Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

The Monster’s Ghosts: Part 4

The Controller led the Doctor and her group to a cave as Godzilla fought Ghost Godzilla. Inside it were piles of alien technology. The Doctor gasped softly. “This was all I could salvage from my ship,” explained the Controller.

“It’s…perfect!” whispered the Doctor.

“Doctor, what are you planning?” asked Egon.

“What good will a Class A hyperdrive,” quizzed Tysar, “and a subspace relay do for us?”

“Dr. Spengler,” said the Doctor, “I need the plans for your proton packs and the traps.”

“Hold on, Doc,” interjected Peter, “that’s proprietary secrets!”

“Peter, it’s the end of the world we’re talking about here!” protested Winston.

“He’s right,” said Egon as he pulled papers out of his pocket and handed them to the Doctor. She checked them over quickly, then looked around at the technology on display.

“…Right,” she declared. “Dr. Spengler, you, Tysar, Sty, and the Controller help me out in getting the parts we need for a little lash-up. Winston, Milla, you keep watch over Ben and Albedo’s fight. Peter, you tell us how Godzilla’s faring against Ghost Godzilla. …I’m going to need to do some calculations in my head. …Actually, have you got paper, Controller?”

“We Xiliens,” bragged the Controller, “are a paperless organization, Time Lord. We pride ourselves on-.”

“Oh, do shut up! Now’s not the time!” hissed the Doctor. She then grabbed the Controller’s arm, rolled up the sleeve, and wrote some numbers down on her skin.

“HEY!” protested the Controller.

“Once I set up the equations,” directed the Doctor, “feed these figures into the computer. They’ll work out what power we can achieve and whether or not it will be enough to ensnare Ghost Godzilla.”

“And if it isn’t?” asked Sty.

“The technology here can also be used for boosting equipment,” replied the Doctor. Everyone then got to work.


Outside, Humungousaur rolled out of the way of Negative Ultimate Humungousaur’s shots. “Give it up, Tennyson!” bellowed Negative Ultimate Humungousaur. “You cannot defeat me!”

“Where have I heard THAT before?” snarked Humungousaur. He then looked at the gauntlet. “All right, Azmuth,” he said, “how do YOU see what Ultimate Humungousaur looks like?” He then slapped on the gauntlet’s Omnitrix symbol. A light then surrounded Humungousaur. His mouth became a beak, a pair of long horns grew above his eyes and a horn grew on his nose, and stegosaur-plates grew from his back as he grew to Negative Ultimate Humungousaur’s size. He then grew a frill behind his head and his tail gained the same spikes one would see on a Stegosaurus. The light faded as he gained a toga. “ULTIMATE HUMUNGOUSAUR!” he shouted. Negative Ultimate Humungousaur laughed.

“So Azmuth thinks that the Vaxasaurians will evolve into an herbivorous species through millions of years of best-case scenarios?!” he mocked. “How about calling that form Pathetic Humungousaur?!” He opened fire and the missiles raced towards Ultimate Humungousaur…then the horn on Ultimate Humungousaur’s nose glowed and he raised his hands. The missiles stopped in their tracks! Negative Ultimate Humungousaur gasped and Ultimate Humungousaur smiled at the development.

“The Moothronians are vegetarians,” said Ultimate Humungousaur, “and look how war-like THEY are!” He thrust his hands forward and the missiles changed direction and hit Negative Ultimate Humungousaur. The worse-case evolved Vaxasaurian stumbled and shook his head, then Ultimate Humungousaur rushed at him, the impact feeling like a freight train to Negative Ultimate Humungousaur. Ultimate Humungousaur didn’t stop, his path plowed Negative Ultimate Humungousaur into several rock formations. Ultimate Humungousaur then jerked his head to the side, tossing Negative Ultimate Humungousaur aside. Negative Ultimate Humungousaur groaned and the Ultimatrix beeped for a bit until he turned back into Albedo. Albedo was unconscious for a while. Ultimate Humungousaur towered over Albedo, then he performed a victory dance. “Oh yeah!” he said. “It’s scary being this good!” The earth then shook, snapping Ultimate Humungousaur out of his celebration and reminding him of the two Godzillas fighting. “Oh, yeah. Giant lizard fight.” He picked up Albedo and rushed to the cave as the Doctor and her friends were working on the machine. “Hey, Doc!” he called. “You might wanna hurry! Godzilla’s not looking too hot!”

“Nearly there!” replied the Doctor. She then screwed in one last panel. “Right! Help me out here!” Everyone that was conscious helped the Doctor move some sort of oversized version of the Ghostbusters’ neutrino wands attached to a large control mechanism. Milla and Ultimate Humungousaur used their psychic powers to help set the machine up outside.

“Feeding the figures in,” called the Controller as she typed in what the Doctor wrote on her arm.

“Powering up,” reported the Doctor.

“…We DO need the boosters!” called Egon.

“Feeding in the boosters,” said Tysar as she and Sty flicked switches.

“Power levels achieved!” reported Ray. “We gotta aim that thing now!”

“Not while Godzilla’s still there!” argued Tysar.

“Let me try,” said Ultimate Humungousaur. “HEY! BIG GUY! GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Godzilla shoved Ghost Godzilla back and looked down to see Ultimate Humungousaur gesturing for him to get out of the way. Godzilla dove out of the way as the device was aimed at Ghost Godzilla.

“NOW!” called the Doctor. The Ghostbusters activated the machine and a large proton stream erupted from the device’s barrel, ensnaring the spectral Godzilla. The ghostly kaiju thrashed, then the device deployed another machine that opened and bathed Ghost Godzilla in light. The Ghostbusters switched off the stream and Ghost Godzilla was sucked into the new machine! The new machine closed once Ghost Godzilla was inside it and it sparked a bit…then beeped. No one dared to breathe for a few seconds, then the Doctor checked the readings. She smiled.

“Ghost Godzilla is safely contained,” she reported. “UNIT and the Plumbers will transport the giant trap to the Firehouse of this time.” The Ghostbusters then grinned at one another.

“Giant in the box!” began Peter.

“Ready to go!” continued Ray.

“We be fast,” Egon went on.

“And he be slow!” finished Winston. The Omnitrix then beeped and Ultimate Humungousaur shrank back into Humungousaur, then shrank back into Ben.

“So that’s it?” asked Ben.

“That’s it, kiddo!” replied Peter. “We’re the best, we’re the bad, we’re the beautiful, we’re the only…Ghostbusters!”

“I presume this means-?” asked the Controller. Sty then decked the Xilien with enough force to knock her unconscious.

“…I don’t think that was entirely necessary,” remarked the Doctor.

“No, but it WAS therapeutic,” replied Sty.


UNIT and the Plumbers arrived and transported the trap to the Firehouse in New York and arrested Albedo and the Xilien Controller. Meanwhile, Dr. Sato wished everyone farewell. “Come visit us!” she said.

“We will, though the order might be confusing,” remarked the Doctor as she bundled the Ghostbusters and Milla into the TARDIS. Her companions followed suit and the Doctor shut the doors, then pulled the take-off lever. “Now,” she said to the Ghostbusters and the Psychonaut, “the TARDIS has already calculated where you all came from, so we’ll start with the Ghostbusters first.”

“Are you sure I can’t get any lotto numbers?” asked Peter.

“NO!” insisted his coworkers.

“Just saying, we could-.” Ray, Egon, and Winston clapped their hands over his mouth. Peter protested at that, but all that came out were mumbles.

“Doctor, send us back, please!” begged Egon.

“Farewell!” called the Doctor as she sent the Ghostbusters back. Once they faded, Milla sighed in relief.

“I think it’s time I returned home, Darling,” she said.

“Agreed,” said the Doctor. “Raz still needs your guidance.” She then set the coordinates for Milla. “All right! Adios!”

“Adios!” replied Milla as she faded. Soon, it was just the Doctor, Tysar, and Sty.

“…Is this your life?” Sty asked the Doctor.

“As of now, yes,” replied the Doctor.

“How have you not broken from the stress?!”

“…I have,” answered the Doctor. “That’s a story for another time, though. Put simply, my fourteenth incarnation is getting some much needed therapy with Donna Noble and her family.”

“…Even you need mental help?” asked Tysar.

“Stress accumulates and can break even Time Lords,” replied the Doctor. “For a while, I kept running away, not daring to look back because it would kill me. …But now, I’m in a much better place, mentally. If the Grouping happened earlier, I would have certainly died from all the mental agony. …Speaking of which, in all that chaos, we didn’t check to see where Omega vanished to.” The Doctor ran a few readings, then spotted something. “Aha! Got it! …Inkadia!”

“Again?” asked Tysar.

“Not the Squid Kid place!” protested Sty. “That whole thing, running from the Judoon, was embarrassing for the Empire!”

“I’m sorry to say that we have to go there. We’ve got three people from three different time-zones making a beeline there.” The Doctor then set course for Inkadia, home of the Inklings and the Octarians.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

The Monster’s Ghosts: Part 3

While Albedo was running, the Doctor, the Ghostbusters, and Tysar arrived at the northern shores of the island. Right now, two women were dueling. One of them was using energy blasts, the other was using psi blasts! The Doctor blinked in surprise. “The Xilien Controller?!” she yelped.

“Everyone, get ba-!” yelped the other woman. The Xilien Controller then fired an energy blast and knocked the other woman out.

“…Thank you for that opportunity, Time Lord,” she said. “You ARE the same Time Lord that foiled my original plans on this island, yes?”

“That’s me, all right,” confirmed the Doctor. “Now, perhaps an explanation as to how you survived is in order.”

“Oh?” asked the Controller.

“If I recall correctly, Godzilla fired his atomic breath at your ship and Gigan.”

“Your recollection is correct. Gigan and my ship fell into the ocean, killing the rest of my crew, but I survived. I managed to swim to the surface and, when I recovered, it was clear I was marooned on Monster Island with no functional or effective means of communication. In time, I practiced what my family usually did in secret, sorcery! After a while, my mother arrived, explaining that she was not really a Xilien, but an Anodite.”

“An Anodite? Ben’s part Anodite if I recall.”

“After more practice with her, I regained my Xilien form…and destroyed her!”

“Your own mother?!” asked the Doctor, horrified.

“She lied about her heritage! Her power is now mine! …Still, the sorcery she taught me was enough to plot my revenge. You, William, Godzilla, you will all know what true terror is!”

“So where does Albedo fit into this?” asked the Doctor.

“The former Galvan needed facilities to complete his Ultimatrix, I gave him the means to do so,” replied the Controller. “He should be dealing with that Tennyson character.”

“And the woman you’re fighting?”

“She just appeared out of nowhere, so I retaliated. …I just hadn’t expected psychic powers.”

“Yeah, well, that’s the Psychonauts for you,” remarked the Doctor. The Controller then realized something and looked to see that the woman had vanished!

“HEY!” she protested. Then she got hit by another psi-blast. The woman had recovered and was revealed to be an attractive woman with long hair and a slight psychedelic outfit.

“There ARE more constructive ways to vent your frustrations, darling,” said the woman, her Brazilian accent coming out.

“Agent Milla Vodello,” greeted the Doctor. “The Mental Minx!”

“And you’re the same Doctor that helped take care of a psychic emergency at the Motherlobe, yes?” asked Milla. “Razputin told me you changed your face after he came back from that adventure of his.”

“Doctor, there’s something wrong here!” warned Egon. “The PKE readings are spiking bad!”

“Controller, what did you do?!” demanded the Doctor.

“Did you know that those that died on this island chain during this planet’s second world war believe that the rest of the human race forgot the horrors of that conflict?” smirked the Controller. “It wasn’t that hard to convince them to go on a rampage.” Pale, cold lights then swirled around the place!


Back in his cave, Godzilla slowly woke up. He stretched as he stood up…then realized something was off. …He then heard something. It was outside his cave and…the trees were bending as if a wind was making them bend that way. Godzilla poked his head out of the cave and noticed that the wind was gathering in one spot. He followed the direction the trees were bending in and saw a pale blue light on the island’s northern shore. The light source was as big as him…and seemed to be dying down as it formed a shape. The light fully faded…to reveal that the shape was his own! Upon closer inspection, Godzilla noticed that his doppelganger had white claws and white orbs for eyes. The other Godzilla had an unsettling aura and the eyes enhanced it. Still, unsettling did not mean Godzilla was afraid. He gave off a warning roar for his twin to leave his island. The other Godzilla responded by slamming his tail in the water, causing a wave! Godzilla adopted a defensive stance and roared a challenge roar. His opponent’s acceptance roar was the same as his own!


“A few people around the planet called him Ghost Godzilla,” explained the Xilien Controller.

“You utter fool!” protested the Doctor. “You robbed those people of their rest! Imprisoned them in the shape of a living warning AGAINST atomic warfare!”

“If they want out, they’ll have to obey-!” The wave Ghost Godzilla generated knocked everyone further inland. Milla was clutching her head in pain.

“Such…such rage!” she strained. “…Focused…on…enslaver!”

“What?!” protested the Controller. “IMPOSSIBLE! I RAISED GHOST GODZILLA! HE WILL OBEY ME!”

“You intellectual dwarf!” came a child’s voice as Albedo arrived. “This was NOT what you promised! Even I wouldn’t fiddle with necromancy on that scale! …Then again, I don’t fiddle around with magic anyways.”

“Looks like all the noise attracted the real Godzilla,” remarked Ray. Just then, Sty, Dr. Sato, and Wildmutt arrived. Wildmutt recoiled in terror before slapping the Omnitrix dial and returning to Ben.

“What just happened?!” protested Ben.

“Why not ask the maker of our predicament?!” replied Albedo as he pointed at the Xilien Controller.

“Ungrateful-! I made that thing and-!” she spluttered.

“…The amateur necromancer’s gone bye-bye, Egon,” said Peter. “What’s the plan?”

“Sorry, Peter,” replied Egon. “I’m terrified beyond the capacity of rational thought.”

“You’ve faced Gozer before,” remarked the Doctor.

“We had to cross the streams from our proton packs,” replied Winston.

“…Remind me how bad that is, Dr. Spengler,” said the Doctor.

“Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously, and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light,” explained Egon.

“…You just described total protonic reversal,” remarked the Doctor.

“…That sounds bad,” said Ben.

“It’s worse than it sounds,” replied the Doctor. “But we need a big enough stream to contain Ghost Godzilla!”

“…Fine, fine, you can use the tech I scavenged,” sighed the Controller.

“What?! You promised that technology to me!” protested Albedo.

“Only so you could get the parts needed to rebuild your Ultimatrix,” replied the Controller. “Now the excess can be used to make whatever machine the Doctor has planned.”

“That intellectual dwarf couldn’t hold a candle to my own intellect!”

“…This is the first time anyone’s actually accused me of being stupid,” remarked the Doctor. “In any event, needs of the many and all that. Controller, where is this tech stashed?”

“This way!” replied the Controller. She was about to lead the way, but a red light blocked her way and a Vaxasaurian with red eyes glowered over them.

“Albedo, use your head!” complained Peter.

“I AM using my head, you backwards simian!” snarled Albedo as Negative Humungousaur. “That technology is mine!”

“Albedo, come on!” complained Ben as his hand activated the selection dial hologram. “We’ve got a world to save!”

“No! For once, you are going to die along with this miserable planet!” replied Negative Humungousaur. Ben then slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix and became…

“HUMUNGOUSAUR!” he shouted. And he was.

“Pah!” scoffed Negative Humungousaur. “We’ve been here before!” He slapped on the Ultimatrix dial and grew, his hands growing claws, a metal helmet forming around his head, and an ankylosaur style backside appearing. He was now Negative Ultimate Humungousaur. “And last time I checked, a Vaxasaurian can’t compete against an Ultimate Vaxasaurian!” His hands then turned into four-barreled missile launchers! He fired, prompting Humungousaur to grow to his maximum height and shield the others with his own body. It was still painful for him, though.

“We REALLY don’t have time for this!” snarled the Controller. She then pulled a device out of her coat’s pocket. It looked like some sort of green gauntlet with the Omnitrix symbol on the back of the hand. The glove’s symbol then fired a beam of light at the Omnitrix symbol on Humungousaur’s chest.

“Hey! What-?!” spluttered Humungousaur.

“Synchronization complete,” said the Omnitrix. The light then switched off abruptly and the glove changed in size to fit Humungousaur’s left hand.

“Okay, so it’s meant to be linked to the Omnitrix,” muttered the Vaxasaurian. “What is it?”

“Device is officially classified as an Evolutionary Gauntlet,” replied the Omnitrix. “It will subject the DNA to evolutionary scenarios to change the form into what the species will perhaps look like in millions of years.”

“Hang on, you’re saying that this glove here is an Ultimatrix?” asked Humungousaur. “I thought Azmuth said that the evolutionary function is just begging for trouble.”

“Wait, Ben,” said the Doctor, “didn’t you say that Albedo’s version puts the DNA through millions of years of worse-case scenarios?” Humungousaur blinked, then his eyes widened.

“Then this thing…does the opposite?” he asked. He then put it on his left hand. “How do I use this thing anyways?”

“You won’t get the chance!” called Negative Ultimate Humungousaur as he opened fire again.

“RUN!” shouted Humungousaur. The Doctor and her group didn’t need telling twice.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

The Monster’s Ghosts: Part 2

Everyone gathered at the Monster Island base and things were explained. “Not exactly how I wanted to time travel,” remarked Peter.

“This is incredible!” said Ray. “The amount of energy needed to send someone through time-!”

“It’s dangerous,” replied Egon. “Doctor, you said we’re in the future?”

“2026,” confirmed the Doctor.

“Then how can we be assured that we won’t accidentally bring something from this time back to the 1980’s?”

“The fact that you’re asking says you know already but just want confirmation. Let’s just say the Time Lords have set a law upon themselves that history cannot be changed in any way, otherwise it would cause damage to all of time and space.”

“…So no asking for lottery numbers,” grumbled Peter.

“Peter, that thing’s a scam anyways,” retorted Winston.

“Now, obviously you gentlemen need to go back to your proper time,” said the Doctor, “but we need to find the last Grouping Victim. They came from 2012, I know that much.”

“Then we gotta find them before Albedo does,” said Ben. The Doctor blinked.

“Who’s Albedo?” she asked.

“That’s what I wanted to tell you,” explained Dr. Sato. “Galvan Mark II told us that one of its renegades, a former Galvan scientist called Albedo, escaped incarceration and rebuilt something called the Ultimatrix.”

“Ultimatrix?” asked the Doctor. “Sounds like a knock-off of the Omnitrix.”

“The Omnitrix is a myth,” scoffed Sty.

“No it’s not,” said Ben as he showed off his watch. “This thing is why I was Ghostfreak when the Ghostbusters were shooting at me.” Sty blinked in surprise. “And to answer your question, Doctor, it is. Though Albedo had an Omnitrix originally.”

“Um…AN Omnitrix?” asked the Doctor. “I thought Azmuth only made one and you had the prototype for a while until Azmuth gave you the final product.”

“He did, but Albedo made another one, not realizing my own DNA would be the default.”

“Well, that makes sense. I mean, you ARE the bearer of the Omnitrix.”

“So what happened to make Albedo become an enemy of yours?” asked Tysar.

“Well, after he made his Omnitrix, he became stuck looking like me,” replied Ben. “We fought, then he turned into an albino version of me and lost his Omnitrix, then he created something called the Ultimatrix that could turn someone into aliens, but also had an evolutionary function, putting the DNA through millions of years of worst-case scenario situations.”

“That’s just begging for trouble,” said the Doctor. “Besides, if you want to make an evolutionary device, why not put the DNA through millions of years of best-case scenarios?”

“Well, I took the Ultimatrix and the transformations just felt wrong,” continued Ben, “so he was still stuck looking like me. After that, he made a device that let him change his DNA at will, but my DNA was still the default. Then he created a stabilizer and added an evolutionary function to that, effectively recreating the Ultimatrix. After a fight, he then was stuck looking like an albino 11-year-old me, then he lost his Ultimatrix and was stuck looking like me forever.”

“So he blames you for his condition?” guessed the Doctor.

“And he’s probably trying to rebuild the Ultimatrix,” replied Ben.

“Right, well, we’d better take care of him before-.” The alarms interrupted the Doctor’s declaration. “What the-?!”

“Intruder alert!” realized Dr. Sato. “Someone just broke into the base!”

“Can we get footage?!” asked Ben.

“One second!” Dr. Sato then pulled up the security footage to see a blue-furred primate with four arms, two legs, three fingers on each hand, three toes on each foot, two pairs of black orbs for eyes with a red tint, and a tail with stripes near the tip. Ben and the Doctor saw the red Omnitrix symbol.

“That must be Albedo,” guessed the Doctor. “But why an Arachnachimp?”

“Probably needs Spidermonkey’s agility to dodge the soldiers,” replied Ben.

“…Spidermonkey’s a bit on the nose, don’t you think?” snarked the Doctor.

“Oh, come on! Spidermonkey fits!”

“Activating Arachnachimp Transformation,” said the Omnitrix.

“What?! WAIT! I DIDN’T SAY TO TURN ME INTO-!” protested Ben. Too late. A green light surrounded him and he became an Arachnachimp. “…Spidermonkey!” grumbled Ben, now Spidermonkey. Unlike Albedo, his eyes and Omnitrix stayed green.

“Well, looks like we have the means to counter Albedo,” said Sty.

“Hold on a minute,” said Egon as he checked his PKE meter. “There’s something hot going on at the island’s northern shores, just on the other side of Godzilla’s cave.”

“Drat, two problems at once,” muttered the Doctor. “Right, we’ll just need to split up. Sty, you’re with Ben and Dr. Sato. Tysar, you go with me and the Ghostbusters to the north.”

“What if it’s big?” asked Spidermonkey.

“Godzilla’s not far,” replied the Doctor. “He’ll be grumpy, but he’ll help. Besides, you know Albedo better than any of us.”

“All right, fine,” muttered Spidermonkey.

“…And there’s one other thing,” said the Doctor. She then whispered in Spidermonkey’s ear. A look of horror flashed across his face as he looked at Sty. Sty guessed why Spidermonkey had that look.

“…I promise, Doctor,” said Spidermonkey. He then turned to Sty and Dr. Sato. “Come on, you two! Let’s go stop Albedo!”


Albedo as Negative Spidermonkey was causing chaos for the soldiers shooting at him. He fired webs from his tail and decked the soldiers with all four of his arms. “HEY! ALBEDO!” came another voice.

“Tennyson!” snarled Negative Spidermonkey. He turned to see Spidermonkey in a tree branch. “So, the unworthy bearer of the Omnitrix challenges me!”

“I dunno,” replied Spidermonkey, “I’m still doing a better job with this thing than you! How did you escape, anyways?”

“Believe me, I had numerous plans of escape. …Though I was forced to resort to plan 27, faking illness.”

“No way would Azmuth fall for that!”

“For all his genius,” retorted Negative Spidermonkey, “he doesn’t fully study the life-forms he’s catalogued. Taking advantage of his ignorance of pre-adolescent human biology was a simple matter!”

“Then how did you get here?” asked Spidermonkey. “I mean, if you’re supposed to be stuck as a kid-.”

“I took the parts needed to make an Omnitrix,” replied Negative Spidermonkey. “But I needed transport off, as I’m sure your feeble mind can guess! I managed to sneak into a Plumber cargo container and hide there for the trip to Earth. Not exactly ideal as I risked making noise when getting food, but it served its purpose. I then found my way from the Plumber base to this island as I heard there was Xilien tech to be scavenged!”

“…And a Xilien is…?” asked Spidermonkey.

“Be patient. You may see my Xilien partner. …Or maybe not! In any event, the isolation was all I needed to recreate the Ultimatrix! Once I kill you, I’ll take your Omnitrix and cure myself of the disgusting human form!” Negative Spidermonkey then slapped the symbol on his chest and he grew into a six-armed gorilla with pale-purple skin, yellow spider fangs on each side of his mouth, a split in the middle of the lower jaw, and three pairs of red eyes.

“…And that’s Ultimate Spidermonkey,” remarked Spidermonkey. “Hey, as long as you’re still willing to talk, how about you answer one question.”

“Speak!” replied Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey.

“How come, when I had the original Ultimatrix, my Ultimate Spidermonkey was just a normal gorilla with retractable spider legs at the waist?!” Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey blinked.

“…That WOULD explain a flaw in the simulations of the original Ultimatrix,” he muttered.

“HA! Azmuth was right! The original Ultimatrix was just pathetic workmanship! No wonder it always felt weird every time I went Ultimate!” Spidermonkey’s cackling made Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey snarl.

“It was still a vast improvement over the original!” he declared. “As my own is superior to the current Omnitrix!” His lower jaw split and he spat out a giant web. Spidermonkey grabbed Sty and Dr. Sato and leapt into the branches.

“One spider against another, then!” declared Sty as she activated her PAK’s legs.

“Wait, you guys have robot legs?!” yelped Spidermonkey. Sty leapt of the branch and landed on Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey’s back.

“GET OFF!” roared Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey. Sty leapt off and Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey tried to swat her. Spidermonkey took the opportunity to shoot webbing from his tail right at Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey’s face. Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey swung wildly and tried to get the beastly stuff out of his eyes. Spidermonkey and Sty stood their ground as Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey slapped the Ultimatrix Dial on his chest. He then turned into an orange-furred creature with no eyes, three gills on each side of its neck, and long, thick arms.

“And now he’s Wildmutt,” said Spidermonkey.

“I’d hardly call a Vulpimancer a mutt,” remarked Sty. Spidermonkey slapped the Omnitrix Dial on his chest and turned into Wildmutt. Negative Wildmutt grinned before he slapped the Ultimatrix Dial. His fur then turned maroon, he grew a long tail with a stinger, dorsal spikes on his back, and sharper claws.

“So what did you call this form, Tennyson? Ultimate Wildmutt?” asked Negative Ultimate Wildmutt. Wildmutt snarled and growled. “…You’re lucky I could still understand you, at least, as much as I can understand human babble!” Negative Ultimate Wildmutt roared and charged at Wildmutt. The two wrestled and tried to bite one another. Sty tried to sneak around, but Negative Ultimate Wildmutt caught her and slammed her to the ground. “Did you seriously try to sneak up on me, you pathetic Irken?! My senses are heightened and-!” Wildmutt then slammed his fist right into the Ultimatrix Dial and turned Negative Ultimate Wildmutt back into Albedo. Albedo shook his head to clear the dizziness. “…Clearly, I need to reinforce the interface!” he grumbled. He then took off into the forest!

“HEY! COME BACK HERE!” shouted Sty. Wildmutt charged after Albedo. “Come on!” Sty grabbed Dr. Sato and followed Ben.

“H-How can-?!” stammered Dr. Sato.

“Vulpimancers perceive the world through their other senses,” explained Sty, “giving them a 360-degree awareness of their surroundings. Ben’s on the trail now!”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

The Monster’s Ghosts: Part 1

The Doctor continued checking readings on the console. “…Five? …Wait a minute, it’s two chronal surges…ah! One of them took a group of four! 19…88! And the other…2012! Perfect! Now to find out who they all are! …And see if there’s a trace of Omega to follow.”

“Doctor?” asked Tysar as she and Sty entered the console room. Sty looked like she was still processing how big the TARDIS could get.

“Just double-checking the readings,” replied the Doctor. She then caught sight of a reading. “…Sty, your PAK…”

“What about it?” asked Sty.

“You’ve limited it to defensive capabilities, I see,” explained the Doctor.

“Guns didn’t exactly save Irk, so what’s the point?” asked Sty.

“…Fair enough. I personally don’t like guns anyway. In any event, we’re about to approach our destination.”


In a secluded part of an island, an 11-year-old boy was working on something. This boy…did not have the usual human features. Oh, he had the human body type, but he had natural eyebags, red eyes, white hair, and pale skin. This wasn’t a normal albino human. No, this was someone with actual sinister intentions. He slipped a device onto the back of his hand, then turned a black dial with a red hourglass on the device which activated a hologram of another life-form. He turned the dial again and another life-form appeared. The boy grinned. “Excellent!” he praised himself. “After being stuck on Galvan for so long, I’ve finally recreated the Omnitrix! No, once again, I’ve exceeded it!” The boy then looked himself over. “…Now if only it would restore me to my proper Galvan state-!”

“Trouble?” asked a voice. It sounded like a woman with vengeance on her mind and barely trying to hide it.

“…Something like that,” replied the boy. “My Ultimatrix is still synced to the original Omnitrix. The Galvan form is still a part of a mere playlist.”

“Then you’re back at square one,” said the woman as she stepped out of the shadows, revealing her burn scars underneath her leather trenchcoat.

“Only until I get my hands on the Omnitrix,” corrected the boy. “I can use it to reset my Ultimatrix, then the human form will be a mere playlist setting.”

“You speak as though that’s a simple task. Admit it, Albedo, we NEED each other.” The boy, the former Galvan scientist known as Albedo, growled.

“No, Controller! I need the Omnitrix, and you Xiliens WANT it. I suffered from an alliance like that with Vilgax before!”

“I DON’T want the Omnitrix!” snarled the woman, the Xilien Controller. “What use would that be in a war?! I want Monster Zero One’s head on a pike! And I want revenge on that Doctor!”

“…Doctor?” asked Albedo.

“A Time Lord. Travels in a blue box!” explained the Xilien Controller. Albedo then recalled something. …Back on Galvan, Azmuth DID work with someone that traveled in a blue box. He then pondered if Time Lord DNA was on any active playlists. He checked his Ultimatrix…and saw it!

“So that doctor IS a Time Lord!” he chuckled to himself. “It seems our interests align, Controller.”


In an extinct volcano, there was a huge cave. In that cave resides a huge creature. The creature is usually described as a bipedal lizard with charcoal gray scales, oak-leaf dorsal plates, and sharp teeth and talons. Right now…the creature was sleeping. His snores shook the cave. Then…he heard a noise. The creature slowly opened his amber eyes to see something fade into existence. It was a blue box…and oddly familiar. The doors of the box opened and out stepped the Doctor, Tysar, and Sty. “Let’s see, we’ll need to start wiiiiiHELLO!” The Doctor’s sudden word change was caused by looking directly at the creature. Tysar and Sty goggled as well.

“…Kaiju?!” gulped Sty. “Earth has kaiju?!”

“A wide variety of them,” confirmed the Doctor, “with this one being the King of the Monsters. His name is Godzilla.” Godzilla rumbled as he fixed his gaze on the Doctor. She seemed…yes, he remembered seeing her before. Her and that shape-shifter helped him against his clone. “Listen, Godzilla,” said the Doctor, “we’re still dealing with a mess that involves people or kaiju being taken out of time-zones and into new ones. If we could…exit your cave and investigate?” Godzilla stared a bit more…then grunted in annoyance as he shut his eyes. He was getting way too old for that nonsense. Better to let the ants deal with the mess THEY started. At least he wasn’t getting blamed for it. “You’re a diamond!” thanked the Doctor. “Come along, you two.” The group then left the cave.


Sty waited until they were a good distance away before she started shaking in terror with Tysar. “That was too close!” yelped the Irken.

“Those teeth were huge!” gulped Tysar.

“Could have landed in a better place,” muttered the Doctor. “Then again, he didn’t stomp on us. Now, let’s see…”

“Doctor?!” asked a voice. The group turned around to see a Japanese woman approaching them.

“Dr. Sato!” greeted the Doctor. “Tysar, Sty, meet Dr. Sato of UNIT’s Japanese branch!”

“Unit…unit,” muttered Sty. “…Oh! Tallest Zim once talked about UNIT when the Zygons pretty much ordered both him and Tallest Tak to wait until later to fight the Civil War!”

“That’s it!” confirmed the Doctor.

“…Don’t tell me you were there for it.”

“I played a small part in it. Now, onto business! Dr. Sato, I’m afraid my arrival on Monster Island isn’t a social call. Remember how I explained how SpaceGodzilla arrived in 2025?”

“A chronal surge, yes?” asked Dr. Sato.

“Bingo! Well, there’s two centered around here. One of them took a group from the 80’s, the other took someone from 2012.”

“We’ll take a look. Right now, though, perhaps you can settle a mystery. You see, we had recently encountered a man calling himself Omega and-.” By then, the Doctor seized Dr. Sato by the shoulders.

“Where and when did he go?!” she demanded.

“Doctor?!” gulped Dr. Sato.

“Dr. Sato, this is the same Omega that took UNIT HQ to an anti-matter universe in 1973! You must have read reports about that from the Brigadier!”

“Th-The reports said that Omega used to be a Time Lord!” confirmed Sato.

“And now he IS one again! Now where and when did he go?!”

“W-We don’t know! He left something behind that we can’t translate!”

“Lovely. We’d better find the chronal surge victims, get them home, then maybe the TARDIS translator circuits can puzzle it out! Is there still a presence on Monster Island?”

“Yes, but-!”

“Have them move my TARDIS from Godzilla’s cave! We landed there in pursuit of-!” A stream of orange light with a ribbon of blue light then whizzed over everyone’s heads, interrupting the Doctor. “…A proton stream?” asked the Doctor.

“GET AWAY FROM ME! I’M NOT A GHOST!” wailed a raspy voice. …A figure that sure looked like a ghost then flew out of the trees. It had the stereotypical ghost tail, green chains coiled around it and clasped at the neck and wrists, and a single green eye. The Doctor then saw the black circle with a green hourglass design on it.

“Ben?!” yelped the Doctor. The creature then moved its eye along one of the black lines.

“Doctor?!” rasped the ghost-creature.

“Ben Tennyson! It IS you!” cheered the Doctor. “Okay, a few questions. What are you doing here? Why are you an Ectonurite? Who was that firing that proton-?”

“OVER THERE!” called a voice. Four men then burst from the bushes, carrying large packs with rifle-like wands attached to the packs via a hose.

“Ask a silly question, get a silly answer,” sighed the Doctor. She then got between the men and the ghost creature, Ben 10 as Ghostfreak. “Gentlemen, gentlemen, believe it or not, that’s not a ghost you’re shooting at.”

“Lady, get out of the way!” protested the de-facto leader of the group.

“Dr. Venkman, if you and your fellow Ghostbusters will lower your weapons, I can explain everything.”

“The Ghostbusters?” asked Ghostfreak. “You mean they were real?”

“As real as the Omnitrix, Ben,” replied the Doctor.

“Hold on a minute, Peter,” said the Ghostbuster with the glasses. “I think there’s more to this situation than we realize.”

“Egon, you can’t be serious!” protested the one black man of the group.

“Hopefully, he’s as serious as back when we had to fight Gurast and the Sontarans, Winston,” remarked the Doctor. All four Ghostbusters goggled.

“…Madame, how do you know about that?” asked the last fellow.

“Doctor, you met these gentlemen before?” asked Sty.

“Doctor?” asked Peter Venkman. “Lady that travels through time in a blue box?”

“That same blue box is over in that cave,” replied the Doctor as she pointed out Godzilla’s cave, “but I wouldn’t go in there, not with a kaiju trying to nap in there.”

“But…HOW?!” asked Venkman.

“Remember that I’ve got alien biology?” asked the Doctor.

“I’m afraid it’s true,” said Ghostfreak. “Time Lords tend to change their face when they’re about to die.” Just then, the Omnitrix symbol beeped. “Oh, NOW you time out on me!” grumbled Ghostfreak. A green light surrounded him and he turned back into a young man with brown hair, green eyes, and what looked like a smartwatch on his left wrist. “Real funny there!” grumbled the man, Ben Tennyson. The last fellow, Ray Stanz, pulled out a PKE meter.

“Guys, the ectoplasmic reading is gone!” he said to the Ghostbusters.

“Like I was telling you, not a ghost! An alien form this watch gives me!” snapped Ben.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

Ten-fold Strength: Part 4

Godzilla stumbled as SpaceGodzilla fired his corona beam. It was bad enough when he had to fight other monsters, but a monster that could recover from wounds as quickly as him or could anticipate and counter his movements? That was just too much! …And now there was something glowing green on that little island! …Wait, was it growing to his size? The green light then formed a humanoid shape, then faded to reveal a red and white person with glowing green eyes and a large fin protruding from his head and forearms. “WAY BIG!” it announced. Godzilla got into a defensive stance. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” yelped Way Big. “Friendly! Friendly!” …This one wasn’t planning on fighting Godzilla. “Look, big guy, I don’t know if you fully understand, but we can’t kill the knock-off of you!” Godzilla snorted. No one tells him what to do! “Godzilla, please listen! He’s not supposed to die here in this time! This is the same SpaceGodzilla that was killed thirty years ago! He was plucked from that time and brought here! I can send him back so he can die in his proper time, but if you kill him now, there will be massive temporal consequences that I can’t begin to understand! Time will have no meaning! You will cease to exist if you kill him now!” Godzilla didn’t fully understand everything and was about to attack Way Big…then he took a sniff. …SpaceGodzilla’s scent should have been familiar, not exactly the same. …Way Big was right, this knock-off should have been dead already. He would have smelled resurrection on SpaceGodzilla. This…was the exact same one! Godzilla understood preserving history to an extent. He snorted, then assumed an aggressive stance, giving off a challenge roar to SpaceGodzilla. “…Gonna assume you understand, big guy,” said Way Big. He then faced SpaceGodzilla. “You heard the king! Round two, baby!” SpaceGodzilla roared in defiance!


“…I can’t help but see Ultraman in Ben right now,” remarked Dr. Sato as she saw Godzilla and Way Big charge at SpaceGodzilla.

“Ben’s heard the Ultraman jokes already,” replied Julie.

“The To’kustar race DID come before your Ultraman franchise,” said the Doctor.

“So what now?” asked Lurra Rus.

“You think Ben convinced Godzilla not to kill SpaceGodzilla?” quizzed Amy.

“I really hope so,” muttered the Doctor. The ground shook as the fight went on.

“I think the bigger question is can we avoid getting underfoot?!” yelped Dr. Sato.

“Ben seems to be keeping the fight contained in the bay,” remarked the Doctor. “I think we’d best take advantage of the hills San Francisco is built on.”

“We’d have to get there first!” protested Dr. Sato. “Look at the size of the waves!” The fight WAS causing massive waves to hit the shore, waves big enough to send boats and ships away from land.

“Damn!” grumbled the Doctor. Dr. Sato then looked up.

“…Ben’s not hitting the crystals on SpaceGodzilla’s shoulders!” she called.

“All right, I need a megaphone!” called the Doctor.


Back at the fight, Godzilla’s fire was deflected by SpaceGodzilla’s crystalline shield. The space monster had a wicked smirk as he lumbered towards Godzilla…then he felt something tug at his tail! He looked back to see Way Big holding onto his tail. “GOTCHA!” laughed Way Big. SpaceGodzilla snorted, then thrashed his tail. Way Big kept ahold of SpaceGodzilla’s tail, but he DID end up dunked underwater. He was forced to release the tail and come up for air. “Okay, that wasn’t my brightest idea!” spluttered Way Big.

“BEN!” called the Doctor’s voice over a megaphone. Way Big looked down to see the Doctor, her friends, and Julie waving. The Doctor then spoke into the megaphone. “THE SHOULDER CRYSTALS! DESTROY THE SHOULDER CRYSTALS!”

“The shoulder-?” Way Big looked to see that SpaceGodzilla was focusing on Godzilla now. Godzilla had remembered SpaceGodzilla’s weakness and was trying to destroy the shoulder crystals, but SpaceGodzilla’s crystalline shield was keeping him safe. …Way Big then noticed a flaw! “…Should have watched your back!” Way Big crossed his arms into an X formation and fired a stream of green energy at SpaceGodzilla’s right shoulder crystal. The crystal shattered and caused SpaceGodzilla to roar in pain, making him lose his concentration on his shield. Godzilla saw his chance and fired a Spiral Red Atomic burst at the remaining shoulder crystal. The crystal shattered and SpaceGodzilla was in immense pain. The King of the Monsters and Way Big then wailed on SpaceGodzilla. They focused on just knocking him out. Eventually, they backed off and SpaceGodzilla wobbled before collapsing in San Francisco Bay! His eyes were shut.

“YES!” cheered everyone else. Godzilla gave a roar of victory.

“Perfect! Now, with that out of the way-!” said Way Big. He then looked down at the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. “Omnitrix, Clockwork!” The green light then returned and surrounded him. He then shrunk down until he was a round creature made of brass clockwork with a green window on his chest showing off his internal mechanisms. He had a clock key on his round head and spoke with an exaggerated Swiss accent. “CLOCKWORK!” The key on his head then spun. “…Aha! So you came from that point in time. Well, history says you have to be there. …However, it DOES say you have to be in that condition the Grouping found you in.” Clockwork then fired a time ray from his chest. “Don’t worry, this will just send you back to the past with no memory of being in the future.” SpaceGodzilla then faded away in green light. “There we go! And so, the day is saved, thanks to Ben Te…wait a minute!” Clockwork then recalled that there was nothing but water under the fading SpaceGodzilla and he was pretty sure that would hurt a Chronosapien! “…Omnitrix, Ripjaws! Ripjaws! RIPJAWS!”


Back on Alcatraz, everyone saw a ball of fire where Clockwork was! “BEN!” called Julie. The ball of fire then dipped near the water when SpaceGodzilla fully returned to his time, then shot up and arced towards Alcatraz. “…Oh, no, wait,” realized Julie. The ball of fire landed near the group and dissipated to reveal a humanoid made of rocks and fire with the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. Julie couldn’t resist. “HEATBLAST!” she shouted.

“…Is Azmuth still here?” asked Heatblast.

“Right here, Ben,” replied Azmuth as he hopped off the Doctor’s shoulder. “Shouldn’t you have turned into your Piscciss Volaan form? You know, that transformation you call Ripjaws?”

“That’s what I told the Omnitrix to turn me into!” snapped Heatblast.

“I think the DNA database in the Omnitrix needs a recheck,” remarked the Doctor. “That’s a Pyronite, not a Piscciss Volaan.”

“Yeah, well this stupid watch has a sense of humor!” retorted Heatblast. “I thought Master Control avoids that whole turning-me-into-the-wrong-alien thing! Azmuth, if you’re the smartest guy in nine galaxies-!”

“FIVE galaxies,” corrected the Doctor and Azmuth.

“And haven’t you humans developed voice command technology recently?” asked Azmuth. “A Chronosapien’s accent DOES impede things a bit when you’re panicked and the voice recognition software hasn’t been trained!”

“…Not to detract from the lesson Ben’s learning here,” said the Doctor, “but the Time Lords’ voice recognition software avoids that. Perhaps I can-?”

“No, thank you, Doctor,” replied Azmuth. “I’ll figure it out myself.”


As the group talked, Godzilla simply stomped off towards deeper waters and prepared to dive. What he didn’t know was that Dr. Animo was watching him. “That’s it, little Kaiju!” cackled the mad doctor. “Once my Transmodulator hits you, you’ll be under my direct-!”

“Hey!” called Amy’s voice. Dr. Animo turned to see her standing there with her hands on her hips while Lurra Rus stood behind her.

“No,” said Lurra Rus as she held up a component Dr. Animo recognized. It was the power transfer circuit for his Transmodulator.

“…Ladies, you two are no fun!” grumbled Dr. Animo as he held his hands up in surrender.


Everyone returned to the mainland as Godzilla went under the water and cruised back to Monster Island. Dr. Animo was put into a prison transport truck, muttering about stupid sapient hedgehogs. The Doctor checked some readings on her sonic screwdriver and smiled. “That’s two chronal surges dealt with,” she said. “And this one was far more satisfactory than the previous!”

“So where are we off to now?” asked Amy as she, the Doctor, and Lurra Rus headed back to the TARDIS.

“Still figuring that out,” replied the Doctor.

“Doctor, you’re not leaving, surely!” protested Dr. Sato as she and Ben approached her. “There’s still so much to clean up!”

“And I’m sure UNIT and the Plumbers can do it splendidly,” answered the Doctor. “But the chronal surge that brought SpaceGodzilla to this time isn’t the only one. We need to mitigate this before other races take advantage of the Grouping.”

“…Well, if you’re sure,” sighed Dr. Sato.

“Oh, Ben, could Azmuth keep an eye on the Grouping?” asked the Doctor.

“Not really much he can do,” replied Ben. “He’s more interested in genetics, not temporal mechanics.”

“True, true,” agreed the Doctor. “Well, must dash.” She and her friends entered the TARDIS and it dematerialized, ready to get to the next chronal surge.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

Ten-fold Strength: Part 3

Standing over Alcatraz Island was SpaceGodzilla himself! He was similar to Godzilla himself in terms of physical appearance, but he had a red chest and stomach area, crystals in the shape of oak-leaf spines running down his back, a massive crystal on each shoulder, shorter arms than Godzilla, two fangs on each side of his mouth, and eyes that burned with a beastly intelligence. “Lovely!” grumbled the Doctor. “And Godzilla’s only two minutes out!”

“It looks like I have a bit of a pest problem to deal with!” cackled Dr. Animo.

“Call off SpaceGodzilla now!” demanded the Doctor.

“You know what ‘fat chance’ means, I presume?” asked Dr. Animo.

“Dr. Animo, if you don’t call him off, he’ll break free from your control!”

“Impossible! My Transmodulator is currently set to mental control! SpaceGodzilla is nothing more than an oversized animal!”

“Kaiju are more than just oversized animals! They’re creatures with an intelligence we don’t give enough credit for! …Come to think of it, that’s all animals in general.”

“Pah!” scoffed Dr. Animo. “I’ve heard that kind of talk before and if that were true, animals would resist my mental control!” That was when something very large breached the water. That large something…was Godzilla himself. He was standing in a fashion that the hurriedly evacuated Golden Gate Bridge was all that was separating Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla. “Perfect! Now, SpaceGodzilla, fire your corona beam! DESTROY GODZILLA!” SpaceGodzilla…didn’t fire a corona beam! He raised his hand and the Golden Gate Bridge wrapped around Godzilla! “What?! That’s not what I said at all! Your CORONA BEAM! You know, your horn laser attack?!” SpaceGodzilla then made crystals grow until they were almost to his height. “This is intolerable! I ORDER YOU TO DESTROY GODZILLA AT ONCE, YOU STUPID SPACE LI-!” Dr. Animo doubled over, clutching his head in pain! The Doctor’s natural telepathic abilities picked up on SpaceGodzilla’s thoughts.

“I take no orders from you!” he was saying in Dr. Animo’s head. “You ants should be bowing to me, your TRUE God!”

“SpaceGodzilla, you need to stop!” urged the Doctor through her own mind. That attracted SpaceGodzilla’s attention. He looked around. “Down here! The woman in the skirt waving!” SpaceGodzilla looked down to see the Doctor. “Hello! I’m the Doctor, a frequent visitor to this planet!”

“I can see that,” replied SpaceGodzilla. “Your mind is not a human one. This does not concern you, Doctor. Be gone!”

“I can’t do that!” replied the Doctor. “You’re in the wrong time! You need to-!”

“I will not be going back to my death! I read what Dr. Animo remembers of this time’s history! This Godzilla is nothing more than the child I imprisoned all those years ago!”

“SpaceGodzilla, as a champion of life, I understand the desire to stay alive, but I’m also a champion of time and-!”

“I care not about time! I am space! I am gravity! I shall devour everything!”

“Devour-?” The Doctor’s eyes went wide. “…The Apocalypse Element!”

“You’ve encountered me before?” asked SpaceGodzilla.

“If you detonate those crystals, the whole universe will be set alight!” the Doctor insisted.

“As it should!”

“Great, the Daleks’ most destructive and unstable weapon, and it’s a Kaiju!”

“I’ve molded it to my own ends!” The Doctor was about to interject when she heard the sound of metal being bent. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got history to rewrite!” said SpaceGodzilla. He ended the mental call and stomped towards Godzilla as the King of the Monsters unwrapped the Golden Gate Bridge from his body. His spines then lit up and he fired, but SpaceGodzilla created a crystalline shield in front of him and deflected the attack. He then swung his tail into Godzilla’s face, clubbing him and making him stumble. Godzilla snarled and leapt at SpaceGodzilla, but SpaceGodzilla held the King of the Monsters with his telekinesis.


Everything was happening at once. UNIT soldiers and Plumbers were scrambling to form SOME kind of defense. The Doctor grabbed a Plumber. “Where’s Ben?!” she demanded.

“Over there, fiddling with his watch!” replied the Plumber. The Doctor followed the Plumber’s finger and found Ben surrounded by Julie, Amy, and Lurra Rus.

“Mr. Tennyson, now is NOT the time to be updating your…your Apple Book or whatever the hell you people use for social media on this planet in this time!” protested Lurra Rus.

“I’m not!” argued Ben. “My stupid watch isn’t working! Really gotta grill Azmuth for this!”

“What’s going on?” asked the Doctor.

“I’m trying to select Way Big,” replied Ben, “but the Omnitrix isn’t even activating the selection dial!”

“Now, of all times?!” The Doctor pulled Ben’s wrist to her so she could examine the Omnitrix.

“HEY!” protested Ben. The Doctor checked out the Omnitrix, then she blinked.

“…Ben, I don’t think you’ve updated your watch recently,” she said.

“What do you mean?” asked Ben.

“There’re frequent messages from the new Galvan Homeworld and the planet of Primus about new updates to the Omnitrix. I think you’d better install them.”

“Is now really a good time?!” argued Ben. “I gotta turn into Way Big right now!”

“If I’m reading this right, I think you’ll be turning into Way Big whenever you want.”

“Huh?”

“Just start installing the updates.” Ben grumbled, but complied.

“Updates accepted and installing,” reported the Omnitrix. “Omnitrix will shut down and restart.”

“Please make it quick,” grumbled Ben.

“Okay, so how do we deal with SpaceGodzilla while Ben’s out of action?” asked Amy.

“The only one who can tell us is Dr. Sato,” replied the Doctor. “What was her condition when you last saw her?”

“Catatonic,” said Lurra Rus. “The local doctors are trying to snap her out of it.”

“Blast, and I really need her.” The Doctor thought a bit. “…It’s a bit risky, but it might snap her out of it. Where is she?”


Dr. Sato was sitting in a bed, just staring blankly at the wall ahead of her. The Doctor entered the room with guards outside. “…Dr. Sato?” asked the Doctor. Dr. Sato didn’t respond. “…Right then. Really would prefer asking permission for this.” The Doctor then took off her gloves and placed her fingertips on Dr. Sato’s temples. She probed the poor woman’s mind…and saw a little girl running scared from SpaceGodzilla. The year was 1995. Crystals were everywhere. The noise of the fight was deafening. “…That doesn’t make sense. Where’s MOEGURA?” muttered the Doctor.

“…M…Mogura?” mumbled Dr. Sato. An image of a mole appeared in her mind.

“…No, not the animal,” replied the Doctor. “The mech.” That was when an image of a giant robot being piloted by humans appeared. The robot had a drill nose and drill hands and could split into a flying vehicle and a land vehicle. “Yes, that’s it! One of humanity’s achievements!”

“…W…We…helped…him,” said Dr. Sato. “…We were…ants in that fight…but we helped Godzilla…defeat his clone!” Dr. Sato became more aware. “That mech was my favorite as a child! It…It drove away the monsters in my closet!” She then looked up. “…Doctor, what ARE you doing-?” The shaking coming from the giant monster slug-fest snapped her back to reality. “Oh no, they’re fighting!” she realized.

“And Dr. Animo lost control of SpaceGodzilla,” explained the Doctor. “This is the same SpaceGodzilla that you saw fall in 1995, so if Godzilla kills him-!”

“There’s a way to weaken SpaceGodzilla, it’s just convincing someone Like Godzilla not to kill SpaceGodzilla that’s the issue,” interrupted Dr. Sato. “For now, I can easily tell you that the crystals on SpaceGodzilla’s shoulders are the key. Destroy them and he’s weakened. Now, if we can get any mech to be deployed before SpaceGodzilla decides that San Franscisco is a perfect coastal buffet-!”

“Ben has an alien that’s as big as a Kaiju,” replied the Doctor, “but the Omnitrix is updating.”

“Are you serious?!”

“Hey, even something as advanced as the Omnitrix or my TARDIS needs software and firmware updates! …Speaking of which, come on! …Unless-.”

“I’m all right now, Doctor,” assured Dr. Sato. “Come on!”


The Doctor and Dr. Sato rushed up to Ben and his group as they took cover. “Come on!” complained Ben as the Omnitrix’s holographic interface displayed that dreaded loading circle.

“Is it still updating?” asked the Doctor.

“I can’t even engage voice commands!” replied Ben.

“Voice commands reestablished,” droned the Omnitrix.

“Perfect!” cheered Julie.

“Omnitrix, what are you installing?!” demanded Ben.

“Current updates include vocal commands for transformations, elimination of recharge cycle, unlocking of all aliens in Primus’ codon stream, improved conversational language database-.”

“Hold on, hold on. Omnitrix, did the recent update unlock Master Control? Like what happened to the prototype against the Highbreed?”

“Confirmed. Updates now fully completed.”

“Hang on, how did I prove-?!” At that moment, a tiny, gray, frog-like creature with tendrils on his chin appeared.

“Took you long enough to install the Master Control updates!” he grumbled.

“Azmuth!” gasped the Doctor. Azmuth looked at the Doctor.

“You must be the Time Lord that Ben scanned,” remarked Azmuth.

“I am,” replied the Doctor. “I’m called the Doctor and it’s a pleasure to meet the smartest being in five galaxies!” The Doctor was about to fangirl even more, but the Kaiju fight interrupted her squeeing.

“We’ve got bigger problems on our hands!” replied Ben. “Time to test this out! Omnitrix, Way Big!”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

Ten-fold Strength: Part 2

“Um, what was that?!” asked Lurra Rus.

“Ben was never THAT rude when he changed,” remarked Amy.

“You mean he changes into a new life-form frequently?”

“That’s thanks to the piece of Galvan technology on his wrist, the Omnitrix,” explained the Doctor. “And Appoplexians, Amy, are hard-wired for aggression and that aggression makes them a bit dim.”


As they talked, Rath was still punching the mutant frog. Dr. Animo had hopped off it and kept out of the way of the fight, seemingly unconcerned about the frog losing to Rath. Rath noticed this in his usual anger. “HEY! HEY! CAN’T YOU SEE THAT RATH’S BEATING UP YOUR FROG?!” he bellowed.

“And you presume that the frog is the only animal under my control?” asked Dr. Animo.

“Huh?” asked Rath. Then the ground shook again. This time, the tremors caught the Doctor’s attention.

“All right, what is it?” she asked. “Ants? Termites?”

“…Kaiju,” replied Dr. Animo with a wicked grin. Crystals then sprouted from the ground! “Specifically, a cosmic Kaiju from 1995!” Dr. Sato gasped as memories of her home of Fukuoka flooded her mind. She remembered three giants, two against one. One of the giants had crystals growing out of it and used the Fukuoka Tower as a power source!

“…S…Space…!” she whispered in terror.

“Dr. Sato?” asked the Doctor.

“…He’s back!” whimpered Dr. Sato.

“You lot have 24 hours to surrender San Francisco to me,” called Dr. Animo, “or my newest acquisition marches across the United States and destroys not only Washington D.C, but New York City as well!” He hopped back on his frog and made his escape.

“HEY! HEY!” called Rath. “RATH ISN’T DONE WITH YOU!”

“Ben, never mind him!” protested Amy. “We’ve got bigger problems!” Rath looked back to see Dr. Sato curling up in a ball. He then looked back at the escaping Dr. Animo…but his moral compass was still Ben’s. He slapped the Omnitrix symbol and returned to his true form as Ben and went to help Dr. Sato with Julie helping him.

“Come on, Dr. Sato,” he encouraged. “Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

“Safe?!” asked Dr. Sato. “Nowhere is safe now! Don’t you understand?! SPACEGODZILLA HAS RETURNED!”


“SpaceGodzilla?” asked Lurra Rus as she, Amy, and the Doctor were in a lab so the Doctor could study a fragment of the crystals that grew. “What manner of creature is that?”

“A clone,” replied the Doctor. “Specifically, the clone of the Kaiju that holds the title of King of the Monsters.”

“And what’s a Kaiju?” asked Amy.

“A giant animal that is fiercely intelligent and regards smaller life forms as we do with ants,” explained the Doctor. “This particular Kaiju is one of the most intelligent Kaiju around, with a head for strategy and tactics. He’s the result of the cells of the King of the Monsters somehow being mutated by radiation and space minerals and coming together to form his clone. The original King of the Monsters is called Godzilla by most of the world, his space clone is called SpaceGodzilla.”

“And, hopefully the last stupid question,” said Lurra Rus, “can Dr. Animo really control such a beast.”

“If you’re worried that it’s a stupid question, it’s generally not,” assured the Doctor. “Straight answer, not for any significant time. Kaiju brains CAN overcome mental control. The real question is how long Dr. Animo can control SpaceGodzilla.”

“And what kind of catastrophe would be unleashed when he inevitably loses control?” asked Amy.

“Questions none of us want answered. …I did some analysis of the crystals. It looks like the latent chronons surrounding them came from 1995.”

“So it was SpaceGodzilla that went through that chronal surge,” said Lurra Rus.

“But he was supposed to die in ’95,” continued the Doctor.

“…What year is this?” asked Amy.

“2025.”

“But if SpaceGodzilla fights the Godzilla of this time and dies-!” gulped Lurra Rus.

“It would exacerbate the Grouping,” confirmed the Doctor, “and unthread the Web of Time.”

“How do we get a giant monster to go back to its original time?” asked Amy.

“I don’t know,” replied the Doctor, hating that she had to say that.

“…Maybe…Maybe Ben can use Time Walker?” suggested Amy.

“It’s not as easy as that,” replied the Doctor. “Two Time Lords can’t put their heads together to fix this. We’d need the whole of Gallifrey at its height and Gallifrey isn’t there yet!” The Doctor’s eyes went wide. “…But that’s not the only time sensitive alien in the Omnitrix! He has Chronosapien DNA in that thing! And their temporal manipulation skills are on par with Gallifrey at its height! …But how to get a rampaging monster to stop or get another rampaging monster to not kill its rival? …Unless there’s a sufficiently titanic form in the Omnitrix. …I’ll need to speak with Ben on this one. Good thinking, Amy!” The Doctor headed off.

“…Don’t ask me why,” said Lurra Rus, “but seeing the Doctor come up with a plan way ahead of time somehow tickles my brain just right.”

“It does the same for me,” replied Amy. The two subconsciously held one another’s hand.


The Doctor found Ben waiting outside a room with Julie. “…How’s Dr. Sato?” she asked.

“She’s…well, SpaceGodzilla gave her PTSD, let’s put it that way,” said Julie.

“Then we need to get SpaceGodzilla back to his own time so she won’t see him again,” replied the Doctor.

“How do we do that?” asked Ben.

“With the help of your Chronosapien form,” answered the Doctor.

“Clockwork?” Ben then grinned. “Of course! He can track precisely when SpaceGodzilla came here and put him back in that exact time!”

“Exactly!” confirmed the Doctor.

“Then maybe Ben should be a little more careful with the Omnitrix during the inevitable fight,” chuckled Julie.

“Speaking of which, Ben, can you turn into something about 30 stories high?” asked the Doctor.

“Well, I DO have an alien called Way Big on this thing,” replied Ben.

“What kind of alien is Way Big?”

“…I sometimes have trouble with that.” Ben held the Omnitrix up to his mouth. “Omnitrix, remind me what race the transformation I call Way Big is called.”

“Transformation with the alias of Way Big,” replied a computerized version of Ben’s voice, “is the DNA sample of the To’kustar race.”

“To’kustar?” asked the Doctor. “That might actually be enough to stop SpaceGodzilla. I mean, it won’t kill him, but we need to send him back alive so he can face his proper death at the hands of Godzilla in that time.”

“I’m not naturally a killer anyways,” said Ben.

“And that’s good,” replied the Doctor, “but Godzilla is.”

“You think present-day Godzilla’s gonna be attracted by the fight?” asked Julie.

“I’m more surprised he’s not here al-.” The alarms then blared, interrupting the Doctor’s reply. “…I really hope he’s not-!”

“Alert! Alert!” called a soldier. “Godzilla has been sighted cruising to San Francisco Bay! Repeat, Godzilla has been sighted cruising to San Francisco Bay!”

“Rassilon’s bra!” grumbled the Doctor as she rubbed her eyes.


Over in his secret base, Dr. Animo’s alarms blared. He groaned as he got out of bed. “All I ask, once in a while, is a few paltry hours of uninterrupted sleep,” he grumbled. He checked his computer and saw the readings. “So soon?!” He smacked his face. “Perhaps I should have gotten him under control as well.” The tips of the antennae on Dr. Animo’s brain dome then glowed red. “SpaceGodzilla, your master commands you! Godzilla is coming! DESTROY HIM!” He then felt a pressure in his head, not enough to hurt him. Still, all readings said that SpaceGodzilla was on an intercept course.


Deep in the Pacific Ocean, a creature cruised through the water like a crocodile. It felt a presence it once felt when it was little. It was powerless back then, but not anymore. It was ready to take that presence on! It will not rest until its enemy was dead! Sharks swam out of the way as the creature swam through the water, its massive lizard head fixed with a look of purpose. Godzilla was ready to kill the space knock-off of his dad!


The Doctor was working on a machine that kept a crystal contained. “All right,” she said, “hopefully I can determine when in 1995 SpaceGodzilla was taken by the Grouping with this thing should Clockwork fail somehow.” She then pulled out a communicator. “Ben, this is the Doctor. Where are you right now?”

“Animo’s reappeared on the east side of the base,” replied Ben. “We’re all watching him now.”

“Keep me posted,” directed the Doctor. “Amy, Lurra Rus, how’s Dr. Sato?”

“Amy’s heading off to help with Ben,” replied Lurra Rus. “Julie’s with me right now. We managed to piece together why Dr. Sato is so scared of SpaceGodzilla. 30 years ago, when SpaceGodzilla first attacked-.” The earth shook and the Doctor saw a shadow fall over the entire island. She looked to the west…and saw him.

“…Very laudable, Lurra Rus,” said the Doctor, “but I’m afraid that may prove academic! SpaceGodzilla’s here to fight Godzilla!”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

Ten-fold Strength: Part 1

California, the west coast’s state of weird, and the current source of Plumber activity. Founded by George Washington himself, the capital P Plumbers became intergalactic police officers. One of the most famous Plumbers was Max Tennyson, semi-retired these days as his grandson, Ben Tennyson, was continuing the work. Armed with a watch that can turn him into any alien, the Omnitrix, Ben made a name for himself as Ben 10! Right now, he and his ex-girlfriend, Julie Yamamoto, were in California, looking out to sea. “I still don’t know why we were called,” muttered Ben. “I was enjoying some Sumo Slammers!”

“Look, we get calls about the weird stuff from time to time,” replied Julie.

“Yeah, but tremors? I thought California gets that stuff all the time and the locals don’t bat an eye.”

“Not when the tremors aren’t from shifting tectonic plates,” interjected a woman’s voice. A Japanese woman approached them. “Mr. Tennyson, Ms. Yamamoto, I am Dr. Sato, Chief Scientific Advisor for UNIT’s Japanese branch.”

“UNIT? The Plumbers and UNIT aren’t exactly friends,” remarked Julie.

“No, but I felt the need to collaborate on this issue,” explained Dr. Sato. “We’ve recently detected a surge of chronons and something appeared in the Pacific Ocean. Believe it or not, our parent United Kingdom branch has dealt with temporal messes before, but we needed a more proactive approach. That’s where you Plumbers come in.”

“I guess that makes sense,” replied Ben, “but we don’t exactly cover things up like you UNIT guys do. We’re…anyone hear that?” A strange noise was filling the air.

“…I see the object making that noise!” called Dr. Sato. Ben and Julie turned to see the TARDIS materializing.

“I don’t believe it!” gasped Ben.

“…It says ‘Police Box’ on it,” remarked Julie.

“It’s not a police box!” replied Dr. Sato.

“You met her before?” asked Ben.

“Yes! During an incident on Monster Island! You?”

“I was fighting Sontarans inside a time loop!”

“If it’s not a police box, what is it?” asked Julie.

“It’s a TARDIS, Yamamoto-san!” replied Dr. Sato.

“More than that!” supplied Ben. “It’s THE TARDIS! The Doctor’s coming!” The TARDIS fully materialized and Ben and Dr. Sato rushed forward. The doors opened and Lurra Rus stepped out.

“Doctor, are you sure-?” asked Lurra Rus before she was tackled by Ben and Dr. Sato.

“EEP!” yelped Dr. Sato. She then bowed. “Gomenasai!” she apologized.

“Yeah, I’m sorry too!” agreed Ben. “I thought you were someone else!”

“Oddly, so did I,” replied Lurra Rus. “In fact, I AM someone else.”

“Tennyson-san and I could have sworn this was a TARDIS,” said Dr. Sato. “THE TARDIS. The only TARDIS we know about.”

“And we were kinda hoping the Doctor would be here,” admitted Ben lamely.

“Oh, she is!” replied Lurra Rus. “Are you friends of hers? She and our friend, Amy Rose, are inside.”

“No they’re not,” corrected the Doctor as she and Amy left the TARDIS. “They’re coming out.” The Doctor then clapped eyes on Ben and Dr. Sato. “Ben! Dr. Sato! How wonderful to see you two again!”

“…I’m afraid I haven’t the pleasure, Ma’am,” replied Dr. Sato.

“Ah, you met the Doctor with her old face, have you?” asked Amy.

“Amy! You’re here!” said Ben. “And…is that really the Doctor?”

“Yeah, she just regenerated. An unfortunate hazard in her life.”

“You scanned me and got Time Walker, remember?” asked the Doctor. “I’m surprised you, of all people, forgot about regeneration.”

“Holy crap, it IS you!” yelped Ben. He then turned to Julie. “Julie, this is the Doctor I was talking about. And that’s Amy Rose. …I just don’t know the Twi’lek.”

“I’m Lurra Rus,” replied Lurra Rus. “You’ll have to excuse our sudden arrival. We just followed the path to a chronal surge.”

“…Did you find out if anything came through that surge?” asked Dr. Sato.

“Ah, so that’s why you’re all here,” said the Doctor. “We’re tracking these surges as they have a tendency to bring time zones together. My friends on Gallifrey warned me that something from 1995 came here. There are multiple surges like this one, creating an event known as the Grouping.”

“So you’re trying to fix it?” asked Ben.

“That’s the plan,” replied the Doctor.

“Would you like help?” asked Dr. Sato.

“If you’re offering,” answered the Doctor. “Perhaps, along the way, we can fix your issues.”

“We’ve set up a base on Alcatraz Island,” said Dr. Sato.

“Ah, Al Capone’s old home,” remarked the Doctor. “Nice guy if you overlooked his crimes, especially his tax evasion.”


Team TARDIS was brought to the base on Alcatraz where the Plumbers and UNIT soldiers were working together. “So the chronal surge was first detected here and so were the tremors?” asked the Doctor.

“We had to set up this base nearest to the tremors,” replied Dr. Sato.

“Gives me more of a chance to get right into the fight!” cheered Ben as he punched his hand.

“You Plumbers really do love getting into it, don’t you?” muttered Dr. Sato.

“The Plumbers have been around longer than UNIT,” said the Doctor. “Now…” the place was starting to shake. “…are those the-?”

“Yes!” replied Dr. Sato.

“…There seems to be a rhythm to it,” remarked Lurra Rus. “Like some…beast.”

“I’d almost liken it to a frog,” said Amy. “And I had to fight some frogs, let me tell you.” A UNIT soldier then burst in.

“We need to evacuate! There’s a giant frog hopping to the island!” he said.

“Hang on, soldier,” said Ben, “does this frog have four red eyes and horns?”

“Yes, but how important is-?!”

“He’s STILL around?!” protested Ben. He then thought. “…Then again, supposedly, he has his head put into a jar and puts said jar onto a gorilla body in the future.

“You know how this frog came to be?” asked Dr. Sato.

“Yeah, one of my enemies, Dr. Animo,” explained Ben. “A mad scientist that mutates animals into his monster slaves to conquer the world.”

“What is it about mad scientists that causes them to look to mutating life-forms?!” snapped the Doctor. “Is he in correspondence with Davros?!”

“We’d better ask him some questions,” suggested Amy.

“Right,” replied the Doctor. The group then went outside to see an elephant-sized four-eyed frog with an old man riding it. He wore a brain case that had antennae and exposed his brain, wore red goggles, had pale-green skin, and wore a long lab coat.

“Attention, UNIT and Plumbers!” announced the old man, Dr. Animo. “Surrender San Francisco to me or be trampled by my newest acqui-!” he stopped when he saw Ben. “Oh, for-! Can’t you just let me take over the world in peace, Tennyson?!”

“Come on, Doc, you know that’s not how this works,” replied Ben. “You show up, threaten to take over the world with your mutant animals, I turn into an alien that beats you, you get carted off to prison, that’s the whole thing. It’s kind of boring, now that I think about it.”

“Then mix it up a little and stand down!” snarled Dr. Animo.

“I think I’d prefer it if Ben stuck to routine,” called the Doctor.

“And just who are you?!” demanded Dr. Animo.

“I’m the Doctor.”

“…Doctor who?”

“Just the Doctor. Look, surely Mr. and Mrs. Animo wouldn’t want you to-.”

“Oh, here we go, the ‘my parents would be spinning in their graves if they knew what I did’ angle. Listen, sweetheart, I obtained emancipation from them when I was 18! I would have gotten it earlier, but those two WERE geniuses when it came to law, hence them having taken jobs as lawyers when they were alive.”

“…Okay, I’m not sure who’s the bigger villain in THAT scenario,” mused the Doctor. “But look, with your knowledge on genetic experiments, you could cure cancer, give humans the ability to regrow lost limbs, maybe-!”

“Except I don’t WANT to cure cancer or give humans the ability to regrow lost limbs,” interrupted Dr. Animo, “I want to make mutant animal slaves to help me conquer the world!”

“…Single-minded, that’s what you are,” muttered the Doctor.

“I prefer the word ‘driven’!” replied Dr. Animo.

“Well, I’m driven too,” remarked Ben. “Driven to put you back in prison. Let’s see, when we first met, you were trying to bring back extinct animals like dinosaurs, right?”

“I was set to call America’s capital ‘Washington B.C’, yes,” confirmed Dr. Animo.

“Then let’s see how you handle a living dinosaur,” chuckled Ben.

“A living dinosaur?” asked the Doctor.

“You ever heard of a Vaxasaurian, Doctor?” asked Ben.

“Oh, you have Vaxasaurian DNA on that thing?” quizzed the Doctor. “Nice people. Bit fist-happy though.”

“Just need to take down the frog!” replied Ben. “Dr. Animo, it’s time for Humungousaur!” Ben slammed on the Omnitrix, he then bulked up…got an orange and black striped fur pattern, grew a claw on the back of each wrist, his face became more feline, and a green and black luchador outfit appeared over him. “HUMUNGOUSAUR!” shouted Ben in his new form. He then looked down. “Oh for-! I MEAN RATH!”

“That’s an Appoplexian, Ben, not a Vaxasaurian,” groaned the Doctor as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Rath got up close to the Doctor’s face, saliva spattering all over the Doctor’s face as he screamed.

“LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, DOCTOR, TIME LORD OF GALLIFREY! RATH ALREADY KNOWS THAT!” He then turned to Dr. Animo. “AND YOU! RATH IS STILL GONNA KICK YOUR FROG’S BUTT ALL THE WAY INTO THE SNOW!” Rath then leapt at the frog and wailed on it. The Doctor simply wiped the saliva off her face.

“…Lovely,” she grumbled.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 3

Revenge of the Sontarans: Part 4

The Sontarans seized control of the Chimeran Hammer and aligned it with the fleet. The Doctor, her team, Dr. Psychobos, and Vilgax were brought to the Command Ship as prisoners. They were all brought to the command deck. “The Hand is charging, General,” reported a Sontaran. “It will be ready for use in two hours.”

“Very good, Commander,” replied Skrem. “This will be the last disgraceful day of the 10th Sontaran Fleet’s existence.”

“As long as we have time,” remarked the Doctor, “I confess I’m curious.”

“When aren’t you?” scoffed Skrem. “What troubles you now, Doctor?”

“Why have us here? We’re obviously not going to remember it.”

“Your fellow prisoners, no. But you, Doctor? It will live on in the back of your mind, even when you regenerate into new forms!”

“Then why don’t you tell me how this whole operation intends to work once the Hand reaches full charge? I mean, we’re all prisoners here.”

“I have a better idea, Doctor, than blabbing about our plans and giving you a chance to undo it all. While we wait for the Hand to reach full charge, why don’t we FIGHT!”

“…Fight?!” repeated the Doctor.

“What do you say, my warriors?!” Skrem called to his men.

“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!” chanted the Sontarans.

“I’ll take up that challenge!” called Amy.

“Hold on!” roared Vilgax. “They were MY allies! I’LL be the one to kill Skrem!”

“Such ardor!” cackled Skrem. “New plan, Doctor! I’ll fight your companion! Of course, I’ll have an ally with me! Commander Velt!”

“Yes, sir!” replied the Sontaran Commander. “Will I be facing Vilgax or the pink thing?”

“Hm, good point,” remarked Skrem. “Who will be taking on the pink thing?

“The pink thing has a name, you know!” snapped Amy.

“Amy, I sure hope you know what you’re doing!” hissed the Doctor.

“Doctor,” Amy whispered so the Sontarans couldn’t hear, “this might be our only shot at stopping them! While they’re distracted-!”

“I know what the goal is, Amy, but fighting a Sontaran might prove fatal!”

“Then you and Ben better hurry and figure this out!” Amy wouldn’t be dissuaded, much to the Doctor’s chagrin.

“…Stay alive, will you?” muttered the Time Lord.

“Naturally,” assured Amy. She and Vilgax then approached Skrem and Velt. “How are we doing this?”

“With gravity clubs!” replied Skrem.

“You Sontarans use those things in duels?” grunted Vilgax. He turned to Amy. “Gravity clubs have a relative weight of ten pounds, but the weight doubles every few swings until its wielder cannot lift their club to defend themselves or their skull is split open by their opponent’s club.”

“…Charming,” muttered Amy.

“Bring forth the clubs!” ordered Skrem. A Sontaran carrying a case came forth. He opened the case to reveal four metal clubs. Skrem, Velt, Amy, and Vilgax took up their clubs. “I shall take the first swing!” cackled Skrem. He swung his club hard, but Amy and Vilgax leapt out of the way. “Velt, let’s see your swing!” said Skrem.

“Yes, Sir!” replied Velt. He swung his club, but Amy and Vilgax dodged again. “A gymnast, hm?” chuckled Velt.

“You two will not be so agile after a few rounds!” cackled Skrem. “Your turn!”

“Your mistake!” snarled Vilgax. He swung his club and made a dent in the floor once his Sontaran opponents dodged.


While Amy and Vilgax were fighting their Sontaran opponents, the Doctor snuck away with Ben and Rook following. “Why’d you need us?” asked Ben.

“Because I have a theory,” remarked the Doctor. “You being discovered on Vilgax’s ship seemed to be like the lot of you were going through the motions. And Skrem’s talk of the entire 10th Sontaran Fleet being desperate also looked like they said it so many times. On top of that, my TARDIS detected unusual chronon activity before Professor Paradox grabbed it and forcibly landed us in front of Rook’s squadron. …What if the Hand of Eon put everyone into a time loop to defend itself?”

“A time loop? How would we know?” asked Rook.

“Clockwork might check,” said Ben.

“…Ben, I have a better idea. Scan me,” directed the Doctor.

“Huh?”

“I know what I said, but I need another Time Lord’s help. Now scan me!”

“…Well, if you insist,” said Ben. He aimed the Omnitrix at the Doctor and a scanner light surrounded the Doctor briefly. It vanished after a few seconds.

“New alien DNA now available,” reported the Omnitrix.

“All right, let’s test this out.” Ben selected the new alien hologram, slid the Omnitrix’s cover back, then pressed down on the core. The watch then sunk into his arm…then the Omnitrix symbol appeared on his chest.

“…I think you accidentally unlocked the human form,” remarked Rook.

“No, no, hang on,” said Ben. “There’s two hearts in here. …And telepathic powers. …And temporal sensitivity. I’m a Time Lord like the Doctor here. …And there’s definitely temporal energy looping back on itself, but it’s fading around Rook and the rest of us.”

“So the Hand of Eon DID put you all into a time loop,” remarked the Doctor. “Well, we’ll have to minimize the time loop’s field around the Hand so it only loops on itself and not everyone else around them. I did a similar trick with Axos and the Vardans.”

“And that’s why you needed another Time Lord’s help,” realized Ben, “to double-check your work.”

“It’s very delicate work. Mind if I walk you through it? Telepathically? It’s a bit involved and we’re pressed for time.”

“All right. Contact.”

“Contact.” The two closed their eyes and workshopped the plan telepathically. They then opened their eyes.

“All right,” said Ben, “let’s get to it. It’s most likely down this corridor.”


Back on the command deck, the duel still went on. Amy and Vilgax were moderating their swings a lot better than their Sontaran opponents. “Stop…prancing about, Pink Thing!” panted Skrem. His and Velt’s clubs were now at 320 pounds, heavy for a Sontaran, but not impossible to lift. Amy’s and Vilgax’s were only at 80 pounds, rather light for Amy, considering how heavy her hammer is.

“…How is this possible?” asked Vilgax. “I know this is my first time dueling Skrem, yet I feel as though I fought him before and the fight is different somehow!”

“Might I offer my two cents?” asked a voice. Amy dodged a blow from Velt and looked behind her.

“Professor Paradox!” she yelped.

“Good afternoon, Miss Rose,” greeted Professor Paradox.

“What are you doing here, Time Walker?!” demanded Vilgax.

“Oh, clearing things up, as usual,” replied Professor Paradox. “Now, let’s see, the Doctor will most likely be theorizing, correctly, I may add, why I brought her TARDIS into this time loop.”

“Time loop? Ridiculous!” scoffed Skrem.


“It’s really simple,” the Doctor said to Rook as she and Ben worked around an armored hand in purple, “the Hand of Eon is the literal hand of a temporally-powerful madman.”

“And any ‘sane’ madman,” said Ben, “would take steps to protect themselves.”

“So it created a time loop to protect itself?” asked Rook.

“Specifically to prevent anyone other than its owner to use it,” summarized the Doctor.


“So anyone that ISN’T Eon,” realized Gwen, “would be imprisoned until Eon came back for it.”

“Precisely, Gwendolyn,” confirmed Professor Paradox. “And Vilgax and his poorly-chosen allies served as the perfect prisoners. …Although, you lot getting involved upset my calculations.”


“Obviously, since you lot are his friends,” continued the Doctor, “he needed to get you out. But the time loop was causing too much temporal turbulence for him to safely enter.”

“But he knew what the power source for the time loop was,” Ben summarized, “so he needed something with enough strength to break into the loop and stop it from the inside.”

“Cue him hijacking my TARDIS without asking,” grumbled the Doctor.

“Well, the outer plasmic shell could break through it, but it would be nice to have a shell with shields, like a TARDIS.”

“Still, without asking!”

“…Ben, how are you able to keep up with the Doctor?!” protested Rook.

“I don’t know, how do I know what gas I use when I’m Gutrot?” asked Ben.


“Lies! All lies!” snarled Skrem as Paradox finished his explanation.

“And why would I lie about the time loop?” asked Paradox. “Or about Eon? He’s too much of a paranoid genius to leave things to chance. But, no fear, the time loop will be broken-,” a wave of energy then bowled everyone over, causing a cascading effect directly to where the Hand of Eon was held! “…Right about now!” chuckled Paradox.

“It won’t matter!” snarled Skrem. “My club will flatten you all!” He and Velt raised their clubs, straining under the weight!

“640 pounds,” chuckled Vilgax darkly. “That’s too much for a Sontaran.” That was when the two Sontarans fell to the floor in convulsions. “Thankfully, my 80 pound club is enough to paint the floor in your blood and brains!”

“NO!” shouted Amy. She whacked Vilgax in the ankle, toppling him.

“You DARE!” roared Vilgax.

“There’s no point! The duel is over!” insisted Amy.

“Miss Rose is quite right,” remarked Professor Paradox. “You’re about to have more immediate problems to deal with.”

“BOOSTERS!” called a Sontaran. “REVITALIZERS! NOW!” A Sontaran Trooper then arrived with a medical kit and tended to his fallen commanders.

“Amy…Rose…!” gasped Skrem. “You…did this! …I shall…form…a phalanx…of engineers…tasked solely with designing…new and exotic…ways to torture you!”

“They’ll have to have time machines for that,” remarked Amy. “Or standing orders.” That was when alarms rang throughout the ship!

“The air attack warning!” called a Sontaran.

“Air attack?” asked Vilgax.

“Mr. Levin DID ask for a heavily armed Plumber fleet to assist during the time loop,” replied Professor Paradox.

“After getting caught in the crossfire of Sontarans and Rutans,” remarked Kevin, “I didn’t wanna take any chances.”

“We better get the others and get out of here!” called Gwen. Her friends agreed and followed her. Vilgax, meanwhile, snarled as he decided to return to his ship and punch an escape hole. Thanks to Sontaran bungling, there was no way the Chimeran Hammer could handle a battle between the Plumbers and the Sontarans.


Gwen and her group ran through the corridors, dodging Sontarans all the way. They then bumped into the Doctor and her group. “Amy!” said the Doctor.

“Doctor, you’re all right!” said Amy. She then spotted someone…that looked like Gwen in Ben’s clothes. “…Did…Did Ben add your DNA to his watch?”

“She was okay with it,” replied the Gwen Clone. “I’m thinking of calling this form Time Walker.”

“Much as I appreciate the discovery of a Time Lord’s abilities,” said Professor Paradox, “we’re rather pressed for time. Everyone, gather around!” Everyone gathered and Professor Paradox opened his Chrononavigator. They all vanished as the Plumber fleet arrived to deal with the Sontarans and Vilgax.


They had returned to Plumber HQ, right in front of the TARDIS. Rook checked with the Plumber fleet. “…Skrem and his men have been arrested,” he reported. “Vilgax had returned to his ship and escaped. Dr. Psychobos fled in a Sontaran Scout Sphere.”

“Oof, arrested!” muttered the Doctor. “That will chafe a Sontaran. There’s no chance of him or the fleet regaining their honor.” She was then interrupted by a beeping noise.

“Sorry, that’s me,” said Time Walker as the Omnitrix symbol flashed.

“Ah, a cool-down period?” guessed the Doctor. Time Walker forcibly returned to being Ben Tennyson.

“Yeah, sometimes it happens at the worst time,” he said.

“Well, I’m sure you have a lot to do,” said the Doctor. “In the meantime…” she then swiped the Chrononavigator.

“I beg your pardon!” protested Professor Paradox as the Doctor fiddled with the Chrononavigator. “That’s delicate, Doctor!”

“I can’t have you,” replied the Doctor, “barging into my TARDIS like that. Next time you need my help, you call.” She finished her work on it and handed it back. “Speaking of TARDIS, let’s get going, Amy.”

“Goodbye, everyone!” called Amy.

“Oh, Doctor,” called Rook.

“Yes, Rook Blonko?”

“While Gallifrey as a whole is still banned from travelling to Revonnah, you, specifically, are no longer banned.”

“Are you sure you can make that decision?” asked the Doctor.

“I did not make that decision,” replied Rook. “My planet did.”

“…I’ll ask how later. For now, goodbye!” The Doctor and Amy entered the TARDIS and took off.

“…Goodbye, Doctor,” remarked Professor Paradox. “Until our next meeting.”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 3

Revenge of the Sontarans: Part 3

“Men, prepare arms!” ordered Skrem. His Sontarans aimed their weapons at the group.

“Wait a minute!” called Max. “You can’t just shoot us!”

“I want to see good, clean shots to the head and the heart!” Skrem said to his men. “Think you can manage that, Trooper?”

“Easily, Sir,” replied the Sontaran Trooper.

“Better make that ‘hearts’ plural,” interjected the Doctor. “I’m a Time Lord and we have two hearts.”

“…She has a point, Sir,” a Sontaran said to Skrem.

“Indeed. So, how do you want to do this?” asked the Doctor. “One shot in each heart for me? Four in the head?”

“One shot in one of the hearts and a shot in the head during the regeneration process will suffice, Doctor!” snapped Skrem.

“Ah, read up on when you lot invaded Gallifrey, huh?” muttered the Doctor.

“Just a second, General!” called Rook. “This is against the Galactic Code of Conduct! Who among you has claimed us as your execution targets? Benjamin Tennyson is the object of Vilgax’s vengeance!”

“Of course!” recalled the Doctor. “Article 7, Section 4, Subsection 6, Paragraph 3!”

“…Paragraph four, actually,” corrected Rook.

“The young Plumber and the Doctor are correct,” said Vilgax. “You would kill the Doctor, I would kill Tennyson. That was the agreement in accordance with Article 2, Section 3, Subsection 4, Paragraph 2.”

“Ah, but Paragraph 5 dictates that, in the event of evasion of capture, all targets are viable,” replied Skrem.

“Do you see them evading capture?!” snarled Vilgax.

“Oh, who cares about the rules!” complained Psychobos. “Just do the smart thing for once and k-k-k-kill them!”

“And wound Sontaran honor? Never,” replied the Doctor. “Rook, it’s been a while since I read the Galactic Code of Conduct. Which part of it concerns surrendered prisoners?”

“Article 2, Section 1, Subsection 1, Paragraph 1!” answered Rook. “Vilgax, Skrem, Psychobos, we all surrender in accordance with all that I have outlined!”

“You little-!” snapped Skrem.

“Doc, Rook, what are you two doing?!” protested Ben.

“Doctor, you better have some sort of plan!” hissed Amy.

“No, but I have breathing space to make one,” replied the Doctor. “Sontarans have two basic weaknesses. One is the probic vent on the backs of their necks, the other is their love of military protocol. Rook selected rules concerning surrendered prisoners and those rules are a little more involved than the ones involving fugitive combatants.”

“Ah, the ol’ tie-them-up-in-red-tape trick!” realized Amy.

“They’ll kill us once they figured out that particular knot,” said the Doctor, “so let’s keep adding more. Rook, do you have any electronic form of the Galactic Code of Conduct?”

“Yes, right in my-!” Rook’s smile faded as he remembered. “…Oh… Bralla Da! It’s in my quarters in Plumber HQ!”

“All right, new plan,” said the Doctor. “Follow my lead.” She cautiously led everyone out of the brig as Skrem and Vilgax loudly discussed the finer points of the Galactic Code of Conduct while Psychobos tried to shut them up about it.


The Doctor and her friends approached the bridge’s doors. A few guards were at the doors. “Blast. Knew it was too easy,” grumbled the Doctor. The robots spotted them.

“Intruders!” shouted one. “Put your two hands behind your backs!” Ben grinned, then selected an alien. He slid the Omnitrix’s cover back and pressed the core down. Green light surrounded him and he grew while gaining another set of arms. The light faded and in his place was a four-armed alien with four eyes and red skin.

“FOUR-ARMS!” he shouted. He put his right arms behind his back and used his left arms to punch the robots hard enough to scrap them. The Doctor blinked at the brutality. “…What?” asked Four-Arms. “I put two hands behind my back like he said!”

“That name’s on the nose,” remarked Amy.

“No, it’s Four-Arms,” corrected Four-Arms. “I don’t have an alien called On the Nose, not yet at least. If I did, I’d shout ON THE NOSE!”

“Why DID you shout that name anyways?” asked the Doctor.

“To strike fear into those rust buckets!” replied Four-Arms.

“Believe me,” sighed Gwen, “it was bliss when you stopped doing that, Doofus.”

“Oh, whatever, Dweeb!” scoffed Four-Arms as he used all four of his hands to tear the door off…and he immediately got shot at from the robots already on the bridge. “OW! HEY! THAT’S DIRTY FIGHTING!” protested Four-Arms as he tore through the robots. Once the bridge was cleared, the Doctor got to work. “Doc, whatever you have planned, probably wanna be quick about it,” warned Four-Arms. “Vilgax and his goons are sure to come here soon!”

“I need to find the ship’s archived monitor data,” said the Doctor.

“The what?” asked Kevin.

“Black box, flight recorder,” replied the Doctor. “Professor Paradox said Skrem’s after the Hand of Eon to undo a victory I gained over his clone ancestor, Staal, the original General of the 10th Sontaran Fleet.”

“When was that?” asked Max.

“2009. They were responsible for the ATMOS crisis. While the devices DID reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the cars they were installed in, the Sontarans’ purpose for them was to use them to introduce clone feed into Earth’s atmosphere, turning it into a cloning world, where they would make new Sontarans to fight against the Rutans. I managed to stop him by igniting the clone feed introduced into the atmosphere. …So why would a Clone Descendant use time travel to undo that? Sontarans have strict codes of honor against that.”

“I think the question is why is he so desperate?” asked Kevin.

“…You’re quite right,” remarked the Doctor.

“Um, guys!” warned Amy as she pointed out the screens displaying the footage outside the bridge. Vilgax, Skrem, Psychobos and their men had arrived!

“Well, any chance for answers, I suppose,” muttered the Doctor as she keyed in a command on the console. The comms activated. “I will speak to General Skrem in accordance with Jurisdiction 2 of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement!” The camera footage showed Skrem step towards the camera.

“Under Convention 5,” he said, “that will be the last bit of protocol you and your friends will ever spit at me!”

“That’s agreeable,” said the Doctor. “I never liked red tape in the long run. So, tell me, General Skrem…since when did the 10th Sontaran Fleet become a pack of cowards?”

“HOW…DARE YOU!!!” roared Skrem. “Doctor, you impugn my honor!”

“I’m glad you chose the words Staal used. Because if you said ‘belittle’, I’d have a field day. But time travel to undo a defeat? Sontaran High Command branded that to be the action of a desperate coward and you know there’s a good reason for that. Skrem, you’ve got an entire fleet at your command, with all the bells and whistles, yet you want to use time travel to undo a defeat and kill Earth in the past! Where’s the fight in that?! Where’s the honor?! …Or, is there a reason behind such desperation? This isn’t the usual Sontaran warfare. How would this contribute to Sontar’s war effort?”

“If only we were permitted to contribute to the war effort, then we wouldn’t be so desperate!” The instant Skrem finished that sentence, the Doctor laughed.

“So,” she said, “the sins of the father are visited upon the son, eh?! Exiled from not only Sontar, but the entire war! That’s how much of a setback the terraforming project of ’09 was!”

“What war?” asked Ben. “I didn’t get that when I was Trohll.”

“The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans,” explained Amy, remembering what the Doctor said. “Who knows who started it and who really cares? All we want to know is how it ends.”

“It will end with Sontaran victory once I undo Staal’s defeat!” insisted Skrem.

“And the Hand of Eon will give you that mastery over time?” asked the Doctor.

“Naturally. …Failing that, though…a Chronosapian’s temporal mastery will serve!” Skrem’s ominous statement made Ben back up a bit.

“…Ben, why are you so scared?” asked the Doctor, worried.

“Just a minute, Skrem!” snarled Vilgax. “We had a deal! You don’t need the Omnitrix’s power!”

“Not its full power, no,” replied Skrem, “but the DNA sample of a Chronosapian will suffice!”

“Hold on, there’s Chronosapian DNA in that thing?!” the Doctor asked Ben.

“The form’s called Clockwork,” replied Ben.

“Azmuth made an agreement with the Time Lords!” hissed the Doctor. “All temporally-sensitive life-forms will be locked unless in dire circumstances! How often have you used Clockwork?!” Ben was denied the chance to answer. Vilgax and Psychobos were thrown through the door, smoking all over their bodies.

“You pitiful, barely sentient root v-v-vegetables!” snarled Psychobos. “And I use the term loosely!”

“You will regret crossing me, Skrem!” promised Vilgax.

“I very much doubt it,” replied Skrem. “I will fade from this timeline, as will the rest of the 10th Sontaran Fleet as it stands, but Staal will make the original iteration of the fleet more powerful and more honorable with its victory through our sacrifice! For the glory of Blessed Sontar!”

“Sontar HA! Sontar HA! Sontar HA!”

“Sir!” called a Sontaran. “Primary objective obtained! It’s on the Command Ship!”

“Oh no!” whispered the Doctor.