“This is impossible!” breathed Skarla. “H-How-?! It’s…bigger on the inside!”
“It’s also red,” remarked William. The TARDIS console room had changed to have a red color with gold accents and roundels along the walls. The hexagonal console itself was red with gold trim and controls. The Time Rotor in the center of the console was still transparent, but one could see new machinery inside it. There were walkways and stairs running along the walls with different doors. The Doctor’s sky-blue coat hung outside a door on ground level. Everyone headed to the door. “Doctor?” called William.
“Come in! I need some opinions!” replied the Doctor from inside. The group entered the room to discover that it was a huge wardrobe! The shelves and open closets stretched all the way to the ceiling with a spiral staircase in the center of the room and walkways stretching out from the stairs. The Doctor then stepped out wearing a brown coat, a floppy brimmed hat, and an absurdly long, multicolored scarf.
“…Um, Doctor?” asked Amy.
“You’re right, this is just for the nostalgia,” remarked the Doctor as she tossed the hat away. She then disappeared into one of the closets and reappeared coming out onto one of the walkways above. She wore a leather jacket this time. “…No, don’t exactly sound like I’m from Northern England.” She went into another closet, then she appeared on a walkway below the group, wearing a patchwork, multi-colored coat.
“NO!” shouted the group as they averted their eyes.
“Maybe in a Pride Parade!” called William.
“…I know what the real issue is!” said the Doctor as she snapped her fingers. “I’m wearing trousers!” She disappeared into another closet, then came out onto a walkway above the group. She had a skirt on, a tweed jacket, and a bow tie and fez. “…Mmm, bow ties ARE cool and so’s the fez, but…no, not me this time.” She then disappeared into another closet. “AHA!” she called from within the closet. Her friends then heard a pop like someone finishing putting on their lipstick. The Doctor then rejoined her friends. She wore a woolly coat that obscured her features.
“…Is…that what you’re going with?” asked Lurra Rus.
“No, THIS is!” The Doctor removed the coat to reveal that she was wearing a skirt that had a dome shape stopping at her thigh and was hemmed with large roses. She had a strap top on in the same wine color as her skirt and wore a red jacket with a fur boa wrapped around her shoulders, black opera gloves, black tights, pale gold flats on her feet, red lipstick, and a pale gold headband with a rose on its left hand side. She had also pulled her hair into an updo.
“Ooh! Now THAT’S an elegant ensemble!” praised Amy.
“Yes, I think I’ll go with this one!” agreed the Doctor as she looked in the mirror. “Now, with that out of the way, there’s something else in the back of my mind. Something about …time?”
“Well, you ARE a Time Lord,” reminded Amy.
“I remember what TARDIS stands for and what it can do,” replied the Doctor. “But no, this is something else.” Just then, an energy wave washed over everyone. They seemed unaffected.
“Wh-What was that?!” yelped Amy.
“A chronal surge,” answered the Doctor. “As if time had spat someone from one time zone to ano-!” She stopped herself as she remembered something. “…The Grouping!” she gasped. She then rushed to the console! “Telepathic circuits! Telepathic circuits! Where are they?! Where are they?!” She then saw a blinking light. “…Or Gallifrey could start a Zoom call, that’s the next best thing.” The Doctor pressed the button near the light. “This is the Doctor, receiving you, Gallifrey!” A man’s face then appeared on the scanner.
“Doctor, are you all right?” asked the man.
“Stognav!” greeted the Doctor. “I’m fine, but that chronal surge-!”
“We’ve detected others, Doctor. …Did the surge-?”
“No, no, I was shot by a Skrull before that happened.”
“I see,” said Stognav. “Well, we can at least pinpoint what happened during your local chronal surge. Something from the 29th century took advantage of it and is now at your location. Good or ill, I can’t say.”
“Keep me posted if you can,” directed the Doctor.
“Naturally. Stognav out.” The call ended.
“Who was that?” asked William.
“Castellan Stognav, my granddaughter’s right-hand man,” replied the Doctor.
“I’m sorry, GRANDDAUGHTER?!” yelped William.
“We’ll explain later,” said Amy and Lurra Rus.
“Right now, we have to deal with the current Grouping Event,” muttered the Doctor.
“What IS the Grouping?” asked Skarla. The Doctor took a bit to find the right analogy.
“…The Time Vortex sort of develops…hiccups,” she said, “and catapults random people into non-native time zones. Some time travelling races can take advantage of it.”
“And not every time traveling race follows the Doctor’s example,” said Lurra Rus.
“So the Daleks could take advantage of it,” sighed William.
“They could,” remarked the Doctor as she checked her instruments. “…But we have more immediate concerns. I’m detecting that 29th century person aboard a shuttle just entering Earth’s atmosphere above New York City.”
“Veranke!” gulped Amy.
“Hoo boy, better double check my powers,” said Skarla.
The team stepped onto the smaller landing pad on the roof of Avengers’ Tower. Storm and the Black Panther had joined them and were filled in on what was happening. “Skarla and I will fly up there and reconnoiter,” said Storm.
“Be safe, my love,” warned the Black Panther.
“That goes for you too, Skarla,” directed William.
“We’ll be back, boys. Don’t fret,” soothed Skarla. “Now…how does Young Mr. Storm put it? …Ah, yes! FLAME ON!” Her whole body set itself on fire!
“WHOA!” yelped the Doctor.
“It’s all right!” replied William. “That’s just her doing a Human Torch. Or rather, a Skrull Torch. Pardon the corniness, but I always said she was hot long before I knew she was a Super Skrull!” Storm and Skarla then took off. Skarla then spotted the Skrull ship.
“That’s Veranke’s shuttle!” she gulped.
“We better get her to turn back,” replied Storm. “How long can you maintain your flame in stormy conditions.”
“Longer than Johnny Storm, but only just,” said Skarla. “We had to alter things a bit so I was a little more stable than the first Super Skrull and that meant some tradeoffs.”
“Well, you create something fiery to get her to stop,” directed Storm, “I’m gonna make it rain to get her to turn around.”
“Got it.” Skarla made a beeline towards the shuttle.
“Your Majesty-!” yelped Veranke’s aide.
“I have eyes, Brilkus!” snarled Veranke as she pressed a button for the weapons system. The shuttle fired, but Skarla dodged. The weather then turned dark as storm clouds gathered.
“Mistress, we need to-!” urged Veranke’s aide.
“Engage teleporter!” ordered Veranke. “We’ll retrieve the shuttle later!” She and her aide then hopped onto the teleporter and vanished.
Skarla saw the flash of the teleporter. “Crapbaskets!” she swore. “Storm, there was a teleporter in that shuttle!”
“Bast’s sake!” grumbled Storm, using her husband’s preferred swear. “All right, we’ll need to get this shuttle away from here!”
“Better warn the harbor!” replied Skarla. “I’ll take care of getting it away from the city!” Storm sped off and did so, then Skarla stretched her arms and wrapped around the shuttle’s wings, then used her immense strength to throw the shuttle towards the harbor. She then created an invisible force field slide so the shuttle could land on something and slide down it away from any boats or ships out there. The shuttle splashed into the water outside the harbor. Skarla and Storm then made their way back to Avengers’ Tower.
“Okay, so a teleporter was used,” muttered the Doctor when she got the news as she worked on a device.
“We’ll have to search the city for those two,” muttered Amy.
“Doctor, we’re shape-shifters!” reminded Skarla.
“Exactly, which is why I’m thinking of drawing them here,” replied the Doctor. “There we go! Finished!” The machine she made was flight capable.
“…You’ve reinvented the drone, Doctor,” remarked William.
“It’s a short-term drone, meant to be a target. And, hopefully, with good audio projection AND reception.” The Doctor pulled out her sonic screwdriver, switched the drone on with it, and the drone took off.
“Your Majesty, a drone!” called Veranke’s aide.
“What in the name of-?” muttered Veranke.
“Doctor calling Veranke!” came the Doctor’s voice, loud and clear. “Doctor calling Veranke! You have two options available to you. Either retrieve your shuttle and leave this planet or come to Avengers’ Tower to settle this and be forced to leave this planet. Speak aloud which option you pick.”
“Foolish Doctor!” laughed Veranke. “I accept your invitation to Avengers’ Tower! And I shall take care of you first before I deal with Trakis! The Time Lords will finally be extinct, as it is written!” She shot the drone. “Brilkus, with me!” she ordered her aide.