My name...well, my name's not that important now. It will be later, but right now it's just in the back. I've gone by a lot of names since I started this game, and I remember them all. It's important to remember any name you've gone by, for a time that name was a part of you. Those names, my names, are ones I must always remember. It helps keep order in my complicated past.
I'm the Last of my kind. Now, I know what you're thinking. The Klempari Defence. I have to be lying. Or, you are thinking 'another story about some girl who's the last of her kind and then goes on adventures with the Doctor, but she's actually just a lost Time Lady? Chameleon Circuit, or just plain ignorance?'
That's partly true. I am a girl, I did find out I was a Time Lady, and I do travel with the Doctor. It would be heartbreaking, if that was the species I was talking about. My people, I don't even have a name for them. For a while, I thought I was the last, but what seems more likely now is that I'm the First.
I'm the First of my kind. Bet you haven't heard that one yet. (If you have, shut up. This is my story, and I'll tell it how I like!)
I'm a subspecies of the human race, with a little quirk. Whenever I want, I can jump to the universe of my choosing. Any movie I see, I can be a part of. Same goes for books and videogames. It's why I call my kind Jumpers, because we jump into the universe, not creative but I was ten when I did the name.
I've been on my own for awhile, picked up a partner or two in days gone by. My sister, Darcy Anderson, was off bounty hunting. She's complicated.
When I go to places, it's not just me appearing. It's me taking the place of the me in that universe, backstory and all. I'll get the memories of that person, but in flashes (and usually right before I need them, kinda sucks to be honest). The families of the me in that universe I call Dummy-Families, they follow what I say almost to the letter. It ticked me off, until I found out why they're Dummy-Parents. That had been a fun day.
Anyway. Darcy was a unique case. Nowhere, in any universe I jumped, had there been a sister for me. An identical twin sister at that. She didn't curve to my Dummy-Parent demand to stay out of a dangerous fight, instead charging in headfirst. I guess you could say she was the first to gain sentience. I told her all about my powers, and asked if she wanted to come with me. Like I said, I'd never had a sister before and I had always wanted one. She had said yes before I could even finish talking. It was kinda funny, to be honest.
Darcy was a good kid, one of the best.
Another fun feature of Jumpers, I'm essentially immortal. My physical form doesn't jump to the universe, just my mental one. I live a couple of years in the universe, have some fun and save the day, then I go Home to find barely an hour has passed. I once spent a whole decade in a cartoon, and came Home to find myself ten again.
You'll notice I used the age ten a lot. That was when I first found out what I was, first discovered my powers. Literally, it was my tenth birthday. I was watching a movie with my family, and suddenly found myself in the universe of Monsters, Inc. It took me awhile to realize they weren't just very vivid dreams. It was a reality separate to my own, a whole other world just a blink away.
It got lonely, hence why I picked up Darcy.
Now, comes the part most of you came here for. Doctor Who. I had seen my brothers watching the show before, not noticing much about it. At first, I thought it was a new show based on a comic book. My first episode had been Angels Take Manhattan.
So of course, as I person with a severe hero complex, I had to come to Doctor Who.
It took a couple of months to get the whole thing together. Watching the series three times over, figuring out my Plans for certain episodes, and doing research on the show itself.
I kept away from Classic Who as many fans called it. Not because I was a Matt Smith Fangirl, but because it felt a bit like an invasion of privacy after watching the New Who. It would have been safer, in case for some reason I end up in a dump in 1963, or with the Scarf, Mr. Celery, Question-Mark-Man, The Technicolor Dreamcoat, or the poetic Eighth one. Still working on his nickname, to be honest.
You're probably wondering about what I look like. My original body is a recently turned fifteen year old, fair skin covered in freckles, a curly mop of raven wing hair, and sunshine amber eyes. It was funny, no matter what universe I went to I always had amber eyes.
I didn't know what I looked like here.
All I knew was that my body was glowing with bright yellow regeneration energy.
When the last of it faded away, I took a deep breath as if to calm myself down. It was a rush those first few seconds, like at the start of a rollercoaster.
There room I was in looked like it had just survived a fire, with ash gray walls and carpet. The only thing in here besides me was a golden mirror. The only clean thing in this room too.
The face I had was heart shaped, I had bright amber eyes and short cocoa brown hair with long choppy bangs in the front.
I was wearing a grass green top that had some leafy patterns, almost like a Tinkerbell dress. I was wearing some jeans that were cut loosely around my knees. A pair of green slippers covered my feet as well as a pair of green anklets.
"I have got to say, of all my faces I think this one is the cutest! I look like a younger, amber eyed, pale Christina Grimmie. Could be worse. Could look like me. Now that would be bad." I said, running my thin fingers thru my now shorter hair. "Actually, changed my mind. Hate this short hair. I can feel a breeze on my neck."
"Terra..." A familiar voice spoke.
I turned back and saw Matt Smith's Doctor. Oswin stood next to him and a girl who looked almost exactly like me stood behind Oswin.
The real me, Morgan me. She was wearing a dark red Hard Rock Cafe shirt. A faded jean jacket was over her arms, making her look rebellious, like a biker chick. She had black jeans on, going to her dark pink sneakers with darker blue laces. Her raven hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. I could see a watch on her left hand, kinda metallic.
Her face looked pretty busted up. Her lip had a cut on it, and her left eye was black. She was smiling, though, a pained smile.
The Doctor was wearing a purple overcoat, black trousers, brown boots, a dark blue vest with a gold pocket watch on it, and under it all was a bright blue button up. He wasn't wearing a red or blue bowtie, it was purple. Oswin was wearing a black jacket over a red undershirt, and a black skirt. Her brown hair was let down, past her shoulders. It looked nice, but her brown eyes filled with shock didn't help.
Oswin. Yep. Remembered her. Oswin Oswald, Junior Flight Entertainment Manager of Starship Alaska. She died because she was actually a human turned Dalek. Yet here she was, standing in modern day clothes and looking not even the slightest bit Dalek.
This was complicated.
Then again, Doctor Who.
"Hey." I said, not sure how to greet them.
Future Me walked up to me, giving me that same smile. "Hello. Welcome to First Day."
Nervously, I nodded. "Okay. Great."
"You picked your name yet?" Future Me asked.
"Uhh...well...I was thinking maybe Terra?" I said, hesitantly looking over at Eleven. He didn't look very happy. "After that Teen Titan we like."
Future Me laughed, wincing so slightly it was almost imperceptible. Unless you're me, of course. I know my own face. She's scared, nervous. Something messed up, either with me or since I arrived and I bet Eleven's 'slow burning anger' look is a part of it.
"Terra's perfect." Future Me said. "Last name?"
Okay. I was drawing a blank on that one. I glanced over to Eleven, hoping that Future Me remembered the message.
She did. "Don't worry. You'll do fine." She looked down at the metallic watch.
"Terra, shouldn't we be...I don't know...running?" Oswin asked, looking back to the door.
Future Me (screw it. I'm calling her Terra) kept staring at the watch.
"Terra, it's not safe." The Doctor stressed, walking up to her right side. "He is still here." He said, quietly.
"I know." Terra commented, staring at the watch.
I found myself looking at the watch as well, as if expecting to see a countdown. There was just an electronic watch, with block numbers.
"You know?!" Oswin gaped. "Then why are we still here?"
"Cause she needs to run." Terra said.
I gaped at her. She wanted to me run? She wanted me to have a need to run. Why? What was so important about my running?
Oswin stormed up to Terra's left side. "Look at her! She's already terrified! She already wants to run!"
"I remember, and I remember that she needs to run." Terra stressed, not taking her eyes off the watch. "She's nervous that I haven't looked away from this watch, because that means there's a time that's important."
I felt the Doctor's eyes move to me. My eyes were now stuck on the seconds of her watch, barely able to tell the numbers were ticking up from 8:47:38...39...40...
Taking a quick breath to calm myself, I looked up at Terra. "Alright. I need to be scared. I need a reason to run, right?" Terra didn't look up. "Can you tell me why?"
"Tell me in your own words what a stressor is." Terra said.
"Terra!" The Doctor shouted. "We need to get back to the TARDIS now! It's not safe here, and he will find you, find her."
"He already has. Remember how she got here?" Terra snapped. She huffed, angrily.
Never taking her eyes off the watch.
"A stressor of the boiling point of an unsub. The point when all of their pent up rage explodes, and they act on their held back desires." I said in a rush. "They usually end up reflecting on the victims."
"Good, good." Terra nodded. "Why am I asking you about stressors?"
It took me four seconds. The watch counted. "Because whoever I'm running from, his stressor is important to why I'm scared." I said. "He probably wants me scared, like Ge-" My eyes widened.
Oh, Terra was a genius!
She glanced up at me, a faint smirk quickly covered with a look of fear. "Now do you get it?"
I nodded mutely, playing with her act.
There was a man I helped fight once, George Foyet. Or, The Reaper. He was (putting it simply) a monster come to life. He killed 36 people before his eventual capture, and nearly killed a few friends of mine. One such friend was Aaron Hotchner, although he did kill...no spoilers. Hotch had to resign as my unit chief in the BAU so Foyet would think Hotch was losing it, letting Foyet gain a false sense of security. That would be when he made a mistake, and that is how we caught him.
So, basically, it's what I'm doing right now. Future, and present.
This meant the guy was watching us, he had to see me scared with his own eyes. I didn't see any cameras earlier, put they might be hidden either behind that mirror or the rock wall. What? I've seen some two-way rock walls. They exist, they're a thing, I saw them on TV.
Terra looked back to the watch. "8:49." She elbowed the Doctor. "Tell her the date."
"No. Terra, this has gone on far enough!" The Doctor argued.
"He's going to kill you!" Oswin added. She gestured at me. "He's already killed her! I mean, you! God this is confusing!" She finished, frustrated.
"Which means she's the safest person here." Terra argued. "Time Ladies have a 15 hour period after regeneration where they can heal any extraordinary wound. She can loose her legs and just grow them back. Like a starfish." Terra smirked. "Haha. Starfish."
"Did you just think of Patrick Star with me for a head?" I asked, offended.
Terra blinked. "Wow. Perceptive even at that age." She chuckled, voice still shaking in that almost imperceptible way. "No wonder I'm the best."
"Terra, look at her. She's scared!" The Doctor argued. He gestured wildly at me. "She's plenty scared enough to run!"
"For a few minutes." Terra answered, trying to sound bored. "She needs to run for longer. You remember how she was back with Nine. She needs to be that."
The Doctor apparently had enough of this nonsense. He reached over, taking my hand. He started dragging me towards the door.
"Tell her the date, Doctor." Terra pleaded. "Please." Her voice was soft at the end.
The Doctor went through a complete one-eighty. It was like Terra had said some code word, something that showed him how serious it all was. He let go of my hand, slowly turning back to face me. I put on a brave face, still showing that fear in case the unsub was watching.
The ancient alien looked down at me. "September 17th, 2013."
My eyes widened. Terra quickly inhaled. "Terra, tell him why that date is important." Her voice cracked at the end, yet sounded far off. She was remembering something, probably reliving this experience. Only this time she knew how it started and how it would end.
"It's." I gulped. "My birthday. My sixteenth birthday...back Home."
Terra smirked, shakily. "Good." She laughed nervously. "8:50. You're 179 years old?" I nodded. "It's all good..."
"Let's change that." A dark voice spoke in my mind.
Terra winced. I nearly jumped out of my skin. This had not been my first run with telepathy, but this voice felt wrong. It grated against my mind, like sandpaper.
"Terra?" The Doctor said, rushing up to my side. He held my arm, supporting me.
"Wha-who-" I stuttered.
"Logan." Terra almost whimpered.
That wasn't an act that time. She was sincere in her terror. The voice had to be in her head as well, a memory of this wouldn't be enough to make her that scared.
The Doctor held me tighter. Oswin walked up to Terra's side, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. The Time Lady was shaking slightly, her watch hand twitching. "Is he talking to you in your head?"
"Both of them." The Doctor said, gently trying to lift me to my feet. "How is he doing that?"
"Logan's impressive when he wants to scare me." Terra offered as explanation. I had to actually listen to hear what she said.
She had talked so confidently earlier, like she was a Queen Bee and this was her kingdom. It was weird seeing an older version of myself be headstrong. But after Logan talked in our heads it was like she shattered. Just what did Logan do to her that made her so terrified?
Or...have I gone soft and she's still faking?
"I take it Logan is the unsub." I commented.
"Yep." Terra nodded her head. "T-That's him."
"Great." I held back an urge to roll my eyes, instead looking around the room as if trying to look him in the eye. "Is Logan your first name?
"Garfield Logan." His voice was in my head again. I half winced at the sandpaper feeling as it came back. Terra's other hand lashed out, grabbing Oswin's.
"That name sucks." I tested, trying to gauge his reaction.
"Terra!" The Doctor hissed at me. Darn it, wrong reaction. "Don't argue with him! He killed you not even ten minutes ago!"
"Well, since you go by Terra now, I thought why not play along? You can call me Beast Boy if you prefer." The voice chuckled, as if amused by my tests.
"You know some facts about the Teen Titans, s-so what?" I said, trying to keep a pretense of false bravado. "Tell me, 'Logan', why are you doing this? Why do you want me scared? Why am I so scared of you when I'm her?" I pointed at the almost trembling Terra.
"Because I want to make you scared. I want to make you scream every time a pin drops. I want it so that the next time you hear my voice or see my face, your body freezes in fear. I want you to be afraid of me, so that I can do what I want with you." The voice said. "I want you scared, Morgan, simply because you're so adorable when petrified."
That one made me a little scared.
"See the problem now?" Terra whimpered.
She wasn't faking it. She was as scared as I was. He knew our name? How? No one ever knew my name in a jump unless I used my real one, and I use Terra. I've done some research on it, and Time Lords can only share their name with family and their spouse. She was too scared (and we were too smart) for it to have been a romance, so what else?
He's attacking on our birthday, the big 16th. That meant he knew us, closely. That was a birthday I had been looking forward to ever since I actually turned sixteen for the first time and couldn't wait until the next one.
You know what, I can think about all of this later. For now let's just stick to the present.
"He said our name." I breathed. "How does he know that? I thought Time Lords can't say their name-"
"You'll find out someday." Terra said, pulling Oswin closer into a hug.
The Doctor held me tighter, pulling me a little closer to him. He took a step back, his hand reaching into the purple tweed coat to find his sonic. He winced, moving his hand away.
"I'd rather if she found out today." Logan taunted.
Out of nowhere, the Doctor opened the door behind us. He dragged me out of it, with Terra and Oswin following behind us. The four of us started running. Oh, what a delight.
The Doctor guided me through several long halls, but I was thinking of our turns. Turn right to get out. Right. Right. Forward. Left. Forward.
"What are you doing?!" Logan shouted.
"How long have we been playing this game, Logan?" Terra shouted, in that Queen Bee tone from earlier. "Long enough for me to memorize this building."
The Doctor came up to a door, trying to use force to open it.
"Long enough to remember the way out." Terra said. "Long enough for me to do this." She paused, then sighed. "Doc, ya gotta move."
"Don't you dare!" Logan growled. "Morgan, don't you dare!"
The Doctor looked back, and his eyes widened. Now I have to see what Terra has in her hand.
I turned back, and my jaw dropped. "Oh my God!" Oswin yelped.
Terra was holding a laser gun. "I remember thinking I was badass."
I nodded. "Yep. Definitely badass."
She smirked, firing the gun. The door was blasted to bits. "Move!"
The four of us ran out of the building, and kept running even after. I could see the TARDIS off in the distance, a good couple hundred yards away.
"Why the hell are we still-" My questioned was answered before I could ask it.
The building exploding. The blast sending some of us to the dirt below.
It took a moment or so, but Terra rose up to her feet. The Doctor followed, walking up behind her a putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I remember kicking your ass." Terra said. The statement would have been awesome, if she didn't say it with an almost defeated tone.
==CON==
The Doctor and Oswin had gone off into the TARDIS, after Terra convinced them it was safe. She sat me down on the dirt below. She had taken off the watch, if only to fix her tight ponytail.
"No one can say First Day's are boring." She joked.
I nodded, laughing. "And that was clever, using the George Foyet tactic."
Terra smirked, nodding her head smugly. I'd seen Darcy do it a billion times. She changed it to one of teasing humility. "I know, I don't mean to brag, but I'm a genius."
"Preaching to the choir, sister."
"Can you really call me sister considering I'm a Future You?"
"We're technically related as twins."
"Little smartass."
"Thank ya kindly."
The two of us chuckled.
Terra took a deep breath, as if preparing for a long speech. "You're a Time Lady, a real Time Lady from the Gallifrey."
"Meaning I need to be careful at telling the Doctor, because it's gone." I finished.
Terra hesitated. "It's in a Time Lock." She corrected.
I raised a brow. "It is gone, right?"
"That's...where it gets complicated." Terra said. "You'll have to wait until Planet of the Dead to find out what happened."
I nodded. "That's simple enough."
"You have to go Home after each season." Terra said. "You leave before Journey's End, because, well, it's Journey's End and then you leave after it because, it's the end of Journey's End."
"Damn it." I groaned. That did not bode well for me.
"Oh. This is important." Terra gave me a hard look. "Minisodes."
"Minisodes?" I repeated.
"Minisodes." Terra said. "The Doctor has a ton of those, especially as Eleven. Good night, last night, Pond life, Time, this really funny one with Donna and Ten in school, and one more that I can't remember but it was really funny. Oh, and Oswin will have one with the TARDIS later where she talks to it, and Eleven and River get one called Rain Gods. That one has to be my favorite."
I nodded. "Got it. Minisodes."
"Lastly, yes. The TARDIS can hear your thoughts." Terra said. My eyes widened. I liked keeping those private! "Hey, you have fifteen mental walls around your mind. The TARDIS understands what we are, and tries to help whenever she can. She's kinda like a big sister. She also likes it when you call her Idris and talk to her. She's like Mom, words of affirmation."
I nodded, pretending to know what those words meant. "Who are we?"
"A Time Lady from Gallifrey." Terra said, not giving me the answer I wanted.
"You gotta lie better than that." I instructed.
She nodded. "I know. but, anything else I tell you will change your future, my past. I liked it the way it was. I can't even tell you our Dalek name because it'll spoil the future." Terra said, shaking her head. "Wait...no...I knew my name...I remember that now...I...we..." She shook her head again. "Let me start over."
"That sentence got away from you, didn't it?"
She laughed. "Yes." She sighed. "They call us 'the Fallen Star'."
My jaw dropped in disappointment. "That's a stupid name."
"You won't be saying that in fourteen years." Terra smirked.
I groaned. "Why do Future Me's hate me?"
"Because they know it's no longer their job to relay the message. Now it's all on you." Terra said, confidently. "Oh, and, I would be careful when you Wake Up. Darcy was left alone."
I groaned. "Ugh. That girl is gonna be the death of me." I said, hoping to get a reaction.
Terra just laughed. "Oh, believe me, it's not from lack of trying."
"What?" I asked, hoping for more.
"Nope."
I nodded. Terra was giving me spoilers to my future, not really much else to say. I just really wanted to know!
"This is my third regeneration. Fourth incarnation, so I'm Terra Four. I have a very large family back Home, still growing now."
I nodded, letting the information sink in. "Alright. Anything else I should know?"
"Yes. Terra is a name that comes with promises. A Time Lord name is like a promise you make, to yourself and to others. My promise, and Her promise, was that I would never stop trying to make people smile. I will always do I can to protect my friends. I promised that I would always...always stay true to myself." Morgan explained. "I Pinkie Promised it too. I also added that I would always find a way back to my family. No matter what."
"Uh...cool." I said. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
Terra laughed. "Calm down! You look like I'm about to explain your death. I know how you get nervous in these situations, and we're pressed for time, so here."
She reached into her bag, pulling out a small black book.
"This book has all the facts you'll need to know." Terra explained, handing it over to me. "It won't say much, because you can only know so much. You can be a bitch when you wanna be."
I ignored that last part, instead I started to open it.
"Wait until you get into the TARDIS." Terra said, panicked. I paused, looking up at her with concern. "Time lines and stuff, Morgue. I gotta make sure it plays out exactly like I remember."
Hesitantly, I nodded. There was something in this book she didn't want me seeing yet.
"It has your cover story." Terra explained. "The family De-" She winced. "The family we had on Earth."
"Had." I pointed out.
"You'll find out when you read the book." She said, rolling her eyes in teasing annoyance. I smirked.
Terra pushed herself to her feet, holding out her hand to help me to mine. "Now come on. You need to get yourself settled and prepared to fight the Living Plastic." She explained, walking towards the TARDIS door.
I waited a moment. Living Plastic, cool. That's the villain I wanted to defeat! I already had an idea of how to do it.
"Oh. And the Doctor knows about our powers."
I stopped in my steps. "What?"
"Come on, Terra, we have a Doctor's appointment."
==CON==
The Doctor wouldn't look at me.
It wasn't so much that he didn't like I was there, it was just that he was glaring at Terra. (Okay. I feel like it's confusing again. I'm Terra, and she's Terra. How about I call her Four?)
Four was standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorway. "So, I'll have to stick around here for a few minutes. Paradoxes and all that, garbage. You stay feisty."
I was gaping at the TARDIS.
Four laughed, nervously. "Okay. Doc, come pick me up once you leave her behind."
The Doctor ignored her. Four winced, looking down at her sneakers. I guess the Jumper thing came as a big shock to him.
Four closed the TARDIS door, and immediately the TARDIS noise started.
"Go on. Say it. They all do." The Doctor said, sounding bored and miffed. He flung a random lever, making the noise even louder.
I gaped at Eleventh's TARDIS. The whirring was like music to my ears. The cold silver metal made me feel at home, like I belonged here. This seemed like a place I could always run to, even in my times of needs.
I turned to him. "Does it have Wi-Fi?"
Oswin giggled off to the side. The Doctor gaped at me like I just spat in his tea. Oh, that look was fun. I would need to see it again.
"What?" He asked.
"Does it have Wifi?" I repeated. "I would like some Wi-Fi."
The Doctor frowned, making a grump face. "You're inside a time machine, and you ask about the Wi-Fi?"
"When did I ever say this one made sense?" I countered his argument. The Doctor actually looked a bit surprised by by that. I smirked. "Terrific." My eyes widened. "Like that word. I'm gonna use it."
Then, I looked around the place again. It was...it was beautiful...
'I can never leave this.' I admitted, stroking her console. 'I can never run away from this life.'
"Hello Idris." I greeted. "It's good to finally meet you."
There was a loud humming, that I guessed was her agreeing with me. Then a stranger presence filled my mind. It was warm, and I had the strangest sensation. It felt like she was singing to me. It felt like getting hugged by Mom after a nightmare.
I ran my hand over the console, looking at all the levers and switches. My inner fangirl was starting to come out, and I was almost squealing. She let out a loud whirl. "This is wonderful." I cheered. The Doctor was flicking switches about. "She's wonderful." There was another loud whirl. "Eek!"
"Please tell me I didn't look like that." Oswin commented.
The Doctor pulled a lever. "Wasn't really paying attention. We were a bit busy then."
I wrapped my arms around myself, looking up at the rotor. My back hit the rails, and I leaned back onto them. "She feels like home."
"She is." The Doctor said, starting to smile. "That was what you said when she first made this console."
I smiled fondly. That would be nice, I guess. I reached for the book I had put in my bag, finding writing on the first page that Four had been trying to hide.
Reichenbach Falls
I blinked. A horrible realization came to me. "Wait. Did we just leave Future Me in 2013?"
"Yes." The Doctor said, flipping another switch.
"At that destroyed warehouse?"
"Yes." The Doctor said. The sound of the TARDIS came and went, telling me we had landed.
"Where we are not completely sure that Logan was inside when it blew up?" I asked, hoping that gave him the message.
The Doctor was about to answer, when he realized I was right. He looked a little, no, a lot terrified actually.
"Terra!" The Doctor screamed, as if she could hear it.
He ran up to me, shoving me out of the TARDIS.
"Stay alive! Don't break any laws! And, most importantly, do not do anything I would do!"
The doors closed. That wheezing noise started, and soon the TARDIS vanished.
Time to get to work.