Tag: avengers

“I see what’s going on here!” chuckled the Doctor. “The Kree/Skrull/Shi’ar Mutual Defense Compact of the 29^th century has kept you on the back foot in your war against the Sontarans!”

“That is a lie!” argued the Rutan.

“Is it?” replied the Doctor. “You still haven’t regained the space you once controlled in this time and it won’t change for about eight centuries. The only advance you’ve made in that span of time is you don’t need to dissect someone to shapeshift into them.”

“The Glorious Rutan Army is making a series of strategic withdrawals to selected strong points!”

“Oh, sweet Chaos!” complained Amy. “It was unimpressive when the Daleks said it, it’s REALLY unimpressive when YOU say it!”

“Your mockery will cease, mammal,” retorted the Rutan, “when the mighty Rutan Battle Fleet finally occupies this planet!”

“One, if what the Doctor said is true, why did you dissect those poor people?” asked William. “Two, why invade us? We’re pretty obscure in the 21^st century.”

“Your planet is obscure, yes,” answered the Rutan, “but its strategic position is sound. We shall use it as a launch point for our glorious final assault against the Sontaran dogs!”

“I need this planet!” snarled Veranke. “If you set up a power base here, the Sontarans will bombard the planet with photonic missiles and reduce it to a lifeless rock and the prophecy-!”

“Was abandoned by our time,” interrupted the Rutan.

“…You lie!”

“It doesn’t,” replied the Doctor. “You Skrulls and the Kree end your war in a stalemate, then two centuries later, you both enter into a mutual defense compact, then you add the Shi’ar to that compact three centuries after that. As for you, Rutan, Veranke’s objections to the Sontarans-.”

“Are as unimportant as what the Sontarans will do,” said the Rutan. “It will serve the cause of our inevitable final victory.”

“And what about its people?”

“Primitive bipeds with no value. The planets of this solar system have been scouted, even the dwarf planet. Earth still suits our purpose in this time.” The Doctor’s face darkened.

“I can understand your military purposes,” she continued, “but why murder helpless humans?”

“It is necessary,” replied the Rutan. “Veranke’s return to the fleet will end all negotiations with the Rutan Host. She must die and Earth will pay the price.”

“But she’s alive,” chuckled the Doctor. “You killed two innocent people to try and get close to her, but she’s now in a position to do something to ensure she survives! You failed!”

“Failed?! The records device accurately tells us when she would leave Earth! We have plenty of time, even with you interfering, Doctor!”

“You don’t know that, you know,” remarked the Doctor. “The records device only says that she left Earth and ended negotiations, it doesn’t give an exact date and time.” Electricity crackled as the Rutan became annoyed.

“That is unimportant!” it insisted. “As long as Veranke is here, our mission will be accomplished!”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, oyster face,” chuckled the Doctor, “but I have a few ideas on how to send you back.”

“You cannot enact them, Doctor! We are NOT entering your time ship!”

“You can’t be certain that my plans involve my TARDIS.”

“What else could your plans involve, Time Lord?” asked the Rutan.

“Well, if you’ll follow us, we’ll show you!” laughed the Doctor as she rushed to the commons room balcony door. Her friends and Veranke followed and the Rutan, driven by their mission to kill Veranke and the Doctor, followed them. When they got outside, the Doctor’s group blinked as they saw strange machinery along the exterior frame of the door.

“What’s that?” asked Storm.

“Time cage,” replied the Doctor. “Works like so!” The instant the Rutan entered the threshold, the Doctor switched the machine on and projected an energy field, trapping the Rutan in it. “There we go!” said the Doctor. “With that, you should be frozen there until I can send you back!”

“You will regret this, Doctor!” retorted the Rutan. “The Records Device has already been mass produced in our time! Every Rutan is equipped with one! You send us back to the 29^th century and another will take our place! For the glory of our race! Long live the RutaaAARRGGHHAAAAAAAAA!” The Rutan’s head was starting to shrivel!

“What?!” yelped the Doctor. “That’s not what I-!” She whirled around to see Veranke altering the settings. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” She leapt at Veranke and tried to get her away from the controls!

“GET OFF ME, TIME LORD!” shouted Veranke. By the time the Doctor got Veranke away from the controls, the Rutan had crumbled into dust. The Doctor switched the machine off too little, too late. Her attempt at mercy was subverted. She stormed up to Veranke.

“That wasn’t necessary!” she snarled.

“Don’t even try to be squeamish about death, Doctor,” retorted Veranke. “It follows you everywhere.”

“Not by choice, I can assure you,” hissed the Doctor. “I try to PREVENT death, even the deaths of my enemies!”

“That must be why the Daleks still plague the universe.”

“Do you really think that the universe will be a better place if we all just resorted to killing our enemies or enslaving them?!” The Doctor was using the entire balcony as her stage. “Just look at these people!” She pointed to her friends. “They were met with cruelty and heard that a person needs to be cruel to survive a cruel world and do you know what they said?! They said ‘No’! They know, deep down, that continuing to keep the world cruel won’t make things better! William treated Trakis even though, not ten minutes before that, I intercepted a shot meant for him! Amy Rose, I’m sure she’s tempted to cave Eggman’s head in, but she always holds her hammer blows back! Lurra Rus, she sent anti-Imperial articles around her old galaxy and it caused the fall of the Empire! Storm, she’s saving lives despite a good chunk of those live hating her for having the X Gene! Black Panther, he’s the king of a nation that, despite its technological advances, is poo-poo’d because his nation is part of a continent that everyone else associates with primitives! Despite ALL those setbacks, they STILL choose kindness because they’re sick of a cruel world and want to see a kind one take its place! And they do it by CONVINCING people that they’re right! By winning hearts and minds! They don’t force people to adopt their views and they sure as hell don’t point a gun to their heads and tell them to believe in what they say for their own good or they’d kill them! …Veranke, all I ask is that you see things from their perspective.” Veranke simply looked at the Doctor with a cold look.

“…You held my gaze during your speech, I’ll grant you that,” the Skrull Queen finally said. “You looked me directly in the eyes, so I know you believe you’re telling me the truth. So let me give you that same courtesy as I tell you now; every single letter you strung together and vocalized…was nothing more than sheer idiocy!” The Doctor’s friends stepped back. “You said so yourself, they hate that the world is cruel and are trying to change it. Yet you’re telling me that they’re NOT forcing others to accept their view? Don’t be ridiculous. If they had the power to change the world, they would exercise that power by any means necessary! If they’re just giving speeches, or simply gathering for protests…then they’re NOT exercising that power, otherwise the current regime they hate would be destroyed! They’d solve the problem all at once!”

“You really think us chipping away at the problem ISN’T solving it in the long run?” asked Storm. “I’m sorry, but the Doctor’s speech reaffirmed that what I’m doing IS right.”

“That speech did the same for me,” said William.

“And me,” declared Amy.

“And me!” called Lurra Rus.

“Veranke, from one monarch to another,” said the Black Panther, “protests and speeches are the first step to change, but they’re damn big ones.”

“…Wakanda is doomed to failure if its king believes that,” scoffed Veranke. “Now, I’m going back to my shuttle, I’m going to expose Rutan treachery, and I’m going to make sure we never make the mistake of allying with the Kree or the Shi’ar!”

“Back to the shuttle and exposing Rutan treachery, I won’t interfere with,” replied the Doctor. “However…you DO know too much about the future, so…” The Doctor then pressed her pointer and ring fingers against Veranke’s forehead. Veranke gasped, then collapsed. “…That was desperate of me,” muttered the Doctor.

“What did you do?” asked Lurra Rus.

“I removed the bits about future events from her mind,” explained the Doctor. “Although, I went too hard and put her into mental shock. Non fatal and she won’t remember the Rutan having come from the 29^th century. But we need to put her and her aide’s body onto that shuttle.” She then scanned Veranke’s belongings. “Aha! Teleport recall!”

By the time Veranke’s shuttle left, bringing Veranke and her aide’s body back to the Skrull fleet, the Doctor was returning to the TARDIS. She saw Amy and Lurra Rus waiting by the door while William and Skarla were sitting on the couch. “…You aren’t coming?” the Doctor asked William.

“I still have work to do here,” replied William. “People to heal, protests to organize, speeches to make for a better future, a girlfriend to look after here,” he patted Skarla’s hand lovingly, prompting a giggle from the Super Skrull. “I’m swamped. Oh, Storm and the Black Panther have already departed for Wakanda. They wanted me to tell you ‘Good luck’.”

“…I wish the same for them and you, William, Skarla,” said the Doctor as she smiled.

“Doctor,” said Lurra Rus, “I’ve been hearing a lot about Mobius from Amy and I decided…I want to live there. In Amy’s time.” The Doctor smiled widely.

“She’ll be returning home the long way around,” she advised.

“Oh, I already told her,” replied Amy.

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” asked the Doctor as she opened the TARDIS doors. She and her team then entered the box and shut the doors behind them. The TARDIS then flashed its lamp and its mighty, ancient engines made their familiar “VWORP VWORP” noise as it faded away.

“Goodbye, Doctor!” called William. “And good luck again!”

“She’s chosen to come here,” said the Doctor.

“We’d best be ready,” replied Storm. The Black Panther took a radio in his hands.

“All non-combative personnel are to evacuate to the shelters,” he ordered. “Those with combat training will stay. Remember the SHIELD training concerning Skrulls.”

“In the meantime,” said the Doctor, “I’d better get to work on a Skrull detector.”

“The humans are trying to raise their defenses, your Majesty,” remarked Veranke’s aide. “I personally think it’s cute that they think they can do anything to you.”

“I can see where you say that,” replied Veranke. “Let’s split up and play with these animals.” The two Skrulls split up and disguised themselves.

The aide went to one part of the tower, disguised as a soldier and rushing to do something to “aid in the Tower’s defenses”. He then rounded a corner and spotted a soldier kneeling over something. Judging from his research, the aide correctly deduced that he was a Private. He looked at his own clothes and saw the symbol for a sergeant. “PRIVATE!” he shouted. “What in Sam Hill do you think you’re doing, lazing about?!” The Private didn’t answer. “HEY! I’M TALKING TO YOU, SOLDIER! OR ARE YOU DEA-!?” He stopped when he saw a piece of tech that WASN’T human. “…What in the Hell?” he muttered. “Private, where did you get that?” asked the aide. The Private then stepped aside…to reveal a body. The face looked like the Private’s but the body was opened and had evidence of dissection! The aide gasped. “…Y-You’re not-!” he gasped.

“We saw you change your face,” replied the fake Private as he strode forward. The aide leveled his gun at the fake Private.

“I’m warning you, back-!” The fake Private grabbed the gun and summoned electricity to destroy it! The aide turned back into his usual Skrull shape in fear, then the fake Private glowed green as he grabbed the aide and delivered a fatal bio-electric shock to his system.

While that was going on, Veranke slipped through the ranks before arriving at the commons room. The only one there was the Doctor. Veranke gasped when she saw the TARDIS. “…Now do you believe William?” asked the Doctor. “He said that you didn’t believe that I was a Time Lord.”

“…You aren’t fooled?” asked Veranke.

“Well, when you’ve got an early warning system that can analyze the proteins in Skrull cells that allow you to change your face, you’re not easily taken by surprise,” replied the Doctor.

“…I had no idea YOU had survived, Doctor,” said Veranke as she assumed her real shape. “I was under the impression that all the Time Lords were extinct.”

“Oh, we came back,” answered the Doctor.

“You should have stayed extinct.” Veranke drew her gun.

“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you!” The Doctor pointed her sonic screwdriver at the gun.

“That’s a sonic probe!”

“Screwdriver,” corrected the Doctor.

“It’s harmless,” replied Veranke.

“You’re right, doesn’t maim, doesn’t kill, but I’ll tell you what it DOES do. …It is VERY good…at opening doors!” The Doctor switched the screwdriver on, filling the air with its usual buzz. The doors unlocked and Storm, the Black Panther, Skarla, and Amy leapt out.

“…How?” asked Veranke as she pointed at Skarla. “How did your colony learn the secrets of creating a Super Skrull?!”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?!” Skarla stretched herself and wrapped around Veranke. Veranke struggled, then sighed.

“Can’t believe I’m doing this!” she grumbled. She then bit Skarla.

“OW!” shouted Skarla.

“Skarla, back away!” called Storm. Skarla unwrapped herself from Veranke and Storm directed lightning to strike the Skrull Queen. Unfortunately, Veranke had activated an anti-lightning shield. “…Of course,” grumbled Storm. The Black Panther then struck, swiping his claws at Veranke. He scored a blow and cut Veranke’s cheek.

“ARGH! Backwards primitive!” snarled Veranke as she pointed her gun at the Black Panther. Amy then knocked the gun out of the Skrull Queen’s hands with her hammer.

As the fight went on, William and Lurra Rus finished the last of the civilian staff evacuations. “Right! That’s the last of them!” he said.

“Now, to make sure…erm, William,” said Lurra Rus.

“Yeah?”

“Do you recognize that technology?” Lurra Rus pointed at the alien device. William arched an eyebrow.

“It…doesn’t look like any of the tech I’ve seen or became familiar with,” he said.

“It’s unfamiliar to me too,” remarked Lurra Rus. The two cautiously approached it and carefully put a finger to it. …Nothing happened. “Maybe the Doctor can figure it out,” said Lurra Rus.

“She’s probably busy with Veranke,” replied William. “And we need to check for her aaaaaaaaiiiiiiiyYIKES!” William fell flat on his rear when he saw two dissected corpses! Lurra Rus gagged in disgust. William steeled himself and made his way to the corpses. He examined the human one. “…Private Anderson…” he said. “…I fixed his broken leg a year ago!” He then looked at the other. “…That must have been Veranke’s aide!”

“What could have done this?!” shuddered Lurra Rus.

“Intruders,” said a voice. William and Lurra Rus turned…to see Veranke’s aide standing there. William looked back and forth between the corpse and the aide standing there.

“…You dissected them…” he gulped, “…to understand their biology…and make the disguise believable in terms of appearance!”

“We are specially trained in the metamorphosis techniques,” replied the aide’s double. “You know too much!”

“And so will the Doctor!” warned Lurra Rus.

“Doctor?” asked the double.

“A Time Lord,” explained William as he grabbed the device.

“DROP THE RECORDS DEVICE!” ordered the double as electricity crackled in its fingers.

“RUN!” shouted William. He and Lurra Rus ran with the double in hot pursuit.

Veranke was tiring out with the non-stop attacks. These people had obviously planned this! Her opponents stopped their attack as Veranke collapsed, panting all the while. The Skrull Queen glared at her attackers. “Now, Queen Veranke,” said the Doctor, “do you yield?”

“Where the hell is Brilkus?!” demanded Veranke. “He was supposed to regroup with me! What did you do to him, Time Lord?!”

“You mean your aide?” asked the Doctor. “I haven’t seen him.” William and Lurra Rus then burst into the commons room, locking the door behind them.

“Doctor, we’ve got trouble!” warned William. The Doctor’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the device in his hands.

“William, where did you get that?” she asked.

“From the murderer of a human and Veranke’s aide!” replied Lurra Rus.

“What?! Brilkus is dead?! Explain yourselves!” demanded Veranke.

“First off,” panted William, “let me stress that neither Lurra Rus nor I were responsible for your aide’s death! It looks like we have another shape-shifter here! They dissected the poor victims with surgical precision and given my own skills with a scalpel, I KNOW surgical precision when I see it! They must have used what they learned about our respective biology to craft their disguise!”

“That’s exactly how they would do it,” muttered the Doctor.

“You know this shape-shifter, Doctor?” asked Lurra Rus.

“Yes, and judging by the records device here, I’d say the shape-shifter is the person from the 29^th century we’re looking for. It looks like they were prepared to take advantage of the Grouping. Odd, really, considering they don’t use time travel.”

“What is this creature, then, Doctor?” asked Veranke.

“A creature I met before, on the island of Fang-.” The Doctor didn’t get to finish her sentence as the door exploded via an electric blast. The double of Veranke’s aide then stormed into the room. It scanned the room visually, then spotted the TARDIS.

“…Who owns that craft?” it demanded.

“I do,” replied the Doctor. “And you need to stop!”

“Why should we obey you, Doctor?” asked the double. “After all, you killed us at Fang Rock. Many times there, in fact. The scout and the mothership.”

“You lot were planning to set up a power base here on Earth to try and beat the Sontarans back!” replied the Doctor. “And those are the only deaths I’m responsible for!”

“We are one, Doctor. To harm one is to harm all.”

“Nevertheless, I plead necessity for my friends’ survival! Look, why don’t you shed that disguise? It’s rather hot in here.”

“…Very well, we will grant you that request,” replied the double. It then glowed green and seemed to shrink into something vaguely ball-shaped before tentacles and a single black orb for an eye appeared. The glow died and the creature now looked like a giant, green jellyfish.

“William, Amy, Lurra Rus, you all met the Sontarans before,” said the Doctor, “now meet their sworn enemy, the Rutans!”

“Hang on a second, I’m engaged in negotiations with the Rutan Host!” protested Veranke. “What is the meaning of this?!”

“We are not from this time, Veranke,” replied the Rutan. “We came here to prevent you from delaying our victory over the Sontaran Rabble!”

“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 29^th 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 29^th 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.

New York City, the Big Apple, a center for all sorts of weirdness, including the stuff happening today. On this particular day, a jet flew over the city to a tower with a stylized A near the roof. The less average joe would think the jet was a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, decommissioned in 1998. The more detail-oriented would say that it was bigger than a Blackbird, the cockpit had ruby-quartz windows, and had VTOL characteristics. The jet hovered over the tower and slowly descended to a courtyard behind the building, having been given clearance to land. The courtyard opened to reveal an underground hangar. Inside the hangar, a man in a bodysuit modeled after a panther with yellow eyes stood by. The jet switched its engines off once it had fully touched down and a landing ramp extended from the jet. A strange gaggle of people then came out. Leading the group was a woman with African features and naturally white hair and blue eyes. Following behind and pulling a stretcher with a woman on it was a small woman with pink fur and quills wearing a black dress. The woman on the stretcher had African features, but her hair was dark brown and wavy. Following the stretcher was a blue-skinned woman in a purple dress with two head tails. Bringing up the rear was an African-American man in a doctor’s coat. In order, the people that were walking were Ororo Munroe AKA Storm of the X-Men, Amy Rose the Hedgehog from the future planet of Mobius, Lurra Rus the Twi’lek, and Dr. William Davies. “Welcome!” called the man in the panther suit. This was King T’Challa of Wakanda, the Black Panther and Storm’s husband. Storm’s face lit up when she saw him.

“My King!” she said.

“Ah, my lovely Queen!” replied the Black Panther. The two embraced, then the Black Panther dismissed his mask enough to give Storm a proper kiss. “You look radiant today as you always do!” praised Black Panther.

“How fares our home?” asked Storm.

“It’s still a wonderful land!”

“Well, it has a wonderful King!” Storm then sighed. “But it’s not homesickness that brings me here today, my love.”

“I had received your message, Ororo,” said the Black Panther. “Where is this doctor I heard about?”

“Do you mean me or the alien woman on the stretcher?” asked William.

“Dr. William Davies, yes?” asked the Black Panther. “I heard much about you. You saved my aide’s life during that disastrous conference.”

“Just did my job that day, your Majesty,” replied William. “Just like I need to do now. Amy, Lurra, this way, please.” William then led Amy and Lurra Rus out of the hangar.

“…Never a dull moment, hm?” sighed the Black Panther.

“Where’s everyone else?” asked Storm.

“They’re on a mission in space with the Fantastic Four,” replied the Black Panther. “Galactus was getting too close to breaking his promise to leave us alone.”

“Of course,” sighed Storm. “And right when we may need all the Avengers.”

“Why?” asked the Black Panther.

“Veranke’s on her way here,” explained Storm. “There’s a Skrull in the Xavier Institute that has their equivalent of the X Gene. He’s a Skrull version of Colossus.”

“And Veranke’s as anti-mutant as any human,” sighed the Black Panther. He then noticed the blue box being carried out. “Erm, does that belong to the alien doctor you talked about?”

“Her friends call it the TARDIS,” replied Storm. “Apparently it’s her home. William asked for it to be brought to the commons room.”

“Right then,” declared the Black Panther.

In the medical ward, William checked his previous readings on the woman and compared them to the current ones. “…Yep, looks like that energy I first detected,” he said to Amy and Lurra Rus, “was regeneration energy. She must have recently regenerated when we first met.”

“How do we treat her?” asked Lurra Rus.

“She’s gonna be a bit out of sorts,” replied William. “Her mind will be still busy reconstructing itself and restoring memories. When she wakes up, she’ll be looking for the TARDIS key. So we need to keep it out of her reach until the regeneration’s fully taken hold.” William checked the woman’s shoes. “…Nope, not this time.”

“Hey! Look!” called Amy as she pulled a key out of the woman’s coat pocket.

“Perfect! I’ll hold onto it until she’s fully regenerated!” said William as he took the key and put it in his pants pocket.

Lightyears from Earth, but rapidly closing in, a shuttle made its way to our planet. Inside was a green skinned woman with a bumpy chin, black hair, and pointy ears. This was Veranke, Queen of the shape-shifting Skrulls and the empire they commanded. Her aide, a male Skrull, checked the readings. “We’re thirty minutes from Earth, your Majesty.”

“Good. I look forward to tearing the Time Lord apart so they can’t interfere with the mutant’s execution!” cackled Veranke. “We’ll be the rulers of the universe as it is written!”

“As it is written,” replied the aide.

10 minutes later, the woman woke up. She groaned as she rubbed her temples. She then looked up at the ceiling, a vague memory surfacing in her still-scattered brain. “…Right, neither cruel nor cowardly. …Hope and mercy. …The mission? …Oh, yes, my mission! …Then…I’M the Doctor?” The woman sat up and saw a mirror. Her hazel eyes widened. “…Oof, that nose!” she muttered. “Way too small. …Although, the eyebrows…yes, I can communicate on Delphon!” She then looked at her clothes. “…Right, I need new clothes, then some answers.” She then got up and started looking around. “…Oddly familiar,” she muttered. She wandered Avengers’ Tower until she arrived at the commons room. “…VERY familiar,” she muttered. She then saw it. In the center of the room was a blue London 1960’s Police Box. “…Now THAT I know!” she said as she smiled. Yes, she knew it very well! It was a TARDIS in disguise! The Doctor’s TARDIS! HER TARDIS! Now she remembered! “Yes! YES! I am…the DOCTOR!” With that, her memories of her past lives came back! The Doctor…checked over her wardrobe. She was still wearing her previous incarnation’s clothes! “…Key!” she said. “Where’s my-?!”

“Looking for this?” asked a voice. The Doctor turned to see William, Amy, and Lurra Rus standing there. It took her a minute to remember who was who.

“…Dr. Davies!” said the Doctor as she shook William’s hand. “You’ve got an adopted mutant brother! And Amy Rose! You’re still going back to Mobius the long way around! And Lurra Rus! You wanted a new home outside your galaxy and time!”

“She remembers!” cheered Amy.

“Well, come on, you two!” the Doctor said to Amy and Lurra Rus. “William, you want to come again?”

“I don’t think so, Doctor,” replied William. “You’re forgetting who’s coming.”

“Yeah, that Veranke lady!” recalled Amy.

“Oh, yeah,” recalled the Doctor. “The Skrull Queen. Wants to kill Trakis for being a mutant.”

“On top of that, I don’t know your full mental condition,” said William. “So until I do…” he held up the TARDIS key, “this is staying in my pocket.”

“…I see,” mused the Doctor. “…Well, if that’s how it is, that’s how it is. Hug?”

“…Sure, why not?” chuckled William. The two hugged.

“…I missed you, you know?” said the Doctor.

“I missed you too,” replied William. “I gotta show you my girlfriend!”

“Girlfriend?” asked the Doctor.

“Yeah! Her name’s Skarla!” The Doctor’s eyes widened.

“S-Skarla?” she asked. She then stammered.

“What, you going Porky Pig on me? Yeah, Skarla the Super Skrull. Has the powers of the Fantastic Four!”

“Hang on, William,” said Amy, “you’re dating a SKRULL?!”

“She’s from the Skrull Colony here on Earth,” assured William. “She’s all right.”

“You’re sure about this?” asked Lurra Rus.

“Positive,” said William. Just then, a woman walked in. “Ah! There she is!”

“William, you weren’t at your post and-,” replied the woman. She then saw the TARDIS. “…O-Oh, I see you’re entertaining guests.”

“Skarla, it’s all right, the Doctor and her friends aren’t gonna bite,” soothed William. The woman rolled her eyes, then she turned back into her Skrull form.

“You just HAD to blab my origins to a Time Lord!” she hissed. “We’re not exactly friends!”

“That may change,” replied the Doctor. “How do you do? I’m the Doctor.”

“William told me about his travels with you, Doctor,” said Skarla.

“Ah, good! Then perhaps you’d like to step inside?” The Doctor fished out her key! William goggled and patted his pockets, then groaned.

“You sneaky-!” he grumbled.

“Wait a minute, Doctor, you can’t just fly away like that!” yelped Amy.

“Who’s flying?” asked the Doctor. “These clothes don’t fit me and I’m sure the TARDIS redecorated.” She fit the key into the lock and pushed the door open. “…Oh, you HAVE redecorated!” she whispered when she looked inside. “…I really like it!” She looked back outside. “Come on! Come see what the TARDIS looks like now!” She entered the TARDIS.

“…Well, if she’s offering,” sighed Lurra Rus.

“There’s no way it’s dimensionally transcendental as you said, William!” scoffed Skarla.

“Oh no?” asked William. “Come and see.” He pulled Skarla inside.

“Hey, don’t you 21^st century Earth guys remember ‘Ladies First’?!” called Amy as she and Lurra Rus entered. Everyone gasped in amazement.