One Last Chance |6| The Ascension

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Secrets We Keep

McKenzie walked to the edge of the rooftop, taking a seat with her legs dangling over the edge. For a moment, she flashed back all those years to when she had sat here with the Doctor at her side, comforting her after the death of a friend. How long ago it seemed now, and how unattainable.

She heard a familiar sizzle of electricity behind her, and gave a small smile. "Thought you might not come."

"Of course I came," he said, taking a seat next to her. "When have I ever let you down, Lexi?"

"Never on anything that mattered," she conceded. "That's why I asked you here." She looked out across London, the view from the roof of the Powell Estate no longer familiar the way it had once been. "Because this does matter, Jack. I think it matters more than anything."

He put his arm around her shoulders. "Tell me."

She sighed, biting her lip. "Kas is going to die, one day."

"Most people do," Jack said gently, knowing there was more to it than that. "Not me, obviously."

"And not me either," she confessed, numb. "I'm like you. I can't die."

He hesitated. "Are you sure? 'Cause you do have a habit of miraculously escaping death, you know."

She huffed a laugh despite herself. "I know. And that's what I wanted to believe it was. But I can't ignore it anymore. I went to Asgard and the goddess of death stabbed me through the heart, and I got up. And then I went to Vormir and I jumped off a cliff and I died, I definitely died, and then I got up. And then Kas regenerated, and I took a full blast of it, and I fell from a tower and I felt my back break. And then I woke up in the TARDIS, battered and bruised, but alive."

"What did he say to that?" Jack asked. McKenzie hesitated, and his eyes widened. "He doesn't know?"

"I can't tell him," McKenzie implored, trying not to cry and failing. "I can't—I can't face him looking at me the way he looked at you at the end of the universe. I couldn't bear it." She sobbed, putting her face in her hands. "Jack, I don't know what to do..."

He sighed, putting his arms around her as she cried. "Me neither," he admitted. "Me neither."

***

The creak of the door made the Doctor look up from the monitor. It was McKenzie. He smiled. "How was the movie?"

She blinked for a moment, then flashed a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Oh, traumatising in every way. Even Nat cried. She says hi, by the way."

He nodded, distracted. "Good, good."

"Mmm." She kissed his cheek, then headed towards one of the staircases leading further into the TARDIS. "Anyway, I, er... I'm gonna have a shower. See ya."

"Laters," he replied slowly. Only when she was gone did he lift his eyes from the monitor, swallowing. Going to the cinema with Natasha, fine, even in London. But coming home smelling of lemon aftershave...

Something was off about her, and there was one man he was certain would know what it was.

Captain Jack Harkness.

***

Clara Oswald was walking through a park in Shoreditch when her phone rang. She pulled it out, smiling when she saw the caller ID, and answered. "Hello, you."

"I need to talk to you," Wanda told her on the other line.

"Alright," Clara agreed easily, shrugging. "Well, I'll be there in a couple of minutes, so..."

"Okay, well, there's sort of a headline, really," Wanda told her. "I love you."

Clara smiled. "I love you."

***

On the other end, holed up in Clara's flat waiting for her, Wanda rolled her eyes. "No, not like that. Not like it's automatic, like how you end a phone call. I love you. I thought I'd never say those words again, but then you came along and I remembered what the Angel had always said, that it's possible to love over and over again, and I do. I do love you." She paused, waiting for a response, but there was none. "So, uh... That's it, really." She bit her lip, listening to the sounds of cars passing from the other end of the line. "Clara? Could you maybe say something? I know this is probably a bit unexpected, but..." She sighed. "I love you, Clara. I love you."

Suddenly an unfamiliar voice was on the other end of the phone. "Hello? Hello, is someone there?"

Wanda blinked. "Er, yeah. Hello? Who's this?"

"I just picked up the phone," the woman told her. "I'm sorry, I found it."

"Oh, um... okay. Well, could you put me back on the phone to Clara? I was talking to Clara."

"I'm sorry," the woman said, her voice sounding horrified. "I'm so sorry."

Wanda swallowed, trying to stay calm. "What are you sorry about? Please, just pass the phone back to—"

"She was crossing the road. I found the phone, it must have just got thrown. The car, it just came out of nowhere. I'm so sorry."

Wanda's blood turned to ice.

***

The scene was a mess of horrified bystanders, cars strewn haphazardly across the road where they had come to a halt, the way blocked by the accident. The woman's body had been covered over by someone's coat, but the damage on the car in question was in full view. It had crumpled in with the blow, the final impact of a woman's life immortalised in unforgiving steel.

And suddenly, the crowds were turning, shouting, pointing into the sky. As they watched, Wanda Maximoff descended into the street, letting her powers slow her fall. And as she walked closer to the body, as she pulled back the coat to reveal the dead woman's face, she let out the most terrible cry and began to weep.

***

At the school, there was an assembly to mark the occasion. Mr Armitage stood gravely at the front, his voice strained with grief. "By now, I'm sure you've heard the rumours, and it is with great sadness that I must confirm them to be true. I have gathered you all here today to say that Miss Oswald... That Clara Oswald has sadly passed away. I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing her family and friends our sincerest condolences. Miss Oswald was an inspiration to all of those who knew her. A teacher, a joker, a friend. It was no secret that she had a close relationship with the enhanced individual Wanda Maximoff, and our thoughts and prayers are with her too."

~~~