Chapter Eleven: Escape

The Doctor was the first to regain consciousness, followed by Lisa’s double. With the glow of her wings, the Doctor could see that they were trapped in a dead end tunnel with the exit blocked. Lying partially buried beneath the rubble were two unconscious forms. One was the human Caan had taken over. The other was Lisa.

As Dr. Brown and Martha began to stir, he rushed to her side and gently put a hand to her face, pushing the dirt and rocks from her body. It had been she who warned him – she’d shouted telepathically…only he and her double had heard her – of the trap and detonated the explosives prematurely. She’d saved their lives by putting herself in danger.

Martha noticed first and ran to them. “Oh, my god. Is she all right?”

Lisa had been struck by the rubble directly on her head, causing a very large, open and bleeding wound, not to mention several bruises and lacerations all over her body including her wings.

Dr. Brown and Lisa’s double came over, both of them far more concerned about the unconscious doppelganger than the fellow who had been enslaved by Caan.

“The wound looks deep,” said Dr. Brown as the Doctor gently wiped some of the blood away.

“Very…” said the Doctor, worry apparent in his voice. He tried to speak to her telepathically. Lisa, can you hear me? Lisa, please…

He received no answer. Lisa’s double knelt beside them and took a good look at the wounds.

“Can’t you heal her?” Martha asked of her.

Lisa’s double looked decidedly uncomfortable and said in a low voice, “No…I can’t.” She avoided the Doctor’s questioning gaze by standing up and saying, “She’ll heal naturally. It’ll take a while, but it’ll – ” She stopped abruptly, eyes wide. “That’s it! That’s why I can’t remember coming here! That knock to the head gave me amnesia! Again!” She paused and considered that for a moment. “Damn, I’m amnesia-prone.” She shook her head, back to business. “Anyway, she can’t be around here when she comes to. She can’t know she’ll see Doc again ’til Aislin reunites us.”

“Then we have to get out of here,” said Dr. Brown.

“And we still have to deal with the Dalek,” added Martha.

“I can get us out, but I’ll have to take you one at a time,” said Lisa’s double. Her eyes fell on the unconscious human. “How is he?”

Martha went over to examine him, as the Doctor wasn’t too willing to leave Lisa’s side just yet. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to her head, trying to staunch the bleeding.

“He’s not as bad as Lisa is,” she reported, looking him over, then noticing something that made her frown. “Doctor, look at this.” She was bending back his ear.

Something in her voice told the Doctor to do so, so he gestured to Dr. Brown to continue holding the handkerchief to Lisa’s head. Walking over, he looked to where Martha was pointing. Behind the human’s ear was a small microchip. Lisa’s double came and looked over his shoulder.

“Wow…haven’t seen one of those in a long time,” she commented.

“What is it?” asked Dr. Brown.

“A control chip,” said the Doctor. “Caan must have been desperate. That’s old Dalek technology.”

“Can you remove it?” Martha asked.

“Possibly.” The Doctor reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He pointed it at the chip, but nothing happened. Withdrawing it, he looked it over. “Must have been damaged when we fell. I’ll have to repair it.”

“Here.” Lisa’s double’s hand came over his shoulder; she was holding an identical screwdriver.

He looked at her, curious. “Where’d you get that?”

“You gave it to me. And you will again. That’s the best part. Let’s get out of here.”

Using the second screwdriver, the Doctor successfully removed the Dalek control chip. Holding the tiny device in his hand, he said, “Unfortunately, I think it will inhibit his memory a little. I don’t think he’ll remember much about the past few days.”

“Good,” said Lisa’s double. “Whatever knowledge Caan gave him in the hands of Biff Tannen isn’t a good thing.”

“I heartily agree.” Dr. Brown said.

After that little exchange, Lisa’s double teleported Tannen first, dropping him off at his truck outside. Let him worry about how he got there. Next, she took Dr. Brown, Martha, and her other self one by one. The Doctor was last. She brought them all to the front of the TARDIS.

Inside the machine, the Doctor gently laid Lisa down on one of the seats near the console. Her head was still bleeding, so he and Martha cleaned and dressed it along with her other wounds. Lisa’s double informed them that it could be hours or days before she awoke.

“Just don’t tell her about this little trip, please,” she said. “She can’t know about this…it’d screw up my timeline.”

The Doctor and Martha nodded their understanding. The TARDIS’ controls suddenly beeped a warning, signaling that it picked up the Time Corridor again. This time, it had been activated. Caan would be able to use it within minutes. They had to hurry.

End chapter eleven.

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