Action in Exile (comic story)

Action in Exile
Doctor:	Second Doctor
Main enemy:	Harrington Fitz-Walker and his henchmen
Main setting:	Carlton Grange Hotel, London
Release details
Printed in:	TV Comic 916-920
Release date:	5 July - 2 August 1969
Format:	Comic - 5 parts (10 pages)
TVC comic stories
← Previous	Operation Wurlitzer
Next →	The Mark of Terror

Action in Exile is a TV Comic story featuring the Second Doctor. It takes place after the events of TV: The War Games and occurs during the gap between the sixth and seventh seasons of Doctor Who in the disputed timeline known as Season 6B. The events of this story reveal the Doctor has been exiled to Earth by the Time Lords, but has momentarily avoided the second part of his sentence, where he would be forced to regenerate.

Summary

The Doctor is enjoying his private suite at the Carlton Grange Hotel while the boys next door are making quite the raucous. He overhears them planning to run away from their guardian, Mr Fitz-Walker, with his private plane. Can he stop them in time? And is there more to Fitz-Walker than meets the eye?

Plot

At the Carlton Grange Hotel, the Doctor appreciates the big comfortable bed and the fresh food, by comparison to his life in the TARDIS. Suddenly, though, as he's taking a nap, the Doctor is disturbed by loud thumping in the room next door. Peering through the keyhole, he sees three young boys playing football in the next room. The manservant Chester warns them what Mr Fitz-Walker will say, and just then Fitz-Walker arrives and tells them off for their behaviour.

The three brothers are upset at their "rotten guardian", and plot to steal his private plane and fly off to another part of the world. The Doctor bursts into the room, fearing the worst, and pleads them not to, but they knock him unconscious.

By the time the Doctor comes to, they're on their way to the airfield already. He explains all to Mr Fitz-Walker, who adds that it's Sunday, so the place would be unattended. Out of earshot of the Doctor, Fitz-Walker reveals to Chester that his henchmen are stealing weapon secrets from a nuclear arsenal that day, near the airfield, and they're supposed to use his plane as a getaway. He must get there before those boys ruin everything.

Fitz-Walker and Chester are racing forward in their car, but suddenly blocked by a nuclear bomb protest march. Just then, the Doctor speeds along in a motorbike. He catches up with the kids, but they throw luggage at him to knock him over. They don't want to be sent back to Fitz-Walker.

When he finally gets there, it's too late — the boys are already airborne. Cecil finds he doesn't know how to fly a plane. Set on helping them before they're killed, the Doctor sets to work making adjustments to another aircraft on the field, and flies after them.

He closes in on them, but suddenly: a cloud of black smoke. The other plane has crashed.

To his surprise, though, the three boys were safe parachuting down from the crash. The wind nearly guides them right into the fire, but they managed to tug their ways in the right direction, only to venture into the burning building to hide from the Doctor.

Heading into the nuclear arsenal, the boys find unconscious guards, and become suspicious. Fitz-Walker's henchmen hold them at gunpoint. One has retrieved the weapon secrets despite the fire. They lash out at the kids when they find out the plane's been wrecked, and so the Doctor leaps forward to knock the men over. He's quickly held at knifepoint.

While Fitz-Walker's henchmen discuss their new escape plan, the Doctor comes up with a plan of his own. Plastic explosives: bounce like footballs, but don't explode unless detonated. He kicks one at Cecil, who shoots at the men's faces. Tommy joins in, too.

Fitz-Walker and Chester have arrived, and sense commotion. But no sooner, a police officer pins the two to the wall with his car.

The other officers gather up the battered thieves, while one police officer explains to the boys that their uncle Tom will be taking care of them from now on. "Oh, boy... That's great!" says Cecil. "He's a marvellous fellow, just like the Doctor here!"

Characters

• Second Doctor
• Harrington Fitz-Walker
• Brothers
• Chester
• Police officer

References

• The Doctor makes a comment that after hundreds of years eating dehydrated provisions, roast duck tastes magnificent.

Notes

to be added

Continuity

to be added