Screeching To A Halt (Book Eight of The Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Freezing Over

Fun fact: when searching for the gif, I typed in "Annabeth Chase Sea of Monsters gif." Amy Pond was among them.

And onwards! Next to last interlude before Book Nine!

***

"What do you mean, she's gone?" Rhodey frowned when the Doctor scrambled out of the TARDIS the next morning.

"I mean, she's gone," the Doctor insisted. "Not anywhere in the TARDIS."

"She hasn't been here," Steve shook his head. "I don't know why she would be. She usually stays in the TARDIS anyway."

"And she is usually up at this hour when she is here," Vision added. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," the Doctor nodded. "Screwdriver was missing, too."

"Captain Rogers, the Bad Wolf has reappeared in the training area," FRIDAY's voice said. If an AI could sound nervous, the Doctor swore FRIDAY was. "It appears she is . . . utterly distressed."

"Thank you, FRIDAY!" the Doctor sprinted for the elevator, the Maximoffs right behind him.

***

Utterly distressed was an understatement. Before the doors even opened, Jessie's dark anger and fury and pain was rolling through the Doctor's and Wanda's heads so much, they were clutching their heads with the force.

When the doors opened, Jessie was furiously hacking away at the simulation FRIDAY had running. She had already sliced her way through at least thirty dummies, and was currently working on her next ten. Her stormy grey eyes were so dark, they were nearly black, and she was moving faster than she ever had before.

The Doctor watched as she decapitated one dummy with so much force, the head went spiraling towards them. He reached out and caught the head with one hand before it nailed Sam in the face. "You're mad," he said simply.

Jessie viciously stabbed one last dummy before throwing both her swords to the ground, growling and walking over to one of the benches to grab a water bottle. "Of course I am," she sneered, tilting her head back and downing half the bottle in one go. "You would be, too, if you were where I just was."

"And where was that?"

Jessie just pointed to the other end of the bench. "Guess."

The Doctor frowned, looking in that direction, before his eyes widened. Sitting on the end of the bench was a diary . . . a familiar one at that, along with his screwdriver. "No," he breathed, turning to her. "You went to the Library."

"I didn't exactly have any choice," she shook her head.

"Why?" he demanded, walking up to her. "After Amy and Rory, what possibly could have made you go where we saw River die?"

"I had no intention to," Jessie glared. "But not a single timeline could be disturbed."

"We weren't there."

"You certainly weren't."

"What the hell do you mean?"

Jessie looked him right in the eye. "Four thousand and twenty two saved," she recited. "No survivors."

Abruptly, the Doctor's hands grabbed his head when memory after memory was unlocked, memories from the Library, memories of a woman he hadn't remembered, but now did. And by the time he looked up, he completely understood why Jessie was behaving like the apocalypse was ready to occur. "You," he breathed. "You were there."

"I was," she nodded curtly. "And seeing time cannot be rewritten . . . " She shrugged. "What else could I do?"

"Oh, God," the Doctor shook his head.

"I'm lost," Sam finally said.

"Our last selves went to this place called the Library," the Doctor answered. "Big Library, since the whole planet is called the Library, great big Library full of all sorts of books. It was when we first met River Song, when we didn't know her. That was when she went to die. Thing is, while we were there, another woman named Joan Bishop came to help once the Vashta Nerada showed their faces . . . well, they didn't exactly show them. They're shadows, you see, killer shadow swarms - "

"Doctor."

"Right," the Doctor mentally thanks his wife for getting him back on track. "Anyway, Joan Bishop was her."

"This me," Jessie added.

"Wouldn't that be a paradox?" Martha asked.

"Considering the planet was about to destroy itself anyway, I guess it canceled it out," Jessie said dryly. "Still wouldn't recommend it, though."

"Which is why we never remembered her until now," the Doctor said. "Jessie locked our past selves' memories of her away, keyed to 'four thousand and twenty two saved. No survivors.' It was a code, see. Instead of a key, it was a phrase."

"And I'm done," Jessie said abruptly.

The Doctor did a double take. "What?"

"It would seem like this version of me is cursed," Jessie answered, picking up River's diary and giving his screwdriver back. "Why is it that everyone I care about this time dies on my watch?"

"You can't save everyone on this job," Steve reminded her.

"I can damn well try," she retorted. "But Amy and Rory. And now River." She shook her head. "The next time you catch me giving a damn for someone I don't know is when the Nine Realms all freeze over."

The Doctor closed his eyes, already knowing this was something he wasn't going to be able to talk her out of. Since the Battle of Demons Run, he had wondered when this was going to happen, if she would ever be able to stop caring, would not give a damn about anyone . . . basically be a soldier, the perfect soldier.

It would seem he now had his answer.

"When did this suddenly become you?" Saleen stared at her, stunned, as she headed back to the TARDIS.

"Since the Master shot me and called me a monster," Jessie narrowed her eyes, her pupils flaring gold. "Guess I should've seen this coming."

Pietro flinched as she spun on her heel and marched out the door. "I don't know how I can help her," the Doctor admitted.

"Don't let her down," Wanda answered. "And do not ever leave her."

"I can try," he nodded, taking a deep breath. "I can't promise when we'll be back."

"Look after her," Natasha said. "That's your primary concern now."

"That I can do," the Doctor nodded, heading for the door. "As long as she doesn't kill me first."

"She wouldn't do that," Rhodey frowned.

"Oh, with her like this?" the Doctor turned around to face them before the door closed. "She just might."

***

And guess what she does next chapter. *sigh* My poor Jessie. I'm putting her through hell.

At least her successor (so far) isn't having such a bad life. :)

Last episode is next! Expect to see "The Snowmen" soon!