The Missing Bird

[bowtimeandspace]

There was a newspaper held in mid air and on it, a picture of a painting. It was a painting that was on the front page of every newspaper that day, and had been for days before.

Because this painting had changed.

'An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump', it had written under the photograph of the painting. But there was no bird in the painting,

Comments

[thenightstar]

All over the gallery, people were gazing at painting after painting. They stood and marvelled over brush strokes and use of colour, commenting quietly amongst themselves before they moved on to the next artwork. But for one visitor, there was something far more fascinating to watch

[thenightstar]

It wasn't the greatest description, but that didn't matter. Alex knew exactly where to find the device - she just needed to make a good enough show of looking for it before she came across it.

"Better be quick then, hadn't we?" she said, giving him an uncertain sort of grin.

"You keep looking here, I'll do the next room," she told him, before she quickly turned on her feet and sprinted off across the gallery. Her trainer soles echoed on behind her as she ran, her head turning as she past paintings, trying to find the one that was her marker. If the Doctor's suspicions were true, they needed to get this device turned off, and fast.

[bowtimeandspace]

As she spoke, the Doctor shot her a smile and a nod. He watched after her until she'd gone, and as soon as she had, his smile faded.

He watched the spot where she'd stood, as if the empty space might make some sort of sense of the insanity.

It didn't.

His hands were on his hips, and his head ducked slightly; a tight smile formed on his lips for a fraction of a second before it faded away. When he glanced up, his brow was creased.

Confusion. Frustration.

Moving from his hips, his hands went to the bow tie about his neck; he tugged at the edges and began to move. He had to follow her.

[thenightstar]

In the next room, Alex spun slowly on the spot, her eyes hurriedly searching the paintings until she recognised the one she had memorised. Swiftly, her head dropped, and she saw the grate below her feet, glancing around her, she made sure she was alone before she knelt upon the floor. She slid her fingers carefully through the patterned hole of the grate, biting into her lip as she tried to lift it while making as little noise as possible.

She was concentrating so hard on her task, she didn't notice the shadow stepping through the doorway behind her.

[bowtimeandspace]

As the Doctor stepped in he saw her immediately. He stepped over and crouched down next to her.

"Alex?" he asked.

"Have you found something?"

[thenightstar]

The grate clattered noisily as it slipped from her fingers, the Doctor's arrival having startled her. She quickly spun her head to look at him, wide-eyed, her hair caught across her face. With a fluttering breath, she gave a small sort of nod, finding her voice.

"Maybe," she then said, speaking clearly, sure of herself. "I thought I saw something catch the light," she quickly lied, then looking down again and picking up the fallen grate, sliding it across the wooden floor so they could see. Slowly, she leant over to peer inside, her hair falling forward.

[bowtimeandspace]

Whilst she wasn't looking at him, he afforded himself a greater look at her. He looked at her hair, a little wild and unruly, the way she held herself, it said a lot. The way a person held themselves could speak of fear or pain, it could paint a picture of unspoken words of love or hate. Watercolours dancing across a page.

"Anything?" he asked her then.

[thenightstar]

Of course, there was something, a very important something. Alex reached inside to wrap her hands around the small, cylindrical device that had been the start of all this. Not just the paintings, no, but their meeting. Sitting back upon her knees, she lifted her hand, device laying between them in her open palm.

She watched it for a long moment, passing no comment. Slowly, her eyes lifted to his, waiting for him to take it from her.

[bowtimeandspace]

"That's it!" the Doctor said, taking it delicately from her hand before setting it down on the parquet wood flooring in front of him.

"A mark six, I think. Oh you clever little modulator you!" he said, cooing at the little piece of technology.

His eyes glanced up towards Alex. "Lucky," he said, "that you managed to find it. Big place like this, could have been anywhere."

Yes. Very convenient. Almost like she knew where to look.

[thenightstar]

Alex watched him as he cooed over the tiny device, remaining as she was, albeit with a slightly bemused expression. When he glanced up, her eyes quickly met his, his words making her uncomfortable.

"Not that many places to hide something in here. Too public," she defended simply with a shrug of her shoulders, trying to pass off her find as clever deduction.

[bowtimeandspace]

Her words didn't ring true. A device as small as this, there were an endless list of places it could have been secreted.

But it wasn't.

It was hidden here.

And she knew.

But still, he was too busy to deal with that right now. Taking the device, he turned it between his fingers. On the end of it was a small button; he pressed it. Quite suddenly, a small beam burst from it, like the stream of light from a projector to a screen. It was a screen that seemed to hang in mid air, as a fast series of images began to dance in the air before them, all paintings in the gallery, another after another, it was a beauty to behold.

The Doctor smiled as he saw it, and then as soon as it was there, it had gone, the beam disappearing once more within the tiny device.

"Memory bank," he said in a needless whisper. "Every image this clever little thing has remembered."

[thenightstar]

Alex turned her head to survey the series of images that swiftly changed, all of the paintings, with all the data it needed to bring them to life. She studied the beam for a moment longer, the colours flashing over her face, but her expression was grim to the beauty. Slowly, she looked towards the Doctor once more, before she coyly dipped her gaze from him.

"Can you stop the paintings now?" she asked.

[bowtimeandspace]

"I don't know," the Doctor said slowly before looking towards her with a glint in his eye.

"shall we find out?"

He took his screwdriver and flipped it once in his hand, aiming it at the small device. A small spark flicked from it before the end popped off. He tossed it once in his hand and looked at the spring that was bouncing against the end of the cylinder.

"Well," he said, as though he were preparing to say something profound.

"It's broken."

[thenightstar]

Alex watched curiously as the Doctor pulled out a device of his own, whirring it again the modulator. She flinched slightly when the end popped off, then coming closer to peer at the results.

When he informed her it was broken, her expression dropped, and for a moment, so did her facade.

"You broke it?" she retorted in alarm.

[bowtimeandspace]

"Yes. I broke it. That is usually how you stop something working," he pointed out.

With a single toss of the device in the air, he caught it in one hand and tucked it away in his pocket.

"Still, I'm sure we'll soon find out if we're too late or not."

He pushed himself from the floor, back to standing, and for the first time glanced around the room he was in. A particular painting caught his eye, and he stepped towards it.

[thenightstar]

For all the time and effort it had taken to get her hands on that device, she had hoped to get it back. With grumble in the back of her throat, she pushed to her feet, looking around the room to assess for any changes in the paintings. She then noticed the Doctor was moving away from her and she turned towards him, frowning curiously as he advanced towards one of the paintings.

"What is it?" she asked, taking an uncertain step closer.