It was a nice, calm morning for once in New York City. Inside a famous tower, a man with a goatee and a glowing light in his chest was looking over the numbers of his tech empire. Unlike most tech bros, this guy actually DID invent a lot of the technologies in his empire and gave credit to inventors that weren’t him when other technologies he didn’t think of cropped up. Another man then came in, this one with the most perfect athletic physique and dressing like it was the 1940’s. “Still crunching numbers, Stark?” asked the new man.
“Just looking over the construction of the Rogers Homeless Shelter,” replied the goatee-wearing man, the famous Tony Stark. “How about you? Still running drills, Sarge?”
“Very funny,” replied the new man, Steve Rogers. “By the way, Romanoff wants a word with you about the security system.” Tony looked around, even up to the ceiling.
“Where is she?” he asked.
“Where do you think?” asked a woman with a Russian accent. The two men jumped as Tony whirled around to see the red-headed Natasha Romanoff, still in her outfit as the Black Widow.
“Could you NOT do that once in a while?!” panted Tony.
“Have to keep up security,” replied the Black Widow. “By the way, I don’t like the password you installed on the door to my quarters.”
“Oh, so it’s not just me?” asked Steve.
“Nyet, it’s all the Avengers.”
“Tony!” protested Steve.
“Come on! It’s just a little harmless fun!” protested Tony.
“What’s Hulk gonna say when he figures it out?!”
“Oh, come on, he and Banner worked it out. I’m not gonna be flattened.”
“You sure about that?” growled a voice. Steve and Tony yelped as Natasha drew in a breath while her eyes widened. The source of the voice was a big, green, muscular man wearing glasses.
“…B…Banner?” asked Tony.
“I don’t know, I think I’ll indulge the…Purple Spandex Guy, I think you made my new password?!” growled Dr. Bruce Banner, the Hulk, as he took off his glasses and shirt!
“Hold on! It was funny! You gotta admit it was funny!” pleaded Tony. That was when a wind picked up inside the room and a strange noise filled the air.
“…Vworp?” asked the Black Widow, trying to sound out the noise.
“Look!” called Steve as he pointed to something fading into existence. It was a blue box with a light on top that flashed on each Vworp. The noise ended with a thud as more details appeared on the box. It said “Police Public Call Box” on each side of the roof. It had a pair of windows on all sides with a light coming from inside the box. A sign on the left-hand door said “Police Telephone. Free for use of public. Advice and assistance obtainable immediately. Officers and cars respond to urgent calls. Pull to open.” The right-hand sign said “St. John Ambulance”. “I’ve seen one of those things before,” said Steve.
“In Harlem?” asked Tony.
“No, early models of them in London when I was deployed,” explained Steve. “They were meant for the British public to report crimes and for the police to detain a suspect while they called for backup.”
“So how did one end up in this time?” asked Hulk. The door then swung inside the box.
“Okay, if the sign says ‘Pull to open’,” remarked Tony, “shouldn’t the door swing towards us?” Smoke then billowed out of the box and a person fell out. “Oh my god! Get William!” called Tony as he tried to help the person.
The mystery person was in the medical ward of Avengers’ Tower. The visiting doctor, William Davies, was running all sorts of medical tests and the results were…baffling to say the least. The person was a small, brunette woman, but her internal biology made no sense. “…She’s not even matching up with Thor,” remarked William.
“What do you mean?” asked Tony.
“Well, Thor’s biology is similar to ours,” replied William, “but this lady has two hearts, for one thing.”
“Her blood pressure medication must be through the roof,” remarked Tony.
“She also has what I can only describe as pulmonary tubes running parallel to the lymphatic system instead of lungs,” continued William. “And her cells seem to be vibrating with some strange energy.”
“Thor and Hulk are trying to figure out the box,” explained a voice over comms.
“Thanks, Vision,” replied Tony.
“It’s definitely made of wood,” said Dr. Banner. “Maybe it’s wood from Yggdrasil?”
“Can’t be,” replied a man with long, blonde hair and a beard wearing a red cape and holding a hammer. “We’d all know if a piece of Yggdrasil was taken. We’d see rifts in the sky to all nine realms, for one thing.” The man, Thor, placed a hand on the box. “…But there IS a sort of…power, for lack of a better term.”
“This is extraordinary!” breathed William. “Look at this!” A hologram of a DNA strand appeared. Tony arched an eyebrow.
“That’s…a triple helix,” he said.
“69 chromosomes arranged in triads!” said William excitedly. “I know you guys have met aliens before, but this…! To actually study one!” The woman then groaned.
“Maybe we can ask her where she’s from,” suggested Tony. The woman opened her eyes groggily and started crawling out of the bed.
“Hey! Hang on!” protested William. “You’re not fit yet, Miss Alien!”
“Shoes…” mumbled the woman.
“No, no! Not yet!” insisted Tony.
“Need my shoes!” protested the woman. William balked, then went to the storage locker and got the shoes she was wearing.
“You’re not putting them on, are you?” he asked. The woman grabbed the shoes and held them close to her like a child that was told to surrender its teddy bear. “…Well, I can’t claim to know the oddities of my own people, much less an alien.”
Thor couldn’t place why the box felt so…familiar, like he heard stories from his father, Odin. “…What manner of box are you?” he asked. The door then opened.
“Whoa!” yelped Bruce. He then leaned closer to the box. “…You’re smaller than me,” he said to Thor. “You go in.”
“…Suit yourself,” replied Thor. He entered the box, gasped, then stepped out again and circled it.
“What is it?!” asked Bruce.
“…It’s…It’s…bigger on the inside!” breathed Thor.
“What?!” asked Bruce. He poked his head in and gasped. Inside was a huge room! It had circles all over the walls and a hexagonal console with a cylinder in the middle! “…That’s impossible!” whispered Bruce.
“I’ve heard about such machines!” said Thor. “They were used to carry their occupants through time and space! …I thought they all died during the Last Great Time War! …I must speak with the woman!” Thor charged off to the medical ward.
“I tell you,” said William, “I’ve never seen such-!” He heard footsteps enter the ward. “Oh no!”
“Thor, not now!” complained Tony. Thor entered the room.
“Where’s the Time Lord?!” he asked.
“The what?!” asked Tony.
“The Time Lord! The owner of the box!” insisted Thor. Bruce then stepped in.
“Tony, that police box breaks all the laws of geometry!” he said. “It’s bigger on the inside!”
“He speaks the truth! We both saw it!” said Thor excitedly. “That proves she’s a Time Lord from the planet of Gallifrey! We used to be friends with the Gallifreyans!”
“Who’s shouting?” asked the woman. Thor approached her bed.
“Friend Time Lord, I am Thor Odinson of Asgard!” he said.
“…Asgard?” asked the woman. “…You’re…a proper Asgardian? Not one of the Mire?”
“No, I’m not one of those false warriors!” shuddered Thor.
“…Pleasure to meet you, Thor,” said the woman as she sat up. “I’m the Doctor.” Thor’s eyes widened.
“THE Doctor?! The Scourge of Skaro?! The Hero of Time?! The Vanquisher of the Cybermen?!” he asked.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” called Tony. “I think our doctor here needs some rest! You can geek out with her later!”
“Very well, Friend Stark,” said Thor. “But know this, Friend Doctor, when you recover, we shall sing songs of your triumphs worthy of Valhalla!” He then left the ward, singing an Asgardian victory song.
“…So, your people know each other,” said Tony.
“His people KNEW mine,” replied the Doctor. “Let’s just say…we’re a bit…lost.” Tony could see the pain in her eyes.
“…I think I understand,” he said. “Now, you’re Dr….?”
“Oh, just the Doctor, Mr….”
“Stark.” The Doctor’s eyes widened.
“Tony Stark? Iron Man?!” she said. “So I’m in Avengers’ Tower?!”
“Yeah, your box popped up in our commons room,” explained Bruce.
“The Hulk!” said the Doctor. “Oh, this is splendid!” She was about to spring from her bed when the alarms sounded. Bruce checked the security feed and saw an armored man in a green cloak outside the tower.
“It’s Doctor Doom!” he warned. Tony then pressed the call button.
“Avengers, assemble!” he called as gold-colored armor with candy-apple red accents flew in and surrounded Tony, linking with the Arc Reactor in his chest to form the Invincible Iron Man! He and the Hulk dashed out of the medical ward, leaving the Doctor with William.