Jan 10, 2011 09:45
For once, HK was working very hard to hide a giddy facial expression as he met his nurse at the door. He'd already hidden his scalpels in his clothing. The wonderful, sharp implements of doom would be needed today. “Statement: Despite my reticence towards all processed meat and plant products, I am experiencing intolerable levels of hunger,” he
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leela,
kirk,
s.t.,
gambit,
japan,
badd,
anise,
minato,
the doctor,
ranulf,
england,
sam winchester,
indiana jones,
tk-622,
goku (dragonball),
niikura,
taura,
claire bennet,
kinomoto sakura,
peter parker,
snow,
lunge,
lana skye,
ruby,
mello,
soren,
brainiac 5,
the flash,
albedo,
stefan,
tsukasa,
watson,
peter petrelli,
mele,
tear,
damon,
two-face,
yuffie,
ritsuka,
kanda,
tomoe,
erika,
edgar,
tifa,
the scarecrow,
hijikata,
maya,
okita,
spock,
zack,
kratos,
shinji,
sechs,
carter,
jo,
senna,
asuka,
bella,
scott pilgrim,
kaito,
gumshoe,
izaya,
claire littleton,
gren,
sora,
prussia,
rei,
woody,
claude,
renamon,
dean winchester,
hk-47,
grell,
byrne,
guy,
kairi,
venom,
gaara,
depth charge,
kibitoshin,
lightning,
rita,
castiel,
allelujah,
trickster,
chise,
yomi,
sylar,
sai,
sasuke,
edward cullen,
kaworu,
mccoy
-test trials?
The words grabbed the Doctor's attention immediately, the sonic screwdriver's problems forgotten for the time being. Landel's announcement this morning was different, sure, but he didn't usually acknowledge things like this. Yet here he was, talking about 'test trials' and 'condensed sleep cycles' and acting as though everything was business as usual. Perhaps it had something to do with 'the Eagle' he mentioned last night, and the warning to be on good behavior.
But no matter what the reason, there was definitely something different about today... That much was only confirmed by the uniformed men in the hallway on the way to the cafeteria for breakfast, and the way the nurses all seemed to be on edge.
The Doctor kept his attention on the nurses and the patients and the room as he got a tray full of breakfast and absently took a seat. His nurse had long since hurried away, but maybe after breakfast he could ask her about what was going on...
[Saving Brainiac 5]
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"Doctor!" Without waiting for permission or acknowledgement, the Coluan slid into the seat opposite his friend and continued. "You heard the announcement this morning, didn't you? The talk of condensed sleep cycles and trials... It's more worrying than just thinking we're here for some madman's amusement."
He finally paused there, breathlessly waiting for an answer that would hopefully along the lines of a plan of action. He had his own ideas in mind, but having someone like the Doctor working with him would make things much easier.
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He hadn't noticed Brainiac 5 heading towards him until the boy had nearly reached his table, taking a seat right away. He gave the boy a bright smile, even despite the topic the Coluan brought up.
"Oh, I don't know about that," the Doctor responded. He hadn't particularly thought they were there for a single madman's amusement, but any potential reason for being there had been sufficiently vague and difficult to find out about. "The change in tune was a bit abrupt, I think it's a bit of a relief, actually-a step towards finding an answer. If we were brought here for a reason, whether singled out or else snatched up by chance, we might be able to find something out today, if we're clever about it."
He gave a glance towards the doors of the cafeteria. If they could somehow sneak out of the cafeteria and into the halls, there was a chance they could see something, or overhear something... But the staff was keeping as tight a control over the exits as ever.
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"So, I assume we'll be snooping?" he asked, glancing past the Doctor towards what was rapidly changing from a simple (if messy) food fight to something far more serious. Orderlies, nurses, and the strange uniformed men were starting to move in as the fighting began to spread to the rest of the room as well.
"Maybe now would be a good time, if they leave the doors, we could potentially slip away..."
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"Of course," he answered, flashing the boy a smile that was more amused than his last. "This is as good of a distraction as we're ever likely to get; it would be a shame to waste it, don't you think?"
The Doctor looked towards the doors, where a nurse had just disappeared into the sun room, leaving them guarded by a single soldier-for the time being. With the way things were moving, it might not be long before even that soldier moved from the doors into the fight. "Well..." he trailed off, nodding towards the doors. If they were going to try, the first thing they needed to do was get close enough to try. "Allons-y!"
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Fortunately for them both, they were largely forgotten as the men nearby ran to try and stop the fighting and protect the nurses, and while Brainiac 5 felt a pang of concern for anyone involved, he quickly reminded himself that they'd made the choice themselves and that he and the Doctor could achieve more by investigating now over anything else.
But there was something he had to ask about as they carefully worked towards the door.
"Allons-y? What does that mean?"
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"It means 'let's go'. It's-" he answered, pausing suddenly. The soldier who had been at the doors was running into the fray now, and the Doctor looked over his shoulder again to make sure no one was running for them now.
For the moment, it looked like the coast was completely clear. He turned his head back towards Brainiac 5 to finish, "It's French... and I think we should hurry before we grab unwanted attention."
They weren't the only ones with a mind to get out, from the looks of things. He'd spotted a few others heading in their same direction, and any size exodus was bound to be noticed before long.
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Not that he really wanted to test this theory, however, so when the Doctor said they should hurry, he nodded. "Agreed. I don't really want to make it any easier for them to stop us."
He let the Time Lord take the lead and kept close as they quickly slipped out of the cafeteria and into the room beyond. There were a couple of others here as well, but everyone seemed to be pretty content to keep to themselves and their own escape attempts. So far at least. Still it wouldn't be a good idea to stay here for too long. Hanging back to try and stay out of sight, the Coluan looked up at his friend.
"Where are we going now?"
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The Sun Room was much quieter without the usual gathering of patients. There were a few in here, but the vast majority, it seemed, was still in the cafeteria. The Doctor nodded towards the far door at Brainiac 5's question.
"We should head for the hall," he said, keeping his voice low in case members of the staff were about, be it upstairs in the balcony, in the side rooms, or even in the Sun Room itself. He didn't see anyone that looked like staff at the moment, but he wasn't looking closely at every person in the room. At the very least, he didn't see any of the soldiers at the moment. "We'll have more freedom to move out there."
He started across the Sun Room, pausing only briefly to make sure that Brainiac 5 was coming.
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For that reason, Brainiac 5 kept as quiet as possible as he followed the Doctor, absently wishing that he had access to his cloaking belts as well as some of his other inventions. But even without that technology available, it looked like they might manage to make it across the room and out...
Until he noticed a nurse along with several orderlies and soldiers approaching out of the corner of his eye.
"Doctor..." he warned, his voice low. "Should we run?"
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Turning his head , the Doctor spotted the same staff and soldiers that Brainiac 5 had. It was only a bit further to the door, so he was about to advise that yes, running might be a good idea right now... But almost as soon as he'd opened his mouth, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"Not another step."
That didn't exactly sound friendly. Cautiously, the Doctor turned around, hoping Brainiac 5 wouldn't try anything foolish now that they'd been caught.
"Sorry," he said quickly, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Sorry, we were just trying to... get out of the way." He nodded towards the cafeteria they'd exited moments ago. "Have you been in there? It's turned into an absolute madhouse!"
The soldier didn't move at first, but then nodded at the nurse and her orderlies. Another soldier moved to guard the door they'd been headed for. "You may stay in here," he stated, "as long as you don't cause any trouble."
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So instead he simply nodded agreement to the Doctor's excuse and attempted to look as non-threatening as possible. Which was, sadly, far easier than if he'd been Coluan.
"He's right," he commented once the Doctor was done speaking. "Mr Smith was simply concerned about my wellbeing, since I... had an accident recently. On the night I was involved in the sleep studies?"
Brainiac 5 was curious if that would get any reaction from the soldiers, but if they knew anything of the other nocturnal activities, then they didn't let it show. Instead they simply moved back to block the doors and... He jumped again as he heard a thump and hiss of something, something like gas, from the next room.
"Is that...?" he asked, turning wide eyes on the Time Lord.
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His gaze was lingering on the door that led to the hall, and he didn't look back towards the cafeteria until Brainiac 5 spoke again.
The doors to the cafeteria were shut tight, and guarded like the ones to the hall were now. He could hear a faint hiss, but...
"Is that... what?" the Doctor asked in return, feeling concerned. He stared at the cafeteria doors a moment longer before turning his gaze towards Brainiac 5.
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"It... reminds me of a weapon," he admitted quietly, feeling even uncertain about how the Doctor would respond to that assumption now. "You don't think they'd do something like that, would you?"
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"I wouldn't put it past them," he answered, the feeling of concern growing rapidly. He'd gone back to staring down the doors, as though if he looked hard enough he'd be able to see through them. There was that hissing sound-it was faint, but... A gas? Could they be gassing the cafeteria?
It took all his effort to stay put, but it was for naught: within a few seconds he'd started back towards the closed cafeteria doors, with a quick "Come on!" to Brainiac 5.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see a nurse hurrying in his direction, probably to stop him from trying to go in the cafeteria. He hesitated, and then stopped. Even if he forced his way in, what could he do? If it was gas, he wouldn't be able to stop it from in there. Surely it wouldn't be fatal-it was probably just something to get the fight under control (extreme though it would be). The Doctor didn't approve of it, but...
The hissing stopped.
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...he hated how this place made him feel like being human was synonymous with being unable to do anything.
The noise stopped, and Brainiac 5 glanced up at his friend. "Doctor?"
There wasn't much they could do, especially now, and it looked as though the nurses were intent on making sure the day continued the same as much as they could, at least, judging from the couple headed in their direction as the intercom crackled to life.
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