The Poetry of Time and Space
Summary: When Piper meets the strange and elusive doctor, her life will never be the same again, but then again, she's not sure that she wants it to be.
Pairings: Pipabeth
Crossover: Yes, if you haven't noticed yet this is a crossover between Doctor Who and Percy Jackson. I know that not very many people will read it because the pairing is Pipabeth (Piper/Annabeth) but I've been enjoying writing it, so who really cares.
A.N: This has been a ride. I know that if you've ever read any of my chapter stories before you might know that I have a habit of, erm, not finishing things. I promise you, this one will be finished. I swear on my life. I have a good friend who will personally kill me if I don't finish this one, so yay motivation. I'm sorry, I doubt if you care to read all of this. Without further adieu The Poetry of Time and Space.
Piper walked through the crowded mall alone. She heard the hustle and bustle of people moving all around her. Even surrounded by so many people, Piper felt both bored and alone. She wondered why she even bothered coming to the mall.
"It's slightly better than sitting at home alone watching SpongeBob," she thought somewhat bitterly as she continued walking. A Green Day song played in the background as Piper passed many stores she had no interest in browsing. Out of sheer boredom, she readjusted her old jean jacket. She wasn't even sure why she was wearing it. The jacket was entirely too hot for the San Francisco climate in the middle of the summer.
She passed a storefront that had been empty for months, and noticed that its lights were on. The sign above the door read Aunty Em's Gnome Emporia. She took a tentative look inside of it. Inside there were many statues and they were all of humans. It sent a tingle down her spine and part of Piper thought, this is an awful idea, but the other more daring part didn't give a shit. She had nothing to lose from looking at an old woman's statuary, so she took her first steps into the store.
It was strange. There were no other people in the store. Normally, people would flock to a new store just to see what it had to offer. Piper browsed the aisles of human statues and began to realize that they were almost horrifyingly realistic. Piper stepped towards one. It was of a young girl, probably somewhere between eight and ten years old. She had short, straight hair, and was clad in jeans and a t-shirt. Every curve in her face resembled that of a real person, her lips, her slightly crooked teeth, her nose, and her eyes. Something about her eyes gave the impression that the statue was terrified, as if she was dying. Piper took a step away from the statue and decided to walk away from it, deeper into the Emporium. She could have sworn she'd heard an extra pair of footsteps as she walked away.
"This store is huge," Piper thought after walking for what seemed like ten more minutes. She could hear a Katy Perry song playing softly in the distance. She had been in this store for three songs and she had yet to even reach the back of it. She was still ten feet from the end of the next aisle. Her footsteps continued to sound louder than they normally do, and she was seriously freaking out. She took a deep breath, and stopped walking. The footsteps continued. She looked behind her, but she didn't see a person. No, Piper saw the terrified statue girl that she had examined earlier, and she was walking straight towards her. Piper took a moment to reprimand herself. It was probably just someone pulling a prank. She told herself to keep calm.
"Hey," said Piper, "you got me. Good prank. Now could you please stop that?" The girl didn't stop. She didn't remove her mask. She just continued to stalk towards Piper. In response, Piper started to back up. A moment later, she felt her back bump against something that was neither the shelf nor another human. She turned around and saw another statue. It was a man, around the age of forty, and Piper screamed. She ducked her head under his large stone arms, and started to run towards the back of the store as the rest of the statues awoke around her.
"Fuck," she muttered as she tried to find a way out of the store. Everywhere she turned, there was a statue. She had barely escaped the grasps of four of them and she wasn't sure how much longer she could evade them. She let out a scream of frustration, and saw a beautiful sight at the end of the aisle. Another human, a blonde woman, was coming to her aide.
"Over here!" Piper yelled, throwing her arms up in the air.
"Coming," the woman said.
"She has an accent," Piper thought, "British maybe?" She pushed away the thought and started trying to fight off the things that she concluded must be robots. In her right hand, the woman clutched something that looked like a screwdriver and Piper wondered how that could possibly help in this situation. Something shot out of it, a bolt of light or energy or something along those lines and the robot it hit flinched back. Piper decided that she would never doubt the power of a screwdriver again.
Piper was almost completely cornered and the things were clawing at her. She tried to duck under one statue's arm in order to get closer to the woman. Instead, the robot caught her by the back of her jacket, and Piper slid out of its grasp. Piper stumbled into her savior who grabbed her by the arm. The woman was shooting laser bolts at the statues/robots/things while they ran towards the back of the store. A statue, an old woman, tried to grab Piper by the arm but she yanked her arm away. A second later, Piper saw their salvation, an emergency door at the back of the Emporium. She pushed the door open and allowed the other woman through before slamming it.
"We need something to keep it shut," the woman said, her voice sure. Piper glanced down at the pavement. They were in a narrow alleyway, maybe three-foot wide, and beside them, there was a metal staircase. The bottom section seemed to be about the same length as the width of the alley. Piper heard a noise, and she went to hold the door shut.
"I have an idea," Piper said, pushing her weight against the door, "but we need to use your screw driver thingy."
"Tell me," the woman demanded, and Piper told her. The woman climbed the metal staircase, and when she was on the rung right above where she had decided to make the cut, she started to unscrew the ladder. It fell to the ground in a swift motion, and the woman jumped down after it. She positioned it in a way that it spanned from the wall of the alley to the emergency exit. Piper left her post by the door and let out a sigh of relief. For the first time since entering the Emporium, she felt safe.
For the first time since meeting the woman, Piper took a good look at her. The woman was fairly tall, maybe six inches taller than Piper. She was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and black converses. The woman had an unbuttoned red plaid shirt over a black t-shirt. She had gorgeous blonde curls that were partially blocked by a Yankees cap.
Piper laughed, and then she asked, "What's with the Yankee's cap? Your accent sounds British."
"I'm not British," the woman said, rolling her gray eyes, "and I'm not American either."
"Then what are you?" Piper asked, looking the woman in her stormy gray eyes.
"What do you think I am?" she asked with a small smirk.
"You didn't answer my question," Piper demanded, "who and/or what are you?"
"I'm the doctor," the woman said, "and who are you?"
"Piper McLean," she said, and then she paused for a moment.
"But the doctor?" asked Piper in confusion, "Just the doctor? Doctor what?"
"I'm the doctor, just the doctor," she said, "not that it matters. We won't meet again."
Piper looked away for moment, trying to think of a witty diatribe to use in response, but when she looked back, the doctor was gone, curly blonde hair, plaid top, proud smirk and all.
When Piper had finished walking back to her apartment, she went to her fridge. Stuck to the fridge was a small pink sticky note that read:
Staying with your Uncle Joe in L.A for a few days, got an audition.
Sorry, Pipes-
Love,
Dad
Piper rolled her eyes. She hadn't actually expected her dad to be home that night, but he could have at least called her to let her know instead of just leaving a sticky note. She took out a can of Pepsi and went to her room, plopping down at her chair. She logged into her laptop and started Google chrome. Piper turned on her battered I-pod, and a My Chemical Romance song started to play. She hastily typed "doctor" into her search bar, but only received various pages for people in the medical field. She typed "the doctor" and received similar results. Piper tried various combinations, including, "doctor alien", "doctor British," and "doctor Yankees cap" to disappointing results. She let out a frustrated groan. She was never going to figure out what was going on at this rate.
Suddenly, Piper had an idea. She took a stab in the dark, and searched "doctor alien". Apparently, that was specific enough, because the first result was a page that read: the doctor: Origin unknown. It was the website of a man named Charles Beckendorf that dedicated his life to finding out information about this doctor. The page contained the caption and a blurry and distorted photo of someone Piper knew to be the doctor. At the bottom of the page, there was a number to call if you had spotted the doctor. Piper decided to call this man and arrange a meeting time.
In a convenient twist of fate, Charles Beckendorf lived not only in San Francisco, but within walking distance from Piper's own apartment. She saw a small house with the address on the door, and she rang the doorbell. Piper stood on the porch, examining the house's red bricks when a young dark-skinned boy answered the door.
"Dad," he said, "it's for you." He then retreated up the carpeted staircase and Piper was left alone in the entry way. She looked nervously around the room, and noticed a pale-skinned woman with curly black hair walking towards her.
"Um, hi," she said, "I'm here to see Charles."
The gorgeous woman sent her a confused look and then realization dawned on her.
"Oh," she said, "you're here about the aliens. Come with me." The woman led her though the house and out to the back yard where there was a small shed.
"Charlie," she said, opening the door, "she's here about the aliens."
"Thanks, Silena," he replied, "well hello, Piper."
"Hey, Luke," Piper said, because she didn't know what else to say.
"So you want to talk about the doctor?" Charlie asked, and Piper just nodded. Charlie walked to his filing cabinet and dug out a blurry picture of the doctor.
"Is this your doctor?" he asked.
"Yes," said Piper, "that's her." After that, he started pulling various pictures out of files. He held the photographs in his dark, calloused hands. The first was a picture of the famous concert at Woodstock, and the doctor's blonde head and Yankees cap were clearly visible in the background of the photo. The next was a photograph of people rejoicing after the end of WWII. Yet again, she could clearly see the doctor. Piper was getting a little freaked out.
"If you dig deep enough and really examine the information," Charlie stated, holding out another group of pictures for her to look at, "the doctor pops up just about everywhere. Famous photos, conspiracy theories, political diaries, normal diaries, and even in ghost stories. She seems to be imbedded into everything." The photos were all from various time periods and Piper could clearly see the doctor in each and every one of them.
"What do you think she is?" asked Piper, biting her lip.
"I think that she's an immortal alien," said Charlie. Then he paused a moment before continuing, "How did you find out about her?"
"I met her," Piper said, "She saved my life." Piper felt like she was talking to a complete loon, but considering the fact that she had been attacked by statues she didn't have much room to talk.
"She was here?" Charlie asked, looking to the ceiling, "God help us all."
"What does it mean?" Piper demanded.
"The doctor is an enigma woven into human history," Charlie said, examining her in terror, "When disaster strikes, so does she. Destruction follows in her wake and God help us all if she was in San Francisco." Piper took a deep breath and walked away, trying to gather her thoughts.
Piper sat down on a park bench and tried to process the things that had happened to her over the past few days. The robots, the doctor, the conspiracy theorist, everything had happened so suddenly and the realization was finally dawning on her. This was all real and her life was pandemonium. Nothing made any sense anymore. She starred out into the park at the maple trees and flowers and wondered how the world just kept on spinning while her own world was falling apart. Her very perceptions of the universe and life itself were being put to the test and she didn't know what to do.
"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?" she sang softly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar head, blonde and clad in a Yankees cap. She got off of the park bench and stalked towards the woman.
Piper stepped into the woman's line of sight and in her most confident tone of voice, she said, "I want answers."
"How do you keep finding me?" asked the woman, her curly blonde hair blowing in the breeze.
"I don't really know," Piper admitted, "but why were those robots or-or whatever the fuck hey were after me!?"
"They weren't after you," the doctor said with a prideful look, "they were after me. And they weren't robots, either. They were humans."
"Humans," said Piper with a hint of terror in her voice. The fear in the girl's eyes had been real. Somehow all of those people had been turned to stone.
"How did this happen?" Piper asked, "Who has been doing this?"
"A sort of alien called a gorgon," the doctor said, "which has the power to turn other beings into stone to do his/her bidding."
"Well what are you going to do about this," Piper said, taking a step towards her, "you can't just leave them as statues."
"The attacks have become more frequent," she said, "and I think that the gorgon is going to strike tonight. She'll want somewhere out in the open, so she can change a great number of people at the same time. Somewhere lots of people travel quickly and easily so it can ensnare as many as possible." Piper looked to the skyline, and saw the Golden Gate Bridge about a mile away.
"The bridge," Piper muttered.
"Brilliant," the doctor exclaimed.
"Well how do we stop it?" Piper demanded.
"I have an antidote," the doctor said, "if I inject it with this, then it will die and the people will be cured."
"I'm coming with you," Piper said.
"Don't be an idiot;" said the doctor, "you'll probably be hit by a car."
"We started this mess together," said Piper, "And we're finishing it that way too."
"Fine," said the doctor, "do you have any reflective surfaces, a mirror or something?"
Piper took out her I-pod and starred at the shiny back side.
"That'll work," the doctor started to walk towards the bridge, "if it turns out you're deadweight then this is the end. Got it?" Piper glared at her, but followed anyway.
Piper walked beside the doctor in silence and starred out onto the Pacific Ocean, the sun glimmering on the waves. It was lovely, really, and Piper wondered why she had never paid attention to it before. The sunlight dancing on the bay's waves was truly stunning, but Piper supposed that near-death experiences gave one a greater appreciation of life. They were almost halfway across the bridge, and Piper heard cars screeching to a halt.
"Avert your eyes," said the doctor, pulling a mirror and a hypodermic needle from the pocket of her plaid jacket. There were lines of cars stopped, and Piper heard a few crashing off in the distance. Piper held out her I-pod and started into the fray. She heard footsteps and crashing. She saw statue people struggling to get out of their cars. Piper could see the alien's reflection in her I-pod now. She was hideous. She had a human shape, but her skin was green and her eyes were an obsidian shade of black. That was before Piper noticed the living, hissing snakes growing out of her head like a serious case of unruly curly hair. She saw the doctor approaching from behind the creature, but it had already started to walk towards Piper.
"So, little girl," she hissed, "it seems you know my secret. A single glance can turn anyone to stone." Piper glanced nervously down at her I-pod screen, and she saw the doctor sneaking up behind the creature. Piper had to buy her time, and she had an idea, an insane, suicidal, where-did-this-even-come-from idea, but an idea nonetheless.
"I'm Medusa," she said, putting a hand on Piper's shoulder, "and my face will be the last you ever see." Piper took a deep breath and quickly turned around, dropping her I-pod and pulling Medusa into a tight bear hug. She obstructed Medusa with her arms, and Piper could feel her panicking.
"What are you doing," Piper heard the creature scream as the world melted around her.
Piper felt like she was awakening from a deep, dreamless sleep when she finally opened her eyes. She was lying on the pavement, surrounded by cars. These cars drivers' were all in a similar predicament to Piper herself, and for a moment, Piper worried if they were alright. They just seemed sleepy, not dead, so she allowed her eyes to wander.
She saw the doctor leaning on a car beside her.
"It's about time you woke up," the doctor said, "I understand that you were a bit knackered after having been turned to stone, but you could have had the courtesy to wake up after half an hour."
"How long was I out," Piper asked, trying to sit up.
"An hour," the doctor said with a smirk.
"You big baby," Piper replied, rolling her eyes.
"Come on," the doctor said, holding out her hand, "I'll help you up." Piper grabbed it, and she was pulled to her feet.
"You're going back to wherever it is you came from, I assume," Piper said, as the two walked away from the colossal traffic jam that they had partially caused.
"Yes," said the doctor, "and you're welcome to come with me, if you'd like. You proved that you were anything but deadweight back there. Quick thinking, Piper." Piper had a feeling that most of the doctor's adventures went something like this, with life-threating adventures, adrenaline rushes and aliens. Piper wasn't sure that she could handle it. She was a bit afraid. Yet, now that Piper had a taste of the adventures she could have with the doctor, she wasn't sure she could say no.
"Where are we going?" Piper asked.
The doctor grabbed her hand, "I'll show you."
"A phone booth?" asked Piper, "not to judge or anything, but what are we going to do in a phone box? Call a cab? Or are we flying to the moon?" She would have made a joke about having a make-out session, but Piper wasn't sure how the doctor would react to that just yet.
"If you want to," the doctor replied, shrugging. She opened the door and stepped in. Piper reluctantly followed her.
Instead of the tiny room that Piper had expected, she was greeted by a large, open hall. The walls curved inward to give the room a domed feeling. Circular indentions lined the walls. In the middle stood what looked to be a control station with a pillar sticking out of the top.
Piper was sure that her eyes widened in shock.
"I-It's huge," she stuttered. She opened the door and looked around the outside of the box to make sure that her eyes didn't deceive her. The box was just as small on the outside as Piper had originally thought. She opened the door and was yet again greeted by an enormous room.
"It's bigger on the inside," Piper said in amazement, drinking in the sight.
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour." the doctor said.
"What?" Piper asked.
"It's Blake, William Blake," said the doctor, "I think it describes the tardis fairly well."
"Hold infinity in the palm of your hand," repeated Piper. She took a tentative step towards what seemed to be the controls and gently touched one.
"It's beautiful," said Piper.
"I know," said the doctor, "she's beautiful, isn't she? The tardis is amazing."
"And this is all inside a blue phone-booth?" Piper asked.
"Police box to be more exact," she corrected, "but yeah."
"What exactly is a tardis?" Piper asked, taking a reluctant look around, whatever a tardis was.
The doctor replied, "Tardis stands for time and relative dimensions in space."
"It's a time machine and a space ship all in one? Inside a blue box?" Piper asked.
"Pretty much," the doctor replied.
"This is the most astonishing thing I've ever seen," she said, breathlessly.
"Since it's your first trip," the doctor said, "you can decide where we go. Forward or back?"
"Back," Piper said with a grin, "we have to go back."
A.N: and thus concludes chapter one.
Quotes are taken from Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Auguries of Innocence by William Blake.
Next Chapter: The Unhappy Dragon