The Doctor
"Oops."
"'Oops'? What 'Oops'? Where the hell are we, Althea?"
"We're in space?" She responded timidly.
"Space? As in outer space, 'space'? We're looking down on Earth right now?" The girl looked at her friends guiltily.
"That's not Earth. That's Alpha Centauri. I just… I needed to get away from the restrictions for a while. I needed to get away from all of the negative feelings and anger for a little bit. And if I parked outside Earth, somebody would have just come and gotten me."
"Wow, this planet looks so much like Earth from here! Can I take a picture?" Kara asked.
"Sure! This planet is a paradise. It's what Earth will become if I stay there. Clean water, buildings that work alongside the lush forests, Oceans free of trash and-"
"Wait a minute. There's life here? This planet is inhabited?" Althea smiled mysteriously but said nothing on the matter.
"I want a picnic on the roof. What do you say?"
"Wait! We can… I mean, we're not going to…"
"You rolled the windows down to argue with my bodyguards. If you were going to die, you'd be dead already. Come on. I'm hungry." She turned off the car and climbed out of it, going to the back seat to retrieve their picnic basket. Rylee and Kara were slower to forsake the safety of the vehicle, floating up to the roof and losing their reservations as this strange and wondrous new universe came into view. The planets looked very different in this universe and they wanted to explore, but their stomachs started rumbling - they had only had junk food and booze all day. The three settled down to eat club sandwiches and chips with sodas. While they ate, they chatted and gossiped, relaxing under the light of the Alpha Centauri twin suns and Red Dwarf.
"You look happier, kid," Kara laughed while sipping on her Cherry Coke. "Are you ready to talk about that yummy man of yours?" Thea flushed and looked away. "Oh, sweetie. No one is judging you. We've all been in love before. Ask us anything."
"You… You really don't mind?"
"We really don't mind, Thea," Rylee backed her friend up.
"Okay," she smiled after an eternity of considering silence. "Is it normal to feel so… so-"
"Yes," both of her friends answered emphatically. "Althea, men are vexing creatures. They are driven by their own will to power and they live to dominate. Your man more than most. I'm not surprised that Tyr is driving you absolutely bonkers. I can tell you this, though. He is just as confused - just as conflicted - as you are. This is all new to him, just like it's new to you. But you don't have to be afraid. He loves you and he's completely devoted to you." Kara stopped speaking when the Khaleesi drew a deep, shuddering breath.
"How can you be sure of that?" she asked in a shaky voice, looking upwards to keep her tears from falling. Kara and Rylee exchanged a look before Kara gently guided her face back to hers with her hand.
"I can be sure of that because of the way he looks at you, sweetling. It's all fire and possession. It's actually kinda hot," she grinned. "Whatever your past, your history together, Tyr Anasazi is following his genetic programming now."
"But anyone with eyes can see that it's more than that," Rylee added quickly at the girl's distressed look. "Hence the looks, the tenderness in his touch, the way he follows you around. That man is head over heels in love with you. It's not just the genetic imperative at work. He wants you." She was beaming by now, subconsciously bathing the planet they were next to in healing light.
"Um… Are you sure that the Centauri people won't come up here looking for us?" Kara asked nervously, swirling a lock of her brown, shoulder-length hair around her finger.
"Oh, don't worry. They're not really interested in the skies above. They look to the oceans below for answers. And even if they were interested, we're one small station wagon in the vast ocean of space. No one's going to find us unless I want to be found."
"Wow, that's… That's pretty spectacular." Rylee breathed in the cosmic air that she knew should have killed her and smiled. "You are amazing, Thea. Should we be getting back?"
"Nah. Not yet. I don't want to go. Besides, the security footage should cover me for a little bit."
"What security footage?" Kara asked in confusion.
"Oh, the feed that usually shows my room is showing us right now. I didn't want Mr. Viktor to worry about me. And I really wanted to show him that I can be somewhere without it turning into a disaster. The compound is beautiful and there's fifteen whole acres attached to it to roam. But lately, it has felt more and more like a cage. Especially since Mr. Stark is working so hard to get rid of me." The thirty-two thousand-year-old leaned back on the car, relishing her freedom as the two humans stared at her incredulously.
From underneath the trees, we watch the skies
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mind
But here was are, we're here tonight
Singing Amen, I'm, I'm alive
Singing A-Amen, I'm, I'm alive
Rylee folded the glowing woman into her arms, rocking her as she hummed and sang. They were both used to seeing her glow from her songs. But not like this. Suddenly Rylee understood what the girl meant when she said that she was holding back. Power surged through the girl, given free reign at last to do what it wanted.
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day that nobody died!
Something was happening. This intuitive power of hers was answering some unfulfilled wish of hers. It was getting hard to see her; her glow rivaled that of the suns.
When nobody die-ie-ied! (We'd see the day, we'd see the day when nobody died)
Suddenly men started appearing out of thin air. Something shifted and the duo felt like they were being recorded.
When nobody die-ie-ied! (We'd see the day, we'd see the day when nobody died)
Died! (When nobody died)
The last to arrive was a blond woman. Rylee looked around at the fourteen newcomers in complete befuddlement. None of them were wearing the same clothes. Each of them seemed to be from their own era of time, yet it was clear that something connected them.
"Where the fuck are we?" Christopher Eccleston cried out before anyone could do more than stare at their extraordinary surroundings.
"I'm sorry," the Khaleesi said automatically, staring at the group in wonder and terror. "I didn't mean to. It was a mistake."
"What was a mistake?" The man persisted, approaching the gibbering girl in front of him. One of the older men who had appeared intercepted him, half-cape flowing in the cosmic wind.
"Now, I should think that everyone would like an answer to that question. But losing our heads will not help the situation," Jon Pertwee said, his sharp, British accent clipped with his own agitation.
"Excuse me. I don't mean to be rude. But… wasn't I meant to be dead?" Patrick Troughton asked.
"Indeed. You died years ago, Patrick. And I haven't been this fit in decades," Tom Baker said, admiring his old physique and trademark scarf. "I should very much like to know what's going on."
"I didn't mean to! It was an accident! I… I just-" Rylee came over to calm the girl down.
"You need to relax, Althea. Everything is going to be alright. But who are these people?"
"They are the Doctor."
"You called a bunch of British doctors to-"
"No, you don't understand! They're not medical doctors. These are all The Doctor from my favorite show - Doctor Who. Each of them is The Doctor in his or her own time period. I didn't mean to do this!"
"Well, you can undo it," the Ninth Doctor shouted. "Go on then. Send us back! I'm in the middle of making a movie."
"I can't," she whined, looking seconds from bursting into tears. "I'm trying, but nothing is working!"
Kara looked around at the assembly of English actors. "Althea, did you really bring some of these people back from the dead?"
"The show is almost fifty-five years old, Kara. I was just thinking about how no one had ever managed to get all of the Doctors together in one place at one time and how super cool that would be and how I didn't want to miss tonight's episode and it just kinda happened. I didn't mean to do it."
"So, what will happen once this audience is done, dear lady?" William Hartnell asked.
"You'll go back, Doctor," she said ruefully. "Everything will go back to the way it was. I just-"
"Well, I'm rather enjoying being young again," the Fifth Doctor laughed, looking at his celery stick attached to his suit jacket to make sure that it wasn't turning purple. "I've had a creak in my left hip that has been bothering me for the last ten years. Think you can fix it, my dear?"
"O-okay, Doctor," Thea blushed, starting to calm down at last.
"Wait. They're all called 'The Doctor'?"
"Of course. It's the first question. The one that must never be answered. This is the Fifth Doctor, the courageous cricketeering cavalier, Peter Davison." She moved to another man, the one holding Eccleston back. "This is the dashingly dapper Duke of Danger, Jon Pertwee. The eighth has been played by two people - the charmingly befuddled Peter McGann and the hardened soldier, John Hurt." Both men nodded at her and then each other. "William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton are the First and Second Doctors - wise old grandfather and the cosmic hobo respectively."
"How do you do?" Hartnell smiled at her friends charmingly.
"Wait, we're doing introductions now? You're meant to be getting us home!" The Ninth growled.
"I can't," she whimpered. "I told you, I'm trying, but gathering you all here has tapped me out for a while. So rather than sitting around, staring at each other silently… The grumpy one is the War Veteran. The only surviving participant of the Time War, Christopher Eccleston. This is the most famous of the Doctors, that Whimsical Wizard of Wonder and Whimsy, Tom Baker."
"Wait a minute. Why don't we all get alliterative introductions?" Colin Baker asked indignantly.
"Because I'm not that clever," Althea smiled. "Besides, the words aren't mine. They belong to Erod, the Blockbuster Buster. I loved his 'The Eleven Doctors' Internet review and seriously, when am I ever going to get the chance to talk about Doctor Who with my friends?" She turned back to Rylee and Kara. "This man - with his coat of many colors - is the eloquent eccentric egotistical cat-badge enthusiast, Colin Baker. He was the Sixth Doctor. The fellow with the umbrella is the magnificent machiavellian maestro of mischief, Sylvester McCoy, The Seventh Doctor."
"You said that the Internet review was for 'The Eleven Doctors'. There's thirteen of us."
"That's right, Mr. Capaldi," the Khaleesi said with a warm smile. "It was made when the Eleventh Doctor was just starting his tenure in the TARDIS. We were anticipating the fiftieth anniversary at that time. So I'll have to resort to my own titles for both you and Ms. Whittaker. Meet the Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi. He's the grumpy, but grudgingly responsible wild uncle. After the Ninth Doctor introduced the show to the world, came David Tennant, the fantastically fearless foxy philosopher."
"Oh! Well, thank you! I think that all of us who can will be checking out The Blockbuster Buster's website when this is all over. My question right now is this: where exactly are we? The planet looks like Earth, but the solar system clearly isn't."
"My friends and I were having a picnic beside Alpha Centauri. You're welcome to join us if you'd like, Doctor. Or not, if you're already full. No pressure."
"Forgive me, but I've been forced onto a strict low sodium, diabetic diet since my days in the TARDIS," Colin Baker said. "This may be my last chance to have a little fun with my diet as it were. What do you have to eat?"
"Anything you want, Doctor. Much like your TARDIS, my picnic basket is bigger on the inside."
"You keep mentioning that TARDIS word. What is it, Thea?" Rylee asked as the Sixth Doctor began to pull a perfectly prepared Wagyu steak and potatoes with asparagus tips out of the picnic basket. He smirked at his mystical hostess before taking a seat on the hood of her station wagon and digging into his hot meal.
"The TARDIS is my home, young lady," Sylvester McCoy answered for the Khaleesi. "It's my time machine, my laboratory, my sanctuary from my enemies. It-" That famous sound that Whovians all over the world recognized. Althea started vibrating with excitement.
"It's the TARDIS! She found you!"
"She? Is it alive? And why does it look like a police box from the nineteen fifties?" Kara demanded. She was starting to feel irritable and completely out of her depth. Thea paid her no mind, slowly walking around the blue box and lovingly tracing the parts of it that she could reach.
"It stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space, Kara. The TARDIS is amazing! It's the Doctor's Batcave, the DeLorean from Back to the Future, and the Enterprise from Star Trek all rolled into one. And yes, she is alive after her own fashion. I can't believe that she's here and I get to see her, broken chameleon circuit and all!" She giggled, exuding all the fangirl energy that the actors were used to.
"What about me, dear Lady? You still have two more introductions to go."
"Oh, don't I know it, Matt Smith! This is the beloved, bow-tie brandishing Man-boy. The Eleventh Doctor. It's such an honor to meet you." She laid a gentle hand on his cheek before turning to the Thirteenth Doctor with a warm smile. "And this is the renaissance of the Doctor, Jodie Whittaker. She is only beginning her time in the TARDIS, so we don't know what to expect from her, but I agree with Nash from Channel Awesome, there has never been a bad actor to play the Doctor. I have the utmost confidence in your tenure in Doctor Who."
"I appreciate your vote of confidence, Lady. Why did no one ever know what a huge fan of the show you were?"
"I'm a fan of a lot of things. It just never came up in conversation."
"Am I the Doctor right now or am I myself playing the character?"
"You're both, Ms. Whittaker. It's going to confuse the heck out of the fans."
"What fans?" Eccleston asked angrily.
"Your fans, of course. This is being broadcast all over the world. I couldn't very well meet the Doctor and not share the experience with Whovians all over the world. That just wouldn't be fair."
"Well, it beats a low-budget feature with the BBC, doesn't it?" The Seventh Doctor laughed. The others joined in.
"Indeed. Please feel free to explore this universe. No one will disturb you - the combination of all the Doctor's timeline in one place at one time has scared all of your enemies away for the time being." The Ninth, Thirteenth, and First Doctors did just that, floating off to explore the vast emptiness of space. McGann and McCoy went to explore the TARDIS and everyone else sat down to enjoy a meal with the Khaleesi. Every kind of food was in her picnic basket. Everyone who wanted to, ate well as they exchanged pleasantries.
"It's gratifying to know that the show continued after my time," Patrick Troughton said with a look around at his legacy.
"Oh, yeah," David Tennant smiled at the older man. "I was a huge fan of the show before I became the Doctor. And like the Lady said, this show is about fifty-five years old. It's the longest running show still on telly."
"That is quite the achievement, Mr. Tennant," the Second Doctor smiled. "And the young lady currently approaching the fifth planet is my latest incarnation?"
"Yes, the lovely Ms. Whittaker as I am given to understand," Jon Pertwee nodded. "It's about time the BBC woke up and realized that the Doctor is universal. It's good to know that things are moving in the right direction."
"In some things," the Fourth Doctor said with a lazy shrug. "You know, there are so many of us. I almost wish we had nametags."
"Oh, believe me, Doctor. Anyone who knows this show knows exactly who you are," Althea reassured the Fourth Doctor.
"The Oncoming Storm," Matt Smith grinned.
"Exactly," Althea grinned back. "And for those who don't, you're all a quick web search away." She explained herself at the Second Doctor's confused look. "Information is just out there on everything now. It's very easy to do a Google search and find whatever you're interested in."
"Thea, why do you like the Doctor so much?" Rylee finally asked as they packed away the basket and McGann loaded it in the station wagon before heading back to the TARDIS.
"Look, I know that it's silly. I've traveled with the Avengers. I've seen magic and mystery, tech beyond imagining… But when you want someone who specializes in the impossible, you call the Doctor," she said, pointing at the Tenth Doctor with her thumb since he just happened to be sitting beside her. "I'm not a fighter, I'm not a soldier, I can't handle violence. The Doctor has always given me hope, even when I was buried beneath the Earth in slumber. He shows that - with a little ingenuity and a lot of running - I can make a difference. I'm not useless because I'm weak."
"Sweetheart, you're not weak," Kara said kindly. Troughton nodded, pulling his recorder out of his pocket.
"I was born weak. It's just the way my powers work. I can do this," she reached into a pocket of nothing and pulled out a gorgeous flower that bloomed before their very eyes before disappearing, "but the very thought of holding a gun is making me feel sick to my stomach." She had to stop talking to take some deep breaths.
"Fascinating. A being completely incapable of violence. One solely dedicated to the healing and preservation of life," Jon Pertwee smiled with a shake of his head. "If I found myself in the TARDIS with one such as you, I would be very pleased to be your protector." Althea glowed with happiness at the Third Doctor's analysis. The other Doctors around the 'table' were quick to agree before the discussion turned to behind-the-scenes shenanigans and budget constraints on the show. The girls let them vent, enjoying the conversation. But as she looked around to see what the others were up to, she noticed that the Ninth was near a black cloud between two planets. She excused herself politely and floated toward Christopher Eccleston, the Doctors trailing after her.
"Pretty, isn't it?" Thea said softly once she reached his side. Eccleston looked at her, then back to the cloud.
"How is this even possible, Althea?"
"It's not," the girl said sweetly. "This is a moment in time - unexpected and unscripted - that will never happen again. I just wanted to see the Doctor. I didn't expect this to happen." She looked at him sincerely and he finally conceded with a huff.
"I want to see what's inside the cloud, maybe gather some of it for a sample, but I'm afraid of what will happen if I leave your sight."
"Smart man," she grinned mischievously. She held her hands out in front of her flatly and opened them. As she did, the cloud opened up like a book, revealing a storm in space. It was both terrifying and beautiful. She closed her hands and the cloud was once again whole. Instead of turning away, she formed her hands into a cup and some of the clouds came to her. She compressed and molded them until it looked like a miniature of the cloud itself, storm and all. It nestled in her palm, the size of a stress ball, but not squishy. She then turned to the Ninth doctor and gave it to him.
"This is yours now, crafted from storm," she said, voice echoing with power. "It will only ever belong to you as the Doctor. But it has been entered into Doctor Who canon, and therefore, this meaningless trinket will always be the Doctor's. A gift. For you." Eccleston reached out almost fearfully and accepted the bauble. Once he touched it, all the Doctors felt a tingle in their pockets and pulled out identical globes of the storm.
"Hey, can we look in your TARDIS now?" she asked, her voice returning to normal. The Eighth and Seventh Doctors were trying to open up the TARDIS, but it wasn't working. Each had a small globe of cosmic dust and storm in his hand and was pulling and pushing at the door with no success.
"Doesn't the TARDIS open up with a snap now?" The girl asked innocently. Both men looked at each other before snapping their fingers. The TARDIS opened immediately, revealing the latest Doctor's design. A giant room with a yellow and black motif. There were a few glowing blue orbs on the walls as a tribute to the original TARDIS design. There were fat glowing columns along the edge of the room, the tops of each pillar pointing inward toward the center of the room. And in the center of the room was a huge control mechanism that reached toward the ceiling, highlighted in yellow. The octagonal panels at waist height were full of buttons and knobs and dials and switches that only the Doctor knew how to operate. And, erupting out of the center of the console was the pulsing heart of the TARDIS, like a pulsating lava flow. They all admired it before looking into the other rooms. The place was warm and inviting to the space travelers and their guests. Kara actually laughed when she stumbled onto the gigantic wardrobe with the Fourth Doctor.
"I have such fond memories of this place."
"You? Or the Doctor?" The woman asked in amusement.
"Well, as the Khaleesi has said, we are both right now. I sent my Companions to this room to dress up for our adventures quite often. But I also remember fighting with the wardrobe department on what to put in here for each episode. You can't imagine how much I envy you, having a real-life alien as a benevolent friend. My two hearts swell with pride that there are humans able to interact with this being without giving into greed."
"She can sense intentions, Doctor. If she thought that we were ruled by greed, she wouldn't respond to us the way she does. Besides, she's a good friend." He laid a hand on her head.
"Good girl," Tom Baker smiled. "Would you like a jelly baby?" Kara looked from the candy to him and laughed, accepting the treat.
I love Doctor Who! I'm so excited to get the opportunity to put the infamous TimeLord into my fiction :D Expect more shenanigans in the TARDIS next week!
Nickleback - If Everyone Cared