Category: Doctor Who: Crossings

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

The Warrior’s Cell: Part 1

It was a warm, sunny day in West City. People were going about their business as usual. Over in a large, dome shaped building, a group of people were relaxing and eating on a balcony. One of the people, a man with spiky, black hair, was chowing down with no signs of stopping. Given that his biology required a lot of calories, it was no surprise. The owner of the building, a blue-haired woman, was off to the side with a blue-skinned man with white hair. “I’m surprised you could find some time in your schedule to visit, Whis,” remarked the blue-haired woman.

“Well, Lady Bulma,” sighed the blue-skinned man, Whis, “when you serve someone like Lord Beerus,” he indicated the humanoid, purple, hairless cat with an Egyptian motif in his clothes that was napping in the sun, “you tend to have a lot of free time. Then again, a visit to your world is ALWAYS delightful when you invite us.”

“Yeah, barring any threats,” muttered the blue-haired woman, Dr. Bulma Briefs.

“I don’t know, you and your friends seem to handle them quite well.”

Meanwhile, Beerus lazily reached for something…only to realize that what he was reaching for wasn’t there. “Hm?” He lazily opened an eye. His eyes bugged out when it hit him. “HEY! WAIT A MINUTE! WHERE’S MY CASHEW PORK?!” he demanded.

“Oops! Sorry!” replied the black-haired man childishly.

“You glutton, Goku!” snarled Beerus. “That was my naptime snack! I ought to destroy you for this!”

“Oh, come on!” complained Goku. “That’s not fair! It was just so good!”

“Keep talking, let’s see how far-!” Beerus’ ear twitched. “…On second thought, there’s something that requires investigation. Whis!”

“I hear it too, my Lord,” replied Whis.

“Isn’t that the TARDIS?” asked Bulma.

“Well, with Gallifrey having come back, it’s certainly A TARDIS,” said Whis.

“Hey! Over there!” called Goku as the Doctor’s TARDIS materialized.

“What’s going on here?” mused Beerus as something more interesting than food held his attention for the moment. “Why are they coming here?”

“Well, we can always ask,” replied Whis. The TARDIS doors opened and the Doctor and Tysar stepped out.

“You took off after those readings like the Daleks were chasing us, Doctor,” said Tysar. “What’s wrong?”

“Two chronal surges centered around here according to Gallifrey, that’s what,” replied the Doctor. “That means the Grouping’s starting to get worse.”

“Ah! Lady Doctor!” greeted Whis. The Doctor looked up and goggled.

“Whis!” returned the Doctor. “And Lord Beerus! Good to see you again!” She then spotted Goku and Bulma. “And you, Goku and Bulma!”

“…I don’t think we met before,” remarked Goku.

“I KNOW we never met before,” said Bulma. “Where’s the Doctor?”

“That IS the Doctor,” said Beerus.

“Huh?!” yelped Goku and Bulma.

“Don’t you remember?” asked the Doctor. “That whole business with Frieza wanting to make a wish on the Dragon Balls but you and Amy made your own wishes, Bulma?”

“Good grief, it IS you!” called Bulma. “But how?! You’re completely different!”

“Time Lords tend to change their physical makeup when they’re about to die somehow,” replied Whis. “Now, Lady Doctor…what’s this about the Grouping? Surely it already happened?”

“…I’m afraid there’s a new one and…I’m partially to blame,” replied the Doctor. “You see, Amy was encouraged by her future to come with me, then a whole thing surrounding the TARDIS happened on Gallifrey, resulting in the TARDIS’ heart bi-generating so the old heart becomes the new Eye of Harmony-.”

“And that released its stabilization over the paradox surrounding Amy,” finished Whis, “resulting in chronal surges. I see you have a Thal with you. Does that mean Amy told her past to go with you?”

“Yes, and she’s on Mobius. Her return there is another thing that I really don’t have time to explain. I’m trying to send people back to their native times like Tysar here.”

“Hello,” said Tysar. “Turns out the frequency of chronal surges is happening faster. I got plucked from New Davius and landed in Gotham, then we had to save Martin Luther King Jr.”

“Hm, that IS a worry,” remarked Whis. He then summoned his staff out of thin air and peered into it. “Hm, You’re right, two chronal surges are on approach. One is centered around this planet, the other…I’m not too sure I-.” That was when the chronal surges washed over everyone.

“Oh heavens!” gulped the Doctor.

“They arrived at the same time,” shuddered Whis. “It really IS getting worse!”

“Doctor, what does that mean?!” asked Tysar.

“Time is unravelling,” replied the Doctor. “All we’re doing is treating the symptoms when we should be finding the cause.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help you much there,” sighed Whis as he peered into his staff again. “While that paradox surrounding Amy was the seed, I don’t think it’s your TARDIS’ old heart becoming the new Eye of Harmony that’s the source.”

“We’ll discuss those theories later,” said the Doctor. “Right now, we need to find who was taken or brought here and bring them back to their original points in space/time.”

“Now that, I CAN help you there,” smiled Whis. “It looks like no one from the present was taken. It looks like one chronal surge took someone from the past and put them here while the other surge took someone from just a few seconds in the future to right here. …It looks like that last one-.”

“Poyo?” asked a childish voice.

“Hm?” Beerus looked down at his feet…then yowled in terror and scrambled up to a higher place!

“Lord Beerus, why are you acting-?” Whis trailed off when he saw what Beerus was freaking out over. It was a pink ball with a face, stumps for arms, and big feet!

“Kirby?!” yelped the Doctor.

“LORD BEERUS, MOVE OVER!” Whis shrieked in terror as he tried to join his master.

“NO! FIND YOUR OWN BUTT SHELTER!” shouted Beerus in a panic. Everyone just stared at the God and Angel scrambling to get away from Kirby.

“…Lord Beerus, Whis, what on Earth is wrong with you?” asked the Doctor. “Kirby’s got an appetite, yes, but-.”

“Don’t you know that thing’s reputation, Doctor?!” yelped Whis girlishly.

“Doctor?” asked Kirby as he tilted his face in confusion.

“Yes, Kirby, it’s me,” replied the Doctor. “Remember when we fought the Weeping Angels on Popstar? You sucked up Rassilon’s regeneration energy and became Time Lord Kirby. And we won against the Angels too.”

“Doctor!” cheered Kirby happily as he leapt into the Doctor’s arms.

“It’s good to see you too, Kirby!” replied the Doctor happily.

“Doctor, you’re friends with a Star Warrior?” asked Tysar.

“Oh, you know about them?” quizzed the Doctor. “I met Kirby when I was on a quest for the Key to Time. I remember Kirby being a hungry boy.”

“Doctor, that pink menace eats and eats and eats! Even gods have been consumed by him!” protested Beerus. “My Hakai technique won’t do any good!”

“For your own safety, please get away from him and let me send him back!” urged Whis.

“Oh, come now!” dismissed the Doctor as she set Kirby down. “He’s not dangerous to his friends and he’s made many friends!”

“Hold on, Beerus,” said Goku, “he’s scary to you and Whis?”

“Goku, you’re not thinking of fighting that horror, are you?!” argued Whis. “Even Grand Zeno wouldn’t dare!”

“Whis, you’re just exciting Goku!” snarled Beerus.

“I wouldn’t bother picking a fight, Goku,” said the Doctor. “Kirby’s not a fighter by nature.”

“Aw!” complained Goku. “But I wanna know how strong he is!” Kirby then saw the food and gurgled happily. He then opened his mouth and inhaled! The food flew into his mouth and Kirby only stopped when it was all gone! Bulma and Goku goggled in surprise.

“That was enough to feed ten Saiyans!” yelped Bulma.

“He’s called the Devourer among us gods and angels for a reason!” called Beerus. “Now let Whis get rid of him and-!”

“Absolutely not!” defended the Doctor. “We might need him to help out with the other fellow that got caught up in the chronal surge.”

“Doctor, that’s no longer your call to make!” replied Whis. “Now move aside so-!”

“Hang on!” interrupted Goku as he looked to the north. “Something’s just popped up.”

“Oh? And what’s that?” asked Beerus. “What’s more important than getting rid of a menace?!”

“…IT’S CELL!” yelped Goku.

“What?! Cell?!” Bulma’s eyes widened in fear. “But how?!”

“Might I ask who this Cell person is?” asked the Doctor.

“A Bio-android with the DNA of Goku and all his friends!” explained Bulma. “Designed by a Red Ribbon army scientist to kill Goku!”

“But my son, Gohan, killed him years ago!” said Goku.

“Whis, can you-?” asked Bulma.

“Let me have a little looksee,” replied Whis as he looked into his staff. “…Oh my! It IS that Cell monster your son killed, Goku! It looks like he ended up in the ruins of that arena he made.”

“We gotta get there now!” urged Goku.

“And send him back to when he’s supposed to die,” remarked Beerus. “Whis-!”

“Yes, I know, Lord Beerus,” sighed Whis. He raised his staff, surrounded everyone in a green bubble, then everyone vanished.

“WAIT! YOU BROUGHT THE PINK-!” Beerus’ warning came too little, too late.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Team TARDIS

Tysar

Originally hailing from the new Thal homeworld of New Davius, Tysar was taken by a chronal surge and dropped into Gotham. After an adventure with the Doctor, she joined her people’s hero and now she’s helping figure out how to stop the Grouping.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

Let Freedom Ring: Part 4

Chojin Bird-Man Castle was sighted in Gotham Bay. The Coast Guard did what they could, but the fortress deployed a red, umbrella styled shield in front and spun it to kick up the water. Inside the fortress, the Penguin cackled. “Believe it or not, Gotham,” he said, “this penguin moves just as fast on land as it does at sea…and it’s got one hell of a bite! You were all fools and just like the state of Kai in Feudal Japan, I’ve played you all like a harp from Hell!”

Back with the Doctor and her group, the Master was still in the throes of a heart attack. “Tysar, help me get his shirt off!” directed the Doctor. “Batman, Winston, I need three AED pads and something that can generate electricity!”

“Three AED pads?” asked Winston as he got the pads and attached cables. “That’s how many a Time Lord needs?”

“Both hearts need to be reset simultaneously!” replied the Doctor as she and Tysar tore the Master’s shirt off.

“Would the Shock Batarang work?” asked Batman as he pulled out said Batarang.

“Gimme!” Batman handed the Doctor the Batarang and Winston handed over the pads. The Doctor then wired the pads to the Batarang, then placed one of the pads on each side of the Master’s chest while the third and final was applied to the top just above the vessels bridging his two hearts. “Now, Batman, monitor for a double pulse.” The Doctor switched the Batarang on. “Clear!” She pressed the button and delivered the shock. The Master went silent and still. For a few tense seconds, everyone was praying the Doctor didn’t kill her patient. …The Master then shot up, screaming and scaring everyone but Batman into screaming. He stopped screaming, then sighed.

“…Hello, Rightie!” he said.

“Both hearts are beating,” reported Batman.

“Now…” The Master tore the pads off. “Time to pluck a penguin’s feathers!”

“Master, there IS a way to beat him, yes?” asked the Doctor with a smirk.

“…Don’t say it!” hissed the Master.

“Well, it seems to me…”

“If you say it, I WILL use the TCE on-!”

“We’ll need to work together,” finished the Doctor. The Master snarled, then sighed in defeat.

“…We need to disconnect the Quake Engine component from Chojin-jo’s main control room,” he said. “And the most vulnerable point is when it assumes battle mode.”

“Battle mode?” asked the Doctor.

“Chojin-jo’s Wind Forest Fire Mountain transformation,” explained Batman.

“…A little over the top. We’ll need to trick the Penguin into engaging it. But we follow Batman’s no kill rule.”

“Doctor-!” argued the Master.

“We’re guests in Batman’s city and temporary Bat Family members. We follow HIS rules.”

“…All right, what’s the plan?”

Chojin Bird-Man Castle marched closer to the shores of Gotham, ready to trample it. Inside the control room, the Penguin cackled as various Emperor Penguins squawked. “That’s right, my fine-feathered friends!” squawked the Penguin. “Gotham will be all ours! Then the Eastern Seaboard, then the rest of the continent, then the whole damn hemisphere, then-!” The computers flashed alarms. “Huh? What’s…GIANT FLY TRAPS?! IVY! Fine then, time to do some weeding! CHOJIN BIRD-MAN CASTLE: WIND FOREST FIRE MOUNTAIN TRANSFORMATION!

“Where did those plants come from?!” demanded the Doctor as giant fly traps grew while Chojin-jo rearranged itself into a battle configuration that looked like the Penguin, complete with a top hat, monocle, and hidden guns behind the umbrella shield.

“Those aren’t real plants,” remarked Batman. “Someone activated holograms. Who-?”

“Excuse me!” called Dr. King as he and Alfred arrived.

“What are YOU doing here?!” protested the Doctor.

“I’m sorry, Doctor, I wanted to help,” replied Dr. King.

“Don’t be too hard on him, Doctor,” said Alfred. “He overheard the plan and activated the holo-emitters based on Poison Ivy’s plants.”

“…I appreciate the help, Dr. King,” said the Doctor. “But I’d advise you to go back to Wayne Manor. If the boy you’re possessing dies, you fade away from history and the United States can’t have that.”

“…I understand, Doctor,” said Dr. King.

Back in Chojin Bird-Man Castle’s control room, the Penguin saw what was going on. “Holograms! Batman, you idiot! You really think that’s gonna stop me?!”

“No, but this will!” replied Batman from the ceiling. A kunai then buried itself into the controls!

“WHAT?! NO!” shouted the Penguin. He snarled as Batman landed. The Penguin then activated his concealed sword from his umbrella and attacked with Batman keeping out of reach.

While the fight was going on, the Doctor, Tysar, Winston, and the Master entered the engine room. There, the power convertor for the Quake Engine rested. “That’s it!” called the Master.

“All right, start disconnecting,” directed the Doctor. As they started yanking wires, Tysar spotted a big one coming from the power convertor.

“Now if that isn’t a main power line…” she smiled and yanked it out! The fortress then juddered as the lights went off!

“Good eye, Tysar!” praised the Doctor.

“Doctor, outside!” called Winston. “The fortress stopped!” Winston was right. The legs of the fortress had stopped before they could reach the shore.

“The Power Convertor!” squawked the Penguin. He snarled at Batman. “You distracted me, didn’t you?!”

“Wasn’t all that much of a challenge,” replied Batman. The Penguin then leapt from the control room’s window and flew down to the engine room where he saw Tysar teasingly holding the main power wire.

“Lookie here!” she chuckled. “A local flightless bird getting too close to the sun!”

“Learned about the wildlife of Earth, did you?!” snarled the Penguin.

“Move aside!” commanded the Master as he shoved Tysar aside.

“Master, what are you doing?!” yelped the Doctor.

“Cutting a problem down to size!” replied the Master. “One shrunken penguin, coming-!” The Master then realized his pocket was empty. “…Wh…Where’s the-?!”

“Looking for this?!” cackled the Penguin as he held up a black rod with a sphere on the end of it.

“My Tissue Compression Eliminator!” gasped the Master in sheer outrage that a mere human stole HIS weapon. “How-?!”

“You dropped it during your heart attack!” cackled the Penguin. “Now let’s see how it works!” He activated the device, aiming it at the Master…but nothing happened. “…Oh, because, of course, you made it so this thing can’t be turned against you!” snarled the Penguin. He then smashed it to the floor.

“A pity, hm?” chuckled the Master. “But there’s something to be said about taking heads the old-fashioned way!” He grabbed a foil and swung it, but the Penguin blocked with his concealed sword and the two dueled.

“Come on!” called Batman as he grabbed the power converter. As the two villains dueled, everyone made their way to safety.

The Gotham News explained that the duel between the Penguin and the Master ended in a stalemate, resulting in the Penguin being impeached as Mayor of Gotham and both him and the Master being transported to Arkham Asylum. Within the Batcave, the Doctor was altering the Quake Engine’s power convertor. “And there we go!” said the Doctor. “All done!” Alfred then entered the Batcave.

“I just received a call from Lucius Fox,” he said with a smile. “He remembers Dr. King and his contributions to the continuing Civil Rights Movement. So do all those who temporarily forgot him.”

“Thank goodness for that,” remarked Dr. King. “…That means my young self’s time is up at least in this part of history.”

“Trust me, it will take a major catastrophe to utterly erase you from history,” chuckled the Doctor.

“Let me just…” Dr. King’s young self then closed his eyes and collapsed as his ghost left. Dr. King’s ghost looked as he did seconds before his assassination.

“That’s the face of a Civil Rights leader I know!” remarked Winston. The Doctor then keyed in a command. The power convertor glowed, then it and the young Martin Luther King Jr. vanished while his ghost remained.

“And that, as they say, is that,” sighed the Doctor.

“It’s a pity some Americans would rather forget about Dr. King,” sighed Winston.

“As long as people still practice compassion,” replied the Doctor, “I don’t see him fading away from history any time soon. Dr. King, I can’t say when, but that dream where humans let freedom ring WILL come true. There WILL be a time where everyone can say ‘Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we’re free at last’!” Dr. King smiled.

“That’s good to know, Doctor,” he said. “Now, I better get back to Coretta. See you all on the other side!” His ghost faded away, but his memory remained.

“…Well, with all that,” said the Doctor, “I think it’s time I take Tysar home. This point is deep in her people’s past, you know.”

“Tysar, stay safe with the Doctor, hm?” said Batman.

“As long as you keep Gotham safe,” replied Tysar. She and the Doctor then entered the TARDIS and it dematerialized.

“So, you understand what I’m currently doing?” asked the Doctor. “I don’t know if I can take you directly back.”

“…I don’t think the direct way back will be necessary,” replied Tysar.

“You understand it’s dangerous, yes? There’s a temporal catastrophe going on and certain time-travelling races will capitalize on it. Especially the Daleks.”

“We Thals may be pacifists, but we don’t run from our problems. Not anymore.” The Doctor smiled.

“Welcome aboard, Tysar!” The Doctor set the controls and the TARDIS whizzed off to track the next chronal surge!

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

Let Freedom Ring: Part 3

“…How…do you lose…a TARDIS?!” asked the Doctor.

“You tell me!” replied the Master.

“So you’re stuck in one point in space/time,” remarked Batman. He then smirked. “Just like us humans.”

“Wipe that smirk off your face, Batman! It doesn’t suit you!” hissed the Master.

“So you need the Quake Engine to restore your time travel capabilities,” said the Doctor. She then looked at the Penguin. “What about your angle, Mayor Cobblepot?”

“Do you know how the Quake Engine works?” asked the Penguin.

“Can’t say as I do.”

“Batman, you tell her. You were caught up in its effects along with us.”

“The Quake Engine,” began Batman, “treats time like origami, folding it into various shapes.”

“What?!” gasped the Doctor. “That’s dangerous! One mistake and you tear time like an amateur origami artist tears paper!”

“The Quake Engine can also be used to rewrite parts of history,” continued Batman. “After my adventure in Japan, Ra’s Al Ghul got ahold of it and used it to try and eliminate all but the strongest of humanity, rewriting the Justice League’s history so they would become Yakuza members. Because we existed outside of time for a brief moment, we could access the Quake Engine and refold history back into its proper shape. I thought we took it apart.”

“You did,” replied the Penguin, “but you know me, Batman. I have a nose for information!”

“So your thugs attacked one of the vaults hiding a part of the Quake Engine!”

“And they pulled off the operation beautifully!”

“I then blundered here and found the Penguin working on the Quake Engine,” explained the Master, “and offered my help in helping him turn history into its coherent state in return for locating my TARDIS.”

“Mayor Cobblepot, you have to stop this!” warned the Doctor.

“Nice try, but a lady’s tears won’t move me!” dismissed the Penguin.

“I don’t know what the Master has planned, but this ISN’T about recovering his TARDIS in the long run!”

“Doctor, you’ve entertained the Mayor and I with your theories long enough,” said the Master. “…Now, my Laser Screwdriver? You DID take it while Batman explained the Quake Engine.”

“…Oh well,” sighed the Doctor as she handed over a rod with three laser emitters on one end. “Can’t blame a Time Lady for trying.”

“Doctor, that trick hasn’t worked on me since the days of the Academy!”

“I think we’ve heard enough!” snapped the Penguin. “Batman, you and your friends can leave!”

“Come on, everyone,” said the Doctor. “I think we heard enough.” She and her friends then left.

“Right then,” grumbled the Master. “Now, if Young Martin can return with the power supply, that would be splendid!”

“…I didn’t see him when I brought those guys here,” remarked the Penguin. He pressed a comms button. “Security, someone find that boy.”

“Sir, he left a minute ago,” replied the guard.

“WHAT?!” shouted the Penguin and the Master.

Back in the Batmobile, the Doctor, Winston, Batman, and Tysar were discussing what they learned. “Why would the Master want a coherent past if he’s planning on ruling all of time and space?” muttered Winston. “And why would they WANT to preserve Martin Luther’s history?”

“The Master isn’t exactly a civil rights activist,” remarked the Doctor. “Questions, questions.”

“Perhaps I can provide some answers?” asked the voice of a young boy! Batman turned towards an empty alley and stopped the Batmobile. Everyone turned to see Young Martin in the Batmobile with them!

“What are you doing here?!” yelped Tysar. “It’s not safe!”

“It’s safer than staying with those two,” replied Young Martin. “And I know what they’re up to. They both plan to be the sole ruler of time and space.”

“Because, of course, they don’t trust each other,” sighed the Doctor. “But that doesn’t explain why…Winston, something on your person is beeping.”

“Huh?” Winston listened to the beeping. “…That’s my PKE Meter,” he said. He pulled out the device and the arms of the PKE meter flashed and moved to a near vertical position when the device was waved over Young Martin. “What the-?! The living shouldn’t have a PKE reading! …Unless…” The Doctor and Winston goggled.

“…He didn’t, did he?!” whispered the Doctor.

“What is it, Doctor?” asked Tysar.

“…That would explain why the temporal degradation is so slow,” muttered the Doctor.

“I met him once before on the job,” said Winston. “Let me compare notes.” He pulled out a notebook and looked between the numbers on the PKE meter and the numbers in the book. “…It is! Martin Luther King’s ghost is possessing his younger self!”

“What?!” asked Batman.

“A pleasure to see you again, Dr. Zeddemore,” greeted Martin Luther King Jr, America’s greatest Civil Rights hero!

“So, the mind of your younger self is asleep!” realized the Doctor. “You’re keeping him from learning too much of the future!”

“That’s the idea, Doctor,” confirmed Martin Luther King Jr. “When people started forgetting and I saw my younger body outside the Gotham courthouse, I had to try something. But it seems as if my possessing my younger self has consequences.”

“Yes, but it slowed down the rate of people forgetting you, Dr. King,” said the Doctor. “We need to bring your younger self back to when you jumped out of your house’s second story.”

“Interesting that I was plucked out of time at a low end of my life.”

“The Grouping doesn’t really have much in the way of rhyme or reason.”

“The Grouping?” asked Tysar.

“Those chronal surges are happening all across time and space,” said the Doctor. She then snapped her fingers as she remembered something. “Batman, you and the Justice League are going to meet my past self, but it will happen in your future. You need to remember to tell my past self about the Grouping.”

“Got it,” replied Batman.

“Doctor, I know what the Quake Engine is being used for,” said Martin Luther King Jr. “The Penguin mentioned something about a bird man castle and how he intends to use the Quake Engine to power it.”

“Chojin-jo?! He’s rebuilt it?!” asked Batman.

“Chojin-jo being?” asked Tysar.

“It’s the Penguin’s robotic fortress, also called Chojin Bird-Man Castle, from when the Quake Engine was first used so the Gotham Villains could take over Feudal Japan!”

“But that would mean starting the Industrial Revolution too early for Japan!” yelped the Doctor.

“We fixed that, thank goodness,” replied Batman. “But if the Penguin’s getting his old castle working-!”

“He’ll rule not only Gotham, but the entire eastern seaboard of the United States,” finished the Doctor. “We have to find Chojin Bird Man Castle! Dr. King, do you know where-?!”

“The main factory’s in the underground pumps station,” explained Martin Luther King Jr.

“That’s Killer Croc’s old lair,” remarked Batman. “The pumps are supposed to keep Gotham Bay from flooding.”

“Apropos that a man that themes himself after an aquatic bird should choose that for his base,” said the Doctor.

In the underground pumps station, the Penguin and the Master were putting the finishing touches on Chojin Bird-Man Castle. “And there we go!” laughed the Master as he made the last connection. “All done!”

“Perfect!” cackled the Penguin.

“Hold it!” called Batman’s voice.

“Penguin! Master! Drop this nonsense now!” shouted the Doctor.

“No!” snarled the Master. “Not while I’m so close! You won’t stop me this time, Doctor! Hand over Young Dr. King and I’ll return him to his native time, then come back and rule over this planet!”

“Bit of a complication in returning him,” replied the Doctor. “In any event, you can’t launch this contraption! It’ll fold the Time Vortex into five dimensions instead of the usual four!”

“I’ve come too close! You’ll not ruin my plans this time, Doctor!” The Master grabbed a fencing foil and swung at the Doctor. The Doctor grabbed another and the two dueled. The Doctor noticed a tray of sushi with chopsticks nearby and dueled the Master long enough to disarm him and point her foil’s tip at his left-hand heart. She then grabbed the chopsticks and used them to pick up a sushi roll.

“I still find that violent exercise makes me rather hungry. Do you?” The Doctor ate the sushi roll with a grin.

“Smile all you want, Doctor!” snarled the Master. “It’s still launch capable! One voice command is all that’s necessary.”

“Don’t you dare!” warned the Doctor.

“Oh, I’ll more than dare! Chojin-jo! HASSHIN!” …Nothing happened. “…Chojin-jo…hasshin!” The Master tried again. “…Oh for-! CHOJIN-JO! HASSHIN!” The Master then felt a sharp pain in his right-hand heart. The Doctor saw it in his eyes, he was NOT faking it! He clutched the heart like one does when they’re having a heart attack!

“What in-?!” The Doctor felt for his heartbeat. “…No electrical signal?! How-?!”

“A little something I picked up in the Orient!” cackled the Penguin. “You really think I’d let an alien like the Master or you, Doctor, control MY history?!”

“You paranoid little-!” snarled the Master through his heart attack. “WE HAD A DEAL!”

“And now I have a better one, what with me learning how to stop the electrical signals to a heart! Thanks for leaving your Laser Screwdriver out! Now…time to feather the nest I built! FLY, CHOJIN BIRD-MAN CASTLE! SPREAD YOUR WINGS!” The fortress then moved as the Penguin used his umbrella to fly up to the control room!

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

Let Freedom Ring: Part 2

The Doctor and Tysar were brought to the Batcave and brought up to speed on their investigation of Martin Luther King Jr’s disappearance from history. “I’m actually surprised,” muttered the Doctor as she looked up something on the Batcomputer. “It hasn’t been THAT long since his assassination. I’d have…Nichelle Nichols.”

“What about her?” asked Bruce.

“SHE didn’t know about Dr. King.”

“That’s impossible! He’s the reason she stayed on as Uhura when Star Trek was being broadcasted!”

“I wonder if…aha! Found it!”

“Found what, Doctor?” asked Winston as he arrived.

“Another chronal surge! An energy wave that plucks someone from one point in space/time and drops them off in another, either in the past or the future.”

“Then Dr. King was taken by a chronal surge like me?” asked Tysar.

“It seems that way, but the probabilities of him going back into his time are still in effect,” replied the Doctor. “If I had forgotten him, it would have been too late and I doubt Lucius Fox would be the man he is today.”

“Then, for Lucius’ sake, we need to find Dr. King,” declared Bruce. “Where and when is he is the big question.”

“I’m going to allow the Batcomputer to temporarily use the TARDIS computers to calculate where and when he was taken,” said the Doctor as she worked. The computer beeped and Circular Gallifreyan appeared. “Aha! Access granted! Now let’s see…hm, as a funny little man once said…oh my word!”

“Doctor?” asked Winston.

“I’ve found when he was taken!” explained the Doctor. “In his history, he just jumped out of the second story window of his house!”

“Which attempt?” asked Winston. “There were two points he did that, both of which were the result of him blaming himself for someone else’s death.”

“Looks like…after his brother, A.D, slid down the banister and knocked their sister, Jennie, unconscious. Calculating his temporal path now…oh no!”

“What?” asked Bruce.

“He’s…he’s in Gotham right now! In the Mayor’s house!”

“Great, a kid riddled with guilt finds himself in a 21st century city. He’ll believe he’s in Hell! And if he’s in the Mayor’s house, he’s definitely gonna be scared out of his mind!”

“Especially with Mr. Cobblepot as the current Mayor,” remarked Alfred as he revealed himself with a set of tea.

“…Did you say Cobblepot, Alfred?” asked the Doctor. “As in…Oswald Cobblepot? The Penguin?!”

“The very same. Tea, Doctor?”

“…Please,” sighed the Doctor as she put her head in her hands. “What kind of election fraud-?!”

“I already checked,” replied Bruce. “There WASN’T any election fraud. Gotham elected the Penguin of their own free will.”

“I don’t know if that makes the situation better or worse! …Come to think of it, I don’t know as you looking into the election results-.”

“Perhaps we should table that for now, Doctor,” said Winston. “We need to save Little Martin Luther Jr. and figure out if the Penguin has any plans for him.”

“Not a bad idea,” agreed Bruce.

“…Right then, Bruce, suit up,” declared the Doctor. “We need to speak to Mayor Cobblepot tonight!”

In the Mayor’s home, a short, beak-nosed man was getting ready for bed. He took off his monocle, then lit up a cigar as he looked out the window and saw Gotham. “…Look at me now, Wayne!” he cackled to himself, his laugh sounding like an Emperor Penguin. “Your family never could achieve THIS kind of power! I’ll run Gotham-!” He was interrupted by a buzzer. “…What now?!” complained Mayor Oswald Cobblepot, the Penguin. He pressed a button on his intercom. “What is it?!” he demanded.

“A Mr. Batman and his retinue here to see you, your Honor,” replied his security guard. “They just arrived at the front gate.”

“What?!” squawked the Penguin in surprise. “He’s never been THIS bold before! …Color me intrigued! Send them up!”

“Very well, your Honor.”

Batman, the Doctor, Tysar, and Winston left the Batmobile and Batman locked it. They were escorted to the Mayor’s Office where the Penguin, dressed in his tuxedo, top hat, monocle, and umbrella, waited for them. “…Leave us,” the Penguin ordered the guard. The guard hesitated.

“I won’t hurt him,” promised Batman.

“He’s right,” said the Penguin. “Rather gauche for Batman to go after someone in their own home.” The guard nodded, then headed off. “…So, Batman, just waltzing up to the front door. That’s not like you. Unless…your plan requires…delicacy?”

“We believe you have someone here,” replied Batman. “A little boy, African American, accent from Atlanta, Georgia.”

“Ah, so the kid’s important to you, huh?” chuckled the Penguin.

“Important to all of time and space, if you can believe it,” replied the Doctor.

“Who are you?” asked the Penguin.

“I’m usually known as the Doctor, although my enemies have given me some rather…colorful names.”

“Doctor of what?”

“Well, a little of everything, really,” replied the Doctor. “Let’s just say we’re working a case, a rather open and shut case of Martin Luther King Jr. being taken out of time.”

“…You mean with people forgetting him?” asked the Penguin. “You’re saying you figured out he was removed from history altogether?”

“Not yet, or I wouldn’t remember him. There’s something keeping him from being forgotten, but it’s being whittled away, and I believe the boy you have in your…care is connected.” The Penguin said nothing. “…You’re not dismissing my suggestions as utter nonsense.”

“Penguin, why wouldn’t you say anything?” asked Batman.

“Because the boy appeared during one of my experiments with time travel,” revealed the Penguin.

“Time travel? How’s that?” asked the Doctor.

“Come with me,” directed the Penguin. He led the group out of his office.

In another room, a man was working on a machine. He keyed in something on a computer, then the machine sparked. “Drat!” grumbled the man. “Young man, I need another power supply. Get one from the stores, please.” The young boy nodded silently and walked off. “…Why we’re keeping him here, I have no idea. I need stable history to work with.” The door opened. “That was quick,” remarked the man before he looked up and saw the Penguin with his guest. “Oh! Your Honor! …And Batman, I see.” The Doctor saw the man and her face darkened.

“…You know that man personally?” asked Tysar.

“During the election of 2028,” explained the Doctor, “HE masqueraded as an American politician that became one of the two main candidates for President. …Unless that hasn’t happened to you yet?”

“Hang on, you’re THAT Doctor?” asked the Penguin.

“Oh good! You know who that man really is!” said the Doctor. “Saves me the long, boring explanation for you at least.”

“DOCTOR!” snarled the man.

“Hello again, Master!” chuckled the Doctor. “So, what will happen in Batman’s future HAS already happened to you, hm?”

“What are you doing, Cobblepot?!” the Master demanded. “Bringing her here?! Do you know how dangerous she is?!”

“Never mind him, let’s talk about you,” said the Doctor. “Why are you still slumming around with American politicians, even small time ones like the Penguin? And…is that a time displacement machine?!”

“It’s a machine of Gorilla Grodd’s design called the Quake Engine, Doctor,” explained the Master. “And we need to use it to bring a boy back after a chronal surge took him.”

“Is this what you’re looking for?” asked the boy as he arrived.

“Yes, that’s it, young man!” said the Master. The Doctor then pointed her sonic screwdriver at the boy.

“…What is that?” asked Winston.

“The Sonic Screwdriver, Winston!” replied the Doctor. “A multi-tool of my design!” She checked the readings and goggled. “…Erm, young man, could you leave us for a second?” asked the Doctor. The boy looked at the Master and the Penguin.

“…You can go,” said the Master. The boy nodded and headed off. Once the door shut, the Master grinned. “Figured it out, Doctor?” he asked.

“That was him?” asked Batman. “Young Martin Luther King Jr?”

“The very same,” confirmed the Doctor. “But what’s your angle in sending him back, Master?”

“The preservation of Earth’s history, naturally,” replied the Master. “Even I can venerate Dr. King. He IS the greatest Civil Rights activist Earth ever produced.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing you say something I actually agree with,” hissed the Doctor. “But you’re no scholar of civil rights!”

“I have many strengths, Doctor.”

“Why use the Quake Engine?” asked Batman.

“And how much did you tell Young Martin about our time?” asked Winston.

“One of the Quake Engine’s components,” said the Master, “was held in a vault in the Penguin’s lair and I told Young Martin nothing. I can’t exactly command Earth if one shred of its history is unstable!”

“So that’s the ultimate reason why you want the Quake Engine!” declared the Doctor. “The Grouping is making time bend away from your will!”

“…Oh no, you figured me out.” Sarcasm was thick in the Master’s voice. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a Quake Engine to fix up!”

“You could have just used your TARDIS to send him back,” remarked the Doctor.

“A brilliant idea, Doctor! Except I lost my TARDIS after my presidential campaign!”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

Let Freedom Ring: Part 1

In a mansion on the edge of a city, the butler was finishing up a phone call. “…I see. …Very well, Mr. Fox. Mister Wayne will contact you shortly. …Goodbye, sir.” He hung up the phone and sighed. “…To lose Lucius Fox, of all people…” his thoughts were interrupted by a bookcase sliding to the left automatically, revealing a concealed staircase. The butler’s employer walked up the stairs and into the main mansion. “Good evening, Master Bruce,” greeted the butler. “I hadn’t expected you to use that entrance until after your evening patrol.”

“I needed to use the Batcomputer to double-check that reading I needed help with,” explained the butler’s employer, Gotham’s richest man, Bruce Wayne. “Who were you talking to, Alfred?”

“To Mr. Fox. I’m sorry to report that we’ve lost him.” Bruce’s eyes widened.

“…Nothing?” he asked.

“Not a trace,” sighed Alfred sadly. “He didn’t recognize the standard quotes at all.”

“It’s getting worse!” growled Bruce.

“First Master Grayson, then Miss Kyle, now Lucius,” recalled Alfred. “How can one forget a man like Martin Luther King Jr.?”

“I’m hoping a specialist I called can shed some light,” remarked Bruce.

“A specialist, Sir?” The buzzer then rang. Alfred answered it. “Wayne Manor. How may we assist?”

“Winston Zeddemore here,” replied the person at the door. “I heard there was a theory that a ghost was involved in the good Reverend’s disappearance from national memory?” Alfred looked at Bruce in surprise.

“He’s a bit early, but we need speed, Alfred. …He knows about my night life.”

“…Come right in, Dr. Zeddemore,” bid Alfred as he pressed the button that opened the gate. He and Bruce then headed to the front door and let Winston in.

“Welcome to Wayne Manor, Dr. Zeddemore,” greeted Bruce as he and Winston shook hands.

“Please, just call me Winston,” replied Winston. “So, the famous Batman wants my help, huh?”

At the outermost edge of Bruce’s property, a blonde woman in strange clothes pulled out a recorder. “Personal Log entry 7Z. Earth date, seventh month, twenty-second day, two thousand twenty-seventh year. Local civilization, Gotham, United States of America. Lieutenant Tysar reporting. Yet again, I’ve been skulking around like the criminals that run rampant throughout Gotham, stealing food to survive. …I’m starting to hate hot dogs, but they’re the nearest thing I can get right now. …Sorry, it’s just…it’s been at least three Earth years since I was taken from New Davius. I…I really miss home. …No real new thing, other than a famous Earth figure disappearing from public…huh?” Tysar stopped recording as she heard a noise. It sounded like something going Vworp repeatedly, then it ended in a thud. “…Log entry addendum: I think I heard a peculiar noise that no Earth machine makes. I’m going to investigate.” Tysar packed her supplies and wandered along the edge of the property for a few yards…then she saw it. It was a blue box with windows and signs. Tysar gasped in disbelief. “…You…you haven’t-! …Have you?!” Tysar rushed to the door, then stopped, hesitating. “…Log entry addendum: I think…either the loneliness of being stranded on Earth starting the second quarter of its 21st century is getting to me…or I may be saved! …I’m looking at a vehicle of historical significance for our people! It’s a blue box that locals would call a Police Box from London in the 1960’s. Our people would know it as a vehicle that brought four people to our ancestors in the time of their greatest need on the ancestral homeworld. …If this is real, I’m going to attempt to enter it.” Tysar stopped recording and read the sign. The letters were English, but somehow they were translated into characters and words she understood so she could read that one had to pull to open the doors. She hesitated…then pushed the doors. They swung inside and Tysar gasped. “…It’s real! …I don’t believe it! The TARDIS! …It’s real! …And I can go home!” Happy tears welled up in her eyes as she stepped inside the box.

Tysar looked around the interior as it defied geometry! The inside was bigger than the outside! There was a hexagonal control console in the center with a glass cylinder in the center of the console. “…Log entry addendum!” Tysar said as she began recording again. “It’s real! The TARDIS! It’s real! …I can see a path to home, after three years of losing hope! …I’ve entered the TARDIS, but the Doctor is nowhere to be seen. …Hang on, there’s a display saying something. I’m going to read it.” The display read “Decontamination complete. Awaiting pilot recovery.” Tysar blinked. “…Pilot recovery?” she muttered. “What happened here?” The display then changed.

“Non-Gallifreyan detected. Spatio/temporal origin not of local time zone or planet.”

“…N-No, I’m not,” confirmed Tysar. “Look, what required decontamination?” The display changed.

“Pilot was infected with artificial virus of Skarosian origin. Cure has been synthesized and introduced into air supply and all traces of virus have been purged.”

“Skarosian virus?” asked Tysar in horror. “The Doctor just came from an encounter with my people’s greatest enemy?! Where-?!” The display changed.

“Proceed to Zero Room where pilot is being healed. Path will be indicated. Pilot requires reviving.” Lights then lit up on the floor.

“…Right, I’ll do what I can!” Tysar followed the lights deeper into the TARDIS and found herself outside a room. She entered the room and saw a woman with African features sleeping in mid-air! The woman wore a burgundy outfit with a rose-hemmed skirt and a headband with a large rose on the left side, but her outfit wasn’t important. “…This is your pilot?” asked Tysar. “…This is…the Doctor?” The woman then groaned.

“Oogh, Amy!” said the woman groggily. “I warned you about your hammer!” The woman’s eyes fluttered open. “…The…the Zero Room? …Oh…oh yes, Amy…and Lurra…the disease! I-!” The woman then saw Tysar. “…Am…I seeing things?” asked the woman.

“No, I can assure you that I’m real,” said Tysar. “Your ship landed on Earth and-.”

“Landed?” Memories then stirred in the woman’s mind. “…Yes…yes, I programmed the TARDIS to land when…when all traces of a disease were eliminated. I had accidentally contracted it and…wait, if the TARDIS landed and you’re here…then it worked!” The woman then floated in a fashion that put her upright. Her feet then touched the floor. “I think some introductions are in order. Who are you?”

“…Lieutenant Tysar, New Davius Scientific Survey Corps!” replied Tysar. “Current status: stranded on Earth in its 21st century! Local civilization name: Gotham!

“New Davius?” The woman’s eyes widened. “You’re a Thal! But you lot shouldn’t-! …Did an energy wave grab you from wherever you were and plop you here in…Gotham, you said? American city?”

“Erm, yes, to all those questions,” answered Tysar. “And you…?” The woman took off her glove and held her wrist out. Tysar checked the woman’s pulse…and her eyes widened. “…A double pulse!” she whispered. “…You really ARE the Doctor!”

“And I’ve been tracking those energy waves,” explained the Doctor as she put her glove back on. “They’re called chronal surges and they have a tendency to take people out of their native time and space and put them into new ones, either in the past or in the future. So…looks like I need to bring you back to New Davius.”

“I’d like that, yes,” said Tysar.

“First things first,” declared the Doctor, “let’s see if there are any chronal surges here, hm?” With that, the Doctor hurried to the console room with Tysar behind her.

While Tysar got acquainted with the Doctor, Alfred checked the grounds, having heard the TARDIS’ arrival. “I’m SURE I’ve gone senile, Sir,” remarked Alfred over the comms. “It sounded similar to when the Doctor’s vehicle vanished, but…”

“If you have the presence of mind to say you’re senile,” replied Bruce, “there’s a good chance you’re not.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, Sir.” Alfred then goggled. “…Sir, the TARDIS IS on the edge of your property.”

“See if you can make contact with-.” The doors opened and the Doctor and Tysar came out with the Doctor looking worried.

“This is impossible,” she muttered. “He can’t just vanish from time like-!” She then saw Alfred. “…Alfred Pennyworth!” she said with a smile.

“A new companion for the Doctor?” asked Alfred.

“Try again,” replied the Doctor as she presented her wrist. Alfred then felt her pulse.

“…Sir, has Superman ever said anything about Time Lords changing faces?” Alfred asked over the comms.

“He said it was a survival mechanism, according to the Kryptonian Archives,” replied Bruce. “Why? Is the Doctor different?”

“If you want further proof,” said the Doctor, “I offered you the chance to come on a trip after Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn’s disastrous mess with the Krynoid, but you said you had a vacation all lined up.”

“Master Bruce, the Doctor HAS changed her face,” confirmed Alfred. “And far be it for me to tell you what to do, but I believe she may help us and Dr. Zeddemore in this caper.”

“Dr. Zeddemore?” asked the Doctor. “Then Martin Luther King Jr’s ghost is gone as well?”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

The Cruelest Plague: Part 4

“Aaaaaannnndd…there!” said the Doctor once she finished. “…Not that I’m complaining, but the Daleks should be here by-.” The chronal surge that the Daleks detected then washed over Restoration HQ. “Oh no!” groaned the Doctor.

“Doctor!” called Amy and Lurra Rus.

“I’m here!” replied the Doctor. “You felt that too?”

“A chronal surge!” confirmed Lurra Rus.

“…Well, it didn’t take away the cure I’m about to deploy,” said the Doctor. “We need to look for-!” Her sonic screwdriver then beeped.

“The TARDIS found something?” asked Amy.

“It’s…someone from the future! Someone’s mind-! …Oh no!”

“What’s wrong?” asked Lurra Rus.

“Clever! Very clever! Of course he’d try to undo his history!”

“Who?” asked Amy.

“The Dalek Emperor!” explained the Doctor. “His mind is controlling a Mini-con’s corpse! That’s why the Daleks were delayed!”

“Oh no!” groaned Amy. “With the Emperor’s knowledge of the future-!”

“He knows exactly where we are!” confirmed the Doctor.

“How do we stop him?” asked Lurra Rus.

“The release of the cure, for a start,” replied the Doctor. “It will cure those that are sick and immunize them as well as the healthy survivors!”

“There’s not that much in those test tubes!” argued Lurra Rus.

“No, but releasing the contents of one into the air will result it the cure propagating throughout the atmosphere and Silver can take the other one with him when he goes back in time to save Mobius!”

“Doctor, how can you be sure?!” asked Amy. “And what about the Daleks?! They’re bound to detect it!”

“Therein lies where Silver comes into play!” replied the Doctor. “He needs to destroy the Emperor and a few Daleks to encourage the rest into retreat!”

“Doctor! The Daleks!” called Goldbug.

“Quick! Get Silver!” directed the Doctor.

The Emperor and the Daleks arrived. “There they are,” said the Emperor.

“We must infiltrate Restoration HQ!” urged the Section Leader.

“No!” ordered the Emperor. “Special Weapons Dalek, destroy! Maximum damage and death!”

“Calibrating!” croaked the Special Weapons Dalek. “Extermin-!” A cyan aura then surrounded the cannon and it was ripped out of the midsection. “ALERT! ALERT! UNIT DISARMED!”

“What is happening?!” demanded the Emperor.

“DALEKS, THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!” shouted Silver as he hovered above the Daleks. “LEAVE MOBIUS NOW OR YOU WILL SUFFER THE SAME TREATMENT YOU GAVE US SURVIVORS!”

“EXTERMINATE HIM!” ordered the Emperor. The Daleks opened fire, but Silver dodged the shots. As he did, the test tube he held fell from his hands.

“Bingo!” he said to himself. The test tube crashed and broke, releasing the contents. The liquid quickly turned into a gas.

“ALERT! ALERT! VIRAL CELLS DYING!” warned a Dalek.

“THE CURE!” shouted the Emperor. “HE’S CURED AND VACCINATED MOBIUS!”

“And I’ll be taking THESE, thank you very much!” called Silver as he psychokinetically grabbed the Daleks’ gunsticks.

“ALERT! ALERT! ALL DALEKS DISARMED!” shouted the Section Leader.

“And for an encore…!” Silver grabbed the Emperor and tore him in half!

“RETREAT! RETREAT!” ordered the Section Leader. Silver was about to fly after them, but…

“NO, SILVER!” called the Doctor. “They won’t come back for a long time now!”

“What do you mean?!” asked Silver.

“I mean that the Dalek mission here failed and they have no choice but to report it to the Emperor of this time. They’ll wait until Mobius is vulnerable again, but it won’t be through viral warfare. …Not when I’ve uploaded their virus creation techniques onto the servers of Restoration HQ.”

“You did?! We can-?!”

“Fight against Dalek diseases,” replied the Doctor. “…But, as this is about to become a branching timeline…” she handed Silver a computer drive. “Bring that with you to the past along with the cure. The cure will disperse throughout the atmosphere like the other test tube.”

“…Then I’d better get the Time Stone!” declared Silver. “…Here I am, chipping away to make a better future.”

“That’s actually the proper use of time travel, Silver,” soothed the Doctor.

Silver was making his goodbyes, having done this before numerous times when he traveled back in time and changed things a bit. He had a test tube of the cure and all the notes of the Daleks’ virus creation techniques. He stopped by the Doctor and her friends. “I suppose this is goodbye, Doctor,” he said.

“It looks that way,” said the Doctor. “…The future you’re fighting for WILL come to fruition, I guarantee it.”

“We won’t be caught with our pants down, Doctor. I promise.”

“And I promise to help where I can. …Come along, Amy, Lurra Rus.” The Doctor turned to leave.

“…Doctor, I’m afraid this is goodbye for us too,” said Amy. The Doctor stopped.

“…Come again?” she asked.

“My future self said that you wouldn’t bring me home, it’s another person,” explained Amy. “…I’m sorry, but I need to close that paradox and convince my past to go with you and Silver’s my best shot.”

“I’m going with her,” said Lurra Rus. “I’d like to see Mobius in its heyday.”

“…I…I see,” said the Doctor.

“Just…promise us one thing,” said Amy. “…Bring us back to the front of your eyes on occasion, hm?”

“…Always,” promised the Doctor. She hugged Amy and Lurra Rus. “…Goodbye, my dears,” she said. “It was fun having you with me.”

“It was fun travelling with you, Doctor,” replied Amy.

“Doctor, as people of my galaxy would put it,” said Lurra Rus, “may the Force be with you.”

“And you,” returned the Doctor. They broke off the hug and the Doctor returned to the TARDIS.

“…All right, Silver,” said Lurra Rus. “We’re ready.”

“Gather around,” directed Silver. Amy and Lurra Rus got close to Silver. “Right then…” he then held the Time Stone aloft. “CHRONOS CONTROL!” he called. The three then vanished in light.

Amy, Lurra Rus, and Silver arrived in a field. “…This…wasn’t the city I expected,” muttered Silver. “…But it IS the Mobius of your time, Amy.”

“Then let’s get to it!” declared Amy. Silver then threw the test tube down to the ground with enough force that it shattered.

“There we go!” he said.

“…It’s…beautiful!” whispered Lurra Rus.

“Yeah, I prefer this time myself,” agreed Silver.

“…Hang on, I know this field,” muttered Amy. She then looked around…and saw the TARDIS.

“What the-?!” yelped Lurra Rus. “What is she-?!”

“That’s not her, not yet!” replied Amy. “Look!” She pointed out…herself in her trademark red dress!

“…This is…where your journey starts?” asked Lurra Rus.

“And I know exactly what to do!” Amy rushed to the TARDIS!

“AMY, WHAT-?!” protested Silver.

“TRUST ME!” replied Amy. She stopped at the TARDIS doors and knocked.

“…If it’s Eggman…” muttered the Doctor of the past. She opened the door and goggled in surprise, as did Sonic, Tails, and Amy’s past self! “Who are you?” asked the past Doctor.

“A paradox that’s resolving itself,” replied Amy. “As you can guess, I’m Amy Rose from the future.”

“Is it…a bad one?” asked her past self.

“Hardly!” replied Amy. “Your travels with the Doctor will be fun! It’s just that you’ll have to leave after a while and someone else will bring you back to Mobius.”

“…And I wear black?”

“Well, Rouge HAS encouraged us to try black once or twice. What do you think?”

“…I look good in it!”

“Baby, you know it!”

“Well, I guess that’s settled, then!” declared Amy. “Doctor, William, I’m going with you!”

“Now, I better get going,” said the goth Amy. “I’ve got a lot to tell you, Sonic and Tails!” She guided Sonic and Tails out of the TARDIS and shut the doors. After a few seconds, the TARDIS took off. “Bye, Doctor!” called Amy. “Thanks for everything!”

“…So, you’re Amy’s future?” asked Sonic.

“Yep! And hoo boy, do I have a lot to tell you!” said Amy. “Let’s see, should I start with Skaro? Because, YUCK! That’s one planet I DON’T want to see again! Or maybe at Disney? That was fun! Got to see Ace in action there!”

The present-day Doctor checked Amy’s timestream and saw that the paradox in it was resolved. “…Good,” she sighed. “Good, good, good.” The TARDIS beeped in concern. “…Yeah, just you and me again, old girl.” The Doctor then idly flicked a switch. She then felt…something wrong. “…Oof. Woozy,” she muttered. “…But I don’t get…” Her eyes widened in horror. She took off one of her gloves…and saw scabs on her hand. “Drat! That plague!” she hissed. “Voice command system: activate!” she ordered. The TARDIS beeped in confirmation. “Download all Dalek viral techniques into TARDIS laboratory computer! Download research on cure into laboratory computer as well!” She rushed off to the TARDIS laboratory. “Begin quarantine status! Cure is to be administered into the air supply! Land in relative safe place only when cure has been administered and all signs of contagion are removed within all rooms and hallways of the interior dimensions!” The TARDIS beeped in compliance as the Doctor entered the laboratory and began work on a cure!

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

The Cruelest Plague: Part 3

Silver didn’t let the Dalek take the shot. He grabbed it with his psychokinesis. “ALERT! ALERT! PSYCHOKINETIC ABILITIES DETECTED! EXTERNAL PRESSURE AROUND CASING-!” The Dalek was crushed like a tin can.

“…Thank you,” breathed the Doctor. “…That Dalek probably transmitted my image around Pathweb.”

“We have to get to the center before the Daleks!” urged Galvatron.

“We’ll take Park Street!” suggested Silver.

“Good idea!” agreed Goldbug.

“Lead on!” directed the Doctor.

Back at the center, Amy watched outside. Given that the plague was one created by the Daleks, she wanted to make sure none had arrived at the center and began a killing spree. She then heard someone approach. “Amy?” asked the person, Lurra Rus.

“Yeah?” quizzed Amy.

“…How does Silver go back in time?” asked Lurra Rus.

“Last I heard, with something called a Time Stone. They used to be on Little Planet, but they made their way here. They can send anyone through time…but not space necessarily. Time around the person changes, but the relative location is the same.”

“…Do you think-?” Lurra Rus was interrupted by the Doctor and the retrieval team approaching.

“Can we evacuate?!” asked the Doctor.

“…Oh no! That was a Dalek ship, wasn’t it?!” realized Amy.

“First Aid prepared everyone for evacuation at a moment’s notice,” explained Lurra Rus. “My guess is that he knows about the dangers of those monsters.”

“Very wise of him!” said Galvatron. “They’re behind us! We took a shortcut, but we don’t have much time!”

“I’m going to have to work on a cure on the fly!” said the Doctor.

“Can’t we slow them down? Or are there too many Daleks?” asked Amy.

“No, that ship was a shuttle, room enough for just those Daleks, minus the one Silver crushed.”

“In that case, would demolition charges suffice?” asked Lurra Rus.

“There are demolition charges?”

“We keep them to destroy buildings that are too dangerous to inhabit,” explained Goldbug.

“If we have enough, then we can collapse the center on the Daleks’ domes,” mused the Doctor. “Right, Amy, help me set the charges. Galvatron, Silver, show us where they are. Lurra, Goldbug, you start evacuations.”

“This way!” said Silver. He led his group down the corridor as Lurra Rus and Goldbug headed off.

As the Doctor and her friends prepared, the Daleks arrived. “The Doctor and the survivors are inside the building!” barked the Supreme. “The Emperor has ordered that none be left alive! Exterminate them all!”

“We obey!” replied the Daleks as they all glided into the building, on the lookout for survivors. …A pity that they didn’t look down as the Supreme, leading the charge, ran over two wires, triggering the explosives planted at the foundations!

“UNDER ATTACK!” shouted a Drone Dalek with a black dome, the Section Leader. “SUPREME DALEK DESTROYED! STRUCTURE OF THE BUILDING IS COMPROMISED! RETREAT!” The Daleks backed away from the exploding building.

Beyond the building, the survivors and the Doctor looked back. “…All that research,” sighed Dr. Quill.

“Don’t worry,” soothed the Doctor. “I’ve saved the research to my sonic screwdriver.”

“Thank goodness for that.” As Dr. Quill was about to relax, Amy spotted something.

“Everyone, hide! Daleks!” she warned. Everyone hid themselves as Daleks patrolled the area.

“Very paranoid, but an intelligent thing to do,” grumbled the Doctor. “They fanned out!”

“Doctor, you get the survivors to safety!” directed Dr. Quill.

“What? No!” hissed the Doctor, guessing his plan. “Dr. Quill, you’ll be killed if you reveal yourself!”

“It’s the only option available to us, Doctor!” insisted Dr. Quill. “And…once again, I’m sorry for the false hope I gave.” Dr. Quill stepped out into the open.

“Dr.-!” yelped Amy.

“No, Amy!” hissed the Doctor. “There’s no point in us getting ourselves killed! Come on! We need to get moving!” The Doctor led the survivors away from the area.

The Daleks continued their patrol. “Daleks!” called Dr. Quill. The Daleks all turned to give him their attention.

“Halt!” barked a Dalek. Dr. Quill obeyed instantly. “Identify yourself!”

“I am Dr. Quill. You Daleks are the ones responsible for this plague, correct?”

“You are correct!”

“But why?! What for?!”

“The complete extermination of all life! Exterminate!” The Daleks gunned Dr. Quill down.

“A senseless waste of life!” shuddered Lurra Rus as everyone heard the gunsticks.

“…Aha!” said the Doctor as she checked the readings on her screwdriver.

“Doctor?” asked Amy.

“I know how to cure this now!” explained the Doctor.

“Well, great, but we don’t exactly have a lab…hang on!” Amy realized where Silver was taking them. “I know this path!”

“I thought you would!” chuckled Silver. They arrived at the doors to a hidden base.

“Amy, you know this place?” asked the Doctor.

“Restoration HQ!” replied Amy. “Once a resistance base during the Eggman War, then a place where the Restoration Movement worked to undo the damage Eggman caused!”

“We’ve gotten into this place a few times,” said Silver, “but we can’t get into the main computer core. Maybe your passwords could-?”

“I handed off leadership to Jewel, remember?” asked Amy. “It’s her passwords that open up access. …Thankfully, I happen to know them!”

“Then you need to allow access for me,” said the Doctor. “I’m going to need the computer to double-check my work as I make the cure.”

“Got it!” confirmed Amy. The survivors then entered the base and began setting up.

“Doctor, we can’t keep running from the Daleks,” said Goldbug. “We’re bound to pick up the disease.”

“Hopefully, this is where we stop running,” said the Doctor.

As everyone was getting set up, the Daleks patrolled the area. “No survivors detected!” a Dalek reported to the Section Leader.

“Continue the search!” ordered the Section Leader. “All life on this planet must be exterminated! The Doctor is a high priority!”

“Alert! Alert! Temporal energy wave detected!” called another Dalek. “Readings indicate that it is a chronal surge!” The energy wave washed over the Daleks.

“…Chronal surge complete!” reported a third Dalek. “All Daleks present and accounted for!”

“Scan for any anachronisms!” barked the Section Leader.

“Daleks!” called a voice. The Daleks turned to see a human-sized Transformer walking up to them. “Where is the Dalek Supreme?” demanded the Transformer. “I demand an audience with it!”

“You have no right to demand anything of the Daleks!” retorted the Section Leader. “I am the highest ranking Dalek! You will be exterminated!”

“This vessel was already exterminated by Contagion Z/479!” replied the Transformer.

“…How do you know the classification of the plague?!” demanded the Section Leader.

“I have vital information that will avert a future catastrophe! Even now, on Skaro-!”

“You know nothing about Skaro!”

“I KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT SKARO! I AM YOUR EMPEROR!”

“…Death has deranged this Mini-con!” decided the Section Leader. “Kill it!” The Mini-con then put his hands on his heads and projected his thoughts into every single Dalek. The sudden influx of mental imagery was painful for the Daleks.

“I! AM! YOUR EMPEROR!” shouted the Mini-con in the same booming voice of the Dalek Emperor. He then released his hold over the Daleks and let them recover.

“…You…are NOT…the Emperor!” protested the Section Leader. “That is…not possible!”

“It is when you use a chronal surge to your advantage!” replied the Mini-con. “Your mission is to exterminate the survivors, drag all bodies to the shuttle, and transport them to Skaro so you can experiment on Contagion Z/479 and make it spread across the universe, then you intend to spread it across all possible realities until the Daleks are the only life-forms in existence, destroying even those that incorrectly call themselves gods!”

“How do you know this?!” demanded the Section Leader.

“Because I formulated the plan! I gave the order to use Mobius as a test bed for the virus! But it is a plan that will fail and cause this time to be a branching timeline! We must submit Restoration HQ to total extermination and that means the activation of the Special Weapons Dalek! I’ve already sent the activation signal and briefed it on the situation!”

“NO!” argued the third Dalek. “The use of the Special Weapons Dalek is not advisable!”

“You DARE question the orders of your Emperor?!” demanded the Dalek Emperor.

“You are nothing more than a copy of the Emperor’s consciousness piloting an impure creature! The Abomination is just as impure!”

“You are a subject matter expert on impurity!” said a croaking voice in the usual Dalek staccato. Everyone turned to see something that used a Dalek skirt for locomotion, but its midsection was replaced with a giant cannon and it had no eyestalk, just square windows for targeting that lit up every time it spoke.

“Explain!” boomed the Emperor.

“That is one of the original creators of my class of Dalek!” explained the Special Weapons Dalek. “It used to be part of the Imperial Faction under Davros’ control, born on the planet of Necros!”

“…Then its impurity and dissent will no longer be tolerated! Exterminate it!”

“I obey!” The Special Weapons Dalek fired its cannon and vaporized the dissenting Dalek.

“We will now proceed! TO VICTORY!” declared the Emperor.

“VICTORY! VICTORY! VICTORY!” chanted the Daleks.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

The Cruelest Plague: Part 2

“Current reaction: ill advised,” droned the familiar voice of Soundwave as he approached a mech with wings and a beard.

“I can’t stand it any longer!” wailed the mech, Scourge.

“Feelings of hopelessness and isolation: shared,” said Soundwave.

“KEEP BACK!”

“Scourge, what’s the matter with you?!” barked Galvatron as he and the others arrived. Scourge saw the newcomers.

“Who are they?!” he demanded.

“I’m the Doctor,” replied the Doctor, “and I’m here to help.”

“Dr. Quill was here to help! He wanted to save us!”

“Scourge, please!” urged Dr. Quill.

“No! Those pills you made! I’ve taken mine without fail, now LOOK AT ME!” Scourge revealed his hand. It was covered in the mechanical equivalent of scabs and lesions! “They don’t work! He lied to us! THERE IS NO CURE! WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!” Galvatron then fired his cannon right through Scourge’s Spark Chamber! Scourge faded to gunmetal gray and collapsed to the floor.

“…There was no need for that!” hissed the Doctor.

“Scourge was a health security threat!”

“Poor Scourge,” sighed Dr. Quill.

“Dr. Quill, is this true?” asked First Aid. The silence Dr. Quill gave spoke volumes. “…You mean-?!”

“I’m sorry!” pleaded Dr. Quill. “I just…I wanted to give everyone hope!”

“A placebo effect,” the Doctor summarized. “…But that hope DID buy us time enough.”

“What do you mean, Doctor?” asked Amy.

“As we were rushing out,” explained the Doctor, “I took a look at the tissue and blood samples of infected patients and figured out that this virus is artificial in origin.”

“Artificial?” asked Dr. Quill. “You mean…germ warfare?!”

“Why would anyone make such a virus?!” protested Lurra Rus.

“To wipe out all life, presumably,” replied the Doctor. “Not just here on Mobius, but everywhere else on every planet.”

“But who would do that?” quizzed Amy.

“I’ll need to look deeper at the samples, but I have a theory.”

The Doctor got stuck into her work. Dr. Quill arrived. “How is it going?” he asked.

“I said I’d try to find a cure,” replied the Doctor, “but I can’t pluck one out of thin air. How’s everyone holding up?”

“Badly, after the revelation about my pills, Doctor.”

“Don’t be too harsh on yourself. It might not have been the best thing to do, but you gave your people hope.”

“Now they don’t even have that. Look, I must get back to my…Dell!” The Doctor turned to see the blank-faced man outside the door.

“Erm, I haven’t exactly finished a cure here,” she said. “I’m still trying to figure out how this virus mutates. If you could leave?”

“…I…obey,” replied the man. The Doctor froze.

“…What did you just say?!” she whispered. Dell then raised his hand and revealed a knife!

“Dell, what are you doing?!” protested Dr. Quill.

“I’m rather afraid Dell’s not under his own control!” replied the Doctor. Dell swung the knife, but the Doctor leapt aside. The two grappled, then the Doctor spun Dell around. Dell swung wildly, but the Doctor kept out of reach. Dell’s swings then led to him stabbing a machine and shocking him fatally! Dell’s body collapsed to the ground, releasing the knife. The Doctor then knelt by the body and examined his head and neck.

“Dell?!” asked Dr. Quill. The Doctor then found something and pulled a device off Dell’s neck.

“Drat,” grumbled the Doctor. “This only confirms everything.”

“Doctor, what-?!”

“Doctor!” called Amy as she and Lurra Rus arrived.

“Doctor, are you all right?! What-?!” Lurra Rus saw the body. “Oh my-!”

“The Doctor was forced into self-defense,” explained Dr. Quill. “But why Dell?! He’s not like this!”

“Not normally, I’m sure,” remarked the Doctor, “but Dell was taken by an alien race and converted into one of their obedient slaves. This component I got from his neck only confirms that this is the same race that made this virus.”

“What alien race is it?” asked Dr. Quill. “What planet did this virus come from?”

“From the laboratories on Skaro,” revealed the Doctor.

“The Daleks?!” yelped Amy. “They’re behind this plague?!”

“Yes. Unfortunately, germ warfare is something they excel in. Thankfully, I know their virus-creation techniques. I can synthesize a cure now.”

“That’s wonderful news,” said Dr. Quill. “It’s only a pity that it cost us someone’s life.”

“I’m afraid the Daleks already killed Dell when they put him through their mind-control processes. Odd that they would use Roboman technology. I would have thought their puppet tech was far superior for them.”

“Doctor, if the Daleks sent Dell to kill you-,” said Amy.

“Oh dear,” realized the Doctor. “They would very likely be coming here to ensure that the plague spreads. This whole thing is an experiment!”

“An experiment?!” said Dr. Quill. “To see how long it takes before we’re all six feet under?!”

“I…wouldn’t have put it so crudely, but yes.”

“There’s no way we can take on the Daleks in this state,” said Amy.

“We’ll have to try,” replied the Doctor.

Outside the center, Silver, Galvatron, and Goldbug were doing their usual patrol. “…Of all the revelations,” sighed Galvatron. “You know, Goldbug, it’s funny, after four million years of conflict, getting beat down, shot at, torn apart, THIS is how our lights go out?”

“Galvatron, if I might sound like Optimus for a sec,” said Goldbug, “this probably isn’t the end we imagined. But if this really IS the end…at least we’re ending it on a good note, trying to save people instead of trampling over them, deaf to their pleas over the sounds of our guns.”

“Guys, if we can concentrate,” interjected Silver. “Look, we can’t do nothing, but we can’t do a whole lot. Let’s just…do what we can.”

“…Probably the best course of action,” agreed Galvatron. As the three patrolled, they heard the roar of engines above their heads.

“Do you hear that?” asked Goldbug.

“It’s a ship!” replied Galvatron. “It’s coming in to land!”

“It’s heading for the old spaceport!” realized Silver. “We have to turn them away!”

“Come on!” called Galvatron. The group rushed towards the spaceport.

“What?! A ship?!” breathed First Aid in horror once he got the news. “We have to turn them away!”

“Can we get a visual?” asked the Doctor.

“The team said it was moving too fast for them to tell,” replied First Aid.

“I don’t like this at all,” muttered the Doctor. “I’m going out there.”

“We’re coming with you,” said Amy.

“You most certainly are not,” directed the Doctor.

“But Doctor-!” protested Lurra Rus.

“Amy, Lurra, please, for my sanity, stay here. You’d be a big help in protecting these people.”

“…Oh, fine,” grumbled Amy.

“I’ll be back as quick as I can!” The Doctor rushed out of the center.

The ship began its landing cycle as Silver, Galvatron, and Goldbug tried to wave it off. “GO AWAY! GO AWAY!” called Silver.

“THIS PLANET ISN’T SAFE!” urged Goldbug.

“It’s no use!” growled Galvatron. “They aren’t listening!” He then aimed his cannon.

“NO! Galvatron, put that away!” snapped Goldbug.

“One warning shot should do the trick!”

“And when was the last time you had your targeting systems recalibrated?!”

“Can we focus, please?!” snapped Silver. They then heard footsteps. They turned to see the Doctor arriving.

“I thought I’d see the ship myself and-!” She trailed off when she saw it. “…All of you, get back!”

“What?! Why?!” protested Galvatron.

“That’s a Dalek ship!”

“What?!” The ship lowered a landing ramp and the Daleks glided down with ease with the White Dalek Supreme leading the charge.

“Get out of here!” called Silver. “This planet’s under strict quarantine!”

“Silver, they’re the ones behind this plague!”

“The contagion is proceeding as planned!” barked the Dalek Supreme. “All survivors are to be exterminated! It is the order from the Emperor!”

“We obey!” replied the Daleks.

“Daleks, stop!” called the Doctor. “There’s no need to kill anyone else!”

“You are attempting to find a cure!” replied the Dalek Supreme. “We cannot have survivors! All life will be exterminated!”

“Show some mercy!” urged Silver.

“Mercy? There is no value or strength in mercy!”

“No value?! No strength?!”

“This conversation is at an end! EXTERMINATE THE HEDGEHOG!” Silver then used his psychokinesis to lift huge chunks of rubble into the air and fling them at the Daleks!

“UNDER ATTACK! UNDER ATTACK!” squawked a Dalek.

“DOCTOR! SILVER! RUN!” shouted Goldbug.

“Come on!” shouted the Doctor as everyone ran. She led them on a winding path, then they took cover. They caught their breath as the Daleks fanned out to begin their bloody campaign.

“Doctor, they can’t possibly be that ruthless!” panted Silver.

“They are,” replied the Doctor. “The Daleks hate all non-Daleks and will exterminate us all like pests. Man, woman, child, it makes no difference.”

“They’re behind this plague, aren’t they?” growled Galvatron. “Germ warfare is their signature weapon.”

“Yes, sad to say.” That was when a Dalek rounded the corner.

“Aliens detected!” it barked. “All shall…wait! You!” The Dalek waved its manipulator arm at the Doctor. “Your biology is not human!”

“No, no it’s not,” agreed the Doctor.

“Doctor, are you-?!” The Dalek cut off Galvatron’s protest.

“Doctor?! Did you say Doctor?!”

“…Thank you SO much, Galvatron!” hissed the Doctor.

“Whoops,” muttered Galvatron.

“YOU ARE THE DOCTOR!” screamed the Dalek in panic. “YOU ARE THE ENEMY OF THE DALEKS! YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

The Cruelest Plague: Part 1

It was hell made real on one planet at one time. Buildings crumbled and bodies littered the streets. Oddly, they weren’t just human bodies. Animals in a humanoid shape and giant robots with vehicle parts also filled the spaces between the ruined buildings. Only three could be seen walking normally. Two were robots and one was an anthropomorphic silver hedgehog. The hedgehog knelt down to examine a body. “…No good,” he sighed. “This poor kid succumbed.”

“Same for this Sparkling,” grumbled one of the robots, a purple one with an orange cannon.

“…Hang on, this cat’s still breathing!” called the second of the robots, a gold one with a mask where the mouth should be.

“You sure?!” asked the hedgehog. The scab-covered cat then coughed. “Yeah, you’re sure, Prime. Right then, I’ll get him back to the center!” The hedgehog raised his hands and a cyan aura surrounded the poor cat. The same aura enveloped the hedgehog and they floated upwards.

“Make sure you get back out here as soon as you dropped him off and took your medication!” called the gold robot.

“Got it!” replied the hedgehog as he and his passenger flew off.

“We don’t have a chance!” complained the purple robot.

“Things HAVE been getting worse,” muttered the gold robot. “I was hoping it would get better soon, but now, well…” he indicated the corpses they had to wade through.

“Dr. Quill!” called the hedgehog as he entered a facility that smelled of disinfectants and medical tools. A porcupine man in a doctor’s outfit then arrived.

“Got another one, I see, Silver,” remarked the man, Dr. Quill. “How is he?”

“Bad,” replied the hedgehog, the psychokinetic time-traveler, Silver. “I’m surprised he survived the journey here, even if I was levitating him.”

“We’ll have to put him with the others,” said Dr. Quill. “Nurse!” A man in nurse’s scrubs arrived. “Put this cat in the isolation ward.”

“Yes, Dr. Quill,” replied the nurse. He then led the sick cat to a ward.

“I’m getting too old for this!” sighed Dr. Quill. “Why did this have to happen?”

“Why does anything happen?” asked Silver. “Look, I gotta take my next set of pills.”

“Right. Off you go.” Silver floated off as Dr. Quill turned to a human. “Dell, I want you to go to the isolation ward and check over the systems.” The man nodded and headed off, blankly staring ahead. Dr. Quill turned to an ambulance. “Would you check the stock of pills, First Aid?”

“Sure thing,” replied the Ambulance. It then changed into a robot with a mask and visor over its face! The robot, the Protectobot called First Aid, headed off.

“If anyone thinks we’re running out,” muttered Dr. Quill, “there’ll be the devil to pay!”

The purple and gold robots continued their patrol. “Where is he?!” complained the purple robot.

“Relax,” soothed the gold robot. “He’ll be here. You know Silver better than that.”

“Well, we need his-!” The purple robot stopped. “…Goldbug-.”

“I hear it too!” replied the gold robot, Goldbug Prime. “It sounds like…a TARDIS!”

“You don’t think it’s THE TARDIS?” asked the purple robot.

“If it is, we better stop the Doctor from touching anyone! Come on, Galvatron!” Goldbug Prime then turned into a futuristic muscle car as Galvatron turned into an alien fighter jet.

It WAS the TARDIS the two Transformers had heard. The Doctor and her friends stepped outside. “Sweet Chaos!” shuddered Amy as she saw the scenery. “It’s like New New York!”

“Yes, but the Toymaker’s not behind this,” remarked the Doctor.

“This is your home, Amy?” asked Lurra Rus.

“Something must have happened to it in the 200 years between my time and now,” remarked Amy.

“Quite right,” agreed the Doctor. “Let’s try and-.”

“Help…me!” whimpered a poor woman.

“Doctor!” called Amy.

“Don’t touch!” urged the Doctor. “Those look like scabs from an infection!”

“Help…me!” repeated the woman.

“It’s all right, ma’am,” soothed the Doctor. “I’ll try and get you something.”

“Don’t touch her!” called Galvatron’s voice as he and Goldbug arrived. They transformed into robot mode and the Doctor goggled.

“An Autobot and Decepticon working together?” she asked.

“Desperate times and all that, Doctor,” replied Goldbug.

“…I seem to be at-.”

“Hold out your hands,” ordered Galvatron.

“Pardon?”

“Hold out your hands and let me see them! And take the gloves off too!” The Doctor and Amy looked at each other, but complied, then they and Lurra Rus showed the bots their hands.

“…They’re clean,” said Goldbug.

“Look, this woman is sick with something-!” urged Amy.

“We’ll take her to the center, Miss Rose,” replied Galvatron.

“What’s going on?” asked Silver as he arrived. He then goggled when he saw Amy. “Good grief! Amy! What are you doing in this time?!”

“Silver!” cheered Amy. She rushed to hug him.

“No! No hug!” yelped Silver. “You might be-!”

“She and her friends are clean, Silver,” said Goldbug. “They found another woman, still alive.”

“Right then, we’re all going to the center,” said Silver. “Come on, Amy. Looks like you and your friends need to be brought into the picture.”

The group arrived at the center. The Doctor could smell the disinfectants. “Is this some sort of hospital?” she asked.

“In a way, I suppose,” remarked Silver. “Now then, Miss…”

“Oh, I’m the Doctor. You and Amy seem to know each other and this Twi’lek is Lurra Rus.”

“Hello,” greeted Lurra Rus. “Not exactly a good first impression of Mobius, I must admit.”

“You’d probably like Amy’s time better,” remarked Galvatron.

“Sir, you and your Autobot friend addressed me and Amy by name,” said the Doctor. “Who are you two?”

“Oh, you met us before,” remarked Galvatron. “On my ship before we were tricked into landing on Skaro.”

“Amy commented on my pink seats at the time,” said Goldbug, “and you had to convince him to order the Decepticons to stand down as we faced the Daleks, both the original Skaro strain and Octus’ breed.”

“…Bumblebee?!” yelped Amy.

“I’m Goldbug Prime now,” corrected Goldbug.

“And I’m called Galvatron these days.”

“Galvatron?” muttered the Doctor. She then snapped her fingers. “That’s right! You used to be Megatron! …But I thought it was Hot Rod that became Rodimus Prime around the time of your upgrade. Something isn’t right here.”

“That brash fool is meant to oppose me?!” laughed Galvatron.

“He fell to the plague that affects us all,” explained Goldbug.

“We better introduce you to Dr. Quill,” said Silver. “He can answer your questions.”

“Right then, lead on,” said the Doctor. As they walked, Amy talked about what the Transformers were and what happened when she first met them.

“Is this the latest sample?” Dr. Quill asked First Aid.

“From the cat Silver brought in earlier,” confirmed First Aid.

“Speak of the devil,” said Silver as he and the group entered.

“Found another one, have you?” asked Dr. Quill. “Well, you know what to do.”

“Not with these guys,” replied Silver. “They’re clean and they only just arrived here.”

“What?!” yelped Dr. Quill as he looked up and finally made eye contact with the Doctor. “What in blue blazes are you doing here?! Mobius is under strict quarantine! No one on or off until a cure can be found!”

“Believe it or not, we have our own priorities,” replied the Doctor. “Though I must apologize.”

“Are you sure they’re clean?!” Dr. Quill asked Silver.

“We all checked,” replied Goldbug. “They’re clean.”

“Look, could someone tell us what’s going on?” asked Lurra Rus. “It looks like both the Transformers and the organic life forms are falling victim to a plague!”

“We are,” replied Dr. Quill. “During the Autobot/Decepticon war, a bot died of an infection here on Mobius, then it spread to both factions and affected organics along the way. To start, it spread mainly to older people and children. They were the first to die, but now it’s affecting everyone of all ages.”

“Not just organisms like Mobians or Transformers,” supplied First Aid, “but plants, non-speaking animals, practically all forms of life.”

“It just struck out of nowhere?” asked the Doctor.

“Yes, and now Mobius is on the brink of collapse. There’s no cure, at least nothing that I found.”

“My plan,” said Silver, “is to go back in time with a potential cure and vaccine so Mobius and the Transformers could be immunized and thus avert this catastrophe, but there hasn’t been any luck. The virus has been mutating so rapidly!”

“Sounds like you need my help,” muttered the Doctor. She then addressed Dr. Quill. “I’m presuming you’re this Dr. Quill I heard about. Are you and Dr…um…that Autobot behind you, are you two the only scientists working on a cure?”

“I’m First Aid, Doctor,” replied First Aid. “And we are. All the other scientists are dead thanks to this plague. There’s not much else we can do to help these people. All we do is put them into the isolation ward when we collect them from the streets.”

“Penning them in like cattle?” asked Lurra Rus.

“All we can do is keep them comfortable as best we can, but we NEED a cure! Those pills we give to the retrieval crews-!”

“First Aid, please,” said Dr. Quill.

“Well, if we’re going to get stuck in, then-.” The Doctor’s declaration was cut short by a Decepticon bursting into the room.

“Cyclonus?” asked Galvatron. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Scourge, Lord Galvatron!” replied the mech, Cyclonus. “He’s lost his mind!”