ignite ➝ Doctor Who¹

XXXI

"I recognise you. I went first. My name was Jacqueline Tyler."
— Cyberman, The Age of Steel

Penelope was shoved behind the Doctor, the tears drying on her face. First this woman, who was getting married, and now Mrs Moore - Angela Price.

"No! No, you didn't have to kill her!" The Cyberman scanned him.

"Sensors detect a binary vascular system. You are an unknown upgrade. You will be taken for analysis." The Cyberman turns to Penelope, who the Doctor was desperately trying to hide. "You will be taken for analysis."

They were taken quite a long way, led all the way to a control room. The Doctor seemed to be talking to himself, reassurance that everything would be fine. Penelope, on the other hand, thinks he's lost his mind.

"We've been captured, but don't worry, Rose and Pete are still out there. They can rescue us." The two were bought in by other set of Cybermen. "Oh well, never mind. You okay?"

"Yeah. But they got Jackie."

"We were too late. Lumic killed her."

"Then where is he, the famous Mister Lumic? Don't we get the chance to meet our Lord and Master?" The Cyberman turned to them, the monotone voice somehow sounding smug.

"He has been upgraded." The Doctor raised his eyebrows, he had been expecting this, but not so soon.

"So he's just like you?"

"He is superior. The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller." A door opens and a Cyberman is wheeled out in what looks like an upgraded wheelchair.

"This is The Age of Steel and I am its Creator." Penelope scoffed in disbelief, causing the Doctor to snap his head towards her.

"You're insane is what you are. You let them do that to you?" There were screams outside, sudden and afraid. Had Mickey done his job correctly? The Doctor smiled.

"That's my friends at work. Good boys! Mister Lumic, I think that's a vote for free will." Lumic's head tilted, unaffected.

"I have factories waiting on seven continents. If the ear pods have failed, then the Cybermen will take humanity by force. London has fallen. So shall the world." A camera starts to blink, Penelope nudges the Doctor and gestured over in the direction. He got a big smile on his face, he has an idea. He talked over Lumic.

"We need this to work, please stay safe and out of the way. I need his focus on me and not anyone else, and I know that will be hard, especially with that dress, but can you try." She sighs, blushing again.

"Stop bringing up the damn dress and go save the world." They tuned back in to Lumic's spiel, their conversation thankfully ignored.

"I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace and unity and uniformity."

"And imagination? What about that? The one thing that lead you here, imagination, you're killing it dead!"

"What is your name?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"A redundant title. Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken." Penelope felt herself bristle, he really gets on her nerves.

"Yeah, but that's it. That's exactly the point! Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man. I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room." He turned around to see Penelope covering her smile and took that as a win. "But everything you've invented, you did to fight your sickness. And that's brilliant. That is so human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what's there to strive for, eh? The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop. You'll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts, lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive. People. Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people."