Universal Displacement

Eggs-traterrestrial Eggs-asperation

Sutton frowned, squinted suspiciously at the Doctor and felt her stomach fall stories as she tried to interpret his expression. The words she spoke fumbled from her lips.

"Well, dimensional travel is always a problem, I guess. But Tony and Bruce figured it out and you're practically the expert on space and alternate universes and timelines. I mean, it shouldn't be too hard for you, right?"

The laugh she forced out was nervous in nature and she looked to Rose as if to gain her agreement. The Doctor's expression did not lighten. Sutton had seen that solemn face before. She especially hated it now.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy," he said slowly.

"It has to be. I need to... I need to go home."

The conversation was only made worse by how still the Doctor was. Generally he was constantly moving, pacing, gesturing. But right now, now he was frozen and it only made Sutton feel more ill.

"If it was just a simple particle transfer that would be different, but there are other variables at play here. Like your instability, for one."

"Excuse me?"

Rose hopped up from her seat and held out her hands to pause both Sutton and the Doctor.

"How 'bout we pick this up another time, yeah? After all's finished here?"

The Doctor raised both eyebrows and looked to Sutton as if the decision lied with her, and Sutton bit down on her tongue briefly in response.

"Right," she finally agreed, "of course."

She reprimanded herself for the selfish part of her that wanted to say 'no', that they should make time because she wanted answers. But that wasn't what heroes did. Heroes sacrificed what they wanted for the good of others, right? The last thing she wanted was to have gotten back to the Avengers crew and be forced to say:

You know what really helped get me back? Me, throwing a fit in the face of greater good.

Yeah. Really super.

There was a certain disjointedness present though as Sutton tried to shake off the conversation. Her efforts were partially in vain, as she couldn't ignore the uneasiness that told her she wouldn't like whatever the Doctor had to say.

Universe traveling, she decided, was getting a bit old and not everything it was cracked up to be.

Curse fanfiction and it's unrealistic expectations.

They left the safety of the TARDIS a bit later with the Doctor carrying an armful of bottles of vinegar. The dark sky was once again disorienting and it felt more ominous than foreign after Sutton's chat with the Doctor. She and Rose followed as he led them to the location Nihir had sent to him through some communication device in the TARDIS. It was a larger hidden base and where they were going to pretend the cache of eggs was located.

It was another underground space and even less well lit than the one they'd visited before. The walls and the floor smelt of damp earth and old stone. Perhaps because there were trying to draw the Slitheen in, this room was larger than the last. Or, at least, the ceilings were higher. If the Slitheen chose to shed their disguise, they'd probably be brushing even with the room's ceiling. If Sutton remembered correctly, they were quite tall.

The basic Scooby-Doo type plan they had going and the Doctor's words on her situation had her stomach still flipping and her legs weak with adrenaline.

What had he been building up to before Rose interrupted him? Did she want to know?

Sutton ran both hands through her frayed curls and tugged when she met knots. The pressure felt good and she sighed lightly as she refocused on the room and its occupants. When her eyes found the center of the room they landed on the incubator and her insides froze solid.