Four Doctors (comic story)

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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.

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 armour 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 sceptical, 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 sceptical 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.

The Tenth Doctor and Alice find themselves together.

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 centre 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 Time Lord Victorious is murdered.

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 alternate Eleventh Doctor lives with River as the world dies around them.

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 Twelfth Doctor doubts his alternate self's truthfulness.

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.

Part four

The Twelfth Doctor is horrified at seeing what he will become. The alternate Twelfth Doctor explains that after Clara's betrayal, he wandered the universe alone for centuries, eventually finding his way to the Voord city, and finding companionship and healing by joining the Voord group mind. He demonstrates the effectiveness of being part of a group mind, by ordering some Voord in a small ship, to take the TARDIS away, while he is still talking to the group.

The alternate Twelfth Doctor sets his plan in motion.

The six are restrained and then led into the city. The alternate Twelfth Doctor states that he's not going to lock the group up and give them time to escape. After all, he knows how the minds of the three Doctors work. The Tenth Doctor starts taunting the alternate Doctor, but the alternate Doctor simply picks him up by his hair, telling him it doesn't matter, as they have already essentially lost, a word choice that the Eleventh Doctor notices.

The alternate Doctor tells them that their destiny has been fixed for centuries, since the time the Voord were still on Marinus. Like the other species of the universe, the Voord also heard the message from the Time Lords that was sent through a crack between realities. The Voord realised that this means that the Time Lords might return. The Voord were afraid that if that were to happen, the Time Lords could revert the universe to how it was before the Time War, causing the Voord to lose the new power they have.

The Voord decided to construct a city, a city that contained all of their species. They surrounded the city with a forcefield that could last forever. They then took the weapon from the crashed Dalek saucer, and converted it into an engine that allowed them to take themselves out of reality and into their own pocket dimension, so that they would never be found by the Time Lords, should they return. Removing themselves from the universe also had the effect of erasing all memory of their species from the universe.

After the alternate Twelfth Doctor and Clara parted ways, the alternate Doctor continued his search for Gallifrey, with no success. In the end, he succumbed to his despair and left the universe, ending up in the Voord's pocket dimension. He spent years among them, before eventually being offered leadership of the group mind. Upon doing so, gaps in his memories started filling in. He remembered the continuity bomb, and that history used to be different. He remembered that he was never supposed to find happiness with the Voord. He then gradually realised that he was to be the one responsible for the change in his history. In order for him to end up where he was now, he had to make it happen.

The Voord had the ability to reach back into the main universe, anywhere in time or space. The alternate Doctor used that ability to create the museum on the jungle planet. The images that Clara had seen were all from the alternate Doctor's memories, including the image that led to all of it happening: the image of the three Doctors on Marinus.

While the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors comment on how "timey wimey" the situation is, the normal Twelfth Doctor asks his alternate future self if he remembers his plan getting stopped by the normal Twelfth Doctor, who believes he is going to do so. The alternate Doctor admits that there are still gaps in his memory. He doesn't remember events as they play out after he put on the helmet in front of the group. He points out that only after he found the Voord was when his memories started coming back, and believes it was a deliberate action done by himself and that it's part of his plan.

The Tenth Doctor tells the Eleventh Doctor to keep the alternate Doctor talking having noticed that the alternate Doctor has touched the three of them, without the Blinovitch Limitation Effect occurring. The Eleventh Doctor asks the alternate Doctor why he only went after the three of them, thinking it might have been because of the image. The alternate Doctor disagrees, thinking that his memory of the image would become whatever he decided upon.

He remembered how he once searched for Gallifrey, but since the Voord don't want that, he has to ensure they stay lost. He targeted the three Doctors because they are the ones who might look for Gallifrey and find it, leading to time getting changed. The Tenth Doctor asks why the alternate Doctor didn't target the Ninth Doctor, as he is also from after the Time War. The alternate Doctor states that there was a problem involving the Ninth Doctor, and he can't let anything get in the way of his chosen destiny.

Once setting up his timeline is done, the alternate Twelfth Doctor plans on bringing the universe under the control of the Voord. They will invade every strategic point in the universe, at every perfect moment. The Voord plan on becoming the new Time Lords, only they will take care of their domain, since everyone in the universe will be the same species.

The normal Twelfth Doctor tells his alternate self to shut up. He berates his alternate self for getting a glimpse of his worst possible future and deciding to become that future. He proclaims that he will never do so. The alternate Doctor disagrees, because he will wipe the memories of the past Doctors and companions and then place them back in their timelines, unable to do anything to change the outcome. As for the Twelfth Doctor and Clara, they will be placed back on Marinus, after the bomb went off. They will retain their memories of the events, up to when the bomb went off. They'll assume that the bomb was faulty and that the other Doctors went back to their own times.

However, the alternate Twelfth Doctor will plant mental commands into his former self's mind, making sure that he won't forgive Clara when she betrays him. He does apologise to his former self for all the suffering that he will go through. He tells them they will be taken to a device called The Conscience, where their memories will be altered. Clara tries apologising to the Twelfth Doctor, blaming herself for everything that's happened and going to happen. The Doctor rebukes this, telling her not to take the blame for something that is his own fault.

The Tenth Doctor points out that in order for the plan to succeed, he needs to stay alive. He jumps off the walkway, hurdling towards his death, to the horror of the alternate Doctor and Gabby. The alternate Doctor orders one of the other Voord to save the Tenth Doctor, who wasn't really trying to kill himself, but was only acting as a distraction. While the Voord are distracted, the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors attack their guards. Their resistance is quickly cut short, as the Voord capture the two Doctors and Clara, causing the Eleventh Doctor to drop his sonic screwdriver and his comics. Gabby dives for the screwdriver but only manages to grab the comics, before escaping with Alice. The two manage to hide from the Voord and decide to go locate the TARDIS, thinking they can use it to help them rescue the others.

Gabby is shocked to see Alice brutally murdered.

Meanwhile, the three Doctors and Clara have been attached to the Conscience. The Twelfth Doctor asks why they aren't waiting until Gabby and Alice are recaptured. The alternate Doctor tells them that the two don't matter, because of the point in time that the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors will be returned to. The loss of Gabby and Alice won't change their timelines, and their memories of the two can be erased. As such, the two companions will be executed upon being captured. The alternate Doctor activates the device, altering the memories of the four. He gloats over his victory, but notes that the two remaining companions must be eliminated, so that any other possible outcomes die with them.

Gabby and Alice locate the TARDIS, and notice it's unguarded. The two can tell it's likely a trap. Since they have no way to sneak to the TARDIS, Alice decides to make a run for it. Before she can reach the TARDIS, she is shot and killed by a Voord guard. Gabby runs away, being chased by other guards. She manages to hide from them and takes stock of what she has, the only thing being the Eleventh Doctor's comics. She opens the packaging on the comics, but is horrified when she looks at them. Her scream alerts the Voord guards, who come running. The lead guard notes that the scream came from Gabby, who is gone now, meaning it's all over. One of other guards asks what they are looking at. The lead guard says that they're looking at her gravestone.

Part five

In the cafe in Paris, 1923, Gabby Gonzalez finishes telling her past self, Alice Obiefune, and Clara Oswald about the events she experienced and why they must try harder to avoid going to Marinus. It turns out that when Gabby opened the comics in the Voord City, she discovered a miniature Weeping Angel, that quickly grew to normal size and displaced her in time. Gabby believes it was chosen deliberately, so that she would be sent back to this moment in time, when the three companions met each other in the cafe. The three companions agree to prevent their Doctors from going to Marinus, and the future Gabby ceases to exist.

Before they can do anything, the three Doctors show up. The three companions explain everything to the three Doctors. Clara apologises for everything that was going to happen, as well as her future betrayal. She points out if they avoid going to Marinus, then they've already won. The Twelfth Doctor disagrees, asking her to show him the photo. He then points out the most important detail of the photo: it still exists. As such, as pointed out by the other two Doctors, the Twelfth Doctor is still doomed to become the Voord Leader. The Twelfth Doctor decides that they need to head to Marinus.

Upon arriving, the three Doctors take the pose for the picture. The Voord start shooting at them and the group heads to the Continuity Bomb. However, this time, they choose the Eleventh Doctor's alternate timeline. Once there, the Twelfth Doctor summons the TARDIS to them, and they head back to Marinus. Since all of history is happening at once, the Dalek saucer is present on Marinus. Using the weapon on board the saucer, the group transports themselves to the Voord City.

Upon their arrival, the Twelfth Doctor masquerades as his future self. He orders the Voord to take the Tenth Doctor to the Environmental Unit and the Eleventh Doctor to the Dimensional Control Unit. The Voord with the group points out that the Twelfth Doctor has lost his connection to the group mind, so he transfers his suit to the Twelfth Doctor. While the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors arrive where they need to be, the Twelfth Doctor is connected to the group mind, which he gains control of. He is then confronted by the alternate Twelfth Doctor. The alternate Doctor points out that the Twelfth Doctor's actions are pointless, as he can't avoid his destiny. The two Doctors begin to fight, with the alternate Doctor proving to be the stronger one. So, the Twelfth Doctor brings the other two Doctors and the three companions into the group mind. The Tenth Doctor tells the alternate Doctor that while linked to the group mind, they still are able to control their bodies in the real world. The Eleventh Doctor reveals that the Tenth Doctor has switched off the city's forcefield, while he has linked the Dalek weapon to the city's dimensional controls. The alternate Doctor now has a choice, to let the acid destroy the Voord, or regress them back along their timeline. The alternate Doctor is sad, as this would mean he never existed, not with his current freedom and love. Clara talks to him, apologising again for her future betrayal. She tells him that his past self would get another chance. She believes that the Twelfth Doctor's nature won't lead him to becoming the alternate Doctor, and said alternate Doctor knows this. The alternate Doctor asks Clara to never forget him, before regressing the Voord back along their timeline.

The group finds themselves back on Marinus, and the Voord have been regressed to how they were before the Time War. The Tenth Doctor expresses regret at what they had to do. The Eleventh Doctor reveals that he will head out to find the Weeping Angel so he can plant it in the comics. Clara pulls out the photo to discover that the image is gone. The group heads back to Paris, to enjoy some leisure time together, before going their separate ways. Upon arriving at the cafe, they notice that the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler are inside, enjoying themselves. The three Doctors come to the realisation that the Voord didn't bring the Ninth Doctor into all this because they couldn't find an alternate timeline where he was anything other than fantastic.

The Doctors watch the Ninth Doctor having fun with Rose Tyler.

The group heads back to their TARDISes, where the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors explain that while they will forget these events, Gabby and Alice won't. The Twelfth Doctor expresses concern over allowing the two to remember these events, but the two past Doctors disagree with him. The Tenth Doctor is still concerned about how the Twelfth Doctor will come to exist, but both he and the Eleventh Doctor agree that the Twelfth Doctor is still the Doctor. The two past Doctors and companions depart in their TARDISes, leaving the Twelfth Doctor and Clara. Clara asks the Doctor if he is going to erase her memory, but the Doctor states that he would never do that to her. He points out that because she had immersed herself in his timestream, she is likely to forget these events naturally, like a Time Lord does.

The two enter the TARDIS, where Clara notes that she's beginning to forget the events they just went through. She asks the Doctor if he would like to still be one of the other two Doctors. The Twelfth Doctor points out that he is different from them. They lived like they were on limited time, like they were human in the best possible way. He proclaims that he and Clara can't live in the past. They must go forward to the future. He flips a switch, sending the TARDIS towards their next adventure.

Characters

References

Notes

  • The main setting, plot, and villains within Four Doctors are similar to those of Doctor Who and the Daleks, one of the first non-TV pieces of Doctor Who media. Both feature parts of their stories set on Marinus and Earth, and both feature the Daleks and Voord as villains while illustrating the two in a struggle.
  • The first four issues feature unique narration from each of the different characters.
  • The comic was printed with back-up stories. The first and final backups showed events alluded to in the main story, linked to the Eleventh Doctor's bundle of comics.
  • The publication of the fifth issue was delayed by two weeks.
  • After its 5-issue print run, the story was reprinted in Titan's Doctor Who Comic magazine. Its launch saw a restart of that magazine's numbering scheme.
  • One of the figurative Doctors that Gabby draws resembles Dr. Who from the 1960s movies Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D..
  • The Tenth Doctor momentarily mistakes the Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS for The Master's due to its dark lighting. When the Twelfth Doctor clarifies that it is his TARDIS, the Tenth Doctor asks "So why the Dalek bumps?", a reference to The Curse of Fatal Death.
  • The exact nature of Clara's betrayal is never revealed. The only event in a televised episode that would appear to be applicable is Clara's attempt at blackmailing the Doctor into preventing Danny Pink's death in TV: Dark Water. In the TV episode, the Doctor referred to her actions as a betrayal and told her to "go to hell", both of which are referred to here by the alternate Twelfth Doctor.
  • The titular "fourth" Doctor is left somewhat ambiguous, and shifts throughout the story, as it primarily stars the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors. One could surmise that the Alternate Twelfth Doctor is the fourth, because he is the primary antagonist and the only candidate that appears in multiple issues. The War Doctor, meanwhile, was implied through cover art to be the fourth, but only appears in a flashback in Issue 1, albeit in events that set the story in motion. Finally, in Issue 5, the Ninth Doctor makes a silent cameo, making him the fourth incarnation in that issue, but is only observed by his successors and does not interact with them.
  • The Tenth Doctor claims "Stayune Puttique" is the opposite of his catchphrase "Allons-y", but is not an actual French phrase.

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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