Untold Knowledge (Doctor Who x Genius Fem! Oc) [Book 1]

Chapter 94: The Lazarus Experiment

Back in the reception room, they immediately began their search for the vain old man. "I can't see him." Martha said with intense concern.

"He can't be far. Keep looking." the Doctor encouraged, also feeling the pressure they were under.

Though, before they could get too far, Leo walked up to them. "Hey, you all right? I think Mum wants to talk to you." he informed, immediately noticing her distress.

Instead of keeping up an image, she ignored all he said. "Have you seen Lazarus anywhere?"

Furrowing his brow in confusion, he then slowly nodded. "Yeah, well, he was getting pretty cozy with Tish a couple of minutes ago." He couldn't quite figure out why his sister was acting so strange. He just hoped it wasn't anything serious.

Martha's expression morphed to one of horror as she looked to her friends. "With Tish?"

With impeccable timing, Francine came walking up to them. "Ah, Doctor, Echo." she began with a fake smile.

But neither traveler even spared her a glance. "Where did they go?" he demanded of the severely confused Leo.

"Upstairs, I think. Why?"

They wasted no time as they immediately sprinted pass him and his mother, spilling her drinking in the process. "I am speaking to you!"

Following after them, Martha only briefly turned around to tell her mother; "Not now, Mum!" then was out of sight a moment later.

As they ran higher and higher, Echo began coordinating her watch as quickly as she could. "His fluctuating DNA should give off a specific energy signature. Shouldn't take long to pick it up." she explained for Martha's understanding. Only a minute passed before she was able to lock onto the unique patterns. "They're on the roof!"

It took them only a second to get to the roof with the help of Echo's portal gun. Remaining silent allowed them to listen in on their conversation before they'd soon interrupt with their presence. "I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect. There's always something to surprise you. 'Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act--' "

" 'Falls the Shadow.' " the Doctor finished, his expression cool and resigned. (The Hollow Men: T.S. Eliot)

Turning to look at them, Lazarus felt only confidence due to his unnatural transformation. "So, the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot. I'm impressed."

Tish, on the other hand, felt annoyed confusion from their unexpected interrupters. "Martha, what are you doing here?" she questioned.

"Tish, get away from him." her sister tried to warn, desperate for her to listen.

But she became even more annoyed, not picking up the urgency they felt for her wellbeing. "What? Don't tell me what to do."

"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus. What with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all." the Doctor replied, keeping his eyes on the professor.

He then smirked arrogantly at them, only seeing the personal gain of supposed immortality. "You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four."

Echo sighed heavily at his immense lack of knowledge of the damage his actions would cause. "It doesn't and shouldn't work like that. It's not about the years in your life; it's about the life in your years. But taking others' lives for your own personal gain is absolutely deplorable and must never commence." As she spoke, she forced her intrusive thoughts of her own wrong doings aside. She knew her only and most important job was to stop Lazarus and help keep the rest of the people in the building alive. She knew exactly what mind set he was in, seeing as she had acted in the same way in the past. But that doesn't make it any less wrong.

"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be." Lazarus argued coolly.

Echo's glare deepened at his absurdity. "You have no idea how much of a curse it truly is. The only way to be immortal is not to know that you are. Forever is not a gift craved until it is won, then it expands like an ocean without land in sight. Things precious are finite, cherished as fleeting moments in that thing we call time. Seek not life eternal, but be eternally in the moment of life, fully conscious and holding creation sacred."

Martha then gestured for her to step away and come to her side. "Over here, Tish."

With a childish scoff, Tish approached her sister. "You have to spoil everything, don't you? Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault." she snapped angrily.

Behind her, Lazarus began to spasm and fall to the ground. "Tish, he's a monster!" she warned, wanting her to stop making everything all that much more difficult to deal with.

"I know the age thing's a bit freaky. But it worked for Catherine Zeta-Jones." she replied, still not noticing the "man" behind her. When she finally turned around, she found the man transforming right before her eyes. Lazarus was then a massive, bony, scorpion like creature with a human-ish face. "What the hell is that?" Tish muttered as both Martha and Echo pulled her further away from it. 

With not a second to lose, they all ran off the roof and used the sonic screwdriver to lock the door behind them. "Are you okay?" Martha asked her sister.

"I was going to snog him." she replied with disgust on her face, in her heart, and especially in her mind.

The lights began to flicker as the creature tried to forcefully break in. There was then a tannoy announcement. "Security one. Security one. Security one." Almost on cue, the tannoy went out completely and all doors to the lifts all closed according to protocol.

Martha looked around with fear trickling into her bloodstream and gave her massive doses of adrenaline. "What's happening?"

"Uh... An intrusion. It triggers a security lockdown. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts, seals the exits." Tish explained as she thought of her entire family being caught in the line of fire.

Once they had come back down to the reception room, they quickly tried to figure out how to get all the people around them to safety. "Tish, is there another way out of here?" the Doctor asked.

Thinking quickly, she then nodded. "There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now." she answered with fearful despair, feeling certain that they wouldn't be able to escape against such a grueling creature.

The Doctor immediately took out his screwdriver and tossed it to Martha. "Setting fifty-four. Hurry!" As she dashed away with Tish close behind, he then stood on the circular dais by the chamber with Echo standing beside him. "Listen to me!" he exclaimed to the room of unaware guests. "You people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!" he yelled, trying to make sure that everyone could hear him.

A snobbish blonde woman outwardly rolled her eyes at his absurdity. "Don't be ridiculous. The biggest danger here is choking on an olive."

"I think I can arrange that." Echo snarked with annoyance.

Just then, the mutant Lazarus appeared on the mezzanine. Seconds after did it jump down, smashing a table on the way. Panic ensued in a chaotic flurry of frightened people. The mutant's tail sent another table flying across the room, hitting Leo in the process. Meanwhile, Martha was finally able to open the exit doors. "Over here! This way! Everyone has to go now! Hurry!" she yelled, desperate to stop anyone from being killed by the mutated old man.

When Francine went to Leo's side, Lazarus zeroed in on them hungrily. "Lazarus!" the Doctor yelled. Once the creature had turned on them, Martha took her chance and rushed over to her mother and injured brother's side. She then got them to follow her to safety as both the Doctor and Echo stalled for them to escape while they could. "What's the point? You can't control it. The mutation's too strong. Killing those people won't help you."

Taking a step closer in challenge, Echo went off. "You are the epitome of ignorance coupled with delusions of grandeur. Why not come after someone who can actually fight back?" When it tried to turn on the innocents again, she stepped up her game. "You are a fool! A completely vain old man who thought he could defy nature. Funny thing is, nature's got a cruel sense of humor." Both the Doctor and his Echo then turned and hurried away with the mutant following close behind.