Kira sighed before refocusing on her reflection. She steadied her arm as much as possible, leaning closer to the mirror and taking a deep breath before trying to apply her liquid eyeliner again. She finished the thin line of black with a flourish, a wide smile stretching across her face at the sight of the somewhat clean line. Kira was ecstatic that she was able to apply the make-up semi-correctly. Well, at the very least it didn't look like a five-year-old drew on her eyelid with a sharpie this time. Now she just had to it again with her other eye…

Kira smiled as she started applying the liquid nightmare to her second eye. Far more optimistic about trying out make-up since she'd experienced some small amount of success. She was halfway through completing her 'make-up masterpiece' when a high-pitched voice broke her concentration.

"Kira! Your comic-thing starts today right? When are you expected to be there?!" Kira jumped at the sound of her mother's voice filling their small home. The motion jarring her hand and forcing her to paint a thick black line of eyeliner up her eyelid and over her eyebrow. With an exasperated sigh, she grabbed some tissue and quickly worked to wipe the make-up off before it dried.

"We were planning on meeting up around 3!" Kira replied, her tone betraying her slight irritation. And I almost had it that time too. Oh well, I guess I'll go without eyeliner today. She pushed her irritation to the back of her mind, deciding it was pointless to let something so small ruin the exciting day she had planned ahead. After all, it was going to be her first comic convention.

"Well hurry up then! You'll make your friends wait!" Her father's booming voice rang out. Kira sighed, glancing in the mirror to make sure she got all the eyeliner off before rushing to grab her bag, glancing at the clock on her desk as she went. She had to hold back a groan when she saw the red numbers declaring it 1:36 pm. Sure, she was used to her father and his odd 'if you're not early you're late. Even if you're on time' policy, but it still grated on her nerves at times.

Kira made her way to the front door, double checking her purse to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything. Like her convention pass, her money, phone, and whatever else she deemed important, like her crayons, deck of cards, some notecards to sketch on when she got bored, and a few other 'essentials'.

Once satisfied that her purse was in order Kira set about double checking her costume. Seeing as it was her first convention, Kira had elected to wear a steampunk costume. The costume was comprised of an off-white button-up shirt with a bow attached to the collar, and a brown and gold stripped under bust corset that buckled down the middle. From the waist down she was dressed in a long brown skirt held up with strategically placed belts, showing off her legs. Her legs were clad in black flower patterned fishnet type stockings, knee-high army green tie-up boots finishing off the ensemble.

Kira was rather proud of her outfit; it had taken her months to put together. Days spent searching the mall, the internet, thrift stores, and the bags of old clothes her parent's had stashed in the garage, and she'd finally managed to come up with a decent looking costume without spending a fortune. It was worth the effort in the end. After all, each dollar saved was a dollar she could put towards the convention.

"So, who's going with you to this convention again?" Her father's question pulled her out of her thoughts. His 'if I don't approve you're not going' tone of voice demanding a proper answer.

"My friends Jared and Die-go." Kira replied, drawing out the 'o' in Diego's name. Kira's pronunciation of Diego's name drew a confused frown from her father. He'd never really bothered to learn the names of her friends. Something he was beginning to regret after listening to all the odd nicknames and stories she had to tell him.

"Die-go? Who the hell is Die-go?" His face scrunched in confusion as he tried to remember if she'd ever mentioned such an odd name before. Kira couldn't hold back a small snicker at the expression on her father's face.

"Diego's a friend from school. I just call him Die-go to remember how to spell his name. I'm sure you've seen him before. He's tall, has curly hair, slightly insane and always makes perverted, and slightly racist jokes." She explained, holding her hand about a foot above her head in an attempt to demonstrate just how tall he was.

Her father seemed to consider her words for a moment, a hazy memory of someone fitting his daughter's description forming in his mind. "And Jared's that kid with the eye problem right?"

"Yup, that's Jared." Kira clarified, popping the p with a small smile. Her dad seemed to consider things a moment before sighing, giving Kira a pointed look. "You'll be careful, and call if anything happens right?" He asked, his over-protective tendencies shining through. Kira's smile turned teasing as she nodded her head, turning towards the door and striding out with a small skip in her step.

"I promise. Come on, we gotta get moving if you're going to buy me lunch before the convention" Kira smiled brightly, unable to hold back her excitement for the day ahead.

…

Kira clutched the strap of her purse tightly as she looked around the vender's hall in awe. The scene was overwhelming. Booths organized into neat rows filled the convention center. People dressed in costumes wandering from booth to booth with bright smiles on their faces.

Kira quickly rushed from one stall to the next, fighting the temptation to buy everything in sight. She clutched the strap of her purse tighter as she tried to fight the urge. Once the initial excitement died down, Kira made her way to a small stage near the back of the vendor's hall in an attempt to get away from the crowded aisles. She took a moment to collect herself, letting her racing heart calm as she fished through her purse to find her cell phone.

She let out a sigh of relief when she saw a few new texts from her friends. Kira didn't do well in crowds. Sure, she enjoyed the energy of the convention, but she felt slightly alienated. After all, everyone was walking in groups, friends who came together to have fun. As it was, she felt a bit lonely. That would change soon if the new messages in her phone were any indication.

JARED: Hey Kira, I'm at the Convention. Where are you?

JARED: I think I'm the first one here, it's really empty.

JARED: Oh. Um, I'm in the wrong building… one sec…

JARED: Ok, NOW I'm at the Convention. Have you seen Diego? And where should we meet up?

Kira giggled as she read the texts, a broad smile on her face as she glanced around the convention hall, looking for a good place to meet up with her friends. As she was looking, Kira spotted something that made her jaw drop. There, in the middle of the vendor's hall was a big blue Police Public Call Box. The beautiful blue box she'd always dreamed of seeing one day.

Slowly, as if in a trance, Kira walked towards it. Forgetting about her friends and the world around her for the moment. The noise of the convention seemed muted as everything else seemed to dim around her. She walked closer to the box, her hand reaching forward on its own accord. She gently ran her fingers across the faded, cracked, blue paint.

"You know; the interesting thing is the cracked paint is natural. That's all due to New Mexico's sun." A voice to her left brought Kira out of her mini-trance. She shook her head, trying to clear it as she turned towards the slightly heavyset man at the booth next to the TARDIS. The man was currently explaining how he'd made the TARDIS replica to two other Doctor who fans. Kira let her hand fall from its place on the TARDIS as she returned her attention to her previously forgotten phone.

KIRA: Hey Jared. Meet me at the TARDIS. It's in the middle of the hall, close to the stage set up for LARPing.

With that done, Kira stuffed her phone back in her purse before returning her attention to the TARDIS replica. Letting her hand run along the blue panels with a sense of reverence. Suddenly a small bolt of gold static leapt from the ship and attacked Kira's finger. She flinched back in shock, letting out a small yelp as she pulled her hand away and cradled it to her chest.

Kira carefully examined her hand, her eyes wide as she watched the golden static jump across her palm. It arched from finger to palm before dissipating into her skin, leaving a few parting sparks in its wake. She stood there, her gaze turning from the TARDIS to her hand with accusation clear in her eyes.

Kira was brought from her thoughts by her phone vibrating in her purse. "You've got a text message; Text messages are cool." The voice of the 11th Doctor rung out from her phone's speaker, demanding her attention. Kira fumbled with her purse a bit before pulling out her phone. She read the text message and sighed, moving away from the TARDIS and towards the doors of the Convention Center.

JARED: Where's that? I'm lost… again…

It didn't take long for Kira to find Jared. He was a rather distinct man and easily stood out in a crowd, despite his short stature. His long brown hair and thick-lensed glasses were unique. Add in the fact that he always had a plaid over shirt on, and it was impossible to miss him in a room full of people in costume.

Kira waved at Jared, grabbing his attention as she started making her way towards him. She'd only made it three steps before the power went out with a roaring boom of thunder sounding in the background. Kira jumped in shock, a deep frown settling on her face as she looked into the pitch black room in clear confusion. She cringed at the shrill screams and mummers that filled the convention hall.

Kira slowly moved backward, letting out a sigh of relief when her back connected with the solid wood of the replica TARDIS. She pressed back into the replica TARDIS as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room.

Her muscles tensed as another loud boom sounded, this one was closer. She didn't much mind the storm. Nor did she mind the darkness. Kira simply couldn't stand the chaos of the room around her. People running, pushing past each other as they tried to race for the doors. She knew that the chaos was more dangerous than the storm. People often got hurt, some even killed during the panic that situations like this caused. She was determined to keep herself from becoming a statistic. She didn't want to become a face on the late night news that people forgot about the next day. No, she'd survive.

Taking a calming breath, Kira took stock of her current position. She was close to the back of the convention hall, and between her and the doors was a mob of hundreds of panicking men and women in fancy dress.

After a moment of looking she could just barely make out Jared in the mass of people. It looked like he was relatively unharmed. He was close to the doors, seemingly stuck moving with the flow of people who were rushing forward without care for others caught up in the tide.

Once assured that her friend was safe, Kira turned her attention towards her current predicament. As it was, she held little hope of making it to the doors in one piece. She also knew it was dangerous to simply stand around in the room. The storm was clearly getting closer, and it sounded like it was violent. She needed cover. Somewhere to hide out the storm and wait for the people to calm down.

Kira was jostled from her thoughts by a shoulder ramming into her, throwing her into the replica TARDIS. A small arch of static jumped from the replica, connecting with Kira's shoulder and drawing her attention to the blue box. The sturdy, wooden, blue box that was big enough for her to hide in…

A plan made, Kira quickly slipped inside the replica TARDIS, her purse clutched tightly to her chest as she curled up on the floor of the wooden box. The exhaustion of the day was finally starting to hit her. She yawned, closing her eyes as she listened to the booming thunder that shook the building. Soon her mind drifted as the sounds of panic faded into the background. Before long she had drifted to sleep, her dreams filled with adventure as she traveled alongside the Doctor as his companion.

…

Jared groaned in pain as he was elbowed in the gut again. He'd tried making his way towards his friend, Kira, but was quickly caught up in the flow of people rushing to get out of the Vendor's hall.

Once outside the vendor hall doors, Jared began his search for Kira. He was worried for his friend; she could've easily gotten lost in the crowd. He'd heard horror stories of people getting trampled to death in similar situations.

It felt like forever before the hall had been cleared out. The crowd had calmed down a bit. People were grouping together in the entrance hall, searching out friends and family who'd been lost in the initial panic. Staff were walking around with first aid kit's, trying to bring order to the chaos the storm had caused.

Jared had tried calling out for Kira, but his voice was easily lost amongst the many others calling out for their own friends. He'd considered looking for her the old-fashioned way, but with his eyesight, he knew she could be standing right next to him and he'd never know. That was when he remembered his phone.

Jared pulled his little flip phone from his pants pocket and with quickly opened it. Squinting harshly as he tried read the small screen. He growled in frustration when he realized he had no signal. Slamming his phone shut and stuffing it into his pocket, Jared turned towards the dealer hall doors.

The doors were still propped open. The empty hall was destroyed, booths overturned and merchandise strewn about without care. Jared frowned, turning from the doors to look back at the crowds of people filling the entrance hall. He was about to resume his search when another loud boom sounded, the building shook and dust was thrown into the air as the roof of the dealer's hall caved in. Jared ducked to the side, cradling his head in his arms as the building shook around him.

Once everything seemed to settle Jared carefully uncurled himself, turning towards the doors that lead to the dealer's hall with hesitance. He watched with wide eyes as the dust began to settle in the hall. The air was cold, rain pelting the concrete floor through the giant hole that was left in the roof.

Jared watched in awe as a gold bolt of lightning cut through the dust and concrete in the air, striking the replica TARDIS Kira had asked him to meet her by just earlier. The unusual lightening seemed to envelope the blue box before disappearing, taking the replica with it. Leaving nothing but a scorch mark in its place.

"I-I s-s-s-saw a girl h-hide in there." Someone, a random woman dressed like Superwoman, mumbled in a stunned voice. "Sh-she-e was moving to get out of the crowd… D-Do you think she was still in it wh-when it…" The woman trailed off, the implication clear. Jared paled as he turned from the open doorway, running into the crowd of people and renewing his search with new found purpose. He needed to find Kira, and quick. Needed to reassure himself that his friend was okay, that she wasn't the girl who'd hidden in the TARDIS replica. He needed to prove the feeling of dread in his stomach wrong. It had to be wrong, because if it wasn't his friend was… no. She was in the crowd, somewhere, looking for him. He was sure of it.

…

The Doctor was more than a bit confused at the strange sight before him. In all his years traveling through Time and Space, he's seen some odd things. Never before had he seen something like this. Sitting there, in the middle of the console room, was a Police Public Call Box. Or rather, a wooden replica of a Police Public Call box. Even odder, it had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. One minute he was investigating an alien signal, the Nestene Consciousness causing trouble again, and the next he's staring at a blue box. He'd scanned it, and then re-scanned it, and then scanned it a third time just to be sure. Each scan told him the same thing. The box was wooden, oak, with your basic navy blue paint job. Nothing special about it. No alien tech, in fact, his scans couldn't pick up much of any tech. Just a simple, 21st century, earth-made cell phone. That's another odd thing, his scans had picked up a life sign inside.

Is this what it's like when people see the TARDIS appear? He couldn't help but wonder. It was hard to believe that what he was seeing. The Doctor slowly approached the mysterious blue box, curious to see who was inside. He froze when the door creaked open, a soft mumbling breaking the silence of the room. Being as quiet as possible, the Doctor tip-toed to the replica Police Box's door. He paused a moment before peeking around the door. Blinking in surprise at the sight laid out before him.

There, curled up inside of the box was a young girl, her foot twitching slightly before kicking the door once again. The girl appeared to be in her mid to late teens, probably 15 or 16 years of age.

The Doctor slowly opened the door the rest of the way, cringing as the hinges squeaked at the action. He knelt down beside the girl, letting his eyes roam her as he reached to grab his sonic screwdriver from his coat pocket.

The girl was dressed in an odd, steam-punk styled costume. Short brown hair falling into a pale face dusted with slightly faded freckles. Nails all painted a different color dug into the purple purse clutched to the girl's chest. The Doctor watched in awe as a golden spark of static jumped from the girl's finger to her arm before disappearing. He frowned, scanning her with his sonic.

The girl's face scrunched up at the sound and the Doctor froze, watching as she mumbled something incoherent. She appeared distressed, and the Doctor couldn't help but wonder if she was having a nightmare. He hesitated a moment before leaning closer to the girl, trying to hear to her almost silent mumblings. Perhaps they'd give some insight into the odd girl and her even odder appearance.

"No…. must…who…Doctor…"

The Doctor frowned as he leaned closer.

"n-…NO!"

The girl shot up, her eyes snapping wide open as she awoke from her nightmare. The Doctor didn't have any time to react as the girl rammed her head against his. She yelped in pain as she instinctively brought her fist up in defense, slamming it against the Doctor's jaw with a solid thud.

The Doctor fell back from the force of the hit, landing in a tangled heap as his sonic flew out of his hand and slid across the TARDIS floor. He looked up at the girl with a mix of shock, pain, and anger swimming in his blue eyes.

"OUCH! What was that for?!" He yelled, his deep voice rumbling loudly in the quiet of the TARDIS. The girl flinched at the angered yell. Scrambling back blindly into the wooden replica as she rubbed franticly at her face, trying to wipe the sleep and tears out of her eyes.

The Doctor frowned at the action, a small pang of guilt stabbing at his heart when he saw just how terrified she seemed, curled up in the corner of the Police Call Box replica and shaking like a leaf. He sighed, rubbing his shaved head with his hand as he tried to calm his temper. He could tell that the poor girl was scared and confused, and yelling at her wouldn't help the situation. He took a deep, calming breath before speaking again.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to yell. You just… shocked me is all." He paused, watching as the girl seemed to calm down slightly. Her shaking subsided as she slowly peeked up at the Doctor. Once she'd seen him her eyes went wide as she froze in shock. The girl slowly uncurled herself and crawled towards the Doctor.

The Doctor watched in interest as the girl approached. He sat as still as possible, like she was some wild animal that might bolt at the tiniest twitch of a muscle. He watched as the girl slowly got closer, stopping when she was about a foot away from him. Hesitantly she reached out a hand, stopping when she was only an inch away from his face. The Doctor held his breath in anticipation as he waited for the girl to move, his eyes glancing from her small hand to her wide brown eyes. Gingerly she closed the distance, soft fingers gently caressing his cheek before being pulled sharply back.

"You're real."