Chapter One: The Stranger
Chapter One: The Stranger
The days on the forest planet of Lunus 5 lasted for
precisely six months. In that time, the climate was harsh beneath the twin
suns. Those that braved it would compare it to a tropical rainforest, only ten
times more intense. The nights, by contrast, were much more pleasant but
extremely limited…so limited that the common space traveler would have just a
tiny window of time to get there and experience it.
That wasn’t such a problem for a Time Lord like Neas.
With her Type-Z TARDIS, she could reach one of those short nights on Lunus 5 in
literally no time at all. Often,
she’d go there to relax after a taxing journey through the infinite dimensional
corridor; that was achievable by a swim in the Endless Lagoon.
The lagoon was just as it was by name – a never-ending
body of water.
It was jarring to see at night with the twin moons
reflecting off the surface.
In her seventeenth regeneration, who she called “Alicia,”
Neas decided she was long overdue for a dip in the Endless Lagoon. The visit to
Pandora with her companions, Ben Tennyson and Newt Scamander, brought her back
someplace mentally she hadn’t been since the Cyber War.
She let a man die. Not just any man. An evil man named
Quaritch.
She tried to save his soul, showing him the truest evil
there was in the multiverse: the Daleks. When Quaritch proved himself to be
irredeemable, Alicia left him to die on Skaro, blasted to atoms by the Daleks’
death rays.
Such a dark action went against a new approach on life
she opted to take when she regenerated into her predecessor, Alexis (a.k.a.
“Professor Redding”). Jefferson Reed made her into a better person during that
time. With him, she felt like the human she once was before Rassilon
manipulated her DNA, increasing the Gallifreyan half of her genetic code and
turning into a full-blooded Time Lord.
When Jeff became the Meteor Man at a time when Alexis was
under the influence of the chameleon arch, it seemed like their relationship
became that much more interesting. A Time Lord and a superhero in love,
traversing the multiverse. Nothing could ever break them apart.
Alas, something did…something that killed Jeff and, to a
lesser extent, Alexis.
It was how Alicia came to be. In some aspects, she was a
living memorial to Jeff: a brave, selfless African American with the heart and
body of a superhero. But Alicia couldn’t see herself that way. She didn’t feel
much like a hero after what she did to Quaritch.
After landing on Lunus 5, she wandered miles and miles
from her Type-Z, completely alone. Reaching the Endless Lagoon, she stripped
down and dove in. Adding to the lake’s majestic properties was a mystical
legend: those who swam in the lake experienced future visions.
Floating across the surface, Alicia did experience such
visions – particularly those of a young girl with a shaven head and a town
called Hawkins, wherever that was. They only got stranger and more random with
a dark dimension of some type, the Doctor’s TARDIS, a beautiful teenage blonde,
and a squid-like creature.
That last one scared her out of her tranquil state, splashing
in the water with a jolt.
What was that?!
She wondered, feeling as if the one place where she could find peace was
tainted by a darkness of its own.
In keeping herself afloat, she detected a presence by the
shore.
Turning her head, she was surprised to see a young girl
standing there. It was the same girl from her visions! She looked different,
having a bit more hair.
“It’s you,” Alicia blurted, which seemed to have scared
the girl into running away.
Alicia swam her way out of the never-ending lagoon and
chased the girl. She forgone putting her clothes back on, leaving her body to
air-dry at the rapid speed it moved in. Unfortunately, the girl had a better
head start than her. She lost track of her in the foliage.
Who was she? How
did she get all the way out here?
Those questions buzzed in her head while catching her
breath. Her TARDIS was just a short walk from where she stopped, giving up the
pursuit of a girl that might possibly have been a lingering side effect from
the swim. She hoped Ben and Newt weren’t in the console room as she entered the
ship.
No such luck.
The boys were just coming out of Newt’s magic suitcase in
the corner at the same time she walked in, half-naked and dripping wet. “What
up, Alic—AH!” Ben cried out, shielding his 10-year-old eyes when they looked
her way.
“Good heavens,” Newt turned his head as well. “A-Alicia,
I…I’m sure y-you’re aware, b-but I must nonetheless ask…why are you not wearing
any clothes?”
“There was an emergency, so I didn’t have time.” She played
it off casually, despite being incredibly embarrassed. “Have either of you seen
a human girl, no older than Ben, wandering around outside?”
Newt tried to follow her description. “A girl? No. Can’t
say we have. You saw one out there on this alien planet?”
Alicia nodded. “Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but I—”
She stopped just as she noticed a head popping up from
behind the hexagonal console at the center of the room. It was the girl! Ben
and Newt saw her as well, confirming to Alicia that it wasn’t the lagoon’s
haunting influence on her psyche.
“How did she
get in here?” Ben questioned. And it was a practical question. Alicia was the
only one to have entered the TARDIS – the only one who could enter, with her DNA signature a required key to access the
concealed entryway. Yet there the girl stood, within the confines of the ship’s
console room, quivering.
Alicia slowly and peacefully approached, holding up her
arms. “It’s O.K., sweetie. We’re not gonna hurt you. What’s your name?”
The girl only responded by bursting into tears, running
up to Alicia, and embracing her. Alicia couldn’t figure any more than Ben or
Newt as to what had the girl so emotional. The way she latched onto Alicia was
like a child to a mother, even though they had only just met.
Of course, Alicia knew better than to think
simplistically like that.
When you’re a Time Lord, you’ve
never “only just met” someone.
---------------------
Hawkins, Indiana – 1984
Since arriving in town accidentally through a pocketed
universe, Si kept herself stationed with Hellboy for nearly a year. It was a
decision that didn’t please her half-demon companion all that much. They first
arrived on the day of Halloween in 1983, which made it easier for Hellboy to
walk among people in costume. But, on every other day, he was more of a monster
than those they found in the Upside-Down.
Si, on the other hand, could go anywhere that she wanted
– the benefits to having the ability to maintain a humanoid exterior over an
alien physiology. She often hung out around town with Mike Wheeler, Lucas
Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, and Will Byers, despite being older than the four
(physically, at least). She was about the same age as Mike’s big sister, Nancy.
Not much weirdness had occurred over Hawkins since
Halloween. And while that was a hindrance for Hellboy (who was cooped most days
in the TARDIS), Si appreciated the sense of normalcy, reminded of her childhood
before being whisked away by the Doctor and altered into a Time Lord by
Rassilon to fight in the Time War.
This evening she was going to spend with the boys seeing Ghostbusters at the local cinema.
“I don’t see why we couldn’t take your TARDIS,” Dustin
griped. His lisp didn’t seem so pronounced anymore with the new dentures he
wore in his mouth.
“You boys know the rules,” Si said. “My TARDIS is only
for interdimensional travel, not for your personal taxi. Besides, what’s wrong
with bike-riding? Last time I rode one was when I was a little girl.”
“When was that? A few years ago?” Lucas teased.
“Dude, not cool,” Dustin belittled. “You know she’s like
a thousand years old.”
Lucas felt like an idiot for forgetting that factoid.
“Right. Of course. I just…I keep seeing you like…you know…”
“A kid?” Si finished his thoughts. “It’s O.K., Lucas. I’d
prefer it if everyone did once in a while.”
“It doesn’t get on your nerves when you know things more
than most adults, and none of them even bother listening to you?” Will asked.
Si shrugged in her reply. “Sometimes. Hopper’s the only
one who does, and that’s good enough for me.”
They finally arrived at Mike’s house, wheeling to a stop
right near the front porch.
Mike’s mother, Karen Wheeler, welcomed them at the door.
Si had never met her face-to-face before then; she only heard how much of a
wonderful yet overbearing mother she was to Mike and Nancy. Karen was quite
beautiful, reminding Si a lot of some of the women she was in past
regenerations – young, stylish, and motherly. She seemed to have kept to a
late-1970s sense of fashion in hair and clothes, despite it being the mid-1980s.
“You must be Si,” she warmly said to her. “Mike’s spoken
a lot about you.”
“Not a whole
lot, I hope,” Si uttered in a joking manner, albeit being a little serious at
the same time.
As Karen invited them in, she gazed on Si in a way that
she could only assume was how the Wheeler matriarch looked at most girls Mike
invited to his house. Perhaps that was due to the fact he hardly had any girlfriends (or friends who happened
to be girls). Normally, if any girl would come over, she’d be there for Nancy.
She called out to Mike, who was up in his bedroom getting
ready.
While she and the other boys waited for him, Si had the
unfortunate pleasure of being introduced to the patriarch of the Wheeler
family, Ted. Without so much as saying “Hello,” he asked Si, “You wouldn’t
happen to have some experience with electrical wiring, would you?” He was in
the middle of repairing their living room television set.
Si didn’t want to toot her own horn, but she did have some previous experience on the
task, which was child’s play compared with most things she did to keep her
TARDIS in serviceable condition over the last several thousand years.
However, before she could have said a word…
“Never mind,” Ted refused. “A girl your age probably
calls her dad or her boyfriend over to take care of this kind of stuff.”
Si bit her lower lip, trying not to be too offended by the sexiest remark.
Her frustration was distracted away as soon as she felt
something touch her left thigh; the jeans she wore were tight enough to sense
it. Looking down, she was instantly flooded with adoration to see a pint-sized,
pigtailed 4-year-old girl staring up at her. This little girl she knew to be
Mike’s little sister, Holly.
“Hello there,” Si sweetly greeted her. “Nice to meet
you.”
Holly held her hands up to her, wanting to be picked up.
Si was more than happy to do so, lifting the 4-year-old into her loving arms
and cradling her. Holly immediately rested her head on her shoulder and fell fast
asleep, sucking her thumb.
Karen witnessed the entire scene with utmost amusement.
“Well, would you look at that! Holly
never takes to strangers so easily! You must have quite the maternal flair,
young lady. Quite unique for a girl your age.”
As flattering as Karen’s compliments were, they brought a
somber mood over Si. She began to shed a few tears, which baffled Karen and
even Dustin, Will, and Lucas. “Excuse me…I’ll wait outside,” she said, almost
in a whisper, carefully handing Holly over to Karen before rushing out of the
house.
Dustin, Lucas, and Will followed her out, not wanting to
endure the awkwardness Si left in wake of her emotional breakdown.
“You okay?” Will asked her.
Si hated that they followed her out, wanting to be alone
to collect herself. “There’s not a lot you boys know about me,” she told them.
“More than the whole ‘alien from another dimension’ thing, I mean.”
“What more is
there you haven’t told us about?” Lucas inquired.
She took a deep breath before opening up to them. “When I
was holding Holly just a second ago, it made me think about my daughter,
Shyla.”
Will, Lucas, and especially Dustin were flabbergasted at
this revelation.
“You were a mom?!”
Dustin exclaimed.
Si nodded. “To a child that I helped birth as a father.”
The boys felt like they were going to pass out from all
these bombshells Si just dropped on them. There were so many questions they
wanted to ask, dissecting into every bit of detail about Si’s past.
Regrettably, Mike’s emergence canceled whatever Q&A session they could
engage in.
“Hey, guys,” he said. “I’m all set for our first GLOW
show.”
“Mike!” Lucas cringed. “It was supposed to be a secret!”
Their back-and-forth confused Si. “GLOW show?! I thought
we were seeing Ghostbusters?!”
Dustin let out an aggravated sigh. “That’s the cover
story we made up for our parents, knowing they wouldn’t allow us to go. GLOW
isn’t exactly ‘kid tested, mother approved,’ ya know.”
“Yes, I do
know,” Si scolded, her parental instincts kicking in again. “You boys didn’t
just lie to your parents, but you lied to me!”
“Well, we were gonna tell you eventually,” Lucas said, side-eyeing Mike.
“C’mon, Si,” Will pleaded. “It’s not every day Hawkins
gets this kind of live entertainment. We may never get this chance again.” He put
on the charm in his appeal, which Si was incapable of resisting.
“Oh, alright,” she caved to the celebratory high-fives of
the boys.
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