Author's note: I assume that most people reading this will be familiar with both Legend of Korra and Doctor Who and with the characters that have appeared in the TV shows. However, many of you may not be familiar with the character of Constance Clarke. Constance is a companion for the Sixth Doctor from the full cast audio adventures produced by Big Finish. Constance was stationed at Bletchley Park in World War II, holding the rank of Leading Wren. She is married to Henry Clarke, a naval intelligence officer missing in mysterious circumstances. The character is performed by the amazing Miranda Raison.
Continuity: For Legend of Korra, the events in this story take place a bit more than a year after the conclusion of Book 4. For Doctor Who, they take place several weeks to a few months after the events in the audio adventure "The End of the Line" from the box set "The Last Adventure."
With its usual tortured wheezing and groaning, the TARDIS materialized in a previously tranquil public park. The door was flung open, and the Doctor strode out, his multi-colored coat flapping behind him. He breathed deeply and placed his hands on his hips with a satisfied air. "There you are, Mrs. Clarke. As promised, back in our home dimension."
Constance Clarke followed him out of the time machine and looked around with a slightly more appraising eye. "Are you quite certain about that, Doctor?"
"Certain? Certain!? CERTAIN?" He whirled round and faced her with a look of great indignation on his face. "I'll have you know that I triple checked every aspect of the calculation. I have been meticulously gathering data on the structure of the multiverse over a series of carefully planned cross-dimensional hops. I have cross referenced the results against the extensive records on our own universe from the TARDIS information core. Of course I'm certain!" He huffed.
Constance folded her arms and raised her eyebrows sardonically at this tirade. "Be that as it may, I have noticed one or two things that don't seem entirely consistent."
"Oh, have you indeed? You can tell we are in another dimension just by looking around, can you? Where is this evidence of yours, then?"
"Well, for a start there's those creatures." She pointed at a nearby pond. Several animals that looked like ducks with turtle shells were swimming near the shore, quacking happily.
The Doctor sniffed. "Convergent evolution could easily account for that. Or genetic engineers with too much time on their hands. Unusual, perhaps, but hardly uncanny enough to warrant casting aspersions on my navigation."
"And how about that?" Constance pointed to the edge of the park.
"An automobile with decorations like a Chinese pagoda? Does that really seem so far beyond the realms of probability?"
"I meant the buildings behind it," Constance answered with a touch of impatience. They looked a fairly ordinary collection of urban row houses, except that half of the windows had thick green vines growing out of them.
"It could just indicate an admirable sympathy between the residents and the local ecosystem," the Doctor insisted stubbornly. As they looked on, a translucent blue creature that looked something like a cat with dragonfly wings alighted on one vine. An elderly woman opened a nearby window, leaned out and appeared to start gossiping with it. "Planets peacefully settled by multiple intelligent species are not unheard of," the Doctor continued weakly.
Constance cleared her throat and pointed silently toward the heart of the city. A shaft of amber light rose above the skyscrapers and up to pierce the sky. Creatures in a variety of strange shapes flew around it. Quite large creatures, given the distance involved. Now and then one would fly into the beam and disappear, or another would burst forth with droplets of light trailing behind it.
The Doctor sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It may be necessary to check the data one last time."
"Never mind, Doctor," Constance said. "It seems quite pleasant here. After all, there's no sign of carnivorous plants, killer robots, or oobleck."
The Doctor scowled at her. "It's not necessary to bring up every unpleasant thing we've encountered since getting trapped in the dimensional junction."
"I wasn't going to. I thought those three a sufficiently representative sample."
The Doctor harrumphed. He turned back to the TARDIS to shut and lock the door. "Let's not stand around here thinking gloomy thoughts. It's a lovely day for a walk in the park. Come along, Mrs. Clarke." He strode off.
A slight smile played across Constance's face as she followed. "Certainly, Doctor."
As they walked away, a lean form emerged from a nearby bush and approached the TARDIS. After circling twice it passed through the walls of the blue box as if they weren't there.
