The Doctor and Jessie find themselves on the wrong planet with the wrong person at the wrong time, Clara and the Maximoffs are joined by two people for a Kasterbel hunt, and they find themselves in the one place no one wants to be. Also, the Twelfth Doctor wins the award for best entrance in Doctor Who ever.

Enjoy "The Magician's Apprentice!"

***

Then

"Child in trouble!"

Jessie's head poked up over the bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries she was eating, and she hastily swallowed her bite, putting her bowl down. "What?" she raced to the console.

"Child in trouble!" the Doctor repeated, messing with the levers. "I was trying to find that bookshop you mentioned and somehow landed us in the middle of a warzone on a planet. I was going to head off, but this boy is calling for help."

Jessie peered at the image on the scanner, and she shook her head. "We're not leaving him."

"'Course we're not," the Doctor snorted. "Come on."

Jessie followed him out the door, and she could hear the child's cries through the smoke. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and turned the diode on, then tossed it through the air. He heard it clatter on the ground, then shouted, "Your chances of survival are about one in a thousand! So here's what you do. You forget the thousand, and you concentrate on the one. Pick it up!" Jessie squinted, able to see the boy through the smoke, looking at the sonic on the ground dubiously. "I said, pick it up!" The boy finally did, and Jessie could finally see what was sticking up out of the ground: hands. "We're straight ahead of you, about fifty feet. Can you see us?" Jessie made a sweeping motion with her hand, and the smoke billowed out of the way, giving them a much clearer path. The boy nodded in agreement as the Doctor crouched down. "The device in your hand is creating an acoustic corridor so that we can talk," the Doctor explained. "Do you understand?"

"Who are you?" the boy rasped.

"Just passer-bys," Jessie smiled. "We were looking for a bookshop, actually."

"I don't think we're doing very well," the Doctor quipped. "How do you think?"

"This isn't a bookshop," the boy said.

"No, this is a war," the Doctor wrinkled his nose. "A very old one, going by the mix of technology. Which war is this? I get them all muddled up."

The boy gulped. "It's just the war."

"Where are we?" Jessie looked around. "I don't recognize this planet. What is it?"

The boy frowned. "I don't understand."

"Well, neither do I," the Doctor shrugged. "I try never to understand. It's called an open mind. Now, you have got to make a choice."

"A choice?" he parroted.

"Yes," the Doctor nodded. "You have got to decide that you're going to live. Survival is just a choice. Choose it now."

The boy looked down at the hands fearfully. "If I move, they'll get me!"

"I told you," the Doctor leaned forward. "You have one chance in a thousand, but one is all you ever need."

"Trust us, we've had that one," Jessie smiled encouragingly. "Why don't you tell us your name? Who's the boy who isn't going to die today?"

The boy swallowed. "Davros," he answered. "My name is Davros." The Doctor balked, and Jessie could only stare in shock and horror at the boy who would one day become the creator of one of the most deadly, dangerous, and destructive races in the galaxy. "Hello?" the boy called as the Doctor turned to her when she started to sway unsteadily. "Are you still there? Please, you've got to help me! You said I could survive! You said you'd help me! Help me!"

***

Ohila watched with narrowed eyes as a robed figure slithered over the rocks, her Sisterhood surrounding him with torches. "Welcome, Colony Sarff," she said. "We are the Sisterhood of Karn. If you do not leave our world immediately, we will take your skin."

Sarff hissed in annoyance. "Where are the Doctor and the Bad Wolf?"

"Where they always are," Ohila shrugged. "Right behind you, and one step ahead. Tread carefully when you seek the Time Lords, Colony Sarff, or they will be the last thing you find."

Sarff narrowed his eyes. "Davros, creator of the Daleks, Dark Lord of Skaro."

"What of him?" Ohila scoffed.

"Davros is dying."

"Davros is ancient. He should have been dust centuries ago."

"He has a message for the Time Lords."

"Then you will give it to me." The creature tried writhing about, and Ohila narrowed her eyes. "Your powers mean nothing here. Give me the message and leave."

Sarff narrowed his eyes, then grinned evilly. "Tell the Time Lords . . . Davros knows. Davros remembers. Tell them they must face Davros one last time."

Ohila stared after Sarff as he slithered out of sight. When he was gone, she turned, eyes wide. "Doctor?" she asked. "Bad Wolf? What have you done?"

The Doctor, hidden behind a boulder with Jessie, her head buried in his neck, didn't say a word.

***

Now

The dark-skinned boy spat his chewing gum into the trash can offered to him, and he looked meekly up at his teacher. "Will I get it back after school?"

The children in the room made various noises of disgust. Clara Oswald, on the other hand, looked down into her can at the other wads of gum, then raised an eyebrow. "How will you know which one's yours?" she countered. The boy grinned as the class laughed, and Clara patted his desk. "Fine, then," she said. "Right, now, where was I?" She put the can down. "Jane Austen. Amazing writer, brilliant comic observer, and strictly among ourselves, a phenomenal kisser." At least there were no hard feelings between her and Pietro about that. Jane Austen was basically her hall pass.

Before she could continue, she stopped by her window and stared at something in the sky. "Miss?" her students asked. "Miss?

Clara walked back to her desk and grabbed a marker. When she walked back to her window, she drew a circle around the object she saw frozen in the sky. "Everybody, turn on their phones," she ordered. "News websites and Twitter."

"Twitter?" one of the boys asked incredulously as she opened the window.

She leaned out and looked at the object in the sky, then ducked back inside and shut her window again. Sure enough, the object was still in the circle. "#ThePlanesHaveStopped," she pointed.

As her kids scrambled to get pictures and sent the tweet out, one of the office workers burst in. "Ms. Oswald!" he called. "A call at the office!"

"Yeah," Clara grimaced, grabbing her jacket. "That would probably be UNIT."

"They're telling me you're needed!" he stammered. "They were going to put me through to the Prime Minister!"

"Mr. Dunlop," Clara smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I have to take the rest of the day off owing to a, er . . . "

"Personal crisis?" a voice guessed dryly.

"Yeah," Clara smiled appreciatively at Rose, who winked at her. "Ta!"

"Go save the world," Rose whispered conspiratorially.

"Shut it, you!" Clara laughed, Rose waving after her as she ran through the school.

***

"Yes, we're coming," a familiar voice said as Clara ran through the parking lot. "No, don't send a helicopter! Have you looked in the sky recently?"

"UNIT?" Clara panted, catching the helmet tossed to her.

"UNIT," Pietro Maximoff nodded, revving the motorcycle he was on as Clara climbed on behind him. "Ready?"

"Ready," Clara nodded.

Pietro peeled out of the parking lot and through the streets, Clara looking around at the shadows of planes on the ground.

***

They pulled into the Tower of London just as another motorcycle arrived, this one wearing black and red in comparison to Pietro's blue and silver. "Twitter?" Wanda Maximoff scoffed as she pulled her helmet off, jogging to catch up to her brother and his girlfriend as they headed inside. "Really?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Clara snorted.

"A little too well," another familiar voice said, and Clara looked over to see Tony Stark step out of his Iron Man suit. "Mind if I join you?"

"You were in London?" Clara asked in surprise.

"Oh, Secretary Ross hasn't been very pleased by Kate's limited contact about whether UNIT is following through with the Accords," Tony rolled his eyes. "Apparently I'm not the only one who enjoys putting him on hold."

"You do that?" Wanda's eyebrows shot up incredulously.

Tony snorted. "Wanda, it's me."

"The planes aren't responding," they heard Kate say as they entered headquarters. "No, none of them. It's radio silence." She saw them approaching, then cleared her throat as she spoke into her phone. "I've got to go. Tell the President I'll call him back." She hung up and walked over anxiously. "They're not answering their phones. Have you tried?"

"We don't know enough yet," Clara shook her head. "They don't appreciate gossip."

"Gossip?" Kate repeated.

"How many planes are in the air?" Tony asked, looking at the images Kate had up.

"4,165 aircraft currently airborne," the dark-skinned woman looking it over answered.

"That's a lot of passengers," Pietro frowned.

"That's a lot of fuel," Tony added.

Kate blanched. "Oh, dear God . . . yes, it is!"

"OK, so we have 4,000 flying bombs," Tony rubbed a hand over his face. "What could you lob them at?"

"Ah, well," the dark-skinned woman thought. "439 nuclear power stations currently active?"

Tony grimaced. "Great."

"What else?" Kate asked worriedly.

"Fault lines?" Clara guessed. "Earthquake, tsunami?"

"Running simulations now," the woman turned away.

"So this is an attack?" Kate asked.

"What kind of an attack advertises?" Clara wondered. "Why show somebody what you can do? Why not just do it?"

"Do you actually know what happened to the planes?" Wanda asked. "Are the pilots saying anything?"

"We can't contact them," Kate shook her head.

"The planes haven't stopped," the other woman said. "They're actually frozen, like frozen in time. Pardon my sci-fi, but this is beyond any human technology."

"OK, so we need the Time Lords," Kate nodded.

"We can't just phone them and bleat," Clara shook her head. "The Doctor'll go Scottish."

"And who knows how long it's been for them," Tony shrugged. "But knowing him, he'll be in overprotective blood bonded mode."

"Isn't he always in that mode, though?" Pietro tilted his head.

Tony snorted. "Fine. Overprotective blood bonded, father-to-be mode."

"That, too," Clara pointed at him. "What have we got? What do we know?"

"It's not an attack or an invasion," Wanda paced. "That doesn't come with a fair warning."

"Well, Loki sort of did," Tony scratched his goatee. "He wanted our attention."

"Whoever this has, they have it," Pietro gestured to the map of the frozen planes. "They basically have a gun to our heads."

"We've got a message!" a technician nearby shouted. "The Doctor channel!"

Tony blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"He never uses it," Kate breathed, hurrying over. "I doubt he remembers it even exists!"

"Then who is it?" Clara walked over.

"Decrypting," the technician said. "We're getting text through, I think."

Wanda wrinkled her nose. "I don't think the Doctor's a texter."

"J can, though," Tony pointed out.

The text that appeared read You so fine. "What the hell?" Tony asked in disbelief.

"That isn't all, Boss," FRIDAY's voice came from a bracelet around his wrist.

"What's the rest of it?" Kate asked.

"Coming," the technician typed faster.

All four Avengers narrowed their eyes when the rest of the text arrived.

You blow my mind. Hey Miss, you so fine, you so fine, you blow my mind! Hey Missy!!!

The text dissolved, and the woman herself appeared on the screen. "Today, I shall be talking to you out of – " Wanda screeched and jump backwards when Missy's head suddenly bulged out of the screen as if in 3D. "The square window!"

"What the hell was that?" Kate demanded. "How did she do that?"

"Dunno," the woman gulped, hurrying to her computer. "How did she do that?"

"Oh, great," Kate huffed. "Thanks."

"OK, cutting to the chase," Missy said, back to normal. "Not dead, back, big surprise, never mind. I'm in a lovely little square in one of your, oh, I don't know, hot countries. There's a light breeze coming from the east, this coffee is a buzz-monster in my brain, and I'm going to need eight snipers."

Kate blinked. "Eight what?"

"Three for each heart, and two for my brain stem," Missy answered. "You'll have to switch me off fast, before I can regenerate."

"Did she just volunteer to get shot at by snipers?" Pietro whispered in disbelief.

"She's a madwoman," Tony shrugged.

"Now, how fast can you get here?" Missy asked. "Oh! I'll need to arrange you a flight corridor!"

Kate shook her head as Missy licked her fingers and tapped on a device she pulled out. "Why do you need snipers?"

Missy raised an eyebrow. "Because it's the only way they'll feel safe enough to talk to me. Shall we say . . . four o'clock?"

***

When the snipers confirmed Missy's position, Tony landed in the plaza, glaring at the woman through his armor. "Oh, please, Mr. Stark," Missy purred, gesturing to him. "There's no need for that."

"What, when you inevitably try and kill people?" Tony countered, though he stepped out of the suit as black cars peeled into the street.

Missy pouted. "Must you spoil the mood?"

"There was a mood?"

Clara, Pietro, and Wanda stepped out of the cars, and Missy gestured to the chairs around the table. "Go on, then." When they had all sat, Missy looked at Clara. "How's your teacher friend? Still tremendously dead, I expect."

"Still dead, yeah," Clara narrowed her eyes. "How come you're still alive?"

"Death is for other people, dear," Missy sighed. "Would you like to sit in the shade? I know how you humans burn." She tapped her controller, and Tony looked up as one of the jets moved to hover over them. "Better?" Missy asked, putting it away. At their blank looks, she frowned. "I expect you've tried to contact them by now. Well, you should know, I can't find them, either. No one can."

"That happens," Wanda shook her head.

Missy shook her head and pulled out an etched disc from her coat, placing it on the table. "Not like this."

Pietro, Clara, and Wanda looked at it in confusion. Tony, on the other hand, stiffened. "What is that?" he asked.

"It's a confession dial," Missy answered.

"A what dial?" Pietro frowned.

"In your terms, a will," Missy answered. "The Last Will and Testament of the Time Lord known as the Doctor, to be delivered, according to ancient tradition, to his closest friend, on the eve of his final day." Tony had a disturbed look on his face while Pietro and Wanda exchanged worried looks. Clara peered at the dial closely before finally reaching out for it. Gold lightning shocked her, and she yanked her hand back with a yelp. "Ah, ah!" Missy glared at her. "What are you doing?"

"You said," Clara sputtered. "I thought – !"

"No, no, no, no, no," Missy shook her head. "It was delivered to me."

"You?" Clara blinked.

"Well, of course it was sent to me!" Missy snorted. "What have you got to do with it? I'm his friend! You're just . . . "

"I'm just what?" Clara challenged.

Missy sighed, then nodded past them. "See that couple over there?" They turned to see an older couple walk by, a fluffy white dog barking on a leash. "You're the puppy."

"OK," Tony leaned forward. "You got the Doctor's confession dial. Since when do you care about him?"

"Since always!" Missy scoffed. "Since the Cloister Wars. Since the night he stole the moon and the President's wife. Since he was a little girl." She smirked. "One of those was a lie, can you guess which one?"

Tony snorted. "You keep trying to kill him."

"Oh?" Missy tilted her head. "Is that why you're wondering why I've got it? I know you haven't tried to kill the Bad Wolf . . . well, maybe you did during your little civil war. Who knows? I wasn't inside your head then."

"Wait, what?" Pietro straightened.

"That makes sense," Wanda frowned, eyeing the dial. "Why wouldn't this have gone to her?"

Missy's lips curled in a smirk. "What part of 'blood bond' do you humans not understand? The Doctor dies, the Bad Wolf dies. Why receive a confession dial if you're going to die with your husband? I did wonder where the other half of the pair went. I definitely killed her, it's no surprise it didn't come to me. Go on, Tony."

Tony swallowed hard, then reached inside his suit jacket and gingerly pulled out another disc like the one already on the table, this one white gold and etched with a wolf. "What?" Pietro's eyes bugged wide.

"That does surprise me," Missy said gleefully. "I suppose it shouldn't, though."

"Why me?" Tony frowned, shaking his head. "I would've thought one of you two!" he pointed at the Maximoffs.

"Yeah, kind of," Pietro agreed.

"Oh, what have they done?" Missy snorted, rolling her eyes. "Who here at this table knew the Bad Wolf before she was exactly that? Who here accepted her, was ready to tear the Doctor apart for her after she died, and was ready to offer her a home if she needed one when the Doctor refused to see who she was?" Tony was silent. "See?"

"OK, yes, J and I are friends," Tony folded his arms. "You and the Doctor, though? Trying to kill each other?"

"Even though we've been at it for ages?" Missy grinned. "Our friendship is older than your civilization and infinitely more complex."

Clara snorted. "So the Doctor is your bezzy mate and we're supposed to believe that you've turned good?"

Missy did a double take. "Good?" she repeated as if offended, then she lifted her controller and fired at one of the suited men guarding the area.

Tony leapt out of his seat when the man disintegrated. "Man down!" one of the soldiers shouted as Clara ran to check the remains. "Man down!"

"By the ring on his finger, he was married, and I," Missy tilted her head. "I think I detected some baby leakage on his jacket, so he had a family." Her gaze hardened. "No, I've not turned good."

As another man disintegrated, Tony summoned his armor to him. The only thing that stopped him from firing on Missy was Kate shouting through the comms. "Nobody fire!"

"Ooo, wow, I'm on a roll," Missy smiled, pleased. "Thanks for bringing spares!"

"Stop it!" Clara shouted, glaring at Missy. "Just stop it! Don't shoot anybody else!"

"Oi, you!" Missy pointed. "Sweaty one! On your knees! Let's have a goodbye selfie for your kids!" Pietro zipped away, and suddenly, all of the suits in the square were gone. "Oh, what?" Missy pouted. "Fine!" She aimed for one of the snipers. "I'll kill everyone else!"

"Start with me!" Clara challenged. "Then the rest of us. You came for our help!"

"Because the Doctor is in danger!" Missy snapped.

"And so is J," Tony said. "I believe you on that. What I don't believe is that you care. So if you do, you're gonna have to make us believe you."

"How?" Missy frowned.

"Release the planes."

Missy snorted loudly. "The planes are keeping me alive. I mean, there's – " She counted around the square. "Eight naughty little snipers ready to kill me."

"Yeah," Clara nodded, holding up her hand. "On our command. Your best friend is in danger. Show me you care. Make us believe."

Missy frowned, then pressed her controller. The shadow of the plane disappeared, and she sighed, kicking her feet up on an abandoned chair. "It's only a basic Time Stop. Parlor trick, couldn't have done anything with them anyway."

Tony stepped out of the suit again, walking up to the dials. "One tiny problem," he said. "If these are because of your ancient traditions, then the confessions will be in Gallifreyan."

"Well, mine will be," Missy shrugged. "Considering your human mind, I don't know what it'll be for you."

Tony tapped the tabletop. "Do you know what the Doctor's says?"

"His what?"

"His confession, what does it say?"

"It will only open when he's dead."

Tony's eyes hardened. "Then I better not have to read J's just like you better not have to read his."

Missy nodded in agreement. "Question," she posed as the others sat down again. "If the Time Lords had one last night to live, if they're certain they're facing the end of their lives, where, in all of space and time, would they go?"

"Here," Pietro answered instantly.

"Well, yes, Earth, obviously!" Missy rolled her eyes as Tony pulled out a tablet and fired it up. "But where? When?"

Tony tapped a key on his tablet, and the comms came through. "The algorithm generates probabilities based on crisis points, anomalies, anachronisms, keywords," the woman said.

"Such as?" Kate asked.

"Blue box, Doctor. There we go. San Martino, Troy, multiples for New York, and three possible versions of Atlantis. It's easier than you'd think. The Doctor makes a lot of noise, and he loves to make an entrance."

"That sounds like the Doctor," Tony muttered, making Clara snicker.

"But which one is the one?" Kate asked. "Where are they now?"

Wanda frowned thoughtfully. "How is a Time Lord supposed to die?" she asked Missy.

"Meditation," she answered, looking at Tony's screen for matches. "Repentance and acceptance. Contemplation of the absolute."

Pietro snorted loudly. "The Bad Wolf? Maybe."

"Yeah, the Doctor, not so much," Tony agreed.

"Change the algorithm," Clara said. "Eliminate the crisis points. Where are they making the most noise, but there isn't a crisis?"

"In other words, find a party," Tony ordered.

Dots disappeared all over the map, until one remained blinking in Essex. "There he is," Clara grinned. "'Do not go gentle into that good night.'"

Missy giggled. "You go, girl!"

Something snapped down onto Tony's wrist, and he looked down, startled, to see them also on the companions', too. "What the – ?"

The chair vanished under him, and he fell flat on the ground onto stone. Missy's laughter was maniacal, and somehow heard over the cheers of a crowd nearby. "Mummy, do it again!" Tony grimaced and rolled onto his back, noting the night sky and the burning torches. "Vortex Manipulators," Missy explained as Clara looked at the leather device on her wrist. "Yours are slaved to mine. Cheap and nasty time travel!"

"Is that what it feels like?" Pietro grimaced, climbing to his feet, holding onto the stone. "God."

"You probably want to throw up, don't you?" Missy asked, then gestured over the ramparts. "Pick a local." The four peered out of the ramparts to see a crowd of peasants and residents cheering in the stands, a man with an axe in the courtyard. "According to you, this is where the Time Lords are."

"OK, how do we find them?" Clara asked. "How do we know what we're looking for?"

"Anachronisms," Missy answered. "The slightest, tiniest – "

She was interrupted by an instrument that definitely did not belong in their time period, and Tony slowly turned to look down into the courtyard, eyes widening. "Is that an electric guitar?"

"Anachronisms," Missy finished in annoyance.

Through the portcullis came a massive army tank. The Doctor stood atop it in shades, checkered trousers and a black frock coat, different than his usual attire. He was also the one playing the electric guitar riffs, which the crowd roared in approval at. As the man with the axe lowered it in despair, Tony couldn't help but cackle. "Found one!"

The Doctor finished his riff and bowed to the Lord and Lady in the stand before cutting off his strings. The man with the axe finally spoke up. "Dude, what is that?"

"You said you wanted an axe fight!" the Doctor said innocently, looking around for applause. All he got were a few chuckles, though Tony was covering his mouth with a hand. "Oh, come on!" the Doctor jumped off the tank. "In a few hundred years, that'll be really funny! It's a slow burner!"

"A musical instrument is not an axe!" the man protested.

"Yes," the Doctor grinned widely. "And a daffodil is not a broadsword, but my wife still won the last round!"

He dramatically bowed and offered his hand as the crowd went wild, and the crew finally saw Jessie as she stepped through the portcullis, having traded her suit jacket for a black woven poncho, her hair kept out of her face by a braid crown. She blushed furiously in the torchlight, but she took the Doctor's hand and curtsied back. "Why are they so cute?" Wanda couldn't help but ask.

Missy snorted. "You should've seen them when I first saw them."

"What do you think of our tank?" the Doctor patted the machine. "Don't worry, it isn't loaded."

"I don't like it," the man scowled.

"No, neither do I," the Doctor agreed. "I bought it for our fish."

"Your fish?"

"I may have ordered online!" Tony closed his eyes and gently banged his head against the ramparts while Pietro stifled laughter. "Oh, come on!" the Doctor huffed. "Fish? Tank? Honestly, this stuff will be hilarious in a very few hundred years. Do please stick around."

"What's the matter with him?" Clara asked Missy. "He's never like this!"

"Oh, you really are new, aren't you?" Missy rolled her eyes.

Wanda blinked, seeing the Doctor pause and lower his shades, his face directed at them. "Wait, did he just hear that?"

"I think he may have," Pietro frowned.

The Doctor just grinned and played a new riff on his guitar, and Tony snorted. "'Pretty Woman,'" he identified, making Clara, Wanda, and Missy blink. "So either he saw you or he's serenading J."

"Probably the latter," Pietro nodded. "Not that you two aren't pretty," he quickly added to Clara and Wanda.

"Oh, thanks," Missy huffed.

"Now, you lot!" the Doctor turned to the crowd. "We have been here all day, and it's been a great day!"

"It's been three weeks, my love," Jessie giggled.

"Three weeks?" the Doctor did a double take, then sighed. "It must be nearly bedtime." She patted his shoulder, and he turned back around again. "Well, we've partied!" The crowd cheered in agreement. "Yes! I helped you dig a well, with a first-class, child-friendly visitor's center! Jess has given you some top-notch maths tuition in a fun but relevant way, and I have also introduced the word 'dude' several centuries early! Let me hear you!"

"Dude!" the crowd roared.

"Are you a Renaissance?" the Doctor cued.

"Dude!"

"Are you a Medieval?"

"Dude!"

He pointed to a nearby young man in armor. "I am a dragon-slaying?"

"Dude!"

"We are all the young?"

"Dudes!"

"I like it," the Doctor nodded in satisfaction, looking at Jessie. "Do you like it?"

"Only because it's you," Jessie said fondly.

"And that is one of the reasons I love you," he kissed the top of her head. "But we've got some sad news for you, dudes. Tonight, we're going to have to leave you." He nodded as the crowd shouted negatives in protest. "But before we do," he gestured to the entrance to the courtyard. "We'd like you to meet a couple of friends of ours."

Tony took his cue with a billionaire's grace, bowing gracefully as he stepped out into the courtyard. "You would take to this like a fish to water," Jessie giggled, walking over to him.

"Only for my closest friend, apparently," Tony quipped, giving her a hug as the Maximoffs and Clara came out behind him. "Good to see you, J."

"You, too, Tony."

"How did you know we were here?" Clara asked the Doctor as the Maximoffs hugged Jessie next. "Did you see us?"

"When do I not see you?" the Doctor tilted his head.

"What, our faces in all of that crowd?"

"There was a crowd, too?"

"Wow," Clara giggled. "We're doing charm as well, now, are we? Which one of us is dying?"

"Hopefully not you," Tony poked Jessie in the shoulder. "Or the little one."

"Well, that's the goal," Jessie scratched the back of her head.

"Yes, her, protect at all costs," the Doctor agreed, pointing at Jessie. "Which means protecting me, too. Also, why did she get one and not me?"

"Oh, we're doing hugging now, too?" Clara wondered, blinking rapidly as the Doctor squeezed her tightly. "I can't keep up."

"Well, you know what they say," the Doctor shrugged. "Hugging is a great way to hide your face."

"That's horrible," Tony wrinkled his nose.

"Yes, that's why my wonderful wife is the hugger. Keep up."

"OK, look," Clara shimmied out of the hug as Jessie blushed. "I guessed a party, but not like this!"

"Seriously, what is this?" Pietro looked around, eyeing the medieval crowd. "We knew you in your last regenerations, too, and this isn't you."

The Doctor snorted. "I spent all day yesterday in a bow tie, the day before in a long scarf. It's our party, and all of us is invited."

"He really did consider inviting our past selves," Jessie added. "Just so you know how literally he means that."

"Wouldn't they have forgotten what happened?" Wanda frowned.

"The point is they were almost invited."

The Doctor played another riff on the guitar, and everyone turned as Missy sauntered in like she owned the place. "What the hell are you up to, man?"

"It's the wicked stepmother!" the Doctor called. "Everyone hiss!"

If possible, Missy took her cue better than Tony, curtsying low and flourishing her handkerchief as the crowd hissed, the Doctor strumming a dissonant chord. When she stood up and replaced her handkerchief, she drew the Doctor's dial out. "Apparently, you think you're going to die tomorrow."

"Well, I've got some good news about that," the Doctor nodded.

"Oh, yeah?"

He grinned. "It's still today!"

"Oh, that's very good," Missy rolled her eyes.

"And apparently you think so, too," Tony pulled out Jessie's dial, raising an eyebrow.

Jessie sighed. "Well, you'd need the whole story for that."

Tony held out his arms. "We're in medieval Essex. I think I have a good few centuries."

The Doctor strummed a few chords down his guitar, and when he finished, the tune was replaced by choking from the other man in the courtyard. "Bors?" the Doctor frowned, placing his guitar down and running over. "Is it a marble again? Did you swallow one of the marbles I gave you? Don't swallow marbles!"

He reached under one of Bors' hands to see what he was choking on, and he suddenly flung away a striped snake. Clara squealed and jumped back, watching it slither away.

It went under the robes of Colony Sarff, who hissed in satisfaction. "Doctor," he greeted. "Bad Wolf. Your friends have led me to you. You will come."

The Doctor scowled, moving so he stood in front of Jessie. "Says you and whose army?"

Sarff smirked, then the segments of his face turned in different directions. Snakes emerged from under his robe, then the robe itself dropped, revealing Sarff was one large serpent with several small snakes. "What the hell?" Wanda's eyes bugged open wide.

"Nobody dies here!" the Doctor snapped, storming forward as the crowd ran in terror. "Not one person, not one of our friends. Do you understand?"

The giant serpent hissed, lowering its head so it was even with the Doctor's. "Davros, creator of the Daleks, Dark Lord of Skaro, is dying."

"So we hear," the Doctor nodded.

"He would speak with you again on the last night of his life."

"Then you will harm nobody in this place," the Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Not one person. Are we very, very clear?"

Sarff hissed, coiling back into humanoid form under his robe. "Are you so dangerous, little man?" he challenged.

Tony snorted loudly. "He doesn't get around much, does he?"

The Doctor grinned. "Tony's right. You want to know how dangerous I am? Davros sent you. You know how stupid you are, huh? You came!"

Sarff hissed threateningly, and Jessie coldly raised an eyebrow. "That's supposed to frighten us? A snake nest in a dress?"

"Are the snakes poisonous?" Pietro asked.

Jessie sighed. "Don't give the colony any ideas."

"Now," the Doctor returned to Jessie's side, folding his arms. "Explain, politely. Davros is my archenemy. Why would I want to talk to him?"

"No, wait, hang on a minute!" Missy protested. "Davros is your archenemy now?"

"He's talking!" Wanda glared at her.

Missy scoffed, offended. "I'll scratch his eye out!"

"Davros knows," Sarff declared, taking something out from under his robe and tossing it to the ground. "Davros remembers."

The Doctor eyed the object like it was an atomic bomb, but Jessie's face drained of color. As she swayed, her hand over her mouth, the Doctor wound his arm around her waist, tugging her against him supportively. As he did, Pietro crouched down, frowning in confusion. "That's your sonic screwdriver," he told the Doctor.

"Eh . . . " the Doctor held out. "It was."

"Was?" Clara parroted.

"I don't have a screwdriver anymore."

"Ooo," Missy tilted her head curiously. "Never seen that before. Doctor, the look on your face. What is that?"

"I see it in a mirror," Tony frowned. "What did you do to make you feel ashamed of yourself?"

"It's a long story," Jessie mumbled. She sighed and turned towards the Doctor. "We need to go."

"We?" the Doctor repeated sharply, turning his head, even though they were speaking telepathically. "No, no, no, Davros is my archenemy, not yours."

"We both left him on the battlefield that day," Jessie reminded him. "And he's asking for both of us."

The Doctor scowled. "I don't want you or our unborn child anywhere near that monster."

"Then I'll stay as far away from him as I can be," Jessie promised. "And if that fails, you'll protect us."

The Doctor sighed heavily, palming his face. "I hate this, Jezebel."

"I know, Kasterborous," she tilted his chin up. "But we're survivors. We always have been. That's not going to stop now."

The Doctor nodded in agreement, kissing her softly. He took her hand, then turned to Sarff. "Is your ship in orbit?" he asked out loud.

"It's a trap," Missy immediately said, stepping forward.

Sarff smirked in satisfaction. "Prepare yourself for teleport."

"Doctor, listen to me," Missy scowled. "I know traps. Traps are my flirting. This is a trap."

"Thank you, Missy, would you like to be called Captain Obvious now?" Jessie glared at her.

"We are prepared," the Doctor nodded.

"You sent me your confession dial!" Missy exploded. "You threw yourself a three-week party! You know what this is!"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded. "Goodbye."

Tony stared in shock, then turned to the closest companion: Wanda. "Are they usually like this on your adventures?" he asked as Sarff released two snakes to bind the Doctor's and Jessie's wrists behind their backs.

"No," Wanda shook her head in annoyance. "They're not."

"Great," Tony nodded. "And they're expecting to go alone? Nope. Not having it. I'm coming, too."

"What?" Jessie looked at him sharply.

"And us," Wanda nodded to herself and Pietro. "Us, too."

"And both of us," Clara nodded to Missy; for once, the evil Time Lady nodded in agreement and didn't argue. "Her and me."

"No!" the Doctor barked, even as the five lined up with them. "No, no, no, under no circumstances!" He frowned at Sarff when he writhed to and fro. "What are you doing now?"

"Voting," Sarff smirked. "We are a democracy . . . it is agreed."

"No!" Jessie protested as snakes shot out to bind the others' wrists, too."

"I forbid it!" the Doctor shouted. "No, no, no, no, no!"

Beams of light surrounded them and teleported them away, leaving Bors to emerge from hiding, his jaw open in shock.

***

"Davros," Tony said as he leaned back on the ship, getting as comfortable as he could with snakes tying his hands behind his back. "I think Cap mentioned that name once. I think it was when all of those planets were in the sky?"

"Yes, he would," the Doctor nodded. "Davros is the child of war, a war that wouldn't end. A thousand years of fighting, till nobody could remember why. So Davros, he created a new kind of warrior, one that wouldn't both with that question. A mutant in a tank that would never, ever stop, and they never did."

"The Daleks," Wanda whispered.

Pietro snorted. "I hate those things."

"That makes two of us," Jessie mumbled, head on the Doctor's shoulder.

"How scared must you be to seal every one of your own kind inside a tank?" the Doctor questioned. "Davros made the Daleks, but who made Davros?"

The ship shuddered, and Missy sighed, sitting up. "OK, great. Coming out of hyperspace."

They looked out of the windows past Sarff to see a spinning ship that looked similar to a chess pawn in front of them. "So that's where he ended up," the Doctor mused.

"What is that?" Clara frowned.

"I don't know," the Doctor shook his head. "A hospital?"

***

Jessie sighed in annoyance, closing her eyes as Missy continued to sing where they were being held waiting. The Doctor had taken to pacing, and Pietro was getting antsy. Wanda was glaring at Missy, Clara was trying to ignore her, and Tony was the one whose leg she was resting on. "Oh, what I wouldn't give for Idris right now."

"You doing OK?" Tony tilted his head, looking down at her in concern.

"Peachy," Jessie sighed. "Kind of wish my hands were bound in front of me and not behind, but hey, don't argue with the kidnapper."

Tony smirked. "I'd bet on you, though."

Jessie snickered. "Thanks for that confidence."

Tony considered her, watching her try and find a comfortable position. "Why me?" he finally asked.

"Why you what?"

"Why give me your confession dial?" he asked; he could see Pietro and Wanda try to appear disinterested. "There's Saleen, there's Martha, there's the Maximoffs. Hell, there's Rogers, Coulson's team. Why not one of them?"

Jessie hummed. "Lazarus."

Tony did a double take. "What about Lazarus?"

"Out of everyone you just mentioned, who saw me when I was at one of the lowest points of my life? Actually me, not just some blonde Aussie the Doctor had traveling with him as a replacement."

"Me and Bruce."

"And which of the two of you went out of your way to make sure I knew I would have some place to be if the Doctor decided I wasn't worth keeping around?"

Tony swallowed, remembering Missy's words. "Me."

"Missy has known the Doctor longer than I have," Jessie said. "She was around since the beginning of his life. They were best friends growing up. There's no one else who would have gotten his dial. I had to choose between Avengers, former companions, and had to choose who might know me best, might have best known the struggles I've gone through. Martha was a close pick, but you knew me before I was blonde and Australian. You helped me and Saleen when we first joined the Avengers. And importantly, you were willing to do what you could for me after I regenerated." She smiled up at him. "That's why I picked you."

Tony swallowed hard. "I don't think I'm worth that, Jessie."

She snorted. "Well, that's tough, because I think you are." Tony ducked his head bashfully, and Jessie finally looked at the Doctor. "How long have we been waiting?" she asked.

"Who knows?" the Doctor huffed. "It's always the way with hospitals."

"Bloody waiting," Pietro grumbled.

The doors hissed open, and Sarff glided in. "You will come," he told the Doctor and Jessie. Jessie nodded and rolled onto her knees, wincing as she managed to stand without using her hands. As Tony got up after her, Sarff hissed, glaring at him and the others. "You will stay."

While the companions glared, Missy shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Doctor," Clara walked forward, making him look at her. "You sent Missy your confession dial."

"Well, we've known each other a long time," the Doctor shrugged. "She's one of my own people."

"My point is, we saw her die on Earth, ages ago," Clara said. "And obviously, you knew that wasn't real. Or worse, hoped it wasn't. Either way, I think you've been lying."

The Doctor cringed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," she shook her head. "Make it up to me." The Doctor blinked, and she smirked. "There, see? Now you have to come back."

The Doctor smirked slightly, then turned to leave with Sarff. "Gravity," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"I know," Missy rolled her eyes.

The Doctor and Jessie left with Sarff, and Wanda frowned, watching Missy tap dance around. "Must you be this annoying?"

"Well, what else would I be?" Missy smirked. "Normal?"

"God forbid there's one normal person in our lives," Tony snorted.

Pietro frowned. "What did the Doctor mean about gravity?"

"Ah," Missy nodded, continuing to dance. "You know what's wrong with the gravity in here?"

Tony frowned, moving around experimentally. "Er . . . feels normal to me."

"Yes, it's perfect," Missy agreed. "But this is a space station, so the gravity should be artificial, all coppery-smelling round the edges, a tiny bit sexy." Her accent switched to American. "But this feels real, man!" Her accent switched back to Scottish. "Like a planet."

Tony frowned. "You know, the only way I can see you and the Doctor being friends is how you just explained that."

"I don't see it," Clara scoffed.

"Why not?" Missy tilted her head.

"You spend all your time fighting!"

Missy barked in laughter. "Exactly!" There was a snapping sound, then she flung the snake around her wrists onto the ground. Wanda scrambled backwards, only to frown when she realized it was dead. "You know what this airlock is?" Missy posed in the doorway. "It's pants."

"What do you mean?" Clara frowned.

"I mean that today might be the day!"

"What day?"

"The day I kill you."

She placed her hand over the round device on the wall, which lit up and hummed. "Are you opening it?!" Wanda's eyes widened.

"Yeah, 'course!" the woman grinned.

"We'll get sucked out!" Pietro protested.

"You and me together, off we go!" Missy cackled. "Let's make jam!"

***

The Doctor walked just in front of Jessie as Sarff led them into a separate room, a column surrounded by tubes in the center. "Doctor?" a wizened voice croaked. "Bad Wolf?" The Doctor led Jessie around the column, and the tubes raised, revealing the old, wrinkled form of the creature they had last seen when they were in brown, purple, and black. "Doctor," Davros greeted. "Bad Wolf."

"Davros," the Doctor nodded curtly.

Davros nodded slowly. "I approve . . . of your new face, Doctor. So much more like mine. Bad Wolf . . . as young as ever."

"Guess it agrees with me," Jessie said carefully.

Davros turned his head. "Colony Sarff, untie our guests' hands." Sarff glided behind them, and Jessie flinched when the snake around her hissed as it returned to the colony. "You may leave us." Jessie rubbed her wrists, watching Sarff leave before she turned her attention back to Davros. "You came, then."

"Clearly," the Doctor held out his hands.

"Did you suspect a trap?"

"I still do."

"Then why are you here? Did you miss our conversations?"

Davros flicked a switch, and Jessie tilted her head, listening to the voices of many Doctors speaking to Davros, and the current Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, yes, OK, you've made your point."

"Have I?" Davros asked.

The Fourth Doctor finished. "If someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you, and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?"

Jessie smiled faintly. "I'm getting River flashbacks."

"We get the point," the Doctor sighed.

"Do you know why you came, Doctor?" Davros asked. "You have a sense of duty. Of guilt, perhaps. And certainly of shame."

The Doctor smirked. "You flatter me."

"Pity. I intended to accuse. I believe that for the ultimate good of the universe, I was right to create the Daleks."

Jessie snorted. "As someone who's been on the opposite side of your Daleks, you are very wrong."

Davros chuckled. "This argument is between myself and your blood bonded, Bad Wolf. This is the argument we've had since we met."

"It ended in the Time War," the Doctor shook his head.

"It survived the Time War," Davros corrected. "But it will end tonight. That is why you are here."

An alarm sounded nearby, and Jessie frowned, looking around. "What's that for?"

Davros looked to the side. "It seems your friends have gone exploring."

***

Missy smirked at the companions as she stretched her arm out into space. "It's warm, isn't it?" She paused, looking out. "For deep space, anyway."

Wanda frowned, seeing Missy extend her leg. "What are you doing?"

"Treading softly," she answered.

She took one step, then another. "What?" Clara looked in disbelief as Missy continued walking as if nothing was wrong. "There's a floor?"

"No," Missy shook her head. "No, there's ground. This is the ground." Clara carefully stepped out next, and the others followed as Missy danced around. "We're on a planet," she explained. "And that is not a space station. That is a building. And the rest of the planet, the whole thing, is invisible."

Clara giggled, dancing around. "That's ridiculous!"

"Well, yes, of course it is," Missy agreed. "I mean, how would you ever find your glasses? Or the little girl's room? And what if you kissed an ugly?"

Tony frowned. "Why am I not surprised that's a concern of yours?"

Missy looked down at her hands, then frowned thoughtfully. "Unless, when you're part of the atmosphere, you start syncing with the spectrum."

Pietro looked around in confusion. "Why would anybody hide a whole planet?"

Missy stared past him, swallowing hard. "That would rather depend on the planet, dear." Pietro frowned and turned around, only for his eyes to widen when he saw the building they had left was one of many. He didn't recognize where they were, but Missy apparently did. "No," she whispered in shock. "They've build it again, they've brought it back . . . no, no, no!"

"What?" Wanda asked, shielding her eyes and looking around.

"Where are we?" Tony asked.

***

"Oh, my God," Jessie blanched, looking out over the planet.

"Skaro!" the Doctor spun around. "You've brought us to Skaro!"

"Where does an old man go to die, but with his children?" Davros asked.

***

"What's Skaro?" Pietro asked.

"The beginning," Missy answered. "Where it all started. This is the planet of the Daleks!"

"Correct."

Missy looked sharply to the side, and Wanda gulped, seeing one of the Daleks glide up to them, more behind it.

***

"But the others!" Jessie spun around, eyes wide.

"Surely you felt it when you came in, my dear," Davros rumbled as the Doctor ran for the door. "Power dampeners, even effective for you. You cannot help them now."

***

The five were ushered into a room bleached of color, and multiple Daleks turned to face them from where they were surrounding – "The TARDIS," Clara looked at it in shock. "How did she get here?"

"It has been procured," the red Dalek on a raised dais answered.

Clara eyed a large gun as it lowered from the ceiling, and she lifted her chin, putting on a brave face. "Yeah? Yeah, well, if you're trying to get inside, you can't. nothing can enter the TARDIS."

"The TARDIS will not be entered," the red Dalek said. "The TARDIS will be destroyed."

Pietro snorted. "Good luck with that. She's indestructible."

Missy clicked her tongue. "Did the Doctor tell you that? Because you should never believe a man about a vehicle."

***

"What are they going to do?" the Doctor demanded, turning to Davros as Jessie watched the screen. "Tell me, what?"

"Who can say?" Davros shrugged. "You know what children are like."

"Daleks!" Missy shouted, waltzing into the center of the room. "Pay attention!"

"Oh, God," Jessie closed her eyes. "Please, Missy, for once in your life, don't do something stupid."

***

"You know what this is?" Missy gestured to the TARDIS. "This thing you're about to destroy? I'll tell you! It's the dog's unmentionables. And you know all about those, don't you?" She walked past one Dalek, tickling one of the balls on its casing as she did. "This is a TARDIS. With this, you can go anywhere, do anything, kill anyone. With this, the Daleks can be more powerful than ever before."

"The door," Tony whispered harshly as Missy climbed onto a ledge opposite the TARDIS, putting the Daleks' backs to them. "Get to the door!"

***

"You just need one thing," Missy leaned on the ledge.

"Don't you dare," Jessie mumbled, narrowing her eyes. "Missy, don't you dare."

"Me," Missy finished sweetly, and Jessie closed her eyes, dropping her head onto her arms. "You need me. A time Lady to show you how it works. With this and with me, everything can be yours. And you can burn it all, forever and ever and ever." She paused, raising an eyebrow. "Or would you rather just kill me?"

The Daleks spun to the red one, who answered quickly. "Maximum extermination."

"Exterminate!" another Dalek shouted.

They fired simultaneously, illuminating Missy's skeleton before she disintegrated. "Please!" the Doctor spun around to Davros, eyes wide and hands clasped. "Please, I'm begging you! Please, please, please, save the others!"

"I gave the Daleks life," Davros shook his head slowly as the Daleks turned towards the four remaining people in the control room. "I do not control them."

Jessie swallowed hard, unable to tear her eyes away from the screen. "Oh, my God."

"See how they play with them," Davros smirked. "See how they toy. They want them to run. They need them to run. Do you feel their need, Doctor? Their blood is screaming kill, kill, kill. Hunter and prey, held in the ecstasy of crisis. Is this not life at its purest?"

***

"Go!" Wanda shouted.

Clara took off running, and the Daleks chorused "Exterminate!" Wanda flung up a shield of red energy as quickly as she could, but her magic buckled under the repeated fire as Clara and Tony ran for the door. When her magic failed, Pietro ran to grab her as quickly as he could.

In the split second he stopped to grab her, the Daleks fired shot after shot, and with one last wail from Wanda, they vanished. "No!" Clara screamed, turning back to see.

Tony reached out to grab her to keep running, but the Daleks fired on them next.

***

Jessie closed her eyes and turned away so she wouldn't see the last two shot. The Doctor, though, boiled in anger as he turned to Davros and spat, "Why have I ever let you live?"

"Compassion, Doctor," Davros grinned evilly as Jessie reopened her eyes, a familiar rage glinting in her emerald irises. "It has always been your greatest indulgence. Let this be my final victory. Let me hear you say it, just once. Compassion is wrong."

"Destroy the TARDIS!" the red Dalek shouted.

The Daleks took up the cry, and Jessie watched with an expressionless face and vengeful eyes as the laser and the Daleks fired, the screen turning white with light.

***

Next

"Help me!" young Davros cried as Jessie stepped out of the TARDIS, looking through the smoke on Skaro long ago. "You can't leave me! You promised! You said I had a chance!" Jessie shut the door intentionally behind her, and Davros turned around to see her. "Who are you?" he asked, and Jessie waited for the smoke to clear. "I don't get it," he frowned. "How did you get there?"

"From the future," Jessie answered simply.

Davros tilted his head. "Are you going to save me?" he asked.

Jessie smirked. "I'm going to save my friends the only way I can." She brought one of the Dalek guns up to bear. "Exterminate!"

***

To be continued with "The Witch's Familiar!"

The one problem with having multiple companions in a story is trying to figure out what the hell to do with everyone when it's only meant for one person. Well, I'm gonna do the best I can and hope everything turns out for the best.

Stay tuned because I have no clue when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully my Doctor Who muse stays with me!

graphic by marvelity