Four Doctors (comic story)

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You may be looking for The Four Doctors (audio story).

Four Doctors was a miniseries published by Titan Comics. It served as a three-way crossover between Titan's ongoing series Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor and Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor, uniting the three Doctors and their companions, as well as marking the Titan Comics début of the War Doctor. It also featured a cameo by the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler. It's also the first time that an incarnation from the Doctor's second regeneration cycle met two incarnations from his original cycle.

Plot summary

Part one

The War Doctor on Marinus.

On the planet, Marinus, in the year A10%?, of the Last Great Time War, the War Doctor, along with a group of Voord watch as a Dalek saucer crashes into the ground. The Doctor had forced the Daleks to go through advanced evolution, reducing them all to dust. The Voord leader collapses to the ground, as his paradox shield fails. Before he dies, his armor transforms into a liquid that engulfs one of the human servants, Moktek, joining him to the Voord group mind and making him the new leader. The leader remarks on how that aspect of their species has remained the same, while so much else has changed. The Doctor agrees, noting how Marinus is now an acid desert world, very different from the lush world it had once been.

The Doctor and the Voord leader head into the remains of the Dalek saucer, with the Doctor telling the leader about the weapon that the Daleks intended to use against the Voord. The weapon would've erased the Voord from existence, meaning the Daleks take the Voord's resistance seriously. The leader asks him if the Time Lords also do so. He mentions how the Time War has changed the Voord for the better, and wants to know if the Time Lords will revert everything back to how it was, when they win the Time War. The Doctor avoids answering, bringing up how tense relations are between him and the High Council. He also mentions that he doesn't make grand promises about anything, unlike his former selves. But, he does agree to act as an intermediary and to try to convince the High Council, but that's all he can do. Even with that, the Voord leader is still worried about the future.

Years later, in the TARDIS, Clara Oswald asks the Twelfth Doctor about the planet Marinus, to which he claims to have never heard of. He asks her why she asked him about it, but she lies and claims she heard the word in a dream. Later, when the Doctor is asleep, Clara enters the control room and uses the telepathic circuits to direct the TARDIS to land in Paris, 1923. As she steps outside, she thanks the TARDIS for bringing her here. She pulls out a photograph and looks at it, the picture showing the Twelfth, Eleventh, and Tenth Doctors on it. Clara remarks on how she must prevent this event from happening, for the sake of everything.

Across town, the Tenth Doctor and Gabby Gonzalez have just dealt with some Cybermen, who were trying to raid the French Gold Reserves. The two arrive at a cafe and the Doctor decides that they should have some crepes from there. He tells Gabby to go inside and order the crepes, while he disposes of the Cyberman head he is carrying. Gabby walks into the cafe and is seated at a table. She doesn't notice Clara sitting at the table next to hers.

At this time, the Eleventh Doctor and Alice Obiefune walk up to the cafe, having just stopped some radiation monsters who were coming out of the Seine. The Doctor notices that these streets look familiar and he remembers the cafe being great. So, he tells Alice to go in and order a coffee, while he goes and gets some comics.

Before Alice can be shown to her table, Clara gets up and introduces herself to Alice and Gabby. She tells them that while none of them know each other, they all know the Doctor, and she has five minutes to convince them of something, or the universe will be destroyed. The three sit at Gabby's table. Alice is a bit skeptical, so she asks Gabby what the name of the box is, to which she replies with the TARDIS. Alice then starts to ask Clara a question, but Clara cuts her off with the correct answer of sonic screwdriver.

Gabby and Alice are now fully convinced, so Clara shows them the photo of the three Doctors. Gabby and Alice start remarking on the appearances of the three Doctors, but Clara stops them. She tells them that the Tenth Doctor will return to the cafe in five minutes. He will decide that he doesn't want a crepe and the two will go elsewhere. Alice won't witness this as she'll be in the bathroom. After that, the Eleventh Doctor will return, just missing his former self. He and Alice will remain in the cafe and have the coffee. Clara tells them that these events are meant to happen because this is a fixed point in time. Thanks to the timespace info on the photo, plus her knowledge of the Doctor's past, Clara knows that Gabby and Alice were the companions of the other two Doctors at the time the photo was taken. Clara chose to come to the cafe at this time, because she knows it was the only time she could meet up with both Gabby and Alice without any repercussions. The two understand that the situation must be serious and tell her to tell her story.

The Twelfth Doctor and Clara had been visiting a nameless jungle planet. The Doctor was complaining about how the planet was nothing but jungle and ruins and proclaimed he would stand where he was, until that changed. Clara merely walked off, ignoring the Doctor's attitude. She stumbled upon the Museum of Terrible Fates, located inside a time shelter, which protected the contents from decay. The museum's computer tells her that the race that built it spent centuries scanning the timelines for turning points that would cause the end of the universe. Clara decided to look up the Doctor, knowing how he tends to be involved in situations that stop events that would cause the end. To her horror, she discovered an event with the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors together on the planet Marinus. The computer told her that this event was a fatal turning point that must never happen, as all subsequent timelines of this event lead to the end of all things.

Gabby asks Clara if she told her Doctor about this, but Clara simply asks both her and Alice what their Doctors would do if told. All three know their Doctors would go to Marinus. Clara then reveals that the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors will eventually meet, as she was there for that event. She recalls that the Tenth Doctor didn't initially recognise the Eleventh Doctor, meaning the two never met prior to that incident. She also points out that neither of them could imagine the Twelfth Doctor existing, which is how she knows the picture shouldn't exist. She tells the other two, that when they all leave the cafe, all three of them must make sure their Doctors never go to Marinus.

To Clara's horror, both the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors come storming in, proclaiming that what Clara has told them is impossible. The Eleventh Doctor notices his former self, and as he doesn't remember this meeting, realises that this is bad for the universe. The Tenth Doctor is skeptical of the Eleventh Doctor's identity, having recently met an imposter. Using his sonic screwdriver, he confirms that the Eleventh Doctor is his next incarnation. Both then remark that the person they met outside is another story.

That person walks in, revealing himself to be the Twelfth Doctor. He tells his former selves to shut up and then turns his attention to Clara, revealing to her that he figured out what she was up to. He tried to talk sense into the other two Doctors, but they wouldn't listen. So, they're going to have a Multi-Doctor Event, whether they like it or not.

The Tenth Doctor has accepted that the Eleventh Doctor is his next and final incarnation, but doesn't accept that the Twelfth Doctor is a future incarnation, as it's not possible for him to exist. The Eleventh Doctor points out that they don't know what's going on here. Clara intervenes, telling the three Doctors to stop this and walk away. She knows this meeting didn't happen. Even though time can be rewritten, this moment is a fixed point in time. The Tenth and Twelfth Doctors keep arguing, with Gabby trying to convince the Tenth Doctor to leave, as she believes Clara is telling the truth. The Tenth Doctor refuses, proclaiming the Twelfth Doctor to be an abomination, a word the Daleks tend to use, as the Twelfth Doctor points out.

The Blinovitch Limitation Effect occurs.

The Twelfth Doctor turns his attention to Gabby and Alice, asking the two to tell their Doctors to listen to him. Clara has given up by this point, knowing she can't stop this now. The Eleventh Doctor tries to be the peacemaker between his other two selves, but the Twelfth Doctor provokes the Tenth Doctor again. In the ensuing argument, the two Doctors touch, causing a spark to shoot between them. The Eleventh Doctor confirms this to be the Blinovitch Limitation Effect, which proves the Twelfth Doctor's identity. A look of dread is on his face at this revelation. As he and the other two Doctors point out, they have just caused a paradox at a fixed point in time, which means only one thing. The six look up to see Reapers appear above them.

Part two

The cafe is destroyed by the Reapers.

The Doctors each come up with a different plan. While Alice and Clara are annoyed at the inability for the three Doctors to be on the same page, Gabby goes with the Twelfth Doctor's plan of finding the oldest thing in the room, by grabbing an old mirror, which a Reaper attacks. Alice asks what the creatures are, and the three Doctors explain. Suddenly, the Reapers focus on the Eleventh Doctor, who fends them off with his comic books.

The group quickly run out of the cafe, with the Reapers following, still targeting the Eleventh Doctor. He deliberately runs away from the group, with the Reapers following him. He tries running past the comic stand where he got his comics, but they ignore it, leaving him wondering why they are targeting him.

The others have already worked out where the Eleventh Doctor plans on going, and reach his TARDIS before he does. The Tenth Doctor snaps his fingers to open the door, but the TARDIS is nothing more than an empty Police Box. The Doctors were already expecting this and have a solution. By triggering another Blinovitch Limitation Effect, they can use the power from that paradox to access the TARDIS interior. The Twelfth Doctor tells the Tenth Doctor to start poking him, but the Tenth Doctor doesn't do so.

A Reaper strikes the TARDIS.

At this time, the Eleventh Doctor runs up to them, still being chased by the Reapers. One of the Reapers tries to strike him, but he and the other dodge, causing it to strike the TARDIS. Clara tells the three Doctors to hurry up. The three Doctors touch, using the energy to restore access to the TARDIS interior.

The Reapers break into the TARDIS.

The group runs inside to find themselves in the Twelfth Doctor's control room. The Tenth Doctor mistakenly thinks it's the Master's, but the Twelfth Doctor corrects him. The Eleventh Doctor realises that it means all three TARDISes have merged. Alice points out that the Reapers are now breaking into the TARDIS. The group runs out of the control room and down some corridors, ending up in the Eleventh Doctor's control room. Clara asks why having all three of their TARDISes here is a good thing. The Doctors explain that the three TARDISes provide an escape from the Reapers. Before they can explain much more, the Reapers break into the control room, forcing the group to leave.

The group ends up in the Tenth Doctor's control room. The Twelfth Doctor starts using the controls, much to the objection of the Tenth Doctor. Gabby can see that there are hundreds of Reapers in the TARDIS, on the verge of breaking into the control room. The Eleventh Doctor slows them down, by making the air older. The Tenth Doctor thinks they should enact the plan now, as the Twelfth Doctor's decision to wait is putting the others in danger. The Twelfth Doctor continues to wait, stating it's for the greater good. The moment all the Reapers are in the control room, the Twelfth Doctor pulls a switch, causing the three TARDISes to demateralise and separate. This forces the Reapers out of their environment, leaving them with the option to either flee or die.

Now back in his TARDIS, the Twelfth Doctor slumps over the console. He explains to Clara that he waited, only to ensure he got all the Reapers. Otherwise, he'd never had put them at risk. He asks Clara if his previous selves will understand that. Clara thinks the three Doctors need a bit of time together, and Clara needs to explain what caused all this to happen. The three TARDISes land back in Paris, and the three companions let the three Doctors talk to each other for a bit.

The group meets up again in Paris, the Doctors still bickering.

The Eleventh Doctor is glad the Twelfth Doctor exists, because it means they have a future beyond their normal regeneration cycle. The Tenth Doctor, on the other hand, is concerned. Where could they have gotten more regenerations? He knows they couldn't have come from the Time Lords. Plus, he is still worried about the eventual existence of the Valeyard. The Twelfth Doctor refuses to tell the two about their future.

Clara decides now is the time to show the three Doctors the picture of them on Marinus, a planet that none of them remember. The Tenth Doctor wonders why it's only the three of them in the picture. He speculates it may be because the three of them are from after the Time War. The Eleventh Doctor is concerned about the fact that neither he nor the Twelfth Doctor have no recollection of these events. The Tenth Doctor states that the picture is a trap of some sort, and the three Doctors decide to head to Marinus, despite Clara's objections.

In the Tenth Doctor's TARDIS, Gabby asks the Tenth Doctor why he is going to Marinus. The Tenth Doctor explains that they could go to the museum Clara found, but he doubts they'll learn anything new. So, that leaves him with two options. He can either spring the trap or live in fear. He doesn't like living in fear.

The three TARDISes materialise on Marinus and the the three duos leave their respective TARDIS. The Tenth Doctor notices that there are no signs of life. He also notices that the planet seems familiar to him, an observation shared by the other Doctors. Clara asks the Tenth Doctor why he would risk the end of the universe by coming here. The Tenth Doctor says he is not. He points out the poses of himself and his other two selves in the picture. So long as they don't assume those poses, they are in no danger of causing the end, and can freely look around.

Unknown to the group, someone else is watching them. The unknown enemy decides to interfere, to force the Doctors to take the poses in the image. The group is struck by a beam, one which the Doctors note came from outside of spacetime. The three Doctors quickly discuss plans on how to face this threat, accidentally taking the poses in the picture. The unknown enemy quickly takes the picture. The unknown enemy reveals himself to be a Voord leader and proclaims that now the Doctors are locked onto their destiny. Every step they take will lead now to the ultimate conquest of the Voord.

Part three

Clara is furious, due to the three Doctors taking the poses in the photo. The conversation is cut short, due to more death rays being fired at the group, forcing them to split up. Alice ends up with the Tenth Doctor, who both notice that the trench they entered is part of a maze. The Doctor surmises that the maze is part of another trap, meaning that whoever is responsible still wants something from them.

Gabby has ended up with the Twelfth Doctor, as they end up running into another area of the maze. She expresses her worry about the others, but the Doctor states that the other two Doctors are fine, because they each have "one of you lot" with them. Gabby can only wonder why this Doctor sees people the way he does.

Clara is with the Eleventh Doctor, who have also ended up in the maze. The Doctor confronts Clara on the fact that she is familiar with his particular incarnation. Clara, of course, can't tell him anything. The Doctor can easily see that something big will happen in his future, but he is glad that there is another incarnation in his future, which takes the burden of being the final incarnation off his shoulders. He also believes that his next incarnation must be a "very cool" one, if he has someone like Clara travelling with him.

The three groups reunite at the center of the maze, where they find a weapon from the Time War: a Dalek Continuity Bomb. The three Doctors start fighting over how to disarm the bomb, which gives it the time to go off. As the group is flung through time, the Doctors explain what the bomb does. It alters an individual's timeline by reaching forward or backward along it and changing a single decision from whatever happened before, to whatever the bomb's programmer chose.

The group materialises as ghosts in a different point of the Doctor's timeline. Specifically, they are in the Tenth Doctor's timeline, at the Naismith mansion. The six watch another Tenth Doctor let Wilfred Mott die in the glass chamber, stating that of the two of them, he is more important to the universe and must continue living.

The Tenth Doctor is horrified at seeing this, as he would never place his life over Wilfred's. The Twelfth Doctor points out that, as they can see, the bomb has found at least one alternate timeline in which he did. The Tenth Doctor watches the scene continue to play out, musing on seeing what he is capable of.

The group is engulfed by a flash of light, and find themselves in the future of this alternate timeline. In it, the alternate Tenth Doctor has now fully succumbed to his darker impulses and has become the Time Lord Victorious, a tyrant who rules over the universe. The Eleventh Doctor tries to reassure his former self that there are only very few timelines in which he could turn out like this, but it has no effect, as the Tenth Doctor states that very few is too many. They watch as a Raxacoricofallapatorian pulls out a gun and shoots the Time Lord Victorious, stating that the gun prevents regeneration, meaning he is now dead.

The Twelfth Doctor asks what is happening as he and the Eleventh Doctor should now be dead, having died as the Tenth Doctor. The three Doctors realise that the bomb was only meant to work on one Gallifreyan, but it went off in the presence of three Doctors, meaning it's going to show alternate futures for each Doctor.

The group find themselves in the Eleventh Doctor's timeline, when River Song refused to kill him at Lake Silencio, and all of history is happening at once. However, this time they glitched past the decisive moment, and are instead seeing the future of the altered decision. It doesn't take the group long to realise what was changed. In this timeline, the alternate Eleventh Doctor decided not to convince River to let him die. Instead, the two live together as a married couple. The Eleventh Doctor is saddened, as he can sense the universe dying in this timeline, and his alternate self is letting it happen.

The Twelfth Doctor notes that if they get trapped in this timeline, then Clara's prophecy will come true. Alice asks why they're even seeing this timeline, if it contradicts the previous one they saw. The Twelfth Doctor explains that the bomb is shifting them between possible futures, which means they will shift into another one soon, which they do.

The group find themselves in the Twelfth Doctor's timeline. They are in the TARDIS and see the alternate Twelfth Doctor. He's older, with his hair longer and having facial hair, and his clothes are all ragged. He's rambling to himself on how "she" betrayed him and how he told her to go to hell. Clara is worried that he's talking about her. They continue to watch the alternate Doctor ramble to himself on how he must never let anyone get close to him again. The Twelfth Doctor has had enough of this and thinks they should all leave this room until they cycle back to the Tenth Doctor's alternate timeline.

The Tenth Doctor states that they have found the way out. He explains that the Twelfth Doctor is right, and they will soon cycle back to his timeline. The group will be stuck glitching between the three alternate timelines forever. The Eleventh Doctor realises what his former self is getting at. A Continuity Bomb timeline is usually inescapable. But, they're seeing their alternate futures while remaining as Time Ghosts. This means the bomb has malfunctioned and has split its energy between the three Doctors. If they commit to one of the alternate timelines, they will fully materialise in that timeline, as it will become real. As the alternate timelines of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors lead to death and destruction, their best bet is the Twelfth Doctor's alternate timeline. As he has a TARDIS, he can take them all home. The Twelfth Doctor touches the shoulder of his alternate future self, and the group fully shifts into his timeline.

The alternate Twelfth Doctor takes immediate notice of Clara, happy that she has come back. Clara tells him that she doesn't know what she'll do to him, but she's sorry. She asks him if he remembers this incident. He says he does, something about needing a lift. He starts to say that he will take Clara anywhere she wants to go, when the normal Twelfth Doctor intervenes, saying that he doesn't trust this alternate Doctor. The Eleventh Doctor tells the alternate Doctor that they do need a lift, so the alternate Doctor sets the controls.

The TARDIS materialises in a city. The Twelfth Doctor notes that they are in a pocket universe. The alternate Twelfth Doctor states it must have been built next to the Continuity Bomb's timeline, as it was the only way out he could find. The Eleventh Doctor notices that the coordinates are all over the place. The Tenth Doctor states that in order for them to find their way back into regular spacetime, they will need to go outside to take some dimensional compass readings. The alternate Twelfth Doctor is against this, as he hasn't left the TARDIS in years. Clara manages to convince him otherwise.

The group steps outside. The Tenth Doctor notes that he doesn't recognise the architecture of the city. The Twelfth Doctor scans the forcefield surrounding the city, and notices that it's holding back a sea of acid. The phrase sounds familiar to the other two Doctors, and yet isn't at the same time. Clara notices a welcoming committee approaching them.

The alternate Twelfth Doctor takes charge, as he is the oldest one there. The normal Twelfth Doctor notices that his alternate self is unsurprised about all of this, as the creatures offer a giant capsule to the alternate Doctor. The three Doctors note that while they don't recognise the creatures, they feel like they should, and the capsule being offered to the alternate Doctor is a costume of some kind. They watch in horror as the costume turns into a liquid that starts merging with him. He reveals that he was responsible for all of this. The six are now the prisoners of the Voord, and the alternate Twelfth Doctor is the leader.

Characters

References


Notes

Continuity

v • e
Titan Comics Doctor Who summer events
2015
Backups
2016
Prologues
2017
v • e
Titan Ninth Doctor comic stories
Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor
Miniseries
Ongoing
Event miniseries
Specials
Free Comic Book Day
Thirteenth Doctor special
Once Upon
a Time Lord
Related short stories
v • e
Titan Tenth Doctor comic stories
Doctor Who:
The Tenth Doctor
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Backups
Miniseries
Specials
Free Comic
Book Day
San Diego
Comic Con
Thirteenth
Doctor specials
Once Upon
a Time Lord
v • e
Titan Eleventh Doctor comic stories
Doctor Who:
The Eleventh Doctor
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Backups
Miniseries
Specials
Free Comic Book Day
San Diego Comic Con
Thirteenth Doctor specials
Doctor Who Comic
This template does not include Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor stories that do not feature the Eleventh Doctor, such as The Organ Grinder and Kill God, featuring the War Doctor only.
v • e
Titan Twelfth Doctor comic stories
Doctor Who:
The Twelfth Doctor
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Backups
Miniseries
Events
Other
Specials
Free Comic Book Day
San Diego Comic Con
Thirteenth Doctor specials


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