The Doctor righted his tie, took a deep breath and then he marched right in through the door, immediately heading toward the monitors and glancing over the pilot's head for a good look.
"Well, you're not going to get anywhere with that, are you?"
The aliens, because they most definitely were that, got over their initial surprise quickly, pointing weapons at both of them.
"How did you get on board?"
"Good question. My friend and me were just strolling around near a traffic jam and, bang, here we are. So many car crashes these days. And I mean literally these days, not in the 'kids these days are so snotty' sort of way. With the energy you get from these phones in 1994, you'd not even be able to motorize a..."
He paused and turned to Billy. "What are they called? Those small tiny toy cars?"
"Remote-controlled cars?" Billy suggested, doing his very best to suppress any signs of panic. He didn't doubt that they could be killed with one wrong move, so morphing to access his own weapons wasn't an option for the moment.
"How many death, then, will it take to power your ship?" he asked, struggling to maintain a neutral tone.
"Nah, smaller than that. Whatever, we'll figure it out later." The Doctor ignored the guns as he took out his screwdriver and walked toward a machine, casually using it as he kept talking.
"A lot more than they can get by using cellphones on a 1994 Earth town. No, Billy, they're not stupid. Stranded, but not stupid. They're upgrading the signal. Extending it to television. How many people like watching television in your town, Billy?"
Billy's brow furrowed as he fought every instinct telling him to morph right this second and shield the Doctor. How could he be so calm at a time like this?
"Just about everyone," he admitted, gritting his teeth. "And if this goes on, there's another massive energy source on Earth that I'm worried about," he whispered, studying the displays. Was there a solution to be found?
The Doctor took note of Billy's whispered words, but he just lifted an eyebrow and didn't comment. First things first. "That's quite brilliant, actually, reconfiguing the algorithm like that. Simple but effective. Well done."
He gave a respectful nod to the captain, still seemingly oblivious to the guns pointed at him, which did leave the ones pointing them feel a bit at a loss. "Now I just have one question."
With that he walked over to another machine, taking a closer look. "Simple thing, isn't it, taking life energy and transforming it into fuel for your ship, with this kind of technology. But what about this?"
He held his screwdriver into a stream of energy, finding the right setting with a quick move of his hand and then something changed.
The lights brightened, the ship vibrated, no, shook, and the aliens started shrieking, shielding their eyes. Meanwhile the Doctor looked around for a moment, then he leaped over toward Billy, grabbing his hand.
"Nah. Well, yes. They didn't reverse it. They just altered it. I reversed it and their ship is going really fast now. They don't seem happy about it yet, so, yes. Running." Which they obviously were.
The Doctor made sure to let Billy into the TARDIS first, then dashed toward the console, smiling brightly at Billy. "That's it! Your town and its many tired business people should be good as new." That said he started to look at the monitor, frowning as he entered something. He lifted a hand to scratch behind his ear, face suddenly changed to thoughtful.
"Alright... I'll bring you back, Billy, but no time for goodbyes. Nothing personal, but if I don't do something fast, their ship is going to crash."
Billy opened his mouth once or twice to argue---he really did want to help---but stopped himself, shaking his head.
"All right. Just stay safe out there, Doctor."
At least Zordon wouldn't be able to scold him for spilling secrets? That thought settled inside him like a dreadful sinking sensation, though. There was still so much he wanted to know!
"Well. If you ever return, I'd be happy to meet up," he offered.
"I'll definitely return for you, Billy. I feel like we have a lot to talk about."
The Doctor hits a button and the TARDIS comes to a standstill. He strokes the console absentmindedly. "If I don't get myself blown up, that is. Or shot."
Well, he'd see about that. "Don't wait up!"
And with that he starts off again, only when the TARDIS dematerializes it's without Billy, so he comes to stand on the ground just where they'd left from originally.
"Please don't," he smiled, having just barely a second to wave goodbye.
Billy had to blink a few times to adjust to the sunlight when the Doctor disappeared. What a strange adventure that was. He'd definitely have a lot to report back to his friends tonight---
---and already his communicator was going off, Kimberly's worried voice sounding in his ear. The Rangers were out cleaning up around town, and they needed Blue to assist them in clearing the roadways.
And he was certain Zordon wouldn't let him go tonight without a lot of questioning, so there was that. Plenty to push that bizarre encounter to the back of his mind...at least, until the next time.
With one last look to the skies, Billy reached for his morpher and set off.
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"Excuse me? I was hoping we could offer assistance to you," he tried, rocking back and forth on his heel.
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The Doctor righted his tie, took a deep breath and then he marched right in through the door, immediately heading toward the monitors and glancing over the pilot's head for a good look.
"Well, you're not going to get anywhere with that, are you?"
The aliens, because they most definitely were that, got over their initial surprise quickly, pointing weapons at both of them.
"How did you get on board?"
"Good question. My friend and me were just strolling around near a traffic jam and, bang, here we are. So many car crashes these days. And I mean literally these days, not in the 'kids these days are so snotty' sort of way. With the energy you get from these phones in 1994, you'd not even be able to motorize a..."
He paused and turned to Billy. "What are they called? Those small tiny toy cars?"
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"How many death, then, will it take to power your ship?" he asked, struggling to maintain a neutral tone.
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"A lot more than they can get by using cellphones on a 1994 Earth town. No, Billy, they're not stupid. Stranded, but not stupid. They're upgrading the signal. Extending it to television. How many people like watching television in your town, Billy?"
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"Just about everyone," he admitted, gritting his teeth. "And if this goes on, there's another massive energy source on Earth that I'm worried about," he whispered, studying the displays. Was there a solution to be found?
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He gave a respectful nod to the captain, still seemingly oblivious to the guns pointed at him, which did leave the ones pointing them feel a bit at a loss. "Now I just have one question."
With that he walked over to another machine, taking a closer look. "Simple thing, isn't it, taking life energy and transforming it into fuel for your ship, with this kind of technology. But what about this?"
He held his screwdriver into a stream of energy, finding the right setting with a quick move of his hand and then something changed.
The lights brightened, the ship vibrated, no, shook, and the aliens started shrieking, shielding their eyes. Meanwhile the Doctor looked around for a moment, then he leaped over toward Billy, grabbing his hand.
"Run!"
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"You said they reversed an algorithim to drain that life energy? Did you just flip it back, or are we still working on that?"
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The Doctor made sure to let Billy into the TARDIS first, then dashed toward the console, smiling brightly at Billy. "That's it! Your town and its many tired business people should be good as new." That said he started to look at the monitor, frowning as he entered something. He lifted a hand to scratch behind his ear, face suddenly changed to thoughtful.
"Alright... I'll bring you back, Billy, but no time for goodbyes. Nothing personal, but if I don't do something fast, their ship is going to crash."
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"All right. Just stay safe out there, Doctor."
At least Zordon wouldn't be able to scold him for spilling secrets? That thought settled inside him like a dreadful sinking sensation, though. There was still so much he wanted to know!
"Well. If you ever return, I'd be happy to meet up," he offered.
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The Doctor hits a button and the TARDIS comes to a standstill. He strokes the console absentmindedly. "If I don't get myself blown up, that is. Or shot."
Well, he'd see about that. "Don't wait up!"
And with that he starts off again, only when the TARDIS dematerializes it's without Billy, so he comes to stand on the ground just where they'd left from originally.
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Billy had to blink a few times to adjust to the sunlight when the Doctor disappeared. What a strange adventure that was. He'd definitely have a lot to report back to his friends tonight---
---and already his communicator was going off, Kimberly's worried voice sounding in his ear. The Rangers were out cleaning up around town, and they needed Blue to assist them in clearing the roadways.
And he was certain Zordon wouldn't let him go tonight without a lot of questioning, so there was that. Plenty to push that bizarre encounter to the back of his mind...at least, until the next time.
With one last look to the skies, Billy reached for his morpher and set off.
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