STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

Chapter Fourteen

When I entered the room behind the Doctor, Marbella glared at me. She was standing inside a cell, gripping the iron bars with her hands while she gave us looks of death. The Doctor was unconcerned by her wrath. He calmly shut the door and asked me to stand beside him and point the gun at her.

"This is my associate," the Doctor said, pointing to me. "My associate has a big gun and she's not afraid to use it."

"You won't kill me," Marbella said to him.

"Oh? And what makes you think I won't?" the Doctor said while I kept my gun pointed at her.

"Because you could have killed me in front of the humans but you refused. You're a coward, Time Lord."

"So, you admit you're not from Earth then?" the Doctor said.

Marbella snorted.

"I'm far superior to these pathetic apes. They need someone like me to rule over them, someone with far more intelligence than they have," she said.

"Rose, who is the protector of this planet?" he asked me.

"You are," I said.

"And how long have I been protecting this planet?" he asked me.

"Um…since you were small?" I said, not really knowing the answer.

"Precisely. I was assigned this planet by the gods when I was born," the Doctor said.

That was news to me. I figured it was a bunch of bullshit but you can never tell with the Doctor. I could see Marbella wasn't buying it though.

"Why should that make a difference?" she said to him.

"Because I swore to protect the humans from any threats and you and your little gang are a threat. And you know that, don't you? That's why you tried to have me and my friends executed. You know who I am, Marbella, so drop the charade."

"And this one beside you, is she one of them?" Marbella said, pointing to me.

"If by "one of them" you mean a human, yes, she is," the Doctor said. "And she's extremely loyal to me and not intimidated or fooled by your savior of the Earth act."

"And you better leave Earth if you know what's good for ya," I said.

Marbella threw back her head and laughed.

"And what makes you think I'll take your threat seriously, little ape?" she said, sneering at me.

"You'll take it seriously because I'm here to back it up," the Doctor snarled at her. "Don't test me, Marbella. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

I could see Marbella was hesitating. The Doctor said she knew who he really was so I could understand her hesitation, especially since I heard many tales of the Oncoming Storm from my Doctor. The Doctor may not look like much but I've seen firsthand how powerful he can be and how brutally he can punish people who stand in his way. There were many times when I was thankful I was on his side. But like so many others, Marbella didn't heed that warning and she sneered at the Doctor.

"What are you going to do then?" she said. "Have the pink rat shoot me in cold blood?"

"I'm not so sure about this pink rat but I have another pink rat in here who would have no problem shooting you," the Doctor said.

"And how does that make you better than me?" Marbella snarled.

"It makes me better than you because I'm protecting the people of this planet, not exploiting and enslaving them like you lot are. Now what exactly is your plan, Marbella?"

"If you're so superior to me, you figure it out," Marbella sneered.

The Doctor and I shared an exasperated look.

"You know what you did to my friend, Jack," the Doctor said to Marbella. "I can do that to you in a way that is more powerful and so deeply entrenched that you'll never be able to break free of the programming. I can cause you the most excruciating pain you've ever known. I can make your life a living hell and Rose can testify to this."

I nodded emphatically.

"So if I were you, I'd cooperate," the Doctor said.

Marbella stared at me for a moment. I had no idea why, maybe she was sizing me up and wondering if I really would shoot her.

"Is she under your control?" she finally said.

I was about to say no but the Doctor put his hand on my shoulder.

"She is completely in my power," the Doctor said so I belted up and said nothing. "I control her mind and she obeys without any hesitation. Rose, bark like a dog."

"Arf, arf, arf," I said, wondering where this was leading to.

"Jump up and down and say, "Nong, nong, nong," the Doctor said to me.

"Nong, nong, nong," I said, jumping up and down.

"Kiss me," he said.

I have to admit I was gobsmacked by that since I figured he was just going to make me do stupid things for his amusement. So I hesitated a moment which went against the point he was making of me obeying him without any hesitation. But I recovered quickly and turned to him. The Doctor leaned in and kissed me deeply and my body tingled all over. He leaned up after finishing the snog and put his fingers on my chin.

"See, completely under my thrall," the Doctor said to Marbella. "And if I tell her to shoot you, she will do it. So…now that you know I'm serious. What are your plans for this planet."

My head still swimming, I managed to turn back to the cell and aim my gun again. Actually, I was now wanting to sod this whole interrogation and spend my time snogging the Doctor senseless but business before pleasure, I suppose. Marbella, on the other hand, was still being stubborn, which didn't surprise me. In fact, she started to curse the Doctor, telling him she would kill him. Then, to my surprise, the Doctor suddenly told me to go and find Jack and Rory. I didn't want to ask why since I was supposed to obey him without question but all the same I was wondering what was going on. The Doctor nodded and smiled at me and I knew I was meant to obey without asking questions so I took one look at Marbella before leaving the room. I closed the door and headed off to find Jack and Rory.

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