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!”