Universe 1 He had not expected that. But the Doctor had to hand it to her, she got the man talking. Men were funny sometimes. Especially a man like him. Jen played well on his ego and not only did they learn his name but they were getting a private tour to see this “special thing”. Following along, the Doctor kept back as Jen and Mr. Van Statten continued to chat. Glancing over, he smiled at the stern faced guards, who apparently did not trust him despite the fact that their boss was so taken with Jen. Maybe that added to their dislike. He didn’t know. He glanced at Jen. He could see why Van Statten was attracted to her. She wasn’t a Cleopatra but she did have her own beauty to her and in his sense, made a better traveling companion any day. Not that Van Statten was thinking of her as a traveling companion – at least not in the sense the Doctor and Jen had been. Reaching the cage, the Doctor waited for the large door to open. The nerve of humans sometimes. Locking up something they didn’t understand. His jaw clenched. Whoever it was, he was going to do what he could to free it. Though he had yet to see it, the way Van Statten spoke, the Doctor knew that it was extraterrestrial and sentient. He would have to do something. Humans couldn’t just lock up whatever they found whenever they feel like it. One of these days it would come back to bite them. The large door shut behind them, leaving the three of them alone in the room with whatever the “special thing” was. Dim lights cast shadows on around the room, and whatever the thing was, it was hidden deep in the shadows. Glaring at Van Statten he took a step forward. “Whoever it is, it doesn’t deserve staying chained here.” He declared just before the creature spoke. Face paling, he took a step back. Moving forward, the creature spoke again, the twin lights on the metal dome flashing with each word. As he spoke, his voice grew stronger. “Doc-tor? The Doc-tor?” Turning, terrified, the Doctor looked at Van Statten, not bothering to answer Jen. “We got to get out of here.” He declared. “Now.” The man just laughed and said something about getting it to talk. The Doctor shook his head. The man was an idiot. “Exterminate.” The electronic voice spoke again. “You are an enemy of the Daleks! You will be exterminated!” Moving in front of Jen to protect her, the Doctor winced waiting for the bolt of energy that would take his life but it never came. Glancing up, he looked over. The creature pressed up against the chains, straining to break them. Though, the fire mechanism was aimed at them and moving, nothing came out. The eye piece moved down and looked at the weapon. Laughing, the Doctor moved closer. “Fantastic.” He declared. “Oh fantastic. Look at you, completely powerless.” He laughed again. “The great space dustbin. Fantastic.” His expression changed slightly. “How does it feel?” The machine backed up slowly now defenseless. “Stay away.” It croaked, seeming afraid. Ignoring its plea, the Doctor moved up to it’s eyepiece. “What for? What you going to do? If you can’t kill, then what good are you? What’s the point, Dalek?” The word came off with venom and bitterness, adding to his mocking tone. As if no one else was in the room or watching, the Doctor continued. “You are nothing. What are you doing here?” He mocked. “I am waiting for orders.” The creature replied. The Doctor chuckled. “You got a long way to go.” He turned slightly and took a step, only to spin back and look at the creature. “They’re never going to come. They’re dead. Your entire race is dead. Burnt. Tens of millions of ships burning the sky. The entire Dalek race wiped out in seconds.” The amount of glee in his tone as he rubbed the fact into the Dalek sounded nothing like the man who had met Jen. Van Statten grabbed Jen to keep her from going forward. “Wait. This is good.” He said, his grip, though not harsh, firm. “You lie!” The Dalek screamed. “You lie!” “I watched it happen.” Gone was the animosity, the anger. It was as if it burdened him. Straightening, he glared at the Dalek. “I made it happen. In a moment, I did what you are best at.” He said snapping his finger. “I exterminated the Dalek race.” “And the Time Lords?” The Dalek inquired. His shoulders fells slightly. “Dead. They burnt with you. The end of the Last Great Time War.” He shook his head. “Everyone lost.” “And the coward survived.” The Dalek declared. The Doctor looked at him. “Oh I caught your signal.” He shot right back. “Help me, I’m alone. Poor little thing.” He mocked. “But no one’s coming. All gone.” “I am alone.” The Dalek replied. The Doctor nodded. “We are the same Doctor.” The Dalek continued. “Alone in the universe.” Rage filled the Doctor’s face. “We are not the same!” He shot back. Then he paused. “You know what, maybe you’re right.” He walked over to the lever. “Cause you know what I’m going to do?” He put his hand on the lever. “I’m going to exterminate you.” He said flipping the switch. The Dalek screamed as electricity, strengthened by the metal coursed through the mutated alien. That was enough for Van Statten. Calling into the camera for backup, he pulled the Doctor back and into the arms of two awaiting guards. Flipping the switch, he ended the Dalek’s pain. “Take him somewhere we can talk.” He ordered. He nodded for another guard to keep Jen back so she couldn’t come forward. “Sorry, darling.” He said winking at her. “This will have to be private.” He nodded toward the technician who had been working on the Dalek. “Keep it talking.” He ordered following the men out. Only until after they were gone did the guard step out of Jen’s way. --- Universe 2 Regeneration. That seemed strangely out of context. She glanced sideways at the Doctor wondering what he meant by that. However, he seemed to realize how it sounded and went on to explain what he meant. Cheating death… That was interesting. To be able to avoid the fate of all mankind sounded enviable. Not that she feared death, no. She just preferred to live. The fact that it caused physical and even mental changes sounded a bit dangerous to her. Though she wouldn’t mind a body that was more attractive, the thought of changing personalities frightened her. Yes, some people might think she was a bit slow. True, she was reflective, but she liked it that way. True, life’s circumstances were often what she liked but she wouldn’t change her life for anyone else’s. Still… Moving the conversation to Shakespeare, Summer listened to him talk. It made sense that everyone went. When one only had the day-to-day mundane, any form of entertainment would be a good escape. She hid a smile, slightly amused as he gave a bow. Sometimes he could act so much like a gentleman. So polite, so kind. It was a talent that was sorely lacking in her twenty-first century home. As they walked toward the large theatre, Summer listened to the Doctor compare the two times. Her heartbeat picked up a bit when he pulled her closer. She glanced to the side. Why was she acting this way? They were traveling companions, friends. There was nothing between them. Nor did she want anything. Or did she? She pushed the thoughts aide. Of course not. She barely knew him. Besides, she didn’t want a relationship. They got complicated with pressures for more when in reality she just wanted a friend. Sitting down, Summer turned her attention to the stage. She wasn’t going to let anything spoil her from this moment. She loved the theatre and Shakespeare was one of her favorite playwrights. When the play started, she was a bit surprised to see that they jumped straight into the end of Love’s Labour’s Lost. Though they missed most of it, she still watched eagerly as they ran through the ending. As the play ended, she joined the rest in clapping, though she did not call out. It wasn’t something she liked to do. “That was fun.” She said turning to glance at the Doctor. However, just then the man himself came on stage. She turned and looked back at Shakespeare a bit excited. It was him. He looked a bit different then she expected but still she recognized him from the portraits they still had of him. When he spoke, her smile disappeared. That was unexpected. Not something she expected him to say. When he promised a sequel, her frown increased. That made no sense. There was no play called Loves Labour’s Won. Watching him leave she turned to the Doctor puzzled but he beat her to the punch. She was glad that it wasn’t just her and she followed him outside. Despite the fact that Shakespeare was different then what she expected, excitement ran through her as the desire to meet him still ran strong. The inn they found the man in was not the best. But then again, Summer doubted any of the inns at this time would be good. She waited as the Doctor pulled out a paper and introduced them. When Shakespeare declared the paper was blank, she frowned and glanced at it. There was words on it. But before she could say anything, Shakespeare apparently wasn’t finished. Giving a slight bow, he spoke. Unsure who he was talking to she glanced slightly behind her only to realize he had been speaking to her. A bit surprised, Summer wasn’t sure whether she should feel insulted or flattered. “Uh, thank ye kind sir.” She stated settling for a polite response. The glanced at the Doctor as he informed her no. Not to talk like that. As the two sat down, she forced a smile as Shakespeare moved up right next to her. He was definitely not what she expected. Despite the Doctor’s attempts at discussing the play, the man still injected several compliments her way, interested more in discussing her then his writings. “No. I’m not from around here.” She replied to yet another one of his questions. Though the attention was quite flattering, she was getting a bit uncomfortable. She looked at the Doctor hoping he would get the man’s mind off her and onto something else. Thankfully for both of them, another man entered the room. He seemed quite wealthy for the time. His clothes were better material and he wore a gold chain of office. “I say sir.” He declared looking at Shakespeare. “That was an abominable behavior. A new play? And without warning?” He shook his head annoyed as he glared at the playwright. “As you well know, I am the Master of Reveals. All plays must be approved by me before they can be performed.” His eyes narrowed. “Pulling this on me at the last moment is just detestable. Let’s see it then.” He ordered. When Shakespeare pretended to act innocent, the man’s face started to turn even more purple. “The script, Sir!” He declared. “Let me see it.” Summer watched as the two conversed. Though it brought a bit of relief from all Shakespeare’s attention, she felt sorry for him as the man continued to berate him. “You can’t?” The vein in his head practically popped. “In that case, your performance is hereby canceled.” He declared. “I'm returning to my office for a banning order. If it's the last thing I do, Love's Labours Won will never be played.” With that he stomped out of the room, leaving the three of them alone. Summer glanced over at Shakespeare. The man just laughed nervously and turned his attention back to her. “Aren’t you concerned about the fact he is not doing your show?” She inquired. Turns out, he hadn’t even written the script. The play being canceled would save him the hassle of having to stay up all night writing it. She glanced at the Doctor a bit surprised. Apparently, the playwright didn’t mind the fact that many people would be annoyed with the performance being canceled. He was still famous enough that people would still come and see him. Turning back, she was found that Shakespeare once again came at her engaging her in conversation. Naturally a reserved person, and though the attention was flattering and all, this was getting very uncomfortable. Thankfully for her, the Doctor stated that they had to go. Suppressing a sigh of relief, she let her hand be kissed and quickly followed the Doctor out. “Thank you.” She whispered when they were out of the room. “It was getting a bit difficult in there. He is not like what I expected.” She declared. A scream echoed through the air causing them to stop. Taking off after the Doctor, Summer tried to keep up, her attire slowing her down. Though she liked dresses, they did limit the movement and speed of an individual. Thankfully though, they didn’t go far so she didn’t lose the Doctor. Seeing a man on the ground she recognized him as the man from the room. “What happened?” She asked as the Doctor examined the man.