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Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

Lantern of Time: Part 1

A giant creature of humanoid shape and crimson skin flew through space with a navy-blue and black striped cat. They both wore red bodysuits and wore a red ring. The creature wore his ring on his finger while the cat wore his on his tail. The creature growled as he and the cat landed on a barren world. “We must face facts, Dex-starr,” growled the creature, “there just aren’t enough people that are angry enough to join us.” The cat, Dex-starr, trilled questioningly. “No, no, we cannot do that. We tried it once and it led to Guy Gardner temporarily usurping me!” That was when an energy wave passed over them! “What in-?!” Dex-starr arched his back, yowling in a threatening posture. The creature raised his ring to his mouth. “Identify energy wave!”

“Energy wave has been identified as a chronal surge,” replied the ring’s AI. “Consequences unknown.”

“Analyze and figure out-!” the creature stopped himself as he felt something in his suit. It felt like…sand? “How in-?!” A pile of sand fell from his suit and started forming the upper torso of a strange creature. The creature’s legs hovered in the air above it! “…Ring, what IS that life-form?”

“Life-form is an Imagin,” replied the ring, “a being from an aborted timeline.” The creature’s eyes widened. He had heard of the Imagin before.

“Your wish,” said the Imagin. “Say your wish. I can grant any wish. You can pay me with one thing only.” The creature stroked his chin.

“…Any wish, you say?” he asked. “…I wish for more Red Lanterns to finally slay the Guardians!” The legs then floated to the ground as the Imagin’s torso floated above the legs and attached itself to them. The Imagin then adopted a gray color with a lantern motif.

“You want soldiers then, Atrocitus?” asked the new Lantern Imagin. “I shall provide!”

“Hold!” shouted the creature, Atrocitus. The Lantern Imagin stopped. “…You SHALL be fulfilling my wish, but you’re not ready yet.”

“Let me fulfill our contract and I shall be,” replied the Lantern Imagin.

“Not how this works, not when you’ve locked your full potential. Dex-starr would spill your guts and lap your blood in your current state…but I sense that you have a higher calling. A spark glowing within you! A spark…of RAGE!” Atrocitus then vomited his napalm blood all over the Imagin’s face. The Lantern Imagin howled in pain as he collapsed to his knees, the blood burning him!

“WH-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” he screamed. “WHAT IS THIS…THIS ANGER?!”

“You fought to restore your timeline,” replied Atrocitus, “but Den-O killed your leader, Kai! He prevented Hana from being killed! He restored her timeline over yours! …How can you ever forgive him?”

“I…I CAN’T!” admitted the Lantern Imagin.

“Then BURN!” A red ring then flew towards the Lantern Imagin, hovering just in front of his face.

“Lantern Imagin. You have great rage in your heart.” The voice came from the ring. The Lantern Imagin looked up at the ring…then held his hand out! The ring then fastened onto his finger! “You belong to Atrocitus!”

“Become vengeance!” urged Atrocitus. “Recite the oath! Join the Red Lantern Corps!” The Lantern Imagin panted, then steeled himself.

“…With blood…and rage…of crimson red, ripped from a corpse…so freshly dead, together with our hellish hate,” a suit then formed over the Lantern Imagin! “WE’LL BURN YOU ALL! THAT IS YOUR FATE!” The rage, amplified by his ring, overcame his sanity and he charged at Atrocitus. Atrocitus opened a portal and stepped aside so the new Red Lantern would fly through. Once it was confirmed the Lantern Imagin went through with a splash on the other end, Atrocitus grinned.

“Come, Dex-starr!” he ordered. “We have an army to build!” Dex-starr trilled in agreement.

The Doctor hummed to herself as she checked the console. “Dada da da, da DA da…Climax Jump!” she sang. “…That’s odd. How did that song get into my head? …Ah well, I’ll figure it out later. Let’s see…”

“Doctor, shouldn’t we have found evidence of a chronal surge by now?” asked Amy as she walked into the console room.

“Tracking them takes a while, Amy,” replied the Doctor. “It’s not like waiting for a train on the platform.”

“But we’ve gotten ahead of one before,” reminded Amy.

“That took intense calculations,” answered the Doctor. As Amy was about to protest, the console beeped.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Proximity alert,” replied the Doctor. “But that doesn’t make sense, we’re drifting in the vortex. Let me see…” As the Doctor checked her readings, Lurra Rus entered the console room.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“We found something in the Time Vortex,” replied Amy. “Maybe it’s another time machine?”

“That’s exactly what it is,” interjected the Doctor. “But the shape of it doesn’t make sense.”

“Why?” asked Amy.

“Because bullet trains shouldn’t be time travel capable,” answered the Doctor. She then worked the controls. “I’m going to come alongside it, see if I can talk to them.” The scanner flicked on to show that she successfully went alongside the train as it summoned rails for itself. The locomotive itself had angled red windows, almost like insect eyes. The Doctor then switched on the comms. “Attention! Attention! This is the Doctor aboard the TARDIS! You seem to be lost in the Time Vortex! We are capable and willing to render any assistance-!” A person on a motorcycle hooked up to a machine then appeared. The person looked like a red-skinned oni with two horns and black orbs for eyes.

“What do you want?!” he complained. The Doctor goggled.

“An Imagin?” she said. “I thought you all went extinct.”

“Some of us survived! Now beat it!” insisted the oni Imagin.

“Sir, your train appears to be travelling in something it’s not meant to,” said the Doctor.

“Come on, the Den Liner’s fine!” the oni Imagin dismissed.

“Den Liner? I thought that was fiction.”

“It’s real, all right!”

“What IS the Den Liner?” asked Lurra Rus.

“A train that travels through time,” explained the Doctor. “But it usually travels through a subdimension referred to as the Sands of Time, a byproduct of the Time Vortex.” The console then beeped and the Doctor checked the readings. Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh no!” She returned her attention to the call. “Listen, Oni Imagin or whatever kind of Imagin you are-.”

“My name is Momotaros!” barked the Imagin.

“…Imagins have-? Never mind. Momotaros, my sensors have detected a chronal surge appearing just ahead of us! I must urge you to divert your course!”

“I don’t take orders from anyone!” retorted Momotaros. “And the Den Liner’s sensors don’t detect any ‘chronal surge’ or whatever the heck you call it!”

“Well, my sensors DO! So will you please divert your course-?!” Momotaros ended the call. “…And now I have to save him!” grumbled the Doctor as she worked the console.

“Doctor, what will that chronal surge-?!” asked Lurra Rus.

“We’ll be caught up in it, there’s no two ways around this,” replied the Doctor. “For now, we can only cushion the blow against the Den Liner. Extending TARDIS shields as far as I can dare…brace yourselves!” The TARDIS shook as it was hit by the chronal surge! Both it and the Den Liner were taken out of the Time Vortex and into normal space.

Aboard a space station, a man with a green jumpsuit, eye mask, and ring was sitting at the monitors. A man in a red suit with yellow lightning decorations then appeared in a red blur. “Anything interesting?” asked the man in the red suit, the Flash.

“Nah, it’s been…well, I don’t really wanna say it now,” replied the man in the green suit, the Green Lantern. The monitors then flashed. “Oh, come on! I didn’t even say it!” complained Green Lantern.

“Is that a…bullet train?” muttered the Flash. Green Lantern then zoomed in.

“…It is! And look at the side!”

“The TARDIS! They’re gonna crash into the Watchtower!”

“You monitor the situation! I’m gonna stop them!” Green Lantern flew out of his seat and summoned a green lantern. He then pressed his ring against it. “In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight! Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power, Green Lantern’s light!”

“Ring fully charged,” reported his ring. Green Lantern then stashed his battery away and made it outside. The train and the TARDIS were racing towards the Watchtower out of control! Green Lantern created a catcher’s glove from his ring and jet boots around his feet. He caught the two vehicles in the glove and fired his jet boots, hoping to at least slow the two vehicles down!

“Hal, you’re not slowing down!” warned the Flash over the comms.

“Come on! Just a little more!” strained Green Lantern as he added more power to his rocket boots.

“Warning! Ring at 54% charge! Reserves depleting rapidly!” alerted his ring.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

A Triple Headache: Part 3

“Who ARE those two?” asked the Second Doctor.

“I presume the fat one is Peg Leg Pete,” remarked the Fourth Doctor. “But the little fellow, I’m not too sure about.”

“LITTLE FELLOW?!” shouted the cowboy. “I’M YOSEMITE SAM! THE ROOTENIST TOOTENIST MEANEST HOMBRE WHAT PACKED A SIX-SHOOTER THIS SIDE OF THE PECOS!”

“Oh, a gun aficionado,” said the present Doctor. “How quaint.”

“QUAINT?!” Yosemite Sam leveled his pistols at her. “YOU’VE GOT FIVE SECONDS TO SAY YOUR PRAYERS, LADY, BEFORE I BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF!”

“Everyone, when I say ‘run’,” directed the Second Doctor, “you run.”

“Which incarnation?” asked Mickey.

“Whichever says it first,” replied the Second Doctor.

“TIME’S UP!” shouted Yosemite Sam.

“RUN!” warned the present Doctor. Everyone ran with Amy and Bugs running with the Second Doctor while Lurra Rus and Mickey ran with the Fourth Doctor. “COME BACK HERE, YA ORNERY-!”

“Why waste time with those pipsqueaks?” asked Pete. “We’ve got a bigger prize here!” Pete reached for the door and tried to open it…but the doors weren’t moving! They were locked!

“One of them galoots probably got the key!” grumbled Yosemite Sam. “You go after the mouse and his compadres, I’ll go after Bugs and his gang!”

“Just a minute, tiny!” snapped Pete as he picked up the cowboy. “I’M the one in charge here! I’LL make the decisions! You go after the rabbit and his buddies, I’ll go after Mickey’s group!” He dropped Yosemite Sam and ran off after Mickey’s group. Yosemite Sam grumbled as he went off after Bugs and his group.

Mickey led the Fourth Doctor and Lurra Rus through the Magic Kingdom, running into Adventureland. “We have to get higher somehow!” said Lurra Rus.

“Higher?” mused Mickey. He then spotted the Magic Carpet ride. “…Well, we COULD blame any damage on Pete, though park maintenance will be grumbling all the while.

“I think I know how to bait that trap,” said the Fourth Doctor with a grin as he dashed to one of the carpets.

“Doctor?!” yelped Mickey.

“A TARDIS key! Of course!” realized Lurra Rus. “…But surely she changed the lock.”

“Oh, I’m sure she did,” replied the Fourth Doctor. “But Pete doesn’t know that.”

“Lurra, you may want to get in line,” suggested Mickey. “And Doctor, I hope you can jump.”

“Naturally,” said the Fourth Doctor. He then made it onto one of the carpets as Lurra Rus started a line while Mickey went to the ride operator’s booth. Pete arrived just in time and was about to shove his way past.

“HEY!” called Lurra Rus. “Don’t you know there’s a line?!”

“Ah, quit squawking!” scoffed Pete. “I gots a fast pass!” He actually scanned a wristband! Mickey shrugged as he let Pete on. Pete then boarded one of the carpets and Mickey started the ride. The carpets spun around the main mechanism, then the Fourth Doctor stood up and jumped off. As Pete was about to do the same, the ride began to spin faster and faster! “HEY! WAIT! WAIT!” shouted Pete in a panic as the carpets became a blur! “STOP THE RIDE! I WANNA GET OFF!”

“…All right, I suppose,” mused Mickey as he hit the emergency brakes. The ride stopped…but physics worked against Pete as he was thrown into a building, then fell to the ground, dizzy and confused.

“Ooh!” winced Lurra Rus as she joined the Fourth Doctor and Mickey in running. “That’s…gotta hurt!”

The Second Doctor, Bugs, and Amy were running towards the bridge leading to Cinderella’s castle. They skidded to a stop when they saw the yellow tape blocking their way. “Huh?!” quizzed Bugs. “Why would the bridge be-?” He saw multiple holes in it.

“…That’s solid stone!” muttered the Second Doctor. “Who would-?” A gunshot interrupted him as a bullet whizzed over his head!

“GOT YA NOW, YA LONG-EARED GALOOT!” called Yosemite Sam.

“Come on!” called Amy as she grabbed the Second Doctor and Bug’s hands, running clear across the bridge. The bridge collapsed behind them, trapping Yosemite Sam on the other side. Down in the water, the sound of a clock could be heard.

“Uh oh!” gulped Bugs. “Tick Tock the Crocodile!” Indeed, a crocodile cruised in the water below. Tick Tock saw Yosemite Sam and gave off the usual crocodile hiss.

“AH, SHADDUP!” shouted Yosemite Sam as he clubbed the poor croc with a long wooden pole. He then got an idea and looked for a pole as long as the other. The Second Doctor then spotted tools.

“Hm…anyone familiar with carpentry?” he pondered with a grin. Bugs and Amy saw the tools, then Amy noticed that Tick Tock had thumbs! A grin crossed her face.

“Maybe our crocodile friend is,” she said. The Second Doctor and Bugs grinned with her. By then, Yosemite Sam arrived with two poles now converted into stilts!

“HA HA!” he cackled. “GOTCHA THIS TIME, YA FLEA-BITTEN VARMINT!”

“Oh, it seems you outsmarted us!” said Bugs. “Oh woe is us! Oh boo the hoo!”

“I suppose,” mused the Second Doctor, “you’d best come here.”

“Darn skippy I am!” Yosemite Sam then got onto the stilts and began walking through the moat on them with Tick Tock snapping at him uselessly!

“Here you are, Tick Tock!” called Amy as she threw the carpentry tools into the moat. Tick Tock gratefully cruised towards the tools, got them, then returned to Yosemite Sam and hissed again. Sam got his club out again and whacked Tick Tock repeatedly.

“HOW MANY TIMES DO I…HAVE TO TELL YOU…to…shut…up?” Sam faltered when he saw the tools in Tick Tock’s hands! Tick Tock worked furiously in shortening the stilts. Yosemite Sam quickly turned around in an attempt to get back to the other side before Tick Tock shortened the stilts too much, but he was at Tick Tock’s level by the time he reached the edge of the moat. Tick Tock snapped furiously at his potential snack, tearing Sam’s clothes. “PEEEEEEEETE!” shouted Sam as he got out of the moat and ran away.

“No, no, no, Doc,” replied Bugs on the other end. “It’s SMEEEEEEEE!” He then chuckled to himself. “What a maroon!”

“Pst! PST!” came a voice. The group looked to see a woman with long, blood-red hair. “This way! Your doctor friend said she’s got a show set up!”

“You’re sure?” asked the Second Doctor.

“Positive!” insisted the red-head. “Come on!”

Pete and Yosemite Sam met up in Fantasyland, battered and bruised. “Imma starting to hate mice as well as rabbits!” grumbled Sam.

“Where ARE those rodents anyways?!” snarled Pete. “I oughta-!”

“There you are!” called the Second Doctor’s voice. He and the Fourth Doctor arrived. “We were wondering where you got to!”

“The show’s about to resume,” explained the Fourth Doctor. “Come along!”

“Wh-show?!” yelped Pete as he and Sam were dragged along. They found themselves on a set with four chairs, two of them occupied by Mickey and Bugs, the audience consisting of all the Disney Princesses, both official or otherwise, as well as their main princes and villains as well as any allies or family. The Second and Fourth Doctor then sat next to Amy and Lurra Rus as the present Doctor sat at a desk with cards in her hands and a buzzer sitting by her right hand.

“What in tarnation-?!” spluttered Sam. Music then played and he and Pete sat down in the empty chairs.

“Hello, and welcome back to Whose Line is it Anyway!” the present Doctor said to a camera. “The show where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter! If you’re keeping score at home…must be nice having all that free time on your hands. We’re going to finish out tonight’s episode with a game called Props! The idea is that the contestants will divide into two teams and think of as many things as they can with the props I give them and I’ll buzz them in between when I get the idea of what they’re doing. Bugs and Mickey, come and get your props.” Bugs and Mickey got up and were handed a pair of what looked like flat pink horseshoes. “And Sam and Pete, come and get your prop.” Sam and Pete got a red cone with red tentacles at the circular base. “All right then, we’ll start with…Bugs and Mickey. Take it away.” Mickey put the horseshoes near his mouth to emulate a bill.

“Wabbit theathon!” he said.

“Duck season!” replied Bugs.

“Wabbit theathon!”

“Duck season!” The Doctor pressed the buzzer. Pete then put the prop on the floor, pointy end up.

“We really should have warned the jester about the quicksand,” he said to Yosemite Sam. The Doctor then buzzed. Bugs then put the horseshoes over his feet.

“Hi, I’m Ryan Stiles!” he said. The Doctor buzzed again. Sam held one of the prop’s tentacles in his mouth and put the rest of it under his arm, playing it like a bagpipe with Pete dancing near him. The Doctor buzzed again. Mickey then formed the horseshoes like a toilet seat.

“Honey, put the seat down when you’re done!” he snapped at Bugs. The Doctor buzzed again. Sam then held his prop like an ice cream cone.

“Consarned heat wave, melting my ice cream!” he complained. The Doctor buzzed again. Bugs and Mickey then held their horseshoes to their waists as if they were pants.

“This town ain’t big enough for the two of us!” challenged Mickey with a cowboy drawl. The Doctor buzzed again. Pete then held the prop.

“I’m just going to dissect the creature,” he said, “and-!” He then shoved it onto his face and acted like it was a facehugger. The Doctor buzzed repeatedly, triggering the explosive in the prop and making it blow up in Pete’s face! Pete fell onto Sam, unconscious.

“We’ll be back with more Whose Line is it Anyway! Don’t go away!” finished the Doctor.

Yosemite Sam and Pete were taken into custody by the authorities a while later. “Well, that was exhilarating!” said the present Doctor as everyone returned to the TARDIS.

“Quite a party!” agreed the Second Doctor.

“It’s a shame that the party’s over,” remarked the Fourth Doctor.

“Well, I gotta get back on the road,” said Bugs. “It was nice seeing you again, Doc! Though, I gotta say, one of you is more than enough.” He dug a hole into the ground.

“Hey, take my advice!” called Mickey. “Avoid Albuquerque altogether!” He then turned to the Doctor and her team. “It was nice to finally meet you, Doctor.”

“And you, Mickey,” said the present Doctor. “We’d best dash. Bye now!” Everyone piled into the TARDIS and it took off.

Inside the TARDIS, the present Doctor checked her sonic screwdriver. “…Aha! So that’s where you boys came from! Well, let’s start with the little fellow.”

“Always with the short jokes!” grumbled the Second Doctor. He then relaxed and smiled. “Still, it was nice to meet me.”

“True,” remarked the present Doctor, “but I hope I don’t meet me again.” She pressed a button and the Second Doctor vanished, waving goodbye to everyone. The present Doctor then turned to the Fourth. “You know, you’ve always been a favorite out of all my incarnations.” The Fourth Doctor flashed his signature grin.

“It’s been a splendid time, Doctor. Goodbye!” He then vanished as he readjusted his scarf. Soon, there was just the present Doctor in the TARDIS with her friends.

“…It was nice to walk down memory lane with you, Doctor,” said Amy.

“Yes, but Mickey’s right,” said Lurra Rus. “One Doctor at a time is enough.”

“Quite right,” agreed the Doctor. She then pondered. “…Feels like I’m forgetting something important. …Ah well, I’ll think about it later. For now, we need to track the next chronal surge!”

Categories
Welcome

A Triple Headache: Part 2

“So…so does that mean you’re all versions of the same person?” asked Mickey.

“Not in the sense that you’re thinking of, Mickey,” replied the Fourth Doctor as he checked the TARDIS. “We’re not just versions of the same Time Lord. We ARE the same Time Lord.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake!” complained Amy. “You all have a terrible habit of not knowing when to dumb things down!”

“Look, Mr. Mouse, it’s like this,” said Lurra Rus, “when a Time Lord is about to die, either by old age or fatal damage, they go through a process called regeneration. They rewrite themselves on the genetic level to become a totally new person. The regenerating Time Lord could start out having a pale skin tone and be whimsical, then they’d end up in a body that could have an increased melanin count, or be short, or tall, and their new personality could be that of a curmudgeon, or a cynic, or a really wild person.”

“Oh, so it’s not multiverse stuff,” said Mickey, “those three are the same person at different points in their life.”

“Yes! That’s it!” cheered the present Doctor.

“And everyone that believes in reincarnation just punched the air,” said Bugs. “So how did your past lives get here, Doc?”

“Well, my future self DID mention something about a chronal surge,” remarked the Fourth Doctor.

“Oh? And who would develop the technology to do so?” asked the Second Doctor.

“Perhaps if I could explain!” called the present Doctor.

“Yes, perhaps some explanations are in order,” agreed Mickey. By now, everyone was giving the present Doctor their full attention.

“Well, Doctors, you remember that little legend about the Grouping?” asked the present Doctor. “Where chronal surges happen all across time and space and cause chaos by picking people up and plopping them into different time zones?”

“Yes, that’s one of the things Borusa taught us,” replied the Fourth Doctor.

“It’s not a legend, it really happened,” said the present Doctor. “And it’s happening again right now.”

“Oh…oh I see,” said the Second Doctor. “Well, as I said, just as well we turned up, eh?”

“What do you mean?” asked the present Doctor.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” quizzed the Fourth Doctor. “Your effectiveness is now tripled!”

“Divided by three, you mean,” snarked the present Doctor.

“Now, now, young lady,” chided the Second Doctor. “There’s no need to be ungracious. Now, let’s pop into the TARDIS and examine our little problem, shall we? You don’t mind, do you?”

“Oh, be my guest,” replied the present Doctor.

“Thank you,” bid the Second Doctor as he opened the TARDIS. He then looked inside. “Oh my word!” he yelped. The Fourth Doctor looked inside.

“What?!” he gasped.

“Beautiful, hm?” asked the present Doctor as she joined her fellows. “Amy, Lurra, mind waiting outside for a sec?”

“Um, sure,” replied Amy. The TARDIS doors then shut.

“…Oh. …Ooooohhh, I see what’s going on,” realized Mickey.

“What do you mean, Doc?” asked Bugs.

“Does the phrase ‘You are your own worst critic’ mean anything?” asked Mickey. Amy, Lurra Rus, and Bugs realized where Mickey was coming from.

“How vicious do you think the squabbling will be?” asked Amy to no one in particular.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor’s previous incarnations were looking around the console room. “I see you’ve redecorated,” said the Second Doctor. “I don’t like it.”

“I was a fan of the wood-paneling,” remarked the Fourth Doctor.

“The wood paneling?” asked the Second Doctor. “You mean our writing desk?! You’ve used that as the primary console room at one point?!”

“I still am,” replied the Fourth Doctor.

“What’s wrong with the red and gold?” asked the present Doctor. She then saw her second incarnation at one of the panels! “Please, be careful! I-!” The console panel beeped, then powered down.

“I see you’ve been fiddling with the console, haven’t you?!” accused the Second Doctor. By now, the present Doctor was getting annoyed.

“It was perfectly all right until YOU touched it!” she hissed as she shoved the Second Doctor aside and worked to reset the panel. “Now, if you’d just leave things to me-!”

“My dear girl, if we left things to you, we’d be in a fine pickle now, wouldn’t we?”

“Now look, you destabilized the chronal offset-!”

“I most certainly did not!”

“Why did you need the chronal offset stabilized anyways?” asked the Fourth as he flicked a switch.

“That’s the most surefire way of tracking a chronal surge!” replied the present Doctor as she flicked the switch back. “And it also helps me get ahead of the surge so I can deal with the problem before it becomes too big!”

“It seemed to put you in a place where it affected you!” argued the Second Doctor.

“Rather painfully, I would presume,” guessed the Fourth Doctor. As the three Doctors squabbled, they didn’t realize that the communications panel was blinking. It was only when a voice cut through from the scanner that the bickering stopped.

“Hello! Grandfather! Come in!” came a voice. The three Doctors stopped.

“Susan?!” yelped the present Doctor as she and her previous incarnations turned to see Susan Foreman, Lord President of Gallifrey and the Doctor’s Granddaughter, on the screen.

“…Stognav told me you had regenerated, Grandfather,” said Susan, “but I didn’t realize you had turned into a supermodel.”

“OI!” protested the present Doctor.

“The little fellow, I recognize from the Death Zone,” continued Susan. The Second Doctor frowned at the reference to his height. “So which incarnation is the one with the scarf?”

“Oh, he’s the one between the fancy pants and the cricket player,” replied the present Doctor.

“Ah, so he’s the one that was trapped in the time eddy. Well, have you said anything to them?”

“Well, Susan,” replied the Second Doctor, “our arrival WAS because of a chronal surge.”

“So the Grouping affected you twice over,” remarked Susan. “Now, have you done anything?”

“Well, we’ve assessed the situation,” replied the present Doctor. Susan sighed.

“I was afraid you’d say that,” she muttered.

“Well, it’s not easy!” protested the present Doctor.

“Not as if we can accurately figure out where each of us came from in time!” the Second Doctor agreed.

“Surely you three can think of something,” said Susan. “…After you get your past selves back to their native time zones, Grandfather, I DO need to tell you and Amy something.” The present Doctor arched an eyebrow, looking quite concerned.

“…Well, in the meantime,” said the Fourth Doctor, “perhaps we should figure out the exact points in time we came from, eh Doctor?”

“Oh, I quite agree, Doctor,” replied the Second Doctor.

“I think I have an idea,” said the present Doctor. “Susan, I’ll call you back when this particular Grouping event is settled.”

“Very well, Grandfather,” replied Susan. She then ended the call.

“Right, I think we’d best have a little chat,” said the present Doctor. “Telepathically. The situation is rather involved.”

“Oh, very well,” sighed the Second Doctor. He and his future incarnations then shut their eyes. “Contact.”

“Contact,” said the Fourth Doctor.

“Contact,” finished the present Doctor. The three Doctors then had their telepathic conference. After a bit, the Doctors opened their eyes.

“Well, that seems simple,” said the Second Doctor. “Though, I must admit, you two being so dependent on your sonic screwdrivers-.”

“Save it!” hissed the present Doctor. “We already agreed anyways.”

“She’s quite right,” agreed the Fourth Doctor.

“So, with all the screwdrivers synced to mine-!” said all three Doctors. …They then fixed one another with a sour look. The present Doctor then fished a modern-day five-pence coin out of her pocket. Her previous incarnations fished out the same kind of coin, but this was before the current decimal system.

“Call,” directed the present Doctor as all three flipped their coins. They then checked where the coins landed.

“Heads,” said the Second Doctor.

“Heads,” called the Fourth Doctor.

“Tails, I win,” said the present Doctor as she checked a little too quickly. Her previous incarnations didn’t buy it, but didn’t argue.

“…All right,” sighed the Fourth Doctor. “Screwdrivers ready.” The three of them fished out their sonic screwdrivers and the Second and Fourth Doctors pointed their screwdrivers at the present Doctor’s.

“Begin sync-up…NOW!” called the present Doctor. The three activated their screwdrivers and the console room was filled with combined noise for a good five seconds. The Doctors then switched their screwdrivers off and the present Doctor checked hers. “…Calculations are beginning,” she said. “We’ve got-.”

“DOCTOR!” yelped Amy’s voice from outside the TARDIS.

“Uh oh!” gulped the present Doctor.

“I see that hasn’t changed,” remarked the Fourth Doctor.

“Don’t just stand there! Come on!” urged the Second Doctor as he made a dash for the door.

The three Doctors left the TARDIS and the present Doctor locked the time machine. “Amy, what’s going-?!” asked the present Doctor before she saw everyone being held up by a little cowboy with two revolvers and a long, orange moustache. His partner was a giant, obese cat with no tail and overalls held by one strap. “…A stick-up, is it?” asked the present Doctor.

“Sam and I heard through the grapevine,” chuckled the fat cat, “that the box over there is a time machine! Well, given how we always lost to Mickey and Bugs, WE’RE gonna be using it to fix our mistakes!”

“So youse are gonna give up the box,” said the cowboy, “or Imma gonna blow your friends here to smithereenies!”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

A Triple Headache: Part 1

After closing time for a massive theme park, a mouse looked up at a statue of him and a human looking towards the future with the human pointing in the future’s direction. “…Iger’s not exactly seeing the same future as you, Walt,” sighed the mouse, the famous Mickey Mouse. “At this point, I’m not sure he sees the same great, big, beautiful tomorrow as you.” He then heard something that sounded like digging. “…It’s not him, surely!” said Mickey. The ground near him shifted as if someone was digging a hole from below! The digger then poked his head out and looked around. “BUGS?!” yelped Mickey. The digger, the equally famous Bugs Bunny, looked up in surprise.

“MICKEY?!” he yelped. He then pulled out a map and looked at it. “…Knew I should have gone north at Albuquerque.”

“You get lost there too many times, Bugs,” remarked Mickey. “Why not just avoid Albuquerque altogether?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” asked Bugs as he got out of his hole. He then saw where in the Magic Kingdom he was. “…Thinking about Walt?” he guessed.

“And how he’s spinning in his grave about Bob Iger’s current direction,” replied Mickey bitterly.

“There’s always SOME corporate drama,” muttered Bugs. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Warner Brothers adopts the same stance on AI content like Disney does.”

“None of our companies are really clean, are they?”

“Nah, not really. Other people already wrote the jokes before we did.”

“…You know, I DO hope Warner Brothers DOESN’T follow in our footsteps,” said Mickey.

“I hope not too, Mick,” agreed Bugs. They both looked up at Walt’s statue. “…Your kid’s still fighting the good fight, Walt. You and Lillian both know that, right?” Mickey smiled.

“I think your creators would be proud of you too, Bugs,” said Mickey. As Bugs was about to say something, a noise filled the air. Mickey heard it too. “…Bugs-,” he said.

“You hear it too, huh Mick?” asked Bugs.

“…I think I see it too!” said Mickey as he pointed to the TARDIS materializing. “…The Doctor’s real?! I thought that was a made-up show Disney+ streamed at one point!”

“Oh, the Doctor’s real, Mickey! I met her!” The TARDIS fully materialized and the Doctor and her team stepped out.

“Doctor, are you sure coming here early was a good idea?” asked Amy.

“Positive,” replied the Doctor. “It’s best to get ahead of a chronal surge when you can. That’s why we’re here and now.”

“So where and when IS here and now, exactly?” asked Lurra Rus.

“Mickey, is that a-?!” asked Bugs.

“Well, she’s no cast member here!” replied Mickey. The Doctor looked up and grinned.

“Well, well, well, the most famous cartoon characters in all creation!” she said.

“Bugs?!” asked Amy.

“Amy!” replied Bugs. He then looked at the Doctor. “…Doc?” he asked.

“Yes, it’s me,” replied the Doctor. “How far away from our Mars trip are we? Temporally speaking, of course.”

“That was a few months ago, Doc,” answered Bugs. “But what are you doing here in the first place?”

“Tracking an event called the Grouping,” explained the Doctor. “A series of chronal surges that tend to take someone out of their time and pop them in a different one altogether.”

“I…see…” Bugs didn’t REALLY see, but he wasn’t sure he wanted the Doctor’s attempt at dumbing the explanation down.

“Well, I need to take a few scans and-.” That was when a chronal surge washed over the group. The Doctor then clutched at her left-hand heart! She fell against the TARDIS to steady herself and catch her breath.

“DOCTOR!” yelped Lurra Rus. The Doctor panted as she recovered.

“…Me,” she whispered.

“Doctor?” asked Mickey.

“Doctor, hang on,” said Amy. “The Grouping plucked…YOU out of your time stream?”

“Yes,” confirmed the Doctor. “Twice over. …Both times, I ended up here. In this spatio/temporal location.” The Doctor’s breathing had returned to normal. “That chronal surge whittled me! Twice at the same time! You’ve heard that a man is the sum of his memories, yes? Well, a Time Lord even more so! Come on, let’s go see where I ended up.” The Doctor picked herself up and went to the side of the TARDIS…to find a floppy hat!

“…Doc, didn’t YOU used to wear that?” asked Bugs.

“That hat I wore when we first met,” replied the Doctor, “wasn’t this hat at all.”

“Excuse me,” called a man’s voice, “that would be mine.”

“Oh, here you are!” replied the Doctor as she handed the hat to the man. She then did a double take when she saw the man’s features. He put the hat on his mop of curly brown hair, he had a wide smile, a brown coat, and a ridiculously long multi-colored scarf draped around his shoulders.

“How do you do?” greeted the man as he pulled a bag out of his pocket. “I’m the Doctor. Care for a jelly baby?” The Doctor blinked, then took a sweet from his bag. “That offer applies to everyone,” said the man.

“…Doctor, that’s not-?” asked Amy as everyone got a jelly baby.

“I’m rather afraid so, Amy,” replied the Doctor. “That…is me. Was me. …That’s my fourth incarnation.”

“Oh, so you’re the Doctor as well?” asked the Fourth Doctor. “Perhaps you can account for my being here?”

“It was hardly my fault, you bohemian!” argued the Doctor as she stomped forward. “There was a chronal surge and whoOOPS!” Her foot landed on something tubular and she tripped, running into the Fourth Doctor. “Okay, what was-?!” The Doctor whirled around…to see that she stepped on a recorder. “…Now that looks familiar,” she muttered.

“A flute of some kind?” asked Amy.

“Properly speaking, it’s a recorder,” corrected the Doctor.

“And oddly familiar,” mused the Fourth Doctor.

“Madame, do be careful where you step!” admonished a new man’s voice. The speaker then snatched the recorder from the Doctor’s hand. The Doctor and the Fourth Doctor goggled in surprise as they saw that the man was a little fellow dressed like a tramp with black hair and a bow tie. The man pulled out a rag and cleaned off the recorder, then played on it a bit. “Ah, there we go!” he said, pleased with the results. “Still playable.” He put the recorder in his coat pocket. “Now then, perhaps introductions are in order, hm?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary, Doctor,” replied the Doctor.

“Wait a minute, you just called him…oh no!” groaned Lurra Rus.

“You know my name, Madame?” asked the new man.

“We both do, Doctor,” replied the Fourth Doctor.

“…Oh my word,” realized the man. “So my future, eh? Twice over? Just as well I turned up.”

“Doctor, if that’s another incarnation, which one is he?” Amy asked her Doctor.

“That would be our second,” answered the Doctor.

“I don’t seem to recall meeting that man over there,” remarked the Second Doctor as he pointed at the Fourth.

“He was trapped in a time eddy during our time in the Death Zone,” explained the Doctor. “He’s the one between Fancy Pants and the Cricket Player with the celery on his lapel.”

“Okay, so if this happened to you before twice over,” said Lurra Rus, “how do we solve this?”

“I don’t remember,” replied the Doctor. Her companions gave her a funny look. “Look, it’s something Rassilon put into our genetics.”

“Ah, so they know about Rassilon, then?” asked the Second Doctor.

“They met him…her,” replied the Doctor.

“Met her?” asked the Fourth Doctor. “She’s walking again?”

“Went mad, then traveled with me and went sane, hopefully,” explained the Doctor. “In any event-.”

“Rassilon made it so-!” By now, all the Doctors were talking. The three glared at each other. “…Go ahead. …Rassilon made it-!” Amy held up a hand.

“One at a time,” she said. She pointed at the Second Doctor. “You start us off, then Scarfy, then my Doctor can finish the explanation.”

“You see, Rassilon knew that, with our time travel capabilities,” began the Second Doctor, “we’d accidentally cross into our own time streams, despite all the precautions and laws set down.”

“So, while giving the Time Lords our ability to regenerate,” continued the Fourth, “Rassilon implemented a fail-safe that only the eldest incarnation would remember recall meeting one’s past.”

“But the past can’t exactly remember the future,” finished the present Doctor, “because the past would need to play out so the future would happen. Understand?”

“Yes,” replied Lurra Rus.

“…Really?”

“…No!” Lurra Rus looked pained at the explanation.

“Hold on a minute!” called Mickey. “So, if I’m understanding it right, they’re…alternate universe versions of you?”

“I’m…rather afraid you’re NOT understanding this correctly,” replied the Doctor. “They’re two of us. …Two of ME, to be precise.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no!” interjected the Second Doctor. “I’m sorry, Sir, I hate to be contrary, but I can see the incident has confused the poor girl-.”

“Excuse me?!” snapped the present Doctor.

“And I DO feel you deserve the correct explanation,” continued the Second Doctor. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Yes!” argued the present Doctor.

“I didn’t think you would. You see, Mickey…I may call you Mickey, mayn’t I? You see, THEY are two of me!” Mickey looked lost at sea.

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 5

Seeing Double: Part 4

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

“That is a lie!” argued the Rutan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…You lie!”

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

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

“And what about its people?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What’s that?” asked Storm.

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

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

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

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

“That wasn’t necessary!” she snarled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“And me,” declared Amy.

“And me!” called Lurra Rus.

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

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

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

“What did you do?” asked Lurra Rus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

Seeing Double: Part 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…You aren’t fooled?” asked Veranke.

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

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

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

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

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

“That’s a sonic probe!”

“Screwdriver,” corrected the Doctor.

“It’s harmless,” replied Veranke.

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

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

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

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

“OW!” shouted Skarla.

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

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

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

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

“Yeah?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Doctor?” asked the double.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…Who owns that craft?” it demanded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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