Izara did not sleep.
Not because she was traumatized by killer mannequins (she'd expected worse) — but because canon had already derailed.
She paced her small Powell Estates kitchen, hair in a messy bun, clutching a mug she hadn't remembered making.
"Okay. Okay, think. No elevator. No plastic arm. No easy reason for the Doctor to come back. But he still—"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Izara froze, mug halfway to her lips.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me."
She opened the door—
"IZARA PLEASE SAVE ME—MUM IS DRIVING ME MAD—" Rose barged inside, flopping dramatically on Izara's couch.
Izara blinked. "Good morning to you too?"
Rose sat up, frazzled. "She keeps telling everyone on the estate about the shop blowing up and how I almost died and now she's saying I should sue and—"
Another knock. A very different knock.
Firm. Rhythmic. Time-Lord-knock-ish.
Izara turned slowly.
Rose squinted. "You expecting someone?"
"No," Izara whispered. "I'm really, really not."
She opened the door—
And the Doctor stood there.
Leather jacket. Slightly out-of-breath like he'd jogged all the way up the stairs.
He locked eyes with Izara, expression sharp and searching.
"There's an anomaly here."
Izara's heart face-planted.
"An annoying one," he added, stepping inside like he owned the place. "And Auton signals. Faint but active."
Rose gaped between them. "Wait— HIM? You— he— WHAT—?"
The Doctor ignored her and circled Izara like she was a museum exhibit.
Izara swallowed. "Um. Good morning?"
He raised his eyebrows. "You're calm."
"Should I not be?"
"You ran from living plastic last night. Most humans would be in shock."
Izara gave a small shrug. "People react differently."
Rose whispered loudly, "She didn't even scream. I screamed. A lot."
Izara elbowed her.
The Doctor stepped closer. Too close. He reached out—Stopped just shy of touching her temple.
"There's… something around your mind."
Izara's stomach dropped.
'Tok'ra-lite neural shielding. Oh no.'
"Like a static field," the Doctor murmured. "Not human."
Rose's eyes widened comically. "Izara?! Are you an alien?!"
Izara blurted, "NO. I'm— I'm not alien, I'm just— clever!"
The Doctor stared.
Izara stared back.
He squinted suspiciously.
She forced a confident smile.
He looked even more suspicious.
Then—
[SYSTEM ALERT — Mission Completed
"Don't Change Canon Too Much… Yet."
Objective: Let Rose have her run scene with the Doctor uninterrupted.
Reward: +150SC deposited.
Great. Pressure.
The Doctor finally tore his gaze away from Izara and switched to Auton business.
"Right then. Living plastic. Conscious control signal. Gotta find the transmitter."
Rose blinked. "Can I come? I mean—you saved my life. You're real. This is all real."
Izara stepped back, out of their conversational orbit, quietly raising her palm as if rubbing a wrist—Tricorder module activated.
A soft pulse of data brushed against the Doctor.
He froze.
"Oi!"
Izara jerked. "W-what?"
He pointed at her hand. "Did you just scan me?"
Izara blinked innocently. "No?"
Another pulse.
He frowned. "You did it again!"
"I didn't— it's a— uh— static shock?"
Rose stopped dead. "Static shocks do not ping."
Izara gritted her teeth and mentally hissed at her System.
[Mission Complete: "Analysis — Ninth Doctor Behavioral Data Collection"
Reward: +200SC
Tricorder scan successful.]
The Doctor narrowed his eyes at her.
Izara widened hers innocently.
A staring contest ensued.
Rose looked between them like she'd walked into a secret meeting.
Finally, the Doctor sighed dramatically and turned back to Rose.
"All right. Want to come with me? Just a quick look at the transmitter."
Rose lit up.
Izara's System pinged again.
[Mission Reminder: Maintain Canon Trajectory.]
Izara swallowed and put on her best supportive-friend smile.
"Go, Rose. I'll catch up."
Rose grinned. "You're the best!"
The Doctor hesitated at the door.
Paused.
Looked at Izara again.
That odd resonance from the soulbond flickered between them, faint and confusing.
"You," he said softly. "You're not what you seem."
Izara forced a smile. "Neither are you."
He blinked.
Then left.
Izara sagged against the door, breath whooshing out.
"Okay," she muttered. "Canon is mostly on track. Ish. Sort of."
Her System chimed again.
[Would you like to improve your chances of survival?]
Izara bonked her forehead against the wall, and whispered, "Sure."
[Purchase Confirmed — Bee & Puppycat 'Small Luck Charm Buff'
+10% improbable survivability
(Your future is now harder to kill.)]
[Balance: 13,250]
Izara groaned into her hands.
"Good. I'll need it."