said the Doctor warningly.
"I know, I know, it's all part of the times," sighed Ace, "doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Doctor, Ace," said Felton as he, Sam and Anna walked up to the two, "allow me to introduce Mr Sam Tollinger and our very own Agent Anna Carlton."
"Ahhh, so you must be the famous Sam Tollinger that I've been hearing about." said the Doctor as he and Sam shook hands and Felton walked away.
"Well, I wouldn't go as far as famous," said Sam, blushing slightly as he and Anna also sat down at the table, "You and Ace came highly recommended from my boss."
"Did we now," said the Doctor in disbelief, "Fascinating."
"So, Doc, what do you know about what we're doing?" asked Sam curiously.
"Only that you want me and Ace to help you steal something from the Tower of London," explained the Doctor, "Eugene was killed by a sonic grenade that he stole from the vault in the tower. That grenade was martion technology and had no place on Earth. I'm now convinced that the British government has been hoarding martian technology that they somehow got from a crashed spaceship. AmI right, Agent Carlton?"
"You're correct, Doctor," sighed Anna, "Two years ago, a spaceship crashed into the River Thames. The government tasked MI6 agents with recovering the wreckage. We stored the ship in a secret location, but as you guessed, the government took the technology found within and have been hiding it within the Tower of London."
"And let me guess: your government hopes to use these weapons in order to defend this country," said the Doctor before lowering his voice, "Typical humans."
"What?" asked a confused Sam.
"Nothing, nothing," lied the Time Lord, "Anyway, I would be more than happy to help in whatever way I can. Nobody should have control of these weapons. My friend Ace is very good with explosives, and I'm quite good at solving codes."
"Speaking of codes, does anybody know what this means?" asked Ace, producing the £10 note and showing it to Sam and Anna.
The duo stared intently at the code written on the note.
"It's the code for the vault," said Anna in realisation, "Eugene must've known he wouldn't live long after stealing that grenade, so he wrote the code and slipped it into Ace's pocket."
"So, he did use his brain after all." joked Sam.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to go and make a call." claimed the Doctor as he rose to his feet.
The others watched as the Doctor scurried away to a far corner of the dining area.
"So, Ace, what skills can you bring the table?" asked an apprehensive Sam, not really sure whether Ace was up for the job.
"I've got some nitro-9 canisters," said Ace gleefully, "I can blow the vault door open if needed."
"Impressive," said Anna in astonishment, "How old are you?"
"Nineteen." replied Ace.
"Tollinger, Tollinger, where are you?" came a reptilian sounding voice from within Sam's pocket.
"Who was that?" asked Ace curiously.
"Uh, no one," lied Sam, "Listen, I need to uh, go check on something."
And with that, Sam got up and ran off.
Ace stood up and began to head in the direction of where Sam was heading.
The Doctor was once again standing in the large, white void. "So, have you made your decision?" he asked darkly.
"We have considered your application," began a male voice, "and while it is highly irregular due to your young friend being from Earth and not from Gallifrey, we accept your offer, but she must first pass a series of tests to prove herself worthy."
"When will these tests begin?" began the Doctor before the realisation suddenly dawned on him, "Wait a minute: these tests have already started. Of course; that's why we've been brought to London in 1967. You want me and Ace to help steal that martian technology from the Tower of London."
"You are correct, Doctor." replied the voice.
"No, this is far too dangerous," said the Doctor defiantly, "I admit, Ace is quite capable in a tough situation, but she's totaly unprepared for something like this."
"Doctor, it was you who decided to get yourself and your young friend involved when the scientist was killed." pointed out the voice.
"I didn't think it was leading to this!" snapped the Doctor before taking on a pleading manner, "Please, she's just a child; let me keep an eye on her; make sure she doesn't get hurt."
"NO!" snapped the voice firmly, "You are forbidden from interfering. The girl must take the test alone. Goodbye for now."
The voice seemed to fade away as it finished speaking. The void was replaced by the dinin* area.
"Come back!" demanded the Doctor angrily, "I don't want Ace hurt."
Sam was anxiously pacing up and down one of the hotel rooms. On the opposite side of the room was a futuristic looking storage unit and clambering out of it was an Ice Lord: this was Hhessh.
"Why are you comingout of the storage unit; it's too early!" seethed Sam.
"The temperature in this room hassssss interfered with the sssstorage unit'sssss circuitssss!" hissed Hhessh in an irritable manner, "I thawed out earlier than planned!"
"Yeah, well that ain't my fault." retorted Sam, "The air conditioning's broken. Just calm down and stay away from the window! We have to stay hidden; you'd be quite difficult to explain."
"This room is too ssstuffy!" groaned Hhessh, "I have two quessstions: how long have I been asssleep for and when will the misssion ssstart?"
"You've only been asleep a few hours," answered Sam nervously, "and the mission starts tomorrow."
"I will ssstep outssssside for sssssome fresssh air." declared Hhessh, moving towards the door.
"No, no, no, you just stay in this room!" ordered a frustrated Sam as he leapt in front of the Ice Warrior, "Just enjoy some of the fish fingers I packed for you. There's always tomorrow."
"Yesssssss!" said a delighted Hhessh, "Sssssoon, the relics of Ssssssezhyr will be returned to ussssssss."
Hhessh was about to say more when suddenly, there came a knock at the door.
"Get in the bathroom!" hissed Sam before pushing Hhessh over to the bathroom door; ignoring his protests.
Sam then shoved the hissing Ice Lord inside before slamming the door shut, he then raced over to the hotel door, opened it and saw Ace standing there.
"What do you want?" asked Sam rudely.
"What's really going on in there?" asked Ace suspiciously.
"N-nothing, nothing." lied Sam nervously.
"Don't believe you." retorted Ace before pushing her way into the room.
Hhessh suddenly came crashing through the door; roaring furiously, he then turned and saw Ace, making him hiss furiously.
"Whoa, you must be one of those Ice Warriors!" cried Ace in surprise.
"How many humanssss know about the missssion, Tollinger!" snapped Hhessh as he rounded on Sam, who looked terrified.
"I-I don't know who she is; she knows nothing!" insisted Sam in a terrified manner.
"LIAR!" roared the Ice Lord before shoving Sam aside, knocking him to the floor.
Hhessh then turned to face Ace before raising his arm and aiming it at her. "All humansssssssss must be eliminated!" he declared.
Ace shut her eyes tightly.
(AN) And that was chapter four of my Season 27 fan novelisation: hope you all enjoyed it.
So yes, this is of course the story where Ace was going to leave, which most series' like doing.
Until next time, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.