Well, hello peoples. How are you ?
It's really nice to be able to write again, with a revived passion.
How did you find the previous two chapters? Feel free to leave me your feedback, even if it's just a simple "this chapter is really nice".
I'd also like your opinion on the format of a phone chat you'll find further down in the story. As much as I can easily format this conversation on AO3 and Wattpad, I don't have the Justify right available on FF and I tried to find solutions.
Enjoy your reading !
Standing outside the Butcher's shop, Alvia dialled her boss's number. The shop who should have at least had the grill up and the lights on, was not. Mr Adler, who should have been there for at least a few hours, wasn't. So, once the phone number had been dialled, after a couple of seconds and two rings, the call was picked up.
"Yes?"
it was the voice of an old woman.
"Oh hello, I'm sorry to disturb you but… hum… I work at Mr Adler's butcher's shop and the shop isn't open and Mr Adler is absent. I wondered if there might be a problem?"
"Are you the young Alvia?" asked the woman.
"Yes? Yes, I am."
"I am his wife, Laura Adler. This foolish man of mine got sick. He refuses to go see a doctor. So, he is unfortunately confined to bed until he finally gets some help. I swear this man…" Laura Adler sighs in exasperation "Sorry, darling, but the shop won't open until he gets better."
"Oh, don't worry!" Alvia chuckled. "Anyway, I won't keep you any longer. Have a nice day."
"You too darling!"
The call ended. Alvia sighed, wishing she had been warned earlier. She could have stayed in bed for a bit longer. She closed the call app and opened the message app. She touched the highest contact on her screen.
'Wanna be jealous? I've got a day off :p'
'Oh fuck off'
'Well, someone sounds a bit irritable today. What did Owen do this time?'
'What makes you say it's Owen?'
'… it's always Owen'
'Quite right. Well, he's a twat but that's not new. However, he ordered medical supplies and got them delivered directly to the Hub. And forgot to clear the tracks of the purchase, again!'
'Torchwood is supposed to be a secret organisation. We're not supposed to leave traces!'
Alvia snorted with amusement. She could feel Jack's frustration from here. She thought hard for a moment before finally sending a reply to Jack.
'Could be worse. He could order pizza under the name of Torchwood.'
Alvia made no attempt to wait for a reply from Jack and put her phone in her jacket pocket. She couldn't contain her giggles as she felt her phone vibrate with each incoming message. Since she didn't have to work today, Alvia decided to go home and enjoy a few more hours of sleep. She passed by a group of teenagers who were skipping school and exchanged some greetings with them. Then, she turned at the corner of the building and saw something that froze her on the spot.
A little further on, opposite the pharmacy, there stood a tall blue telephone box, and a few meters away from it stood a man wearing a leather jacket, looking at a wanted poster of Rose that was almost gone.
It was the Doctor. The Doctor and his TARDIS.
After a couple of seconds, the Doctor sprinted towards Rose's flat, and Alvia couldn't believe what she saw. But as she got closer to the TARDIS, she gradually began to realise what was happening and what was going to happen. Rose Tyler was back. It was the beginning of the fourth episode of the first season, which meant that London was about to be invaded.
Alvia pulled out her phone and immediately called Jack, looking at the TARDIS in awe as she waited for him to pick up.
"You know I'm a bit busy, right? I have to clean up after Owen." started Jack without even greeting her.
"He's here," she said. "The Doctor is here."
"Oh…"
"What do I do Jack? What do I do?!"
"Listen to me Alvia. Everything is gonna be alright."
"No, it's not! It's not gonna be alright!" She exclaimed, letting her panic take over." There is an invasion ahead and I'm not ready! I'm not ready for anything else."
"Believe me, it's going to be okay. You can trust him, and you know that." reassured Jack in a soft but insistent voice.
"Can I? Can I really trust him with everything? I'm scared Jack…"
"I know... And I wish I could do more. But it's up to you now."
"Jack!"
Alvia heard some noises coming from Jack's side.
"I gotta go, Alvia. Have some faith in the Doc. And believe me, you're going to be great." At these words, Jack hung up. Leaving Alvia on the edge of panic, tears threatening to appear in the corner of her eyes.
After taking several deep breaths, Alvia managed to ease the panic inside her. She put her phone away and turned her attention and gaze to the TARDIS in front of her. She raised a hand towards the painted wood of the doors, and stopped herself a few inches away, feeling a strange sensation in her mind, almost like a presence. A curious one, for that matter. If she were to theorize about this sensation, Alvia would bet her life on the idea that it was the TARDIS.
Alvia was about to speak to the TARDIS when she suddenly heard Jackie screaming, and she forgot about the TARDIS, rushing towards the stairs to join Jackie quickly. With the door wide open, Alvia rushed into the flat, easily drawing attention from the people inside.
"I heard a scream. Is everything okay, Jackie?" worried Alvia.
"Who the hell are you ?!" Rose exclaimed in displeasure.
With a frown, Alvia looked at Rose and then glanced quickly at the pile of wanted posters.
"Oh my god, you're Rose Tyler!" Alvia replied, falsely shocked.
"Mum, who is she? What the hell is she doing here?" Rose asked her mother, realizing that she would get no answer from the redhead.
"You have some nerve to ask for this after disappearing for a year. Not one call, nothing!" Jackie finally spoke. "Call the police, Alvia! And you!" she pointed to the Doctor. "Don't you dare leave this flat! I demand answers and you're gonna answer!"
Meanwhile, Alvia contacted the police and explained the situation briefly, Jackie closed the door to her flat and went to her room to get dressed.
"A police officer will be here in ten minutes" said Alvia to Jackie.
"Good!" Jackie's voice echoed through her bedroom door.
The ensuing silence in the living room was oppressive, and Alvia tried to keep herself busy in various ways to avoid feeling anxious. She took off her leather jacket and hung it on the coat rack, casting a quick glance at the Doctor and offering him a small compliment.
"Nice jacket."
Alvia caught a faint smile from the Doctor. Then she dealt with the broken mug and the tea that had been spilled on the floor.
Several minutes later, a police officer appeared at the door of the flat. That's when Jackie became involved. Furious with her daughter and the Doctor, she questioned them repeatedly, but her daughter Rose would not answer in the way her mother intended. "Traveling" was her only response.
"Where were you travelling? What the hell does that mean 'Travelling' ?" Jackie yelled.
Alvia was getting more and more bored as the same questions were asked again and again by Jackie and the police officer. They were running in circles, and Rose wasn't being helpful to her mum by refusing to provide any clues about where she had been.
Alvia felt a bit sympathetic on that point because she couldn't say she had been traveling through time and space with an alien. She would be sent to a psychiatric ward. Reaching her breaking point, Alvia left the sofa and picked up her jacket from the coat rack. Since she had nothing to do with the case of the disappearance of Rose, there was no obligation for her to be here. She had only remained here as emotional support for Jackie, not that Jackie seemed to need it by the tone of her voice. She was managing just fine.
While getting her jacket on, Alvia stared at the Doctor until he met her gaze. She quickly looked away, embarrassed by the man's curious gaze. Since she didn't want to linger any longer, she left the flat. She could hear the Doctor's voice once she had closed the door. A few seconds later, there was the sound of someone being smacked, and Alvia snickered. She gave the door one last glance, recalling the scene in question as she made her way to the roof. Reaching the roof, Alvia praised herself for having grabbed her jacket. The wind was chilly, and she felt a cold breeze against her face.
Unsure of what to do with her time, she just stared at the horizon, observing London and listening to the sounds of the city and life. She could hear police and ambulance sirens, the rumble of double-decker buses and motorbikes. Alvia remembered how she had wanted to visit London when she was still at home with her parents, how she had entertained the idea of taking a gap year after experiencing two disastrous years of study during an even more disastrous period.
"Your jacket is rather nice too."
Alvia gasped and looked around to see the Doctor. She didn't hear him coming. He stood behind her, resting against the low wall, his legs and arms crossed. Alvia felt her heart pounding.
"Although... a bit large for you, don't you think?"
"Oversized." Alvia clarified. "It's a fashion trend."
"Ah. I thought so…" He smiled.
"I'm Alvia, by the way." the redhead presented herself. "Didn't really have a chance to introduce myself earlier, did I? That was a mess, down there."
"Yeah… it was. Pretty domestic to me."
"Don't like the domestic?" Alvia asked, with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
"Nah, I like to think of myself more as a traveller. What about you?"
"Circumstances have led me to be Jackie's flatmate, sort of..."
"What happened?" The Doctor enquired, frowning, with both kindness and genuine concern in his voice. "Well, if you want to tell me."
Alvia looked at the Doctor hesitantly. Unsure about how to express her tragedy.
Wetting her dried lips, she finally spoke.
"I lost my home...I have no family to go to, nor friends." Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. "I lost them too. My whole life is gone."
The Doctor's expression softened at her words. Knowing more than anyone else the agony of losing everything. And he knew it was painful, but the Doctor had to ask.
"I'm sorry… How... how did you lose them?"
"There was – "
"I can't tell her!" suddenly interrupted Rose as she came up to the roof, unaware of the discussion that occurred previously. "And I missed a year. Was it good?"
"Don't know. You should ask Alvia."
"Alvia? Who's Alvia…" Rose eventually noticed the redhead who was with them on the roof. "Oh… You're Alvia…" she said with a sour voice.
"You don't have to be so thrilled when you see me" Alvia retorted with a sarcastic tone.
"Why is your accent so weird?"
"Rose, you can't just ask people why their accent is weird!"
Alvia restrains the amused grunt that almost came out. She knew that the Doctor was a living meme. All you had to do was look at her Tumblr likes and the gifs she saved on Discord. But actually, seeing it and doing it in real life was really worth it.
"But still!"
"Probably 'cause I'm French." Alvia replied, a slight hint of pride in her voice.
"I knew someone who had French origins", the Doctor muttered, his eyes on the sky, as he remembered the old days.
Rose scoffed at the Doctor's behaviour.
"Every conversation with you just goes mental." Said Rose, wandering on the roof. "I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, and I can't say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things… And I'm only the person on planet earth who knows they exist."
Alvia mentally rolled her eyes at Rose's words. Was she seriously thinking that she's the only one on earth who knows about aliens? She didn't even think about her boyfriend Mickey, who had been there during the attempted Autons invasion. It was obviously egocentric on her part.
"Aliens and space what ?!" repeated the redhead with feigned confusion.
Just then, a loud roar echoed, and a massive ship flew above their heads. Far too close to be safe. They had to crouch down to avoid being hit or burned by the ship's reactors.
"Aliens and spaceships…" Alvia breathed out in amazement, looking at the spaceship that hovered over London, spewing thick black clouds. "Okay."
The bell of Big Ben rang as the spaceship smashed through the clock before splashing into the Thames. The Doctor burst out laughing suddenly, joyful because of what happened. Being the closest, the Doctor grabbed Alvia's hand and ran towards the stairs, followed by the Rose Tyler.
Alvia glanced incredulously at the hand that held hers.
'Ah, an alien hand' she thought with humour. But she couldn't help but smile. She was having a moment where her inner fangirl was satisfied. Even though the Doctor wouldn't want her inside his TARDIS, she was at least able to talk to him and hold his hand. This was better than nothing, if anything, better than his fury, his scorn or his detachment.
The three ran until they reached a street blocked by soldiers. People in their cars honked, desperate to drive to their destinations, ignorant of the event that had taken place a few minutes ago. As Alvia noticed the scarlet berets worn by some of the soldiers, she wondered if all of London was being blocked by UNIT.
"It's blocked off!" states the Doctor, finally releasing Alvia's hand.
"Well, obliviously."
"We're miles from the center. The whole city must be gridlocked." Tell Rose, trying to see any way to passe through the soldiers.
"I know, I can't believe I'm here to see this! It's fantastic!" The Doctor exclaims, cheerful.
"Did you know this was going to happen?" Rose asked with suspicion.
"Nope!"
"Do you recognize the ship?"
"Nope!"
"Do you even know why it crashed?"
"Nope!"
'Yes. To all…" thought Alvia. 'Unfortunately…'
"Oh, I'm so glad I've got you." Rose said with some disdain.
"I bet you are! This, this is what I travel for, Rose, to see history happening right in front of us!" The Doctor explains, still smiling.
"Well let's go and see it. Never mind the traffic, we've got the TARDIS."
"If everyone is on alert, there's no way to pass without being noticed. Everyone will look for something different, unusual or suspicious" Alvia intervened. "Maybe we should do what everyone else does at these kinds of events. Not the whole spaceship crashing type of event, thought. Watch TV, I mean."
The Doctor stared at Alvia as if the idea of watching TV was something completely new to him, as if he had never considered it before. Well, coming from the man who hadn't noticed the London Eye twice, Alvia shouldn't be surprised at all.
Much to Rose's displeasure, the Doctor approved of Alvia's idea, and they returned to the Powell Estate where Jackie's flat was. Heading back to the Powell Estate at a slower pace than earlier, the Doctor took the opportunity to silently peer at the girl he had just met. An alien spaceship had just crashed, and she didn't panic like the other apes. Even Rose had freaked out with the Autons at first and then asked many questions afterwards. But there was something about her, something different. He couldn't put his finger on it.
His senses were telling him that she didn't belong here. But how? He was unsure for now. He needed to know, though. Also, what she said earlier. What she was about to say. And that pain and sorrow in her eyes, how those eyes looked very similar to his. The Doctor couldn't help but feel some sympathy for her.
Jackie, however, showed no sympathy when she saw the Doctor walk into her home once again. She made it clear to everyone that she was displeased with this man. She didn't refrain from taking Alvia aside to warn her about sticking around with him, fearing she too would disappear. Alvia's heart warmed, and she offered her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry about me, Jackie." She said, ready to rejoint the Doctor watching TV. "I am always careful. Far more than you think."
Jackie nodded, trusting her but there was still a hint of fear in her eyes. Alvia offers a small smile and joins the Doctor's side. The Doctor was zapping all of the available TV channels quickly, looking for a news report or a livestream about the ship in the Thames.
"So, anything new?" Alvia asked gently, putting a hand on the Doctor's shoulder as she bent a bit to look at the TV's cathodic screen.
The Doctor zapped again and came across the BBC News 24 channel, where indeed they were reporting about the spaceship that crashed into Big Ben. He moved to the side, settling into the chair, leaving the armrest free for Alvia to sit. She did so and thanked him. Everyone was focused on the reporter who was close to the crash site. The Doctor zapped to an American news channel, which was also reporting on the crash. He switched back and forth between the two channels, trying to understand the impact on the world and to learn more about the whereabouts of the spaceship. Alvia was confident that for at least fifteen minutes, they were all focused on the TV. However, once Jackie opened the door to greet one of her friends who had buzzed in, the quiet in the living room disappeared quickly. Mariana, that was her name, was chatting with Jackie and scolding Rose at the same time.
Gradually, the flat filled up with friends and neighbours, chatting about anything and everything, alcohol in hand or soft drinks for the younger ones. It was mostly about Rose's sudden reappearance and not much about the spaceship. Alvia could already feel the headache coming on a mile away. They reported on BBC News 24 that a body had been found in the spaceship. Alvia tried to listen to the journalist talking about it, but the discussion around her made it difficult.
Then a small child appeared.
Or more accurately, was brought to the Doctor to watch him for a couple of minutes, which the Doctor obliged with a roll of his eyes and a slight annoyed grunt. Then began a battle for the remote control. The child was determined to play with the remote control, zapping through a number of channels until he found something that would entertain him, which led to a cooking show where the host baked a cake in a spaceship shape. Oh, sweet irony. And the Doctor wanted to come back to the two news channels. No need to look for the winner, obviously it was the Doctor, who won the remote control back. The child hopped off the Doctor's lap and moved to stand in front of the screen and then wandered away after a wave from the Doctor.
The Doctor switched quickly to the first news channel. The journalist was standing outside Albion Hospital. While the name was familiar to Alvia, she couldn't remember when it appeared in the show.
'I'm being told that... General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body. Contained inside those walls...'
This was the signal for her to move. Jackie in her infinite goodness made a cup of tea for Alvia. That was some time ago, the tea had cooled down. That didn't stop Alvia from sipping it, accompanied by half an aspirin for her headache. From across the living room, she was able to see there was another reporter on TV speaking in front of 10 Downing Street. Then, as the camera zooms in, it focuses on a man stepping out of a black car, before entering the building.
It had not been long since nightfall. The small gathering in Jackie's living room had turned into a party. Some people were already drunk. Rose had been taken aside by neighbours and families, catching up on the latest gossip. Jackie had turned on some music, and Alvia got stuck arguing with a young mother. She was trying to convince her that having a child was a life-changing experience, an opinion with which Alvia could not but agree, though not for the same reasons. Alvia was struggling to make her point when she heard a familiar tune in the background. It took her a few seconds to realise that it was the ringtone she had assigned to Jack's number. With a quick excuse, she grabbed her phone from her leather jacket, which she had eventually left on the coat rack, but refrained from taking it out in full view of everyone, especially the Doctor. Her phone was from her time, admittedly at least 3 years old, and was considered technologically obsolete in her days. It was futuristic enough for people to ask questions she didn't want to answer.
So, she left the flat, putting on her jacket due to the drop in temperature caused by the night, and picked up the call.
"I thought I was on my own, Jack." She greeted as she made her way down the stairs.
"Not alone, never alone. But listen. I've got one of my people here in London just checking out that famous alien body they found on that ship. It was supposed to be Owen, but given his crap today... anyway. Could you please check that everything is okay?"
"I guess your guy is in the Albion Hospital? Wait, what makes you think I'll go?"
"Aw, come on, Alvia! You and I both know you'll end up travelling with the Doc. Stop the constant denial and just accept the truth."
"Oi Foxy! Wanna join the party ?!" Shouted a woman from her crowded balcony, beer in hand and music blasting from her living room.
Jack laughed, overhearing the suggestion over the phone.
Alvia felt embarrassed, her face turning red. She looked quickly back at the balcony where she'd been called upon and raised two fingers in a V-shape. It was not a sign of victory. Nobody seemed to notice the gesture, as they were too busy enjoying the party, and therefore Alvia continued her conversation with Jack.
"Anyway…" Alvia cleared her throat. "I'm not promising you anything Jack. I'm not gonna force myself into the TARDIS just for you. And I certainly won't sneak in!"
"That's good enough for me!" he said with a laugh in his voice. "Have some fun, foxy!"
Alvia hung up and then rubbed her eyes, exasperated by Jack's teasing. She could never be rational and serious with him without him teasing her.
"I swear this man…" Alvia muttered to herself as she put her phone back in her pocket.
"There you are! I thought for a while that you were lost!"
Alvia shrieked in surprise. The doctor was standing behind her, a grin on his face. She glared at him, placing a hand over her racing heart.
"F…! For fuck's sake! Did nobody ever told you that sneaking up on women in the middle of the night was the most stupid thing you could do?"
The Doctor had the honesty to look embarrassed and apologised right away.
"Anyway… what do you want ?"
"Well, we were interrupted earlier during our little chat. I thought now would be a great time to do it. Also, I have to stop by the Albion Hospital. So, what d'you think? chit-chat and then hospital? Hospital and then chit-chat?" He suggests with expectation and excitement. "Or even better! Chit-chat and hospital!"
Alvia couldn't believe what she heard. Did the Doctor really just invite her to accompany him? Including going into his Tardis? She felt sceptical, surprised, happy, honored, and excited all at once. Jack was right from the start. But it was completely different from actually living it. Oh, she could cry out of joy.
But she had to keep focused. She still had to act somewhat clueless until the big reveal. She wasn't exactly looking forward to it.
"But the city is gridlocked, and the Hospital is even more guarded. How do you expect to get there?"
"I've got my ways!" The Doctor chuckled, his smile growing wider as his invitation was answered in some subtle way. "C'mon follow me! Come on! Come on!"
Like a duckling following its mother, Alvia diligently tailed the Doctor to his TARDIS. As he approached the wonderful ship, the Doctor reached deep into his pocket and pulled out a key. He unlocked the door and held it open for Alvia to walk in first.
"After you!" he said, waving towards the Tardis. As a butler or a gentleman would do.
"What ? In the police phone booth? Are you mad ?"
"Yes, and possibly. Go on! Go inside and have a look!" the Doctor insisted as he smiled.
Alvia gave a curious, wary look, but inside she was boiling with anticipation and restrained herself from smiling and giggling with excitement. She was good at hiding her emotions, but for the Doctor, it wasn't enough. He spotted that glint in her eyes, so characteristic of curiosity and excitement. He noticed the muscles of her lips twitching, holding back the smile that threatened to appear.
All those tiny features unseen by humans, but easily spotted by him. All this potential in her. She'd be fantastic.
Oh, the things he could show her.
He felt his hearts thump at this very thought. To travel with her, to take that red head with its curious eyes and show her everything. The start and end of all things, and everything in between. The Eye of Orion, The Rings of Akhaten, Alpha Centauri, Barcelona. Anytime, anywhere. Cold stars and supernovae. All that is, all that could be and all that has been... Everything that can and cannot be imagined.
Yes, he might show her. If she said yes.
He caught her gasping. That famous gasping everyone does when they see his magnificent ship. So did he when he walked into the console room for the first time back then.
"Oh…mon DIEU!" Alvia exclaimed, stunned by the beauty of the TARDIS. Unaware that she spoke in her mother tongue. "C'est… c'est… c'est plus grand à l'intérieur!"
"This is the TARDIS. It's stand for Time And Relative Dimension In Space." the Doctor explained calmly, with a warm smile.
"Ou c'est plus petit de l'extérieur ?" Alvia continued, dismissing the Doctor. "Mon entière compréhension de la physique a été bafoué, jeté en l'air et abandonné par Dieu !"
The Doctor's smile fell at the extravagance expressed by the young woman.
"You're alright ?"
"I can feel my human mind shattered as I cannot even begin to comprehend the very essence of this beauty, the very science behind all of this!" Alvia exaggerated, raising a hand into the air, capturing the glow of the console's column. "My grasp of the universal laws of this reality has been changed... forever."
"You done?" said the Doctor with an unimpressed face.
"Yes!" Alvia grinned brightly. "I've always wanted to make a dramatic impression."
"I saw that." he said, folding his arms. "So ? What d'you think ?"
"I think…" She slowly said looking for the right words. "That it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. And I mean it." Alvia ran a hand over the console, carefully avoiding the buttons and levers. The tips of her fingers felt the roughness of the coral that formed the console.
The Doctor's smile returned, warmer and kinder than it was previously. Then the Doctor started to run around the console, pulling down some levers, pushing on some buttons and turning a crank next to a screen displaying various information in an unreadable language for Alvia. The main column began to move in a vertical bidirectional motion, like a piston. Then came that distinctive grinding and whirring sound produced by the Tardis as she dematerialised.
It was so alike and yet so different from the way Alvia remembered it. But that sound made her heart and her whole being warm. She let loose a delighted laugh slip from her lips.
"All right, off to Albion Hospital!"
"Actually Doctor, I… I have something to tell you." Alvia hesitantly spoke up, already regretting her words. "It's quite important and... it might change the way you see me."
The mood turned serious, and the Doctor's face became less cheerful and harder as he remained silent. He encouraged Alvia to talk with a nod of the head.
"Remember when I told you I lost my home and my family? Well, they're not dead, or so I hope… It's more like we've been... separated, well I've been separated from them. And I can't go back."
"Time shifted ?" assumed the Doctor.
"Yes… and no…" Alvia grimaced, failing to express her situation clearly because of the increasing stress inside her.
"Time and Space shifted ?" The Doctor asked with a touch of scepticism.
"More like a multiversal shift?" Alvia offered with an anxious voice.
"Impossible!" the Doctor denied immediately. "Travel between worlds is impossible since..."
'This is where the trouble begins' thought Alvia hopelessly.
Alvia had to prove to the Doctor that she wasn't from this universe, and he wasn't going to like that. Not at all. She already knew that.
"I can prove it. But you won't like it."
The Doctor scoffed.
"Go on then."
Alvia remained silent. The Doctor took this as confirmation that she had no proof. He sighed mentally, so much potential wasted. Once in the Albion hospital he would leave her, left alone with her lies.
Then Alvia began to speak again, as she found the right words, a statement that would convince him. Without any doubt.
"As all reality was threatened by the war between the Daleks and the Time Lords. During the Last and Great Time War."
The Doctor froze instantly.
"When you found yourself on Karn, revived by the Sisterhood of Karn. You decided the Universe no longer needed the Doctor. From this Elixir of Life that you drank was born the one you deny its very existence. The Warrior."
"Stop it."
But she didn't stop, she had gone too far. She needed to conclude her tale.
"And then on the last day of the Time War, you stole a weapon from the Omega Arsenal. The most powerful weapon of all. The Moment."
"Stop it!" the Doctor pleaded.
"You used it. And in one moment, it was over. Daleks and Time Lords wiped out, along with Gallifrey. Just... like... that." she snapped her fingers as she said the last word.
"STOP IT!" shouted the Doctor. "How? HOW? How do you know about this?!"
"I saw it." She spoke. "But I'm not the only one who saw it. 77 million people watched it happen as it was played on our screens."
"What?" the Doctor said, dumbfounded.
"But it's not just the war I've watched. I saw so much more than this dark time of your life, Doctor. It all began in 1963, when the BBC broadcast the first episodes of a new sci-fi TV show. No one knew that the series would be so successful and would go on to exist even up to 2023. A show about a man known as 'The Doctor' who travelled through time and space in his wonderful spaceship, the TARDIS. Everything I know about this world, everything I know from your past, your present and your future came from there."
The room became silent. The Doctor stood and watched in horrified silence the young woman catching her breath. To say that the Doctor was horrified was an understatement. His mind couldn't handle the fact of the truth just being revealed to him. It was beyond anything he could have imagined.
"How… How much of my life did you saw ?" had to ask the Doctor, dreadful of the answer.
"From the first adventure with your granddaughter, Ian and Susan… To… To your latest regeneration. Far into the future."
"That's… that's my whole life!" Exclaimed the Doctor who was even more horrified by these words. "And you are telling me you're not the only one who knows this?!"
The Doctor moved around the console to confront Alvia. The combination of his speed and height made Alvia step back from him. Then the horror disappeared replaced by fury. His eyes turned so cold that they caused the young woman to shiver. Alvia had in front of her The Oncoming Storm. She wanted to run away, away from him, away from everything. Hide in some hole and never come out again.
She felt so terrified she didn't have energy to cry.
"YOU BLOODY STUPID APE!" he roared, grabbing her by the throat before shoving her against a column of coral, blinded by fury. "It's always the same with you humans. You enjoy watching other people kill each other. You only find pleasure in violence and death!"
Alvia gasped for air. Tears finally rolled down her cheeks.
"How much did it thrill you to watch my people die and be slaughtered on your screen, huh?!"
Alvia couldn't answer, couldn't breathe. Her vision blurred and slowly darkened. She boldly grabbed the Doctor's wrists but made no attempt to escape. Only words of apology floated through her mind and were muttered silently from her dry lips. If he intended to end her life, she would accept it with open arms.
Alvia shut her eyes and shifted her head slightly, offering her neck to the Doctor.
The Tardis pulled the Doctor away from Alvia with a sudden burst of burning sparks from the console. Alvia collapsed to the ground, coughing and taking deep breaths as she held her bruised throat. Rejected and burned by his own spaceship, the pain snapped him back to his senses. He stared in horror at both his hands and at Alvia who lay on the floor.
"I've never... I've never saw it." Alvia said with a hoarse voice. " Glimpses… Flashback of it…. Of who you fought, of how you ended it… But… never the full war. Only the very end of it was ever mentioned. Believe me…"
The room fell back into a heartbreaking silence. The Doctor seemed to be suddenly weighed down by the grief, remorse and pain that had been brewing inside him. He dropped to the floor, his knees slamming painfully against the metal grill of the Tardis.
Alvia watched a sight that tore her heart out. The Doctor was crying. Tears ran down his cheeks. He made no sound. that was the most heartbreaking part for her. The Doctor cried silently. Alvia struggled to stand up and went towards the Doctor.
"I'm sorry…" was all he said before Alvia wrapped her arms around him to embrace him.
The Doctor flinched then froze for a few seconds before he returned her embrace. His arms wrapped tightly around Alvia's back and around her waist and buried his face in the nape of her neck. Alvia's hand passed through the Doctor's short hair and down his neck in a slow, repetitive movement. She could feel the wetness of the Doctor's heavy breath and his tears.
"What do you want from me ?" He would ask later, once he was exhausted from crying.
"I should be asking this question…" Alvia said, her eyes locking with the Doctor's. "You're free to do what you want about me. You can get rid of me, lock me up. You can wipe my memory or make it yours. I can be the one on which you throw your fury, your grief and your sorrow or be the shoulder on which to cry."
She wiped the remaining tears from the Doctor's face.
"I can leave, never to be seen again. Or, I can be here for as long as you want me to be. The choice is yours, Doctor. And I will respect it, no matter what you choose."
As Alvia remains calm, awaiting the Doctor's choice, hope blossoms within his hearts. He wanted to be selfish, he could be selfish. For once, choice was his, only his to make.
"Stay."
Alvia blinked and then a warm smile stretched her lips.
She was somewhat genuinely relieved and thankful that the Doctor had chosen her to stay. She had no idea what would happen if he didn't. But he did, and that's all that matters in the end. Nothing else matters.
"Stay with me, travel with me! There's so much to see and live out there!"
"Well then... shall we start ? Albion Hospital is waiting for us."
The Doctor stood up unexpectedly, not letting go of Alvia. Spinning her around while he laughed. Alvia clung to him tightly, chuckling as well.
"Thank you!" he said. "Thank you."
"The honor is mine, Doctor." Alvia replied before kissing his cheek fondly.
The Doctor eventually released Alvia, flushing slightly at her audacious action before proceeding to enter some coordinates into his TARDIS and driving it. His driving was complemented by two or three whacks with his mallet on some sort of decaying button panel. She saw a piece of it fall! The TARDIS finally materialized, with the Doctor leaving first, followed closely by Alvia. They walked together quietly, carefully avoiding the boxes and other things that obstructed the storeroom in which they had just appeared.
Reaching the door that was supposed to be locked, the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and turned it on and then immediately turned it off while shushing it, the device being noisy.
"Well of course it make noises Doctor, it's sonic!" whispered Alvia, who was quite amused by his behaviour.
The Doctor looked back at her slightly, with a look that said 'I know what I'm doing', which for Alvia was the very essence of irony because she knew that eighty percent of the time, in fact, the Doctor didn't know what he was doing. That was his charm. He finally unlocked the door and it opened to expose about twenty resting soldiers, who were chatting, laughing, drinking and smoking, until they spotted the Doctor and Alvia, which was rather quickly. They abandon whatever they were doing to grab their weapons and aim at the two intruders.
The doctor smiled, as always.
Then there was a scream that echoed in the hospital. Upon hearing the scream, the Doctor dropped his smile and ran towards the scream, joined by the soldiers and Alvia.
"Defence part Delta! C'mon move! Move!"
They all ran down the corridors, following the Doctor to the Morgue area, where the scream came from. The Doctor spotted a woman Alvia recognised. Toshiko Sato. One of Jack's squads at Torchwood.
"It's alive!" she said.
While the Doctor gave various orders to the soldier, including the one to block the perimeter, Alvia inquired about Toshiko's state.
"You're okay ?" she asked, glancing at the blood on the scientist's forehead before lowering her voice to keep the Doctor from hearing her. "Jack asked me to check on you…"
"I'm fine, it's just a scratch!" quickly reassured Toshiko. "But that thing. My god – It's still alive !"
"Coma – Shock – Hibernation anything" listed the Doctor, as he joined the two women. "What does it look like ?"
His answer came from behind as a clatter was heard in the room. The Doctor stood up, and beckoned a soldier into the room; then proceeded to find the source of the noise. As a soldier joined Toshiko's side, Alvia also got up and walked towards the doors, an idea in mind.
The Doctor dropped to his knees as he approached the desk and as another clatter echoed from the back of the desk.
"Hello" said the Doctor kindly.
But the thing, which happened to be a pig, got scared and ran and squealed through the room. The soldier present in the room aimed his gun at the pig only to be stopped by the Doctor. Alvia attempted to catch the pig, but it dodged her quickly and ran behind her. She went after him as he neared the main hallway, filled with soldiers. Aware of its fate in the show, Alvia wished to prevent such an ending at all costs. The pig passed through the plastic curtain and was spotted by the soldiers. Alvia quickly retraced the same path and as one of the soldiers aimed at the frightened pig, she suddenly sprinted and tackled the pig from behind, catching it and protecting it by shielding it from the soldiers.
A loud bang reverberated through the corridors. Alvia felt a burning pain from her neck and a trickle of blood. Alvia froze as the pain increased. As soon as the Doctor arrived, he felt his blood run cold as he saw Alvia raise a shaking hand to her neck only to withdraw it and see some blood on it.
"Alvia!" he exclaimed as he went to join the injured woman. "Let me see."
He carefully laid a hand on her jaw to slightly turn her head and see the state of the wounds inflicted by the soldier. He felt relieved when he saw the wound was only superficial; but he still had to treat her. But before doing so, he harshly scolded the soldier.
"Why did you do that for?! look at her, and look at it! it's only scared!"
The soldier remained silent but looked at the pig and the girl with fear. The pig squeals fearfully only to be soothed by Alvia and the Doctor. Much calmer, the pig began to snort, its groin picking up the smell of blood. Not wanting him to freak out again, Alvia thoughtlessly patted the top of his head.
"Let's go clean that wound. I'll treat it properly once we go back to the Tardis." The Doctor helped her to get up and they headed back to the morgue. And the pig followed, staying nearby Alvia.
The Doctor went to sit on the mortuary table, looking for cotton wool, alcohol and bandages to clean the wound on her neck, and ignored the scientist who gasped in surprise when she saw the wound then the pig. Alvia hissed in pain from the burn caused by the alcohol on her wounded skin, but she remained still although she had the urge to withdraw.
"Is he dangerous?" Carefully asked Toshiko who had regained her composure, but stayed away from the pig.
"Just as dangerous as a pig could be." replied the Doctor, placing a Band-Aid on Alvia's neck wound at last. "There you go, for now."
"What do you mean?"
The Doctor scanned the pig with his sonic screwdriver.
"That's what I thought," he said, looking at the scan results. "Sus scrofa domesticus. There's nothing alien about him, other than the attire and the technology that has altered him."
"I juste assumed that's what alien's look like. But you're saying it's an ordinary pig ? From Earth ?"
"More like a mermaid. Victorian Showmen use to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat and gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid." The Doctor explained. "Now, someone's taken a pig, opened up it's brain, stuck bits on… Then they strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb. It must've been terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into a joke."
"He would have died with fright." Alvia added softly, petting the pig that occasionally snorted. She grew fond of it and tried to find a name for it. Then, she exchanged a meaningful look with the Doctor.
"So it's a fake… A pretend. Like the mermaid." Toshiko expressed her thoughts out loud.
The Doctor tapped Alvia's shoulder briefly to get her attention and then gave a silent sign for her to go. She nodded and slid off the table silently, leaving the woman monologuing. Bayonne - that was the pig's new name - remained alongside Alvia. The Doctor led Alvia and her newfound pet back to the TARDIS without being spotted by any soldiers, and once the doors were closed, the Doctor immediately engaged the dematerialisation of his ship.
"Okay, time to fix this wound of yours! Head to the medical bay, I think I have a tissue regenerator somewhere." The doctor put an arm around Alvia's shoulders, leading her into the corridors of the Tardis. "You, stay here." He said to Bayonne the pig.
It was something Alvia had never seen before. The walls were similar to the ones in the console room, ornamented by glowing hexagons and crossed by an occasional coral column. The corridor was long and then split into several corridors which also split into different corridors. Alvia walked past many doors, some closed, some not. She wondered how no one had ever gotten lost inside the TARDIS before. Then she recalled the TARDIS could move the rooms as she wanted.
The interior design was much lighter, cleaner and more clinical than the console room. Walls were made of those round things, those famous round things of which the 10th and 11th joked, neither of them knowing exactly what they were, but loving them anyway. There was a bed and an operating table, an examination table and chair, a desk, a scanner, shelves and cupboards and many other medical instruments which Alvia didn't know the purpose of. But she did know that some must have been brought in from other planets and from different eras.
As Alvia sat on the examination table, the Doctor went for the tissue regenerator. Once the device had been found the Doctor returned to Alvia.
"Hold your hair and move your head a bit. I'm going to take the bandage off – sorry in advance for the pain."
Alvia did as the Doctor instructed and hissed again in pain when the bandage was removed. The Doctor held up a strange futuristic pen with a lighted tip close to her wound and proceeded to work on her injury. It was a very strange sensation, one that Alvia could not explain.
"So. How was it supposed to happen?" engaged the Doctor, sounding like he was chatting about the weather.
"What ?" Alvia wanted to move her head but was stopped by the Doctor.
"That pig. How was it supposed to die?"
His tone was light, but his eyes were not.
"Shot. By that soldier who fired. I took its bullet instead, wasn't planned."
"You knew he was going to die, so you know about this invasion."
"It's not an invasion – "
The Doctor stopped Alvia from speaking abruptly by clasping his hand over her mouth.
"Shut up!" He ordered her firmly with a heavy accent, abandoning his task. "This knowledge of yours is dangerous. You have to keep it for yourself, you cannot tell me or anybody else. You understand ? And most importantly, you can't do whatever you want. You can't just run straight into it and then get hurt. You have to think. Or let me help you."
The Doctor withdrew his hand.
"I thought you would not let me act, only watch and live things and not act." Alvia says with some relief.
"This would be hypocritical of me. I have been exiled on Earth because I did act and saved someone."
"But how… How do I know that I can save someone without it being a problem? How do I know that someone's death is not some kind of fixed point? I know when I can't change history, but I don't know when I can."
"Just ask me." he said honestly.
"What about saving time during crisis situations? Like, we're in a room with a bomb, everyone is panicking and I know how to turn it off."
"You're more than welcome to do so. Time isn't as strict as you think, it's malleable and adapts to the smallest thing."
"So Time is just a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff ?" Alvia smiled mischievously, she couldn't help but bring up this phrase.
"Timey what ? Timey Wimey?!" repeated the Doctor, somewhat offended. "Where did you pick up stuff like that?"
"You'd be surprised." Alvia insinuated playfully.
The Doctor rolled his eyes and returned his attention to fixing Alvia's neck.
"Fortunately for you, the pig's death is not a fixed point."
"Bayonne."
"Huh?"
"Bayonne, that its name. It couldn't remain nameless."
"Anyway, it was not meant to survive. His body has been through a lot and isn't designed to live this way."
Grief overcame Alvia at the Doctor's words, her throat tightened but there were no tears.
"How much time does he have left?" Alvia dared to ask, although she didn't really wish to know the answer.
The Doctor glanced at her, compassion showing on his face.
"Not much. He won't pass the day… Sorry."
"That's not fair…" Alvia croaked, struggling with the urge to sob that threatened to burst out.
Once the Doctor had treated her neck, he put the tissue regenerator aside. He rested a hand against her cheek, wiping away a tear that had rolled down her cheek, and hugged her in comfort.
Alvia hid her tears by resting her head against the Doctor's shoulder, wetting the leather of his jacket.
"It's not fair," she repeated with a sob.
"It's not." the Doctor agreed. "But he won't die scared. That's better than nothing."
'I'll make them pay…' She thought, anger blooming in her heart. Her fingers gripping the leather of the Doctor's jacket. 'I swear I'll make them pay.'
Alvia reluctantly separated herself from the Doctor's embrace once her tears had dried. The Doctor offered a smile before standing up, putting the tissue regenerator away, and leading Alvia back to the console room where Bayonne was patiently waiting for them. Just before he picked up the device, he stared at the red hair for a moment and then ran his fingers through it, playing with Alvia's hair and making even more of a mess of the already messy and unruly curls.
"Sorry, couldn't help myself. I always wanted to be ginger."
Alvia blinked and then remembered the Doctor's obsession with being ginger in his future regenerations. Alvia didn't imagine this incarnation would also want to be ginger. Alvia guessed there was a lot she didn't know and was soon about to find out, for better or worse.
The Doctor was busy taking the TARDIS back to Domain Powell, watched by Bayonne, who tilted her head slightly at the sound the TARDIS made, and by Alvia, who watched the two of them with a small smile, absently touching the area where her neck had been injured; her mind conjuring up a ghost of the pain she had experienced. During the TARDIS materialization sequence, he began to read something on the screen in front of him. A moment later, after the TARDIS materialized, Rose stepped inside the TARDIS. She paused as she saw Bayonne and then Alvia, and went to question their presence in the TARDIS, but was caught off guard by the Doctor.
"Alright, so I lied! I went and had a look, but the whole crash landing's a fake – I thought so, it's just too perfect. I mean, 'hitting Big Ben' come on, so I thought let's go and have a look – "
"My mum's here" Rose interrupted.
The door creaked as Jackie and Mickey entered the Tardis. Jackie looked terrified as she saw how much bigger it was on the inside, while Mickey watched the Doctor with suspicion and anger. The Doctor looked around.
"Oh, that's juste what I need." He complained. "Don't you dare make this place domestic!"
"You ruined my life, Doctor" intervened Mickey, making the Doctor spins smoothly in order to face him.
"They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you."
"See what I mean ? Domestic." Said the Doctor to Rose, proving his point. Then he turned to face the computer screen.
"Oh, Heya Mickey!" greeted Alvia as she came closer, waving her hand. "Long time no see, right ?"
"Alvia ? What the hell are you doing here?!" Mickey was shocked to see her.
"Oh you know, stuff... I saved Bayonne! He's a lovely fella, isn't that right Bayonne ?" She replied nonchalantly, scratching Bayonne's head.
The sight of a pig walking on two legs seemed to be the last straw for Jackie. With that she turned and left the Tardis. Rose called after her.
"Mum, don't!" Then she turned to point to the Doctor, Mickey and Alvia. "Don't go anywhere! Don't start a fight! And you! We have to talk!"
Rose then rushed out of the Tardis.
"Oh fuck, I'm in trouble. She used the 'we have to talk' card."
"Oi, language!" merely scolded the Doctor.
"Fuck you!" replied Alvia instinctively, sticking out her tongue.
Twenty-three years old, it was maturity at its finest.
"Can we talk about you and the pig being here?" said Mickey.
"Nope."
Rose re-entered the Tardis. Her attention was drawn to the spaceship crash of this morning. "That was a real spaceship?"
"Yep!"
"So, it's all a pack of lies ? What is it then, are they invading us?"
"Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert." Mickey commented, tiptoeing and peering at the screen.
"Good point. So, what're they up to?" said the Doctor, mildly impressed by Mickey.
The computer screen displayed the BBC news channel actually filming the spaceship as it floated on the surface of the Thames. The news channel was minimized to a small rectangle in a corner of the screen, like a window application. The rest of the screen was occupied by various complex circles rotating and shifting. That was the language of the Time Lords, Gallifreyan Circular.
The Doctor stepped away from the screen and turned his attention to the wire mesh panels that everyone was walking on, which separated the wires and the engineering of the TARDIS. He lifted one of the panels aside and dug in to tinker with the underside of the console, presumably fixing, modifying, or adding an unavailable setting. Alvia admired the Doctor's confidence in the way he had settled in, throwing himself backwards without hitting his head or back, something she would never test without confidence in what lay below. It reminded her of a post on Tumblr about how Crowley-not-Crowley managed to get into the bathtub without getting his socks wet.
That was stupidly funny, both the Tumblr post and the Doctor's way of doing it.
Several long minutes, about ten minutes, had passed since the Doctor had sat down to work on the TARDIS. The room was filled with focused silence for some and slightly awkward for others. Alvia kept her eyes off Rose and instead chose to pet Bayonne, who was sitting beside her. She had noticed that he seemed much weaker than before, looking more and more tired. His time was coming to an end, and she made sure that his remaining hours or minutes would be enjoyable for him by petting him, which appeared to be enough for him.
"So, what're you doing down there ?"
"Ricky." The Doctor's voice was muffled, due to his sonic screwdriver held between his teeth.
"Mickey."
The doctor took his sonic screwdriver out of his mouth.
"Ricky."
"I think I know my own name, Doctor. And it's Mickey."
"You think you know your own name ? How stupid are your?"
"Oi, Mickey Mouse, Doctor Disco!" Alvia called out. "That's enough, both of you!"
Mickey rolled his eyes, irked. And the Doctor grunted strangely at the moniker.
"Anyway Ricky, If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand ?"
"I supposed not…"
"Shut it, then." The doctor smirked and shoved his screwdriver back between his teeth, focusing his attention back on what he had previously been doing.
Mickey glared at him and then made his way around the console to where Rose was standing. Alvia pushed herself across the floor to join the Doctor, listening to Mickey talking to Rose. Alvia studied the Doctor's hands, fascinated by what he was doing. She couldn't help but stare at his face, comparing it to the actor's face in her world. The Doctor, while looking identical to his human counterpart, had a kind of aura, a touch of timelessness. He looked old yet young at the same time. She wondered if it was a trick of the light or simply because he was not human.
So far, Alvia had not had the opportunity to properly observe his eyes. She wondered if she would ever get the chance. She was fascinated by the intricacy and beauty of irises, whether human or animal. It was as if each and every eye was a world of its own. She could only fantasize about the Doctor's eyes, wondering how much and how different they would be from human eyes.
"Got it! Haha!" The Doctor bounced out of his hole, making Alvia jolt back to reality.
He helped to get Alvia to her feet by taking her hand and lifting her up. Ignoring or oblivious of the fact that Alvia was blushing slightly, embarrassed by staring so hard at the Doctor that she found herself deep it her thoughts. She glanced at Bayonne who was staring at her, head tilted to one side. She silently mimed 'Not a word' to him and he replied with a small snort.
"Patched in the radar, looped it back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of the spaceship, here we go… hold on… Come on!"
Alvia and Rose respectively joined the Doctor's side, staring at the screen which he wacked in order to make it work.
"That's the spaceship on it's way to Earth… see ?" He pointed at the screen showing a graph and a 3D representation of the path taken by the spaceship. "Except… Hold on… see, the spaceship did a sling shot round the Earth before it landed."
"What does that mean ?"
"It means Rose, that whoever owns the spaceship was on Earth long before the crash." Alvia replied, as she rested against the console.
"Exactly. Now, the question is, where have they been doing all this time?"
"They must have been here for at least a few months, either hiding or else. But there was nothing unusual reported in the news."
"What about Cardiff? there's all sorts of rumours going around there lately." commented Mickey.
"Eh, that's Cardiff for you, Mickey." Alvia replied with a shrug. "Compared to Birkenhead."
"I'm afraid to ask what's going on in Birkenhead." Mickey hesitated, aware of Alvia's ability to deliver random facts, each one as creepy as the others.
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if some drunk guy with a mallet found out how to incapacitate a great race of space warriors." Alvia replied with a cryptic smile. She slapped the Doctor's back, earning an offended 'Oi!' "Now, that's a spoiler for you."
"You're so weird" claims Rose, giving a loud glare of judgement.
"Normality is overrated."
"Oi! Keep your damn domestic out of my Tardis!"
As Rose muttered some apologies, Alvia's attention was drawn to Bayonne as he suddenly collapsed, joining his side in a few seconds, followed closely by the Doctor who scanned his body using his sonic screwdriver, his expression growing darker as the seconds passed and he reviewed the data from his screwdriver. The Doctor put his screwdriver back inside his jacket and stroked Bayonne silently. His silence and solemn face confirmed all the redhead's worries. Alvia and the Doctor gently stroked Bayonne as he took his final breath. Running a hand over Bayonne's glassy eyes, the Doctor shut them, and then Alvia walked away from the body without a word, burying her shaking hands in her jacket pockets. She blinked frantically to force away the tears trying to form in the corners of her eyes and took several shaky breaths, repressing the sobs and the fury that was building up inside her.
"I need some air…" Alvia muttered through her teeth, turning sharply and walking towards the TARDIS doors.
A cold and slightly damp air greeted her as she stepped outside the TARDIS. She tightens her leather jacket closer to her body, wishing she had a scarf with her. The cold wind stroking unpleasantly her barely treated neck. Alvia absently traced over the dried white letters that had been graffitied earlier on the TARDIS' side, she took her time to reflect on the future that awaited her. All that danger, all that adrenaline, all that running. She grimaced at the thought of running.
She stayed outside as long as possible, returning to the TARDIS only when she felt her cheeks sting and the discomfort on her neck made her feel irritable. As the door of the ship creaked shut, Alvia noted the disappearance of Bayonne's corpse as she walked back to the trio who were currently focused on the monitor which was switching between channels every few seconds.
"How many channels d'you get ?" asked Mickey, leaning a bit more towards the screen.
"All the basic packages."
"You get sports channels ?" Mickey looked far more interested than ever before. "Ow! Alvia, what was that for?"
She kicked him in the leg.
"We have more urgent matters to deal with than football, Mickey." Alvia scolded while moving back to the Doctor's side.
"Hold on, I know that bloke." recognized the Doctor, while a group dressed in high-ranking military uniforms appeared on the screen, reported as alien specialists by female journalist. "UNIT! United Nations Intelligence Task force – Good people!" he praised.
"How do you know them?" inquired Rose.
"Cose he's worked for them" Mickey suddenly intervened, looking smug like this was his moment of glory. "Yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet… and in the history books, and there's his name. Followed by a list of the dead."
"And you didn't manage to find a list of the people he saved? Any idea why?" Alvia asked with a sly smile. No way she was going to have Mickey step on the Doctor on something he had no control of, no matter how hard he tried; it was something that was eating him up inside. How much remorse and regret and self-blame were in his heart? "Cause that list is far too long to be written down, and that's only through Human History. I didn't even mention the rest."
As Mickey appeared to look uncomfortable, the Doctor flashed a grateful smile at Alvia and then returned to the UNIT experts.
"That's nice. Someone has done his homework, good boy, Ricky!"
"If you know them, why don't you go and help ?"
"They wouldn't recognize him. He changed a lot and I mean quite literally. Although... I'm sure they'd be able to recognise you, Doctor. I mean, a daft old face, one hell of an attitude and a bunch of trouble following you around, if that's not more than enough to spot you, I don't know what else is necessary."
"Besides," the Doctor continued, ignoring the redhead's teasing and amused look as he moved around her, twisting a kind of handle and pulling down a lever a step or two away. "The world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien out of the mix. I'm going undercover… And, uh, better keep the TARDIS out of sight. Ricky! You've got a car; you can do some driving!"
With the Tardis locked, everybody followed the Doctor as he walked towards the doors to get out.
"Where to ?!"
"The roads are clearing. Let's go and have a look at the spaceship."
Barely outside, they were caught by a helicopter searchlight. they were ordered to not move, to raise their hands as they were placed under arrest
"So much for undercover, uh ?" Alvia snickered with sass.
Immediately, they were surrounded by police cars and military vehicles. Soldiers appeared, aiming their guns at them and preventing them from escaping. Suffering from a bad experience of being arrested, Mickey ran away, only to be chased by multiple soldiers. Drawn by the noise, Jackie emerged from her flat, unsuccessfully trying to get Rose, caught by two soldiers. Dogs barked at them, startled by the lights and sounds, but restrained by their handlers. As Rose and the Doctor both looked around in confusion, Alvia made sure to keep her hands in view, raising them in the air. She also did not have a good image of the police.
Once again, they were commanded to raise their hands, and this time Rose and the Doctor complied.
"Take me to your leader!" said the Doctor smiling.
Three soldiers and a policeman approached them and they were led to a police car which was parked a block away. As soon as they were settled and the door was closed, the car started to move.
"This is a bit posh," observed Rose. "If I knew it was gonna be like this, being arrested, I would've have done it years ago."
"Nah, you truly don't want to…" Alvia objected while fastening her belt. "I don't think you'd appreciate the combination of police violence and misogynism. And policewomen are just as rough as their male counterparts."
"You've been arrested ?" asked the Doctor, with curiosity and some concern.
"I may have been involved in some demonstrations," she admitted without going into detail, but didn't display any signs of regret. That small grin of hers on the corner of her lips was proof of that.
"Okay fine, not arrested but escorted," Rose carried on. "But where to ?"
"Where'd you think ? Downing Street !"
The Doctor laughed, exited. And Rose joined him.
"No, seriously ? Downing Street ? 10 Downing Street ?"
"That's the one." he responded with a grin and Rose kept on laughing with glee.
"How come ?"
"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right. Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, uh… – noticed."
"And that's the understatement of the century, Doctor. You didn't just get noticed, you got exiled on Earth and then afterwards you spent a lot of your time working with UNIT. And I'm pretty sure your work contract is still in effect."
"Him ? Having a job ?" Rose laughed. "Can't believe it."
"I know, shocking right ? This guy couldn't be capable of remaining unnoticed no matter how hard he tried." She tapped his arm to emphasize her point.
"Oi! I know how to remain unnoticed, thank you very much." He defended himself, crossing his arms.
"I beg to differ; I know for a fact that this rainbow coat of yours is anything but subtle. I could go blind if I ever saw the real thing."
"Well, er… Everybody makes mistakes when they're young…" the Doctor was embarrassed.
"Anyway. Why would they need you know ?" Rose asked leaning slightly over to have a better view of the Doctor.
Rose had to be restrained by Alvia's arm from falling against the seats as the driver made a violent turn.
"Put your belt on, Rose. The Doctor can take all the risks he wants, but if we have a car accident, you'll be glad you're alive. Car crashes are one of the top three causes of death. You have already made your mother suffer enough."
"And like it said on the news – They're gathering experts in alien knowledge." The Doctor goes on while Rose puts on her belt. "And who's the biggest expert of the lot ?" He grinned in expectation.
"The illuminati ?" joked Alvia.
"Patrick Moore ?"
"Apart from him!" the Doctor exclaimed, offended.
Alvia laughed harder.
"Oh, I'm telling you, Llyod George, he used to drink me up under the table." he said, remembering. "Who's the Prime Minister now ?"
"How should I know; I've missed a year. Ask Alvia."
"Tony Blair. You should already know that, as he was elected in 2001."
"I don't care about politics." she said, shrugging.
Alvia hummed softly and the car fell silent for the rest of the journey. She and the Doctor glanced down at the Thames, looking out for the spaceship in the water as they drove over Westminster Bridge. The car turned right and they reached Downing Street. The whole street was heavily guarded by soldiers and the police. A crowd of journalists, cameramen and photographers who were kept behind barriers greeted them. Reporter's called them in for any information they might have, but were all but ignored. However, the Doctor was quick to smile and wave excitedly. A policeman knocked on door number 10, and a woman in professional clothes, with glasses, opened the door. They entered one by one, greeted by the lady with a simple nod.
"This way, please." A man greeted them. His badge indicated Indra Ganesh, Junior Secretary. "You must be the Doctor. And they are?"
"This is Rose and this is Alvia." introduced respectively the Doctor after shaking hands with Indra Ganesh. "They're my companions."
"We were expecting you, please follow me into the waiting room where all the others are waiting. You will require an ID card which I'll provide you with afterwards."
They were led by Indra into a waiting room where the experts and some of the building's staff were gathered. Indra Ganesh left them to go and bring the ID cards he mentioned. Alvia's lips pursed and her eyes turned suspicious as she identified three faces as she walked into the room. The Slitheen's.
And then a new face appeared.
This one put a small smile on her face as she watched Harriet Jones wander hesitantly through the room.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, could we convene ? Quick as we can, please." Indra asked aloud as he returned into the room. "It's this way on the right and can I remind you, ID cards are to be worn at all times!"
Indra approached the Doctor with two ID cards in hand.
"Here's your ID card. I'm sorry your companion doesn't have clearance." he said apologetically.
"I don't go anywhere without them." refused the Doctor, putting the ID card around his neck.
"It's just her." he pointed at Rose.
"What is the second card for, then ?"
"This one is for your companion, Alvia." Indra explained, giving the card to the redhead. "You are mentioned in the list of experts and consultants, but no information was provided regarding how to contact you.
"How can she be on the list of experts?" Rose asked incredulously.
"It is what it is." Indra Ganesh simply replied. "Anyway, she's on the list and you're code nine, not her. I'm sorry Doctor… it is the Doctor, isn't it? She'll have to stay outside."
"She staying with us." Insist the Doctor.
"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there. I can't let her in and that's a fact."
"It's alright, you go." Rose said to the Doctor, glaring at Alvia.
Harriet Jones suddenly appeared next to Indra Ganesh.
"Sorry are you the Doctor ?"
Indra looked positively exasperated by her.
"Not now, we're busy – can't you go home ?"
Judging that they would again be the last to arrive, Alvia began to walk in the direction of the hallway, closely followed by the Doctor, who was talking with Rose. She was reading the details on her ID card. However, there was no information other than her full name and title. How did she get clearance? Was it the Doctor's doing? Given his connections with UNIT, it was most likely that he had put her on their records, perhaps with Kate's or Oswin's support. Or maybe it was influenced by Jack? The thing is, Torchwood had no connections with the government and remained in the shadows. For now...
Alvia didn't put the ID card around her neck, but kept it in her pocket instead. It would be easier to throw away than to wear it around her neck. She was quickly joined by the Doctor, whose hand went to her back, leading her inside the meeting room. Everybody in the meeting room sat in their places, examining the documents provided to them in a thin red folder. The Doctor sat down in a chair and opened the file. Alvia did the same but leaned towards him and whispered.
"Take off your ID card. We need to get others to do the same."
The doctor frowned at Alvia but then nodded and took out his ID card and placed it on the nearest table. Alvia also placed her card on the table. Some of the experts looked at them curiously. She silently told them to do the same.
Alvia felt anxious.
A few minutes later, what was once known as General Asquith called the attention of the experts.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to have your attention please. As you can see from the summaries in front of you, the ship had one porcine pilot –"
"Now, the really interesting bit happened three days ago, see, filed away under every other business." interrupted the Doctor, as he rose from his seat. "The North Sea – the satellite detected a signal, a little blip of radiation at one hundred fathoms like there was something down there… you were just about to investigate and the next thing you know, this happens – spaceships, pigs – massive diversion – from what ?"
The Doctor had everyone's attention on him. And he kept on with his lecture.
"If aliens fake alien crash and an alien pilot, what do they get?" he paused as he works it out. His gaze locked with Alvia's. She subtly tilted her head, confirming his thought process and his expression turned more serious. "Us. They get us."
"It's a trap, Doctor. Not a diversion." affirmed Alvia, drawing all eyes to her.
Some of the experts she had warned to remove the ID card realised the reason behind it. And they withdraw their ID cards as discreetly as they can. They then tried to pass the information to other experts.
"This is all about us. Alien experts – the only people with knowledge how to fight them gathered together in one room."
Someone farted loudly.
The Doctor raised his eyebrows, and turned to the fake Prime Minister, fixing him with a pointed and offended look.
"Excuse me, do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world ?"
"Would you rather silent but deadly ?"
The General and the Prime Minister exchanged a sneering glance. Asquith then took off his cap and placed it on the table before raising his hands to his forehead, where a zipper was found. As he unzipped it, a blue light leaked out, all of this under Green's maniacal laughter. Everyone watched the strange sight unfolding before their eyes, transfixed. Asquith pulled back his skin, revealing a freakish green head that looked like a doll's, with large bulging black eyes and chubby cheeks. He continued to remove his skin as he roared, revealing muscular arms with large claws. The room was illuminated by a violet light coming from Asquith's corpse and the alien.
Once the skin was completely removed, the alien stood up, its imposing and massive form shocking everyone. Then it addressed the room.
"We are the Slitheen."
Alvia saw Green stand up and reach into his jacket, thanking the experts for coming.
"Everyone! Take off your ID cards! NOW" she shouted as she jumped to her feet.
Many succeeded in removing their ID cards in time, throwing them at their feet or on their table. But some weren't as quick, and it ultimately resulted in their death. Green flicked the button on his weapon, which he had pulled out of his suit, discharging a phenomenal amount of electricity, killing those unfortunate enough to still have their ID cards. However, despite the fact that the experts removed their ID cards, they were still affected by the electricity, but to a lesser extent. The room was bathed in blue light from the electricity, and the Doctor spun around, looking for an ID card near him amidst the chaos and the screaming of the dying experts.
All under the laughter of the Slitheens.