The Arts in Space (comic story)

 was the second story of the Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor comic story series published in 2014.

Summary
In exchange for the invaluable assistance she offered defending New York – and to say sorry for dropping into her life like a tornado! – the Doctor has promised Gabby one trip – just one trip! – in the TARDIS.

With the whole universe laid before her, all of time and space, where will Gabriella Gonzalez choose to go? What will they find when they get there... and can one trip in the TARDIS ever be enough?

More importantly, the Doctor has been hurt by the fate of his companions before – and recently! With Donna still fresh in his mind, can Gabby convince him that he shouldn't travel alone, for just a little while longer?

Part one
Given a choice for one trip in the TARDIS between the past, present, or future, Gabby Gonzalez picks the future. Knowing her artistic nature, the Tenth Doctor suggests visiting the Pentaquoteque Gallery on Ouloumos. Gabby absorbs the sensation of her first alien planet to the full. She is amazed by the strange landscapes, sky aqueducts and all the subtle differences from Earth in the animals, the birdsong, the sand and the grass. With her excitement overflowing, she needs to share it with somebody. The Doctor acts like he has seen this all before, so Gabby decides to write and draw her impressions for Cindy.

In the Pentaquoteque Gallery, the Doctor shows Gabby a variety of art styles, both futuristic and known in her time. Among the highlights on the Doctor's list are block transfer sculptures by his friend Zhe Ikiyuyu, which she sings into existence using pure mathematics. Thus, he is all the more disappointed to find an empty room where Zhe's sculptures used to be. Determined to find out what happened, the Doctor takes Gabby to the museum curator, who explains that a century ago, having faced some criticism, Zhe had withdrawn their works and exiled themselves to their private retreat on the planet's moon, which can be accessed by a private space elevator. Since then, the only person to attempt a visit about seventy years ago was an art dealer, who quickly returned from the moon in a great rush.

The elevator's robotic pilot Vernon recognises the Doctor by DNA, treating Gabby as a "plus one" and letting them board the elevator. Now Gabby can observe Ouloumos from up high. A path leading from the elevator to the gates of Zhe's mansion passed through a sculpture garden. Gabby thinks that these sculptures are somewhat old fashioned compared to the art she's seen in the Pentaquoteque Gallery. The Doctor explains that Zhe found beauty in any form - humanoid or alien — and that they used body augmentation to change between genders and forms to see the world from different perspectives.

Suddenly, the sculptures begin moving and try squashing the visitors. The Doctor lifts Gabby and throws her out of harm's way, then grabs her hand and runs towards the gates. He is surprised as matter manipulation on such a scale should have been beyond Zhe's abilities. Opening the gates with his sonic screwdriver, he correctly guesses that the sculptures will not follow them inside the grounds and proceeds to Zhe's house.

The Doctor and Gabby are greeted at the entrance by a male figure, who calls himself "the Ultimate Apprentice". He seems worried that the newcomers want to become apprentices too. But the Doctor assures him that he is an old friend of Zhe's and is just paying a friendly visit. The Apprentice then brings them to a room where Zhe sits motionless. She has four arms, more than during the Doctor's last visit. Upon a closer examination, the Doctor concludes that this must be a block-transfer-sculpture self-portrait of Zhe.

Suddenly, the Doctor and Gabby find themselves separated: the Doctor is still in the room with the motionless likeness of Zhe and the male Apprentice, whereas Gabby is in a different room with a figure almost identical to the Apprentice but female. The female Apprentice accuses Gabby of lying and of trying to become an apprentice. Strangely, she also calls herself "the Ultimate Apprentice". Gabby asks her about the male Ultimate Apprentice she just met. At this, the female Apprentice grows a second, male head and claims to be all aspects. Without waiting for the Apprentice to finish growing more extremities with sharp claws, Gabby runs away trying to find the Doctor.

Meanwhile, the male Apprentice accuses the Doctor of being a critic because he could hear them criticising the sculptures in the sculpture garden. He grows scissors from his hands and proceeds to attack the Doctor. The latter escapes onto a roof terrace, where he hears Gabby's cries from below and observes her throwing a plant pot at the multi-armed and two-headed Apprentice. He calls to her and suggests to try finding Zhe in their studio in the glass wing. As Gabby runs back into the house pursued by the two-headed Apprenitice, the male Apprentice catches up with the Doctor. He tries to reach the main stairwell, which he remembers from his prior visits, but the Apprentice has modified the house layout, and the Doctor falls down what looks like an infinite stairwell.

Part two
To the surprise of the male Apprentice, a trapeze suddenly appears, giving the falling Doctor something to cling to. The Doctor thanks Zhe for looking out for him and uses the trapezes to get to another exit from the stairwell. The angry Apprentice transforms the whole spiral staircase into a dragon. The Doctor can't help being impressed with this real-time Block-Transfer manipulation, remarking that even Zhe themselves was not this powerful. The dragon starts chasing the Doctor around the mansion.

to be extended

Characters

 * Tenth Doctor
 * Gabby Gonzalez
 * Zhe Ikiyuyu
 * The Apprentice
 * Curator
 * Vernon
 * Quark
 * Handbot
 * Kamelion
 * Alpha Centauran
 * White Robot
 * Ood

Original print details
to be added

Continuity

 * Not sure she will be able to send it, Gabby still writes a diary for her friend Cindy (COMIC: Revolutions of Terror) recording her adventures in coloured sketches.
 * The Tenth Doctor previously offered Martha Jones "just one trip" in the TARDIS. (TV: Smith and Jones).
 * The Doctor asks Gabby if she wants to travel to the past, present or future; she chooses future. The Ninth Doctor asked a similar question to Rose and received the same answer. (TV: The End of the World)
 * The Doctor mentions that rules in travelling to the future only apply to fixed points in time. This reflects his more cavalier attitude to intervention. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii, TV: The Waters of Mars)
 * The Doctor mentions they could visit the Louvre III on Paris IV. He visited the original Louvre in Paris with Romana II in his fourth incarnation. (TV: City of Death)
 * The Second Doctor also encountered a space elevator. (AUDIO: The Great Space Elevator)
 * The Doctor explains that Block Transfer Computation cannot be aided by computers. (TV: Logopolis)
 * The Doctor comments on Zhe Ikiyuyu's four arms by suggesting she is going through a Kali phase. The Twelfth Doctor's companion Clara Oswald will become possessed by Kali and also sport four arms. (COMIC: The Swords of Kali)
 * Upon entering a room filled with clocks, the Doctor points out that the Apprentice has redecorated. A little later, he concludes that he doesn't like what the Apprentice has done with the place. Several incarnations of the Doctor often used the same phrase when seeing the TARDIS of his future incarnation or some other room. (TV: The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors, Closing Time et al)
 * The Doctor ruminates that a bow tie is not such a bad look. In his eleventh incarnation, he will adopt them as the attire of choice. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)
 * Gabby mentions fighting monsters on the New York subway. (COMIC: Revolutions of Terror)
 * Gabby has a vision of an Ood singing (who begins a warning before falling apart: "happening so many years ago and in the future, changing the now...") (TV: The End of Time) and herself singing a pop song while wearing Doctor's psychic headgear. (COMIC: Revolutions of Terror)
 * The Doctor says that he has seen block transfer computation used to make sentient beings once before. (TV: Castrovalva)