Echo (comic story)

 was the fourth story of the Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor comic story series, published in 2015.

Summary
Gabby and the Tenth Doctor are back in New York after a terrifying excursion into the past, catching up with family and friends... until THE ECHO strikes, amplifying everyday noise into ear-shattering, mind-splinteringly debilitating waves of sound. What is the Echo – and can the Doctor and Gabby solve the mystery before the cacophany drives the city mad?

Plot

 * Sometimes, the noise of the world is deafening.

Cindy Wu is walking down the street in New York, talking on the phone to Gabby. She cannot hear properly due to the loud traffic noises. A deafening screech causes Cindy to drop her phone and fall to the ground.

Gabby and the Tenth Doctor walk away from the TARDIS. Gabby tries to continue talking to Cindy, but she says she must have lost the signal. The Doctor and Gabby chat for a while, and she invites him to her family's restaurant. The Doctor declines and walks off. In the restaurant, Gabby's family talk to her, but the noise slowly grows louder and louder. Gabby's mother puts her hands over her ears due to the noise.

The Doctor walks past a shop window, and notices a reporter talking about a nationwide increase of noise pollution, describing it as mass screaming spreading through the population like a virus, before being driven mad by it as well. The window shatters and the television explodes.

Maria is still screaming because of the noise, and other people in the restaurant are also noticing the noise. Gabby calls for the Doctor for help, and suddenly, a pair of earmuffs appear on her head. She looks up and sees the Doctor, also wearing earmuffs. He says they are sonic earmuffs. Gabby asks if it's the Cerebravores again, but the Doctor says it's not, and he's unsure if it's even an attack. Using his sonic screwdriver on the air, the screaming and the noise becomes a cry for help. Creatures swoop down from the sky, and the Doctor says they are "a song of echoes". A sudden blast throws them back as an army of creatures threaten the Doctor not to interfere. They proceed to attack the Echoes, which the Doctor disagrees with. Gabby leads the Doctor down an alleyway, only to return on a motorbike, driving past the creatures. The Doctor identifies the creatures as Shreekers, who, years ago, negotiated an intergalactic treaty that allowed them to hunt the Echoes - which they claimed was a tradition - but in reality are no more than criminals. Gabby drives the motorbike towards the TARDIS, followed by the Shreekers. The Doctor and Gabby make it to safety, as the Shreekers attempt to attack the TARDIS. He materialises the TARDIS on top of the Empire State Building, tuning the mast to the same frequency as the sonic screwdriver. His plan is to absorb the sonic chaos caused by the Echoes and fire it at the Shreeker battleship.

A Shreeker manages to reach the top of the building and shoots at the Doctor, knocking him off. He manages to hold on, but tells Gabby to leave him and find the screwdriver. The noise begins to overcome her as the Shreeker threatens her. She picks up the screwdriver and activates it, blasting the Shreeker away and sending the signal into the atmosphere. The Shreekers around them begin to explode. The noise makes its way to the Shreeker ship and destroys it. The Echoes thank them and leave. The world falls silent, becoming peaceful again.

Characters

 * Tenth Doctor
 * Gabby Gonzalez
 * Cindy Wu
 * Blanca Gonzalez
 * Miguel Gonzalez
 * Maria Gonzalez
 * Gino
 * Reporter

Worldbuilding

 * The Doctor owns sonic earmuffs that he made for a trip to the planet Kakophonix.
 * The Doctor says he loves the film King Kong, and that it was based on actual events he was present at.
 * The Shreekers say they are authorised under Article 21212121212 of the Intergalactic Treaty of Cultural Rights.

Original print details
to be added

Continuity

 * Both Cindy and Maria are surprised Gabby is back so soon, as she only just left. (COMIC: Revolutions of Terror)
 * The Doctor says he doesn't get along well with families. (TV: Aliens of London, The Lazarus Experiment)
 * The Doctor battles the Shreekers from the top of the Empire State Building. This incarnation previously fought the Daleks there in 1930. (TV: Evolution of the Daleks)
 * Gabby tells Cindy she kissed a man, and discusses being in a war with the Doctor. (COMIC: The Weeping Angels of Mons)
 * The Doctor mentions Gabby's previous travels with him: being hunted by a sculptor in an art gallery (COMIC: The Arts in Space) and being transported back in time by a Weeping Angel (COMIC: The Weeping Angels of Mons)
 * Gabby suspects the Shreekers are Cerebravores. (COMIC: Revolutions of Terror)
 * The Doctor says the phrase "up to eleven". (TV: The Lazarus Experiment)