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Theo was in a pub. They deserved it after reading statements and researching all day. They were just getting some food and something alcholic. They found themself at the bar in the pub in front of a girl with blue hair at a table behind them by herself. She seemed to be waiting for someone.
Theo’s dyke senses went off. This was a fellow dyke. And a fellow trans one at that.
A man approached her table, his hair was long, he was dressed kinda funny, a long velvet black coat, tan waistcoat, and a cravat. He was talking to the girl in a voice that was vaguely familiar in a way Theo couldn’t place. They were ready to intervene in case this dude was being weird to her, but they seemed to be having an amicable conversation. So they sat back, watching their conversation in the mirror.
It hit them that this guy was dressing like the Eighth Doctor, even had the voice down pat. Theo wasn’t aware of any conventions happening anytime soon, but that didn’t mean much as they had other things on their plate. Like stopping Nikola Orsinov and The Circus from dancing the world into a new hellish reality.
“I’ll be taking care of a few things.” They heard him say.
It was an impressive impersonation, and then he walked off, leaving her looking at the menu.
Theo gave the girl some time to herself, just sipping their ale and eating their food, still watching in the mirror.
The girl had ordered a hamburger and chips and a sprite from the waitress, and was very insistent on having it completely plain.
It took a few minutes but the food arrived and she dumped so much salt on the butger Theo cringed. The girl ate like she had been looking forward to this for a while.
“Hey, I like your hair.” They said, now that she was alone and had eaten a surprising amount of her food.
The girl looked up.
“Oh! Thanks.”
“Your friend is really committed to the Eighth Doctor cosplay. Hair and even voice. I’m impressed.” They said.
“Cosplay?” The girl said, sounding confused for a moment, and after processing what Theo had said. “Yeah. I guess he is pretty good at cosplay.” There was a lilt to her voice like she was hiding a laugh, though what that was about was beyond them.
“You two going to a con?”
“No. That’d be fun to go to a con though, I’m sure he’d enjoy it.” She paused for a moment, lost in her thoughts. “I just popped in to have some proper food and then we’re off somewhere else. No offense, but I don’t want to tell a stranger where.”
“Fair enough. I’m Theo Cahill.” They offered a hand. “Mind if I have a seat?”
“Rain Hearse. And sure.” The girl shook their hand.
“Rain Hearse…” They repeated. Her name sounded vaguely familiar but they couldn’t place where from. It was the opposite of a name being on the tip of their tongue. Like they had known the name and face already but lost where that information had come from. “Cool name.”
Did she appear in one of the statements? As a friend? A subject? A witness? There was something off about her. Something incongruous with reality about this girl. And it was bothering Theo like a mild headache. It also could be the fact that the alcohol was finally getting them buzzed.
“Thanks. Chose it myself.” She said proudly. “He won’t be by for a bit so I’ve got time to chat to a handsome guy like yourself.” Theo almost didn’t register the mild flirt, as lost in thoughts as they were, but their body did because their cheeks reddened. “You studying abroad my fellow American?”
“I was. Then I got a job. And now I’m here full time.”
“I used to work at Hot Topic and Barnes and Noble.” She said. “Now I’m just kinda… traveling.” She twirled the ice in her Sprite with the straw.
“On retail cash?” They asked, trying not to sound too incredulous or even slightly judgmental.
“Mmm.” She shrugged. “Kinda. My friend is letting me stay with him.”
“That’s nice.”
“What about you?” Rain then laughed, like she just remembered a joke. Theo raised an eyebrow. “Oh I’m sorry, I just feel like I’m on a first date asking these questions.”
“Oh. I work for an institute that studies the paranormal.”
“Really?” She leaned in, curious.
“Really.”
“What’s it called? I’ll have to visit.”
“The Magnus Institute.”
The swirling of the ice stopped abruptly and there was a flicker on her face, of recognition and horror. She knew of The Magnus Institute in a way that was more than the general public’s knowledge. And for a moment Theo was convinced this girl, Rain Hearse, knew of The Magnus Archives. Her face returned, with some effort, to that of curiosity.
“Oh that’s cool.” She tried to say casually, resuming the swirling.
“You’ve heard of us?”
“You could say that.” She said very carefully after a long sip of the Sprite. If she knew she was keeping a tight lip about it.
“Okay.” They leaned back, realizing they had been leaning across the table. “Okay.”
A silence fell over the table, Rain was trying to discern something from Theo just by staring at them.
Theo’s mind was whirring, remembering the very odd dream they had. They had led a very confused girl with blue hair to give Jon a statement, and then a man who looked like the Second Doctor broke in. He was very polite as he pushed past Theo and they followed him trying to prevent him from entering the even more restricted areas. Rain’s hair was so similar to the girl in their dream. It was uncanny.
No.
It was exactly the same. They had passed it off as a dream because, well, they had dreams like this before where fandoms collide. Though it was less fandoms collide and more life and fandom colliding.
Rain Hearse. It tripped off the tongue like they had known it.
This was the girl from their dream made real. And they did not know how to process this. Maybe it was The Stranger, plucking things from their mind and taking Theo’s dreams to fuck with them.
According to Annabelle Cane and Michael Distortion they were known.
They suddenly had a very unpleasant mental image of Nikola Orsinov in their room watching them as they slept. Running her plastic hands over their closed eyes, reading dreams to torment them with. They shook their head to clear it of that horrible thought.
“Are… are you—" Whatever she was about to say was cut off by another voice.
“Rain, have you finished your meal yet?”
Theo turned and looked up. They were face to face with the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann, but this wasn’t Paul McGann as they knew him to be now, short hair, smile lines and crow’s feet. This was 1996 Paul McGann as he appeared in the TV movie. There was an unearthlyness about him, which makes sense. He was a Time Lord. They couldn’t put a finger on what it was about him that set them off. The way he moved maybe? The way the atmosphere seemed to shift when he approached? Was he moving faster than humans usually did?
“Ah, Rain, have you made a new friend?” He asked smoothly.
“Yeah, this is Theo, they work at an institute studying the paranormal, called The Magnus Institute.”
“Paranormal?” He laughed. “Do you believe in that stuff?”
They wanted to defend The Magnus Institute and say that not only do they have extensive records of the paranormal, but they have had paranormal experiences. Their words died on their lips.
“My existence with you has made it hard not to believe in all sorts of things.” She replied.
Existence, not traveling. Such an odd choice of wording. If this girl was simply a companion, she wouldn’t have reacted the way she did to the name of The Magnus Institute. Was she like them? Plucked from another universe?
“Are you content?”
“Oh yeah. Burger and chips is exactly what I needed.” She patted the table in a rhythmic pattern happily. “Nice meeting you Theo, but we’re off.” She scooted out of the booth and stood up, slapping £40 note on the table. “Tell the waitress to keep the change.”
“Nice meeting you too.” They found themself saying, watching the pair leave.
“The Magnus Institute…” The Doctor mused, stopping in his tracks and then turning to face Theo. “If there are aliens plotting evil plans at your Magnus Institute, I will investigate and I will stop them.” It was different from looking into Elias’ eyes, which were so cold. They never understood the eyes looking so old line in Dr Who until now. This man had seen stars burn out, empires collapse, and hundreds of thousands of deaths of people he helped across over 900 years. Theo felt a little dizzy for a moment.
What the fuck does someone say to that? They could have laughed. Not sure how exactly The Doctor would interact with The Fears, and not really wanting to see how that all played out. Maybe they could stop the Fearpocalypse before it happened. Though their current track record of trying to change events did not seem to like that. Maybe The Doctor would be able to help…
“I hope they’re not evil. They pay my bills.” They said.
“Good to know. I’ll be by to check though.” He said very seriously, and then the pair left. Theo was left wondering what exactly the fuck this meant for their job, and the universe at large. They pulled out their phone to do a quick google search.
Is Paul McGann real?