Rose frowned as she stepped out of the TARDIS, the Protector and the Doctor following her out of the box "So what is it?" Rose asked, looking around the dark room they were in, carpet beneath her feet and what almost looked like rows of items held behind large glass cases "What's wrong?"

"We're not sure." The Protector replied and crossed her arms as she squinted her eyes to get a better look at the room. She turned in the direction of the Doctor and Rose, huffing slightly in mild annoyance. "I can't believe the first place I picked after my TARDIS was destroyed and we get detoured to this place." She huffed.

"Where did you even want to go?" Rose asked, having missed out on that conversation when she entered the console room.

"Doesn't matter now we're here." She sighed slightly. "I have a strong feeling we're going to be here a while." She shook her head, giving the room another look again.

Rose nodded along slowly before she frowned. "Where are we?"

"Earth. Utah, North America." The Doctor answered. "About half a mile underground."

"And when are we?"

"Two thousand and twelve." The Protector added, sniffing the air slightly. "I think it's a Tuesday."

"God, that's so close." Rose shook her head. "So I should be twenty-six."

The Doctor moved to one of the glass cases that was nearby and turned to the side of it, his hand ran down the side of it before he grinned and flicked a switch.

"Blimey." Rose gasped as the lights all came on and rows upon rows of glass cases, each one holding parts of aliens or alien tech inside. "It's a great big museum," Rose announced as she looked around the large cases.

"An alien museum." The Doctor added, noticing the familiar species and tech behind the cases. "Someone's got a hobby. They must have spent a fortune on this." He began to walk past them all. "Chunks of meteorite, moon dust." He nodded at one artefact. "That's the milometer from the Roswell spaceship."

"That's a bit of Slitheen!" Rose gasped as she walked up and pointed at it. The Protector raised a brow, following her, she tilted her head at it curiously. "That's a Slitheen's arm. It's been stuffed."

"Oh, look at you." The Doctor cooed practically in awe as he walked up to another case, a cyberman's head sat on a small metal pole inside it.

"What is it?" Rose questioned, looking at the metal head.

"An old friend of mine." The Doctor answered. The Protector snorted at his reply. "Well, enemy." He corrected, looking at the amused look on the Time Lady's face.

"A museum of extraterrestrial nightmares." She added and crossed her arms. "Charming."

"Is that where the signal's coming from?" Rose questioned, looking at the Protector before she nodded at the Cyberman's head.

"No, it's stone dead." The Time Lady shook her head as the Doctor stepped towards the glass. "Or metal dead if you don't mind my terrible pun."

The Doctor rolled his eyes as he continued to talk: "The signal's alive. Something's reaching out, calling for help." He lightly touched the glass and an alarm suddenly blared.

"You just had to touch it, didn't you?" The Protector groaned, throwing her head back and sighing in dramatic annoyance as armoured guards from all sides ran the second the alarm went off. The guards all pointed their guns at the three intruders.

"If someone's collecting aliens," Rose quietly whispered, "that makes you Exhibits A and B."

The Protector raised her arms in the air. "I'm definitely being A."

The Doctor shook his head as he raised his arms in the air in surrender too. "There is no way you're exhibit A."

Rose looked at both the Time Lords who were now glaring at each other as the guards walked towards them, guns still pointing at their heads.

×××

The Doctor, the Protector and Rose followed a woman dressed in a smart suit who they had learned to be called Goddard into an office room with multiple soldiers all equipt with guns following them. A bald man with a beard sat at a desk with a young man most likely the same age as Rose standing beside him. A small lump of metal with ridges and some holes sat on the desk.

"What does it do?" The older man asked with an American accent as he picked it up and turned it over, looking at all sides of it.

The younger man pointed at the metal as he spoke with a clear British accent. "Well, you see the tubes on the side? It must be to channel something. I think maybe fuel."

"You're holding it wrong." The Protector nodded at it as she crossed her arms.

"Shut it." Goddard snapped at the Time Lady.

"She's right." The Doctor added, eyes flicking over to the Time Lady who looked too smug for his liking, "For once," he added, smiling slightly with amusement as the Protector's face fell faintly before he nodded at the item, "that's wrong."

"Is it dangerous?" The bald man asked.

"No, it just looks silly." He reached for the item in the man's hand and warning shots fired around them.

"Careful." The Protector warned, eyeing the guards while talking to the Doctor. "I don't think that was wise."

The Doctor glared at the Protector but the man at the desk held up a hand and the guards lowered their weapons before he held the item to the Doctor.

"You just need to be..." The Doctor began before he lightly stroked the artefact and a lovely hum came from it. "Delicate."

"It's a musical instrument." The bald man looked up at the Time Lord.

"And it's a long way from home." The Doctor nodded.

"Here, let me." The man took it back and ran his fingers across the instrument. The Protector winced as a much harsher sound came out of it.

"I did say delicate." The Doctor told him. "It reacts to the smallest fingerprint. It needs precision." The man tried again and this time got a lovely sound similar to the one the Doctor made.

"Very good. Quite the expert." The Doctor nodded at him.

"As are you." The bald man replied, eyes looking up at him.

"Oh great." The Protector muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes at them.

The Doctor and the man glanced at the Time Lady before the bald man frowned. "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. And who are you?"

"Like you don't know." He laughed. "We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artefacts in the world, and you just stumbled in by mistake."

"That actually sums him up very well." The Protector cut in, tilting her head thoughtfully in the process.

"The question is, how did you get in?" He frowned. "Fifty-three floors down, with your little cat burglar accomplices. You're quite a collector yourself, they're rather pretty."

The Protector glared at the man.

"I'm going to smack you if you keep talking like we're artefacts." Rose snapped.

"She's English too!" The man laughed and patted the young Englishman on the arm. "Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy. Got you a girlfriend."

"This is Mister Henry Van Statten." The young man nodded.

"And who's he when he's at home?" Rose asked.

"Mister Van Statten owns the internet." He answered casually

Rose shook her head. "Don't be stupid. No one owns the internet."

Van Statten looked smugly. "And let's just keep the whole world thinking that way, right kids?"

"So you're just about an expert in everything except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up." The Doctor questioned.

Van Statten watched the Doctor for a moment before he replied: "And you claim greater knowledge?"

"I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am." The Doctor announced.

"Careful Doctor, you just said things he doesn't know he locks up. I am not getting locked up in a cage today because of you."

"And yet, I captured you." Van Statten hummed. "Right next to the Cage. What were you doing down there?"

"You tell me." The Doctor shrugged.

"The cage contains my one living specimen."

The Protector raised a curious brow and crossed her arms before she spoke. "And what's that?"

"Like you don't know."

"Show me." The Doctor ordered.

"You want to see it?"

The Protector let out a loud sigh as Rose groaned. "Blimey, you can smell the testosterone, can't you."

The Time Lady nodded in agreement. "It's sickening."

"Goddard, inform the Cage we're heading down. You, English." He nodded at the young man. "Look after the girls. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do." The Protector held in her laugh as Rose internally groaned. "And you, Doctor with no name, come and see my pet."

×××

The Protector quietly followed Adam and Rose into a large room, crates full of different alien artefacts, the desks covered in them too. "Sorry about the mess." Adam apologised. "Mister Van Statten sort of lets me do my own thing, so long as I deliver the goods." He picked up a piece of metal around an inch thick. "What do you think that is?" He handed it to Rose.

"Er, a lump of metal?" Rose Guessed.

"Yeah. Yeah, but I think, well, I'm almost certain, it's from the hull of a spacecraft."

The Protector shrugged as she picked up a device and took a quick glance at the metal which actually was most likely from a spaceship before somehow ending up on Earth. "The thing is, it's all true. Everything the United Nations tries to keep quiet, spacecraft, aliens, visitors to Earth. They really exist."

"That's amazing," Rose said trying to act like she didn't already know.

"I know it sounds incredible, but I honestly believe the whole universe is just teeming with life."

The Time Lady raised a brow and put the metal back down as Rose nervously laughed. "I'm gobsmacked, yeah. And you do what, sit here and catalogue it?"

"Best job in the world."

"Imagine if you could get out there," Rose told him. "Travel amongst the stars and see it for real." "Yeah, I'd give anything. I don't think it's ever going to happen. Not in our lifetimes."

The Protector frowned as an unsettling wave came over her. "Oh, you never know." Rose shrugged. "What about all those people who say they've been inside of spaceships and things and talked to aliens?"

"I think they're nutters."

The Time Lady scoffed rolling her eyes but continued to frown once again, something in the back of her mind wasn't right, there was something very, very wrong here.

"So, how'd you end up here?" Rose asked Adam.

"Van Statten has agents all over the world looking for geniuses to recruit." He shrugged.

"Oh, right." Rose nodded. "You're a genius."

"Sorry, but yeah. I can't help it." Adam replied and the Protector frowned not liking how massive his ego was. "I was born clever. When I was eight, I logged onto the US Defence System. Nearly caused World War Three."

"What, and that's funny, is it?"

"Well, you should've been there just to see them running about. Fantastic!"

"And now he sounds like big ears." The Protector groaned continuing to walk around the room.

Adam frowned looking between Rose and the Time Lady for a moment. "Are you and him?" He said to Rose.

The Protector snorted as Rose quickly shook her head. "No, we're just friends."

"Good."

"Why is it good?" She frowned.

"It just is."

The Protector raised her eyebrows at Rose, giving the blonde a questionable look as Rose rolled her eyes.

"So, wouldn't you rather be downstairs? I mean, you've got these bits of metal and stuff, but Mister Van Statten's got a living creature down there."

"What is the creature down there?" The Protector cut in as she leaned against a desk, closely watching Adam.

"He calls it Metaltron."

"Humans naming things." She shook her head. "What is with you lot and putting 'tron' after everything?"

"Humans?" Adam frowned. "Who even are you?"

"The Protector." She shrugged.

"Can we have a look at it?" Rose asked. "The 'Metaltron'?"

"It doesn't do much, the alien. It's weird. It's kind of useless. It's just like this great big pepper pot."

The Protector's head snapped over from where she was casually looking at a small artefact beside her. She looked at Adam. "What did you say?"

Rose watched as Adam typed onto his computer before the screen came to life, the Time Lady's eyes widened as she heard the high-pitched robotic-like screaming. She could remember that sound anywhere, the nightmares it caused her throughout the Time War, the fear it struck through her every time she heard it cry out before shooting someone she knew dead. "It's being tortured!" Rose cried. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Never mind the Doctor." The Protector ran over to them, she took hold of the laptop, bringing it up to her face as her eyes darkened and narrowed at the screen, this was what she felt at the back of her mind. The Doctor had to have seen it by now, it was his fear she sensed before he must have put his mental barriers up. "What the hell are you doing here?" She snapped. "And how are you alive?" She sneered.

"Protector?" Rose questioned at the anger in her voice. Anger she never heard from the Time Lady before.

"Take me down there now." The Time Lady ordered, looking at Adam. "Doctor?" She tried to telepathically call him. Why didn't he tell her there was a Dalek here? Why did he keep it a secret from her, she was bound to find out eventually.

×××

The Doctor stood in a lift with Van Statten, Goddard and two guards with guns. "The metal's just battle armour. The real Dalek creature's inside."

Van Statten looked at him curiously. "What does it look like?"

"A nightmare." He stated. "It's a mutation. The Dalek race was genetically engineered. Every single emotion was removed except hate."

"Genetically engineered." Van Statten practically cooed at the thought. "By whom?"

"By a genius, Van Statten. By a man who was king of his own little world. You'd like him."

"It's been on Earth for over fifty years." Goddard cut in as she spoke aloud. "Sold at a private auction, moving from one collection to another." She looked at the Doctor. "Why would it be a threat now?"

"Because I'm here." He answered. "How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?"

"The records say it came from the sky like a meteorite. It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands. Burnt in its crater for three days before anybody could get near it and all that time it was screaming. It must have gone insane."

"It must have fallen through time. The only survivor." He frowned. "How could the Protector not have known?" He tilted his head. "She kept a close eye on everything that came and went... it was her job."

"You talked about a war?" Goddard questioned while Van Statten frowned, who was this 'Protector'?

"The Time War." The Doctor answered. "The final battle between my people and the Dalek race."

"But you survived, too." Van Statten raised a brow. "And this 'Protector'?" He watched the Doctor curiously. "Who is she?"

The Doctor's eyes widened. "She has no idea it's here."

"Who is she?" He questioned again.

"That doesn't matter right now, what matters is you have a Dalek and the Protector has no idea and when she does, and she will know, all hell will break loose, not just on you but on me too because she's clever and she'll know that I knew and didn't tell her."

"The Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth." Van Statten looked at the Time Lord. "There's you and this Protector. The only two of your kind in existence."

The Doctor swallowed hard as the Protector telepathically called to him. "Doctor?"

"Protector?" He replied, eyes briefly looking to Van Statten for a moment, this wasn't going to end well for anyone. "He knows we're aliens."

"You couldn't keep your mouth shut could you?" She huffed. "Also a Dalek?!"

The Doctor winced but didn't reply as the lift doors opened and the two guards at the back of the lift stepped forward and grabbed the Doctor as Van Statten nodded at the Time Lord.

×××

They finally exited the lift they were in and the Protector and Rose followed Adam who led the way. The trio ruan down corridor after corridor. The humans continued running while the Protector skidded to a stop as the Doctor sound of the Doctor shouting and crying out echoed through the walls. Rose spun around as the Time Lady turned in the opposite direction. "Protector?"

"Go, wait for me." She instructed. "But no matter what, do not go near that thing."

Rose swallowed hard as the Time Lady ran down a different corridor. "Doctor!"

"Hold it right there." A guard warned Rose and Adam as they reached the end of a different corridor, a large metal door at the end of it.

"Level three access." Adam stepped forward. "Special clearance from Mister Van Statten."

"But she said-" Rose began.

"You want to see it don't you?" Adam asked. "And we won't go near it."

Silently she nodded, they stepped into the cage, the door shutting behind them.

"Don't get too close," Adam warned as Rose squinted in the dark but it was no use, it was pitch black.

"Hello." Rose called out as she cautiously walked forward. "Are you in pain? My name's Rose Tyler. I've got some friends, they can help. They're called the Doctor and the Protector. What's your name?"

"Yes." The creature croaked, Rose frowned as two lights shone as it spoke.

"What?"

"I am in pain. They torture me, but still they fear me." It paused for a moment. "Do you fear me?" It asked.

"No."

"I am dying."

"No, we can help."

"I welcome death. But I am glad that before I die I have met a human who was not afraid."

"Isn't there anything I can do?" Rose questioned.

"My race is dead, and I shall die alone."

Rose slowly stepped forward and without thinking reached a handout. Adam's eyes widened in horror. "Rose, no!"

Rose's eyes widened, she didn't realise just how close she was to the creature and her hand touched the cool metal. "Genetic material extrapolated." It screeched. "Initiate cellular reconstruction!"

Rose's eyes widened as the lights came on and she watched in horror as the creature somehow moved back, the metal chains easily snapping and breaking.

"What the hell have you done?" A man in a red outfit snapped as the door to the cage opened.

He walked towards the creature with a drill and the creature turned to him. "What are you going to do? Sucker me to death?"

Rose gasped and stepped back as the plunger-like weapon covered the man's nose and mouth and used some sort of vacuum to kill the man.

Adam pulled Rose out of the cage, while the muffled cries of the man stopped as the door shut. "It's killing him!" She shouted. "Do something!"

×××

The Protector came to a halt at the doorway after finally finding the room the Doctor was being held in, her eyes narrowed at Van Statten as she entered, ignoring the guns now being pointed at her. "Is this how you treat all your guests?" She raised a brow at him. "Let him go, now."

Van Statten raised a brow, and they all turned their heads as screaming came down the corridor and an alarm blared. "Do as she says if you want to live." The Doctor snapped angrily.

The bald man considered it for a moment before he nodded as the alarm continued to screech and an announcement went off 'Condition red, condition red." A button was pressed making the metal restraints unclick.

"I'll go get Rose," The Protector took off back down the corridor. "Get somewhere you can see us!" She screamed.

×××

"Doctor, it's all my fault," Rose said into the screen a moment after the Doctor ran into Van Statten's office with the man himself and Goddard.

"I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations."

"It won't be enough." The Protector ran in. Rose's eyes widened and she quickly hugged the Time Lady. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Rose nodded "I think so."

"A Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat."

A moment later the door slowly opened. The Protector grabbed Rose's hand and backed up towards the exit as soldiers stood in position. "Open fire!"

"Protector, Rose, get out of there!" The Doctor snapped.

"De Maggio, take the civilians and get them out alive." The guard ordered. "That is your job, got that?"

The female guard, De Maggio nodded. "You, with me." She nodded at the Protector, Rose and Adam.

The Time Lady shook her head. "I don't need protecting." She told her, pushing past the woman. "Let's go!" She ordered as she began to run.

"We're losing power," Goddard told them. "It's draining the base." The Doctor looked up as the lights flickered. "Oh, my God. It's draining entire power supplies for the whole of Utah."

"It's downloading." The Doctor explained to them.

Van Statten frowned. "Downloading what?"

Goddard then cut in. "Sir, the entire West Coast has gone down."

The Doctor shook his head. "It's not just energy. That Dalek just absorbed the entire internet. It knows everything."

"The cameras in the vault have gone down."

"We've only got emergency power. It's eaten everything else. You've got to kill it now!" The Doctor shouted.

"All guards to converge in the Metaltron cage, immediately," Goddard ordered into the comms.

×××

"Civilians!" De Maggio shouted from behind the Protector, Rose and Adam.  "Let them through!"

The Protector shook her head as she ran. "I knew there was something off about this place." She huffed. "Why does this always happen."

×××

"Tell them to stop shooting at it." Van Statten shouted.

Goddard shot her head at her boss in shock. "But it's killing them!"

"They're dispensable. That Dalek is unique. I don't want a scratch on its bodywork, do you hear me?" He said as the Doctor gritted his teeth. "Do you hear me?" Van Statten repeated.

The shooting stopped and the Doctor lowered his eyes. He knew the only reason it stopped was because the Dalek had killed everyone. Of course it had, it was a Dalek after all. "That's us, right below the surface," Goddard explained as she pulled up plans for the museum and pointed at the screen. "That's the cage, and that's the Dalek." She pointed again.

"This museum of yours." The Time Lord spoke up. "Have you got any alien weapons?"

"Lots of them, but the trouble is the Dalek's between us and them," Goddard explained.

"We've got to keep that thing alive." Van Statten cut in. "We could just seal the entire vault, trap it down there."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Leaving everyone trapped with it. Rose is down there, the Protector is down there and I know damn well if she somehow managed to get out alive she'd personally kill me for leaving Rose. I won't let that happen. Have you got that?" He snapped, eyes shooting daggers at the man as he face grew icy before he looked at Goddard again, calming down ever so slightly. "It's got to go through this area. What's that?"

"Weapons testing."

The Doctor nodded at Goddard. "Give guns to the technicians, the lawyers, anyone. Everyone. Only then have you got a chance of killing it.

×××

"Stairs!" Rose cheered as they made it to the stairwell. "That's more like it. It hasn't got legs. It's stuck!"

"I wouldn't say that too quickly." The Time Lady shook her head.

"It's coming!" De Maggio ordered. "Get up!"

"Great big alien death machine defeated by a flight of stairs." Adam sneered as he ran up the stairs to join Rose, the Protector a few more stairs up then them. He stopped to turn and watch as the Dalek walked through the archway and into the stairwell.

"Now listen to me." De Maggio spoke with a shaky voice as her shaky hands held her gun out, pointing it at the Dalek. "I demand that you return to your cage. If you want to negotiate then I can guarantee that Mister Van Statten will be willing to talk. I accept that we imprisoned you and maybe that was wrong, but people have died, and that stops right now. The killing stops." The Dalek didn't say anything in reply. "Have you got that?" She questioned. "I demand that you surrender. Is that clear?"

"If you're not going to listen to her then listen to me." The Protector spoke up from where she stood, the Dalek's eyestalk slowly turned to look at her. "Because if there's one thing I'm going to make perfectly clear it's this. You hurt myself, the Doctor or Rose Tyler then I will make sure all hell is thrown upon you. I'm the Protector and you know what that means so I suggest you carefully consider your next move."

There was a long pause before the Dalek said anything and the two small lights on its bronze dome 'head' lit up as it spoke. "Elevate!"

"Oh my God." Rose gasped, a hand flying to her mouth as the Dalek began to float.

"That didn't go how I planned." The Time Lady winced.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but you're going to have to leave me here."

"You can come with us." The Protector snapped. "I can get you all out."

"Someone's got to try to stop it." De Maggio replied. "Now get out!" She shouted, Rose began to scramble up the stairs, not looking back while Adam followed. "Thank you De Maggio." The Protector nodded before following, the gunshots echoing behind her moments before a terrifying scream rang.

─── ｡ﾟ☆･*.☽ .* ☆ﾟ. ───