We Will Rise |2| The Ascension

Chapter One: Smith, Di Angelo, and Jones

She watched in horror as the building exploded, killing every Avenger. Every one of her friends she was too weak to save.

Then she woke up in a cold sweat.

It had been a few months since the Battle of New York, and McKenzie was swiftly realising what set her apart from the Doctor. She had assumed having her powers made her roughly his equal, but now she wasn't so certain. After all, the Doctor had been in countless wars before. He was used to the war never really ending. He had found ways to deal with the nightmares, the guilt, the trauma. And he had at least been capable enough to walk away without any substantial injuries. After all, a few bruises were nothing to a man who had survived the Time War. But for her, the attack on New York had been chaos, unimaginable chaos. She'd never survived anything like it. And now she was an Avenger, she'd have to do a whole lot more than just survive it.

***

When she wandered into the console room an hour or so later, the Doctor was right where she'd assumed he would be: at the central console, reading some data on the monitor. "Anything good?" she asked. 

He turned, flashing her that same old grin that had become so familiar in such a short time. "I," he said excitedly, "have found us some trouble to get in." 

"Wonderful. What is it?" 

"Someone's been using an H2O scoop around this hospital," he explained, showing her the readouts. "Bunch of plasma coils as well... might be dangerous." 

"Oh, well, in that case," she teased, grabbing the dematerialisation lever, "Allons-y!" 

"Hey!" he complained, even as the TARDIS jolted under their feet. "That's my line!" 

***

The next day, the Doctor was lying in a hospital bed wearing striped pyjamas when McKenzie appeared at the end of his bed, pulling the curtain round so she could talk to him without other eyes watching.

"Did you grab my painkillers?" she asked, frowning uncomfortably.

The Doctor winced. "I thought you had them."

McKenzie groaned. "Nope. I didn't see them on my table. Ugh, I must have ran out!"

"Is it really bad?" the Time Lord inquired, eyeing the brace she still wore around her chest, holding her left wing in place.

She made a face. "It's okay... I can deal, I just wish I didn't have to."

"Nick some from the hospital," the Doctor suggested, shrugging.

"What? No! Apart from anything else, that'd be plain rude." McKenzie's eyes had gone wide.

The Doctor grinned at her. "Aw, you are just too good," he told her, leaning across to give her a short kiss.

McKenzie laughed quietly, holding her side. "That makes it a bit better," she admitted, winking at her boyfriend. He took her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. "I'm glad you didn't use my real surname," she said after a moment. "Well, slightly less made up surname. You know what I mean."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed, nodding. "Didn't think you'd appreciate being swarmed by people for New York. Not so soon." He eyed her curiously. Considering she was recovering from a dislocated wing, a fully-fledged war, and was having nightmares almost every time she went to sleep, she was coping pretty well.

Suddenly, a doctor they'd been introduced to as Mr Stoker pulled back the curtain, flanked by a group of students. "Now then, Mr Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?"