Zorgo the Terrible (comic story)

 was a comic story published in Doctor Who The Official Annual 2016.

Synopsis
The Doctor and Clara come face to face with an enemy that the Time Lord has defeated countless times before. However, the Doctor doesn't recognise Zorgo but will soon realise just how terrible he really is.

PLOT
The TARDIS materalises on the Luminos Bridge, Myros, 3016. Due to their dangerous surroundings, Clara exclaims that she believes the Doctor goes looking for trouble with an unstable bridge and river of fire. Suddenly, robots appear and take a selfie with the Doctor and Clara. Meanwhile across the galaxy, someone is sent the picture, to which they respond to initiate Elimination Plan 2 after identifying the target. He states it's his last chance to destroy the Doctor.

The Doctor tries to hurry off, claiming he's thirty years late for an appointment, however the robot ceases him again - stating that another picture is required for luck, and takes another picture with them against their will. Across the Galaxy again, the man commands the robots to release the dragon to which they respond "I obey Lord Zorgo." and with a bright light, a robot dragon appears in the sky. The dragon dives towards the two but then changes course and lands on the TARDIS instead, stealing the time energy and transferring it into itself: the Doctor claims this is impossible. The dragon zaps the duo and transports them into a vast stone laboratory. Zorgo appears, telling the Doctor that they finally meet again - however the Doctor doesn't recognise him. He introduces himself as Zorgo the Terrible, and tells him that he has stopped all of his plans to conquer time over and over again - however this doesn't ring a bell (although he's impressed by his time dragon). Zorgo attempts to remind him by going through all of his previous schemes and encounters with the Doctor (all 26 of them), such as when his robots almost trapped him in a time eddy floating between dimensions. Zorgo sits on some steps and sulks, stating that he wasted his life trying to kill him and now he's old, and weak and dying. Zorgo lets the Doctor go, as he can't even remember why he wanted to kill him in the first place.

However, the time dragons starts to fizz and grow alarmingly. Zorgo tells him that there's a hole in time hat's turning inside out. Vortex energy blasts out of the dragon, and Zorgo is hit by one. This causes Zorgo to be turned into a baby. One of the robots picks up baby Zorgo and holds him in its arm. The Doctor says that he'll be ready for his plan to kill him when Zorgo grows up. Clara mentions that they're trapped without the TARDIS. They hop onto the time dragon and fly away.

Characters

 * Twelfth Doctor
 * Clara Oswald
 * Zorgo

Continuity

 * When Clara asks what the Time Dragon is, he asks sarcastically "What's the matter? Never seen a robot dragon before?" (TV: Dragonfire, PROSE: The King's Dragon)
 * The Doctor refers to one of Zorgo's robots as Brassneck. (COMIC: The Woman Who Sold the World)
 * The Doctor previously encountered enemies that regressed in time. Pangol regressed in time to a baby (TV: The Leisure Hive) and Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen regressed into an egg. (TV: Boom Town)