It was a dark, gloomy night in the city. People were scurrying back to their homes, trying to get away from the criminals that infested the city. A woman was trying to get home and made the rookie error of going down an alley. Three muggers then jumped out of the shadows. “Eep!” yelped the woman.
“All right, lady!” said the lead mugger. “Give us your purse and no one gets hurt!”
“You COULD resist,” chuckled a second lustfully.
“Keep your mind on business!” snapped the lead mugger. “We’ll play with her later!”
“No! Please! You can’t!” begged the woman.
“Oh, can’t we?” chuckled the last mugger. He was about to say something when a strange noise filled the air. They looked around to see the TARDIS fade into view. “What the?!” asked the third mugger. William stepped out of the TARDIS followed by the Doctor. His face contorted into one of disgust.
“Ugh! That’s an alley smell!” he gagged. “I thought you said we were going to New New York!”
“Well, I guess I put in the wrong coordinates,” muttered the Doctor. She then saw the muggers. “…I see we’re still in 21st century America. Eastern Seaboard City?”
“A whole selection!” chuckled the second mugger. “Always wanted to play with a man as well!”
“Oh, yuck! My cousin and his husband would tear you apart for setting back their work like that!” complained William.
“Yeah, well, you won’t be telling him anything!” snapped the lead mugger. “Not unless you hand over all your money!”
“And if we don’t, what will you do?” asked the Doctor, pretty sure of the answer already.
“Then we’re gonna have to cut that pretty face of yours! And hers!” The third mugger held his knife to the woman’s throat.
“…All right, come on, try and cut my face,” challenged the Doctor. She wasn’t gonna do that 60’s sitcom woman routine, not after trying it in Latveria. The lead mugger and his lustful friend rushed at the Doctor and William while the third kept the poor woman as his hostage. The Doctor dodged the lead mugger’s knife attacks, then jabbed her pointer and middle fingers into his shoulder. His knife arm then went limp as his hand involuntarily opened, releasing the knife.
“What the f-?!” The Doctor then vaulted him over her head into the second mugger. The second mugger’s lustful face fell as he grabbed a pipe. He swung and the Doctor moved behind him. The Doctor then chopped her hand into the back of his neck, knocking him out.
“NOT ONE STEP!” warned the last mugger as he pressed the blade of his knife closer to the lady’s neck.
“No! Please!” begged the woman. That was when something fell from the rooftops and released smoke.
“WHAT THE F-?!” yelped the mugger. Something wrapped around his arm and yanked him up the fire escape. He looked around.
“I thought you said mugging was for sissies,” rasped a voice. The mugger peed his pants as he looked up to see a man looming over him. The man wore a black suit, a black cape, a cowl with pointy ears, and a bat symbol on his chest.
“B-B-B-B…BATMAN!” he screamed. “NO! PLEASE! I AIN’T GOT A CHOICE! MY PARENTS-!”
“The Wayne Foundation is taking care of their medical bills,” rasped Batman. “You, on the other hand, need to check into the charities listed under the Wayne Foundation…after you and your friends serve your time.” He knocked out the mugger, then jumped into the alley, checking on the woman. William was tending to the muggers’ injuries while they were unconscious.
“Batman,” sighed the woman happily, “I don’t know where you came from, but I’m really grateful!”
“What were you doing in this alley in the first place?” asked Batman.
“I was trying to get home,” explained the woman. “I’m from Metropolis and I thought the alleys would get me there faster.”
“Not in Gotham. What’s your address?”
“224 27th street, apartment 22.”
“Good apartments under a good landlord,” said Batman. “The quickest way to 27th street is to go down this street all the way to where it intersects with General Boulevard. After that, head three blocks down and turn right on 27th street.”
“Thank you, Batman!” said the woman as she dashed past the Doctor and William. “And thanks, you two!” she said once she turned down the street.
“Batman?” asked William. “So we’re in Gotham?”
“Late 2020’s, if I’m smelling the air right,” remarked the Doctor.
“Are you time-travelers?” asked Batman.
“…Well, I am, but I don’t know if I successfully took Dr. Davies here to a new time,” replied the Doctor.
“Well, this is 2027.”
“And I came from 2025,” remarked William. “Well, you were right, Doctor. You CAN travel in time. …I just expected flying cars.”
“Not yet,” said the Doctor. “Well, Batman, I’m the Doctor, and this is my friend, Dr. William Davies.”
“Are you both medically trained?” asked Batman.
“I have a medical degree, yes,” replied William.
“I have a few other degrees as well as a medical one,” said the Doctor. “Though not from this planet and time.
“You better come with me then,” said Batman.
“…You’re very accepting of my claims,” remarked the Doctor.
“My best friend is Superman. Perhaps you’ve heard of his old world?”
“Krypton? Yes, I have.”
“I guess being friends with aliens DOES change a human’s perspective, Doctor,” said William.
“Oh, being friends with humans changes the perspective of non-humans, I assure you,” said the Doctor. “Batman, is there a way you can have my box over there taken with you?”
“…I’ll have it dropped off in the Batcave,” replied Batman. He made a few calls, then pressed buttons on his gauntlet. A black, bat-themed, tank-like car then arrived.
“The Batmobile!” whispered William. Batman opened the Batmobile, letting the Doctor and William enter first before he took the wheel. The Batmobile then sped off.
The Batmobile entered a cave inside a hill a stately manor sat on. “…That’s Wayne Manor,” remarked William. “…You’re not-?”
“Billionaire Bruce Wayne,” replied Batman as he took off his cowl to reveal a man with neatly trimmed black hair.
“…So you beat up poor people-?”
“I do not just beat up poor people,” replied Bruce Wayne. “I make sure they get the resources needed to escape their lives of desperation thanks to the charities under the Wayne Foundation umbrella.” The Batmobile then stopped on a landing bay. A butler then arrived, looking panicked.
“Master Bruce, I-!” The butler spotted the Doctor and William. “…I…do apologize, I was unaware we were having guests.”
“They say they’re doctors, Alfred,” replied Bruce. “They might help the poor man in the medical ward. What’s wrong?”
“It’s our patient! The infection is spreading!”
“Let me see,” directed the Doctor.
“This way,” said Alred as he led everyone to the medical ward. Inside was a capsule big enough for a human to rest in. The Doctor’s eyes widened in horror as she saw the man’s face! It looked like it was covered in foliage!
“No!” she whispered. “…Bruce Wayne, where did you find the pod?!”
“You’ve seen this before?” asked Bruce.
“Twice. Both times caused catastrophic endings for the patient. Pod! NOW!” Bruce wasted no time in showing the Doctor the opened remains of a large seed pod. There was a specific juncture where something snapped off. “…Where?” asked the Doctor. “Where did it come from?”
“From a caper with Poison Ivy,” replied Bruce, “an eco-terrorist that’s become plant-like and with control over plants.”
“How did she know about this?” asked the Doctor.
“Wayne-tech’s bio-science division found two of them a year ago. We’ve kept them in the freezer and moved them to different sites. Poison Ivy intercepted one move and tried to steal the pod last night, but Robin and I secured it and took it here. Then a student of Robin’s, Ezar, he infiltrated the Batcave and tried to kill Damian, destroying the freezer pod and giving the seed pod enough time to germinate and open. The shoot then grabbed Ezar’s face and fused with him. Damian tried destroying the shoot, but it proved to be too strong for his sword. Now we’ve been keeping Ezar here to try and cure him.”
“I’ll do what I can,” said the Doctor, “but I can’t say I like his chances now. Let’s see how far along the infection is.” Bruce activated lights for the pod and stepped back when he saw that the whole body was covered in foliage.
“Good grief!” breathed Alfred. “It wasn’t like that this morning!”
“Odd, that stage should have taken an hour,” remarked the Doctor.
“Then the cooling function,” said Batman, “must be doing something right.”
“Doctor, is this all part of that particular plant’s life cycle?” asked William.
“Regrettably, yes,” confirmed the Doctor. “Ezar here is turning into a Krynoid.”
“And what will happen when Ezar reaches the adult Krynoid stage?” William had a distinct feeling it would be nasty for everyone.
“Well, on most planets, animals eat vegetation, yes?” asked the Doctor. “The tables are turned on planets where the Krynoid is established.”
“…You mean a rose garden-?”
“Would spill your blood in an instant.”