{"id":7671,"date":"2025-11-13T09:46:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/?p=7671"},"modified":"2025-11-13T09:46:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:46:18","slug":"seeing-double-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/seeing-double-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing Double: Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI see what\u2019s going on here!\u201d chuckled the Doctor. \u201cThe Kree\/Skrull\/Shi\u2019ar Mutual Defense Compact of the 29<sup>th<\/sup> century has kept you on the back foot in your war against the Sontarans!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat is a lie!\u201d argued the Rutan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIs it?\u201d replied the Doctor. \u201cYou still haven\u2019t regained the space you once controlled in this time and it won\u2019t change for about eight centuries. The only advance you\u2019ve made in that span of time is you don\u2019t need to dissect someone to shapeshift into them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Glorious Rutan Army is making a series of strategic withdrawals to selected strong points!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh, sweet Chaos!\u201d complained Amy. \u201cIt was unimpressive when the Daleks said it, it\u2019s REALLY unimpressive when YOU say it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYour mockery will cease, mammal,\u201d retorted the Rutan, \u201cwhen the mighty Rutan Battle Fleet finally occupies this planet!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne, if what the Doctor said is true, why did you dissect those poor people?\u201d asked William. \u201cTwo, why invade us? We\u2019re pretty obscure in the 21<sup>st<\/sup> century.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYour planet is obscure, yes,\u201d answered the Rutan, \u201cbut its strategic position is sound. We shall use it as a launch point for our glorious final assault against the Sontaran dogs!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI need this planet!\u201d snarled Veranke. \u201cIf 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-!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWas abandoned by our time,\u201d interrupted the Rutan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2026You lie!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt doesn\u2019t,\u201d replied the Doctor. \u201cYou 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\u2019ar to that compact three centuries after that. As for you, Rutan, Veranke\u2019s objections to the Sontarans-.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAre as unimportant as what the Sontarans will do,\u201d said the Rutan. \u201cIt will serve the cause of our inevitable final victory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd what about its people?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPrimitive 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.\u201d The Doctor\u2019s face darkened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can understand your military purposes,\u201d she continued, \u201cbut why murder helpless humans?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is necessary,\u201d replied the Rutan. \u201cVeranke\u2019s return to the fleet will end all negotiations with the Rutan Host. She must die and Earth will pay the price.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut she\u2019s alive,\u201d chuckled the Doctor. \u201cYou killed two innocent people to try and get close to her, but she\u2019s now in a position to do something to ensure she survives! You failed!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFailed?! The records device accurately tells us when she would leave Earth! We have plenty of time, even with you interfering, Doctor!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou don\u2019t know that, you know,\u201d remarked the Doctor. \u201cThe records device only says that she left Earth and ended negotiations, it doesn\u2019t give an exact date and time.\u201d Electricity crackled as the Rutan became annoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat is unimportant!\u201d it insisted. \u201cAs long as Veranke is here, our mission will be accomplished!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry to disappoint you, oyster face,\u201d chuckled the Doctor, \u201cbut I have a few ideas on how to send you back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou cannot enact them, Doctor! We are NOT entering your time ship!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou can\u2019t be certain that my plans involve my TARDIS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat else could your plans involve, Time Lord?\u201d asked the Rutan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell, if you\u2019ll follow us, we\u2019ll show you!\u201d 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\u2019s group blinked as they saw strange machinery along the exterior frame of the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d asked Storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTime cage,\u201d replied the Doctor. \u201cWorks like so!\u201d The instant the Rutan entered the threshold, the Doctor switched the machine on and projected an energy field, trapping the Rutan in it. \u201cThere we go!\u201d said the Doctor. \u201cWith that, you should be frozen there until I can send you back!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou will regret this, Doctor!\u201d retorted the Rutan. \u201cThe Records Device has already been mass produced in our time! Every Rutan is equipped with one! You send us back to the 29<sup>th<\/sup> century and another will take our place! For the glory of our race! Long live the RutaaAARRGGHHAAAAAAAAA!\u201d The Rutan\u2019s head was starting to shrivel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat?!\u201d yelped the Doctor. \u201cThat\u2019s not what I-!\u201d She whirled around to see Veranke altering the settings. \u201cWHAT ARE YOU DOING?!\u201d She leapt at Veranke and tried to get her away from the controls!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGET OFF ME, TIME LORD!\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat wasn\u2019t necessary!\u201d she snarled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDon\u2019t even try to be squeamish about death, Doctor,\u201d retorted Veranke. \u201cIt follows you everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNot by choice, I can assure you,\u201d hissed the Doctor. \u201cI try to PREVENT death, even the deaths of my enemies!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat must be why the Daleks still plague the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDo you really think that the universe will be a better place if we all just resorted to killing our enemies or enslaving them?!\u201d The Doctor was using the entire balcony as her stage. \u201cJust look at these people!\u201d She pointed to her friends. \u201cThey 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 \u2018No\u2019! They know, deep down, that continuing to keep the world cruel won\u2019t make things better! William treated Trakis even though, not ten minutes before that, I intercepted a shot meant for him! Amy Rose, I\u2019m sure she\u2019s tempted to cave Eggman\u2019s 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\u2019s saving lives despite a good chunk of those live hating her for having the X Gene! Black Panther, he\u2019s the king of a nation that, despite its technological advances, is poo-poo\u2019d because his nation is part of a continent that everyone else associates with primitives! Despite ALL those setbacks, they STILL choose kindness because they\u2019re sick of a cruel world and want to see a kind one take its place! And they do it by CONVINCING people that they\u2019re right! By winning hearts and minds! They don\u2019t force people to adopt their views and they sure as hell don\u2019t point a gun to their heads and tell them to believe in what they say for their own good or they\u2019d kill them! \u2026Veranke, all I ask is that you see things from their perspective.\u201d Veranke simply looked at the Doctor with a cold look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2026You held my gaze during your speech, I\u2019ll grant you that,\u201d the Skrull Queen finally said. \u201cYou looked me directly in the eyes, so I know you believe you\u2019re 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\u2026was nothing more than sheer idiocy!\u201d The Doctor\u2019s friends stepped back. \u201cYou said so yourself, they hate that the world is cruel and are trying to change it. Yet you\u2019re telling me that they\u2019re NOT forcing others to accept their view? Don\u2019t be ridiculous. If they had the power to change the world, they would exercise that power by any means necessary! If they\u2019re just giving speeches, or simply gathering for protests\u2026then they\u2019re NOT exercising that power, otherwise the current regime they hate would be destroyed! They\u2019d solve the problem all at once!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou really think us chipping away at the problem ISN\u2019T solving it in the long run?\u201d asked Storm. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but the Doctor\u2019s speech reaffirmed that what I\u2019m doing IS right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat speech did the same for me,\u201d said William.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd me,\u201d declared Amy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd me!\u201d called Lurra Rus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVeranke, from one monarch to another,\u201d said the Black Panther, \u201cprotests and speeches are the first step to change, but they\u2019re damn big ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2026Wakanda is doomed to failure if its king believes that,\u201d scoffed Veranke. \u201cNow, I\u2019m going back to my shuttle, I\u2019m going to expose Rutan treachery, and I\u2019m going to make sure we never make the mistake of allying with the Kree or the Shi\u2019ar!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBack to the shuttle and exposing Rutan treachery, I won\u2019t interfere with,\u201d replied the Doctor. \u201cHowever\u2026you DO know too much about the future, so\u2026\u201d The Doctor then pressed her pointer and ring fingers against Veranke\u2019s forehead. Veranke gasped, then collapsed. \u201c\u2026That was desperate of me,\u201d muttered the Doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d asked Lurra Rus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI removed the bits about future events from her mind,\u201d explained the Doctor. \u201cAlthough, I went too hard and put her into mental shock. Non fatal and she won\u2019t remember the Rutan having come from the 29<sup>th<\/sup> century. But we need to put her and her aide\u2019s body onto that shuttle.\u201d She then scanned Veranke\u2019s belongings. \u201cAha! Teleport recall!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the time Veranke\u2019s shuttle left, bringing Veranke and her aide\u2019s 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. \u201c\u2026You aren\u2019t coming?\u201d the Doctor asked William.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI still have work to do here,\u201d replied William. \u201cPeople to heal, protests to organize, speeches to make for a better future, a girlfriend to look after here,\u201d he patted Skarla\u2019s hand lovingly, prompting a giggle from the Super Skrull. \u201cI\u2019m swamped. Oh, Storm and the Black Panther have already departed for Wakanda. They wanted me to tell you \u2018Good luck\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2026I wish the same for them and you, William, Skarla,\u201d said the Doctor as she smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDoctor,\u201d said Lurra Rus, \u201cI\u2019ve been hearing a lot about Mobius from Amy and I decided\u2026I want to live there. In Amy\u2019s time.\u201d The Doctor smiled widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe\u2019ll be returning home the long way around,\u201d she advised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh, I already told her,\u201d replied Amy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell then, what are we waiting for?\u201d 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 \u201cVWORP VWORP\u201d noise as it faded away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGoodbye, Doctor!\u201d called William. \u201cAnd good luck again!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI see what\u2019s going on here!\u201d chuckled the Doctor. \u201cThe Kree\/Skrull\/Shi\u2019ar Mutual Defense Compact of the 29th century has kept you on the back foot in your war against the Sontarans!\u201d \u201cThat is a lie!\u201d argued the Rutan. \u201cIs it?\u201d replied the Doctor. \u201cYou still haven\u2019t regained the space you once controlled in this time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[959,1076],"tags":[515,961,35,963,962,1075],"class_list":["post-7671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-doctor-who-crossings","category-series-5","tag-amy-rose","tag-avengers","tag-doctor-who","tag-fan-companion","tag-fan-doctor","tag-x-men"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7671"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7672,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7671\/revisions\/7672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}