One Last Chance |6| The Ascension

Chapter Ten: Aftermath

Clara groaned, towelling off her hair as she wandered back into the console room. "I feel exhausted. I feel—"

"We've had two days crammed into the space of one," the Doctor suggested, rubbing at a mark on the time rotor.

Wanda narrowed her eyes at him. "Why would you say that?"

He blinked, then shrugged. "I don't know. I say stuff. Ignore me."

"Do you feel safe?" McKenzie asked, blowing on a steaming cup of tea.

Clara frowned. "Of course."

McKenzie wasn't reassured. "Give me a number out of ten. Ten being yum, one being yuck."

Wanda rolled her eyes. "You're being weird again."

"I'm being serious," McKenzie insisted. "I need to know you feel safe. I need to know you're not afraid."

"Of?"

"The future. Anything could happen."

"So long as the past doesn't happen again," Wanda said, shrugging. "I am fine." She smiled as McKenzie nudged her affectionately. "So go on, then. Where next?"

The Doctor grinned, one hand on the dematerialisation lever. "Anywhere." He threw the switch.

***

Later, once they'd dropped Clara home, Wanda joined McKenzie for a cup of tea, watching with interest as she did it all one-handedly. "Wouldn't a prosthetic be easier?"

McKenzie raised an eyebrow, handing over Wanda's mug before grabbing her own. "Probably. I've drawn up some blueprints but... I don't think I'll make it. Not yet, anyway."

Wanda shook her head. "Why not?"

"Because..." McKenzie sighed. "On that battlefield with Thanos, I had nothing. No back-up, no left hand, no energy. Just a hammer I'd never learnt to use. And I was pretty much useless."

"You called an army down upon him," Wanda reminded her. "That's not what I call useless."

"I didn't know about that at the time, though," McKenzie pointed out. "I thought everyone else was dead. I thought it was just me against his whole army. I... I thought I was going to die, and I remember thinking to myself... at least I'd die fighting. And I just wished that I was better. That I hadn't always relied on the powers that augmented me." She shrugged. "I don't want to be left helpless if something happens to the arm."

Wanda's expression softened. "You're never going to stop fighting, are you?"

"You can take the girl out of London," McKenzie joked, her lips twitching. "Plus, I mean, people keep trying to kill me. It's very rude of them. I'll go out swinging, I don't doubt that. I just want to be sure I can take out a Dalek or two along the way."

"I'll drink to that," Wanda grinned, and they clinked their glasses.

~~~