A/N: Been awhile. . . I have no excuse "O_O)

Guest: romani only became Romani in like 2004(more likely after 2011 since he also had to become a doctor) so is this not his earth?

A: Yeppers, and I would not comment further to avoid spoilers w)

veritas31: The story idea might be good but you either need to go over what you wrote again and correct the way you have written it or get a beta reader because there are so many grammatical errors it is really difficult to read properly as it doesn't flow. The way it is written you have mixed past and present tenses together in the same sentences and either missed a word out here and there or used the wrong tense altogether in places.

A: I agree that my English is borked as much, and in my defense, growing up and travelling to different places and literally acclimating everything each time butchers a lot of things into a fucked-up slurry. Including my Engrish :V. Though to answer about the beta, I had decided to be a stubborn mule that I will die on this hill and crap. W)

Kidding, I plan to edit them later on when I'm available. I wrote this story in the fly ya see. . .

CamoMurf: Ah, Romani, always so helpful while acting like a complete dumbass. We'll miss you buddy.

A: I miss the idiot, is why this fic wrote itself. So I understand deeply. TwT)

Anyways, into the chapter itself O_O)

Chapter 3: The Doctor meets the Doctor, & Child.

'The Woman That Will Become The Doctor'


A few years ago

I released the breath I had been holding while clutching and assisting the Child walk as we breached dimensions. The Child chose in picking whatever breach in reality we passed through with utmost confidence. Like she can solve everything.

A step here, a step there, we moved between realities to return to where my apartment is when I was too curious to step into that breach in reality. Then everything had gone to a weird direction.

I did not expect it, and apparently, the Child did not expect it. One thing, she was guiding us to an empty space with confidence that another twitch of reality will appear and would guide us nearer to our destination, next thing is as I look at her face again made me notice the minute shock that appeared in her face as reality twisted. . .

And landed us unceremoniously in a highly comfortable bed. A man with a peach-like pigmentation of a long hair, wearing a tad oversized lab coat on him and looking at us owlishly, a can of ice cream open on his hand and a spoon in his mouth. He looked at his can of ice cream, we followed where he is looking, then he looked at us, then our eyes met.

Then the twisting reality above them closed, with a long keening sound. . . of someone farting.

They looked at where it was, then the man shrugged and shoved the can to our direction.

"Want some?"


Fortuna

Tea, the alien word rolled in my head as the slightly older man than her poured it to her. He wanted to give her a sweeter beverage but she felt certain and demanded that this drink is the optimal step for the coming discussion.

. . . it's delicious.

The man, Romani Archaman groaned as he leaned in his chair after everything, squirming in his seat childishly as he had heard had been digested to him, her past, the vision she saw, the godling monster she killed together with the woman, and the other one somewhere out in the world. She skirted on it, the certainty felt it must do it like that, half words, half trues and lies mixed, the woman noticed and followed. But the man understood everything what she was trying to convey. She is certain, that he accepted everything of what they said. She does not know why, and how, but the man easily accepted it. She does not know why she and the woman who helped her turn that thing to a half-dead thing landed to another continent. A coincidence?

She does not know, she felt confused after everything, but there's a certainty there. A link to everything, questions. Yes, she's confused, so she asks, and the certainty centers and answers. She's only certain now after rest and a good meal. No confusion is clouding her every thought, except on thinking of the other godling. She felt more of her than before everything her worldview was destroyed.

The woman finally calmed down also; Romani Archaman is a good cook she thought. . .

"Aliens?" The man commented, the language he is using is the same as the woman much to the latter's confused relief, "Or is it eldritch horrors? Gah! I was just going to Med School in good old London and an alien invasion!"

Panic and Fear. She asked just recently what would be the likely scenario and this happened. Then Romani Archaman did something unexpected.

"Not invaded, used as a love hotel." The woman said.

"Semantics!" The man complained. He argued with the woman. Then he centered himself quickly. "So, what are your next steps then?"

She did not need to ask questions that Romani Archaman is a weirdo.

None, the fog in her mind can't think, the certainty she felt is not answering. But she can ask, her parents said asking is a good idea, right?

"How– how would we stop any powerful monster?" She asked.

"Weapons? An army?" The woman suggested.

Ninety-four thousand, fifty-one steps.

Doable.

She felt the certainty in the back of her mind center her more, this would work. . .

Then Romani Archaman asked.

"How can you get weapons, weapons necessary to kill that thing you said? An army? A 'willing' army?" He asked.

"The former is doable." She can't explain everything, so she told him that she was touched by that thing, give her power to see the future. A seer, like that kind granny in her village used to tell in her stories. Romani Archaman made a face at that, something like her father usually does. She asked, he felt resigned and determined? Confusing. "I just need lab equipment to make an army, a willing one?" She asked her power.

Too many steps. Even to start it. She shook her head at that.

"Why? No don't answer that. A monster is basically a god amongst men. People would just give up on scratching it." Romani Archaman is really smart, like the leader of her community, was. "A select people?" She nodded at that, that would be much easier. Especially when their doing it right now. "Right. . . I'm going to ask my parents to get top of the line equipment."

Good, she felt glad that they already have a direction to go. Now to start to ask more qu–Thwack! Romani Archaman flicked her forehead. Touching it, she glared at him.

"But before that, you need an education." The man grinned at her at that. Her eyebrow twitched.


She lost, somehow, she lost that argument she remembers just a few scant months ago.

She fixed the sundress she was wearing with a press of her hand and looked at the mirror and made a face.

"You look too machine precise, too adult looking and especially you take too much time reacting when you let that power of yours get a hold of you." Were the man's words after the countless forehead flicks she had experienced from the devil. "Smile, relax and let your eyes give you the intent, be lively! Even if you follow the steps. And be yourself as much as you can without resorting much."

She perfected the art. But the man can somehow still see through her. Even when she asked how as the question, no answer came out. Different from the fog she feels when asking of the two godlings, but still gives her and even the power she has a confused mess. She even was limited by a few questions she was made to do in the morning to act and look until she properly learns everything.

But it helped, it gave her agency and be the Fortuna she was, while still managing to be the Fortuna she is. The man is a competent tutor and he can manage to juggle his life in between his education and the other things. And when she was fluent and competent in English to pass someone who understands but having a hard time what words to choose on, he sent her to a school for children she can easily pass on to have similar conditions on. She just hates he keeps putting comics in her bag. . .

Romani asked some people, and his parents. They managed to acquire the neighboring room of his apartment. Then he managed to check on the woman, now calling herself the Doctor Mother(she was thinking of just the Doctor, but the man complained and both had gotten into an argument)'s home. There's a permanent tear there as expected, and they managed to quickly block it. They were lucky no people noticed about it.

Then there were the experiments. Then they tested it. . .


Lamar forcibly held the vial for dear life. Desperate hope clearly written on him and looking at it. She is observing from a tinted glass and in another room. Romani beside her, holding her shoulder to support her. Or is it for him? She does not know. She had just starting to feel enjoyment not letting her power dictate everything. A small hobby, she justified.

Doctor Mother is with the man, behind solid glass separating them in the room.

"It is not a guarantee that this will work." The Doctor gently said.

"It's a chance. A new lease," Lamar said, conviction worming into his voice. The man was dying, lab tests and examinations both controlled and her memories of her community points the possibility of him getting cured so he accepted. Most animals they used, even humans' distant cousins all died, the closer to a human, the animal lives much longer, enough to correlate possibilities of what would work, and what will not, and recovery of previous issues is seen before they expired, except for one. But if it is a human. . . "The superpower would just be a bonus." He said with a self-depreciating look.

She remembered Romani telling her that is one high possible step next to fear, and panic. Resignation, and gambling their fate to try to claw for a better future. She does not understand what he meant at that time, and she felt not asking her power for the answer. Even now as she is reminiscing this particular memory, she had not found the answer yet. That in that uncertainty, there is hope, the man is too positive on that part, their first human test. Making a brave face he said.

Then Lamar drank. His eyes rolled up and landed in the bed, twitching as changes started to occur. Minutes, she does not know how long. Her fist clenched in the possibility first proper human test fails. . . then the man abruptly stood up, younger, buffier also. Scales then started to grow from his spine and rippled as if switching skin to a scaly red hide.

Rippling from his spine, the scales swiftly changed as he heaved a breath, becoming bigger, a tail swiftly grow in his back, the scales reached his jaws, arms and legs. Fingers replaced by webbed claws, feet replaced by something similar to his hands, then his face became angular, maw filled with a proud sharp snout, horns sprouted in his head, glowing in a reddish hue as his hair turned into a black smooth mane. Slitted yellow eyes looking at the Doctor as tears came out of them.

And as If a finishing touch. Giant leathery wings sprouted in his back. Lamar roared, happy and joyful.

Then the abrupt change receded quickly, scales returned to skin. Lizard turned to man, and man dropped to bed. Tired, unconscious, but with a happy smile, and tearful face, Lamar. . . slept peacefully, the only trace of the change a goat-like horn in the left side of his head remaining. . . and regressed into a child. Black smoke briefly came out of his nose, but she did not care as she wobbled, forgetting to let her power give her the steps to stand up.

Romani cradled her, helping her to stand back up, a childish grin in his face.

"See! Told ya it would work!"


She did not know how still; she cannot know the possible occurrence of someone drinking the vial.

But it was a gamble nonetheless.

And it paid off.


May 20, 1982

"It's a sight unlike any we've ever seen. A man made of gold, floating above the ocean. Sightings continue to be reported around the world as he travels. Who is he, and why is he here? Some speculate he is Jes–"

Fortuna muted the television.

The trio stared at the screen, watching the silent images. Romani, who just arrived from school looking at the man of gold with a frown, the Doctor a pensive look on her face. Her school bag, dropped in the ground.

"Is it?" the Doctor asked. Fortuna nodded.

"Do we try again?"

"I– I don't know," Contessa said. They already discussed this. Lamar was busy training and familiarizing his abilities. He left his past life, said there is nothing there to go back to and joined the cause. But there was still that hesitance on the next step.

"Then let's continue moving forward," Romani smiled. "The world would not wait for us," Then he pointed his thumb at the golden man. "Even that guy." Ten vials, to start. Five hours to prepare each vial. To saw off the body part, to find a way to break it down into a slurry, then to package it. Each vial correlated with a specific map coordinate and they took photos to record every step of the way, to ensure no clue was missed.

They took Factor H, a stabilizer part they accidentally discovered with the extensive examinations they had done that reduced any violent mutations on their animal test subjects but any mutation that occurred makes them more humane, taken from the closest parts from the closest human looking form of the godling she had 'killed' years ago. Harambe, a chimpanzee had shockingly turned human when they let him drank a vial. The new human has shocking and rapid learning speed and had been a massive good help in further experimentations and building foundations for future plans and contingencies.

Factor H was added to the other five vials. Human test subjects had already been chosen from terminally ill patients. People from all walks of life that have either the necessary connections for future endeavors that are desperate enough, or people that can be easily forgotten about.

Seven came out normal, two dead, one of them imbibed a vial with Factor H and another one. . .

"Are you ok kid?" Romani slinked off the celebrating patients, gave one last look at the two dead ones, the mutations outright killed them and entered in the last one, a successful operation all in all. . . if not the boy being unresponsive and having a seizure and murmuring while looking blankly at something else.

"There's too many. . ." the boy said. ". . . too many to look at."

The boy can see dimensions. Even in between ones. Too much information for a human to perceive. All for the ability to open doors. Doors to other places, and close them even those that is not his own. Something that would massively help in hiding from the golden man. They can finally close the other doors, the other gaps the dead one left behind.

She passed it to Romani. There was that look again, resignation and determination. She stopped the urge to ask. It felt, inappropriate for him.

"I see, as I thought. . ." Romani muttered words left unsaid in his tongue. It felt to her he is not telling about predicting the boy's fate but something else. As much as hypocritical of it to her to not dig secrets of him by asking, she was managed to be talked by Doctor Mother to check his background. High achiever, have good devotion on his religion, good parents, few friends and from a wealthy background, nothing else to know, or any ulterior motive that can be gleamed from. Just. . . a good Samaritan that is too good to be true that she felt it was divine intervention itself, especially on what evil this had all began.


August 28, 1986

"I'm sorry," She muttered walking in the hospital Romani's family owned. Everything is in place, to the smallest(and whimsical thing), no people would pass this wing currently, all the patients rest well in a peaceful sleep due to the Custodian spreading powered sleeping powder everywhere, even to those who's condition prevented them from directly breathing fresh air. Just a straight direction to Rebecca Costa-Brown's room.

The vial in her grip a bit tight. Everyone in the Doctor's entourage briefly distancing away from her. She knows his pride, he wanted to help the woman no powered intervention, either to be there in her death bed, or cure her. He told her personally that.

She never really inconvenienced him. Even when she was practically raced by him in such an extreme short time of everything that they can cram to her and is still continuing under his wing. But just this once. . . just this once. . . to avoid him breaking for the foundation and help he did.

"Your power is incredible. . ." She remembers him saying after he said she needs education. "But there is a limit, not something those who gave it to you had restricted."

Then he pressed a finger in her chest.

"You," She remember him ruffling her hair. The man a few inches taller than her. "So, learn, understand, be educated, and learn what is out there as much as you can."

And what is in you.

She gripped the vial tighter.

To learn what to ask, and what to do.