Jessie stepped out of the TARDIS when it materialized, and she looked around curiously. "Now where have we gone this time?"

"So . . . " the Doctor began, doing a three-sixty. "It's two hundred thousand, and it's a spaceship." He paused. "No, wait a minute . . . space station. And - " He pointed to a gate nearby. "Go and try that gate over there. Off you go!"

"Two hundred thousand?" Jessie asked for clarification.

He nodded. "Two hundred thousand."

"Right." She opened the TARDIS door and beckoned. "Adam? Out you come, now."

The boy did as beckoned, and his jaw dropped instantly. "Oh my God."

"You get used to it," Jessie assured him, doing a little dance on the spot, and the Doctor chuckled as he watched her.

"Where are we?" Adam asked.

"Good question," Jessie replied brightly, stopping and pretending like she was assessing the situation. "Judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year two hundred thousand - " She sent the Doctor a look when he snorted in amusement. "Shut up," she mouthed, and he held up his hands in surrender, letting her continue her "assessment." "If you listen - "

"Yeah?"

"Engines," she replied, smiling. "We're on some sort of space station." She made a look of concentration, ignoring the Doctor's widening smirk of amusement. "Yeah, definitely a space station. It's a bit warm in here, too . . . could do with turning the heat down." She looked over. "Y'know what, let's try that gate. C'mon!"

She took off, letting the Doctor and Adam follow her as she went through the gate, smiling as she looked over Earth from a huge viewing window. "And here we go! This is - " She made a flourishing motion to the Doctor. "I'll let the Doctor describe it."

"Thank you," he replied, mock bowing to her, and Jessie giggled a little as he put on his smart face. "The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. And there it is, planet Earth at its height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons, population ninety six billion." Jessie whistled in astonishment, hearing Adam freeze behind them. "The hub of a galactic domain stretching across a million planets, a million species, with mankind right in the middle!"

Jessie snorted when she heard Adam collapse in a faint behind them. The Doctor looked over his shoulder, then looked pointedly at her. "He's your boyfriend."

"Not in the name of every god and his mother," she retorted, and he chuckled.

***

"Come on, Adam, open your mind!" the Doctor encouraged later as they walked through the hallways. "You're going to like this. Fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners - "

"Out of the way!" someone shouted.

Jessie raised an eyebrow, looking around as people began bustling. She blinked a little more when she heard the food being called out. What in the Nine Realms is a kronkburger? "Oh, yes, I'm loving the fine cuisine," she commented sarcastically.

"My watch must be wrong," the Doctor muttered, looking at the said object in confusion, before his brow furrowed in more confusion. "No, it's fine . . . it's weird."

"That's what you get for showing off!" Jessie crowed, punching him in the arm. "Your history's not as good as you thought it was!"

"My history's perfect!"

She made a face. "Well, obviously not."

"They're all human," Adam commented. "What about the millions of planets, the millions of species? Where are they?"

Jessie regarded him, impressed. "Good question," the Doctor told him, obviously thinking the same. "Actually, that is a good question. Adam, me old mate, you must be starving."

"No, I'm just a bit time sick."

"No, you just need a bit of grub." He looked at the nearest vendor and called to the chef. "Oi, mate! How much is a kronkburger?"

"Two credits twenty, sweetheart," he replied. "Now join the queue!"

The Doctor turned back, muttering to himself. "Money . . . we need money. Let's use a cashpoint."

"Attention all staff," someone announced overhead as the Doctor went to one of the cashpoints. "All coverage of the Glasgow water riots being transferred five through nine."

"There you go!" the Doctor said brightly, handing a plastic card to Adam. "Pocket money. Don't spend it all on sweets."

"How does it work?" Adam asked curiously.

"Go and find out," the Doctor replied, making Jessie smirk. "Stop nagging me. The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris." Jessie began giggling, and seeming encouraged, the Doctor went on. "You can't just read the guide book. You've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers." He looked thoughtful for a second, then asked absently, "Or is that just me?" Jessie burst out laughing finally, and Adam looked at her like she was insane while the Doctor smiled, pleased with himself. "Stop asking questions. Go and do it. Off you go, then."

"You are going to get a smack when I get back," Jessie warned, smiling a little when he paled. She plucked the card from Adam's grasp and skipped off. "Let's go!"

***

The Doctor watched them go, then headed for two women who were standing nearby. "This is going to sound daft, but can you tell me where I am?"

One of them, dark skinned, turned to him. "Floor 139. Could they write it any bigger?"

The Doctor took little notice of the number above a huge door. "Floor 139 of what?"

The woman looked at him incredulously. "Must've been one hell of a party."

"You're on Satellite Five," the other woman, light skinned, supplied the answer.

"What's Satellite Five?" the Doctor asked.

"Come on," the dark skinned woman protested. "How could you get on board without knowing where you are?"

"Look at me, I'm stupid!" the Doctor said, holding out his arms.

"Hold on . . . wait a minute." The light skinned woman eyed him oddly. "Are you a test? Some sort of management test kind of thing?"

He took the idea. "You've got me," he lied. "Well done. You're too clever for me." He held up his psychic paper, hoping that it said what they wanted.

Apparently it did, because the light skinned woman turned to her friend. "We were warned about this in basic training. All workers have to be versed in company promotion."

"Right, fire away, ask your questions," the dark skinned woman encouraged, seeming a little flustered. "If it gets me to Floor 500, I'll do anything."

"Why?" the Doctor asked. "What happens on Floor 500?"

"The walls are made of gold," she replied. "And you should know, Mr. Management. So, this is what we do." She walked over to a wall monitor, showing off the various news channels. "Latest news, sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago. Two hundred dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day. Space lane seventy seven closed by sunspot activity." The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "And over on the Bad Wolf channel, the Face of Boe has just announced he's pregnant."

One thing surprised the Doctor, the fact that the Face of Boe was pregnant. But he didn't sit on that long, and realized what the woman had said. Bad Wolf. He'd heard the same thing on Platform One . . . it had been the Moxx of Balhoon, talking to the Face of Boe. "I get it," he finally said. "You broadcast the news."

"We are the news," she corrected. "We're the journalists. We write it, package it, and sell it. Six hundred channels, all coming out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere. Nothing happens in the whole human empire without going through us."

***

"All staff are reminded that the canteen area now operates a self cleaning table system. Thank you!"

Jessie walked back over to Adam, drinking Odin knew what. She plopped down across from him, offering the drink. "Try this. It's called Zaphic. It's nice. It's like a . . . er . . . Slush Puppy."

Adam eyed it. "What flavor?"

She took a drink through the straw. "Sort of . . . beef?"

Adam's eyes widened. "Oh my God. It's like everything's gone . . . home, family, everything."

She sighed, taking out her Galaxy. "This helps," she told him, sliding it over to him. "The Doctor gave it a bit of a top-up. Who's back home, your mom and dad?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Phone them up."

"But that's . . . one hundred and ninety eight thousand years ago."

"Honestly, try it." She tapped his arm. "Go on."

"Is there a code for planet Earth?"

She glared at him. "Just dial."

She watched him do it, then as he began talking. "It's er . . . hi. It's me. I've sort of gone traveling. I met these people, and we've gone traveling together. But, er . . . I'm fine, and I'll call you later. Love you. Bye." She looked at him pointedly as he hung up, looking at her phone in shock. "That is so - "

An alarm went off, and Jessie stood as everyone began leaving. "Oi! Mutt and Jeff!" Jessie snorted, turning to see the Doctor waving to them. "Over here!"

Jessie held out a hand to Adam. "Can I have that back?"

Adam made a face, but gave her phone back to her. Jessie walked over to the Doctor, shouting, "Who's Mutt and who's Jeff?" as she went.

***

Jessie tried to make sense of the room they were in, but just couldn't. She watched seven people, one of them the light skinned woman the Doctor had been talking to, sit at an octagon-shaped desk with a chair in the center, wires coming out of it.

"Now, everybody, behave," the other woman ordered, walking up. "We have a management inspection." She turned to the Doctor. "How do you want it? By the book?"

"Right from scratch," he replied, leaning on the railing. "Thanks."

"OK," she replied, turning around. "So, ladies, gentlemen, milti-sex, undecided or robot, my name is Cathica Santini Khadeni." She threw a look over her shoulder. "That's Cathica with a 'C,' in case you want to write to Floor 500 praising me, and please do." Jessie raised an eyebrow as she continued. "Now, feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and beyond bias. That's company policy."

"Actually, it's the law," the light skinned woman brought up.

"Yes, thank you, Suki," Cathica replied, settling in the chair. "OK, keep it calm. Don't show off for the guests. Here we go. And engage safety."

Suki and the other six held their hands over palm prints on the table. Jessie looked around, interested as lights came on around the room. The click of fingers brought her back to Cathica, and she yelped softly when what appeared to be doors opened up in her forehead. Adam blinked rapidly in confusion. The Doctor made no comment as the seven put their hands into the palm prints.

"And three . . . two," Cathica counted down. "And . . . spike."

A beam of light shot through the door to her head, and the Doctor began walking around. "Compressed information, streaming into her," he began saying, examining everything. "Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer."

"If it all goes through her, she must be a genius," Jessie murmured.

Know-it-all.

She blinked, looking around.

Smart aleck.

Bitch.

She tuned those voices out, recognizing what they were, focusing again on the Doctor. " . . . too much. Her head would blow up. The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets."

"And the people around the edge?" she asked, gesturing.

"They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her, and they transmit six hundred channels. Now that's what I call power."

Jessie turned to Adam, seeing how sick he really looked. "You all right?"

"I can see her brain," he stated shakily.

"Do you want to get out?"

"No," he replied hazily. "No. This technology . . . it's amazing."

"This technology's wrong," the Doctor retorted, looking around.

"Trouble?" Jessie guessed, smiling as she felt her adrenaline begin to kick in.

He smiled back at her. "Oh, yeah."

From the side of the chair, Suki pulled her hands away suddenly, and the information beam began to shut down. Cathica sat up as her portal closed. "Come off it, Suki, I wasn't even halfway!" she whined. "What was that for?"

"Sorry," Suki replie. "It must've been a glitch."

"Oh."

Jessie slowly drew her gun, clicking the safety off. The Doctor nodded at her encouragingly as she held it in ready position.

"Promotion."

She looked up as a wall lit up with the word. She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Come on," Cathica encouraged, almost jumping up and down like a kid. "This is it. Come on. Oh God, make it me. Come on, say my name, say my name, say my name . . . "

"Promotion for Suki Macrae Cantrell," the voice replied, and Jessie blinked, looking over at Suki. "Please proceed to Floor 500."

"I can't believe it," she whispered as she stood. "Floor 500."

"How the hell did you manage that?" Cathica demanded. "I'm above you!"

"I don't know!" Suki protested. "I just applied on the off chance and they've said yes."

"Problem?" Jessie asked curiously.

Cathica ignored her. "That's so not fair!" she complained. "I've been applying to Floor 500 for three years!"

"OK, what's Floor 500?" Jessie asked in exasperation.

The Doctor shrugged. "The walls are made of gold," he offered.

***

"Cathica, I'm going to miss you," Suki told her friend, hugging her. She then turned to the Doctor, hugging him as well. "Floor 500. Thank you!"

"I didn't do anything!" he replied.

"Well, you're my lucky charm."

"All right," he sighed, hugging her back. "I'll hug anyone."

He heard Jessie and Adam talking behind him before the Pretty Boy walked off, and Jessie came back up to him. "He's going back to the deck."

"All staff are reminded that the sixteen forty break session has been shortened by ten minutes. Thank you."

"Oh my God, I've got to go!" Suki exclaimed. "I can't keep them waiting. Say goodbye to Steve for me." She backed up into the lift. "Bye!"

The Doctor waved at her as it closed.

"Good riddance," Cathica muttered.

The doctor stared at her. "You're talking like you'll never see her again. She's only going upstairs."

"We won't. Once you go up to Floor 500, you never come back."

"Have you ever been up there?" Jessie asked as they walked back through to the newsroom.

"I can't," she replied. "You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to 500 except for the chosen few. Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance. Can't you give it a rest?"

"But you've never been to another floor?" the Doctor asked, folding his arms as he sat in the broadcast chair. "Not even one floor down?"

"Five hundred floors, you'd think you'd have been on more than one of them," Jessie pointed out.

"I went to Floor 16 when I first arrived. That's medical," Cathica replied. "That's when I got my head done, and then I came straight here. Satellite Five: you work, eat, and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all."

"Like a floating STARK Tower," Jessie mumbled absently, and the Doctor snorted in amusement. "Only with five hundred floors instead of however many he has."

Cathica narrowed her eyes. "You're not management. Are you?"

"Can we pass off as security next time?"

The Doctor grinned at Jessie. "At last. She's clever."

"Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me," Cathica instantly said, backing away. "I don't know anything."

"Don't you even ask?"

"Well, why would I?"

"You're a journalist," the Doctor deadpanned, and it was Jessie's turn to snort. "Why's all the crew human?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"There's no aliens onboard. Why?"

"I don't know," Cathica admitted, shrugging. "No real reason. They're not banned or anything."

"Then where are they?" Jessie asked.

"I suppose immigration's tightened up. It's had to, what with all the threats."

"Threats?" Jessie echoed.

"What threats?" the Doctor added.

Cathica shrugged. "I don't know all of them. Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled, so that kept the visitors away. Oh, and the government on Chavic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see. Just lots of little reasons, that's all."

"All adding up to one great big fact, and you didn't even notice," the Doctor pointed out.

"Doctor, I think if there were any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything."

"I can see better. This society's the wrong shape, even the technology."

"It's cutting edge!"

"It's backwards," he countered. "There's a great big door in your head. You should've chucked this out years ago."

"So, whaddya think's going on?" Jessie asked.

"It's not just this space station," the Doctor explained. "It's the whole attitude. It's the way people think. The great and bountiful Human Empire's stunted. Something's holding it back."

"And how would you know?" Cathica challenged.

"Trust me," he replied simply. "Humanity's been set back about ninety years."

"So when did Satellite Five begin broadcasting?" Jessie asked.

Cathica's eyes widened slightly. "Ninety one years ago."

Jessie clapped sarcastically. "Boom goes the dynamite."

***

"We are so going to get in trouble!" Cathica whined as the Doctor began using the sonic screwdriver on a pair of double doors. "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe! You're going to get told off!"

"Jessie, tell her to button it," he said.

"Shut up," Jessie told Cathica.

"But you can't just vandalize the place!" Cathica continued, and Jessie groaned in annoyance. "Someone's going to notice!"

The Doctor beamed as the doors opened. "Yep!"

He walked inside, then began having fun with the wiring. Cathica shook her head in annoyance and went to leave. "This has nothing to do with me. I'm going back to work."

The Doctor waved absently. "Go on, then. See you!"

Cathica groaned, coming back. "I can't just leave you, can I?"

"Tell you what." Jessie turned to her, taking Cathica aback. "You wanna be useful? Get these guys to turn the heating down. It's boiling. What's wrong with the place? Can't they do something about it?"

"I don't know," Cathica replied. "We keep asking. Something to do with the turbine."

"Something to do with the turbine," the Doctor mocked, snorting.

"Well, I don't know!" Cathica said yet again.

"Exactly. I give up on you, Cathica." He pointed his sonic at Jessie. "Now, Jessie. Look at a Jessie. Jessie is asking the right kind of question."

"Well, thank you!" she exclaimed in a horrible Northern accent.

"Oi!" The Doctor frowned at her as she burst out laughing, then continued with his thought process. "Why is it so hot?"

"One minute you're worried about the Empire, and next it's the central heating!" Cathica snorted.

"Well, never underestimate plumbing," the Doctor advised. "Plumbing's very important." After a bit more work, he pulled out a monitor, a schematic on it. "Here we go! Satellite Five, pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout."

"This is ridiculous," Cathica declared as she leaned forward to look. "You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange, and you're looking at pipes?"

"But there's something wrong," the Doctor pointed out.

"Why?" Jessie asked, looking as well. "What is it?"

"The ventilation system," Cathica replied, pointing. "Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out channeling massive amounts of heat down."

"All the way from the top," the Doctor agreed.

"From Floor 500," Jessie whispered.

"Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat."

Jessie nodded, standing up and clapping her hands. "So, I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm missing out on a really great party. And it's all upstairs. Anyone fancy a trip?"

"You can't!" Cathica protested. "You need a key."

"Keys are just codes," the Doctor told her, working with the sonic again. "And I've got the codes right here. Here we go . . . override two one five point nine."

Jessie grinned as the code popped up. Cathica's jaw dropped in amazement. "How come it's given you the code?"

"Someone up there likes me," the Doctor replied simply.

Jessie turned to Cathica as the lift opened. "Come on. Come with us."

"No way!"

The Doctor just waved as they stepped into the lift. "Bye!"

"Well, don't mention my name," Cathica told them. "When you get in trouble, just don't involve me."

Jessie snorted as she left. "Makes me wonder sometimes if we're just mad."

"I know I am!" the Doctor answered brightly, grinning at her. "So that's her gone. Adam's given up. Looks like it's just you and me."

"Yeah," Jessie agreed.

"Good."

"Yep," she said, grinning at him as they entwined their fingers together, the doors closing in on them.

***

Jessie looked around when they made it to Floor 500. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think this is the color of gold."

"The walls are not made of gold," he confirmed, looking at her. "You should go back downstairs."

"Tough luck," she replied, drawing her gun.

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, then shrugged, and they both went on. They emerged into what appeared to be a control room, and Jessie's jaw dropped when she saw Suki among the people working. "Suki!"

"I started without you," someone said, and Jessie turned her gun onto a white-haired, pale man. "This is fascinating! Satellite Five contains every bit of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you two . . . you don't exist! Not a trace. No birth, no job, not even the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?"

Jessie pushed him out of the way and ran over to Suki. "Can you hear me?" she asked desperately, waving her hand in front of Suki's face. "Suki?" She turned to the man angrily, raising her gun to his face. "What've you done to her?"

"I think she's dead," the Doctor told her softly.

"She's working!" Jessie protested.

"They've all got chips in their heads, and the chips keep going. Like puppets," the Doctor mused, looking the others over.

"Oh! You're full of information," the man told them gleefully. "But it's only fair we get some information back, because apparently, you're no one. It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter, because we're off," the Doctor replied, and Jessie straightened. "Nice to meet you. Come on."

A grip tightened on Jessie's arm, and she screamed in pain. The Doctor moved to get to her, but two other zombies grabbed him. "Tell me who you are," the man demanded.

"Since that information's keeping us alive, I'm hardly going to say, am I?" the Doctor retorted.

"Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise."

"And who's that?"

"It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all," the Editor - that's what Jessie decided to call him - went on. "It's merely a place where humans happen to live." There was a growl from above, and the Editor nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, sorry. It's a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client."

Jessie's eyes were drawn upwards, and she gagged at the sight of a giant lump with nasty teeth. "What in the name of Asgard is that?"

"You mean that thing's in charge of Satellite Five?" the Doctor asked.

"That thing, as you put it, is in charge of the human race," the Editor replied. "For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by its broadcast news, edited by my superior, your master, and humanity's guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe. I call him Max."

"Good God," was all Jessie had to say to that.

She tried to struggle as the zombies placed them in manacles side by side. "Create a climate of fear, and it's easy to keep the borders closed," the Editor continued. "It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilize an economy, invent an enemy, change a vote."

"So basically what you're saying is that everyone on Earth are like slaves," Jessie spat.

Bitch.

Obey!

She winced against the words being thrown in her head as the Editor looked at her appraisingly. "Well, now, there's an interesting point! Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?"

"Yes," the Doctor answered.

"Oh, I was hoping for a philosophical debate!" the Editor complained. "Is that all I'm going to get? Yes?"

"Yes," the Doctor deadpanned.

"You're not fun."

"Let me out of these manacles," the Doctor suggested angrily. "You'll find out how much fun I am."

"Oh, he's tough, isn't he?" the Editor asked. "But come on! Isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit."

"You can't hide something on this scale!" Jessie interrupted him. "Somebody had to have noticed!"

"From time to time, someone, yes," the Editor admitted. "But the computer chip system allows me to see inside their brains. I can see the smallest doubt and crush it. Then they just carry on, living the life, strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're so individual, when of course, they're not. They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing."

"What about you? You're not a Jagrafess. You're human!"

"Yeah, well, simply being human doesn't pay very well."

"You couldn't have done this all on your own," Jessie pointed out.

"No. I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to install himself."

"No wonder, with a creature that size," the Doctor commented. "What's his life span?"

"Three thousand years," the Editor replied casually, as if that was normal to him.

"That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat. That's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs. Jagrafess stays cool, it stays alive. Satellite Five is one great big life support system."

"But that's why you're so dangerous," the Editor pointed out. "Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown. Who are you?"

The manacles burned with electricity, and Jessie gritted her teeth, absorbing it all. The Aether burned through her, protecting her, but it made her weak enough to slump in exhaustion. The Doctor noticed through his own shocks and shouted at the Editor. "Leave her alone! I'm the Doctor, she's Jessie Nightshade. We're just wandering."

"Tell me who you are!" the Editor demanded.

"I just said!"

"Yes, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly - " He cut off, a thoughtful expression on his face, leaving Jessie confused. The Jagrafess growled, and the Editor smiled a little. "Time Lord."

Jessie's jaw dropped, and the Doctor looked just as confused. "What?"

"Oh, yes," the Editor chuckled. "The last of the Time Lords in his traveling machine. Oh, with his little mutant girl from long ago."

Mutant.

Twisted.

Different.

Freak.

Jessie whimpered against the voices in her mind, and the Doctor glared at the Editor. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Time travel," the Editor replied.

"Someone's been telling you lies."

"Young master Adam Mitchell?"

Jessie lifted her head as an image of Adam in the broadcasting chair back in the newsroom popped up, and her jaw dropped. "Oh my God, his head!"

"What the hell's he done?" the Doctor asked in shock. "What the hell's he gone and done? They're reading his mind! He's telling them everything!"

"And through him, I know everything about you," the Editor said smugly. "Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S. TARDIS."

"Well, you'll never get your hands on it," the Doctor spat. "I'll die first."

"Die all you like," the Editor replied, approaching Jessie. "I don't need you." He reached up to her neck, and she stiffened as he yanked the chain with her TARDIS key off of her neck, leaving a burn from where it had come off. "I've got the key."

"Human boys," the Doctor snorted.

"Today, we are the headlines," the Editor declared. "We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing."

"And no one's going to stop you because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions," the Doctor spat as Jessie rolled her head, trying to stop her neck from hurting. "Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold."

The Editor suddenly stiffened. "What's happening?" Jessie looked up wearily to see him looking over the zombies' shoulders. "Someone's disengaged the safety. Who's that?"

Jessie smiled as a familiar person was called up onscreen. "It's Cathica!"

"And she's thinking!" the Doctor added, grinning. "She's using what she knows!"

"Terminate her access!" the Editor ordered.

"Everything I told her about Satellite Five. The pipes, the filters, she's reversing it! Look at that!"

Jessie watched the icicles begin to melt, and she concentrated. Dark red and black energy appeared around her, spreading out across the room, spreading the heat. "Want a hand there, Cathica?"

"It's getting hot!" the Doctor cried gleefully.

"I said terminate her access!" the Editor shouted to Suki. "Burn out her mind!"

The consoles exploded, and Jessie absorbed the flames. With the help of the Aether, she focused her energy on the manacles binding her, and electric shocks and heat burst them apart. She began working on the Doctor's. "She's venting the heat up here. The Jagrafess needs to stay cool, and now it's sitting on top of a volcano."

Jessie dug through his jacket pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. "What do I do with this thing?"

"Flick the switch," he replied, and she did, getting him out of the manacles. "Oi, mate! Want to bank on a certainty?" he shouted to the Editor. "Massive heat in a massive body, massive bang." He grinned, reaching over and yanking the TARDIS key from the Editor's grasp. "See you in the headlines!"

They took off from the room, and Jessie made a run for the lift, raising her hand and blazing fire at icicles that tried to rain down on her. A few short moments later, the Doctor and Cathica came running towards her. The moment they were inside the lift, Jessie punched in the code for Floor 139. "Never again," she sighed, and the Doctor chuckled.

***

"We're just going to go," the Doctor told Cathica as they approached the bay where the TARDIS was. "Too many questions. You'll manage."

"You'll have to stay and explain it," Cathica replied. "No one's going to believe me."

"No one believed me when I said I traveled with a mad alien in a blue box that sounds like he's from the North," Jessie pointed out.

"They might start believing a lot of things now," the Doctor agreed. "The human race should accelerate. All back to normal."

"And what about your friend?" Cathica asked, looking over at Adam, who was against the TARDIS.

"He's not my friend," the Doctor replied darkly, heading over there.

"Don't kill him!" Jessie shouted, then turned to Cathica. "You saved our lives up there," she told her. "Start asking questions, got it?"

Cathica smiled and nodded. "Got it."

Jessie gave her a quick hug, then ran after the Doctor as Adam began protesting. "I'm all right now. Much better," he was saying. "Look, it all worked out for the best, didn't it? You know, it's not actually my fault, because you were in charge!"

The Doctor pushed Adam into the TARDIS, and Jessie ran in after them, closing the door. "Keep him quiet, will you?" the Doctor asked angrily.

Adam opened his mouth to protest, but Jessie wrapped one arm around his neck, her other hand over his mouth. "Shut up," she told him.

***

When the TARDIS materialized, the Doctor walked over, gently pulled Jessie off of Adam, then proceeded to throw the boy out of the TARDIS. "It's my house!" Adam breathed. "I'm home! Oh my God, I'm home! Blimey, I thought you were going to chuck me out of an airlock!"

"Wish he did," Jessie muttered.

"Is there something else you want to tell me?" the Doctor asked.

"No," Adam replied, even though he sounded hesitant. "What do you mean?"

The Doctor reached into Adam's coat pocket, and Jessie's eyes bugged out. "Is that my Galaxy?" she sputtered.

The Doctor tossed it to her, which she caught as he went over to answering machine. "The archive of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world." He aimed the screwdriver at the phone, and it exploded promptly. "That's it, then," he said, walking back to the TARDIS as Jessie fixed Adam with a death glare. "See you."

"How do you mean, 'see you?'" Adam demanded.

"As in goodbye," the Doctor replied.

"But what about me?" Adam whined, and Jessie rolled her eyes. "You can't just go. I've got my head! I've got a chip type two. My head opens."

"What?" the Doctor asked. "Like this?" He clicked his fingers, and the portal opened up.

"Don't!" Adam shouted, clicking his fingers as well, closing the portal.

"Don't do what?" the Doctor asked innocently, opening it again.

"Stop it!" Adam shouted, closing it again.

"All right now, Doctor, that's enough," Jessie finally said. "Stop it."

"Thank you," Adam sighed.

She smiled smugly at him before clicking her fingers as well, opening it.

"Oi!" he shouted at her.

"Sorry. Couldn't resist," she said sweetly.

Adam growled and snapped his fingers, closing the portal again. "You really are a bitch, aren't you?"

Jessie brought her hand back to slap him, but the Doctor caught her wrist tightly. "The whole of history could have changed because of you," he told Adam.

"I just wanted to help!"

"You were helping yourself."

"And I'm sorry!" Adam sputtered, even as Jessie stared at him in shock. "I've said I'm sorry, and I am, I really am, but you can't just leave me like this!"

Leave her.

Leave her like the pathetic wimp she is.

Bitch.

Worthless.

Useless.

"Yes, I can," the Doctor spat. "'Cause if you show that head to anyone, they'll dissect you in seconds. You'll have to live a very quiet life. Keep out of trouble. Be average. Unseen. Good luck."

They turned to go, but Adam shouted at him. "But I want to come with you!"

"I only take the best," the Doctor retorted. "I've got Jessie."

"And what makes her so special?" Adam spat.

Jessie froze where she stood, staring at him in disbelief. "I - "

"Inside," the Doctor told her. "Go."

She backed up inside, and waited by the console, taking deep breaths as the voices began their steady chant.

Worthless.

Dirty.

Mutant.

Freak.

Different.

***

"What makes her special?" the Doctor asked Adam lowly as he approached, folding his arms. "What makes Jessie Nightshade so special?"

"She's a stuck up estate girl!"

"She grew up different," the Doctor snarled, and Adam backed away hurriedly. "She may be a mutant, and she may not have had the best life, but she cares about others. She cared enough to protect others from threats. She's one of SHIELD's best. And unlike someone in the room, she's not selfish."

Adam stared at him for a few seconds, and the Doctor fixed him with the glare of the Oncoming Storm. "Who's that?" a woman's voice called from outside.

"It's me, mum!" Adam called back, and the Doctor smirked slightly at his panicked tone. Serves him right. "Don't come in. Wait there a minute."

"Oh, my Lord. You never told me you were coming home!" his mother called back. "Hold on, I'll just take my coat off. You should've told me you were coming home! I would've got your favorite tea in!"

"Doctor, take me with you!" Adam pleaded one last time. He looked over his shoulder. "Jessie, please!"

The Doctor looked over his shoulder to see Jessie standing in the doorway of the TARDIS, her face expressionless. He looked back to Adam. "I've got the best," he told him simply. "And that is not you."

He guided her back into the TARDIS, and set the engines running. The TARDIS dematerialized and went back into the vortex.

And the Doctor breathed a sigh of relief as they left Pretty Boy in the dust.

***

So . . . Satellite Five is done with. And something's up with Jessie. Voices in her head telling her how she's not good enough. That's why I had Adam come, so at the very end, he could throw those at her and make the voices come back.

Next up is going to be the interlude, then Father's Day. That one I almost cried writing. :)