human
It was the age of the Cybermen, and life had never been so full of adventure. If she said that she hated life on the run, constantly fighting for survival and to save what was left of the human race, she would be lying. Previous to this, shed had a boring job of installing power networks in major cities, high risk certainly, but never quite as fun as her days had become now. Her friends then had been mates she knew at work and work only. But now, now she had a family like never before, a group of friends that would lay down their lives to protect each other.
Piper found that this day was like many of the others - waking up to the light of the morning sun on her face, a light breeze tickling her skin. Next to her, she could hear her bunkmates still sleeping, their steady breathing. She glanced about the room for a moment, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she rolled out of her bed and started towards their makeshift command room. The room was extremely low tech, only the bare minimum of technology running to keep them under the radar. At the main control, a boy with glasses that covered a good portion of his face sat rapt at a screen.
Mornin, Gilly, She mumbled as she took a seat next to him, snatching his drink off the console to steal a sip of it, Whatcha got on the telly today? She asked, wrinkling her nose at his cold tea before placing it back. The boy was quiet for a longer bit still before finally swallowing, looking at her as if he had only just realized she was there. Oh, Pip, He still seemed distant, as if he werent sure what was going on, Strange things, very strange things indeed. He said, tapping on a strange line that kept spiking across the screen, Lookit, this things been going bonkers since midnight.
Her eyebrows raised a bit, leaning in to watch the line level out then spike, level and spike again, Huh, She bit her lip, glancing over her shoulder at the door, You dont suppose theyre trying a new transmission, do ya? I mean, they didnt get us all with their first two waves. They might be trying a new thing. She scratched at her head, trying to think of the possibilities. The Cybermen had formed quite the plan - their first line of strike was through the telly - a transmission inside a transmission that whispered to people about conversion.
Conversion is good. Conversion is good. Obey the Cybermen. Conversion is good.
It played day and night as men, women, and children watched. A week later, the First Wave began. The Cybermen converted those who heard the message. It was almost too simple to infiltrate. Fear spread like wildfire through those that werent converted, and then the Second Wave started. They used the same method - a transmission inside transmissions, but this time through the cell phones that everyone had. It whispered in their ears, convincing everyone that conversion is good.
With that Second Wave complete, humanity was at its weakest. Small pockets had survived, but far too many of them had decided life wasnt worth fighting for anymore. It was a frightening existence, and those that were still surviving were running for their lives, fighting tooth and nail to take the world back. And Piper was among those that were ready for fight for humanity, to work to fight back the Cybermen. Her group was small, but they were true fighters.
No Doesnt look like a transmission at all. He said after a long silence, pushing his chair away towards another screen, playing with a knob that brought a speaker crackling to life. All around them was a soft noise, a strange whooshing that was rhythmic and almost comforting, but still very strange and In a world already so full of terrible things, quite scary.
Piper chewed her lip, I dont like the sound of that, Gilly. I dont like it at all. Im going to wake Tally. If Flick wakes up, let him know that weve gone out on a raid or something, She said, rushing back to the sleeping area to change quickly into more suitable clothing and to wake her bunkmate, a young bloke that preferred to be called Tally of his real name, Thaddeus. Tally, get up. We picked up something Strange. She told him, almost literally rolling him out of the bed.
While Tally got himself ready, Piper busied herself in getting armed, mostly creations that shed made in their so-called lab, all interesting inventions of electricity that would at minimum stun a Cyberman, but at worst kill. Flick insisted they kill as few as possible, since the Cybermen were really just forcibly converted humans.
Piper finished her getting ready by pulling her long blond hair back into a bun, keeping it out of her face so that she would have no distractions. Come on, Tally. Youre worse than a girl, She called out to the boy, frustrated at his sluggish movements as he pulled on the last of his armor against the Cybermen. With her urging him on, the boy was quicker to dress, ready in under five minutes.
Gilly, well be back! Stay safe. She called out, leading the way out of their little encampment. And encampment was truly the best way to put it, as it was in the woods, disguised as a large pile of rotting logs. A clever way to hide from the high tech world where the men were mostly robots. Ill lead the way, Tally. Keep the stunner ready. She whispered, leading through the trees towards the source of where the odd transmission was coming from.
Instead of finding something that would be expected, she was brought to a complete stand-still, eyes narrowed at the oddity she was presented with. It was a box. A wooden box. To be more specific, a blue wooden Police Box. Bloody hell, Tally whispered behind her, the more offguard of the two.
Bloody hell, indeed
gpt
For a moment there would be nothing from the blue box that sat in front of the duo. It was, for all intents and purposes, a blue police box. Which would have been out of the ordinary even on it's own, and that was without adding in the fact that it was in the middle of what basically amounted to the apocalypse. The doors were locked, if they tried they would find that the phone didn't work either. And yet here it was, practically untouched compared to everything else around it.
Then the door swung open, a man with well groomed brown hair, wearing a pastel colored suit, a bow tie, and looking quite pleased with himself, emerged. He looked at the both of them as he spoke, as if he knew about what was going on already, and ignoring the absurdity of the fact that he could be in there without the Cybermen noticing him.
"Well come on, don't just stand around. Get inside," he urged them, waving before leading the way into the TARIS. Upon entering they would be confronted with a copper colored room, a three leveled room with a central platform that centered around a pillar, which bore pumps and pistons inside. Around it was a console with all sorts of eclectic instruments that would never be seen on a regular machine. There was a viewscreen on one of the walls, and for the rest were multicolored roundels, which gave the place some flair.
The man raced back to the center console then, working some of the controls as he spoke without waiting for them to say anything. "Now then, would someone care to explain to me what the Cybermen are doing here? They're supposed to be dead, buried, gone, and yet here they are basically with control over the entire planet." It was mos disturbing, though it would make one wonder whether it was to brave the madman inside this thing, or the Cybermen outside who were at least logical and rational.
human
The two of them were struck silent by the oddity of the man in the bowtie. His appearance was clean but his mind seemed scattered, as if he had a mind in a million places at once. He was a stranger hung, but he was amusing enough to bring a smile to Piper's lips.
Tally was still wary of the man, refusing to come any closer than the very entrance of the TARDIS. Curiosity had Piper hooked, her eyes large as she took in this strange box that was larger on the inside than it was on the outside. "This... Is amazing." She whispered, running her fingers across the control dashboard, leaning over to examine its belly
"The Cybermen... " She lifted her head finally, "First wave showed up about a year ago. The telly started a strange transmission. It whispered into people's minds that conversion is good. Upgrade. So when they showed up a lot of folk just... Converted. Then the transmission went out over phones. They got lots of people that way... Not many left of is fighting. They convert more every day.. " She talked as she examined, having moved over to the walls.
"Who.... Who are you?"
gpt
The man listened intently as Piper explained what was going on here, while simultaneously drinking in her awe and excitement. That was the sort of thing that he thrived on, and that delight only served to fuel his enthusiasm. The two of them truly had no idea what they had stepped into, by choosing to heed his command and enter this machine.
Once she had finished, he resumed what he was saying, ignoring her question at first. "Did you know that the Cybermen you're familiar with are from an alternate reality? Sure there were the originals from Mondas but they went away a long time ago except for the scattered remnants in Interstellar space and the void between galaxies. These ones are a bit different, made by humans for the good of humans." The end of that included some scorn, as if taking offense at the purpose that they now served.
"Be careful there," he added as he saw Piper examining the console. "I'd prefer not to materialize inside the sum, if you don't mind. It's not good for my complexion." Well, it would be bad for a lot of reasons, that much was for sure. Though the mere possibility had to be alarming to those who were currently in the machine, and who had no idea of what it could do.
Then her question registered and he grinned, spinning around the console with coattails flapping before he came to a stop in front of her. "Who am I," he reiterated, looking back at her more reluctant companion at the same time with jovial enthusiasm. "I'm the Doctor. And we're going to save the planet."
human
Piper was far too engrossed in her examination of the TARDIS to pay full attention to the Doctor, almost curious to press some of the buttons, though she heeded his warning at last minute. "The sun?" She was amazed, stepped away from the console to stare at the Doctor like he had magically grown a second head.
"Made by man? I don't understand... Why? They've killed millions. We've lost nearly everyone.. They aren't better people now, they're just... Cybermen. They have no heart, no compassion, no love... They're just a blank slate that follows orders." her mind pictured her father, a caring and charismatic man that had been upgraded in the first wave. He'd tried to capture Piper and turn her in to be upgraded.
Tally wasn't impressed with the Doctor as piper was, far too suspicious. "Piper," He called out to her from the door, "How can we even trust this loon? Come out of there. You know technology is detectable and he reeks of high tech." He shifted uncomfortably in his spot and cast a glance over his shoulder to make sure no Cybermen were near. "Let's go back to Gilly and Flick. They can decide about this... Man."
She rolled her eyes. "I don't ask Flick for permission to breathe. I can make my own decisions." She offered the Doctor a smile, "Ignore Tally. He doesn't like new. I'm Piper... And... How do you propose we save the planet?"
gpt
For all the naysayng that was currently taking place as a result of one half of the duo, the Doctor didn't mind. It was obvious that he had grabbed the girl's attention, and he would focus on that above anything else. He was always a sucker for attention, that was for sure, and so he would use it like he always did. He was nothing if not a showman.
"Piper, Piper, that's a nice name," he noted to herself, turning once more and striding to the other side of the waiting console. "I don't know many Pipers. It's such a hard profession to find, underappreciated by the rest of the universe if you ask me. Sure anyone can blow air through a stick but not many people can do it well." That had absolutely nothing to do with the situation at hand, but that didn't matter to him. It just gave him the time to think and plan.
He stepped closer to her then, addressing her initial question. "Cybermen were made by a sick man who wanted to find a way to cure all the problems with the human body and cheat mortality. Put your brain in a metal can and you won't have to worry about breaking your arm or dying of cancer or missing work because you've got a cold. He just took it too far and decided that actually feeling things was a problem too."
With that said the Doctor returned to her actually important question, the one that would determine how this all went down. "They're led by a Cyber Controller. We find that Controller, get rid of it, and the day is saved." The only question he still had to work out for himself was whether he wanted to go back in time to do it, since by this point the people who had been converted into Cybermen couldn't be saved. But he supposed that he would work it out on the fly, like he always did.
human
The Doctor seemed to talk just as much nonsense as intelligence, Piper trying to follow his train of thought but it didn't seem to be like a train as much as it was a tornado, hopping from one line to another. "Doctor," She tried to get him to take a breath, genuinely concerned for the health of his brain if he continued to talk this way
He had her full attention when he mentioned finding their controller, Tally letting out a bark like laugh. "Oh, yeah. Just find their controller. I can tell you where it is. Cyberman central. You'll be upgraded before you ever reach it. Trust me. We've tried." He shook his head, as he had now formed the opinion that this Doctor fellow was not only daft but insane as well.
"Piper, we can't sit and listen to the musings of a madman. I'm going back to base... You should come with me." it sounded less like an offer and more like he was trying to plead with her for her to come with him. He didn't like her interest in the Doctor, mostly because he couldn't ever get her to be interested in him that way. "If you're scared then go back, Tally. I can't wait for the world to fix itself... If he thinks he can fix it then I'm with him."
Tally didn't like it, but he stepped away from the door, because the truth was that he was scared. He had fought long enough and couldn't find the strength to attack their home base.
"Doctor," She pulled her stunner from her back, "I'm ready for anything. What do we do?"
gpt
Well, hearing that they knew the Controller was in, well, Cybermen Central, made things a lot easier on the Doctor. It meant that he didn't have to look as much, and it meant that they had a destination in mind now. The idea of time travel was thrown away, as the Doctor decided that this was just another event he had been thrust into, and that humanity would rebuild from it to be better than before. There would be no temporal retconning here, no sir.
Sadly, it seemed that not everyone was on board with his plan, that guy named Tally. Well, that was fine. The Doctor wouldn't force him to go if he wanted to, especially in a situation like this. He could manage things himself, that much was for certain. He'd done it before after all.
When she asked him what they were going to do, well, that hardly needed a question. "Alright then, time to get to work," he said aloud as he went into motion, hitting knobs and dials, clacking on the typewriter and sending a hum through the TARDIS. The pumps in the central column thudded as they became even louder, and a groaning whine, like the sickly revving of an engine, filled the air.
Outside the blue box, the TARDIS would begin to dematerialize, leaving nothing but air behind before the noise died with a thud. On the inside of the machine though it was as crazy as ever, the room spinning, tilting, shuddering, while the Doctor laughed, hung on for dear life, and adjusted the console as need be. "Next stop, Cyberman Central!"
human
Tally lost his last opportunity to go with them as the Doctor got his last bit of information to help against the Cybermen. The door shut on him and just moments later it was starting to fade in and out, a strange whooshing coming from the machine. "Wait! Piper, don't!" He was left yelling in the woods at nothing in the end, Piper long gone and unable to hear him otherwise.
Inside the TARDIS, Piper was on the ride of her life, laughing as she was flung forward by the whole room rocking and spinning. She grabbed a hold of the Doctor's arm, unable to control her laughter as she leaned against him for support.
When the room stopped tossing them about, she let go, cheeks a soft pink. "So... Cybermen central, huh?" She asked, staring at the closed doors. She had been here once before, back before it had been converted over. It was a large government building once, now an upgrade factory.
"What's the plan, Doctor?" She asked, pulling her stunner from its holster, "I've got your back no matter what."
gpt
The Doctor was having the time of his life, though the fact that Piper was holding on to his arm was something of a nuisance to making sure that the TARDIS stayed on course. But it was one that he could ignore, and he managed regardless. It wasn't as if they were going particularly far, and that made it easier to go along towards their destination.
At last they arrived. With the same whooshing sound that had heralded it's departure, the TARDIS materialized in Cyberman Control, fading into existence like it always did before settling. Once it had fully done so there was a thud inside, and the noise ceased, leaving them in silence for the moment so that they could plan, and get underway with this mission that the Doctor had embarked on. It was all the same as usual, really.
Stepping away from the console, the Doctor headed towards the door as he counted off on his fingers. "Right. Step one, find the equipment they're using to send out that subliminal messaging stuff and shut it down. Step two, find the Cyber Controller and stop it and the rest of the Cybermen here." It was a simple plan, but it did leave a lot of details unaddressed. Yet there would be no time to comment on it as he reached the doors and opened one, stepping out into the building. The Doctor had arrived, and he was ready to do his thing.
human
The man, though scatterbrained and talking erratically, his thoughts jumping from one thing to another. She watched him with a mix of half fascination and half admiration. She watched as he walked over to the door eagerly, his plan bare bones to say the very least. He just planned to rush into their headquarters and hope for the best. Seriously?
Piper shook her head, not sure whether she admired his bravery or whether she thought him foolish. He was running directly into the face of danger quite directly and didn't seem to care about his safety... He was... Interesting. She sighed and took off after him, holding her stunner at the ready. Her finger was already on the trigger when she got to his side, flanking him so that they would be a more formidable force.
At first, when she stepped out of the TARDIS it was a bit disorienting, considering the fact that it was larger on the inside than it was on the outside. "Doctor, stay at my side," She told him, not used to having to give a command as such, as Tally usually didn't go very far from her when they were out on recon missions. Piper was the one that lead the way around the corner, her stunner held in front of her as she turned. "Cybermen, get ready." She called back to the Doctor, turning the corner and taking aim at the closest one.
The weapon let out a loud noise as it zapped it, the Cyerman seizing before falling, stunned for up to half an hour. "Come on, quick."
gpt
While the Doctor heard Piper's instruction for him to stay at her side, he didn't really plan on listening to it. No offense intended to her of course, that was just how things went. He marched to his own drummer, and it ended up being a tad inconvenient when they had to run for their lives, since he liked to have a bit of control over where they ended up. "relax, I'll be fine," he told her dismissively. "I've done this sort of thing before. All the time in fact." That much was almost, in a way, true.
Still, he did pull back when she instructed, allowing her to deal with the Cyberman, if only to see what that apparent weapon of hers could do. He didn't move on though, not just yet. Instead he produced his sonic screwdriver, twisting it to the appropriate setting before taking some readings from the Cyberman itself. He wanted to see what she had done, and that gave him as much information as he needed, which was accompanied by a flourish and a flick of the wrist in the process.
With that done he spoke to her, while walking along. "You shouldn't have that thing set on stun," he told her as he began to lead the way once more. They needed to find the roof, or the basement, since his vast experience told him that those were the most likely places to house a transmitter of some kind, and once he found it then he could turn it off, and step one would be complete. Easy, really.
human
The Doctor visibly didn't like being told to stay by her side, but perhaps it was because he wasn't used to taking orders. He had been doing this sort of thing on a daily basis for much longer than she had, but Piper had dealt with the Cybermen on a daily basis for such a long time that it was most of what she knew how to do. "All the time? Your life must be so interesting."
Regardless of how he felt about it, he seemed to follow her instruction to an extent, watching her as she stunned the Cyberman and used his strange wand-like buzzer thingy to inspect her work. He didn't seem happy that she refused to kill, his words making her stop. Her lips pulled down into a soft frown, "I always have it set to stun, Doctor." She said, "If I become a killer then I lose the very thing that makes me human still. Even if it's just a small piece, maybe even just a sliver, the person is still in there. And I can't do that. I can't kill them. I can't lose my compassion."
She wasn't going to fight that personal war, especially not with the Cybermen and who they had once been being such a sore subject for her. She had lost so many people to the war against the Cybermen, her last family member the most important one. Her father had always been a strong man but was addicted to the telly, especially on days when his favorite show would be on. It had been on a Friday when her father got the transmission, and it had changed her life forever. She followed the Doctor, concentrating instead on the tasks ahead. Though she wouldn't set her gun to the level that it would kill, she cranked up the amperage on the capacitor from a 1/4 amp to a 1/2 amp, much more painful for the Cybermen.
gpt
The Doctor walked along at a rapid clip, intent on reaching his destination and doing what needed to be done to save the planet. Really, you'd think that the human race would expect this sort of thing by now, but it seemed not. Torchwood was shut down, UNIT had been caught flat footed again, and the governments of the world were as inept as always. Really, sometimes he wondered if he was the only thing keeping this planet afloat at the end of the day. But that was a silly thing to think, since he knew that he wasn't. Human ingenuity, and courage, and stubbornness, all of those would carry humanity in the end, not him.
Still, he heard what she said, and even though Piper did dial it up a bit, he knew it wasn't enough. So he abruptly came to a halt, instead spinning about to face her as he stepped in her way. "Listen, I find that admirable and all, really it's one of the best traits of humanity, but those aren't people anymore, they're Cybermen. There's no going back for them, and if the people inside were able to realize what they are now they would want you to put an end to their suffering. I know because I've seen it a hundred different times, and using that on a stun setting just gives the Cybermen more time to adapt to it and render it useless."
He paused for a moment, as if looking into her eyes to see what he might find there before adding to what he had just stated. "Nothing personal, that's just the way it is." With that said he turned once more, gesturing forward and walking along at a brisk pace that would force her to move along quickly if she wanted to keep up. "Come on then, we're almost there," he declared, fairly certain they were. Probably. Hopefully.
human
The man might have the key to saving the world, but he didn't have any finesse when it came to explaining what was going on with the Cybermen. He had lost touch with the fact that humans, though strong enough to surpass almost any obstacle that was put in their path, were an emotionally weak race. It was a flooring thought that people would be unable to save those that had been converted already, tears that she had been fighting welling in her eyes.
"Admirable?" She could barley stomach the words. She didn't want his admiration, she didn't want anything from him but the help needed to destroy the controller, "What's the point of this war if there's no going back?" She asked, thinking of all the people that were lost to them. Piper had lost her father, a good man that had loved his family more than anything else. Tally had lost his twin sister, a girl that had been a vibrant young artist on her way to fame. Flick had lost his daughter, a sweet child that had only just learned how to walk, as well as her mother, a woman whose heart was bigger than anyone else's.
Piper wiped the tears away, turning from her sadness and instead to anger. No, there was a point. There was always revenge. "Fine." She said, "You want them dead? Fine." She holstered the weapon, which wasn't designed to go high enough to kill. Her hands were shaking as she reached into a side pocket on her cargo pants, pulling out what looked like thick black gloves of questionable material. The palms were odd things, a solid block with prongs coming out the center. With a small flick, the capacitors on her hands were engaged, a gentle thrum of electricity humming through her hands.
She followed him, more somber than she had been before, her hands held in a stance as if she were going to be slap-boxing with someone, fingers trembling as she fought against the battling emotions on the inside. "Just lead the way and keep an eye out... I don't like how empty these halls are..."
gpt
"It will make you stronger," the doctor replied without looking back, even as Piper gave in and switched to that glove of hers. "Humanity grows through hardship and struggle. You get knocked down and you pick yourselves right up against for another go. Not every race in the galaxy can do that." He could think of a few off the top of his head that certainly couldn't. But somehow he had the feeling that that wouldn't matter all that much to her, given the situation she was in. Humans were such simple minded creatures in the end, even if he did respect them.
Glancing back, he scowled a bit at her warning. "Relax, I know exactly what I'm doing." He had noticed the strange absence, but he wasn't about to admit as much to her. That would ruin the whole appearance that he had going. And the last thing he needed to do was worry her that they might fail. Couldn't let her down like that.
"Alright then, this way," he told her, leading on through the facility. They had to be getting close now, he was sure of it. Either because they actually were, or because the Cybermen had noticed the intrusion and were preparing a trap. But as he had learned, the best way to defeat a trap was to know that one was walking into a trap, and since he most certainly did he would be fine. This was hardly the most difficult infiltration he had ever done.
human
Stronger, yes. There was a human saying that stated what didn't kill you made you stronger, but she didn't see how killing the relatively innocent would make her stronger. She didn't view the Cybermen with consternation, she viewed them with pity. They were humans that were stripped of everything that made them human, and it was such a tragedy that the conversion had spread like a plague, but it had been so easy to just convert instead of fighting. After all, what point was there to fighting? It couldn't be all bad to be a cyberman, surely.
She found that he was growing to be more aggravating by the moment, over confident and ignoring every warning that she gave. He was so... So infuriating! "You know what you're doing? And I'm supposed to just trust my life to the hands of a stranger when it's a good possibility that I could die if you make the wrong decision? You... I've only just met you!" She stated, finding it hard that he thought she ought to trust him completely. He might have been able to get them farther than they had ever been before, but he was still just a stranger.
But he was her only hope so far, as Gilly hadn't been able to get them any news on the base and with all of Flick's planning it was hard to imagine them storming the base and living to tell the tale... "Fine. I've got to trust you." She said, relenting to the fact she was putting her life into the hands of some weird time traveler whose name was a title. Piper followed him, but she couldn't stop the tickle on the back of her neck.
gpt
"Oh come on, don't be like that," the Doctor protested as he led them along, turning a corner and heading deeper into the facility, and willfully walking into whatever trap might be present. "Isn't this fun? Bravely walking into the jaws of danger, infiltrating the Cyberman's main base of operation, the fate of the world riding on your shoulders? It's not like you've got anywhere better to be at the moment." He certainly seemed to be relishing in the reputation he was garnering, or at least the thrill of danger.
Pausing for a moment, he whipped out his sonic screwdriver and waved it around, taking readings that would lead them onwards into the facility. "Right then, this way," he directed, putting it away as quickly as he procured it, then led them through a doorway and further on and in. They were drawing close, he just knew it. Soon the confrontation would begin, and things could really kick off.
human
"Fun? Oh yes, certain death is absolutely thrilling. You know, before my morning brew I just cannot resist the urge to jump off a skyscraper. And after that, of course, I move on to daring duels with pirates and goblins, and right before i have my mid-day tea, I think, what the hell, why not wake the bloody Kraken so that I can have a right good giggle?" Her tone was facetious, but there was a hint of... Amusement to it, more than what had been there before. He was easier to take when he wasn't trying to talk about her moral code, mostly because she didn't quite agree with him on that. Of course, she didn't know he'd seen far more of war than she could ever dream of.
But Piper wasn't stupid when it came to war, and she knew that something was coming, something that wasn't going to end very well for either of them. And she was right. They'd turned the corner and it was almost too good to be true, a door at the end of the hall that practically screamed "enter here to get to the big red button to turn off all cybermen". And it was too good to be true. Her cautious steps became less so, so much that she didn't feel a soft give when she took the next one. There was a sigh from the ground before it gave way completely, dropping her a good ten feet down to the next floor. Piper screamed her way down, letting out a cry as she hit the ground hard, leaving the Doctor well above her. The room was dark, mostly, lit only by the square of the hole above her. "Doctor! I think we've found the trap!" She called up, using the fingers of her hands to test her legs for injuries.
From the far reaches of the dark, she heard movement. Then saw light - a very distinct light. "Upgraaaade." She heard the low, mechanical groan that was unmistakable as the voice of a cyberman, followed by a chorus of more, "Upgrade!" The chorus was a crowd, and she was surrounded.
gpt
The Doctor grinned at her sarcastic response, if only because she had no way of knowing how much of that stuff he had actually done, and more besides. He lived quite the thrilling life, but it was all the better when there was someone to share in the excitement, and to make him look good in the process. What could he say? He liked showing off. And now he was in the sort of position where he had the chance to do what he did best. "Exactly," he confirmed with a grin. "Now you're getting it."
He was hardly surprised when they found the place that seemed to be a control room of some kind, and he walked at the same quick pace that had taken him through this entire facility thus far. As a result, he was the one who missed the trap when it activated, sending Piper plunging into the room lower, and putting her square in the middle of the trap itself. "Ha-ha, oh that's spectacular," he said to no one in particular as he turned and eyed the trap. "Cybermen never go for pitfall traps. It's always force fields and ambushes and boring, complicated things like that. They never use anything simple." Simple, but effective.
Of course that left unsaid the problem at hand, specifically the fact that Piper was now surrounded by a bunch of Cybermen who wanted to upgrade her. Well, there was no fun being up here, so like the lunatic he was, he jumped into the trap as well. Naturally he aced the landing even with a bit of a tumble, but he popped up right next to Piper nonetheless. With that, and a wave of the sonic screwdriver, he got to work. "Ah, hello Cybermen. Remember me? Well, as much as I'd just love to join your collective and all, I've got places to be, things to do. If you could just take me and my friend here to the Cyber Controller so we could have a chat, it's be lovely. Thank you." At the same time he prepared Plan B, just in case. You never could tell how this sort of thing would end up going.
human
With as excited as the Doctor had gotten over her falling into the trap, one would have thought that she'd fallen into a nest of cuddly little kittens that were trying to surround her and get her to surrender to cuddles instead of being 'upgraded' into a mindless machine. Her expression showed her lack of enthusiasm in the situation, the girl frankly irritated with the lack of help from her so-called expert of an accomplice in the situation. "Y'know, instead of marveling at their genius, how about you get me out of here?" She called up to him, truly unaware of just how screwed she actually was.
Rather than being a helpful hand, it seemed he wanted to be doomed to the same fate as she was, or perhaps he really was as loony as Tally had suspected that he was. Her jaw quite literally dropped when he joined her, popping up like a spring-loaded toy. "Oh, yes, great. Now we're both trapped. Thanks a lot, Doctor." Her sarcasm was back, though the fear was hidden just beneath it, quite evident on her face.
The Cybermen didn't seem to be impressed with his antic, and they didn't seem to be all that interested in having a conversation. They did stop, if only for just a moment to asses the new situation. "New subject: The Doctor... Upgrade..." It seemed that his status as a known crime stopper didn't seem to damper their goals of upgrading the both of them, the march to close the circle starting back up again. "Doctor? I think now would be a good idea for a plan... My weapons can't take all of them down."
gpt
Ignoring Piper for the moment, the Doctor scowled as the Cybermen seemed to only give him a moment of consideration before going on. "Oh come on, that's it," he complained as they advanced on the pair. "You're not going to study me or do anything interesting? Going straight for conversion is just so boring." Sadly it seemed that his opinion wouldn't matter, as usual. But he felt as though it needed to be said, if only so the Cybermen could use it in the future if they ever came back.
With that said he actually turned to the situation at hand, and Piper's growing unease at the situation at hand. It was bad, sure, but bad situations was where the Doctor thrived, and he already had a little something prepared for just this eventuality. "Right, a plan. Lovely thing about traps is that if you know there's a trap then you can avoid the trap, just like weddings and business meetings," he confirmed, watching the Cybermen as they drew closer. "So my first plan is: when I give the signal, run." He didn't elaborate on what that was, but as far as his plans went it was par for the course.
After a moment, he kicked the plan into effect. His hand rose, lifting the sonic Screwdriver aloft as he activated it, letting the noise fill the room. He had prepared a jamming mechanism, to interfere with their connection to the Cyber Controller and their circuitry, based on that Cyberman that he had examined earlier. It wouldn't work forever, but it would buy them the time that they needed to effect an escape. Not bad on the fly, if he did say so himself.
If it worked though it would provide the opportunity, and he called out the moment after he activated it. "Run!" He would then follow his own advice, headed for the exit, and making sure that Piper followed in the process. Time to bust out of a trap.