The Doctor, a strange and mysterious wanderer in the fourth dimension of Time, looked at the controls of the TARDIS and frowned. “This is strange.” Delicately he pressed several buttons on one of the six sides of the hexagonal mushroom shaped console. The central column continued to rise and fall with its slow hypnotic rhythm. It had only been less a few days since he had regenerated, and his strength was still not what it should be. The look on Eve’s face when the Rutan had electrocuted him made him wince with remorse. It had been 2093, the year the Florida recount had finally ended and neither candidate survived to be elected into office. He had taken his friends along to see the result, as it was a moment of quality history. One of his companions, Eve, popped her head into the console room.

“Just popped by to see if you’re ok Doctor.” Looked quizzical at the Doctor’s new face, suspicious that he had borrowed her lipstick. However it looked more like Alison’s so she left, heading back in the direction of her room to lock up her make-up – just in case.

“Such a nice girl.” The Doctor pondered before loosing patience with the TARDIS and thumping the console with his fist. Carefully he pulled the old wooden trunk open and took out a mirror. He looked at his new self once again. He had lost that interesting dark skin complexion which was a downer, and his slight jaw line was a worry. The prominent nose was ok, the slight application of black makeup around his eyes made them seem older and wiser. The soft red lipstick he had borrowed from Alison may have been a mistake, sure it was ok on most planets but Earth was his favourite and they had some weird fashions there and he liked to fit in wherever he went. His black hair was slicked back tidily using gel and all in all it was not a bad face once he got used to it. The terrible clothes he used to favour had to go of course and were replaced by a sleek dark grey suit with a silk green/yellow swirly patterned shirt and a subtle dark grey silk tie.

The TARDIS materialised like a vulture over a dying body. Slowly the Doctor emerged followed by Eve who decided to wear a sombre black evening gown of lace and silk. On top of this she wore a black coat trimmed with imitation black fur. Her hair was done up in dreadlocks and piled up on the top of her head to cascade down like a black waterfall. The black lenses of her sunglasses kept the strong sunlight out of her sensitive eyes and she finished the new look off with bright red lipstick. “What is this place?” Eve asked casually after they had walked for a few hundred yards.  "I’m not sure.” The Doctor replied. “The old girl is playing up again. Why don’t we just have a walk around and see if we meet anyone interesting? I do wish that Alice would venture out of the TARDIS more often.”

Alice was the last of her kind. A shape-shifting android created billions of years ago to fight in a war long since passed. She had learned from the Doctor that another of her kind had once existed and she wished that they could have met. She was a more advanced model than the boring and dull Kamelion the Doctor kept comparing her to, apparently. Her mind was far less vulnerable to the design flaw Alice's earlier design had. She could pick up thoughts and emotions from others but they could never control her. She liked to respond to her new friend’s moods from time to time, she found it made them treat her as an organic being rather than the machine she actually was. She had spent many lifetimes as a living deity, worshiped by a strange soriety of female priestesses. This had forged a lasting feminine identity on her neural processor, no longer an it, she was a she just as Kamelion had been a he. Feeling bored now she shifted her appearance to take on the petite blonde woman she normally used around the Doctor and Eve. She created some clothes for herself, a leather miniskirt and an apple blossom green blouse. She finished off with simple white pumps and black tights covering her legs. She asked the TARDIS where the others were but they had already gone outside. Throwing caution to the wind she decided to venture outside.

The Iron Lord looked down at the three distant specks on the landscape from the viewing platform of his airship. His viewing sensors almost overloaded when he spotted the most gorgeous piece of modem this side of the Universe.

The Doctor paused while Alice caught up. “Nice to see you outside for a change.”

Alice smiled. “Well someone needs to keep an eye on you two.” She put her arms around them. “So how are you both?”

“I’m fine.” The Doctor failed to extricate himself from his companion’s grip.

“Hey Alice, we should fix you up on a date.” Eve winked to her friend.

“Me? On a date?” Alice blushed. “I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“Here’s what I do.” Eve whispered into Alice’s ear.

“Oh my.” Alice gasped. “They like that?” She grimaced before laughing along with Eve.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and despaired for his companion’s lack of interest in the beautiful scenery. “There’s more to life than clothes and boys.” He lectured them.

“Shopping.” Eve agreed.

“Gossip.” Alice noted.

“Clothes.” Eve continued.

“Shoes.” Alice felt like the Doctor didn’t understand her at all.

The Doctor sighed. “This way.” He steered his friends in a new direction towards an interesting looking rock outcrop. “Now this is very interesting, notice the way the sandstone bed has been flipped right over.”

Alice analysed the rocks quickly. “Very interesting, some sort of earthquake Doctor?”

“Close, but not quite.” The Time Lord walked up over a slight incline and pointed at a large hole in the ground. “Meteor strike, the whole area’s been torn up and put back down like a pile of cards dropped onto the floor.”

“Well this is really interesting.” Eve yawned. “Rock, wow.”

“Rocks are interesting Eve.” Alice stated. “They determine local ecosystems.”

“That’s great.” Eve muttered.

“Without rocks you wouldn’t have places to build night clubs.” Eve continued.

“I love rocks!” Eve faked enthusiasm. “Lovely rocks.” She picked one up and looked closely at it. “I think this one came from a roller disco.”

“Let’s continue shall we?” The Doctor asked. “This way looks more promising.

The Iron Lord looked at his metallic Chamberlain. “Bring the three strangers to me.” He commanded. “She shall be my bride, oh yes.” The Iron Lord stood up and imagined the object of his affection in his arms and he danced around the spacious room with her.

The three time travellers found themselves wandering towards a series of large grey spires that rose out of the ground like a badly CSO’d effect.

“What’s that?” Eve gasped when a flying saucer appeared overhead and started to pull her upwards using a gravity beam.

“Give me your hand!” The Doctor shouted.

“Oh my!” Alice gasped as a second saucer started to pull her into the air.

“What’s going on?” Eve shouted to the Doctor, as she was pulled higher into the air.

“I’ll explain when I know!” The Doctor shouted back to her when a third saucer appeared and fixed him in a gravity beam.

“Let go of my sodding hand.” Eve screamed in pain as she was pulled away from the Doctor.

Eve found herself strapped onto a medical bed, a bright light in her face and grey aliens with almond eyes feeling her up. “Hey!” she shouted at them before waking up.

“It’s ok.” The Doctor whispered to his friend Eve. “It was just a dream.”

“Where are we?” Alice asked, looking about the bare steel and shadows. “It looks like they should redecorate. Can I phone Changing Rooms?”

“I think not.” The Doctor shook his head and pointed to an approaching figure. “Looks like we’re about to be either insulted and killed or killed and then insulted.”
“On behalf of his supreme majesty, the Iron Lord, I bid you all welcome to his court.”

“Hi handsome.” Alice waved at the robot before whispering to Eve. “I see what you meant earlier now. He’s a dish.”

“He’s a dishwasher.” Eve winked at Alice .

“Yes, I wonder how fast his spin setting is?”

“Ahem.” The Doctor interrupted the girl’s chatter. “I believe you were saying something about a welcome?”

“Indeed.” The Chamberlain announced. “Please follow me as I take you to see your new ruler.”

They were lead along corridor after corridor after corridor. The Doctor, quite a connoisseur of corridors found them boring after a while and was beginning to think they were going around in circles. Suddenly they were inside the throne room.

“Ah, there you are!” The Iron Lord jumped to his feet. “Such beauty, such visual delight, such sumptuous features.”

“I think he’s talking to you.” Eve elbowed Alice when suddenly the Iron Lord took a hold of her.

“My dearest, you are beauty personified.”

“Err.” Eve searched for something to say.

“Congratulations!” Alice threw a handful of rice over the Iron Lord and Eve before crying artificial tears of joy into a tissue.

“I think we should help Eve.” The Doctor whispered to his confused companion.

Alice tapped the Iron Lord on the shoulder. “Excuse me, but you can’t interface with her circuit boards.”

“Why not?” The Iron Lord demanded. “I bet she’s got the best circuits money can buy.”

“She’s organic.” The Doctor shouted. “She’s a living human woman.”

“Oh. Eeuw.” The Iron Lord dropped Eve to the floor before taking hold of Alice . “My dearest, you are beauty personified.”

“Oooh.” Alice quivered.

“Come on.” The Doctor took a hold of Eve’s hand. “We can come back for her in the TARDIS.”

“Maybe not.” Eve said. “I think she’s happy here.”

“Are you going to make the toast on a morning and tidy your room by yourself?” The Doctor laughed.

“We’ll come back for her.” Eve decided. “I hate tidying my room.”

Eve put her hand over Alice ’s mouth and dragged her towards the open doors of the TARDIS.

“Hurry up!” The Doctor whispered. “The guards will be alerted soon.”

Eve pulled her friend into the TARDIS and the Doctor locked it. “Phew, glad we rescued you in time.”

“Welcome back.” The Doctor tapped Alice ’s nose softly.

“Did you have to rescue me so soon?” Alice asked. “I was just selecting maternity wear.”

“You’re pregnant?” Eve gasped.

“Well this is going to be interesting.” The Doctor said as he input their destination coordinates into the TARDIS’s system. “Why don’t we go for a nice holiday to Earth in 2782? That’s when the court case resulting from the 2000 American election is finally settled.”