Living In Time And Space (Book Six of The Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Till Death Do Us Part

Basically, if you haven't read "Fighting A New War," HUGE spoiler for what happened in this interlude. :P Oh, and Jessie is mad. I think you can tell from the title what this addresses.

Enjoy!

***

"Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to the third floor lab. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to the third floor lab."

Wanda paused in her steps, looking up at the intercom, before turning to look behind her. "What would we be needed there for?"

"I have no idea," Steve shook his head, frowning. "You might as well go."

"OK," Wanda nodded, heading for the elevator.

"Let us know if something's wrong," Natasha added.

"I will," Wanda promised, pressing the button for the third floor. When she arrived, she was instantly on guard.

The lights were all out, the only lights coming from the lab.

Footsteps came from behind her, and Wanda turned to see Pietro approaching, just as hesitant as she was. "What is this for?" he asked, waving a hand at the overhead lights.

"I do not know," Wanda shook her head, walking slowly to the lab and looking inside. She tapped in her pass code, and the doors opened, letting them in.

As soon as they were inside, the doors slammed shut. "I had wondered why you two were following me so closely, the day we left," the Bad Wolf's voice said as she turned the lights on, skimming through an iPad in her hands. Her face was void of all expression. "Thor was acting the same way around me."

"Bad Wolf?" Wanda blinked.

"So then I did a little bit of digging. After a recent incident in Berlin, I recovered my life file. I was quite stunned by the results. Then I came here while everyone else was asleep in the TARDIS, and did some more digging. Guess what I found."

She tossed the iPad onto the table, and Wanda picked it up. She froze, looking down at the file Saleen Harper had written, showing the Bad Wolf's death date. Slowly, she looked up, seeing anger burning in the Bad Wolf's stormy grey eyes. "How long have you known?" the Time Lady asked quietly. "How long have both of you known?"

"I had a vision, when we were captives of Strucker's," Wanda whispered, sinking down into a chair. "I saw you die, but I had no idea who you were until I saw you, lying in the cradle, bleeding freely."

"And you?" the Bad Wolf looked at Pietro.

"She told me, after she saw you in the cradle," Pietro answered. "I had no idea."

"We were in Utah, on that date," the Bad Wolf pointed to her death date. "Only I heard nothing of me dying. But I saw the shocked looks on the SHIELD team's faces, and on the Ponds' and River's. They must have seen me die, and they said nothing of it."

"You cannot change a fixed point in time," Wanda looked up at her.

"No, you can't," she agreed with a snarl, dropping into a chair and putting her head in her hands. "And I thought the Master was a bad way to die."

"Is there nothing we can do?" Pietro asked, sitting down as well.

The Bad Wolf was silent, then quietly said, "Save the Doctor."

"Excuse me?" Pietro blinked.

The Bad Wolf dug in her coat pocket, then dropped a gold bangle-like bracelet on the table. Wanda frowned, squinting at the inscribed writing on the bracelet. "I can't read it."

"You shouldn't be able to," the Bad Wolf twirled the bracelet around. "This is Gallifreyan, the language of the Time Lords. Only the Doctor and I can read it."

"What does it say?"

She was quiet, then said, "Heartbreak after death is the greatest pain there is. Woe to those who part before."

"That's . . . cheery," Pietro scratched his head.

"I don't know if anyone ever explained it to you or not, but the Doctor and I are connected by what's called a blood bond," the Bad Wolf said. "Time Lords take the words 'till death do us part' very seriously. If one of us dies, so does the other. When I was killed by a Dalek, we regenerated at the same time. When I slowly died after being shot by the Master, he felt it. He sacrificed his own life to stop my pain. And in Berlin, I did die of poison, and he died as well. River gave up her remaining regenerations to bring us back. So if I truly die here," she tapped the iPad, "then that means somewhere, he's lying dead as well."

"Then how can he be saved?" Wanda asked.

"With this," the Bad Wolf held up the bracelet. "To wear this is a sacrilege, but it is the only way to see the Doctor survive. This is partly why I called you," she looked at Pietro. "He's fast, but if you get to him before he can control time, you can get it on him."

"What does this do?" Pietro examined the bracelet.

"It cuts off the blood bond," she said simply. "If he wears this when I die, then I die . . . and he lives on."

"Couldn't he take it off?" Wanda frowned.

"I can put a biocode on it," she said. "Anyone can put it on, but only certain people can take it off. I plan to be one of them." She took a shaky breath. "I want you two to be able to as well."

"What?!" Wanda gasped as Pietro blanched. "You cannot ask - !"

"I can, and I do," the Bad Wolf interrupted. "Because unless this gets on his wrist, the Doctor is dead. And before you say I could easily put it on myself, it's easy to take a bracelet off a dead woman. It has got to be the Doctor." She swallowed. "Please."

Pietro and Wanda looked at each other, then turned back . . . and nodded. The Bad Wolf just smiled sadly in reply.

***

Well, guess who'll end up in my take on "The Wedding of River Song." ;) And yes, Quicksilver survived thanks to everyone can guess who. You can all thank me later. *bows*

"Night Terrors" is in progress!