Doctor Who - "A Different Fate" Chapter 1
Title: A Different Fate
Chapter: What Am I Going To Do?
Beta: jhumor
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: FRT (PG-13)
Character(s): Kate Howard (OFC), Melody Pond, Madame Kovarian, and a surprise appearance
Warning: Major AU
Spoiler(s): Just for "A Good Man Goes to War" so far
Author's Notes: This was originally going to be used for oc_bigbang, but personal problems had made me drop out. But I am going to be working on this story and will try to post as often as I can. This story is going to be shorter than originally intended, but I may turn it into a series if people like it.
A/N 2: There is also a slight Thor (2011 film) mention in this chapter. And if you want to picture Kate, I casted actress Olivia Wilde in that part.
Summary: Kate Howard was just a young woman trying to get through life. Who knew that she was going to be kidnapped by people from the future and forced to raise a baby. Will she be able to ever find a way to escape along with the baby? And what will she do if she does?
"lala" = thoughts
"lala"= phone/comm discussion
***
“I hate them,” thought Katherine Howard as she wandered down the street of New York City. She just got off the phone with her father, who was once again threatening to take her out of the will if she did not come home. Kate just blew him off. “I am twenty-seven years old, for goodness sake. I think that I can take care of myself,” she thought. But her father was always the controlling one, more so now since her mother died. He always thought that she should do things his way; but Kate was the rebellious one, always pushing the limits. Her brothers were a different story - they wanted to stay in his good graces so they would be able to get a piece of the inheritance. “They can keep it,” she thought.
Hearing her phone go off again, she mumbled, “It better not be him again.” She looked down at the caller ID and saw that it was Jane Foster. “What now?” she thought as she flipped the phone open.
Before she could even say anything, she heard an excited voice say, “Kate? Are you there?”
“Who else would it be? Your mother?” she sarcastically retorted.
“Give me a break,” replied Jane. “Why do you have to be that way?”
“Because it’s fun?”
“You are pathetic. Anyway, I think I figured it out!”
Kate sighed. It had to figure. “About that wormhole thing?” she asked.
“The Einstein-Rosen Bridge, yes.”
“The wormhole thing.”
She smiled as she heard the exasperated sigh. “Quit it. Anyway, I think I may have found a way to open it.”
“Oh, Jane.”
“Listen. If I can work the calculations out right, I should be able to build a device that would make an artificial wormhole.”
“That’s going to take a lot of money and equipment,” said Kate.
“It’s taken care of,” replied Jane.
“More than likely by Nick Fury,” thought Kate. She heard about what happened in New Mexico; and she had more than one run-in with the enigmatic director of SHIELD that she knew how he operated. “So, if you get it working - and that is a BIG if -what’s next?” she asked.
There was a pause. “I haven’t thought that far yet,” replied the scientist.
“Typical.”
“It’s going to work.”
“Sure, Jane, and I’m the queen of England,” retorted Kate as she walked down the sidewalk.
“It will work,” insisted Jane.
Kate sighed again. Ever since the incident in Puente Antiguo, her friend had become obsessed with finding that Einstein-Rosen bridge, or whatever it was called. And Kate had no idea why. “Why is finding it so important to you?” she asked.
There was another pause before Jane replied, “I can’t tell you.”
“Because of SHIELD?”
“Not just that.”
“Damn it, Jane!” she roared. “I can’t help you if you will not tell me what is going on!” Before Jane could respond, Kate added, “Call me when you want to tell me.” She then hung up the phone.
She continued to walk along until she heard something. “Is that someone crying?” she wondered as she turned into an alleyway. The farther down she went, the louder the noise became until she came upon a basket. And what was in it shocked her.
It was a baby, no more than six months old. With a mess of dark red hair and dark brown eyes, the poor thing was screaming its lungs out. “Hey there,” Kate cooed as she knelt next to the basket. “Who left you here?”
Suddenly, she felt something hit her and then her body went numb. As she began to lose consciousness, she swore that she saw a woman with an eye patch standing over her.
***
As she slowly began to open her eyes, Kate noticed that she was in a white room. Medical equipment was all about as well as a number of computer screens lining the walls. “Ah, our guest has finally woken,” came a sinister female voice.
Kate immediately sat up to see a lady with short, slick dark hair and had an eye patch over her right eye. “Who are you?” she demanded.
“Madame Kovarian,” answered the woman. “Welcome to the Gamma Forests. In the 52nd Century,” she added with a horrible smile.
Kate looked at her confused. “Hold on a second,” she said. “What did you just say?”
“Oh, you heard me,” said Kovarian. “But you don’t need to know a whole lot about it for what we have in mind for you.”
Before Kate could respond, a small cry filled the air. She turned her head toward the noise and saw a makeshift crib in the corner. She got up and went over to it. It was the baby from the alley who, as she can finally see as a girl, was still crying. Picking her up, she rocked her a bit, which caused her to settle down a bit. “You do have the touch,” Kovarian commented.
Kate returned her attention back to the woman and said, “You never did tell me what you wanted from me.”
“What you are doing now,” the woman answered. Kate looked down at the baby. “That child has not responded to anyone or anything.”
“Where is her mother?”
“She can never return to her mother. She is too important.”
Kate was confused. “Is her mother dead?” she wondered. Not wanting to ask, she instead inquired, “What does this have to do with me?”
“Because you have the touch.”
“I don’t follow.”
Kovarian looked at her for a moment before that malicious smile returned to her face. “You have no idea, do you?” she asked.
Kate gave her a bewildered look. “Would I be asking?”
The older woman laughed. “You will find out soon enough. We seemed to have captured you in the early part of your time stream,” she replied. As she walked to the door, she added, “You are to remain here to care to the infant. You will not be allowed to leave and may only go out onto the courtyard with guards.” She opened the door and Kate saw the guards waiting outside. “Escort Miss Howard to her quarters.”
As the guards came toward her, she asked, “Are you going to tell me her name?”
But her question went unanswered. Kate held the child close to her as she walked with the guards. When they stopped at a door, one guard opened it and shoved her inside. However, before the door closed, she heard a male voice say in her ear, “Her name is Melody.” Then the door closed.
Looking down at the infant, Kate said, “Well, Melody, look at the pickle we find ourselves in.” The baby gurgled happily, which caused her to chuckle. “So it begins,” she thought.
***
A Month Later
She was now sick of seeing the same room. The last two days have been quite boring for Kate. Taking care of a baby was no picnic, but having barely enough supplies to properly care for her was not helping any. She made it work, though. Melody appeared to be happy, despite the living conditions. She just found out that she could crawl; so Kate spent most of the time chasing after “speed baby”. “Shoot, Melody,” she said after she caught her one time, “I do not want to even imagine how fast you will be when you figure out how to walk.” The baby gurgled happily, which caused Kate to laugh.
The guards were not even that helpful. All they did was drop off her food and sneer at her. “Well, not all of them,” she thought. There was one guard in particular who was…intriguing to say the least. He introduced himself as Jake Hart and he mostly brought her what supplies they were willing to give her. He would ask how Melody was doing as well as flirt with her, though she gently turned him down. However, he eventually became a friend, especially when Kovarian came to take Melody for “medical exams”.
At first, she did not take much thought to it. She figured it was just check-ups to make sure that she was doing well. But this last time changed that. Kate stared in horror as she saw that the baby had lacerations all over her body. “What did you do to her?!” she demanded as she took Melody from a guard.
“A test,” was all that Kovarian would say.
Kate glared at her. “You don’t do this to a baby!” she fumed.
“That,” said the older woman as she pointed at Melody, “is an abomination. However, she will turn into a useful weapon.”
“A weapon? Against who?”
“The most dangerous man to ever live.” With that, the woman turned and left the room, followed by all the guards except for Jake.
After the door closed, he went over to Kate, who was trying her best not to cry as she checked to see the extent of her injuries. “Is she going to be alright?” he asked softly.
“I think so,” she replied. “Luckily, the cuts are not too deep. All I need to do is to clean and bandage them.” Looking up at Jake, she decided to ask, “Do you know who she was talking about?”
He nodded. “The most wonderful man in the universe,” he replied. He then leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “You only have to hold on for a bit longer. He is coming to rescue you.” He then turned and left, leaving a confused Kate in his wake.
***
A week later
Kate had no idea how much longer she was going to be able to last. Every time Melody came back to her, her injuries were becoming worse and worse. “Oh, Melody,” she cooed as she cradled the baby close to her. “I wish I could get you out of here,” she thought. The infant did not deserve to be treated like some guinea pig.
Melody smiled up at her, causing her to smile back. The little one had no real idea what was going on here. She was just living her life the only way she knew how. But what would she think of all of this when she got older? Kate did not even want to imagine it.
Suddenly, guards came rushing in. “Bring the child,” one ordered. Another guard grabbed her arm and began to drag her out of the room.
Struggling to keep a hold on Melody, she demanded, “What in the world is going on? Where are you taking us?”
“Shut up,” one replied. Gunshots then filled the air as her escort ducked for cover. One dragged her with him as Kate held Melody close to her, using herself as a shield to keep the baby alive. After what seemed like forever, the shooting stopped. She proceeded to look up to see that the man next to her was dead.
Hearing footsteps, she stayed still, Melody still close to her chest. So engrossed she was in staying still that she failed to hear that the footsteps stopped. “You know, you can open your eyes now,” came a familiar male voice.
She looked up to see that it was Jake. “Jake?” she wondered.
Reaching out a hand to help her up, he replied, “Real name is Captain Jack Harkness. How about we get out of here?” He then grabbed her by the arm and led her out of the place as the sirens continued to blare.
***
Now on to Chapter 2.