Chapter 23 -- Time To Save The World

"I need to make a call," she said, raking her hands back through her hair. "Can I call Willow?"

"Willow? She's...not even born yet."

"So...not possible to call our time. It's hard to figure out what's possible inside the Tardis and what isn't. Fine. Um. Devon, then."

"Oh, you mean -- hmm. I don't know."

"Well, let's try it," she said, pulled out her cell, and started dialling.

"Don't you need a satellite for that?"

"Well, I've got a Tardis," she said. "Isn't that good enough? Holy sweet god, it's actually ringing."

The Tardis lit up and started making odd noises. "What are you doing? What the hell are you doing?"

"Willow! Hi! It's Kyra. Um, where am I? New York. Uh, what day is it there?"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Well, here it's 16th June, 19...63. Anyway, the coven leader, in Devon. What's her name? Right. Angela Stein...brunner. A Jewish Wiccan? No, Willow, that wasn't meant to be mean. I just didn't figure it could be very common. All right. Was she livin' in Devon in '63? I'm saving the world, Will, I really don't have a lot of time for questions."

"How are you doing it? What the hell are you doing? Why are you doing it?" He raced around the central controls. "This should be impossible!"

"Yes, can you get her number? Well, yes, the '63 one would be better. That's what you have a computer for, Willow. Yes. All right. Thanks."

She hung up.

"Oh," the Doctor said. "That's what you did."

"Oh, you are a doll!" Kyra said, to the Tardis. "Thank you!"

"You see, technically, this, inside the Tardis, is in all of time."

"So I can make a call, I just need a satellite."

"Well, and in the right part of the galaxy. If we were by, say, Sirius, it wouldn't've worked. I doubt it would've worked by Pluto. But since we're by the Earth..." His eyes widened. "It used the Vortex to send a signal! To the correct satellite! That's just brilliant! You actually made an interstellar, transtime...call. Not just across days or weeks but decades!"

"And...at the correct time," she added.

"That's just about a miracle."

"And I got something better than a phone number. Not only was Angela practicing Wicca at this time, she was also with the coven, an accomplished witch, single, and with her own house, so we won't interrupt the neighbors. I got her address."

He fed it in as she read it off. "Hmm. She lives....out there. Not even anywhere near town."

"Remember what I said about neighbors?"

"Right. Time for our trip."

A few moments later, Kyra poked her head out. "Miss Steinbrunner? Hello?"

A pretty young woman of about...well, twenty-five, came to the door. She had long brown hair in curls and wore a red dress that was, well, for a single woman at home...bit dressy. "Sorry, I was expecting company." The Doctor appeared, and so did her dimples. "Looks like I got it."

"Wait, wait," he said. "You were expecting me."

"I think she's expecting anything male," Kyra muttered under her breath.

"How did you know I was going to be here? How did you know we were going to be here?"

"Aren't you my appointment?"

"Uh, no," Kyra said. "We're here on business."

"I'm not interested in your business," the woman said dismissively. "Yours, on the other hand..."

"What?"

Kyra sighed. "He's not interested."

"I'm not?" His eyes widened. "Oh, no! I'm not! We need information."

She leaned forward slightly. And pouted. "Aww."

Kyra thumped her head on the Tardis. Then started laughing. "Go on, Doc, take one for the team!"

"I will not be reduced to breeding stock!" he snapped. "That's reprehensible! She's not even the right age!"

"Yeah, for your species," she said. "You wouldn't like him. Not even human. Got two hearts, god only knows what else he's got two of."

"That'll be enough of that! Ma'am, we're here...in regards to your coven."

She immediately snapped to attention, her eyes narrowing. "Oh, you're with those freaky Catholics in town, think we're devil worshippers. Well, you go back to Father O'Righteousness, and you tell him he can take his Pope-worshippers right back --"

"Hey, hey!" Kyra said. "We're not with Father O'Righteousness. But you can stop the Catholic bashin' right there. Seeing as how I'm Catholic. Also, we don't give a damn if you smear yourself in chicken blood and dance naked in the moonlight. We need help, not woman-power sermons."

"Couldn't use a little woman-power, little girl?"

"Next person who calls me little girl is gettin' a broken bone," she said. "Just for the record."

"Well, if you're not interested in saving the world, we'll just go do it ourselves," the Doctor said.

"And probably die," Kyra added. "Horrible, painful deaths."

"What with the alien invasion and all," the Doctor added. "Threatening...the Beatles. Well, that just doesn't sound right."

"Well, the whole Earth comes after the Beatles," Kyra added. "Did I mention the painful death part?"

"All right --"

"'An it harm none,'" Kyra quoted. "Nice words to live by, provided you don't actually have to ...you know, live by 'em."

"Lay off, wee one," she said. "Come in."

"That's worse than little girl," she hissed.

"Suck it up," the Doctor advised.

"I'm not that short."

He patted her head. "Drop it."

"Easy for you to say, Mr Over-Six-Foot." She held up her hands. "That was the last of it. Consider it dropped."

They walked into Miss Steinbrunner's small, neat house and had a seat at her table while she made tea. "All right, what's the deal? Alien invasion, seriously?"

"I suppose you could say that, yeah. With your own technology. Well, it helped."

"Human nature," she said. "We always bite ourselves in the ass. Look, I have to check on this before I bring the rest in. You know that. I don't have to do a truth spell, which is as uncomfortable to me as it is to you. Just let me touch you."

"I don't think that would be wise."

"Me," Kyra said, holding out her arm.

"Why not him?"

"You can try'n wiggle into his britches later," Kyra said shortly.

"Oh, the wee one's got a temper," she said.

"Yeah, the wee one does," Kyra said. "Do it. I don't like this, so get it over with."

"It's hard with all that negative energy you've got."

"Yeah, wonder how bad it would've been had you touched him," was Kyra's reply. She just closed her eyes and relaxed.

Angela took her hands, held them for a minute, then let out an ear-piercing scream and jerked backwards.

"I didn't do it!" Kyra yelled.

"Oh, my God, the blood!"

Kyra's faced closed. "My parents. She saw my parents." She started to shiver. "I hate this. I hate it. It always drags it back up."

Angela's hand lashed out, grabbing the Doctor's arm. She froze, then her eyes rolled up in her head and she hit the tile.

"Psychics just should not touch you," Kyra added.

TBC...