Fic: Stepping Sideways: Not What She Expected (1/3)
Since I've had this written out ready to post for... way too long, I figured I might just as well share. This is just a fun extra little story - you may remember this first chapter, as I posted it a few years ago just for fun.
Summary: Missy meets the Seeker.
Setting: Immediately after Missy disappears/disintegrates in Death in Heaven (the S8 finale). Works rather perfectly as a little FitB to canon. :)
Characters: Missy, the Seeker.
Part 1
She re-appeared, but not where she had expected to.
Looking around, Missy saw she was in a TARDIS. It was brightly lit, the central column glowing golden, the walls white with a few pieces of white/red furniture along the edges. A fairly new model, but… odd. Nothing she could put her finger on immediately, but it was obviously not a standard issue - the little telltale factory specifications seemed to be missing, the ‘tools’ far more whimsical… as if a custom model. Did they do those anymore? The war had stifled any creativity…
«He was actually going to kill you,» a voice said, and she looked up to see a black-haired youth with a neat beard study her with puzzled green eyes. «They say travel expands your horizons, but this was something I never thought I’d see. What the hell did you do? Apart from the cyber army made out of dead people?»
For a moment she just stared, not sure how to tackle this. Was he from Gallifrey? (He was certainly not a future version of either herself or the Doctor, and that narrowed the field considerably.) She inched nearer to the console - he couldn’t be more than a few centuries old at the most, and (she did a swift mental scan) he didn’t seem to have any back-up. Maybe they’d sent him to track her down - some brilliant kid who thought he had the stuff, thinking he could earn himself a pat on the cheek from Rassilon. She almost chuckled. Bless his little cotton socks, she’d eat him alive. And his TARDIS seemed a neat little thing - she could do with transport now UNIT were probably all over hers.
A sudden smile from the lad threw her a little, as did the words that followed: «Damn clever, but did you honestly think he’d go for it? I’ve not got a lot of scruples, but - although an army like that might come in handy - even I find it a bit too macabre to emulate.»
«Who are you?» she asked, making sure he was focussing on her as she gently laid a hand on the console, stroking a switch so softly he’d never notice… Except instead she got a shock, and withdrew her hand sharply.
«Christ almighty, do you have live wires in that?»
He smirked at her, eyes dancing in a way that stopped her short.
«No - the controls are isomorphic. And I’m the Seeker. Are you planning on thanking me for saving you, or are you just going to take it for granted?»
«Isomorphic controls,» she said, recalling a very lovely laser screwdriver… «Who taught you that?»
That smile again.
«You did - dad.»
Slowly she circumnavigated the central controls, eyeing him up. Black hair, green eyes, simple white shirt, black trousers and shoes… Not a single thing that she could pin down. Nothing to either confirm or undermine his crazy lie.
Although she might have underestimated him - it was certainly a thoroughly unexpected lie, and showed considerable imagination. She’d be sad to kill him…
Ah well, the lie could prove a useful crutch for moving forwards.
«You… are my son?» she asked, imbuing her voice with a hint of a motherly tremble, before bringing up her hand to her chest. «This is… so unexpected. I never realised… Sorry, I’m quite overcome-»
Doing a quite frankly fabulous job of ‘fumbling for a handkerchief’, eyes misting up, she was shocked at the metal object that suddenly appeared about an inch from her left heart - not to mention the knife that simultaneously touched her neck from behind.
«Don’t even think about it,» the kid said, and - eyes widening - she realised that the weapon he was threatening her with was her very own laser screwdriver.
«How the hell did you get that?» she snapped, and he tilted his head.
«You gave it to me for my eighth birthday.»
«Enough with the lies!»
She was angry now (it had been a long day and all her plans had been ruined), but he merely reached out with his free hand and emptied all her pockets.
«Not lying, you stubborn old thing, and if you’d bother to turn your head, you’d see something like proof.»
Having ignored the knife, she glanced up and faltered for the second time. It was a Toclafane, clear as day. Her own beautiful Toclafane…
She was distracted when he spoke again, studying her head:
«Are the hairpins poisonous?»
«Are they what now?» she asked, and he caught her eyes.
«Your hairpins. Are they poisonous? I’ll probably let you keep them, but I’d like to know, just for reference.»
«You have a very twisted mind, young man,» she said, with gravity, and he grinned at her, pocketing the laser. The knife, however, stayed where it was.
«What else would you expect? You brought me up.»
This was getting ridiculous.
«Look, stop already. It’s very entertaining, and the Toclafane is a lovely touch, but we both know that you are not my child. Trust me, I’d recognise you if you were, no matter your face.»
Stepping back, he frowned.
«Oh I’m not from this universe, I thought you’d worked that out.»
She rolled her eyes. He was impossibly stubborn, and she felt a keen urge to give him a slap. (Whilst he was confused she could prick him with one of the hairpins… How had he guessed they were poison tipped?) But maybe not yet, let him lower his guard first.
«Well goodness gracious me, what a marvellously clever chap you are.» (Too much sarcasm? No, that wasn’t possible.) «How did you end up here? Trying to find Gallifrey and getting lost?»
It was his turn to look surprised.
«Gallifrey? Gallifrey is long gone. Burnt up and dead.»
«Oh but it’s not, you know,» she sing-songed. «I know where it is…»
And then - he laughed. In her face!
«Even if that were true - and kudos for the double-lie, that’s impressive - why would I want to find Gallifrey? I’m planning to rule the universe, I really don’t want a bunch of stuffy old idiots in stupid collars thinking they can tell me what to do. The Doctor is bad enough - did you see that fez of his that he used to wear?»
For a moment she was actually speechless.
Then…
«You want to rule the universe?»
All of a sudden she found herself hoping that his fanciful stories were true, and in his smile - shimmering with mischief - she saw something that sparked recognition.
«Finally got your attention, did I?» he said smugly, and her eyes narrowed.
This could become interesting…
~
«OK, Harvey, at ease. Actually - pop off and put the kettle on, would you?»
And just like that the nasty threatening thing was gone!
How exactly a Toclafane would ‘put the kettle on’ was a bit of a conundrum to be sure, but she wasn’t bothered, as long as the bauble was otherwise occupied.
She smiled slowly, stepping up to him, and he tilted his head, a little puzzled. (Yes he might be interesting, but hey - she was bananas!)
And then - she was behind him, a hairpin at his throat.
«It’s a shame to kill you, you’re obviously a clever lad, but I shall have to come to terms with the loss. Go on now - say something nice?»
Thankfully he didn’t struggle (it’d just make her hand slip, and she was curious to see what he might say…) - but when he spoke, she was genuinely thrown.
«I have a pet Dalek?»
Frowning, she studied his calm profile.
«Excuse me?»
«Well *I* think it’s a nice thing. And I know you’ve worked with Daleks in the past…»
Gritting her teeth, she held the pin as still as she could. Kids these days.
«Say. Something. Nice.»
He sighed.
«Oh fine. Activate holding cell!»
And before she knew what was happening the whole world turned white.
Part 2
Post has been cloned from dreamwidth. Comments welcome everywhere.
Summary: Missy meets the Seeker.
Setting: Immediately after Missy disappears/disintegrates in Death in Heaven (the S8 finale). Works rather perfectly as a little FitB to canon. :)
Characters: Missy, the Seeker.
Part 1
She re-appeared, but not where she had expected to.
Looking around, Missy saw she was in a TARDIS. It was brightly lit, the central column glowing golden, the walls white with a few pieces of white/red furniture along the edges. A fairly new model, but… odd. Nothing she could put her finger on immediately, but it was obviously not a standard issue - the little telltale factory specifications seemed to be missing, the ‘tools’ far more whimsical… as if a custom model. Did they do those anymore? The war had stifled any creativity…
«He was actually going to kill you,» a voice said, and she looked up to see a black-haired youth with a neat beard study her with puzzled green eyes. «They say travel expands your horizons, but this was something I never thought I’d see. What the hell did you do? Apart from the cyber army made out of dead people?»
For a moment she just stared, not sure how to tackle this. Was he from Gallifrey? (He was certainly not a future version of either herself or the Doctor, and that narrowed the field considerably.) She inched nearer to the console - he couldn’t be more than a few centuries old at the most, and (she did a swift mental scan) he didn’t seem to have any back-up. Maybe they’d sent him to track her down - some brilliant kid who thought he had the stuff, thinking he could earn himself a pat on the cheek from Rassilon. She almost chuckled. Bless his little cotton socks, she’d eat him alive. And his TARDIS seemed a neat little thing - she could do with transport now UNIT were probably all over hers.
A sudden smile from the lad threw her a little, as did the words that followed: «Damn clever, but did you honestly think he’d go for it? I’ve not got a lot of scruples, but - although an army like that might come in handy - even I find it a bit too macabre to emulate.»
«Who are you?» she asked, making sure he was focussing on her as she gently laid a hand on the console, stroking a switch so softly he’d never notice… Except instead she got a shock, and withdrew her hand sharply.
«Christ almighty, do you have live wires in that?»
He smirked at her, eyes dancing in a way that stopped her short.
«No - the controls are isomorphic. And I’m the Seeker. Are you planning on thanking me for saving you, or are you just going to take it for granted?»
«Isomorphic controls,» she said, recalling a very lovely laser screwdriver… «Who taught you that?»
That smile again.
«You did - dad.»
Slowly she circumnavigated the central controls, eyeing him up. Black hair, green eyes, simple white shirt, black trousers and shoes… Not a single thing that she could pin down. Nothing to either confirm or undermine his crazy lie.
Although she might have underestimated him - it was certainly a thoroughly unexpected lie, and showed considerable imagination. She’d be sad to kill him…
Ah well, the lie could prove a useful crutch for moving forwards.
«You… are my son?» she asked, imbuing her voice with a hint of a motherly tremble, before bringing up her hand to her chest. «This is… so unexpected. I never realised… Sorry, I’m quite overcome-»
Doing a quite frankly fabulous job of ‘fumbling for a handkerchief’, eyes misting up, she was shocked at the metal object that suddenly appeared about an inch from her left heart - not to mention the knife that simultaneously touched her neck from behind.
«Don’t even think about it,» the kid said, and - eyes widening - she realised that the weapon he was threatening her with was her very own laser screwdriver.
«How the hell did you get that?» she snapped, and he tilted his head.
«You gave it to me for my eighth birthday.»
«Enough with the lies!»
She was angry now (it had been a long day and all her plans had been ruined), but he merely reached out with his free hand and emptied all her pockets.
«Not lying, you stubborn old thing, and if you’d bother to turn your head, you’d see something like proof.»
Having ignored the knife, she glanced up and faltered for the second time. It was a Toclafane, clear as day. Her own beautiful Toclafane…
She was distracted when he spoke again, studying her head:
«Are the hairpins poisonous?»
«Are they what now?» she asked, and he caught her eyes.
«Your hairpins. Are they poisonous? I’ll probably let you keep them, but I’d like to know, just for reference.»
«You have a very twisted mind, young man,» she said, with gravity, and he grinned at her, pocketing the laser. The knife, however, stayed where it was.
«What else would you expect? You brought me up.»
This was getting ridiculous.
«Look, stop already. It’s very entertaining, and the Toclafane is a lovely touch, but we both know that you are not my child. Trust me, I’d recognise you if you were, no matter your face.»
Stepping back, he frowned.
«Oh I’m not from this universe, I thought you’d worked that out.»
She rolled her eyes. He was impossibly stubborn, and she felt a keen urge to give him a slap. (Whilst he was confused she could prick him with one of the hairpins… How had he guessed they were poison tipped?) But maybe not yet, let him lower his guard first.
«Well goodness gracious me, what a marvellously clever chap you are.» (Too much sarcasm? No, that wasn’t possible.) «How did you end up here? Trying to find Gallifrey and getting lost?»
It was his turn to look surprised.
«Gallifrey? Gallifrey is long gone. Burnt up and dead.»
«Oh but it’s not, you know,» she sing-songed. «I know where it is…»
And then - he laughed. In her face!
«Even if that were true - and kudos for the double-lie, that’s impressive - why would I want to find Gallifrey? I’m planning to rule the universe, I really don’t want a bunch of stuffy old idiots in stupid collars thinking they can tell me what to do. The Doctor is bad enough - did you see that fez of his that he used to wear?»
For a moment she was actually speechless.
Then…
«You want to rule the universe?»
All of a sudden she found herself hoping that his fanciful stories were true, and in his smile - shimmering with mischief - she saw something that sparked recognition.
«Finally got your attention, did I?» he said smugly, and her eyes narrowed.
This could become interesting…
~
«OK, Harvey, at ease. Actually - pop off and put the kettle on, would you?»
And just like that the nasty threatening thing was gone!
How exactly a Toclafane would ‘put the kettle on’ was a bit of a conundrum to be sure, but she wasn’t bothered, as long as the bauble was otherwise occupied.
She smiled slowly, stepping up to him, and he tilted his head, a little puzzled. (Yes he might be interesting, but hey - she was bananas!)
And then - she was behind him, a hairpin at his throat.
«It’s a shame to kill you, you’re obviously a clever lad, but I shall have to come to terms with the loss. Go on now - say something nice?»
Thankfully he didn’t struggle (it’d just make her hand slip, and she was curious to see what he might say…) - but when he spoke, she was genuinely thrown.
«I have a pet Dalek?»
Frowning, she studied his calm profile.
«Excuse me?»
«Well *I* think it’s a nice thing. And I know you’ve worked with Daleks in the past…»
Gritting her teeth, she held the pin as still as she could. Kids these days.
«Say. Something. Nice.»
He sighed.
«Oh fine. Activate holding cell!»
And before she knew what was happening the whole world turned white.
Part 2
Post has been cloned from dreamwidth. Comments welcome everywhere.