Amie's Doctor

Never Mess With a Ginger

Morrigan laughed. "Oh Doctor, Doctor. Poor deluded Doctor. As if your stunning intellect and cobbled together machines could stop me from getting what I want. Well, you overlooked one detail: that crown is Ériu technology. You can shut it down with your remote, but I can restart the system with my mind."

The Doctor made a strangled, choking noise. Amie could see veins standing out on his temples as he struggled to move.

"This means so much to me, Doctor – gathering the wealth of a hundred minds into my own. But your future – oh! There is more potential there than in a thousand human lives. With the power of a Time Lord I can rule the universe." She stroked his tense cheek, and rubbed her fingers through his hair, smiling at the way it stood up. She tapped him lightly on the nose. "But not yet. I won't take you yet. I want you to see me at work while you can still learn. That way you can fully appreciate the gift I give – and the gift I take." She cradled his face in her hands and traced his mouth with her thumb. It made Amie shudder to see her brightly painted nail toying with his lip, and his complete inability to resist.

Now, Morrigan snapped her fingers and two drones honed in on the Doctor, grabbing his shoulders and arms in their claws. Morrigan stood on tip-toe and put her scarlet lips to his ear. "Watch and learn," she whispered. "For the last time – watch and learn." She stepped away from him.

As her hand left the Doctor's cheek, he gasped and began struggling against the drones. "Don't stand there gawping," he shouted. "Run!"

Lauren took off down the hill, a pair of drones after her. Amie hesitated long enough to see Ioan whip out his gun and fire it at Morrigan. She was one step ahead of him. As the gun fired she vanished, reappearing next to where she'd been.

"Whoops. Not a good shot, are we, Dearie?" Morrigan asked gleefully. One of the drones snatched the gun from Ioan. In two steps Morrigan reached, grabbed his shoulder, and froze him in place. The last two drones honed in on Amie. She fled.

Slipping and stumbling on broken rocks and uneven ground, she dashed towards the wood. "Oh god, this is not what I thought I'd do today!"

She had a good start, but the drones were fast. The whir of their flight filled her ears, growing closer by the second. She was running too hard to look back. The first trees loomed in front of her. She staggered between the trunks, willing her tired legs to go faster. Underbrush caught at her ankles and branches slapped her face. Her breath came in great gasps. Keep going, don't stop, don't slow down. A metal claw scraped her shoulder. I never should have got out of bed!

Her foot sank into the ground, twisting her ankle sideways. Amie shut her eyes and flung up her arms as she fell. Her hips landed on something soft. The rest of her kept tumbling forward, falling another foot down and striking a hard flat surface. Her eyes popped open. She was lying sprawled on the floor of her room, with one foot still up on her bed, tangled in the blankets. Warm, late-afternoon sunlight shone through the windows and somewhere a fly buzzed against a window pane.

Amie kicked the blanket off her foot and scrambled up. "What? What? How did I...?" She felt something poking into her hip. She stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out Ioan's hand-held teleport. "Okay, I forgot I had this." She held it for a moment, while images of droids and Morrigan holding the Doctor tumbled through her mind. "So, what do I do? Now I'm safe, what do I do about them?" She glanced at the teleport. "If I go back..." Suddenly she turned and raced down the hall.

"Please don't have put it away, please don't have put it away." She careened down the stairs, leaping the last steps into the entryway. "Yes!" She snatched up her bow from beside the piano. "Yay for procrastinating!" Grabbing her quiver, she slung it on her shoulder, then pulled out an arrow and notched it on the string. "Okay teleport thingy," she gripped it tight, "hill above Morrigan – close but hidden." She visualized an outcropping of rocks, a short distance from where they'd been. The next moment, she stood beside it.

She ducked down and peered between the rocks. Morrigan stood less than thirty feet away. Ioan knelt in front of her, her hand pressed against his forehead. Lauren and the Doctor stood nearby, held by drones. Amie could hear them clearly.

"Morrigan, don't do this," the Doctor pleaded. "You're interfering with the laws of the universe. No one can live forever. We shouldn't try."

"There you're wrong, Doctor. I can live forever," Morrigan mocked.

"But at what cost? Look at him – you're taking that man's future."

"I know. I'm making it my future."

"But what can you do with it? Sure, you'll be a little cleverer, but will you care for people the way he's tried to? Will you invent and create and learn brilliant new things? Think of all the people he'll meet, the friends he can make, the family he can love. You'll never do those things for him. This is the only life he has. Don't take it from him. Let him live it."

Morrigan laughed. "Oh, Doctor, you are so cute when you're desperate. All the trivial accomplishments of a single life are worthless when you compare them to what I shall do. I will unite the universe and create peace for all creatures."

"Fearful obedience is not the same as peace. And no life is worthless. Especially not the ordinary ones."

"Your philanthropy is touching, but unconvincing. Watch closely, Doctor, as I give the gift of life-long youth."

Morrigan placed both hands on Ioan's head, closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath. A yellow glow grew out from her fingers. Small sparks swirled around Ioan's head and up her arms.

It's now or never. Amie stood up slowly, carefully taking her stance. Hips square, back straight, elbow level. She pulled the bowstring back until it brushed her cheek. If I botch this there won't be a second shot. Aim for her eye – the most lethal point. Aim. Breathe in –

The Doctor's voice echoed through her mind. "Killing isn't a good last resort. You pay the price for taking a life."

"Screw that," Amie muttered. "For my friends it's worth it. Never mess with a ginger."

She released. The arrow flashed through the air, faster than sight. Amie knew the moment she let go that it was too high. Morrigan gasped as the bolt grazed the side of her head and yanked out a lock of hair. 

Amie swore violently and scrambled to get another arrow on her bow. The stupid quiver fell over, tangling the arrows in the shoulder strap. Morrigan was shouting – shrieking below her, and Amie could hear the whir of drones, swooping in on her hiding place. She yanked an arrow free and stood up, fumbling with the bow. She looked down the slope. Morrigan's eyes flashed up at her. One hand clutched her head and blood showed on her fingers, mixing with her crimson hair.

"Tear her apart!" She screeched, pointing at Amie. "Tear her to pieces!" That was her mistake. For one second, she let go of Ioan.

As Amie ducked the drone's attack, releasing her second arrow at random, Ioan whipped the kitchen knife from his boot and plunged it upward, deep between Morrigan's ribs. She let out a blood-curdling cry. Orange sparks exploded around her. The next instant she, the drones, Lauren, and the Doctor vanished.

Ioan collapsed to the ground. Amie dropped her bow, raced down the hill, and bent over him. "What do I do? What do I do? Oh god, what if he's dead?" She tentatively put her hand on his neck. He's still warm. That's gotta be good. After what felt like forever – possibly three seconds – she found his pulse. Alive. She rolled him over onto his back and checked for injuries. None visible. Did I distract Morrigan in time? Amie nervously watched the rise and fall of Ioan's chest. Where's Lauren and the Doctor? What should I do now?