Suddenly, footsteps approached the alcove - heavy footsteps. The Doctor used the distraction to knock the staser away from his captive's hand with the tip of his umbrella.

His captor glared at him, empty-handed. "Great," she hissed. "You caught me." The Doctor took the chance to get a good look at his captor, and he blinked in astonishment. As he had expected, this was a Chancellery guard, in good shape, with youthful features. To his surprise, however, the guard was a woman, with large, deep blue eyes. Her round face was like fine porcelain overshadowed by a large helmet.

"You're female," the Doctor blurted. He regretted his words at once; he should know better than to automatically assume that guards were always male.

"Is that right?!" she said sarcastically. The woman turned her back on the Doctor, awaiting the Cybermen and execution.

The footsteps came to a stop near the alcove. Looking over the female guard's shoulder, the Doctor managed to see seven Cybermen, a Cyber Lieutenant, and - for a second, he couldn't believe his own eyes - himself.

When he saw the female guard stiffen, he knew he wasn't hallucinating.

"We will now split into two groups," the Impostor commanded. "You," he said, pointing to three of the Cybermen, "Come with me. The rest will follow the Cyber Lieutenant."

From the alcove, the Doctor stared at his Impostor appraisingly. Quite effective, though they didn't get the hair quite right. No wonder the Cyber-2 had been so successful passing as him.

"Yes, Leader," the Cyber Lieutenant responded. It motioned its three Cybermen to follow it down the corridor. The Cyber-2 motioned the remaining four to follow it in the other direction, and soon, the hallway was empty.

"Good thing Cybermen don't notice dark alcoves," the Doctor muttered, watching the female guard's reaction.

She had been watching the scene, with her mouth agape. "Two Doctors?" she muttered. Then she realized. "The one out there was helping the Cybermen, but you didn't turn me in." She looked at him with great respect. "That must have been the impostor. You must be the real Doctor!"

"Thank you for reassuring me," the Doctor said, smiling. The guard did not smile back, however. The Doctor frowned, she appeared to be standing at attention. "What's your name?" he asked.

"I am Athena," she replied snappily. "First officer to the Commander of the Chancellery Guard."

"Impressive. Are you the first female Chancellery guard?" the Doctor asked. Then he added to himself, "The Time Lords are behind the times in some respects."

Athena stood proud. "Yes, I am the first."

The Doctor doffed his hat. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Athena, but I have to be off now. Bye!" He brushed past her, heading for the corridor, but Athena gripped his arm.

"I must accompany you, your Excellency," she said firmly.

The Doctor blinked. "What?"

"You are Lord President Elect-" she began.

"But the Time Lords revoked that during my trial-" the Doctor stammered.

"They reinstated it after you were acquitted," Athena replied. "In fact, the High Council passed a motion that you were to be offered the position immediately upon your return to Gallifrey-" she frowned.

"Until-" The Doctor sighed, seeing it hopeless to argue. Athena, a Chancellery Guard who had worked very hard to gain her high rank, was very unlikely to be brushed off. "Fine then, you may accompany me, Athena."

"As your protector?"

"Yes, as my protector," he replied. At this, Athena smiled. It was an attractive smile, but the Doctor didn't give it much notice. "Would you happen to know where everyone is?"

Athena's smile disappeared. "Most of the Time Lords, technicians and my fellow guards have been either imprisoned or killed, your Excellency. We weren't given much warning; we couldn't mount much resistance in time."

"But by 'most of', you mean there are still some that are free?" The Doctor looked hopeful.

Athena nodded. "Yes, I am guarding a group of two dozen or so Time Lords and technicians, along with a few other guards, your Excellency."

The Doctor scowled. "You don't have to keep saying 'your Excellency.' 'Doctor' will do wonderfully. Now, where is your group? I'll probably need their help."

Athena looked both ways down the hallway. "This way, your Excellency." The Doctor frowned at her back as he followed her, but he didn't comment. The two departed down into the depths of the maze of hallways.

A short time later, the Doctor and Athena stood before the group of Time Lords, technicians and Chancellery guards Athena had mentioned. They were within an abandoned storeroom deep beneath the Citadel. It hadn't been used for centuries, and cobwebs still fringed the corners, where people hadn't cleaned up. Disused computers were fixed to the walls, covered in a layer of dust and other pieces of obsolete equipment.

It hadn't been an easy time for the Doctor assuring the group that he was the real Doctor and that the person responsible for the success of the invasion had been a Cyber impostor. It was only with the assurances of Athena - her helmet now removed, revealing long raven hair - that the people finally began to trust him. After this, the Doctor informed the group, as best he could, about the Cybermen's current status within the Panopticon.

During the Doctor's speech, a middle-aged Time Lord Council member rushed into the room. He whispered to Athena that Cybermen had been seen near the concealed lift that led from the Panopticon to the lower levels.

The Doctor overheard this, and grimaced. "They're obviously close to finding the Nano-Injection chamber."

At this news, there was a commotion; cries of outrage and despair surged through the group.

"Quiet!" Athena whispered harshly. "You must keep quiet, or else we'll be found by the Cybermen!"

"Thank you, Athena," said the Doctor. He turned back to the crowd. "Seeing that we're the only remaining people still not held hostage by the Cybermen, it will be up to use to try and save the imprisoned Time Lords and defeat the Cybermen."

"But they're unstoppable!" blurted a Chancellery guard. He had wounds on his arm that had been hastily bound. The Doctor looked at him firmly.

"They may seem that way, but as you know, I've defeated them many times before, as have other worlds. They may have taken us by surprise, but they still have their weaknesses. In order to defeat them once again, I'll need all of your co-operation. Is everyone agreed?"

Murmurs of agreement carried through the crowd. "You have a plan?" the wounded guard asked.

"Yes," the Doctor replied. "Now, would anyone happen to know where a supply of Gold is kept? Cybermen hate the stuff."

"Doctor," Athena whispered. "You know we don't use currency-"

A technician interrupted her. "There is a small supply of gold sheets in my workshop. We use it for electrical and some decorative purposes. Will that do?"

"Perfect!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Fetch some and bring it back here." He pointed to the Chancellery guards within the group. "Could you all accompany this man? Be sure to keep your stasers at the ready." The guards nodded, and soon they were leaving the room, with the technician looking nervous as he led the way.

The Doctor turned back to the rest of the group. "Now, for the rest of you-" The computers lying discarded at the back of the room caught his eye, and a mischievous smile formed on his lips. He pushed past the people. "The rest of you, help me remove these computers from the walls, please."

In its dark room, the Cyber Leader received a transmission. "Speak," it intoned.

"We have found the Time Lord's Nano-Injection chamber, Leader," replied the Doctor's voice, in a mechanical monotone.

The Cyber Leader's CPU whirred, closing off alternate probabilities now that success had been achieved. "Excellent," it replied. "Enter. I will follow shortly."

Matt Grady, 1994

The entrance to the chamber was a bolted, steel door, hidden away in a dark, disused corridor deep beneath the Panopticon. The Impostor stared at it impassively, then motioned its four Cybermen forward. Together, they pulled the heavy, steel door off of its hinges as if it was made of paper. They peered into the room, their optical sensors immediately taking in the scene, despite the dimness of the high vaulted room.

The only light in this room came from an animated computer screen, and there was also an eerie sapphire glow coming from a row of upright, coffin shaped cabinets with transparent covers that lined the opposite wall. At the top of each of these cabinets were pulsating, crystalline blue spheres, which were hollow, containing the Nanodevice Liquid Drug in an energy form. Pulsating tubes ran from the top of the spheres, and disappeared into the ceiling above.

There was the sound of metal footfalls and, indistinct amongst the shadows, save for Cybermen optical sensors, the dark form of the Cyber Leader entered the chamber, Cyber Lieutenant and three Cyber troops in tow. "Report, Cyber-2," the Leader intoned.

"Nanodevice Injector Chamber now under Cyber control, Leader," Cyber-2 replied. "Mission now accomplished."

"Incorrect," said the Cyber Leader. "Cyber troops must commence modifications to Nanodevice Injectors to correspond with interface outlets in Cyber plasmatic-energy distributors. Initiate procedure."

The Cyber-2's optical sensors focused in on the working machinery, whirring away beneath the small plexi-glass panel located in the center of the Cyber Leader's breastplate. This was common to all Cybermen, except for itself; it had a holo-projection lens in its breastplate, but it didn't contemplate this difference as it assessed the link required, and formulated a plan.

The Cyber-2 motioned to three of its troops, ordering them to begin modifications.

The Cyber Leader turned to the Cyber Lieutenant. "The Nanodevices in the liquid drug are still programmed to collaborate with Time Lord biology. Modify the Nanodevices so they will collaborate with our plasmatic energy."

"Understood, Leader," said the Cyber Lieutenant, and it went over to its troops to relay the commands.

The Cyber Leader stepped back, and watched as its troops set to work on the cabinets.

The Doctor, Athena and the group of Time Lords and technicians were hard at work separating the abandoned computers from the walls. The Doctor peered behind a couple of the computers, examining the exposed circuitry that connected the computers to cables within the walls. He nodded appreciatively.

"Exactly what is it you're doing, Doctor?" asked a Council member impatiently. "We might be able to help more if we knew."

"These computers were part of a very old version of the Matrix," the Doctor replied, distracted. "I think they might have been built before many of us were born. They've been forgotten, but I don't think they've ever been disconnected. If I can reconfigure these APC Net links so we can get direct access to the Panopticon's control center..."

He was interrupted by the group of Chancellery guards returning with the technician, proudly carrying a small bundle of poster-sized gold sheets. "Here you are, Doctor!" he said. "What should we do with them?"

As the technician talked to the Doctor, the leader of the group guarding the technician approached Athena. "Commander, we encountered minimal Cyber resistance. We were able to keep out of sight of all the patrols. I think they're up to something."

Athena was about to reply, when the Doctor stepped into view. He handed the bundle of gold sheets to the guard. "Could you and your men use your stasers or whatever to fashion these into weapons? Knives would probably work. It would certainly help a lot."

The guard glanced at Athena who nodded. He took the gold sheets and motioned for some of his guards to help.

The Doctor turned back to the exposed circuitry and made a few more adjustments. "There," he said. He turned around and almost bumped into Athena who was staring over his shoulder curiously. He gave her a warm smile. "If I could ask you and your friends to do me one more favour-"

"What is it, your excellency?" asked Athena eagerly. The other members of the group listened attentively.

"Could all of you now remount these computers on the wall?" The Doctor looked sheepish.

The group groaned, but they set to work on the computers anyway. After fifteen minutes of work, the computers had been remounted. The Doctor strained to flick a switch which had almost rusted solid. It gave with a click, then the screen flickered and came to life.

"Perfect," said the Doctor, flexing his fingers. "Excellent work, all of you."

"What do we do now?" asked Athena.

"Just leave it all to me," the Doctor muttered as he began to type on the keyboard at a speed of 200 words per minute. Athena smirked: slow by Gallifreyan standards, so the man had some weaknesses, at least. Soon, however, the Doctor was finished. The curser flickered at the end of a command line requesting instructions, and the Doctor stared at it, satisfied. "There, done."

"Done what, your excellency?" asked Athena.

The Doctor scowled. "Please, Athena, just call me 'Doctor', all right?" He nodded at the computer screen and grinned mischievously. "Now, I've tapped into the Panopticon Control Center."

Athena didn't look impressed. "What good is that?"

The Doctor began typing again. "I'm going to try and shut off the power in the Nanodevice Injection chamber. That way, the Cybermen won't be able to commence Nano-Injection by way of computer, or even manually, for that matter." His smile disappeared when unexpected information scrolled across the screen. "That's not fair! The Cybermen have sealed off the computer pathways!" He thumped the computer screen in frustration. "How am I going to shut off the power to the Injector room now?" he asked, biting his knuckles. "I'm going to have to shut it off directly from within the room itself." Grimly he turned and looked past the onlookers to see how the technician and the guards were doing at their task. "How's it going over there?"

"Almost done, Doctor," said one of the guards, holding a piece of gold cut roughly in the shape of a knife.

The Doctor perked up. "Hold on, let me have a closer look." He bounded through the crowd and snatched the gold knife from the guard's hand, peering at the weapon appraisingly. He tested the blade with his thumb. "Not bad," he muttered, as he began passing it from hand to hand. "Not bad at all." He dropped the knife into his pocket and looked down at the pile of knives remaining, and a larger pile of gold shavings. "Don't throw away the tiny bits," he added. "Just put them in this bag." He pulled a leather bag with drawstrings from his pocket and passed it to the guards.

Athena reached down and grabbed a knife of her own. She looked it over carefully. "This should help. We could use our stasers to get close, and then let them have it. You'd think the Cybermen would have beaten their allergic reaction to gold, by now."

"Among other things, what do you think they're trying to beat by taking over our Nano-Injection drugs?" the Doctor muttered.

"I'd already guessed that," said Athena quickly. "Fortunately, it hasn't happened yet. Even with these knives, though, it won't be easy."

The Doctor sighed. "Resistance never is." He turned and addressed the crowd. "Now, all of you, we'd better get ready soon. I would assume the Cybermen would be commencing Nano-Injection soon."

Within the Nano-Injection chamber, the crystal spheres at the top of the coffins were pulsating rhythmically. Their sapphire luminescence had become a rich, ochre glow. A hum filled the air as machinery began to work.

The Cyber Leader and the Cyber Lieutenant had volunteered to be the first to submit to Nano-Injection. As the machinery geared up, a faint glow formed around the motionless Cyber forms. Cyber-2 watched over them placidly. Pipes and needles reached out from the sides of the coffins and eased their way under Cyber skin.

Other Cybermen stood behind Cyber-2, also patiently watching. Another Cybermen stood guard at the door of the chamber, while another Cybermen monitored the machine's progress on a computer display. "Nano-Injection is thirty-five percent complete, Leader," it said.

Cyber-2 nodded. "Report noted." The room became silent again, save for the gentle hum from the illuminated Nano-Injectors.

Suddenly, a distant explosion carried through the air, echoing off the walls of the abandoned corridors. The Cybermen peered down the corridor, but saw nothing.

"Go, investigate," the Cyber-2 ordered. Three of the Cybermen left the room, laser cannons at the ready.

They marched down the corridors, glancing into side corridors, missing nothing with their optical sensors, and alert for any sound.

Turning a corner, they stopped short at the sight of a Cyberman lying motionless. Sparks flew from the charred remains of its chest unit. Its hands gripped a knife protruding from its chest; the blade had slightly melted from the heat, but the troops recognized the gold sheen.

"The attackers must be nearby," said one of the Cyber troops, motioning the others forward. "Continue the search."

As they stepped over the fallen body, Athena leaped out from the shadows, shouldering the fallen Cyberman's laser cannon. The Cybermen didn't have time to react; she shot them down within seconds. As she watched the creatures fall, she grinned triumphantly.

Matt Grady, 1994

"They've been destroyed," she shouted back. "It's safe to come out now!" The Doctor stepped from the shadows, followed by a small group of Chancellery guards. Athena smiled at them, placing her foot on a the chest of a fallen Cyberman. "Things are looking up," she said. "The Cybermen are particularly vulnerable to their own weapons, and now we have four of them! We might even be able to take back the Panopticon." She motioned the other guards forward to pick up the other laser cannons.

The Doctor stepped close. "Don't get over-confident," he muttered.

Athena frowned. "You've got to give these people some hope," she whispered back. "Now, Doctor, you know we're too large a group to fight together; we'll be spotted and quickly outgunned by Cyber reinforcements. I'd suggest you split the group up and give the others something to do."

The Doctor thought about this a moment. "Good thinking." He turned back to the crowd. "We'll split into smaller groups, now. Each group will have a Cyber weapon. Divide yourselves evenly. Now decide amongst yourselves which areas of the Panopticon you'll attack. I'd advise you to find and liberate the hostages first off; you'll need the reinforcements, and once the Cybermen discover we're mounting a resistance, they might retaliate by using the hostages, if you know what I mean. Keep to the shadows, take the Cybermen by surprise, and always make use of their weapons. Above all else, don't get over-confident. The Cybermen don't panic easily. When you've done all you can, leave the Capital; that's all the Cybermen have probably taken. Once there, you would probably meet up with the Gallifreyan military. With luck, I'll meet you there soon after. Good luck to you all."

Subdued murmurs filled the hallway as the people in the crowd sorted themselves out. The groups saluted the Doctor before silently disappearing into the shadowy corridors. Soon, the echo of their footfalls faded into the distance. The Doctor watched them go, satisfied. Then he turned and bumped into Athena. He looked at her in shock. "You were supposed to go with them!"

Athena stared back firmly. "What do you intend to do alone?"

"A little bit of sabotage," the Doctor explained. "I have to find the Nano-Injection chamber and make sure the Cybermen don't make use of it. I can't do that with a large group following me; I'd attract attention."

"Good thinking, Doctor," Athena replied. There was a hint of a smile. "We have to take the Cybermen by surprise."

The Doctor scowled. "We?"

"I'm still your protector," said Athena. "And I'm holding a laser cannon. That gold knife of yours won't be much against more than one Cyberman."

The Doctor could see that Athena wouldn't be put off. "Fine, let's get going; we don't have time to argue." He motioned her to follow, and they crept along the dark hallways, taking care to peer around dark corners and alert for the sound of approaching Cybermen.