realityshifted

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doctor who (d1) patricia menzies

[006]

[Menzies arrives lying on the ground somewhere in the middle of the Plane. she's breathing hard, looking rather horrified and a little pale. she quickly sits up, looking down at herself in apparent confusion. then she starts to pat herself down, as though checking for injuries] All right... No gunshot. Fine now, then. Sure.

[taking a deep breath, she pulls herself to her feet, still looking completely frazzled. after a moment's thought, she takes hold of the ID badge that hangs around her neck. pulling it out, she briskly runs the edge of it along the back of one her hands, creating a small cut. she winces but watches with apparent interest as the cut bleeds red] And not dead. [she breathes a sigh of relief] First thing that's gone right all day... [she replaces her ID card before looking around, her expression uncharacteristically uncertain. she still looks pale and out of breath, and she clearly has no idea what to do now] Maybe this is payback for pissing off Ray.

[ooc: Menzies is in the middle of major trouble back home! See my OOC post for details.]

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[doesn't immediately let go of it--but then he relinquishes his hold a moment later to wag a finger at her] No, and it's not the sort of thing that you believe happens when it really didn't, either!

Now, do you think this is something the Plane is doing to you? Who shot you? Was it someone you knew?

[snaps] What else is it going to be?

It was... [she pauses, realising with surprise that she doesn't really remember what happened. she thinks for a moment] It was another officer. [grudgingly] I'm...not sure I remember all of it. Oh, he was somebody new--I 'adn't worked with him before. We were making an arrest, and there was this purple goo in the flat. Turns out it was an alien--some sort of parasite. It took him over. And he...wait. [she frowns, reaching up to rub her temple] That doesn't make any sense...

[frowns, his brow furrowing. slowly] What was his name?

Ah...Frank. Look, Doctor, you're not going to believe this, but...I think I died more than once. That officer shot me, but before that, there was a laser gun... I got shot then, too.

[he lets out a small, relieved breath--but that feeling doesn't last for long at all] Ohhhh, but I do believe it. Did that same officer shoot you with the laser gun as well? Or was it someone else?

[she shakes her head] No, it was this...alien. Little yellow bloke, with sort of...antennae. They were two completely different situations--different cases, different places. Different aliens.

[she pauses, struggling to piece this together in a way that makes sense. unfortunately, it really doesn't] The thing is, I died from the laser, too. [instinctively, she puts a hand to her throat. it's not exactly the sort of wound you'd expect to survive] Except on the other case...I didn't 'ave that wound anymore. And I definitely wasn't dead--not before the gunshot, anyway. [she scowls, reluctantly admitting:] And my memory's a bit foggy about all of it.

[watches her hand move to her throat] No, I expect you wouldn't...

Are those the only times? I know your mind isn't exactly clear, but I need you to try to remember.

[she snorts] You know, Doctor, you have an uncanny knack for making things sound like they 'appen every day.

What, that I died? Isn't twice enough? [she is trying to remember, though--and she's finding it alarmingly difficult to remember much of anything that's happened recently]

[he simply raises an eyebrow, deciding not to answer that]

Twice is two too many. But please, humour me, Patricia.

[her frustration seeps into her tone] Yeah, I would, but I don't remember. [she sighs] Which I'm guessing is this place's idea of a joke.

[she's quiet for a moment, thinking] I...might've done. I remember...some sort of gas in a café...

[he frowns] Gas in a café? Is that where you were when this began?

I dunno. That was... [she cringes, reaching up to massage her temple. she has a headache, and trying to remember isn't helping] It was after my shift. I was supposed to meet this newcomer there, called himself... [she pauses, her eyes widening] ...Frank.

[his eyes widen too]

Patricia, bring me to your reality. Right now.

[sorry, Doctor, she doesn't really hear you. you've set off the right trigger--she remembers more now. she remembers hearing the same voice in more than one place--the new officer in the flat, one of the small yellow aliens, and the human-disguised alien she met in the café. or didn't meet--she also remembers a robbery and getting gassed instead. and wouldn't you know, Frank was there, too--he was one of the robbers]

[but she's hit with a dizzying wave of deja vu to accompany the memories, and she loses her balance. it's up to the Doctor whether he lets her hit the deck or not]

[of course he catches her, first grabbing her arm to steady her and then pulls her in to hold her. he knows she'll hate it, so hopefully that will help snap her out of it--but a part of him knows that it won't, not truly, if he's right.]

Trust me, Patricia. You need to drop from the Plane and bring me with you.

[she almost immediately tries to pull away from him, embarrassed. she's not really sure what to make of that gesture--she can't see the Doctor she knew doing it. carry her around while she's dying, sure, but hug her?] Doctor! I'm fine. You can let go now!

I thought you told me never to trust you. [she says that, but she doesn't really mean it. she eyes him for a moment, trying to work out what he's thinking. at the very least, she can tell he won't take no for an answer. she scowls. she'd ask him to explain what he's thinking before they go, but she knows he wouldn't answer] Fine. But if that officer's still got the gun--or anything is about to kill either of us? You'd better come back here.

[he doesn't let go]

[sometimes he regrets saying that to her in particular just because she's the type who won't let him forget he said it hundreds of years ago] And I'll bring you back with me. I'm not letting you do this alone.

[well, this is awkward] That's touching of you and all, but how 'bout you let go so we can go to Manchester? [she knows that taking him back with her requires contact as well, but if she has to go back to lying on the floor in a puddle of blood dying--or whatever else she might be about to jump into the middle of--she at least plans to do it with dignity] Just hold onto my arm, will you?

[honestly, she can't quite work out why he's hugging her at all. she has a feeling it's not the obvious, and she's starting to wonder if it's just his way of making sure she doesn't leave without him. then again, he wouldn't have to hug her for that. and as she realises that, she gets a nagging feeling what his reason might be. it's more like he's afraid of losing contact with her--like he knows what they're going into and refuses to get separated. she sighs. if that's the case, then it's yet another thing he's not going to listen to her about] Oh, nevermind. [because if they do appear in the middle of a police raid, at least she can give him a good kick and play it off that way]

[so she closes her eyes and thinks of Manchester. and all of sudden, she's no longer in the Doctor's arms. not only that, but she's lying on her back again, looking up at some sort of dome over her. she immediately reaches up her hands, pressing against it, but it doesn't budge. at that, she has to fight back her natural instinct to panic. instead, she forces herself to get a look around the room. it's plain and rather dingy. what stands out most about it is the tangle of wires snaking across the floor, leading to a desk covered in machines across the room. at that desk is sitting a rather plain, brown-haired man with glasses and a medium build--Frank himself]

[she tries to call out, punching against the glass with one hand, but the gesture is to no avail. Frank is typing furiously on a computer keyboard--and all of a sudden, Menzies starts to feel extremely tired. her hands drop back from the glass, and she realises she's about to lose consciousness. just in time, she wills herself away, back to the Plane]

[meanwhile, despite his efforts, the Doctor has appeared in the room just outside of the pod holding Menzies. in fact, he's standing next to it, in a perfect position to see her inside. there's a tangle of wires over her, bound together until the point at which they split off into a set of electrodes, each one stuck to her forehead]

[and across the room, the man at the desk also sees the Doctor]

Who are you!? What are you doing here?

[the Doctor's feeling of deja vu is hitting him very strongly--though he knows things are different this time. but he doesn't have long to compare and contrast. instead, he tries to find some way to open the pod since she's actually awake, but as he watches her eyes start to close, he knows he's too late. he can't unhook her now.]

[thankfully, he hears the voice just then and whirls around to face--the surprisingly plain man. surprise doesn't show on the Doctor's face, however; just forced calm as anger steadily brews beneath the surface.]

I'm someone who had put a stop to this kind of nonsense a very long time ago. But I was a very patient man back then, which is unfortunate for you because I very much am not any longer, and I need you to stop what you're doing immediately.

[the man glares at him] I don't know who you are, but you have no right to be here! [and he picks up a gun from the desk, levelling it at him] So I suggest you transmat yourself back to wherever you came from. Before I kill you.

[with his other hand, he twists a knob. the Doctor will hear heavy footsteps coming from the entryway just outside the room]

[rolls his eyes despite the gun being pointed at him] Oh, speak for yourself!

[he hears the footsteps, his eyes flicking over to it before he looks back at the man] Frank, you can put that gun down. I'm not armed, so I'm not going to harm you. If you're here to gather data, don't get it from her. She's only a human; she will die for real if you continue this! [a slight exaggeration, but still]

[the man's eyes narrow at that] How do you know that name?

[but he's interested despite himself. he doesn't lower the gun, though] Do you think you can make me a better offer?

[a large silver robot comes around the corner then--large and bulky, rather like a rounded version of the older models of Cybermen. its chest opens to reveal the barrel of some sort of weapon, and one of its hands transforms into a short blade]

[shrugs, folding his arms across his chest] You looked like a Frank. I've met quite a few Franks in my time and they all look like you. Well, except for Frances. She had a couple differences.

Oh, so you are gathering data? That was just a guess! What are you interested in learning? [looks back at the robot again when he hears the blade] Just know that I can't tell you anything unless you call off your friend there.

[Frank eyes him warily; it's obvious the Doctor isn't being honest. but he turns a dial, and the robot stops moving--but it stays right where it is] What do you know about this planet? Specifically, security. I doubt there's much more I can get out of her anyway. Make me an offer.

Well, the problem with that is I don't know how much you're charging--and I left my wallet in my other trouser. [rubs the back of his head] I never can remember to grab it...

But why do you want to know about Earth, anyway? This planet is boring! Definitely not the kind of place for a go-getter like yourself.

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