Flipsided p.2
They were the most beautiful aliens Rose had ever seen. They just appeared in the Tardis. Two of them. Tall, slender, humanoid, hairless, and completely silver. But what was strange was they seemed to be entirely encased in glass, like a necklace charm suspended in crystal. The glass flowed over their outline, moving like flesh.
"Doctor," said the one in front, "you are in violation of temporal protocols. Cross scanning has shown you have subluxed your own timeline. You know this is strictly forbidden."
"I know. But it’s only temporary, an accident, nothing more," the green-coated man said peevishly.
The other alien, almost identical to the first, stepped forward. "You are inordinately prone to such ‘accidents.’"
"We have been tracking you through three different timelines," the first alien said. "You are under arrest."
Another alien appeared behind the Doctor, this one completely metallic red under its glass. It grabbed the Doctor from behind. The Doctor arched and screamed, convulsing as if he was being electrocuted. He jerked and thrashed, half in pain, half struggling. From where Rose stood, frozen in shock, she could see the alien’s glass surface had fused all along the Doctor’s back, even to his hair. She’d never heard a person scream like that before, as if he was being torn out of his own flesh.
The aliens were ignoring her, focused intently on the Doctor.
"Rose!" the Doctor yelled, still bucking, as the thing seemed to try to absorb him. His voice was hoarse and raw with pain. "Hit the fast return switch," his voice keened upward on the last word and ended in a scream.
Terrified, Rose jumped forward and slammed her hand on the one switch on the console that was labeled.
The time rotor lit blue and started pumping.
All the aliens froze.
The Doctor fell forward, literally peeling out of his captor’s grasp, his imprint still visible on the red alien’s glass coating.
The Doctor knelt on all fours, panting, brown hair hanging in limp locks.
"Thank you," he gasped.
She ran over to help him.
He held up a warning hand. "Don’t touch me. Not yet."
She brushed his hair back out of his face. "Don’t be ridiculous. What happened?" She didn’t touch him other than his hair, but she could feel the icy breath of his skin, he looked up, she gasped and pulled back. His face was white-blue and covered in frost.
"Imbalance," he muttered. And toppled over.
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