trans_9 | Hybrid is for cars, not Time Ladies. [Closed]

Unfamiliar, River? Why, haven't you ever seen Big Ben? Well, perhaps not from the inside. The Master steps forward from the shadows, smiling indulgently. When he stumbled upon this place while scouting the City for somewhere nice and secluded to bring his date, he laughed himself sick. Parliament, just sitting in the middle of nowhere on a ship. It's just too perfect, in so many ways.

"Oh, we'll do more than 'meet'," he corrects her calmly. "How are the cuffs, by the way? Too tight? Not tight enough? I figure you'd be the expert."

The Master? Oh, she might have known he was behind all of this! Slimy, devious little trickster that he was. Of course he would think to disarm her and bind her so she couldn't properly attack and/or kill him like she wanted to do this very moment! When he comes into view her eyes narrow down to dangerous slits and her hands clench into tight fists behind her back. He had her at his mercy and from what she'd heard, the Master hardly knew the meaning of that word.

"You. Of course it would be you." She sighs, pretending to be nonchalant about this whole thing. As if she happened to be kidnapped on a daily basis, "If you wanted me tied up, there are easier and much more fun ways to achieve that." She tugs on her handcuffs, trying to twist her wrists out of them, but in the end she only ends up with sore wrists from the tightness. "Oh, you've done a good job. Done this before, have you? I might've known. So, what do you plan on doing with me? I hope it's something kinky."

"Yes," the Master purrs. "Me." He steps closer, amused by her struggles and not threatened in the least. If he notices River seems familiar with the scenario, well. He already knew about the handcuffs. He'll find out soon enough about the rest of her history.

"Nice and snug then? Good. I wouldn't want any unfortunate accidents. As for kinky," and he flashes a grin. "That all depends. I do tend to get a kick out of this."

River had this dreadful feeling in her gut that there was a very important reason the Master didn't just up and kill her when he'd knocked her unconscious. Surely he wouldn't try to pry her secrets from her? He was Time Lord, he had to know she kept them for a reason. So that time couldn't be rewritten and the Doctor's history with her could play out as it was supposed to. Foreknowledge of the future was dangerous in any circumstance.

Still, she wouldn't let him see that he'd gotten to her. Not at all. This hybrid Time Lady remained poised and nonchalant. Almost as if she were getting her hair and nails done instead of about to have her mind invaded. "My lips are sealed, sweetie. Torture me all you like."

The Master's eyebrows shot up. "Torture?" he repeated, the picture of innocence. Well, nearly. "Who said anything about that?"

He stepped even closer, maddeningly close, and reached out to stroke her cheek with one finger. "Unless that's what you want."

River's eyes narrow suspiciously all over again. If he didn't plan on torturing her, then what was he going to do with her? What else could he possibly do? Talk her to death?

When he touches her cheek, she turns her head away from him. It's too intimate and she doesn't like to be touched like that unless it's by a certain Doctor. "Why else would you have me tied up like this?"

The Master canted his head and looked at her as if she were a child. A particularly slow child he was disappointed with.

"I think that's fairly obvious," he drawled, studying her face with a strange intensity. "So that you can't get away."

He pulled back from her, the mood abruptly changing again as he strolled about the cramped, dimly lit space, clasping his hands behind his back as if the situation was much more casual. Perhaps for him it was.

"Not so impressive from the inside, is it?" The Master approached one of the windows, looking down. Instead of the Thames, a mishmash of structures and open space from a billion different worlds was strewn below.

"Human beings. They work so hard to scramble up their little ladders, snatching what prestige they can. But after all that, they're merely exchanging one miserable existence for another. Do you know what I first noticed when I stepped into Downing Street on my first day as Prime Minister?"

Forgive her, Master. She doesn't get kidnapped by psychopathic Time Lords every day, despite her rather long track record with such events, "Yes, that is rather obvious. I'd just like to know what you plan to do with me. It can't be anything good, but you just said you're not going to torture me."

She follows him with her eyes, turning her head only slightly as he wanders over to the window. She can guess what he sees below and while he's busy talking, River gets busy trying to discreetly get the handcuffs off her wrists. She's strong, stronger then most people give her credit for. She'd forced her way out of that suit as a child, hadn't she? Handcuffs should be child's play in comparison. And yet, it seems he'd gotten a solid pair.

"No, but I've a feeling you're going to enlighten me."

Cheeky. Very cheeky.

If the Master was in one of his moods, or if this were the Doctor, such cheekiness would force him to storm over, his face darkening in rage, and strike his captive for her insolence. As it is he simply smiles, tolerant for now, and answers his own question.

"Mildew. Oh, it was faint, probably undetectable by human standards, but they couldn't keep a thing from me. Imagine it. Centuries of hidebound tradition, insufferable pomp and pretense. A planet so chained by its own sense of self-importance that it couldn't learn to save itself if it tried." The Master chuckles, equal parts disparaging and somber, and perhaps it's clear now he's no longer simply talking of Earth.

"Well." He turns to look back at River, brightly, without a trace of moodiness now. "All gone now. Time to get down to business." He approaches her with a malevolent glint in his eye.

"Mildew? Only you could equate mildew to humanity's pitfalls." River tries for nonchalant again and yes, she's rolling her eyes at him. It was better not to show few or apprehension when he approached. He already knew she wasn't pure human, but some kind of crazy mix between human and Time Lord. "I fail to see what this has to do with the situation at hand."

Something flashes in her eyes, a sudden terrifying thought of what he was about to do to her. But would he dare? Surely the Master of all people knew the importance of secrecy?

"Oh, nothing much," the Master's at her side again, fingering a curl of her exquisite hair. "Just making conversation."

He notices the look in her eyes, a quick flash of fear, and positively leers at her, pleased he's finally gotten a decent reaction.

"Are you afraid?" The Master leans in, his breath hot on her cheek. "Good. Because this is probably gonna hurt."

And he grasps her temples, bringing her forehead to his own.

"Of you? Never." River counters with a hardened glare, even though deep down inside she wonders if she'll be able to come out of this with her own mind intact, let alone prevent the Master from gaining access to her deepest and darkest secrets.

Her eyes fall shut as his forehead brushes her own. Concentrating on keeping him out, locking all the doors in her mind and padlocking the ones that were vital and important. It wasn't easy getting past her defenses, but the Master might note that her mind has been touched before. Many times. Some of which were by sinister forces and some of which were by another Time lord. Bits and pieces of her earliest memories were inaccessible even to River herself.

She's trying to fight him off and she'd doing a damned decent job of it.

He was expecting a bit of resistance; being part Time Lord, River's obviously been taught a few things about mental shielding. He was not expecting that her mind has already been tampered with. The question is, by who? The Doctor? Or are there other Time Lords still lurking about?

"No more lies, River Song," the Master murmurs absently, concentrating mostly on pushing himself forward while guarding his own mind against any psychic backlash. He was always so much better at self-protection than the Doctor, but even without his own careful barriers in place, there are always the drums. He takes the essence of that beat, spirals it outward and into River's mind. The tendrils, hot, dry, baking with madness and rage, force themselves into the crevices, looking for weak spots. Cracks. Faults.

"Stop hiding, little girl."

Try as she might to shield her mind from his, it was proving to be a losing battle. Her mind holds out against his attack, but the damage is done. Tiny pinpoint cracks are beginning to form. Memories and sensations are dripping out. They don't really come in any sort of order. River's life could be considered quite topy turvy to begin with, "No! Not -"

An image appears of a sinister looking woman with an eyepatch of some sort leaning over her as her vision blurred and her body became numb. Naturally her mind would remember the last time she'd been kidnapped and drugged.

Tick Tock goes the clock and all too soon your love will surely die

The next memory that he managed to pull free of her crumbling defenses was of the River standing over an eerily familiar cot with Amy and Rory staring at her with twin gobsmacked faces

It's me. I'm Melody Pond. I'm your daughter.

She was human. Born and bred, but conceived within the time vortex by Amy Pond, a very special girl who had lived with a crack in time and space in her wall for most of her life.

Tick tock goes the clock He cradled her and he rocked her Tick tock goes the clock Even for the Doctor...

An old nursery rhyme that kept repeating over and over again in her head. Glimpses of her earliest memories

Edited 2011-10-19 00:03 (UTC)

"Oh, River," the Master whispered with a grin. "You're quite the curiosity, aren't you?" He dug in deeper, trying to widen those cracks, wedge his way inside...

That grin slipped away as the next memory swam forward. Literally, swam. For River Song was now surrounded by water. She could hear her own breath, amplified by the suit. Oh, that hateful suit! She thought she could destroy it. Thought she could change who she was...

Surfacing now. River walked onto the shore, just a few feet out of the lake, and stopped. The Master could feel the resistance in every muscle as she tried to will herself back in. It was as if the suit were controlling her.

The Doctor. The Doctor, writhing at her feet in agony. The Doctor, standing before her on the beach. It should have been a contradiction, but it wasn't. Her vision blurred by those remaining droplets of water-- or were they tears? It wasn't entirely clear.

She raised her arm-- correction. The suit raised its arm. She was merely in it.

The Master gasped inadvertently when the first shot hit the Doctor, knocking him back.

No! Not that memory!

Her mind raced to shut him out, to shut down completely, but both options were unavailable at this time. Reliving that moment, no matter the outcome of that day, left her in a state of pure anguish.

Then something occurred to her. She had to put a stop to this, he was reading her mind like an open book! Her mind was like a television channel, so she came up with an idea.

Simply put, she changed the channel before the Master could see the outcome of that shot. Changed it to something else.

River standing at the top of a pyramid, wrapping a strip of cloth around her hand while the Doctor mirrored her. The two of them meeting each other's gaze and leaning in for a kiss. River's heart beating so fast, knowing she was the woman who married the Doctor at long last.

And then all at once, everything changed. River seemed to stop fighting his invasion and simply yielded to him. Letting him sink deep into her clever little mind.

She fed him images of her younger days. Showing how she had killed a regiment of nazis through her regeneration energy, laughing and shaking that wild mane of blonde curls. Looking like a glowing Goddess. Climbing onto a motorcycle and zipping off into the distance.

The more he progressed, the more seductive her mind became. Drawing him in, leading him on, rousing his interest. Leading him away from her best kept secrets.

Edited 2011-10-22 16:58 (UTC)

Really, seeing River marry the Doctor was in a way worse than seeing her attack him. The Master's consciousness recoiled and spit with rage, tried to work its way back to the previous memory. That he would marry a human-- even a human with Time Lord attributes! He'd rather see the Doctor drop dead on the spot.

And then he laughed, a deep dark chuckle inside River's head. The Doctor always had a thing for humans, didn't he? Did he really expect any differently?

You mean nothing to him, you know, he told her casually. Just the Doctor, in his desperation, reaching out for some life form to understand him. Lucy had been different-- a means to and end. But the Doctor was afraid of his own superiority, wanted to be just like his pets. Pathetic.

River's mind was disorienting, a book written in reverse, and the Master fell into the proffered memories trying to get back to the right one, the one he cared about. The sight of her, full to the brim with regeneration energy, cackling madly, filled his head and he laughed again, this time in pleasant surprise. He was intrigued despite himself.

How in Rassilon's name did he ever manage to tame you?

Onward, she let's him drown in memories of her wilder days. The days of Mels, when she stole cars and refused to cooperate in school. And then the memory of holding two machine guns and telling a Berlin banquet of upper-class stiffs to take off their clothes so she could find something to wear for her new body.

Looking back, it was his unwavering resolve and confidence in me, long before I had earned it. His future is my past. My future his past.

She draws him in deeper, her head leaning further in to rest against his. Take these handcuffs off and she'd show him that wild, bespoke psychopath which still lurked deep inside of her. Oh, the fun they could have. River's libido was legendary, it was worse then human libidos. It was the dreaded Pond sex drive.

Her mind whispered to his, low and sultry. She might be human, but she seemed very willing to prove to him just how similar she was to a full blooded Time Lord. And when would he ever have such a chance again?

Edited 2011-10-23 14:41 (UTC)

Oh, doesn't that sound familiar. And you gave in, the Master said scornfully. After such a glorious resume. It was entrancing really, watching her break every rule presented to her. This was no wild child. This was a Time Lord nearly up to his own standards. This was a goddess.

What a waste. But he was drawn in, firmly hooked now. He wanted to see the Doctor's trust forsaken.

"Show me", he breathed. "Show me what you did to him."

I didn't give in. I fell in love. There's a difference

She knew she had him hooked when he asked her to show her that memory instead of pushing further into her mind to find it. Instead of showing him the events on that lakeshore, she gives him a glimpse of herself inside the Storm Cage Facility, where she'd been locked up for a very long time.

She had to keep him appeased for now.

Free me and we'll find even more things that we have in common between the two of us

Oh, River was a killer. Not so different from him when she'd started out, minus the obvious prejudice against humans.

Love! He burst out laughing, the sound harsh and bitter. Of course she'd fall prey to weakness. Oh, you're wrong.

He may have asked once, but the Master wasn't one to beg. "Show me," he snarled out loud, digging in harder. It was a warning, but it would be her only one before the Master took matters into his own hands.

Show me, and I'll let you go. If he was right, she'd do far more damage to the Doctor set loose anyhow. Given the proper guidance.

River had very little choice in the matter. If that's what she had to show him to be freed from her restraints, then that was what she would give him. No matter how much she hated that horrid event.

Her mind shifts back to that fateful day on the shores of Lake Silencio. The Doctor's body rocking backwards and to the ground from her first shot. His voice whispering 'I'm so sorry before bursting with regenerative energy. That's when the second shot fired, a sound that seemed to echo.

The Doctor dropped to the ground, unable to reach his next body, she had fired at that crucial moment that would kill a Time Lord.

Disappearing back into the lakeshore. An image of Amy crumpled next to the Doctor's body, sobbing.

Why did the Master want to see such an event?

Are you satisfied? You know he can never know. He knows I'm held in the Storm Cage and that I killed a man, but not who

Edited 2011-10-26 23:08 (UTC)

Of course. That'd be the Doctor, never thought to ask. He could have plucked that memory from her mind easily, but instead he marched toward his imminent death in some feeble attempt to preserve points in time. The Master didn't concern himself with that sort of thing. Let time rip itself apart! He'd get what he wanted.

Just as he was now. He let out a throaty sound, almost a low purr, at the sight of the Doctor stumbling backward. The telltale regeneration energy glowing at the edges-- oh, she must have got him good.

The Master nearly ripped his hands away when the second shot came. Panic gnawed at him, even witnessing this through the eyes of another. He found himself silently willing the Doctor to just get up, get up and regenerate, Rassilon damn you! As if that would help.

"You..." For a moment the Master was at a loss for words, a rare thing. "You killed him," he finally whispered, in complete shock. For a Time Lord, there's 'killed' and then there's killed, and somehow River Song is powerful and clever enough to pull off the latter.

He's not sure if he wants to kiss her or kill her.

River didn't feel too sexy while watching that event, reliving it all over again made her eyes well up with tears. It was hard to understand the Master's reaction to both shots because they were so different. Maybe he just couldn't believe she had actually killed him. After all, Time Lords have a nifty way of cheating death. But it appeared that wasn't so. Not this time. A deeper secret lay lodged inside her mind and it was the most heavily guarded. That all may not have been what it appeared to be.

"Technically, it was the suit that killed him. I told him to run....but he refused." No, she had no control over what the suit did. "But yes, I killed him."

It's not something she's gloating over.

"I've been in the Storm Cage ever since."

She pauses, her mind surging against his in a distinctly seductive manner. Let her go, it urges.

Edited 2011-10-27 12:06 (UTC)

The Master could barely understand his own reaction. He'd wanted the Doctor dead for centuries, had fantasized about it and meticulously planned his downfall. But now that he'd actually seen it happen, all he could feel was a vague sense of disappointment. It should have been him, the Master decided. He should have been the one to kill the Doctor. Not this half-breed, no matter how clever she may be.

The Doctor was safe for now. Whatever he'd seen in River's memories must have been from the future. And the future could always be rewritten.

They could kill the Doctor together.

The Master's face broke in another wide grin, his mind pushing back against River's. Not harsh, but forceful, and equally as seductive.

"He would do that. Thinking he could save you when there's absolutely no 'saving' to be done." He leaned in even closer, his body resting more heavily on hers, their lips nearly touching.

"I could make you glorious, you know."

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