Sometimes Yasmin Khan wondered if the Doctor was all there, but what could you expect from a woman who rushed around, yapping at 1,000 miles per hour, going so fast you barely had time to even think - she still didn't understand why the Time Lady hadn't done anything meaningful to really hurt Jack Robertson after uncovering his messes which resulted in so much death and pain and wriggled out of it, to say nothing of how Barton just…walked away after that mess with the Master and the Kassavin - but this latest incident took the cake.

Okay, granted, the Doctor had been acting weirder than usual ever since that mess with the Master before being gone so long before returning with the TARDIS and Jack Harkness, and beaming away like she hadn't acted like a bitchy bear with a sore head for a long time, until Yaz, Ryan, and Graham had been gradually losing their patience with her.

And the reason was horrifying; Why the hell hadn't she told anyone about the destruction of Gallifrey, her home? Why was it impossible for her to actually talk to them? She talked all the time, but she had this unpleasant and really annoying habit of just forgetting she had friends.

The TARDIS had just landed on a heavily forested planet, and they had found the remains of an abandoned city before they had met Lindy Pepper-Bean. She was seemingly the sole survivor.

The moment Lindy met them, Yaz knew she was not going to make a new best friend; as a kid, Yaz had been called all kinds of things, but thanks to those extremist bastards behind 9/11, everyone began equating Muslims with terrorism.

It was just….so agonising that extremists used her own religious beliefs and practices to justify such slaughter, but what was worse was how everyone just… believed mosques and hijabs meant a terrorist plot was developing.

But that was racism for you.

Ignorance on a platter. Yaz had lost so many friends because of the whole mess, and she knew she was not alone. Quite a few of her friends ' families suddenly told their kids to stop talking to her, and it led to a downward spiral which affected Yaz's mental health.

Yaz had dealt with racism more than once in her life, and that hadn't changed in the TARDIS; that mess with Krasko was a big clue that future eras would not be like Star Trek, where everyone explored space and everyone got on fabulously. That later mess where the Doctor was accused as a witch was also a big sign of further prejudice, and it came and went.

But Lindy Pepper-Bean was the poster girl of a racist who had no reason to think she was better than everyone else; from the moment Yaz laid eyes on her, and Lindy spoke to her the first time, Yaz took notice of how much disdain the blonde had for her, and the way she always seemed to roll her eyes in disgust whenever Yaz opened her mouth, or moved, she knew the woman was racist.

Okay, on some level, Yaz had actually thought the woman was amusing. Lindy obviously didn't know how real life worked, and she was used to having everything literally brought to her so she didn't know how much work was needed just to find shelter, water, or even food. Hearing the girl blab about how she was once a data entry clerk, leaving her home for a couple of hours had nearly made Yaz laugh or cry at her pathetic belief she somehow thought she was better. Yaz had worked two hours getting more satisfaction channelling in some TV coppers she had seen in the past into her work.

But Lindy struck her as a little pathetic. She had clearly been in the woods a long time because she was taken aback by how her clothes were falling to pieces.

Yaz wasn't even bothered by the way the Doctor had offered Lindy a way off of the planet since there was no one else there, but she honestly hoped she wouldn't stay since Lindy Pepper-Bean was, without a shadow of doubt, one of the most narcissistic individuals Yaz had ever met. Even scum like Jack Robertson, who definitely lived in his own little world, would at least have some sense, but not Lindy.

At the same time, Yaz and the Doctor learnt more about what happened to her people, the way Lindy had babbled about the weird slug things that ate everyone in alphabetical order, and Yaz had asked her why nobody had run, why the forest was deserted save for Lindy herself….and despite her training, Yaz had been tempted to break the smug bimbo's perfect little nose, all because Lindy had commented on her being stupid, and saying everyone couldn't see them because of the virtual bubbles that connected everyone with their version of social media.

More than a few times, while the TARDIS was travelling through the wormhole network that was the Time Vortex, Yaz had actually pictured herself breaking Lindy's nose, and seeing the look of stunned disbelief on Lindy's face, who seemed the type to sob at the sight of a cracked fingernail.

But she hadn't.

And it wasn't just because Yaz wanted to be seen as the better person; it was because Lindy was not worth it.

Yaz had been stunned everyone on Lindy's colony was gone, but she was horrified when she learnt her whole civilisation was gone; the Doctor's expression had been solemn, clearly thinking about how she was, as far as she knew, the last of her own race. But Yaz was a bit worried about Lindy being on her own, since the idiotic woman had implied there had been others with her, and Yaz's instincts as a police officer had pricked, wondering what could have happened to them.

Lindy had stuck mostly to the Doctor, considering the Doctor, like Lindy, was white with blonde hair. But it was the moment she had revealed her name, and the existence of the TARDIS, Lindy's reaction had stunned both Yaz and the Doctor, and she had gone off about this 'other Doctor,' who had his own TARDIS.

"He said some nonsense about how his blue box was bigger on the inside," Lindy had gushed as she looked around the console room, "it's the usual rubbish his kind talk about, you just have it; you don't need to explain it."

Yaz had been mystified by what Lindy meant, before she remembered the Doctor's brief and vague explanations about regeneration and what it meant, remembering her offhand comment about being a white-haired Scotsman when they first met and she stormed off down the train, but was the 'Doctor' she meant the same as her Doctor, the same person? Yaz didn't know, but she didn't like the way Lindy spoke about him, commenting offhandedly how this Doctor she'd met was arrogant and presumptive, calling him inferior….all because he had dark skin.

She also caught sight of her Doctor's expression; Lindy was oblivious, but Yaz had known her Doctor long enough to know when she was not impressed with Lindy's explanation, even if she had been stunned by the news Lindy had met someone claiming to be her. Yaz wondered if it was the Doctor Lindy had seen, but it was clear this hadn't happened yet for her Doctor; she didn't know Lindy, and she had been surprised by the news of this dark-skinned Doctor.

Ooh, time travel was so confusing.

But Yaz couldn't help but wonder what the Doctor was going to do next.

She was also puzzled by Lindy's story about the dots, the robots behind her people's social media, and how it sounded like they had become self-aware and had somehow created those slug monsters and wiped out her whole race. But what worried Yaz the most, what worried her the most was she didn't like the sound of this holographic bubble, and how it just showed these arrows to direct them to where they needed to go, even in their own homes to do something as mundane as brushing their teeth, or going to the fucking loo! Weren't they able to live by themselves, and make the choices for themselves? Didn't they know their own bodies?

And then she remembered her own sister, who loved social media, but the very notion her people would one day make the same choices that led to the creation of Lindy's world, Lindy's civilisation, and would eventually repeat their mistakes filled Yaz with dread; maybe that was one of the possible futures she hadn't seen yet, and after Orphan 55, Yaz had been wondering philosophically just how many possible futures there were when humankind had survived and made it. The Doctor might not be worried, but Yaz was.

The TARDIS began materialising; Yaz didn't have a clue where and when the Doctor had set for, but the Time Lady had told her and Lindy they were heading somewhere for Lindy to get help. Lindy hadn't seemed to care that much.

"Aannnd, we're there," the Doctor said with her traditional flourish and beaming smile.

"Where are we?" Lindy smiled.

"Now, if you'd like to go out-."

"Oh, I do!" Lindy ran out of the door, "What the hell?" She yelled even as the doors closed, and the Doctor flicked a few switches on the console, closing the door behind Lindy, there was a click from the lock and Yaz realised the Doctor had flicked on the switch turning on the holographic scanner, showing Lindy standing in a street somewhere Yaz recognised as New York, with impoverished people walking up and down the street.

"What…what is this?" Lindy's voice said as she took in her new surroundings, then she turned back to the TARDIS. "Doctor, you said you were taking me somewhere nice, somewhere I could get help!"

"I lied about the help part, well maybe a little; it depends on your perspective. This is New York City, 1930. The time of the Great Depression. The city's not at its best right now. A year ago, relatively speaking, there was an economic crash; millions of people lost their jobs around the country, becoming destitute. Many of them lost their homes, and were forced to live where they could; one of those places is in a park called Central Park. It's similar to the little village you and your friends tried to set up, only they had the skills to make some of it work to a degree. At least they worked together and didn't betray everyone else."

Lindy's face, even over the hologram, showed her uncertainty. "I-I don't know what you mean?"

"Oh, please, Lindy. Don't play games. I used the Time-Space visualiser. It's a kind of time television, it showed me how you betrayed someone called Ricky September, just to save your life, and all he had done was go out of his way to save your life in the first place; you told the dot's his real name, and they killed him. Just in case you were thinking of playing games with me," the Doctor said angrily.

Yaz blinked, remembering how Lindy had talked about Ricky, who had apparently run off to help other people. But now it was clear that had been a lie, and she wondered what happened to the others. Luckily the Doctor didn't talk about it.

"This is where we part ways, Lindy," the Doctor said firmly, and she began flipping switches with the kind of attitude Yaz knew meant she was hiding her anger. "There are good people around here, and you should be okay-."

"People like us?" Yaz bit her tongue to stop herself shouting at how, once more, Lindy only seemed to have a narrow view of life.

"Good people," the Doctor repeated, tone becoming colder and more annoyed as she spoke. "Stop judging people for their worth by the colour of their skin, Lindy. That's why I'm doing this to you, and because you upset Yaz. Nobody upsets Yaz, you understand?"

"What? But she's clearly inferior, Doctor. And that man, is that why you're doing this? You had that man posing as you!"

The Doctor's face became even angrier. "I'm not going to argue, Lindy. If I were you, I would get used to living in the real world. You're gonna need it. Oh," she suddenly said with the same air as someone who'd seemingly forgotten an earlier point, "that man you think was posing as me, I think he was me. I just haven't had the pleasure of being him yet."

Yaz gaped at her in surprise.

Lindy was also stunned. "Pleasure? You would want to look like that man? Even if you could change, which you can't, its stupid, we're still better."

"Oh, its possible. I'm a Time Lord, Lindy. An alien; the same laws of your biology mean nothing to me. I can change my body on occasion, voluntarily or not. So far I've kept to a certain style, but this body was an exception when I took it on a few centuries ago," the Doctor ignored the new looks from Yaz, "I don't see why I shouldn't change things up a bit later on. I mean, my last twelve lives were men, this is my first time as a woman in a long time, and I have been black before," she was amazed she kept her expression neutral as she thought about that mystery incarnation she'd run into in Gloucester, "Getting different perspectives is a good way to keep things interesting. It's better than being like you, stuck in one lifetime and being arrogant."

"What?" Lindy was having a hard time processing the Doctor's words and how the Doctor had betrayed her like this. "I am not arrogant-."

"You are, Lindy. Your entire race is gone, and you are stuck here because you trusted us to bring you here, you did that because the Doctor looked a bit like you," Yaz cut in.

"I wasn't going to use that, Yaz," The Doctor said.

"Sorry."

"But true, though."

"You did this! You forced the Doctor to do this to me!" Lindy shouted, earning a few looks from the people in the streets.

"No, she didn't. I would have done this to you no matter who else was travelling in the TARDIS, Lindy. When we met I was suspicious about your story, and you didn't even bother checking your words. Some of what you said raised more than a few red flags; the way you described your fellow survivors' deaths and what happened to Ricky - you were just too indifferent and vague, it all made me suspicious. That's why I looked into the visualiser. The moment I did, I realised you weren't someone I'd want to travel with, especially as I was worried about what you would do to Yaz."

The Doctor was silent as she let Yaz and Lindy absorb her words before she spoke again. "I didn't see what my future self said or did, but I guess he gave you a fair chance to take you all with him to somewhere safe and secure. You just turned him down because he had dark skin."

"That man would have contaminated us. We had to keep him away."

Yaz saw the Doctor's face darken angrily and knew this was it as far as the Doctor was concerned.

"So you gave up on any chances of going somewhere safer? You were stranded on a clearly hostile planet, Lindy, and you and your people were stupid enough to do that simply because a stranger offered you something better, and you threw that away because the stranger had dark skin. You're so finite, its pathetic!" The Doctor shouted, shocking Lindy and Yaz into silence. "Let me tell you something, my future self would have been better equipped and able to help you than I am. I don't know if he's gonna be my next life, or he's much further ahead, but he would have helped you, you refused to listen and now here you are. The last of your kind. Goodbye, Lindy, have a quiet life. Good luck."

The Doctor dematerialised the TARDIS before Lindy could open her mouth to utter a syllable. She took a deep breath, walking sedately around the console.

"Okay, Yaz, say it."

"What?" Yaz was shell-shocked by what had just happened she couldn't speak properly. "Oh, so you knew Lindy betrayed everyone she knew? I mean, like, yeah, she was self-centred, but I'm surprised you planned this."

"There was nobody else there, and Lindy did strike me as the uncaring type. And I didn't like the way she was offhand about it all, so I had to make sure. There's no way I was going to let a murderer travel with us, Yaz; the way she spoke to you put me right off."

Yaz was surprised the Doctor noticed, she was so oblivious it wasn't funny. "What about this other Doctor?" That was the part she wanted to get to the most. "Was he really you?"

"Yes. He was; I took a look at his face, and I knew instantly he was one of my future selves. I don't know which regeneration he is, though. He could be my next, like I said, or he might be seven, or thirteen lives down the line. It's all relative to me," the Doctor replied. "And I have been dark-skinned before, Yaz; remember the Ruth version of me, the one we met in Gloucester?"

"Vaguely. You never bothered to tell me, us, about it," Yaz said pointedly, but the Doctor shrugged her shoulders. Yaz wished she knew more about regeneration because it was so frustrating that the Doctor never truly bothered to explain it all. "What will happen to Lindy?" She changed topics, deciding to bring regeneration up again later.

The Doctor was silent as she considered the question. "I don't know."

"Aren't you worried she'll, I dunno, change history?"

"No. I did a scan while we were all in the TARDIS. Lindy didn't have anything technological with her, so she doesn't have anything to sell to someone who has enough scientific and technical expertise to understand some functions, or be stolen, and I doubt she has any reasonable scientific knowledge; that's why I took her to the 30s, the people there have more important things on their minds than some science that could change things for them, and she doesn't know enough human history to know her way around, so she will need to find her own feet," the Doctor added offhandedly. "Lindy also doesn't have any charisma to be politically dangerous; the only way she could cause problems for history would be if she died, and someone performed an autopsy. If that happened then they would know she wasn't of that time or place."

Yaz blinked a little at the Doctor's indifference, she was clearly unconcerned about this, so she decided to put it out of her mind.

-8-

Author's Note - Inspired by Marcus S Lazarus, I found the 13th Doctor to be the perfect fit to be the Doctor to find Lindy.