Tag: X-Men

Painting Chaos: Part 4

Loki pulled back a bit of the cover on one of the paintings, then slowly covered it back up. “…I thought you said that you had examples of the Old Masters, Joker,” he hissed.

“I do!” protested the Joker.

“Then which of the Old Masters is J. Todd?” Loki yanked the cover off to reveal that it was a relatively recently-done abstract painting with the artist’s name on the lower right corner! The Joker had a horrible thought and pulled back the covers to reveal more abstract paintings with artists like D. Grayson, B. Gordon, A. Pennyworth, D. Wayne, and so on! The Joker returned his attention to the phone call.

“YOU CAPED CREEP!” he shouted. “YOU SWITCHED PAINTINGS ON ME! THESE ARE NOTHING MORE THAN KINDERGARTEN DRAWINGS!”

“I’ll have you know,” replied Batman, “those people worked hard on those paintings. Besides, a Kindergartener’s mind could have anticipated you and Loki’s every move. This caper was more obvious than any I’ve had to solve.” Loki overheard that and grabbed the phone.

“You can say that over the phone, Mortal!” snarled the ticked-off Asgardian. “If you weren’t hiding behind this thing, you’d know the wrath of Loki!”

“Then demonstrate it to us!” challenged Batman as he and his group crashed through the window or burst from the door!

“Stay where you are!” called the Doctor. “We have you covered!”

“Lights out!” called the Joker as he hit the light switch, plunging the room into darkness.

“Activate infra-red!” Iron Man called. His suit’s eyes turned red. Batman tapped the side of his cowl and activated night vision. Wolverine had all of his senses enhanced, so his hearing and smell helped him in the darkened fight. Iron Man then deployed drones that shone a light for the Doctor, Tysar, and Wonder Woman. The Joker tried to whack a frying pan on Wolverine’s skull, but it snapped at the handle and only gave Wolverine a minor headache.

“…Huh, you really DO have a hard head,” remarked the Joker.

“Damn straight, bub!” Wolverine decked the Joker with enough force to knock him into Loki. That gave the Doctor enough to jab her pinky finger under Loki’s chin and paralyze him long enough for Batman to deck him! Both tricksters were now in a heap, groaning in pain.

“…That was…remarkably simplistic,” said the Doctor.

The Joker and Loki were handcuffed. Normal handcuffs for the Joker and special Asgardian handcuffs for Loki that Thor had commissioned the Asgardian smiths to make for the Avengers to use on their most powerful villains. “Thor will be coming to take you away and hide the Time Stone,” Iron Man explained to Loki.

“Why you let a lunatic like the Joker learn about the Infinity Stones,” growled Woman, “I’ll never understand. You realize he was going to betray you, yes?”

“How?” asked Loki. “His attempt at betrayal wouldn’t have compared to mine.”

“I don’t know,” remarked the Doctor. “Jokerized Daleks would certainly do it.”

“…I’m sorry, did you say Jokerized DALEKS?” asked Loki.

“He’d snatch them from my time, if you’d care to know,” explained Wonder Woman. Loki then turned on the Joker.

“Then what was the point of the painting theft?!” he shouted.

“A rough idea on where and when to send my Jokerized Daleks to,” replied the Joker. “You have to admit, having cackling squids in tanks causing terror during the Renaissance would have been funny!”

“That’s too severe of a breach of the laws of time!” protested Loki. “And it would make it hard for you to gloat after the event, even with the Time Stone! With Omega running around, I wouldn’t do something that insane!”

“Perhaps you can tell me where you heard about Omega returning,” said the Doctor. “You know that if he regains his full might, he’ll take over all of time and space.”

“I only saw him once as he fled his then-hiding place on Karn,” revealed Loki. “Not out of fear of the Sisterhood, but with intent to go elsewhere to conduct his plans. All the Time Stone could tell me as I retrieved it from Karn was that he went in the direction of Irk. When during its history, I cannot say.”

“The Irken Homeworld, hm?” quizzed the Doctor. “You realize I’ll have to confirm your words.”

“Pah! You’re too wound tight, Doctor!” scoffed the Joker. Batman then approached.

“A SHIELD helicarrier’s coming to collect Loki,” he said. “You, Joker, are going back to Arkham.”

“Yeah, sure, put me in the looney bin like always!” cackled the Joker. “You’ve heard of the definition of insanity, right Bats? Ah, what am I saying?! We’re two of a kind! Of course, you have!” Commissioner Gordon then approached the group.

“The paintings are back in the museum,” he said to Batman. “Though I gotta admit, the bait paintings might have a place in a museum of modern art.”

“Thank you, Commissioner,” replied Batman.

The heroes returned to the Batcave once Loki and the Joker were sent to their respective destinations. The Doctor led Iron Man, Wolverine, and Wonder Woman into the TARDIS. “Well, this HAS been fun!” said the Doctor. “Time to send you all home. …Diana…”

“Save it, Doctor,” replied Wonder Woman. “I’m going to do what I do best and the Daleks can’t take that from me.” She drew her sword and adopted a warrior’s stance. “Send me back.”

“Coordinates confirmed,” said the Doctor. “Away you go. Good luck.”

“For Themyscira!” called Wonder Woman as she faded.

“As for you boys, you two ready?” asked Tysar.

“Just cut to the chase so I can get back to teaching those brats!” grumbled Wolverine.

“What, no beer waiting for you?” asked Iron Man.

“Mr. Stark, an alcoholic like you has no room to talk,” remarked the Doctor as she started the return process.

“Hey! I’m a RECOVERING alcoholic, thank-!” Iron Man’s protests were cut off as he and Wolverine faded. By then, Batman and Alfred entered the TARDIS.

“They’re gone, then,” stated Batman.

“Yes, back to their times,” said the Doctor. She looked up Wonder Woman’s history. “…She’s helped people escape the concentration camps the Daleks set up, but in the final day of the Daleks’ Occupation, roughly about when their plans went belly-up, she dueled a Dalek and was exterminated just as her sword went through the Dalek’s squishy interior, killing it.”

“…She dies in battle, then,” sighed Batman.

“The last of the Justice League,” said the Doctor. “But she was buried with honor when her body was found a few minutes later. The mourners used the funerary rites of Ancient Greece, even burying her with two drachmas.”

“…Knowing her and the other Amazons, she’s probably in the Isles of the Blessed,” mused Batman.

“Knowing her valor and that of her sisters and mother, most likely,” agreed the Doctor. “Now, we must depart. Loki said that Omega was on the Irken Homeworld and there are signs of chronal surges centered around that planet.”

“Before you go, Doctor,” said Batman as he took off the cowl and revealed his face as Bruce Wayne, “can I have my desk back?”

“Oh, it’ll be back in its proper place once we leave,” assured the Doctor. “I mean, you have to admit,” she pointed at the desk currently in the far corner of the console room, “it doesn’t exactly match the décor.”

“True, it doesn’t,” agreed Bruce.

“All right, unless you wanna take the desk’s place,” said the Doctor, “and subsequently help me and Tysar with the Grouping, you may wish to exit the TARDIS.”

“…I think I’ll pass on a trip,” replied Bruce. “See you sometime.”

“See you sometime, Bruce!” returned the Doctor. Bruce then left the TARDIS. The Doctor pulled the take-off lever and the desk vanished. “There we go!” she said to Tysar.

“…Doctor, concerning what Loki said,” said Tysar, “do you think that he’s lying?”

“…Possible,” replied the Doctor. “But we have to see. I’m having the TARDIS check for any chronal surges and-.” She was interrupted by a beeping noise from the console. “There we go!” She checked the readings. “…Okay, as I said, there ARE three chronal surges centered around Irk,” she reported. “Let’s see…ah, two are from Hyrule, one is from Disney Castle, and the time period on Irk they’re being sent to is…oh.” The Doctor’s face fell. “…Oh dear.”

“Doctor?”

“…Tysar, I need you to promise that you can’t change history,” said the Doctor.

“Doctor, you’re scaring me,” replied Tysar. “What’s so dangerous about that time?”

“…That time period is when Tallest Zim becomes the last Irken alive,” explained the Doctor. “A mighty enemy attacks and slaughters every single Irken, save for Zim. Who that enemy is, I don’t know.”

“…That’s not…a fixed point in time, is it?” asked Tysar. The Doctor sighed and could only nod. “…Then there’s nothing we can do for the Irkens?”

“…Not without breaking time,” sighed the Doctor. Tysar thought for a while.

“…That’s…that’s going to be difficult to promise,” she finally said. “…But I will not interfere.”

“Good. Because we can’t rewrite history, not one line.”

“So we find our Grouping Victims, get them back to their homes, and get out of there before the Irken Genocide.”

“That’s the plan.” The Doctor set the coordinates and the TARDIS spun through the Time Vortex.

Tags avengers, batman, doctor who, fan companion, fan doctor, justice league, X-Men

Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

Painting Chaos: Part 3

“Well, that complicates things!” grumbled Tysar as the Batmobile sped away. She then took in her surroundings. “…Did you upgrade this thing?” she asked Batman.

“Of course,” replied Batman. “Now, my knowledge on the time stone is limited. What is it?”

“One of the six Infinity Stones, Bats,” replied Iron Man. “As advertised, it can control time for the user. Bring it and the other five Infinity Stones together, the whole universe is your playground. That’s what a guy called Thanos wants them for.”

“Thanos didn’t last long against the Daleks,” remarked Wonder Woman.

“I take it I was gunned down by them,” said Batman.

“No, thankfully,” replied Wonder Woman. “It was just old age that took you and our friends.”

“Yes, the invasion that Wonder Woman’s talking about,” said the Doctor, “started in 2157 and lasted a decade. The Daleks used a plague of their own design.”

“A breach of the Geneva Conventions, huh?” remarked Wolverine.

“They don’t consider any laws made by non-Daleks to be superior to their own. …Now what would the Joker want with an Infinity Stone? I mean, aside from the obvious ‘nothing good’, why should that anarchist want the time stone?”

“And how will his deal with the Joker help him fight this Omega guy?” asked Iron Man.

“Questions, questions,” muttered the Doctor. “…Though, admittedly, one of them is minor.”

“Doctor?” asked Tysar.

“How did Loki recognize me? I met him in a previous incarnation. …Then again, the Asgardians know about how Time Lords regenerate, so he probably picked up on context clues.”

“What do we do, then?” asked Wolverine. “We can’t exactly waltz up to them with the time stone.”

“Oracle’s looking into that right now,” replied Batman.

“Oracle? Who’s that?” asked Iron Man.

“My tech person. She can look things up with ease. Perhaps the Joker’s men got sloppy when they had to move.” The console of the Batmobile beeped. Batman pressed a button. “Go ahead.”

“Batman, your hunch was right,” said a woman’s voice. “The Joker’s got his own plans for the time stone.”

“Hey, lady, how do you know about the time stone?!” snarled Wolverine.

“I can hear everything, Logan,” replied Oracle. Wolverine snarled and was ready to unsheathe his claws. “In any event, the Joker’s planning on taking over the plan. That’s why he went after the Gotham City Renaissance Art Collection. He’s using the art pieces as a sort of temporal map and intends to use the time stone to send Daleks into those eras. Before that, though, he intends to inject them with his Joker Venom.”

“I know he’s mad,” said the Doctor, “but Dalek casings have all sorts of defenses to protect the internal creature. He’d need to dissect one in order to figure out how to infect one with his Joker Venom and he’ll lose a lot of men in the attempt.”

“He won’t care,” replied Batman. “All just to build up to the sick punchline.”

“He’s just doing this because he can? That’s his justification?” asked Tysar.

“That’s his justification for anything,” answered Batman.

“Well, even if he succeeds, I’m positive I don’t want to see the results of a Jokerized Dalek,” remarked the Doctor. She then noticed something. “Um, we’re going to-.”

“Yes,” said Batman. They then went through a waterfall beneath Wayne Manor.

“Batman, are you sure-?” asked Wonder Woman as she pointed to Iron Man and Wolverine.

“Oh, we already know each other’s identities,” replied Iron Man. “Tends to happen when you’re genius billionaire playboy philanthropists.” Batman then parked the Batmobile in its usual place in the Batcave. “So, Brucie, what’s the plan?” asked Iron Man.

“Well, Stark Naked,” replied Batman, “there’s another reason why the Joker stole those paintings. Unlike us, money isn’t easy to come by for him, and he needs it until he fulfills his grand design.”

“So he’s gonna sell renaissance art off when he’s done with that map of his?” asked Wolverine.

“It won’t do him any good,” replied the Doctor. “If he sends a Jokerized Dalek into the time period the painting was born in, it will vanish.”

“Well, that WOULD make my part harder,” said Batman as he took off the cowl. Alfred then arrived.

“Master Bruce, I-.” He stopped when he saw the guests. “…Mr. Stark,” he began. “Mr. Howlett. Your Highness. And welcome back, Doctor and Miss Tysar. I would have thought you’d be back home.”

“Not until the Grouping is settled, Alfred,” replied Tysar.

“As a matter of fact, that’s why these three are here,” said the Doctor as she gestured to Iron Man, Wolverine, and Wonder Woman. “The boys are from 2027 while Wonder Woman’s from 2167. It’s a ghastly future, but it’s a future humanity will overcome.”

“So you can see why we need to find the Doctor’s TARDIS as well as stop the Joker and Loki,” said Wonder Woman.

“Oh, I can easily tell you where the TARDIS is, Doctor,” said Alfred. “It is currently in Master Bruce’s office, but it materialized around his desk whilst I was dusting it. I took the liberty of dusting the console room before I left.”

“Oh, thank you very much!” bid the Doctor. “I’ve been trying to dust it myself, but in my life, one thing leads to another and it’s been two centuries before you finally do it!”

“My pleasure, Ma’am. Now, what’s this about the Joker and the Norse god of fire and mischief?”

“The Joker’s trying to get the time stone from Loki, Alfred,” explained Batman. “One of the six Infinity Stones that can make its user do anything with a literal snap of their fingers if they’re wearing the proper gauntlet.”

“…I’m guessing the time stone is called as such because it controls time,” said Alfred.

“That’s correct, old friend,” replied Diana. “The Joker plans to use it to swipe aliens that invaded at least ten years ago in my time and inject them with Joker Venom, then send them into different points in the Renaissance.”

“Good grief! Send lunatics into a period of rediscovery?! Have them wreak havoc in that period?! Possibly kill the Old Masters?! That would explain why he stole those paintings! You were right to enact that plan, Sir!”

“Plan?” asked the Doctor.

“Over there,” replied Bruce as he pointed at a room adjacent to the main Batcave. Everyone looked inside to paintings with cloths draped over them.

“…The Gotham City Renaissance Art Collection?” asked Wonder Woman.

“Wait, if the Old Masters’ work is here,” said the Doctor, “…then what does the Joker have?”

“Batman, the Joker and Loki have been spotted in a hotel room,” warned Oracle.

“They’re playing chicken with their alliance,” remarked the Doctor.

“Oracle, does your dad know?” asked Bruce.

“He’s ready for the Joker’s inevitable call. Sending you the address and room.” The address and room showed up on the Batcomputer’s screen.

“Perfect,” said Bruce as he lowered the cowl over his eyes. “Let’s go, everyone. The Joker’s got a nasty surprise waiting for him.”

The Joker and Loki arrived in their hotel room, littered with paintings covered by cloths. “I still say we need to get my spear back!” urged Loki.

“In time, my friend. In time,” soothed the Joker. “For now, I have a call to make.” He then dialed a number. The person picked up.

“Commissioner Gordon here.”

“Working late nights, Commissioner?” asked the Joker.

“JOKER!” snarled Commissioner Gordon.

“I thought I’d present you something for all the years we’ve had our relationship!” cackled the Joker.

“If you’re trying to bribe me-!”

“A bribe? Don’t be so gauche! I intend to present you with the entire Gotham City Renaissance Art Collection as a gift!”

“Renaissance Art Collection, huh? I thought it was your calling card at the museum!”

“Well, I can safely say that they’re all safe and sound,” continued the Joker, “so I’ll be giving them back! Now isn’t that nice of me? Of course, there’s a slight delivery charge of 22 million dollars! I’d ordinarily ask for 10 million, but I have a lawyer on retainer. So pay up before 6 AM, or I burn the entire collection!”

“You DO know that Batman’s after you, yeah?” asked Commissioner Gordon.

“Batman! HAH!” laughed the Joker. “That Kooky Kleptomaniac stole a spear from my friend and scurried away to his Batcave, afraid of the power Loki has!”

“Loki? Who’s that?” asked Commissioner Gordon.

“Why, Commissioner! Aren’t you familiar with Norse Mythology?!” At that point, a new voice entered the call.

“Lots of people call themselves Loki,” said the new and familiar raspy voice. “Mainly people Commissioner Gordon’s keeping locked up.”

“Batman! You’re on the line too!” cackled the Joker. “Hiding out in the Commissioner’s office, are we?”

“My friends and I hope you don’t mind,” replied Batman.

“So, that Doctor and the other members of the cape and costume crowd are with you too!” The Joker allowed himself a giggle. “Well, you all had better stay there! Because if I catch any single one of you outside, I’m going to personally pin your pointed ears back, you hear?!”

“Of course,” answered Batman. “So, you have paintings, I hear.”

“Oh, I have dozens of them!” confirmed the Joker. “And each one, an Old Master!”

“You don’t say,” said Batman.

“…Yes, I DO say,” replied the Joker, now concerned about the tone in Batman’s voice. Loki got suspicious and went to remove the cover of one of the paintings.

Tags avengers, batman, doctor who, fan companion, fan doctor, justice league, X-Men

Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

Painting Chaos: Part 2

“…So we’re in the future, huh?” asked Iron Man. “Looks kinda sucky.”

“She also said we’re in Gotham, Tin Man,” replied Wolverine. “Remember how much of a hellhole it is?”

“You’re not questioning how you got here?” asked Tysar.

“Lady, this ain’t our first time travel rodeo,” retorted Wolverine.

“Well, the method might be new to you,” said the Doctor. “It was an energy wave called a chronal surge. That kind of energy wave takes random people and plops them into points of space and time that are foreign to them. Right now, there’s a series of chronal surges, creating an event known as the Grouping. Tysar and I have been tracking the chronal surges and followed you two and a third person from the future…a very ghastly future. …Unfortunately, my arrival point could have been chosen better as I landed in a warehouse held by Gotham’s greatest criminal, the Joker. My TARDIS had to choose a safer place to rest, so it vanished on me temporarily. I’m going to need your help, gentlemen, and the help of the person from the future and Batman in order to find the TARDIS. With it returned to me, I can get you all home.”

“…Fair deal to me,” remarked Iron Man.

“Same,” agreed Wolverine.

“Excellent!” cheered the Doctor. “Batman went that way towards the warehouse, so he’ll be busy with the Joker.”

The Doctor was right. Batman had already taken out the Joker’s thugs and was going after him, dodging or deflecting all the Joker’s tricks. Acid boutonniere, razor playing cards, giant hammer, gun, they paled in comparison to Batman’s bag of tricks. “Come on, Batsy!” taunted the Joker. “Do you really think you have time to stop me?! Don’t you have a gala to host at Wayne Manor?!”

“There’s always room in my schedule for stopping criminals,” replied Batman. As he prepared to throw a batarang at the Joker, a glowing, golden rope wrapped around the Joker’s wrist.

“Hey, who invited little miss bondage?!” cackled the Joker.

“Little?” asked Batman. Little was NOT a word Batman would use with the owner of the rope. The Joker was then launched through the roof of the warehouse as the rope untied itself from his wrist. Batman looked up through the hole. “…You know, Diana,” he remarked, “you didn’t give it that Joker shape. He would have-.” He stopped when he saw his friend. She…looked haggard, wore black and gray armor instead of her usual red, blue, and gold outfit, and carried a sword and shield. “…Wonder Woman?” asked Batman. “What happened to you?”

“What happened to me?” asked Wonder Woman. “Apparently I was sent back in time to when you were alive, Bruce.”

“…So you’re from the future,” remarked Batman. “A chronal surge?”

“I have no idea what that is, but an energy wave plucked me from 2167 and put me here. …When is this?”

“2029,” called the Doctor as she stepped into the warehouse. “And that energy wave is called a chronal surge.

“Doctor?” asked Batman. “So the Grouping’s still going on.”

“Sadly, yes,” said the Doctor. “And, in order to fix time, I have to send Iron Man, Wolverine, and Wonder Woman back to their proper times. …Therein lies the problem. Before you arrived, the Joker attacked in a way that made my TARDIS think the area wasn’t safe for it, so it moved itself, so I’ll need everyone’s help to find it so Iron Man and Wolverine can live to the end of their days and Wonder Woman can see the end of the Dalek Occupation in 2167.”

“The end? …Doctor, there IS no end to their occupation,” sighed Wonder Woman. Everyone could tell that her spirit was broken somehow and she was just focused on survival.

“…What happened?” asked Batman.

“Diana…does Themyscira-?” asked the Doctor.

“It’s all gone, Doctor,” replied Wonder Woman. “The island, my sisters, my mother, all of it! The Daleks just killed them all! And not just them! The Avengers, the Justice League, the X-men, the Teen Titans, for Hera’s sake! …They all died defending the planet. The Daleks succeeded where Darkseid failed. Even his Parademons couldn’t destroy them. They somehow even immunized themselves against his Omega Effect! I don’t even know what their mission is!”

“To mine Earth’s core and replace it with an interstellar engine,” said the Doctor. “The primary mineshaft is in England, Bedfordshire to be precise.”

“…How on Earth do you-?”

“Because the Daleks fail in that regard, thanks her first incarnation,” explained Tysar.

“…Don’t give me hope, child,” sighed Wonder Woman. “Hope died a long time ago.”

“That’s what the humans thought too, at least the general population,” said the Doctor. “But…there ARE resistance groups.”

“…You’re sure?” asked Wonder Woman.

“They helped me defeat the Daleks in that time,” confirmed the Doctor. “When I send you back, you must promise me you’ll find a resistance group. Give them the hope they need to fight back! You’ll see the end of the occupation! You’ll avenge the Amazons by defying the Daleks and saying to them ‘No! Earth will NOT be exterminated!’ …Now, I can’t say that the pain of being the last will go away. It never does. …But you CAN prevent others from suffering that fate!” Wonder Woman looked at the Doctor…and saw genuine understanding in her eyes. …The Amazon then clenched her fist.

“…You’re right, Doctor!” she said. “My friends would not give up…neither will I!” There was a ferocity in her voice, a ferocity she had forgotten so long ago.

“First things first, Wondy,” said Wolverine. “We gotta find her box.”

“It’s still in Gotham, probably near here,” explained the Doctor.

“…Hey, didn’t someone go through the roof?” asked Iron Man.

“…You’re right, the Joker should have come back by now.” A portal then appeared above their heads and the Joker fell out of it, landing face first on the ground. He picked himself up and snarled.

“…I HAVE BEEN FALLING…FOR THIRTY MINUTES!” he shouted.

“Whoever cast that portal must have slowed down time in that hole,” remarked the Doctor.

“I thought it would amuse me, Doctor,” replied a voice the Doctor hadn’t heard in a long time. Stepping into the warehouse with divine swagger reserved for those that were so sure of their power was a man with black hair in a green outfit with gold trim and a gold helmet with horns on it. He carried a spear with a green stone in it.

“…Loki Laufeyson,” greeted the Doctor.

“The Norse god of trickery and fire?” asked Wonder Woman.

“Hey, just a second!” protested the Joker. “I didn’t get my prize yet!” He pointed at the stone in the spear.

“Oh yes, the deal we made,” said Loki. “My apologies.”

“Loki, what are you talking about?” asked Iron Man. “And why do you have the Time Stone?”

“It’s my best weapon of keeping Omega at bay,” replied Loki. The Doctor flinched at that. “…Ah, you know of whom I speak, don’t you, Doctor?”

“…Doc, you wanna shed some light?” asked Wolverine.

“…Omega was one of the founders of Time Lord society,” explained the Doctor. “He was a brilliant stellar engineer and learned how to harness a singularity to become a rich source of power for my people. …But his experiments sent him to an anti-matter universe and he went mad with revenge against the universe for thinking the Time Lords had abandoned him in favor of Rassilon. This current Grouping crisis is the result of him trying to escape once again.”

“Trying to, Doctor?” chuckled Loki. “No. Omega IS free and walks our universe. He’s developed a full body for himself. With the Time Stone, I can track him down and slay him!”

“No, Loki, you can’t!” replied the Doctor. “His power is too much, even for you or Darkseid! Even all six Infinity Stones and the Omega Effect can’t stop him!”

“I’m willing to put that to the test,” dismissed Loki. “But first, a little test. Wonder Woman, you came from 2167, is that right?”

“That’s correct,” replied Wonder Woman.

“Then I think you know who I will summon.” The wicked grin revealed his intentions! Wonder Woman used her lasso to grab the spear and pull it towards her.

“Never!” she snarled with Amazonian zeal! “No one in this century will suffer those monsters!”

“Give that back, you primitive!” snarled Loki as he prepared his magic.

“I went to a lot of trouble getting that thing,” said the Joker as he aimed his gun, “and I intend to keep it!”

“I’m sorry, 2029 is closed to evil today!” retorted Iron Man as he fired a repulsor beam at the Joker. The clown was knocked back as Loki fired his own magic blast, but Wonder Woman deflected it with her shield. Batman then got up close and kneed Loki in the stomach, winding the Asgardian.

“Quick! Into the Batmobile!” called Batman. He led everyone to his car and they all jumped in. The Joker shot at the car and Loki fired magic blasts, but it sped away, taking its passengers to safety.

Tags avengers, batman, doctor who, fan companion, fan doctor, justice league, X-Men

Doctor Who: Crossings Series 7

Painting Chaos: Part 1

Spinning through a dimension of swirling temporal energy, a blue box journeyed with purpose. Its lamp, flashing as it spun, was pointed forward like the prow of a ship. It looked like a London Police Box of the 1960’s but inside was a technological marvel of dimensional engineering! When one steps into the box, the first room they enter is the main control room, the first clue that the box is actually bigger on the inside! The control room, as it stood now, was a red room with gold trim. A hexagonal console with a cylinder going up and down as the machine went through the Time Vortex was placed in the center of the room. Underneath one of the panels, a woman with long, platinum blonde hair was fiddling with something and singing a tune in her native language. Oddly enough, this wasn’t the owner of the machine, but their current companion, Tysar, a Thal from New Davius. “…There we go!” she said. She then closed the panel. “That should do it!”

“Um, Tysar,” came another woman’s voice, “what are you doing?” A woman with African features and a burgundy skirt with roses hemming it and a gold headband with a large rose on its left side had entered the room. This was the owner of the machine.

“Running repairs,” replied Tysar. The owner of the machine, the Time Lord known as the Doctor, flinched at that.

“Erm, Tysar,” said the Doctor, “I don’t want you to take umbrage, but might I suggest that you leave repairs of the TARDIS console to me? I know you Thals are brilliant technicians-.”

“That’s very patronizing of you, Doctor!” protested Tysar.

“Well, the TARDIS is dimensionally temperamental, and temporal engineering isn’t exactly something Thals are studying in your native time zone, is it?”

“No, but-.”

“All right then. Well, I’m glad we got that settled.”

“There’s no need to panic!” chuckled Tysar. “I was only improving the efficiency of the components that are currently helping the TARDIS track chronal surges.”

“The wha-?” The Doctor arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

“So that we can get ahead of them and fix the problem as quickly as possible, given that the Grouping’s getting worse,” explained Tysar.

“…Ah, yes,” realized the Doctor. “Gallifrey DID say that, didn’t they? Erm, well done, Tysar.” Just then, the console beeped. “All right, yes, there’s no need to test those components.”

“I’m not,” replied Tysar. “The TARDIS has detected multiple chronal surges. And we have a reading on where their victims came from and where they’re going.”

“Excellent!” praised the Doctor. “Let’s see. …There’s three! Two of them are from 2027 and one’s from…well, how about that?”

“What?” asked Tysar.

“The last one’s from 2167,” explained the Doctor.

“2167?” asked Tysar. “Isn’t that when the Daleks were occupying Earth?”

“Yes, the last year of their occupation, and all three of our victims are from Earth,” replied the Doctor. “It looks like they’re heading to…2029, Earth, United States Eastern Seaboard…Gotham!”

“Oh no!” complained Tysar, remembering when a chronal surge plucked her from New Davius and plopped her into Gotham.

“Yes, well, you don’t have to step outside, you know,” remarked the Doctor.

“No, no,” dismissed Tysar. “We have a job to do. Let’s get to it.”

“Right!” declared the Doctor as she set the coordinates.

Gotham, a hellhole of a city in the USA, where criminals were as talked about as any public figure like an actor or a politician. Even politics weren’t safe from the crime bosses’ grasp. But the criminal underworld was NOT unopposed there. While there were police officers…there were also those of the vigilante persuasion. Right now, two criminals with clown makeup on them were outside a warehouse, guarding their boss’s newest acquisition. “…So, the boss’s partner,” said one, “you sure he’s a god?”

“I was there when the guy attacked New York,” replied the other. “He’s got the right stuff to be a god. Especially the Norse God he says he is. Although, I thought he was blonde…and supposed to still be bound with Jörmungandr’s fangs dripping venom into his eyes.”

“How do you know so much about gods?” asked the first.

“Dude, when I was a kid, it wasn’t just the Greek myths that were my hyperfixation,” answered the other. The first simply nodded, then looked around. “…What’s the matter with you?” asked the other.

“Dude, we’re guarding a rock!” protested the first. “No way will the Bat wanna waste time over a rock!”

“Yeah, but it’s the boss that has that rock,” said the other, “and ain’t no way the Bat’s gonna leave him alone. There’s too much history for that. So keep watch.”

“Yeah, well, my ma always said that idle hands were the devil’s workshop.”

“Hey, I resent that! We worked damn hard on this and so did the boss!”

“True, very true!” came a cackling voice, startling the two men. “But his mother is right in this particular instance. We’ve been idle for too long!” The speaker stepped out of the shadows to reveal a man with chalk-white skin, ruby lips, green hair, and a purple suit with coattails and a rose boutonniere. This was the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker! “Pack up, boys! Our divine friend is coming to Miagani Island!”

“That ain’t far, Boss,” remarked the first as he and his friend started packing.

“Hey, Boss, do we want the Bat to know right now?” asked the other. “Because if not, we’re gonna have to take the long way.”

“So be it,” replied the Joker. “Besides, it’s good to build up anticipation!”

“…Fair enough,” agreed the other. Then…a noise filled the air. “…Hey, anyone-?”

“I hear it too,” remarked the first. “What is that? A new toy from the Bat?” The TARDIS then materialized. “…Never mind, too blue.” The other gasped.

“That’s the box those doctors appeared in during that mugging in 2027!” he explained. “They’re friends of the Bat! I say we ice them!”

“I’m not Mr. Freeze, but that sounds like a splendid idea!” agreed the Joker as he pulled out a pistol. The Doctor and Tysar then stepped out and everyone froze for a second.

“All right toots, where are them doctors?!” snarled the other.

“…Hang on, we met before,” remarked the Doctor. “I flipped you over after you wanted to have your way with that poor woman. That was before Batman knocked your leader out.”

“…Lady, you weren’t there!” snapped the other. “How could you-?”

“Maybe she’s heard about that from those other doctors,” said the first.

“No, I just changed my face,” replied the Doctor. “Now, Doctor in the house here, and-.”

“Doctor, it hurts when I do THIS!” The Joker leveled his gun at the Doctor and fired, but the Doctor twirled out of the way and poked the Joker in the eyes!

“Don’t do that,” she replied as the Joker rubbed his eyes. He recovered his vision.

“SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER!” he shouted.

“You have unbelievably thin skin, Joker,” chuckled the Doctor. She dashed to the other side of the warehouse and found a good stack of boxes. She then made it wobble.

“HEY! HEY! HEY!” protested the Joker. “BE CAREFUL WITH THAT!”

“Oh, I’m being very careful,” assured the Doctor. “See, I’m on this side and it’s all going to fall…THAT WAY!” The Doctor pushed the stack so it toppled towards the Joker and his goons. As the three criminals ran, the Doctor grabbed Tysar’s hand and fled the warehouse.

“Doctor, the TARDIS-!” argued Tysar. She then heard the TARDIS take off!

“And that’s the HADS kicking in,” said the Doctor.

“The wha-?”

“Hostile Action Displacement System,” explained the Doctor. “The TARDIS moves to a relatively safer location.”

“…And where is that?” asked Tysar.

“…Well, if I…um…” The Doctor’s eyes went wide. “…You know, there are moments where I loathe the HADS.”

“YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE THE TARDIS IS?!” yelped Tysar. Her berating was interrupted by a vehicle approaching. A streak of black with a bat motif zoomed by.

“…There we go!” said the Doctor. “Problem solved! He’s the world’s greatest detective, he can find the TARDIS!”

“Doctor, if the TARDIS vanished from this point in space-time-!”

“No, no, no, the HADS does not engage anything related to temporal navigation,” soothed the Doctor. “It only changes its point in space, not time. And even then, it’s a relatively short hop. It will still be in Gotham. And no one can get in without the key. So we’ll just wait for him to finish up his business with the Joker and-.”

“Doc?” asked a rough man’s voice. The Doctor could smell cigars and booze behind her and turned to see a short, muscular man with his hair and sideburns pulled into points.

“…Logan?!” she spluttered. “…I don’t think I was conscious after I regenerated in the school, how did you know-?”

“Apparently your scent’s still the same,” remarked Logan, the mutant known as Wolverine. “What’s going on here?”

“I’d like to know that myself,” said another voice. A metal suit then landed with gold and red colors and a blue light in its chest.

“Oh god, Stark,” groaned Wolverine.

“Hey there, Skunk Bear,” remarked the armored person, Tony Stark as Iron Man. He then saw the Doctor. “…William told me you changed into that, Doctor. Some natural cosmetic surgery?”

“Regeneration is NOT cosmetic surgery, Mr. Stark!” hissed the Doctor. “…All right, that’s two of you from 2027, now…”

“You know what’s going on?” asked Wolverine.

“You two are in Gotham of 2029,” explained Tysar. Iron Man stepped back in surprised and Wolverine looked…well, bemused.

Tags avengers, batman, doctor who, fan companion, fan doctor, justice league, X-Men

Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

Seeing Double: Part 4

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

“That is a lie!” argued the Rutan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…You lie!”

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

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

“And what about its people?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What’s that?” asked Storm.

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

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

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

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

“That wasn’t necessary!” she snarled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“And me,” declared Amy.

“And me!” called Lurra Rus.

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

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

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

“What did you do?” asked Lurra Rus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tags amy rose, avengers, doctor who, fan companion, fan doctor, X-Men

Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

Seeing Double: Part 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…You aren’t fooled?” asked Veranke.

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

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

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

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

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

“That’s a sonic probe!”

“Screwdriver,” corrected the Doctor.

“It’s harmless,” replied Veranke.

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

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

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

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

“OW!” shouted Skarla.

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

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

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

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

“Yeah?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Doctor?” asked the double.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…Who owns that craft?” it demanded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tags amy rose, avengers, doctor who, fan companion, fan doctor, X-Men

Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

Seeing Double: Part 2

“This is impossible!” breathed Skarla. “H-How-?! It’s…bigger on the inside!”

“It’s also red,” remarked William. The TARDIS console room had changed to have a red color with gold accents and roundels along the walls. The hexagonal console itself was red with gold trim and controls. The Time Rotor in the center of the console was still transparent, but one could see new machinery inside it. There were walkways and stairs running along the walls with different doors. The Doctor’s sky-blue coat hung outside a door on ground level. Everyone headed to the door. “Doctor?” called William.

“Come in! I need some opinions!” replied the Doctor from inside. The group entered the room to discover that it was a huge wardrobe! The shelves and open closets stretched all the way to the ceiling with a spiral staircase in the center of the room and walkways stretching out from the stairs. The Doctor then stepped out wearing a brown coat, a floppy brimmed hat, and an absurdly long, multicolored scarf.

“…Um, Doctor?” asked Amy.

“You’re right, this is just for the nostalgia,” remarked the Doctor as she tossed the hat away. She then disappeared into one of the closets and reappeared coming out onto one of the walkways above. She wore a leather jacket this time. “…No, don’t exactly sound like I’m from Northern England.” She went into another closet, then she appeared on a walkway below the group, wearing a patchwork, multi-colored coat.

“NO!” shouted the group as they averted their eyes.

“Maybe in a Pride Parade!” called William.

“…I know what the real issue is!” said the Doctor as she snapped her fingers. “I’m wearing trousers!” She disappeared into another closet, then came out onto a walkway above the group. She had a skirt on, a tweed jacket, and a bow tie and fez. “…Mmm, bow ties ARE cool and so’s the fez, but…no, not me this time.” She then disappeared into another closet. “AHA!” she called from within the closet. Her friends then heard a pop like someone finishing putting on their lipstick. The Doctor then rejoined her friends. She wore a woolly coat that obscured her features.

“…Is…that what you’re going with?” asked Lurra Rus.

“No, THIS is!” The Doctor removed the coat to reveal that she was wearing a skirt that had a dome shape stopping at her thigh and was hemmed with large roses. She had a strap top on in the same wine color as her skirt and wore a red jacket with a fur boa wrapped around her shoulders, black opera gloves, black tights, pale gold flats on her feet, red lipstick, and a pale gold headband with a rose on its left hand side. She had also pulled her hair into an updo.

“Ooh! Now THAT’S an elegant ensemble!” praised Amy.

“Yes, I think I’ll go with this one!” agreed the Doctor as she looked in the mirror. “Now, with that out of the way, there’s something else in the back of my mind. Something about …time?”

“Well, you ARE a Time Lord,” reminded Amy.

“I remember what TARDIS stands for and what it can do,” replied the Doctor. “But no, this is something else.” Just then, an energy wave washed over everyone. They seemed unaffected.

“Wh-What was that?!” yelped Amy.

“A chronal surge,” answered the Doctor. “As if time had spat someone from one time zone to ano-!” She stopped herself as she remembered something. “…The Grouping!” she gasped. She then rushed to the console! “Telepathic circuits! Telepathic circuits! Where are they?! Where are they?!” She then saw a blinking light. “…Or Gallifrey could start a Zoom call, that’s the next best thing.” The Doctor pressed the button near the light. “This is the Doctor, receiving you, Gallifrey!” A man’s face then appeared on the scanner.

“Doctor, are you all right?” asked the man.

“Stognav!” greeted the Doctor. “I’m fine, but that chronal surge-!”

“We’ve detected others, Doctor. …Did the surge-?”

“No, no, I was shot by a Skrull before that happened.”

“I see,” said Stognav. “Well, we can at least pinpoint what happened during your local chronal surge. Something from the 29^th century took advantage of it and is now at your location. Good or ill, I can’t say.”

“Keep me posted if you can,” directed the Doctor.

“Naturally. Stognav out.” The call ended.

“Who was that?” asked William.

“Castellan Stognav, my granddaughter’s right-hand man,” replied the Doctor.

“I’m sorry, GRANDDAUGHTER?!” yelped William.

“We’ll explain later,” said Amy and Lurra Rus.

“Right now, we have to deal with the current Grouping Event,” muttered the Doctor.

“What IS the Grouping?” asked Skarla. The Doctor took a bit to find the right analogy.

“…The Time Vortex sort of develops…hiccups,” she said, “and catapults random people into non-native time zones. Some time travelling races can take advantage of it.”

“And not every time traveling race follows the Doctor’s example,” said Lurra Rus.

“So the Daleks could take advantage of it,” sighed William.

“They could,” remarked the Doctor as she checked her instruments. “…But we have more immediate concerns. I’m detecting that 29^th century person aboard a shuttle just entering Earth’s atmosphere above New York City.”

“Veranke!” gulped Amy.

“Hoo boy, better double check my powers,” said Skarla.

The team stepped onto the smaller landing pad on the roof of Avengers’ Tower. Storm and the Black Panther had joined them and were filled in on what was happening. “Skarla and I will fly up there and reconnoiter,” said Storm.

“Be safe, my love,” warned the Black Panther.

“That goes for you too, Skarla,” directed William.

“We’ll be back, boys. Don’t fret,” soothed Skarla. “Now…how does Young Mr. Storm put it? …Ah, yes! FLAME ON!” Her whole body set itself on fire!

“WHOA!” yelped the Doctor.

“It’s all right!” replied William. “That’s just her doing a Human Torch. Or rather, a Skrull Torch. Pardon the corniness, but I always said she was hot long before I knew she was a Super Skrull!” Storm and Skarla then took off. Skarla then spotted the Skrull ship.

“That’s Veranke’s shuttle!” she gulped.

“We better get her to turn back,” replied Storm. “How long can you maintain your flame in stormy conditions.”

“Longer than Johnny Storm, but only just,” said Skarla. “We had to alter things a bit so I was a little more stable than the first Super Skrull and that meant some tradeoffs.”

“Well, you create something fiery to get her to stop,” directed Storm, “I’m gonna make it rain to get her to turn around.”

“Got it.” Skarla made a beeline towards the shuttle.

“Your Majesty-!” yelped Veranke’s aide.

“I have eyes, Brilkus!” snarled Veranke as she pressed a button for the weapons system. The shuttle fired, but Skarla dodged. The weather then turned dark as storm clouds gathered.

“Mistress, we need to-!” urged Veranke’s aide.

“Engage teleporter!” ordered Veranke. “We’ll retrieve the shuttle later!” She and her aide then hopped onto the teleporter and vanished.

Skarla saw the flash of the teleporter. “Crapbaskets!” she swore. “Storm, there was a teleporter in that shuttle!”

“Bast’s sake!” grumbled Storm, using her husband’s preferred swear. “All right, we’ll need to get this shuttle away from here!”

“Better warn the harbor!” replied Skarla. “I’ll take care of getting it away from the city!” Storm sped off and did so, then Skarla stretched her arms and wrapped around the shuttle’s wings, then used her immense strength to throw the shuttle towards the harbor. She then created an invisible force field slide so the shuttle could land on something and slide down it away from any boats or ships out there. The shuttle splashed into the water outside the harbor. Skarla and Storm then made their way back to Avengers’ Tower.

“Okay, so a teleporter was used,” muttered the Doctor when she got the news as she worked on a device.

“We’ll have to search the city for those two,” muttered Amy.

“Doctor, we’re shape-shifters!” reminded Skarla.

“Exactly, which is why I’m thinking of drawing them here,” replied the Doctor. “There we go! Finished!” The machine she made was flight capable.

“…You’ve reinvented the drone, Doctor,” remarked William.

“It’s a short-term drone, meant to be a target. And, hopefully, with good audio projection AND reception.” The Doctor pulled out her sonic screwdriver, switched the drone on with it, and the drone took off.

“Your Majesty, a drone!” called Veranke’s aide.

“What in the name of-?” muttered Veranke.

“Doctor calling Veranke!” came the Doctor’s voice, loud and clear. “Doctor calling Veranke! You have two options available to you. Either retrieve your shuttle and leave this planet or come to Avengers’ Tower to settle this and be forced to leave this planet. Speak aloud which option you pick.”

“Foolish Doctor!” laughed Veranke. “I accept your invitation to Avengers’ Tower! And I shall take care of you first before I deal with Trakis! The Time Lords will finally be extinct, as it is written!” She shot the drone. “Brilkus, with me!” she ordered her aide.

Tags amy rose, avengers, doctor who, fan companion, fan doctor, X-Men

Doctor Who: Crossings Series 5

Seeing Double: Part 1

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

“My King!” she said.

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

“How fares our home?” asked Storm.

“It’s still a wonderful land!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Where’s everyone else?” asked Storm.

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

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

“Why?” asked the Black Panther.

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

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

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

“Right then,” declared the Black Panther.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“As it is written,” replied the aide.

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

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

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

“She remembers!” cheered Amy.

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

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

“Yeah, that Veranke lady!” recalled Amy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Girlfriend?” asked the Doctor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You sneaky-!” he grumbled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tags amy rose, avengers, doctor who, fan companion, fan doctor, X-Men

Doctor Who: Crossings Series 4

The Un-X-Pected: Part 4

Cyclops opened his visor to its fullest intensity to destroy the chunk of floor Trakis had ripped up. It destroyed the glass surrounding the control room, giving Trakis enough of an opening to leap up and confront them all directly. Wolverine and Sabretooth attacked with their claws, but Trakis dodged their blows, having heard about adamantium. “I’ll tear you apart, Doctor!” snarled Trakis. “I wonder what happens when you kill a Time Lord during their regeneration!”

“I’d rather not tell you the answer or have you find out!” replied the Doctor. She used her sonic screwdriver on a nearby console and made it explode.

“Everyone out! Lock down the Danger Room!” called Cyclops. Everyone evacuated the Danger Room and shut the doors. Amy, William, Magneto, and Storm arrived.

“What’s going on?!” asked Amy.

“Trakis is a mutant, that’s what!” replied the Doctor. “My sonic screwdriver found a Skrull version of the X Gene!” The doors then bent as if something were punching them.

“…Powers?” asked Magneto.

“He’s basically the Skrull version of Colossus,” replied Sabretooth. “No Super Skrull stuff whatsoever.”

“A mutant that had yet to come out and is lashing out because he was exposed before he was ready,” remarked Magneto. “Let’s see if his metal skin is ferrous.” The doors were then punched out of the frame. Magneto stopped their progress with his powers of magnetism, then hurled them aside to reveal Trakis in his fully metal state. Magneto raised his hand…but Trakis kept walking, undaunted. “…Non-ferrous!” whispered Magneto.

“I learned that ages ago!” snorted Trakis. Wolverine then slashed…but his claws bent! “…Well, well, well!” chuckled Trakis. “So adamantium bends against my skin! Let’s see if it can buckle and break!”

“I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS TO BREAK HIM!” shouted Sabretooth. He leapt at Trakis, but Trakis punched him in the ribs, breaking a few. Sabretooth was winded! Cyclops fired his eyebeams at Trakis, but Trakis shrugged them off and knocked him aside.

“And then there was one!” snarled Trakis as he raised his fist to pulverize Professor X. Professor X then projected his thoughts into Trakis, LOUD thoughts that made the mutant Skrull clutch his head in pain! Trakis passed out and Magneto used his magnetism to tear a sliver of the door off.

“Tell me, Doctor, do you happen to know where a Skrull’s heart is?” he asked.

“That’s not necessary!” hissed the Doctor.

“This Skrull infiltrated a safe haven for mutants! He intended to kill us all just to keep his secret! He needs to die!”

“That’s for Skrull society to determine, not one single human!”

“Doctor, move aside!”

“And you think I’ll obey that, Commandant Magneto?!”

“…What did you just call me?” hissed Magneto dangerously.

“You DO recall that the Nazis said the same rhetoric about you, yes?!” replied the Doctor. Magneto rushed forward and slammed the Doctor against the wall and held the knife to her throat. “Go ahead!” hissed the Doctor. “Prove me right!”

“Magnus, please,” said Professor X. “Think of Shadowcat. You remember her, yes?” Magneto turned to Professor X, still snarling. “You thought you killed her once, remember.”

“…I thought I had killed a child, one that shared my faith,” replied Magneto as he slowly relaxed his grip on the Doctor.

“Think about what you’re doing,” urged the Doctor, catching onto Professor X’s plan. “How many more children would suffer?” Magneto glared at the Doctor, then sighed and released his magnetic hold on the knife, letting it fall to the floor.

“…Sabretooth, gather Avalanche and Mystique. We are leaving,” ordered Magneto.

“You can’t be-!” Sabretooth’s objections were interrupted when Magneto raised his hand.

“I said we’re done here,” hissed Magneto. He then floated away. Sabretooth growled, but followed.

Magneto’s group had left the Xavier Institute by the time Trakis woke up. He was staring at the ceiling of the medical ward. “You know, I’ve been to the Skrull colony,” remarked a voice. Trakis turned his head to see William washing up. “Thankfully, the only difference between you and a normal Skrull is your X Gene. The treatment is still the same as ever.”

“…You should have killed me,” replied Trakis.

“Doctors don’t do that,” dismissed William. “Not unless the patient specifically asks for medical euthanasia. By the way, that communicator of yours is beeping. Are you expecting a call?” Trakis sighed.

“Unfortunately, yes,” he sighed. “Veranke knows how I’m really a monster.”

“There’s a difference between monster and mutant,” said William. “Take it from the older brother of a mutant.”

“…Give me my communicator,” directed Trakis. William simply gave the Skrull a look. “…Please,” corrected Trakis.

“There’s the magic word,” replied William as he handed Trakis the communicator. Trakis sighed, then steeled his nerves as he pressed the button.

“Infiltrator Trakis, receiving,” he said.

“You mean TRAITOR Trakis!” hissed a cruel woman’s voice.

“Greetings, your Majesty,” said Trakis. “My infiltration mission-.”

“Has been canceled, you ugly mutant!” snarled Veranke. “You fooled the gene detectors! You’re a mutant and you didn’t tell us!”

“Your Majesty, I can explain-!”

“No, you can’t! As far as I’m concerned, your survival subverts the Prophecy and I’m going to correct that subversion personally!”

“Give me that!” snapped William. He snatched the communicator out of Trakis’ hand and took over the call. “Veranke, you could do with some queen lessons and I know a few teachers.”

“How dare you! Who is this?!” snarled Veranke.

“I am Dr. William Davies,” replied William. “I have fought Dr. Doom, Loki, a Krynoid, Xiliens, Sontarans, and Daleks! I have made friends with Ice Warriors, Sailor Senshi, Kaiju, Draconians, and Autobots! I have been to the past, the present, and the future! And it was all thanks to a Time Lord known as the Doctor!”

“You lie! The Time Lords are dead!”

“The Time Lords live, your Majesty!” insisted Trakis. “He speaks the truth!”

“I will hear no more lies, dead man walking! I’ll be on Earth to kill you personally!” Veranke ended the call.

“…Charming lady,” muttered William. “We’re gonna have to put you in a witness protection program.”

“…You would show me mercy after I shot the Time Lord when she intercepted a shot meant for you?” asked Trakis.

“Mercy’s a pretty big thing among us doctors,” replied William. “Speaking of which, I need to check on her. You should be fine for now. Just one thing, see a therapist, huh?” William headed off, leaving a very confused Trakis alone.

William found the Doctor with Amy, Lurra Rus, Brandon, Storm, and Professor X nearby. “Ah, William, you’re here,” said Professor X.

“She still hasn’t regenerated?” asked William.

“Not until you were here,” replied the Doctor. She didn’t stop her hand from glowing. “I needed you to make sure you heard everything because I need to make sure the new Doctor gets it right. They may need your help.” The Doctor felt a pulse. “Just a second, Doctor!” she said. “I still need to give you some basic guidelines! First off, you need your friends. They hold you to the mark, make sure you remember the promise we made when we all became the Doctor. Never be cruel, never be cowardly. And, very important, remember why pears are disgusting! If you have to bite into one, well…sorry about that. Evil will always persist, but so will good. The humans got it right. Hope isn’t fragile or delicate. It’s bruised, bloodied, and always picking itself up for round 2. Hope and mercy, those are your greatest weapons, the greatest assistance to that intelligence of yours. And remember, you’re not trying to win. Don’t continue the mission because you want to beat someone or because you hate someone or because you want to blame someone. It’s not gonna be fun. God knows it’s not gonna be easy. It hardly ever does work. But you must carry on the mission because it’s right. Because it’s decent. Because it’s kind, just kind. There might be no point in it because good people still die, but it’s the best that can be done, so do it. Do it until we have our last death because we ARE going to die while doing it if we have a limit to our regenerations. …Might as well make every death we go through matter.” By then, the Doctor’s other hand and her face were glowing. “It’s your go, Doctor. How will you continue the mission of making time and space a better place?”

“Everyone, back up!” called Amy. “These things tend to have some oomph!” Everyone backed up as the Doctor stretched her arms outwards, then pillars of golden light poured forth from her hands and head, knocking her hat off! Everyone covered their eyes.

“Is this normal?!” asked Storm.

“This seems more intense than Miss Tarae regenerating into the Master!” called Lurra Rus.

“The Master didn’t hold back his regeneration! William and I saw this before with Rassilon!” replied Amy.

“I think it’s dying down!” called William. And he was right. The regeneration energy had finally dissipated. The Doctor as they knew her was gone. In her place was a woman with African features and wavy, dark-brown hair. The woman wobbled a bit, then fell with William catching her. He set her down slowly.

“Her medical history isn’t on your network,” William said to Professor X. “I need to get her to Avengers’ Tower!”

“I’ll take you there in the Blackbird,” offered Storm.

“I’ll have the TARDIS brought aboard,” said Professor X. “We’ll keep Trakis safe.”

“Thank you, Professor,” said William. “Amy, Lurra, help me out here.” Amy and Lurra Rus helped William bring the now unconscious and newly regenerated Doctor to the Blackbird Hangar.

Tags amy rose, doctor who, fan companion, fan doctor, X-Men

Doctor Who: Crossings Series 4

The Un-X-Pected: Part 3

William’s shout attracted others with Wolverine and Cyclops tackling the student that shot the Doctor. The kid changed shapes for a while. Sabretooth picked up the gun and examined it. “That’s a Skrull gun all right,” he said. “But why didn’t it kill her instantly? There’s no stun setting on this thing?”

“Never mind that!” insisted Amy. “The Doctor’s hurt and-!” She stopped when she saw the exposed collar area stitch itself up in a glow. “…Oh no!”

“What’s going on?” asked Nightcrawler.

“It’s the regeneration process!” replied Amy. “It’s started.”

“D-Damned gun hit me just above the vessels between my hearts!” strained the Doctor.

“Doctor, take it easy!” insisted William. “We’ll get you to a safe room where you can regenerate and-!”

“Why are you weeping over that trash?!” scoffed the student as they exhausted themselves in the struggle.

“The Doctor’s not trash!” snarled William.

“She’s a mutie-supporter and-!” retorted the student.

“You know, you Skrulls have been classified as mutants!” remarked Wolverine.

“WHAT?!” shouted the student. He dropped the disguise. His skin turned green, his ears became pointy, his hair shortened, his chin became bumpy, and his muscle-mass increased. “Our shapeshifting is NATURAL, thank you very much!” snarled the Skrull.

“And you’ve forgotten to activate your anti-psychic technology, Infiltrator Trakis,” said Professor X calmly.

“So you’re not part of the Skrull colony here,” hissed the Doctor as she picked herself up.

“Doctor, lie still!” insisted William. “You’re already regenerating!”

“A form of accelerated healing?” scoffed Trakis.

“Bodily regeneration,” replied the Doctor. “I’m delaying the end result until this matter is resolved. The strongest of my people can do that.”

“And what kind of mutants are your people?” smirked Trakis. “They’ll be next on my list.”

“I’m an alien like you, Trakis.”

“From what planet then? Mars? Ooh! Vulcan!”

“Gallifrey, actually.” Trakis’ eyes widened.

“Impossible!” he whispered.

“Not impossible,” replied William. “I traveled in her TARDIS.”

“LIES! THE TIME LORDS WERE EXTERMINATED!” shouted Trakis in fear.

“What are you, a Dalek?” asked Amy.

“Let’s see, has a hate for people not like him,” mused Lurra Rus, “wants to kill people not like him, and the word ‘Exterminate’ is used as easily as breathing. Yeah, I’d mistake him for a Dalek.”

“I’ll rip you apart for daring to compare me to those inferior creatures!” snarled Trakis.

“What’s your mission here?” demanded Wolverine as he extended his claws.

“Fulfilling our prophecy!” replied Trakis.

“Lovely, a Veranke follower,” sighed William.

“…Creed, you wanna do bad cop, worse cop?” Wolverine asked Sabretooth.

“Sounds fun to me!” replied Sabretooth.

“Pah! Do your worst!” scoffed Trakis.

After the Doctor was taken to the mansion’s medical center, Amy peeked in to see the Doctor and William glaring at one another. “What’s going on here?” she asked.

“What’s going on here,” replied William, “is that there’s a painful buildup of energy inside the Doctor and she’s not releasing it.”

“That’s because I can’t afford to regenerate just yet!” retorted the Doctor.

“Erm, the pain Rassilon went through when she held back her regeneration until the Weeping Angel incident on Popstar says otherwise,” interjected Amy.

“Come on, what went wrong during that?!” argued the Doctor.

“Do you want the list alphabetically or in descending level of stupidity looking back?” asked William.

“Forget it! I’m not regenerating until this affair is over!” insisted the Doctor.

“William, can’t you do something?” asked Amy.

“Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot I can do in this time zone,” replied William. “Several medical and ethical practices say I can’t do anything when the patient makes a decision like this, even when all the evidence is stacked against them. …All right, fine, Doctor. Go ahead and hold your regeneration back, but you’re signing this.” He pulled out an Against Medical Advice form.

“You’re not serious!” protested the Doctor.

“I told you the risks according to the evidence in our quest for the Key to Time,” replied William. “You wanna hold off on the regeneration? You’re signing this.”

“…Fine!” sighed the Doctor. She signed the form. “May I go now?!”

“Very well,” said William. The Doctor got up and strode off, her hand briefly glowing.

“…I don’t like this at all,” shuddered Amy. “William, are you sure the law prevents you from doing anything?”

“I’m afraid so,” sighed William. “Especially in this time and we’re in my home state. A breach of those laws would mean I lose my medical license and I can’t practice medicine without it.”

The Doctor made her way to the room where Trakis was being interrogated. The Bad Cop, Worse Cop scenario didn’t work, according to Wolverine and Sabretooth’s faces. “Little piece of-! HE BIT ME!” snarled Sabretooth.

“Why are YOU complaining?” asked Wolverine. “You should be vindicated.”

“How the hell do you figure that?!”

“Because someone from a more advanced civilization descended to your level!” Wolverine blew the smoke from his cigar into Sabretooth’s face.

“Do you really need to do that?” asked the Doctor as she approached them.

“Whatever, Doc,” replied Wolverine.

“Come on! You must know that smoking can kiiiii……” The Doctor trailed off as she remembered Wolverine and Sabretooth’s healing factor. Both men looked at her with deadpan looks.

“…No, go on,” offered Wolverine. “I believe you were about to say something funny.”

“R-Right. Never mind,” mumbled the Doctor. “Where’s Trakis?”

“In there,” replied Sabretooth. “You gonna go all Time Goddess on him or something?”

“Time Lords aren’t gods,” corrected the Doctor, “but I AM going to use a bit of Gallifreyan tech on him.” She pulled out her sonic screwdriver, then Wolverine sniffed.

“…Your scent’s changing,” he remarked.

“Regeneration,” replied the Doctor. “Gonna be a totally new person when this is over.” She entered the room and Trakis looked up.

“…Doctor, was it?” he asked. “We know you.”

“‘We’ meaning?” asked the Doctor.

“Meaning the Skrulls in general, Doctor,” explained Trakis. “You are many. The stories about you are legion.”

“I get around,” said the Doctor as she took a scan with her sonic screwdriver. Trakis arched an eyebrow.

“…A sonic probe?” he asked.

“That’s sonic SCREWDRIVER!” retorted the Doctor. “And there’s something very interesting about you, Trakis. …Wolverine, is there some sort of training area here?”

“There’s the Danger Room, why?” asked Wolverine.

“Because Trakis needs some exercise,” replied the Doctor.

The Danger Room, a training facility meant to push a mutant’s powers to their greatest capabilities. The room has been upgraded over the decades, even with alien technology. “Doc, what’s the idea?” asked Wolverine after he and Sabretooth put Trakis in the room and joined the Doctor in the control room.

“Let’s just say I want to demonstrate the anomaly I picked up,” replied the Doctor. She started the Danger Room at its lowest setting. A few flamethrower traps popped out of the walls and the floors, but Trakis rolled out of the way and fired on them.

“He’s using a gun,” remarked Sabretooth. “That’s cheating.”

“Relax,” soothed the Doctor.

“Level 1: Complete,” said the Danger Room computer. The Doctor then increased the difficulty. More traps appeared, this time adding nets. Trakis accomplished evading them. “Level 2: Complete,” said the computer. This went on and on with Trakis starting to get tired by the time level 43 rolled around. By then, Professor X and Cyclops had arrived.

“Doctor, don’t you think this is a bit much?” he asked.

“Trust me,” assured the Doctor.

“Doctor,” interjected Cyclops, “he’s tiring out! Even our strongest mutants need a break between-!” Then, it happened. A laser shot hit Trakis in the knee!

“ARGH!” Trakis grabbed his knee.

“Injury detected!” reported the Danger Room computer. “Danger Room shutting down.”

“Rgh! Dammit! It’s starting!” grunted Trakis as he clasped his knee.

“So there IS merit to that reading I took,” mused the Doctor.

“Doc?” asked Wolverine.

“When I scanned him with my sonic screwdriver,” replied the Doctor, “there was a gene that didn’t conform with the known Skrull genome.”

“A gene?” asked Sabretooth.

“Hold on a minute, you’re not serious,” remarked Cyclops.

“Well, when a bigot spews anti-gay rhetoric, what’s the conclusion some reach?” asked the Doctor.

“That the bigot is a heavily closeted gay themselves,” replied Wolverine.

“Exactly,” confirmed the Doctor. “Does the same hold true among the mutant community?”

“It does,” replied Professor X. “I’ve met bigots that spew anti-mutant rhetoric only to read their minds and find that they’re hoping no one else finds out they’re a mutant themselves.”

“Well, observe,” directed the Doctor. Metal then spread from Trakis’ knee!

“Holy crap!” said Wolverine. “That’s Colossus’ power!”

“And Trakis is no Super Skrull!” confirmed the Doctor. The metal had fully encased Trakis. He looked like a metal statue of himself that moved as fluidly as any living being. “Behold! A Skrull mutant!”

“…YOU SIGNED MY DEATH WARRANT, TIME LORD!” shouted Trakis as he tore a chunk of the floor out! “I’LL FLATTEN YOU FOR THAT!” He threw the floor chunk at the control room!

Tags amy rose, doctor who, fan companion, fan doctor, X-Men