The Twist (comic story)

 was the tenth story of the Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor comic series, published in 2016. It was the first story to be set following the ninth series, with the Doctor travelling alone. It introduced Hattie Munroe, a new original companion for the Doctor.

Summary
In the wake of Clara's exit, the Doctor is flying solo — and finding just as much trouble, danger, and cosmic wonder as when Ms Oswald was around!

Part one
On the Twist in the 40th century, the Twelfth Doctor is watching a band perform on stage. After the concert, Hattie Munroe approaches the Doctor, who admires her bass guitar. She asks him who he is, hesitant to believe that he is a fan due to his age. As she tries to say that she has to go, a pair of security guards push past, interrupting them. Hattie asks the Doctor if they're after him, and he says that he was creating a diversion, pointing out the man they are chasing. The Doctor follows the guards, still carrying Hattie's bass. She chases after him to get it back.

The Doctor reaches the man and grabs him, telling him "Come with me if you want to live", saying he always wanted to say that line. The three of them hide from the guards, and the Doctor asks why the security were chasing him. The man, who introduces himself as Jakob, tells them that he was accused of the murder of Idra Panatar, saying that it was the "feral beasts" who did it.

Arriving at the scene of the crime, they find the spot where Panatar was killed. Jakob explains more about the "feral creatures", and says Panatar had to have been killed by one of them. The Doctor uncovers a hidden room behind a bookcase, which is filled with pictures from different places across the Twist. Looking at them, Jakob says they are all of the "creatures". The Doctor finds out that the pictures, which all show fox-like humanoids, date back as far as multiple years ago. Seeing a picture of one in a tree, he deduces that the park would be a good place to search first.

Jakob welcomes the Doctor and Hattie to Central Power Park, a park which has trees wired to power electricity to the Twist. Suddenly, the two security guards find them, and the Doctor, Hattie and Jakob run away, trying to hide among the trees. As they crouch down behind a tree trunk, a clawed foot steps down on a branch. Hattie looks up and sees one of the "feral creatures" standing above them, howling.

Part two
As Hattie and Jakob back away from the creature, the Doctor admires it. Hattie tells him to get back as Jakob attempts to open a hatch in the ground. Hattie hits the creature with her bass, breaking it, but stopping the creature. The three of them climb down the hatch. Above them, the security guards find the creature and shoot it. Jakob leads them down a tunnel. They arrive in an oxygen dome, which the Doctor guesses is from the original colony ship that grew the Twist from a matter seed. As they look around, three more of the fox creatures confront them, calling them "strangers" and "hunters". The creatures, calling themselves the Foxkin, advance, saying they need to protect their warren. The Doctor says he's there to help, but to no avail, as the Foxkin try to attack him. Jakob and Hattie drag him away, through a door in the wall.

Locking the door with his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor looks around to see they are in the a stasis farm on the original colony ship, where the original humans were meant to have slept. However, he says something must have gone wrong. Hattie asks what the Doctor means, and he opens one of the stasis pods, revealing one of the colonists, long dead. Hattie says that it is impossible, as she and Jakob are descended from the original colonists. Looking around, the Doctor finds the stasis farm's control panel, and accesses old records. He discovers that a system malfunction killed all the colonists on the ship. Wanting to find out how the humans survived, the Doctor triggers an alarm that summons the Foxkin. Jakob accuses the Doctor of betraying them, while the Doctor tells the Foxkin to take him to their leader.

Being led into a massive city, the Doctor realises that they are in the second oxygen dome. The Foxkin lead the three of them up to a throne, where Canek, High Sequencer of the Foxkin, introduces himself. Jakob accuses the Doctor of leading them into a trap, but the Doctor says he has realised what is truly going on, saying that the Foxkin are the original colonists, to Hattie's confusion. He says that with all the humans dead, somebody had to have started the growth of the Twist from the matter seed, and brought the humans back to life. Canek says he is correct, explaining the Foxkin evolved from foxes on board the ship, eventually discovering the dead humans and finding out how to clone the DNA of the dead bodies and 'revive' them. Now, the Foxkin guide the humans from the shadows without them knowing. He says that since nobody can know, the Doctor, Hattie, and Jakob cannot return to the surface. He gives them a choice - be imprisoned amongst the Foxkin, or be killed.

Part three
The Doctor, Hattie and Jakob are led into a cell by two Foxkin. One of the Foxkin apologizes, saying there is no other way. Jakob protests as the Doctor tries to unlock the cell with his sonic screwdriver. Jakob refuses to believe the Foxkin created all of the humans on the Twist, and still says they committed the murder. The Doctor, noticing Jakob's bionic eye, uses his sonic screwdriver to sift through its memory records, and finds the code for the lock. Opening the door, they walk away, but turn around to see two more Foxkin. The Foxkin say they are there to help them escape. Jakob says it must be a trap, but the Foxkin explain they are part of a movement that want the Foxkin to reveal themselves to the human inhabitants of the Twist. The two Foxkin guide them back to the surface, where a crowd is gathering in Central Power Park. A reporter speaks over footage of the two security guards and the Foxkin they found earlier.

Jakob says that now, people will believe he is innocent. The Doctor confronts him and says that Jakob knew all about the Foxkin, and had taken the news to Idra. He had found out she knew, and was about to reveal the Foxkin to the humans. He uses his sonic screwdriver to activate memories from Jakob's bionic eye, showing him killing Idra. He says Jakob killed her to stop her from revealing the truth, and framed her death on the Foxkin. The Foxkin that helped them escape hears this, and growls at Jakob, who runs away. The Doctor tells the Foxkin to let him run. He then says that they're going to "put on a show", and tells Hattie to contact the rest of her band. He tells the two Foxkin to gather as many of their species as they can, and bring them into the park.

Later, the band are performing onstage, with a large crowd gathered. Reporters report on the events, mentioning the mystery of who the Doctor is, and reports of fox-like creatures in the park. After the performance, the Doctor takes the microphone, and informs the crowd of the Foxkin and how they saved the colony. He tells them to live in peace with the Foxkin, and share the Twist with them. Around the Twist, humans start noticing the Foxkin, some even being friendly towards them. The security guards then find Jakob, putting him under arrest. The Doctor and Hattie are talking after the concert, and he asks whether Hattie wants to go for a trip in the TARDIS.

Characters

 * Twelfth Doctor
 * Hattie Munroe
 * Jakob
 * Canek
 * Security guards
 * Foxkin
 * Reporter

Worldbuilding

 * The reporter mentions the Arkwright Facility.
 * When talking about open-air concerts, the Doctor mentions Woodstock, Download, Glastonbury, and the Thaxus Moonfest.

Original print details
to be added

Continuity

 * The Doctor continues to show an interest in rock music. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice et al.)
 * The Doctor is now using his new sonic screwdriver. (TV: Hell Bent et al.)