Post by Fitz Kreiner on Jun 14, 2009 20:29:43 GMT
Tom stood near the battered back staff car, bouncing lightly on his feet as he impatiently waited for Loding. The corporal was sitting Andrea Rogers into the back of the Mercedes. The blonde woman looked shocked as though the Master’s influence was starting to wane. Tom kept glancing over to the factory building, anxious to go and help the Doctor and Jess. Especially if they were up against the Master, who he knew was a very dangerous man.
Loding had dressed the wound on the back of Andrea’s hand. The bullet had just grazed the skin, not causing much damage, but it was enough to have stopped the woman. Tom was trying not to look at Andrea, as the expression of hurt and confusion on her face made him feel hugely sorry for her. It wasn’t her fault the Master had done what he had.
Tom turned round as Loding closed the car door with a bang. “You ready?” she asked.
Tom nodded, pulling the pistol out of the waistband of his trousers where he’d tucked it after picking it up again. Realising he hadn’t checked it; he slipped the clip out to see it was fully loaded. “It’s about time we ended this,” he said adamantly, glancing back up at the offices. Why there hadn’t been a guard on the stairwell that Loding had come up by and they’d brought Andrea down, he didn’t know. He was just grateful they didn’t have to traverse the Autons in the main administration block.
Nodding back, Loding and Tom turned and ran across the car park towards the factory. The whole area was eerily quiet. No sounds of machines or any voices. The prospect chilled Tom slightly, even as they reached the doors leading to the security area. The sound of Jess crying out and a gunshot made both Tom and Loding pause and turn to look at each other.
“Come on,” Loding said, setting off again at a run.
Catching up with her at the double doors leading to the security area, Tom grabbed her by the shoulder and caused her to stop. “Careful,” he warned, “we don’t know what’s going on out there.”
“We can guess,” Loding said turning back and gripping the door handle.
“Still, be careful,” Tom warned. “If the Master is in there, it’ll be dangerous, trust me.”
Nodding, Loding gripped the door and opened it. Placing a hand on her arm, Tom stopped her from going into the security area, instead stepping ahead of her himself, pistol raised ready for action. As soon as he was inside he paused, almost walking into the Master. Pushing Loding back, Tom stared at the Master. The other Time Lord was almost snarling and had a pistol pointing at Toms head.
“Well, we meet again, Mr. Rowan,” the Master said in a mocking tone. “And this is where our acquaintance ends.”
Pointing the gun at Tom’s chest, the Master squeezed the trigger. For the second time in such a short space of time, Tom closed his eyes and awaited the impact of the bullet. Instead, he was met with only the clicking of the hammer hitting on the empty chamber. Opening his eyes, Tom looked down at the gun in the Master’s hand. Infuriated, the Master squeezed the trigger again and again, to no avail. Both the Master and Tom looked down at the pistol; the body of the weapon was withdrawn showing it to be out of ammunition.
“Nice try,” Tom said sarcastically, “Next time, make sure that you’ve got a fully loaded gun.”
With a snarl, the Master struck Tom with a vicious back hand that sent the younger Time Lord staggering back, his face stinging from the impact. Lunging at Tom, the Master tried to wrestle the pistol out of his hand. The struggle was short as Loding stepped through the doors and, cocking her pistol, pointed it at the Master’s temple.
“That’s enough,” she said with a scowl.
Turning to see Loding for the first time, the Master stopped and stood up straight, holding his hands up. Standing up straight himself, Tom covered the Master as well with his pistol.
“You’re under arrest for aiding and abetting an alien invasion force, the murder of countless innocents and crimes against humanity,” Loding said grabbing the Master’s hands behind his back.
“This is all very trying,” the Master sighed, rolling his eyes.
“So are you,” Tom retorted, looking up to the office as there was a crashing and the sound of breaking glass.
“Tom, up here,” Jess’s voice floated down. “He’s locked us in, there’s a key in his pocket.”
“Alright, where is it?” Tom asked, gripping the Master by the lapels. The Master simply raised his eyebrows and smiled cruelly as a reply, holding his head high. Grimacing, Tom patted the Master down, seemingly finding nothing in any of his pockets. Pushing the Master back, not finding anything, he turned to Loding. “Keep him safe, I’ll see what I can do up there.”
Turning, Tom ran up the stairs, his heavy footsteps clanging on the metal, which echoed round the large factory floor. Pushing the Master after Tom, Loding followed the two up the stairs, keeping her pistol trained firmly on his back. Reaching the top, she put a hand on his shoulder and loosened one of the cuffs before putting it round one of the rails lining the gantry and snapping it back closed on his wrist.
“Now, stay there,” she said, to some self amusement as the Master merely raised his eyebrows.
Jess was torn between helping the Doctor and seeing what was happening outside the office. Tom was running up the stairs, and Loding and the Master were following. They’d recaptured him after his escape attempt.
“Tom, I think the Doctor’s been shot.” She said quietly as Tom reached the door, his feet crunching on the shattered glass where Morris and herself had smashed the pane earlier.
“What?” Tom said aghast looking through the door.
The Doctor was still working at the panel before him, his machine lay on the floor, several parts of it scattered about him. The only thing amiss was the pained expression on his face.
“The Master shot at the machine when it was on the Doctor’s lap,” Jess explained, still keeping her voice low. “But I think the bullet might have gone through into his leg.”
Nodding in understanding, Tom stepped back levelling the pistol he held at the door. “Right, stand back then,” he said.
Jess jumped back and covered her ears as Tom fired two bullets into the door lock. Stepping forwards, he kicked at the door causing it to swing open, crashing into the wall of the office. Rushing into the office, Tom grabbed Jess by the shoulders.
“You ok?” he asked.
Jess nodded before turning to the Doctor. He hadn’t looked up or round at the commotion yet, concentrating on the instrument panel before him. “Doctor, are you ok?” she asked.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,” he said, almost exasperated. “I just have quite a lot of work to do.” The Doctor paused and looked up at Tom. “Ah, Tom, glad you could make it. Thanks for recapturing the Master.”
“Yeah, no worries,” Tom said, glancing back at the Master, now handcuffed to the railings outside the office, glaring into the room at the five occupants. “You sure there’s nothing Jess or I can do now?”
“Do you still have my sonic screwdriver?” he asked not looking up from his work.
“Yeah,” Tom replied, fishing the metal tube out of his trouser pocket.
“Good,” the Doctor continued. “There’s a metal cabinet over there with several thick tubes and wires going into it. It’ll be locked so you’ll have to unlock it, but when you get in, I’ll want you to disconnect the tubes and wiring from the sphere inside.”
Nodding, Tom dashed over to the metal cabinet and activated the screwdriver. The high pitched whistle of the device permeated and filled the office. After several long and noisy seconds the metal doors slid up, revealing the Energy Unit, still pulsating with an eerie blue light. A soft chirruping sound was coming from the plastic sphere.
“What is it you’re doing?” Tom shouted over his shoulder as he reached into the cabinet and started pulling the wires and tubes from the unit.
The Doctor sighed loudly and turned to Tom. “I’m trying to pull the Nestene Energy out of everything that the Master has animated, which happens to include the facsimile’s street performers and numerous Autons, which right now are massacring thousands of innocent people. And it’s not exactly an easy task, which is why I would appreciate it if you didn’t keep questioning me.”
“Hey, I’m only trying to help,” Tom protested yanking another tube out of the sphere cavity.
“Yes, I know, I’m sorry,” the Doctor apologised, turning back to his work. “It’s just time is against us.”
“So, this blue bulb thing is what’s supplying the energy to the Autons?” Tom asked, putting one foot up against the edge of the cabinet as he tugged at a stubborn tube.
“Exactly,” the Doctor replied.
“Well then,” Tom said stepping back and pulling the pistol out from where he’d tucked it back in his waistband. “Sod this for a game of soldiers.” Aiming the pistol, he loosed four shots into the plastic globe.
The plastic shell buckled under the force of the bullets, before the globe exploded, bathing the office in a bright blue light. The force of the explosion knocked Tom from his feet and caused everyone else in the room to duck.
“Tom, what have you done?” The Doctor cried, turning to see pale blue smoke belch from the shattered remains of the energy unit.
“Ended this,” Tom replied, getting to his feet. “You said that was what was controlling the Autons.”
The Doctor almost pulled at his hair at frustration. “Yes, but that wasn’t the way. All you’ve done there is release the dormant consciousness energy. To stop the Autons, we have to send that energy back out into space where it can’t do any harm.”
“Then, erm, you mean-?” Tom managed shuffling his feet uncomfortably as the Doctor turned back to his work. From where he was handcuffed outside the office doors, the Master laughed.
“You can keep quiet,” Morris said, rounding on the man. Grabbing the pistol that Loding held, he pointed it at the Master. “I’m sure I’m well within my rights to execute you right here and now.”
“Will!”
The Doctor’s voice caused Morris to stop dead and slowly turn round to face the Time Lord. He’d got to his feet, although was keeping his weight off his right leg. Morris could see the dark stain of blood surrounding a small hole in the material.
“Any more talk of executions will make me your enemy,” the Time Lord said his face like thunder. “And believe me; that is one thing you do not want. Now, I’ve got a lot of work to do and very little time in which to do it. Can I trust you to not cause any deaths?”
Looking down ashamed, Morris slowly nodded.
“Good,” the Doctor turned and hobbled back to his seat.
“Sir,” Loding said quietly, stepping towards Morris. “I think I saw something down on the factory floor, inside one of the machines.”
“Where,” Morris asked turning and looking down.
Stepping up beside Morris, Loding pointed down to the large vat in the centre of the floor. Through a large window, a viscous bubbling mass could be seen. It seemed to be slowly heaving as though it were alive.
“Ok, what is that thing?” Morris asked, turning on the Master.
The Time Lord looked up at Morris, and raised his eyebrows in an innocent manner. “Oh, nothing, nothing,” he said softly. “Merely the molten plastic waiting to be put into moulds.”
“Molten plastic,” Morris said softly, turning back in time to see the molten mass smash against the observation port, like a wave crashing on rocks. “Plastic; it’s coming to life!” He said his voice rising in volume as the molten mass hit the glass window again.
“Doctor,” Loding began making back to the office.
“Yes, I know,” the Doctor replied not looking up. “I’m almost there.”
Loding turned back as the molten plastic hit the glass again, this time with a force that made it crack. Oozing into the crack, the strange molten mass started to force its way through, forcing the glass out of the observation port with a splintering cracking noise. The sight of the molten plastic was bizarre is it seeped out of the vat, reminding Loding of The Blob, from the old 50s film.
“Tom,” the Doctor shouted from the office over the cacophony of sound now coming from the factory floor. “The rows of switches on the large panel behind you, I want you to start flicking them, moving categorically through sections four to seven and then three to one in units alpha, epsilon and theta.”
Nodding, Tom scrambled over the mess that now littered the office floor to the panel. “When should I start?” He shouted back.
“Jess, that silver key on the panel there; turn that anti clockwise as far as it will go first.” The Doctor replied, looking round as he started twisting more wires together ignoring the molten plastic mass as it now started throwing globules of molten plastic up at the windows of the office. “Now Tom,” he shouted.
Turning back to the panel, Tom furiously started flicking the switches as the Doctors hands started to move across the keyboard before him in blurs.
“Jess,” the Doctor continued, staring intently at a pair of computer monitors as words and reams of data scrolled across them. “That small numeral pad there, start inputting these coordinates; three three oh five seven slash seven seven one one one zero one slash three six eight.”
Almost as one unit, the Doctor, Jess and Tom worked at the different instrument panels about the room. Fascinated by the sight in the office, Loding found her attention drawn from the molten plastic creature below until she was hit in the shoulder by a globule of plastic. She could feel the heat of it through her uniform and the small beads which had exploded from it when it hit her were now burning her neck and cheek.
“Keep your nose and mouth covered,” Morris shouted, turning back to her. “I don’t think bullets are going to do the job on this thing.”
“Almost, almost,” the Doctor was shouting from the lab. “Jess, hit the ‘enter’ key; now!”
Glancing over at the Doctor, Jess hit her thumb hard onto the key as the Time Lord twisted a dial in front of him so violently she thought he was going to pull it off the panel.
“Ha! Yes!” the Doctor cried, leaning back in the chair and clapping his hands together with a slap that was still echoing round the office as the noise from outside died down.
Cautiously, Jess, Tom, Morris and Loding all looked down to the factory floor to see the molten plastic loose all stability of any form before shuddering and spreading out onto the cold concrete floor, rapidly solidifying.
“What the hell just happened?” Jess asked.
“We sent the Nestene energy back out into deep space, where it will have nothing to do except self contemplation,” the Doctor said, grinning as he got to his feet.
“You mean, it’s all over?” Tom asked.
“Almost,” the Doctor replied, “we’ve dealt with the Autons; deactivated them but there’s just one thing to deal with now.” Turning on his heel, the Doctor hobbled carefully over to the Master.
“Just one thing I want to ask,” Morris said, stepping over to Jess. “Just how did you break out of that hypnotism thing?”
Jess looked up at the Captain and winked. “I pretended,” she said loudly causing the Master to look over, “I had to get out somehow, I just tried to appeal to the Master and I thought that would do.”
“Well, very well done, Miss Lawton,” the Master said, “I would applaud you, but alas if I were to try that now it would be a rather pitiful attempt.” Straightening himself as best as he could, the Master looked at the Doctor, who was now stood before him gripping his lapels and looking into his eyes.
“Now, we just have the small matter of you to attend to,” he said eventually.
The Master merely smiled as he returned the look to the Doctor. “My dear Doctor, I look forward to it.” He said, before the smile faded from his face to be replaced by a look of sincerity. “Just please don’t drone on and on this time, you were so boring last time.”
Sergeant Lovatt watched in amazement as an Auton collapsed under a hail of bullets shot by one of her men and then not get back up again. She knew that bullets didn’t bother them, so it should have got straight back up to its feet. Looking round, she saw that this was happening to other Autons as well.
Confused, she looked round to General Bailey, who was also looking bemused. All the Autons that were still on their feet were now swaying slightly, their weapons lowering. Some of them were staggering slightly as they swayed from side to side. The bemusement spread throughout the remaining police and soldiers as the Autons slowly collapsed, silently. Some of the mannequins and street performers toppled forwards into the shields of the riot police, like puppets that had had their strings cut.
“What the hell is going on, Sergeant?” Bailey asked, turning to face Lovatt.
“No idea, sir,” she replied, pushing her cap back as she scratched her head in confusion. Looking up and down the street, all the Autons had collapsed, joining the bodies of the dead littering the ground. “At the risk of being presumptuous, I’d say that whatever the Doctor was going to do to stop them worked.”
“About bloody time,” Bailey muttered. “We’re going to have a job cleaning this up. I can’t even begin to imagine the death toll.”
“So many innocent people,” Lovatt said softly. “It should never have come to this.”
Bailey nodded in agreement. “I think that after this, Sir Daniel will have no difficulties in getting his statures passed the cabinet.” Pausing, Bailey mouthed through what he’d just said. “Well, whatever is left of the cabinet?”
The realisation hit Lovatt as what Bailey had said sunk in. “The Master has won some victory then,” she said sadly. “Even though he hasn’t taken over, he’s going to have plunged the country into chaos for a while.” Lovatt looked down as her radio crackled.
“Greyhound two, come in.” Morris’s tinny voice came through.
“Greyhound two here, sir,” Lovatt said picking the radio off her uniform.
“Has the Auton threat ended back there?”
“Affirmative,” Lovatt said, sadly regarding the carnage. “They’ve just collapsed, like all their power was drained away or something.”
“Roger,” Morris’s voice said, acknowledging the news. “We’re now returning with one very important prisoner. Make the necessary arrangements will you?”
“Understood greyhound one,” Lovatt said turning the radio off and clipping it back to her uniform and turning to Bailey, saluting, “if you’ll excuse me, sir?”
Bailey nodded and returned the salute before turning back and starting to issue orders to the remaining troops.
The Doctor stood in the large office in the Wingmoore Institute, watching the image on the screen. Captain Morris was stood just behind him, wearing civilian clothes, with Jess and Tom stood just behind them. The fifth occupant of the room, Kevin Crompton, smiled and turned from where he was stood near the screen to face the Doctor and Morris. He was a red-faced man in his late forties with an almost comical comb over, and was wearing a grey polyester suit, white shirt and black tie.
“So, you can see the prisoner is safe and secure in these surroundings.” He said. “And you needn’t fear about any attempts at hypnotism. Only a select few have the authorisation to actually interact with the prisoner and they are handpicked and immune to hypnotism.”
“I hope so,” the Doctor mused quietly staring at the screen.
The image showed the Master, wearing a simple black tunic, sat in a leather wing backed chair in a sparsely decorated room. The brick walls were whitewashed with only three pictures adorning the walls, and only two small windows near the top of the walls. A small extractor fan, six inches squared, was in one corner of the back wall, with a low bookcase of books below it. A table sat beside the Masters chair with a bottle of brandy and a single glass. A bed was just visible at the edge of the picture.
“And you’re sure he won’t be able to escape?” Morris asked.
“This place is perfectly escape proof.” Crompton replied smugly, folding his arms. “Been tested by the best escapists in the world and they couldn’t get out. And you’ve seen our security checks. No unauthorised person can get into this place.”
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, stepping back to Jess and Tom. The gunshot wound in his leg had healed in the week since the Master had been captured. The Master was immediately remanded in custody at UNIT HQ for the night until he was transported to the Wingmoore Institute, which had been set up for special case prisoners some years previously. The Master seemed to accept his capture, obliging the Doctor and UNIT when they had got him back. The Doctor had also questioned Andrea Rogers, who was definitely suffering post hypnotic fatigue. Confirming that she had had no control over her actions, she was let go by UNIT, and observed for a couple of days. Her behaviour fast returned to normal.
“Very well, Mr. Crompton,” the Doctor said, “a member of UNIT will be making regular inspections to keep an eye on the prisoner. In the mean time, I think we should leave you to it.”
Crompton nodded as he reached forwards and turned off the security screen. “Thank you, Doctor, I’m glad you approve.”
Turning to Jess and Tom, the Doctor put his arms around his two companions. “I think we’re done here now; once we get back to UNIT HQ, we’ll be off again,” he said.
“That’ll be good,” Jess sighed, resting her head against the Doctors arm. “I think we’re long overdue another holiday.”
From a car parked opposite the main gates to the Wingmoore Institute, Captain Morris, the Doctor, Jess and Tom were watched as they departed. Sitting back in the driving seat and tapping her fingers on the steering wheel of her car, she watched them disappear down the road. With another glance back at the gates and a smile to herself, Andrea Rogers set off back to London.
Loding had dressed the wound on the back of Andrea’s hand. The bullet had just grazed the skin, not causing much damage, but it was enough to have stopped the woman. Tom was trying not to look at Andrea, as the expression of hurt and confusion on her face made him feel hugely sorry for her. It wasn’t her fault the Master had done what he had.
Tom turned round as Loding closed the car door with a bang. “You ready?” she asked.
Tom nodded, pulling the pistol out of the waistband of his trousers where he’d tucked it after picking it up again. Realising he hadn’t checked it; he slipped the clip out to see it was fully loaded. “It’s about time we ended this,” he said adamantly, glancing back up at the offices. Why there hadn’t been a guard on the stairwell that Loding had come up by and they’d brought Andrea down, he didn’t know. He was just grateful they didn’t have to traverse the Autons in the main administration block.
Nodding back, Loding and Tom turned and ran across the car park towards the factory. The whole area was eerily quiet. No sounds of machines or any voices. The prospect chilled Tom slightly, even as they reached the doors leading to the security area. The sound of Jess crying out and a gunshot made both Tom and Loding pause and turn to look at each other.
“Come on,” Loding said, setting off again at a run.
Catching up with her at the double doors leading to the security area, Tom grabbed her by the shoulder and caused her to stop. “Careful,” he warned, “we don’t know what’s going on out there.”
“We can guess,” Loding said turning back and gripping the door handle.
“Still, be careful,” Tom warned. “If the Master is in there, it’ll be dangerous, trust me.”
Nodding, Loding gripped the door and opened it. Placing a hand on her arm, Tom stopped her from going into the security area, instead stepping ahead of her himself, pistol raised ready for action. As soon as he was inside he paused, almost walking into the Master. Pushing Loding back, Tom stared at the Master. The other Time Lord was almost snarling and had a pistol pointing at Toms head.
“Well, we meet again, Mr. Rowan,” the Master said in a mocking tone. “And this is where our acquaintance ends.”
Pointing the gun at Tom’s chest, the Master squeezed the trigger. For the second time in such a short space of time, Tom closed his eyes and awaited the impact of the bullet. Instead, he was met with only the clicking of the hammer hitting on the empty chamber. Opening his eyes, Tom looked down at the gun in the Master’s hand. Infuriated, the Master squeezed the trigger again and again, to no avail. Both the Master and Tom looked down at the pistol; the body of the weapon was withdrawn showing it to be out of ammunition.
“Nice try,” Tom said sarcastically, “Next time, make sure that you’ve got a fully loaded gun.”
With a snarl, the Master struck Tom with a vicious back hand that sent the younger Time Lord staggering back, his face stinging from the impact. Lunging at Tom, the Master tried to wrestle the pistol out of his hand. The struggle was short as Loding stepped through the doors and, cocking her pistol, pointed it at the Master’s temple.
“That’s enough,” she said with a scowl.
Turning to see Loding for the first time, the Master stopped and stood up straight, holding his hands up. Standing up straight himself, Tom covered the Master as well with his pistol.
“You’re under arrest for aiding and abetting an alien invasion force, the murder of countless innocents and crimes against humanity,” Loding said grabbing the Master’s hands behind his back.
“This is all very trying,” the Master sighed, rolling his eyes.
“So are you,” Tom retorted, looking up to the office as there was a crashing and the sound of breaking glass.
“Tom, up here,” Jess’s voice floated down. “He’s locked us in, there’s a key in his pocket.”
“Alright, where is it?” Tom asked, gripping the Master by the lapels. The Master simply raised his eyebrows and smiled cruelly as a reply, holding his head high. Grimacing, Tom patted the Master down, seemingly finding nothing in any of his pockets. Pushing the Master back, not finding anything, he turned to Loding. “Keep him safe, I’ll see what I can do up there.”
Turning, Tom ran up the stairs, his heavy footsteps clanging on the metal, which echoed round the large factory floor. Pushing the Master after Tom, Loding followed the two up the stairs, keeping her pistol trained firmly on his back. Reaching the top, she put a hand on his shoulder and loosened one of the cuffs before putting it round one of the rails lining the gantry and snapping it back closed on his wrist.
“Now, stay there,” she said, to some self amusement as the Master merely raised his eyebrows.
*
Jess was torn between helping the Doctor and seeing what was happening outside the office. Tom was running up the stairs, and Loding and the Master were following. They’d recaptured him after his escape attempt.
“Tom, I think the Doctor’s been shot.” She said quietly as Tom reached the door, his feet crunching on the shattered glass where Morris and herself had smashed the pane earlier.
“What?” Tom said aghast looking through the door.
The Doctor was still working at the panel before him, his machine lay on the floor, several parts of it scattered about him. The only thing amiss was the pained expression on his face.
“The Master shot at the machine when it was on the Doctor’s lap,” Jess explained, still keeping her voice low. “But I think the bullet might have gone through into his leg.”
Nodding in understanding, Tom stepped back levelling the pistol he held at the door. “Right, stand back then,” he said.
Jess jumped back and covered her ears as Tom fired two bullets into the door lock. Stepping forwards, he kicked at the door causing it to swing open, crashing into the wall of the office. Rushing into the office, Tom grabbed Jess by the shoulders.
“You ok?” he asked.
Jess nodded before turning to the Doctor. He hadn’t looked up or round at the commotion yet, concentrating on the instrument panel before him. “Doctor, are you ok?” she asked.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,” he said, almost exasperated. “I just have quite a lot of work to do.” The Doctor paused and looked up at Tom. “Ah, Tom, glad you could make it. Thanks for recapturing the Master.”
“Yeah, no worries,” Tom said, glancing back at the Master, now handcuffed to the railings outside the office, glaring into the room at the five occupants. “You sure there’s nothing Jess or I can do now?”
“Do you still have my sonic screwdriver?” he asked not looking up from his work.
“Yeah,” Tom replied, fishing the metal tube out of his trouser pocket.
“Good,” the Doctor continued. “There’s a metal cabinet over there with several thick tubes and wires going into it. It’ll be locked so you’ll have to unlock it, but when you get in, I’ll want you to disconnect the tubes and wiring from the sphere inside.”
Nodding, Tom dashed over to the metal cabinet and activated the screwdriver. The high pitched whistle of the device permeated and filled the office. After several long and noisy seconds the metal doors slid up, revealing the Energy Unit, still pulsating with an eerie blue light. A soft chirruping sound was coming from the plastic sphere.
“What is it you’re doing?” Tom shouted over his shoulder as he reached into the cabinet and started pulling the wires and tubes from the unit.
The Doctor sighed loudly and turned to Tom. “I’m trying to pull the Nestene Energy out of everything that the Master has animated, which happens to include the facsimile’s street performers and numerous Autons, which right now are massacring thousands of innocent people. And it’s not exactly an easy task, which is why I would appreciate it if you didn’t keep questioning me.”
“Hey, I’m only trying to help,” Tom protested yanking another tube out of the sphere cavity.
“Yes, I know, I’m sorry,” the Doctor apologised, turning back to his work. “It’s just time is against us.”
“So, this blue bulb thing is what’s supplying the energy to the Autons?” Tom asked, putting one foot up against the edge of the cabinet as he tugged at a stubborn tube.
“Exactly,” the Doctor replied.
“Well then,” Tom said stepping back and pulling the pistol out from where he’d tucked it back in his waistband. “Sod this for a game of soldiers.” Aiming the pistol, he loosed four shots into the plastic globe.
The plastic shell buckled under the force of the bullets, before the globe exploded, bathing the office in a bright blue light. The force of the explosion knocked Tom from his feet and caused everyone else in the room to duck.
“Tom, what have you done?” The Doctor cried, turning to see pale blue smoke belch from the shattered remains of the energy unit.
“Ended this,” Tom replied, getting to his feet. “You said that was what was controlling the Autons.”
The Doctor almost pulled at his hair at frustration. “Yes, but that wasn’t the way. All you’ve done there is release the dormant consciousness energy. To stop the Autons, we have to send that energy back out into space where it can’t do any harm.”
“Then, erm, you mean-?” Tom managed shuffling his feet uncomfortably as the Doctor turned back to his work. From where he was handcuffed outside the office doors, the Master laughed.
“You can keep quiet,” Morris said, rounding on the man. Grabbing the pistol that Loding held, he pointed it at the Master. “I’m sure I’m well within my rights to execute you right here and now.”
“Will!”
The Doctor’s voice caused Morris to stop dead and slowly turn round to face the Time Lord. He’d got to his feet, although was keeping his weight off his right leg. Morris could see the dark stain of blood surrounding a small hole in the material.
“Any more talk of executions will make me your enemy,” the Time Lord said his face like thunder. “And believe me; that is one thing you do not want. Now, I’ve got a lot of work to do and very little time in which to do it. Can I trust you to not cause any deaths?”
Looking down ashamed, Morris slowly nodded.
“Good,” the Doctor turned and hobbled back to his seat.
“Sir,” Loding said quietly, stepping towards Morris. “I think I saw something down on the factory floor, inside one of the machines.”
“Where,” Morris asked turning and looking down.
Stepping up beside Morris, Loding pointed down to the large vat in the centre of the floor. Through a large window, a viscous bubbling mass could be seen. It seemed to be slowly heaving as though it were alive.
“Ok, what is that thing?” Morris asked, turning on the Master.
The Time Lord looked up at Morris, and raised his eyebrows in an innocent manner. “Oh, nothing, nothing,” he said softly. “Merely the molten plastic waiting to be put into moulds.”
“Molten plastic,” Morris said softly, turning back in time to see the molten mass smash against the observation port, like a wave crashing on rocks. “Plastic; it’s coming to life!” He said his voice rising in volume as the molten mass hit the glass window again.
“Doctor,” Loding began making back to the office.
“Yes, I know,” the Doctor replied not looking up. “I’m almost there.”
Loding turned back as the molten plastic hit the glass again, this time with a force that made it crack. Oozing into the crack, the strange molten mass started to force its way through, forcing the glass out of the observation port with a splintering cracking noise. The sight of the molten plastic was bizarre is it seeped out of the vat, reminding Loding of The Blob, from the old 50s film.
“Tom,” the Doctor shouted from the office over the cacophony of sound now coming from the factory floor. “The rows of switches on the large panel behind you, I want you to start flicking them, moving categorically through sections four to seven and then three to one in units alpha, epsilon and theta.”
Nodding, Tom scrambled over the mess that now littered the office floor to the panel. “When should I start?” He shouted back.
“Jess, that silver key on the panel there; turn that anti clockwise as far as it will go first.” The Doctor replied, looking round as he started twisting more wires together ignoring the molten plastic mass as it now started throwing globules of molten plastic up at the windows of the office. “Now Tom,” he shouted.
Turning back to the panel, Tom furiously started flicking the switches as the Doctors hands started to move across the keyboard before him in blurs.
“Jess,” the Doctor continued, staring intently at a pair of computer monitors as words and reams of data scrolled across them. “That small numeral pad there, start inputting these coordinates; three three oh five seven slash seven seven one one one zero one slash three six eight.”
Almost as one unit, the Doctor, Jess and Tom worked at the different instrument panels about the room. Fascinated by the sight in the office, Loding found her attention drawn from the molten plastic creature below until she was hit in the shoulder by a globule of plastic. She could feel the heat of it through her uniform and the small beads which had exploded from it when it hit her were now burning her neck and cheek.
“Keep your nose and mouth covered,” Morris shouted, turning back to her. “I don’t think bullets are going to do the job on this thing.”
“Almost, almost,” the Doctor was shouting from the lab. “Jess, hit the ‘enter’ key; now!”
Glancing over at the Doctor, Jess hit her thumb hard onto the key as the Time Lord twisted a dial in front of him so violently she thought he was going to pull it off the panel.
“Ha! Yes!” the Doctor cried, leaning back in the chair and clapping his hands together with a slap that was still echoing round the office as the noise from outside died down.
Cautiously, Jess, Tom, Morris and Loding all looked down to the factory floor to see the molten plastic loose all stability of any form before shuddering and spreading out onto the cold concrete floor, rapidly solidifying.
“What the hell just happened?” Jess asked.
“We sent the Nestene energy back out into deep space, where it will have nothing to do except self contemplation,” the Doctor said, grinning as he got to his feet.
“You mean, it’s all over?” Tom asked.
“Almost,” the Doctor replied, “we’ve dealt with the Autons; deactivated them but there’s just one thing to deal with now.” Turning on his heel, the Doctor hobbled carefully over to the Master.
“Just one thing I want to ask,” Morris said, stepping over to Jess. “Just how did you break out of that hypnotism thing?”
Jess looked up at the Captain and winked. “I pretended,” she said loudly causing the Master to look over, “I had to get out somehow, I just tried to appeal to the Master and I thought that would do.”
“Well, very well done, Miss Lawton,” the Master said, “I would applaud you, but alas if I were to try that now it would be a rather pitiful attempt.” Straightening himself as best as he could, the Master looked at the Doctor, who was now stood before him gripping his lapels and looking into his eyes.
“Now, we just have the small matter of you to attend to,” he said eventually.
The Master merely smiled as he returned the look to the Doctor. “My dear Doctor, I look forward to it.” He said, before the smile faded from his face to be replaced by a look of sincerity. “Just please don’t drone on and on this time, you were so boring last time.”
*
Sergeant Lovatt watched in amazement as an Auton collapsed under a hail of bullets shot by one of her men and then not get back up again. She knew that bullets didn’t bother them, so it should have got straight back up to its feet. Looking round, she saw that this was happening to other Autons as well.
Confused, she looked round to General Bailey, who was also looking bemused. All the Autons that were still on their feet were now swaying slightly, their weapons lowering. Some of them were staggering slightly as they swayed from side to side. The bemusement spread throughout the remaining police and soldiers as the Autons slowly collapsed, silently. Some of the mannequins and street performers toppled forwards into the shields of the riot police, like puppets that had had their strings cut.
“What the hell is going on, Sergeant?” Bailey asked, turning to face Lovatt.
“No idea, sir,” she replied, pushing her cap back as she scratched her head in confusion. Looking up and down the street, all the Autons had collapsed, joining the bodies of the dead littering the ground. “At the risk of being presumptuous, I’d say that whatever the Doctor was going to do to stop them worked.”
“About bloody time,” Bailey muttered. “We’re going to have a job cleaning this up. I can’t even begin to imagine the death toll.”
“So many innocent people,” Lovatt said softly. “It should never have come to this.”
Bailey nodded in agreement. “I think that after this, Sir Daniel will have no difficulties in getting his statures passed the cabinet.” Pausing, Bailey mouthed through what he’d just said. “Well, whatever is left of the cabinet?”
The realisation hit Lovatt as what Bailey had said sunk in. “The Master has won some victory then,” she said sadly. “Even though he hasn’t taken over, he’s going to have plunged the country into chaos for a while.” Lovatt looked down as her radio crackled.
“Greyhound two, come in.” Morris’s tinny voice came through.
“Greyhound two here, sir,” Lovatt said picking the radio off her uniform.
“Has the Auton threat ended back there?”
“Affirmative,” Lovatt said, sadly regarding the carnage. “They’ve just collapsed, like all their power was drained away or something.”
“Roger,” Morris’s voice said, acknowledging the news. “We’re now returning with one very important prisoner. Make the necessary arrangements will you?”
“Understood greyhound one,” Lovatt said turning the radio off and clipping it back to her uniform and turning to Bailey, saluting, “if you’ll excuse me, sir?”
Bailey nodded and returned the salute before turning back and starting to issue orders to the remaining troops.
*
The Doctor stood in the large office in the Wingmoore Institute, watching the image on the screen. Captain Morris was stood just behind him, wearing civilian clothes, with Jess and Tom stood just behind them. The fifth occupant of the room, Kevin Crompton, smiled and turned from where he was stood near the screen to face the Doctor and Morris. He was a red-faced man in his late forties with an almost comical comb over, and was wearing a grey polyester suit, white shirt and black tie.
“So, you can see the prisoner is safe and secure in these surroundings.” He said. “And you needn’t fear about any attempts at hypnotism. Only a select few have the authorisation to actually interact with the prisoner and they are handpicked and immune to hypnotism.”
“I hope so,” the Doctor mused quietly staring at the screen.
The image showed the Master, wearing a simple black tunic, sat in a leather wing backed chair in a sparsely decorated room. The brick walls were whitewashed with only three pictures adorning the walls, and only two small windows near the top of the walls. A small extractor fan, six inches squared, was in one corner of the back wall, with a low bookcase of books below it. A table sat beside the Masters chair with a bottle of brandy and a single glass. A bed was just visible at the edge of the picture.
“And you’re sure he won’t be able to escape?” Morris asked.
“This place is perfectly escape proof.” Crompton replied smugly, folding his arms. “Been tested by the best escapists in the world and they couldn’t get out. And you’ve seen our security checks. No unauthorised person can get into this place.”
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, stepping back to Jess and Tom. The gunshot wound in his leg had healed in the week since the Master had been captured. The Master was immediately remanded in custody at UNIT HQ for the night until he was transported to the Wingmoore Institute, which had been set up for special case prisoners some years previously. The Master seemed to accept his capture, obliging the Doctor and UNIT when they had got him back. The Doctor had also questioned Andrea Rogers, who was definitely suffering post hypnotic fatigue. Confirming that she had had no control over her actions, she was let go by UNIT, and observed for a couple of days. Her behaviour fast returned to normal.
“Very well, Mr. Crompton,” the Doctor said, “a member of UNIT will be making regular inspections to keep an eye on the prisoner. In the mean time, I think we should leave you to it.”
Crompton nodded as he reached forwards and turned off the security screen. “Thank you, Doctor, I’m glad you approve.”
Turning to Jess and Tom, the Doctor put his arms around his two companions. “I think we’re done here now; once we get back to UNIT HQ, we’ll be off again,” he said.
“That’ll be good,” Jess sighed, resting her head against the Doctors arm. “I think we’re long overdue another holiday.”
*
From a car parked opposite the main gates to the Wingmoore Institute, Captain Morris, the Doctor, Jess and Tom were watched as they departed. Sitting back in the driving seat and tapping her fingers on the steering wheel of her car, she watched them disappear down the road. With another glance back at the gates and a smile to herself, Andrea Rogers set off back to London.