Aaaand, BANG. blast from the past. Come on, see? two updates in two days? I'm trying to get you all to forgive me for how long this is taking me.
Chapter 12
Donna is almost smashing the Tardis into the 1980s when we all hear the ringtone again.
"So you've got a mobile? Since when?", she asks.
The instant the Doctor picks up, I already know who's calling. "It's not mine", he says, shooting a glance at me.
Because of course it's Martha, and of course she's calling the minute I just got dressed after hours of amazing sex with the Doctor. I never got to know Rose that well, and I know I should feel bad about her too, but Martha was my friend, so. She's moved on with her life, so I shouldn't be this worried about meeting her. But well, I can't quite easily forget how massive her crush on the Doctor was.
When the Doctor opens the Tardis doors, she's standing there, all dressed in black, just like me in my spy gear. She looks more professional, though.
"Martha Jones", he says warily.
"Doctor", she replies.
I watch in silence as the Doctor hugs her. "You haven't changed a bit".
"Neither have you", she smiles.
"Martha", I say.
"You've changed, though. Look at your hair", she says, nodding in my direction.
"I know".
"I'm kind of relieved to see you're still with him. Looking after each other". I can't even turn to look at him.
"How's the family?", he asks, and here's the first of a long series of guilty feeling for me.
"You know. Not so bad. Recovering", she says, then looks at me.
"What about you?", he asks, as Donna walks out of the Tardis behind our back.
"Right. Should have known. Better with three on the Tardis. Didn't take you long to replace me, then", Martha says a bit bitterly when she spots Donna.
"Now, don't start fighting. Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha. Please don't fight. Can't bear fighting", the Doctor says, faster than needed. Three women all around him. That makes him more nervous than usual.
"You wish", Donna winks, then shakes hands with Martha.
"I've heard all about you. They talk about you all the time".
"I dread to think", Martha jokes.
"No, no, no. No, they say nice things", Donna clears. "He says nice things. Good things. Nice things. Really good things". I just wish Donna would shut up. So does Martha, apparently.
"Oh my God", she says shyly. "He's told you everything".
"Didn't take long to get over it though. Who's the lucky man?", Donna asks.
"What man? Lucky what?".
"She's engaged", I smile, nodding at the diamond on Martha's finger.
"Really? Who to?", the Doctor asks curiously.
"Tom. That Tom Milligan". I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with the year that never was, as the Doctor calls it. "He's in pediatrics. Working out in Africa right now. And yes, I know, I've got a doctor who disappears off to distant places. Tell me about it", Martha groans.
"Is he skinny?", Donna inquires.
"No, he's sort of... strong", she says under the Doctor's annoyed look.
"Well don't ask her, but for me he is too skinny for words. You give him a hug, you get a paper cut", Donna says. Martha glares at me. The Doctor groans.
"Oh, I'd rather you were fighting".
"Speaking of which", Martha says answering in a walkie-talkie. "This is Doctor Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go. I repeat, this is a go".
The instant Martha stops speaking, a convoy of jeeps and trucks appears from nowhere. There are parachutes in the air. I'm impressed.
"All workers, lay down your tools and surrender", a tannoy orders.
"What are you searching for?", the Doctor asks.
"Illegal aliens", Martha answers.
"Uh. Oh", I say.
"This is a UNIT operation. All workers lay down your tools and surrender immediately", the tannoy repeats under Martha's instructions.
"Is that what you did to her? Turned her into a soldier?", Donna asks worriedly, as we follow Martha who's pacing after the troops.
"And you're qualified now. You're a proper doctor", the Doctor says to Martha as we look over the field.
"UNIT rushed it through, given my experience in the field", she explains. "Here we go. We're establishing a field base on site. They're dying to meet you".
"Wish I could say the same", the Doctor replies coldly.
I'm a two steps back, waiting for Donna as she watches the troops rushing people out of the factory. It's not a good sight, they all seem very rude and too violent considering they should only be investigating.
"Come on, Donna-wait, wait!", I end up screaming, as four soldiers appear suddenly and twist my arms behind my back.
"Colonel Mace, we've got one- over", one of the soldiers say as I try to kick them.
"What are you doing? let her go!", Donna protests. "Doctor! Martha!", she screams.
They come back quickly. "Let her go!", Martha orders, and they immediately release me, all of them but one. "Come on- I'm sorry".
I shrug the soldiers off, giving them a warning look. "What the hell", I grunt. "She said let go".
"And that's an order, soldier", Martha insists.
"What's going on here?", a man in uniform appears from the back of a truck.
"Sir, Doctor Jones just went over your orders, Sir", the soldier who's still holding my shoulder.
"Scans show she's alien, Sir", the soldier insists.
I glare at the Doctor, who's shrugging by Martha's side. "Seriously?", I ask him.
"She's Zoe. She's my friend. She's with the Doctor. I can grant for her, Sir", Martha tells the Colonel.
"I grant for Zoe", the Doctor repeats sternly, and this seems to finally convince him, as he nods to the soldier who reluctantly lets me go. "Sorry, Ma'am", he says apoligetically.
I shoot him another look and turn to follow the Doctor and Martha to the truck's entrance. The inside looks like a field operation base, a state-of-the-art fully functional office.
"Operation Blue Sky complete, sir. Thanks for letting me take the lead. And, this is the Doctor. Doctor, Colonel Mace", Martha says.
"Sir", the Colonel salutes.
"Oh, don't salute", he protests, with a disgusted face. He really doesn't like the military.
"But it's an honour, sir. I've read all the files on you", he apologizes. "Technically speaking, you're still on staff. You never resigned".
"What, you used to work for them?", Donna asks, surprised. Well, I didn't know that either. Suppose he mentioned UNIT a few times, but never said he worked for them.
"Yeah, long time ago. Back in the 70's. Or was it the 80's? But it was all a bit more... homespun back then", he says, looking around.
"Times have changed, sir".
"Yeah, that's enough of the sir", he insists.
"Come on, though, Doctor. You've seen it. You've been on board the Valiant. We've got massive funding from the United Nations, all in the name of Home World Security", Martha explains.
"A modern UNIT for the modern world", the Colonel smugly says, as he's repeating a slogan from a fundraising event.
"What, and that means arresting ordinary factory workers, in the streets, in broad daylight? It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there", Donna says, unfazed by the authority. "Donna, by the way. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute".
I giggle. The Doctor nods at the unbelieving Mace, who then reluctantly salutes Donna. "Ma'am".
"Thank you", she says proudly.
Colonel Mace and Martha explains why they're arresting the factory workers, something about a globally organized murder of people with ATMOS in their cars. I didn't have a car, so I just heard of it, but even Donna knows the famous cleaning system. Leaves your car with zero impact on air, zero pollution. Apparently some people from various places of the world have all been poisoned at the same time.
We follow Martha and Mace through the factory under plastic curtains, until we're in a sort of lab with mock ups on a table.
"And here it is, laid bare", Mace explains. "ATMOS can be threaded through any and every make of car".
"You must've checked it, before it went on sale", I say.
"We did. We found nothing. That's why I thought we needed an expert", Martha tells.
"Really! Who'd you get?", the Doctor asks, curious, before realizing. "Oh, right. Me, yes. Good".
Martha and Mace leave. I don't think Mace is confortable with us tinkering without supervision, but Martha must have some sort of respect and authority around here.
"Okay. So why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?", Donna asks.
"A very good question", the Doctor nods.
"Maybe they want to help. Get rid of pollution and stuff".
"Eight hundred million cars", I say.
"Right", the Doctor nods worriedly.
"What?", Donna asks.
"That's how many cars there are on planet Earth. Eight hundred million. Imagine that. If you could control them...", he says.
"You'd have eight hundred million weapons", I finish his sentence.
"Let's get to work, then", the Doctor says, throwing his coat on a chair, pulling out his glasses and the sonic screwdriver.
We're still examining it when Martha and Mace come back, the Doctor and I are scanning every piece of it. Donna left a while ago, not sure where she went. I beep the laser over the last piece.
"Ionising nano-membrane molecular technology", I say to the Doctor.
"Exactly. Ionising nano-membrane carbon dioxide converter. Which means that ATMOS works. Filters the CO2 at a molecular level", he agrees.
"We know all that, but what's its origin? Is it alien?", Mace asks, leaning over to the piece the Doctor is looking at.
"No. Just decades ahead of its time. Look, do you mind? Could you stand back a bit?".
"Sorry, have I done something wrong?", he asks.
"You're carrying a gun. I don't like people with guns hanging around me, all right?", the Doctor complains.
"If you insist", the soldier says, quite humbly, and leaves.
"Tetchy", Martha comments. "And unfair. I seem to recognize that device", she says nodding to the laser screwdriver.
"Leave Zoe out of it, we have... some sort of ongoing argument about that", he says, which leaves me a bit confused. It is unfair, indeed.
"It's not as it was the last time you saw this", I say, defending my piece of work.
"Still a laser, though", she says, smiling bitterly.
"Martha", I say, but it's not the start of something I have to say, it's just a call, like I've heard the Doctor call on her so many times when he didn't know how to apologize. I hope once we're done with this ATMOS thing we'll have two minutes alone, me and her. She's not mad at me, I think, but there's a lot we didn't really talk about when I feel like we should have.
"He's a good man", she insists, turning to the Doctor again.
"People with guns are usually the enemy in my books", he says.
"Except when it's Zoe".
"There's a difference between a screwdriver and a gun. You seem quite at home".
"If anyone got me used to fighting, it's you", she says challengingly.
"Oh right, so it's my fault", he says. I don't really like the shape of this conversation.
"Well, you got me the job". Wait, what? Did the Doctor recommend Martha to UNIT? "Besides, look at me. Am I carrying a gun?".
"Suppose not", he admits.
"It's all right for you. You two can just come and go, but some of us have got to stay behind". Funny that her argument is so similar to mine. "So I've got to work from the inside, and by staying inside, maybe I stand a chance of making them better".
"Yeah?", he finally smiles. "That's more like Martha Jones".
"I learned from the best".
"Weeell", he concedes, smugly, while Donna walks in.
"Oi, you lot. All your storm troopers and your sonics and lasers. You're rubbish. Should've come with me".
"Why, where have you been?", the Doctor asks.
"Personnel. That's where the weird stuff's happening, in the paperwork. Because I spent years working as a temp, I can find my way round an office blindfold, and the first thing I noticed is an empty file".
"Why, what's inside it? Or what's not inside it?", he asks. Donna takes her time to answer, as proud as she is with her findings.
"Sick days. There aren't any. Hundreds of people working here and no one's sick. Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip, nothing. Not ever. They don't get ill".
"That can't be right", Mace says, walking beside her.
"You've been checking out the building. Should've been checking out the workforce".
"I can see why he likes you", Martha flashes a smile to Donna.
"Mmm-hmm", she nods.
"You are good", Martha insists.
"Super temp", Donna cheers herself.
"Doctor Jones, set up a medical post. Start examining the workers. I'll get them sent through", Mace orders.
"Come on, Donna. Give me a hand".
"So, this ATMOS thing", I ask Colonel Mace. "Where did it come from?".
"Luke Rattigan himself", he answers, leading us back to the computers.
"And himself would be?".
"Child genius. Invented the Fountain Six search engine when he was twelve years old. Millionaire overnight. Now runs the Rattigan Academy. A private school, educating students handpicked from all over the world", Mace explains once we're reading the file about the boy.
"A hothouse for geniuses. Wouldn't mind going there", the Doctor comments surprised. "We get lonely", he adds.
I groan at him. "I'll get Donna", I say, glaring, and I leave.
When I find Martha and Donna, they've set up the post and Martha's laying down her tools to check the workers.
"Do they know where you are? Your family. I mean, that you're travelling with the Doctor?", Martha's asking Donna.
"Not really. Although my granddad sort of waved us off. I didn't have time to explain", Donna says, shamely.
"You just left him behind?".
"Yeah".
"I didn't tell my family. I kept it all so secret, and it almost destroyed them". There. Second sting of guilt for Zoe.
"In what way?".
"They ended up imprisoned". By my sort of creator. "They were tortured", him again. "My Mum, my Dad, my sister. It wasn't the Doctor's fault, but you need to be careful", yes Donna, because I am the one who opened that damn watch. "Because you know the Doctor. He's wonderful, he's brilliant, but he's like fire. Stand too close and people get burnt", she says worriedly, and although, again, she doesn't look like she's mad at me, I still feel terribly ashamed for what happened to the Jones. I guess that's what the Doctor meant, when he said he can't help feeling responsible for me. I can't help feeling guilty for the Master.
Donna ponder Martha's words, then steps out to think, nodding.
"Martha", I ask. "How's your family, really?".
"They're recovering. And I know why you're asking, and please, Zoe, really, I don't... I don't blame you. Nor does Jack, in case you're wondering".
I want to ask more, to make sure she really doesn't blame me, but her mention of Jack caught me by surprise. "Have you spoken to him?".
"I have. Did some... consulting job with Torchwood".
Ha. Suppose they fired that pain in the ass doctor they had there? What was his name? "Torchwood? Does the Doctor-".
"I haven't told him, but I suspect he recommended them to hire me. Not sure if I should thank him, though, almost ended up dead. Again", she giggles, then suddenly returns serious.
"Isn't it always like that?", I smile.
"Usually, not always", she says bitterly. "Last time I spoke to Jack...", she sighs.
"Did something happen?", I worry.
"Lost half of his team recently. There's only him, Gwen and Ianto now. Toshiko and Owen didn't make it through a rough op. Not sure if you remember them, but, you know, just thought you should know, in case you get in touch with Jack".
I do remember them, especially Owen. I broke his nose with my head, once. I feel sorry for just calling him a pain in the ass. He really must have been a valuable bloke to be in Jack's team in the first place.
"Do you think I should? Get in touch with Jack?".
"Zoe", Martha says, looking into my eyes. "I don't know where you are with the Doctor right now, if you're in a relationship or whatever or if you're both just being cynical and ignoring your feelings, and I don't know how much being a Time Lord changed you, but you know... my advice to Donna applies to you too. Stay by him, but you can be close even without standing that close all the time", she says warily. "I still worry about you, that didn't change".
I nod quietly, and start. "Martha", I call, but again I don't really finish the sentence, partly because the first workers start queuing for the medical check, and partly because I'm not sure of what to answer.
I've been repeating this to myself for quite some time, too, and maybe she's right, but if I take the Doctor out of the equation, what do I do? I don't even have that many people left on planet Earth, well I should have probably told something to my roommates, but still. I hardly knew them. Suppose they must have probably already sold my belongings at Brick Lane. Paul? He's a good friend, but I'm not sure how he could help me figure things out. Jack seems to be the only one I could really talk to, now that Martha says he doesn't blame me.
Martha nods at me in understanding and I turn away, following Donna until we reach the Doctor in the parking area. He's talking to the soldier who was holding me when we first walked into the UNIT camp.
"Doctor", Donna calls.
"Oh, just in time. Come on, come on, we're going to the country. Fresh air and geniuses, what more could you ask?", he says.
"I'm not coming with you. I've been thinking", Donna says, seriously. "I'm sorry. I'm going home".
"Really?", he asks, surprised.
"I've got to".
"Oh, if that's what you want", he says, and then he keeps talking and talking with a sad, broken and hurt look. "I mean, it's a bit soon. I had so many places I had wanted to take you. The Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade, the Lightning Skies of Cotter Palluni's World, Diamond Coral Reefs of Kataa Flo Ko". Such a brilliant mind and he doesn't really have a clue. I can't cross eyes with Donna who's not even flinching and I want to see how much she can hold his gaze without bursting into laughter.
"Thank you. Thank you, Donna Noble, it's been brilliant. You've, you've saved my life in so many ways. You're... you're just popping home for a visit, that's what you mean".
"You dumbo", she nods, rolling her eyes.
"...And then you're coming back".
"Know what you are? A great, big, outer space dunce", she says smugly.
"Yeah", he agrees. He really didn't see it coming. I'm a bit confused by how quickly he would have accepted Donna's leaving.
"Ready when you are, sir", the soldier calls.
"What's more, you can give me a lift. Come on", Donna insists, mocking him. "Broken moon of what?".
"I know, I know", he shrugs, as we climb into the car.
"Now", I say to the soldier. "I think we started on the wrong foot", I say, offering him his hand. I couldn't help but notice he just checked me up as I turned around the car.
"Oh don't you start", the Doctor says complaining, in a way that reminds me of the way he scolds Jack.
"Ross Jenkins, Ma'am".
"Oh, please, it's Zoe- don't Ma'am me". I don't know if I picked this from the Doctor, or it just makes me feel older.
When we reach Chiswick, I've made my decision, so when Ross slows down and Donna announces she's walking the rest of the way, I hold the jeep door open.
"Wait- I'm coming with".
The Doctor looks at me puzzled. "What for?".
"I'll be back before you miss me", I wink, and surprisingly, he leans in and gives me a quick kiss through the window. "See you back at the factory, 'kay?".
"Yeah", he says resignedly, waving his hands in the air.
Since I don't have one, I thought I could just feel what it's like to have a family by meeting Donna's. Feel those human connections. And just as Martha said, which is curiously the same thing the voice at the back of my head says, maybe I really need to get out. So this is sort of a test. Just a break. Put some distance between me and him.
Needless to say, Donna's granddad is sweet and understanding, although judging by what Donna says to introduce me it's best if we keep the fact that I'm an alien a secret, but, gosh, her mother, don't get me started. I think I know now why Donna seems to think so poorly of herself. I politely resist about twenty minutes in the house, sharing a kettle of tea with Wilf but once Sylvia Noble has asked me if I have a steady job, if I have a boyfriend - and no wonder I don't, given my hair and looks - and ultimately decided, frankly not surprisingly, that I am a bad influence for her daughter, it's time for me to pay my own, private visits. For an instant I wonder if I could borrow their car, then I worry about ATMOS and just borrow their London AZ.
It takes me almost an hour to get there, but I'm not really scared until I sneak past the guards and laser the lock on the door that goes downstairs, and that's when I start asking myself if what I'm doing is actually wise, wondering if I still have time to change my mind.
I take a deep breath, trying to slow down my heartbeats, and exhale. I shake my head - I made it this far, I can go through with this idea.
I make my way to the cell, and the laughter I hear is just as welcoming and charming, and by that I mean sinister, as it was the last time I heard it.
"I knew you would show up, sooner or later", she says, "even if I told you not to".
I'm actually relieved that she seems to have recovered some of her attitude. I smile. "Hello, Chloe".
Since I didn't find any reviews :( :( , no trivias for you. Though let me tell you, I played in my mind with the idea of Zoe getting cloned instead of Martha, or with Martha, but. First it really made no sense because Zoe wouldn't have any access to the nuclear codes so cloning her would have been quite pointless, even for the potato heads. Also it meant another episode in which she would spend most time, well, blacked out. And, I think I've had enough of clones...