#managed to start watching torchwood and ianto jones the man you are

[queerhairycowboy]

this year has been horrible for me but during the last month with wwdits, good omens and now this i am actually going insane. absolutely horn-mad. wacky if you will. a bit of a plonker.

if theres a scene thats like the break the chain scene in season 1 i might have to fall on my face and scream

are they running to each other? while fighting the british?

[javic-piotr-thane]

the latest VORTEX

Torchwood is 15 years old in 2021 - and Big Finish is celebrating!

THE TORCHWOOD team return for another year of danger, drama and darkness in 2021. There are plenty of surprises yet to be unveiled, but the producer of Big Finish’s Torchwood range, James Goss tell us: “2021 is Torchwood’s fifteenth year and our fiftieth regular monthly release comes out.

“We’ve got a lot of joys planned starting with our January release, Coffee, which celebrates the first three series of Torchwood from the point-of-view of the owners of a cafe in Cardiff Bay.

Coffee

“We’ve wanted to do Coffee for ages. There’s a brilliant Mike Mignola comic set in the middle of an alien invasion about some people in a coffee shop and I was inspired by that as a starting point for an outsider’s view of Torchwood – the people who live down the Bay and how they feel about this insane and magnificent institution.

“It’s not all been plain sailing this year because of the pandemic with bits of the world coming into and out of lockdown at random, but it did mean I was able to work on writing Coffee. We managed to go from outline to studio-ready draft in just seven days which was a lot down to Tim Foley script editing and Scott Handcock casting it as we went.

“That it sounds so lovely is immensely down to the actors that Scott assembled – hopefully you’ll fall in love with the staff in the cafe just as much as you do with Gareth’s immaculate portrayal of all the facets of Ianto. Fans of Ianto’s accent should listen carefully to the changes.”

Scott adds: “This is an idea James has had in the back of his head for quite some time – it’s certainly something that’s cropped up in conversation every now and again. I’m wary of giving too much away because it’s a typical James character piece that seems quite straightforward on the surface but has plenty of little twists and surprises. At its core it’s the story of three Cardiff residents who come to know one another through their appreciation of coffee. But most importantly it’s the story of Ianto Jones, and all the humour, horror and heartbreak that comes with it. It really is a charming exploration of one of Torchwood’s favourite characters.”

Drive

FEBRUARY’S RELEASE is Drive by David Llewellyn who tells us: “James Goss suggested we do something a little like the Michael Mann film Collateral, in which a taxi driver (Jamie Foxx) takes an assassin (Tom Cruise) around Los Angeles as he picks off various targets. In our version, a Cardiff cabby drives somebody from Torchwood around the city while they work on a case.

“I think much of the fun comes from the differences between our characters, Tosh and Fawzia. Tosh is a relative newcomer to the city, Fawzia was born and bred there. Tosh is a technological whizkid, Fawzia is old school but knows the city like the back of her hand. They’re both experts at what they do. Taxi drivers get to see every side of a city, from hen parties and stag dos to the seamier, criminal underworld, so it was fun seeing how Tosh reacts to that.”

David admits his highlight was: “Being able to write a warts-and-all Cardiff story that is also absolutely Torchwood. We’ve done it before with Dead Man’s Switch and particularly Mali Ann Rees’s character Zoe. Her and Fawzia and some of the supporting characters in Drive represent the Cardiff I know, in different ways.”

Joining the production team on this is Emily Cook. She explains: “It was in June, shortly after all of the Doctor Who lockdown stuff I’d been doing, that Nicholas Briggs sent me an email to ask if I might be interested in producing something for Big Finish. I said yes, of course!

“There are various stages to the Big Finish production process, sometimes over quite a long period of time, so I’ve been piecing together the workflow by working on several projects at once. The way I see it, the producer is the superglue of the production. It’s the producer’s job to hold everything together and to ensure that everyone is suitably equipped to do their job as brilliantly as they can. Good organisation and communication is certainly required. Lots of emails to agents and actors. Lots of reading fantastic scripts. It’s a very creative and collaborative process, which I love!

“I’ve not got much to compare it to yet, but so far things have gone well. It’s really rewarding to see your hours of organising and the hard work of many talented people come together as an audio drama comes to life before your very ears. Of the productions I’ve worked on, Torchwood: Drive is the first one I’ll hear as a finished release and I can’t wait! It’s a great story with a great cast and part of a great range. I was too young to watch Torchwood when it first came out on television. I remember being annoyed that my parents wouldn’t let me see this exciting Doctor Who spin-off – so I’m making up for that now. All these years later, I’m thrilled to be involved in the production of a new Torchwood adventure!”

Lease of Life

MARCH’S STORY is Lease of Life by Aaron Lamont, who previously worked with James on the Dark Shadows range. He says: “The brief was a combination of very loose and extremely specific – they know what they’re looking for and if they spot it, they’ll develop it. The biggest thing (repeated throughout the brief) was ‘no bants’ and I struggled initially to figure out what that actually meant! [Bants/banter – conversation or behaviour that is funny and not serious]. But Torchwood’s all about tension when it comes down to it – a bad situation gets worse and worse until there’s seemingly no way out of it. So I fed that into the plot’s structure. Everybody in Lease of Life is having the worst day ever.

“It’s the most awful house share in the world! I’m sure most people have lived in places that are truly, utterly grotty – mould creeping up the walls, bad plumbing, etc, but for me, it goes beyond the building and more about the people. Specifically it’s about living in shared accommodation. That can be quite dehumanising – living with people you don’t really know, who you might not speak or interact with much, if at all. Lease of Life is set in the middle of a housing crisis so a lot of people are living like this at the moment. And what nobody in those circumstances wants is for the Torchwood team to arrive on their doorstep to tell them they’re all going to die…“

[myotishia]

In the air part one

Fandom: Torchwood. Trigger warnings: None I don't think but tell me if I've missed anything. Characters: Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Elise Carter (oc) Rating: Teen and up

Blurb: A relaxed wedding dress fitting turns into a new case for the team as the streets are suddenly abandoned.

“How does your leg feel?” Asked Owen as he pulled on his gloves.

Elise shrugged and pulled up the side of her skirt to show her bandaged thigh. “Sore as hell, but no more than I’d expect. How long until I can put weight on it properly?”

“You were lucky, it didn’t hit the bone or any major blood vessels so you can maybe put your full weight on it again in a week or so. I was more worried about the chance of infection.”

“I tried to keep it away from the mud.”

“You did pretty well, but gunshot wounds are a bitch. Even clean shots that are treated immediately can get infected and that’s how you end up in surgery.” He removed the bandage and dressing as gently as he could, happy that the wound looked clean.

“How is it?”

“Your leg’s going to drop off.”

She rolled her eyes. “Asshat.”

“It’ll be fine, just keep it clean and dry. I’ll redress it for you this time.”

“Thanks. How are you?”

“Me? There’s nothing wrong with me.”

“A guy almost killed you.”

“And you shot him in the hip. Keep still.” He continued treating her thigh, knowing that it must be hurting. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had a gun pointed at me.”

“That’s scary in itself.”

“Tosh said your watch was broken.”

“I’ll fix it after we’re done here.” She took it from her wrist, turning it over in her hands. “The casing and screen look fine. The fall probably just knocked a wire out of place.”

“I didn’t think you’d still need it.”

A short silence filled the room, neither party wanting to speak about her missing friend.

“I’m still going to have the dreams or whatever they are. My weirdness isn’t completely gone.”

“You sound sure of that.”

“I am. Time travel comes at a price. I’m ok with that.”

He looked up from his work. “You think you can still time jump?”

“Only twenty four hours either way, at most, but it’s something. I don’t know the distance I can go yet.”

“You shouldn’t use it. You don’t have someone who knows how to control it anymore.” Owen had never looked more serious in his life. “Just let it go and be human for a while.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“Of course I am!” He snapped, throwing his gloves into the bin.

Elise sat up and reached out for his arm. “Owen… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to …”

“Just leave it... You’re going to be on desk duty for a while. You’ve got to write up your report about the Pharm anyway.”

“Owen… When I’m all healed up would you mind training me to be a proper field agent?”

“Me? You realise I’m the Hub fuck up. You might want to go to Jack for that.” He smirked.

“You’re reckless, stubborn and trigger happy... but that’s what makes you good at what you do. I know I run into things and just say fuck it to the risks but I wouldn’t even be here if I didn’t.”

“We’ll talk about it once you’re healed, for now you’ve got paperwork to do. And tell Tosh her girlfriend’s crazy.”

“Will do.” She smiled.

Ianto placed Elise’s morning coffee on her desk. “I hope you’re going to be better than Owen was on desk duty.”

“Oh?”

“Have you ever seen the shining?”

“Really? That bad?”

“Luckily an axe won’t put a dent on most of the doors here. It only ended when he cut the cast off his leg and told us that if he didn’t go out soon he’d start posing bodies around the Hub out of boredom. I believed him.”

She laughed into her mug. “I promise I won’t go posing bodies around the place.”

“If you want to get some fresh air tomorrow I’ve got a wedding dress fitting to get to. You can come along if you like. You’ll probably do a lot of sitting around but it’s better than being stuck here.” Smiled Gwen, finally able to think about her wedding in the quiet moment.

“Thanks. That sounds fun. I’ve never even seen a wedding dress in real life before.”

Both Ianto and Gwen looked a little shocked.

“What? I’ve never been to a wedding and we didn’t have a bridal wear shop anywhere near where I lived.”

Gwens look softened, returning to her previous excitement. “You are going to have so much fun. I’ve got some cake samples to pick up too.”

“What makes wedding cake different than other cake? I know it’s fancier but what makes it specifically a wedding cake?”

“Normal cake goes off after a week. Wedding cake seems to last forever and can be used to build bomb shelters.” Ianto said drily before returning to his duties with a smile.

“Oh, don’t listen to him. It’s mostly just because it’s fancy but I really want it to actually be edible.”

“How is Rhys?”

“He’s fine. Taking everything in his stride as per usual. He’s not as paranoid now he knows what I actually do.”

“That’s fair.”

“Though I think he’s still a bit iffy with Jack.”

“Also fair. I don’t think he knows the difference between casual conversation and flirting.”

“Sooo, how’s things between you and Tosh?”

“Good. Really good.”

“She does seem so much happier than before. It’s nice.”

After a very entertaining dress fitting that reminded Gwen that she needed to eat even if she was stressed they headed out. Elise being a little slow as she moved with one crutch. On the street it seemed eerily silent. As it was lunch time it should have been bustling but only the birds made a noise. Workers from the surrounding shops looked out of their windows, just as confused. Gwens police instincts kicked in when she saw a car with its doors left open, shopping bags left abandoned in the road.

“Wait here. I’ll be right back.” Said Gwen before rushing across the road to one of the opposing shops to talk to one of the staff. They seemed in shock.

“What happened out there?” She asked, trying to seem like just any other person walking onto the scene.

The worker, a young man who wore a lanyard around his neck emblazoned with the stores name, just shook his head. “I… I don’t know. Everyone just started walking down the street. All at once… They just turned and walked off like zombies.”

“Did you hear anything strange? See anything?”

“No. I was putting the new posters up in the window and it was like someone flicked a switch… Is it one of those flash mob things do you think?”

“No idea… Thanks.” She returned to Elise who was leaning on the bridal stores wall.

“He see anything?”

“Apparently everyone just turned and walked off down the street.”

“Should we follow?”

“Get in the car. We can call it in on the way.”

Elise took her phone from her pocket and got into the car, dialling into the comms line for the Hub.

“Having fun ladies?” Jacks voice rose from the device.

“Having a blast, just a quick question, is the rift doing it’s happy dance?” Elise asked.

“We’ve had a few spikes, why?”

“Well, everyone on the street got pied pipered a few minutes ago.”

“Any idea where they’re heading?”

“We’re following now.”

“Don’t get too close. We’re on our way.” He hung up the call.

Ahead of the car a large crowd walked in unison, seemingly in a trance. Gwen repeatedly pressed the horn but they didn’t even flinch. She parked up to the side and took her comms earpiece from the glove compartment.

“Wait here. I’m going up ahead.” She said, not waiting for a response.

Elise opened her door and pulled herself out. “You shouldn’t go alone.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to look.” She rushed off ahead of the entranced people.

They all seemed to be converging on a car park outside a large garden centre. Due to it being closed that day there were no cars but as Gwen managed to push her way through the sea of people she saw where they were all going. A large sinkhole had formed, dropping into darkness. The people around her stood around the edge, unmoving. No matter what she did she couldn’t wake anyone.

As sudden as it had began, it ended. All at once people began looking around, confused before a panic broke out at being that close to the edge of the sinkhole. People scattered in all directions and Gwen had to admit she was a little thankful for being on the inside so she didn’t get trampled.

Jack looked over the edge of the now sixteen foot wide sinkhole, light hitting a perfectly flat obsidian surface below. The whole car park had been cordoned off with temporary plywood walls, usually used to keep people out of construction sites, much to the displeasure of the Garden centres manager.

“At least it’s stopped.” Jack turned away from the hole. “What do we know?”

“Fuck all.” Owen began.

Tosh interjected, “Noone remembers anything. One moment they were in one place and then they woke up here. Though whatever it was didn’t seem to affect anyone in a building when it started. There was a spike in rift energy but nothing big enough for this.”

“How far did it span?” The captain stepped away from the edge.

“A mile radius of the holes centre.”

“Sounds like we’re going to have to get down there.” He picked up a nearby rock and tossed it into the hole. It landed with a light tap and skittered across the obsidian surface as if it were ice.

Ianto and Elise had been sent to speak to the Garden centre manager and sat in the womans sparse office.

“This is all I need. This whole place has been falling apart since last Sunday.”

“Falling apart?” Asked Ianto, keeping detailed notes as the woman had spoken chaotically before and it was easier to keep up with what she was on about in bullet points.

“Yes! First every last fuse in this place blew. Even the ones in the plugs. Then my staff start calling in sick. They didn’t sound bloody sick. Then we had a new palette of apple tree saplings just shrivel and rot overnight for no reason. Same day we had a flock of pigeons slam themselves into the building in the middle of the bloody day. We had kids screaming and crying and noone wanted to clean that mess up. Then! As if it couldn’t get worse the water has to be turned off because some bloody thing’s in it. Do you know how much water a garden centre needs to keep running?!”

“Ma’am… Can we see the water please? And the apple trees if you still have them.”

“As long as you get that sinkhole filled in you can do what you like.”

“Well, if you could show my colleague here I can gather my things to get some samples.”

“Yes. Yes. Maybe you’ll get more than that useless plumber did.”

The manageress lead them down to the main warehouse and Ianto quickly walked back to the SUV to grab some gloves and sample jars. When he returned the manager was still complaining at Elise.

“It’s everywhere in the building and god the smell!”

“I’m sure we’ll find the source ma’am.” Elise droned, barely paying attention.

“Oh good, you’re back. Here.” The woman turned the tap and a black, oily looking liquid started pouring out. Ianto had just taken the sample when the smell hit them. It stank like rancid meat with a heavy tint of iron. The manageress ran off to throw up in one of the bins.

Elise turned off the tap. “Jesus. Did something die in their water tank?”

“They don’t have a water tank. This is from the mains.” He held the small plastic jar up to the light but even the relatively bright sunshine couldn’t permeate the liquid.

“I don’t now if it’s the water or the bigass hole out there but this place gives me the creeps.”

He had to admit the place, though otherwise completely mundane, did make him nervous. A creeping dread that rose up his spine and made him want to jump at every sound. He looked around for the dead saplings as the manageress was still hunched over a bin. In the corner of the warehouse, nearest the loading bay, sat a palate of potted saplings. Each was withered and mould had started to develop on the surface of the soil. Using a set of clippers and a hand trowel he took samples from one of the pots, the same smell that came from the tainted water oozed from the cuts on the plant. Ianto stood back as his stomach turned.

Elise made her way over to the exhausted looking manageress. “We’ve got what we need. We’ll contact you as soon as we know more. Why don’t you head home. It’s not safe to work around tainted water.”

The poor woman nodded.

Outside, Ianto took a deep breath, appreciating the fresh air. He still couldn’t shake the nervous feeling.

“You feel as out of sorts as I do?” Asked Elise, sitting in the back seat of the SUV with her arm over her eyes.

“Do you think it was the water?”

“We didn’t even touch it.”

Ianto paused before an idea came to mind. He leaned over to one of the computers, setting up a sound sensor to monitor all frequencies.

Elise pulled her arm away from her eyes. “What’s up?”

He looked over the levels on the screen. “Infrasound.”

“Huh?”

“It’s very low frequency sound, anything below 20Hz. Not audible by humans. It’s usually used for underground monitoring because it doesn’t disperse the way higher frequencies do.  It can cause nausea, paranoia, nervousness and in the worst cases, hallucinations. A lot of ghost sightings come from it.”

“Is that why we feel like crap?”

“Looks that way. It doesn’t explain the water though.”

“Do you think that’s what made the birds dive into the building?”

“Maybe but I don’t think so. It can mess with their directional mapping but it doesn’t make whole flocks suicidal… I’m going to go and tell the others.”

“I’m gonna stay here and rest.” She put her arm back over her eyes. “So much for desk duty, eh?”

Owen stepped down onto the obsidian surface, double checking his safety line just in case it collapsed. Jack had already ventured down into the sinkhole but Owen had been fooled before by Jacks oddly catlike grace. The sinkhole was unusual in that the walls didn’t have any kind of overhang. It had fallen away and left what looked like carved walls of earth. Walking across the glasslike surface it became clear that whatever it might be was hollow.

“Can you see any sign of a hatch?” He asked, finding it hard to focus his vision on the light absorbing stone.

“Not a thing.” The captain crouched down, running his fingers over the surface, hoping to feel more than he could see. He suddenly pulled back, a sharp pain shooting through his fingertips. A thin line of blood dripped from each finger and down onto the floor where it was absorbed. A loud rumbling filled the area and Jack turned to run back to the ladder.

“Out now!” He ordered.

Owen did not need telling twice, clambering up like a frightened ape. As soon as his feet were on secure earth he turned to make sure Jack was right behind him. The previously flat surface was becoming an upside down pyramid made of many steps. Starting at the centre each layer descended, threatening to pull Jack down to what he guessed would be a very nasty, if temporary, death. He reached out and grabbed the ladder that was thankfully secured from above and wrenched himself up. His cut fingers sliding but thankfully not dropping him. Ianto and Owen took a wrist each and pulled him up and out of the sinkhole.

“The fuck was that?!” Asked Owen, looking back at where he’d been standing.

Jack looked down at his hand, at the paper fine cuts that decorated his fingertips.

Owen took a swift trip back to the hub with Elise, wanting to test the samples that Ianto had gathered. He could only do a certain amount in the field and the this had stopped being an oddity and started being a very dangerous case.

The ‘water’ sample showed traces of blood, grey matter and microscopic bone fragments, all slowly rotting. The blood, though decomposing and tainted did present as a mix of human and animal. The apple tree sapling cuttings were rotten on the outside but the very centre showed new growth, soaking up the tainted water from its soil. Even the mould sitting on the surface of the soil showed signs of death and regrowth.

“The thing is drinking people?” Asked Elise from a safe distance.  

“It looks more like the liquid’s being pumped into the plant to change it.”

“That still sounds like a vampire plant.”

Owen suddenly stepped back from his work, switching on his comms awkwardly with his shoulder. “You all need to get away from there. It needs to be quarantined. Everything that’s been tainted already needs to be quarantined too. That includes you Harkness!” He turned to Elise. “Did you touch anything?”

“No. Ianto took the samples and he was wearing gloves. But the garden centre staff did.”

“Shit! Get a list of their staff. They need to be isolated. Call it a possible biological weapon. We’ve got a building we can use as a hospital. I need to know how many people have already been infected.”

When Torchwood is in a full outbreak alert they work shockingly quickly.  They’d already rounded up many of the staff and they did not look healthy. Owen tested himself for infection before the others even got back and after a very fast decontamination shower he pulled on a hazmat suit and got to work on his team. Elise, Ianto, Tosh and Gwen were all clean and had to go through the same process. Jack was not so lucky. His fingertips were already showing signs of infection. Owen suspected it was working faster on him as it had infected his blood directly.

He was taken to the ‘hospital’ and given a room, not arguing as he knew Owen wouldn’t do all this without a very serious reason.

“Owen, what’s this going to do to me?” he asked, no longer able to move his hand.

“It kills its host and then brings them back with that meat sludge in the pipes. Maybe your body will be able to fight it off but…”

“It’s ok. I understand. I’m leaving this up to you.”

Owen replied with a nod and Jack resigned himself to staying where he was. The infection was spreading too fast for him to fight and he just hoped that when he came back it would be gone. He lay down and tried not to think about the burning sensation rising up his arm. At least Owen would have a test subject. Owen leant on the wall outside of the room, reflecting on what a disaster this had all become. He hated the idea but he might have to call in UNIT for help. No, not yet. They might try and blow up the obsidian structure and spread it even further. He needed to know what would happen to a mammal at the point of death and he hated the idea of using Jack.

Gwen watched the infected rat plod lethargically around its tank. She felt so sorry for the creature that was obviously in pain, its tail blackened and bone exposed. If it hadn’t been a pandemic level issue even Owen may have put it down by this point. The rodent stopped and fell onto its side.

“Owen... “

He’d asked her to call him at the moment the animal passed. Under the hazmat suit he looked haggard, trying to keep all of his patients from rioting out of fear. A screen next to the tank showed that the rats heart and brain function had stopped. It was then that it twitched.

Gwen jumped at the movement but even she knew that random electrical signals can do that to a body just after death. What didn’t usually happen was the body getting back onto its feet. The dead rat moved to the side of the tank, testing where it was before backing up and ramming the side. The tank was undamaged but the creature continued trying to ram into the side. Owen signaled for Gwen to move to the other side of the table with him. The rat changed its trajectory. It was actively trying to get to them.

“It’s a... “ Gwen began.

“Don’t say it… Make sure anyone that gets too far gone is restrained out there.”

Twenty hours had passed since the people out in the street had been drawn to the sinkhole and the virus was mostly contained but as Tosh looked up from her power nap her stomach dropped. The tv she’d left on for some white noise played a news report. It was happening again and this time people were carrying meat and livestock towards the obsidian pit. The entranced people crashed through the cordon as if it weren’t even there and lead the animals onto the steps. Each edge seem to slice through the creatures like a knife. Those caught under its spell were feeding it. She shot up to report what the news had been showing, rushing past Jacks room. She stopped for a moment and looked over at the captain. He was pale, hunched over and holding his head.

“Jack?”

He looked up with unfocused eyes, agony etched into his face. “Calling… It’s calling… Won’t stop…”

“The pit?” She dared take a step into the room.

“It wants food… powers it… Machine… Controls… us.”

“It’s a machine? What does it do? Jack?” Another step closer.

“Heart… It... a heart…”

Another step. She was pulled sharply back by Ianto as Jack lunged for her. He pulled her out of the room and locked Jack inside. Jack roared and slammed his fists against the door, unable to fight the infection any longer.

“I heard him too. Come on.” Ianto said, finally releasing his grip on his coworker.

They ran to report what they’d been told and Jacks condition, trying to think of some way to end all this.

Ianto and Gwen pulled on their body armor and respirators before heading towards the pit. Covered head to toe in kevlar they moved towards the centre, diamond bladed saw in hand. Sparks shot into the air as the saw cut into the stone. In retaliation the pit began to rise and flatten itself out again as if that would protect it from the blade. The chunk of rock finally fell through, landing with an earth shattering boom. No going back, they descended into the structure.

The walls were smooth and as black as the exposed part had been but the floor was white, like bone. Red veins pulsed around the edges of the floor. They followed the crimson vessels deeper, finding that the smooth walls gave way to what looked like cogs, grinding dryly. Any oil having long dried up. The further they walked the more machinery clanged and screeched, louder by the moment. Many of the vessels began to converge and wind together like muscles, pulsing. Even through the respirator Ianto felt like he could smell that rancid stench that had attacked his senses from the tap.

The bundles of vessels lead into a final, huge chamber. Its walls were slick and crimson, the vessels emptying down them like a fountain. Below the pools churned and bubbled. Finally in the centre, held up like a marionette was a figure. It stood over nine feet tall and its leathery skin clung tightly to its horribly emaciated form. It looked as if it had been dead for centuries until it opened its eyes, blind and milky. It began to move with a horrible creaking and a familiar grinding from its ribcage, the pools of blood being drawn towards it. The metal tubes that snaked into its head rattled and groaned.

Back at the hospital all had gone silent but only for a moment. Every one of the infected began shrieking and trying to fight their restraints, all facing in the direction of the pit. It was so loud that Owen feared some may destroy their own vocal chords. He could just hear the awful noise of joints dislocating, under the screams, as the patients pulled their restraints with no concern for their own wellbeing.

Gwen and Ianto aimed at the huge creatures head. It looked around as if something or someone should have been running to its aid but it found itself abandoned. Both agents fired at once, each bullet leaving a perfect hole through its head that poured out more of the rotten viscera. It thrashed, only succeeding in pulling the wires that held it up from its skin, before finally falling limp. Still the cogs moved. Ianto pointed up to the creatures chest that still clanked and werred. Gwen stepped forward and gritted her teeth before grabbing onto the skin of the hanging figures abdomen, pulling as hard as she could.  The membrane tore away to reveal more gears, mummified flesh still stuck to the metal. In the very centre an obsidian core sat, turning slowly.

She moved out of the way as a very angry Ianto revved up the saw, lifting it up and pushing it as hard as he could into the core. It sparked in a shower of red and white before everything fell still.

The hospital was suddenly silent, all movement stopped and Owen hoped beyond hope that whatever had happened hadn’t killed every one of the people under his care. He was almost relieved when he heard the garden centre manageress gasping and sobbing as she looked at her dislocated wrist.

After hours spent sending people either home or to local hospitals Owen unlocked Jacks room. He looked his usual self, seemingly napping quite happily. He opened one clear blue eye and smiled.

“I think I broke the door.” He pointed to a fist sized hole in the door.

“You’re feeling better then.”

“I don’t remember anything after climbing into that sinkhole. Usually when that happens there’s alcohol involved and I don’t wake up alone.”

Gwen and Ianto got back to the hub and immediately headed to shower. Their clothing, hair and even shoes stank of rot. They both felt like there wasn’t enough soap in the world to wash it away but it was worth a try. They were separated by a wall but sound travelled well in the tiled room.  

“I could sleep for days after this.” Gwen said as she ran shampoo through her hair for the third time.

“That’s the plan. My shoulders are killing me.”

“Well you did hold that saw over your head.”

“I was annoyed.”

“Remind me to never annoy you.”

The Hub was quiet for the next three days while everyone recovered from their exhaustion. The pit was filled with concrete and paved over and life went on as if nothing had happened. That was always their best case scenario. Forgotten. A myth.

Inside the Hub was different. No one was ever really forgotten, especially when their leaving happened to coincide with an injury. Elise sighed to herself, feeling the bandage around her thigh through her trousers. The quiet in her mind had become more noticeable as the days passed and it left a dark fog in its wake. She missed their quiet conversations and always having someone there. She couldn’t let herself dwell on the matter, she had to let it go.

She stood and stretched, able to stand and limp around without her crutch, at least for a little while.

“Have you read it yet?” Asked Jack, leaning on her desk.

“Read what?”

“The letter that was left for you.”

She shook her head and sat back down in her chair. “I can’t even look at it right now. I copied it onto my own computer, my phone, a USB stick so I could whenever but… Not yet. I will, but not yet.”

“You should. It might help you.” Jack looked behind her as Owen placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Mind if I borrow this?” He asked as she jumped in surprise.

“As long as you bring her back in one piece.”

Jack took his leave.

Elise turned to look at Owen. “What do you need?”

“You looked uncomfortable and I’m bored.”

She laughed softly.

“Come on, I don’t want your aim getting rusty if I’m going to be the one blamed for training you. You should be fine standing for a bit.”

“Sounds good.” She stood and slowly limped after him.

“And when you’re healed up we need to work on your running speed.”

“I’m not that slow.”

“Tosh can run faster than you in high heels and a skirt. Yea, you are.”

“It’s not my fault that you’re all related to sodding racehorses.”

“Up your game Carter.”

“Don’t use my words.” She slapped his arm playfully.

[jbharrisauthor]

Episode 1 - Timing is Anything - Chapter Seven

Read Chapter One here

Read Chapter Two here

Read Chapter Three here

Read Chapter Four here

Read Chapter Five here

Read Chapter Six here

The shrine room was empty when The Doctor slipped inside. Someone had been here since she and Ianto had tried to put some of the meta-images in chronological order, because all the ones they'd moved to the bottom of the wall had been returned to their previous places in the display.

She took out her sonic screwdriver and adjusted the setting, then aimed it at the wall. After a sustained burst, the holographic images all fizzed into nothingness, the liquid nano-chips that powered them all fried.

Satisfied with the destruction, she hurried across the corridor to Jack's room that Ianto hadn't seen, and repeated the procedure with her sonic screwdriver so there was nothing left. Possibly they still had archived Torchwood hub security footage somewhere around here, but she was hoping between the complete annihilation of the quantum laser and now the obliteration of their shrines, the people would decide starting over wasn't worth it.

She quickly left the temple and hurried back to the TARDIS, but when she arrived, it was locked up tight, no sign of Ianto. Just great. She'd managed to lose him in the whole ten minutes they'd been apart. Had the cult members recaptured him before he'd been able to sneak out of the temple? It was the only explanation that made sense.

"And back I go," she muttered to herself with a sigh, turning to retrace her steps.

When she returned to the temple, she made sure to keep herself out of sight, but it seemed apparent in the time she'd been gone, everyone had left.

She went down to the underground cavern to make sure Ianto hadn't been taken back there, but didn't find any sign of him. She really hoped it wasn't because he'd been dissolved into the acid springs.

Back up in the main part of the temple, she checked behind a few doors but didn't find even a single person she could ask.

"Where are you, Ianto Jones?" she muttered to herself as she checked yet another room and came up empty.

She went up the stairs, but instead of walking out to the balcony, detoured to the left, trying to find where that woman had disappeared to earlier; the one who'd officiated the unification ceremony and told them about the Timeless.

The next door she opened seemed to be some kind of office. She took out her sonic screwdriver and scanned, looking for any signs of advanced technology. The device picked up something in the bookcase. Heading over, she studied it, looking for anything out of place, then used the sonic screwdriver up close and personal. Ah-ha. Not on the bookcase. Behind it.

"So cliché." She shook her head, disappointed at the utter lack of imagination in hiding something behind a bookcase and expecting people not to find it.

When the bookcase swung away from the wall, she found a silver panel of blinking lights and buttons.

"Aren't you beautiful?" she murmured, studying the layout. The technology had been using the acid in the springs below as a power source for the quantum laser. There was also a communications array component to it.

"And just who have you been talking to?" She ran her sonic screwdriver over it and then checked the readings, but didn't get a clear idea of where the transmissions had been coming from or going to. She rubbed her hands together, loving the idea of taking this gorgeous little piece of technology apart to find the answer. "Guess I'll have to dig deeper."

Possibly she should have left it until she'd found Ianto. But he'd worked for Torchwood for years, and kept telling her how capable he was. She'd just choose to believe he could cope for another few minutes while she checked whether she could get any answers out of this control panel.

She ran her sonic screwdriver around the seam, looking for the point where she could remove the outer panel, but voices outside in the corridor made her pause. They were definitely getting closer. Quickly, she swung the bookcase closed again and then searched the room for a hiding spot. Unfortunately, her options were limited; the furniture was sparse and there weren't any curtains.

"Honestly, what kind of person doesn't have curtains?" She hurried over to a tall plant in the corner, ducking behind the fronds just as the door opened.

The woman from earlier walked in, followed by a man.

"Are you absolutely certain its him?" the man asked as they crossed the room.

"I'm telling you, he said he was Ianto Jones," the woman replied in an impatient tone as if she'd already said it several times before. "It looked just like him. And he said the woman with him was The Doctor."

"But they told us The Doctor was a man. How can a woman be The Doctor?"

"Maybe because gender is irrelevant," she muttered under her breath, leaning to the side slightly so she could see what they were doing.

They'd stopped in front of the bookcase and swung it open as she had a moment ago.

"I have no idea. But you know our standing instructions. If The Doctor, Ianto Jones or Jack Harkness ever found their way here, we had to tell them immediately."

"Then why the delay?" the man asked, watching as she accessed the control console.

"You misunderstand. I didn't delay in the least. I came in here and sent a transmission right away. Someone already arrived to take care of it. The silver chamber is open." She accessed the communications. "I'm just letting them know he's been successful in acquiring Ianto Jones."

Damn it, he had been recaptured. This time by someone the Timeless had sent.

"That's bad. Very, very bad," she mumbled, tightening her grip on the sonic screwdriver.

"What about The Doctor?" the man asked.

"Not essential. Ianto was the one they really wanted."

"Oh, come now." She stepped out from behind the plant, pointing her sonic screwdriver at the pair. "I wouldn't say I'm not essential. A bit harsh, really, since apparently I was the fool who brought Ianto into what was clearly a trap set for him."

"One of several throughout time and space," the woman replied, not seeming too concerned about their plans being discovered.

"Where is he?" she demanded, interjecting a cold note of ferocity into her voice.

"Being prepared in the silver chamber." The woman tilted her chin up, a challenge in her stare, like she considered herself invincible.

"More batty cult ceremonies? What is it with you people?" She shifted her aim with the sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the control console behind the pair, making it hiss, spark and flash, ending with a thin curl of blue smoke drifting up from it. "Next time, I won't be aiming for the equipment. Now tell me where he is."

The two of them exchanged a quick glance, and while the woman looked like she was ready to stubbornly take the answer to her grave, the man's expression was wavering. She closed the remaining distance between them and poked the sonic screwdriver into the middle of his chest.

"You. Out with it before I make your heart explode inside your chest."

A sweat broke out on his forehead. "Downstairs, through the courtyard, there's a storeroom, but it opens into some kind of silver-lined room. We were told never to go in there unless any of you turned up. The man they sent took Ianto in there."

She dropped her arm and sent the man a smile. "There now, that wasn't so hard, was it? And for the record, I wasn't really going to make your heart explode inside your chest. Because truthfully, it would have been more likely your heart exploded out of your chest and I can tell you, cleaning off aortic blood takes forever."

She stepped back and the man wilted a little, while the woman glared daggers at her like she wanted her to expire on the spot.

"It's too late," the woman said in a shrill voice. "They have a plan, the Timeless. A plan greater and more wondrous than any of us can comprehend. Ianto will play his part in that plan, as they have decreed."

"Seriously, you really smoked the pipe and bought the farm." She shook her head. "Here's an idea, maybe spend a little less time inhaling that incense."

"You can't stop them!"

The woman started to rush forward, but The Doctor ran out the door and yanked it shut behind her, using her sonic screwdriver to lock it.

A wave of apprehension washed over her as she hurried down the stairs. She'd known something was moving in the far, dark corners of the universe, getting ready to emerge, and that somehow Ianto had been part of it. Yet she could never have imagined it would turn out to be the Timeless.

And she'd played right into their hands. She'd gone back and saved him on the day he should have died, created a new reality, a new history, and then she'd brought him right to them.

Whatever plans the Timeless had, it seemed she'd just handed them the key. Somehow, she had to find a way to stop them. One that didn't involve Ianto being killed, because with her choice to save him, his life had now become her responsibility. If only she knew what they needed him for.

Read Chapter Eight here

[avaantares]

My thoughts on Torchwood: Aliens Among Us

Minimal spoilers. I’ll discuss themes and events, but try to avoid any major reveals.

Putting the rest after the jump for length and spoiler protection.

I debated whether to even post this, because I still haven’t quite made up my mind whether or not I actually like S5. I mean, the production values of the episodes are excellent, as usual (Big Finish knows what they’re about in that department), and the performances are great, and even the ongoing series hook is interesting -- but I think the problem is that I’m not actually enjoying the direction the series is headed. It’s done well, but it doesn’t quite feel like Torchwood to me. And that’s not just because more than half the original cast is missing; it’s a shift in something vital and central to the series. Its purpose, perhaps. I’m still digesting the episodes I’ve listened to. (More on that in a bit.)

Anyway, I’ll start with my take on the characters and their new roles:

Jack - Apparently having exhausted all his potential development in previous stories, Jack is relegated almost to the background of this series. He makes the usual lewd jokes and sleeps around and dies when the plot demands it, but he’s practically a cardboard cutout, doing Action Things when necessary and coasting on listeners’ affection for him from previous stories. After four episodes, there’s still no evidence that he’ll have anything resembling a character arc, which is massively disappointing.

Jack also shows some disturbing behavior here -- namely, he pseudo-stalks and seduces a man he’s considering hiring on at Torchwood just to get more information about him, which is not only dishonest and manipulative, but is a REALLY FREAKING CREEPY thing for a potential boss to do, especially if the hiring had gone through.

But no worries on that account, since Jack then bars said potential employee from Torchwood because he made a mistake in the field and got civilians killed. Jack cites the Doctor’s “no second chances” line and pontificates about how he won’t tolerate people dying on his watch. This seems out of character coming from the man who forgave Gwen for unleashing an alien gas that killed dozens of civilians, forgave Ianto for betraying them all and getting two innocent people killed in the Hub, forgave Owen Harper for rebelling and putting a bullet through Jack’s brain, etc.... not to mention Jack’s own tendency to shoot first and apologize later, for which he was often criticized by both Gwen and the Doctor. Even if he’s changed his views on violence in the meantime, I can’t imagine him drawing such a hard line in the sand without at least turning it into a teaching experience. Jack is the king of second chances; it seems hypocritical for him to deny one to a panicked newcomer.

Gwen - I’ve seen several other people say that they didn’t recognize Gwen until the character identified herself at the end of the episode, and I had the same experience. Her Welsh accent seems much stronger than it was in the TV series. There may be plot reasons for that, or it may just be an inconsistency. (EDIT: I’ve since read that, due to plot reasons, Alexandria Riley is actually performing most of Gwen’s speaking parts, so the difference is definitely intentional.)

Gwen doesn’t seem to serve a significant purpose in the stories until the extreme end of episode 2, when she conducts the major reveal of what will be (I suspect) her ongoing story arc for the whole series. That subplot is by far the most compelling thing about this new series, and honestly is probably the only thing with enough hook to keep me listening.

Mr. Colchester - The spiritual successor to the conspicuously absent Ianto Jones, Mr. Colchester is the dry, longsuffering general support. In many ways he’s the most complex and developed of the new characters, and while it took me a bit to warm up to him, I quite like him now. (Of course, since he’s basically replacement-Ianto, that may explain why I enjoy his commentary so much.)

We’ve learned a bit about Mr. Colchester’s personal life, as well as just a sliver of backstory, and I hope that is setting up for some kind of series-long arc for him. I think he has a lot of undeveloped potential. I’m very curious to know exactly how he came to Torchwood.

Orr - Orr manages to be interesting despite the fact that their introduction scene feels a bit too much like Discourse(TM). (I described the scene to a friend as “Tumblr: The Audio Drama.”) As a gender- and biologically-fluid being, Orr can psychically tune in to entities to acquire information in a way I’ve never seen done before, and that leaves open a potential gold mine of story opportunities and mystery resolutions. However, since the two episodes in which Orr features are largely spent establishing their abilities, there’s still not much sign of a dynamic arc. It’s strongly suggested that they will become a full-time Torchwood operative, which should be... interesting, given that crew and their proclivities.

Tyler Steele - Let me put this on record right now: I do not like Tyler. At all. I wouldn’t mind if he got flattened by a spaceship.

Now, that doesn’t mean he’s a bad character -- sometimes the most compelling characters are ones you despise, and Tyler’s role in the story seems to be going in that direction -- but it does bother me that Jack seems intent on carrying on an ongoing sexual relationship with a character who is so morally questionable, disrespectful, self-serving, and generally kind of a jerk. I can’t imagine Jack putting up with that, no matter how good Tyler is in bed, unless we’re just going to undo the past ten years’ worth of Jack’s character development and kick him all the way back to the way he was with Captain John Hart.

Tyler himself is the only one of the new characters who does seem to have the setup for a dynamic story, which could be more interesting if they turn him into a villain or boost his moral grayness to have him play both sides. (Personally, I’d really like to see him waffle for a while, then cross a line and become unredeemable, forcing Jack to have to stop him. That would provide a nice characterization moment for Jack, too.)

Other Characters: Rhys and Mary Cooper (Gwen’s mother) get cameos, but that’s about it. At least two other named characters (Andy and Billis Manger) are coming back for the next set, so we’ll hope for an expanded cast next time.

Before I get critical, I do want to mention a few specifics that this series does well:

It’s implied that either there is no coffee allowed in the Hub, or no one is allowed to use Ianto’s coffee machine. Which is heartbreaking, but also gratifying, as it implies that Jack can’t bear to let that one piece of Ianto be replaced. Many of us were worried that Ianto would be forgotten or just garner a token mention, as he has in most series/publications set post-MD, but it’s nice to see actual evidence that they remember and mourn him.

It’s also suggested that Jack is still thinking constantly about Ianto, even years after he died. Which is small comfort after we’ve had to witness Jack getting it on with that creep Tyler multiple times, but at least Ianto hasn’t been erased completely.

The reveal of the subplot surrounding Gwen came as a complete shock to me. I often work sneaky plot things out beforehand, but I’ll confess, I did not see that one coming. (Others have pointed out that this plot element may have been foreshadowed in a previous episode...? But we’ll need more information about what’s actually going on before confirming that.)

I like that they’re operating out of the literally collapsing ruins of the Hub and are completely broke, even though it does raise some questions about EU continuity (we saw the Hub cleaned up after the explosion in Long Time Dead, and Gwen was trying to rebuild it in Forgotten Lives). It’s nice -- and thematically appropriate -- to have them huddling in a broken ruin of the past while trying to come to terms with the future.

Now, some thoughts on the story itself:

I’m really not sure how to approach this new world, where aliens populate Cardiff and are so far from secret that there are human protest groups lobbying in the streets to remove them. It acknowledges the events of Exodus Code and the Titan Comics series (I have major issues with that, too, but that’s another conversation entirely). At this point the series has split so far from the known Whoniverse that it has more in common with awkward American stepchild Miracle Day than with its own BBC parent series. I feel like we’re now trapped in a bubble universe that is never going to resolve with the original series of Torchwood.

Anyway... Cardiff is overrun by aliens, and apparently instead of Torchwood trying to protect humanity from alien threats, in this brave new Cardiff, Torchwood is trying to protect... the aliens? For motivations that remain unclear to me, in episode 2, Gwen and Mr. Colchester spend a whole night repeatedly putting their lives on the line to protect an alien from capture after they witness her eating innocent humans. Reluctantly, she claims, but the extremes they go to to protect her (including endangering human civilians and hospital staff) just don’t seem justified when she and her family are actual threats to humanity.

The ongoing story of S5 centers around the economic and political takeover of Cardiff from a particular race of aliens. It’s sinister enough, and provides a backdrop for multiple villain-of-the-week episodes, but there’s really no soul to it. Maybe that will change with future episodes, but I think this points to the main reasons I’m not really getting into this series as much as previous Big Finish Torchwood dramas:

Classic Torchwood was a character-driven series set against a dramatic (and often camp) space fantasy backdrop. At the end of the day, we didn’t care what kind of aliens were attacking Earth that week; we worried how Ianto processed his grief, wondered whether or not Owen actually had a heart under his flinty exterior, cheered the little moments when Jack opened up to his friends, and mourned when characters we had grown to care for sacrificed their lives in defense of the people of Cardiff and the world. The character development was the hook, and the episode plots, for the most part, were secondary.

This is one reason so many fans were disappointed in Miracle Day, which was more an American political thriller than space fantasy, and introduced new characters who were wooden and lacked compelling character arcs. The premise of Miracle Day was fascinating, but we couldn’t engage with the story the way we did with the gripping bureaucratic drama of Children of Earth because we were put off by MD’s flat, unlikable protagonists.

AAU, as well, is missing some of those critical elements that let the audience engage deeply with the story. While there are complex things happening in the political sphere, we come into S5 knowing nothing about the new characters, and the characters we do know seem too static. Gwen does get an interesting story hook, but not until the halfway mark of this boxed set.

In short, I just don’t care enough. I miss the depth and complexity of the original characters, and I miss the ongoing growth that made Jack and Gwen interesting. I don’t know the new characters well enough to feel strongly about what happens to them, and there is little indication that they will become dynamic over the course of the next few stories.

It’s a shame, because I love Torchwood and want more of it, but I just don’t feel like I’m getting proper Torchwood with these stories. I’ll probably give the next part of Aliens Among Us a try, but I’ll wait to see how it goes before deciding on the third set. it’s hard to justify the high price of the box set for a series I’m basically ambivalent about.

[mayalr96]

The Two Doctors Story 8: Cardiff Part 1

Finally tying up all of the loose ends from "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday". as well as small hints to "The Runaway Bride".

And Jack. I reread "Christmas", and remembered the Doctor saying that Jack reminded him of the Professor, so I decided I had to put a scene of the two of them together :)

Part 2 will be up either tomorrow or the day after that.

For those of you who don’t like reading from here, you can also find this on FF.net or AO3.

Spencer couldn’t help looking over his shoulder as he walked into the hotel. He tried telling himself that there was nothing to worry about, but even he didn’t believe himself.

Six months had passed since he last heard from the Doctor. Close to two since the Master first contacted him. His phone buzzed in his pocket, as if to remind him of those two facts, but he didn’t move to look at it.

He walked straight to the reception deck, fighting not to roll his eyes when the woman who greeted him seemed to turn somewhat cold upon hearing his accent before quickly handing him the key to his room and sending him away. He’d been in Cardiff for less than two hours and was already starting to tire of this attitude.

Maybe he should just fake his accent. Rassilion knows that he’d done that enough times, though not even once since he stopped being the Professor. He considered it for another moment before deciding to stick to his regular one.

Spencer Reid had nothing to be ashamed of, or so he told himself. He didn’t believe that, either.

When Hotch told them they all got a week off for Christmas, Spencer knew trouble was coming. Forced vacations – and, no matter what Strauss was telling them, this was a forced vacation – meant their superiors in the chain of command needed some time to cool over something the team did. He didn’t know what they did, but he knew they’d unknowingly done something.

But with Prentiss being all but forced to go visit her mother, and the rest having their own families to go to for Christmas, Spencer realized if he won’t do something soon, he’ll spend all of Christmas with only his thoughts to accompany him.

A couple of phone calls later and he boarded a flight across the Atlantic. Less than twenty-four hours after he had been told of the vacation, Spencer debated falling into the bed of his hotel in Cardiff to sleep his way through the jet-lag only to be stopped by a knock on the door.

The man who smiled at him when he opened the door wasn’t someone Spencer met personally before, though they spoke very often on the phone during the past six months. Captain Jack Harkness looked Spencer up and down before his smile widened.

“Wish I’d met you before, Spencer,” he said with a cheeky wink. “If I’d known you were this cute I’d have boarded a flight to the States ages ago.”

Spencer couldn’t help but return the smile. The more he got to know Jack, the more he understood what the Doctor told him over a year ago. The 51st century man did more than just remind Spencer of his own past regenerations, he somehow managed to bring out part of him that his teammates will be shocked to find out were there, if they ever found out.

“Please, ignore him,” a woman with a heavy local accent said. “He’s always like that, that’s why I came here. Had to make sure he’s not overwhelming our guest,” she added with a pointed look towards Jack.

Spencer smirked. “Oh, I’d be more worried about him, if I were you,” he said. “Not sure if he could keep up to my pace.”

“Keep up?” Jack repeated, raising a brow. “And what pace would that be, old man?”

“Well, I do have a binary vascular system,” Spencer mused. “Two hearts means it takes a lot to tire me out.”

“Really?” Jack questioned. “Anything else you’ve got two of?”

“Oh, wouldn’t you want to find out?”

“Would you like me to leave the two of you alone?” the woman cut in, annoyed.

“If you want,” Jack replied, not taking his eyes off Spencer. “We do have a bed.”

“We also have work to do,” Spencer reminded him. “Maybe later. I’m Spencer, by the way,” he added, turning to look at the woman.

“I know,” she smiled. “Gwen Cooper. Also known as the one who thought one of him was bad enough,” she added, nodding towards Jack.

“From what I’ve heard, you should have met him in his past regenerations,” Jack said. “This is tamed compared to them.”

“Oh, I dread to think,” Gwen muttered, but Spencer could see the hint of a smile on her lips.

“Should we get going?” he asked. “You said you needed some help upgrading some of your systems.”

“Yes,” Jack replied, smoothly switching to business mode. “We’ll walk, the Hub’s not so far away.”

“Yes, it is,” Gwen said with a frown. “It’s at least half an hour’s walk.”

“The guest entrance isn’t,” Jack told her, before turning to Spencer. “Ready to be impressed, Dr. Reid?”

“I’m over 600 years old, Captain,” Spencer replied with a wide smile. “I’d like to see you try.”

Well, Spencer thought as he descended into the Hub, watching the dimly-lit room come to life as a pterodactyl flew next to them, he sure did try.

The members of Jack’s team moved to stand closer to where the elevator landed, Gwen barely hiding a smile while one of the others looked mildly curious and the remaining two, a man and a woman, stared at him shamelessly.

The elevator came to a stop and Jack stepped down, offering Spencer a hand the Time Lord declined as he walked closer to the group, looking around.

“So?” Jack asked. “Impressed you yet?”

Spencer took another glance around the place, taking it in with a thoughtful look. “You do know that I grew up on a planet with red grass and two suns, right?”

“Show off,” Jack grumbled.

“Time Lord,” Spencer retorted, turning to look at the woman who was still staring at him. “You’re Toshiko Sato, right? I read your work on sonic devices and your idea to implant their use in day-to-day devices was intriguing. Mind if I ask where did you think of the idea to have a sonic screwdriver?”

“Er…” Toshiko glanced towards Jack, who smiled knowingly. “Just something I saw a couple of years ago when I arrived as a consultant to UNIT.”

“After a spaceship crashed into Big Ben,” Spencer nodded. “I read the report files about the event, and got updates first hand as the day went by. Coincidently, I got my updates from the same man who held the sonic screwdriver.”

“Show off,” Jack repeated in a singsong voice.

“Yeah, I am,” Spencer smiled, turning to the other two men. “And you are…?”

“Dr. Owen Harper,” the man who stared earlier said, reaching out a hand for a shake. “Don’t think I’m as familiar with your work as you are with hers, though.”

“Wouldn’t expect you to,” Spencer said. “In the past five years or so I’ve mainly posted works about the connection between Mathematics to Psychology and Sociology and the usages the three have in different profiling methods.” He glanced at Owen’s hand, looking at it for a moment before adding, “I don’t shake hands. Sorry, it’s just a habit that doesn’t seem to wear off. People might get nervous when they feel the double heartbeat.”

“It’s fine,” Owen said, bringing his hand back. “How about I’ll let it slide and you’ll let slide that I didn’t understand about half of what you said earlier?”

“Deal,” Spencer told him, turning to the last man with a questioning look.

“Ianto Jones,” the man said, and something shifted in the atmosphere of the room.

Spencer looked at the other man, no friendly smile on his face but no anger on it, either. There was only apathy as he spoke, studying Ianto carefully.

“You’re one of the Twenty Seven.”

The words seemed to catch Ianto off-guard, but he looked right at Spencer rather than backing away as most people would have done, something the Time Lord couldn’t help but appreciate.

“Yes, I am,” he said.

The way Jack looked from one of them to the other and back to the first didn’t seem to help either of them calm down.

“Rose and Jackie Tyler were my friends,” Spencer said tightly, and Ianto swallowed.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Spencer nodded silently before turning away, retreating into the lower levels of the Hub.

“The Twenty Seven?” Gwen repeated, confused.

“The twenty seven survivors from the Battle of Canary Wharf,” Ianto said quietly. “The only members of Torchwood One who didn’t die.”

“Rose and Jackie Tyler were right at the heart of the fighting, head to head with the Daleks and Cybermen,” Jack explained. “Their bodies were never even found.”

He sighed, looking at Spencer’s retreating back. This was going to be one awkward Christmas.

[stormlit]

seriouslyaliens‌.

        As old and well-traveled as the TARDIS is, sometimes she just needs a break to recharge, and the Doctor knows precisely the place to let it. She lands the ship in the same spot as always, directly over the rift in Roald Dahl Plass and a handful of meters from the Hub of Torchwood Three. She triple-checks the date and time before putting the TARDIS into stasis. All the lights dim around her, the crystalline pillar in the center console settling while a shimmering glow still pulses deep inside. Brilliant. 

        The Doctor steps out into the night and casts a look around, noting it’s late enough for no one else to be about—but surely not so late that there’s no one left to keep an eye out in Torchwood. She smiles and waves for the cameras as she approaches, trusting they’ll recognize her by that alone, if they managed to miss the blue box. 

       “Ianto Jones!” As soon as she’s inside the Hub, the Doctor’s enthusiasm clouds her sense of propriety and she embraces the man, giving him a quick lift-and-spin. “So good to see you. Don’t worry about the coat, I’d rather keep it on. Rosa Parks stitched it up for me, once. Reckon I’ll never trust another seamstress with it…” 

        The Doctor wanders a bit as she speaks, turning to take in what she can see of the place. It’s familiar in the uncanny way things are when they first start to return from past regenerations. “I’ve got some time while the TARDIS charges up.” She turns back to Ianto with a grin. “Show me what you’ve all been up to!” 

        ❝ oh. hello. ❞ alright, that was unexpected; ianto doesn’t think he’s ever been lifted-and-spun before...and he’s not sure that he likes it, either. he is glad that the doctor seems excited to see him, though, that she seems to have got over her dislike of torchwood --- and he seems less bitter about certain things, now she’s several regenerations away from the doctor that contributed to them --- so he decides not to comment on it. he does clear his throat when she puts him down again, and he does tug his jacket back into place, but alright. that’s that.  ❝ good to see you too, doctor. ❞

        hopefully, it is. hopefully, he doesn’t have to revise that statement. hopefully, this is just a flying visit, and nothing bad happens.

        ianto’s just about had his fill of bad, lately. he’s still smarting from thinking he’d lost jack again. from losing tosh, and even owen. 

        ❝ the rosa parks? better not tell jack, he’ll want to upgrade from me. ❞ he smiles, here, hands in his pockets as he watches her look around. it still impresses him, sometimes, the hub. myfanwy screeches from the rafters, and ianto makes a mental note to check on her later.  ❝ we’re mostly just monitoring the rift, at the moment. we’re...short-staffed, so anything bigger’s on hold. jack’s trying to convince martha jones to join us. ❞

[myotishia]

Doctors orders

Fandom: Torchwood. Trigger warnings: None as far as I know but feel free to suggest. Characters: Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Elise Carter (oc), The Doctor Rating: Teen and up

Blurb: A normal day in the hub until a familiar visitor arrives. 

It was another month before Tosh was satisfied with her progress on the vortex manipulator. She wanted to make sure it would be one hundred percent safe for Elise to wear. It was then a matter of finding her, or calling her. Elise had thrown herself into studying as much as she possibly could when she wasn’t jump training or actively out so she had started to spend a lot of time in the archives. The cutest part of the whole thing was that Tosh and Owen had convinced her that the vortex manipulator project had to be abandoned weeks ago so it would be a surprise. Tosh sent an instant message telling Elise to meet her at her desk asap. It wasn’t long before a rather cheery looking Elise appeared. She borrowed Owens chair as he was away and sat backwards on it.

“How can I help you?”

“I have a present for you.” Tosh beamed.

“Oh? Aaand what might it be?”

Toshiko pulled the device from a box and held it out.

Elise gasped. “I thought you said it didn’t work.”

“We may have fibbed a little bit. Try it on.”

Elise wrapped it around her right wrist where it sat surprisingly comfortably.

“I managed to get it to register you as its owner. Still no time travel ability but it does mean you can change the settings and such. Plus I programmed it with your sleep alarm so you can swap your old watch for it”

“You’re an angel.”

Tosh smiled. “Oh stop it… By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you always wear your watch on your right wrist? I mean you’re right handed, isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“I just don’t like anything around my left wrist for too long. I got it trapped in a plastic pipe when I was little. I was sat there for about six hours until a fireman cut the thing off. I was a stupid child.”

“Six hours?”

“Yea. The first three I just sat there and tried to pull it out myself while next doors cat sat on my lap. I had to give up and call my dad after that.”

“How old were you?”

Elise blushed. “Ten. It was a drainage pipe in our back garden and it was the middle of the summer holidays.”

The women fell into a fit of giggles before collecting themselves.

“Do you want to come with and see if it works?”

Tosh nodded and followed Elise to go and fetch Owen. He was standing with a white rat in one hand and an ultrasound scanner in the other.

“Um… Do you need a hand?” Asked Tosh, looking very confused.

Owen sighed and held out the wriggling rodent. “Can you hold Brenda? She’s being a bitch.”

Tosh walked down and took the white rat who calmed down a little. “Brenda?”

“I needed to test the implants so I’ve got three females with them. This is Brenda. Alice is in that tank there and Cecelia is over there. Their weights have been the same but this ones weight has increased so I need to know if she’s pregnant or just fat. Of course she won’t keep still long enough to find out.”

Elise smiled and looked over at the other two very happy looking rats. Owen had a huge habitat for his testing rats to keep them as happy and healthy as possible. He never understood how labs kept their rats as an ill or unhappy rat messed up the results. His rats also lived a lot longer than most lab rats did, keeping costs low. He didn’t admit it often but he liked the rats and could sometimes be found just watching them. People like to forget how intelligent rats are and how interesting their social structures could be.

Owen was pleased to see that Brenda wasn’t pregnant. “Thanks for scaring me you fat cow.” He said, poking the rat on the nose. “I was thinking we could use them on the weevils we catch. At least then we’ll only have to deal with the ones that fall through the rift.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Tosh said, cuddling the big white rat who was trying to climb down her shirt unsuccessfully.

Elise leant on the railing. “Want to come with us to test my new prezzy?”

“I missed the big reveal?” He pouted, taking Brenda and putting her back in her tank.

“Sorry, we couldn’t wait. So are you joining us or not?”

“Yea. Let me clean up and get these three back in their home and I’ll be with you.”

Gwen had been curious why Jack had been so insistent about staying close to the hub but realised very quickly why when a blue phone box seemed to materialise on the slab that hid a lift down to the hub.

“Is that what I think it is?” She asked.

Jack grinned. “It is.”

“So what are we doing here?”

“We’re going to go and say hello but we have to wait until he gets out otherwise he probably won’t answer the door.”

“This isn’t a good idea.”

“Are any of my ideas good?” He teased, looking like an excited child.

“Jack. I’ll follow but if he runs off I’m not chasing him.”

“Deal.”

The door to the police box opened and a lone man stepped out onto the unusually quiet street.

“Is that…?” Asked Gwen quietly.

“Yes he is. Come on.” Jack swept forward without waiting, making sure he had enough time to put himself between the TARDIS and the Doctor. “Doctor! It’s been a while.” He announced.

The Doctor looked round in surprise. “Jack?! It has.” He was cut off by a bone crushing hug.

“What are you doing here?”

“Just refueling. How did you..?”

“Would you believe coincidence?”

“Not even for a second. Gweneth?” The Doctor tilted his head in confusion.

“It’s just Gwen. Hello.” She smiled politely.

“That’s… Wow hello. Sorry. You reminded me of someone. There was someone I met last time I was here, said he was from the future. Gave me a hand.”

“Umm.”

“I mean a literal hand, in a tank. It was strange.”

“Err.”

“I think it was mine.”

“That would have been a future version of our medic, Owen. The future version… Isn’t around anymore.” Jack interjected, trying to end that conversation before it started.

“Medic?”

“How much did he tell you?”

“He said he didn’t have much time and that before I took off I needed to recheck every setting I had so I didn’t end up outside of the TARDIS’ chronological reach.”

“So you really don’t know.”

The Doctor side eyed Jack. “Know what?”

“Torchwood.”

“What about them? I thought that stopped after what happened in London.”

“Torchwood one closed but… Just come inside and meet everyone.”

“Jack, what have you done?”

“I changed things. A lot of things… For you.”

Gwen looked between the two, not sure of how to react.

“Jack..”

“Let me show you. Just while you’re refuelling. It’s not the same institute you knew, trust me.”

“I don’t have forever to meet everyone Jack.”

“You can’t meet four more people?”

“Four?”

“Just four.”

Elise bounced, landing her first space jump from a standing start. “No dizziness. I think that proves it works. Now we just need to test a time jump.”

Owen and Tosh gave a disapproving look.

“Let me just try once. Just by a minute. That way even if it doesn’t work it won’t do too much harm, yea?”

Owen crossed his arms. “I thought you said you didn’t know how to.”

“I don’t but I can try, please.”

“Fine. One jump. One minute.”

“Right.” She took a few steps away from them and let her mind drift, a tingling in her right hand spreading up her arm. She felt a slight jolt and looked around to see if it had worked. Owen was looking relieved and Tosh immediately wrapped her arms around Elise.

“That was three minutes. You ok?” Owen asked, looking her over.

“I’m fine. No headache, no nausea.” She touched her nose. “No bleeding. What happened from your side?”

“You just disappeared then reappeared.” Tosh said into her shoulder.

“Then it worked.” She smiled brightly. Once Tosh stepped back she looked at the vortex manipulator that was glowing lightly. She opened the cover and saw a bright blue hologram swirling above it, hundreds of symbols moving around each other before settling into neat lines. They turned slowly before converging into the centre, morphing into the familiar time symbol. The hologram faded and the small screen showed two words. “Calibration complete.”  

Ianto looked up from his book as the door to the tourist information centre opened, relaxing as Jack entered.

“Ianto, this is the Doctor. Doctor, this is Ianto Jones. He keeps everything running.”

The Doctor was looking around skeptical before pausing. “Have we met? You look familiar.”

“I don’t think so, no.”

Jack opened the hidden door. “Are the others still here?”

“As far as I know yes. What’s going on?”

“The Doctor is visiting and I want to introduce everybody.”

“Are you sure? I mean… After the meeting... “

“It’ll be fine. Elise was just emotional.”

“If you’re sure.” Ianto watched them leave before turning to Gwen. “Has he lost his mind?”

“Apparently.” Shrugged Gwen in reply.

“We should keep an eye on them.”

“You just want to see her slap him.”

“I neither agree nor disagree, but we should follow if we don’t want to miss anything.”

Owen had to admit he was a little relieved that Elise had some kind of protection if she needed to time jump but the whole thing still put him on edge. She seemed happy at least. He sat down at his desk and leant back in his chair, hitting the space-bar on his keyboard to wake his computer back up.

“And this…” Jacks voice announced from the doorway. “Is Dr Owen Harper.”

Owen looked up, not expecting anyone to be visiting. If he was he would have kept his lab coat on. “You remembered the doctor part for once.”

“Owen, this is the Doctor.”

Owen sat up straight at the name, silent in disbelief.

“You look better than the last, first, other, time we met.” The Doctor smiled, trying to work out his mixed timeline. “But I suppose that hasn’t happened yet for you.”

Jack smiled as if this was all completely normal. “How are the rats?”

“Fat and not pregnant. I sent a message to the breeder and he said that one was always greedy so it isn’t a side effect.” Owen said, still looking between Jack and the Doctor.

“How long until the implants are ready for general use on the weevils at least.”

“For the weevils they’re ready now, for human use I’d still leave it a few weeks to be sure. All in lab tests say they’re 100% safe but human bodies are the bane of lab tests.”

“Good to hear. Where’s Tosh?”

“She’ll be here in a sec. The vortex manipulator test was a success.”

The Doctor immediately shot a worried look to Jack who rolled his eyes. “Relax, it’s not for actually time travelling, just for protection from the radiation of the time vortex.”

“Why would you need that?” The Doctor asked, still very unsure.

“You’ll see. Just relax before both of your hearts give out.”

“Jack-”

“Tosh.” Jack called over, spotting the tech expert. “Doctor, this is Toshiko Sato. Our technology expert.”

“Wait, I’ve definitely met you before. With the space pig.” The Doctor smiled, his worries outwardly forgotten.

“O-oh yes. I remember that. Owen was originally meant to be there but… Well…” She paused, not able to remember if Owen had told Jack why he’d been uncontactable that day.

“You’re looking well.”

“Thanks. Um…”

Jack seemed happy with the interaction, relaxing his shoulders a little. “Owen said the vortex manipulator project was successful.”

“Yes. We just tested it and it worked perfectly. Elise didn’t even get dizzy.”

“Speaking of… Where is she?”

“She was just grabbing a book so she could study it here. She shouldn’t be long but… Are you sure? You know how she feels about… Um…”

“It’ll be fine. She has some self control.”

“Yes, but she’s not going to be happy.”

“She’ll live.”

Tosh and Owen shared a worried look as she sat at her desk.

The Doctor looked around the large room as he heard a screech. Myfanwy landed in the centre, sticking her beak under one of the chairs to grab a paper ball that had rolled underneath it. Ianto rushed over. “No! Drop it.” He ordered, holding his hand out as if he was talking to a dog. The pteranodon tilted her head with the paper ball clamped in the end of her beak making a small caw like noise.

“Myfanwy, drop, now. You always choke on paper. Paper is not food. Does it smell like BBQ sauce?”

The dinosaur dropped the paper ball into his hand and huffed before flying back up to her nest in a strop.

“Myfanwy?” Asked the Doctor, smiling as the creature flew up.

“She’s an unofficial hub pet. Her nest is up there, what do you think?” Jack asked softly.

“You tamed a pteranodon.”

“Semi tamed. She still brings back sheep sometimes.”

“She’s brilliant.”

“I told you I’d changed this place.”

“I’m still not fully convinced but it’s better. A lot better.”

Elise held the old journal to her chest as she walked back towards her desk. In the corner of her eye she saw something move in the shadows, at least she thought she did. She couldn’t be sure as the archives were the kind of place that seemed to change day by day. She didn’t know how Ianto managed to keep track of everything. The shadows could wait, she had studying to do. The journal had belonged to one of the men responsible for building many of the heavy mechanical parts of the hub and had started the process of integrating alien technology into it. It contained full diagrams and illustrations for each part. It was fascinating.

She was pleased with how her day was going and her mind wandered to what she was going to make for dinner before a new voice pulled her thoughts into sharp contrast. The speech sounded friendly but definitely unfamiliar. She tried to stay unseen as she made her way over to her desk and placed down the journal carefully.

“Elise.” Jack said, making her jump.

She turned. “Yea? Is there something I can do?”

“Elise, this is the Doctor. Doctor, this is Elise Carter. Our time traveller.”

Elise looked at the unassuming looking man and felt a mix of nerves and rage. “Jack, can I have a quick word.”

“Go ahead.”

“In private.”

The Doctor was still staring at her as if he saw something no one else did.

“Back in a sec.” Jack smiled and headed up to his office, Elise close behind.

She waiting until the door was fully closed and rubbed her temples.

Jack leant on his desk. “Is there a problem? How do you like your new accessory?”

“It’s great, I can jump without getting sick, it’s comfortable, looks badass. In other news, what the hell? After everything you bring him in here?”

“Yes. I did. I own the place I can invite whoever I wish.”

“Jack, I’m not arguing that. Why are you trying to impress someone who just abandoned you?”

“I don’t expect you to be friends, or even understand, just be civil.”

“You’re right, I don’t understand. And just telling him about my time travel thing?”

“I trust him.”

“That’s your biggest problem. How do you think Ianto’s feeling right now? Bringing the guy you’d move heaven and earth for here.”

“I’m not comparing them.”

“No, but it hurts to see you pining over the guy. I know you don’t see that sort of thing but it doesn’t stop it being true. Please don’t do this.”

“He’ll be gone before the end of the day, just play nice until then. And if anyone understands what’s going on with this time jumping thing it’s him. Just talk, that’s all I ask.”

Elise sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. “Ok. Ok. Just, take Ianto on a date or something after, please?”

“I will. Go on, you first.”

Tosh had been talking about their computer system enthusiastically to the doctor as she heard Jack’s office door open. She smiled and waved Elise over.

A very uncomfortable looking Elise walked over and took Tosh’s hand in hers for comfort, offering the other to the Doctor to shake.

“I’m Elise. Nice to meet you.” She said, trying her best to be as civil as possible.  

He shook her hand. “So, time traveller?”

“Yes, sort of. Around twenty four hours either way, max.”

“How?”

“I’m not completely sure but it has a lot to do with this.” She let go of Toshiko’s hand and held out her left hand to show the scar. “There’s thousands of microscopic symbols under the skin and it all comes from that I think. I’m learning to control it.”

“No no no, I mean what kind of technology is it attached to?”

“It isn’t.”

He stared into her eyes and whispered to himself. “That’s not possible. You shouldn’t even be functioning. When Rose absorbed the time vortex it started killing her in minutes, this isn’t right… You’re not even part of time anymore.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re not possible. You shouldn’t exist. You’re a walking paradox.”

“Can you elaborate a little?”

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, trying desperately to think of a way to explain. “You’re like schrodinger's cat. You’re both part of this time and not at the same time. You’re always in the time vortex but you’re not. It’s like you’re out of alignment with reality, everywhere and nowhere.”

“Like the fairies?”

“Fairies?”

“Inter-dimensional beings that don’t follow linear time.”

“Yes and no. Theoretically you’re existing as if you’re constantly in the rift but in a controlled spot. You have access to everything but that means it also has access to you but only if you’re close enough. A human shouldn’t be able to do that. No being should be able to do that. But you’re here and you’re human and most importantly you’re not dead. You are a part of the rift and the rift is part of you.” He took her scarred hand and looked at the vortex manipulator then turned to Tosh. “You modified this?”

She nodded, trying to keep up.

“You did a good job.” He turned back to Elise. “Elise, never take this off. This is stabilising your place in reality. Don’t even try to go beyond that twenty four hour limit and never try and travel through the rift. You could lose yourself and I don’t even know what that could do. I can’t stop you travelling, really wish I could, just try to keep it to a minimum. And Jack, you have to protect her. If she got into the wrong hands not even I would be able to fix the damage. I’m guessing the only reason reality hasn’t torn itself apart is that rift manipulator you have keeping everything stable. If Torchwood had been like it was then…” The horror dawned on his face. “I believe you. Jack, I’m going to need to be able to trust you with this because there’s nothing I can do at this point.”

Jack smiled softly. “Admitting you have no idea?”

“Yes. I am. I can’t go back and change this because there’s nowhere to go back to. There’s no start point.”

Elise paused and thought to herself. “Can we talk about Jack’s immortality now?”

The Doctor’s eyes widened.    

Ianto offered his bag of popcorn to Gwen who gladly took some. No one took their eyes off of Jack.

“What?” Said Elise, confused about the reaction.

Jack sighed. “He didn’t know.”

“I’m cleaning out the cells for the foreseeable future aren’t I?”

“I’m not that petty… Maybe.”

The Doctor shook his head. “What do you mean immortality?”

“I can’t die… Or more I can’t stay dead.”

“What happened?”

“Can we not talk about this out here?”

Elise took Toshiko’s left hand and Owens right. “We’re going to go and grab lunch. Right Gwen? Ianto?”

Internally Ianto was disappointed but he understood and nodded. Gwen was happy to be out of there as it had gotten very uncomfortable. As soon as the rest of the team were out of sight Jack began.

“When Rose brought me back from the dead the first time. It stuck. I’ve been here for a long time. I don’t age anymore, rarely get sick and every time I’ve died I get dragged back… It’s like she overdid it. I don’t blame her for it. It wasn’t like she was fully in control but it’s been so long now.”

The Doctor leant back against a desk in shock. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t know.”

“How would you?”

“I can see why you wanted to talk, but I don’t have an answer for you.”

“I didn’t expect you to. The rift spiked when the TARDIS locked on to this time and place so I thought you might be able to help Elise. She thinks she has to be angry on my behalf.” He looked off into space with a slight smile.

“I don’t blame her.”

“She reminds me a little of Rose. All heart and temper. It’s how she ended up the way she is.”

“You should come with me, just for a little while.”

Jack laughed softly. “If you’d asked me six months ago I would have left without question but I’m needed here for now. Anyway, I don’t plan on going anywhere. Give it fifty years and maybe I’ll say yes.”

Elise stared down into her drink.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Jack isn’t angry.” Gwen soothed, leaning on the table. “Well, not that angry.”

Elise sunk lower in her chair. “Why can’t I just keep my mouth shut.”

“You can’t help it if he didn’t tell you.” Said Ianto trying not to be jealous but failing miserably.

“I should have guessed. I mean it’s Jack, he never tells anyone anything important unless he has to.”

“Cheer up. We’ve got houses to look at later.” Tosh smiled.

Gwen turned. “Houses? You’re moving?”

“Since the break in I can’t sleep there.”

“I started out like that but it settled after a while. Maybe you just need to give it some time.”

“I don’t think I’d survive that long without sleep. Plus with Elise staying permanently we really need a larger place.”

“Look at you officially moving in together.”

“It’s not as if we haven’t been already.”

“Still. Now it’s a place you both get to choose… There’s a thought.”

“Hmm?”

“Is Owen going too?”

Owen looked up from his sandwich at the sound of his name. “I like to have my own space, even if I don’t sleep there.”

“Makes sense. I don’t know how you three handle a relationship like you do.”

“Why?”

“How do you get past the whole jealousy and paranoia?”

“By actually talking to each other?”

Elise swirled her drink lazily. “Not everyone can. Some people are just wired to only be part of a pair. Others aren’t. It’s all about compatibility. It’s not as if those thoughts and feelings go away, believe me, but they’re easier to deal with when you find the right person or people.”

Jack waved as the Doctor closed the TARDIS door behind himself. It felt good to say goodbye on his own terms for once.

“Did we miss him leaving.” Asked Ianto, handing Jack a bag containing his lunch.

“He’ll be back. He always comes back eventually.”                                   

[myotishia]

Emergency measures part two

Fandom: Torchwood. Trigger warnings: None as far as I know but feel free to suggest. Characters: Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Elise Carter (oc) Rating: Teen and up

Blurb: After saving Gwen from a would be assassin the team have to deal with someone wanting them all dead, though they’re not going down without a fight.

Jack was pissed off, though the wannabe assassin had jumped into a getaway car, a bulletproof one at that, he had his suspicions who had sent them. The timing was just too convenient. He almost wished Torchwood had been the only ones to to contact the four five six. The government was much too quick to make a deal with the devil and he guessed they wanted to make sure no one would be able to speak about it. That put a target on all of their heads being as the government knew about his unique condition he wondered what they planned to do with him. It didn’t bare thinking about. He called through to Ianto.

“I’ve sent Gwen and Rhys to a safe house for tonight. Elise was right.”

“Did you catch who it was?”

“No. They got away but I think I know who sent them. I’ve got a few calls to make when I get back. For now just be on your guard.”

“I am.”

“Hows Elise?”

“She’s fine. The bleeding stopped and she says it’s not serious.”

“What does Owen think?”

“He thinks it’s the after effect of a large air pressure change but he looked a lot more concerned than that would call for.”

“Time travel isn’t exactly something we’ve had many good experiences with. I don’t blame him for being worried.”

“Tosh was wondering if she could study one of the time watches to help stabilize Elises jumps.”

“I’ll allow it. Their ability to manipulate time is DNA locked but if anyone can get some use out of them it’s Tosh.”

Tosh had gone to bed slightly excited to start looking at one of the time watches in the morning. Even if the next day would be tense at least she’d have something to do. She’d wondered why Gwen of all of them had been targeted first but in a way there was logic to it. She was the most presence ‘on the grid’ after all. But if it was a government agency behind the hit, then why not go after Tosh herself. They always had to know where she was. It was just part of the deal that gave her her freedom however much she liked to try and forget it. She could think about it in the morning, she needed to get some sleep.

After only a couple of hours she heard something that was out of place. The front door opening quietly. Owen was already awake, having heard the same thing. He grabbed his gun, hidden beside the bed out of a mix of paranoia and habit. As he stood he mimed for Tosh to hide and get Elise, who had stayed asleep, to do the same. They’d just managed to get out of sight when the bedroom door slowly opened and a hand, holding a silenced pistol could be seen in the low light. Owen realised how useful this person could be so instead of just killing them he grabbed their wrist and rammed the door into their arm as hard as he could. The pistol dropped as the arm it was connected to snapped. A scream of agony erupted from the other side of the door and Owen aimed for the noise, swinging his fist directly into the guys nose. It wasn’t the first fight he’d ever been in and he knew that a broken nose wouldn’t stop this ‘professional’ killer for long. The man swung at Owen with a knife in his left hand, missing his throat by a hair. So focused on Owen he didn’t even notice a very sleepy Elise holding a tazer. The prongs hit the assassin in the shoulder and sent him into convulsions. He dropped to the floor like a lively sack of potatoes.

“This means we have to go back to work, doesn’t it?” Elise yawned, detaching the wires from the tazer.

“I think he was more shocked by the fact that Owen attacked him butt fuck naked.” Elise smiled, leaning back in her chair, explaining what had happened to Jack. In the cells the guy was still shouting about his arm and nose as Owen had refused to set them until the morning.

Tosh was curled up with her head on Elise’s lap, dozing. “Is Ianto ok?” She mumbled.

“Yea. He’s asleep.” Jack smiled softly.

“Is he living here now?” Asked Elise, curious.

He shook his head. “Of course not. But with the situation it was the safer option.”

“Why not? You two’ve been together for a while now.”

“I’m not going to make anyone live here.”

“You’re doing that distancing thing. It’s ok to get close to people you know.”

“I’m not getting into my personal life.”

“Excuses, excuses… Any idea who’s called in these hits?”

“I know exactly who and he isn’t answering my calls. Coward.”

“So what’s this guys problem? We’re the ones keeping the weevils from their door so why try and get rid of us?”

“To cover his own guilt. If the public or even other government officials found out what happened with the four five six he’d never see the light of day again. Last I checked he was aiming for prime minister.”

“Fucking politicians.”

“If they were they wouldn’t be such a pain. Until I can speak to him I’m not sure what to do. At least you’re in the clear for now.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t strictly exist. On the surface all the documents you have will pass as legitimate but as far as MI5 is concerned you were never born. There’s no trail to follow.”

“Can we use that?”

“If he was willing to talk then yes, but if he isn’t it could just put you in more danger. I could contact the queen but there’s only so much she can do these days.”

“You have a direct line to the queen?”

“That’s who pays us.”

“I thought that was just on paper.”

“No. It’s very literal. Lizzy signs everything herself.”

“Lizzy? Now I know you’re pulling my leg.”

He smiled nostalgically. “I met her a long time ago. She drives worse than I do.”

“Seriously?”

“I told her that once during the war. She slapped me.” He laughed.

“Not many people out there can say they’ve been slapped by the queen.”

“More than you’d think.”

Gwen always found it hard to sleep in new places but after such a long day she had crashed out, only woken up by her alarm. She grabbed her phone and switched the alarm off, checking her messages with bleary vision. A text told her that Elise would pick her up for work as her car could be targeted. Wonderful. What was next, changing her name? Rhys was already awake and trying to keep busy. He handled stress surprisingly well but the bullet in the door frame had shaken him. He’d spent some of the night before just looking at places to move to.

“Morning.” He said with a forced smile.

Gwen appreciated the attempt. “Morning. My workmate Elise is going to pick me up in half an hour.”

“It’s good you’re not going to be alone. Have I met her?”

“Not in person I don’t think, no. She’s Toshiko’s girlfriend.”

“Oh yea, I remember you mentioning her.”

She’d decided not to tell Rhys about Elises abilities, wanting to keep the human stuff and alien stuff very separate. A quick shower, breakfast and throwing on something clean Gwen heard a knock at the door, followed by her phone ringing to assure her of who it was.

She opened the door to a sleepy looking Elise.

“Morning. I brought coffee.”

“I’ve just got to put my boots on. Come on in.”

Elise walked in and closed the door behind her, placing the carry cups on the table.

“You must be Elise.” Rhys greeted cheerfully.

“Yea, nice to meet you. You must be Rhys. Gwen talks about you all the time.”

“Nothing bad I hope.”

“Naa. Only good things.”

“Would you like to sit down for a bit?”

“Can’t stay long. We ended up having an eventful night last night.”

“Oh?”

“Yea. Woke up at about three to a guy trying to kill us, so that was fun.”

“Christ, are you ok?”

“Me? Yea, I’m fine. Owen broke the guys arm and his nose. Then I tazed him. He did not want to go down. Tosh was pretty shaken, bless her. I don’t know if she’ll want to go home tonight.”

“Don’t you have anywhere you can go?”

“We’ll just stay at Owens place. Hopefully we can get this nonsense sorted soon. I’d like to get some sleep some time soon.”

Gwen stood and kissed Rhys on the cheek. “Glad you two are getting along but we’ve got to go.”

“Have at least a safe day.” He said softly to his wife.

“You too. Come on, are you driving or am I?” She asked Elise.

“I can drive. I wonder if Owens set that guys arm yet. He wouldn’t stop bitching about it all night.”

Jack sat next to Tosh explaining how the time watch, original name being a vortex manipulator, worked. He’d checked them over and found them to be upgraded versions of his own.

“Mine burned out but these are basically brand new. Looks like the time agency added more security in these, adding a DNA lock. It should still protect whoever’s wearing it from the side effects of travelling through the time vortex.”

“Was that what caused Elise’s nosebleed?”

“Possibly. Early models didn’t have the protection and after too many time jumps… It killed them.”

“That could happen?!”

“I didn’t know it was possible to time travel without any sort of technology. Even time lords can’t travel without a TARDIS. Elise shouldn’t even exist so I have no idea, maybe she’s immune to the effects and it was just the air pressure change. Don’t worry, we won’t let anything happen to her.” He tried to reassure her. At least it would be easier with the newer models but he was still concerned that it wouldn’t work.

“What if it breaks? The watch I mean.”

“I’ve heard of these things surviving a star going supernova. It breaking won’t be a problem.”

“I did wonder how yours survived this long.”

“I think this is the twelfth strap but it’s the same manipulator underneath. It can’t travel time anymore but it’s still useful for controlling half of the mechanisms here.”

“And it’s sentimental.” Tosh smiled, seeing how Jack looked at the strap around his wrist.

“Anyway.” He began, changing the subject. “If anything starts glowing just close it. I don’t want you getting irradiated by the internal battery.”

“That’s comforting, but I can handle it.”

“I wouldn’t let you if you couldn’t.”

“So what’s your plan now?” The failed assassin asked, his arm set and splinted. It needed a cast but Owen wasn’t feeling that generous.

“My plan? I don’t have a plan. You’re the one who tried to kill me remember.” Owen grumbled.

“You can’t let me go so what are you going to do with me.”

“That’s up to your boss, not mine.”

A huff came from the next cell along.

“What is that? You got animals down here?”

Owen smirked. “Animals? No. We don’t have any animals other than you down here.”

“You’re the animals that sold those kids off.”

Owen grabbed the man by the collar. “Listen to me you pathetic little fuck, your boss was one of the shitheads that gave those kids up so don’t you dare start talking shit about us, especially after trying to fucking kill us.” He let the man go and charged out of the cell, slamming the door behind him. He knew he hadn’t held his temper well. Usually he could hold himself together, even in front of those who’d attacked him before, but this time all he could think of was what would have happened if Tosh or Elise had been killed. It made his blood boil. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He needed to trust that Jack would get this all sorted out sooner rather than later.

Jack rubbed his temples, trying not to throw his phone across the room in frustration. He hated being actively ignored. Time to change tactics. Ianto had sent him all the information he could find on the man they had captive. It wasn’t as difficult as you’d expect as long as you knew what to look for. With that information all he needed to do was set up a meeting posing as the assassins handler. Also not too difficult but he’d have to hand the job off to Owen as his accent would give him away in seconds. Then it was just a matter of attending said meeting without being shot on sight. It made communication so much more difficult. A public place would be best as there was much less chance of a firefight. He wanted to end this with as little bloodshed as possible. He’d have to take the risk.

After a very tense day and a half the meeting was set up. Gwen sat in the corner of the small cafe, sipping tea and keeping one eye on the door. She was out of view of the window from the outside, as was Owen at the other side of the room. Other patrons sat around with no idea of the meeting they were about to witness.

John Frobisher, home office permanent secretary, entered with a briefcase in hand. He looked nervous as he looked around and took a seat at his table. Another man that had entered just behind him sat beside the door. The air in the room seemed so still and clammy. Too thick to breathe comfortably. Mr Frobisher turned ghost white as Jack entered, his usual confident self. The agent by the door seemed just as caught off guard.

“Good afternoon Mr Frobisher.” Jack smiled as he took a seat across from the man.

“How.. You can’t..” The weasley gentleman spluttered.

“I can and I have. What I want to know is why you’ve been trying to kill my people.”

“I couldn’t let anyone know… They’re back. I know they are… I can’t let this get out.”

“And if you’d left me to deal with it then it wouldn’t have. The four five six have been dealt with already. You could have pretended it never happened.”

Gwen quietly moved across from the agent who was weighing his options.

“I wouldn’t do anything if I were you.” She told him, eyes pointing to Owen who smiled in reply.

Frobisher eyed the door. “How was I meant to know. After what happened it shouldn’t be possible.”

“Technology changes. And you could have asked, or don’t you have the clearance for that? Does anyone even know that you’re here? That you hired a man to kill innocent people who had nothing to do with any of this? I wonder what would happen if your name was connected with an attempted murder investigation. It’s something to think about.” Jack smiled over at the busy waitress who had started to look a little concerned.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Why wouldn’t I? It was sheer luck that I don’t have a dead body and a grieving family on my hands.”

“Please. I have a family.”

“And I’m sure they’re very proud. Now, here’s what is going to happen. You and your friend over there are going to walk out of here, get into your car and go home. Your assassin is going to wake up in hospital with no idea how he got there and we are all going to forget this ever happened. I’m doing this for your families sakes.”

“Thank yo-”

“But, if I ever see you, anyone employed by you or anyone even slightly connected to you in any way I will not hesitate to destroy your life. Do you understand?”

Frobisher shrank in his chair, Jacks icy gaze telling him that the captain was not messing around in any way shape or form. There was something otherworldly behind those blue eyes that sparked a primal fear in the man.

“I’m gone. You’ll never see me again. I promise.”

“Leave.”

Jack watched the man skitter out very carefully, before letting out a breath he’d been holding. Looking down he saw the abandoned briefcase and picked it up, taking it outside and away from any other people before opening it. It really was filled with money. Part of him thought there would be a bomb inside. Part of him thought there still was. He closed the case and looked back to see Owen and Gwen giving him questioning looks.

“So it’s over?” Asked Tosh as her workmates returned.

“Yea. Well, if he wants to live it is.” Jack said, matter of factly.

Elise smiled. “So we can go home without worrying.”

Tosh didn’t look convinced. “Maybe we can stay at Owens for a little while. I’m not sure about going back to mine just yet.”

“Yea… I mean give me a chance to go and clean up first.” Owen shrugged, trying to hide that he really didn’t want them to see his place as it was.

“I’ve visited you before, you don’t need to do anything special.”

“Yea, you visited. I just threw everything into the wardrobe and hoped the door wouldn’t give.”

Elise snorted. “That is such a uni guy move.”

“You have to learn somewhere. Anyway, I’ve not been there in a bit so I need to turn the heating back on.”

“I’m sure we can warm the place up.” She grinned.

“Even more reason for me to tidy up.”

“Well if we have a free afternoon fancy helping me with the space jumping thing.”

“I thought you weren’t going to do that for a while.”

“It’s the time jump I’m not doing. Space jumping just makes me a little dizzy because it messes up my equilibrium. It just takes some getting used to is all.”

“Only if I can monitor you. The second I see anything out of the ordinary we’re stopping, got it?”

“Works for me.”

Tosh looked over to them. “Can I get that data too? It might help with a project I’m working on.”

“Yea, what project is this?” Owen asked.

“I don’t know if it’ll work but I’m modifying one of the vortex manipulators -”

“The what?”

“The time watches. I’m modifying it to try and negate the side effects from the time jumps. So far I’ve managed to get it to essentially factory reset but I need to know how I should calibrate it.”

“You’re doing that thing again.” Elise grinned.

“My job?”

“Being gorgeous, yes.”

Owen scooted by and picked Elise up in a fireman's lift. “Nope. I’ve seen where this goes and no one gets to see that but me.

“Jack, I’m being kidnapped.” She giggled.

Jack looked up from what he was doing. “Bring her back in one piece.”

“I promise nothing.” Owen replied as he carried her off.                             

On the outskirts of the city Father Peter Lyric was dealing with something he never thought he’d have the misfortune to encounter. He’d been called a few times to the Willis family residents with complaints of paranormal activity. At first he thought it was the same as other cases he’d heard of: rusty creaking pipes, loose wires, carbon monoxide poisoning. These were the most common causes of ‘hauntings’. The Willis family had checked for all of these, being a generally agnostic family, and had contacted the church in a last ditch attempt to free themselves from the haunting. The first visit the priest had made was uneventful so he had blessed the house and left. A week later he was called as the haunting had gotten worse. Furniture was being thrown around during the night, voices had been heard from the unplugged TV and the children had spoken of figures looming over them in the night. Father Lyric had practically doused the place in holy water and prayed his old heart out. Evidently it hadn’t worked.

Kirren Willis sat up in his bed, eyes pure black and unfamiliar letters seemingly burned into his skin, an unnervingly calm smile on his face.

A much deeper voice than a child of nine should ever be able to produce emanated from his mouth. “Hello Father. Have you come to get rid of me?”

“What are you? What is your name?”

“I am Legion. For we are many.”

“Don’t quote films at me demon! In the name of God what is your true name?”

The boy laughed. “You aren’t as ignorant as I assumed. You may call me Gelial.”

Elise steadied herself from the jump before falling with a thud.

“I’m ok.” She said as she pulled herself up.

“Come on, I think that’s enough for now.”

“I haven’t even broken a sweat.”

“Your heart rate begs to differ. You agreed to the deal.” Owen gave her a look like a stern teacher.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Think there’s enough data for Tosh to work with?”

“It should be. I’m just hoping she won’t need a time jump too.”

“Me too.”

“I thought you planned to use it.”

“Only if someone dies or the world tries to end. Even then I don’t know how to activate it. The space jumps I just need to concentrate on the place I want to be and it just happens but time jumps feel a bit different. I think I have to give it a reason I think.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yea, but I don’t like the idea that it’s judging what is and isn’t important. Whatever it is.”

“Think it’s an outside entity?”

“Not an entity exactly.” She studied the scar on the back of her hand. “More like time itself. It’s strange. You wouldn’t think that sort of connection from one symbol.”

“I wondered about that too. Mind if I take a closer look at it? I thought maybe there was something underneath.”

“That should be fine. You’ve got the scanner thing so it’s not like you have to cut me open.”

“How’s your arm by the way?”

“It’s fine, barely even bruised. How far have you gotten in replicating the implant.”

“I’m nearly done. Just have to do a few tests but I’m running low on female rats. The cage had become a boys club before I realised.”

Father Lyric collapsed backwards onto the floor, clutching his crucifix to his chest.

“Out demon!” He ordered, though his voice had started to shake. “Leave this boy!”

Galial laughed. “Why should I ? This is a perfectly healthy vessel.”

“In the name of God I command you!”

“Your deity has no power over me. I am far from his reach.”

“Lies!”

“Come now Father, you and I both know that God has abandoned you.”

“No!” The old man cried, covering his ears.

“I know the truth can be painful but I wouldn’t have said it if you didn’t believe it. I’m very skilled in reading the thoughts you like to ignore. This boy hates his brother and wants to throw him down the stairs. He hates his parents for talking about a divorce. He thinks he should run away from home.”

“Leave him alone! Please.”

“Please?”

“Please. He’s innocent.”

“But you are not, are you Father Lyric?”

“Stop!”

“You left a girl out on a snowy night because she was drunk and you thought she might vomit in the church. What happened to her Father?”

“How do you know that?!”

“She died. Froze to death because you wanted to keep the church clean. You told the police you weren’t there. You lied. You tell others you are a man of faith but I see a murderer.”

“It’s not true! I couldn’t have known!”

“It was a blizzard and she didn’t even have a coat. Her blood is on your hands and you speak as if I’m the evil one. I could help those feelings go away.”

“I won’t listen to your lies demon!”

“I haven’t lied once. You’re going to hell anyway, why not let me ease your pain for a while.”

Tears ran down Peter’s face as he looked up into the lightless orbs that the boy had for eyes. His mind couldn’t think of anything other than the spirits words. He had killed that girl and had never felt as if he had done enough to earn forgiveness. It was all too much. He’d lost control. “How?”

Mrs Willis heard crying from her sons bedroom and ran up, tearing the door open to find her son confused and upset but seemingly fine. His eyes had returned to their normal green and his skin was clear of markings. She pulled the boy into her arms and kissed him on the head.

“Thank you Father. Is it gone? Is the ghost gone?” She asked through relieved sobs.  

“When I leave you will have no more problems with this haunting.” Father Lyric smiled softly, the image of serenity.

“Thank you. We’ll be at church on Sunday I promise. You saved my baby.”

“I look forward to your attendance. I do hope you will bring your family and friends.”

“Of course! Of course. Is there any way we can repay you for this?”

“Your attendance is more than enough payment Mrs Willis.” He said as if he had done her a simple favour before making his way downstairs to leave.

“Is there anything we should do to stop this from happening again?” Asked Mr Willis as he opened the front door.

“Oh no, you should be just fine now. Isn’t it strange?”

“W-what is?”

“That your son looks so little like you. Families are very odd, don’t you think?”

“I suppose?” Mr Willis paled slightly, watching the priest leave. He swallowed hard and called up to his wife. “We need to talk, can you come down here?”

Owen looked up at the magnified image of Elises scar projected on the wall, not completely sure what he was seeing on the smaller screen. The surface layer had been normal scar tissue but underneath hid what looked like thousands of microscopic symbols, etched in black, almost tattooed into the flesh. The lines were only a fraction of a millimeter thick so they couldn’t actually be normal tattoos. It was as if the pigment in the cells themselves had been changed.

“It looks like source code.” Elise mused.

Owen nodded, still scanning the image with his eyes. “It does.” He hit the screenshot button on his computer. “Tosh has a few translation programmes. Maybe we can find out what it says. Keep still, I want to get a few more images for it to work on.”

“It’s so intricate. I don’t know how he did all of it so quickly. I barely even felt it.”

“Keep still.”

“I am.”

He grumbled at the blurry screenshots before taking his phone out of his pocket and taking a picture of the projection on the wall. At least that seemed to be a clear image. “Stay there, I’m going to get a better camera. Your hands doing the blurry thing again.”

“Why would another camera help?”

“It can take pictures of the projection. I just can’t take screenshots.”

She watched him leave before turning her attention back to the projection. The symbols moved with her pulse but they were drawn so clearly it didn’t make them illegible. It almost looked as if each figure was surrounded by a golden glow, that got stronger the longer she looked.

She was pulled from her trance like state by a hand being waved in front of her eyes.

“Are you still with me?” Asked Owen, a camera in his other hand.

“Yea. Yea, sorry I spaced out.” She looked back at the projection but didn’t see the golden glow anymore. “Did you get the pictures you needed?”  

“Yea, and then I noticed you were daydreaming. I was going to worry if you didn’t snap out of it.”

“I’m fine. Jumping must have made me more tired than I thought.”

“I hate to say it but -”

“Don’t say it.”

“I told you so.”

[myotishia]

Music box part two

Fandom: Torchwood. Trigger warnings: None as far as I know but feel free to suggest. Characters: Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Elise Carter (oc) Rating: Teen and up

Blurb: An alien puzzle box is never just a puzzle box.

“What? It was that simple?” Tosh huffed.

“Yea. The corners came out to start it. The centre button on the side with the sun image reset the whole thing. After that it was just trial and error, I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was doing just keeping an ear out for the musical notes. Now I just need to find out what the symbols mean. Usually a multi levelled puzzle box would change the mechanics as you work through the layers, otherwise it would be too easy.” Elise shrugged, turning the box over in her hands. It was satisfying just to hold but it did make the back of her hand itch.

Ianto opened the hefty book to the correct page.

“You know the top one. The bottom one is another composite that’s a little like midday. Top right is sunrise. Top left is sunset. Bottom left is midnight. Left is morning. Bottom right is evening and the right one is afternoon. It might be an easy one, just putting the times of day in order.” Said Ianto and he studied the tiny writing.

“Sweet. Whatever’s inside must be tiny otherwise this thing would never be able to move.”

“If it’s only three dimensional.”

“True.”

“I’d only work on it while you’re here just in case.”

“Will do. Odd for the first layer to be so much more difficult than the second though.”

“That depends on your point of view. Our days are linear, theirs might not be so it would be harder to work out the cycle.”

“Are you telling me to think outside the box?”

“I would never make such a bad pun.”

“You’re an awful lier, you know that?”

Ianto smiled and closed the book ready to take it back to the archives.

Later that night Elise felt bad not being able to continue the puzzle, having managed to get the symbols in the right order but to no effect, so she was trying to keep her mind on other things. Looking at her laptop she couldn’t avoid the proverbial elephant in the room. Her Owens letter to her. It sat on her desktop, unread. She’d lost count of how many times she’d hovered the mouse pointer over it and wimped out at the last minute. She couldn’t avoid it forever, how ever much she kept telling herself she could. She double clicked and flinched away as if it was going to scream at her. Nothing happened, obviously. She made sure that Owen and Tosh were busy watching TV after dinner and snuck off to the bedroom alone. She took a deep breath and began.

‘If you’re reading this I’m already gone and if I didn’t get to say goodbye I’m sorry. I didn’t want to leave you but I guessed you’d be fine with the team. If you can still jump like I think you’ll be able to you might need Jacks help. The watch I had used to belong to him. It was used by the time agency but it was deactivated. Thankfully this time he won’t have to give it up. Things will likely change a lot from this point onward so I won’t bore you with the details of my timeline. I made Jack do that. I’m sorry I put so much on your shoulders, but if it helps you handled it better than I ever expected. I’m sure by now you’re wondering what that symbol is/was on the back of your hand. It was fairy made as far as I know. I found many instances of it over time and had forever to look into it. Its most basic meaning is time, specifically the rout the fay use to travel. It’s a link to that place. If you’re ever in dire need of it you can push others out of time and into the fays hands by cutting it into their skin, but it’s a last resort. When you were marked with it you were marked with death meaning no one being can claim you. It’s like diplomatic immunity for inter-dimensional beings.

It’s funny, even though we’ve known each other for a relatively short time this is the hardest letter for me to write. You’re the first person in so long that looks at me as if they’re happy to see me. As if I’m wanted. When I first died I felt completely useless. I was in the same position as you were when you met me. I jumped but of course the dead can’t die. I felt broken and hopeless. Then I found things only I could do. It gave me hope. If you ever feel like that again I want you to hold onto the amazing things you’ve already done and the potential things you could do. Hold onto that hope. I’m proud of you.

Make sure my past self doesn’t push everyone away. He’s a dick like that.

Take care of all of them, they never see what’s right under their noses.

Owen.’

Tears dripped down onto the keyboard and Elise let out the breath she’d been holding. She closed the lid and set it aside, curling up with a pillow wrapped in her arms.

Entering the Hub the next morning something felt off somehow. Jack was nowhere to be seen but hadn’t left any kind of note. It didn’t sit right. Ianto had left early that morning and had no idea where his captain had gone. He travelled back immediately knowing that something wasn’t right. The moment he stepped into the Hub it went into lock down.

Six figures emerged from the shadows, weapons pointed at the team. Looking at the people surrounding them it became clear who they were. Each one wore the same watch that Jack had. The time agency.

A stern looking woman stepped forward. “Alright, we don’t want to fight you but you’ve been working for a known criminal and we can’t allow you to continue.”

“Where’s Jack?” Owen growled, keeping his hands up.

“That’s what we want to know. That’s why we have this place sealed tight. Apparently he’s picked up some new techniques since we last met but it won’t be long until we have him under arrest. The neurotoxin should be kicking in by now. I wanted to kill him myself but a kill is a kill.” The woman shrugged, dusting off the sleeve of her jacket.

Ianto looked at the floor and asked what everyone wished they weren’t thinking. “And us?”

“We have two options. We could kill you or wipe your memories clean. Either way I like your little setup here. I think an agency outpost could be useful here.”

“So either way we’re fucked.” Owen stated flatly.

“A primitive way of putting it but yes. Don’t be too scared, we’ll make it quick. We just wanted to confirm your captains elimination first.” She took a seat at Elises desk, poking the puzzle box. “What is this?” She lifted it up to the light and Elise could see the underside. It almost looked like a musical score. The notes.

“If this works we have to get down quick.” She breathed, just loud enough for the team to hear. She had to take their silence as agreement.

C#, F#, E, D, B, F#, C#, B, G#, F#, she hummed, the box making a very loud grinding sound in the time agents hands. They seemed to be in a trance, watching the centre of the box open. At first there was nothing but then she began to choke, water welling up from her lungs. She fell from the chair and onto her knees, a green skinned winged figure hunched over her. The area exploded in gunfire as the other time agents tried to shoot the previously imprisoned fairy.

The team took the opportunity to put the agents down, three shot and the last two at the dimension travellers mercy. Mercy it did not have. Owen looked over to Gwen, Tosh and Ianto.

“Go find Jack. We’ll deal with this.”

There was no time to argue, not knowing if the time agency had sent others.

The fairy let them go without paying them any attention but looked over at Elise with fascination. Its voice seemed to echo from all around and sounded like a small child.

“Free. I’m free.” Its wings twitched. “You set me free. My song you called. Human, not one of us.”

“I’m not, but we’re closer than you think. We’re neighbours.”

“What do you want for freeing me?”

“These six people.”

“Yes.” It blinked and tilted its head.

“Erase them from existence. If the time agency knows they died here they’ll send more.”

Multiple voices giggled around them.

“That is all you wish?”

“Yes.”

The fairy grinned, showing sharp, yellowed, teeth. It disappeared in a spiral of dead leaves taking the bodies with it.

“The fuck was that?!” Owen exclaimed, eyes wide.

“I read my Owens letter last night. The time symbol is linked to the fairies. What better to trap a fairy than a puzzle? It was a risk but I had to take it.”

“Don’t mess with those things. They are so beyond us.” He shook his head, still in shock about what he’d just seen.

“I won’t, but those guys had no trigger discipline so I didn’t think we had more than a few minutes.”

“Let’s just go.” He pulled himself together, calling out to the others over comms. “What’s happening out there?”

Ianto had never been a fan of actually having to fight. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the brute strength or that he didn’t know how, it was just not in his nature. Sadly life didn’t always allow for peaceful resolution and this was one of those situations. His knuckles were stinging after knocking one of the time agents out, removing their watch so they couldn’t escape when they came round. What he was a fan of was the weevil bands that made sure the agent would be going nowhere. Down the hallway he heard a struggle and saw Gwen tackling another agent to the floor. It was sometimes easy to forget that she had once been a police officer.

“How many more of you are there?” She shouted, 100% done with the whole situation.

The man pinned to the floor refused to reply. It wasn’t a surprise but it was annoying.

It was then that they heard Owens voice asking what was going on.

Ianto replied. “We found two more. The fairy…”

“It’s gone. Catch who you can, we can retcon them after… Any sign of Jack?”

“Tosh is with him. He was in bad shape. I don’t know what they did to him.”

“I’m on my way.”

Jack was hunched over on the floor. He’d come back from death already but for some reason his body hadn’t completely reset like it should have. He was still weak and his vision kept fading. Tosh held his hand, keeping an eye on the door and trying to keep him safe.

“I was worried about you.” He said, leaning back against the wall. “Guess I didn’t need to be.”

“We were lucky… The puzzle box had a fairy inside.”

He cringed as he tensed up, a sour ache shooting through his body. “Damn.”

“It didn’t attack us, just them. I don’t know why but it did… You’re burning up.”

“I always got a fever whenever I was sick as a kid. It’s been a long time.”

“You never talk about your childhood. After all the stories you’ve told us you’ve never said a thing about your family.”

“We weren’t any different than any other family. Mom, dad… My little brother. He was lost when he was small. I lost my grip on his hand and… I never saw him again. It hurts too much to think about… I’m not good with kids.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“It is. My daughter hates me. I can’t blame her, it’s not as if I was ever around. She has a kid of her own now. A little boy. He thinks I’m his uncle.”

“It’s not your fault. You can’t really hold a family together in this line of work. You should visit them.”

“She wouldn’t want that. They’re better off without me. I don’t know why they didn’t move away a long time ago.”

Tosh shook her head and squeezed his hand softly. “Jack… Why haven’t you ever said anything?”

“If I don’t talk about it I don’t have to think about it. I’ve had to leave so much behind. If I think too much about it…” He looked away and closed his eyes.

Tosh gently pulled him into a hug, his skin dangerously warm. He passed away for the second time as Owen stepped in through the door.

The doctor carefully helped get Jack to the autopsy bay, collecting some blood to find out what was going on. The neurotoxin was replicating itself inside Jacks bloodstream. Every time his body reset even a few molecules left over would rapidly spread and rebuild. It needed to be wiped out completely at the molecular level. He couldn’t just let Jack keep dying over and over. As the captain took a deep gasp and opened his eyes Owen turned.

“Jack. Listen, I can fix this but I need time… I won’t force you but instead of letting you die again I could put you on ice.”

He looked pained. “Do it.”

Owen sprang into action and gave Jack a large dose of sedatives to help make him as comfortable as possible. It would be tough without their leader but it had to be done.

As soon as he was safely hidden away Tosh realised something.

“Owen?”

“Yea?”

“Wasn’t Elise with you?”

Elise had been but in a moment of commotion she found herself pulled back, a hand held tightly over her mouth. There was nowhere for her to move to as her arms were pulled behind her back. Whoever it was was gripping so hard she swore she could actively feel her skin bruising.

“I’m going to move my hand and if you scream I’ll break your arm.” A gravelly voice said, only an inch or so away from her ear. It sounded odd, like when you have dental work and half of your face is still numb. He did as he said and took his hand from over her mouth. A sharp point was pressed against her back.

“Walk.”

She complied, not wanting to get stabbed but trying to think of how she was going to escape.

“Who are you?” She said softly, not wanting to anger this guy.

“Me? Your good captain never mentioned his brother. Of course he didn't. After all he did this to me.” He turned her around violently, slamming her back against a wall. She looked up to see a man that did have a resemblance to Jack, but it was hard to tell beneath the damage. Half of his face had been horribly burned and mangled, one eye completely gone, the flesh around his mouth exposed and infected.

“What do you want?” She squeaked out, her voice stolen by the sight.

“I want my brother to suffer. Those time agents should have arrested him but no, they had to kill him right away. Or that’s what they said. I don’t think that’s true and you’re my ticket to seeing him.”

“Ok. And where are you taking me?”

“We’re going to look for him. You’re going to walk ahead of me and if you try and run I’m going to cut you into pieces.”

She nodded and let him lead her towards the main area of the hub.

Tosh and Ianto were quickly scanning every camera in the hub now the captured agents were safely stored down in the cells. Gwen was keeping watch and Owen was keeping busy trying to cure Jack. If he wasn’t doing something he’d be pulling out his hair.

Tosh had rewound the footage to follow Owen’s path and pinpoint when Elise was separated from him. It happened in seconds but the heavy shadows covered what exactly had happened. Moving through the footage she did see Elise getting thrown around and the glint of a blade in her attackers hand, but she could tell that Elise was a hostage which meant she could be rescued.

“They’re heading this way. Ely is being held at knifepoint so we need to keep things calm.”

Gwen agreed. “You both should stay out of sight. I’ll try and talk him down.”

They agreed, Gwen had more experience talking people out of tense situations.

She made herself visible as not to surprise the man and have him lash out and made sure that he couldn’t see she was armed. She wanted to look as inoffensive and calm as she could.

Elise entered first, keeping her nerve and looking right ahead. The moment Grey saw Gwen he pulled Elise close and held the blade against her throat. She could smell a mix of infection and dust on him that turned her stomach.

“Woah, woah. I just want to talk. I’m Gwen. Can I ask your name?”

“Grey. Where’s my brother? Where is Jack?”

“I can find out I just need you to lower the knife. Elise is innocent.”

“I’ll lower it when he’s in front of me, otherwise I’m going to start bleeding her out.”

Elise could feel the blade cutting into her skin slightly.

“We don’t need to do that Grey. We can do this without anyone getting hurt.”

He smiled, or what his face could manage that could have been a smile. “You’re talking as if I’m doing this just to see my dear brother. The thing is, from what I pulled from John he really seems to care about you. I want him here so he can see you all di-”

His words were caught short by a bullet travelling clean through his head. The knife fell and clattered to the floor. Turning to where the bullet had come from Tosh stood, hands shaking. Ianto placed his hand over hers.

“It’s ok. It’s over.” He soothed, taking her gun from her hands.

Gwen automatically went to check on Elise and move her from the scene, she did it without thinking.

“I’m fine. Where’s Jack?” Elise asked, rubbing at the small cut on her neck.

Everyone's grim expressions said more than their words could. She looked round at Owen who had jumped up when he heard the gunshot. He was relieved in a way but he knew how much work he had ahead of him.

“Owen’s working on helping him.” Gwen said, a hand on Elises clean shoulder.

“And the time agency?”

“The last two are in the cells.”

“Think I can go and shower?”

She laughed softly. “Yea, I think so.”

“I’ll be right back.” She turned to smile over at Tosh who was calming down.

When Elise returned, wearing the shorts and tee-shirt that she had stored in her locker, the body was gone along with any evidence it had ever been there. Ianto was walking past with a folded camp bed on his shoulder.

“Are we still locked in?” she asked.

“Hmm? No, this is for Owen. When he’s got a project he’s having trouble with he doesn’t sleep unless there’s somewhere to collapse next to him. It’s happened before. He likely won’t eat either.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Just remind him once in a while and don’t get too upset if he gets snappy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Want me to take that? You look like you should put some ice on that hand.”

He thought for a moment then handed the camp bed over, his hand pulsing. “I will.”

She smiled softly and carried off the bed to see Owen. He was sat putting together test samples and hadn’t even acknowledged her.

“Brought you somewhere to sleep.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ll come and check on you later, ok?”

“Mmhmm.”

“I’ll leave you to concentrate then.”

“Hmm.”

She doubted he’d even absorbed anything she’d said or remember she’d even been there. It was worrying but there was nothing she could do about it. Just standing there wouldn’t help. She turned and left to join the others.

“What now?” She asked, sitting next to Tosh.

No one really knew if they were honest. With Jack unavailable and Owen having to put every bit of his concentration into his research it left them without definite leadership.

Gwen took a deep, calming, breath. “Right. We can’t just sit here. What happened to the agents that were up here?”

“The fairy took them. I’m guessing by now you can’t remember what they look like.” Elise said, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend's shoulders.

It was true, she couldn’t. None of them could. The memory itself was hazy at best, like a half remembered dream.

“Well the ones in the cells are going to be a problem. What happened to their watches?”

“They’re sealed in a lead lined container for now. Nothing should be able to track them.” The usual protocol for anything that could give off any kind of signal. Ianto liked working by the book.

“We should probably carry on as normal while Jack is… out of action. At least for now.”

For the next three days Gwen was the only one who went home. The Hub felt as if something was missing. It just felt wrong in there somehow. Owen was quickly burning out, having had a total of four hours sleep since he began and the others were considering sedating him. There was no way he could progress if he could barely see. Tosh had said it was only fair to give him a chance to take a break by choice. Elise volunteered to tell him.

“Owen?”

“Hmm?”

“Come on, time to take a shower and a nap.”

“In a minute.”

“You said that six hours ago. You can’t work if you can’t even keep your hands steady and you’re seeing things from sleep deprivation.”

“Just… A minute.”

“You’ll be better after a break. Jack’s in stasis, he’s comfortable, he can wait for you to rest.”

“I can’t… I need to-”

“You need to take a shower. If you won’t take a break we’re going to just sedate you.”

He wanted to shout but he just didn’t have the energy. She was right, he just wished she wasn’t. He turned his chair and tried to stand on legs that had gone to sleep, stumbling. She caught him and helped him to the showers. The water felt nice, helping to clear his thoughts. He’d spent so many hours staring at the same thing that it had stopped making any sense. He needed a way to isolate the neurotoxin with something that it couldn’t break down. It destroyed everything he’d tried, leaving it to multiply out of control. He couldn’t even switch off its ability to multiply. Whoever had created this toxin/virus hybrid knew what they were doing. He just needed to neutralise the toxin. It sounded so easy but it was so new to him.

“You’re mumbling to yourself. I was wondering if getting a pure version of the toxin would help so Ianto’s gone searching to see what he can find. We didn’t think they’d only have one dose on them but we couldn’t find anything in the stuff we confiscated.”

“Nothing?”

“Nope.”

“Nothing at all?”

“No, why?”

“I should have known... Of course.”

“Of course what?”

“I couldn’t find a way that it could be introduced to the body and survive the resurrection process. But if it was dormant in his body before he gained the ability to resurrect then it would just start attacking all over again. The best soldiers always have some kind of killswitch. The toxin is like a biological computer. I just need to switch it off somehow.”

“Told you a break would do you good.”

“How long until you’re going to sedate me?”

“You have two hours then you have to get some sleep.” She sighed and handed him a towel.

One hour and thirty two  minutes in and he had it with the help of a few fibers from the bio computer that was integrated into the Torchwood system he had it. He could make the toxin essentially self destruct. The next time Jack had to resurrect it would immediately destroy itself. The rest of the team heard a sudden increase in movement and came to investigate. Owen had an almost manic smile on his face as he pulled out the draw that held Jack, his body fighting off the cold very quickly. Before he regained consciousness Owen injected the modified viral controller into his arm. They all waited, silently, until Jack opened his eyes. He looked fatigued but not in pain.

“Jack? How do you feel?” Asked Owen.

“Cold… I don’t feel like death anymore… You did it.”

“I always do.” He grinned before the strength left his body. Ianto dashed forward to catch the exhausted medic before he hit his head on the floor.

Jack looked confused, sitting up and rubbing his neck. “How long was I out?”   

“Three days.” Ianto said as he lay Owen on the camp bed.

“I’ll have to ask him what they did to me once he’s rested up. Speaking of which , what happened to them?”

“It’s complicated.”

The captain side eyed his staff as they clearly had something they didn’t want to say. “How about we have a meeting while Owen’s resting.”

“Ok. I understand how that all went, but no one’s mentioned how Elise got that cut across her throat or the bruises on her arms.” Jack stated after hearing what had happened to all the time agents. Elise pulled her sleeves down and kind of hoped that her foundation fully covered the fading bruises on her cheek. A long silence followed before Gwen decided to just rip the proverbial bandaid off.

“She was taken hostage by a man who said he was your brother.”

Jacks eyes widened.

“We don’t know if that’s true. It could have been a con, but… He wanted to see you…”

“Where is he?”

“Jack… He wanted to see you to kill us all in front of you. He wasn’t in his right mind.”

“You had to …”

“Yes.”

“Is he in the morgue?”

“He is… But you need to know even at first glance he was a mess.”

“Gwen-”

“No, listen… Half of his face was missing. If you think you can’t cope with that then just let it go.” She wasn’t trying to be cruel but seeing a family member in that state could poison every single memory you had of them.

Jack nodded slowly. He understood, but part of him needed to know. Just maybe not right away.