Missy's Magical Mystery Mission

"Looks like you're going to drown in your enemies' tears."

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner

Format: Short Story

Released: November 2020

Printed in: I Am The Master 03

Featuring: Missy

Synopsis

Is cleaner Daphne Nollis really the best choice to enter a contest to possess the ultimate power in the universe? And is the manically helpful hologram Miss E all she seems?

Verdict

Missy's Magical Mystery Mission was a terrific continuation of the I Am The Master: Legends of the Renegade Time Lord collection of short stories featuring different incarnations of the Master! This was a really good take on Missy's entry into the book and whilst she is no stranger to a short story having had The Missy Chronicles a couple of years ago, I'm glad we got a further story featuring this whacky and wonderful incarnation of the Doctor's greatest enemy. I thought the combination of Missy and Jacqueline Rayner as the author was an exciting combination and whilst things weren't entirely as I expected, it was still a really fun tale. I thought the writing of Missy was good and although I felt it was a slightly slow start in getting to the grips with the character, we definitely got there in the end with Missy coming into her own when it came to the power of Iarbus and the scheme she had put together to ensure she got what she felt was rightfully hers. I wasn't expecting so much focus to be on Daphne as a character in what was essentially a lead role. The adventure was pretty much centred on her which seemed strange to start with as I thought things would have benefited more from Missy in the lead role, but she was still able to provide a lot of fun as essentially the host of the plot to retrieve the power of Iarbus. Her impersonation of being Miss E was fantastic and the way she had to explain that the spelling was different when she revealed herself as Missy was so silly but yet so wonderful. I could hear Michelle Gomez in the character which is testament to the prose. It was great writing of the character. Some of the other characters were interesting as well with the likes of F (although I'm not sure how to format the letter to show as upside down in this blog) and Xnardo really good characters. The way they blended with Dib the Magnificent and the Embodyerment Rogue was very good and the oneupmanship that was on show was terrific. Daphne was so out of place and that really is what made it work so well. Her signing agreement to the terms of Missy's scheme was humorous because she didn't bother reading/listening to the fine print and signed away when the only escape was death or victory. Her reaction to the likes of liquefying and asking her greatest enemies for help from the depths was amusing because she just envied those perishing because they couldn't really be dying and they could be back home. Except they were actually dying. Her role as cleaner for Tivone of Enfis worked very well and was a more than enjoyable element of the adventure. Of course, the invitation she accepted was not intended for her and Missy's rationale of her imprisonment and whole part in the story being as a hologram was superb stuff. That was perfect for her incarnation. I also have to mention the line about the tissue compression eliminator and how she joked about suing. Marvellous stuff. Her description of the Twelfth Doctor when it came to her mentioning her own greatest enemy was also really good. The conclusion was decent and I really liked that Daphne's not fighting was exactly what was required during one of the challenges. The emergence of Iarbus and Missy hoping to take the power she had already earned was fun, but Daphne managed to take it first and literally showered Missy in kittens which was quite the image and a very fun ending. Overall, a great little short story to continue the collection!

Rating: 8/10