I own nothing. Least of all this.
1:26
Amy and Rory were still avoiding me. I couldn't really blame them. They'd seen the Doctor's dark side up close and personal in the form of the Dream Lord, and it made sense they'd both prefer not to see it again. Even if that was about as far from me as you could get.
Strax and Jayne had gotten along like an entire city on fire. I had finally had to step in after a certain card game involving live grenades and prodigious amounts of alcohol. It had taken a great deal of convincing for Strax to stay with Madame Vastra and Jenny, but he had finally given up when I made it perfectly clear exactly why humanity finding out about aliens in the time of the Alliance was a very bad idea. He still grumbled vigorously, and only the promise of some jelly sherbet fancies managed to tone it down to a manageable level.
Rose had been gone when we rolled Lorna into the med bay. It looked like Bad Wolf was back, for now at least. River must have done at least some good. I found Her standing at the TARDIS controls.
"Is he gone?"
"Yes. But he'll be back. I know where he's going, after all."
"Spoilers."
I turned. "I don't recall telling you to listen in on my private conversations, Doctor Song."
"Well that's probably because you didn't. I can see you've redecorated."
"The Old Girl's idea. It's kinda growing on me."
"Not enough round things."
"That's what I said."
"Yes. Now, it may have slipped the Doctor's mind, but I distinctly remember hearing about both a name that wasn't enough, and a great deal more wolves than just the one."
"So Amy and Rory told you, huh."
"Something like that. Is She here?"
"You're looking at Her."
"No, no, she was blonde. He was quite specific about that."
"Some of us can afford the upgrade."
I groaned. "Oh sure, rub it in again why don't you. The Doctor tries for over a thousand years, and me for I've forgotten how long, and the both of you got it on practically the first go. Bloody gingers."
"But..but that means…"
"Bad Wolf, at your service. And who might you be?"
"You don't know me?"
"Your face, yes. I've seen it before, in other times and places. Your name, I'm afraid not."
"...Song...Doctor River Song."
"Two Rivers. That's gonna be confusing for awhile."
"Not too long, though. Just a few more stops, then we can get back to dealing with what we were originally going to before that blasted cube showed up."
"I'm sorry, can we go back to the part where the Bad Wolf is currently alive and well, and apparently capable of regeneration, while Rose Tyler is nowhere to be found?"
"Oh, she's here, don't worry. We came to a mutually satisfactory arrangement, you might say. Let's just say we're 'roommates', and leave it at that."
"...Okay then."
I snorted. "She's not the only one to just reappear out of thin air, you know. Ironically enough, we were just on our way to handle another recently re-emerged old...acquaintance, of the Doctor's when his message came through."
"Who is it?"
"Has the Doctor ever mentioned a Time Lord named Borusa?"
"...Oh no."
"Oh yes. Apparently, he's gotten it into his head that rebuilding Gallifrey can only be accomplished with...distasteful genetic experiments."
"...He didn't."
"He did."
Trust the other River to show up at exactly the right time.
"I know, because he did it to me."
"...I'm taking a wild guess that this is the other River?"
"Got it in one."
"Another one like Us. More like You, and less like Her."
"What's she…"
"Just let her finish."
"You said they would either fail, or fall. She's one of the ones who failed."
"It happens."
"Yes. You promised me you would check."
"Of course. Would you prefer it if they left, or ..."
"They can stay. They need to See as well."
"Alright then. Just stick your fingers in the telepathic interface, and we should be good to go."
She slowly complied.
"Are you sure you don't want your brother in here?"
"He wouldn't understand. Couldn't."
"Even if you aren't a full Time Lord, he'll still deserve to know."
"I'll tell him. At the opportune moment."
I nodded.
Thirty seconds later, and we had our answer.
"Full change in everything except the brain. Looks like a lot was deleted to make sure the Time Lord consciousness wouldn't burn you out. I could try and get rid of some of the programming, but I wouldn't even know how to begin replacing it. You got lucky."
"Relatively."
"Fair point."
She slid her fingers out of the interface.
"You said you were going after the people that did this. Can I come?"
"...I don't know. Borusa might have some backup programming in there that lets him gain control, not to mention how either your brother or the Captain feels about it. Tell you what; you bring it up with them, and if they say yes, you can come. You've got a stake in this as well, after all."
"...Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"I'm coming too."
"I didn't ask, Doctor Song."
"Neither did I. If someone's out there making people into Time Lords as their own personal army, then we need to hit them with everything we have."
"...Okay. Fair warning, we're probably gonna have to split up into teams of two. Borusa's never been good at multitasking."
"I'll go with Doctor Song."
"You sure about that, River?"
A nod.
"Alright. Looks like it's me and Rose. We'll work the rest out later. For now, we've got some people to get home."
Doctor Song turned to leave, and then paused. "I know the Doctor's probably asked you this before, but I have to as well: how much do you know? About what's coming?"
"...Too much. The astronaut in the lake, the crash in Berlin, Jim the Fish…just, too much."
"Are you going to try and change it?"
"...No. I did enough of that today. I'm not the judge; I'm just the executioner."
"Good. Because I wouldn't rewrite those times, not for anything in the world."
"I know."
She left. Probably to calm Amy and Rory down. Heaven knows they needed it.
"Witcher, you never mentioned exactly who she was."
"Oh didn't I? So sorry. She's the Doctor's wife."
Well that did the trick.
"He forgot me then."
"He forgets everything eventually. He doesn't like endings."
Captain Reynolds slipped into the room. "We're all set, Witcher. Miss Lorna's all stitched up, and the potato man is getting antsy. Let's blow this joint."
"As you wish."
Up came the coordinates for Victorian London.
"Punch it, River."
VWHOOOOOM.
"...As entertaining as Jayne's screams are Captain, I'd appreciate it if you shut the door. Looks like we've got another job for you. One that involves a bit of payback for some of your crew."
"I'm listening…"
