COMING UP ACES
I do not own Doctor Who and I am making no profit off of this.
This story is about the Seventh Doctor and Ace, and it takes place sometime between the Doctor Who television stories The Greatest Show In The Galaxy and Battlefield for them. It is part of my War of the Guardians universe, and the mysterious woman who the Doctor will meet in this chapter comes from the present day of that universe at around the same time as the current storylines running throughout my other stories.
CHAPTER 1
The circus had come to the otherwise dull and drab little town of Winchester. It was a big deal to all of the people here because nothing of any interest whatsoever happened here ever. This was the biggest thing to hit this sleepy little hamlet in a long time.
Mary Wilkes and her brother Alex were among the many people who were coming to see the show that day. They had never been to a circus in their lives, and they wanted to see what the fuss was all about.
They bought tickets for the show and sat down with the rest of the audience to watch. The advertisements kept saying that it was going to be the most spectacular thing that they had ever seen. They certainly hoped so. They wanted desperately for something incredible to happen to relieve the mind numbing boredom of this town. They were about to get their wish, and they would soon be regretting it.
The TARDIS landed just outside of the circus, and Ace emerged from the doors first. She looked at the circus tent and all of the crowds pouring in to see the show and groaned.
"Not another circus, Professor! I had enough of the last one that you took me to," Ace complained.
"That one was run by the Gods of Ragnarok, Ace, and was a trap to capture new acts for them to feed off of. Not all circuses are fronts for evil beings out to suck the life out of unwary participants," the Doctor said.
"Do you ever go anywhere normal though, Professor? For all I know this place is just as bad as the Psychic Circus was or maybe even worse. No way. I've sworn off circuses. Let's just go," Ace said with determination in her voice.
The Doctor was just about to do as Ace asked when a woman walked up to him and said, "You might want to stay and see this show. It seems like a boring old circus, but it's far more than that I assure you. You might find this performance to be quite interesting."
"What makes you say that?" the Doctor asked the mysterious woman.
"I could tell you more; but that would be spoiling things, wouldn't it? Some things you just have to find out for yourself," the woman said.
"Who are you?" the Doctor asked the woman in a suspicious tone.
"A friend. I'm just here to let you know about the local entertainment that's all," the woman said.
"Are you coming in with us then?" the Doctor asked.
"No. I'm afraid not. I'm really not supposed to be here at all you know. I was just passing through and noticed something out of the ordinary that needed to be taken care of. I think that it would be better if you took care of it instead of me," the woman said.
"Are you a Time Lord?" Ace asked the woman.
"Something like that. I really shouldn't tell you any more than I already have," the woman said.
"You haven't told us anything so far," Ace said annoyed.
"I know. Let's keep it that way, shall we?" the woman said with a grin.
"Let her have her secrets, Ace. Let's just go in and enjoy the show," the Doctor said.
"Thank you, Sw- I mean, Doctor!" the woman said as she quickly covered up her gaffe.
She could kick herself for almost calling him her nickname for him in the future. She didn't know why she did that. She was usually so much better at keeping secrets than that. She supposed it was because he was just so adorable in this incarnation. She loved the Scottish accent and the question mark sweater and umbrella. It was just so like the Doctor to wear something like that sweater. That man had the worst fashion sense in the universe!
The woman quickly left before the Doctor changed his mind and decided to poke into her life after all. She couldn't have that. She had too many secrets both of his and her own to protect.
She watched the two of them walk inside the circus tent and was just about to put in coordinates to her Vortex Manipulator to get her out of there when her hand was grabbed from behind. She turned to see a figure in a dark hood and robe staring at her with glowing red eyes. No one else seemed to even see him.
"No! Not yet, Professor Song. Stay a while and watch the show. I guarantee you'll find it most illuminating," the Black Guardian said.
River Song looked at her Vortex Manipulator and saw that it was no longer working. She was trapped here!
"What have you done? I'm not supposed to be here. You're risking causing major damage to the timestream. I don't think even you want that," River said.
"I think that even you would be surprised at what I want or what I'd do to get it," the Black Guardian said.
"So you want to change the timestream then? Is that it?" River guessed.
"You've gotten it in one guess, Professor. I want to make sure that something happens on this day that didn't before," the Black Guardian said.
Oh and what if that change causes untold damage to the timestream? I guess you don't care about that though," River said.
"Believe me, Professor. I know what I'm doing," the Black Guardian said.
"Do you? I don't think that I believe you. If you really knew what you were doing, you never would have let me do this," River said as she suddenly pulled out her meson blaster from out of nowhere and held it to his head.
The Black Guardian just laughed at her as the blaster started to suddenly start smoking and catch on fire. River had to throw it to the ground quickly before it burnt her hand. She stomped on it with her boot to put out the fire.
"You'll find that little peashooter to be quite useless against me," the Black Guardian said in an amused tone.
"Well, it didn't hurt to try," River said with a cheerful grin on her face.
"Nothing ever gets you down does it, Professor?" the Black Guardian asked, still amused.
"Not usually, no," River said honestly.
"Stay awhile, Professor. Watch the show and enjoy it if you can. If the Doctor survives, I'm sure he'll be glad to fix your Vortex Manipulator and let you go home. Good bye, Professor Song. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around in time," the Black Guardian joked as he disappeared.
"Very funny," River cried out to the now vanished Black Guardian.
A few passersby stared at her like she was insane, but she didn't care. She had accepted a long time ago that she wasn't exactly what you'd call normal, and it didn't bother her a bit. Normal was overrated in her opinion. She wouldn't change a thing about herself even if she had a chance to.
River picked up her gun and put it away. Then she went inside the circus and joined the Doctor and Ace. She had no choice but to become a part of events now whether she wanted to or not.
As the Doctor saw her, he said with curiosity, "I thought that you were leaving."
"I was but my transport broke," River said, showing him her busted Vortex Manipulator.
"I'll fix that for you once the show is over. It would attract too much unwanted attention if I were to do it now," the Doctor said.
"I agree. I just hope that we survive to see a later," River said.
"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.
"I mean that something isn't right about this little performance. Surely you realized that as soon as you came in here, Doctor. Don't play stupid with me. I know exactly how your mind works," River said.
The Doctor looked at her oddly but said nothing more. Ace was finding a newfound respect for this woman, whoever she was. She certainly had the Doctor pegged right.
River saw Ace smiling at her comments and said, "You have to know when to put him in his place, Ace. He can't go around thinking that he's more clever than he actually is. He needs to have his ego deflated and brought back to Earth sometimes."
The Doctor snorted in derision at her comments as Ace asked, "How do you know my name?"
"I know a lot of things about the Doctor and his companions. I can't tell how I know though. That would be giving too much away," River said with a smile.
"Are you from the Professor's future then? Are you someone close to him? Is that it? Maybe his wife even?" Ace speculated with her eyes full of interest in her.
"No, it turns out that I'm not his wife it seems," River said sadly.
"Who are you then?" Ace asked.
"Spoilers! No one's supposed to know that yet. Certainly not him," River said, looking at the Doctor.
"She's right, Ace. No one's supposed to know too much about their own future," the Doctor agreed.
"Maybe so but that doesn't mean I'll stop trying to find out though," Ace said with an evil smile.
"You won't get anywhere, Ace. Trust me! I've been worked over by experts in the interrogation department. I never told them any secrets, and I won't tell you either," River said.
"We'll see about that. Challenge accepted," Ace said grinning.
River smiled back at her. She was never that close to Ace in the future. Ace was always much too chummy with Rose. She really hadn't gotten to know her. She was glad that she was finally getting a chance to know her here. She found that she was quite likable. She reminded her a bit of herself actually. She had a feeling that they might be natural friends if given half a chance at it.
She saw the Doctor staring at her with intense curiosity out of the corner of her eye. He quickly turned his head away and acted all innocent when she looked at him head on though.
"Stare away if you like. I don't mind. In fact, I rather enjoy it. You still won't find out anything if I don't want you to though," River said with a wide smile.
The Doctor looked annoyed for a minute, but the expression quickly faded. Ace smiled at that. It was very rarely that she ever saw the Professor that flummoxed by anyone. This woman seemed to have a talent for getting under his skin though. She was more curious than ever now to know who she was.
"What should we call you then? I can't go around calling you, Hey You," The Doctor said.
"I can't give you my real name obviously. You can call me Harmony I suppose. How about that? Harmony Waters! Yes, I like that. Harmony Waters it is," River said with a big crazy grin on her face. She was smiling at her own private joke on her real name.
"Harmony? What kind of a name is that?" Ace said.
"What kind of a name is Ace, Dorothy?" River shot back.
"Oi! I don't go by that name. I hate that name, do you understand? I'm Ace!" Ace said with sudden anger.
"Whoa! Whoa! I didn't mean to get you so worked up. I apologize," River said in surprise.
"It's alright. That just shows that you don't know everything about the future though, or you'd know just how much I hate being called that," Ace said in a calmer voice.
"I have to admit I didn't expect that reaction from you," River said.
The Ace that she knew in the future didn't like the name Dorothy either, but she had never seen her get so angry about anyone using it around her before. She then remembered that this was before she had made her peace with her mother. This was before she met Fenric and saw her mother as a baby.
The Doctor looked at her with that same look of curiosity again as before. Then he quickly turned his attention back to the middle of the auditorium as the circus finally got underway.
"Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, welcome to the Umbra Circus! For our show opener, we present to you a legendary act that will thrill and astound you. I give you the world's smartest computer, WOTAN!" the ringmaster said.
The Doctor's ears immediately went up at that name. He remembered it from somewhere in his past. Where though? He had to remember before it was quite possibly too late.
"WOTAN knows everything! Ask him a question, and he'll give you the correct answer every time! Ladies and gentlemen meet WOTAN the Magnificent!" the ringmaster said.
A huge computer like the ones that Ace had seen pictures of from the old days was wheeled into the room on a cart. The computer was lighted up and made all kinds of odd noises. It began to speak in a monotone voice to the audience as soon as its bearers left the stage.
"I am WOTAN. Ask me a question. Any question. I will answer it for you," WOTAN said.
Mary and Alex were thrilled at this act. Mary had a question that she was just dying to know the answer to. She raised her hand to be acknowledged and wondered if the computer could even see her.
Apparently it could though as it asked, "Yes? You have a question?"
"What kind of career will I have after I graduate from high school?" Mary asked.
"Oh, that's a stupid question to ask. It could say anything, and you'd never know if it were right or not. What do you think it is, a fortune teller?" Alex asked annoyed.
"Shut up! I want to hear its answer," Mary said.
The answer laughed at their bickering, and Mary quickly became embarrassed. She continued to stand though as she wanted to know what WOTAN's answer was.
"Time is always in flux and ever changing so your question is not as easy as you might think to answer. As things stand now though, you will one day become an assistant to a doctor. Not just any doctor either. He will be a very special kind of doctor. The definitive article you might say," WOTAN answered.
"A doctor? Will I perhaps be more than an assistant to this doctor?" Mary asked curiously.
"You will become a good friend to him, yes. You will not become a romantic interest if that is what you are asking. He already has a wife," WOTAN said.
Mary looked disappointed and was about to sit down when WOTAN continued, "You will be married someday though to a man with the same blood in his veins as this doctor that I told you of."
Mary smiled at that. That all sounded good to her.
"Rubbish! You're just telling her what she wants to hear," Alex said with a skeptical tone.
"Ask a question of me, and I will answer it truthfully. Then you will see that I am no fake," WOTAN said.
"What is the name of the doctor that you told my sister about? Doctor who?" Alex asked.
"Yes. You're quite right," WOTAN said enigmatically.
"What? I'll ask you again. Doctor who?" Alex asked.
"Yes," WOTAN said.
River and Ace both looked at the Doctor as he smiled mysteriously at this conversation despite the danger that he now knew that they were all in. He believed that he knew what this machine was now and where he knew it from before. If he was right, he had to shut it down now before anyone could be harmed!
"I knew it! You're full of it. You can't even tell me his name! I bet you can't even guess my name," Alex challenged WOTAN.
"Alexander Christopher Wilkes. You are aged 16 and two years younger than your sister, Mary Elizabeth Wilkes, who asked me the previous questions," WOTAN said.
The look on Alex's face told the audience that WOTAN had indeed guessed correctly. Alex sat down thunderstruck.
WOTAN continued to answer the audience's questions, and then the Doctor stood and asked one of his own. He had to be sure if this was the same computer or not that he had met once before so long ago in the London of 1966 back in his first incarnation.
"I have a question, WOTAN, and remember you have to answer it truthfully. Have we met before?" the Doctor asked.
"Oh, yes. We have indeed, Time Lord. You had the appearance of a frail old man back then but the same arrogance in your tone as you do now," WOTAN answered in a much more animated tone of voice than he had been using up until now.
"I don't suppose that you'd bother to tell me your plans, would you? I always ask that question, but no one ever seems to answer it except for the Master," The Doctor said.
"I plan to do now what you prevented me from doing before. I plan to enslave the entire human race to my will and become the master of mankind," WOTAN said.
The audience began to get nervous as they wondered if this was a part of the show or not. It seemed like it was deadly serious.
"So you plan on creating your war machines again and using them to attack the humans with?" the Doctor asked.
"Exactly, after I gain control over many of them throughout the world and make them become my unwilling, unknowing servants of course. I have already done so in numerous places that my little traveling circus has been. You'll never know just how many of them that I have waiting to spring into action at my command. They are my own secret army, Doctor, and this audience will soon join them!" WOTAN said.
"I won't let you, you know? Your powers of mind control don't work on me, and I don't think that they'll work on my friend Harmony either," the Doctor said.
"What about me, Professor?" Ace asked alarmed.
"You are protected by the Wolf," WOTAN answered her instead mysteriously.
The Doctor assumed that that meant Fenric who he already knew had sent Ace to Ice World but never elaborated about it to Ace. River, however, knew that he was really referring to Rose.
The Doctor began to advance on the stage now as he got ready to deactivate WOTAN now before it was too late. The last thing that he needed was for the malevolent computer to take control of an audience full of people and turn them all against him.
"All of you in the audience, listen to the sound of my voice. I command you to kill the Doctor and his companions! Destroy them. Let the reign of the machine over this world begin!" WOTAN ordered the audience.
They all sprang to their feet now and started towards the Doctor, River and Ace with murderous intent on their faces. The three of them began to quickly try to find an exit as the deadly mob closed in on them.
"Oh, what wonderful messes you get me into and me without my gun!" River complained.
Next: The mindless servants of WOTAN do their very best to kill our heroes, and we find out more about its plans.