The Crystal Throne ( comic story ) Summary . Part one . Silas Ruckford plans on destroying Buckingham Palace with the help of dynamite . However , Madame Vastra catches up with his carriage and pushes the man out of the vehicle , not bothering to see whether he survives . Instead of jumping off the dynamite - filled carriage as Jenny suggests , Vastra steers it away from the people nearby , just barely escaping the carriage as it explodes . Ruckford is not dead , but before he can do anything else , Strax punches him . Before Vastra can question him , however , Ruckford consumes a poisonous pill , before muttering that Queen Victoria will fall . Vastra believes that Ruckford , who suffered severe mental difficulties , was not simply acting on his own will ; someone manipulated him into acting as a weapon . After measuring its oxide levels , Vastra realises that the soil on Ruckford ' s boot appears to be from the Equatorial region — odd , considering Ruckford had been in England for months . Jenny points out a newspaper article focusing on a Brazil ian rainforest exhibit at the Central Palace , which could explain the apparently Equatorial soil . The Paternoster Gang decides to investigate the Palace , which Vastra enjoys due to its similarities to the world she grew up in . Lady Cornelia Basildon - Stone , the woman who came up with the exhibit idea , speaks of her fascination with nature , including her theory that only the strongest beings could and should survive in the world ; however , she makes no comment on Vastra ' s nonhuman appearance . Vastra is convinced that Lady Cornelia was behind Ruckford ' s acts . Meanwhile , Strax meets Lady Cornelia ' s Sikh servant Ajeeth , while Jenny meets the young Tommy Corrigan who works at the greenhouse . The latter boy notes the oddity of Lady Cornelia ' s personality ; she recently removed and replaced the glass on the greenhouse ' s ceiling for no apparent reason . This cements Vastra ' s suspicions about the Lady , though Inspector Stringer believes Vastra ' s thoughts to be false . Along with Tommy , the Paternoster Gang returns to the Palace that night , pondering Lady Cornelia ' s intentions . Jenny , Strax and Tommy break into the Palace for additional information , while Vastra investigates its exterior . Jenny , Strax and Tommy spot Ajeeth ordering the policemen present to assemble . He unleashes some sort of gas , turning them into insectoids loyal to their Queen . . . Part two . Ajeeth spots the intruders , and orders the insectoids to kill them . As the army is too large to be defeated , Jenny , Strax and Tommy must run from it . Vastra ponders over the purpose of making the palace into a greenhouse whilst sitting on its roof . To her surprise , Lady Cornelia approaches her , complimenting Vastra and calling her " a challenge " . The Lady explains that she had earlier met another Silurian , this one a scientist living in a South African diamond mine . After the scientist told her of the species ' history , Cornelia learned that the chamber held a genetic splicer — a powerful machine capable of extracting genes from one creature and putting them into another . Lady Cornelia used this device to mix wasp and human genes , creating the " ideal worker " : industrious , ferocious , and unquestionably loyal . Ruckford had lured hundreds of policemen , now wasp hybrids , to the Palace . Vastra and Cornelia engage in a sword fight , and both of them display great skill . Meanwhile , Strax , Jenny and Tommy attempt to escape ( not killing the wasp hybrids , much to Strax ' s disappointment ) . However , Strax is met once again by Ajeeth , and they begin a fight of their own . Vastra appears to have won the sword fight . However , Lady Cornelia transforms herself into an insectoid hybrid - England ' s new queen , according to herself . Her eggs are located within the greenhouse , and protected by the wasp hybrid " drones " , they will hatch and grow strong , eventually forging the New British Empire . While fighting Strax , Ajeeth too transforms himself into an insectoid , now stronger than Strax . Before he can kill the Sontaran , however , Jenny uses Strax ' s gun to shoot Ajeeth down . Jenny notices the same gas that turned the policemen into insectoids , and Tommy recognises it ' s coming from the boiler room . Vastra , meanwhile , is nearly defeated . However , she manages to utilise " a gift from a friend " — a red sonic screwdriver — to break the glass of the Palace . Falling from the now - broken roof , Vastra uses a grappling hook to catch herself on the still - built roof foundation . However , before she can reach the ground , the insectoid Lady Cornelia grabs Vastra . In the boiler room , Strax throws a grenade at the genetic splicer , destroying it . This weakens Lady Cornelia , making her fall to her death before she can dispose of Vastra . The Silurian manages to use her grappling hook again , this time successfully lowering herself to the ground . The wasp hybrids , meanwhile , transform back into their human selves , their wasp genes dormant now that the splicer has been destroyed . At their home , the Paternoster Gang as well as Tommy ( the latter drinking milk which Strax apparently made ) converse . Vastra is sad to see a healing device like the genetic splicer used as a weapon and eventually lost forever , but Jenny points out that it will not be lost as long as Vastra remembers it . And while her people may be gone , Vastra still has family in the Paternoster Gang . . . Plot . " to be added "