Chapter 1
A young girl was walking through the back streets of Cardiff, looking a little out of place. And she was a little lost. Her so called friends had ditched her earlier in the evening while they were getting something to eat. But she didn't mind. She liked being on her own, and the sun setting over the city cast a dim light through the streets that made everything seem a bit more intriguing. So she wandered towards where she thought the Millennium Center was, hoping to watch the rest of the sunset over the bay.
She was pulled from her thoughts as she heard a low growling noise, coming from one of the alley ways. She swiveled her head towards the sound and noticed a mass of navy blue fabric and pink wrinkled skin huddled behind the rubbish bins. Sorting through them from the looks of it. She ducked around the corner and tried to keep out of sight, watching the creature in front of her. And it had to be a creature, because no human being she had ever seen looked like that. This thing was at least six feet tall, with a jaw that jutted out like a gorilla and a mouth full of razor sharp rows of teeth. He was hunched and wearing a navy blue boiler suit, like something a janitor would wear. It's skin was wrinkled and pink, and it was mostly bald with wisps of dirty blonde grayish hair on top of its head.
The creature payed her no heed, focussed on the contents of the rubbish sack in front of it. Just then she heard a screeching of breaks at the end of the road and two men came scrambling out of the large black SUV that now blocked off the street. The men rushed towards her, guns held at the ready in front of them with one hand and what looked like cans of hairspray in the other. Now those were weird accessories to mix. They pushed their backs against the walls on the opposite side of the alley from the girl, catching their breath and checking to make sure the safety on their guns was off. The taller man in the big gray coat chanced a peek into the alley way. The creature was now looking around, trying to find the source of the earlier loud noise.
"This''ll be way too easy," the man in they big coat commented. "We've already got it backed into a corner."
"Right," replied they other man. He was immaculately dressed in a suit with a dark trench coat on top. "Ready then, sir?" The man in the big coat just grinned and held up three fingers. Slowly he brought down one, then another, and when he brought down the last one they rushed into the alley.
Immediately a hideous howling erupted, followed by some growling and incoherent shouting. The girl chanced a glance into the alley. The two men had the creature back into a corner. At a nod from the man in the big coat, the man in the trench coat began to spray copious amounts of the hairspray into the creatures face. The creature stopped growling and started to slump forward. A hood was quickly swiped over it's head and secured while a needle was shoved into it's shoulder. The men laid the creature down on the ground. The man in the trench coat tapped his ear piece.
"Got it," he said. "No problems," he responded after a second.
"Umm, Ianto?" the man in the big coat began. "I wouldn't speak too soon." The man in the trench coat, whose name apparently was Ianto, looked around confused at what the other was pointing to. He finally noticed the young girl leaned casually against the alley wall. Her eyes were appraising them both, taking in the scene in front of her. "Right, Tosh, we'll get back to you on that." He tapped his earpiece to sever the connection. The girl stepped forward then, she had a bit of a bounce to her step, a swing in her hips.
"That," the girl spoke, pointing to the creature on the ground. "was brilliant!"
"Excuse me?" The man in the big coat stepped forward. "Who exactly are you?"
"Corsen, Corsen Reed." She stepped forward smiling and shook the man in the big coat's hand.
"Captain Jack Harkness," he said, a little wary of the teenager in front of him. Corsen smiled and he flashed her one of his signature grins. She turned to Ianto then and held out her hand as before. "Ianto Jones," he said as he grasped her hand briefly.
"Well it's very nice to meet you Captain Harkness and Mr. Jones. I was just passing by and couldn't help but notice you just took down a six foot creature right in front of my eyes. Impressive!" Jack and Ianto exchanged surreptitious glances.
"Now, would you mind telling me what exactly he is?" Corsen said, pointing the the sedated thing at their feet. "Because that is not something they've shown us pictures of in Astronomy this past year."
"What the heck does a Weevil have to do with astronomy?" Jack asked incredulous at her nonchalance about the situation.
"Well 'cause its an alien, obviously! S'not like anything from Earth could actually look like that. But my teacher was very adamant that aliens don't exist. I always knew they did though, never thought I'd see one right in front of me!"
"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah. Hang on a sec." Jack pulled Ianto aside and whispered, "How the hell does she know that's an alien?"
"No idea, sir."
"Hey, you two. I can still hear you! And I realized it was an alien because I'm not stupid. Anyone could tell from a mile around."
"Well, I always liked the clever ones," said Jack, turning back to Corsen and flashing another of his very big, very flirty grins her way.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that Captain but as good looking as you are I think you're a bit too old for me." Corsen responded with a small smile and a wink.
"And a bit too taken, sir." Ianto jumped in, grabbing Jack's hand.
"Hey, I told you just because we're exclusive doesn't mean I'm gonna stop flirting!" Jack said, knocking into Ianto's shoulder.
"And I'm perfectly fine with that sir, but I think I may have to draw the line at flirting with teenagers." Ianto chuckled, nodding his head towards Corsen. "You are quite a bit older than me even, let alone someone ten years younger than me."
"Guess you're right," he nodded and turned on Corsen. "Sorry."
"No need to apologize, I flirted right back." She shot them a small smile. So, they were together then? That was so cute! They were a very good looking couple. She eyed them up and down quickly. The Captain was wearing navy trousers, a pale blue shirt, grey suspenders, and a big grey military coat. He looked like a poster boy for World War Two. Ianto had a dark knee length trench coat, with a black pinstripe suit underneath. His suit jacket was unbuttoned revealing a deep red waistcoat, over a red shirt just a shade lighter and a skinny black tie. They weren't just good looking, they were bloody gorgeous! She thought, and then, there I go again using British phrases. I need to stop watching BBC so often.
"But," she said, continuing the earlier conversation. "Back to what I was saying before. That thing, what did you call it, Weevil? Where did it come from? How did it end up here?" Corsen was bursting with questions, this was just about the best day of her life, she decided.
"Um, we have no idea where it's from but we do know how it got here." Ianto responded. For some reason, he felt compelled to answer this girls questions. Before he could go any further Jack butted in.
"But, that's classified information."
"Thought so, oh well, it was worth a go. Should you be getting him back to your car? He might wake up soon." Corsen nodded towards the Weevil, still lying at their feet.
"Oh," said Jack. "Yeah, actually we should. That sedative doesn't last very long." Jack and Ianto each moved to one end of the Weevil, hoisting it up between the two of them. They struggled to move it towards the car, Corsen following close behind them.
"Need a hand with that?" she asked, as Ianto struggled with the keys to try and get the boot open.
"Why not," he said, handing the keys over.
"Thanks," said Jack, a bit taken aback at Ianto's willingness to give up the keys.
Corsen opened the boot of the big black SUV, and Jack and Ianto swung the Weevil between them, tossing it into the containment cage. Corsen turned and looked down the street, it was deserted, but the most disturbing thing was the amount of light. The streetlight cast down a dim glow on the sidewalk, making the leftover puddles of rain glisten. She did not want to walk to the Millennium Center in the dark. Especially because she didn't actually know where it was.
"Umm, I'm really sorry to ask you this sir," she said turning to the Captain. He shot her a puzzled look. "Umm, yeah, I don't actually know the way to the bay. That's where I was heading. Could you maybe give me a lift? I don't want to find my way there in the dark."
Jack and Ianto exchanged a meaningful look and Ianto could see the unease in Jack's face. But Ianto gave him an imploring look and Jack softened.
"I suppose, we have to head in that direction anyways. Toss me the keys." He held up his hand and Corsen threw him the car keys.
"Thank you sirs," Corsen smiled as she stepped towards the back seats of the car.
"Allow me," Ianto said, reaching for the door to hold it open for her as she climbed in and buckled her seat belt. Jack climbed into the driver's side, which was technically the passenger side to Corsen, man, British cars are confusing. Ianto strapped himself into the passenger seat and then turned to face Corsen.
"So, why are you in Cardiff? Your accent is obviously American."
"Yeah, like your Captain. I'm from New York, here on a school trip."
"What school takes you to Cardiff in the middle of July? Don't you lot have summer holidays over there?"
"It's the trip for the Welsh language courses. And I stay on at the school anyways so this was such a great opportunity to escape!"
"Chi areithio Cymraeg?" Ianto immediately slipped into his native tongue, and his accent thickened quite noticeably.
"Do, caru y iaith."
"Finnau."
"Oi! English, please! I have no clue what you're saying."
"I thought you liked it when I spoke Welsh," said Ianto. His voice becoming huskier, like he was trying to lure Jack into a trap.
"Well, yeah. It's pretty sexy but I like to understand what people are saying if its a serious conversation."
"Fair enough," said Ianto, turning back to Corsen. "So, why do you stay on at school over the summer? Does you family live far away or something?"
"No. My mother passed away around 5 years ago and I never knew my father. Mum said she had never told him she was pregnant because they had only seen each other for a week before he had to go back home and she had no way of getting in contact with him. No internet records or phonebook contacts or anything."
"I'm sorry," and Ianto sounded genuinely sympathetic.
"It's fine, I've always got a bit of both of them with me." And she pulled out a locket from beneath her collar. It looked antique, with a cut out front, brassy finish, and delicate pearls. "My mum said my dad bought this for her, that week they were together. She never kept anything in it, but when she gave it to me she stuck a little paper inside. She knew I had always loved Welsh, even then, so it says, "Dw i'n dy garu di, m' cariad, am byth."
"That's very sweet of her." Ianto smiled a bit nervously, secretly he hoped Jack hadn't recognized the words as ones he had heard from Ianto before. "Would you mind if I saw it a moment, its very pretty."
"Sure," Corsen said, apparently unfazed by the request. She unhooked the clasp and dropped it into Ianto's outstretched hand.
"It really it very pretty, don't you think, sir?" Ianto held it up for Jack to see.
"Yeah," Jack said, glancing at it, then doing a double take. "Wait," he let up on the gas pedal a little, slowing to a normal speed. "Can I see that?" Corsen nodded and Ianto handed it over. "This look really familiar, like I've seen it somewhere."
"It's probably been in loads of stores and things in America, everything is mass produced these days."
"Yeah, guess you're right," Jack conceded, handing the locket back to Corsen. She refastened it around her neck and slid it under her collar. "Those words sound a bit familiar too," Jack continued, eyeing Ianto. "You've said them to me before, haven't you?"
"Ummm. . ." Ianto was lost for words, he hadn't counted on Jack learning any Welsh words beyond "Cariad" and the occasional curse word.
"Come on," Jack prodded. Then he turned back to Corsen. "What does it mean?
Corsen smirked it was obvious Ianto was horrified at the thought of Jack hearing the translation of the words. Which, by the way, is "I love you, my dear one, forever." Just as Corsen was about to respond, the handheld radio on the dashboard buzzed. The voice on the other end belonged to a woman with a gentle British accent, that somehow made her sound even more commanding and urgent when her instructions came through.
"Jack, we've got another Weevil sighting, looks like its two more in the same area. If you take your next right, then drive about 50 meters and take a left there's an old construction sight where their energy patterns seem to be located.
Jack swore loudly, he was very unhappy with this new turn of events. All thoughts of what the Welsh words meant was lost as Jack skidded around a corner, drove 50 meters, and skidded around the next. Jack and Ianto hopped out of the car and ran to the back, grabbing more hairspray, some hoods, needles, and reloading their guns.
As they moved away, Corsen started to follow but Jack turned on her.
"No way," he said. "You are staying in the car!"
"The hell I am! I'm not gonna sit there while you two go risk your necks. I might be able to help, I'm not scared." Something about the way Corsen looked at him, with excitement and pleading shining from her warm brown eyes made Jack soften towards her. Woah, he thought, I cannot be going soft. But none the less he turned around muttering a "stick behind Ianto" under his breath. Corsen nearly squealed in delight, but quickly gained her composure. "Thank you, Captain."
Jack just nodded and signaled Ianto to go right. Corsen stuck behind him as she was told, almost shaking with excitement. They heard the signs of a struggle coming from their left, indicating Jack had caught up with his Weevil. Just then, Ianto stilled, motioning for Corsen to stick to the side out of the way, while he went in for the capture. His Weevil was lurking on the edges of some scaffolding up ahead. Corsen stepped to the side and crept forward as Ianto moved cautiously closer, trying not to spook the creature. But then he accidently kicked an empty paint can that had been lying in his path.
The Weevil followed the path of the noise which unfortunately led straight to Corsen's feet. Before Ianto could reach her, the Weevil sprung forward and lashed at her forearm, leaving behind four rather deep gashes. Corsen tensed in pain, but did not cry out. She grabbed at one of the metal pipes on the nearest scaffolding and with her good arm swung hard and hit the Weevil straight across the head, dazing it. Ianto seized the opportunity to pull the hood over it's head and stab a needle into it's shoulder.
"Sedative," he said at a questioning look from Corsen. The Weevil dropped to the ground and he walked swiftly over to examine Corsen's arm. "Jack!" he called, upon seeing just how deep the injury was.
Jack came rushing around the corner a hooded Weevil slung carelessly over his shoulder. When Jack saw the cause of Ianto's alarm he dropped the Weevil beside the other one and ran to investigate the wound himself.
"I didn't even hear you call out," he said, looking at the gashes bleeding severely. He grabbed an extra hood from his pocket, tearing it and tying it just below Corsen's elbow as a tourniquet. She gasped and recoiled from the pain. "We're gonna need Owen to take a look at this, get it bandaged properly." Ianto nodded, and steered Corsen by the elbow towards the SUV, strapping her in the back seat again. Just then Jack trudged up with one Weevil over his shoulder and tossed it into the boot. Ianto went with him to help with the second one.
As they returned to the car they threw the Weevil in, locked the cage and the boot, and ran to their respective doors. As soon as Ianto was situated he pulled a large gauze pad from the first aid kit he kept stored in the glove box. He handed it to Corsen, who applied it lightly to her wound. Then Ianto passed her a wet wipe to clean the blood from the seat. Corsen handed back the wipe and noticed Jack tap his comm. link.
"Tosh, I need you to clear anything overly top secret or dangerous and get it out of sight, then make sure Owen's ready to bandage up a Weevil wound and check for blood contaminants."
"Are you or Ianto hurt?" Tosh's voice was flooded with worry.
"No, we've got someone else with us, that's why we need to clear away any top secret stuff. We'll be there in three minutes."
"We'll be ready."
Three minutes later they were pulling up to the Rhald Dahl Plass, and Ianto and Jack hopped out of the car. Ianto got the door for Corsen and helped her out of the car, then ran around and hopped in the drivers side. Jack came around and led Corsen onto the Plass towards the water tower at the other end.
"Why are we here sir?" Corsen asked. This is where she had been heading originally but Jack had said he wanted to take care of her injury first.
"This is where we work," he said, coming to a halt beside the water tower.
"You work on the Plass? What have you got some invisible desk 'round here or something?"
"Close," said Jack and he flipped open the rather large leather wrist strap on his wrist and pressed a button. The stone beneath their feet jolted and began to lower. Corsen gasped and grabbed onto Jack with her good arm, Jack just grinned. "Invisible lift." he said and she looked at him in awe.
