"Escape From the Technodrome" - Part Two

Part Two

            When April said “sewer,” I didn’t think she actually meant the sewer. O.K., maybe I did. But it still surprised me just as much as Graham, Ryan, and Yaz. There we were, not a moment later, up to our ankles in rubbish, following a news reporter to God-knows-where. Can you imagine how excited I am right now?!

            “I can think of a million others things that I’d rather be doin’ than this,” Graham griped out loud, ever the buzzkill.

            I was right behind him and the others with my eyes on my sonic, which continued to pick up on that source of the dimensional interference. I heard Ryan and Yaz continue their conversation from earlier in the news van. “I think I got an idea now of where we are,” Ryan whispered to Yaz. “The reporter named April O’Neil…the sewers…it’s all beginnin’ to make sense.”

            Curious to hear his hypothesis, I was suddenly drawn even closer to the readings on my sonic, which indicated that the signal was coming from a direction opposite of where April led us in. I didn’t think to let the team know when I followed it to the middle of some intersecting tunnels, with nowhere to turn.

            “Oh, great,” I sarcastically said to no one in particular. “Now where do I go from hereeeeeeeeeeeeee………!!!!!”

            A sudden quake solved my dilemma.

            It caused the ground beneath my feet to give away, sending me sliding further below ground. I could feel the back of my coat – my beautiful coat – getting ruined by the mixed sludge of sewer water and mud while barreling down the large burrow. I was relieved once I finally reached the end, tumbling onto a large mound of mud.

            I was beginning to agree with Graham about this whole thing.

            Pulling my sonic out of the mud, I stood up to see the massive catacombs I slid into. I nearly fell back down again just as my eyes locked onto an overwhelming sight: a semi-spherical, tank-like alien construct with a giant mechanical “eye” at the top.

            No doubt this was the source of the dimensional interference!

            It was probably a good idea to stay with the others. But there wasn’t any time to sulk over my own carelessness (there was plenty of time to do that later – maybe with some otters, for old times’ sake). I braved myself along into penetrating my way inside the alien construct, with a little help from the sonic screwdriver. Truthfully, the whole technological monstrosity fascinated me, especially the inside of it. The hallways were nice and chrome (I always love an alien fortress that had nice, clean chrome hallways), and the walls continuously blinked like lights on a Christmas tree.

            Soon I was forced to hide when I heard a couple of goofy voices coming from around the corner.

            “Why’d the boss hafta put us on bathroom duty?” one of them said.

            “Yeah, I didn’t know the Technodrome had bathrooms,” the other said, snorting like a pig in-between syllables.

            So, “Technodrome” is what this thing is called.

            Doesn’t roll off the tongue as majestically as “TARDIS” does, but I kinda like it.

            As it turned out, the two goofballs I hid from were a rhino and a warthog in anthropomorphic form, dressed like street punks. Whether they were alien or not, I could not discern. As soon as they were away, I continued my sneaking through the rest of the Technodrome.

            I happened on a very large area – possibly the biggest room of the entire fortress. I figured it to be the main control room. Housed within it was a large trans-dimensional portal, sparking with pinkish energy. With a quick scan from my sonic, I discovered it to be the primary cause of the interference with the dematerialization circuits of the TARDIS.

            I have to shut this thing down now.

            There was a control panel near the portal that I went to fiddle with, managing to open a passageway into the infinite dimensional corridor itself. The pinkish portal was replaced by the swirling blue vortex associated with the infinite D.C. Its display momentarily mesmerized me, ensnaring me in a hypnotic wave of admiration and reminiscence of the worlds I’ve traveled to before in my past lives.

            Snap out of it, Doctor! It’s just the infinite D.C.!

            I finally motioned to shutting down the machine, taking aim at it with my sonic, not wishing for the ones who run this place to have access to the countless worlds within the dimensional corridor.

            My efforts were intervened when my sonic was shot out of my hand by laser fire.

            It hurt like the dickens but fortunately left no burns of any kind.

            Turning to see the culprit of the attack, I was once again astounded by another of the Technodrome’s many wonders (or oddities) – a tall, bulky android body with a living brain where its stomach should be. He was accompanied by a man in a samurai-type getup (complete with sharp blades that protruded from his shoulders and hands) and an army of purple ninjas.

            They had me completely surrounded.

            “You’re quite the sight,” I said of the living brain inside the android body. “I’ve seen a species like yours before…except they kept their brains in their heads, not their stomachs.”

            “Well, what have we here, boys,” the brain mocked in his garbled tone, pitched between high and low. “A curious human who has wandered too far for her own good.”

            “I was a bit curious…but I’m far from human,” I refuted.

            “Look human enough to me,” the samurai man scrutinized.

            The brain didn’t seem to take his word for it, having his android body scan me from head to toe through a blue laser emitting out of its “eyes.” It was a harmless laser, though it gave me a slight tickling sensation.

            “Her biology is different – she has two hearts,” the brain discovered. “Either that’s a nasty birth defect or you’re an alien.”

            “I think we both know the answer to that one, mate,” I said.

            I was then subjected to the most revolting eyesore of the living brain’s mouth salivating in exhilaration. “I do look forward to dissecting you, maybe finding what else you’ve got two of,” he cackled. “You along with the other specimen we picked up through the trans-dimensional portal.”

            He proceeded to order his ninja enforcers – “Foot Soldiers,” he called them – to put me in holding. As they did so, I found myself regretting now more than ever about separating from the team.