Reborn
"Alexis honey would you mind giving me a moment alone with Jo here," Martha asked with narrowed eyes as she studied the woman before her. She knew that body anywhere and it was her, she could feel it in her very bones. This was her. The real question was how
"Sure Grams but can I talk to her later? She was telling me all about becoming a lawyer," Alexis questioned and Martha turned to her former self before nodded and allowing Alexis a chance to leave the room.
"Not only do you turn up in my home and almost reveal the secret but you try to poison my granddaughter with that poisonous career?" Martha questioned in a low dangerous tone, she was on guard. After all she had no idea what was going on.
"Firstly she's our granddaughter and being a lawyer is not poisonous, I would have told you that in the alley if not for the fact I had been stabbed," Johanna remarked and Martha frowned.
"I haven't done that yet so calm down, now what are you doing here? Also you regenerated in that alley, I was there. I was you," Martha continued, she didn't remember this. How could she not?
"Look I was about to do it and flash! I was in New York. The modern one and all my injuries were gone, so don't blame me!" Johanna replied.
"How?" Martha questioned rhetorically, this was supposed to be impossible. Meeting your own regeneration was a bad idea, it could cause some nasty anomalies.
"I don't know! Wait you've been me before so what happens?" Johanna asked suddenly remembering exactly who she was talking to. An older version of herself in both metal and physical ways, she should know exactly what happened.
"I don't remember," Martha admitted after a few seconds.
"How can you not?" Johanna demanded looking angry.
"I don't know, look shut up for a minute! In case you haven't noticed this isn't supposed to happen," Martha silenced the younger woman for a moment and tried to think. What was going on and why?
"I noticed, that's why I came straight to you and not..."
"No! No you won't! Don't you dare!" Martha warned furiously knowing exactly to whom she was referring. There was no way in hell this woman could see her daughter again, it would tear Kate apart and that was not happening.
"Oh it's so easy for you, you have a new family and yet where I'm from the next time I see them will be through your eyes," Johanna hissed sounding offended.
"Oh yeah and exactly what were you going to say? Hi Kate it's me your mom. Great to catch up with you, but not sure how I'm going to get back to my own time... oh by the way I'm Rick's mom" Martha questioned in a voice riddled with sarcasm. Then for a few moments silence descended on the pair.
Then after a moment Johanna sniggered, Martha glared at her
"Was that funny?" she asked and Johanna shook her head.
"No I just realised that I'm having an argument with my own head," Johanna smirked and Martha despite everything smiled slightly.
"I forgot about that, the witty banter thing. If only it compensated for the choices you made in your career, anyway on to more important matters. I need to get you back to the alley," Martha decided sounding slightly more cheerful as her suddenly energetic form jumped up of the couch and looked towards the door.
"How long have you been waiting to use it?" Johanna asked rolling her eyes,
"Since Richard was born," Martha replied with a sudden grin.
Later
"Oh my God what have you done to this place?" Johanna asked sounding disgusted as she walked into what used to be her TARDIS. Her one had been simple and white but this one was something else. A wooden control panel was all well and good but the rotor glowing purple just looked wrong. The walls were made of square panels and Martha practically skipped in, she had kept it in her office at the acting school; the one place neither she nor anyone else seemed to go. Though she scowled at Johanna when she complained about her choice in decoration;
"Coming from the woman who nearly destroyed it?" she asked rhetorically
"That wasn't me, I landed the thing," Johanna hissed in response and was for a moment lost in a memory. One that she quickly pulled herself out of.
"Anyway all I need to do is drop you off exactly..." Martha began muttering to herself while using the controls; she was enjoying herself immensely while Johanna just shook her head and studied the scanner. The news was on and for a moment she could see a crime scene. There right in the background was Kate, Johanna wanted to reach through the screen and pull her out but then she saw something else. A body was propped up and while the camera had only just glanced over it, she quickly reminded and paused the image.
"Martha," Johanna murmured looking in deep thought
"What?" the woman asked pushing one of the many buttons decorating the console,
"Look!" she ordered pointing at the screen and the older woman approached, for a second she frowned and Johanna zoomed in.
"That's high Gallifreyan," Martha muttered and Johanna sighed.
"Sorry I was born with acting talent not the sharp mind that hinders you," Martha remarked before the woman could comment.
"It says..." Johanna began sounding exasperated.
"Finish the unfinished, I know," Martha turned to her younger counterpart with a bored glare.
"What does it mean?" Johanna questioned.
"Finish the unfinished, I can say it in either English or Gallifreyan if you really want but definitions should come more naturally to you," Martha sighed as she studied the body. A glancing image had been blown up into that of a youngish man with vibrant blond hair, someone they had never seen before nor wanted to.
"No it's a message so what does it mean and who wrote it?" Johanna growled feeling as if she was talking to a brick wall.
"Don't do the patronising brick wall thing to me," Martha's voice was dangerous as she recognised the tone.
Meanwhile
Lanie Parish was studying the body as the van moved slowly through the streets, traffic had rendered the streets almost solid and she had nothing else to do. She had never seen the symbols carved into the body before but what was strange is they had been carved in with precision. No knife or blade could have done something like this.
Though even the strange circumstances surrounding the body could do absolutely nothing in comparison to what happened next. For in the same second a loud whirring noise filled the air. It was groaning and unfamiliar but as it sounded the air seemed to distort.
"You left the brakes on!" she heard a woman curse and suddenly her eyes saw a faded version of Castle's mom who was talking to someone who looked overly familiar.
"Hello?" Lanie questioned wondering if she had accidently doped herself up, both women turned to her with a smile. Then something solid hit her head and she fell to the floor.
TARDIS
"What the hell was that for?" Martha questioned as she saw the woman slump to the floor, she knew Lanie and Johanna had just thrown; a walking stick at her.
"Why do you have this? Wait exactly how old are you?" Johanna questioned as she picked up a long sleek cane.
"Ha ha comedian, I used it last time I used this thing. I had to pretend to have a limp so I could get painkillers strong enough to make Richards' birth a breeze." Martha explained shrugging her off and ignoring the shocked look Johanna was giving her.
"We could have just snuck into the ME'S office," Johanna pointed out as she walked over to the body. Martha and her had landed dead in the centre of the van and had encompassed the body and examiner.
"And risk you being seen no thank you," Martha chuckled "Now hurry up and look, we don't have long before we need to put him back."
"Male, blond hair, late twenties, average sized, cause of death... total internal collapse. Everything just stopped working," Johanna commented as she ran her hands over the dead man.
"Wow that's exactly the insight I was looking for, I mean something like that couldn't have been answered by say... reading the report! Look for something a human would miss," Martha hissed as she went to join Johanna.
"The words in Gallifreyan were done with a high frequency energy weapon, something powerful. Though the weapon that killed him was more powerful, much more powerful and came with a high radiation count as well," Johanna continued feeling a sudden need to impress her older self.
"Good, now what species use such weapons. Oh yes only three hundred or so," Martha remarked.
"Would you like to do this." Johanna wondered aloud, feeling slightly annoyed.
"Not really. I like to stay away from old dead bodies in all honesty,"
"I'm counting two in here," Johanna muttered under her breath.