Creativity is a Must; Jump on in Alice!

((You wanna stop here and wait? Or keep going a bit more?))

We shall wait, unless you can do a post that doesn't further the story line much longer. If she isn't back in about a week and a half, we will go ahead and continue unless she contacts either of us asking to wait a bit longer))

((Eagerly waits lol))

((Finally back!))

Penelope had gone down to join the doctor, and it seemed that they were okay. Lea couldn't hear anything other than ordinary conversations. Meanwhile, she stood at the top, momentarily paralyzed by fear. The lava hadn't been too bad from a distance, but down there, it was so hot that she felt the heat even where she was standing. It was like fire, like the fire, the one that had stolen her sister from her and left her scarred and alone. For several endless minutes, she couldn't breathe properly, remembering flames and screaming and pain, but she managed to become calm again.

That was almost 10 years ago, she reminded herself. The Doctor and Penelope were down there, and they were depending on her to help them. She just couldn't go down there... but she had to. Breathing deeply, she forced herself to slide down the tunnel. She arrived to the last part of their conversation. They were constructing some sort of device, and Penelope was criticising the Doctor for not carrying glue. She dug through her jacket pockets with her good hand, shuffling through old receipts and gum wrappers, until she found a tube of superglue. She'd used it a week earlier to repair a table, shoved it in her pocket, and totally forgotten to take it out.

Lea focused on the task at hand instead of the terrifying heat and fiery atmosphere around her. The Doctor was building some sort of advanced alien contraption, and they had to finish it soon to save the planet. She had no idea what the thing was, but what she knew was good enough for now. She held up the glue, forced a shaky grin, and said, "Need a hand?"

The Doctor looked over to Leah with a surprised expression before he noticed the superglue in her hand, immediately a grin plastered itself onto his face, "Ha!" he exclaimed, taking the glue, "Leah you're brilliant!". Flipping off the cap, The Doctor squeezed what was left onto one part and pressed the other down on top of it, holding it for a few seconds before turning to the edge. Hot air roared upwards as a sudden bright orange light shot up then receded. The Doctor stood up, walking over to the edge and stopping just before walking off, the air pushing his air back as he held the device up on his shoulder, the end pointing downwards, "Allons-y!!!!" he proclaimed.

Firing the device, a blue beam shot out at such a force that The Doctor was sent back onto his back. Immediately upon impact, the erupting core began to settle, the orange turning to green then fading to darker colors before finally settling to a light red. The Doctor sighed, relaxing on the rough ground he laid on, beginning to chuckle as he forced himself to sit up to a sitting up position.

Leah, thankfully, (and for some odd reason) carried super glue. The Doctor looked like he could have kissed her. Swiftly he took the bottle, glued the part together, and held aloft the complete device. For a moment he just seemed to study it before approaching the lava. There he pointed the mechanism at the heated rock. It happened suddenly. One moment there was a flash of light, the next the Doctor flew (rather impressively) backwards. Must've been one hell of a kick. Penelope stared at the fading red. The air around them cooled considerably. No longer was the planet spewing and rumbling; not it was quiet and sedated. Penelope grinned.

"How does it feel to save a planet Leah? You and your glue," she told her, giving the woman a firm pat on the back before approaching the Doctor. "Oi, did anyone order a party? I think some nice luncheon would be lovely, with a bit of water. Sort of to hit the spot, yes?" Penelope looked him over for a moment before ruffling the spiky hair to get some of the dirt out of it.

Lea mostly felt relieved. The planet was no longer in danger of imploding, and now they could focus on getting out. She looked over at Penelope. "Yeah, um, planet saving's nice, luncheon sounds good." she said, not really taking in the gravity of their actions yet. She turned to the Doctor. "First, though, how do we get out of here? I'd like to get out of the core of this planet, and that shaft's too steep to climb back up."

Lea was also wondering about that portal they'd come through, whether or not they could get to it and whether it was still open. She didn't really want to ask; if there was no way back to Earth, she didn't want to know that yet. The heat in the tunnels was becoming extremely bothersome, and not overheating should be their primary concern.

The Doctor sighed, getting up and brushing himself off as he stood up and glanced around, "Well..." he began, exaggerating the word as he always did, "If i'm not mistaken..there should be thermo shafts leading up to the surface from the core. Appearing as volcanoes on the surface...now. All we have to is..well..create our own, with enough force to shoot us straight up and out". Walking over to the shaft in which they fell down to get here, The Doctor pondered the possibilities deeply, "The TARDIS is too far away to pick up any frequency from the sonic so i can't do that" he mumbled before turning back to Leah and Penelope.

An idea suddenly sprung to mind as he was reminded of the harsh recoil the device had on him just after firing as he laid eyes on the device. A smile erupted onto his face. Rushing over to it, he picked it up, "Remember the burst it had when i shot it?" he asked both of them, "I can reset it for a continuous beam..it'l drain it but it should be enough to get us up to the surface. I will need you two to hang onto me...". He stopped talking as he glanced back at them, the smile turning into a grin as he hoisted it up over his shoulder then rushed over to the shaft. Looking up at it, then back down to the device, flipping a few switches and hitting two buttons before looking back at Leah and Penelope, "It's all set...allons-y?" he asked them, extending out an open hand to the both of them with a smirk.

"Correct me if I'm being stupid, but could you just set it to blow air? I mean, that thing is a super coolent right? Might be dangerous if we just use it for the kick without disarming it?" The whole thing was more of a question, the insecurity showing. She had ideas, thoughts, and opinions but...She felt stupid for questioning either one of them at all. Leah looked like she would rather just get out of there, which made her wonder if it was just the heat bothering her.

"Are you okay?" She asked her, finger still tapping at her thigh. "I mean, is it just the heat? I didn't mean to upset you if I did...When I get scared, I tend to make really bad jokes and stuff. Like.." She turned her head quieting herself. No need for apologies...

Lea looked blankly over at Penelope at first, not quite understanding. Oh, she realized after a second, she thinks it's her fault. She was quick to reassure the woman otherwise; Penelope had been brilliant, and Lea didn't want to think about how things would have gone without her. "It's not you, really. Actually, you've been keeping me calmer than I would be otherwise," she said. "Being down here... stirs up some bad memories, is all. I'll be fine once we're out."

And she really wanted to get out, now. Lea wasn't sure how much longer she could stave off a panic attack or, worse, a full-on flashback. (She did know that she needed to schedule another appointment with her therapist, though.) She turned towards the Doctor and grabbed his hand. Penelope had a point about that coolant, but if it got them out of there, Lea was willing to risk it.

The Doctor nodded and pulled her up next to him as his mind took in what Penelope was talking about, "No! Hold on! You're right actually, if i can activate the heating mechanism in the plasma core it should be able to counteract the coolant just enough to create room temperature air..well...a regular room temperature, not...core" he concluded. Flipping his sonic screwdriver out, he held it tightly up against of the vent pockets on the device and flipped a switch. The device breathed to life, The Doctor looked over to Penelope, "Last call for immediate transport out of the planets core" he exclaimed, activating his sonic screwdriver and readying the device for take off.

The device shook and a pocket of air began to form between the device and the ground, "Come on, one last spot" The Doctor insisted, extending his hand out to Penelope, "What's the point in being all knowing and cautious if you can't be childish sometimes ey? Come on, take a chance. Trust me...I'm The Doctor".

"It's not like I have much of a choice," she told him. "I could stay down here and wonder around until I find the surface and live on an alien planet filled with fat organisms, or I could get thrown up to the surface with the man who has a time traveling box. It's not you I don't trust, it's death." Penelope took his wrist a bit hesitantly, blue eyes imploring his. "Please try and make sure that we survive this. I'd rather not have to face God in the afterlife about this." Penelope glanced over at Leah, who appeared to still be shooken up. She offered a small smile to the girl, glad that she wasn't upset with her.

"YOLO, right?"

Penelope's use of YOLO was ridiculous enough in these circumstances, so different from the reckless behavior her peers used it to justify, that Lea managed a strangled laugh. "Yeah, YOLO," she said. As the air pocket continued to form, she clutched tighter at the Doctor. The events of that day had shown her she could trust him, and she didn't doubt that his mad scheme would work, but she was still nervous. "Looks like we're good to take off," she said. "And about time, too." Finally, back to the surface. She wanted another look around at this strange alien world before heading back home.

The Doctor looked up at the shaft and grinned before pressing the button. The device shot up with incredible speed, so much that The Doctor bent down to a near squat before forcing himself back up to a standing position. "Wooohhhoooohhhoooo!!!!" The Doctor exclaimed happily, watching the walls of the crust fly by, his grin growing wider as they sped up until finally they popped out into the fresh air of the planets surface. Once hitting the surface, the device immediately stopped and began to drop back down to the ground. The Doctor's eyes grew wide as he fell off of it and hit the ground, finding balance just enough to keep his footing and fix his suit cuffs as the device smack the gravel floor with a thud.

Peering around, The Doctor bolted over to Leah and Penelope, "You alright?" he asked them, making sure they were alright before glancing back to the city off in the distance, "I can get a signal to the city and get us a ride back to the portal. You'l be back home before you can say Doctor" he finished with a smile.

The whole ride up was one of the most terrified experiences in her life. The safety was off this roller coaster. Even the Doctor appeared a bit startled by the initial take off. How Leah coped she wasn't sure. Personally her hands were holding on so tight, she was worried about bruising his wrist. The wild stream of red hair hid most of the view as they were propelled to the surface.

Once it stopped she "gracefully" fell on her bottom. The uncoordinated limbs never really landed together. She looked like a raggedy doll, all bent over and Limp. After a moment of terror passed she raised her arms above her head and went: "woo" in answer to the Doctors question.

Lea couldn't stop smiling. As absolutely insane as it was, the journey to the surface was exhilarating. They shot upwards at break-neck speed, not stopping for a second until they emerged at the surface. She took a few running steps after falling off, managing to more or less keep her balance by using her momentum to move forwards instead of falling flat on her face. Responding to the Doctor's question following Penelope's "woo," she whooped as well. "That was awesome!" she exclaimed.

Feeling a little dizzy from the rapid ascent, she sat down on the ground, waiting for the Doctor to get them transport. It had been a long day.

The Doctor smiled at Leah's reaction, partially both of theirs but mostly Leah's, as it reflected his own internal reaction from the amazing shot up the steam shaft of the core of the planet. Extending up his sonic screwdriver, The Doctor activated it then pointed it in the direction of the city, where a ship almost immediately turned from weaving in between the skyscrapers and over towards them. As the ship became closer to them, it became more apparent that there was no pilot, but instead, an automated taxi service, "A taxi! Ha! Briliant! Love Adipose taxi services! Decent ride and handling, free drinks" The Doctor commented enthusiastically as he jumped into the hovering taxi cab.

After Leah and Penelope hopped in after The Doctor, the taxi cab shot off into the sunset, aiming for the ledge where the portal stood, barely staying open and began to waver just as they reached the ledge. "Hurry! The portal is closing!" The Doctor exclaimed, flipping out of the cab and offering his hand to both Leah and Penelope, "Allons-y! Come on, come on! You want to get back home don't you? Then run!".

Those "free drinks" was several different substances that looked nothing Earth related. Being down in the hot underground took quite a bit out of a girl (electrolyte speaking). Unsure of what she was handling she grabbed the safest thing (a white substance) and allowed the tingling liquid to go down her throat. How the cab knew where to get them to, she had no clue, but the Doctor appeared to know every procedure. How often had he traveled to this world? It was disappointing, looking at all the spires and flying vehicles, that they wouldn't be able to sight see. When was she going to be able to explore another world, in some part of the galaxy that humans in her time would never accomplish getting to? So, instead of speaking up, she drank in all the sights and smells that came with this place. She took in all the incredible detail and stored it in her brain, so hopefully when she was old and loosing it, there would still be a shred of memory; even if it had been one of terror due to the fact that the whole planet could have exploded and they all die.

"Maybe someday," she said to no one in particular. Just as fast as the taxi had reached them, they arrived at the original ledge. Already the Doctor had gone out of the cramped space toward where the portal lay.

"Allons-y! Come on, come on! You want to get back home don't you? Then run!".

Penelope wasted no time. She drowned the rest of her drink, put it back in the cooler, and ran out; well, more like hobbled. The woman was never really one for running, and even if she enjoyed it the uncoordinated limbs wouldn't allow her. Just rushing over to the Doctor almost caused the poor girl to face plant. Blushing from the heat of excitement and embarrassment, Penelope didn't hold onto the Doctor's hand...She just rushed through the portal. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late," she said as a bit of a joke when rushing through. There, suddenly cold, she stumbled back into the depleted house. Everything looked the same. The shimmering energy of the portal remained. The cool of evening had turned into the bright sun rise of a new day. Early morning chill, brought on by the gentle breeze, smelled like fresh grass and rain. Whatever had happened the night previous was done; the sky unblemished for a few orange and purple streaked clouds hanging lazily in the sky.

"This is where the mental issues start to kick in and I get hospitalized." Through chattering teeth she managed a small smile, blue eyes absorbing the bright colors of the sky.

Lea decided not to risk the free drinks; who knew what kind of stuff fat-based organisms consumed. Instead, she joined Penelope in gazing out of the window. They hadn't exactly had the best time on Adipose 3, but the planet sure was beautiful. The futuristic ships, the gleaming spires, that orange, alien sky. She was glad that it hadn't imploded, not least because of the many Adipose she saw in the streets of the bustling city. She had always dreamed of traveling, and nowhere on Earth could rival the extraordinary things she'd seen today. Also, how many world travelers could say that they'd saved a planet using random odds and ends from their pockets?

Once they arrived at the ledge where the portal was, the Doctor and Penelope rushed out of the cab. Lea was quick to follow. Adipose 3 was awesome and all, but she would rather not be stuck there. She rushed into the portal after Penelope, emerging next to her.

Back on Earth, it was early morning. She breathed in the familiar air, the only orange in the sky that of the morning sunrise. Lea held her right arm close to her body, the pain in her sprained wrist returning as the adrenaline rush of the day wore off. Still, it was good to be home.

The Doctor breathed in the Earth air with a softened smile, exiting the house and laying eyes on his familiar time machine with an exhale of relaxation. "Well then!" He suddenly exclaimed, "Saved a planet, learned always to carry super glue and discovered the importance in color in the Adiposian drinks..never try the green". With a sniff, The Doctor nonchalantly placed his hands into his pockets and sauntered over to his TARDIS and leaned against it once he was next to it, turning his attention back to Leah and Penelope, "Whole universes calling, saving planets, exploring, you know..the usual" The Doctor commented with a slight chuckle, "So best get going...but...emm..what about you two?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I-i mean if you need a ride back home it will only take a second..literally. Or..i don't know..feel like browsing through time and space for a bit. Up to you" The Doctor concluded with a sniff and a turn of the head as he glanced down the street then peered back to Leah and Penelope. Slowly his hand slipped from his pocket and his feet crossed as he tapped the door and it creaked open just slightly, "Past..future..anywhere you want to go. Any place...beyond these doors. So what do you say? Come with me?".

Go see the universe with the Doctor,  or stay at London and try to get back home to live the same depressing life? She had only come here to meet him so she could get help.  Even with that thought in her head, all she could do was freeze in that spot staring in stupidity.  Logic dictated no. It was dangerous and reckless. Her heart said yes. Even though he was stark raving man, she needed his help...And all of space and time was pretty tempting. It was like warning children of cavities but offering them their favorite type of dish. Penelope wrapped her arms across the rather endowed bust in contemplation. So much inner monolog and conflict.

"Home for now," she whispered under her breath.  "I need to think about it first...Not exactly prepared for dangerous adventures you know?" She looked over at Leah wondering what she would say. Only a fool would say no

Lea knew that if she went home, she'd find a way to talk herself out of it. It wasn't exactly hard; if today was an average day for the Doctor, then his life was madness. Going with him was irresponsible, reckless, and likely to get her killed... but she so wanted to. Meeting the Doctor square in the eye, she said, as steadily as she could manage, "Yes, I want to come with you."

She looked over at Penelope and smiled. Lea had only met her today, but with all they'd been through today, she felt as if they'd known each other for much longer. "I hope you choose to come, too," she said. "You were brilliant today."

The Doctor smirked, nodding to the interior of the TARDIS, "Come on then!" he exclaimed, kicking himself up into a standing position, "Home and the stars!". Spinning, The Doctor bolted up the ramp, tossing his trench coat to the left coral support column and jumping around the control console once next to it. Quickly setting the coordinates, The Doctor placed his hand on the main then looked over to Leah and Penelope and grinning widely, "Allons-y!!!" he proclaimed. Yanking down the main lever, the TARDIS spiraled through the time vortex, in one second de-materializing from in front of the building and in the next, materializing on the street corner a few feet from Penelope's house. Slowly the time rotor in the center of the control console began to calm down, the lights began to dim and return to their regular blue and green hue.

The Doctor rose up to a standing position and glanced over to Penelope, "No place like it" he told her with a slight smirk as he turned and made his way down the ramp. Opening the door, The Doctor stepped out, taking in the cool air and the warm sunshine that coincided with the view of the town houses, lined up against each other in perfect harmony. Once he knew Penelope had made her way out of the TARDIS, The Doctor leaned up against the police box and glanced back at her, "I'm guessing i will be expecting a call then?" he asked her, looking back out at the houses in front of them across the street, "Takes some time to get used to. Not many ever get used to it...just something that comes to you i guess".

"You are used to traveling through time and space conquering bad guys. That's something in your blood. Me? All I've ever known is fear. Certain people handle it very well, others...Hide. Because there are no certainties for safety. Yet, the solider marches on. Take care of Lea. She's a smart girl. She's a good asset to have around. You both got that spark of madness," she told the Doctor with a bit of a grin, those blue eyes twinkling. She turned her head toward Lea and waved.

"No use in prolonged goodbyes. I'm sure you'll turn up sometime to kidnap me. Who wouldn't? I am rather dashing," she joked with a flip of those a burn curls. Without looking back she jogged around the corner away. Almost immediately she regretted it. All of time and space... "He was your last hope," she whispered to herself going down the dawn lit streets of London. She didn't dare turn back. Instead she slipped on down those streets back to her apartment, back to the same life she had wanted to escape. "I got to find a job," she remembered. Maybe it wasn't meant to be...And this is my life...

Lea waved off Penelope as she ran out of the TARDIS and poked her head out to watch the other woman turn the corner out of sight. She then turned back up the ramp and walked up to the console. Now that she had the time to look at it more closely, she was momentarily distracted by the many fascinating and mystifying levers, buttons, and other doohickeys that controlled the ship.

Lea walked around the console, looking around more at the beautiful ship. She plopped down in the chair by the railing and grinned at the Doctor. "Where to now?" she asked.