(Untitled)

[thedoctorwho]

Returning from WWII London with charges in tow, the Doctor opens the door to allow all those from Milliways back into the bar

Comments

[isaysimplewords]

These past few minutes been astonishingly confusing for Cal, not least because - from his perspective - he has gone from following Nancy's brother upstairs to . . . standing outside? Not in Milliways? With a bunch of other people who are also incredibly confused?

. . . okay then.

To complicate things further, something is different. Something has changed. He doesn't know what it is, but he can feel it, on a level too deep to put words to.

So, all in all, he's more than happy to follow the guy with the ears who seems to know what the hell is going on, and also happy to see the inside of Milliways. In the midst of disorientation, familiarity is good.

After a moment or two, he finds his voice.

"What the hell happened?"

[thedoctorwho]

The Doctor doesn't halt at the familiar face. He's certainly seen enough of that.

"Alien nanogenes reconfigured your DNA to match the form of a little dying boy in a gasmask from World War II London and reprogrammed you with a basic set of be-fruitful-and-multiply instructions."

[isaysimplewords]

. . .

"What, again?"

It takes more than - whatever this guy just said to block the ancient politician's instinct to fall back on ancient jokes when the going gets bewildering.

[thedoctorwho]

"An alien medical ship crashed, and the tiny machines inside it found the little boy, and thought that's what all humans are supposed to look like, so it set about trying to 'fix' everyone. You got in the way."

[blinkandyoumiss]

....Bart overheard that.

It's kind of distracting, it is.

Thus, the kid in the red sweatshirt is eyeing the Doctor with amusement and curiousity.

"....Gasmask zombies?"

[thedoctorwho]

"Well, to be more precise, bioengineered Chula warrior drones cultivated from human DNA and reconfigured in the form of a little boy in a gasmask."

[blinkandyoumiss]

"....Okay," he says.

"What's the punchline?"

[thedoctorwho]

That draws him up short.

"Umm. Everybody lives?"

[stilljustandrew]

"...gasmask zombie children?"

Yeah, that's all Andrew's got at the moment.

[thedoctorwho]

"In a manner of speaking," he clarifies.

[stilljustandrew]

"Okay, uh ... not really children, not really zombies, or not really gasmasks?"

What? He's curious.

[thedoctorwho]

"Not really zombies. Or children, really, except for the one. And, I suppose, if you want to be technical, not really gasmasks, either. Just genetically altered to resemble them."

[nitro_is_ace]

Why not?

Well... the commotion at the back of the room might be a reason. The Doberman that comes charging through, with a boot in her mouth, followed by the pyro...

Sorry, being tackled by the pyro...

Sorry, the pair of them tumbling across the floor...

Watch your footing.

[thedoctorwho]

The Doctor is doing far too well today to be tripped up by a pyro and her dog. He gracefully sidesteps the rolling mass and waves as it goes by. "Hullo, Ace!"

[nitro_is_ace]

Ace, having had a half-century to learn grace, demonstrates this by ending up sprawled across the bar floor, her dog happily licking her ears.

"... Hullo Professor." It's really true about dignity and parents. Really.

[thedoctorwho]

"Doing well?"

[heyfootballhead]

Objection!

"Zombies aren't real." says one dubious football head.

[thedoctorwho]

"These weren't really zombies the way you think of them," the Doctor shoots back. "It's just much easier to say zombie than 'bioengineered Chula warrior drone'."

[heyfootballhead]

"It still sounds like something out of a fifty-cent science fiction movie," Arnold protests.

[thedoctorwho]

"You might be surprised just how many of those fifty-cent science fiction movies are based on real things."