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Chapter Eight:
Chinese food was ordered in.
"The Han Dynasty had some of the best food," my mom the Doctor said. "I ate Wu Hou Mackerel cooked by Louhu himself. It was delicious."
"You really have traveled through all of time and space?" I said, shocked.
"Not all of it," she said. "There will always be more to see."
"So not only is my biological mom NOT an arms dealer, she also has two hearts like me, among many other things," I said.
"I really should jettison the lot of you into deep space for turning me into an arms dealer," she said. "I hate guns. I'm generally against using weapons of any kind, when brains over brute force wins time and time again."
"You don't seem overly mad," Aunt Tara said.
"Because, you've done a brilliant job with Astralina," my mom the Doctor said. "You seem like a bright, well-adjusted, young woman."
"Why did you give me up?" I asked her.
"Your parents weren't lying when they said it wasn't safe for you to be with me. I've made many enemies in the over two thousand years I've been alive. You're safer in this dimension, where aliens are just a myth."
I stared at her.
"You're really that old?"
She nodded.
"I don't look it, but it's true."
There was a zapping sound. A man with sharply cut brown hair in a long military coat appeared.
The agents drew their guns on him.
"Not the welcome I was expecting," he said.
"Jack, I texted you to wait," my mom the Doctor said with a hint of annoyance.
"I wanted to see my godchild," he said.
"You're my godfather?" I said.
"Ian declined, so you're stuck with me kid," he said with a smile.
"But I already have godparents," I said. "Aunt Penny and Uncle Matt."
"It's tradition among Gallifreyans to have four parents representing both sides of the family," my mom the Doctor said.
"I'm Uncle Jack," he said. "God, I love the sound of that. You must be Astralina. I like the color of your hair with the waves. I've thought about going blond. What do you think Doctor?"
"You're Jack Harkness," my dad said. "The immortal American from the future."
"Guilty as charged," he said.
"How'd you get into this dimension anyway?" my mom the Doctor asked.
"Oh, I drugged a dimension hopper specialist and stole his tech," he said.
I tried to read his mind.
"She's a mind reader!" Uncle Jack said delightedly. "What other talents do you have?"
"Clairvoyant dreams and this," I said, allowing myself to glow.
"Cool," he said.
"What the difference between immortality and you, mom?" I asked.
"Jack got in an accident in the TARDIS where he absorbed the energy of the TARDIS. I only have a limited number of lives."
"So, do we have a plan yet?" he asked taking seat and a box of Chinese food.
"She just learned that I'm not a telly character from a show that hasn't been on in thirteen years."
"That is a lot to absorb kid," he said. "You are cute. You have your father's face."
"Who's my godmother?" I asked.
Uncle Jack laughed.
"This should be good."
"My wife I see infrequently from a marriage with a different face, River Song."
"We're getting off topic," Aunt Emily said. "We need a plan before everyone goes home."
"Have you gotten bossier?" Uncle Jack asked. "I sense you've been promoted a few times since we last met."
I stifled a laugh.
"As a matter of fact, I have," Aunt Emily said. "This is no joking matter. Time Nazis are after Astralina."
"Those are nasty people," Uncle Jack said. "It's good thing I brought my compact weapons locker."
"Your uncle and I have vastly different approaches to solving problems," my mom the Doctor said.
She stood up.
"The supreme time lords, never travel alone. They will use at least two other alien races bent on destroying earth. Prepare for a full-scale invasion."
"Just over Astralina?" Uncle Luke said.
"This is about showing domination," she said. "They're like any other hate group. They thrive on terror and causing mayhem. Astralina is the goal, but they will also go after humanity for programming her to think like one, instead of a Gallifreyan."
"What do we do?" Aunt Penny asked.
"I'll speak with your president tomorrow," she said. "I'd like to reroute satellites to cause maximum telecommunication disruption. Then I start training Astralina to fend off attacks of the mind."
"Can I please arm them?" Uncle Jack said. "Just as a precaution."
My mom the Doctor sighed.
"Fine."
"It's getting late," my mom said. "I want to take Astralina home."
"Sounds good," the Doctor said. "Mind if I join you?"
"No," my dad said.
We prepared to leave the conference room.
"I hope your mom has promised to take you to Han China," Uncle Jack said, picking at the box. "This Chinese is terrible."
My mom the Doctor rolled her eyes as we left.
…
After another quiet ride home, we arrived, and I yawned.
"Bed for you," my mom said.
"But I just met my bio mom," I said.
"Bed and no phone," she said.
"This seems a lot like a punishment for saving your lives," I said.
"It's late Astra," my dad. "We're not forcing you to go to school. You'll have all day with her tomorrow."
I huffed and went to bed. My mind was spinning with everything I now knew.
Changing for bed, I thought about my mom the Doctor. She was funny and kind. She understood my passion for the stars. Being with her felt right.
…
I woke up to my left heart aching. Something wasn't right. I ran downstairs.
My mom was standing over my mom the Doctor with a smoking gun in the living room. My mom the Doctor was bleeding out.
I went to my mom the Doctor.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!" she screamed. "She'll just regenerate. Hopefully into a man. You can't have two moms. I'M YOUR ONLY MOM!"
There was a flash of green in her eyes. This wasn't my mom. Something had possessed her.
"Where is dad?" I asked.
"I sent him out to get milk for your cereal tomorrow," she said in a very normal voice.
I had to choose which mom to save. I prayed that I knew what I was doing.
Lifting my right hand, I shot yellow light out of it. It hit my mom in the chest and she fell into a chair. I rushed to her and put my hand to her head and focused on reading her mind.
…
My mom was in a white room tied to a chair with tape over her mouth. I quickly undid the knots and pulled the tape off.
"I'm sorry," she cried. "They made the jealousy in me take over."
"WE WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU LOVE UNTIL YOU HAVE NOTHING LEFT."
I grabbed my mom by the hand, and visualized the living room.
…
My mom the Doctor was dead. My mom sobbed beside her. I felt no pulse. I laid my glowing hands on her. Nothing. I focused so hard my nose began to bleed. Starting to feel light-headed, I saw a vision of my father Spencer. He said a word that sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. I thought of the Gallifreyan word I couldn't interpret. Still glowing with all my might, I breathed the word into my mom the Doctor's left ear. Then I collapsed on the floor.
I felt a hand on my face. My mom the Doctor appeared in my line of hazy vision.
"Who told you my name?" she asked.