'Enemy of the Bane' (Part 2) by Phil Ford

Trapped between two ravenous Bane monsters, Clyde and Luke grab a nearby garden hose and hold the creatures at bay. Watching from the sidelines, Mrs Wormwood instructs Kaagh to boost the power of her phonic ring, then steps into view and destroys the Bane, covering Clyde and Luke with the creatures’ goopy remains in the process. At that moment, Sarah, Rani and Sir Alistair arrive on the scene. Believing that U.N.I.T. troops are not far behind them, Sarah refuses to hand over the Tunguska Scroll to Mrs Wormwood, insisting that they find somewhere safe to hide out first; as they leave, Kaagh watches them from his hiding place… Inside the safety of Gita’s Flower Shop, Sarah voices her suspicions over Mrs Wormwood’s story, observing that she saved Luke and Clyde with her phonic ring, despite the fact that Mr Smith deactivated it earlier. Deciding to end her charade, Mrs Wormwood calls out to her accomplice – and to everyone’s disbelief, Kaagh bursts in and takes them prisoner at gunpoint, destroying Sarah’s sonic lipstick under his boot. Realising that Kaargh was the mercenary working for the Bane, Sarah deduces that the Sontaran betrayed his employers by delivering the Consciousness of Horath to Mrs Wormwood. Kaagh and Mrs Wormwood explain how they met: Kaagh was unable to return to Sontar due to his disgrace at being defeated by Sarah and her young friends, so he chose to become a mercenary; but after recognising Mrs Wormwood on a planet in the Snaketongue Nebula, he decided to accept her offer to join forces and share in the power of Horath. Having forced Sarah to hand over the scroll, Mrs Wormwood and Kaagh leave, taking Luke with them as a hostage; as they depart, the renegade Bane incapacitates her enemies with a burst of her phonic ring. Meanwhile, Gita calls at Sarah’s house and meets Major Kilburn, who explains that he is Sarah’s nephew, and wants to surprise her when she returns… Mrs Wormwood, Kaagh and Luke arrive at the disused industrial estate. Attempting to divide his enemies, Luke tells Kaagh that that they are both alike, being bred to serve Mrs Wormwood, but as the Sontaran rises to the bait, he is stopped by Mrs Wormwood. Mrs Wormwood and Kaagh lead their captive inside one of the warehouses, to where Kaagh’s space pod sits. Having removed the crystal containing Horath’s consciousness, Kaagh places it inside the Tunguska Scroll, and to Mrs Wormwood’s delight, the combined artefact lights up as it searches for Horath’s homing signal. When Luke works out that Horath isn’t a person, but a thing, Mrs Wormwood reveals that it is a cybernetic organism, capable of controlling the physical laws of the universe – enabling it to destroy and create planets. Even though Luke refuses to accept her as his mother, Mrs Wormwood still offers him the chance to become her prince and share in Horath’s power; Luke seems to be taken in, so Mrs Wormwood hands him the Scroll – and then screams in anger as the boy immediately turns and legs it! Kaagh sets off in pursuit, but Luke slips through a window and into the grounds outside. As Kaagh begins blasting his gun at the fleeing boy, Mrs Wormwood transforms into her Bane form and sets off after them; she is just in time to stop Kaagh from shooting the boy point blank, and uses her phonic ring to remind the Sontaran of just who is in charge. Back at Bannerman Road, Sarah, Clyde, Rani and Sir Alistair look out for any U.N.I.T. troops; Clyde offers to carry out a recce – unaware that he is being watched… After Clyde has given the all clear, Sarah, Rani and Sir Alistair head inside to join him – only to find the door smashed open, and Major Kilburn holding Clyde by the throat. Pulling out a gun, the Major orders Sarah to give him the Scroll; however, Clyde gets free and overpowers his attacker, enabling Sir Alastair to hold the soldier at bay with his walking cane. Sarah and Clyde head upstairs and call on Mr Smith, who tracks the Scroll to the village of Whitebarrow; after Clyde recalls a school trip to see the village’s ancient stone circle, Sarah deduces that the Neolithic burial ground must be where Horath is buried. Downstairs, Sir Alistair and Rani learn that Major Kilburn is another Bane in disguise. But as the Major transforms into a multi-tentacled creature, he is promptly shot by Sir Alistair, using a tranquilliser gun hidden inside his cane. Leaving Sir Alistair to watch over the alien, Sarah borrows Gita’s van and sets off with Clyde and Rani for Whitebarrow. Meanwhile, Mrs Wormwood, Kaagh and Luke arrive at the stone circle, only to find it surrounded by a force-field; however, Mrs Wormwood is unconcerned: knowing that the barrier only stops non-Earth life forms, she sends Luke to the stone in the middle of the circle, instructing him to place the Scroll into a hole in its surface. As Luke complies, bolts of coruscating energy burst out of the centre stone, striking each of the stones with a force that shakes the ground violently – a portal to another dimension is opening. Triumphant at the power she is about to obtain, heralding ‘The Age of Wormwood’, Mrs Wormwood again offers Luke the chance to rule by her side. When Kaagh objects to her treachery, Mrs Wormwood terminates their agreement by sending the Sontaran reeling with a blast of her phonic ring. As Luke refuses to the offer to become a god residing over all creation, he is overjoyed to see Sarah, Clyde and Rani arrive; he runs to Sarah, the person he regards as his real mother. The portal finally opens, a giant black hole in the ground underneath the stone circle. Clyde goes to help the fallen Kaagh, who asks for his gun; Clyde refuses, but the Sontaran is undaunted: seeing the chance to regain his honour, Kaagh tackles Mrs Wormwood, sending them both plummeting into the void below. As they fall to their apparent deaths, the energy from Mrs Wormwood’s ring overloads the system, and the portal explodes. The threat over, Sarah pulls out a second sonic lipstick and destroys the Scroll, sealing the portal forever; she then reflects on how she and her friends saved the universe once more – this time with the aid of a Sontaran! Some time later, after Sarah, Luke, Clyde and Rani have returned home and said goodbye to Sir Alistair, they prepare themselves for the next alien threat...

Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Thomas Knight (Luke), Daniel Anthony (Clyde Langer), Alexander Armstrong (Mr Smith [Voice]), Anjli Mohindra (Rani Chandra), Mina Anwar (Gita Chandra), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Samantha Bond (Ms Wormwood), Nicholas Courtney (Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart), Anthony O’Donnell (Commander Kaagh), Simon Chadwick (Major Cal Kilburne)

Directed by Graeme Harper
Produced by Matthew Bouch
Executive Producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner
A BBC Wales production

TX (CBBC):
8th December 2008 @ 5.15pm
15th December 2008 @ 4.35pm on BBC 1

Notes:
*Featuring Sarah Jane Smith, Luke, Clyde, Rani, Mr Smith and Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart