"But she dove off a rooftop." Canton insisted as the group all dashed into the Tardis.
"Don't worry. She does that." The Doctor explained as he started the Tardis while Terry addressed Amy and Rory.
"Ponds, if you could open all the doors to the swimming pool. Doctor?"
"Hang on, just setting the coordinates."
The Tardis pitched to the side as it took off, almost making Canton lose his footing. Terry meanwhile moved to stand by the Tardis doors. The Doctor nodded to her and Terry swung the Tardis doors wide open just as River jumped off the skyscraper where Canton had "chased" after her with his men.
"Steady." Terry called to the Doctor. He winked back at her as he carefully positioned the Tardis horizontally against the side of the building. Terry meanwhile watched as River turned mid-fall into a swan dive just before she fell right through the open doors into the Tardis.
"Look out!" Terry called as River continued her fall all the way through all the doors that Amy and Rory had opened before they all heard a faint splash as River tumbled successfully into the Tardis pool.
"How does that work?" Canton wondered. "Even if she jumped into the pool, from that height-"
"The pool's bigger on the inside." Terry explained.
It wasn't long before River, Amy and Rory rejoined the others in the Tardis console. River was still rubbing her hair dry with a towel, but she still strode in with absolute confidence… until she saw the Doctor with his arms around Terry's shoulders.
"Oh!" River blinked and then narrowed her eyes. "Angel… You've changed your face again. And you lost the leather jacket… and the heels."
River eyed Terry's black suit and black oxfords with so obvious disappointment that Terry had to laugh.
"Nice to see you too, River."
"Oh, it's always lovely to see you, angel." River answered. "But it is a pity - I liked the old look. Not that the suit doesn't look dashing on you, but-"
"I know, you miss the other look." Terry nodded. "It wasn't hard to guess that was your favourite - you copied the style in both your previous regeneration and this one."
River winked cheekily before she said admiringly, "I do like the gold buckles on your shoes, though. Matches your eyes."
"Okay, moving onto business." The Doctor said quickly and loudly.
Terry glanced at him briefly but didn't comment on his abrupt topic change. It wasn't hard to guess he still disliked the fact her eyes were now gold and that he held himself in a way responsible. Even though it wasn't. Terry shook her head fondly at her old fool while the Doctor continued to address the others.
"So, we know that whatever they are, they're everywhere." The Doctor recapped aloud. "Not just a landing party, an occupying force, and they've been here a very, very long time. But nobody knows that, because no one can remember them."
"So what are they up to?" Canton asked tensely.
The Doctor shook his head as he landed the Tardis. "No idea. But the good news is, we've got a secret weapon."
He threw open the Tardis doors and the others followed him outside to find themselves staring at the Kennedy Space Centre. And more specifically, at a Saturn V rocket that stood proudly ready for launch on the launch pad.
"Apollo 11's your secret weapon?" River asked in disbelief.
The Doctor shook his head. "No, no. It's not Apollo 11. That would be silly."
The other started to relax a little, until Terry deadpanned, "It's Neil Armstrong's foot."
Canton, River, Amy and Rory all turned to stare at first Terry and then the Doctor in disbelief. The Doctor just smirked and he threw an arm around Terry again.
"I think we've got a great plan, don't you?"
"Ow!"
Canton winced while the Doctor released his hand after injecting something into the centre of the agent's palm.
"Ha!" The Doctor grinned before he turned to face the group once more.
"So, three months." The Doctor announced as he waved his injection gun. "What have we found out?"
"They are everywhere," Rory answered while the Doctor took his hand. "Whatever 'they' are. Every state in America – ahh!"
Rory broke off as he got his injection as well, but the Doctor blithely ignored his companion's pained exclamation as he stated, "Not just America, the entire world."
"There's a greater concentration here, though." River pointed out while the Doctor injected Amy.
"Ow!" The redhead complained as she grasped her hand. Amy looked down at her palm where the Doctor had injected her but the Doctor stopped to stare at Amy somewhat pensively.
Terry noticed and she said loudly to get River and Rory's attention, "There has to be a connection. It can't be random that there are so many here and that we found that spacesuit in America as well."
River gave a side eyed look at Terry, who just shook her head minutely. River kept quiet while Rory finally noticed the Doctor and Amy whispering to each other to one side of the Tardis. The Doctor was frowning slightly but Amy looked almost… nervous.
"What's up?" Rory asked as he walked over to the pair.
"Nothing." Amy answered a little too quickly. "Really, nothing."
Rory looked skeptical, but Amy insisted, "Seriously," and so he was forced to let the subject go.
The Doctor meanwhile glanced toward Terry.
"There's something wrong with Amy, isn't there?"
Terry gave a minute nod while Canton spoke up.
"So you've seen them, but you don't remember them."
He looked toward River, who nodded but added, "You've seen them, too. That night at the warehouse, remember?"
Canton frowned but River continued, "While you were pretending to hunt us down, we saw hundreds of those things. We still don't know what they look like."
"It's like they edit themselves out of your memory as soon as you look away." Rory added while Canton's frown deepened. "The exact second you're not looking at them, you can't remember anything."
"Sometimes you feel a bit sick, though, but not always." Amy chimed in.
"So that's why you marked your skin." Canton murmured, before he looked at the Doctor.
"How long have they been here?" He asked.
The Doctor shrugged while Amy sighed, "That's what we've spent the last three months trying to find out."
"Not easy, if you can't remember anything you discover." Rory added morosely.
Canton turned to address the Doctor and Terry. "How long do you think?"
"As long as there's been something in the corner of your eye," Doctor answered quietly. He walked up to Canton as he continued, "Or creaking in your house, or breathing under your bed, or voices through a wall."
Canton stared back at the Time Lord grimly as the Doctor looked him in the eye.
"They've been running your lives for a very long time now, so keep this straight in your head."
The Doctor looked at each one of his friends sternly.
"We are not fighting an alien invasion, we're leading a revolution. And today, the battle begins."
"How?" Canton demanded.
"Like this." The Doctor answered softly before he suddenly turned and injected River's palm.
"Ow!" River complained.
"Ha!" The Doctor laughed again, while River shook out her hand.
"Oh, I should have seen that coming." She muttered under her breath, glowering at the Doctor. "I should have seen that coming!"
"Yes, you should've!" The Doctor grinned while Terry took the injection gun and she injected herself.
"Ow." Terry hissed while the Doctor explained for the others, "Nanorecorder."
The Doctor held up a tiny pod-shaped device for everyone to see while River and Terry exchanged quick looks and nods.
"Fuses with the cartilage in your hand." The Doctor held up his palm to demonstrate, when suddenly River darted forward and grabbed his hand.
"Oi-!"
The Doctor's protest was cut short as Terry quickly shot him in the palm with the injection gun.
"Ow!" The Doctor yelped. "Angel!"
"Good work, River." Terry said to River, ignoring the Doctor's whining.
The Doctor pouted, especially as River answered quite smugly, "Oh, it was my pleasure, angel."
"What does the nanorecorder do?" Canton asked loudly, demanding everyone refocus on their objective.
The three time travelers returned to business quickly.
"It links directly to the speech centres in your brain, picking up your voice no matter what. Telepathic connection." The Doctor tapped his temple. "So, the moment you see one of the creatures, you activate it."
The Doctor pressed the centre of his palm and they all stared at the glowing red dot that appeared under his skin.
"And describe aloud exactly what you're seeing."
The Doctor pressed his palm again, and they all listened as the recorder played back his voice: "And describe aloud exactly what you're seeing."
The Doctor let go of his palm again to stop the recording.
"Because the moment you break contact, you're going to forget it happened." The Doctor pointed at his palm again. "The light will flash if you've left yourself a message. You keep checking your hand if you've had an encounter. That's the first you'll know about it."
The group except Canton nodded. The agent meanwhile protested, "Why didn't you tell me this before we started?"
"I did," the Doctor replied seriously. "But even information about these creatures erases itself over time. I couldn't refresh it because I couldn't talk to you."
Canton grunted and he turned slightly, shaking his head as he did so. At the same time, Terry casually pressed a button on the Tardis console.
Canton turned back to face the Doctor and, very nonchalantly, the agent fixed the Doctor's bowtie. Terry and the Doctor watched him closely as he did. Feeling eyes on him, Canton looked up to find everyone was staring at him.
"What?" He asked. "What are you staring at?"
"Your hand, Canton." Terry explained quietly. "Look at it."
Canton obediently looked at his palm… and he frowned in confusion as he saw a red blinking light right in the centre of his palm.
"Why is it doing that?" Canton asked, looking back up at them.
"What does it mean if the light's flashing?" The Doctor turned the question back on the agent. "What did I just tell you?"
"I haven't…" Canton trailed off, struggling to remember.
"Play it." Terry encouraged him.
Canton hesitated before he slowly pressed his palm.
"My God, how did it get in here?" His voice played back at him.
Canton's eyes widened while in the recording, the Doctor's voice said, "Keep eye contact with the creature and, when I say, turn back, and when you do, straighten my bow tie."
Canton and the others slowly turned to look at the corner of the Tardis again, and Canton's eyes went wide as he saw the bald, suited alien standing in the middle of the Tardis.
"What? What are you staring at?" Canton's voice asked over the recording at that moment.
"Your hand, Canton. Look at it." Terry's voice answered.
Everyone stood staring at the strange alien standing in the Tardis until the Doctor explained, "It's a hologram, extrapolated from the photo on Amy's phone. Take a good, long look."
The Doctor nodded to Terry, who switched the hologram off. Instantly, the others blinked their eyes and Terry could almost see the way their minds lost focus.
"You just saw an image of one of the creatures we're fighting." The Doctor continued briskly, speaking fast as he looked at Canton first. "Describe it to me."
"I can't." Canton muttered, his eyes wide and confused as he struggled to remember the fact that he'd even seen the hologram let alone what it looked like.
The Doctor looked away. "No. Neither can I."
The Doctor looked at the others, who all looked down, also unable to remember. Only Terry seemed to be able to remember, but that wasn't going to do much. The only comfort it brought was that she at least wouldn't forget and would likely not be susceptible to the aliens' influence. The why was a mystery, although it was what had sparked the Doctor's current plan.
The Doctor strode about the console again as he said to Canton, "You straightened my bow tie because I planted the idea in your head while you were looking at the creature."
"So they could do that to people." Amy piped up worriedly. "You could be doing stuff and not really knowing why you're doing it."
"Like posthypnotic suggestion." Rory suggested and Amy frowned.
"Ruling the world with posthypnotic suggestion?" Amy asked.
"Now then, a little girl in a spacesuit." The Doctor went on as though he hadn't heard them. "They got the suit from NASA, but where did they get the girl?"
Terry had to do everything in her power not to look at River, especially when Canton argued, "It could be anywhere."
"Except they'd probably stay close to that warehouse," the Doctor countered. "Because why bother doing anything else? And they'd take her from somewhere that would cause the least amount of attention. But you'll have to find her."
The Doctor suddenly waved to his confused companions.
"I'm off to NASA."
"NASA?" Amy repeated.
The Doctor nodded while he called out to Terry telepathically, "Will you come with me?"
"I'll go with Amy. Keep an eye on her." Terry answered.
The Doctor gave a tiny nod before looking at Canton as the agent protested, "But, where do we look to find them?"
The Doctor looked at Canton like it was obvious. And to him, it really was.
"Children's homes."
Some time later
Greystark Hall Orphanage
Canton drove them carefully up the driveway toward the large house that stood atop the abandoned looking hill. Amy glanced warily out as the rain pattered ominously against the windows while Terry turned down the volume on the car's radio.
"In just a few days, mankind will set foot on the Moon for the first time." The news anchor was saying. "Today, the President reaffirmed America's commitment-"
The radio clicked off completely as Canton pulled up to the front of the building and shut off the engine. Despite Terry lowering the radio volume earlier, the silence was almost deafening. Amy took a deep breath from her seat in the back of the car, while Canton looked at Terry.
"Ready?" He asked.
"From the looks of it, I should be asking you." Terry answered.
Canton gave a wry grin before he looked down at his palm. "Check."
"Clear." Amy stated clearly into her palm. She also checked her hand and wrist just in case for any marks; there were none.
"Clear." Terry repeated into her own palm.
"Clear." Canton finished off their check successfully as he spoke into his palm while simultaneously checking his hand and wrist for marks.
Terry nodded. "Let's go."
Amy knocked on the deserted mansion door. Terry stood at the back while Canton stood between the two women, his hand resting a little too casually in his pocket. It didn't appear to be necessary however as they waited out in the cold rain with no answer.
Amy knocked again, louder this time - and finally, they heard a faint shuffle coming from inside the abandoned orphanage. The door opened a short while later, revealing a man with greying hair.
"Hello?" The man peered at the trio curiously. Canton held up his ID.
"FBI." The agent said by introduction. "You must be Dr. Renfrew."
Dr. Renfrew said nothing. Instead, he watched the trio warily from the doorway.
"Can we come in?" Canton finally prompted as he gestured at the rain that continued to pour down onto the Earth.
"The children are asleep." Dr. Renfrew protested.
"We'll be very quiet." Amy replied firmly.
Dr. Renfrew frowned deeply and he asked suspiciously, "Is there a problem?"
"It's about a missing child." Canton explained.
"What are you…?" Renfrew started in protest, when he suddenly blinked.
Canton and Amy were then surprised when Renfrew said rather dazedly, "Yes… yes, come in, please."
Amy glanced back at Terry warily before she followed the man inside. Canton and Terry walked in right behind the redhead and they looked around the dusty interior. The agent's hand remained in his pocket and Terry suspected Canton had not released his revolver since they'd arrived.
"This way." Renfrew called.
Amy led the way behind the doctor as Renfrew walked up the winding staircase and up to the higher floors of the building. Like everything else, the stairs looked old and worn but they were sturdy enough as the foursome climbed further up the inside of the orphanage. What did make them pause however was the writing in blood red paint that ran across the wall beside the stairs.
"Please excuse the writing." Renfrew laughed anxiously. "It... keeps happening."
"You don't say." Terry said dryly as she looked at the words painted in large capital letters: 'GET OUT, LEAVE NOW'.
Canton glanced at Terry while Renfrew explained distractedly, "I try to clean it up."
"It's the kids, yeah? They did that." Amy suggested.
"Yes, the children." Renfrew murmured, almost hesitant as he stopped beside the words. "It must be, yes."
The doctor lifted a towel from the pail that had been sitting at the top of the first floor stairs. Clearly, he'd been at work like he said cleaning up the paint when they had arrived and he left to answer the door. Renfrew started to lift the wet cloth back up towards the writing, as though to wipe it. But before he even touched the wall, he stopped… and then he lowered his arm again. But not before the three friends saw the words written in black ink across the inside of the man's suit, just visible when his suit sleeve had rode up when he lifted his arm.
'GET OUT'.
Amy looked back more anxiously toward Terry. But at the Time Lady's impassive expression, the redhead turned back to Renfrew as the man gestured up the stairs.
"Anyway, my office is this way."
He dropped the cloth back into the pail as he spoke. No one said anything as Renfrew led them up the stairs once more.
"We nearly didn't come to this place." Canton said conversationally, ignoring the way the words 'GET OUT' and 'LEAVE NOW' were painted across every wall they passed. All of them were scrubbed partially away but not completely, just like the words on the steps between the ground floor and the first floor. "I understood Graystark Hall was closed in 67."
"That's the plan, yes." Renfrew nodded.
"The plan?" Amy repeated with a confused frown.
"Not long now." Renfrew smiled a little too tightly for it to be natural. Like he was trying and failing to hide his fear at having to wait even a moment longer for the hall to close.
This puzzled the others and Canton pointed out after a beat, "It's 1969."
"No, no." Renfrew shook his head. "We close in 67. That's the plan, yes."
"You misunderstood me, sir." Canton stopped, his tone firm.
Renfrew also paused on the stairs at the agent's authoritative tone and he looked back at Canton as the agent informed him, "It's 1969 now."
"Why are you saying that?" Renfrew asked in a puzzled tone. "Of course it isn't."
"July." Canton added carefully. He, Amy and Terry then watched sharply as Renfrew blinked rapidly for a few moments… only to go blank once more.
"My office is this way." Renfrew said as he turned away and started back up the steps onto the second floor. "This way."
"What's wrong with him?" Amy whispered to Terry, staring after Renfrew as the man disappeared onto the second floor hallway.
"Repeated memory wipes." Terry explained in a low voice. "They'll fry your mind with time."
"You mean those things are also here?" Canton whispered.
"Maybe. Be careful." Terry warned as they reached the second floor. "We'll check upstairs."
"Ok. You two be careful too." Canton answered before he followed Renfrew while Amy and Terry continued up the stairs.