Dead-line (comic story)

Summary
Returning Heather to Edinburgh University so she can attend one of Professor Bailey’s tutorials, the Tenth Doctor heads off to the canteen to kill some time. But Heather finds the Professor tied up, and the students possessed by an old enemy the Mozhtratta who she met when she first met the Doctor. Mozhtratta wasn’t destroyed but weakened long enough to plan his revenge. Heather is restrained and tied to ReCohesion Cannon. The Mozhtratta had fed for centuries on the residual vortex radiation buried in Heathers family DNA. Now the Mozhtratti plans to engage the atom ray and drain the rest of the energy. In the canteen the Doctor is surprised to see Heather, but she doesn’t see him and walking past, walks straight through a wall. The Doctor notices that Heathers hair is once again long and she looks like she did when he first met her. The Doctor picks up strange readings from the wall where according to the dinner lady there used to be a door until a few months ago. As the Doctor races off he sees Heather again. The ‘echo’ of Heather guides the Doctor down towards where she is tied up. The Mozhtratta is delighted that the Doctor has arrived, he is an even stronger source of vortex radiation, with all his lives to feed upon. But before the Mozhtratta can act, the Doctor leaps forward and turns the ReCohesion Canon on him. The Mozhtratta is consumed –banged up inside his own DNA. The shockwave knocks everybody out with no memory of what has happened to them. Checking Heather over with the sonic screwdriver the Doctor tells her that the canon has jiggled about her molecules, breaking down her bodies natural defence against vortex radiation. It means she will never again be able to travel in the TARDIS. They say a found farewell, and Heather thanks the Doctor for her time travelling and looks forward to him popping back like a bad penny.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Heather McCrimmon
 * Mozhtratta

Original print details (Publication with page count and closing captions)

 * 1) DWA Issue 152 (4 pages) NEXT WEEK! Danger from beneath the ice!

Reprints

 * None to date

Continuity

 * The Tenth Doctor is seen wearing his brown coat and suit.
 * The Tenth Doctor uses his Sonic screwdriver to follow a trace signal for Heather and to eventually scan her for vortex radiation damage.