Reality Warpers Anonymous
Nov. 25th, 2013 07:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dhampyresaSo I wrote 1k+ of post-'Day of the Doctor' happenings (that is also a crossover with Marvel comics). It was supposed to be cracky, but then took a sharp turn into srsbzn lane. I don't think being familar with Marvel comics is necessary to read this, but it is extremely spoiler-y for 'Day of the Doctor', given that it deals with an alternate interpretation of the episode finale.
Title: Reality Warpers Anonymous
Fandom: Doctor Who, Marvel comics (616)
Characters: Wanda Maximoff, the Moment
Warnings: Chose not to use
Spoilers: for 'Day of the Doctor'
Word Count: 1151
Summary: There is a piano bar, beyond the edge of the universes, where people can meet without fear.
Author's Note: I suppose the piano bar is technically both a sort-of spoiler and additional crossover, but knowing what canon it is not needed at all. Also, the quote commonly given as either 'primum non nocere' or 'first, do no harm', is not what the Hippocratic Oath reads. First, the quote is from Epidemics (I, 5), not the Oath and second, it actually reads" ὠφελέειν, ἢ μὴ βλάπτειν" which can be translated as "to do good, or to do no harm".
'Are you doing anything this afternoon?' reads the note Wanda finds in her pocket. It's handwritten on smooth, heavy paper, signed at each corner with a symbol Wanda can't read.
Wanda is not doing anything this afternoon.
She takes the note and rips it apart once, lengthwise. The doorway opens with its usual electric blue light. She steps through and the world vanishes behind her.
The void beyond creation is endless white, except for the piano bar. Wanda walks towards it, unconcerned that there is no floor beneath her feet.
The name over the door is Lux.
It often is. Sometimes the owner will change it, or the bar will close, but Lux is always open again before the month is out.
Today, the owner tends the till, as well. He's tall, with a scar on his face and hair like a dying sun. He looks like David Bowie. He hands Wanda her usual order. She takes it.
Neither of them say a thing, but he tosses his head at the back of the bar. Wanda looks that way, to find she's already late.
The jokey 'RWA' label is set on the table and a girl with wild blond hair sits in one of the best comfy chairs in the bar. It's been a very long time since the piano bar has had either a piano or a bar, but the name has stuck, even more than Lux has.
"Hello, Rose," Wanda says, and sits down.
"Today, I am all Wolf and not Rose at all," the girl-shaped thing says. Her eyes blaze like the fire at the end of the world.
She looks different, as well. More layers of clothes, a bangle in her hair that wasn't there before and hair wilder than it's been in years. She has a mint milkshake instead of her usual cup of tea.
"Alright," Wanda says, "do you want to talk about it?" Sometimes, Rose is Bad Wolf, and sometimes, Wanda is Scarlet Witch. (But no. Wanda is always Wanda. For her sins.)
"I lied to him," the Wolf says.
Wanda takes that as a yes. "To your Doctor?"
"Yes." The Wolf does not seem inclined to share more at this point, so Wanda takes a long drink from her hot chocolate.
It's heavenly. It always is.
"Have you ever committed genocide?" the Wolf asks the Witch.
Wanda stills and the drink turns to fire and brimstone in her throat, because the only answer she has to give is one no one should have to hear.
"I'm sorry," the Wolf says, "that was inconsiderate of me. I know you have."
"Is that what you made him do?" Perhaps Wanda is being cruel. Perhaps she does not care overly much if she is, right now.
The Wolf does not seem to care either. "Yes. I let him believe there was a third option. I put on all the bells and whistles and made him think Clara was right, that he was neither coward nor killer."
Rose is not Wanda, she has never used her powers for anything but bringing life. But then, this is not Rose. This is the Wolf, and that's another matter entirely.
"What was he, then?" Wanda's drink tastes chocolate-y and bitter.
"It almost broke his heart to see that the man he became would regret and then forget. I never showed him that that wasn't how it went. The man he becomes will hate then regret and then forget. It would have broken his heart. That might have been better than what I did." There is frost still on the Wolf's milkshake glass and that's not an answer.
Much like Rose, the Wolf is far too kind for a being of its power.
"If he forgets, why did you lie?" Wanda's hot chocolate is perfect once again.
The Wolf's eyes are sad, thunderstorms in miniature. "So that when he remembers, he will have hope."
"Nothing breaks hearts like false hope." And no one knows that better than Wanda.
"False hope is better than no hope at all," the Wolf says. "He's strayed too far from his name."
Wanda's drink is empty and the Wolf's is untouched. "You're not really Rose at all, are you?"
"I did tell you." The Wolf smiles, lightning striking her teeth sharply.
That it did.
"Who's Clara?" Wanda clicks her nails against her mug and her drink is no longer empty.
"Oh, she's magnificent," the Wolf says, awe in its voice. "You'll like her. You and Rose both. She's the one who was smart enough to figure out how to get out of it and was kind enough to let him think he came up with it himself. She's the one who remembered what the promise behind 'Doctor' is."
"And what is that?" The chocolate Wanda wishes into being is never as good as the piano bar owner's, but today it might as well be.
"To do good," the Wolf says, "and to do no harm."
"I thought it was simply 'Do no harm'," Wanda says. It is a principle many people in her life would do well to remember, at times.
"Everyone always forgets the first part," the Wolf says, "even though it's the most important one. That's why Hippocrates put it first, you know. Even he forgot, even though it's his name. He'd strayed too far from his name and forgot what it meant. There are some who would say he forgot even the second part. They would not be wrong."
"And now he remembers," Wanda says. "You only had to lie to him and end his world for it to work. Was it worth it?"
Perhaps she could change it, if it was not. Perhaps not. That way lies a slippery slope that Wanda has only just climbed out off.
"Gallifrey would have burned to dust, if not by my hand, then by the Daleks'. In his mind at least, it now stands as tall and proud as it ever was and so he has hope. People with too much power should never be without hope." The Wolf grins, sparks around it like a corona. "Yes. It was worth it."
There's the sound of running feet behind Wanda, and she turns around to see a young woman, with hair black like the vastness of space and long like eternity, rushing towards her.
"This is Clara," the Wolf says. "She exists at every possible point in space and time."
"Can I sit here?" Clara points at the Wolf's chair. It's empty and the milkshake on the table is still untouched. "Are you drinking that? Mint milkshakes are my favourite."
"Please," Wanda says, "help yourself."
Title: Reality Warpers Anonymous
Fandom: Doctor Who, Marvel comics (616)
Characters: Wanda Maximoff, the Moment
Warnings: Chose not to use
Spoilers: for 'Day of the Doctor'
Word Count: 1151
Summary: There is a piano bar, beyond the edge of the universes, where people can meet without fear.
Author's Note: I suppose the piano bar is technically both a sort-of spoiler and additional crossover, but knowing what canon it is not needed at all. Also, the quote commonly given as either 'primum non nocere' or 'first, do no harm', is not what the Hippocratic Oath reads. First, the quote is from Epidemics (I, 5), not the Oath and second, it actually reads" ὠφελέειν, ἢ μὴ βλάπτειν" which can be translated as "to do good, or to do no harm".
'Are you doing anything this afternoon?' reads the note Wanda finds in her pocket. It's handwritten on smooth, heavy paper, signed at each corner with a symbol Wanda can't read.
Wanda is not doing anything this afternoon.
She takes the note and rips it apart once, lengthwise. The doorway opens with its usual electric blue light. She steps through and the world vanishes behind her.
The void beyond creation is endless white, except for the piano bar. Wanda walks towards it, unconcerned that there is no floor beneath her feet.
The name over the door is Lux.
It often is. Sometimes the owner will change it, or the bar will close, but Lux is always open again before the month is out.
Today, the owner tends the till, as well. He's tall, with a scar on his face and hair like a dying sun. He looks like David Bowie. He hands Wanda her usual order. She takes it.
Neither of them say a thing, but he tosses his head at the back of the bar. Wanda looks that way, to find she's already late.
The jokey 'RWA' label is set on the table and a girl with wild blond hair sits in one of the best comfy chairs in the bar. It's been a very long time since the piano bar has had either a piano or a bar, but the name has stuck, even more than Lux has.
"Hello, Rose," Wanda says, and sits down.
"Today, I am all Wolf and not Rose at all," the girl-shaped thing says. Her eyes blaze like the fire at the end of the world.
She looks different, as well. More layers of clothes, a bangle in her hair that wasn't there before and hair wilder than it's been in years. She has a mint milkshake instead of her usual cup of tea.
"Alright," Wanda says, "do you want to talk about it?" Sometimes, Rose is Bad Wolf, and sometimes, Wanda is Scarlet Witch. (But no. Wanda is always Wanda. For her sins.)
"I lied to him," the Wolf says.
Wanda takes that as a yes. "To your Doctor?"
"Yes." The Wolf does not seem inclined to share more at this point, so Wanda takes a long drink from her hot chocolate.
It's heavenly. It always is.
"Have you ever committed genocide?" the Wolf asks the Witch.
Wanda stills and the drink turns to fire and brimstone in her throat, because the only answer she has to give is one no one should have to hear.
"I'm sorry," the Wolf says, "that was inconsiderate of me. I know you have."
"Is that what you made him do?" Perhaps Wanda is being cruel. Perhaps she does not care overly much if she is, right now.
The Wolf does not seem to care either. "Yes. I let him believe there was a third option. I put on all the bells and whistles and made him think Clara was right, that he was neither coward nor killer."
Rose is not Wanda, she has never used her powers for anything but bringing life. But then, this is not Rose. This is the Wolf, and that's another matter entirely.
"What was he, then?" Wanda's drink tastes chocolate-y and bitter.
"It almost broke his heart to see that the man he became would regret and then forget. I never showed him that that wasn't how it went. The man he becomes will hate then regret and then forget. It would have broken his heart. That might have been better than what I did." There is frost still on the Wolf's milkshake glass and that's not an answer.
Much like Rose, the Wolf is far too kind for a being of its power.
"If he forgets, why did you lie?" Wanda's hot chocolate is perfect once again.
The Wolf's eyes are sad, thunderstorms in miniature. "So that when he remembers, he will have hope."
"Nothing breaks hearts like false hope." And no one knows that better than Wanda.
"False hope is better than no hope at all," the Wolf says. "He's strayed too far from his name."
Wanda's drink is empty and the Wolf's is untouched. "You're not really Rose at all, are you?"
"I did tell you." The Wolf smiles, lightning striking her teeth sharply.
That it did.
"Who's Clara?" Wanda clicks her nails against her mug and her drink is no longer empty.
"Oh, she's magnificent," the Wolf says, awe in its voice. "You'll like her. You and Rose both. She's the one who was smart enough to figure out how to get out of it and was kind enough to let him think he came up with it himself. She's the one who remembered what the promise behind 'Doctor' is."
"And what is that?" The chocolate Wanda wishes into being is never as good as the piano bar owner's, but today it might as well be.
"To do good," the Wolf says, "and to do no harm."
"I thought it was simply 'Do no harm'," Wanda says. It is a principle many people in her life would do well to remember, at times.
"Everyone always forgets the first part," the Wolf says, "even though it's the most important one. That's why Hippocrates put it first, you know. Even he forgot, even though it's his name. He'd strayed too far from his name and forgot what it meant. There are some who would say he forgot even the second part. They would not be wrong."
"And now he remembers," Wanda says. "You only had to lie to him and end his world for it to work. Was it worth it?"
Perhaps she could change it, if it was not. Perhaps not. That way lies a slippery slope that Wanda has only just climbed out off.
"Gallifrey would have burned to dust, if not by my hand, then by the Daleks'. In his mind at least, it now stands as tall and proud as it ever was and so he has hope. People with too much power should never be without hope." The Wolf grins, sparks around it like a corona. "Yes. It was worth it."
There's the sound of running feet behind Wanda, and she turns around to see a young woman, with hair black like the vastness of space and long like eternity, rushing towards her.
"This is Clara," the Wolf says. "She exists at every possible point in space and time."
"Can I sit here?" Clara points at the Wolf's chair. It's empty and the milkshake on the table is still untouched. "Are you drinking that? Mint milkshakes are my favourite."
"Please," Wanda says, "help yourself."