[Realm of the Muse] Response
Stranger Danger
She had been in worse situations before. In fact, she was certain that she had been in stranger danger in the past. Sarah Jane had been kidnapped by robots, tortured by Sontarans, and possessed by mutated spiders. She had faced Daleks and Cybermen without backing down and had saved multiple worlds many times in her life. Sarah had always led a life full of danger, be it through her investigations as a journalist or as the Doctor’s companion or as James Bond’s wife.
It was a fact that she had learned a long time ago not to deny. Better to deal with the matter head on than to pretend such events were not a part of her life. The more willing she was to accept it, the more she thought capable of getting out of such situation. Back when she travelled with the Doctor, she considered it a good thing as it meant not disappointing the Doctor. Now, there was much more at stake: a daughter and husband to get home to. She couldn’t avoid danger, but she could certainly do her best to get out of it.
Like most incidents, she hadn’t meant for this to happen. At age thirty-four, Sarah Jane believed herself incapable of being kidnapped anymore. There was, after all, a distinct difference between stumbling into the top secret meeting of some sort of secret organization and finding yourself abducted from the a tea shop during lunch. The first had happened often enough, despite Sarah’s attempts to the contrary. Even with ten years of experience, she had always been a little too eager to get the scoop for The Observer.
But it really had been years since she had been properly abducted. Any of James’ enemies who knew about his family knew that they were a difficult bunch to catch. Valerie was fiercely protected by both parents. And both, even Sarah, were capable of defending itself.
When she had heard rumours of Hugo Drax’s reformation and release from prison, Sarah Jane had jumped at the opportunity for the interview. Her editor had agreed as Sarah had been the one to report on the foil of his plot seven years ago. James had been less than thrilled when she told him, promising that they would meet in broad daylight at the Lyons Tea Shoppe in central London. She would take every precaution and, she said, return home in one piece.
Yet, it had turned out that Hugo Drax had not been as reformed as he had claimed to be. Like most villains in a B-movie plot, he wanted revenge at the couple who had prevented his attempt at the destruction of London. As thrilled as Sarah had been to receive the interview assignment, Drax was even more so. The interview had started out normal enough. Sarah Jane had purchased the teas, not trusting Drax alone with her cup for a moment. There was absolutely nothing dangerous in the air. It was just too former opponents meeting to discuss the results of a prison sentence.
Then, as she left the shop, everything went horribly wrong. She had reached into her purse to pull out her mobile, needing to call Valerie’s primary school and let them know that she would be a few minutes late. Distracted, she didn’t notice the brute behind her that clutched a rope tightly in his hands. Sarah Jane struggled as it slipped over her head, strangling her and pulling her in to the alleyway towards a van on the other side. But he was stronger than she was and, in the end, Sarah slipped unconscious.
When she woke up, she found herself inside the hull of the Deimos-5 rocket, part of an attempt by the recent revival of the British Space Programme to send another satellite into space. Drax’s company had helped to fund the building of this rocket with the promise that Drax himself was not allowed within the government premise without the accompaniment of multiple guards. Yet, somehow, he had found a way to sabotage the mission to suit his own purposes. This time, he had no intention was not to start another world war through the destruction of London. He only wanted to ruin her and James’ life. To do so, he planned to let Sarah have the front row seat inside the rocket when it launched.
Sarah Jane, however, didn’t trust him. Oh, she believed that he was set on sending her to her death but she didn’t trust that Drax would do anything good for the nation. She was certain that, somehow and someway, this rocket would explode over London before even leaving atmosphere. She had been in stranger situations in the past but never had she felt before that she was this doomed. As far as Sarah knew, her mobile was lying with her purse in the street where she had been abducted. No one knew where she was.
It was dark in here. She could barely see centimeters in front of her. Her hands were bound tightly and her throat still felt sore. How could she ever get out of here? Sarah sighed, closing her eyes as tears dripped down on to her cheeks. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to go home to her husband and her daughter. She wanted to write the bloody article that got her into all this trouble. The crying lasted for minutes. It wasn’t the strangest situation that she had ever been in, but she had to admit: it was the most dangerous.
When the feeling of self-pity finally passed, Sarah found herself with renewed strength to get out. She couldn’t wait for someone to rescue her. As she had decided moments before, there was no way for anyone to find her. She had to get out on her own. Sarah Jane fumbled around in the dark, trying to get her tied hands to the front. In the process, her sonic lipstick fell out of her pocket. The clatter startled Sarah for a moment before she realized what it was.
Never in her life had she been more grateful for the Doctor's gift of sonic lipstick. He had given it to her months after their initial row over the way she had altered her own future by marrying James. It was an apology present; one he said would blend in easily on Earth and prove to be useful as well. He had been right. Not only was there a setting for cutting through rope, but there was also one to cut through metal.
Then came the hard part. Sarah gulped as she stared downward. She was so very high up at the top of the rocket. The last time she remembered being in such a situation, it was on Skaro as she had tried to escape slavery at the hands of the Thals. She had been caught then, after nearly falling to her death more than once. It had been absolutely horrible. The sheer height was dizzying. She wasn’t sure if she could handle it.
But as last time, scaffolding wasn’t so far away. She just needed to reach out and grab it. She could do it. It was the only way to possibly get home. It would be the only way to possibly stop the rocket launch, as well. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself to make that leap. In the end, climbing down on the scaffolding had been much easier than climbing up had ever been. This only left disabling the rocket which, given the sonic lipstick, was very easily done.
Sarah laughed when she saw the look of surprise on James' face as she stepped back from the rocket. There was a smudge of oil on her face from tinkering with the rocket and there was rope burn on her wrists and neck. Her husband, on the other hand, was mildly battered, clearly having been in a fight with Drax and whatever assorted henchmen that had interfered. There were cuts on his face and bruises on exposed skin. She wasn’t certain how he had found her, but Sarah Jane didn’t care. Seeing him was a sight for sore eyes.
They walked over to each other slowly, all danger put aside now. Carefully, Sarah put a careful hand on his cheek as soon as he was within range. He gripped her waist tightly with the lesser bruised of his arms, pulling her close to him. James stared down at her, blue eyes searching and studying ever single bit of her face. Sarah was certain she wouldn't get him to let go of her any time soon. She didn’t care.
"Next time," she promised, caressing his cheek. "You can be my knight in shining armour next time. But every once in a while, I do prefer to save myself."
In response, he only kissed her soundly. Blood and saliva mixed together as the couple stood there in a passionate embrace. The roar of sirens could be heard in the background, a crescendo of sound to accompany this moment. Sarah Jane had faced stranger danger in the past, but she had never had such a sweet reunion as this.
[ooc: based on milliways bar continuum]
She had been in worse situations before. In fact, she was certain that she had been in stranger danger in the past. Sarah Jane had been kidnapped by robots, tortured by Sontarans, and possessed by mutated spiders. She had faced Daleks and Cybermen without backing down and had saved multiple worlds many times in her life. Sarah had always led a life full of danger, be it through her investigations as a journalist or as the Doctor’s companion or as James Bond’s wife.
It was a fact that she had learned a long time ago not to deny. Better to deal with the matter head on than to pretend such events were not a part of her life. The more willing she was to accept it, the more she thought capable of getting out of such situation. Back when she travelled with the Doctor, she considered it a good thing as it meant not disappointing the Doctor. Now, there was much more at stake: a daughter and husband to get home to. She couldn’t avoid danger, but she could certainly do her best to get out of it.
Like most incidents, she hadn’t meant for this to happen. At age thirty-four, Sarah Jane believed herself incapable of being kidnapped anymore. There was, after all, a distinct difference between stumbling into the top secret meeting of some sort of secret organization and finding yourself abducted from the a tea shop during lunch. The first had happened often enough, despite Sarah’s attempts to the contrary. Even with ten years of experience, she had always been a little too eager to get the scoop for The Observer.
But it really had been years since she had been properly abducted. Any of James’ enemies who knew about his family knew that they were a difficult bunch to catch. Valerie was fiercely protected by both parents. And both, even Sarah, were capable of defending itself.
When she had heard rumours of Hugo Drax’s reformation and release from prison, Sarah Jane had jumped at the opportunity for the interview. Her editor had agreed as Sarah had been the one to report on the foil of his plot seven years ago. James had been less than thrilled when she told him, promising that they would meet in broad daylight at the Lyons Tea Shoppe in central London. She would take every precaution and, she said, return home in one piece.
Yet, it had turned out that Hugo Drax had not been as reformed as he had claimed to be. Like most villains in a B-movie plot, he wanted revenge at the couple who had prevented his attempt at the destruction of London. As thrilled as Sarah had been to receive the interview assignment, Drax was even more so. The interview had started out normal enough. Sarah Jane had purchased the teas, not trusting Drax alone with her cup for a moment. There was absolutely nothing dangerous in the air. It was just too former opponents meeting to discuss the results of a prison sentence.
Then, as she left the shop, everything went horribly wrong. She had reached into her purse to pull out her mobile, needing to call Valerie’s primary school and let them know that she would be a few minutes late. Distracted, she didn’t notice the brute behind her that clutched a rope tightly in his hands. Sarah Jane struggled as it slipped over her head, strangling her and pulling her in to the alleyway towards a van on the other side. But he was stronger than she was and, in the end, Sarah slipped unconscious.
When she woke up, she found herself inside the hull of the Deimos-5 rocket, part of an attempt by the recent revival of the British Space Programme to send another satellite into space. Drax’s company had helped to fund the building of this rocket with the promise that Drax himself was not allowed within the government premise without the accompaniment of multiple guards. Yet, somehow, he had found a way to sabotage the mission to suit his own purposes. This time, he had no intention was not to start another world war through the destruction of London. He only wanted to ruin her and James’ life. To do so, he planned to let Sarah have the front row seat inside the rocket when it launched.
Sarah Jane, however, didn’t trust him. Oh, she believed that he was set on sending her to her death but she didn’t trust that Drax would do anything good for the nation. She was certain that, somehow and someway, this rocket would explode over London before even leaving atmosphere. She had been in stranger situations in the past but never had she felt before that she was this doomed. As far as Sarah knew, her mobile was lying with her purse in the street where she had been abducted. No one knew where she was.
It was dark in here. She could barely see centimeters in front of her. Her hands were bound tightly and her throat still felt sore. How could she ever get out of here? Sarah sighed, closing her eyes as tears dripped down on to her cheeks. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to go home to her husband and her daughter. She wanted to write the bloody article that got her into all this trouble. The crying lasted for minutes. It wasn’t the strangest situation that she had ever been in, but she had to admit: it was the most dangerous.
When the feeling of self-pity finally passed, Sarah found herself with renewed strength to get out. She couldn’t wait for someone to rescue her. As she had decided moments before, there was no way for anyone to find her. She had to get out on her own. Sarah Jane fumbled around in the dark, trying to get her tied hands to the front. In the process, her sonic lipstick fell out of her pocket. The clatter startled Sarah for a moment before she realized what it was.
Never in her life had she been more grateful for the Doctor's gift of sonic lipstick. He had given it to her months after their initial row over the way she had altered her own future by marrying James. It was an apology present; one he said would blend in easily on Earth and prove to be useful as well. He had been right. Not only was there a setting for cutting through rope, but there was also one to cut through metal.
Then came the hard part. Sarah gulped as she stared downward. She was so very high up at the top of the rocket. The last time she remembered being in such a situation, it was on Skaro as she had tried to escape slavery at the hands of the Thals. She had been caught then, after nearly falling to her death more than once. It had been absolutely horrible. The sheer height was dizzying. She wasn’t sure if she could handle it.
But as last time, scaffolding wasn’t so far away. She just needed to reach out and grab it. She could do it. It was the only way to possibly get home. It would be the only way to possibly stop the rocket launch, as well. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself to make that leap. In the end, climbing down on the scaffolding had been much easier than climbing up had ever been. This only left disabling the rocket which, given the sonic lipstick, was very easily done.
Sarah laughed when she saw the look of surprise on James' face as she stepped back from the rocket. There was a smudge of oil on her face from tinkering with the rocket and there was rope burn on her wrists and neck. Her husband, on the other hand, was mildly battered, clearly having been in a fight with Drax and whatever assorted henchmen that had interfered. There were cuts on his face and bruises on exposed skin. She wasn’t certain how he had found her, but Sarah Jane didn’t care. Seeing him was a sight for sore eyes.
They walked over to each other slowly, all danger put aside now. Carefully, Sarah put a careful hand on his cheek as soon as he was within range. He gripped her waist tightly with the lesser bruised of his arms, pulling her close to him. James stared down at her, blue eyes searching and studying ever single bit of her face. Sarah was certain she wouldn't get him to let go of her any time soon. She didn’t care.
"Next time," she promised, caressing his cheek. "You can be my knight in shining armour next time. But every once in a while, I do prefer to save myself."
In response, he only kissed her soundly. Blood and saliva mixed together as the couple stood there in a passionate embrace. The roar of sirens could be heard in the background, a crescendo of sound to accompany this moment. Sarah Jane had faced stranger danger in the past, but she had never had such a sweet reunion as this.
[ooc: based on milliways bar continuum]