Cyclops opened his visor to its fullest intensity to destroy the chunk of floor Trakis had ripped up. It destroyed the glass surrounding the control room, giving Trakis enough of an opening to leap up and confront them all directly. Wolverine and Sabretooth attacked with their claws, but Trakis dodged their blows, having heard about adamantium. “I’ll tear you apart, Doctor!” snarled Trakis. “I wonder what happens when you kill a Time Lord during their regeneration!”
“I’d rather not tell you the answer or have you find out!” replied the Doctor. She used her sonic screwdriver on a nearby console and made it explode.
“Everyone out! Lock down the Danger Room!” called Cyclops. Everyone evacuated the Danger Room and shut the doors. Amy, William, Magneto, and Storm arrived.
“What’s going on?!” asked Amy.
“Trakis is a mutant, that’s what!” replied the Doctor. “My sonic screwdriver found a Skrull version of the X Gene!” The doors then bent as if something were punching them.
“…Powers?” asked Magneto.
“He’s basically the Skrull version of Colossus,” replied Sabretooth. “No Super Skrull stuff whatsoever.”
“A mutant that had yet to come out and is lashing out because he was exposed before he was ready,” remarked Magneto. “Let’s see if his metal skin is ferrous.” The doors were then punched out of the frame. Magneto stopped their progress with his powers of magnetism, then hurled them aside to reveal Trakis in his fully metal state. Magneto raised his hand…but Trakis kept walking, undaunted. “…Non-ferrous!” whispered Magneto.
“I learned that ages ago!” snorted Trakis. Wolverine then slashed…but his claws bent! “…Well, well, well!” chuckled Trakis. “So adamantium bends against my skin! Let’s see if it can buckle and break!”
“I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS TO BREAK HIM!” shouted Sabretooth. He leapt at Trakis, but Trakis punched him in the ribs, breaking a few. Sabretooth was winded! Cyclops fired his eyebeams at Trakis, but Trakis shrugged them off and knocked him aside.
“And then there was one!” snarled Trakis as he raised his fist to pulverize Professor X. Professor X then projected his thoughts into Trakis, LOUD thoughts that made the mutant Skrull clutch his head in pain! Trakis passed out and Magneto used his magnetism to tear a sliver of the door off.
“Tell me, Doctor, do you happen to know where a Skrull’s heart is?” he asked.
“That’s not necessary!” hissed the Doctor.
“This Skrull infiltrated a safe haven for mutants! He intended to kill us all just to keep his secret! He needs to die!”
“That’s for Skrull society to determine, not one single human!”
“Doctor, move aside!”
“And you think I’ll obey that, Commandant Magneto?!”
“…What did you just call me?” hissed Magneto dangerously.
“You DO recall that the Nazis said the same rhetoric about you, yes?!” replied the Doctor. Magneto rushed forward and slammed the Doctor against the wall and held the knife to her throat. “Go ahead!” hissed the Doctor. “Prove me right!”
“Magnus, please,” said Professor X. “Think of Shadowcat. You remember her, yes?” Magneto turned to Professor X, still snarling. “You thought you killed her once, remember.”
“…I thought I had killed a child, one that shared my faith,” replied Magneto as he slowly relaxed his grip on the Doctor.
“Think about what you’re doing,” urged the Doctor, catching onto Professor X’s plan. “How many more children would suffer?” Magneto glared at the Doctor, then sighed and released his magnetic hold on the knife, letting it fall to the floor.
“…Sabretooth, gather Avalanche and Mystique. We are leaving,” ordered Magneto.
“You can’t be-!” Sabretooth’s objections were interrupted when Magneto raised his hand.
“I said we’re done here,” hissed Magneto. He then floated away. Sabretooth growled, but followed.
Magneto’s group had left the Xavier Institute by the time Trakis woke up. He was staring at the ceiling of the medical ward. “You know, I’ve been to the Skrull colony,” remarked a voice. Trakis turned his head to see William washing up. “Thankfully, the only difference between you and a normal Skrull is your X Gene. The treatment is still the same as ever.”
“…You should have killed me,” replied Trakis.
“Doctors don’t do that,” dismissed William. “Not unless the patient specifically asks for medical euthanasia. By the way, that communicator of yours is beeping. Are you expecting a call?” Trakis sighed.
“Unfortunately, yes,” he sighed. “Veranke knows how I’m really a monster.”
“There’s a difference between monster and mutant,” said William. “Take it from the older brother of a mutant.”
“…Give me my communicator,” directed Trakis. William simply gave the Skrull a look. “…Please,” corrected Trakis.
“There’s the magic word,” replied William as he handed Trakis the communicator. Trakis sighed, then steeled his nerves as he pressed the button.
“Infiltrator Trakis, receiving,” he said.
“You mean TRAITOR Trakis!” hissed a cruel woman’s voice.
“Greetings, your Majesty,” said Trakis. “My infiltration mission-.”
“Has been canceled, you ugly mutant!” snarled Veranke. “You fooled the gene detectors! You’re a mutant and you didn’t tell us!”
“Your Majesty, I can explain-!”
“No, you can’t! As far as I’m concerned, your survival subverts the Prophecy and I’m going to correct that subversion personally!”
“Give me that!” snapped William. He snatched the communicator out of Trakis’ hand and took over the call. “Veranke, you could do with some queen lessons and I know a few teachers.”
“How dare you! Who is this?!” snarled Veranke.
“I am Dr. William Davies,” replied William. “I have fought Dr. Doom, Loki, a Krynoid, Xiliens, Sontarans, and Daleks! I have made friends with Ice Warriors, Sailor Senshi, Kaiju, Draconians, and Autobots! I have been to the past, the present, and the future! And it was all thanks to a Time Lord known as the Doctor!”
“You lie! The Time Lords are dead!”
“The Time Lords live, your Majesty!” insisted Trakis. “He speaks the truth!”
“I will hear no more lies, dead man walking! I’ll be on Earth to kill you personally!” Veranke ended the call.
“…Charming lady,” muttered William. “We’re gonna have to put you in a witness protection program.”
“…You would show me mercy after I shot the Time Lord when she intercepted a shot meant for you?” asked Trakis.
“Mercy’s a pretty big thing among us doctors,” replied William. “Speaking of which, I need to check on her. You should be fine for now. Just one thing, see a therapist, huh?” William headed off, leaving a very confused Trakis alone.
William found the Doctor with Amy, Lurra Rus, Brandon, Storm, and Professor X nearby. “Ah, William, you’re here,” said Professor X.
“She still hasn’t regenerated?” asked William.
“Not until you were here,” replied the Doctor. She didn’t stop her hand from glowing. “I needed you to make sure you heard everything because I need to make sure the new Doctor gets it right. They may need your help.” The Doctor felt a pulse. “Just a second, Doctor!” she said. “I still need to give you some basic guidelines! First off, you need your friends. They hold you to the mark, make sure you remember the promise we made when we all became the Doctor. Never be cruel, never be cowardly. And, very important, remember why pears are disgusting! If you have to bite into one, well…sorry about that. Evil will always persist, but so will good. The humans got it right. Hope isn’t fragile or delicate. It’s bruised, bloodied, and always picking itself up for round 2. Hope and mercy, those are your greatest weapons, the greatest assistance to that intelligence of yours. And remember, you’re not trying to win. Don’t continue the mission because you want to beat someone or because you hate someone or because you want to blame someone. It’s not gonna be fun. God knows it’s not gonna be easy. It hardly ever does work. But you must carry on the mission because it’s right. Because it’s decent. Because it’s kind, just kind. There might be no point in it because good people still die, but it’s the best that can be done, so do it. Do it until we have our last death because we ARE going to die while doing it if we have a limit to our regenerations. …Might as well make every death we go through matter.” By then, the Doctor’s other hand and her face were glowing. “It’s your go, Doctor. How will you continue the mission of making time and space a better place?”
“Everyone, back up!” called Amy. “These things tend to have some oomph!” Everyone backed up as the Doctor stretched her arms outwards, then pillars of golden light poured forth from her hands and head, knocking her hat off! Everyone covered their eyes.
“Is this normal?!” asked Storm.
“This seems more intense than Miss Tarae regenerating into the Master!” called Lurra Rus.
“The Master didn’t hold back his regeneration! William and I saw this before with Rassilon!” replied Amy.
“I think it’s dying down!” called William. And he was right. The regeneration energy had finally dissipated. The Doctor as they knew her was gone. In her place was a woman with African features and wavy, dark-brown hair. The woman wobbled a bit, then fell with William catching her. He set her down slowly.
“Her medical history isn’t on your network,” William said to Professor X. “I need to get her to Avengers’ Tower!”
“I’ll take you there in the Blackbird,” offered Storm.
“I’ll have the TARDIS brought aboard,” said Professor X. “We’ll keep Trakis safe.”
“Thank you, Professor,” said William. “Amy, Lurra, help me out here.” Amy and Lurra Rus helped William bring the now unconscious and newly regenerated Doctor to the Blackbird Hangar.