littlcluthcr

[littlcluthcr]

Lena shook her head, “No, you’re not interrupting. I was just cleaning up actually.” She gestured to the half empty tree. Taking the gift, she didn’t quite know what to do. “I- I didn’t know you would be coming; I don’t have anything for you.” Sure, there was any number of things in the apartment she could’ve said were for him, but she would never be so disingenuous. “Thank you.”

It was December 25th, Christmas Day. The Doctor landed his TARDIS just outside and walked up to Lena's door and knocked on the door. He was wearing his usual clothes, but also a Santa Clause Christmas hat and was carrying a Christmas present for her in his hands.

Lena had finished packing up the last of her tree for Christmas. Some years she would leave it up until almost the new year, but this year didn't feel like something to celebrate. The knock on the door was a welcome distraction to the thoughts swirling in her mind. "Doctor, what are you doing here?" She opened up the door and let him enter.

#thedoctornumber11

[littlcluthcr]

It was December 25th, Christmas Day. The Doctor landed his TARDIS just outside and walked up to Lena's door and knocked on the door. He was wearing his usual clothes, but also a Santa Clause Christmas hat and was carrying a Christmas present for her in his hands.

Lena had finished packing up the last of her tree for Christmas. Some years she would leave it up until almost the new year, but this year didn't feel like something to celebrate. The knock on the door was a welcome distraction to the thoughts swirling in her mind. "Doctor, what are you doing here?" She opened up the door and let him enter.

#thedoctornumber11

[littlcluthcr]

Lena rolled her eyes, of course he was and of course they had. She'd only beat Lex a handful of times, though moreso as the madness took over as he lost a lot of his foresight. "I'm looking forward to the challenge," she said as she set the pieces, "I do hold a world championship title, afterall."

"Time Lords invented chess," he told her as he took a seat across from her with a smirk, "I'm actually quite good. I saved an entire group of humans with a game of chess once."

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[littlcluthcr]

She hadn't expected the lifeforce of a species to be able to be so easily thwarted, but if the Doctor said they could do that, then she would just have to trust that. "Alright, lead that way." Lena still believed that any species that was somewhat evolved would have a way to retrieve such a valuable resource, but even if they bought time, it was something.

"We should be able to just let it out on the ground," he told her, "It's usually either stored as a liquid or as a gas, so it wouldn't be something they could just easily reobtain."

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[littlcluthcr]

That much she knew, everyone knew that. "But what was his secret? There's talent and then there's making people believe things are more severe than they are. A show. But behind the scenes, it's just theatrics." She knew a thing or two about theatrics.

The Doctor laughed slightly. "He was an illusionist. Some might call him a magician, but he never liked that himself. He was particularly well known for his escapes. He could escape straight jackets and handcuffs and just about anything."

#thedoctornumber11

[littlcluthcr]

Lena nodded, “So we just have to get to their ships.” It wasn’t as easy as it sounded. It never was. She glanced around trying to see where the easiest way to get there, without being found, was. “And how are we getting rid of their supplies?” She didn’t know what exactly it was, surely it wouldn’t be as simple as just dumping something out.

"The Sontarians can't stand Earth's atmosphere, which is why they wear those suits," the Doctor told her, "The suits last about 27 hours before they have to refuel. If we empty their ships of the supplies for their suits, they'll have to leave."

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[littlcluthcr]

Lena smirked as she watched the Doctor typing things into the TARDIS. “I don’t think it matters much how much I know, you’ll tell me everything regardless.” She knew how much the Doctor liked to talk and she was content to listen.

"How much do you know about Harry Houdini?" the Doctor asked as he programmed the coordinates, "We are actually headed to his first performance of the famous milk jug escape."

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[littlcluthcr]

Lena shrugged, “I didn’t grow up playing many games. The Luthor household was filled with nothing but intellectual tools.” She had started playing games with Kara, the old friend group, but now, she didn’t want much to do with them. They made her too aware of how much things had changed. “But, I do enjoy chess.” She said walking through the kitchen to the living room. Her marble chessboard sat on the glass coffee table. “I’m assuming you know how to play?”

"Why don't we play a game?" the Doctor suggested, "A human game of some sort? Do you have a favorite?"

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[littlcluthcr]

Lena listened to the Doctor, clearly this would be something that needed to happen swiftly, but also well thought out. "So what are we going to do about that?" She was already on board.

"True," the Doctor agreed, "Although that's not exactly what I was thinking. If we keep them from leaving here, that means they'll be stuck here and just take over Earth. No, we need a better plan than that. We need a way to send them straight home and my idea for that would be to take away their main substance supply."

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[littlcluthcr]

Lena thought about it for a moment. She wondered if she'd had enough of spectacles for the moment. However, Lena knew enough about Harry Houdini; it would be interesting to see. "Why not," she answered with a smile.

The Doctor thought for a moment. The past was huge with lots of places to visit. "How about a Harry Houdini show?" the Doctor asked her, "I believe I have two tickets for his first performance of his famous milk jug escape."

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[littlcluthcr]

Lena glanced at the freezer and sighed, "Find something that is more appealing than staring at the freezer and imagining what the ice cream will taste like." Honestly, it was why she often didn't make it. Even though it tasted better than store bought, the convenience of just buying won out most times.

"Then we can wait the old fashioned way," he told her. No need to skip ahead in the TARDIS this time. "What do you usually do to pass the time in a situation like this?"

#thedoctornumber11

[littlcluthcr]

Lena smirked lightly, “Only a few hours, however, it can feel too long. Waiting is rarely part of the fun, but it is a labor that can make it taste even better.” She wondered what it would be like to see the Doctor become impatient. Would she be speaking the same words her mother used to say to her?

"How long is the wait usually?" he asked her, "I'm sure we could just go find something else to do while we wait, or we can pass the wait in the TARDIS, it's up to you. Not sure if waiting is part of the fun of this or anything."

#thedoctornumber11

[littlcluthcr]

Lena followed him to the console and thought briefly. She didn’t often get a choice, used to being pulled wherever the Doctor was called. While the future was always intriguing, wanting to see what the world would become, but she had had enough of that for now. “The past.”

The Doctor thought for just a moment and walked over to the console. "Would you rather go to the future or to the past?" he asked her.

#thedoctornumber11

[littlcluthcr]

Lena nodded and looked around for something that appeared like transport onto the planet. “Also, if we stop them from leaving then they can’t do this to another planet.” Maybe it was hash and cruel, but Lena, as benevolent as she was, couldn’t sit by as a species overtook another. Just like she wouldn’t sit by and leave Lex alive.

The Doctor thought for a moment. "I think our first priority might be to find their space ships. They had to arrive here in something, that might be our best bet for a clue on how to really put an end to all this."

#thedoctornumber11

[littlcluthcr]

Lena thought about it for a moment, she suspected that he had been so many faces that he’d grown used to changing. She wondered what it would be like to be so attached but also able to leave things behind. Humans were so…human, and these calmer moments with the Doctor reminded her of that. “Yes, the wait can be excruciating. My mother used to have to immediately give me something else to spend my time with otherwise she’d find me in the freezer eating barely frozen ice cream.”

“Maybe a little bit,” he told her, “The same way humans get nostalgic about such things, but no more than that.  This is who I am now and that’s who I was then.”  He watched her closely as she did each step, remembering so he could do it next time.  “Seems easy enough, except for having to wait on it.”

#thedoctornumber11

[littlcluthcr]

Lena didn’t want to take a break from looking, she wasn’t going insane, just longing for there to be some chance of finding her brother. The one that comforted her after her mother’s death, before she lost him. Regardless, Lena took his hand and stepped away. “Where to next?”

“I don’t know about other universes in the multiverse,” he told her, “I’d imagine as large as it is, there would have to be one universe where that’s the case, but unfortunately it isn’t this one.”  He offered a hand out to her.  “Perhaps you should take at least a small little break from looking at the vacuum of time and space.”

#thedoctornumber11

[littlcluthcr]

Lena nodded lightly, agreeing to help in whatever way she could. “What exactly are we looking for then?” She understood the urgency. Of all people, she knew how quickly things moved once established; something that Lex had made sure she was familiar with.

“And we are going to have to keep this one safe too,” he told her as he looked around.  “We just have to find a weakness in their plan here.  There usually is one.  They have a few ways to go about doing this and we need to figure out which method they are using.”

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