Immitation Limitation (10/RomanaII)

"Yeah why wouldn't i be?" The Doctor asked the princess, arching his eyebrow as he gazed over the frowned expression that was slanted across the woman's and Romana's face. "I'm still me" He reassured both of them, "When it tapped into my mind, it was faced with all of the faces i hold..or...will hold. And it picked this one...why i don't know and i don't really care. We've got a job to do right? The faster we do it, the faster i can take this thing off...i miss my sideburns".

Turning towards the door, The Doctor quickly turned to the left, "This way" he called back to them before coming back into view and walking the other way, "I'm going the wrong way" he mumbled. Looking down, The Doctor was sure not to make eye contact with either of the women as he openly admitted his mistake on which way to go and made his way down the hall.

The Princess looked to Romana for an answer, but Romana shook her head. She had no answers when it came to the Doctor.

They followed him down the stairs, where the princess then took lead and led them to what she called "the labs." On the way, Romana tried to adjust to the constant electric buzz in her head. She could only hope that she would eventually not notice it.

Inside the lab the princess led them to were several people each working on a facial implant, and a man who, despite his prematurely graying hair, was quite young. He had the same tanned skin and royal air as the princess.

"Ah, there you are Syri. Romana, Doctor, this is my brother, the prince of Jacarra."

"How do you do," the prince bowed his head respectfully.

"Well enough, I suppose," Romana replied with a head bow of her own. "Your sister has promised me a look at one of the implants."

"Then by all means," he extended his hand, indicating that Romana could pass and look at the implants, which she did.

"A doctor, you say," he said, turning to the Doctor. "Of what, may I ask?"

The Doctor respectfully bowed to the prince as Romana, his eyes scrutinizing the various devices and gadgets laying across the tables around him until the prince turned his attention onto him. Flashing a smile, The Doctor looked down slightly as he pondered the answer to the princes' question, "Oh a lot of things" he answered the prince as he looked back up to him, "Stick around and you'l see how true that is".

Walking over to the side of Romana, The Doctor peered down to the implant and arched his eyebrow, "These implants" he began, glancing back to the prince, "Who are they available to? I mean, can the general public get these or are they just for the royal family?".

"Everyone has them," said the prince. "They're mandatory at birth. Surely you know that?"

"We're not from Jacarra," Romana said, inspecting the inside of one of the devices.

The prince raised his eyebrows, looking to his sister for the explanation.

"The Doctor, remember? Grandmother talked about him."

"The Doctor? Really? Astounding." The prince smiled at the man. "Though I don't remember grandmother talking about your friend...?"

"I wasn't with him." Romana had moved on to inspect the power source. Her blue eyes magnified in the square magnifying glass.

"Oh I see. So why have you returned after all these years, Doctor? You're not planning on taking my place, are you?"

The Doctor chuckled, turning to the prince with a grin, "No of course not my friend" he replied, flopping his arm around the princes shoulder and began walking with him. "Look at all this brilliant things you've built. Amazing! I couldn't have done better...well...maybe but that's not the point" The Doctor continued, "The point is that i am going to need your help".

Pulling away from the prince, The Doctor walked over to the table, snagged one of the implants and juggled it in one had as he turned back to the prince. "You see..if the people of your planet had this implants installed when they were born then it would be a bit more difficult to rip them out and put them on a different biological reciprocal" The Doctor began to clarify, "But! It doesn't stop them from doing it. If the surviving invaders..oh..i don't know. Found out about the implants...and installed them into their heads then they'd look just like you. You couldn't tell them apart. That's why i need you".

Placing the device back on the table, The Doctor leaned up against it and crossed his feet, "I need to know if there is a way to tell who is who beneath the implants. Their true biological makeup" he said, sniffing at the end, "That way we can tell who or if there are any of them left and where they might be".

The prince listened to the Doctor, then immediately groaned. "Again with this, Mylea? The strangers are gone. Our people are safe! There haven't been any unexplained disappearances since we destroyed them!"

"Our parents may still be out there! We never found the bodies. They and others might still be captive by the strangers."

The prince sighed and turned to the Doctor. "You must forgive my sister. The loss of Mother and Father was particularly hard on her and our grandmother. They continue to believe that these strangers are still out there, hiding in a cave or some such silliness. But I can assure you it is a fear that is not widely felt by our people."

Romana looked up from the device, watching the prince, princess, and the Doctor with an intense gaze.

"If you want to continue your search for the strangers, be my guest. But I tell you it is a waste of time," the prince concluded.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Romana's eyes meet his before turning her attention over to the two other important figures in the room. Following in her action, The Doctor looked back over to the prince and the princess, both posing two different sides of the story and actions that they believed The Doctor should do from here. "Ok" The Doctor finally responded, taking a step closer to the prince, "And what if they are out there? If those things are hiding among your people? What if one of them gets close....close enough to get to you or your sister...then they have the chance to take your kingdom. And what then? Is it your problem then?".

Turning to the princess, The Doctor nodded, "I will do what i can to find them if they are out there" he told her before turning back towards the table and Romana, "Find anything?" he whispered to her.

The prince's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Since you are here with on grandmother's good faith, I will excuse your words. But be advised that what you have said is very close to a threat. Do what you will, but leave me out of yours and my sister's insane obsession with the strangers. Now excuse me. I have business to attend to." The prince nodded stiffly at the Doctor before leaving.

It was only after he left that Romana shook her head. "No, nothing that would explain the strangers. It works by sending electrical impulses up the diodes that are in our hed and sending them back down to the monitor. It's waterproof, though. No chance of shorting and causing pain or injury."

She put the device down. She could learn no more from it. "Maybe the strangers didn't know about the implants when they first invaded, but now they do. Now these implants mean nothing. What humanoids do we know that like to invade other planets?"