Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Wayne Legacy: Outtakes

By BetterInTexas

Outtake 06: Kara and the Doctor

Kara & Diana

TIMELINE: Origins; Christmas Holiday Season; Almost three years after their parents’ deaths

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Eight-year-old Kara Wayne stared out of her bedroom windows at the brightly lit decorations in the backyard. Because the decorations in front of the manor faced the direction of the front gate, she never got to see the full effect of them. Diana had promised to drive her to the front and perhaps drive her into Gotham to enjoy the lights of the city.

The decorations in the backyard faced her window and were her eyes. They were beautiful, as beautiful as those in the front no doubt. She could see small, green and red lit sailboats on the nearly frozen pond off in the distance. Santa Clause was in the air, preparing to turn into the manor and deliver her presents. An army of snowmen littered the grounds, ready to march into the manor with bags of gifts hung over their shoulders.

The variety of lights amazed her. They streamed everywhere and she soaked in every bit of it, knowing this Christmas could be her last. She always knew every holiday could be her last but this time she was truly frightened.

Since she had turned eight, her body had begun rejecting the treatments Eliza had developed for her over her lifetime. Her T Cells and white blood cells were constantly low to the point of nonexistence. Another bone marrow donation had been discussed but it was unclear if that would help or hurt her body.

Everything she ate, despite its healthy nature, wouldn’t stay down. If she wasn’t vomiting, she was fighting for an appetite. She just hadn’t been hungry.

Her face was gaunt, she looked like a tiny skeleton. Her normally shiny blonde hair and eyes were lifeless most of the time. It had gotten to the point that Diana would watch her, making sure she ate, threatening to feed her if Kara wasn’t willing or able to feed herself.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to. She was fighting to stay awake most of the time. If she could, she would stay in bed constantly.

It was five days before Christmas. She just had to make Christmas, at least that’s what Kara told herself. Once she made Christmas Day, she could make it another day, maybe get to New Year’s, then perhaps a day after that and a day after that.

With her body in this condition, all it took for her not to see another day was one bad cold.

Bruce was already living in the Penthouse. Despite not being contagious, he had a sinus infection and did not want to take a chance with her health. The staff had been cut in half due to most having some wintertime sickness. It had been cold and wet, the perfect combination for illnesses.

Kara wondered at times if she should just walk outside and get it over with. How long could she hide in her room before some invisible something snuck inside? How long before she found herself in the hated isolation chamber in the basement?

Diana knocked on the door connecting their rooms and walked in before she could say anything. Kara sighed, wondering why the door was there in the first place. She should just have it removed. It never stopped Diana from entering when Kara wanted to be alone.

She couldn’t get mad at Diana though. Kara usually stayed near her beloved older sister, but these past months, she didn’t want to be near anyone. Of course, Diana had turned into the one who hovered over Kara constantly.

“I feel fine.” Kara told her.

“Liar.” Her sister replied knowingly.

Diana stood behind the window nook bench Kara was curled up in, wrapped in a blanket, watching the world outside.

Diana felt the window with the back of her hand. “It’s cold. I need to find window warmers so you can touch the glass without getting a chill.”

“It would be easier to put me in a parka with thick gloves, a ski mask and goggles.” Kara pointed out.

Diana sighed, unhappy that Kara was so miserable. She could easily feel her little sister’s negative emotions from anywhere in the manor and she wanted to do whatever she could to brighten the depressed little blonde’s day.

Kara stood up from her window seat and walked to her couch, dragging her blanket with her. Diana moved with her, sitting beside her and covering Kara with her blanket when her sister lay her head in Diana’s lap.

Kara switched on the television hoping to find something to watch. She burrowed into her sister, relishing the comfort she always did in Diana’s presence.

“Didi?”

“Yes, Bunny?”

“Will you be okay when I am gone?”

Kara felt her older sister’s body tense. She didn’t like to ask these questions, but she had to know. She loved Diana so much and her sister seemed so lost at times. Diana thought no one would notice but Kara always did. Whenever Diana was unsure, she would hover around Kara, even calling in sick to school to stay home with her.

“Please don’t…”

“I need to know.” Kara insisted. “I need to know you will be okay.”

“You don’t need to worry because you are not going anywhere. Stop talking like that. I won’t have it. Find something to watch on television.” Diana told her, obviously not wanting to discuss her possible demise.

“There is nothing.”

“You have one hundred and twelve channels. You can find something. Try something new.” Diana insisted.

Kara kept flipping until she saw a show on BBC called Doctor Who .

She flipped it on and quickly became fascinated.

The man on the screen was young and wearing a bow tie. He stood in front of a giant sun monster of some sort. He didn’t appear to have any weapon on him.

The screen changed to some pretty alien girl who had the most beautiful singing voice. Then it returned to the man, and she listened intently to the man speaking to the monster.

You feed on them. On the memory of love and loss and birth, and death, and joy and sorrow, so come on then, take mine, I hope you have a big appetite. Because I have lived a long life and I have seen a few things.”

Kara watched fascinated, pulled in by the emotion in his voice.

“I saw the beginning of the universe and I watched as time ran out, moment by moment until nothing remained, no time, no space, just me! I walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a mad man! I have seen things you wouldn’t believe, and I have lost things you will never understand. And I know things… secrets that must never be told .

Kara’s eyes widened. “I know secrets too, secrets I can never say, or people would get hurt. There are things I can do, things I can make that I never should.” She whispered, understanding what he meant.

She watched the man straighten his bowtie and offer his memories to the giant red beast. The beast took them, and it became too much.

The beautiful girl continued singing, joined in by those with her. A pretty girl flew to this Doctor and let the sun beast have a leaf containing the most important story in the world and the beast imploded. No guns had been used. No fists, just words, music and possibilities.

Kara sprang up from the couch, belying how she felt as she rushed to her computer and began finding out everything she could about the show. She read about the classic years, the break, the reboot and found the first season of the Doctor Who reboot. She watched a young, blonde shop girl, become an entity known as ‘Bad Wolf’, who saved the universe from the fearsome and poorly designed Daleks.

She watched David Tennant and wished more the anything, that she could be a companion.

No. She wanted to be the Doctor!

And why shouldn’t she? She was brilliant. She liked to build things. She could make anything; she knew it in her heart and mind.

Kara watched that series from the beginning, only stopping to sleep, eating whatever Diana put in front of her. She watched the Modern Era three times. She couldn’t be bothered by anyone. She particularly liked the blonde companion, Rose.

“You don’t just give up. You don’t just let things happen. You make a stand! You say no! You have the guts to do what’s right, even when everyone else just runs away .”

She began typing in her journal, all the words that caught her attention in between the spaceships, the time travel and the wild adventures.

Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day. Not today. Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair, and the Doctor comes to call, everybody lives .

“Kara, I need to take your blood to have it sent to Eliza.” Kara stuck out her arm and didn’t even flinch as Diana drew the blood. Alfred would take it to Eliza’s lab, so she wouldn’t have to bring over a biohazard suit to protect Kara from any virus she might be carrying.

“Wait!” She told her sister before she had time to leave the room.

Kara grabbed a piece of paper and began writing a list. “Give this to Lucius. He can gather this stuff. Bring all of it back to me, please!”

Diana looked at the strange mixture of wires, circuit boards, metal tubing and other parts she had never heard of.

Kara had been more animated than she had been since her birthday. Whatever this show was, and whatever this project was, it was a godsend. Kara was eating what Diana put in front of her, perhaps without gusto but she ate and that was what was important.

Bruce was feeling better and planned to go to Eliza’s tomorrow to be checked and, with luck, he could be in the manor for Christmas. Hopefully, Alfred wouldn’t pick up anything running back and forth to Eliza in the weather.

While Kara waited on Lucius to gather the things she had asked for, she continued to watch Doctor Who episodes. Rose Tyler left, then Martha Jones joined, then Donna Noble who made her laugh quite often and she gave into the annoying habit of saying “Oy!” whenever she wanted attention from Diana or Alfred.

“Letting it get to you. You know what that’s called? Being alive! Being alive right now is all that counts.”

Diana didn’t want her in the garage, so she took the parts Lucius had gotten her and her tools to the basement. She worked for hours and hours, taking it apart, putting it back together again, soldering and screwing, gluing wires, making computer chips.

Diana watched over her but was clueless when it came to this stuff. She could only sit back in wonder at her beautiful little sister. Kara’s eyes were squinting at the tube in her hand, a magnifying glass over it, her tiny hands being so gentle.

She finally had it and Diana recognized it for what it was. It was one of those laser screwdriver things the Doctor character carried from the show she had been bingeing, the show that was rejuvenating her sister’s spirit again.

Kara held it up and pressed a button. The top extended and glowed a bright blue.

She pointed at the lights at the top of the basement, and they turned off, then back on. She turned the giant monitors on. She pointed at the elevator and despite the security settings the elevator began to rise.

Diana watched… her mouth opened slightly.

“What did you make?” Diana asked, wary of anything that could cut into the manor’s security system.

“A sonic screwdriver.” Kara told her, smiling widely. “I’m the Doctor now!”

“Never be certain of anything. It’s a sign of weakness .” Kara heard in her mind as she ran round the manor, testing her sonic screwdriver.

Diana, despite her speed, desperately tried to keep up. Kara ran the floors, turning on lights, flipping on computers and bypassing the security on them despite not knowing the password. She could always hack computers but now she didn’t need a keyboard.

Diana called Lucius and asked Kara to tell him what she made and how she did it.

When she was finished, Diana took the phone and asked Lucius if she should be worried.

“With that little girl? Always. But as far as what she made… Diana, that little thing is a miracle. I’m going to get a patent on it for Wayne Enterprises and we are going to keep it in a box until it is ready for you to sell. You wanted an in with the United States Military in the future? You just got it. Let her play… just keep her away from the security systems.”

“She can hack the security systems?” Diana asked worriedly.

“With that device she can hack anything. Where did she get the idea? You haven’t been letting her watch Doctor Who, have you?”

Diana cringed. “She’s been bingeing it. Why? Is that bad?”

Lucius chuckled. “Is it bad to let a kid who is arguably the greatest engineer and physicist on Earth at eight-years-old, watch a show about a man who can make devices that warp space and time? No, that sounds like a great idea. Have fun keeping up with her.”

He was outright laughing as Diana ended the call.

The lights flipped off then back on and she heard Kara’s laughter ringing through the house.

“Is something wrong with the electrical panel?” Alfred asked her.

Diana shook her head. “No. I mean, not at this moment, but that could change in a second. Kara is…”

“That’s enough.” Alfred sighed knowingly. “Please make sure she doesn’t break anything permanently.”

Alfred walked off, leaving Diana frustrated. “He says that as if it were easy.”

Diana had taken a second blood sample, worried about Kara and all the running she had been doing around the manor. The little blonde had played havoc with the front gate, security was going nuts, and Diana had to talk to her about playing with her new toy.

On Christmas Eve morning, she received a call from Eliza.

“What are the results?” Diana asked, worriedly. “The only time I can get her to slow down is to watch that damn show.”

“Whatever you are doing, keep doing it. Her white blood cells and T cell count is approaching normal levels. I checked Bruce and he is clean. Alfred can bring him home.”

Diana felt an immense relief. Kara wasn’t out of the woods, but this was the first time her immune system had shown some life of its own in months.

She followed Kara around all day, asking her not to turn the security system on and off because the guards had been calling Alfred all afternoon to complain.

Alfred brought Bruce home and Kara jumped into his arms when she saw him.

It was shaping up to be a good holiday season. Diana always strived to make Kara’s birthdays and Christmases perfect. She would never entertain the thought that each one could be her sister’s last.

It had never been a problem before, but this year was different. Kara was speaking of death more than any eight-year-old ever should. It had shaken Diana and continued to do so. She knew Eliza’s treatments were becoming more aggressive given Kara’s body wasn’t responding to the old treatments.

It had been hell, but they were getting through it.

Kara had fallen asleep with Diana Christmas Eve night, curled up into her sister’s side with a happy smile on her face. It took Diana a little bit of ingenuity to extract herself from her so she could sneak downstairs to set up gifts for Kara along with Alfred and Bruce. She then snuck back up to lay next to her sleeping sister, noting as she had many times before, Kara was too small for her age.

She gently reached over and took the sonic screwdriver out of Kara’s hand, slipping it into a drawer.

On Christmas morning, they woke up early and Kara rushed down the stairs. If not for Diana’s speed, she may not have kept up. Because Bruce and Alfred knew Kara so well and didn’t want to miss her reactions, they had slept in the sitting room where the family tree was.

Kara squealed when she saw the gifts.

Then she turned to the window.

It had been wet and cold for the past few weeks. But today, Christmas morning, the rain had given way to the first heavy snowfall of the year.

“It’s beautiful.” Kara whispered.

Diana placed a hand on her shoulder. “I wish you could go outside, but you can’t. I’m so sorry, Kara.”

Kara shrugged. “I’ll play in the snow one day. I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams. ”

Diana hugged her closely from behind. “Which Doctor said that?”

“The eleventh, “ Kara replied, looking back up at her sister. “but they are all the same man. Except me. One day, I will be the Doctor.”

Diana smiled, filling Kara’s soul with a warmth she would never take for granted. “You are going to be the miracle this world needs, Kara. Just please, stay strong for me. Okay?”

Kara nodded and turned, hugging her sister tightly. Then she twisted from Diana and ran for the gifts, ripping paper and bows while Bruce joined her.

For a moment, in Diana’s mind, Kara wasn’t severely ill. They weren’t orphans. Bruce wasn’t still traumatized years later. Diana didn’t have the weight of the world on her shoulders.

For that white Christmas morning, they were a family, or in this case, they were the Doctor and her companions.