Suddenly, Jeannie and Ted ran into the console room. 'Peri, who are you...' Jeannie ran forward to grab her, but the light scorched her hands. Ted grabbed Peri by the legs and yanked her down behind the console. The white light retreated back towards the old woman, and while she tried to make contact with Peri once more, the Doctor felt the bond of the force field weaken. He ran like a fly through treacle towards the woman, who continued her babbling to Peri.
'Come back, Peri...you must come back.'
There was silence and then the old woman's voice was grim. 'Very well, I shall bring you to me!' She began to concentrate all her mental energy upon the image of Peri and suddenly the TARDIS materialised before her. The door opened and Ted stepped out. He was immediately caught in the red beam of a laser which had been intended for Peri. he was cut down and Peri screamed as she followed him out.
The Doctor suddenly reached the old woman and he tipped her chair over to one side. Peri ran to grab him and they tore towards the TARDIS.
Once inside the Doctor closed the doors and scrabbled at the controls to get away. Jeannie ran to the doors, 'Wait! Ted's out there.'
Peri stared at her, still reeling from the action and suddenly realising that Jeannie had not seen Ted's fate, 'No, he's not,' she said without thinking.
Jeannie ran to the console and the door lever. 'Yes he is. I saw him go out!' She tried to stop the Doctor's arm moving the controls but he was fighting madly with the console to break free of the old woman's mental grip. 'Please stop! We've got to get Ted!'
Peri went over to her and gently but firmly pulled her away from the console. 'Jeannie...the old woman...she fired something at him...he got in the way, it was meant for me...he saved my life.'
Jeannie stared at her in horror, the implications of Peri's awkward speech sinking in. 'What..? But I saw him go out...' She took a few steps backwards, in a daze.
On the scanner screen, the old woman seemed to be floating out of her upturned chair and floating towards the TARDIS. 'I am the Strength of Life, Doctor. I have powers beyond the Time Lord imagination, I can hunt you down wherever you go and open this craft...justice must be done!'
The Doctor shook his head grimly. 'Not your kind of justice, I'm afraid, granny. Now you get back to your armchair there's a good old dear...' He threw a complicated array of switches and the figure of the old woman was suddenly flung away from the TARDIS and on to the floor. 'Well it's nice to see that the force-field is still working after all these years. Would you like a further demonstration of the TARDIS' capabilities?' He smiled nonchalantly at the screen, but the old woman was rising once more from the screen.
'Most certainly, Doctor! Show me what you can do and I will tell you afterwards if you impress me at all!'
'Very well,' said the Doctor and the police box changed to a grand piano and back again. 'I can turn the outer shell into a red hot surface if I so wish to keep, err, unwanted visitors, like you, at bay. I can make us invisible. In fact, I can do anything.'
The old woman could see through the Doctor's bumbling attempts at buying time to program the controls. 'Ah yes...but can you make your craft take off?
The Doctor grinned. 'Ah well...I do that for a finale!' He threw the correct controls and the TARDIS began to dematerialise. The old woman's confident leer turned to a shocked and surprised look of horror.
'No! Wait, you have Peri! You cannot take her, you cannot inflict more pain upon her!'
As the TARDIS disappeared, the Doctor smiled and promised that he'd try not to.
~~~
The console room was silent. Jeannie stood and wept for Ted and Peri looked through her tears at the Doctor, wondering why he had suddenly arrived at the place after being dead; wondering about many things but not really bothering to find the answers as the fatigue fought through.
Caroline suddenly ran into the console room from the inner door. She opened her mouth to say something and then saw the Doctor at the console. 'He's not in his room?' she said in a hushed voice to Peri.
The Doctor looked up in surprise. 'Hello. Should I be in my room?'
Caroline looked back down the corridor, checking she'd come to the right place. 'What's going on?'
'A good deal, my girl,' said the Doctor
Peri began to say something about the figure lying on her bed in her room, but the Doctor waved this away, explaining that the old woman's mental power was so great that, as she said, she could do almost anything. The figure on the bed was a solid projection of the mind, as were the voices and figures the Doctor had seen and heard, except that the voices had been that of the old woman. Apparently she used to be a ventriloquist on Tuwenton Nine...
The Time Rotor began to slow down and then stop and the Doctor then opened the doors. he crossed over to where Caroline was comforting Jeannie and gave them an awkward pat on the shoulder each. 'I'm more sorry than I can tell you, my friend. If it hadn't been for me and the TARDIS materialising of its own accord in New York, the young man would still be alive. As it is, I'm afraid I've caused you a great deal of pain, something I've been accused of doing by many...I'm sorry.'
This made Jeannie just cry even more and Caroline helped her out into the warm sunshine of New York where yet another crowd had gathered.
Peri walked out after them and the Doctor's hearts sank as he realised that perhaps she had not yet forgiven him for the way he'd behaved last time she'd left. He was about to turn sadly back to the console and leave when Peri returned to the TARDIS threshold, this time holding her two suitcases and shoulder bag.
'Doctor...?' she asked quietly.
The Doctor beamed. 'Yes of course you can come back, Peri.'
written by
MICHAEL STEVENS
copyright 2011
artwork by
COLIN JOHN
copyright 2013