“She’s chosen to come here,” said the Doctor.
“We’d best be ready,” replied Storm. The Black Panther took a radio in his hands.
“All non-combative personnel are to evacuate to the shelters,” he ordered. “Those with combat training will stay. Remember the SHIELD training concerning Skrulls.”
“In the meantime,” said the Doctor, “I’d better get to work on a Skrull detector.”
“The humans are trying to raise their defenses, your Majesty,” remarked Veranke’s aide. “I personally think it’s cute that they think they can do anything to you.”
“I can see where you say that,” replied Veranke. “Let’s split up and play with these animals.” The two Skrulls split up and disguised themselves.
The aide went to one part of the tower, disguised as a soldier and rushing to do something to “aid in the Tower’s defenses”. He then rounded a corner and spotted a soldier kneeling over something. Judging from his research, the aide correctly deduced that he was a Private. He looked at his own clothes and saw the symbol for a sergeant. “PRIVATE!” he shouted. “What in Sam Hill do you think you’re doing, lazing about?!” The Private didn’t answer. “HEY! I’M TALKING TO YOU, SOLDIER! OR ARE YOU DEA-!?” He stopped when he saw a piece of tech that WASN’T human. “…What in the Hell?” he muttered. “Private, where did you get that?” asked the aide. The Private then stepped aside…to reveal a body. The face looked like the Private’s but the body was opened and had evidence of dissection! The aide gasped. “…Y-You’re not-!” he gasped.
“We saw you change your face,” replied the fake Private as he strode forward. The aide leveled his gun at the fake Private.
“I’m warning you, back-!” The fake Private grabbed the gun and summoned electricity to destroy it! The aide turned back into his usual Skrull shape in fear, then the fake Private glowed green as he grabbed the aide and delivered a fatal bio-electric shock to his system.
While that was going on, Veranke slipped through the ranks before arriving at the commons room. The only one there was the Doctor. Veranke gasped when she saw the TARDIS. “…Now do you believe William?” asked the Doctor. “He said that you didn’t believe that I was a Time Lord.”
“…You aren’t fooled?” asked Veranke.
“Well, when you’ve got an early warning system that can analyze the proteins in Skrull cells that allow you to change your face, you’re not easily taken by surprise,” replied the Doctor.
“…I had no idea YOU had survived, Doctor,” said Veranke as she assumed her real shape. “I was under the impression that all the Time Lords were extinct.”
“Oh, we came back,” answered the Doctor.
“You should have stayed extinct.” Veranke drew her gun.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you!” The Doctor pointed her sonic screwdriver at the gun.
“That’s a sonic probe!”
“Screwdriver,” corrected the Doctor.
“It’s harmless,” replied Veranke.
“You’re right, doesn’t maim, doesn’t kill, but I’ll tell you what it DOES do. …It is VERY good…at opening doors!” The Doctor switched the screwdriver on, filling the air with its usual buzz. The doors unlocked and Storm, the Black Panther, Skarla, and Amy leapt out.
“…How?” asked Veranke as she pointed at Skarla. “How did your colony learn the secrets of creating a Super Skrull?!”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?!” Skarla stretched herself and wrapped around Veranke. Veranke struggled, then sighed.
“Can’t believe I’m doing this!” she grumbled. She then bit Skarla.
“OW!” shouted Skarla.
“Skarla, back away!” called Storm. Skarla unwrapped herself from Veranke and Storm directed lightning to strike the Skrull Queen. Unfortunately, Veranke had activated an anti-lightning shield. “…Of course,” grumbled Storm. The Black Panther then struck, swiping his claws at Veranke. He scored a blow and cut Veranke’s cheek.
“ARGH! Backwards primitive!” snarled Veranke as she pointed her gun at the Black Panther. Amy then knocked the gun out of the Skrull Queen’s hands with her hammer.
As the fight went on, William and Lurra Rus finished the last of the civilian staff evacuations. “Right! That’s the last of them!” he said.
“Now, to make sure…erm, William,” said Lurra Rus.
“Yeah?”
“Do you recognize that technology?” Lurra Rus pointed at the alien device. William arched an eyebrow.
“It…doesn’t look like any of the tech I’ve seen or became familiar with,” he said.
“It’s unfamiliar to me too,” remarked Lurra Rus. The two cautiously approached it and carefully put a finger to it. …Nothing happened. “Maybe the Doctor can figure it out,” said Lurra Rus.
“She’s probably busy with Veranke,” replied William. “And we need to check for her aaaaaaaaiiiiiiiyYIKES!” William fell flat on his rear when he saw two dissected corpses! Lurra Rus gagged in disgust. William steeled himself and made his way to the corpses. He examined the human one. “…Private Anderson…” he said. “…I fixed his broken leg a year ago!” He then looked at the other. “…That must have been Veranke’s aide!”
“What could have done this?!” shuddered Lurra Rus.
“Intruders,” said a voice. William and Lurra Rus turned…to see Veranke’s aide standing there. William looked back and forth between the corpse and the aide standing there.
“…You dissected them…” he gulped, “…to understand their biology…and make the disguise believable in terms of appearance!”
“We are specially trained in the metamorphosis techniques,” replied the aide’s double. “You know too much!”
“And so will the Doctor!” warned Lurra Rus.
“Doctor?” asked the double.
“A Time Lord,” explained William as he grabbed the device.
“DROP THE RECORDS DEVICE!” ordered the double as electricity crackled in its fingers.
“RUN!” shouted William. He and Lurra Rus ran with the double in hot pursuit.
Veranke was tiring out with the non-stop attacks. These people had obviously planned this! Her opponents stopped their attack as Veranke collapsed, panting all the while. The Skrull Queen glared at her attackers. “Now, Queen Veranke,” said the Doctor, “do you yield?”
“Where the hell is Brilkus?!” demanded Veranke. “He was supposed to regroup with me! What did you do to him, Time Lord?!”
“You mean your aide?” asked the Doctor. “I haven’t seen him.” William and Lurra Rus then burst into the commons room, locking the door behind them.
“Doctor, we’ve got trouble!” warned William. The Doctor’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the device in his hands.
“William, where did you get that?” she asked.
“From the murderer of a human and Veranke’s aide!” replied Lurra Rus.
“What?! Brilkus is dead?! Explain yourselves!” demanded Veranke.
“First off,” panted William, “let me stress that neither Lurra Rus nor I were responsible for your aide’s death! It looks like we have another shape-shifter here! They dissected the poor victims with surgical precision and given my own skills with a scalpel, I KNOW surgical precision when I see it! They must have used what they learned about our respective biology to craft their disguise!”
“That’s exactly how they would do it,” muttered the Doctor.
“You know this shape-shifter, Doctor?” asked Lurra Rus.
“Yes, and judging by the records device here, I’d say the shape-shifter is the person from the 29th century we’re looking for. It looks like they were prepared to take advantage of the Grouping. Odd, really, considering they don’t use time travel.”
“What is this creature, then, Doctor?” asked Veranke.
“A creature I met before, on the island of Fang-.” The Doctor didn’t get to finish her sentence as the door exploded via an electric blast. The double of Veranke’s aide then stormed into the room. It scanned the room visually, then spotted the TARDIS.
“…Who owns that craft?” it demanded.
“I do,” replied the Doctor. “And you need to stop!”
“Why should we obey you, Doctor?” asked the double. “After all, you killed us at Fang Rock. Many times there, in fact. The scout and the mothership.”
“You lot were planning to set up a power base here on Earth to try and beat the Sontarans back!” replied the Doctor. “And those are the only deaths I’m responsible for!”
“We are one, Doctor. To harm one is to harm all.”
“Nevertheless, I plead necessity for my friends’ survival! Look, why don’t you shed that disguise? It’s rather hot in here.”
“…Very well, we will grant you that request,” replied the double. It then glowed green and seemed to shrink into something vaguely ball-shaped before tentacles and a single black orb for an eye appeared. The glow died and the creature now looked like a giant, green jellyfish.
“William, Amy, Lurra Rus, you all met the Sontarans before,” said the Doctor, “now meet their sworn enemy, the Rutans!”
“Hang on a second, I’m engaged in negotiations with the Rutan Host!” protested Veranke. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“We are not from this time, Veranke,” replied the Rutan. “We came here to prevent you from delaying our victory over the Sontaran Rabble!”