The Alchemist by Michael Scott

The first instalment of the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series tells the story of how Josh and Sophie Newman meet Nicholas and his wife Perenelle, and about their first meeting with the nefarious Doctor John Dee. Throughout the book, various mythological characters are referenced and met, such as Scathach, the warrior maiden, the witch of Endor and Hekate, the goddess with three faces. This provides a realistic point of view to the book, and kind of automatically creates it's own back stories, that can be experience with some research, or alternatively, some googling.

The story has it's own take on magic, suggesting it as an expansion of the aura with each character having their own colour, and odour for that matter. This makes for an interesting concept and, if you're quite impressionable like me, an infuriating reminder that another great way of writing magic has been taken.
Each character is written brilliantly, even if I do find some characters like Hekate changeable.* Dee and Flamel are written perfectly, stealing the story from our two main characters. If anything though, the greatest character is Perenelle. The way she is written is very entertaining, and the pure will and determination of Flamel's wife is the key principal to her realistic characterisations.
The plot is simple, too simple perhaps, and could be simplified to this: Josh and Sophie stumble across Perenelle being kidnapped and, being children from a mysterious prophecy, are taken by Flamel to Scathach who suggest she goes with them to Hekates house. Arriving there, they start to receive their magic, but have to leave in a hurry because of a battle. They seek out the witch of Endor for assistant and then fight zombies. The book ends there. You may not think of that being fair, but trust me, once you've read it, you'll think it is. The book is brilliantly written, yes, but the plot, despite being interesting and fun, doesn't really grab the imagination in a way that makes you desperate to read more. I, personally, have a rule, if you don't want to read the next immediately, it isn't worth reading. Obviously some books are exceptions, such as James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Charlie Bone, but this isn't. Despite a mild curiosity as to what Scott has in store for the Newman twins, I'm not overly motivated to read further into this world.

Besides the plot, my main grievances with this book is simply the american spelling. This may seem petty, but throughout the book, words such colour and odour are misspelt, and word such as boot and lift are replaced by 'trunk' and 'elevator' which is quite annoying indeed! But apart from that, my only problem is the the need not to have to read further books.

In conclusion, the Alchemist by Michael Scott is an interesting book, alright, but it isn't the most intriguing thing I've ever read, and definitely doesn't leave me wanting more.

Because of this, I give it six out of ten.

*that's a joke you'll only get if you've read the book, by the way.

Shada by Gareth Roberts

Based upon the script by Douglas Adams for the the fourth doctor era of Doctor Who, Shada tells the adventure of the Doctor and Romana, as played by Tom Baker and Lalla Ward, as they go to visit an old friend of theirs, Professor Chronotis. The old professor is on his final life, and so has retired to Cambridge where he shall carry out the rest of his days in reasonable comfort. The doctor, however, has picked up a distress beacon, originating from Cambridge. Worried for the Professors health, the doctor, Romana and K9 head to Cambridge, where they discover the professor has committed a terrible crime, he stole the The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Galifrey, a book he shouldn't possess. Because the book is the key to a deadly location, a location which could cause evil in the wrong hands. And Skagra has the wrong hands. Skagra is determined to steal the book, and he doesn't care if it means taking peoples minds. But the book falls into the hands of Chris Parsons, a confused student who doesn't understand the significance of this edition. And so the adventure begins...

The negatives first. My only problem with the story is that its maybe a bit too long. Obviously, this sounds like a really rubbish criticism, but there is a reason. The story is split into several different sections, each section being presumably a different episode. This means that each part is quite long. Because there can't be constant action and revelations, this can make some section a tad boring, but the author combats this with the humour and wit that is constant in all of Adams works.

Apart from that the story is sound.

Now for the positives. As a big fan of Doctor Who, I'm obsessed with Tom Bakers era. The main reason is that if you want to start watching classic Doctor Who, there's a high probability you'll end up watching Tom Baker. Because of this, I'm quite aware of the format of which some episodes conform to. In the episodes I've watched, with the doctor, Romana and K9, there's a common theme of the doctor going off to have an adventure with a new found male companion whilst Romana gets imprisoned and K9 stays in the Tardis. To a certain degree, Shada sticks to this pattern, giving the whole story a level of realism.
In all of Douglas Adams work there is a brilliant mixture of wit, genius and all round brilliance, something that Gareth Roberts does well to replicate in this. The story is a well written interpretation of Adams' work and, whilst containing the wit and humour of a hitchhikers adventure, brings in an element of modern doctor who, making the book relevant to fans of doctor who, old and new, and fans of Douglas Adams work.
The plot is absolutely brilliant and it would make a truly beautiful episode. I love the way in which the doctor will go from saving the world one second to having a conversation with the ship. This makes the story fun to read and not too dramatic.
And my favourite moment is brilliant and near the end of the book, where the professor explains how he stole the book. He explains that he replaced the book with another, from Earth. He couldn't explain what it was though. Something about towels and thumbing a ride. I find that moment beautiful and it's one of the highlights of the book.

In conclusion, Shada is an excellent telling of one of Douglas Adams lost scripts, with Gareth Roberts demonstrating why he's so brilliant at Doctor Who. A funny, clever and thoroughly entertaining adventure, I give Shada nine out of ten.

Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch

The third book in it's series, Whispers Underground is genuinely brilliant. The series follows Peter Grant, a probationary police officer in London, and his introduction into the folly under the supervision of Inspector Nightingale, the last magician in the met.
In book three, Peter is called to Baker Street tube station, where under the watchful gaze of Sherlock Holmes- the statue not the fictional character- he is involved with an investigation into the death of James Gallagher, son of an American senator. But unlike the investigations of the fictional detective, this story isn't wrapped up in a moment of genius deduction. The story follows a realistic metropolitan police investigation. And, without giving away the plot, the story wouldn't work without this factor.

Now, I think I'll do the negatives first. When I bought the series, it said it was 'the perfect series for a young adult'. When I read that, I didn't realise what it meant. Boy do I now! Literally, the language in these books would make a stereotypical sailor blush! Every page has at least one swear word on, and when Inspector Seawoll speaks, well let's just say, he'd never get a job on the BBC!
That obviously ways the book down a little bit, as it limits the audience of the book. It's written in a way that ten years and onwards would enjoy, but it's just far too rude!
Another downside is a scene where Peter hallucinates four hundred years into the past. It slows down the plot, so not so enjoyable, especially as it happens as the adventure gets to an all time high!
Apart from that, I hardly have any more criticisms. Apart from, maybe, that the authors second name is a chore to write- especially with autocorrect- so I have to type Ben, which makes it sound informal!

Now for the positives! I'll start with 'Bens' writing. It's brilliant. As weird as it sounds, he writes like a conversation with your grandfather. He starts to tell you a story, but ends up giving you information about everything he talks about. The writers knowledge of London is clear in this book, as he delights in telling you the architectural history of every building that he visits, which gives a clear understanding of the setting. One of my favourite things is the way in which he describes the metropolitan police. One of the integral things in the story is the Holmes system, so named as they couldn't find an acronym that spelt Sherlock. As ridiculous as this may sound, it's true, and is only a tiny bit of the interesting information you learn throughout this and the other books in the Peter Grant Series. The author does a superb job of self narrating the story, making the story both fun, interesting and most importantly, relatable. There's a brilliant moment when he exits the sewers, where he discovers something quite important. Instead of reacting out of fear, curiosity or sheer amazement, he complains about how tired he is. This is also reflected in the way that people still suffer from past injuries from previous books.
The magic in the series is a key element, as it provides something for the folly to investigate. But the great thing, is that instead of swishing wands around, the magic is tedious to learn, as the incantations are written in Latin. The magic itself is even more interesting though. Instead of making colourful beams of light, it'll fry a computer chip when wired to electricity and rot your brain. Which wouldn't happen in Harry Potter now would it?
Another great thing is that, even though there is a continuous theme of the faceless man, the crime is a crime and not an evil scheme by him. This adds a level of reality to the story, which just makes it even better.
The characters are all brilliant, especially Inspector Seawoll. Although he's very rude, the inspector presents a brilliant representation of a police officer who isn't overly thrilled with his job. Along with Inspector Nightingale and Frank Caffery and his merry band of paramilitary troopers, he's one of the greatest characters.

I could go on for ages, so I'll come to the conclusion now. 
Whispers Underground is, if not very rude and inappropriate in some cases, a superb books. The characters are believable, the investigation clever and the conclusion brilliant! One of a  four book series by the writer of 1980s episode of Doctor Who: Battlefield, this is brilliant story.

I give it 8/10.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events

When I was considering a book to write a review of, the first one that came to my mind was the one mentioned in the title of this post. Well actually, that was lie. The first I thought of was Rivers of London because I wanted to write a review of the latest book I read because I wanted to be like a friend on Twitter. Then I thought of Bog Child, because that was a bit of homework I was given. Then I thought, why not do my favourite series of books ever written. So here we are, you reading, me writing, a review on a Series of Unfortunate Events.
The series follow Klaus, Violet and Sunny as they mourn the loss of their parents and get tossed from one guardian to another. Klaus, Violet and Sunny are superb characters, each with their individual traits- which we are unfortunately reminded of at the beginning of each book. Violet is an inventor, but only when she wraps her hair back with a special ribbon, Klaus is a reader who wears his trademark glasses and Sunny likes biting things, with her exceptionally  sharp teeth. With these three skills, which come in surprisingly handy, they avoid traps, defeat schemes and prove adults wrong, as they battle against the evil, fire starting villain that is 'Count Olaf.' During the series, our heroes make many interesting discoveries, and find that the world isn't always quiet, but there are people out there who want to make it that way.
So, the positives. The characters are superb. Klaus, Violet and Sunny are brought to life perfectly, showing that intellect and bravery are a winning combination. Throughout the series, our three main heroes change a lot, both physically and mentally. But none change more than Sunny. Sunny starts out in the series as a juvenile baby who doesn't understand the baffling world of treachery, danger and skulduggery around her and talks in a incomprehensible babble which is only understood by her brother and sister. But by the end of the series, she becomes an articulate young girl with a promising career in cooking. But the superb thing about that, is that it doesn't happen all at once. Slowly she starts to change, and seeing that it's written in the brilliant method of Mr Snicket, it seems real.
The villains in the novel are fantastic, all playing part to the stereotypical villain. The man with long nose, the hookhanded man, the two white faced women, the mysterious-women-from-book-6-who-I-shan't-name-because-of-spoilers, the man with a beard but no hair and the women with hair but no beard are all written superbly, displaying cruelty, evil and the most important quality of all villains: determination. But they don't have a patch on the true villain of the story. Oh no! Nobody can beat Count Olaf!
Olaf is an old school villain. The author takes great care in describing his qualities, such as his terrible hygiene, his monstrous greed and of course his nefarious scheming. He seems to be capable of disguising himself and fooling all adults! But what is driving him in his evil exploits  to steal the Baudelaire Fortune? A doomed romance maybe? The death of a loved one perhaps? The opportunity to wear lots of costumes? I really hope it's the third.
Besides are heroes and the villains, there are the guardians. These characters are very important; they give our heroes a sense of security in the darkest of times. A recurring theme amongst the guardians is that they think they are doing the best they can for the children, but in the end either end up dead or as useless as physically possible. Some are better than others, such as the brilliant Doctor Montgomery Montgomery, Aunt Josephine Lachrymose, Captain Widdershins, Justice Strauss, Jerome Squalor, Howard and so on in contrast to the others, whom were all really awful! The good thing about some of them is that they can help the children learn more about the mysteries around them. Apart from Mr Poe that is. He's just awful.
Our heroes don't make many friends during the series, apart from perhaps a set of triplets called Duncan and Isadora Quagmire. The Quagmires lost their parents and their brother- which is why there is only two triplets- in a terrible fire, like the Baudelaires and so know what our heroes are going through. During the series, the Quagmire triplets provide helpful hints to the Baudelaires about the many mysteries surrounding them. They are superb characters.
To be truthful, I could go on forever, so I'm going to just mention two more characters and move on. and those two characters are Lemony Snicket and Beatrice. Technically, they are the first charaters you meet each book, whether it's by the blurb, as written by Lemony, or the doom laden dedication regarding Beatrice. Both Beatrice and Lemony are fascinating characters, with an air of intrigue about them and a story of their own going on throughout the adventures of the orphans. Very interesting indeed. If you ever read the books, make sure you pay attention to their story, as it will get very, very interesting.
The best part of the whole series though, is the genius writing of Lemony Snicket- the pseudonym of Daniel Handler. Each book has a recurring theme, normally the adjective from the title, which Lemony will make you see from a range of different angles throughout the adventure. He has an amazing way of disrespecting his own writing. He'll constantly tell you to stop reading as it's too terrible to not read this section for some reason, then drop a very important piece of information in. In one book he talks about De Ja vu and then repeats the page three times. It's truly genius and truly breaks all traditional methods of writing. In my opinion, Lemony Snicket is the best writer of the twenty first century.

Now for the negatives. Book 4 and the fact the openings to each book are slightly annoying. Sorted.

The books are based around secrets, beautifully clever secrets that never seem to be related, but always are. Most of these secrets, you'll never find the answer to, but it's fun to work out. And that makes a series of unfortunate events unlike anything ever written before. Sure, we'll never know for certain the purpose of VFD, the contents of the sugar bowl, the identity of Beatrice or even who's idea it was to build horseradish factories so close to Doctor Montgomerys house, but the fact is, we don't need to; working out the mysteries and have your own theories is always more fun than knowing the bitter, bitter truth. A truth as bitter as wasabi- that's a reference by the way.
 But something occurred to me the other day. The book is told from the point of view of a child. As a child will tell you, all adults are either oblivious to what's going on around them or horrible. As are the adults in a series of unfortunate events. Children always feel as if the best things in life are held back from them. So are all the best things for the Baudelaires in a series of unfortunate events. But the most important thing, is that when you're young, before high school, everything is really simple, books 1,2,3 and 4. Then as you start to grow up, things become a bit more complicated, when you're in high school, books 5,6,7 and 8. And then you become an adult and everything is really, really difficult- or so I'm lectured- represent books 9,10,11,12 and 13. The books plot grow up like a child and the story helps the child to see that, using a quote from Casino Royale by Ian Flemming, all demon slayers are demons in someones eyes and that nothing is ever as it seems.

10 out of 10, and then some.

Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd

Bog Child

So, Bog Child. As the list of reviews at the beginning explains, it’s obviously very popular. The Sunday Times exclaims ‘the work of an outstanding writer.’ Without sounding too, how to put it, British, I’ve never really believed the Sunday Times. Siobhan Dowd- which is a name good enough to star in a story- is a writer and writes raw human emotion outstandingly but I wouldn’t say she’s an outstanding writer. In my opinion, a good writer writes a brilliant plot, and then fits the characters to it. In this case, the plot is character led. The story is about what the characters do, with only common sense to drive them, rather than a brilliant plot. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a plot. Oh no! The plot is basic; a boy needs to pass his exams. That’s the basic synopsis. And then the author piles on everything else: the state of his slowly falling apart family; the involvement of the IRA; the fact he’s falling in love; the impending death- of not only that of his brother but of people he believes to have died because of him and of course the mystery of the bog child.

The story is based around Fergus, a character who you believe could exist. The story tells of how he interacts with the world around him, a world that is all too real. The story lacks that one thing that, in my opinions, defines all stories of greatness. Imagination. Fergus finds a dead body in the bog. The story details the archaeological search into it, but this, quite possibly, could be true. He falls in love with the archaeologists daughter, and ends up with a broken heart. But this also could be true.

He is forced to do runs, apparently, for the IRA. With a tiny stretch of the imagination, this could also happen, in that period of time, specifically. His brother is involved with the IRA and then ends up on hunger strike. This, as well, is all too possible. The whole story could quite possibly be a biography, with a few bits slightly fabricated. To me, a story is meant to take you out of the boring world in which we live. This story just puts us back in time to this awful world- but in the world’s most terrible time.

Cora is a very annoying character, if you ask me. She goes from being this relatable, interesting, on a blue moon, funny character to a very depressed, hippy, peace, ‘free the animals’ Goth style character- but in stages of course, as not even a teenage girl with confused emotions could display that many sides at once. And no answer is really given, a light suggestion about her parents relationship perhaps but not satisfying. In my opinion, Cora is merely there to provide a childish view of the story and allow Fergus to have yet another problem on his plate!

And then we have the hunger strike. This part of the story does nothing for the plot, besides pulling your mind away from the pure fact that the story is based around one kid either passing or not passing his exams. Without giving away the plot, the hunger strike problem is solved very easily, begging the question: why put him on hunger strike at all?

The main reason is that it allows for something intriguing to be on the blurb and the whole distraction point of view, but truthfully, I think it’s just a sign of a weak story needing something else to help it become readable.

The family falling apart is ok, but ‘Da’ just so easily giving in to ‘Ma’ and her demands isn’t very realistic. I honestly feel sorry for the Casey’s. Do they ever get a break from the tyranny of Theresa and Cath? I would love to read a sequel about the Casey’s- perhaps called ‘Swamp Child’- where it turns out that  ‘Uno’ the notorious Irish bomb maker is actually secretly Bruno Casey- the uncle of the Casey family, lead to the point of terrorism by the unstoppable evil cackle of Theresa and Dwarf impressions of Cath. Sigh. We can all have our dreams. 

But, enough of the negatives!  There are some brilliant parts. The best part, in my opinion, is the gigantic plot twist at the end. I won’t tell you what it is, but it is absolutely genius and probably the highlight of the book. And it’s a six word sentence which I believe gives a perfect interpretation of the book from my point of view.

But let’s draw our attention to the name of the book. The Bog Child. Who turns out to be called Mel. Without telling you much about her story, Mel’s life is very Romeo and Julietesque. A tragic love story and a brilliant twist in the tail, her story is worthy of full concentration instead of the very boring affair of Fergus’ exam results! Definitely the second best part of the story and stops the story from falling below dismal. Thank goodness for dual plot points!  

Now for a highlight about a character that probably isn’t that popular with the serious book reviewer. Padraig is brilliant! He provides the story with a superb point of perspective, your world may be ending but the universe goes on, which is a highly enjoyable notion. His constant jokes are brilliant parts of the novel and the amount of times I’ve told the ‘extractor fan’ joke over the past few days, is really quite terrifying!

Now, I think that although the story is meant to be human- something that annoys me a lot- I don’t think anything is as human as the relationship between Owain and Fergus. Their friendship is simply life personified, the fact that no matter who you are and where you are, you can still make friends. The minute that Owain meets Fergus, thousands of rules are broken! There is a touching moment when Owain jokes about shooting Fergus and Fergus jokes he’s a terrorist. It’s this moment in which you realise that there is no chance of Owain ever shooting Fergus; despite the fact they should be fighting and have only met for that purpose, they have made a bond that can never be broken. Which makes a point, much later on in the story, even more heart wrenchingly painful. Not that I’ll tell you what it is.  And now for something completely different. The IRA runs!

For reasons I won’t explain- mainly because they ruin that part of the plot- Fergus must deliver supposed bomb packages, across the forest area. Without giving away the plot, the revealing of the contents of the packages is the best moment before the final plot twist- a bit of light relief before a gruelling end.

But the best part of all are the winding lyrics of John Lennon. They are incredible and help to place the story onto a piece of vinyl, connected from start to finish by a collection of intricate lines of existent. And the fact that they relate to each and every character means that they all exist within each other meaning that from each and every angel you see a new connection, previously unseen from all.

But is the story appropriate for year eights? I’d say no. For the pure reason that, in the whole time I read the book aloud- a grand total of six and a half paragraphs- I said more rude language than I’ve said in the entirety of my life! Also the relationship starring Fergus and Cora did go into some graphic detail. And some things happened that I’ll never be able to forget. And not in a good way.

But I can understand why people enjoy the story! The characters are believable. The situations can grab your attention. There is a comedy genius called Padraig that I believe most people would enjoy even if they hated the rest. There is an ongoing mystery of Mel and a brilliant connection to Vesuvius. There is an element of connection to Fergus, where you really connect to the character and the beauty of John Lennons lyrics allows the story to wind itself into your mind.

But in my opinion, the story isn’t the best. The positives are brilliant but sadly don’t outweigh the gigantic negatives, which drag the story down and disguise the true plot of the story. To me, Bog Child will always be a story about a kid wanting to pass his exams and the author compensating for this by throwing tons of story lines onto the pile.

In my opinion, a stories job is to free you from the world of boredom and insanity we call home. But this book just traps you there, but in the most terrible time of all.

I give it four out of ten.

Terror of the Bionicnauts

Lyra, Adric and K9 were standing in a room completely surrounded by the Bionicnauts. They could see no way out and that their death was likely to happen any second. "Deinceps!" Cried the Doctor  and he disappeared. "He's abandoned us." Whispered Lyra. "He must have had some sort of teleport-y thing."

"He wouldn't have had just abandoned us. He wouldn't have."

The Bionicnauts walked forward and then prepared to grab them. Lyra and Adric closed their eyes whilst K9 just turned off. "Get them!" Cried Twenty Seven- who seemed to be quite important.

The Bionicnauts rushed forwards and attempted to grab the human, the Alzerian and the Robot dog. Then the cold of the scrapyard ship stopped. They were enveloped inside a warm air, the vibrating of the floor had stopped and they could hear a strange humming. Lyra widened her eyes just a little and saw a book case. She opened her eyes and saw she was standing inside the Tardis. The Doctor was rushing around the console with sparks exploding from each and every panel. "How did you do that?" Demanded Lyra, as she was thrown across the room.

"K9's objective was to bring the Tardis here. The Tardis had arrived but the only thing anybody noticed was the Bionicnauts being brought to life. I entered the Tardis and then used a rudimentary transmat to bring you three here. Hold on!"

The Tardis shook and a crack appeared on the time column. The Doctor spun a wheel at the bottom of the console as the crack disappeared. The Doctor flipped the organic diagnostics switch on the diagnostics panel and the screen displayed some spirals. "Adric, get to the navigation panel, start inputting numbers. Work stuff out and that. Lyra, activate K9, then monitor the monitor, if you will. Tell me if any low numbers or triangles come up!"

Adric rushed to the correct panel and inserted several figures into the typewriter display. Lyra wacked K9 and then pressed a few of the wrecked buttons. When his viewing plate lit up, Lyra started keeping an eye on the monitor. "Do you require my assistance Master?" Asked K9.

The Doctor pulled several levers and then replied,  "Yes. Attack yourself to the mainframe and when I say now, deactivate the gravity."

"Are you sure master?"

"Yes. Can you do that for me?"

"Affirmative."

"Good dog."

"Doctor!" Interrupted Lyra, "There's a triangle with a one in it."

"Right. When it turns yellow, tell me."

Five seconds later, "now!"

"Now, K9!"

K9's engines whirred and then all of a sudden they weren't standing any more. Adric hovered about three inches above the floor. Lyra was floating upside down and the Doctor was hanging out from the console. "Hold on!"

The time column turned red and the Tardis flipped over and then over again, rotating so the whole room was upside down. When the yellow triangle had disappeared, the Doctor had asked K9 to restore the gravity. Once the gravity was back on, the Doctor hit the door control and the doors burst open. "Outside those doors is the year five thousand! We step out and there will be enough technology surrounding us to completely fix K9. Out with you then!"

They walked out to be greeted by a control room. Their were computers and other devices sitting around and a gigantic wheel sat at the end of the room in front of a large glass sheet. Every couple of minutes a gas valve exploded above head and  they ducked scared. The Doctor sat down in a big leather chair in front of the wheel and hummed. "This isn't the year five thousand."

"What?" Exclaimed Lyra.

"It's not our intended destination."

"Where are we then?"

"Exactly where we were. Just a few floors up."

"How come?"

"It was extremely hard to land in here. Therefore, it's logical to presume it will be hard escaping."

"Doctor," shouted Adric, barely taking his eyes off the screen he was staring at.

"What?"

"You need to look at this."

The Doctor rushed over and looked at the screen. Displayed there was a schematic of the scrapyard ship. Their were little dots on floor ten, twenty or so red and the rest- about a hundred- blue. The blue ones were hurrying towards a stairwell that obviously was leading to their floor. The Doctor grabbed several things, which he stuff into his pockets, and ran towards the dispenser where the Tardis had landed. The dispenser was behind a pair of doors so the Doctor pressed the button and the doors opened after a couple of seconds. The dispenser was nowhere to be seen. "Damn!" Cried Adric. 

"Adric, get a quick look at that screen and work out where the dispenser has gone to."

"Why can't K9 just call it here?" Asked Lyra.

"Insufficient power mistress." Spoke K9.

"Oh."

"It's on the bottom floor Doctor," answered Adric.

"Damn. How about the Bionicnauts?"

"About ninety seconds until they burst through those doors."

"Right. Right. Cover your eyes." The Doctor pressed the door button and they closed. Then he soniced the button and kicked the doors several times until they fell in about a mile down.

There was a wire present in front of them. "Jump on!"

"What about K9?"

"Do you still have your stair mode?"

"Yes master."

"You go in hovering down and then we'll swing down after you."

They swung down onto the doors that had fallen. The shaft had stopped on the Bionicnauts floor which was a floor above the one they needed to get to. When they walked onto it, K9 shut down. 

"Poor dog. Must have had run out of juice." The Doctor muttered whilst he looked around.

"What do you think these plans mean?" Asked Lyra.

"They seem to be plans for invasion." Replied Adric thoughtfully.

"What do you mean by invasion?" Asked the Doctor.

"I don't know. I just think these files and plans look like they're describing battle plans."

"That is a very good point."

"I've found some blue prints." Said Lyra.

"Let's have a look."

Lyra passed them over.

"Oh!"

The Bionicnauts arrived at the top floor and saw it was empty. They looked around and then saw the open elevator shaft. They jumped down it and onto the dropped doors. One by one they piled into their base room.

"The natural and his accomplices are missing. We proceed with the plans."

"And what brilliant plans they are." Whispered a voice, new and ancient at the same time.

The Bionicnauts jumped back in fear.

"Your crimes are worthy of terrible punishments."

The Bionicnauts were terrified.

"You plan to invade the planet this ship is currently orbiting."

"You. You know nothing of our plans."

"I know everything of your plans. I can see inside your mind, I clamber between your darkest thoughts."

"You know nothing disembodied voice!"

"That is what you think. I know you intend to rob the people of that planet of their homes and technologies by teleporting the chemicals, that transforms broken technologies into yourself, into their reservoirs along with an automated insect, such as the Cybermite, that will destroy the technologies used in this area. Therefore everywhere the chemical and insect goes, new Bionicnauts will be created."

"Maybe you do know but you can't stop us! Activate the process!"

A teleporting device activated and the process took place. "Oh I wouldn't have done that if I were you!"

The voice was coming from the man in the stereotypical magician outfit standing in the fog that surrounded where the king and nine would normally emerge.

"Why shouldn't we have done that?"

"Because I reversed the process. Now, the insects will fix things, the chemicals won't do anything and actually the teleportation activation is the most stupid thing you could possibly have had done."

"Why?"

"Because it drains lots of electricity. You set it to drain lights and none essential things.  I rewired it to drive off the engine and vital supplies."

"You're bluffing."

"I'm really not."

"Well if we're about to die, then you can come with us! Kill him!"

All the Bionicnauts raced to kill him. The Doctor simply stood on the platform as it lowered down, away from them. "Always mind your surroundings!"

Once the platform had turned off, the Doctor walked across to Adric, Lyra and K9 and they travelled to the Tardis. "They're all going to die." Whimpered Lyra.

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

"Yes they will die. But not because of us."

"What?"

The Doctor started to dematerialise the Tardis. "The reason we struggled to land is because this is a fixed point in time. The fixed point is because of the creation of a meteorite that acts as that planets moon. When the gravity of the scrapyard ship fails, the ship will be whipped up into an asteroid storm and then the asteroids will stick together around it and then trap them in the core of a new moon. They'll live but won't be able to escape."

"Did you know?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Did you know when you syphoned the energy of the ship into the teleporter?"

"I had my suspicions."

"What about the soldiers of solitude?"

"They were teleported to the planet. I sorted it for them."

"Thank you Doctor."

"For what?"

"Saving the day."

The Doctor didn't answer, he just continued flying the Tardis.

"Where are we going Doctor?" Asked Adric after a while.

"Back to Earth I think."

The Doctor, Lyra, Adric and K9 will return in: The Globe to the Reptuswan.    

The Mechanical Graveyard

Sparks exploded out of the Tardis console and the Doctor jumped back. His hat was lying on the sofa and his coat was on the floor. He had a hammer in his hand and it was doing well. Up until now that is. The Doctor pulled the time rotor handbrake and switched the time curve indicator on. The spirals now displayed on the monitor didn't show a promising group of spirals but they indicated that the Tardis had materialised safely. But not for long! He ran past the helm and to the mechanical panel, just as a plume of flames erupted out of the navigation panel. He hit the cooling fan system and pulled a lever on the fabrication panel. Then he pulled the quantum foam manipulators and this caused the time column to turn blue. Then he activated the anchor and the Tardis landed. Lyra and Adric burst out of the corridor and the time column echoed thunder round the room. They turned to see a storm happening inside. "Doctor," asked Lyra, grabbing to something as the Tardis started shaking, "what's going on?"

"I attempted to land the Tardis on a scrapyard ship at a certain time but the Tardis doesn't like that time and so it got angry. Isn't that right old girl, yeah it is!" He talked to the Tardis like a human would talk to a beloved pet.

"What's a scrapyard ship?" Asked Lyra as a cascade of sparks exploded from the console.

"Adric," replied the Doctor, "explain as I'm busy."

"Basically a scrapyard ship is a space ship that travels through space with a cargo of old bits and pieces from different races. Mostly the bits and pieces are technological gizmos but sometimes you can find other things. They are usually nice places to be or so I think."

As he finished that sentence, the Doctor finished 'sonicing' the console and pulled the door control. He burst through the door and onto a vibrating wooden floor. He was followed by Adric and Lyra. "Oh wow! Follow me Lyra!" He led her over to a pile of technology and started saying how they had this on his home world. The Doctor laughed and noted that the Tardis was parked in water dispenser barrel. He went over to join his companions. "Right then you two," he spoke, "have a look at this picture and then tell me if you can see anything like it."

He showed them a picture of a series of cogs and pulleys and levers and all sorts of other things. When neither of his friends said anything, he suggested another idea, "Whilst don't you have a look around and if you see anything, call me."

Adric and Lyra went off looking around and the Doctor started routing through a pile of things. When he found something he needed, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a sack which he put the piece in. His hat was still in the Tardis and he noticed that Lyra was near the dispenser. "Lyra, would you mind getting my hat? It's on the sofa in the console room."

"Sure. I'll be back in a second." She entered the Tardis and the Doctor got back to work.

About a minute later, Adric came to speak to him. "Doctor, I've found some sort of twelvanta generating regulator. I wondered if that might be helpful?" Two doors at the other end of the room burst open and at least twenty people carrying gigantic weapons and wearing armour. Once all but one of them was in the side of the room that the Doctor was, one spoke and said, "Secure the room, less than twenty seconds till invasion."

The one left on the other side used his gun to shoot at the ceiling and then ran to join the Doctors side. "What on Earth are you doing?" Cried the Doctor.

"Five." Called the person who had just shot at the ceiling.

"Four."

"Three."

Lyra burst from the water dispenser and looked at the Doctor. "Doctor?"

"Two."

"Lyra. Run!"

"One."

"What?"

"Blast!" The rusty piles of metal suddenly raced towards the ceiling and created a barricade between the Doctor and Adric and Lyra. "What the great saints of Galifrey did you think you were doing?"

The soldier who had given the order replied, "There are a hoard of Bionicnauts after us and who the heck are you?"

"Oh so you're some kind of army people are you? What are the Bionicnauts? Some kind  of Cybermen?"

"Yes we are 'some kind of army people'- the Soldiers of Solitude. And back to my previous question, who are you?"

"Oh, well I'm agent 13- codename the Doctor and this is Agent 45C- codename Adric. I ask you to name me the Doctor and my associate Adric. Understood?"

"Look, whose agents are you?"

"The high council of the gamma forest. Because that's where the soldiers of solitude are from, aren't they."

"Yes sir. Sorry for the hostility sir."

"It's fine..."

"Commander Jandan sir."

"Well then commander, tell me: What are the Bionicnauts?"

Lyra jumped back as the Doctor was cut away from her by the gigantic metal wall. When it had formed, she banged on it intensely. "Doctor! Doctor!" She cried. Then she sat down on the floor looking melancholy at the best. The water the Tardis had been trapped in was now stuck in the wall and the only way out was through the doors now open on the other side of the room. All of a sudden, in stepped several creatures. They looked like the echoes they had encountered a while ago except they wore armour and had weapons. Also, they seemed to have a slight air about them. Which made them nightmarish.

"Doctor!" She battered the wall more desperately to no avail. 

"Who are you?" Whispered one of the creatures.

"I'm Lyra. Who are you?"

"I'm twenty three. Are you hurt?"

"Shut up twenty three!" Cried a larger angry monster.

"Sorry sir."

"Is she alive?"

"Yes sir."

"Take her to the king and nine."

"Yes sir. Of course."

"The king and nine?" She screamed as they carried her away. "Who is that?"

"The Bionicnauts are experiments gone wrong," replied Commander Jandan.

"Isn't everything!" Retorted the Doctor.

"They were created to be quickly created reinforcements. The idea was that if you were on the field of battle, surrounded by enemies, you can find a bit of broken technology and then pour some special liquid on it, you will be presented with a Bionicnaut. Every time you encounter another piece of technology, the Bionicnaut multiplies. But the problem was, they couldn't be controlled so some idiot thought it would be clever to dump the prototype liquid on a scrapyard ship. We were sent to contain the monsters which we were doing until you arrived, sir, and they went crazy. We managed to conceal them on the other side of that wall but it will only last a day and a half, a day at the best."

"What if we destroy the wall?"

"Impossible and why on Earth would you want to?"

"I have a friend on the other side, an agent with the codename Lyra. Also my ship is contained in that wall."

"Nothing we can do sorry."

"What will they do with her?"

"Take her to their king."

"King?"

"We heard them whispering about a king. Although they did also say some number- nine I think- so maybe they were talking about playing cards. They do that a lot."

"How strange. Now, where can we get to the other side from?"

"The next floor. But in one hour, we're moving out to shut that down and then to the floor above to shut that down and then to the floor above to shut that down. We will pardon that side of the ship away from us. We will imprison the Bionicnauts!"

The Doctor stormed out and pulled Adric with him. "Damn soldiers! What happened to glory and such!"

"What's the plan Doctor?"

"We can't go to the Tardis to save her, we can't go anywhere without an army escort and we can't talk to them to reason."

"So annoying! Every time we've got an idea, some flushes it away."

"Flush!"

"Doctor?"

"Obviously!"

"What?"

"Royal Flush!"

"What?"

"You are ace Adric. And they've got a king. And a nine!"

"You're not making any sense!"

"As I once said, 'Of course I am, you're just not keeping up!"

"Doctor what's going on?"

"Did Lyra have a phone?"

"Yes."

"Great! Do you have the one I gave you?"

"Yes."

"Let me text her on it!"

The Doctor snatched it from Adric and texted Lyra the words, "Don't worry. Tell the king, the Doctor is on floor ten and needs to talk. Good luck and remember, we're coming for you."

On floor three, four floors below the Doctor, Lyra received a text. Her faith was restored when we she read the words of the Doctor. "Twenty Three?"

"Yes."

"Where is the king?"

"The king and nine?"

"Yes."

"On the floor below us. Why?"

"I need to give him a message."

"Ok."

"Aren't you going to ask what the question is?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's none of my business."

"Normally the captures always ask the prisoners about the messages they want to give to the boss people."

"Well that will be because your not a prisoner."

"Am I not?"

"No. You're our guest. That's what twenty seven told anyway."

"Well it must be true."

"Do you want to play cards later?"

"Maybe."

"Ok. Can I just say, you're coping with the whole prisoner and kidnapper thing brilliantly!"

"A minute ago you said that I wasn't a prisoner?"

"Oh yeah. That was just a clever fib to stop you from worrying. Or at least that's what twenty seven told me."

"Oh great!"

"What's the plan Doctor?" Asked Adric.

"We need to get to floor ten to speak to the king." Replied the Doctor.

"Right. But we can't go without an officer who will shoot us when they speak to the king."

"So? We sneak away. What we need though, is a distraction."

"Right. The floor, it's coated with something. What is it?"

"Gitanium."

"Right, so I drop some Fibranium on it and we get an instant smoke explosion."

"Have you got Fibranium?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now use it!"

Adric sat down and pulled back the bottom of his shoe. Underneath was a charcoal like substance. He scattered it on the ground and instantly a smoky shadow ad into the air. Whilst the soldiers of solitude ran around in confusion, the Doctor and Adric hurried out  into the stairwell. "To floor ten. Deinceps!"

They raced up to floor eight and stopped for a breath. "Doctor, do you know the king?"

"Yes. So do you."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. A race whose only concept of letters and numbers are on cards?"

"No!"

"Oh yes!"

Meanwhile, Lyra was sat in a chair. Twenty Three was next to her and their was a hole in the middle of the floor to her left. Smoke was coming out. Their were red lights flashing through the air and the rest of the Bionicnauts were knelt around it whispering. Suddenly a sound was made and a platform was raising out of the circular hole. And in the centre of the platform was the king and nine. "Well I wasn't expecting that!" Cried Lyra. 

"Speak your message to the natural!" Whispered Twenty Three.

"Natural?" Suddenly she recalled the rules of Baccarat. King and Nine is a nine. A natural! "The Doctor wants to speak to you on floor ten oh natural."

"The Doctor is here?" It asked, it's voice spiky and electronic.

"Yes. Shall we go?"

"Affirmative."

The Doctor and Adric burst onto the tenth floor. They had ran even faster after they heard the soldiers of solitude gaining on them. After 'sonicing' the door shut, the Doctor made his way to the centre of the room. "Doctor?" Asked Adric. "Am I right in what I'm thinking?"

"Yes."

"Can I just go over my thinking's?"

"I you want to?"

"Yes, I would. So king and nine is what they call their emperor. The emperor is definitely robotic because they only like technology. If I was to only have a knowledge of letters and numbers that expands to the world of playing cards I would name any singular letters I saw I wouldn't know any unless they were A, K, Q and J. If I was to see the letter K I would think king. And then add any additional numbers to it. King and nine therefore comes from K9. The emperor of the Bionicnauts is actually K9, your robotic dog!"

"Affirmative." Spoke K9 who was wheeling in besides Lyra. K9 was coated in rust and had a tartan collar around his neck. One of the panels that covered the inside of his body was ripped off and several of the buttons on the top of the device were smashed and broken. The plate that acted as a viewing device had fractures in. He looked very rusty and sadly broken. 

"Doctor! Adric!" Cried Lyra as she rushed to them. "I never thought I'd see you again!"

"Adric," spoke the Doctor, "console the panic-y girl, I need to talk to K9."

"Ok." Adric started talking to Lyra whilst the Doctor knelt down to K9 and patted him on the head. "What have they done to you old boy?"

"Nothing Doctor. I have merely aged."

"Aged?"

"About half a thousand years ago, the Earth ended. Most of the technology was taken but I managed to escape on this ship. I was put on a floor and hidden behind everything else. About ten years ago, I was discovered by the Bionicnauts. Since then, I've been referred to as 'King and nine' or the natural if you play baccarat. I'm glad you found me. I don't know how many more stories I could tell them at bedtime!"

"Well at least you're back K9. Look, I'm going to input some codes so sorry if you have to go through a selection of updates."

"I don't update any more. I just get on with it."

"Oh." The Doctor finished inputting codes and turned to the door. "I think the doors are going to open in a second."

"Would you like me to call the Tardis?" Asked K9. 

"Yes, you genius!"

"Won't it have new codes  Doctor?" Asked Adric.

"I've already inputted them!"

"Great."

As K9 made a connection with the Tardis, the Doctor filled Lyra in on K9's history."

Adric looked at the wall and started to think. Suddenly the doors, on either side, exploded open. "Doctor, I seem to doubt your story now! Especially seeing that you're with the king and nine!"

The soldiers of solitudes technological armour was broken and they were covered in broken devices. On the other side of the room were the Bionicnauts. They were looking angry and twenty three was standing at the back unhappy. "K9," spoke Adric, "have you called the Tardis?"

"Should be materialising any second, master."

"Ah. Not good?"

"Why not?" Asked the Doctor.

"The commander said the Bionicnauts went mad when the Tardis materialised. The Tardis is full of broken technologies. The commander said the Bionicnauts came from a liquid. The Tardis landed in a liquid. What if the liquid the Tardis landed in is the liquid the Bionicnauts come from. They went mad because they sensed more of them being created. And these new Bionicnauts would be stuck in the wall which is now being pulled apart to bring the liquid, holding the Tardis, here. Those Bionicnauts will come with it!"

"Ah." Whispered the Doctor. "K9, does your laser nose thing work against them?"

"Yes master." 

"Great. 

"But it's broken."

"Ah. May I just say, you are all brilliant!" Suddenly a couple of galleons of liquid dropped into the room. About forty new Bionicnauts appeared with it. The liquid splashed against the soldiers of solitude. "Doctor," spoke Lyra.

"Yes?"

"What are we going to do?"

Before he could answer, the soldiers of solitudes weapons, gadgets and armour jumped away from them. These abandoning broken technologies went on to become Bionicnauts. There was at least one hundred Bionicnauts standing around them and the number kept on growing. 

"Doctor," whispered Lyra, "you better have a plan."

"Well sort of."

"Sort of?"

"It's one of those plans which you're not going to like."

"What's the plan?"

"K9?"

"Yes master," replied the robotic dog.

"Did you complete the instructions?"

"Yes."

"Well then! Deinceps!"

And with that the Bionicnauts advanced.

The Doctor, Lyra, Adric and the king and nine will conclude this 

adventure next week!"    

Tempests in Paris

Robert Houdin looked at the audience and choose a really large man. He welcomed this man onto the stage and walked to a chest in the centre. He lifted it and showed it was quite light as he was only quite small himself. He then asked the man to lift it. As the large man wrapped his hand around the handle on the side of the chest, Houdin nodded to his assistant in the wings. The assistant activated an electromagnet under the stage and the large man couldn't lift the box. He tried again to lift it to no avail. As Houdin bowed, a form started to emerge from the electromagnet and crawled into the assistants mind.

"It is some point between 1840 and 1850 ," Cried the Doctor as he typed in a number on a typewriter on the side of the console he called, 'Navigation.' "Houdin is performing an illusion called the Light and Heavy box!" He ran to the time control and pulled it back. The energy in the time column spiralled and morphed into different symbols, constantly returning to a manifestation of a woman in a raggedy dress.

"Doctor?" Asked Adric.

"Yes?" Replied the time lord as he relaxed the steering mechanism.

"Wouldn't Robert Houdin speak French?"

"Good point! Tell you what, can you fly the Tardis for me whilst I activate the translation circuit!"

The Doctor walked from the console and started to make some alterations to the globe that sat to the side of a bookcase. In panic, Lyra rushed to the console! "Doctor! What should I do?"

"On the mechanical panel there is the locking down mechanism, pull that down."

"Alright!"

The Doctor had his faced buried inside the globe. "Adric, on the Diagnostic panel, there is the Organic Diagnostic Activation Unit. Activate it will you!"

"Done."

"What's the monitor showing?"

"A series of spirals."

"What colour?"

"Blue."

"Dark or light?"

"Medium."

"Good! Now then, Lyra, on the Helm panel, there is the time rotor handbrake. Pull it."

"Where next? Adric, navigation panel. Rest the time and space control in neutral."

"Right."

The Doctor emerged from the globe and went to the communications panel holding a large cassette. Go wait at the door, you two!" They hurried over and the Doctor got to work. Firstly he placed little counters onto a set of letters arranged like a chess board. He continued to play with the directional pointer and twisted the steering mechanism about as he stared through the eye piece on the helm. Then, he pulled forwards the materialisation fabricator and activated the door control. The Tardis archway was no longer blocked by large oak doors and was now opened into the world-ernes. The Doctor, Adric and Lyra walked out of the archway and onto a courtyard.

Turning behind him, the Doctor noted he had landed the Tardis in a fountain.

"Where are we Doctor? Asked Lyra.

"The Palais Royale, in those archways are the drawing rooms in which Houdin performs for private parties. In an assembly hall somewhere is a theatre where Houdin is to perform tonight."

"Can we go to watch it?" Asked Adric.

"Just so happens I've got backstage tickets!"

"Can I ask him some questions?" Asked Lyra.

"Depends what they are?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you ask him something about the future, I'll have to wipe your mind of everything."

"Ok."

The Doctor placed his hat back on his raven black hair firmly. He tied his tail coat and ran towards the door. He leant forward on the door in anticipation and then gave the door three and a half knocks. Lyra and Adric joined him as the door creaked open to reveal a smartly dressed man. "Hello!" Cried the Doctor.

"Are you here for the performance?"

"Yes!"

"I'm afraid you're three and a half hours early."

"I'm a friend of Roberts so would you let me in."

"I don't believe you. Ah here is Mr Houdin. Mr Houdin, do you know this man?"

"I don't believe so." Answered the legendary magician.

"It's me, the Doctor."

"No it isn't. 

"Yes it is."

"It really isn't"

"I've changed my face, a magic trick if you will."

"Oh no."

"What?"

"I should have realised when I saw your attire!"

"What?"

"You're a fan!"

"Well, sort of. She is, if he saw your tricks then he would and I'm your old friend."

"You are not the Doctor. You are a fan."

"Look here Houdin. The only person besides yourself who knows how that walking on the water illusion works is the Doctor right?"

"Correct."

"Well," the Doctor whispered something into the illusionists ear and then leaned back.

"Welcome in Doctor. How can I help you?"

The Doctor sat down on an armchair and his companions stood to each side of the chair. Robert sat down, across from the chair and spoke. "I'm afraid there won't be a performance tonight."

"Why ever not?" Asked Lyra.

"My assistant had his mind twizzled by the power of my Light and Heavy Box, the mystic energy is something to be protected from."

"I know how it's done Mr Houdin, you don't need to keep this charade up with me."

"Well my physician states my assistant is brain dead. Yet ten minuets after he was diagnosed, my assistant was seen in the basement of the hospital."

"Well that is certainly strange." Replied the Doctor.

"I know you're good with these confusing mystery things Doctor. Please will you-" Just at that second the door of the drawing room they sat in crashed open. It was the man from the door. "I am sorry for the disturbance, but your son has been taken into hospital. He has been diagnosed with what your assistant was."

"My God! Please excuse me Doctor, I must go to the hospital now."

"Of course, I understand completely. Just one question though. Where was your son?"

"At the Priory."

"Thank you."

As Houdin ran through the door and to a cab outside, Adric turned to the Doctor. "What is the Priory."

"Houdin's House. In fact, it's the only house completely powered by electricity."

The Doctor ran down a staircase and was swiftly followed by his companions. "Deinceps!"

He rushed across the courtyard and then leapt into the fountain. He fell through the archway into the Tardis. When no one joined him, he stuck his head out of the arch and said, "Just climb into the water."

Adric and Lyra looked at each other. Then, as they closed their eyes, they jumped in. The Doctor was running around the console and typing something into the typewriter on the navigation panel. He pulled back the time rotor handbrake and ran to the steering mechanism. He activated the lock down mechanism and calmed the quantum accelerator. The raggedy dressed woman inside the time column scowled at the Doctor and disappeared. He pulled the breaks, activated the materialisation lever and pulled back the time rotor handbrake. The Tardis stopped whirring and the Doctor pulled the door control. They ran through the archway and were instantly in the shadow of a house. The Doctor noticed he had landed the Tardis in a bucket of water so he soniced it to make it wouldn't be poured away. "La Prieure, otherwise known as the Priory, home of Robert Houdin and his family."

The Doctor pressed his contraption against the lock and watched as the door pushed in. "As I've said, it's completely powered by electricity."

"Why is that so important?" Asked Lyra.

"Adric, explain. I'm busy." The Doctor ran off to the staircase and started to scan it.

"The assistant who was diagnosed as brain dead was working on the electromagnetic chest right."

"Right."

"And he was seen in the basement."

"Right."

"And Houdin's son has been diagnosed the same."

"Right."

"In a house purely run off electricity."

"Right."

"So, two unrelated people are diagnosed to the same illness. They are both in an electrical building or connected to something in the electricity."

"Oh."

"Exactly. Now, the basement of the hospital will have electrical generator in, suggesting?"

"That the electrics are the key!"

"Well done Lyra!"

"Come on chaps!" Cried the Doctor as he ran down the stairs to the basement."

As Lyra and Adric caught him up, he whispered. "Stop and look."

In the middle of the basement, inside of all the generators, were figures wearing black capes. Each one was whispering and then one said, "My brothers, we reunite at last."

The second spoke, "We must speak fast!"

The third spoke, "Soon we'll have dominance over future, present and past."

The First spoke, "Well my brothers, the time is now."

Next the second, "We shall invade the mind of thou,"

Finally the third, "Thunder and lightning but how?"

The first spoke, “Via good lucks and dodgy rhymes.”

The second joined in, “Power previously used by this body of mine.”

The third finished, “We’ll have dominion over time!”

The first spoke, "We shall melt the heart of the rest!"

Then the second, "Well said my brother first!"

The third finished speaking, "For we my friends are the Tempests!"

All the capes flew into one ball and lightning flickered around the room. Dark light spilled out and the Doctor instantly stuck his contraption hand into thin air.

"Tempests. Damn it that's not good."

"Why not?" Asked Lyra.

"They use energy to infest people. Imagine, in forty or fifty years electricity becomes more common place. Everyone gets infested by the tempests or are hiding in the power."

"That's not good."

"They'll need a broadcasting spike though Doctor." Replied Adric thinking carefully.

"Good thinking! To the Tardis. Deinceps!"

They ran out of the house and the Doctor soniced the door closed. He ran to the bucket and stuck his foot in, quickly walking into the archway with Lyra and Adric. He ran to the console and pulled the IPod screen from his contraption and handed it to Adric. "Right then lad, insert that into the slot on the diagnostics panel and check the monitor. When it comes up, I want you to properly in depth search into everything. Understand?"

"Loud and clear!" Cried Adric as he got to work.

"Now Lyra, I didn't manage to upload every database on the Earth but I did manage to hack into the Lexington project. The ideas was that every single book ever written would be scanned into this system. I downloaded everything they all ready had and inserted it into my Tardis Index File. I also stole a large printing press. Within reason, every single book there can searched for and printed on the spot."

"That sounds fun."

"Sarcasm isn't your strong suit Lyra. Do you see that computer panel over there?"

"Yes."

"Go and type in the words: tempests, electricity, Paris and conductors."

"Done."

"Stand back!"

The Tardis started to get warmer and the books on the middle shelf were pulled away. They were replaced with some brand new, hot off the press editions. Little LED lights lit up under some of the books. "The ones with the LED lights are the books we need to look for ok."

"Ok." The next ten minutes were spent flicking through books and making notes about worthy conductors in little notebooks.

"Doctor!" Cried Adric. "I've found some important stuff you might want to know."

"Speak away you awesome e-space alien!" Cried the Doctor, a bit over excited.

"Shut up! Anyway, the energy of the tempests would require something 324 metres high to conduct it."

"Right. Anything else?"

"Yes! It would have to be made from iron."

"Got it."

"And it would have to have a back up generator."

"What?"

"Some sort of back up generator. Most likely, we would need a hydroelectric generator."

"So, we need a 324 M tower, made of iron with a river near buy."

"Right."

"Doctor."

"Yes Lyra."

"How about the Eiffel Tower?"

The Doctor kissed her on the forehead and then raced to the console. He activated the dematerialisation circuit, pulled the time rotor handbrake back and activated the atom accelerator. He pulled the quantum foam manipulators and pressed down his foot on a peddle at the helm which made the swirling time mists swirl quicker. "Hold on!" The Tardis spun round, sparks flying from the console and smoke pouring from the chandelier. "Ah!!!!"

The Doctor pulled the time rotor handbrake and the materialisation circuit activated. He hit the door control and leapt out. They ran underneath the gigantic arch of the tower and the Doctor looked up. Activating his sonic, he soniced above. The manhole cover he stood on moved magnetically up until it was next to the elevator.

He did the same for his companions and they stepped into the elevator. The Doctor increased the energy on the elevator and they flew up. When it pulled to a stop, the Doctor walked out and towards a staircase. He ran up it shouting, "Come on my friends! Deinceps!"

Adric looked at Lyra and Lyra looked at Adric. Grinning they ran after the Doctor.

Five minutes later they had arrived at the top of the of the tower. There was a computer panel next to a large teslacoil- which was pulsing with energy. The Doctor started to sonic the control panel. "Adric, I need you to get to work reprogramming this. Come on quickly!"

Adric hurried over and started working on the panel. "Doctor?" Asked Lyra.

"Yes."

"I'm not an expert but that's a teslacoil there."

"Yes."

"The Teslacoil was made in 1891."

The Doctor was working on another panel but suddenly stopped. "That's not possible!"

"And the Eiffel Tower wasn't opened till 1889."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Doctor!" Cried Adric.

"Yes?"

"I've reprogrammed the panel to do everything opposite to how it's instructed."

"You genius! Now then, time to call the Tempests!"

The Doctor typed something into the panel. "Step back my friends."

The teslacoil lit up and started to produce plasma beams. Out of these walked the three tempest brothers. They were stronger than before. "Who are you to invade our world?" Asked the first brother.

"I'm the Doctor and it's not your world. Tell me, where did you get the teslacoil from?"

"We just found it."

"Where?"

"In a scientific laboratory."

"When?"

"This year."

"No you didn't."

"We honestly did."

"And the tower?"

"It was just here."

"That's not possible!"

The second brother suddenly went very rigid and stared at the Doctor.

"Time is caving in. There is a creature at the centre of time and space who is manipulating the vortex. And you don't know. Nobody knows."

"Just what I need!" Cried the Doctor. "Now on about you. You're genius plan was to imprison the whole of this planet by infesting them with electrical currents. But you needed a place to use as your source. Where did you choose? The home of Robert Houdin, a place completely powered by electricity. Now then! One of your brothers was infesting itself in an electro magnet to have a look. But then the magnet was transported to the stage. They thought they had been kidnapped so they struck out at the assistant. He was taken to hospital. At hospital, your brother headed down to the nearest source of electricity. Now you three were worried about your brother so you struck out at Emile- Houdin's son. You now plan to use this teslacoil and this conductor to imprison the world. BUT! There was one mistake!"

"What was that Doctor?" Asked the third brother.

"You used Hydroelectric generators."

"So?"

"There is one thing you never combine with electricity. If you're wise or at least a naughty school boy in the bathroom, the one thing you will now is that you never combine two things!"

"What!"

"Electricity and water!" The Doctor soniced at the river and it started to evaporate. It rose into the sky and then the Doctor turned his contraption off. The water vapour condensed and the rain fell. 

"No!" Cried the Tempests as they erupted.

"Doctor." Muttered Adric.

"Yes?"

"That Teslacoil is going to explode."

"I know."

"And we can't escape."

"I expected better from you Adric. We parked the Tardis in the river."

"Yes."

"And now the river is raining on us. Step forward Adric."

Adric placed his foot forward and moved in a bit further. He stepped from a wet, hot balcony over Paris into the warmth of the Library console room of the Tardis. He was followed by Lyra and the Doctor, who ran over to the console and started pushing buttons. "Here we go!"

The Tardis dematerialised into the time vortex.

"Doctor," started Lyra. "I'm tired."

"Thought you might be. If you go down the corridor and turn right twenty three times and then left you'll arrive in your bedroom."

"Thanks Doctor."

"It's fine. I'll wake you when we arrive at the scrapyard."

"We're going to a scrapyard?"

"I need parts for the Tardis!"

"Alright."

"I'm going to bed as well, Doctor." Replied Adric.

"Ok. Just follow Lyra."

As his companions walked off, the Doctor looked at his monitor screen and activated the time curve indicator. The screen showed some neutral spirals. And the spirals were broken.

The Doctor will return in, 'The Mechanical Graveyard.'