Christina de Souza
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Lady Christina de Souza was a friend of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, and had brief adventures with them both. A minor member of the British aristocracy, she was also a thief and an adrenaline junkie. Her exploits were well-publicised — at least in Britain — allowing Rory Williams to recognise her on sight.
Biography
Christina de Souza was a notorious thief who stole for thrill, rather than profit as most thieves would; she was bored with her aristocratic upbringing. When she met the Tenth Doctor, Christina had already built a considerable reputation and was relentlessly pursued by Detective Inspector Macmillan.
At Easter 2009, she stole the prized Cup of Athelstan from the International Gallery in London. Her calling card (a mechanical golden Maneki Neko waving in a mocking manner) alerted the guards to her presence and her associate was quickly found and arrested, which concerned Christina not at all. Unable to find a way to distance herself from the museum because of the many police officers about, she used the 200 bus as an escape vehicle, bribing the driver with her diamond earrings for passage. When she met the Doctor, she dismissed him due to his odd behaviour. Once the bus was caught in a wormhole and deposited on an alien planet, she established herself as the leader of the group. She deferred to the Doctor's knowledge, recognising his understanding of the situation. The many tools in her backpack, which included a shovel to dig out the bus wheels, a hatchet to cut away the seats (so they could be used as traction for the wheels), a mechanical winch for her heists and a hammer, proved to be of enormous value to the group.
Christina became very comfortable with the Doctor and he with her. She felt a sense of adventure and excitement with him that exceeded any heist that she had ever pulled off. Against the Doctor's wishes, she winched down a shaft in the Tritovores' ship to collect the anti-gravity clamps and their power crystal, nearly electrocuting herself in her haste. She inadvertently woke an inactive alien in the ship's hull with her body heat. Swiftly collecting the clamps, she travelled back up the shaft with the alien at her heels.
Her previous heist proved to be invaluable, as the Cup of Athelstan was made of gold. This served as a perfect conductor for the anti-gravity clamps which, by themselves, were incompatible with the bus. The Doctor mangled the cup to make it the right shape, earning Christina's ire. With the clamps fixed on the bus, the Doctor piloted the now flying bus through the wormhole. Upon returning to Earth, Christina kissed him, her earlier anger forgotten.
After returning to the ground, Christina broke away from UNIT security, expecting to travel with the Doctor as a companion, only for her request to be refused, as the Doctor revealed he had been too hurt by losing his previous companions. Christina was arrested by the police and taken away. However, the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to unlock her handcuffs. Upon realising this, Christina escaped the police car and ran to the bus, closing the door before the police could capture her again.
Flying the bus to the Doctor, Christina happily told him that they "could have been so good together". The Doctor similarly replied, "Christina, we were", both of them smiling each other off. Christina flew the bus into the night sky, the passengers on the ground cheering her on. (TV: Planet of the Dead)
Apparently Lady Christina at some point learned the Doctor's superphone number, as during a later adventure the Doctor answered the phone thinking it was her. (COMIC: Tesseract)
Christina later met the Eleventh Doctor off-world, after having obtained the ability to travel beyond earth after raiding Henry van Statten's sealed vault in Utah. At the end of the encounter, the Doctor invited Christina to travel with him, but this time she declined, preferring to explore the universe on her own. (COMIC: The Eye of Ashaya; TV: Dalek)
At one point in her life, Christina was caught by Adam Mitchell and trapped alongside many of the Doctor's other companions. (COMIC: Prisoners of Time)
Personality
Christina was fiercely independent and enjoyed defying the Doctor's wishes. She was an expert thief, but only stole for the adrenaline rush. She was bored by her aristocratic life and had a high opinion of herself. She used her obvious charms and good looks to win people over, often for selfish reasons. She showed great enthusiasm for joining the Doctor on his travels, but quickly forgave him when he refused. She could also speak French fluently, which amused the Doctor. She had an untrustworthy streak in her; she abandoned her partner in crime, who was probably also her lover, when he was caught by guards during her escape from the museum. Despite that, she was kind enough to give the cup over to save lives, though also to save her. (TV: Planet of the Dead)
Behind the scenes
- Christina is the only companion to have a single adventure with two consecutive incarnations of the Doctor.
- Christina's character bears some similarities to Raine Creevy, a proposed companion for the aborted Season 27 of Doctor Who, which would have aired in 1990 and starred Sylvester McCoy. Raine would also have been an experienced cat burglar. Though not an actual member of the nobility like Christina, Raine was pitched as being sophisticated in her manner.
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