Limehouse Lurker

The **Limehouse Lurker** was the name given by the London press to a Cyber-Leader that went rogue after it was hit by a bomb, leading it to commit a series of hideous murders around the East End. It was also given the name of the **East End Fiend**. Some considered the Lurker to be the new Jack the Ripper.

## Biography

### Arriving on Earth

The Cyber-Leader that became the Limehouse Lurker was originally from the 30th century. It led a force of Cybermen back in time to Earth in 1939 and they landed in Jersey. They set up operations in the Le Mur Engineering compound, preparing for an invasion, but they were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. Leaving behind a sleeper force, the Cyber-Leader, along with a smaller group of Cybermen and the Cyber command unit, fled to mainland Britain after the German occupation of the Channel Islands. (TV: *Illegal Alien*)

### The Lurker

When the Blitz began, the Cyber-Leader was hit by a Luftwaffe bomb while hiding out in London's East End. The damage severed its ability to communicate with the other Cybermen and almost destroyed its memory banks. The damage to its casing also made the sterile fluid interface between its organic and mechanical parts vulnerable to assault from bacteria and Earth viruses. It began to burn up inside and went on a frenzied search for a replacement fluid, the best option on Earth in 1940 being blood. Meanwhile, Wall took charge of the Cyberman operations.

The Limehouse Lurker, as it became known in the newspapers, began murdering people by tearing them apart down the middle (PROSE: *Illegal Alien*) or crushing their bones like a zombie scavenging for food, but later it found a more efficient method by using the remains of victims blown apart by the command unit that was still programmed to follow and protect its leader. One victim torn apart was a homeless man, named Josh. The Lurker bathed itself in the blood of the victims which temporarily subdued the fire within it.

In mid-November 1940, Chief Inspector Patrick Mullen, Constable Quick and the Eighth Doctor investigated the Lurker's trail, questioning Dr Ruth Walsh about blood stored at a central collection point where it seemed likely the Lurker would strike. However, George Limb lured the Lurker into his house with bags of blood from the collection centre and locked it in his guest room. The Doctor's companion Guinevere was later attacked by the disfigured metal zombie but Captain Hartmann arrived and fought it to the ground with a cattle prod. (TV: *Illegal Alien*)

### Salvage

Afterwards, the Doctor and Limb were able to study the inert Lurker in Limb's cellar. Keeping the Lurker active with a Hornby train set battery, the Doctor was able to recover some of its memories and learn more about the Cyberman invasion plans. The Lurker soon overloaded and was destroyed. The Doctor salvaged its head.

Major Lazonby confiscated the head when he caught the Doctor sneaking around the Peddler Electronic Engineering factory. Unbeknownst to the Major, the head was moved into the factory chamber where Cyber-conversion was taking place and attached to the console. When a battle broke out, the Doctor snatched the head away again and later used it to lure out the Cyber command unit and learn where the Cybermen were striking from.

Another Cyber-Leader was part of the sleeper force left in Jersey. It was the first to be revived but it was quickly destroyed when a battle with the Nazis broke out in the compound. (TV: *Illegal Alien*)