The Truth About Time Travelling
Maria Jackson had saved the world so many times before, and yet had never got to meet the fabulous man known as the Doctor. Until now, that is. AU, eventual Ten/Rose reunion. Luke/Maria, Clyde/Maria. Rating may change.
It had been a cold, long winter night. For Maria Jackson, at least. Why did she sign up for all those night classes, again? Now it seemed rather pointless. She trudged through the snow, wrapped in her large coat, shivering and rubbing her arms for warmth. Her best friend Clyde had told her earlier that if you took classes at night, you had more time for doing other things during the day. Like sleeping, Maria thought bitterly. The night classes here ran late; the last time Maria had glanced at her wristwatch it was one in the morning. She was getting tired. Bags were beginning to appear under her eyes, and she was about ready to collapse in the snow. Who wouldn't? And how could she possibly absorb everything in class when she was so tired at the end of it?
Maria had been accepted into the University of Oxford not very long ago; of course, by that time her other best friend Luke had already graduated. He had a job with UNIT now, among their top researchers. It was just a bit weird…everything was just so different than when they were fourteen, running around and saving the Earth from their backyards. She didn't get to see Luke much, now, but every now and then the whole group would get back together at Sarah Jane's house, eating cookies and drinking tea and helping Sarah Jane with her newest case. Maria had to admit that it was the kind of life she'd never dreamed of having before meeting Sarah Jane that fateful day so long ago, but now she wouldn't have it any other way. Well…except, she'd like to see Luke a bit more often. The last time was at the Christmas party her mother threw a few weeks ago, and Luke really only came because she and Clyde had asked him to. She frowned; Luke never really got the hang of anything to do with social situations, willing as he was to learn. Luckily, he always had Sarah Jane and his friends. Maria felt her eyelids droop, and she paused for a moment, drifting between half-dreaming and being awake.
She wouldn't be able to go to Sarah Jane's tomorrow if she was so sleepy! She snapped her eyes open, realizing how close she was to passing out. She gripped on tightly to the messenger back slung around her shoulder, as if it would help keep her awake. She needed sleep, and it was starting to get a bit ridiculous. Maria could just imagine her dad scolding her. Maria, it's not healthy living like this, he would say. Maria, just quit the classes and take them during the day. What's more important than your well-being? Learning something in physics you already knew before most of the class? She tried to ignore his voice in the back of her mind, her voice of conscience and reason, and thought about Clyde's advice again. Why did she even listen? Clyde had always been something of a slacker; of course he'd tell her it was better to take classes during the night than the day. Only Clyde could have the energy to be awake this late.
Clyde hadn't gotten accepted into Oxford. This was probably because of his obvious slacker tendencies, and not being able to take class that seriously, but even so, Maria had frowned and shouted "That's not fair!" around a thousand times. Clyde didn't mind so much; he was happy attending a local college. Maria wasn't, though. She knew he had so much potential; he was so clever, maybe not so much as Luke, but it annoyed her how so many people took that for granted. It just wasn't right! So what if his test scores were bad? He'd helped his friends and Sarah Jane figure out so many things, without him the world would probably be doomed. But he said he wanted to be a science teacher ("Not one of those boring, stuffy ones," He explained to Maria and Luke. "I'll be one of the cool teachers! Today's lesson: one hundred ways to kill a Slitheen!"), and Maria supposed that if that was what he wanted to do, she couldn't stop him. But Maria wanted to work for UNIT, and doing so required her to get top marks at a prestigious college, whether it be Oxford or Harvard or Yale.
Maria felt her cheeks and ears go numb. She was almost to her dorm, only another street and she'd be there, to her room she shared with a girl who was out all night (thank God, whenever she was there she would make the loudest racket), to the bed she would collapse on and drift of too sleep. She thought of nothing but her bed for the rest of her journey, stumbling through the thick snow and rubbing at her tired eyes. Snowflakes started to fall from the sky again, slowly, coating Maria's curls and eyelashes with a white, frosty layer. She paid no mind, and then before she knew it she had reached her dorm.
Once inside, she pulled off her boots and trod up the stairs in plain socks to her room. Every bit of her was aching, and sleep sounded so glorious right now. Maria opened the door and stepped inside, turning on the light switch with her free hand. She set her boots down by the rug, left her bag by the door, and got ready for bed. It was so warm in here, and she felt so nice and cozy. However, the hallway was ridiculously chilly. Some girl must have turned down the thermostat by accident. She climbed in bed, grabbing an extra quilt, and turned out the lights. She was really only a sleep for around five minutes, when—
"Oh my god!"
A horrific shriek sounded through the hall. Maria jolted awake, breathing hard and fast. What was that?! What happened?! Immediately forgetting how tired she was, she climbed out of bed and ran into the hallway, forgetting even her slippers and robe. About three rooms down, a girl—I think her name is Elaine, Maria thought—stood in the doorway, glued to her spot. More heads poked out of rooms, wanting to see just what was going on. A crowd gathered around Elaine, with Maria pushing her way to the front.
"Elaine, what happened?" She asked. Elaine shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
"I left her here for only a second! Only a second!" She sobbed. A girl pulled her away to try and calm her down. Confused, Maria looked inside.
She gasped in horror, taking a couple steps back—in the room was Elaine's roommate, a nice and quiet girl by the name of Linda, frozen to the spot with an expression of absolute terror on her face. She stepped in the room, suddenly shivering. How had it gotten so cold? She walked up to Linda's frozen statue and touched her arm.
A burning, tingling sensation made its way up her arm, as if she'd touched a fire that was only cold instead of hot. It was dry ice…Linda was frozen in dry ice. She pulled back, putting her damaged fingers in her mouth and wincing.
"Ow!" She cried. Maria looked back through the door way, at the group of frightened girls, taking her hand out of her mouth and holding it up.
"Has anyone got, a…er, I don't know, a cool washcloth or something?" She said, fingers still burning. She grimaced and tried to ignore the pain as a couple girls ran down to the bathroom to fetch it for her. The ice girl, Maria thought. What happened to her?
Linda's eyes were wide, her mouth a perfect 'o' and her eyebrows raised so high they looked as if they would've flied off her head had she not been frozen. Who could have done this? Maria could only think of something not human…but she'd never before met a creature who could do this! What if it was still in the room?
As this thought struck Maria, she stiffened and slowly backed away to the door. If it was still in the room, then it could still get her…it could freeze all the girls in the dorm. It wasn't like they had any weapons, and she seriously doubted that a gun or a knife could kill whatever this thing was. She racked her mind, trying to come up with a good plan, but what to do? Evacuate the girls? And what then? What would she tell them? Just because the girls left didn't mean the problem would be fixed. Her first thought was to call Luke, get him to UNIT, and get back up here as soon as possible. But…no, that wouldn't work. Luke was only a researcher, they wouldn't take his word for it…but if he told the director? The newest director was a woman by the name of Martha Jones, a former doctor whom she and Luke had met on several occasions. Martha was bound to believe him.
"Maria, here you go," A voice said from behind. Maria jumped, turning around and seeing it was only Olivia, the girl in the room next door. She held out a cold washcloth. Maria grabbed it and immediately wrapped it around her fingers.
"Thanks, Liv," She said. Olivia looked past Maria and into the room, eyes widening.
"What happened to her?!" She cried, obviously shocked. Maria just shook her head.
"I don't know, Liv, but listen to me: can you get all the girls out? Now?" Olivia looked at her strangely.
"Why? What's wrong?" She asked. Her voice was trembling, and her eyes kept going from Maria to Linda.
"Please, just do it," Maria urged. "I promise it'll be fine. Just go, okay?" Olivia nodded, and turned to face the girls.
"C'mon, guys," She said. "Maria's gonna call the police. Let's go to the boy's dorm, all right? Grab your jackets!" Her voice was still shaking, but the other girls agreed. They all headed out, and Maria breathed a sigh of relief. Finally. At least they were safe for the moment. She took a step back to her room, and then—
There was something cold breathing on the back of her neck.
Maria turned around immediately, only to see a giant yeti creature standing there. Its fur was a silvery white—almost translucent—and twisted horns grew from where its ears should have been. It was
tall, at least eight feet, with big, heavy arms that looked as if it could crush her in seconds. Maria couldn't breathe—and she was so cold, nearly frozen to the spot herself. The yeti inhaled, its giant chest puffing out. She bit her lip and shrank back, awaiting her fate with eyes closed. I shouldn't go like this, Maria thought. Not now!
"There you are!" A voice yelled from the top of the stairs. Maria snapped open her eyes and turned her head, and the next few things that happened were a blur. A man, in a pinstripe suit with converse and a flamethrower, ran down the hall and blasted the yeti with a ball of purple flames. The creature roared and fumbled back, batting its huge arms wildly. Maria could only stare at the man, a wild expression on his face, roaring at the yeti as if he were one himself.
"How do you like that?!" He cried. "Not very much, do you? Now, listen to me…leave the people on this planet alone and I promise I can help you, just don't freeze anyone else. Got it?"
The yeti stared at him for a second with its small, beady eyes. It entertained the idea for a moment, and then inhaled once more, ready to blast the man and encase him in dry ice.
"I thought so," The man sighed heavily. The purple flames emitted from the flamethrower, and the creature gave a roar of agony as it caught on fire, moaning in pain. It fell to the ground, twitching, and then…stopped.
The purple flames disappeared.
"I'm sorry," The man said solemnly. "But you didn't listen." It seemed as though only then he noticed Maria standing there, and looked up at her with his eyebrows raised. "Are you all right?" He asked quietly.
Maria nodded, a bit shaken.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said. "But I think it got a girl, in the room over there…"
"I hate it when they come to this planet," He said. "They never learn their lesson; they can't seem to get it through their thick skulls that this planet is not to be invaded."
It was only now Maria recognized the man, and she could hardly believe it. It was the man from Sarah Jane's picture in the attic, from her stories of her days as a time traveler, the man who had saved the universe so many times you couldn't even count any more.
"You're the Doctor," She said quietly. The Doctor glanced at her curiously.
"Quite right. How do you know?"
"I…uh…" Maria suddenly found herself at a loss for words. It was the Doctor, THE Doctor. She'd always hoped somewhere in the back of her mind she'd meet him, but she never really expected… "I'm a friend of Sarah Jane's." She said.
The Doctor broke out into a manic grin, immediately shaking her non-injured hand wildly.
"Maria Jackson!" He said brightly. "Sarah Jane's told me a bit about you. She speaks very fondly of you, you know."
"Er…yes, I know." Maria said. "What exactly is going on?"
"Oh!" He bounced on his feet, as if he was just remembering. "Yes, right. There's this alien race, you see? Looks quite like the Yeti from Tibetan folklore—in fact, that's where they got it from—but anyway, they're called the Kang Admi, a warrior race from an ice planet." He walked over to the other side of the Kang Admi corpse, inspecting it. "They attempt to invade Earth once every twenty-five years or so…usually they end up getting killed by the heat of the planet's atmosphere, but sometimes they manage to get through. They only got through tonight because of how cold it was. The invasion never works, though, so I don't really see why they try anymore, buuuuuut," He kneeled down to get a closer look. "You've got to give it to them for their perseverance."
"Right. Kang Admi." Maria nodded, finally taking it all in. "So, there's more than this one, right? If they're invading, then they're most likely sending ships filled with tons of them." The Doctor looked up at Maria, grinning again.
"Yes, actually. You are rather bright, like Sarah Jane says." He stood up and walked back over to her. "There are tons of them out there tonight. It'll take more than one person to get them all, and as of right now I'm lacking in assistance..."
"Which means?" Maria looked up at him, hardly believing what she was hearing.
"Which means, Maria Jackson," He held out his hand, smiling wide. "I'm going to need your help."
A/N: Hi! This is my first Doctor Who fanfiction, and I'm rather nervous about posting it. I still have yet to find a beta, but if anyone wants to volunteer, they can either PM or email me. As much as I love S4 and Donna, unfortunately in the timeline of TTAT, the events of S4 never happen ): But I knew I had to write this after learning of Maria's departure from the Sarah Jane Adventures. Seeing as she's one of my favorite characters on there, and how she's so smart and clever, it only seemed right to give her the chance to travel with the Doctor, if only for a little while. Who knows what could happen? Reviews are nice, as is also constructive criticism (: