ignite ➝ Doctor Who¹

XXXXV

"What the fuck were they supposed to do?"
— Penelope Adaams, Army of Ghosts

Agent Jasper had kept her talking throughout the flight, which she was immensely grateful for. He hadn't said anything about Torchwood, or anything about the whole ghost situation, which she was sure he was instructed to do.

"When we get there, our landing zone will take us to the highest part of the building. We're going to take you straight to the Doctor, Yvonne said he was distracted without you." She couldn't help but smile, despite the situation, which was something the Agent noticed.

"Sounds good to me."

They were quiet for a while. There weren't any windows where they were sitting, and Penelope didn't think her legs would stay stable long enough to walk to a window, so she had no idea where they were. Surely it couldn't take them that long to get to Cardiff.

Static started up on Jasper's radio, something they barely heard through their headphones. He frowned and spun a dial on the side of his headphones, presumably to tune into the radio frequency.

She reached up quickly to her own headphones, planning on finding the dial, but she didn't have one. Typical. She watched as best she could as his facial expressions stayed stoic. She doesn't know what's happening. She needs to know what's going on, her friends are down there, her family, her Doctor.

There was a flip in her stomach.

They were descending.

But what was there?

"Ma'am, when we touchdown I need you to stay with me the whole time."

"Jasper what's going on down there, you have to tell me." He wouldn't look at her as he pulled a small gun from his belt, pulling it apart quickly and putting it back together. He held it out to her, checking something else on his belt. She wasn't sure, she doesn't know anything about guns. She had only ever seen one once, and that wasn't exactly a memory she regularly thought about.

"Take it. It's simple enough, point and shoot."

"The Doctor wouldn't want me to.. have a gun."

"With all due respect, ma'am, the Doctor isn't here to protect you right now, but I am. And for my own peace of mind, take the gun."

She didn't argue.

"You may not even end up using it. It's just a precaution for what we're about to step into. I'll be honest I'm not even sure it'll work, but it's better than nothing." It was freezing and felt heavy in her hands. Far too heavy.

There was a horrifying moment when she realised it reminded her of herself.

Heavy and cold.

"Ma'am your phone is ringing." She looked up, shaking her head to clear it, and put the gun back in the small holster he had given her. She picked up the phone and tucked it into the headphones, praying it would work.

"Hello?"

"Penelope!" It sounded like she had been crying, what was going on?

"Rosie? What's going on, are you okay?"

"Do not come here, go inside, go underground. Do not come here!"

"Rose, Rose, calm down, what's going on?"

"The ghosts are Cybermen, and I'm stuck in a room with a sphere thing, it's opening, Penny I don't know what to do."

"I'll be there Rose. Where's the Doctor?"

There was quiet, a little shuffling and she heard the phone being passed to another person. It was a good thing that the headphones were holding her phone up because she had gone cold again. Everything was cold, what was happening? "Adaams?"

"Mickey? Oh my god, Mickey! The hell is going on? Where is the Doctor?"

"They got seperated. Rose is down here with me, the Doctor and Jackie are upstairs."

Panic started to build up in Penelope, counterbalancing the cold in possibly the worst way. They had been separated? And as good as it was to hear Mickey, how the hell was he here. The Doctor made it clear he'd never be seen again, she remembers the look in his eyes. He was losing someone else. Not dead, but out of reach, something that is so much worse.

"Penelope?"

"Alright Mickey, I'm basically at the building now, I will see you soon. Please stay safe." There was quiet on the other end, and a hiss of static. "Hello?" They had been cut off. Penelope looked to Jasper, desperate for some kind of explanation, but he had been cut off as well. They were both a little confused, a little scared and not at all ready to face whatever was down there. He was trained, she now has a gun. They were as ready as they could be, they didn't even know how to prepare.

What the fuck were they supposed to do?