Chapter 1 - The Battle of Canary Wharf
'Chei tells me I should write my story down. Says it's too important to let be forgotten by the future generations. There's also the fact that I've time-travelled, and I know my story is still known. It never gets forgotten. Not ever. So, he's told me to write it down. A memoir, of sorts. From my birth, to my death, to my birth again... I know, sounds complicated right? Just wait. It gets even more confusing. I struggle to keep it right in my head sometimes.
Timelines can get weird. Especially when travelling with Timelords.
He says stories are special, and a story like mine needs to be put on paper. Apparently, stories teach us things, lessons we need to know but won't learn for ourselves. Victor once told me we learn these lessons so the next generation can learn to live without them. It might be just me, but I never learnt anything from the stories I was told as a kid. Cinderella, Rapunzel, Aladdin... Those stories were just stories, films we watched as kids. They were fairy tales.
And my life has been no fairy tale.
So, this is it. My story. Every depressing, evil, maniacal, insane, weird, confusing, sick, and stupid thing I've ever done.
This is the story of Ashlyn Black.'
The beginning of the 'ghost' invasion...
A young girl, about 19 years old, walked along the bank of the River Thames one dark and cold night. It was 2am at this point and the girl, shivering from the cold and a lack of any warm clothing, wrapped her arms tight around herself as she focused on the fire within her, willing it to warm her frozen body. She shuffled along the Thames, keeping her head down as her short and matted ginger locks fell into her vision, blocking her face from the odd cab driver that went passed at this ungodly hour. Sneezing to herself, she knew she needed to get to some shelter soon. The cold was something the red-head could handle, her chi keeping her warm enough to live once she warmed up but she knew that there was no doubt those soldiers were still looking for her.
And that they'd never stop.
She paused at the thought as an uncomfortable ache grew in the depths of her soul. The very concept of their never-ending and relenting search for her almost made her want to give up. To give in. Because it would be so much easier than the life she had now. The constant running and looking over her shoulder made her feel much older than her mere 19 years.
Shaking her matted hair out of her way, she moved to sit at the wall which overlooked the river below, and hauled herself up, hands now warmer than they had been, even in the chilly winter air. The girl stared down at the water, her dirty hair so caked with mud and dirt and blood that she could barely see her natural ginger colour. Her bright blue eyes were the only thing that made her look alive, as she could just see the power beneath them, swimming in the depths of her gaze.
Never had she thought she'd end up here... like this.
Strong. Unstoppable. Brave. A hero.
This is what she had been told all her life. The words she had to live up to. The actions of the many that came before her that she had to meet and surpass. The last few of her predecessors all had the same fate. All killed by the very soldiers that were now, no doubt, searching every nook and cranny of London for her. To bring her back to that hellhole.
They always said she'd be different. That she'd be the one to save them. Now, she thought, she could barely save herself.
Sitting there, on the cold stone of the wall as it overlooked the river that flowed throughout the capital, she thought of how easy it would be to leave. To hide. From everyone. To tell them she was giving up. That they should wait for the next one. The next born in the cycle. The tired and broken girl wanted nothing more than to tell the world to fuck off. But, she thought back to what she had seen. What they had done to her and people like her. And she may be many things.
An arsehole, a bitch, a selfish and angry girl. These were all true.
But if there was one thing anyone could say about her... it was that Ashlyn Black didn't like bullies.
And those soldiers were just that to her. Bullies. Albeit bullies with guns but bullies nonetheless. So, sitting there on the banks of the Thames, staring into the dark water, her eyes were bright, the light usually carefully hidden from the orbs surfaces now shining bright as her reflection stared back at her. Ashlyn smirked as the bright blue light glowed in the dark night, and she thought to herself that nothing would stop her from saving people from those bullies.
"UNIT don't know what's coming to them." She whispered as the light in her eyes diminished, back to hiding in her blue gaze.
Just as she was pushing herself back to the ground, adamant to find a warm and dry place to sleep for the night, she felt a strange sensation take over the air as a deep vibration ran down her spine, giving her goose bumps along her bare arms. She looked around confused, not seeing anything in the early morning darkness. Until she did...
A cold feeling washed over her soul as she watched the streetlamp a few feet away. It flickered as a shape appeared beneath it. A grey and blurry figure pushing itself into reality, she thought.
"Hello?" She called out, her deep and scratchy voice desperate for some water.
Watching it, she was wary to move closer. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. The feeling she got from it though was overwhelming. To Ashlyn, the blurry figure just felt wrong. Like it didn't belong. But within a minute, it had vanished, and the feeling along with it. Ashlyn looked around in shock just in case it had moved but she knew, deep within her, that it had gone. For now...
A few months later. June 2006.
Since Ashlyn had seen that one figure, these so-called 'ghosts' were popping up everywhere. The news even gave them 'shifts'. The whole world, to her, was going mad. But she had been busy, not particularly giving these ghosts much thought. Victor told her it wasn't something that concerned her, and she trusted what the man said, often taking his advice in her dilemmas. And so, for the past few months since that day, she had been busy working. Helping people like her, people with abilities that made UNIT hunt them down, and keeping them safe.
She had been in Europe for the past few months, wanting to be out of the capital while her escape from the UNIT facility was still so fresh in their minds, but she found her way back to London and on the perfect day too. This morning the sky had been bright and the sun shone happily on the people of London. Ashlyn Black was in the middle of an abandoned warehouse just west of the city, as she span in the air, kicking flames from her feet and hands into the space around her, careful not to hit any of the spectators.
"Now, careful guys. Don't push to hard. Just follow the movements I've just done." Ash spoke out as she completed the move, the fire in the air dissipating. She motioned towards her students, the 11 kids scattered around the abandoned warehouse as they laughed, quick to copy Ash's moves. She smirked as the two adults she was with, both firebenders called Adam and Idris, moved along the students, perfecting their stance when they could. "Remember, as impressive as it is, fire is the most destructive and chaotic of the elements. It reacts to your emotions so be sure to keep them in check." She spoke out as the kids were hanging onto every word she said.
"They're kids Ash," Idris whispered as she came to his side. "They're still a long way from mastering their element."
"I'd mastered all 4 elements by the time I was their age." Ash quipped as the darker toned man rolled her eyes in amusement.
"True... but not everyone is the Avatar and a prodigy at that." He added.
"Ms Black!" One of the kids spoke up as he practiced the movement, struggling to keep his balance as he kicked his leg up in the air. "Why have you got arrows on your skin?" H asked, causing all the kids to pause, wanting to know the answer for the girls bright blue tattoos along her arms, legs, back and trying to peer at the covered tattoo on her forehead.
"Ahh..." She started as she realised everyone had paused. "I got them when I mastered air. It's a thing the air nomads do." She explained as she pushed her mid-length ginger hair out of her way and over her shoulder.
"But not all avatars get them?" Another kid, a young girl called Hazel, asked from the back. "My nanna showed me a picture of Avatar Cary, and he didn't have them!"
She looked towards the two adults as they laughed at her, knowing that, for now, the kids wanted nothing more than to have a Q and A with the Avatar herself. "Avatar Cary was an Earthbender. Only Avatars born in the air nation get the tattoos."
"So, you're an air nomad?" They all ask as she nods.
"Yes. But today isn't for you to interview me. Now, get back to work and maybe after the lesson, I'll tell you all about the Avatar, okay?" Ash said as the kids all nodded, the group of 11 ten year olds all quick to finish their moves and lesson then. "Remind me to never offer to help with a lesson again." She whispers to Idris as he moves away.
"You know Gary won't let you get away with it while you're here." He laughed at her as they saw Adam shake his head at the two, ignoring them to help the kids better their stances.
Ash walked amongst the group, giving tips to the kids as she went along when that same chill that came with every ghost shift began. She turned then as the others watched the spot at the back of the warehouse out of the corner of their eyes. "It's okay, kids. Carry on. Nothing to worry about." She spoke as she moved closer slightly, feeling Adam and Idris coming behind her.
"There isn't a shift scheduled for now." Adam spoke up from behind them. Turning her head to them, she motioned for them to move closer to the kids as she refused to take her eyes off the blurry figure stood in the back of the building. For months, they had learnt to ignore the figure when it was a 'shift' as the news called it but Ash's eyes widened and brought lightning to the tips of her fingers as she watched the figure become less blurry until a rush of cold air was felt amongst the benders. Stood in the grey blurry shapes place was a man, made of metal with a C planted in the middle of its chest. In the helmet, it had black slits for eyes and Ash walked forwards a step as she heard Adam and Idris herding the kids closer. The creature was a machine, and she felt nothing coming from the metal husk.
"Identify yourself." It spoke in an emotionless and robotic voice. "Or you will be upgraded." Ash felt the warm air fly past her as one of the kids, in panic and fear, threw a small fireball at the being. She heard the children cry as the adults tried to calm them, looking to her with desperation. "You are rogue elements. You are unfit for upgrades. You will be deleted." The metal man said as it took a few steps closer, the group shouting as Ash backed up a step, staying silent as she watched the man. "DELETE!" DELETE!"
Pulling herself into a fighting pose, she focused on the heat as it made its way to her fingertips and just as the man was close enough to touch her shoulders, she breathed out as she shot lightning from her fingertips and the man, almost screaming as if in pain, flailed before falling to the floor, sparks dying off it as Ash kept an eye on the thing.
"Is it dead?" Idris spoke, a dark skinned man who had three kids wrapped around his legs.
"Yeah. I think so." Ash spoke as she turned to them. The other fire bending adult with the group, Adam, answered his phone as it rang and she met the group as the kids were crying and thanking her. "It's going to be okay. We're going to be fine."
"That was Joanna. She says they're everywhere." Adam uttered as he was still on the phone. "She says they're going to try to come here."
"Tell her to spread the word. In the city you won't be safe, they must be everywhere." Ash said as she grabbed her black oversized denim jacket and swung it on her shoulders. "I'm gonna go and make sure as many people as I can are safe and alive."
"You're leaving us here..." A young blonde girl spoke from the middle of the group, tears falling down her cheeks.
"You'll be fine without me. It was just that one. Plus Idris and Adam are here. Lightning seems to work well, I guess it short-circuits whatever electricity is feeding this thing and keeping it walking." Moving to kneel in front of the group of kids, Ash promised. "You'll be safe here but there's plenty of people in the city that need my help. I need you all to be strong for me, okay?" The kids sniffled as they all agreed and, as she smiled at them, she hopped up and nodded to the adults as she wished them luck. "I don't know what they are but give 'em hell yeah guys?"
Turning then, she ran out of the abandoned warehouse, grabbing her wooden staff that was leaning by the door. As Ash reached the warm sunny sky outside, she unfurled the wings on the staff with a shake and, throwing herself forward, bent the air around her to force herself up into the air, gliding on the currents around her as she sped towards the city down the road.
It only took five minutes until she reached the edge of the city and landing in front of an orphanage for benders, she watched as benders of all four elements fought against the metal men as they shouted 'DELETE'. She dropped the staff on the side as she winked at a few kids who were hid behind a car and, jumping into the air, she spun as she threw a wave of fire towards the cybermen and as she landed, re-directed a lightning bolt from her hands towards the ground, forcing it up into the ten or so cybermen surrounding the group.
They all fell to the floor with a loud and metallic clang as the people around her thanked her, catching their breath. "Is everyone okay?" She asked as everyone nodded. "Any firebenders that can generate lightning... they seem to not take it well. Make sure you aren't wasting any power with small fire balls."
"Water works too." A small voice said from behind her as Ash turned to see a young 16 year old, hidden behind the car with other kids. Pushing his glasses back up his nose, he stutters as Ash watched him closely. "They're just circuit boards, enough water should stop it working."
"Great. Thanks kid." Ash said as she grinned. Another three cybermen came around the corner then as the group watched her closely, waiting for her to do something. Watching the cybermen closely, she placed her hands out as she stared them down and with a deep breath, split her hands apart and to the side as she ripped the robots apart. She heard the exclamations around her as she made sure the cybermen were dead. "The warehouse on the outskirts of town has a group there. It should be safe. Try and get out of the city if you can."
Just as Ash goes and grabs her wooden staff again, a kid, probably no older than 6 or 7 shouts out to her as the kids parents are holding her tightly to their chests. "Mum, is she the Avatar?"
Laughing to herself, Ash shakes her mid-length ginger locks out of her face, tying them up with a bobble as she winks at the kid and, wordlessly, sends herself flying in the air again, just as she sees the group of people hurry around and gather everyone up, hopefully getting to safety. As she travels the skies, she rips cybermen from the air with her hands as she watches the people scream underneath her. Landing in the middle of a road, she sends a wave of lightning to the cybermen troop coming up, and watches with satisfaction as they all fall down and the humans they were taking were now running away.
A few minutes later, she's running down the streets and she watches as a woman is cornered into an alleyway by four of the metal men. She screams at them, calling them Cybermen, as a robot dog shoots at them but with little effect. Curious by this woman and her metal companion, Ash sneaks up behind the 'Cybermen' as she calls to them. "Hey, what's going on here then?" She smirks as the woman shouts at her to run.
"Get out of here. Save yourself." She shouts in desperation but confused at the smirk on Ash's face.
"Looks like you need a hand mate." Ash shouts as two cybermen turn towards her. "Hello boys." Throwing two hands apart, she rips the four cybermen apart, throwing their remains behind her and out of the way as she settles her eyes on the women and the robot dog. "Just asking, the metal dog ain't with them, right?"
"I... No. No, he's not." The woman whispers in shock at what she had just watched as the dog speaks up.
"Negative Mistress." The metal dog speaks as he moves forward. "I am K9 Mark IV."
"Mistress..." Ash laughs in disbelief. "Well, K9. You're adorable. But please, call me Ash."
"Affirmative Mistress Ash." The dog speaks in a robot as Ash laughs.
"You... how..." The woman utters as K9 answers for Ash.
"Mistress, Mistress Ash here is the Avatar. She manipulated her Malum radiation to gain control of the metal atoms in the Cybermen units." K9 speaks, confusing the two woman as Ash stares at the dog funnily.
"Right. Uh, yeah. Avatar Ashlyn Black. At your service..." Ash says as she mock bows.
"Sarah Jane Smith." The woman announces herself. "I always thought the Avatar and benders as a whole were a myth." She mentioned.
Ash shook her head at this statement, looking up as she thought of what to say. "Well, at least you're aware of benders. Most aren't. But yeah. I'm the current Avatar but I have my own question. You called them Cybermen. Do you know what they are?"
"I..." Sarah Jane thought of what to say. "I've come across them before. They're an alien species but what they're doing here I don't know."
"Alien huh... You better get to somewhere safe Sarah Jane." Ash started to say as her head whipped, staring in the direction of what she knew to be Canary Wharf Tower. The feeling she had been getting from the top floor for months since the first shift had grown sizeably, and she struggled to look at it as whatever force was coming from there forced her magic back and made her want to run. "Find somewhere to hide. Keep yourself and lil K9 here safe." Grabbing her staff, she opened it as she took a few steps away and lifted herself in the air with it. "Nice to meet you two." Then she flew off with a large gust of air and it took a while for Sarah to snap out of her shock at having met the elusive Avatar as K9 strolled away.
Ash was gliding towards Canary Wharf and landed on the top of a building nearby as she watched something float out of the top floor of the building until it was a few meters away. Suddenly, the contraption, just as the cybermen did, felt off to her before it started spinning rapidly and Ash crouched down as she watched as the box spat out hundreds upon hundreds of robots. The dark gold creatures with black dots on their lower halves and Ash was sure she'd seen them with a plunger and a whisk at the front.
She hears the desperate and terror-filled screams of people as they run from the creatures who fly through the air screaming 'EXTERMINATE!', shooting with their whisks blasts of blue energy. Ash just misses being hit by one of the machines as they fly through the air and is paused in terror at the absolute destruction they bring before shaking her head. Ash, now tired from the constant use of her powers, sees nothing she can do against these Daleks and hears the voice of Avatar Victor in her mind telling her to enter the building. She turns her head towards the doors of Canary Wharf Tower, a building she knew to house Torchwood Ones HQ.
'Go help them Ash. The creatures will be handled. This isn't your battle.' She hears the American tone of the previous Avatar in her mind as she stares down the front doors and with a growl, reluctantly runs towards the screams and watches as the fires within the building burn through. She comes face to face with a cybermen and before she has a chance to react, an uncomfortable pull on her skin pulls her back just before an invisible push forces her away a few feet and she struggles to stand her ground. Her eyes still on the cybermen, she watches as it flies out and away, and around her both the Daleks and Cybermen are hurtling through the sky towards the top floor of the Tower.
She falls to the concrete floor with a harsh thud as she feels the blood dripping down her head and scratches covering her arms and legs. The force dragging the machines in was pushing her away, just enough for it to uncomfortable, and she knew it was because of her magic. Cursing to herself, she stands up, and focuses on getting the people out of the building as she puts out any fires on the way. Running along the corridors, she drags people out of the cybermen machines and forces them towards the entrance of the Tower. Making her way down towards the lower levels, she spots a group of soldiers with guns running the opposite way down the corridor. She slows her pace as she comes to a stop and notices the soldiers from the opposite end.
"Miss, you need to come with us. The building isn't safe." One of the soldiers shouts to her as she fidgets uncomfortably. Ash was waiting for them to realise who she was.
One of the soldiers pulled his gun up and aimed at her as she rolled her eyes. "Boss, she's the Avatar." He shouts as the others follow suit and as they shoot at her, she sends a wave of air towards them, pushing them to the floor.
"You know... I'm trying to help. Fuck." She growls as she presses a hand to her left side. "There's no need to shoot me, pricks." Blood gushes out of the wound as she rolls her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time. "Don't thank me for this." And she throws a hand as air pushes them through the building, leaving their guns behind as she makes her way down to the large basement she can spy ahead through the open doors. "I fucking hate Torchwood." She pulls water out of the canteen in jacket pocket and heals her wound as she walks towards the doors, watching the water glow as it healed the bullet wound. Bending the water back into the bottle when done, she hears a strange noise coming from the large room and as she walks in, watches as a strange blue box moves slowly across the floor. "What the..."
Ash feels the box on her mind somehow, as she jumps back at the strange feeling. "Okay then..." She feels the tug the mysterious force upstairs has on the box and just as she's about to walk away and ignore the event, her eyes snap to a glowing blue and her tattoos glow the same colour as her arms move, regardless of how aware she is, and a bubble of air and magic is thrown around the box until it stops moving, the force having no effect. Ash smirks then as she nods her head towards the blue box and walks out of the room but snaps out of the Avatar state as she turns, not remembering the strange blue box she had just seen or even realising its significance.
Continuing along the corridors, she thinks everyone had left the building but she hears the cries and screams of someone coming from behind one of the tarps and as she pulls one of the plastic sheets back, she comes face to face with a man desperately trying to pull a woman, who was now half cybermen, out of the machine that held her. Ash stood silently as she watched them and, when he noticed her, he screamed at her to help her. To help Lisa.
"Please... help me." The man cried as he got desperate, his fingertips bleeding from the sharp metal surrounding Lisa's half-Cybermen body.
"I... I'm sorry. She's too far gone." Ash spoke as she came closer. "The buildings going to go. You need to leave."
"NO! I WON'T LEAVE HER!" The man cried as he ignored Ash. Shaking her head, she grabs his hands, dragging him away from the woman, from Lisa. "Stop! What are you doing? I need to help her."
Turning in anger and sorrow, she screamed. "Lisa is already dead. She's gone. The last thing she'd want is for you to die with her." She spoke as the man in front of her, covered in Lisa's blood as well as his own, looked as if she had just slapped him before ripping himself out of her, now, slack hold. Ash watched him as he turned back, desperately trying to get the woman out. Ash didn't understand what he was trying to do, but she knew, as she watched him do whatever he could, that he couldn't leave them both here.
"What's your name?" She asked as she stood at the womans feet. She pulled her hands in front of her, getting a feel for each individual piece of metal as the man watched her curiously.
"Ianto. Ianto Jones."
"Okay Jones. Do me a favour and move behind me... NOW!" Ash shouted as he rushed to do just that and she ripped the metal constraints on Lisa's body. "Get her left arms."
"Okay... okay. Here we go." Ianto spoke and Ash just detected his welsh accent through the emotions. The two pulled the woman out of the building and out onto the back streets where a nearby SUV was parked and Ianto, opening the back, gently lay Lisa on the floor. "Thank you. For your help." Ianto whispered as he gazed at Lisa.
Stood a few feet away, Ash scoffed as she felt the force above diminish and knew it was time she left soon. "Don't say things you don't mean." Ash growled back, realising he hadn't realised who or what she was just yet.
"Do I know you?" The welsh man wondered as he stared at her, noticing the arrows adorning her scarred skin.
"You tell me." Ash rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. She studied Ianto as he watched her, all the while he held Lisa in his arms. It was a few minutes later that he gasped and inched backwards away from her.
"Avatar..." He whispered. Ash watched as fear took over his eyes and she scoffed before turning away, grabbing her staff as she felt the wind die down suddenly, realising that whatever had happened was now over and wanting to get away from Torchwood as soon as possible.
"You technically owe me Ianto Jones." She laughed sarcastically before leaving with a quick gust of air and Ianto watched her as she glided away from the capital, hiding herself in the clouds of smoke that now spread across London.
In the air, she hurried back to the warehouse, wanting to make sure the kids were safe but, as she landed the whole area was quiet and she saw scorch marks and rocks across the grass outside. Carefully, she walks into the warehouse, now covered in shadows and the smell hits her the same time the blast of energy does.
Screaming, she falls to her knees as she eyes the bodies around her. All the benders who had got here, slaughtered on the ground. And she knew... this wasn't the Cybermen. Raising her blue eyes, she saw UNIT soldiers surrounding her, guns cocked as she screamed from the agonising pain they were putting her in.
"The technology was scavenged from a Metaca Ship, as it was shot down over the Scottish Highlands." A deep and stern voice spoke as a tall figure, dressed in an army uniform, walked closer. "Imagine our surprise when it turned out it was good at keeping benders down."
"Hager..." She growled and glared at the man.
"Hello Ashlyn." He smirked as her vision went black and the Avatar was knocked out on the warehouse floor. "Pump her full of sedation. I don't want her awake." The man she called Hager spoke as soldiers carted her body off. "Someone clean this mess up."
Ash couldn't see anything but her hearing was still working, even if it was fuzzy. She heard the soldiers around her as they carted her off. Felt the pinch of a needle as they injected her with some ridiculously strong sedative. She wanted to thrash around, to fight, for what they did. But all she could think about is the bodies on the floor.
She had promised to protect them. To keep them safe.
And here she was again... back in UNIT's clutches.
If it was the last thing she did though, Ash swore that General Hager would pay... Whatever it takes.
Thanks for reading. I'm really excited to start this fic as it is something I've worked on for a while. Please read and review! I know she hasn't met the Doctor yet but trust me, she'll get there, she's just taking the long way around.
People might see similarities with this and ATLA and the general premise is borrowed but I've adapted it to fit in with the wider world I'm creating. Obviously, I do not own ATLA or anything similar. But this was an idea I couldn't forget and I didn't think it was as much of a crossover that it needed to be in that category. Apart from the benders and Avatar, nothing else is borrowed from there.
Chapter 2 is in the works and almost finished but I had to publish this first, excitement got the better of me. Please, let me know what you think! Thanks xoxo