Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

The Monster’s Ghosts: Part 4

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

“It’s…perfect!” whispered the Doctor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“HEY!” protested the Controller.

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

“And if it isn’t?” asked Sty.

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

“Powering up,” reported the Doctor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Giant in the box!” began Peter.

“Ready to go!” continued Ray.

“We be fast,” Egon went on.

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

“So that’s it?” asked Ben.

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

“NO!” insisted his coworkers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“As of now, yes,” replied the Doctor.

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

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

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

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

“Again?” asked Tysar.

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

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

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

The Monster’s Ghosts: Part 3

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

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

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

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

“Oh?” asked the Controller.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“And the woman you’re fighting?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What just happened?!” protested Ben.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…That sounds bad,” said Ben.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Albedo, use your head!” complained Peter.

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

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

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

“HUMUNGOUSAUR!” he shouted. And he was.

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

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

“Hey! What-?!” spluttered Humungousaur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

The Monster’s Ghosts: Part 2

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

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

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

“2026,” confirmed the Doctor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Who’s Albedo?” she asked.

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

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

“The Omnitrix is a myth,” scoffed Sty.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Can we get footage?!” asked Ben.

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

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

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

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

“Oh, come on! Spidermonkey fits!”

“Activating Arachnachimp Transformation,” said the Omnitrix.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“All right, fine,” muttered Spidermonkey.

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

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


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

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

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

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

“No way would Azmuth fall for that!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Speak!” replied Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“H-How can-?!” stammered Dr. Sato.

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

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

The Monster’s Ghosts: Part 1

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

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

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

“What about it?” asked Sty.

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…Doctor?” asked Albedo.

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

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


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

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

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


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

“Those teeth were huge!” gulped Tysar.

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

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

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

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

“That’s it!” confirmed the Doctor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Doctor?!” gulped Dr. Sato.

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

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

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

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

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

“Yes, but-!”

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

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

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

“Doctor?!” rasped the ghost-creature.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“But…HOW?!” asked Venkman.

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

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

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

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

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

Mission to the Mind: Part 3

Raz, Wander, and Sylvia goggled. “I ain’t never been inside this thing before, Doctor!” yelped Wander.

“All this inside a tiny box?!” asked Raz.

“How’s it bigger on the inside?!” protested Sylvia.

“Time Lord headache physics,” replied Tysar.

“OI! It’s not THAT much of a headache!” argued the Doctor.

“To Time Lords, maybe,” countered Tysar. The Time Rotor then moved up and down.

“Doctor, the Mooplexian homeworld’s on the other side of the galaxy,” said Wander.

“A short hop,” replied the Doctor. The TARDIS then made its usual arrival noise and the Time Rotor stopped. “Now, let’s see if I got it right.” She switched the scanner on and it revealed what the outside looked like. There were creatures on stems with open mouths and eyeballs spilling out of their sockets, feet on their heads, and stringy hair. Raz was holding his head.

“Man, I’m getting a lot of psychic readings here!” he said.

“We made it!” said the Doctor. “Now, let’s plead our case to them.”

“…Doctor, are these REALLY powerful psychics?” asked Tysar.

“Take it from me, they’re the most powerful in this galaxy, on par with Psychonauts like Raz and the Time Lords. …And, sadly, they take a dim view on Time Lords. They’re sure to lash out if I step outside the TARDIS.”

“…Then maybe you should-.”

“I can’t stay in here. I must make the case in person. …Now come along.” The Doctor opened the doors and the group stepped outside to speak with the Mooplexians. “Great Mooplexians,” called the Doctor, “I am the Doctor. I speak with you on behalf of-.”

“TIME LORD!” boomed a voice. All of a sudden, the area around everyone changed.

“HEY! WHAT’S WITH THE PSYCHIC SHOW?!” yelped Raz. The Mooplexians’ heads then lifted away from their stems and turned into neon colors.

“You and your ilk are not welcome here!” boomed one of the Mooplexians.

“I understand our species’ contempt for one another,” replied the Doctor, “but Lord Hater-!”

“The sad man is unimportant!” replied the lead Mooplexian.

“With respect, Great Mooplexians, he is VERY important! He’s gotten ahold of a machine that can clone psychic powers and uses YOUR mental energy as a power source!”

“He will be dealt with in due course! You, on the other hand-!”

“Wander, you and your friends will wait!” boomed another Mooplexian.

“What are you gonna do?!” yelped Wander, terrified at the Mooplexians’ behavior.

“She will represent her species in the trial!” replied the Mooplexian second-in-command. A stone wall then appeared, separating them from the Doctor.

“HEY!” protested Raz. He then fired a psi-blast at the wall, but no dice.


On the other side of the wall, the Doctor was on a podium. “Time Lord, your species stands accused of generating enemies and generally picking on the little folk when we taught Rassilon, Omega, and Tecteun all those centuries ago that such actions made them pathetic!” boomed the head Mooplexian.

“I can assure you, those lessons HAVE been learned!” urged the Doctor.

“Not true!” replied another Mooplexian. “The Last Great Time War and the resulting corrupted Shadow Proclamation is proof that your species would rather die than learn those lessons! Need we name your personal enemies, Time Lord?! You had no one to call friends, just enemies!”

“Not true! For every enemy you name, I shall name all those I call my friends!”

“Impossible!” retorted the head Mooplexian. “The Daleks, the Toymaker, the Cybermen! You had no one!” Images of those enemies appeared. They were images of when the Doctor first met those enemies.

“Then you haven’t probed deep into my mind!” The Doctor conjured images of her first incarnation’s friends. “Ian Chesterton! Barbara Wright! My granddaughter, Susan Foreman! Vicki! Steven Taylor! Dodo Chaplet! Polly! Ben Jackson!” The images of her friends overpowered the images of her enemies.

“…These…these are lies!” protested a Mooplexian. “Time Lords cannot have friends! The Ice Warriors! The Great Intelligence!”

“Jamie McCrimmon! Victoria Waterfield! Zoe Heriot! Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart!” countered the Doctor. Once again, the images of her friends overpowered the images of her enemies.

“The Nestene Consciousness! The Silurians! The Sea Devils! The Master! Omega! The Sontarans!”

“Dr. Liz Shaw! Jo Grant! Sarah Jane Smith! John Benton! Mike Yates!”

“The Black Guardian! Sutekh! Davros! The Rutans!”

“Harry Sullivan! Leela! K9! Romana! Adric! Nyssa! Tegan Jovanka!”

“The Mara!”

“Vislor Turlough! Kamelion! Peri Brown!”

“The Valeyard!”

“Mel Bush!”

“Fenric!”

“Ace!”


Raz clutched his head as the trial went on. “Raz?” asked Tysar.

“The Doctor’s engaged in a psychic duel with the Mooplexians!” replied Raz.

“Is she nuts?!” protested Wander. “She won’t survive a duel with them!”

“You don’t know her mind like I do, Wander,” said Raz. “It’s full of twists and turns even I can’t navigate.”


“RGH! TECTEUN!” challenged the lead Mooplexian as it and its fellows were straining against the Doctor.

“RGHGF! DAN LEWIS!” countered the Doctor, the strain evident on her mind.

“THE NOT-THINGS!”

“RUBY SUNDAY! JOY ALMONDO! BELINDA CHANDRA!”

“RITA REPULSA! GURAST! DARTH VADER!”

“WILLIAM DAVIES! AMY ROSE! LURRA RUS!”

“POISON IVY! LEX LUTHOR! LOKI! DR. DOOM!”

“RAZPUTIN AQUATO! WANDER! SYLVIA! TYSAR!” By then, the Mooplexians screamed both in the mentalscape and the real world. The wall collapsed as an energy wave erupted from the Mooplexian homeworld.


The energy wave washed over the planet Lord Hater and his Watchdogs had conquered. It was pandemonium aboard the Skullship. Commander Peepers saw something on the screen. “SIR!” he warned. “That energy wave’s affected the mental cloning machine we picked up! Its abnormal energies have set it into overload!”

“Flabdrassit, give it to me straight, Peepers!” complained Hater.

“It’s gonna-!” The machine exploded, sending debris across the room. Lord Hater summoned an electric force field in time, not lowering it until the noise stopped.

“…Don’t ask me how,” snarled Hater, “but this has Wander written all over it!”

“For once, I agree, Sir,” replied Peepers. “Written in big, red letters.”


Back on the Mooplexian homeworld, the Mooplexians were catching their breath as the Doctor’s friends were attending to her. “How is that possible?!” asked Wander. “The Mooplexians are the most powerful psychics in the galaxy! You shouldn’t be alive, Doc!”

“I have my ways,” panted the Doctor.

“You…you have friends…” panted the lead Mooplexian. “…How? Time Lords cannot make friends! They’re too arrogant for that!”

“…Did…did that thing just talk?” asked Sylvia.

“We had transcended physical form, Sylvia,” replied another Mooplexian. “Never, in all our lives, have we encountered a psychic so powerful.”

“You want powerful psychics,” remarked the Doctor, “you should be glad you didn’t fight Raz here. But, as you can see, your accusations against my people of us making only enemies instead of friends only hold water on a case-by-case basis. Even Rassilon is learning that lesson. Now, about Lord Hater’s psychic cloning machine-.”

“Our duel has already destroyed it,” said the head Mooplexian. “Now, with all that said…leave. While you, Doctor, proved to be an exception, Time Lords are not welcome on our quiet world. Take Razputin Aquato home and dare not trespass on our home again.”

“…As you wish,” sighed the Doctor. “Come along, everyone.” She gathered everyone into the TARDIS and it took off while the Mooplexians assumed their natural state.


“So, how do we bring Raz back to his time?” asked Tysar. “I don’t think Lord Hater would want us back on that planet.”

“Oh, the TARDIS has other ways,” replied the Doctor as she fiddled with the controls. “Let’s see, chrono-navigation’s calculated and…bingo!”

“So, now what?” asked Raz.

“Now you get sent back,” answered the Doctor. “Good luck, Razputin Aquato!”

“Bye, Doctor! Hey, when you visit the Motherlobe again, give us some warning if you changed your face again, huh?”

“I make no promises on that,” chuckled the Doctor as she flicked a switch. Raz then faded away, waving goodbye. After a few seconds, the TARDIS landed. “There we are! For Wander and Sylvia, I’ve set us on Zorbula V!”

“Ooh! Never been there before!” said Wander, giddy with excitement.

“I have,” replied Sylvia. “You’ll enjoy it, Wander! A nice, peaceful little place!” She let Wander jump on her saddle and take the reins, then they left the TARDIS.

“Bye, Doc!” called Wander. “See you later!” The door then shut.

“…Well, that’s a nice turn of events,” sighed the Doctor happily. “No death and destruction and the Mooplexians learned something. It’s always nice to see higher beings learn something new. Heck, that’s why I left Gallifrey! Us Time Lords never bothered to learn something new! …Granted, I was exiled for a time because of it, but-!”

“Doctor, I hate to interrupt,” said Tysar, “but the TARDIS found a new chronal surge! …Although it seems to be centered around this galaxy early in its history.”

“Let me see.” The Doctor checked the readings and goggled. “…Well, isn’t THAT a surprise! This is before he became Emperor!”

“Doctor?” asked Tysar.

“Hold onto your hat, Tysar,” warned the Doctor. “We’re going to the Clone Wars, a conflict that plagued this galaxy long before Wander was born.”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

Mission to the Mind: Part 2

“I, Lord Hater,” began the skeleton, “planetary conqueror and number one superstar, hereby claim this planet and its famous Time Orbble Lake as mine, proving that I am the GREATEST IN THE-!”

“HEY, HATEY!” called Wander.

“…Ignore him, Hater!” Lord Hater growled to himself. “If you ignore him, he’ll go away!”

“That’s a rather lame way to solve your problems, Lord Hater,” remarked the Doctor.

“ARE YOU QUESTIONING ME?!” shouted Lord Hater. “…Wait a minute, who ARE you anyways?!”

“Oh, we met before,” said the Doctor. “That whole business with the Daleks and Lord Dominator and her modifications to the Movellan Virus?” Lord Hater goggled.

“How do YOU know the specifics?!” he demanded. “…Unless…Peepers!”

“Yes, Sir!” replied his right-hand man, Commander Peepers. He then pulled out a scanner and waved it over the Doctor. His singular eye widened. “Time Lord genetics confirmed, Sir!” reported Commander Peepers.

“Sir, that blue box the Doctor has is over here!” called one of the eyeball creatures, the Watchdogs.

“DOCTOR?!” yelped Lord Hater. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! WITH WANDER AGAIN?!”

“Well, I’m trying to get this young man back to his proper point in space-time,” replied the Doctor as she indicated Raz. Commander Peepers checked his scanner again, then his eye widened in surprise.

“Sir, that kid’s psychic readings are off the charts!” he said.

“His psychic powers are not your concern!” urged the Doctor.

“…Oh, aren’t they?!” chuckled Lord Hater as a wicked grin crossed his face. By now, the Doctor and her friends closed ranks around Raz.

“You’re not touching him!” declared the Doctor.

“Watchdogs, EYES UP!” ordered Lord Hater. The Watchdogs leveled their weapons at the group. “I don’t NEED to touch him to get him to come aboard! Just to be on the safe side, you’d better join him and enjoy your five-star suite in the brig while I clone his mind powers!”

“Ha! You don’t have that kind of technology!” cackled the Doctor.


“…So, I HAVE been wrong before,” remarked the Doctor when she saw the machine in Lord Hater’s ship.

“That’s gonna clone my psychic abilities?” asked Raz. “…Looks an awful lot like the Brain Tumbler.”

“With this machine, puny creature,” Commander Peepers said with pride, “we shall clone all psychic abilities and implant them into our test subjects!”

“Psychic cloning is against galactic law,” remarked the Doctor.

“I’M the evil overlord here!” retorted Lord Hater. “I’M the one that decides what is or isn’t legal!”

“Other powers made that kind of thing illegal because of the untold damage it does to both the psychic having their powers cloned and the subject that’s having those powers forcibly implanted into their own mind! It will KILL them! BOTH of them!”

“My science team’s already taking the necessary precautions!” dismissed Hater. “Watchdogs, throw them in the brig! Make sure everything is ready for the kid!”

“Lord Hater, Raz is ten!” protested the Doctor.

“Eleven, actually,” interjected Raz.

“Not the point.” The Watchdogs were set on obeying their master as they leveled their guns at the Doctor and her group.


Everyone was thrown into separate cells in the brig block. “…Well, ain’t this cozy,” grumbled Sylvia.

“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” Wander said to Raz. “Folks call me Wander.”

“Raz,” replied Raz. “Razputin Aquato. From Earth.”

“Never heard of it,” remarked Sylvia.

“It’s not a planet within this galaxy,” replied the Doctor as she fiddled with her cell’s force field. “Have to admit, Lord Hater’s a lot smarter than I gave him credit for.”

“What, for not only hiding the force field emitters,” said Tysar, “but taking your sonic screwdriver?”

“Yes, limiting my options,” remarked the Doctor. “Making me take longer to escape, that WILL put me in a panic…if the Skullship was running on top-of-the-line technology.”

“Yes, the power flow regulators aren’t very advanced,” remarked Tysar.

“Hater’s always focused on whether or not something is cool in his eyes,” said Sylvia. “So I’m not surprised to hear you say that.”

“Hm, primitive technology by anyone’s metrics,” said the Doctor, “but stubborn. …Actually, Raz, can you still use your powers? Simple telekinesis on the force field control panel should be sufficient.”

“Let’s see,” replied Raz. He held his hand to the side of his head, then concentrated. The control panel then sparked and the force fields vanished. The Doctor grinned.

“Rule one of containing a psychic!” she said.

“Always have something on hand to shut off their powers!” finished Raz.

“So what now?” asked Sylvia.

“Now I need to know what Hater’s plans are,” said the Doctor. “And, of course, get my screwdriver back.” She saw a console with a screen above it. “That might do it. Let’s see…password locked. Right then.” She tried the obvious password of “password” and all variations. “…No, looks like Hater’s not that stupid. …Wait, maybe something that strokes his ego.” She tried a variation of Lord Hater’s name and the fact that he considered himself the number one superstar. “…AHA!” she called. “Perfect!” She then called up the data of the mission to the planet. “…Hm…well, that WOULD be a prudent thing to do.”

“Doctor?” asked Wander.

“It seems Lord Hater, in a bout of paranoia, fears that Lord Dominator would use Time Orbble Lake to travel back to the past and undo her big defeat at his hands.”

“Well, you gotta admit,” remarked Sylvia, “losing to Hater would bruise anyone’s ego.”

“There’s something that just doesn’t add up, though,” remarked the Doctor. “Where does Raz fit into all this?” She triple-checked her research. “…Infernal cheek!” she muttered. “Raz was just a spur-of-the-moment plan!”

“Well, I guess I can be somewhat relieved,” remarked Raz.

“Doctor, what does it say about Hater’s machine?” asked Tysar.

“Haven’t found those files yet,” replied the Doctor. “Come on, come on! No, I don’t want to see tickets to Lord Hater and the Harbingers of Doom! No, the-! Aha! Here it is! …Huh. …It’s a Cluckon weapon.”

“Cluckon?” asked Sylvia. “Those chickens? Why would they want it?”

“It was intended to be a weapon to use the powers of the Mooplexians to psychically attack someone, but it looks like Lord Hater intended to use that power for his own purposes.”

“And Mooplexians are…?” asked Tysar.

“Well, they look like the dumbest creatures in the universe, but those are only shells of their real selves. Their actual intelligence is phenomenal, rivaling even the Time Lords. And using them as a power source for this psychic cloning machine WOULD give Hater a degree of control…right! We have to go to the Mooplexian Homeworld!”

“Doctor, we can’t just leave! The TARDIS is still by the lake!” protested Tysar.

“Lord Hater can guard that lake as much as he wants,” replied the Doctor, “but the weapon needs to be destroyed and the Mooplexians have that kind of reach.”

“Doctor, there’s sure to be Watchdogs…well, WATCHING the TARDIS!”

“Leave that to me and Wander!” replied Sylvia. Wander then took off his hat and rummaged around in it.

“Let’s see…aha!” He pulled out a Watchdog’s suit! “They’re about my height! I always wanted to see what being a Watchdog was like!”

“Perfect! Let’s go!” declared the Doctor.


The Doctor and her group arrived at the front of the Skullship where guards were placed for any attempted jailbreaks. Wander was dressed up in his Watchdog suit and had a super soaker in his hands. It looked like one of the Watchdogs’ usual laser rifles, so no one really blinked. “All right, as we planned,” the Doctor said to Wander.

“Right,” replied Wander. “And…sorry in advance.” He then “roughly” shoved the Doctor forward. “Come on, you!” he barked. “Get going! You too, Zbornak! And you apes!” Everyone marched towards the front.

“HALT!” called one of the guards. “What do you think you’re doing, Private? The prisoners are supposed to stay in their cells!”

“Lord Hater ordered me to give them some exercise as long as we’re on the planet!” replied Wander.

“It’s true,” replied Raz. “Go ahead and check with him.”

“Yes, he was quite insistent,” supplied the Doctor.

“Yeah, right!” scoffed the other guard. “Let me just check, huh?” He pulled out a walkie-talkie and called up Lord Hater.

“What is it, Bob?!” demanded Lord Hater. “I’m busy making my new torture room mixtape!”

“Lord Hater, one of the Privates said that he got direct orders from you to-.”

“ARE YOU MAKING ONE OF THE PRIVATES DISOBEY ME?!” shouted Hater.

“N-NO, SIR!” yelped the guard. “NOT AT ALL, SIR!”

“THEN LET HIM GET ON WITH IT! HATER, OUT!” Hater hung up.

“…W-Well, get on with it!” ordered the guard as he and his friend stepped aside.

“Thanks!” replied Wander. He then escorted everyone out. After a few seconds, one of the guards thought for a moment.

“…Hang on! Since when do we have orange beards?!” he asked his friend. The other guard goggled, then whirled around, blaster armed!

“HEY! GET BACK IN YOUR CELLS!” he shouted.

“RUN!” shouted the Doctor. The group rushed towards the TARDIS and made it inside as the Watchdogs fired!

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

Mission to the Mind: Part 1

On a distant planet, a blue dinosaur-like creature was carrying an orange furred creature on its back. They had arrived at what looked like a pool of bubble liquid. “There it is!” cheered the orange creature. “Time Orbble Lake! The place where Wilmur and Orbble found the secret to making Time Orbbles!”

“I still remember when we almost filled up on Time Orbble juice,” remarked the dinosaur-like creature as she shuddered. “That could have been a whole thing!” Just then, the lake started bubbling! “What the-?!”

“That’s never happened before!” yelped the orange creature. An energy wave then washed over them. The two stumbled a bit.

“Wander, are you okay?!” asked the dinosaur-like creature.

“I’m fine, Syl,” replied the orange creature, Wander. He then checked his hat. “…This thing’s okay. You?”

“Doing all right,” said the dinosaur-like creature, Sylvia. “What the heck happened?!”


Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor checked the instruments. She was still tracking chronal surges, then…the TARDIS rocked as if it hit turbulence! The Doctor worked feverishly to stabilize things. Tysar stumbled into the console room. “Doctor, what was that?!”

“A chronal surge!” replied the Doctor. “It passed us while we were in the Vortex!”

“Can you get anything from it?” asked Tysar.

“Checking now…huh. Haven’t been to that galaxy in a while.”

“Doctor?”

“We’re going to a galaxy an old friend of mine lives in right now,” said the Doctor. “That’s where the chronal surge is putting its victim. Setting coordinates now and…”


Wander and Sylvia were still trying to puzzle out that energy wave. …Well, Sylvia was. Wander was still distracted by the Time Orbble lake. “Wander, can you please pay attention?!” complained Sylvia.

“I am!” protested Wander. Sylvia pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Look, it’s pretty, but that lake’s not as important as-!” She stopped when she heard a noise. “…As that, apparently,” she finished. Wander heard the noise too.

“What the heck’s going on?” he asked as a wind picked up. Just then, the TARDIS materialized on the planet. Wander’s face lit up. “DOCTOR!” he said. Sylvia goggled.

“No way is that all a coincidence!” she said. The Doctor and Tysar then stepped out.

“Doctor, what IS this planet?” asked Tysar.

“It’s where two people were inspired to make a form of transportation,” replied the Doctor. “A sort of soap bubble that keeps you alive in space and lets you wander-.”

“That’s the name!” interjected Wander. The Doctor looked down and grinned when she saw Wander’s face.

“Wander!” she greeted. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“You changed your face again, huh Doctor?” asked Wander.

“Doctor?” asked Sylvia. “Wander, I think that energy wave messed with your head. That’s not the Doctor.”

“So you’re saying I never helped you two against Lord Dominator and the Daleks?” asked the Doctor. “I had to modify the Movellan Virus to take them both down.”

“Good grief, it IS you!” yelped Sylvia. “But how?!”

“Her ability to change her face is known among my people,” said Tysar.

“Wander, Sylvia, meet Tysar, my current companion,” introduced the Doctor.

“Nice to meet you!” greeted Wander as he shook Tysar’s hand. “Folks call me Wander and that there is Sylvia!”

“How’s it going?” asked Sylvia.

“Random question,” said the Doctor, “but have you lot felt any strange energy waves?”

“Yeah, why?” asked Sylvia. “You tracking it?”

“All right, slightly related question,” continued the Doctor, “are you familiar with the Grouping?” Wander goggled.

“…Doc, I was a victim of that thing!” he said. “It took the Monan Host to get me back to my proper time!”

“Well, it’s happening again, Wander,” sighed the Doctor. “That energy wave was a chronal surge.”

“Um, could someone fill me in?” asked Sylvia.

“Chronal surges take someone out of one point in space time and put them somewhere and somewhen else,” explained Tysar. “I went through that myself. Ended up seeing the homeworld of one of the heroes of my people.”

“There are multiple chronal surges happening throughout space and time,” continued the Doctor. “The blending of those points is called the Grouping.”

“Well, Syl and I are still here,” said Wander.

“Meaning we’ll need to check for-.” The Doctor was interrupted by a groan somewhere nearby. “…That sounds familiar,” she said. “Fan out. We need to find this person and-.”

“Doctor, over here!” called Tysar near the edge of the lake. “It’s some kid with flight goggles!”

“Flight goggles?” The Doctor, Wander, and Sylvia rushed up to Tysar to see the kid she was talking about. The kid was face down and groaning in dull pain. The Doctor turned him over to see his features and gasped. “RAZ!” she yelped. The kid, Raz, scrunched his face and slowly opened his eyes.

“No, Mom,” he groaned deliriously, “psychic bears are a bad idea.” He then saw everyone standing over him. “HOLY-!” He fired a blast of mental concussive energy and knocked the Doctor off her feet!

“STEADY ON!” protested the Doctor.

“WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!” demanded Raz. “WHERE AM I?!”

“You’re in another time entirely, Razputin Aquato,” explained the Doctor. “As for who we are, well, you met ME before, but not in this body.”

“…Lady, I don’t know who you are,” said Raz.

“Then give me a mental checkup,” replied the Doctor. “You still have that Psycho-portal, yes?”

“…Okay, you obviously know about the Psychonauts,” said Raz. He then pulled out a little door. “So you consent to a mental checkup?”

“I do indeed,” confirmed the Doctor. Raz then put the door on the Doctor’s forehead. The Doctor shut her eyes. “Everyone, Raz is just entering my mind. There’s categorically no cause for alarm.” Raz then lowered his goggles over his eyes and projected his mind into the Doctor’s.


Raz found himself in a room with a hexagonal console in the center. “…That’s the mindscape of the Doctor!” he said.

“Yes, it is, isn’t it?” asked a voice. Raz turned to see a woman with long brown hair, a blue coat, a green pleated skirt, and a floppy hat.

“Doctor?!” he yelped.

“Yes, this is what I looked like when we first met, right Raz?” asked the woman, the Doctor’s previous incarnation.

“Wait, so that lady that looks like a supermodel is you?! You changed your face again?”

“An unfortunate hazard,” remarked the Doctor.

“So I’m gonna go through the door…and see her?”

“That’s the idea.”

“NO!” came a voice. A few short men in business suits with giant no symbol stamps arrived.

“Oh, lovely,” sighed the Doctor. “My Censors.”

“I’ll take care of them!” said Raz. He psi-blasted them as the Doctor practiced Venusian Aikido on them. She then opened the door for Raz.

“Through here,” she said.

“Thanks!” Raz entered the door and found himself in the current console room where the current Doctor was working on one of the console’s panels. “…Well, that just proves it,” he said.

“Hm?” The Doctor looked up from her work. “Ah, there you are! Didn’t meet all my previous incarnations?”

“I think I saw enough of them when I first met you,” remarked Raz. “Well, that’s all the proof I need.”

“Exit’s right behind you,” said the Doctor. Raz entered another door, then found himself lifting away from the console room.


Raz and the Doctor woke up as the psycho-portal fell off the Doctor’s head. “I’m convinced,” said Raz. “What made you change your body anyways, Doctor?”

“Occupational hazard,” replied the Doctor. “Now, I think I’d better fill you in on the current problem, hm?” The Doctor introduced Wander, Sylvia, and Tysar, then explained what happened to Raz.

“That explains why everything around me changed,” said Raz, taking it all in stride.

“We’ll get you back to your own time,” promised the Doctor.

“We’re at Time Orbble Lake,” said Wander, “maybe that can help him!”

“…No wonder that lake looks familiar!” chuckled the Doctor. “What a stroke of luck! Wander, do you have a clean Orbble Wand?”

“I should have one somewhere,” remarked Wander as he took his hat off and rummaged around in it. He then pulled out a warning beacon that was screaming!

“Okay, that’s a little worrying!” gulped Tysar.

“What’s that?” asked Raz.

“My Hatey Clock!” replied Wander. “It only goes off when Lord Hater’s coming!” A big smile crossed Wander’s face.

“Lord Hater’s coming?” asked the Doctor. She then face-palmed. “Of course the situation gets that complicated.”

“Is that as worrying as it sounds?” asked Tysar. Just then, a ship that looked like a skull with hot rod attachments arrived. It opened its mouth, unfurled its tongue like a carpet, and an army of small, diminutive creatures with giant eyes for heads wearing black suits marched out, chanting “HATE’S GREAT! BEST VILLAIN! HATE’S GREAT! BEST VILLAIN!” Their commander then arrived. He wore a helmet with a giant lightning bolt sticking out of it.

“By the authority vested in me by Lord Hater,” he called, “this planet now belongs to the greatest villain in the galaxy, Lord Hater!” That was when a skeleton with green eyes, black and red robes, and yellow gloves with tiny lightning bolt antennae on the hood arrived.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 4

The Twisting Mind: Part 4

The Doctor, Amy, and Lurra woke up to see what looked like a circus around them. “What the?” asked Amy. “Why a circus?”

“The Aquato Family Circus,” replied the Doctor. “That’s where Raz was born. They once believed that a curse was placed upon them by a rival family with psychics that they would die in water, so they initially grew to dislike psychics, but now things are slowly turning different, what with there being four psychics in the family. Five if you count Lucretia.”

“COME ONE, COME ALL!” called Raz’s voice. Everyone turned to see him dressed in a ringmaster costume! “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Great Fiery Circus!” A ring of fire then appeared!

“Oh dear,” muttered the Doctor.

“And I see from the crowd that we have new volunteers! Welcome, ladies!” said Ringmaster Raz.

“Volunteers?” asked Lurra Rus.

“Yes, my dear! You seem like a fine juggler!” Ringmaster Raz then turned to Amy. “And you would be a perfect Strongwoman!” He finished with the Doctor. “And your tightrope skills would be perfect!”

“Hold on, what about the actual juggler, strongman, and tightrope walker?!” yelped the Doctor.

“Ah, those three are still in their tents!” scoffed Ringmaster Raz. “Unless you can convince those do-nothings to get back to work, you three will have to do.”

“I rather think we’re going to make for poor substitutes,” replied the Doctor. “Lurra, see if you can convince the juggler. Amy, you take care of the strongman. I’ll talk to the tightrope walker.”


The entrances to each person’s tent were easy to find. It was dealing with the Censors that proved hard. Amy went into the strongman’s tent to find a strongman version of Raz trying to lift a 1,000 pound barbell over his head. “Come on!” strained Strongman Raz. “I can do this!”

“Erm, sir,” asked Amy, “can I help you?”

“Unless you can help me lift this thing, I doubt it!” replied Strongman Raz. Amy looked the barbell over and saw…well, symbols that she couldn’t make out.

“Are these from the Aquato Circus?” asked Amy.

“No, they’re a proprietary circus language,” answered Strongman Raz. “I don’t get it! I could lift this before!”

“Can I at least touch it?” quizzed Amy.

“Be my guest,” sighed Strongman Raz. Amy touched the barbell…and the voices of various people flooded her brain.

“Keep up the family name, son!” said one.

“We have a tradition to uphold!” said another. Amy then took her hand off and realized why it’s so heavy.

“Those…are quite heavy expectations,” she said.

“I could carry them on my pinky just fine! Why can’t I lift them now?!” snarled Strongman Raz.

“Raz, aren’t there psychics in your family as well?” quizzed Amy.

“Yes, but-.”

“And aren’t there psychic moments in your acts these days?”

“Yes, but again-.”

“And didn’t someone ever say they were proud of you for being what you are?” Strongman Raz opened his mouth…then he remembered something.

“…Dad,” he said. “He and I are-.”

“Son!” called a voice. The two turned to see a lanky man with a beard, a scar on his right eye, and scruffy hair.

“Dad?!” yelped Strongman Raz. “…Wait, are you-?”

“No, son, I’m not the real Augustus Aquato,” replied the man. “But I AM the one you look up to. I know we put a lot on you as an Aquato Acrobat, but I want you to know that I am proud of you being a Psychonaut.”

“Y-You are?” asked Strongman Raz.

“Don’t be weighed down by what-if’s, son. If you DID stay with the circus, I doubt we’d be working on our relationship.” Strongman Raz considered, then he looked at the Barbell. He tried lifting it with two hands…and raised it above his head! He even tested keeping it above his head with his pinky!

“I DID IT!” he cheered.

“That’s my boy!” cheered the illusion of Augustus!

“I gotta go!” Strongman Raz said to Amy and the illusion of his dad. “The Ringmaster’s got a show ready and I’m NOT gonna miss my act!” He left his tent with the barbell in his hand. Augustus faded and Amy smiled.

“All right, you two,” she said to herself, “it’s all on you!”


Lurra Rus arrived at the Juggler’s tent to see a version of Raz trying to juggle but missing and clonking his head. “Raz!” yelped Lurra Rus.

“Hey, lady, if you don’t mind!” hissed Juggler Raz. “I’m trying to practice here!” Lurra Rus looked at the bowling pins he was trying to juggle.

“Erm, shouldn’t you start small?” she asked.

“Come on, that’s too easy!” replied Juggler Raz. Lurra Rus lifted a bowling pin and noticed a face on it.

“…That’s Sasha on it,” she said. She looked at another. “…Who’s the old lady? And why does this one have a younger lady with a serpent hood?”

“That’s my Nona, thank you very much!” hissed Juggler Raz. Lurra Rus developed a theory.

“…You’re juggling all these,” she said, “but you’re forgetting yourself.”

“Huh?” asked Juggler Raz. Lurra Rus looked around the tent and found three small balls. She examined the faces on them and saw that they all had Raz’s face.

“AHA!” she cheered. “These should do for a starting point!”

“Miss, what-?”

“Raz, you managed to juggle everyone’s emotions to try and reach a happy ending for everyone, and that’s a laudable goal, but you can’t make everyone happy. Not until you can juggle your own emotions. Come on. Humor me and start small.” Juggler Raz arched an eyebrow, then he humored her. First he started with tossing one ball, then he tossed two, then he moved up to three. Soon, he was juggling like a pro and practiced for a while.

“…Lady, toss me that bowling pin with Nona,” he said. Lurra Rus did so. Juggler Raz altered his grip when he needed to catch the bowling pin. “…Okay, now the one with Sasha!” he called. Lurra Rus did so and Juggler Raz was now juggling like a pro. “Okay, last bowling pin!” he called. Lurra Rus tossed him the last bowling pin with his father’s face on it. By now, he was juggling all the balls and the pins without dropping one! “GOT IT!” he cheered. He then caught them all, balls in one hand and pins in the other. “I gotta get back to the big top! I’ve got the perfect idea for a new act! Later!” Juggler Raz rushed off.

“Break a leg!” called Lurra Rus.


The Doctor had to fight off a few Censors in order to get to the Tightrope Walker’s tent. When she entered, she saw Raz in a tightrope walker’s outfit trying to walk across a low tightrope and falling off it. “Oh dear,” she said. “Need some help?”

“I don’t understand!” complained Tightrope Raz. “I’ve done this before! Why is it hard now?!” The Doctor looked at the practice mat and saw symbols relating to what Norma said.

“Oh dear, Norma really affected you, hasn’t she?” she sighed.

“It’s like I have to choose between keeping Nona happy or telling the outside world what really happened to Grulovia!” grumbled Tightrope Raz.

“Last I heard, tightrope walkers don’t look down,” mused the Doctor. “They generally look straight ahead.” Tightrope Raz blinked.

“Look ahead?” he muttered. He then smacked his forehead. “Look ahead at the goals, of course!” he grumbled to himself. “How could I forget that?” He then got back up and tried again, this time focusing on the path ahead instead of what was below him. It took a while…but he made it to the other side! He tried again, setting the rope higher…higher…higher…until he proved he could walk any height! “YES!” he cheered! “I better get back to the Big Top! There’s a show tonight and I gotta be in it!” Tightrope Raz then left. The Doctor followed him and saw Ringmaster Raz talking to the other three.

“You mean you boys are coming back on?!” asked Ringmaster Raz.

“Stage fright, that’s all,” replied Strongman Raz.

“Those ladies really know how to get a guy going!” said Juggler Raz as he pointed out the Doctor and her friends.

“Ladies, the Great Fiery Circus is in your debt!” said Ringmaster Raz. “Come on, my friends! There’s a lot of work to do!” As Ringmaster Raz led his fellows to the big top, the scenery melted away.


Everyone woke up in the real world. The Psycho-portal closed and Raz took it off his head. “A pity we had to miss the show,” said the Doctor.

“I think most people would prefer a real circus anyways,” replied Raz as he put his goggles back onto his head.

“Razputin, are you all right?” asked Sasha.

“Much better now, Agent Nein,” replied Raz. “Did you or Milla ever have to enter one another’s mind?”

“Of course,” answered Sasha. “We look out for each other. And you asking for and accepting help is exactly what Psychonauts do for one another. We look out for one another’s mental health.”

“Good. I think we need to check on Norma’s mental health. See why she lashed out like that.”

“Agreed. Doctor, are you and your friends coming?” The Doctor checked her sonic screwdriver.

“…I don’t think you need our help anymore,” she said. “My TARDIS is saying that the psychic energy that will come from the Grouping will be at a more manageable state. Just keep an eye on Raz. An empath like him is quite the asset to not only the Psychonauts, but mental health in general.”

“Wait, I’m an EMPATH?!” yelped Raz, surprised. “No wonder I feel like I can feel others’ emotions!”

“I’ll be keeping my eye on you, Raz,” said the Doctor. “Come on, you two. We still have some preparations to make.” The Doctor took her friends back to the TARDIS and off they went!

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 4

The Twisting Mind: Part 3

“Hold on, that’s Norma’s brain?” asked Lurra Rus. “Gristol, what was the endgame in putting her brain inside a mech like that?”

“And how did you shake down Coach Oleander like that?!” asked Raz.

“I was supposed to use her to sabotage the Psychonauts!” replied Gristol. “She took control of the plan!”

“Well, Grulovia and its people ARE supposed to be dead,” said Norma. “And all I needed were the plans to his brain tanks, Raz. I simply…modified the design!”

“Okay, Doctor spinning uselessly in the Time Vortex here,” said the Doctor. “What’s going on?”

“My first bit of Psychonauts business,” explained Raz, “involved Coach Oleander using military stuff to bury his childhood trauma of seeing a bunny slaughtered by his dad. That was never addressed until two weeks ago when he was making tanks powered by fighters’ brains that could take over the world with psychic powers. I helped him address that trauma and I also addressed trauma that stemmed from what Dad said to me and now Coach is undergoing a mental evaluation. That whole thing is where I fell under the influence of the sneezing powder.”

“I see,” remarked the Doctor.

“She was supposed to help me restore Grulovia! To make all psychics compliant!” wailed Gristol.

“And I’m supposed to obey the whims of a prince of a dead nation?” scoffed Norma.

“Look, Norma,” called Raz, “I don’t know what this is all about, but we need to put Gristol Malik back in Psychoisolation so the Hague’s Psi division can try him!”

“You think they can convict him?” asked Norma.

“Norma, we’re not executioners!” called Sasha. “We help others deal with their inner demons without totally dealing with them ourselves!”

“And that’s the law?” scoffed Norma. “We’re blunted, Agent Nein. We have the power to take care of any villains before they rise! You think Oleander wasn’t thinking about that when he made the brain tanks?!”

“He wasn’t!” argued Raz. “He was only thinking about how he’d finally see some military action despite his height!”

“Well, guess who’s actually doing something about it!” retorted Norma. “Welcome to the new battlefield! You old guard right down to Raz vs. the new generation and I WILL achieve victory!”

“Miss Norma, are you really THAT paranoid about evil rising?” asked the Doctor.

“Let me answer your questions with one of my own,” replied Norma. “By what tortured logic did the Grand Head and the Psychic Six conclude that letting people like Gristol Malik or Lucretia Mux avoid real justice represented anything other than an insult to the memory of Grulovia and its people?! Seriously, can anyone explain to me how those unrepentant murderers can go about their business as if nothing happened?! The orders of keeping the status quo, the quelling of peaceful protestors, the flooding of an entire country, apparently, they were all missteps on the Gzesarevich and Maligula’s path of redemption!”

“Look, I get it!” called Raz. “When I heard about Nona’s past and what Ford did to lock it away, I was furious-!”

“And now look at you! Letting Ford date Lucretia again as if nothing happened! And not just Raz! All of you! What are you, the Grulovian Entourage!? By helping those maniacs find peace, you’re excusing their past behavior! And it falls to me, a representative of the 99%, to remind you how wrong this is! Forgiveness? Rehabilitation? Reintegration? No. Not Mux, not Malik, not now, not ever!” Norma raised her now metallic arm, ready to strike…but something shook. “What the-?!” She couldn’t finish her sentence before the legs of the mech fell apart! The arms automatically shielded the brain container as the mech fell. “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!” demanded Norma.

“Hang on, where’s the Doctor?!” yelped Raz.

“Tinkering as usual!” called the Doctor as she stepped out from behind the mech and twirled the sonic screwdriver in her fingers.

“…So it IS a screwdriver,” remarked Amy.

“Of course!” replied the Doctor. “I told you, sometimes you have to assemble a bunch of cabinets!”

“What’s going on?!” yelped Norma. “I can’t move!”

“I also disabled the synapse circuits,” continued the Doctor. “That mech’s nothing more than a hunk of junk.” She then checked the readings on the screwdriver. “…Although, the TARDIS is still saying there’s a mental crisis somewhere and…Raz?” The Doctor noticed that Raz’s fist was trembling.

“Oh no!” yelped Sasha. “Raz’s mental energy is spiking!”

“Doctor, didn’t Raz say that Lucretia Mux was his Nona?!” asked Lurra Rus.

“Oh my word!” realized the Doctor. “He’s blisteringly angry! And Norma’s attack must have exacerbated it!”

“We can’t help him at this state!” warned Sasha. “We need him to release his anger somehow!”

“You Psychonauts can make psi-blasts, yes?” asked the Doctor.

“Yes, an excellent idea,” replied Sasha. “Razputin, listen. I need you to put your marksmanship training to use! Psi-blast…that tree right there!”

“The tree?!” hissed Raz. “After what Norma did, you want me to settle for a tree?!”

“But she didn’t follow through with it!” urged the Doctor.

“She was going to!” argued Raz.

“Razputin, this isn’t you! You’re not an executioner! You’re not Gristol! You’re not Norma!” Raz growled…then fired the biggest blast of mental energy he ever created at a few trees. Raz then sighed, still angry though.

“Just get Norma back into her body!” he snarled as he stomped off. Gristol tried to get away, but a hammer belonging to a certain pink hedgehog stopped him.

“Where do you think YOU’RE going?” asked Amy as Sasha made a few calls.


Over the next few days, the Doctor observed Raz as he went about his day. The events Norma started clearly affected the poor boy. She headed to Sasha’s lab…and noticed that Amy and Lurra Rus were there. “…Erm, Agent Nein, what are you doing?” asked the Doctor.

“It’s all right, Doctor,” assured Amy. “I asked him to check if summoning my hammer is a psychic ability.”

“I’ve known of other people able to pull objects seemingly out of nowhere,” explained Sasha. “But to test whether or not it’s a psychic ability has eluded me.”

“And?” asked the Doctor.

“…Both Amy AND Lurra Rus have psychic abilities,” answered Sasha. “Hammerspace, sub-space pockets, bag of holding, whatever, Amy uses her mental energy to tap into it and summon her hammer. As for Lurra Rus, it seems the mental energy here at the Motherlobe has energized telekinetic abilities that were buried deep in her bloodline.”

“It’s true! Watch!” Lurra Rus raised her hand and made a tool from the other end of the room float all the way to her hand!

“…You know, I think I can teach you all the mental martial arts of Gallifrey,” mused the Doctor. “Really helped me when I was learning Venusian Aikido. You two seem to be in the right mental state for it and may need it for the Grouping. …Speaking of mental states, I came here to discuss Raz.”

“You’ve noticed his current withdrawn state as well, hm?” asked Sasha. “Even after facing Maligula, he kept up his outgoing optimism. What is it about what Norma said that caused him to withdraw?”

“I think I need to find out,” replied the Doctor. “Let’s just say I’m making a house call.”

“We should go with you!” said Amy.

“Amy-!” protested the Doctor.

“Doctor, we might be able to help him,” interjected Lurra Rus.

“And, to my knowledge, this is your first time entering a psycho-portal,” continued Sasha. “I’ll need to monitor your vitals and Amy and Lurra could help you better in Razputin’s mind. You seem to do your best work with people helping you.” The Doctor considered for a moment.

“…You know, you’re right,” she admitted. “All right, you two, you can come. But stay close to me.”


The Doctor, her friends, and Sasha found Raz trying to create a levitation ball, but failing. “Come on!” he complained. “Agent Vodello herself taught me! Don’t let the Mental Minx down!”

“Razputin!” called Sasha. Raz turned to see the group.

“Oh, Agent Nein!” he said. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there. I-! …Wait, what’s this about?”

“Raz,” said the Doctor, “we believe that what Norma said to you has affected you.”

“…She wanted to kill my Nona!” growled Raz. “I just-!” The poor boy snarled. “…I have never felt so mad at anyone!”

“Well, this IS a member of your family we’re talking about,” remarked Amy.

“Would you mind if my friends and I made a house call?” asked the Doctor. Raz blinked.

“…You wanna use a psycho-portal on me?” he asked.

“I’ll be monitoring you all,” said Sasha. “I’ve got smelling salts on me to snap you all out of it should the situation call for it.”

“…Well, that IS what Psychonauts are supposed to do,” mused Raz. “…All right! Let’s get started!” He lowered his goggles over his eyes, then put his psycho-portal on his forehead. The Doctor and her friends then shut their eyes and felt their minds entering the little door. For once, Raz was the one being treated.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 4

The Twisting Mind: Part 2

As Raz continued, he learned more of the Doctor’s mind. He fought a Cyberman with a blonde man with a stick of celery on his lapel, beat a Sontaran with a man in a patchwork coat, outwitted a man in a goatee with a man carrying an umbrella with a question mark handle, ran through New York with a wavy-haired man, battled waves of Daleks with a grizzled old man, threw vinegar onto a Slitheen with a man in leather, saw the loss of the companion of a man in a pinstripe suit, nearly tripped over a man with a bow tie tripping over himself, fended off a Zygon with a man with attack eyebrows, averted the Flux with a woman with a long gray coat, arrested Beep the Meep with a version of the man in the pinstripe suit, threw Sutekh into the Time Vortex with a flamboyant black Scotsman, his memory with what looked like the Doctor’s companion was hazy, then finished with fending off Doctor Doom with the Doctor as she was now. After taking care of the last Censor, Raz and the Doctor finally talked. “All those monsters and enemies you fought, the friends you made,” he said as the two settled in the current console room, “the way I see it, if you knew who Gristol Malik was, you’d be putting him back into Psychoisolation.”

“Then, perhaps,” suggested the Doctor, “we go back into the real world and you can tell me who he is and why he’s so dangerous.”

“Yeah, I think I’ve seen enough here. See you back in the real world, Doctor!” The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and Raz felt himself lifting away from the Doctor’s mind.


Raz blinked and saw that he was back in Sasha’s lab with Sasha checking over his instruments and the Doctor coming out of the trance. He then checked himself over and felt the weight of his body. “Most interesting,” muttered Sasha.

“What?” asked Raz.

“The scanners are saying that she has two hearts,” replied Sasha.

“Well, I DID learn she was from the planet of Gallifrey,” explained Raz. “And that she changes her face often

“An alien shapeshifter?” asked Sasha. “That’s a first for the Psychonauts.”

“There’s more, Agent Nein,” continued Raz. “I saw all her friends and enemies, none of them were Gristol Malik. She hadn’t even heard of the name until today. Her friends here are probably in the same boat.”

“We are!” confirmed Amy. “Now would you let us go?!” Sasha gestured and the restraints holding the Doctor and her friends released themselves.

“Much appreciated,” thanked the Doctor. “Now, how about some proper introductions? I’m the Doctor. The currently angry goth pink hedgehog girl is Amy Rose.”

“Really feel like smashing my hammer on you!” hissed Amy at Sasha.

“And the Twi’lek is Lurra Rus,” finished the Doctor. Lurra Rus put a soothing hand on Amy’s shoulder. “And you two are…?”

“Agent Sasha Nein of the Psychonauts,” greeted Sasha. “And this is my protégé, Razputin Aquato.”

“Hi!” greeted Raz. The Doctor’s eyes widened.

“Raz Aquato himself?! The youngest Psychonaut agent ever?!” she asked.

“You’ve heard of me?” asked Raz. The Doctor grinned.

“We only went through the highlights of my life,” she said. “Let’s say that if we went to specifics, you’d have spoilers about your wonderful future thanks to Sasha and Milla!”

“Wonderful future, hm?” mused Sasha as he took a drag out of his cigarette. He then smiled. “So Milla Vodello and I DO get something right!”

“So what’s my future like?!” asked Raz with his usual youthful exuberance. “Is it really awesome?! Do Lili and I have kids?! Ooh! Do one of us become the Grand Head?!”

“Ah ah! Spoilers,” replied the Doctor. “I can’t tell you the future. That will break the laws of time. Let’s just focus on the current crisis, hm? Who is Gristol Malik?”

“He’s the Gzesarevich of Grulovia,” explained Raz, “my dad’s old home. I’m half Grulovian.”

“Grulovia?” asked the Doctor. “But the whole country was washed away.”

“Well, you can blame Gristol’s parents for that,” replied Sasha. “Raz has had the most experience with him, but he told me and Agent Vodello about it all and how he got wrapped up in the whole thing. What do you say we walk and talk?”

“Sounds fine to me,” replied the Doctor.


The Doctor and her friends were officially cleared and brought on as freelance helpers to the Motherlobe. “So Gristol’s parents,” the Doctor was summing up, “pushed Lucretia Mux to the breaking point by making her the general of war, Maligula. Maligula tried to knock away the protestors, but her hydrokinesis resulted in the death of her sister, Marona Aquato, and sent her over the edge, flooding and destroying all of Grulovia, then Ford Cruller brought her back and altered the Aquato family’s memories so that she lived as Raz’s Nona instead of his great-aunt so that Maligula would never surface again, but parts of her past were coming back and she convinced you, Raz, to go to Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp to start the ball rolling in freeing her fully. Gristol, meanwhile, disguised himself as Nick Johnsmith the mailman and put his brain into Grand Head Truman Zonatto’s head while locking the brain away, then you rescued ‘Truman’ from the Rhombus of Ruin and tried to find out who kidnapped him in the first place, then you fixed Ford Cruller’s mind after it was shattered in the psychic duel with Maligula and tried to lock her away again with the Astralathe, but it failed thanks to Gristol in Truman’s body interfering, and Maligula rose again, but you entered her mind and managed to help Lucretia face Maligula and bring an end, then you put Truman and Gristol’s brains back into their proper bodies, and to finish it off, you put Gristol in Psychoisolation.” The Doctor took a breath. “…Have I missed anything?”

“…No, you pretty much got it,” replied Raz.

“Lucretia’s reconnecting with the Psychic Six and we’re keeping it under wraps as best we can,” said Sasha.

“So how did Gristol get out?” mused Lurra Rus. As they talked, Raz saw a young woman approaching them. He groaned.

“Norma, will you beat it?!” he complained. “We’re working on Gristol’s escape here!”

“…T…V…” mumbled Norma. Raz blinked.

“…What?!” he asked as worry crept into his mind.

“Raz?” asked Amy.

“Sasha-!” yelped Raz. Sasha looked into Norma’s ear.

“…Brainless!” he said.

“Oh no!” groaned Raz. “Gristol must have found that sneezing powder!”

“Could somebody fill us in?” asked the Doctor.

“Those with psychic powers,” explained Sasha, “can survive without a body.”

“That’s true of all species, even us Time Lords,” replied the Doctor.

“There’s a special sneezing powder,” said Raz, “that can make anyone sneeze with enough force to eject their brain from their body. It somehow works on non-psychics and keeps them alive, though not as long as psychics.”

“And Norma here encountered that same sneezing powder?” asked Amy.

“It’s the only explanation,” replied Sasha. “And Gristol must have had it smuggled to him.”

“So why not use it on Terryl?” asked Raz. “She still has her brain, last I heard.”

“Indeed, why not Terryl? It makes no sense,” remarked Sasha.

“…Unless Norma was part of his scheme in the first place,” mused Raz.

“Why?” asked Amy.

“Norma always grumbled that our promotion to Junior Psychonauts was underwhelming,” replied Raz. “Maybe he played on that?”

“…But that would mean she visited Psychoisolation in the first place,” mused the Doctor. “…Perhaps we should ask Terryl some questions.”

“Not a bad idea,” agreed Sasha.

“I’d be careful, though,” warned Raz. “She’s a bit…intense.”


The group arrived at Psychoisolation after informing the medical ward about Norma being brainless in the most literal sense. They met with the receptionist, Terryl. “HI!” she greeted, eager to talk to people. “Agent Nein! So good to see you! For a while, I thought the Psychonauts forgot about me!”

“Terryl, we need to ask you a few questions,” said Sasha. “It concerns Gristol Malik and Norma. Has she visited Gristol at any point before the breakout?”

“…Well, no,” replied Terryl, confused. “She only arrived on the day of the breakout and she was somehow overpowered by Gristol. He took advantage of her and decked her. I had to get medical staff over to fix her.”

“Decked?” asked Raz. “As in a punch? But her brain’s missing! No one can punch that hard, not even psychics!”

“Something just isn’t adding up,” muttered the Doctor. As she pondered, everyone heard someone rush into the building.

“LET ME IN! LET ME IN!” begged a voice.

“Gristol?!” yelped Raz. Gristol Malik then crashed into the group. He then grabbed Sasha by the arms and shook him, fear plain in his eyes.

“It’s all gone wrong! You need to let me in!” he babbled.

“Gristol, what ARE you talking about?” asked Sasha. “Did one of my experiments-?”

“Trust me, I WISH it was you!” insisted Gristol. “But it’s not! It’s his classmate! The rat! The schemer!” He pointed at Raz.

“Rat? Schemer?” asked Raz. “Who are you-?” The earth then shook. A metal hand then tore the front of the building off, door and all! The metal hand belonged to some giant robot with a brain swimming in green fluid!

“Ah, here to witness my work, Raz?!” asked a woman’s voice. Raz goggled in horror.

“Norma?!” he yelped.