SIGNAL ~ Doctor Who fanfiction

Chapter 11

Author's Note

DUN DUN DUN! Finally the Doctor meets Joltea! Enjoy and happy reading!

*****

Chapter 11 - Questions and Reunions

The Doctor stayed in his spot, his mouth hung open but no words came out. It was a rare moment where the Doctor stood completely speechless, and it was definitely an unfortunate and terribly missed opportunity that no one had gotten the scene on camera.

He knew thousands of languages, but right then and there, he just couldn't find the right words.

It had been ages since anyone called him by that name. Centuries, in fact. Theta Sigma — that was the name he used back in the Time Lord Academy way back before the war against the Dalek race. And Joltea... She was his childhood friend.

"You kept your name," the Doctor smiled slightly.

He hadn't met Joltea since the Last Great Time War. He didn't know she even survived the war — but of course, why didn't he think for once that she might have survived the war? People describe her as a living Tardis, the literal embodiment of time for a reason!

And then he went back to his frozen-like state once more, with an utterly confused Olivia Watson standing beside him. Shock might as well be written all over his face. It was only the soft "Doctor?" coming out from Olivia's mouth that snapped him back into reality.

"Where are you right now?" The Doctor asked the hologram.

"A coffee shop called Starbucks or something," Joltea replied, looking around as she glanced up from the laptop screen. There were lots of people typing on their their laptop or mobile phone while they drank a cup of coffee with the iconic Starbucks logo on it.

"Okay, hold on. I'm coming." The Doctor said swiftly and pointed his sonic at the Joltea hologram. It vanished into thin air and Olivia followed the Doctor as he walked around the console, switching levers and pushing buttons.

But then suddenly the Doctor and Olivia heard a loud thud coming from outside the door. And the doorknob twisted, the doors flung open, and a whoosh of air entered the classroom.

Outside the door stood the mysterious woman — Joltea, his old childhood friend. She wore the same exact black hoodie as her hologram did, the shadow covering half of her face. She flashed a playful grin at the Doctor, before making her way inside.

"Joltea?" The Doctor's voice was so soft, almost like a whisper.

"Theta," she smiled at him, and then he pulled her into a definitely unexpected hug, that lasted for a few seconds.

"Didn't you say you were in Starbucks, just a second ago?" The Doctor frowned as he pulled away.

"Ah Doctor, you can be so clueless sometimes." Joltea sighed. "I'm a Time Lord as well, remember? I time-traveled, idiot." She smiled while shaking her head. She had missed him.

"So you're the mysterious woman in my dreams," the young middle schooler commented. "And also that person from the abandoned classroom... How did you manage to make your voice so robot-like back then? I couldn't even tell if you were a woman or a man."

"Voice changing device," she pulled out a device from her pocket that looked much like a wireless earphone. "The voice I used back then was a Cyberman's voice."

"What's a Cyberman?" Olivia questioned.

"An emotionless robot pyscho," she huffed as the memories of the Cybermen she encountered in her journeys flood back into her mind. "Cybermen are heartless and have no emotions, robots that only know how to  destroy and conquer."

"... So is this your original voice?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The device only works if I actually wear it." Joltea replied simply.

"Do you know what's causing my dreams, then?" Olivia asked, hopeful. The Visionary sighed.

"I... It's sort of hard to explain, but I'll try to say it in simpler terms." Joltea told her. "You looked into my eyes the other day when you were searching the classroom, and therefore you absorbed some of my time energy, a small portion of power from the Time Vortex itself."

"Usually anyone who looks into my eyes results in immediate death, but I somehow managed to save you in the nick of time. Saving you caused the dreams to happen a week before I met you in the classroom. Your history changed, and somehow the Doctor received the signal as well." She continued.

"Sorry for that high- pitched voice, again." She glanced apologetically towards the Doctor. "Then you collapsed, I hid my device in the library and stole a laptop, the Doctor teleported to the future and opened the holographic message, and now here we are."

"You're the first and only human who has the power of Time itself. Well, there's a Rose Tyler, who I suppose is the Doctor's current travel companion, who absorbed the Time Vortex. But the Doctor had to take the power away to save her, and he regenerated."

She glanced briefly at the Doctor, noticing  how he suddenly looked away. "Even for a Time Lord, holding the power of Time for even a second will kill them. The only reason why I could is because I was born with it."

"I didn't understand half the things you said. But does this mean I kinda have powers now? You know, like Marvel and stuff?" Olivia stuttered. It sounded crazy, it was crazy. She was never really into sci-fi, but oh my — Hold up, if she really has powers, what happens now? Does she go back home and pretend like nothing ever happened?

Is she even human anymore?

She had so many questions earlier, and now she had even more. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to know anymore, she was scared — petrified to face the truth.

"Technically, yeah. But it's time." Joltea grinned widely, not noticing her pale expression. "The power will grow stronger over time."

And then as the unpleasant feeling swarmed in Olivia's stomach. Every word that came out after that was a blur. "I don't — I think I'll head home now. I need to clear my mind. See you around... tomorrow?" She cleared her throat. "Also, do you have a phone number? Just in case, I want to contact you or anything... I'm not even sure if you have a phone number — "

"I'm over 900 years old, of course I have a phone number! That's just offensive," He scoffed, then gave her a strip of paper with the Tardis helpline written on it. The Doctor waved back at Joltea as she said her goodbyes and walked out of the classroom door.

He then turned to Joltea, his expression hardening and his body stiffening. He had so many questions, and he needed to talk to her, alone.