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‘I just don’t get it.’ Nick looked down at Bradley. ‘How is this possible?’ Bradley shook his head. He had no idea. It was certainly not of his making. Of course, if Nick had no idea, then perhaps he could make use of the situation. Bradley smiled, and jumped. With barely an effort on Bradley’s part, he lifted into the air and landed on top of the catacombs alongside Nick. ‘Hey, how did you that?’ ‘Easy. Things are different in my world, Nick. We have powers that your people can only dream of. I have shared mine with you.’ Nick was puzzled. ‘Eh? You mean you have fixed my legs?’ Bradley nodded. ‘Blimey. I mean... thanks. Really.’ Nick jumped into the air and came to land next the cedar tree. He looked down at his legs, then back up at Bradley. ‘How can I repay you for this?’ Bradley fingered the bloodied cloth inside his tunic. ‘Oh, I am sure I can think of a way.’ He jumped down from the catacombs. ‘Maybe we should do something to celebrate?’ Nick walked over to him, and placed an arm over Bradley’s shoulder. ‘Good idea. I could murder a drink.’ ‘Yes, a drink would be good.’ Together they walked out of Lebanon Circle. ‘Come, let us feast!’ *** The Bitch stood by the tree watching them. Deep within he was fuming. That Kuang-Shi is taking credit for my actions! We’ll soon see about that. *** Nicholas looked out of the window and watched as buildings sped past them. They were sitting in something that Alf called “an underground train”. He turned to Alf who sat beside him. ‘If this is an “underground train” then why are we travelling overground?’ Alf looked at him oddly, then she nodded. ‘Right, your first visit to twentieth century London, eh?’ Nicholas assumed Alf knew what she was talking about and simply nodded. ‘Well, the Underground goes all through London. Most of it runs underneath the city, but bits of it run in the open. Like the Central Line,’ she indicated the red line on the map in her hand, ‘it will go under the city once we leave White City station.’ Nicholas nodded. Seemed like a good way to travel. Certainly beat the horses and ornithopters back on Styria. ‘Where are we going, exactly?’ ‘To meet up with the Doctor. It really is time we got back to Highgate. This trip to 1986 was only meant to be a stopover, a chance to get some supplies and rediscover my past.’ Alf patted the knapsack between her legs. ‘Got the supplies, and thanks to a bit of serendipity I met my past head on. Besides, there are loads more worlds and times to visit yet.’ ‘I quite like it here,’ Nicholas said. And he meant it. He had never been off Styria before, and arriving in this New World had opened his eyes. The Count could find his own New World; this one was going to be Nicholas’. He would be the progenitor of a whole new race of Kuang-Shi, but first he had to pay back Lady Dorothy and the memory she had left him with. Nicholas looked around the train, not at all surprised by the way the people ignored each other. A few people would glance occasionally at him, no doubt taken by the slightly off colour of his skin, but they would soon turn away when he noticed them looking. He looked back at Alf. ‘Before we find the Doctor, fancy a bit of... fun?’ Alf glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Her lips curled into a smile. ‘Well...’ ‘Must be somewhere we can go.’ Alf shifted in her seat, her face beaming. ‘Actually, yeah, there is. Thanks to my newly restored memory there is a place I remember, a place my friends and I used to hang about in back in 1986. It’s just near White City, which is two stops away.’ She winked. Nicholas smiled. ‘Perfect.’ ***
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