Title: "Four Horsemen"
Fandom(s): Doctor Who
Characters: Fifth Doctor, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough, Sixth Doctor, Melanie Bush, Seventh Doctor, Ace McShane, Eighth Doctor, Charlotte Pollard
Pairing(s): None
Rating: G
Genre: Adventure
Word Count: 400
Summary: Four Doctors, four drabbles
Author's Note: A few days ago, my husband observed that I've been stuck on the two long stories I've been working on for a while and said, "You just need to write something short and quick. Here, write a hundred-word story about the companion being surprised by something the Doctor knew would happen." I took him at his word and produced a drabble an hour later, then expanded that into this, featuring my four favorite Doctors (after the Tenth). The previously-posted story also came out of this, as the idea became too long to do in one hundred words.
War
Coated in green muck, Tegan dashed into the console room, clutching a strange gun fitted with multicoloured liquid tanks. Flattening against the wall just inside the door, she readied her weapon.
The Doctor looked up from his work. “Still playing with those syrup guns, are you?”
“Turlough won’t leave me alone,” she grumped. “I was relaxing, and now look at me! You’re going to regret wearing cream.”
“Aha!”
The Doctor thumbed a button the moment Turlough appeared. A fountain of purple erupted from a hidden nozzle beneath the console, drenching the intruder.
The Doctor smiled. “I’m suitably armed, thank you.”
Pestilence
“I don’t believe they did that!” Mel screeched as she slogged into the TARDIS, sudsy water dripping from her flattened hair and soaked clothing.
With a vindicated smirk, the Doctor closed the door behind her, carefully avoiding the frothy puddles. “I believe you should take this as a lesson in not insisting that people accept gifts they don’t want.”
“They didn’t have to douse me in soap!” she protested.
“Garadians are famously allergic to beta-carotene, my dear,” the Doctor explained. “Perhaps next time, you’ll leave your carrot juice at home.
With a pouting glare, Mel sloshed off to her bedroom.
Death
With a manic grin, Ace snatched a canister from her pack. “One Nitro-9, short fuse!”
“Go on, then,” the Doctor urged as he peered around the corner at the giant mantis galloping toward them at top speed.
“Really? You’ll let me?”
“Do it, Ace!”
She hurled the can. It popped in midair, spraying black liquid everywhere. The insect skidded past on the slick and crashed into the wall, collapsing in a shattered heap.
“Excellent work, Ace!”
“But my Nitro-9!”
“More like WD-40,” the Doctor quipped. “Area dispersal valve. Effective and quite a bit safer.”
“But no boom,” Ace grumped.
“Exactly.”
Famine
Spoon poised over soup, Charley eyed the kitchen door and sighed with relief. Blessed quiet.
The moment metal touched liquid, the door burst open. “Charley!” the Doctor cried. “Come and see! Hexane clouds storming over Ullindif!”
Charley groaned. “I’m eating!”
“You’ll love it, Charley. Iridescent crystal rain! Come on!”
“Why now? Last time, it was a supernova, and before that, Brutus was thumbing his dagger. For once, I’d like to finish my dinner before it gets cold.”
The Doctor glanced at her soup. “Gazpacho! We’ve all the time in the universe!”
Defeated and exasperated, Charley let him drag her out.
Fandom(s): Doctor Who
Characters: Fifth Doctor, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough, Sixth Doctor, Melanie Bush, Seventh Doctor, Ace McShane, Eighth Doctor, Charlotte Pollard
Pairing(s): None
Rating: G
Genre: Adventure
Word Count: 400
Summary: Four Doctors, four drabbles
Author's Note: A few days ago, my husband observed that I've been stuck on the two long stories I've been working on for a while and said, "You just need to write something short and quick. Here, write a hundred-word story about the companion being surprised by something the Doctor knew would happen." I took him at his word and produced a drabble an hour later, then expanded that into this, featuring my four favorite Doctors (after the Tenth). The previously-posted story also came out of this, as the idea became too long to do in one hundred words.
War
Coated in green muck, Tegan dashed into the console room, clutching a strange gun fitted with multicoloured liquid tanks. Flattening against the wall just inside the door, she readied her weapon.
The Doctor looked up from his work. “Still playing with those syrup guns, are you?”
“Turlough won’t leave me alone,” she grumped. “I was relaxing, and now look at me! You’re going to regret wearing cream.”
“Aha!”
The Doctor thumbed a button the moment Turlough appeared. A fountain of purple erupted from a hidden nozzle beneath the console, drenching the intruder.
The Doctor smiled. “I’m suitably armed, thank you.”
Pestilence
“I don’t believe they did that!” Mel screeched as she slogged into the TARDIS, sudsy water dripping from her flattened hair and soaked clothing.
With a vindicated smirk, the Doctor closed the door behind her, carefully avoiding the frothy puddles. “I believe you should take this as a lesson in not insisting that people accept gifts they don’t want.”
“They didn’t have to douse me in soap!” she protested.
“Garadians are famously allergic to beta-carotene, my dear,” the Doctor explained. “Perhaps next time, you’ll leave your carrot juice at home.
With a pouting glare, Mel sloshed off to her bedroom.
Death
With a manic grin, Ace snatched a canister from her pack. “One Nitro-9, short fuse!”
“Go on, then,” the Doctor urged as he peered around the corner at the giant mantis galloping toward them at top speed.
“Really? You’ll let me?”
“Do it, Ace!”
She hurled the can. It popped in midair, spraying black liquid everywhere. The insect skidded past on the slick and crashed into the wall, collapsing in a shattered heap.
“Excellent work, Ace!”
“But my Nitro-9!”
“More like WD-40,” the Doctor quipped. “Area dispersal valve. Effective and quite a bit safer.”
“But no boom,” Ace grumped.
“Exactly.”
Famine
Spoon poised over soup, Charley eyed the kitchen door and sighed with relief. Blessed quiet.
The moment metal touched liquid, the door burst open. “Charley!” the Doctor cried. “Come and see! Hexane clouds storming over Ullindif!”
Charley groaned. “I’m eating!”
“You’ll love it, Charley. Iridescent crystal rain! Come on!”
“Why now? Last time, it was a supernova, and before that, Brutus was thumbing his dagger. For once, I’d like to finish my dinner before it gets cold.”
The Doctor glanced at her soup. “Gazpacho! We’ve all the time in the universe!”
Defeated and exasperated, Charley let him drag her out.
Comments
I don't really know how I get ideas like this. The first was the one with Six and Mel, and that came mostly from the concept of surprising the companion - when I think of a woman squealing in surprise, Mel's the one that comes to mind. And with Mel comes carrot juice. The second was Five and Tegan, and after I wrote it, my husband said, "What's with you and covering the companions in muck?" :D
The hard one was Seven and Ace. I could not think of anything to do with them and it took days to come up with anything. The other three were written within 24 hours, and then the last one was five days later. But it came from wondering how Seven might stop Ace from carrying Nitro-9.
I think honestly that Eight simply has that air of wonderment about him that we also see in Ten and Thirteen and really hadn't been a part of the Doctor's personality before him. (The previous Doctors traveled to see the universe, but Eight was completely fascinated with what he saw.) Charley paired well with him because she was also out for adventure.