Infinite DC

Past the typical scent of puberty, the boys’ dormitory of Gryffindor was quite the serene spot to Rhyanna. It had all the necessities: a centrally-located stove, four poster beds for each resident Gryffindor student, windows and space for storing personal belongings, and a water jug on the windowsill.

While situated in her lotus position to one corner, she waited patiently for Hermione and Maureen to treat Gizmo’s broken arm with a healing potion they concocted together. Harry, Ron, Bugs, and Daffy stood and watched around the bed that the two girls handled their treatment on.

The Mogwai gave a satisfied chirp in response to the tender care.

Maureen giggled. “He’s thanking you, Hermione.”

“Well, you’re most welcome,” she sweetly told Gizmo. “He’s the most precious creature I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“Yeah, but where did he come from?” Ron queried. “He’s not in any of the books we’ve studied, not even Scamander.”

Harry shrugged. “Maybe he’s something that hasn’t been discovered yet. Hagrid can probably—”

“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Daffy interjected. “How ‘bout we spend less time worryin’ over the little fuzz-ball and more time helpin’ me find the treasure!”

“What treasure are you talking about, mate?” A stumped Ron questioned.

“Oh, c’mon,” Daffy smugly said, believing as if Ron was playing coy. “There’s gotta be some around in a huge ol’ castle like this.”

Annoyed over the duck’s insistent prying, Maureen removed herself from the bed and approached Daffy. “None of you will be staying long enough to go any further than here. Once Gizmo’s completely healed, you lot are out.”

“So you’re who I’ll one day be,” Rhyanna addressed her. “You’re one of my future regenerations.”

“Just gettin’ ‘round to figurin’ it out, are ya?” Maureen mocked.

“And a snippy one, too.” Rhyanna examined. “Probably being Northern and all.”

“Oh, sod off, you!” Maureen angrily snapped. “You’d be crossed, if you were in your final regeneration!”

Rhyanna was struck cold. “You’re our last one? That’d mean you’re the twelfth. We’re only allowed twelve regenerations.”

“Quite the detective, you are,” Maureen jeered.

“Sorry,” Harry stepped in. “I hate to interrupt this interesting exchange, but…what do you both mean by ‘regeneration’?”

His curiosity only frustrated Maureen more. “I’ve drawn too much attention to myself. I can’t stay here anymore.” After a brief, despondent sigh, she came clean to the boy she grew to call a friend: “I’m not a witch, Harry.”

“You’re a muggle?!” Hermione presumed.

“Not even close,” Maureen snickered. “I’m an alien from a planet called Gallifrey. We refer to ourselves as ‘Time Lords,’ or ‘Time Ladies,’ if you’re a girl.” She gestured to Rhyanna. “The Aussie with the big bum here is one of my past selves. When we’re seriously hurt or on the edge of death, we regenerate…change our bodies entirely.”

“And you’re the twelfth and last one?” Harry reviewed.

Maureen somberly nodded. “Correct. Once after that, I die just like any other.”

“That all sounds totally mental,” the disbelieving Ron articulated.

“Is it any harder to believe than the existence of wizards and witches, Ron?”

He considered Maureen’s logic, which was reasonable enough to convince him of the truth. “Solid point,” he admitted.

“I’ll have to be leavin’ tonight,” Maureen declared.

“You don’t have to,” Harry insisted. “We promise not to tell anyone else.”

“That’s kind of you, Harry. But I cannot risk puttin’ you three or anyone else in danger.” Maureen looked to Rhyanna and snidely muttered, “Guess I’ll have you to thank for this.”

Rhyanna sulked. “I’m sorry.”

“You can show how sorry you are by making yourself scarce.” She then hurriedly added, “But not before taking a bloody shower first. Someone has to tell ya.”

Rhyanna did not believe she carried any odor to drive those around her as crazy as it did with Maureen. She suspected her grouchy future incarnation only to be speaking in spite of the sweat-glistened young Australian.

Still, a cool, refreshing shower sounded just what the doctor ordered.

Maureen directed her to the nearest available washroom.

Considering how late it was, Rhyanna was grateful to have it all to herself, though she would not have mind a little more luminescence. Only the moon, shining through a single window, provided seldom lighting.

She stripped off her clothing, stepping into one of the five stalls and switching on the water. Initially, it was cold as ice, prompting her to temporarily jump back out. Once it warmed, she submitted herself to the running liquid, permitting its course down her bare body and through every crevice.

Ten minutes of blissful showering, and she was done.

“SURRENDER!”

She jerked her soaking body around to face the familiar black-and-gold Dalek that found its way into the washroom.

“Do I have any other choice in this way?” Rhyanna remarked.

In the most uncomfortable way imaginable, Vec’s eyestalk moved up and down in a slow, steady motion, seemingly analyzing Rhyanna’s naked, dripping frame.

“YOU ARE A TIME LORD!”

“Time Lady, if you please.”

“YOU POSSESS THE ABILITY TO REGENERATE INTO ANY FORM UPON REGENERATION, AND YOU CHOOSE THAT OF A HUMAN – AN INFERIOR RACE!”

“And yours always deem to be the superior race.”

“THAT IS CORRECT!”

Rhyanna smirked. “Let me enlighten you on the science of regeneration, mate. I don’t ‘choose’ the body – it never works that way. Sometimes, regeneration has a mind of its own. But some subconscious part of me does decide on a body to remind me of what I used to be: a gladiator.”

The eyestalk shifted up and down again. “THIS IS A GLADIATOR FORM?”

She stared down at herself, smiling.

“I’d like to believe that it is. I would rather it be used for peace than war.”

“THERE IS NO PEACE! THERE IS ONLY WAR!”

“Is peace merely the absence of war, or is it tranquility despite the conflict? Is happiness the absence of suffering, or is it contentment despite the imperfections? I believe we can be happy in a world that is already broken and have inner peace in the midst of chaos. We can be in a frustrating situation but choose not to get frustrated, and we can also find bliss in less-than-ideal situations. Happiness is a choice. When the mind’s delight in being stimulated is exhausted, serenity sets in…a deep calm with a half-smile of appreciation and acceptance of whatever arises, without judgment or aversion. It’s a sense of relief beyond peacefulness; it is divine tranquility.”

Vec froze.

Rhyanna believed she had reached the impossible: talking sense into a Dalek.

Her hope of this diminished the second she witnessed Vec take aim at her.

“EXTERMINATE!”

The signature Dalek battle cry was abruptly followed by a ghostly wail and the emergence of a phantom girl in Hogwarts robes.

“What an ugly creature you are!” She said of the Dalek.

She unintentionally made herself a target of Vec’s death ray.

However, already being dead, the ray merely phased through her translucent body. Nonetheless, she wailed in fright, flying throughout the washroom area while Dalek Vec continued firing.

This was just the distraction necessary for Rhyanna to make her escape.

Gathering her clothes and putting them on along the way, she rushed out of the washroom and back to the dormitory.

“All washed up, eh?” Maureen wittingly greeted. “That wasn’t all so bad now, was—”

“Vec’s here!” Rhyanna exclaimed.

Daffy’s eyes bulged in panic. “That tin-canned maniac’s come back for us!”

“Who’s Vec?” Harry asked, frowning behind his round-rimmed glasses.

Screams resonated outside the dormitory, accompanied by laser fire and explosions.

“Bloody hell!” Ron cried in horror. “What’s happening out there?!”

Maureen did not have the time to give him the play-by-play – not that it would have eased his nerves any less.

Instead, she focused her attention on Rhyanna.

“Your T.A.R.D.I.S. is our only way out.”

Rhyanna agreed with a nod. “Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to come with us, for their own safety.”

“Where are we going?” Hermione inquired.

“What about everyone else?” Harry asked. “Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore…”

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Maureen lamented. “There’s no time to save them all – not from Dalek Vec.”

Harry refused to believe in such reasoning.

He wanted to take his wand, go out of his dorm, and defeat whatever new menace had come to Hogwarts.

Just as it was his ignorance to desire such a brash action, it was his ignorance that kept him from it. No telling how powerful or immune to magic this “Dalek Vec” was, he could not gamble his life or others around him.

Placing his trust and faith in Maureen, he joined her and the others in leaving the dormitory and moving through the halls of the castle.

The chaos that swelled in the Vector Dalek’s wake was greater than they feared.

Littered around were the dead bodies of students.

Not just Gryffindor but Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw as well.

“What savage monster are we dealing with?!” Ron whimpered.

Just as they were completely over the litter of bodies, the welcoming sight of Rhyanna’s T.A.R.D.I.S. waited for them at the end of the corridor.

They were on the preface of entering the capsule until…

“Potter!”

Draco Malfoy.

The student of House Slytherin, and a known rival of Harry’s, stormed his way towards the group. His robe – usually in pristine condition – was as scorched as his light skin and white blond hair were.

“I may not be able to prove it, but I know it was you that unleashed whatever monstrosity that is on us all,” Malfoy roared.

“Are you mental?!” Ron barked. “We’ve got nothing to do with this!”

“Oh, I’m sure, Weasley. Trouble always follows you three, and the rest of us have to pay for it!”

“EXTERMINATE!”

The wall nearest them shattered.

It was a miscalculation on Vec’s part, but the next attempt would not be so.

Harry knew something had to be done about the Dalek, before it killed them all.

He pulled out his wand and carefully aimed.

“Stupefy!”

A glow emitted from the tip, shooting across the space between him and Vec.

Struck by the casted spell, the Dalek was sent toppling back.

“Ooh!” An impressed Bugs cheered. “Where can I get one of those?”

With Vec subdued, thanks to Harry’s magic, the group – including Malfoy – retreated into Rhyanna’s T.A.R.D.I.S.

Almost immediately, the construct dematerialized from the dimension.