Jessie poked her head out of the TARDIS and grinned when she recognized the setting. "Ha ha!" she cheered, dancing out and spinning. "I can smell the saltwater! Home sweet home!"

"Where are we?" Martha asked as she came out as well.

"Ah, smell that Atlantic breeze!" the Doctor sighed, coming out and sniffing. "Nice and cold. Lovely." He looked over the top of the TARDIS and grinned. "Martha, have you met my friend?"

Jessie laughed when she saw the Statue of Liberty towering above them. "We’re in Manhattan!" she laughed. "Oh, this is great!"

"Is that?" Martha gasped. "Oh my God, that’s the Statue of Liberty!"

"Gateway to the New World," the Doctor told her. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

"That’s so brilliant," Martha said with a grin, looking around. "I’ve always wanted to go to New York! I mean the real New York. Not the new new new new new one."

"Nah," Jessie said with a grin. "Manhattan’s great! STARK Tower, all the shopping . . . " She swallowed. "STARK Tower."

"You know Tony Stark?" Martha squealed.

Jessie cleared her throat. "Er . . . he wouldn’t recognize me now. I’ve, ah . . . changed a lot since I last saw him." She shook herself and straightened up. "But yeah, the whole new new new new thing. So good they named it twice."

"Mind you, it was New Amsterdam originally," the Doctor brought up. "Harder to say twice. No wonder it didn’t catch on."

Jessie giggled. "New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam."

"I wonder what year it is," Martha wondered, "because look." Jessie put on her sunglasses, tilting her head up to see the structure Martha was pointing to. "The Empire State Building’s not even finished yet."

"Work in progress," the Doctor said. "Still got a couple floors to go." Jessie found a newspaper on a bench nearby, and she picked it up, grinning at what was on the top. She went back over to Martha and nudged her, pointing at the date. Both girls grinned. "And if I know my history, that makes the date somewhere around – "

"November 1st, 1930," Jessie and Martha said at the same time.

"You two are getting good at this," the Doctor commented.

Jessie burst out laughing, offering Martha a high-five, which the girl accepted. "And it’s eighty years ago," Martha said, showing the Doctor the newspaper, and he furrowed his eyebrows and mock glared at the two of them. Jessie just held up her hands innocently. "It’s funny, because you see all those old newsreels all in black and white like it’s so far away, but here we are. It’s real. It’s now." Jessie took back the newspaper and looked it over, her eyebrows raising as Martha grinned at the Doctor. "Come on, then, you two. Where do you want to go first?"

"Well," Jessie said slowly, "my old fed instincts are telling me that this is going to be a longer detour than we thought."

The Doctor poked his head over her shoulder, and Martha looked at the article she was looking at. "‘Hooverville Mystery Deepens,’" she read before shaking her head. "What’s Hooverville?"

Jessie pointed off. "That way."

***

"Herbert Hoover," the Doctor explained as they walked through Central Park. "31st President of the USA. Came to power a year ago. Up till then, New York was a boom town. The Roaring Twenties, and then –"

"The Wall Street Crash, yeah?" Martha asked, and Jessie nodded. "When was that? 1929?"

"Yep," Jessie agreed. "The whole economy was wiped out overnight. Thousands of people were unemployed. Suddenly – whoop!" She made a motion with her hands that made both Martha and the Doctor stare at her. "Huddled masses were doubled in number with nowhere to go. So, they all ended up here in Central Park."

"They actually live in the park?" Martha asked in surprise. "In the middle of the city?"

Jessie nodded. "Yeah. It’s a problem in modern day New York, too. Ordinary people lost their jobs. They couldn’t pay the rent, and then they lost everything." She held out her hands as they entered Hooverville. "There are places like this all over America, even in modern day. No one’s helping them. You only come to Hooverville when there’s nowhere else to go."

There was the sound of a fight nearby, and Jessie leaned back a little to see what was going on. "Like them," she said sadly before running over in that direction.

"Bad Wolf!" Martha called.

Jessie stopped on the edge of the gathering crowd and sighed to see a black man and a white man arguing over a piece of bread. Another black man was in the middle of them. She arrived just in time to hear what he was saying. " – fought in the Great War. A lot of us did. And the only reason we got through was because we stuck together. No matter how bad things get, we still act like human beings. It’s all we got."

She smiled at him as the crowd broke up. "Amen," she told him. He looked up at her sharply. She shrugged, walking over. "It takes guts to do that." She nodded. "You’ve got them. And I respect that. Really." She nodded at the two men who left. "They said your name was Solomon, right?"

He nodded at her. "What’s your name, miss?"

She pointed at herself. "Me? I’m the Bad Wolf." She rolled her eyes when he blinked in confusion. "It’s my name. Yes, I know, it’s after ‘Little Red Riding Hood.’"

He chuckled, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. "I suppose that makes you the boss around here," the Doctor commented.

Solomon nodded. "And who might you be?"

"He’s the Doctor," Martha said. "I’m Martha."

"A doctor," Solomon repeated. "Huh." He shook his head. "Well, we got stockbrokers, we got a lawyer, but you’re the first doctor and the first fairytale character. Neighborhood gets classier by the day."

"Fairytale?" Jessie squeaked.

"How many people live here?" Martha asked.

"At any one time, hundreds," Solomon replied as they walked through the camp. "No place else to go. But I will say this about Hooverville: we are a truly equal society. Black. White. All the same. All starving. So you’re welcome, all three of you." He turned to them. "But tell me. Doctor, you’re a man of learning, right?" The Doctor nodded. "Explain this to me." Solomon jerked his thumb at the Empire State Building being built over the top of them. "That there’s going to be the tallest building in the world. How come they do that when we got people starving in the heart of Manhattan?"

Jessie gave a sad smile. "Maybe they’re just too stubborn to face what’s going on."

Solomon tilted his head. "You’re definitely a different one, Ms. Wolf."

"Oh, don’t call me that," Jessie whined. "Just Bad Wolf. That just makes me sound too . . . " She shuddered. "Official."

"Fed," the Doctor snorted.

Jessie threw him a look. "Thief," she shot back.

He chuckled, then turned after Solomon. "So, men are going missing. Is this true?"

Solomon nodded as he ducked back into his tent. "It’s true, all right."

"But what does missing mean?" the Doctor asked. "Men must come and go here all the time. It’s not like anyone’s keeping a register."

Solomon gestured for them to come in. "Come on in. This is different."

"Different in what way?" Jessie asked, her federal agent instincts kicking in to find out what was going on as she sat the closest to Solomon, and she noted the way the Doctor kept eyeing the distance both between her and Solomon, but between the two of them as well, as if trying to figure out how close he would have to be to yank her out of harm’s way.

"Someone takes them at night," Solomon explained. "We hear something. Someone calls out for help. Buy the time we get there, they’re gone like they vanished into thin air."

"And you’re sure someone’s taking them?" the Doctor asked.

Jessie shook her head. "Doctor, these people have next to nothing," she reminded him. "They’re holding on to what they’ve got. I’m guessing people don’t just leave stuff behind."

"So have you been to the police?" Martha asked.

"Yeah, we tried that," Solomon snorted. ‘Another deadbeat goes missing. Big deal."

"Solomon!" The shout came from outside the tent. Jessie tried to look around the Doctor when a young man about Martha’s age stuck his head inside the tent. "Solomon, Mr. Diagoras is here," he panted.

***

"I need men," the man, Diagoras, was saying as the Doctor, Jessie, Martha, Solomon, and the young man, called Frank, joined the crowd. "Volunteers. I’ve got a little work for you, and you sure look like you can use the money."

"Yeah?" Frank called. "What is the money?"

"A dollar a day," Diagoras answered.

"What’s the work?" Solomon brought up.

"A little trip down the sewers. Got a tunnel collapsed. Needs clearing and fixing. Any takers?"

"A dollar a day?" Solomon snorted. "That’s slave wage. And men don’t always come back up, do they?"

"Accidents happen," Diagoras dismissed.

That got Jessie’s attention. "What do you mean?" she called out. "What sort of accidents?"

"You don’t need the work?" Diagoras sneered. "That’s fine. Anybody else?"

That made it for her. She put her hand up in the air. Diagoras rolled her eyes. "Enough with the questions, blondie!"

"Oh, no," she said with a smirk. "I’m volunteering. I’m going."

The Doctor raised his hand, too. "So am I."

Martha glared at Jessie. "I’ll kill you for this," she whispered as she put up her hand as well.

Diagoras nodded and looked around. "Anybody else?"

And Solomon and Frank followed suit.

***

"What made you volunteer if you don’t mind me asking, miss?" Solomon asked as they headed for the sewers.

Jessie looked behind her at Martha and Frank, not noticing the Doctor was paying more attention to her. "I know what it’s like to be living on the streets," she said lowly as they followed Diagoras. "Thrown away like you don’t belong. It was . . . eye opening." She shook her head. "Just because you’re different in one teeny tiny way, you’re gone." She smiled. "The Doctor changed that."

"Are you and him – ?"

Jessie grinned. "Nah." Her smile faded as they made it to the ladders inside. "There was someone else."

Solomon descended after Diagoras, but he looked up as her as she followed suit. "What was her name?"

Jessie swallowed. "Jessie," she said, dropping down onto the floor and turning on her flashlight. "Her name was Jessie."

"Turn left," Diagoras said as the Doctor, Martha, and Frank joined them. "Go about half a mile. Follow tunnel two seven three. Fall’s right ahead of you. You can’t miss it."

"And when do we get our dollar?" Frank quizzed.

"When you come back up."

"And if we don’t come back up?" Jessie asked.

Diagoras sneered at her. "Then I got no one to pay."

"Don’t worry," Solomon assured him. "We’ll be back."

"Let’s hope so," Martha whispered.

Jessie stared at Diagoras, not liking the look of him when the Doctor took her arm. "Come on," he whispered.

She turned and followed him, reaching with her other hand down through her pocket, searching for her gun. "We just got to stick together," Frank commented. "It’s easy to get lost. It’s like a huge rabbit warren. You could hide an army down here."

"I don’t like him," she muttered. "Diagoras. Why’d he send us down here?"

"What did you mean when you said you were living on the streets?"

Jessie looked up at him, startled before she flushed. "Oh, you heard all of that?"

"What did you mean?"

Jessie sighed as they moved past Frank and Martha to catch up to Solomon. "Mutants were never accepted anywhere," she said lowly. "Saleen and I moved from place to place. Sometimes we got lucky and people took us in. But most of the time we were on our own."

"That’s why you volunteered so quickly," the Doctor guessed.

She nodded. "Yeah. I want to help."

"We will."

Jessie took a deep breath. "Let’s hope so."

***

"So what about you, Frank?" Martha asked as the Doctor and the Bad Wolf talked in hushed tones. "You’re not from around these parts, are you?"

"Oh, you could talk," he commented before shaking his head. "No. I’m Tennessee born and bred."

"So how come you’re here?"

"Oh, my daddy died. Mama couldn’t afford to feed us all. So I’m the oldest. Up to me to feed myself. So I put on my coat, hitched up here on the railroads. There’s a whole lot of runaways in the camp younger than me from all over. Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas. Solomon keeps a lookout for us." He looked at her. "So what about you? You’re a long way from home."

Martha nodded. "Yeah. I’m just a hitcher, too."

Frank smiled at her. "You stick with me. You’ll be all right."

***

"So this Diagoras bloke," the Doctor said as they caught up to Solomon. "Who is he, then?"

"A couple of months ago he was just another foreman," Solomon replied. "Now it seems like he’s running most of Manhattan."

"How did he manage that?" Jessie asked.

"These are strange times." Jessie swung her flashlight around, half listening to Solomon as he spoke. "A man can go from being King of the Hill to the lowest of the low overnight. It’s just for some folks, it works the other way around."

"Whoa!" the Doctor exclaimed, holding out an arm to stop Jessie.

Jessie blinked when she saw the jellyfish-like creature lying in the path, glowing green. "Oh, great," she commented. "This thing’s a long way from home."

"Is it radioactive or something?" Martha asked as the two Time Lords crouched down. "It’s gone off, whatever it is." The Doctor flipped the creature up, and Martha winced. "And you’ve got to pick it up."

"Be glad he’s not licking it," Jessie laughed.

The Doctor nodded at her. "Shine your torch through it, will you?"

"Flashlight," Jessie reminded him, but did as he said.

He tilted his head. "Composite organic matter." He looked up. "Martha? Medical opinion?"

She snorted. "It’s not human, I know that."

"No, it’s not," the Doctor agreed.

Jessie looked up and around. "And how about this." They all looked at her, and she raised an eyebrow. "We’re already at least half a mile in, and I don’t see any sign of a collapse. So why the hell are we down here?"

"Where are we now?" Martha asked as they stood up. "What’s above us?"

"You’re the New York expert," the Doctor told Jessie.

"Well," Jessie said slowly, looking up and around. "Currently we’re right underneath Manhattan."

Solomon led them further into the tunnels before stopping and shaking his head. "We’re way beyond half a mile," he said. "There’s no collapse. Nothing."

"Diagoras was lying," Jessie growled before kicking a wall angrily. "I should’ve known!"

"So why’d he want people to come down here?" Frank asked.

The Doctor looked at Jessie and nodded, and Jessie cut out her flashlight and pulled out her gun from her pocket. "Solomon, I think it’s time you took Frank and Martha back," the Doctor said as Jessie released the safety switch. Solomon and Frank looked at her like she was insane. "The two of us will be much quicker on our own."

Pig squeals echoed through the cave, and Jessie switched her flashlight back on and supported her gun hand over the top of it. "What the hell was that?" Solomon demanded.

Frank began walking further through the sewers. "Hello?" he called.

"Shh," Jessie warned him.

"Frank," Solomon began.

"What if it’s one of the folk gone missing?" Frank asked. "You’d be scared and half mad down here on your own."

"Do you think they’re still alive?" the Doctor asked.

"Heck, we ain’t seen no bodies down here," Frank pointed out. "Maybe they just got lost."

Jessie looked around, hearing more squeals. "I don’t think people make sounds like these," she said.

"Where’s it coming from?" Frank asked, all of them pointing flashlights around. "Sounds like there’s more than one of them."

"This way," the Doctor said, turning in one direction.

"No." Jessie turned at Solomon’s words. "That way."

Jessie frowned when she saw the huddled up figure in the corner of Solomon’s light. "Doctor?" she called.

"Who are you?" Solomon asked.

Frank began approaching, Jessie right behind him. "Are you lost?" Frank asked. "Can you understand me? I’ve been thinking about folk lost down – "

The Doctor put a hand on the man’s shoulder. "It’s all right, Frank," he murmured. "Just stay back. Let us have a look." Frank nodded and backed away. Jessie let the Doctor go further, but stayed close enough in grabbing reach. "He’s got a point, though, my mate Frank," the Doctor told the figure. "I’d hate to be stuck down here on my own. We know the way out. Daylight. If you come with us – "

Jessie blinked. "Is he a pig?" she asked softly.

The Doctor swallowed. "Oh, but what are you?" he asked just as softly.

"Is that, er . . . some sort of carnival mask?" Solomon asked.

"No, it’s real," Jessie stuttered.

"I’m sorry," the Doctor told the pig man. "Now, listen to me. I promise I can help. Who did this to you?"

"Doctor?" Martha asked from behind them. "Bad Wolf? I think you’d better get back here."

Jessie swung her flashlight up to see more pig men beginning to arrive. "Come on," she told the Doctor, nudging him with her foot.

He stood up. "Ah, good point," he said, starting backwards, Jessie keeping pace.

"They’re following you two," Martha said slowly.

"Yeah. Hold this." Jessie tossed her flashlight over her shoulder, and Martha fumbled, but caught it.

"Well, then," the Doctor said, seeming jitterish. "Martha. Frank. Solomon. Bad Wolf."

"What?" Martha asked.

Jessie grinned, then looked at the Doctor. He nodded, and they both shouted at the same time. "RUN!"

The four of them turned tail, and Jessie got off two quick shots, slamming into the first two pig men before bolting after them.

"This way!" the Doctor shouted. "It’s a ladder! Come on!"

Jessie followed them when Frank grabbed an iron T bar. "You go on up," he told Jessie.

She blinked. "What?"

"Up! Go!"

Jessie swallowed. "Jessie!" the Doctor called in her mind.

With that, she ran for the ladder and began climbing up behind Solomon. The Doctor reached down and pulled her up, and as Frank began to climb, Solomon reached down to pull him. "C’mon, Frank! C’mon!"

Jessie turned around, pulling out her gun, then shot at the pigs trying to make their way up the ladder. Solomon grabbed onto Frank’s arms and pulled him up safely, and together, Jessie and the Doctor slammed the lid shut. "Close one," Jessie gasped.

"Those creatures were from Hell," Solomon gasped. "Creatures from Hell itself!"

There was a noise behind them, then the click of a safety being pulled. "All right, then." Jessie froze at the woman’s voice. "Put them up! Hands in the air, and no funny business." Jessie slowly raised both of her hands and turned with the Doctor to see a blond woman in an angel’s costume pointing a revolver at them. "Now, tell me, you shmucks. What have you done with Laszlo?"

Frank blinked. "Who’s Laszlo?" he asked.

***

"Laszlo’s my boyfriend," the woman explained as she reclined in her chair in her dressing room, the revolver still in her hand. "Or was my boyfriend until he disappeared two weeks ago. No letter. No goodbye. No nothing. And I’m not stupid. I know some guys are just pigs, but not my Laszlo. I mean, what kind of guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?"

"Vamooses?" Jessie asked Martha quietly, and the two of them snickered a little under their breath.

"Yeah," the Doctor said slowly, his hands still slightly raised. "It might . . . might just help if you put that down."

She blinked. "Huh?" She looked back at the revolver. "Oh, sure." She tossed it off to the side, and Jessie winced at the clang it made. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. It’s not real! It’s just a prop. It was either that or a spear."

"I’d prefer the spear," Frank muttered.

"Whaddya think happened to Laszlo?" Jesie asked.

"I wish I knew," the woman replied. "One minute he’s there, the next – zip! Vanished."

"Listen, ah . . . what’s your name?" the Doctor asked.

"Tallulah," she replied brightly. "Three Ls and an H."

"Right," the Doctor said. "We can try to find Laszlo, but he’s not the only one. There are people disappearing every night."

"And there are creatures," Solomon muttered. "Such creatures."

Tallulah blinked. "What do you mean, ‘creatures?’" she demanded.

"Look, listen," the Doctor said, a hint of frustration in his voice. "Just trust me. Everyone is in danger. I need to find out exactly what this is." He held up the glowing jellyfish-like thing, which somehow he managed to hang onto. "Because then I’ll know exactly what we’re fighting."

Tallulah wrinkled her nose. "Yuck," was all she said.

***

"How bout this?" Jessie asked, holding up something for the Doctor to see.

The Doctor tilted his head. "Ehhh . . . maybe not."

Jessie tossed it back away, and Solomon came in with a small radio in his hands. "How about this?" he asked. "I found it backstage."

The Doctor beamed. "Perfect! It’s the capacitors I need."

"Where’s Frank?" Jessie asked.

"Looking further in the props room," Solomon replied.

The Doctor went on, as if he had ignored them. "I’m just rigging up a crude little DNA scan for this beastie. If I can get a chromosomal reading, I can find out where it’s from."

"How about you, Doctor?" Solomon asked. "Where are you from? I’ve been all over. I never heard anybody talk like you. Just exactly who are you?"

"Oh, I’m just . . . sort of passing by," the Doctor passed off.

"I’m not a fool, Doctor."

"No one’s saying you are, Solomon," Jessie told him.

Solomon opened up the lid down to the sewers, hesitating. "I was so scared," he whispered. "I was just so scared." He shook his head. "I got to get back to Hooverville. With these creatures on the loose, we got to protect ourselves. Ain’t no one else going to help us." He looked up. "If Frank comes back around, tell him I’m headed off."

Jessie nodded. "Good luck."

"I hope you find what you’re looking for," Solomon said. "For all our sakes."

Jessie nodded and watched as Solomon dropped down.

***

"Laszlo," Tallulah sighed happily, getting ready for the show. Martha stood next to the dressing table, watching. "He’d wait for me after the show. Walk me home like I was a lady. He’d leave a flower for me on my dressing table. Every day, just a single rose bud."

"Haven’t you reported him missing?" Martha asked.

"Sure." Tallulah shrugged. "He’s just a stagehand. Who cares? The management certainly don’t."

"Can’t you kick up a fuss or something?"

"OK, so then they fire me."

"But they’d listen to you!" Martha protested. "You’re one of the stars!"

"Oh, honey, I got one song in a back street revue, and that’s only because Heidi Chicane broke her ankle," Tallulah snorted. "Which had nothing to do with me, whatever anybody says. I can’t afford to make a fuss. If I don’t make this month’s rent, then before you know it, I’m in Hooverville."

"Place isn’t so bad," an Australian voice commented, and the Bad Wolf poked her head out, dusting her hands off. "We’re almost done."

Martha nodded, and the Bad Wolf left, and she turned back to Tallulah. "OK. I get it."

"It’s the Depression, sweetie," Tallulah explained. "Your heart might break, but the show goes on. Because if it stops, you starve. Every night, I have to go out there, sing, dance, keep going, hoping he’s going to come back."

Martha swallowed. "I’m sorry."

Tallulah grinned. "Hey, you’re lucky, though. You got yourself a forward thinking guy with that hot potato in the sharp suit."

There was an incredulous snort, followed by fading laughter down the hall. Martha blanched at the description. Damn you for listening, Bad Wolf. "Er, he’s not . . . we’re not together," she sputtered.

"Oh, sure you are," Tallulah insisted, rolling her eyes. "I’ve seen the way you look at him. It’s obvious."

Martha grumbled. "Not to him." If I ever catch him not looking at the Bad Wolf and considering me, then I’m whatever those two are.

"Oh," Tallulah said. "I should have realized. He’s into musical theatre, huh? What a waste."

There was another snicker back behind them. "Oh, go back to the Doctor!" Martha shouted.

"I’m going!" the Bad Wolf insisted. "I’m going!"

Tallulah grinned. "Still, you got to live in hope. It’s the only thing that’s kept me going because . . . well, look." She held up a white rose bud, and she smiled softly. "On my dressing table, every day still."

"You think it’s Laszlo?" Martha asked.

Tallulah shrugged. "I don’t know. If he’s still around, why is he being all secret like he doesn’t want me to see him?" A bell went off, and Tallulah grinned. "Come on!" She headed for the door to backstage, and she bounded off. "Girls! It’s showtime!" she shouted.

Martha followed after her, and Tallulah grinned at her. "Come on, honey. Take a look. Ever been on stage before?"

"Oh, a little bit." Martha grinned. "You know. Shakespeare."

"How dull is that?" Tallulah laughed. "Come and see a real show!" She grabbed Martha’s wrist and pulled her off with her.

***

Jessie crouched down across from the Doctor. "We good to go?" she asked.

"Yep," the Doctor replied. "Just aim your screwdriver there, will you?"

Jessie pulled her sonic out from where it was in her boot and aimed it at the gizmo the Doctor had built, and it powered up. "That’s it," the Doctor murmured. "Just need to heat you up."

Jessie leaned in closer to investigate as well. "Is it just me, or does it seem artificial?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded. "It is artificial. Genetically engineered. Whoever this is, oh, they’re clever."

"Who isn’t that we’ve met?" Jessie pointed out.

The Doctor pointed at her. "Point." She beamed at him as he pulled out a stethoscope and leaned in to the jellyfish, listening. After a few seconds, he began talking. "Fundamental DNA type four six seven dash nine eight nine."

Jessie nodded, before something new in her Time Lady brain caught up with her. "Wait a minute . . . nine eight nine?"

"Planet of origin," the Doctor explained before freezing. "But that means – "

The planet name flashed like a warning light in Jessie’s head, and both Time Lords looked at each other. "Skaro," they breathed at the same time.

"What happened to Frank?" Jessie suddenly asked. "We never saw him."

The Doctor’s eyes widened. "Martha," he said simply, and stood up, taking his gizmo with him.

The two of them took off through the rooms, and when they made it up, the dancers were all backstage. "Where is she?" the Doctor demanded, seeing Tallulah. "Where’s Martha?"

"I don’t know," Tallulah replied. "She ran off the stage!"

There was a scream, and Jessie’s eyes widened. "That’s Martha!" she shouted, taking off. She phased through a few of the walls and skdided to a halt when she made it to the props room. She looked around, then looked back down at the sewer entrance . . . with the wayward lid. She growled. "Oh, no you don’t." She took her coat from where it was draped over a chair, then threw the Doctor’s back. "Not Martha."

"Where are you going?" Tallulah asked as the Doctor put his coat on.

"They’ve taken her," the Doctor replied before going down the ladder.

"Who’s taking her?" Tallulah asked as Jessie followed suit. "What’re you doing?" Jessie dropped down and took her gun from where she’d shoved it in the back of her jeans. "I said, what the hell are you doing?"

There were a few moments, then Tallulah began coming down the ladder with a fur coat on. "No, no, no," Jessie told her. "No way. You’re not coming!"

"Tell me what’s going," Tallulah said stubbornly.

"There’s nothing you can go," the Doctor said. "Go back!"

"Look, whoever’s taken Martha, they could’ve taken Laszlo, couldn’t they?"

"Tallulah, you’re not safe down here."

"Then that’s my problem. Come on. Which way?" She headed off in a random direction.

The Doctor shook his head. "This way."

Tallulah stopped and turned tail, following him.

***

Martha struggled against the pig men holding her as they pulled her along the sewers. "No!" she shouted. "Let me go!"

They pushed her into a wall, but someone caught her before she hit the wall. "Martha?" a familiar voice asked.

Martha spun, tears in her eyes. "Frank!" she gasped, hugging him tightly. "We were wondering where you’d gone!" Frank grinned at her, but the pig men oinked and pushed him forward. "All right!" Martha snapped in annoyance. "All right! We’re moving."

"Where are they taking us?" Frank asked.

Martha shrugged. "I don’t know, but we can find out what’s going on down here."

***

"When you say they’ve taken her, who’s they, exactly?" Tallulah asked. "And who are you two, anyway? I never asked."

Jessie stopped, hearing a familiar sound in her ears. "Shh," she whispered.

"OK, OK – "

"SHHHH!"

"I mean, you two are both good looking and all – "

"Get her mouth shut," Jessie told the Doctor.

He obliged, clapping a hand over her mouth and dragging her back into an alcove. Jessie followed them, crouching down, and she closed her eyes as a Dalek hovered by. "It’s always them," she whispered. "How do they always survive?"

"That metal thing?" Tallulah asked. "What was it?"

"Dalek," Jessie replied hoarsely. "It’s not just metal. It’s alive."

"You’re kidding me!"

"Does it look like she’s kidding?" the Doctor snapped as Jessie bit her lip. "Inside that shell is a creature born to hate, whose only thought is to destroy everything and everyone that isn’t a Dalek, too. It won’t stop until it’s killed every human being alive."

"But if it’s not a human being, that kind of implies it’s from outer space." Jessie threw her a look and stood up, looking back down the way the Dalek had gone. "Yet again, that’s a no with the kidding. Boy. Well, what’s it doing here in New York?"

"Take her back," Jessie told the Doctor. "I’ll find out where it’s going."

"Right," the Doctor said briskly, turning. "Every second you’re down here, you’re in danger. I’m taking you back right now."

Jessie turned to leave as well when she saw a shadow move. In a flash, she held up her flashlight and aimed it at the figure. Pig man. "Oi, you!" she shouted. "Hold it right there!"

The Doctor spun, and when Tallulah saw the pig man, she let out a scream. The pig man tried to run, but the Doctor caught him first. "Where’s Martha?" he demanded. "What have you done with her? What have you done with Martha?"

"I didn’t take her," the pig man gasped.

"Can you remember your name?" Jessie quizzed.

"Don’t look at me!" he snapped, looking down and away.

"Do you know where she is?" Tallulah asked next.

The pig man quivered at her voice. "Stay back! Don’t look at me!"

"What happened to you?" the Doctor asked next.

The pig man hesitated. "They made me a monster."

"Who did?"

"The masters."

"Also known as the Daleks," Jessie sneered. "Why?"

"They needed slaves," the pig man replied. "They needed slaves to steal more people, so they created us. Part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind, but it was still too late."

"Do you know what happened to Martha?" the Doctor asked.

The pig man nodded, hanging his head. "They took her. It’s my fault. She was following me."

"Why?" Tallulah asked. "Why were you there?"

The pig man shook his head. "I never wanted you to see me like this."

"Why me?"she demanded. "What I got to do with this? Were you following me? Is that why you were there?"

The pig man turned, and Jessie caught a look at him, and she gasped softly, seeing that he still looked like a man even if he was a pig. "Yes," he whispered.

"Who are you?" Tallulah asked.

"I was lonely."

"Who are you?" she repeated.

"I needed to see you."

"Who are you?" Tallulah asked for the third time.

The pig man turned. "I’m sorry."

"No, wait," Tallulah snapped, reaching out and grabbing him. "Let me look at you." The pig man reluctantly turned, and after Tallulah looked him over, she let out a gasp of horror. "Laszlo?" she asked softly, and Jessie closed her eyes, feeling sorry for both the woman and the pig man. "My Laszlo? Oh, what have they done to you?"

"I’m sorry," Laszlo told her. "So sorry."

"Laszlo, can you show us where they are?" the Doctor asked.

"They’ll kill you," Laszlo warned.

"They’ll kill everyone if we don’t stop them," Jessie pointed out.

Laszlo nodded, looking determined. "Then follow me."

***

Frank looked around in the line of people they were in. "What are they keeping us here for?" he asked.

"I don’t know," Martha replied. "I’ve got a nasty feeling we’re being kept in the larder."

All around them, the pig men began getting jittery, and Frank noticed. "What’re they doing?" he asked. "What’s wrong? What’s wrong?"

"Silence!" a robotic voice commanded, and what looked like two ginormous pepper pots rolled in. "Silence!"

"What the hell is that?" Martha gasped.

"You will form a line," the same robot commanded, two lights on top of its dome lighting up as it spoke. "Move. Move!"

"Just do what it says, everyone," Martha commanded. "OK? Just obey!"

"The female is wise," the robot agreed. "Obey!"

"Report," the other robot commanded.

The first robot looked over them all before replying. "These are strong specimens. They will help the Dalek cause."

Martha froze. "Dalek?" she whispered.

My people fought a race called the Daleks. And they lost.

"What is the status of the Final Experiment?"

"The Dalekanium is in place. The energy conductor is now complete."

"Then I will extract prisoners for selection."

The first Dalek held up a sucker to the older black man pig men pushed forward. "Intelligence scan, initiate," it stated. There was a whirring sound, then it announced the results. "Reading brain waves. Low intelligence."

"You calling me stupid?" the man asked.

"Silence!" the Dalek ordered. "This one will become a pig slave. Next."

"No!" the man shouted. "Let go of me!" He was dragged off by many pig men. "I’m not becoming one of them! No! No!"

***

Jessie peered around the corner as Laszlo calmly explained. "They’re divided into two groups: high intelligence and low intelligence. The low intelligence are taken to become pig slaves like me."

"Well, that’s not fair!" Tallulah whined.

"Shut up," Jessie hissed.

The Doctor snickered as Tallulah whispered to Laszlo. "You’re the smartest guy I ever dated!"

"And the others?" the Doctor asked.

"They’re taken to the laboratory," Laszlo replied.

"Why? What for?"

"I don’t know. The masters only call it the Final Experiment."

***

Martha took a breath of relief when the Daleks finished scanning Frank. "Superior intelligence," it stated before rolling to her. "Intelligence scan, initiate." She stood still, and the Dalek finished. "Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the Final Experiment."

"You can’t just experiment on people!" Martha protested. "It’s insane! It’s inhuman!"

"We are not human," the Dalek countered. "Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory."

***

"They’re moving," Jessie warned.

Laszlo and Tallulah started to move off, but when neither Jessie nor the Doctor made a move to follow, Laszlo turned back. "Doctor, Bad Wolf," he hissed. "Quickly!"

"We’re not coming," the Doctor told him. "I’ve got an idea. You go."

"Laszlo, come on," Tallulah whispered.

Laszlo turned to her. "Can you remember the way?" he asked.

She nodded hesitantly. "Yeah. I think so."

"Then go. Please."

"But Laszlo, you got to come with me!" she insisted.

"Where would I go?" Laszlo retorted, and Tallulah bit her lip. "Tallulah, I’m begging you. Save yourself. Just run. Just go." When she didn’t move, he nearly snapped at her. "Go!"

Tallulah reluctantly left, and Jessie watched the Daleks start to move. She felt something be forced into her hand, and she looked up at the Doctor. "Polycarbide," he whispered to her. "Setting 2496C."

She nodded, and the Doctor and Laszlo joined the line of people. She looked down at the portable radio she held in her hand, then slid down the wall before taking out her guns and began to work on the settings with her screwdriver.

***

"Just keep walking," the Doctor hissed to Martha as he walked behind her.

She took a quick look and sighed. "Oh, I’m so glad to see you," she said happily.

"Yeah, well, you can kiss me later." Hopefully not, though, he thought before turning to Frank. "You too, Frank, if you want."

The boy gave him a look before they entered the lab. "Report," the Dalek that had been scanning for intelligence commanded.

One of the two other Daleks in the room turned. "Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution," it reported.

The Doctor took a quick look at the black Dalek and narrowed his eyes when he saw the smoke pouring out of its casing. "Scan him," the third Dalek ordered. "Prepare for birth."

"Evolution?" the Doctor murmured.

"What’s wrong with old Charlie boy over there?" Martha asked.

"Ask them," the Doctor suggested.

"What? Me?" she squeaked. "Don’t be daft!"

"I don’t exactly want to get noticed," the Doctor told her. "Ask them what’s going on."

Martha stared at him, then took a deep breath and stepped forward, straightening as high as she could. "Daleks, I demand to be told. What is this Final Experiment?" she demanded. "Report!"

"You will bear witness," one of the Daleks replied.

"To what?" Martha asked.

"This is the dawn of a new age."

"New age?" Jessie asked.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Quick look behind you."

He risked a look in time to see a flash of blonde disappear behind some of the lab equipment. He held back a chuckle and turned back to the Daleks. "What does that mean?" Martha quizzed.

"We are the only four Daleks in existence, so the species must evolve a life outside of the shell," the Dalek explained. "The Children of Skaro must walk again!"

The Doctor watched, feeling his blood chill when the smoke stopped pouring out of Sec’s casing. The light went out of the eyestalk, and then the casing slid open. He resisted letting his jaw drop, although he knew Martha’s did. Something he’d never seen before on two legs struggled out, dressed in a black business suit.

"What is it?" Martha choked out.

"Holy shit!" Jessie yelped in his mind.

The Doctor winced. "Cursing, Jessie?" he asked. "Really?"

"Now?!" she squeaked. "You want to do this now?!"

The newly evolved alien slowly straightened, and the Doctor looked the one-eyed Sec in the eye. "I am a human Dalek," Sec said slowly. "I am your future!"

"I say it again. Holy. Crap."

***

No idea when the next chapter will be up, but expect more MARVEL interactions soon!

The next episode will be fun. :) How will Martha and Jessie act together when the Doctor's nowhere near them? And what's gonna happen to the pig men? ;)

But I have sooo much planned for this book, and I'm so excited to start writing some more! School starts up in two weeks, so that means iPads, which means more writing opportunities!