Wander of time: Darkness within (doctor who)

Chapter 20: Mr. Clever

Clara could really not believe this was happening. She could really, really, really not believe it.

Not in a million years would she ever picture herself tying up the Doctor to a chair. Good god, this was the strangest thing she had done with the Time Lord. One minute, they were arriving here to this planet, Hedgewick's World of Wonders, coming here to have a good time with Angie and Artie Maitland, the two kids she was nanny to. Then in a blink, before she knew it there were Cybermen everywhere, she was put in charge of a punishment platoon, and the Doctor had been taken over by a Cyber-Planner. And she thought the day she had been 'preserved' in Victorian London had been the strangest of her life. This one, however, took the cake. Worst of it all, Wanda was not here to help out in stopping all of this from happening. Oh, Clara felt she was really going to need a drink after this was all over with. Or, at least, she hoped it would be all over with. Without the whole planet imploding, of course.

She glanced up slightly, seeing the chess set on the table in front of the Doctor as it had been placed there by his request. And in a corner of the room away from them, standing straight at attention with electronics attached to their heads, were Angie and Artie. Clara felt her heart twist in fear, feeling dreadful for allowing this to happen to the children. Then, standing beside the two children was poor Webley as he had been half converted into a Cyberman. There was no hope for him to come out of this in the end, but at least the Doctor had promised her that the children were just in a coma. And that they should be fine. Possibly fine. Okay, she should probably not really trust the Doctor's promise. He had a horrible streak of lying and never keeping his word.

God she really, really wished Wanda were here. The Time Lady would know what to do. Or at least help Clara keep calm for she was really starting to feel ready to scream at the moment. She was beginning to think she was developing a nasty case of anxiety at the rate their adventures constantly went to.

"Right, that's good," the Doctor said as Clara finished tightening the ropes around his waist. "I won't be able to move but hands free, good." The Doctor wiggled his fingers in the air as Clara stepped around to face him.

She stared warily at the metal networking piece that had been implanted into the side of his skull. It sent a shiver down her spine at the sight, making her fear spike up. But, as Wanda had taught her over the time they had been together, these fears needed to be pushed down until after everyone had been saved and things were normal again. Right . . . normal. Things were never really normal in their life. But at least they were stable . . . somewhat. Shaking her head slightly, Clara looked at the Doctor in question.

"You're playing chess with yourself?" she asked him, completely bewildered by this fact. The Doctor was brilliant in many ways, but could he really beat himself at chess?

"And winning," the Doctor replied with a confident voice. But then suddenly, his hand came up and ripped off the golden ticket that had been placed on the metal circuit of his head. The only thing that had been helping the Doctor keep control of his body by scrambling the codes of the Cyber-Planner's mind. Clara looked startled as the lights on the side of his head began to light blink and beeping could be heard.

"Actually, he has no better than twenty-five percent chance of winning at this stage in the game," came the low voice of the Doctor. No . . . not the Doctor. It was that Cyber-Planner. That . . . Mr. Clever from what the Doctor had briefly explained. The thing inside the Doctor that now shared part of the Time Lord's mind and was trying to take full control. Clara shifted nervously on her feet, not liking how the words were spoken from the Doctor. They sounded all wrong.

"Some very dodgy moves at the beginning," Mr. Clever continued to say as he stared darkly at the chess board in front of him. Once again, Clara did not like that dark expression on the Doctor's face as she knew it was wrong. Mr. Clever gave Clara a side glance, barely even looking at her as if she was a waste of his time. "Hello, flesh girl. Fantastic! I'm the Cyber-Planner."