Librarian: Old Wounds

A Metal Man and PJ's

It's a cold November evening in Truro, with rain from a few hours ago dripping off of the street lamps and shop awnings, while the pavement begins to light up with the street lamp reflections glowing in the puddles.
A middle-aged couple, dressed for winter in thick coats and scarves, are strolling through the city streets watching the lights of high street shops switch off in sections, as if it is all done by one big control box, followed by bar and nightclub neon lights turning on to change the city's calm daytime atmosphere, as the night time crowd starts to pour in. From the energised university students to the drug dealers, Truro becomes a night time atmosphere that most don't remember the next morning, but to this couple walking down the main street, it is just some growing noise that can be ignored as they navigate the cold streets to their destination.

In a bar across from the old couple walking, a ginger haired woman in her early 20s, wearing a yellow cotton dress, white converse and a brown leather jacket, is sitting at a table listening to her date go on about being vegan.
"I get that people love meat, but it's damaging our planet," the date explains with a raspy feminine voice, while drinking her glass of sparkling water.
"Yes but what is the point of being vegan if you can't enjoy things like... this beer I am drinking, or a good bit of steak?" The woman asks and prepares herself for the answer by necking the beer she pointed out.
"Well eating vegetables and fungi is better for the planet. End of discussion." the date snaps at the woman and clicks at a barman to refill her water, when the jugs are only a few steps away from the table.
"I'm sorry Janet but I have to go to the toilet to powder my nose. I won't be long..." the woman quickly explains and gets up and rushes towards the bar where a man is ready for a favour to be asked, "Jude, mate, I need a way out... please."
"Lyra, you need to get better dates, like I am free on Tuesdays and Fridays, just say when." Jude suggests smirking, trying not to laugh that another failed date has passed through his bar.
"Jude you know I only date women, and last I checked you just date men? or are we playing with bisexual... again." Lyra jabs back at her best friend and is glancing around for a quick escape that doesn't include a window.
"Fuck you, take the back entrance through the kitchen, and I'll deliver the water to the vegan." and before Jude could turn to grab a glass of water, Lyra was gone and out the back door. "Classic Lyra, gone before saying bye," he mumbles under his breath.

As Lyra steps out into the rain she quickly wraps herself in her leather jacket and begins the walk home. Through the neon lit city centre, muffled music begins to echo off of the surrounding buildings and a thick fog begins to roll across the cold tarmac.
"This is probably the breaking ozone layer thing Janet was raging on about..." Lyra mumbles as she turns to go down a low lit alleyway, hoping to avoid the university student crowd rolling into the city. 

---

Making her way through the alleyway, two small beams of light seem to be floating in the distance at eye level, but the fog and lack of streetlights make it difficult to make out the whole thing.
"Who's there? I swear if it is some stupid fucking student..." Lyra says with enough vocal range so the thing at the other end could hear her as she steps gingerly closer, "Just so you know I carry pepper spray and an alarm, so let's not act like a twat!" 
"You are upgradeable!" the thing replies to Lyra in a cold, static, monotone voice and begins to heavily walk closer with the sounds of hydraulic parts moving...
"I am 23 thanks, I don't need a hip replacement if that is what you're offering?" Lyra questions as she begins to walk backwards, keeping a fair distance away from the visible metal being before her.
"YOU WILL BE UPGRADED!" It screams and begins to pace towards Lyra with its arms out wanting to grab her.
"Like fuck I will be upgraded!" She shouts back and begins to run away from the metal being chasing her onto the main high street.

As Lyra runs through the city, she is thinking what shops are open and will be quiet enough that no one would be harmed, until a faint heartwarming noise echoes in the distance like a rescue beacon.
"That sounded promising to me!" She shouts and turns down another low lit street, following the echoing noise that can only be described as unearthly. But still Lyra follows the sound to the entrance of a bookshop, "'Books and Curiosities', but no lights are on... however if the door is open, I am going in." she tells herself and opens the door for a thunderstorm to appear out of nowhere. 
A bell rings as she enters the shop, breathing in the smell of old books, wondering where the owner might be so she can get some help with the cold metal being that has chased her all the way to this shop; in the middle of the night. But before Lyra could utter a word, the metal being has arrived and broken the front door...
"YOU WILL BE DELETED!" It screams loud enough for it's vocal box to crack under pressure.
"Oh fuck, just you hold on a minute, let me remind you I am 23. I think I am better off alive than dead, right?" Lyra questions as she trips backwards up a small set of stares and begins shuffling, until her back hits, what feels like, a wall. "Well what an eventful evening, I thought I was going to die of boredom from a date with a vegan, but it seems I am going to be tasered to death by a fucking robot!"
"Oi! Brittle bones, do you still hate lasers?" a male voice comes from inside the wall Lyra is leaning against and a two doors swing backwards, meaning Lyra falling backwards, and a man stepping forwards with a device in his hand aimed at the metal being in the shop.
"I honestly don't think a screwdriver is going to stop a robot." Lyra mentions to the man standing in PJs and slippers.
"It's a laser lance, and watch me." He corrects her and fires a bright blue laser beam from the lance and the robot dematerialises before the laser could be in touching distance. "Shit." the man bluntly mumbles and disappears before Lyra could ask any questions.

After a few minutes of processing what she just saw, from a metal robot chasing her to a man appearing out of nowhere with a laser, Lyra gets up off of the floor and realises she was leaning against a dark green police box... similar to the one that has been darting about some of the forums she's been following. So without a second guess she opens the door of the police box and enters a low lit space; ignoring the 'DO NOT ENTER' sign.
"Hello?" She asks for her voice to echo deep into the darkness, "I have seen your box appear in forums, the man who arrives if the blue box doesn't. Is that who you are?" She shouts this time, hoping for the mysterious man to hear her and reply.
"Can't you read? The door says 'do not enter'." The man answers from a distance, probably hoping for Lyra to leave.
"I want answers. Who was that thing? Are you going to help? Why are you hiding? What-" Before Lyra could ask anymore questions, warm lights begin to turn on and a machine in the centre of the room begins to glow yellow, followed by sections of circular panels pulsing the same sunshine yellow.
As the mysterious man walks over to the machine he begins talking to Lyra, "you want answers? Well, I am the Librarian, I have lived for 4000 years and I am a Time Lord, from the planet Karn. I have lived peacefully on earth for 200 years and only helped when the Doctor hasn't bothered to show up, or the mess was too much to be civil. But madam, what chased you today was a being I have spent my lives running from... you went face to face with a Cyberman."
"So you are the Time Lord the universe forgot." Lyra spits out without even thinking and walks over to the machine where the Librarian was adjusting dials and watching a recording of the Cyberman disappearing before being killed.
"Who said that? I have worked very hard to hide from society to be recognised as a Time Lord." Librarian snaps back and carries on watching the same clip over and over to see how the Cyberman disappeared.
Lyra pulls out her phone and brings up a forum site to show Librarian the user, "it's some woman with the username 'Hello_Sweetie' used to talk about a hidden Time Lord a lot... her last post was about the singing towers of Darillium." Librarian's facial expression changes as he hears her talk about a woman going to Darillium.
"Her name was River Song, I covered for the doctor for about 50 earth years as he mourned the death of his wife. Also you can't just leave a planet like this unprotected, anything could happen; for instance, the Cybermen are back." He comments and sarcastically smiles at Lyra before rewatching the clip of the Cyberman disappearing into thin air, "Oh... this is clever technology, it uses a trans-spacial teleport; I haven't seen that since the Mondas Civil War."
"Care to explain a trans-spacial thingy? or am I just here for you to nerd out to?" Lyra questions the skinny man before her, watching his hands as he fidgets with dials and buttons.
"Fine, watch the screen," Librarian answers and pushes the screen round for Lyra to see the Cyberman disappear, "now watch the particles begin to pull the Cyberman apart. What is happening is that in this form of teleportation, the subjects particles are split to make the transport between locations quicker and somewhat safer... depending on the subject and how many there are."
"So basically its quick, but too many and it becomes a messed up game of twister... got it." Lyra answers, explaining to herself how it works while looking at the mechanical structure before her, "So what is this machine? I heard some rumours the blue one can travel in time and space."
"Well this is my TARDIS and it used to be able to do that, but when I crash landed here the TARDIS lost her soul... its a singularity and it just collapsed in on itself. so I can only travel the earth in mine." Librarian explains, whilst stroking the console as if it would feel the sorrow and love that he had for the machine.
"I am sorry you are stuck on this shit planet. But are you up for stopping the Cyberman? Because I don't see a blue box appearing any time soon." Lyra asks, hoping to encourage the Librarian to find what the Cybermen are up to and stop it before it becomes a galactic threat.
"Umm... let me find some clothes." Librarian responds and smiles at Lyra, to then walk down a large corridor towards a wardrobe room.