Missy hosts storytime, the Doctor's up for dodgems, Tony wishes he had his suit, Wanda can't believe the things she does sometimes, and Jessie wonders something about the Daleks.

Enjoy "The Witch's Familiar!"

***

"You know, I wish I could say this is the weirdest way I've ever woken up." Clara had to force her eyes open when she heard Tony's voice somewhere nearby. "Rope around the body and hung upside down by my feet? Nope, not it."

"An alien planet has to be a first, though," Pietro said from another direction.

"OK, yes, that part is a first."

"Consider the Doctor!" Missy cut through the chatter, and Clara tried to shake her head, only to groan when she felt all the blood rush to her brain. "The Doctor, trapped. The Doctor, alone." Clara finally saw her – albeit upside down – and making a pointed stick with a knife. The Time Lady tilted her head, looking at them. "You all right there, dears?"

"I hate you," Wanda deadpanned.

"Oh, tell me something I don't know, witch."

"Where are we?" Clara twisted to see the others in the same predicament as her. "How did we – ?"

"Shh, now," Missy put a finger to her lips. "Mummy's talking. OK, I'm going to tell you a story of the Doctor. It's classic. On the run, no TARDIS. No friends, no help, no blood bonded. In other words: the Doctor, happy."

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that last part," Tony scowled.

Missy ignored him. "It was a long time ago. Doesn't matter which face he was wearing, they're all the Doctor to me. So, let's give it to the eyebrows."

"But the Daleks," Clara began.

"Yes, I'm coming to that," Missy huffed.

"And, um . . . " Pietro grimaced, trying to wriggle himself free. "Not that I'm complaining, but shouldn't we be dead?"

"Hush!" Missy scowled at him, then continued sharpening her stick. "He's traveling by teleporter. Unfortunately, his teleporter is out of power. Also unfortunate, he's being stalked by . . . oh, say about, fifty android assassins? I may be rounding up." She examined her stick, then poked herself with it. "Ow," she hissed, smiling in satisfaction. "Fifty invisible, indestructible android assassins, all exclusively programmed to kill him."

"So, Ultron bots," Wanda snorted.

"Except they weren't indestructible," Tony countered.

"They almost were!"

"Why are you sharpening that stick?" Clara asked.

"Well, I've no idea how long we're going to be stuck out here," Missy shrugged. "Might have to go hunting."

"So," Clara frowned at the ropes. "Why are we tied up?"

Missy winked saucily. "In case there's nothing to hunt."

Pietro sighed. "This is when I wish I could phase like the Bad Wolf."

"Hang on," Wanda tried to twist around. "I may be able to . . . "

"Now, where was I?" Missy frowned. "Ah, yes! The Doctor, then. Surrounded, outnumbered, outgunned . . . and freeze! Nanoseconds to live. four, I'd say, being generous. Now, my question is . . . " She stood up and walked towards them. "How did he survive?"

Pietro frowned, trying to think. "Er – "

"Oh, not you, wolf pet!" Missy jabbed him with the stick. "I'm asking the Doctor's pet. Come on, Clara! You know him. Consider the Doctor."

Clara closed her eyes, thinking to Missy's story. She could see it in her mind: the Doctor trapped on a staircase, hands raised, eyes turning to look at her . . . and the teleport around one wrist. "Where did he get that teleport thingy?" she asked.

"Oh, good!" Missy praised. "Good! He stole one from an android."

Clara nodded. "So, I'm guessing he uses the same energy as the android weapons, right?"

"Excellent!" Missy cheered. "The rest of you lot, thank her in a bit. She's saving you from being seen as sandwiches now."

"OK, then," Clara chewed her lip, trying to think through the blood rushing in her head. "He uses the energy wave from the android weapons to recharge the teleport bracelet and at the exact moment he's supposed to disintegrate, he actually . . . teleports."

"So that's how you did it?" Tony asked Missy. "You used the energy from the Dalek blasts to power the Vortex Manipulators and get us away from them."

Missy grinned. "I modified the same principle for them, yes. Blew them off, I'm afraid. But the Doctor, he improvised it. He must have got through several thousand calculations in the time it takes to fire up a disintegrator. Seriously, what a swot!"

"So the androids think he's dead and the Doctor escapes," Pietro nodded.

"No," Missy snorted. "He's the Doctor."

"What, does he find himself surrounded by, oh . . . killer parrots?" Tony huffed.

"No, that's ridiculous," Missy rolled her eyes. "He falls into a nest of vampire monkeys."

"What?!"

"Got it!" Wanda suddenly cheered.

With a swirl of scarlet magic, the ropes holding her and Clara up loosened, and they collapsed on the ground. Missy pulled on another length, releasing Tony and Pietro. "But that's another story," she told Tony. "Why does the Doctor always survive?"

"He's clever as hell," Pietro rubbed his head.

"Yes, but there's lots of clever dead people," Missy pointed out. "I love killing clever clogs, they make the best faces."

Clara brightened. "Because he always assumes he's going to win!" she realized, jumping to her feet. "He always knows there's a way to survive, he just has to go and find it!"

"Yes!" Missy pointed at her. "Except this time, he made a will and threw himself a goodbye party. Now, if the Doctor assumes he's going to die, what happens then?"

Tony smirked. "We do."

Missy nodded in agreement. "He and the Bad Wolf are trapped at the heart of the Dalek empire. They're prisoners of the creatures who hate them most in the universe. Between us and them is everything the deadliest race in all of history can throw at us. We, on the other hand, have a pointy stick and some fancy firecrackers of superpowers. How do we start?"

"We assume we're going to win," Clara declared.

Missy nodded in satisfaction, then sighed, looking at her stick. "Pity, really. I was actually quite peckish."

"Right," Pietro rolled out his neck. "Superpowers. No stick, though."

"Don't suppose we can have some?" Clara asked Missy as they walked on.

Missy snorted. "Make your own sticks!"

Tony sighed. "I should have worked faster on that nanotech suit."

Wanda blinked rapidly. "You're making a suit from nanotech?"

"And it's going pretty well, too, all things considered!"

***

"It took me so very long to realize it was you, standing at the gates of my beginning," Davros hissed at Jessie, who was leaning against one of the arches, rubbing her temples. He ignored the crashes the Doctor made as he searched the room. "And here you are at the end. But this time, I have you at my mercy. Exterminate." Jessie looked up when she felt a flicker of triumph from the Doctor, and she saw him hold a Dalek gun to the back of Davros' head. Their enemy just laughed harshly, and the Doctor scowled at his weapon. "Ancient. Inoperable."

The Doctor smirked, however, and the gun made a whirring noise. "Genius."

"You would threaten a dying man?" Davros questioned. "Have I not suffered enough?"

"Get out," Jessie whispered.

Davros shook his head. "I cannot leave this chamber. It sustains me."

"My wife gave you an order," the Doctor growled, aiming at him again. "Get out!"

***

Tony stopped in his tracks, then put on a pair of sunglasses he had in his jacket. "Seriously?" Wanda frowned. "You managed to have those inside your suit?"

"Lesson one, always travel in style and make sure you don't hurt your eyes," Tony pointed to her. "Question one . . . " He pointed ahead of them to the city. "What are they doing?"

The others looked in the direction of the city, and Pietro swallowed, seeing the Daleks pour from every building. "That's a lot of Daleks."

"What's happening?" Clara asked Missy.

"What do you think?" she raised an eyebrow.

Tony sighed. "That sounds like the Doctor and J. They're always in the middle of trouble."

Missy nodded, then brightened when she looked behind them. "Ah! That's what we need!"

***

Jessie had imagined some very ridiculous situations she and the Doctor could get up to at certain points in their life depending on who they faced.

She had to admit, she had never thought of the Doctor sitting in Davros' chair, glaring at the Daleks as they opened the door to who they thought was their creator, she using her bracelet as a perception filter. "Admit it," the Time Lord glared around. "You've all had this exact nightmare. So, anyone up for dodgems?"

"Exterminate!" the large, red Dalek shouted.

"Exterminate!" the other Daleks chorused, and Jessie shielded her eyes as all the lasers firing made the room fill with white light.

***

"Daleks have sewers?" Wanda asked in disbelief as the quintet stared at a hole in the ground.

"With one significant difference," Missy nodded.

"Dare I ask?" Pietro looked at her.

"They're ever so slightly alive."

"They're what?" Clara balked.

Tony sighed. "You had to ask."

Missy ignored them, peering into the hole. "How much of a drop would you say that is? Can you see the bottom?"

Clara crouched down, squinting. "Too dark," she shook her head, looking around. "We could chuck a stone down, or something."

"Oh, yeah!" Missy grinned. "Good idea!"

All of a sudden, Clara screamed as she toppled in. "Clara!" Pietro shouted in horror.

"What the hell?" Tony glared at Missy.

Missy ignored him, tilting her head side to side, then nodded decisively when there was a thud, signifying Clara had made it to the bottom. "Twenty feet."

***

Jessie just giggled, seeing the Daleks stuck as they watched the Doctor sip a cup of tea. "You know how to shock Daleks, my love."

"Oh, I only put on the best shows for you," he grinned at her as she sauntered up to lean against the chair. "Of course, the real question is, where did I get the cup of tea? Answer: I'm the Doctor, just accept it."

"You are unharmed," the Dalek Supreme said.

"Proposition!" the Doctor grinned. "Davros is an insane, paranoid genius who has survived among several billion trigger-happy mini-tanks for centuries. Conclusion? I'm definitely having his chair."

"You cannot escape, Doctor and Bad Wolf!" the Dalek Supreme shouted.

The Doctor just hummed and held up the Dalek gun he had, inspecting it. "I'm guessing his personal forcefield only works in one direction."

"The Doctor does not use weapons!"

Jessie snorted. "I love how it just ignores me."

"Doesn't he?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, then chuckled as a few Daleks scooted back. "Ah, listen to your little hearts beat!"

***

Clara started when she heard a thud next to her, then Pietro sounding annoyed. "I could really kill you right now."

"Oh, poppet," Missy tsked. "Do you really think you could?"

"First chance I get!"

"You won't survive down here on your own without someone who knows the planet."

"Think you could survive turning your back?" Pietro countered.

Clara squinted up to see Pietro had grabbed Missy's stick, and the Time Lady exaggerated turning around, holding her arms out expectantly. When Pietro did nothing, she huffed. "God, you're dull," she complained, turning around and yanking the stick back. "In the future, if you're going to take my stick, do me the courtesy of actually killing me. Teamwork is all about respect."

"We're not a team," Clara grumbled, climbing to her feet as Tony and Wanda landed, their feet cushioned by scarlet magic.

"Of course we are!" Missy smiled. "Every miner needs canaries. Now, hush. Look around." She shook her head, examining the walls. "Bit of a mess, isn't it?"

Wanda grimaced. "You said it was a sewer."

"Daleks don't generate much in the way of waste," Missy shrugged.

Tony winced. He really should have learned from when they'd asked Missy questions before, but . . . "What is it all, then?"

"Decaying Daleks," Missy smirked, and Wanda jumped away from the wall. "Daleks can't die. Genetically hard-wired to keep on living, whatever happens. Well, but they still age, poor loves. Over time, the body breaks down, rots, liquefies. Interestingly, the Dalek word for sewer is the same as their word for graveyard."

She jabbed her stick into part of the wall, and suddenly, all around them were the pained cries of Daleks.

***

"Ask us what we want," the Doctor told the Daleks.

"Irrelevant," the Dalek Supreme said. "You will not prevail. You will not succeed."

Jessie snorted loudly. "We've been at the heart of your empire for . . . what, forty-two minutes? We own it, and the Doctor hasn't even had to get out of his chair." Her husband grinned maniacally and waved. "Ask us what we want."

The Dalek Supreme rolled forward. "What do you want?"

The Doctor clicked a button on the chair. "Clara Oswald," he said. "Tony Stark. Pietro Maximoff. Wanda Maximoff. I want them, safe, alive, and returned to us immediately. You bring them back. You do that. You do that, now. Unharmed, unhurt, alive."

"Your associates," the Dalek supreme began.

"We saw what happened," Jessie stood up, staying inside the forcefield as she narrowed her eyes at the Dalek supreme. "We were there. You better hope it was a trick."

"It was not a deception," the Dalek Supreme said.

Jessie threw back her head and laughed darkly. "Because if our friends are really dead, you'd better be extremely careful how you tell us." She swung around, arms out. "Who's going to tell us?" she taunted, the Doctor keeping her inside the forcefield. She could taunt all she wanted, but if she was left at all open to the Daleks, she would risk their baby. No way in hell was he going to let that happen. "Who's going to go first? All the power Davros had is ours. Everything he had, we have. Who's going to tell us that our friends are really dead?"

***

"Ooo, that's a new one," Missy smirked as they listened down in the sewer. "The Bad Wolf, without hope. Nobody is safe now. If not the Doctor, she'll burn everything. Us, too."

***

"Clara Oswald, Tony Stark, Pietro Maximoff, and Wanda Maximoff are not alive," the Dalek Supreme said.

Jessie snarled, then a screen nearby flickered to life. "Doctor, Bad Wolf," Davros greeted. "This urge for conquest? It is gratifying to see you learn."

"Oh," Jessie curled her lip. "You're up."

"Sorry," the Doctor said unapologetically. "This seat's taken."

"Indeed," Davros nodded. "But not by you."

Something slithered up Jessie's leg, and she screeched in shock when it tightened around her. She fell to the ground, barely managing to catch herself by her hands before she landed face down. "No!" the Doctor tried to stand, eyes wide.

"You've met my Head of Personal Security, I think," Davros continued as snakes wound around Jessie, and the Doctor was forced to drop the gun he had as more snakes slithered out of the chair and around him. "Colony Sarff. His agents are everywhere."

***

"What is that?" Clara pointed at a light at the end of the sewer. "A lift?"

Missy frowned. "What? Never mind the lift. See that thing on the wall?"

Tony frowned, looking past her. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Take a look."

Tony gave her an incredulous look. "Seriously?"

"I mean it, have a look."

Tony huffed, peering at the circle in the wall. "What exactly am I looking for?"

"Nothing," Missy grinned. "I'm giving it a good look at you."

A klaxon went off, and Tony sprang away from the camera. "Intruder alert!" a Dalek voice shouted. "Intruder alert!"

"Why the hell did you do that?" Clara shrieked as Missy grabbed Tony.

"Ever ring a doorbell and run away?" Missy grinned, snapping something around Tony's wrist. "Not this time!"

Tony tried to follow Missy, only to blink when metal around his wrist held him in place. He looked at the handcuffs locking him to the camera, then glared at Missy. "What the hell is this for?!"

"We need to trap and kill a Dalek," Missy answered. "You're the bait, we're the hook."

Tony seethed. "I really need to finish the nanotech armor."

"We need something to kill the Dalek with!" Clara shouted at Missy.

"And we've got it," Missy removed the brooch from her blouse. "Dark star alloy," she held it up. "Goes through armor plating like a knife through people. It's pretty, isn't it?" she asked, not seeming to care that Tony was seething and Wanda looked a second away from punching her in the face. "Got it in the olden days on Gallifrey. The Doctor gave it to me when my daughter – "

"Your daughter?" Pietro did a double take.

The lift made a sound, and Missy pointed at Tony. "Keep it talking. We need to draw it out of the lift."

Tony shook his head. "You're going to kill a Dalek with a brooch."

Missy smirked as she tugged Clara to hide on the side of the lift. "Yes, I am."

Pietro finally pulled Wanda to the other side, and Tony took a deep breath, watching as the lift opened. "Humanoid detected," the Dalek coming announced as it rolled out. "Remain still. Do not move."

"Not like I can," Tony gave the handcuffs a dirty glare.

"Scan in progress. Humanoid unauthorized in restricted area."

"Signs would help next time," Tony deadpanned.

"Sterilization proceeding."

"Hey, you!" Missy popped up behind the Dalek, and Tony heard a hissing sound. "Guess what? I just put a hole in you." She used the brooch, and steam billowed out of the next hole. "And another. And another. And another!"

"What are you doing?" Wanda watched uneasily.

"Murdering a Dalek," Missy answered. "I'm a Time Lady, it's our golf."

"Damage levels insignificant," the Dalek said.

"Oh, really?" Missy smirked, pointing upwards. "I think you're forgetting you're surrounded by a bunch of very old, very angry Daleks." The occasional drop of liquid became a stream of liquid, and Tony cautiously looked up and around to see slush running down the wall towards the Dalek, the screeches louder. "You just got yourself a puncture in a bad neighborhood," Missy said in an American accent, hands on her hips. "Met the locals? All blind and squelchy and out of their tiny minds, but they can still smell! Nobody hates like a Dalek. Here they come! I think they want to steal your motor!"

"Emergency!" the Dalek shouted as fluid seeped into the Dalek, and Tony stared as it came back out. "Emergency! My vision is impaired! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"Oh, here comes the older generation!" Missy grinned, uncuffing Tony as the Dalek's eyestalk filled with the fluid. "These young folks today are so tetchy!"

"Emergency!" the Dalek wailed, firing at the walls as the quintet ran off, Missy squealing in delight as an explosion rippled out. "Emergency!"

***

When the Doctor woke up, he felt a weight on his feet he normally never felt. He started when he found himself in a sitting position, yet not in Davros' chair. He looked around, then saw Davros wheel around from the window, back in his rightful chair. "I hope you are grateful," he said. "It wasn't easy to procure. And very nearly unique, of course. You should feel privileged. The only other chair on Skaro." The Doctor examined where he sat, finding it to be a normal metal chair. His hearts leapt into his throat when he didn't see Jessie until the weight on his feet shifted, and he looked down to see Jessie sound asleep, using his feet as a pillow. Despite the situation they were in, he smiled fondly and carefully lifted her head up. "Don't get up," Davros said.

"You, neither," the Doctor shook his head, standing up and slowly placing Jessie's head back on the floor, adjusting one of her arms so that was her pillow instead. He brushed her cheek with trembling fingers, then chastely kissed her temple.

Davros observed quietly, giving them their small moment, but shook his head when the Doctor went to the door. "The chamber is sealed, and I believe you are not carrying your sonic device. Your blood bonded was checked by Sarff. She carries it no longer, either."

"I gave it up," the Doctor shook his head. "Bad memories."

Davros nodded slowly. "I am dying, Doctor."

"You keep saying that, you keep not dying," the Doctor snorted. "Can you give it some welly? Come on."

"And it is time for us to conclude our business together."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "We have no business."

"We have nothing but," Davros shook his head. "Look again at the cables, Doctor. Understand what they are, what they can do." The Doctor humored Davros and looked closer, then blinked and squinted. "Just step a little closer."

***

"Wow," Tony grimaced as they examined the dead Dalek. "The older generation can pack a punch."

Missy nodded in agreement, opening the lid of the Dalek. "Use your witchy powers," she told Wanda.

"For what?" she frowned.

"Well, I assume you don't want to touch dead Dalek mutant, do you?" Missy raised an eyebrow.

"No!"

"Then use your powers! Much easier that way, I bet."

Wanda glared at her, then took a deep breath and peered inside the Dalek. She immediately closed her eyes with a shudder, then clawed one of her hands. Scarlet energy seeped into the Dalek, and she made a gagging noise before flinging her hand up and away. The Dalek remains hit the floor with a plop, and Clara retched in disgust. "Oh, God," Pietro shuddered, Tony grimacing. "Seriously, Missy?"

"See? Easy," she smiled at Wanda. "Now, get in."

"I'm sorry, what?" Wanda did a double take.

"Well, come on!" Missy pouted. "If it comes to fighting Daleks, I'd rather take a chance with your brother's speed than you directing Dalek shots the wrong way or throwing a Dalek at one of us."

Wanda scowled, but sighed, admitting Missy had a point. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered, climbing the Dalek to get inside.

***

"They don't have much respect for you, do they?" the Doctor walked around the room, inspecting everything. "Your kids. Have you seen the state of this place? I mean, this is exactly where you dump a smelly old uncle slash family pet slash genius scientist who couldn't even invent legs. Seriously, how do your boys take it when everybody else has got two eyes?"

Davros nodded at the life support unknit. "You know what it is, of course."

"Oh, yes," the Doctor confirmed. "It's a hyperspace relay, with some kind of a genetic component."

"I am connected to the life force of every Dalek on this planet," Davros told him. "It is what has kept me alive. As their hearts beat, so does mine."

"Ooo, nice," the Doctor nodded. "Vampiring off your own creations, just to eke out your days. I'm surprised the Daleks allow it."

"Oh, they have no choice," Davros shook his head. "My Daleks are afflicted with a genetic defect."

That got the Doctor's attention. "What defect?"

"Respect," Davros answered. "Mercy for their father. Design flaws I was unable to eliminate." The Doctor froze, eyeing the cables in a mixture of horror and awe. "And now he sees it," Davros nodded. "Now he understands. The cables, Doctor. Touch them. Imagine, to hold in your hand the heartbeat of every Dalek on Skaro. They send me life. Is it beyond the wit of a Time Lord to send them to death? A little work, and it could be done."

"Er," the Doctor swallowed. "Why would you be telling me this?"

"Genocide in a moment," Davros rolled forward. "Such slaughter, not in self-defense. Not as a simple act of war. Genocide as a choice. Are you ready, Doctor? So many backs with a single knife." He took the Doctor's hand and guided it towards one of the cables. "Are you ready to be a god?" The Doctor reached, but he paused, fingertips away. "Why do you hesitate?" Davros shook his head. "No one would know. Your blood bonded, perhaps, yes. But after all my children have done to her, would she blame you? Clara Oswald is dead. Tony Stark is dead. The Maximoffs are dead. Is this the conscience of the Doctor, or his shame? The shame that brought you here."

"There's no such thing as the Doctor," he shook his head, turning to Davros. "I'm just a bloke in a box, telling stories. And I didn't come here because I'm ashamed. A bit of shame never hurt anyone. I came because you're sick and you asked. And because sometimes, on a good day, if I try very hard, I'm not some old Time Lord who ran away. I'm the Doctor."

Davros tilted his head. "Compassion, then."

"Always."

"It grows strong and fierce in you, like a cancer."

"I hope so."

"It will kill you in the end."

"Not a bad way to go," Jessie murmured from over by the chair.

The Doctor chuckled, hurrying to her side, putting his arm around her shoulders to help her sit up. "I don't think so, either. In fact, I don't think I would rather die of anything else."

Davros snorted. "You may rely on it."

***

"How am I supposed to make it go?" Wanda asked, looking around inside the Dalek casing while Pietro, Tony, and Clara watched Missy with eagle eyes. "Are there pedals?"

"Another benefit to you doing it," Missy held up electrodes. "Telepathic control. Open wide." Wanda blinked, but opened her mouth in confusion. "I meant your skull," Missy shook her head. "Never mind."

She pressed the electrodes to her temples, and Wanda shrieked. "Ow!"

"Shh!" Missy glared. "Don't worry."

"Ow!" Wanda insisted.

"There's loads of nanotech repairing any damage as the feed goes in."

"What about when it comes out?" Pietro asked.

"No idea," Missy shrugged. "Nobody knows."

"Oh, that's reassuring," Tony facepalmed.

"Anyway, to control the unit, you just have to think," Missy told Wanda. "Novel idea for you, but let's try it. Move forwards."

Wanda took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. She opened them again when the Dalek lurched forward. "Whoa," Clara's eyes widened.

"Oh, my God," Wanda swallowed.

"Circle right," Missy instructed, and as Wanda's eyes looked right, the Dalek casing did the same. "Circle left." Wanda did it again, and Missy grinned. "There you go."

"OK, that's neat," Tony admitted.

"All right," Missy walked forward, looking at the casing. "This won't hurt a bit."

Wanda's eyes widened as Missy touched the casing, and it started folding up on her. "Wait, you're locking her in there?" Clara hurried forward.

Wanda gulped. "Oh, I'm going to regret this."

"I already do," Tony glared at Missy as the casing finished folding up.

Missy nodded, eyeing the closed Dalek shell. "Are you OK?"

"Fine, I think," the Dalek answered in its voice, making the humans blink. "OK, that's a bit weird."

"Just a bit," Missy laughed. "OK, all right. Say your name."

"Why?" the Dalek asked.

"Just – just say," Missy giggled. "Just say it."

The Dalek paused. "Dalek."

Missy leaned forward. "Say it again?"

"Dalek. Dalek."

"One more time."

"I am a Dalek!" the Dalek shouted. "I am a Dalek! I am a Dalek! I am a Dalek!"

Missy laughed in delight as the gun fired. "That's funny to you?" Clara demanded.

"Because they won't know it's her at all!" Missy giggled, then jumped back when the gun fired. "Whoa! Just don't get emotional. Emotion fires the gun, OK?"

"I do not understand."

Missy held up a hand. "Say 'I love you,'" she said. "Those exact words. Don't ask me why, just say it."

The Dalek shell answered. "Exterminate."

Missy laughed. "Say, 'you are different from me.'"

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Missy got increasingly giddier as Pietro and Clara looked at each other in worry. "Say 'exterminate!'"

"Exterminate!"

Missy cheered, dancing around the Dalek shell as it started firing, responding to whatever Wanda was saying inside the shell, presumably what Missy had told her to. "Cybermen suppress emotion, Daleks channel it through a gun," the Time Lady explained. "That's why they keep yelling 'exterminate.' It's how they reload. So, let's go and kill them! Come on!"

Clara swallowed hard. "I hate this."

"Yeah," Tony eyed the Dalek – with Wanda inside – as it slowly rolled after Missy. "Me, too."

***

"There is a question, Doctor," Davros said. "One I have longed to ask."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, if you're going to put your hand on my knee, it isn't going to go well."

"Why did you leave Gallifrey?"

The Doctor paused. Of every question, that was the one asked? "Well, because I did."

"You stole the TARDIS, and ran and ran. Why?"

He shrugged. "It's a boring place, Gallifrey. I was going out of my mind."

"Yet you long to return."

"Ah, well, I'm inconsistent."

"But it is always the same lie."

The Doctor paused. "What lie?" he asked innocently.

"You weren't bored. No one runs the way you have for so small a reason."

The Doctor pointed to himself. "I do."

"No, you don't," Davros shook his head, rolling towards the table nearby, looking through a box there. "Colony Sarff confiscated these items on your arrival. Time Lord confession dials, I believe. Your confessions." Jessie tensed. "Your blood bonded's, I won't bother with. But the Doctor's . . . that would be a precious prize. Tell me. Send me to my grave with this precious knowledge. What is the Doctor's confession?"

"Don't you dare," the Doctor snarled when Davros reached for it.

Miraculously, Davros paused. "Is it possible I have touched a nerve?"

"Some things matter to me, Davros," the Doctor sneered. "My blood bonded and our child are precious above all else, but a few other things matter as well. And you don't put your fingers anywhere near them." He plucked the pair of sunglasses from inside, examining them. "And they'd better not be scratched," he added lightly. "These are my best ones."

"Still, you play the fool," Davros scowled.

Jessie smirked, watching the Doctor slip the sunglasses on. "You'd think by now you would know that should make you nervous, Davros."

***

"Halt!" Missy obediently stopped in her tracks, raising her hands when the Dalek at the end of the hall ordered. Tony, Clara, and Pietro hesitantly did the same thing. "Report."

"Humanoid intruders found on lower levels," Wanda in the Dalek answered.

"Why have the intruders not been exterminated?" the other Dalek asked. "Explain. Explain. Explain!"

"I'm a prisoner of special significance," Missy said. "And these three are just as special because they're with me. Count the hearts."

The Dalek must have. "You are a Time Lord?"

Missy sniffed, offended. "Time Lady, thank you. Some of us can afford the upgrade. Is it still the same old Supreme Dalek these days? I fought him once on the slopes of the Never Vault. Tell him the bitch is back."

***

"Make your confession, Doctor," Davros said. "Why did you really leave Gallifrey?"

"How long has it been, you and I?" the Doctor asked, turning to face him.

"Long enough," Davros shrugged. "Galaxies have burned."

"And now you ask me a personal question?"

"You have slaughtered billions of my children, as I have slaughtered billions of your race. We have exhausted the conventional means of communication."

Jessie couldn't help it; she laughed, startled, before slapping a hand over her mouth. The Doctor blinked in her direction, and Jessie pointed at Davros defensively. "He has a point!"

The Doctor sighed, removing his sunglasses. "My people are alive," he revealed. "They didn't die. I brought them back. I found a way."

Davros stilled. "Is this true?"

"Gallifrey is back in the sky," he nodded. "I don't know where. I may never know. But Gallifrey is back, and it is safe from both of us."

Davros watched him as he backed away. "Doctor . . . my most sincere congratulations."

The Doctor did a double take, then looked at Jessie. "Did he just – ?" Jessie numbly nodded, and the Doctor barked out a startled laugh, looking back at Davros. "I'm sorry?"

"This is wonderful news," Davros nodded. "Beyond all hope. I congratulate you."

The Doctor shook his head, utterly befuddled. "Why are you saying that?"

"A man should have a race, a people, an allegiance," Davros explained. "A man should belong, Doctor. Believe me, please. I am happy for you. So happy."

"I don't," the Doctor sputtered, looking back at Jessie. She looked just as confused as him. "I don't understand this. Why are you . . . ?"

"Come closer again," Davros beckoned. "Let me see your face."

"You've seen it often enough," the Doctor frowned.

"Let me see it again . . . with my own eyes." The blue light in his forehead winked out, and Davros forced his actual eyes open, revealing dark, murky orbs. "Closer, please." The Doctor finally moved over, sinking so he could meet his eyes. "If you have redeemed the Time Lords from the fire, do not lose them again," Davros advised as Jessie stepped forward, putting her hand on her husband's shoulder. "Take the darkest path into the deepest hell, but protect your own as I have sought to protect mine." The Doctor swallowed as Davros reached out, putting his hand over his. "Did I do right, Doctor? Tell me, was I right? I need to know before the end. Am I a good man?"

The Doctor took a deep, shuddering breath. "You really are dying, aren't you?"

"Look at me," Davros ordered. "Did you doubt it?"

"Yes," he admitted.

"Then we have established one thing only."

The Doctor blinked. "What?"

"You are not a good doctor." Jessie really laughed that time, and she was joined by both the Doctor and Davros, though Davros stopped to heave for breath. "Pity," he choked out. "I had hoped to see the sun one last time with the eyes of my true self."

The Doctor looked out the window, where it was still dark outside, then looked back at Jessie. She chewed her lip, then put her hand on his cheek. "How good of a day are you having?" she asked.

He smiled.

***

"Oh, hello!" Missy beamed as she waltzed into the control room, followed by Tony, Clara, Pietro, and Wanda in the Dalek shell. "Look at you all, with your nice, shiny domes. Oh, I am loving this!" She turned to the Dalek Supreme. "You're my secret favorite," she stage whispered. "Don't tell the others."

"You are an enemy of the Daleks," it accused.

"Yes, well, anyone who's not a Dalek is an enemy of the Daleks, so that was an easy guess," Missy rolled her eyes.

"You will be exterminated!"

"Please," Missy nodded in agreement. "Please do, because I have been on my feet all day. But before you get all exterminate-y, two things. One, I want to see Davros. Two, I have a lovely little gift for you all, if you take me to him right now."

"We do not negotiate."

Missy grinned. "Clara Oswald," she pointed to the Inhuman, making her jump. "Tony Stark. Pietro Maximoff. Wanda Maximoff." She ended pointing to the Dalek shell. "I brought you complete control of the Time Lords, gift-wrapped. The witch is even better, I canned her."

"You bitch," Tony seethed.

***

"It is beautiful, my world," Davros marveled, looking out the window. "Is it not?"

It wasn't Earth, but Jessie had to admit she was biased, as that was her homeworld. For Davros, Skaro – his home planet – had to look gorgeous to him. "How did you get it back?" she asked, curious.

"The Daleks remade it," Davros answered. "Like your blood bonded, they have a strong concept of home."

"No, like you," the Doctor corrected from where he was working with the multitude of cables. "Everything you are, they are."

"Like both of us, perhaps," Davros conceded as Jessie watched her husband plug Davros back into the life support system. "How far we have come to go home again."

"I'm trying to pep this up, but you've been going a long time," the Doctor reviewed what he was doing. "Every Dalek on Skaro isn't enough anymore."

"It is so good of you to help me," Davros smiled.

"We're not helping you," Jessie shook her head. "We abandoned a little boy on a battlefield against every maternal instinct I'm getting. That's who I want to help."

"I think we owe him a sunrise," the Doctor agreed, watching light peek over the mountain range. "Come on, chin up. Any minute now."

Davros moaned quietly, lolling his head up. "I have always admired you, Doctor," he said quietly.

"Here it comes."

"I wish, just once, we had been on the same side."

"Look, the sun's coming up," Jessie urged, placing a gentle hand on Davros' shoulder. "You're on the same side now."

Davros slumped, trembling under her hand. "I regret I cannot open my eyes."

The Doctor and Jessie exchanged looks. "I have a crazy idea," the Doctor said.

"He'll try and take advantage of it," Jessie pointed out.

"It'll backfire on him. Remember everything I ever told you about Skaro, love."

Jessie mulled it over. "Fitting end."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "OK," he told Davros. "Don't ever tell anyone that I did this." He shook his hand out a bit, and gold energy seeped to the surface of his skin. "A little bit of regeneration energy," he explained, walking back to the cables. "Probably cost me an arm or a leg somewhere down the line, or I'll just be really little."

"That would be interesting," Jessie smirked.

The Doctor nodded, stepping into the circle of cables and reaching for one. "Should be enough, just to – "

He screamed in pain as a snake lashed out around him, binding his hand to the cable. He flailed with his other hand to find a grip somewhere, and another snake locked him around another cable. "Hold him firm, Colony Sarff!" Davros ordered, turning around as Jessie ran to the Doctor, grabbing at the snakes to try and yank him off, watching gold energy flow through the cables. "He is precious to us now."

The snakes wound around Jessie, too, tight enough that she whimpered, bowing her head as she tried to release her grip. "What are you going?" the Doctor demanded, trying to find some way he could support his wife, even as he felt regeneration energy drain from him.

"Regeneration energy," Davros smirked, rolling towards them as his voice grew stronger. "The ancient magic of the Time Lords. I thought I would have to tear you apart to take it from you, but as always, your compassion is your downfall."

"No," the Doctor shook his head, trying to shut his pain off from Jessie as she writhed, trying to free herself from the snakes. If only he had figured out where the controls for the power dampeners were! "No, no, please, no!"

"You have opened your veins of your own free will, and the Daleks shall drink the blood of Gallifrey," Davros declared, straightening in his chair. "They shall rise stronger than ever."

***

"Where is Wanda Maximoff?" the Dalek Supreme asked. "You will tell us! You will tell us! You will tell us!"

Missy had started dancing around the Daleks in rhythm to the speech, then froze in place when all of the Daleks suddenly stopped moving. "Uh," Clara looked around warily, seeing weapons pointed to the ground. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"I did nothing," Wanda in the Dalek said.

"I'm sorry," Missy scratched her head. "Was I boring you?"

A golden shimmer caught Tony's eye, and he looked at the nearest Dalek, then his eyes widened. "Wait a minute . . . is this what I think it is?"

Missy looked around as golden energy misted from each of the Daleks, and she blanched. "No," she shook her head. "No, no, no, no, Doctor, what have you done?"

"What is happening?" Wanda in the Dalek asked.

"I have to find the Doctor!" Missy sprinted for the door.

"Hey!" Pietro sped after her.

"Exterminate!" Wanda in the Dalek wheeled after him. "Exterminate!"

Missy slapped a door control, and the door slid shut just before Pietro reached her. "Missy!" Pietro yelled.

"We can't stay here!" Clara looked around the Daleks fearfully. "That's Time Lord regeneration energy! What's it gonna do to them?"

"My guess?" Tony gulped. "Probably get better at exterminating us. "Where's the other way out?"

***

"There was a prophecy, Doctor," Davros wheeled closer. "On your own world."

"Please, you must – " the Doctor choked out. "You must stop this. You must stop this!"

"It spoke of a hybrid creature," Davros said. "Two great warrior races forced together to create a warrior greater than either. Is that what you ran from, Doctor? Your part in the coming of the Hybrid? Half Dalek, half Time Lord?"

***

The quartet arrived at a fork in the corridor, Daleks everywhere with the energy seeping off them. "OK," Tony took a deep breath. "How big of a target are we going to be if we stay together?"

"Hold on, you mean split up?" Clara demanded. "How's that a good idea?"

"Them going after four of us is better than one big pack of Daleks chasing us!"

Pietro took a deep breath. "It's worth a shot."

"OK," Tony nodded. "Good luck."

"Exterminate," the Wanda Dalek nodded its eyestalk.

The four split up, each of them running separate ways.

***

"Stop!" Jessie finally screamed out a word, going limp in her binds.

The door suddenly slid open, and Missy barreled into the room, aiming at the cables and firing repeatedly with a Dalek gun. The snakes fell to the floor, and the Doctor barely managed to catch Jessie before she crumbled to the ground. He managed to land under her, though the impact dazed him.

A smack from Missy made him start awake again, though. "Morning," she greeted.

He sat upright, and the first thing he did was check Jessie. She was out cold, though aside from the raw marks on her wrist, she was unharmed. He sighed in relief; he really needed to figure out how to avoid dangerous adventures, though knowing them, they would get into them anyway. "Where are the others?" he asked, looking at Missy.

"Oh, hello to you, too," she rolled her eyes.

"You're alive, so they are, too. Where are they?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Oh, you are not fine," Davros chuckled. "Thanks to you, Doctor, my creations shall grow to yet greater supremacy, and my own life is prolonged. This is the final defeat of the Time Lords." The Doctor shook his head, standing up and walking over to the box. "Have you nothing to say, Doctor?"

He simply reached inside and took his and Jessie's confession dials. "Three."

"Do you understand what happened?" Davros leaned back in satisfaction. "Hear my children sing!"

"Two," the Doctor continued, putting the dials in his pocket and reaching down.

"Oh," Missy grinned. "I know that face!"

"All praise Davros," he leaned back. "Creator and savior of the Daleks."

He scooped Jessie off the ground, then grinned. "One!"

The ground rumbled, making Missy stumble back. "What is that?" Davros asked sharply. "What's happening?"

"I knew exactly what you were doing, and I let you do it," the Doctor answered. "You transmitted regeneration energy into every Dalek on this planet. Every single one."

"What have you done?" Davros repeated angrily.

"One word," he answered. "Er, no, two words, actually. First word: moron." Missy snickered in amusement. "Second word: sewers."

***

Tony braced himself against one of the walls, listening to the Daleks demand answers for what was happening. A loud crack under his feet made him freeze, and he slowly looked down to see the floor splitting. "Oh, no," he gulped, running off again.

***

"No," Davros shook his head desperately. "This cannot be correct! How can this be?"

"Generations of Daleks just woke up very cross, and they are coming up the pipes," the Doctor smirked. "Or to put it another way . . . bye!"

He ran out of the room just as Jessie started to stir. "Kasterborous?" she murmured, barely audible.

"Hello, Jezebel," the Doctor smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a bilgesnipe charged me," she shook her head.

"How does that translate to you being able to stand and move on your own?"

"Put me on my feet, let's see."

The Doctor carefully did, then the city shuddered around them. Jessie tumbled back into the Doctor, who wrapped his arms around her midsection protectively, catching her before she fell. Thick gunk oozed out of the walls and from the ventilation grills, and the Doctor gulped. "Quickly."

***

"Is this happening to every Dalek?" Clara looked around in horror at the sludge-filled Daleks.

"I hope so!" Pietro ran from another corridor. "We need to find the Time Lords and Wanda, now!"

Clara nodded, grabbing his hand and letting him sweep her into his arms to run off.

***

"Doctor! Bad Wolf!"

The two spun around to see an unaffected Dalek roll down come down the side corridor, and the Doctor narrowed his eyes. "This city is about to be sucked into the ground," he said. "There's no way you can win, there is nothing you can do, so just tell me: where are our friends?"

"I am a Dalek," it answered.

Jessie narrowed his eyes. "Yes, we can see you're a Dalek. Where are our friends?"

"I am a Dalek!"

"We know that you're a Dalek!" the Doctor scowled. "Where are Clara, Tony, Pietro, and Wanda?"

"I am a Dalek!" the Dalek insisted, gun waving around. "I am a Dalek!"

"Doctor, Bad Wolf, stop!" Missy ran in from the side, gun raised. She looked at the Dalek, then pointed at it. "It's you, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, no offense, you all look alike, but it is – it is you?"

"Affirmative," the Dalek answered.

Missy took a deep breath. "They're dead, Doctor," she said, making Jessie freeze. "This is the one that killed them."

The Dalek spun towards them. "Do not listen to her," it said. "I am a Dalek. I am a Dalek."

"I got them out of the city, but this one caught us and shot Wanda down first," she said. "Must've known she'd be the biggest threat. Pietro was next, and . . . well, Tony and Clara couldn't hold it off forever. I tried, but it killed them. There was nothing I could do."

"I am a Dalek!" the Dalek insisted.

"They ran, they screamed," Missy swallowed. "I'm so glad neither of you had to see that."

The Dalek was practically vibrating as it yelled, "I am a Dalek! I am a Dalek! I am a Dalek!"

"Missy," Jessie said quietly, holding out her hand. "Give it here."

The Dalek scooted back several feet, looking at Jessie with its eyestalk. "Exterminate!" it yelled. "Exterminate!"

"Smart," Missy praised, handing the gun to Jessie. "They're all going to die anyway. Indulge yourself. Savor another Dalek dead, by your hand."

"Do not kill me! Do not kill me!"

Jessie brought the gun up, squeezing it so tightly her knuckles were white. "Are they dead?" she asked, rage seeping into her voice.

"I am a Dalek! I am alive!"

"That wasn't my question!"

"I am your enemy! Your enemy!" Jessie shook her head in disgust, putting her finger on the trigger. "Mercy!" the Dalek suddenly yelled. "Mercy!"

Jessie blinked in surprise, backing up a step. "You shouldn't be able to say that," the Doctor frowned, just as surprised as her.

"Mercy!" the Dalek said again.

"That word shouldn't exist in your vocabulary," the Doctor shook his head, stepping forward. "How did Davros teach you to say that?"

"Mercy!"

Jessie frowned. "And it's not trying to kill us."

"Mercy," the eyestalk nodded. "I show mercy."

"Doctor?" Tony's voice called from nearby; Jessie saw Missy tense. "J?"

"Over here, Tony!" Jessie called, voice wavering.

"Oh, thank God," Tony panted as he jogged into view. "With everything happening in the city – " He trailed off, seeing the gun she had pointed at the Dalek, and he balked. "No, no, no, don't shoot it!" he ran forward, grabbing the gun and aiming it away. "Don't!"

"Mercy!" the Dalek agreed.

"It's you, isn't it?" Tony asked the Dalek desperately. "Wanda, is that you?"

"Affirmative!" The Dalek's eyestalk could have fallen off, it was bobbing so quickly. "Affirmative! Affirmative! I am a Dalek!"

Tony swung his gaze to Missy, narrowing his eyes as the Dalek gun fell from Jessie's hand with a clatter. "You have three seconds to get out of here before I wring your neck for what you did!"

"Open your casing," the Doctor urged the Dalek, dreading what he was about to see.

"How?" it asked.

"Just think the word 'open.' It'll work."

The casing slowly opened, and the Doctor was met with Wanda's teary, terrified green eyes. "Oh, my God," Jessie whimpered, covering her mouth with both hands.

"Oh, look at that," Missy said meekly, trying to recover. "Now, there's a surprise."

"Tony," the Doctor growled, crouching in front of Wanda. "Start counting."

"One," the human obliged immediately, scooping the Dalek gun from the ground and aiming it at her.

"Doctor," Wanda gulped. "Bad Wolf . . . "

"In a way, I suppose this is why I saved your friends," Missy said. "To make you see. The friend inside the enemy, the enemy inside the friend."

"I'm sorry, Wanda," Jessie sobbed, rushing forward to help disconnect her. "I'm so sorry!"

"Two," Tony continued.

"Everyone's a bit of both," Missy shrugged. "Everyone's a hybrid."

"Three," the Doctor snarled, turning around. "Run, Missy."

Missy clicked her tongue, turning on her heel as a warping sound came from another hall. "It wasn't me who ran, Doctor," she said over her shoulder as Pietro appeared in a blur, Clara in his arms. "That was always you."

"What happened?" Clara looked around, seeing the furious looks on the Doctor and Tony's faces and the tears on Jessie's and Wanda's as the Time Lady fumbled to disconnect Wanda from the electrodes, her hands shaking so much.

"I," Jessie said through gritted teeth, her voice wavering as she worked. "Am going to murder Missy with my bare hands the next time I see her."

Wanda winced when the electrodes separated, and Tony helped her out of the casing. In the next second, Jessie wrapped her in a bear hug, and Wanda sobbed, legs buckling as she clung to her friend. "Wait," Pietro's eyes widened, looking from the abandoned Dalek gun to the Dalek casing. "Did you think – ?"

"Missy played them," Tony explained. "She played all of us."

"But she's gone?" Clara looked around.

"Yes," the Doctor grumbled, giving Wanda a hug himself when Jessie finally released her. "Good riddance."

Wanda rubbed her eyes furiously, then surprised them all by practically tackling Tony in a hug. "Whoa!" Tony held his hands up, stumbling backwards at the force of her hug, before carefully hugging her back. "OK, kid. You're OK."

Wanda sniffed, stepping backwards and giving him a small smile. "Thank you."

He smiled. "You're welcome."

Something creaked above their heads, and they all looked up to see cracks forming in the ceiling. "Right," the Doctor nodded. "Collapsing city. Run!"

***

They ran back into the control room, and Pietro managed to pull Tony away from a chunk of the ceiling from falling on them. "Where was the TARDIS?" the Doctor looked around. "It was somewhere over there somewhere, wasn't it?"

"What is happening?" the Dalek Supreme swiveled to watch them run to where he had pointed. "Explain! Explain!"

"Dalek Supreme," the Doctor smiled. "Your sewers are revolting!"

"You will assist, or you will be exterminated!" it declared.

"Oh?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Well, go on, then! Exterminate away!"

"Doctor!" Clara looked at him incredulously.

The first Dalek laser bounced off an invisible shield, then the next lasers did the same thing. "What?" Wanda blinked.

"Oops," the Doctor chuckled innocently. "Sorry! The TARDIS forcefield is still here. We get in, you don't."

"The TARDIS has been destroyed!" the Dalek Supreme said.

"Ah, don't be silly," the Doctor snorted. "Of course it hasn't. it just redistributed itself for a moment. Hostile Action Dispersal System. I'll give it a quick blast from my sonic, and the real time envelope will reassemble right here."

"But we saw your screwdriver on the ground, back in the past," Pietro said in confusion.

"Oh, yeah," Jessie smirked at him. "I've got my blaster, I'm good without a screwdriver for a while. As for the Doctor . . . well, I'm loving the wearable technology."

The Doctor flourished his sunglasses and winked before putting them on. "No," Clara breathed. "No, seriously?"

The Doctor tapped the glasses, and Tony threw back his head and laughed in delight. When they were out of danger, Wanda would realize it was one of the few, if any, times she had heard such a sound from the man. "Oh, you're so screwed, Daleks!"

"What is happening?" the Dalek Supreme demanded as particles started appearing in the room.

"Oh, same old, same old," the Doctor wound his arm around Jessie, his wife curling into his side with a wide grin. "Just the Doctor, the Bad Wolf, and friends, in the TARDIS!"

The TARDIS reformed with a rumble of energy, and the two Time Lords rushed to the console, throwing levers and dematerializing from the city.

***

The six stood on Skaro's surface a few minutes later, watching the buildings erupt in fire and start to disintegrate. Tony whistled lowly. "Good riddance to them."

"No kidding," Pietro nodded. "That is satisfying to watch."

"Glad I'm not doing it from inside a Dalek," Wanda whispered, hugging her cardigan tighter around herself.

Jessie cringed, looking down at the ground. Clara switched the topic when she saw the Doctor turning his confession dial over in his hand. "No chance you're going to tell us what's in that confession dial, I suppose?" she asked.

"We're not dead," the Doctor pointed out, slipping it into his pocket.

Clara conceded with a nod. "You know, I'm still wondering," Jessie spoke up, making everyone look at her. "It doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?" Tony asked.

"When you were in the Dalek, you made it say mercy," she told Wanda. "It shouldn't have understood the concept. It shouldn't have been able to say it. How did a tiny piece of mercy get into the DNA of the Daleks?"

Tony scratched his head. "Well, their creator had to put it in there somehow."

Jessie's head shot up, then she grabbed the Dalek gun he still held and ran for the TARDIS. "Bad Wolf?" Wanda shouted.

"Their creator!" Jessie shouted triumphantly, and the Doctor brightened, running after her. "It's their creator!"

"Back in a moment!" the Doctor promised, barely getting inside the TARDIS before it dematerialized.

Tony blinked, pointing at where the police box just was. "Did they just leave without us?"

Pietro huffed. "Better hope they actually mean a moment."

***

"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!" Davros flinched, turning away when the gun fired repeatedly, but no shot hit him. He slowly opened his eyes as lasers fired around him, but not at him, and the hands stretching up disintegrated upon being hit. He turned back to Jessie, and she lowered the gun, extending her other hand towards him. "Come on," she invited. "We'll take you home."

Davros cautiously made his way across the field, seeing the TARDIS door open, the Doctor stepping out behind Jessie. "Which side are you on?" he asked. "Are you the enemy?"

"I'm not sure that any of that matters," the Doctor said. "Friends, enemies. So long as there's mercy."

Jessie smiled warmly in agreement. "Always mercy."

Davros considered her, then placed his hand in hers. Jessie tightened her grip comfortingly and followed him through the field, the Doctor closing the door and following, guarding their backs and watching for any other mine.

***

Writing Tony in this series is much more fun than I thought it would be originally. I'm glad he's around for the ride for now.

Now since there's so many two-parters, interludes may be a smidge longer than they normally are. With that in mind, not sure when the next one will be up, but after that comes "Under the Lake" and "Before the Flood!"

graphic by marvelity