who_contest | "Hidden" (The Bad Guys Entry)

Title "Hidden"
Fandom/Pairing: Doctor Who (written with Eleven and Clara in mind, but no references made so could be seen as any Doctor/any companion)
Rating: PG
Word count c. 566
Prompt/Theme: "The Bad Guys" @

who_contest, and "Laboratory" @

dw_allsorts
Summary: The Doctor thinks he's been to this laboratory before. Back in his UNIT days. He's changed a lot, and so has UNIT - what secrets are they hiding in this now disused lab that the TARDIS was so keen to avoid?
Disclaimer: Characters borrowed without consent for personal, non-profit use. No copyright infringement intended!

The Doctor thinks he’s visited this laboratory before, when he worked for UNIT, perhaps. He’d gone through a couple of regenerations since then, and so had UNIT.

They had started as a taskforce to investigate extraterrestrial threats to Earth, but somewhere along the way had forgotten to investigate. It became clear to the Doctor that they had become more malevolent with the creation of their new prison and prison rules. It was understood by him, that prisoners were being held without the usual rights. He shuddered at the through.

Laboratories could be wonderful places. Where scientist grew and developed. Where they learnt and played, and even sometimes they would advance not only their minds, but their species too.

This now abandoned laboratory was giving his assistant the creeps too. She’d said as much.

"The activity the TARDIS picked up could be from when UNIT owned the building. Although, now I think about it, UNIT should have never be in procession of a laboratory."

"I thought you said they’d created-"

"Some technology, perhaps, but this feels different, somehow…"

The Doctor trailing off like that did little to ease her nerves.

"Doctor?"

"Hmm? Oh, probably just it to design better ways of keeping their prisoners in-" The Doctor quickly put a hand to his mouth.

She turned and faced him, glaring at him almost.

"Sounded better in my head," he mumbled as way of an explanation.

"You mean, they actually experimented on aliens?"

"We all have dark days-"

"That’s barbaric!"

"The Sonic’s not picking anything up this way. Let’s go back."

"Yeah, like all the way back. Back to the TARDIS!"

"She might not like that."

"You said she didn’t want you to land here."

"Yeah, she does that," The Doctor smiled brightly and lead his companion back down the hall they just walked. They followed the blinking light of the Sonic Screwdriver as it grew brighter and weaker. It was like that hot and cold game children played, she thought absently.

"Here," said the Doctor as they arrived at a doorway.

"There’s not much here," she exclaimed. "I thought they’d be-"

"What? A big flashing sign saying alien tech!" He tried to hide his laugh. She pulled an unimpressed face, and turned to scope the room move carefully.

The Doctor started at the opposite corner and was following the blinking Sonic light again.

She bent down as something caught her eye. “Eh, Doctor,” she called.

"Just a sec" The Doctor shouted back, not looking up.

"Doctor?" she urged.

The Doctor turned at the same time she did. He caught sight of what she was holding up.

Swinging from her hand on a silver chain was a silver pocket watch.

"No!" said the Doctor, quite calmly at first. Then he got louder and louder until he turned blue in the face screaming at her.

She dropped the watch, scared as she’d never seen the Doctor like that.

"We have to get out of here," The Doctor was back to talking quietly.

She nodded her understanding, silently thinking, finally.

"NOW!" the Doctor yelled when she made move to go.

The grabbed her hand and ran out. He didn’t stop running until he was at the doors of the TARDIS.