This story uses characters from the Franchises of Bucky O Hare, and Doctor Who (The New Series). I do not own any of the charcters, and I have no intention whatsoever of making money from this story.
Also, in terms of Doctor Who, I'm starting with where the Doctor was at the end of the Second season, just so you know, since I've yet to watch the Third season.
Now on with the show!
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All was quiet aboard the TARDIS. It had been months now since the Doctor had last taken a traveling companion. He was currently slumped back in one of the many chairs around the main console.
The glow of the engine reflected off his pale skin, and short dark hair, his wiry body relaxed, but restless at the same time. All he could do now was look around at the empty seats, and remember all the people that used to sit in them.
He coughed a little bit, clearing his throat. He realized at that moment that it was the first time he had heard his own voice for what seemed like an eternity.
Rose could be so grating at times, he thought…but she certainly helped him to forget his loneliness. He'd been through it before of course, throughout his earlier traveling days. But ever since the time wars, the fact that he was the last of the Time Lords only added fuel to this increasing sense of isolation.
Now she was gone, living in another universe with her family. All he could do now was move on, travel to where he wanted…with nothing left but memories of her, as well his former home world, to comfort him.
He looked into the viewing screen placidly, just admiring the stars for a moment. It wasn't something he did too much, but ever since he first landed on Earth, and learned about how humans looked at them; he gained a whole new appreciation.
"Funny idea, constellations" he mused to himself. "Being able to look into the night sky and make shapes out of the stars…like some funny little connect-the-dots game."
He chuckled a little as examined the ones he remembered. "And a lot of them are animals…I always knew humans were a bit odd about the other creatures they lived with, but to literally put them among the stars…" He went through them all in his head. "They've got a lion, a crab, a scorpion…they've even got a goat with a fishtail. Don't know where they came up with that one."
The Doctor pressed a few buttons as he then changed views to another section. "Then we've got our bull friend, Taurus"…
His train of thought froze right there, as he noticed something unusual on the screen.
"Hmmm…the old bull's got something strange going on…just inside of his head, it looks like."
He took the TARDIS in for a closer look, examining the bizarre phenomena. He slipped his glasses on, as usual, before doing so.
"It looks almost like a black hole…" he muttered to himself, tapping the console a little with his index finger. "Doesn't seem to be sucking too much inside…yet we are detecting some powerful gravitational pull." He sighed and scratched his head a little. "Now, how is that possible?"
He fiddled with the console some more to get more answers, standing now as he was bent over. "High concentration of…what seems to be accelerated photon energy. It's like somebody used it to punch a hole in the universe." He furrowed his brow. "But for what purpose, I wonder?"
He then suddenly felt a tremendous jolt, knocking him backward from where he was standing. By the time he stumbled back to his feet, he felt a tremendous pull of gravity over his form, as well as over the ship's form.
"Blast!" The doctor grunted. "I got too close!"
He pulled himself back over to the console, and immediately began to fire up the engines in the TARDIS, trying to get away. The interior of the ship rumbled more as he felt the vibrations, the engines trying to go at full blast, but struggling for some reason.
"Come on, old girl…come on…" The doctor encouraged his vehicle nervously, while turning his head to the side. He heard some of the metal grinding and warping slightly, as it fell victim to the pull of mysterious hole, then engines struggling even more.
"Oh no…" He shook his head as he took a few readings from the systems frantically. "The photons…they're interfering with the engines somehow…they're not strong enough to counteract the effect…damn!"
He could see the ship being pulled closer and closer to the hole on the viewing screen, as he realized it was inevitable now. He had heard theories about alternate realities, and even experienced one for himself with Rose…but he knew there was no guarantee that this hole was a passage to one of those worlds. He knew very well that this could just as well be the end for him and the TARDIS.
With that he closed his eyes, bracing for the worst as the ship began to vanish into the hole…with only one thought going through his head.
"Goodbye Rose…"
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"Ok…all seems to be clear…"
Captain Bucky O Hare motioned to his crew as had finished his thorough sweep of the large room. It was a lobby, the main entrance to an important government building. Once alive with the hustle and bustle of bureaucrats and officials, the red floors and white marble walls now dark and silent, with only a few lights flickering…with bodies lying on the floor in some places as well.
Deadeye, Blinky, and Jenny all descended quickly from a large stairwell, with two other guests behind them. A wide tapestry on the wall behind them, that displayed the symbol of the planet they were on, called Skaro.
It was a planet of lizards, and one that had always been in a strained relationship with the other mammalian planets in the Aniverse. Komplex, and Toad Empire had more than once tried to ally themselves with this place before their destruction.
The Righteous Indignation, the same slayers of the empire, had been called in as bodyguards for a new mission. They were to accompany the high Articficer of Aldebaran and her granddaughter, Felicia, on a diplomatic mission to Skaro. Some time ago, a Skaran cruiser had flown into Aldebaran space, and refused to respond to identification requests. When the Aldebaran ships flew in for a closer look, the cruiser opened fire, nearly destroying one of them.
The High Council leader of Skaro did eventually discipline the pilot for his actions. The High Artificer of Aldebaran, however, wanted to make sure that no bad blood developed between the two planets as a result of the incident.
Originally, only Jenny had been tapped to accompany her and Felicia, but Jenny requested that her friends be with her for this. She felt that it was a good excuse to see the entire crew again, which she hadn't served with for a while. Willy Duwitt, their longtime ally from Earth, had since lost the ability to cross over into the Aniverse, due to the decay of his photon accelerator. Jenny saw this as a real shame, to lose the only ally who shared in the secret of her powers, but life had to go on…especially at this moment.
"Where'd those creeps go?" Deadeye growled, all of his trigger fingers itching for action.
"I don't know…" Jenny responded, ominously. "But something tells me they're probably still in the building somewhere."
"This is all so bizarre…" The High Artificer spoke up, as she stood in back of Jenny with Felicia. "There I was, in the great hall, having a wonderful conversation with the Grand Pontiff of the High Council, when suddenly these, these…things, burst in unannounced and open fire…if he hadn't pointed me to his secret exit, I probably would be lying right next to him now."
"Do you think the Grand Pontiff's ok?" Felicia asked, as she sounded genuinely worried.
"We won't know for sure until we've eliminated the threat." Blinky spoke up. "Then you could check on him yourselves, I imagine."
Bucky turned, and quickly shushed them all, hearing something. "I think I'm detecting movement…right behind this door…" He walked slowly to the doorway to the right of the party, as the others all prepared their weapons, staying very silent. Felicia clung gently to her grandmother as this all transpired.
Bucky slowly crept up to the door, reaching out for the knob…he counted to himself as he prepared to swing the door open and attack with the others…1…2…
CRASH!
Before he could get to three, something suddenly busted through the ceiling. Two menacing metallic beings flew down into the lobby. They looked like miniature tanks almost, their domed heads sporting a single stalk, with one glowing blue eye. Thrusters burned from under the bases of the metal forms, which were also surrounded by small globes, that seemed to act as sensors.
"TARGETS DETECTED" one of the creatures said as it flew down, the two small lamps on its head lighting up as it spoke. It's electronically distorted voice was a horrifying sound to Bucky and the others, who had never heard such a noise.
Deadeye immediately sprung into action, all four of his hands carrying guns as he yelled out and fired at the two descending machines. "Eat this, you overgrown garbage-munching freaks!"
His multiple blasts struck the two creatures all about their forms…and seemed to have no effect whatsoever. Blinky ran up next to Deadeye and backed him up with blasts from his own weapons.
The two strange beings acted as if nothing has even happened, as they both landed a mere few meters away from the two soldiers. They then rolled smoothly towards them, as the two quickly backed away and fired a few more times…still not having any success.
"EXTERMINATE!" The creature on the left exclaimed, as they both returned fire with deadly blue lasers from their small arms, the weapons making an electronic whining noise as they fired.
Blinky quickly shoved Deadeye out of the way, as the shot from the creature on the left was headed right towards him. The brave android absorbed the brunt of the blast, groaning and sputtering as he then went limp and fell to the floor, not moving.
"Blinky!" Bucky shouted, as Deadeye looked on, stunned. He quickly shook it off, though, as he saw the two metallic creatures rolling towards him now, powering up their weapons, still shouting, "EXTERMINATE!" every so often.
Bucky quickly fired his own blaster, getting the attention of at least one of the creatures for a moment. He was soon suddenly taken by surprise, though, as the door behind him suddenly exploded.
He flew several feet, and nearly knocked himself out on a pillar in the room. Indeed there were two more of these deadly creatures behind the door, and they had been patiently waiting to strike until the two from above came in first.
"STAY WHERE YOU ARE" One of the machines barked at Bucky. The daring rabbit had no intention of doing so, however, as he quickly got up and ran behind the pillar with his gun.
"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" The two machines roared in unison, firing off their weapons once more as they rolled into the lobby to join their allies.
The blasts nearly demolished the pillar Bucky was behind, as he then took a deep breath, and jumped out from behind it to attack. He fired numerous times at the domed heads of the creatures, only to have them bounce off as they blasted in unison.
He dove out of the way just in time, as he noticed something from before they fired…one of the machines had suddenly turned its head as he fired, as if it was trying to protect something…something that seemed to be related to the stalks extending from their heads.
"Jenny!" He shouted to his first mate, ducking behind another pillar. "Try to aim for the eye! I think that might be a soft spot!"
Jenny, who at this point been simply watching over the High Artificer and Felicia, simply nodded and turned to the creatures that had been firing on him. She fired a few shots to distract one of them, and carefully aimed as it turned its attention towards her…
She then fired quickly, luck being on her side as the blast struck the unsuspecting creature right in its blue eye. It cried out electronically and sputtered, as the damaged area began spewing a gooey, blue and white substance.
"I CANNOT SEE! I CANNOT SEE!" it yelled as it rolled around aimlessly, before clumsily crashing into the creature next to it. They both fell over, the live creature now pinned under the weight of the expired one.
The other two creatures, that had been trying to kill Deadeye, now turned their attention to Jenny, allowing the duck to run over and scoop up the damaged Blinky. He then fired at one of the creatures with a free hand, turning its attention back from Jenny. Bucky helped out in this too, jumping from behind another pillar, and firing at the other creature.
"Deadeye!" Jenny yelled to him, passing on Bucky's information. "Aim for the eye! That's their weakpoint!"
"Jenny!" Felicia suddenly shouted to her.
Bucky heard Felicia shout to her as well, as he tried to take out one of the other creatures…before he suddenly heard the noise of one of their blasters going off…followed by a thud.
He jumped away from the attacking creature, as he turned to see Jenny lying on the ground…she didn't appear to be moving, or breathing, as Felicia stood with her mouth wide open in shock.
"NO!" Bucky yelled as he ran to his fallen comrade. "Jenny! No!"
He then suddenly felt a hand grabbing him as he got closer. It was Deadeye, with Blinky still over his shoulder, as he kept another blast from hitting the rabbit. He looked over and saw that the culprit was another creature that had just entered the room from the same blown up door, with quite a few others in tow.
"We've gotta get outta here!" He shouted to Bucky. "We can't keep these two in danger for much longer!" He motioned to Felicia and the High Artificer.
"Jenny…" Bucky lamented softly.
"Jenny would want us all to stay alive, Bucko." Deadeye gripped his Captain's shoulder. "So let's get these two to safety, and get Blinky here fixed up…then we can make these tin cans pay for what they did!"
Bucky nodded slowly, taking one last look at Jenny's body…before running over to keep Felicia and her grandmother covered, firing at the oncoming machines frequently.
Felicia looked back, wanting to properly mourn the loss of her mentor, but still knowing she had to leave, as The High Artificer had a firm grip of her hand, helping her to run away as the creatures followed for a few more meters, then watched them run out through the front door.
"REMANING TARGETS ESCAPED" One of the creatures spoke up.
"I SHALL ASSEMBLE AN INTERSTELLAR PURSUIT FORCE." Another creature spoke as it rolled up next to it. "PROCEED WITH PLAN BETA…LOCATE REMAINING HIGH COUNCIL PONTIFFS."
"AFFIRMATIVE" The first creature nodded its stalk lightly, before leaving the scene with a few others of its ilk.
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Moments passed, as Jenny's motionless form suddenly began to stir. Although she had been left for dead, no one really had seen what happened. She sensed the creature from before was about to fire, and had quietly created a psionic shield near her chest to deflect the blast.
Still, though, the blast had packed quite a wallop when it collided with the shield, and managed to knock the wind right out of her. In addition, she still wanted her powers to remain a secret, and also wanted a chance to sneak around this place some more.
So, she played dead…not a very nice thing to do, she thought, but it was the only option available to her at the moment. She just hoped that Bucky and the others would forgive her for doing it…assuming she got out of this alive that was.
First things first, she needed to regroup. She quickly got up, and left the building before any of the creatures spotted her. She ran down the steps of the front entrance, and hid behind a few trees nearby, taking time to consider the situation.
She reached into pocket in her suit, and quickly withdrew a small canteen, sipping the water in it. It was as she drank that she began to sense something…something very unusual.
She stepped out from behind the tree, and walked into a clearing. She readied her blaster, aiming it here and there as she tried to keep her mind fixed on the strange, erratic signal she was getting…but not having very much luck in doing it.
Suddenly, she heard an immense whooshing sound behind her, sensing an immense glow as well…she quickly turned with her gun, and without hesitating, fired.
She then saw what it was she had fired at…a strange blue object with the words "POLICE BOX" written on the top…she looked down to see the figure of a wide-eyed human male peeking out of it…who had just been mortally wounded by her blast.
"Why…" The Doctor grunted as he slumped out of the TARDIS. "Why did you do that?" He then fell to the ground as Jenny gasped and rushed over to him.
"Asking for directions…always a pain…" he spoke softly as he laid on his back.
"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, sensing his benevolent nature now. "I thought you were one of them…"
"One of who?…" The Doctor furrowed his brow.
"It's…a long story…" she looked down at him with equally wide eyes. "Are you…human?"
"Not quite…" The doctor sighed as he coughed a little. "But I've been told I could pass for one."
Jenny looked around frantically as she then gazed back down at the person she accidentally shot down. "Is there anything I can do for you."
"Just stand back…" The Doctor responded as he closed his eyes. "I think I'm gonna have to regenerate yet again…No thanks to you."
Jenny stood up slowly as she heard him say this. "Regenerate?"
She then gasped and jumped as red energy suddenly shot out of the Doctor's head and hands, washing over his form. All she could do was watch as the man's head was enveloped by the energy, slumped back with his mouth open and eyes closed…before it suddenly changed shape and form.
The doctor felt the regeneration complete, as he quickly sat up…his eyes were still closed as he breathed heavily, slowly coming back to his senses as he brought a hand up and felt his face.
It felt fuzzy along the mouth…maybe he had a beard in this new form. He rubbed up past his cheek, and realized that this fuzzy feeling extended…all the way up to his forehead.
He then stood up quickly as his eyes shot right open, looking himself over…his hands were now furry, and more paw-like. The fur was yellow with black spots…like a cheetah.
"What?" He looked himself over with more bewilderment, as Jenny just looked on with utter confusion, wondering who this strange fellow was.
He then felt something odd behind him, as he reached back and rubbed at the base of his spine…he had a tail too now, as his brow furrowed over his green eyes. He had somehow regenerated in the form of an anthropomorphic feline.
"What in the name Gallifrey?" Was the only thing he could say…