Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 44 - Victory of the Daleks, Part 2

Lyssa and Amy hastened after the Doctor as he stalked into Bracewell's lab, mood grim and determined. The scientist glanced up as they entered, a rolled up blueprint in hand, and nodded a polite greeting. The other technicians in the room didn't so much as shift, thoroughly focused on their work. 

"All right, Prof!" the Doctor announced in an overly bright tone, leaning against a table and flipping through a nearby stack of files with a casual air. "The PM's been filling me in. Amazing things, these Ironsides of yours. Amazing. You must be very proud of them."

"Just doing my bit," Bracewell said modestly, shifting a few of his papers around and adding a new one to the stack.

Amy picked up a massive wrench from a nearby desk and examined it, turning it back and forth in her hands before setting it back down. "Not bad for a Paisley boy," she said, impressed. 

"Yes, I thought I detected a familiar cadence, my dear," Bracewell smiled at her before turning to Lyssa. "And yours as well. Not many Americans visit in such turbulent times, particularly given that your government has professed neutrality thus far, although we have many volunteers among our forces." 

"Give it time," Lyssa said soberly, images of the remnants of Pearl Harbor flashing through her mind, just a few months away in Bracewell's time. "And just know that we do, by and large, support you in this fight, even if our government hasn't openly joined it yet." 

"It is always good to hear we are not alone," the professor gave her a distracted smile as he scribbled a hasty note. "Never underestimate the power a helping hand can give, no matter how small." 

She tilted her head to the side. "That sounds like something the Doctor would say," she remarked curiously, watching said Time Lord flip through a file marked Top Secret that he almost certainly was not supposed to be reading, friend of Churchill or not.  

"I suppose you would know better than I," the professor said, glancing up from his work. "If you don't mind my curiosity, how did the two of you meet? The Prime Minister has alluded to some curiosity himself regarding the subject."

"That's a great question!" she said brightly. "One that I... don't actually know the answer to," she smiled sheepishly. "Time travel; it's complicated. This is my first time meeting the Prime Minister, and technically I still have a first meeting to go with the Doctor." 

"How did you do it," the Doctor cut in, staring hard at Bracewell. "How did you come up with the idea?" 

"How does the muse of invention come to anyone?" the inventor deflected poetically. 

The Doctor narrowed his eyes, tossing the file carelessly onto the desk behind him. "But you get a lot of these clever notions, do you?"

Bracewell shrugged. "Well, ideas just seem to teem from my head! Wonderful things! Like... let me show you." He got up and pulled a handful of blueprints from a nearby stack, spreading them out to reveal a variety of designs. "Some musings on the potential of hypersonic flight. Gravity bubbles that could sustain life outside of the terrestrial atmosphere! Came to me in the bath," he chuckled. 

The Doctor frowned, carefully going through the stack, although Amy appeared much less suspicious. "And are these your ideas, or theirs?"

The professor shook his head vehemently. "No, no, no, no. These robots are entirely under my control, Doctor. They are..." He broke off as a Dalek brought him tea on a tray - a disconcerting sight, akin to a rabid wolf wearing an apron. "Thank you." He took a small sip and set it on the table as it rolled away. "They are the perfect servant, and the perfect warrior, as has been demonstrated today."