Chapter Twelve: The Oncoming Storm

            En route to Themyscira, via the infinite dimensional corridor, Gen spent a few hours in her T.A.R.D.I.S.’s wardrobe room, suiting up for battle. From what she knew about Regen-8-powered individuals and what Diana told her about the Amazons, she was going to need the right type of armor – one that offered enough protection and maneuverability in combat.

            “Yo, Gen! You up in this piece?”

            “Gen? Are you decent?”

            She heard Craig and Jeff’s voices echo throughout the colossal wardrobe space, finding the two men walking in together. Jeff had his eyes covered, thinking that he would catch her in the buff (despite having x-ray vision anyway), whereas Craig could care less, striding in like he owned the place.

            “What’s up, fellas?” she asked them.

            “You go first,” Jeff invited Craig.

            “Thanks, brah, but I was goin’ befo’e you regardless,” Craig told him, prior to addressing Gen. “You need to talk to my pops. He sweatin’ ‘bout me gettin’ smoked in this fight.”

            “He could be right,” Gen shared Willie’s concern.

            Craig scoffed. “But it’s just a bunch of Xena: Warrior Princess hunnies!”

            “And, going by that comparison, can you imagine yourself fighting Xena?”

            Craig impassively considered her reasoning. “Well…yeah. I mean, all she got are those flips and kicks…and that disc thing. That ain’t nothin’.”

            “Uh-huh,” Gen smirked, arms crossed. “So I guess you wouldn’t mind if we took a detour to ancient Greece, so we can put your skills to the test against her. Did I happen to mention Xena and I are good friends?”

            Craig must’ve forgotten that Gen had the power to travel to the actual worlds of the shows and movies he’d seen on TV, because his bold attitude rapidly changed to timidity in a flash.

            “You ain’t got to do all that,” he objected. “I’ll just keep my Pop company with Zoe and Alexis.”

            He left with his tail tucked between his legs after.

            Now alone with Jeff, Gen inquired of him, “So what did you need?”

            “It’s Alex,” Jeff worriedly said. “She said something about a ‘mini-pilot’ you injected into her and how he’s making contact. Do you know anything about that?”

            “Lieutenant Pendleton, I almost forgot,” Gen gasped. She started making her way out of the wardrobe while instructing Jeff, “Get yourself suited up. If you’re going out there with us, you better be wearing more than a hospital gown.”

            Jeff recognized the fact that he needed a change of wardrobe, and not just because he grew weary of keeping his bare backside concealed from anyone that passed behind him. There was no better place than the massive wardrobe room he currently stood in, with an unlimited selection of attires for both men and women.

            He faced a mild dilemma. “What am I supposed to wear to a fight?”

            “The Doctor – not the one with us now, but a future one – left me a superhero costume from a friend he made on one of his journeys,” Gen recommended. “It’s somewhere around here. Try that.”

            She didn’t have time to direct him to where she kept it; she had to check on Alexis and the miniaturized pilot submersing within her.

-----------------

            “She put a shrunken test pilot…in your body?”

            “Yes.”

            “And you can communicate with him right now?”

            “Yes.”

            “And he can see everything that you’re seeing right now?”

            “Yes.”

            There were many times in his travels when the Doctor’s mind was blown over scientific breakthroughs, and Alexis’s current experience with Lieutenant Tuck Pendleton was certainly one for the record books. He kept her company there in her room before Gen arrived.

            “You seriously injected a shrunken test pilot into this woman?” The Doctor expressed his esteemed amusement to her.

            “Yes,” Gen flaccidly verified, focusing more on Alexis. “He’s finally made contact with you?”

            Alexis nodded, her face amassed with discomfort.

            Hearing Pendleton talking inside her head unsettled her more than the idea of him piloting around her insides.

            “Lieutenant,” Gen said to the unseen test pilot. “Head straight for the brain. That’s where you’ll find the parasite and have to eliminate it.”

            Alexis paused to relay Pendleton’s message.

            “He has quite the colorful vernacular,” she said. “He doesn’t sound at all easy with what you’re asking him to do.”

            “Don’t worry,” Gen remarked. “I have the utmost confidence in you and the impressive tech your pod has.”

            Alexis wasn’t certain if she was talking to her or Pendleton (or perhaps both).

            Her life had taken such a bizarre turn since the moment Everett tried to kill her. From Gen’s claim that she’s really a Time Lord from a planet called “Gallifrey” to her boyfriend inheriting superpowers from a meteor.

            Could things have gotten any weirder?

            “How do I look?”

            Their eyes went to the doorway entering the room. Jeff appeared there, wearing the strangest getup Alexis had ever seen. It was some type of superhero outfit that looked homemade in design. A grey mesh of fabric padded for the allusion of a muscled exterior and complimented by green boots, briefs, and gloves with a long cape to match. To finalize the look was a belt with an emerald buckle, as well as a green planetary insignia with “M.M.” imprinted over it.

            “Absolutely ludicrous,” the Doctor uttered. “Who are you supposed to be?”

            “I-I’m t-the…” Jeff stammered. He hadn’t expected himself to come up with a name to suit this new superhero persona he inherited. His eyes searched the room for inspiration, seeing nothing but bland décor, minus the Victorian style bed that Alexis sat on. It was only when he looked to his suit and saw the two M’s on his chest that he found his muse: “Meteor Man.”

            “Well, with a name like that, you may have a shot in the Justice League,” the Doctor commented.

            Jeff beamed at this. “Really?!”

            “No,” the Doctor flagrantly replied. Not missing his beat, he turned to Gen and said, “We have to make one more stop before Themyscira.”

            “O.K.,” Gen obliged. “Where to?”

            “A fallen kingdom.”

----------------

            Chanley awoke with a splitting headache. Sitting up only made it worse.

            “Take it easy, sweetheart.” A feminine voice with a British accent urged her. She swore that she heard it somewhere before. It was gentle and kind with a little bit of pep to it, as if the woman behind it knew everything would be alright.

            As soon as her sight regained some focus, she looked around.

            No longer was she inside Neas’s T.A.R.D.I.S. or those of his past and future regenerations – or the Doctor’s, for that matter. Instead, she found herself confined in a cavernous prison cell with two other women: a brunette with tanned skin and tall enough to tower over even Chanley’s elevated height, and a young Barasinghan female.

            Seeing them both, she figured exactly where she’d ended up.

            “Oh, no,” she moped. “I’m on Themyscira.”

            “How did you guess?” The Barasinghan asked her.

            “Because I brought us here.”

            Her response puzzled her two cellmates. “What do you mean by that? Who are you?” the tall English brunette questioned her.

            “Aznavorian, don’t you even recognize your own child when she’s standing right in front of you?”

            Chanley knew that voice all too well. It belonged to the woman responsible for this whole mess: the Master, or “Missy,” as she preferred to call this female regeneration of hers. She had their cell opened and then approached them, flanked by Neas and Chanley’s immediate past and future regenerations, Chris and Everett. From the way each of their eyes irradiated with the golden hue of regenerative energy, it was obvious they were under the influence of Regen-8, as well as Missy’s control.

            “Oh, Neas,” Suzanne grieved of her mind-controlled son. “You poor thing.”

            “I don’t need your pity,” Neas retorted, his voice hallowed and enthralled. “I am a child of the Master now, not to a traitor like you!”

            Suzanne knew that it wasn’t him talking; it was the Regen-8.

            “So, I see you’ve perfected it,” she told Missy. “But at what cost?”

            Missy shrugged, smirking. “No cost at all.”

            “Oh, really?” Chanley rebuked. “What about her respect?” She gestured specifically to Chris. “You think the second she snaps out of it, she’s gonna be in a forgiving mood? ‘Cause I can tell ya from experience, that ain’t gonna happen! I’m living proof that you lose everything from this, Missy!”

            Her words brought a smile to Suzanne’s face. Out of all she had to endure over the last few days, discovering a reformed regeneration of Christopher – a child she thought lost to her forever – was the best news she had received.

            “All that you are to me is an insubordinate,” Missy contested, “one that I’ll look forward to dealing with, once I’ve taken out your dear ol’ daddy.” With the snap of her fingers, she summoned and commanded Neas, “Break Aznavorian’s neck!”

            “As you wish, Master,” he complied, menacingly advancing towards Suzanne.

            She backed away as he did, until she reared against the rock wall, a harsh reminder that there was no escaping her plight.

            But then a massive explosion elsewhere on the island erupted.

            Its register was intense enough to shake the cavern around them.

            “What was that?!” a distressed Missy exclaimed.

            She soon received her answer at the arrival of Antiope, general of the Amazons. “Your Majesty,” she addressed Missy. “The city is under attack by outsiders…one of them looks like Diana! How is that possible?!”

            “Time travel – that’s how,” Missy groaned, snapping her fingers again to bring Neas back to her side, subsequently canceling Suzanne’s execution. Before leaving with him, Chris, Everett, and Antiope to handle the situation, she ordered to the Amazonians on prison guard duty, “Stay alert. Someone’s gonna try to bust them out.”

            “Yes, Your Majesty,” the guards obeyed, locking the cell once Missy and her entourage stepped out from it.

            Another explosive quake unnerved Fawn. “What is happening?!”

            “Backup’s arrived,” Chanley told her.

            “It sounds like a whole army,” Suzanne noted. “How did you manage that?”

            Chanley coyly grinned as she looked on her. “I had a little help.”

            The wild, horrifying shriek of an animal of some type alarmed them and even the Amazonian guards, who tensed into attack position. Their spears were aimed to the one corner of the corridor from where the noise reverberated.

            “We will kill you where you stand, interloper,” one of them yelled.

            A few minutes of rigid silence passed, and the guards figured the noise to be nothing else than that.

            And then a few shadows casted down the corridor.

            The guards deepened their stance, anticipating some of the outsiders responsible for the attack over Themyscira. What they had not anticipated were those outsiders to be vicious reptilian creatures with razor-sharp teeth and claws.

            Chanley knew them from what they were: velociraptors.

            They were specifically those bred straight out of Jurassic World.

            This was clear just as Owen Grady emerged within the cavern with them. “Easy, ladies,” he warned the guards. “Not that I have any clue what’s goin’ on around here, or what I’m even doing here, but I don’t wanna have to sic my girls after you.”

            “No man is permitted on this island!”

            “Leave now! While you and your creatures still have your lives!”

            “Yeah,” Owen muttered. “The Doc told me I’d have to do this.”

            With a simple hand gesture, Owen sicced Charlie, Delta, and Blue on the Amazonian guards. The two women must have hidden their fears with a false sense of bravery, because they retreated the moment the raptors pursued.

            “Alright, they’re gone,” Owen notified to an undetected party member. “You guys can come out now.”

            At his notice, the Doctor stepped out, accompanied by Bradlee and Mystery Inc.

            “What took you guys so long?” Chanley quipped.

            “Had to take a detour,” Bradlee said as he and the others unlocked the cell.

            “Must’ve been some detour,” Suzanne remarked. “Those raptors had those Amazons running like—”

            All of the sudden, Suzanne doubled over, screaming in agony.

            “What’s wrong with her?” Velma inquired.

            “It’s the Regen-8…her molecules are becoming dangerously unstable,” Chanley stated. “She’s dying!”

            “I have the antidote,” the Doctor informed. “We just need to get her to my T.A.R.D.I.S.!”

------------

            Watching the battle over Themyscira through the console room view screen, Craig started to count himself thankful that Gen convinced him to stay in her T.A.R.D.I.S. with his father, Zoe, and Alexis. The fight was like something out of a comic book – chaotic and all sorts of crazy.

            The Justice League held against the Amazonian defenses.

            They had plenty of assistance with Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems.

            At one point, Diana had to combat against her past self, being careful not to jeopardize her existence any further.

            Jane, Al-Lee, and Batman were the only few humans in the fight, each holding their own with superb skills in hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. The Doctor made it clear for Batman in particular that no guns were to be used (apparently, this version of the Caped Crusader had an affinity for them).

            Nonetheless, their side was winning – something else Craig was thankful for.

            Willie kept everyone entertained with some Al Jarreau playing over the console room speakers and some barbecue ribs that he cooked up from the kitchen. He walked right up to Zoe with a plate of them. “Maybe we can get an earlier start with you, lil’ lady,” he said.

            Zoe cringed. “An earlier start with what?”

            “Awakening your inner brotha.” Willie brought the plate close to her face.

            The aroma made Zoe’s stomach growl.

            Before she could try one, however, Alexis suddenly cried out in pain, clasping her head and collapsing.

            She convulsed soon after.

            “She’s havin’ a seizure!” Craig rushed to her aid. “Zoe, go get some help!”

            “I’m on it,” she acknowledged, rushing out of the T.A.R.D.I.S. immediately.

            Unfortunately, she would not get very far.

            Out of the shadows came an assailant that had waited for the opportune time to pounce on Zoe. He attacked with a rock small enough to hold but hefty enough to knock her out once whacked against the back of her skull.

            It was a brute act only Draco Malfoy was capable of committing.

            And Missy knew that when she sent him to abduct the unsuspecting girl.