[Sarah Jane Adventures 01] - Invasion of Bane

by Terrance Dicks

  Maria remembered the horror that had been the transformed Davey. What could they do against a monster ten times the size?

  Gathering all his strength, the boy struggled to a sitting position. He reached into the pocket of the jacket around his shoulders - Sarah Jane’s jacket.

  ‘You forgot this.’

  He held up a heart-shaped device studded with controls.

  Mrs Wormwood said contemptuously ‘And what is that?’

  The boy fought to rally his failing strength.

  ‘A signal device from another world.’

  Mrs Wormwood stared at him.

  And what of it?’

  ‘It’s like a mobile phone. But to call across the stars it must be a million times more powerful.’

  ‘Then it’s a good thing you don’t know our frequency’ said Mrs Wormwood. Only if the device was tuned to exactly the right frequency, could it do the Bane any real harm.

  The boy looked at Sarah Jane. ‘Mr Smith said it out loud.’

  ‘But that was dozens of numbers,’ she said.

  And I remember them.’ He looked up at Mrs Wormwood. ‘You gave me the memory of 10,000 humans.’

  ‘Stop him!’ screamed Mrs Wormwood.

  Guards moved towards them, but the boy’s fingers were flickering over the controls at incredible speed. He recited a string of numbers.

  ‘Coordinates 17775395736554936287487596 9587476383940954-05-5.’

  With one final effort, he summoned up the last of his strength and raised the alien communicator.

  ‘Calling the Bane!’

  He pressed the call button.

  The result was spectacular.

  A high-pitched whine filled the air and the Bane Mother roared in pain and recoiled. The great flailing tentacles withdrew at once and the huge bulbous body writhed in agony as the monster tried to retreat into the safety of its nest.

  Mrs Wormwood clutched her temples in pain, as did the surrounding guards. Even Maria clapped her hands over her ears to block out the piercing howl.

  ‘The Bane Mother,’ screamed Mrs Wormwood. ‘You’re killing her!’ She pointed a commanding finger at the boy. ‘Archetype! I order you to stop!’

  Holding out the alien device, the boy ignored her command.

  ‘You’ve made him human,’ shouted Sarah Jane. ‘He’s ours!’ She turned to Maria. ‘Come on, give me a hand.’

  They helped the boy to his feet. Supporting him between them, they fled from the noise and chaos of the pipe room.

  Powerless to stop them, Mrs Wormwood staggered, hands clutching her temples. High above them the massive form of the Bane Mother writhed and roared...

  Sarah Jane, Maria and the boy emerged into a dark corridor. All around them lights flashed, alarms rang and steam gushed from broken pipes.

  ‘Come on,’ cried Sarah Jane, and led them in the direction that she desperately hoped led to the exit.

  Mrs Wormwood, still clutching her temples, staggered from the pipe room and stumbled into the corridor. She saw a staircase ahead of her and felt her way blindly up it, hoping to reach the open air...

  The three fugitives came to a side door. To their relief, it led to the open courtyard and they began running towards Sarah Jane’s car.

  Mrs Wormwood saw daylight at the end of a corridor and ran towards it, only to End her way barred by a metal grille. Through it she could see Sarah Jane, Maria and the Archetype as they ran from the factory.

  ‘Until the next time, Miss Smith!’ she screamed.

  Sarah Jane and Maria, supporting the boy between them, were still running when the blast of a mighty explosion sent them staggering. They turned. Behind them most of the factory had exploded in a sheet of flame. Smoke filled the air and flaming debris rained down.

  Stunned and delighted, they stared at the smoking ruins. They looked at each other and began laughing in almost hysterical relief

  ‘We stopped them,’ said Maria.

  Sarah Jane looked at the boy, who was standing up by himself, smiling.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Their control has gone,’ said the boy. ‘I’m free, and that’s - good!’

  ‘Oh yes,’ said Sarah Jane. ‘That’s good!’ She hugged him. ‘I’d be dead without you. We all would. You’re amazing!’ She reached out to draw Maria into the embrace. ‘The pair of you - amazing!’

  ‘This is happiness, yes?’ said the boy.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ said Sarah Jane. ‘We did it!’

  ‘We did it!’ said Maria.

  ‘We did it!’ echoed the boy.

  Linked in a group hug they spun round and round, laughing like idiots in happiness and relief.

  Alan sat in his living room watching the news on television.

  On the screen a pretty young newscaster, standing, for some reason, in front of the Houses of Parliament, was reporting on recent events. It appeared that extraordinary things had been going on all over the world, though as yet there was no satisfactory explanation.

  ‘The Government has refused to comment,’ said the newscaster, ‘but stocks of Bubble Shock have been withdrawn from the shelves. The mass hysteria of this afternoon is being put down to a chemical imbalance of the brain.

  Alan shrugged and switched off the set, just as Maria shot into the room.

  ‘Dad!’ she shrieked and hurled herself into his arms, hugging him.

  He patted her on the back. ‘What’s brought this on?’

  She looked up and studied him. He seemed perfectly okay, very much his old placid self.

  Maria hugged him again. ‘I thought I’d lost you!’

  Alan looked embarrassed. His recollection of recent events was hazy to say the least, and he had an uneasy feeling that he’d been doing some very strange things. But, like most people, he’d worked out an explanation that satisfied him.

  ‘Oh, I had a bit of a turn, that’s all. It’s all over the news. They said some chemicals escaped from the Bubble Shock factory, gave everyone hallucinations.

  He looked up as Sarah Jane and the boy came into the room.

  ‘Hello there.’

  Sarah Jane studied him carefully for a moment. Like Maria, she was relieved to see that Alan, at least, seemed to have made a full recovery. With the Bane destroyed, perhaps everyone else would, too.

  ‘Hello,’ she said, a little awkwardly. ‘Just checking everything’s all right.’

  ‘That’s very neighbourly,’ said Alan dryly, remembering their first meeting.

  Sarah Jane smiled. ‘Yes, well, sorry about before.’ She held out her hand. ‘Welcome to the neighbourhood.’ They shook hands.

  ‘It’s certainly been lively,’ said Alan. ‘Is it always like this?’

  Sarah Jane looked at Maria and smiled. ‘No, this is a quiet day.’

  Alan nodded towards the boy. ‘And who’s this?’

  For a moment Sarah Jane was baffled. Who was the boy? What could she possibly say about him? She looked at Maria who looked anxiously back.

  The boy looked anxious too. Sarah Jane and Maria were his only friends in this strange new world. What was his place? Did he even have one?

  ‘This is… I suppose… this is my son,’ Sarah Jane heard herself saying. ‘My adopted son.’

  The boy looked pleased, and Maria beamed.

  ‘Hello,’ said the boy politely.

  He was filled with a vast relief. He knew who he was now. He was Sarah Jane’s adopted son.

  Alan held out his hand and they shook hands.

  ‘And what’s your name?’

  Sarah Jane and Maria looked at each other. Another little problem they’d failed to think of.

  ‘I don’t have a name,’ said the boy with his usual devastating frankness.

  Alan looked baffled, and Sarah Jane tried to save the situation.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said hastily. ‘Old family joke. He’s called...’

  But then - what was he called?

  Before Sarah Jane could think of a name Chrissie burst into the ro
om - full of herself and her own affairs as always. She looked reproachfully at Alan, putting him in the wrong as usual.

  ‘Look at you, leaving your front door open, after everything that’s happened! Did you hear about the chemicals? Oh, it was a nightmare.’

  She went over to Maria, gave her a quick kiss, and carried on talking.

  ‘I had Ivan chasing me round the bedroom saying, “Drink it! Drink it!” I said get off, but he wasn’t having it.’

  It occurred to Maria that perhaps her anti-Bane genes were inherited. It seemed Chrissie was in the two per cent as well.

  ‘Haven’t you finished unpacking yet, Alan?’ Chrissie went on. ‘You know what I said, the longer it stays in boxes the less it feels like a home...’ She suddenly noticed Sarah Jane. ‘And you are?’

  ‘Sarah Jane Smith. I’m from over the road.’

  ‘This is my mother,’ said Maria, trying not to sound apologetic.

  Chrissie stared at the boy. ‘What’s he wearing?’

  ‘These are the clothes I was born in.’

  ‘Right,’ said Chrissie baffled. She turned back to Sarah Jane. ‘Well, thanks very much, but, if you don’t mind, I’ve had a bit of a trauma. Family time. Thanks for calling in.’

  Sarah Jane accepted the dismissal politely. ‘Okay, we’ll be off.’

  The boy studied Chrissie. ‘This woman is rude.’

  ‘Yes, we’re definitely going,’ said Sarah Jane brightly. She grabbed the boy’s hand. ‘Let’s go home.’

  ‘You don’t have to go,’ said Maria in embarrassment.

  In a perfectly audible aside, Chrissie said, ‘Come on now, Maria, invite the neighbours round and you never get rid of them. Next thing you know, it’s holidays together, and that’s a recipe for disaster.’ She smiled at Sarah Jane insincerely. ‘No offence, nice to meet you Sarah… Lou.’

  Sarah Jane gave Maria a sympathetic smile.

  ‘See you,’ she said.

  Maria watched them go as Chrissie rattled on. ‘So, there he was, chasing me round the bedroom with a bottle of pop. I said, “That’s novel!” Next thing you know, next door’s doing the same thing! “Have you two been colluding?” I said. “When did that happen?”’ Chrissie paused to draw breath and then changed the subject. ‘Oh, and while I’m here, I’ll have that cheque, thanks.’

  Alan looked embarrassed. ‘Give it a week, I’ve got to pay the removal men.’

  ‘Well then, you should have planned,’ said Chrissie crossly. ‘That’s you all over, Alan, no plans. Ivan’s booked this villa outside Skiathos and it’s gorgeous, he’s put the deposit down but we’ve still got to pay the rest.

  Maria listened as Chrissie went on - and on. This was normal life, she supposed. Normal family life...

  She thought about the amazing events of the last two days, and it suddenly struck her that she had another family now.

  She smiled to herself, and slipped away.

  Nobody noticed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Aftermath

  It was night-time, a beautiful starry summer night, and Maria was sitting at a picnic table in Sarah Jane’s garden. The garden where she had seen Sarah Jane and the alien Star Poetess. The place where it had all begun.

  Sarah Jane came out of the house with a tray bearing a jug of lemonade and some glasses. She put the tray on the table, sat down and poured two glasses, handing one to Maria.

  Sarah Jane held up her glass. ‘Cheers.’

  ‘Cheers! And it’s normal pop!’

  ‘Hooray for normal pop,’ said Sarah Jane. A thought struck her. ‘How’s your friend Kelsey?’

  Maria grinned. ‘She’s backtracking like mad, saying it was all hallucinations. No such thing as aliens.’

  ‘But we know better?’ said Sarah Jane.

  They exchanged a secret smile.

  The boy came into the garden. They’d all been shopping that afternoon. Now he wore a grey T-shirt, a green fleece, brown jeans and trainers.

  He looked like any other teenager, thought Maria.

  ‘Oh, that’s more like it,’ she said.

  The boy looked down at his new clothes. ‘This is good?’

  ‘Yep,’ said Maria.

  The boy went and sat by Sarah Jane and she gave him a glass of lemonade.

  ‘How are you going to adopt him then?’ asked Maria. ‘I mean, you’ll need forms and things. Who are you going to say his real mum is? The Bane Mother?’

  ‘Mr Smith’s sorted that one out.’ Sarah Jane produced a sheaf of official-looking documents from her shoulder bag. ‘All officially done and dusted. All he needs now is a name.’

  Maria grinned at the boy. ‘You can choose your own! What do you think?’

  ‘I like yours, Maria.’

  She shook her head. ‘Maybe not... How about Jack? Josh? Nathan?’

  ‘Harry? Alistair?’ said Sarah Jane, remembering old friends. Then, in a completely different tone, she said ‘Or - Luke?’

  ‘Muffin?’ said the boy.

  Maria and Sarah Jane shook their heads.

  ‘I like Luke,’ said Maria thoughtfully.

  ‘I like Luke,’ said Sarah Jane.

  ‘If you like Luke, I like Luke,’ said the boy.

  Sarah Jane paused for a moment.

  ‘That’s the name I was going to choose if ever I had kids,’ she said, a little sadly. ‘Except it never happened.’

  ‘But now it has,’ said Maria. ‘Luke Smith. You’re a mum!’

  Sarah Jane smiled. ‘I am!’ She reached out and took Luke’s hand.

  Maria risked a more personal question. ‘I never asked. Have you got a boyfriend or...’

  ‘There was only ever one man for me,’ said Sarah Jane. ‘After him, nothing compared.’ She paused for a moment, staring into space - or into the past. ‘When I was your age I thought, oh, when I’m grown up, I’ll know what I want, I’ll be sorted. But you never really know what you want. You never feel grown up, not really, you never sort it all out. So, I thought I can handle life on my own. But after today...’ She looked from Maria to Luke and smiled. ‘After today, I don’t want to!’

  Luke was staring up at the sky, following a blinking light as it moved across the heavens. ‘What’s that?’

  Maria looked. ‘Just a plane.’

  ‘That’s a flying machine, right?’

  ‘Or perhaps it’s a spaceship,’ said Sarah Jane. She looked up at the stars. ‘I saw amazing things, out there in space. But there’s strangeness to be found wherever you turn. Life on Earth can be an adventure too. You just need to know where to look.’

  They sat, all three of them, staring up at the stars.

  Three people, three friends, with a world of adventure before them.